0 political here. two trooo troops in pendleton. thank you so very much for watching. we'll see you back here in washington. we go to washington "the lead" with jake tapper starts right now. so why did we have to wait for jay leno to ask the president about this terror threat for him to finally say something public about it. i'm jake tapper, this is "the lead." p.m. addressing the troops while yemen sell it foiled an al qaeda terror plot, but apparently not the went that let to a worldwide alert? we'll get answers straight from the state department in just a few moments. the national league, her husband was one of the 19 elite firefighters killed together in arizona. now she says she's not getting the full death benefits she desperately needs to raise their four children on her own. we'll talk to her momentarily. the sports lead, a braves pitcher tries to teach the nationals' bryce harper some human milt. needless to say the -- these deals bench-clearing brawls don't end, they just move to twitter. good afternoon, everyone. i'm jake tapper. we begin with the world lead. right now president obama is speaking to troops and their families in california's camp pendleton, hess last stop on his trip out west. this as the world remains under a vaguely defined terror threat which led the state department to close 19 embassies around the world this week. the president was conspicuously quiet until last night when he broke his silence on "the tonight show." >> whenever we see a threat stream we think is specific enough that we can take some specific precautions within a certain time frame, then we do so. >> we first heard about these embassy closings until thursday, but until jay leno asked about it, the president let officials under him handle the public information side of this threat. the alert was issued after a message was intercepted from ayman al swirli. zawahiri. so yemen is saying it foiled an al qaeda plot to capture oil and gas facilities, and seize two ports, but i can't help but notice the u.s. diplomatic post throughout the region remain closed. is it safe to assume that the u.s. does not believe that that's the attack that was ordered? >> every single day we make decisions about how to keep the men and women who serve arrange the world safe, how to keep american sith sense safe. we certainly work closely with the yemeni government, but we evaluate information as it comes in. we have remaining concerns about the threats, and we have not made an announcement to reopen the embassy, but we continue to evaluate. >> i'm assuming our viewers can read between the lines on that answer. thank you. how much concern does the obama administration have that by closing all these embasses and consequence las, the u.s. may appear to be running scared from the region, feeding into this criticism we've heard from some hawks about waning u.s. influence, the suggestion that nobody is daunted by the u.s. anymore. was that a concern at all when this was issued? >> well, i think, jake, that the american people would be encouraged by the fact that people around the world serving and visiting other countries, that we tail every threat seriously. out of an abundance of caution, we closed the embassies. we're providing emergency services to people in most of these country, but we take threats seriously we have an obligation to keep people safe. >> but it is a balance, i would imagine. >> of course it's a balance, but there's a bar that we want to pass. that's making sure we are doing everything humanly possible to keep people safe. >> that's why we've continued to provide information not only to the american people, but people around the world. >> by ace nouncement president obama has cansened a summit meeting with president putin that was scheduled next month. before the announcement this morning, the president was on "the tonight show" last night. the president said this -- >> there have been times when they slip back into cold war thinking, and cold war mentality, and what i consistently say to them and what i say to president putin is that's the past, and, you know, we've got to think about the future. there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to cooperate more effectively than we do i want putin seems to be like one of those old-school kgb guys. >> well, he edded up the kgb. >> what are the issues when the president is talking about, when he says putin still has a cold-war mentality? >> i think the point the president was making is our relationship with russia has been a roller coaster ride at times. there are places where we agree. obviously we made our concerns well known about edward snowden and their decision to supply temporary asylum, but we have areas where we agree and we need to continue to work together on -- north korea, iran, our drawdown in afghanistan, and that's the balance we're striking. >> senior administration officials say it was likely to be canceled anyway as well as syria, missile productions, you are on the obama presidential campaign 2012, and you all mocked mitt romney when he said this. >> this is without question our number one geopolitical foe. they fight every cause for the world's worst actors, the idea that he has more flexibility in mind for russia is very, very troubling indeed. >> didn't governor romney have a point about russia being if not the number one, at least a geopolitical foe, by your own accounts, the relationship in some trouble? >> it's also important to know that secretary kerry is still meeting with his counterpart on friday, because it is such an important relationship. the decision made around the summit on -- that was supposed to be in september had a number of factors. of course snowden was a factor, but there were discussions even before that about whether progress would jump over the bar or pass the bar here to warrant a presidential-level meeting. secretary kerry is hoping to continue the conversation. issues where we agree, issues where we disagree, and maybe there will be a summit in the future, but it wasn't the time to do it in september. >> i want to talk about the olympics and some comments that the president made last night concerns the antigale laws that russia has passed recently, especially when it comes to the olympics. how far is the president willing to go when it comes to his concerns about how gale and lesbian athletes might be treated in russia? >> well, i think the president's statement last night speaks for itself. the fact that issues for gale -- are human rights issues, and there's a more obligation to take that into. >> caller: with susha, it certainly will be a discussion on friday and is always a part of the discussion. i think the president was making the point that we all feel as a. go, which is that lbgt issues are human rights issues and they should be high on the docket of conversation. >> but still no boycott on that issue or any of the other issues that u.s. has with russia. >> no one is suggesting that from the government, but we do believe we need to continue to make our concerns heard, voice them publicly and privately, and we'll continue to do that. >> we have a lot of other parts of the world i want to get to, but we're out of time. thank you very much. >> thanks, jake. it's been more than two years than since the disaster at fukushima nuclear plant. the prime minister abe is ordering the government to intervene and help tepco with the cleanup. not a bad idea, consideration an estimated 300 tons of highly radioactive water is gushing out of facility every day and seeping into the pacific ocean. this is the first time the government has stepped in to help tepco deal with the problem. right now it's not clear how much contamination the water is doing. coming up t. a firefighters who died trying to save others, his widow now says she's getting the cold shoulder. later, marijuana for sale steps from the capitol. why isn't the federal government doing anything to stop it? stay with us. at's why there's oe to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health. but you had to leave rightce to now, would you go? world, ocuvite. man: 'oh i can't go tonight' woman: 'i can't.' hero : that's what expedia asked me. host: book the flight but you have to go right now. hero: (laughs) and i just go? this is for real right? this is for real? i always said one day i'd go to china, just never thought it'd be today. anncr: we're giving away a trip every day. download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us. expedia, find yours. "that starts with one of the world's most advancedy," distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart"