Pamela brown in the situation room. Ukraine reports significant damage from a massive and deadly russian attack while also claiming it struck a major blow to mass cow by killing the commander of russias black sea fleet. Well get an assessment from key white house official john kirby. Senator bob menendez speaks out for the First Time Since his indictment on Bribery Charges, defiantly rejecting fellow democrats calls for him to resign. Donald trump is ramping up his appearances in key battlegrounds as hes set to skip another republican primary debate. Stand by for a new snapshot of the 2024 raisin colluding a Swing State Showdown between trump and President Biden this week. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf blitzer is off today. Im pamela brown and youre in the situation room. We begin with ukraines claim that it has killed the commander and other officers in russias black sea fleet, potentially crippling the kremlins naval forces. Kyiv now accusing moscow of seeking revenge for that attack by striking the Southern Port City of odesa. Cnns sam kiley is following all the new developments. Reporter ukraine dismissed this as a pathetic attempt at retaliation, a russian Bom Bombardment of the port city of odesa with drones and longrange missiles. Two Warehouse Workers were killed, an abandoned hotel smashed in what could have been an almost routine attack by russia, but for this. Kyiv now claims to have killed the commander of russias black sea fleet, admiral victor sokolove. Ukraine claims it cleared another 33 russian officers in a strike against the Fleet Headquarters in sevastopol on friday. Ukrainians have targeted senior russian officers throughout this war, often using intelligence from nato, and specialist units have been tasked by kyiv with these killings. Theyre aimed at Sapping Morale and undermining command systems. Cnn has no independent confirmation of ukraines claim to have killed russias admiadmiral, but it would be its biggest success in this campaign and part of the ongoing effort to break through russias Defense Lines to ultimately strike at crimea. They include an attack on putins navy and a bridge to russia itself. The first batch of u. S. Donated abrams tanks have now also arrived in ukraine. Their ear not the strategic weapons the ukrainians say they need. Translator Defense Packages from the United States including artillery, himar munitions, Additional Air defense systems, tactical vehicles and other types of weapons that will prove themselves on the battlefield. Reporter kyiv wants these atacms, long range Missile Systems to attack deep behind russian lines to kill more officers and destroy logistics hubs. The u. S. Has yet to announce that ukraine will get these missiles before the winter freezes over the front lines where they are. Now, of course, from the ukrainian perspective, without air dominance, breaking through those Defense Lines are extremely difficult. So a great deal, pamela, of their main effort is focused on breaking what the military calls c2, the command and control. Thats why they want those atacms, because they believe if they can kill enough russians, the Russian Military will collapse on itself, sparing bloodshed on both sides. Joining us from the white house, National SecurityCouncil Coordinator for Strategic Communications john kirby. Thanks for joining us. Ukraine, as we know, says the russian attack on odesa is revenge for fridays strike on crimea. If ukraine did, in fact, kill the commander of russias black sea fleet, how big of a blow would that be to Vladimir Putin . That would be a significant blow, certainly to Russian Naval operations in the black sea area. They have been very active in the last 18 months from the black sea striking at ukraine from ships at sea. If youre able to kill the commander of the fleet or a lot of his or her staff, obviously thats going to have a Significant Impact on their ability, as sam says in his reporting, to command and control that fleet. That doesnt mean its going to be some sort of permanent fix, pamela. Theyll replace those people. Obviously theyll put a new leader in, and the russian fleet is not going anywhere out of the black sea, but for a while it will have a Significant Impact on their ability to operate. To follow up on that, can the u. S. Confirm whether this commander was killed along with 33 other russians as ukraine says . No, we cannot. How far do these attacks on occupied crimea go in disrupting russias fight on the front line . I think its important if you look at the map, crimea is critical to continue the Occupation North of crimea, north of the peninsula and up the eastern side of the country into the donbas. Crimea acts as a bit of a staging ground, not just for attacks from the black sea, but also to be able to replenish and resource their troops particularly in the southern part of ukraine. It makes perfect sense that ukraine would want to hit strategic targets inside crimea to try to hamper their ability to use crimea as a staging base, if you will, for supporting their troops further inland. President zelenskyy for his part says the First American abrams tanks have now arrived in ukraine. What does that mean for the counteroffensive . This is the First Tranche of the tanks, the first abrams tanks that can have a Significant Impact on the battlefield. Only the First Tranche of the more than 30 that the United States has committed to ukraine. There will be more flowing in in coming weeks. Obviously it will be up to president zelenskyy and his generals to determine how to use these tanks. They have other tanks from other countries theyre using. In this counteroffensive where theyre making steady, but slow progress particularly in the south, these sophisticated abrams tanks, they can be a significant help. There are also reports that the u. S. Will provide ukraine will longerrange atacms missiles. Is that the case . And did President Biden make that commitment when he met with president zelenskyy last week . I dont have any announcement on these atacms, these longrage cruise missiles. I will say were continuing in conversations with ukraine about their needs, including air defense needs. As you saw the president after he met with president zelenskyy announced another tranche of security assistance, additional arms and equipment, well keep that going. Before we let you go, i want to ask about another potential Government Shutdown, the pentagon saying it could disrupt the delivery of Military Equipment to ukraine. Weve got a little more funding to go. I think well be okay for the next few weeks or so. Without the supplemental request that we asked for, it will absolutely have an effect on our ability to support ukraine well into the fall and winter months, pamela. The weather is not going to be that cooperative soon. You heard from sam, once we get into the winter, it gets really hard for both militaries to maneuver and to operate. We want to make sure were getting them everything they need while they still have good conditions on the ground. Not getting the supplemental request if theres a shutdown, that will have a Significant Impact on their ability to succeed on the battlefield. Ukraine says its going to keep fighting through the winter. What do you think that looks like . I think it will look like last winter unfortunately, another winter of war. Last winter both sides they did fight, they didnt stop. But the fighting gets greatly affected by the weather conditions, as it does anywhere around the world. Its going to have an effect on them. We want to make sure thap can take advantage of the good conditions they have now for as long as they can. John kirby, thanks so much. You bet. Where efforts to avert a Government Shutdown stand right now. Rebel republicans digging in their heels with the deadline only days away. Tonight the u. S. Government is hurdling towards a crippling shutdown at the end of this week. House speaker Kevin Mccarthy unable to defuse a Civil War Preventing Critical Funding from being approved. Melanie, with time running out, what happens when lawmakers return tomorrow . Pam, i can walk you through what their plan is. Theres no guarantee that its actually going to go according to plan. Starting tomorrow House Republicans will try to move forward with a package of individual longterm Spending Bills in the hope among speaker Kevin Mccarthy and his Leadership Team is that will build good will with members of the far right who have been calling on them to pass these individual bills and theyll eventually rally around a shortterm Spending Bill to keep the government over, to buy more time to pass the rest of their longterm Spending Bills. There are a couple hurdles. First of all, still unclear whether they have either longterm or shortterm Spending Bills. Even if they did, all those bills are dead on arrival in the senate. Looming over it all is a potential threat from hardliners to force a vote ousting Kevin Mccarthy from the speakership if he crosses them or acts in a way they feel violates the deal he made to become speaker. Kevin mccarthy is insisting these hardliner threats are not driving his decision making. Take a listen. Im not worried if someone makes a motion. Im not worried if somebody votes no. Im going to wake up each and every day with the same thing that drives my opinion of what needs to be done, solving these problems. Thats what im going to do. Im going to work with people who want to get that done. Reporter meanwhile, across the capitol, Chuck Schumer has taken steps for the senate to advance its own shortterm Spending Bill. Thats unlikely to include many of the conservative priorities. Kevin mccarthy has not said what he will do if that bill were to come over from the senate. Ultimate wli for Kevin Mccarthy, it may come down to him making a choice between keeping the government open or keeping his speakership. Meantime you have former President Donald Trump weighing in, seems to be encouraging hard line republicans when it comes to conceding. Thats right. Donald trump presided over the longest shutdown in u. S. History when making demands over the border. Hes entered the fray once again, encouraging republicans to shut it down. I want to read you part of his truth social statement. He said, unless you get everything, shut it down. Thats just a sam of the challenge that mccarthy is dealing with here. He knows a number of these hardliners are listening to donald trump. He has their ear. It makes it harder for Kevin Mccarthy to convince them to back down. In fact, theyre digging in and amplifying trump for making these comments. President biden weighed in a short while ago about the threat of a Government Shutdown, laying the blame on what he calls extreme House Republicans. Cnns Kayla Tausche is at the white house for us. What is the president saying . Reporter the on the is doubling down on the white house message that its republicans alone gearing the government towards the shutdown despite the deal the president helped broker in june. Here is the president speaking on that earlier this afternoon. Just a few months ago, the speaker of the house and i agreed to spending levels for the government. Now a small group solve extreme House Republicans, they dont want to live up to that deal, and everyone in america could be faced with paying the price. A white house official tells me that President Biden remains in touch with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, and that the president is broadly supportive in this officials words of the efforts by the senate to overcome the hurdles that Kevin Mccarthy is facing among his conference in the house, to broker some sort of deal there, and that President Biden believes a senate brokered deal is one that would be in the spirit of the bipartisan budget deal that all parties reached just a few months ago n. The meantime, the Office Of Management And Budget is telling agencies to start putting in place their individual plans, Contingency Planning for a Government Shutdown that would begin saturday at midnight. The white house is now dispatching officials from independent cabinets to start warning of disruptions to specific programs like air Traffic Control and nutritional programs for women and children if that shutdown does take effect. Ive also asked the white house for its Economic Assessment of what would happen if the government endured a short or a longterm shutdown. The council of economic advisers which normally crunches those numbers has not made those available. Its safe to say, pam, there would be an Economic Impact if that were to happen. Just to take a step back for The Big Picture context here, who do voters usually blame for a shutdown, and how does the white house navigate that . It really depends on who is empowered, who is the one pushing the Shutdown Narrative here, pam. Just a few months ago we saw the white house once again trying to put republicans on the hook for a potential partial shutdown or a default on the nations debt if a deal was not reached at that time. By and large American Voters said the buck stopped with President Biden and he would bear any responsibility if that were to happen. The difference in that scenario is that House Republicans coalesced around a specific set of priorities, and they passed a bill that the white house had jumpstarted negotiations in response to. In that situation, House Republicans have moved first and did have a relatively united position, thus putting the white house on the hook. It remains unclear how exactly americans would feel about the shutdown this time around, albeit it appears were careening toward one. Pam . Kayla Anthony Fauci she, thank you very much. A powerful senator says hes not going anywhere after being indicted on Bribery Charges. Youre in the situation room. Well be right back. Senator Sherrod Brown is the Second Senate democratic to call for the resignation of new jersey senator bob menendez. Since friday several senators have called for menendez to resign. Based on what ive seen, im disappointed. Yes, i think he should resign. Certainly hes innocent until proving guilty. This indictment is damning and he should resign. I do believe it is in the best interest for Senator Menendez to resign in this moment. Menendez says he will continue to serve despite the federal Bribery Charges against he and his wife. Cnns Kara Scannell is covering the story and joins us from new york. Reporter pam, in these first public remarks menendez made it clear hes not going anywhere. Hes been charged with three counts of briberyrelated offenses. Prosecutors say he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and in exchange helped three new jersey businessmen and aided the government of egypt. Today menendez said he believes he will be exonerated, and he tried to address the envelopes stuffed with cash that the fwib found in jackets bearing menendezs name when they searched his home last year. I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but as i have stated throughout this whole process, i firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will i be exonerated, but i still will be the new jersey senior senator. I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal Savings Account which i have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family Facing Confiscation in cuba. This may seem oldfashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal Savings Account based on the income i have lawfully derived over those 30 years. Reporter menendez did not address the gold bars that the fbi found or the mercedesbenz convertible they allege was part of this scheme. He has said that where he did try to address some of the allegations about egypt because prosecutors allege he took steps to aid egypt as part of the scene scheme. He says his record as a senator shows hes tried to hold egypt to account, particularly on human rights abuses. After this press conference, he didnt take any questions including ones from reporters asking if he was going to run for reelection. Pam. What comes next in this case, kara. On wednesday, menendez, his wife and the three new jersey businessmen are due in court where theyll go before a judge for the first time to face these charges. Its not clear if this will be an arraignment, but that he will enter a plea in this case. Based on what he said today, it seems hell plead not guilty and this will kick off the legal fight as hes potentially entering a run for reelection. Kara scannell, thank you so much. Im joined by Jessica Tellemen from George Washington law school. Professor, what do you make of this argument from menendez that the reason authorities found thousands of dollars hidden away in his home is because hes just an oldfashioned guy who felt safer with cash . Well, obviously he has to point to something to explain piles of cash found in jackets and envelopes in his home. This looks like the excuse or the defense hes going with, at least for now. He didnt quite get to the gold bars. Most people dont keep those hanging around their house very often. He didnt get to some of the other items like the car. But, you know, at least for his initial statement, this seems to be a lukewarm defense. And also, prosecutors could hear that and verify his stisti statements, did he withdraw the money from these banks . Absolutely. Indictment points to the fact that theres dna evidence on some of the cash. Ultimately weve seen this fact pattern before in these types of cases. If a receptacle can carry cash, its been used, whether its a freezer, a bathtub or a trunk. Theres always these types of cases where people are trying to stuff cash to hide it when theyre engaged in some sort of alleged bribery scheme. Its going to be pretty difficult for him to get around this, particularly when pointing to physical evidence in the indictment. Again, at least this is his attempt to try to explain it away. He talked about the cash in his home, not the mercedes, not the gold bars. A reminder for our viewers, he googled how much a gold bar was worth after a trip to egypt. Yeah. A lot of really damning evidence in this indictment. As the professor knows quite well, since 2016 in this country, there was a Supreme Court case, United States versus mcdonald, in which the court tamped down on prosecutors ability to bring charges of this nature, really narrowed the landscape. What prosecutors have to show is a quid pro quo, so a thing of value. Obviously a mercedesbenz and gold bars are in exchange for whats known as an official act, or in this case a breaching of an official act. Thats whats really in this indictment. I think the government will have no problems getting over that hurdle. They have shown time and time again in many different ways how menendez both breached his official duty and used his office to influence others in order to really benefit himself and his other coconspirators. I want to go back looking at the menendez defense that we heard from him today, professor. Senator menendez defended his record on egypt. He explained hes been in the country, pressed it on human rights violations, basically trying to make the case undermine this idea that he would do any favors for egypt in exchange for these gifts. How strong a defense is that . Certainly he will be able to point to some things that hes done. But its belied by the statements in the indictment which point to covert activity he was engaged in to effectively aid the country of egypt and obviously these businessmen as well. I think it gets to the point that when youre dealing with a corruption case, all this stuff comes Behind Closed Doors with winks and nods. This isnt stuff out in the open like some of the public things hes been able to point to. This is the stuff behind the scenes. My colleague is correct. Its going to be far more difficult for the Justice Department to bring a case like this in light of decades of Supreme Court cases that have basically narrowed the application of these criminal statutes to prosecute domestic Corruption Cases in the United States. They have a high hurdle, an even higher hurdle than they normally would in Corruption Cases. These are more difficult cases to bring. Here again, hes pointing to something hes done publicly to try to discount the allegations in the indictment that show that allege that hes effectively been campaigning covertly on behalf of the Egyptian Government all this time in exchange for bribes. Expand on that, caroline, ability the complications for prosecutors here in making the case, look, yeah, he had a big role in the Senate Foreign relations committee, but this goes beyond just trying to influence policy. Its a big hurdle. It is. I think one thing that were not talking about in this conversation is that, you know, menendez faced very similar charges in the district of new jersey previously, and there was a hung jury and he was later acquitted on most of those charges. So he has these types of charges, and the argument hell make this time is going to make similar in that it doesnt meet this high bar, this overt quid pro quo, a handing of money, a shake of the hand in exchange for an official act. Basically hes arguing, look, its swampy, these are the types of things i do all the time. I dont think its going to work. Its very hard to fend off charges of this nature one time. Its almost impossible to do it twice. Look, hes been under investigation. I think its interesting they started looking at him immediately after he was acquitted of those charges in 2018. So this conduct runs immediately from 2018 through 2022. That really stuck out to me, too. Jessica and caroline, thank you for offering your insights. Thank you. Senator menendez is the latest in a long line of lawmakers from both parties rocked by allegations of scandal and wrongdoing. Brian todd is covering the story for us. As Senator Menendez remains defiant on those charges, we take a deeper look into the cases where money and power converge in pretty colorful fashion. Senator Robert Menendez isnt the only politician who had an embarrassing discovery at his home. Authorities discovered 90,000 in the freezer of william jefferson, convicted of bribery in 2009. There are a lot of places to hide 90,000. A freezer is inventive and creative. Reporter American Politics is littered with these scandals in recent years. Any time you put money and power together, there is the opportunity and the chance for political corruption. So it should be no surprise at all that we in the United States have had more than our fair share of very colorful political corruption scandals. Reporter republican congressman George Santos is not only accused of blatantly lying about multiple episodes in his past, but hes also accused of manipulating two americans tugss, veterans and dogs, allegedly ripping off dog breeders in the purchase of puppies and scamming a veteran whose dying dog santos failed to take care of. Santos took a piece of my heart when he did this. Dogs and veterans are very sympathetic in character. Yet, for a thief i suppose theyre ideal targets just because so few people would try to steal money from them or to put them in a bad situation. Reporter all of which santos denies. The reality is its a witch hunt. Reporter illinois governor Rob Blagojevich allegedly offered to auction off Barack Obamas senate seat. It was the way he did it, captured on Tape Shamelessly and crudely declaring. Ive got this thing [ bleep ] and its golden. Im not giving it up for [ bleep ] nothing. Of course, he saw a jackpot. When barack obama was elected president , he had this seat that he knew only he could fill. Blagojevich was later convicted on Corruption Charges but had his sentence commuted by then President Trump. California republican congressman Duncan Hunter took more than 200,000 on Campaign Funds and spent it on video games, groceries and other Household Items and a 14,000 italian vacation. Then he claimed it was all his wifes idea until she called him out on it in court. When youre a thief and a cad simultaneously with your own wife, i think it makes you much less sympathetic. Reporter Senator Menendez has adamantly proclaimed his innocence in this latest case and vowed to fight the charges. The analysts weve spoken to said dont write him off. He faced similar charges a few years ago, but got a hung jury, a mistrial and then acquittal. Brian todd. Thanks so much. Just ahead for you, donald trump just wrapped up a rally in South Carolina, the first of multiple Campaign Stops this week. Theres one mraps he will not be stopping. Well tell you where up next. Donald trump today is kicking off his busiest Campaign Week since launching his reelection bid. The gop frontrunner just wrapped up a rally in South Carolina as he prepares to crisscross the rest of the country. Cnn chief National Affairs correspondent jeff zeleny is here. What is on trumps agenda and what is moatbly absent . Pamela, hes keeping one eye on the primary which is why he was in South Carolina this afternoon. South carolina goes third in the voting next year, but also nikki haley is from South Carolina as is tim scott. Hes trying to assert himself in that primary. Flying to michigan on wednesday, hes going to appear at the uaw workers strike there. Hes also flying to california on friday. That is for the state krafrment convention. Hes after the delegates there. Theyve changed their rules there. The california primary is on super tuesday. Thats what he has his eye on there. On sunday hes going to ottumwa, iowa. Whats not on the calendar, of course, is the debate. At the Reagan Library on wednesday all the other republican candidates will be gathered there. He, of course, is making a decision to not campaign. So ignoring his rivals on one hand, but trying to focus on staying ahead of them in these states even as he focuses on President Biden in michigan. A bit of a mixed strategy here. Clearly he is out on the Campaign Trail more than weve seen him before. He doesnt have any Court Appearances like he has previously. Of course, all those cases are still there. They are. Hes taking advantage of not having these Court Appearances this upcoming week. Lets bring in cnns eva mckend and tia mitchell correspondent for the Atlanta Journal constitution. Trump is skipping the debate in favor of going to michigan where there is this autoworkers strike. You have President Biden also going to michigan tomorrow to walk the picket line with those that are striking a day before trump. Here is what trump had to say about bidens visit. Hes selling our automobile companies, everything right down the tubes. I announced im going to michigan and he announced 20 minutes later, im going to michigan. What is the political significance of these dueling visits in such a critical state . President biden, to be clear, is an invited guest. The Union Leadership at least wants him there. Hes going to be in his element. Hep enjoys this. Joe biden from scranton has made his entire political career about being for these very workers. But its a vulnerable position he is putting himself in. There is still very sensitive negotiations going on now, and hes clearly staking out this position. The challenge for him, also, is going to be in taking on the former president who sort of aesthetically and culturally has said that he is for workers, but during his administration, during the Trump Administration they took very antiunion policies. Thats something the president will be tasked with emphasizing this week. Michigan is a really important state to both of them, right . Trump won there in 2016, lost in 2020. Theyre both eyeing a rematch in this state. You mentioned biden was invited there. So far, though, the union has not endorsed aptal candidate. What kind of reception do you expect from the autoworkers this week with both biden and trump . I think both of them have vulnerabilities with the autoworkers. President trump has emphasized the transition to electric vehicles as a place where he thinks President Biden is vulnerable, because there is uneasiness among Union Workers on how this will affect their industry long term. Thats where President Trump is going to try to make the comparison. But again, for President Biden, like eva said, hes said all along im a pro Union President , the most proUnion President in history. He can point to antiunion stances that happened under President Trumps tenure. President biden is going to try to go there and have an event with Union Workers on the picket lines to say these are my folks, and hopefully hell have them with him. He wants their endorsement. He certainly does. Jeff, when you look at the polls, the majority of the new polls show trump and biden in a dead heat for a 2024 rematch. When you think about that, is the second republican president ial debate essentially a sideshow compared to the showdown well see in michigan . Well, its important in the sense that its basically become a race for number two, if you will, for second place. Who will be last man or woman standing with former President Donald Trump. The primary still has to be won. As our recent history has shown, anything can happen. Thats one of the reasons that trump is in South Carolina and iowa. The debate is important for at least a couple of these players. Like nikki haley, shes merged in a stronger position after the first debate. Governor ron desantis probably did not. So theyre looking the change things up. It is important. Well find out tonight actually. The rnc will put out the list of which candidates are making it. It will probably be a slightly smaller stage. These polls a year before election are a snapshot in time that tell us the challenges that the president is facing on the economy, on immigration and excitement. Republicans are more excited these polls show than democrats are. That might be because theres a fully engaged republican primary and not necessarily one on the democratic side yet. The debate is still important on wednesday. Even though trump wont be there, hell probably be watching as people certainly will be watching to see who will emerge as the leader contender. At some point hell have to engage in the primary. Well see when that is. Hell certainly also be looming large even though he wont be there physically. He always does and thats the way he likes it, right . We are so far out from the election. But eva, nationally theres never been a candidate who has been leading this much in the polling who lost a primary, leading this much in the polling as trump has, we should note. We do want to note this. In 2000 george w. Bush was at 45 of the vote in polling, but he was beat by john mccain. Polls show trump is relatively vulnerable in New Hampshire. Do you think the other republican candidates should be honing in on New Hampshire as a result . They are. We see them really trying to compete in these early states. Our politics right now are so unpredictable. Yes, trump has the significant lead and it would be unprecedented for someone else to pull ahead, but its also unprecedented for a former president to be facing four criminal indictments. It would be a mistake for anyone at this point, especially the candidates that have a significant war chest. Im covering senator tim scotts campaign, for instance. He has a lot of money. So it would be a mistake i think at this point to sort of count any of these other candidates out because we know that elections can be full of surprises. They sure can. Good reminder. Eva mckend, thank you so much. Tia mitchell, jeff zeleny, we appreciate it. After more than a decade since gays and lease bens were allowed to serve openly in the very is, the pentagon is working to update Service Records of people who were let go. Youre in the situation room. Youre probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. But what if we told you its possible that comcast Business Mobile can save you up to 75 a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers . Its true. Plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. There are no Term Contracts or line activation fees. And you can bring your own device. Oh, and all on the most reliable 5g Mobile Network nationwide. Wireless that works for you. Its not just possible. Its happening. Now Defense Department is trying to update the Service Records of veterans who were previously discharged because of their sexual orientation. Cnn pentagon correspondent has the story. During 22 years in the making, she says she spent her career looking over her shoulder, afraid a fellow soldier might turn her in and c s cis might try to uncover the life. Have that person turn on a bunch of us. Next thing you know, there would be a whole slew of people that would be discharged. In a mem oir, she called these witch hunts. She said she already faced discrimination as part of the first generation of female sailors allowed to serve on ships. Though she left on her own terms, she said concealing her sexuality has created scars. When i got out in 2006, i thought i would be free. What happened for me was that im still looking over my shoulder because i had for 22 years, i had to look over my shoulder. So that did not go away. That was very conditioned into me. 12 years after the repeal of dont ask dont tell, the Defense Department is trying to take another step toward righting that wrong. We see it now. We see you now. For the first time, the Defense Department will actively reach out to veterans discharged for homosexual conduct to update their records as well as reviewing records of veterans who may be able to upgrade their discharge. Since 1980, more than 32,000 were discharged because of the homosexual conduct policy. When the Obama Administration repealed dont ask dont tell in 2011 and it became legal to serve in the military as an open member of the lgbtq community, some but not all Eligible Service members applied to change their records to honorable discharges, removing a stigma, giving them access to veterans benefits. A advocates say its important, especially now. In an era where right wing extremists have plunged the community into a state of crisis, state of emergency, it matters to have an administration thats willing to go back and try to make wrongs right. The pentagon acknowledged these steps dont solve the problems. Thats because not every Discharge Record listed that specifically. So it becomes difficult to find those cases of people who are effectively kicked out for being members of the Lgbtq Plus Community but it wasnt specifically listed on their discharge forms. That in and of itself is an entirely different issue but organizations said look, even if this isnt a full step, its a good one in the right direction. Coming up, in just days, the government is set to run out of money and Kevin Mccarthy is running out of options to find a solution. Will he risk shutting down the government to keep his job or cross his republican hard liners by working with the democrats . Were going to tell you coming up in the situation room. Happening now, rebellious House Republicans are pushing congress closer and closer to a Government Shutdown egged on by donald trump and in defiance of House Speaker mccarthys urgent pleas. If there hope of a breakthrough as timing is running out . Also, senator mendez refusing to step down after his bribery indictment. What hes saying and not saying about the evidence against him including those gold bars and wads of cash. Ukraine says it struck a critical blow to putins navy claiming the commander of th