Transcripts For CNNW Wolf 20150224

Service truck. That was separated in the collision with this commuter train. The driver, according to Ventura County fire fled the scene and was taken into custody about a mile away. Uncertain if he had any injuries. You were talking about this collision and the injuries. From what we understand in talking to the Fire Department four were immediate or critical had to be transported to a nearby hospital. There were nine others who were treated right there on seen at the triage unit they had set up. Those moderate or delayed injuries ranging from broken bones to fractures to severe cuts to head trauma. And 15 other people suffered minor injuries. The fire officials here stressing that they think it was somewhat of a miracle that so far there have been no fatalities. Of course, those four with immediate or critical injuries not out of the woods yet. Firefighters also reckoning with a serious fire on scene. Diesel fuel everywhere some of it possibly coming from that truck that was separated. And as you look at the scene, the metrolink cars did not crumple up on themselves or break open. They stayed intact. This may have reduced the total amount of injury. They had put a lot of safety and impact measures in place after that horrific chatsworth accident. This train, according to officials here, is what they would call a pusher. If you look at the video or the aerial pictures youll see the engine is in the back. So it was moving this train toward los angeles. One estimate is it was about a mile or two miles from the last stop. This is not a place where its going to exceedingly fast. One estimate it was going 50 or 60 miles an hour when it collided with this truck, wolf. You can see the mangled wreckage here as well of the truck that it hit, separated in two spots. The main part of the truck burned up completely in that fire and the tractor laying on its side. It looks like there were five cars detached and you can see clearly two of them are laying on their side. We should also note they took 51 people in all off the train. And 23 of them were looked over and considered uninjured. They were put on a nearby bus and all of these people will of course be interviewed to see if they can shed any light on why this happened here in oxnard. Very very rural area right through here wellknown for its agri business. You could see people working in fields getting all the produce together. Thats why theres a lot of these type of trucks in this area. Was that truck in the intersection there where the rails were the truck was just stopped in the middle of an intersection . Is that the suspicion, paul . Reporter exactly, wolf. They believe that somehow this truck got stopped on the tracks in this very busy intersection. You eyeball it from right here. The markings are there. Rail crossing the red flashing lights there are crossing guards there are signs, do not stop on track. So somehow some way this truck got through there right here at fifth street and rice in oxnard and was on the track. One report from Ventura County fire is the engineer was able to try to slam on some sort of brakes and minimize the impact. Perhaps that helping to save countless lives in this collision. And for some reason the driver of that truck simply ran away. He was picked up as you point out, about a mile or so from this intersection. Stand by, paul. Joining us on the phone is the fire investigator for the city of oxnard, joe garsis. Thanks very much for joining us. What can you tell us about the cause of this horrific train crash . Like paul was saying we have five cars total that were derailed. Three are on their side. And they are all intact. What we have heard from the initial reports from the Oxnard Police department, the lead investigating agency right now, is that the driver was unfamiliar with the area. Hes a produce service out of yuma, arizona. He drove onto the tracks mistaking the wide tracks for the turn onto the next highway. So he drove approximately 50 yards on the track where he then got stuck. The driver is being cooperative. He was taken to one of the local hospitals just to be looked over. And at this time he is not under arrest or in police custody. But the investigation is continuing. And i assume when the train hit that truck, that metrolink train, when it hit the truck, he was already out of the truck, right . He was not in the truck upon impact . Yes that is true. He had left the truck and when he saw that the train was coming he had, according to him, he had fled the area. Did he explain why he fled the scene . At this time no we dont have that information. But he has been extremely cooperative. He is not suspected of being under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. And hes being tended to at a local hospital. Joe, this occurred about 5 30 a. M. Pacific time, your time. So i assume it was still dark outside and so maybe this driver was simply confused about that intersection, is that the suspicion . Yes, that is the suspicion. From where he made the righthand turn the controlled crossing arms he turned around the first one and didnt go around the second onto the main highway. So clearly something has to be done to make sure theres no more confusion down the road. I know youre not in charge of the ntsb the National Transportation safety board, but if there was a blunder like this, assuming it was simply a blunder at 5 30 in the morning while its still dark you have to do better the metrolink, the rails, they have to do a better job making sure that this doesnt happen again. I think youll agree with me . Well, i cant speak to that. Like you said, that is for engineers and Traffic Control to figure those things out. But what we do know is that he did admit to turning actually onto the tracks in the mistake that he thought he was turning onto the road. And fortunately, joe, just want to repeat no fatalities but a lot of injuries. Yes. Zero fatalities and the four critically injured were taken to our local Trauma Center at ventura, california. And i know at this point, one has been admitted to the icu and were waiting for further update on the conditions of the remaining critical. Joe, good luck to you. Thanks very much for all the help. We appreciate it. Good luck to all the folks out there in oxnard in california, just outside of los angeles. Well get back to this story as new information comes in. But up next theres a huge fight here in washington, d. C. Over the funding of the u. S. Department of Homeland Security. A lot is at stake if they dont get the money funded by the end of this week dhs partially will be forced to shut down. Well be joined by to members of the house of representatives in just a moment. You total your brand new car. Nobodys hurt,but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had a Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. I guess they dont want you driving around on three wheels. Smart. New car replacement is just one of the features that come standard with a base Liberty Mutual policy. And for drivers with accident forgivness,rates wont go up due to your first accident. Learn more by calling switch to Liberty Mutual and you can save up to 423. For a free quote today,call Liberty Mutual insurance at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. The clock is ticking here in washington, d. C. On friday funding for the u. S. Department of Homeland Security technically runs out. Senate republicans failed to get a bill through that would have kept the money flowing but thats because they tied the funding to a measure that would negate president obamas executive order on Immigration Reform. Heres the California Democratic senator Barbara Boxer on the senate floor just a little while ago. This is what this party, the grand old party, the gop, this is what they have brought. But they can get out of it in five minutes. Speaker boehner can pass a funding bill. It will pass in a heartbeat. Send it over here well pass it well turn to immigration and have it out on that subject. I think its worthy of a debate. But you dont hold an important funding bill hostage to that debate. It is ridiculous unnecessary, destructive and cruel. Most observers believe whats called a clean bill is the only thing that will clear the senate given the democrats opposition to linking any measure to immigration. But it may not necessarily get done by the deadline which is this friday. Joining us now from capitol hill, two members of the house of representatives, Wisconsin Republican congressman sean duffy, Michigan Democratic congressman dan kilde. My assumption is that by friday midnight even earlier, the senate will pass whats called a clean bill. It will go to the house of representatives without any direct attachment to immigration, what the president wants to do on Immigration Reform. What will happen in the house of representatives . Youre an optimist, wolf hold on one second. I think that was josh earnest that we got a technical issue. Let me start again. Sean duffy, assuming it passes a clean bill in the senate whats going to happen in the house of representatives . What were going to do is something simple. Were going to say, lets fund the security of our homeland make sure all the money is there to make sure al qaeda or russia or china, no one can attack us here. But were not funding something that has nothing to do with Homeland Security which is the president s executive overreach. So when i heard Barbara Boxer and others make comments that were not passing a clean bill the fact is we are passing a clean bill that funds Homeland Security until the end of the fiscal year, which is the right thing to do. What i dont understand is why democrats are saying we have to have the funding of the president s executive overreach in exchange for funding Homeland Security. That doesnt make sense. The president 22 times said he couldnt do this. The courts have agreed he cant do it. And in our funding package we didnt give him the money for executive amnesty. Congressman kilde, explain why you disagree with your republican colleague. I dont think its proper for the congress to use the appropriations process, use the essential funding to an important division of federal government in order to exact from either the president or democrats in congress that which they are not willing to submit to the legislative process. A simple fix would be to fund Homeland Security as congressman duffy said fund that essential service and then bring to the floor of the house of representatives and the Senate Comprehensive Immigration reform. Lets deal with the question of immigration but deal with it in its own context. If we want to talk about overreach, overreach is using a threat of the shutdown of an important set of government responsibilities in order to exact concessions from the president or from democrats in congress. That to me is not acceptable. Let me get back hold on a second. Lets get back to the original question. Congressman duffy, if i know you think its optimistic. But say the senate does pass whats called a clean funding bill for the department of Homeland Security. If it comes without immigration attached to it what will happen in the house of representatives . Will you vote under those circumstances to keep the department of Homeland Security running . Listen ive already voted once to keep the department of Homeland Security running and ill vote again to keep it running. But im not going to vote to fund the president s executive amnesty. I dont think thats right but in this new legislation, assuming it gets to you, there wont be any mention whatsoever of Homeland Security of immigration, which as you also note is under judicial review right now, for all practical purposes its stopped. That could come into play in our conference. But we have to understand that the house per our constitution has the power of the purse. So we have no obligation to Fund Executive amnesty that comes from the president or any of the president s wishes that come out of the white house. We have the power of the purse. And those duly elected members of the congress should hash that out. We need to get Immigration Reform done. But we are not funding the president s executive amnesty but we will fund Homeland Security. Thats a very important distinction. Whats hard for democrats is how do you shut down Homeland Security funding important agencies in exchange for saying were not going to allow the children to congressman kildee . Thats not the position the democrats or the president is taking. We can fund Homeland Security. We can do it today. We can do it this afternoon with a clean bill that does not try to direct the president or legislate that which the congress ought to legislate. And that is immigration policy. This is notnt about funding his executive order. This is about funding an essential function of government. And then congress should legislate on these Big Questions of immigration policy. But for whatever reason we have not seen the speaker bring comprehensive Immigration Reform that which passed the senate in the last congress to the floor of the house. I believe we should do that. But note we didnt bring it up in the last congress and we won a historic majority in the house. Bring it up now. We should. But the larger view is lets make sure we keep Homeland Security funded. We can have this debate about immigration further down the road when we have more time. But dont hold Homeland Security hostage because you want to Fund Executive amnesty. We have to end it. But for all practical purposes congressman duffy, what the president wants to do with these 4 million or 5 million undocumented immigrants right now, thats not happening because a texas federal judge says it has to be put on hold. Theyre going to seek some reviews. Theyre going to the fifth Circuit Court in new orleans. But for all practical purposes the president isnt able at least for the time being, to do what you want to do. Isnt it more important to keep the department of Homeland Security going rather than taking a principled position if you will . But, wolf that could buy us some short time whats happened in the courts. But, again, we have taken the right position which is fund Homeland Security. We need democrats to do that with us and save the debate on immigration for a later date. Dont hold the safety of the country hostage. We have to leave it there. But i know whats going to happen supposedly in the house of representatives if the senate does pass this clean bill. Nobody wants to see the department of Homeland Security shut down. The deadline is friday at midnight. Guys good luck to both of you. Good luck to everyone up on capitol hill because lots at stake for american Homeland Security right now. Its a critically important issue. Appreciate both of you spending a few moments with us. Thank you very much. Isis has reportedly kidnapped another group of christians, including women and children. Were going live to the middle east. Well hear the terrifying account of what happened to these christian civilians. Also, the United States has been sending millions of dollars in weapons to iraq including machine guns mineresistant vehicles. How will they be used in the fight against isis . We have new information. Stay with us. My name is daniel i have diabetic nerve pain. The pain felt like my feet were on fire. I had these very burning. Needlelike sensations. I knew i needed to see a doctor. My doctor said lets try lyrica. Lyrica has helped relieve my pain. Its known that. Diabetes damages nerves. Lyrica is fdaapproved to treat diabetic nerve pain. Lyrica is not for everyone. It may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. 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Plus for a limited time, get a Free Security camera call 1800 xfinity or visit comcast. Com xfinityhome. Disturbing information coming in to cnn. It appears isis militants have now abducted another group of christians. A Monitoring Group says 90 syrian christians including women and children were taken from two villages in the Northeastern Province of syria. Police in spain say they have arrested four people suspected of recruiting for isis. Theyre accusing them of having meetings with potential recruits and showing them isis videos. Meantime the new u. S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is back from his trip to the middle east where he convened an antiisis war Council Meeting in kuwait. Only moments ago, the president of the United States president obama, welcomed the amir of qatar to the white house and they spoke to reporters. We also had an opportunity to discuss a wide range of other areas where theres significant turmoil, libya, yemen. And i think had a significant meeting of the minds in our shared belief that the more that we can work with all the countries in the region to try to find Political Solutions to problems the more that we can reduce sectarian tensions in the regions and isolate violent extremists the more effective we can be. And we also had a very useful discussion around iran and the negotiations that are currently taking place to try to reduce the possibility of iran obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Those negotiations are ongoing. I gave the amir an update and assured him that our goal here is to be able to verify that iran does not have a Nuclear Weapon and that we will continue to press iran on some of its other actions in the region that often have a destabilizing effect recognizing however that we would greatly prefer to be able to resolve some of histhese issues diplomatically. And i know that doha agrees. I believe his highness has a deeper understanding of the United States concerns around these issues and our interests. I emphasized to him that ultimately what the United States wants to see for all of the middle east and all of north africa is circumstances in which peace and security prevail and that people particularly young people have the opportunity to learn, to get educated and to succeed in this modern economy. Qatar is an extraordinary example of that partly because its been blessed by Natural Resources but also because its made good decisions about how to develop its economy. And hopefully that kind of prosperity can be spread more widely in the years to come. And i look forward to being a partner with qatar and making that happen. Your highness, thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. President , thank you very much for having me in the white house. Im very happy to be here. Im not going to repeat what we said, mr. President. But things that i really want to say is how important the relation between qatar and the United States of america and how to develop this strategic relations that we have. You mentioned we have a strong relationship in military and security and we have an excellent relationship in education and other things as well. As we mentioned before, we are investing in this country. We believe in the economy of this country and the future of this country. So this is something very important as well for us. We are all concerned whats going on in our region. You mentioned the countries that we spoke about. Yes, we are concerned about it. Were concerned as well about the terror groups in our region. I think we all share the same view. The reason why those terrorist groups are growing in our region and we have to make sure that to solve this problem, were all fighting terrorism and make sure that the reason why this happened doesnt happen again. It happened years ago and its happening again now. We mentioned about the situation in palestine and about the Peace Process and what is the best for palestine and it is an important subject in the middle east. And we have to find a solution for palestine. And im happy to learn and to hear from you that youre committed to finding this Peace Process in palestine. I dont want to take you mentioned everything, mr. President , so thank you very much. Im very happy to be here, sir. Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, guys. So there you see it the president of the United States and the amir of qatar in the oval office at the white house. Obviously both pleased by their meeting. The president earlier also said the United States and qatar have in his words, a very Strong Security relationship. He mentioned the fact that qatar hosts a lot of u. S. Military personnel at two military bases in qatar. Weve heard that many times before. So this is a very important relationship between the United States and qatar. Theres new information coming in. Syrian christians have now been kidnapped by isis. We have new information on that. Well take a quick break. Full analysis of what we just heard and a lot more news right after this. My body of proof. Proof of less joint pain. And clearer skin. This is my body of proof that i can fight Psoriatic Arthritis from the inside out. With humira. Humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage and clear skin in many adults. Doctors have been prescribing humira for nearly 10 years. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers including lymphoma have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Visit humira. Com and talk to your rheumatologist. Humira. This is a body of proof welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer reporting from washington. Were following this disturbing story, the capture of those christians in northern syria. It follows the capture and killing of egyptian christians earlier this month in neighboring libya. Cnns Becky Anderson is joining us now from abu dhabi with more. What do we know about the fate of those 80 or 90 syrian christians who apparently were just kidnapped by these isis fighters . Reporter the details are very sketchy. Isis militants abducted as you rightly point out some 90 syrian christians. The actual numbers, a little bit difficult to pin down at this point. But we are talking women, children and the elderly from two villages in northeastern syria. This information coming to us from a variety of organizations, the londonbased syrian observatory for human rights said quote, reliable sources overheard isis militants talking on wireless devices about having detained what they called 56 crusaders, at least, in one village alone. Now, youll be aware that isis or daesh, has attacked numerous minority groups during this bloody campaign. This summer isis overran the city of carakosh in northern iraq, about 20 miles southeast of mosul. At the time isis issued an ultimatum to christians living there, convert to islam, pay a fine or face death by sword. The latest reported abduction occurred in the northeastern corridor of syria with the focus activists telling us being the syriandominated region of tamir. Its quite a complicated sort of picture on the ground. This video i want to show you now shows some of those who fled the village after this abduction. Displaced families who have found refuge at st. Marys cathedral cathedral in the town of hasakah. Another seemingly horrific crime at the hands of isis militants, targeting what are these minority groups already displaced, disenfranchised by war and conflict. These christians are in deep deep trouble in syria and iraq and elsewhere in that part of the world. Becca anderson in abu dhabi, thanks very much. Cnn has learned the United States has been shipping millions of dollars worth of weapons to iraq. These are weapons that could be used in the fight to try to take back the iraqi city of mosul from these isis fighters. Our chief National Security correspondent jim sciutto is following these developments for us. What kind of weapons are we talking about . These are mostly light weapons, 10,000 m16 weapons scopes that put a red dot on a target as well as ammunition magazines. So mostly light weapons. But things youll need in a potential urban combat assault on mosul. Its not the first round. Earlier in january, the u. S. Sent them a bunch of mraps the uparmored mineresistant vehicles as well as hail fire missiles. Its continuing arming relationship. And the iraqis need these and have been asking for a long time. Whos paying for these weapons . You and me are. The u. S. Taxpayers. Why are american taxpayers paying for these weapons shipped to iraq . A lot of these weapons may wind up in the hands of isis if past experience is any example. They simply ran away from mosul, left their u. S. Supplied weapons. Keep in mind this 17 million figure is dwafrfed by the cost of the u. S. Led coalition. You have this major air campaign under way, some 3,000 u. S. Military advisers are authorized to go into iraq not quite there yet. But the cost to the u. S. Taxpayer getting into the billions of dollars. And a couple of years after we pulled out from the trilliondollar war. Just as were back in militarily as a country, were very much back in financially. And we just heard from the emir of qatar who was in the oval office with the president of the United States. This relationship between qatar and the u. S. Assuming it works well could be very significant. But there is a deep suspicion, as you know that qatar is also providing some funding indirectly to some of these terror groups. Thats the thing you hear. And thats a real concern going back to some of the extremist forces. Ive spoken to qatar officials about that. They deny that they intentionally funded these groups. But thats been a question. Beyond that there are things the qataris want from the u. S. Qatar is not flying Strike Missions in the campaign because they say they dont have strike aircraft from the u. S. And they want a broader regional strategy to confront isis including outside iraq and syria. And people dont necessarily realize the u. S. Has up to 9,000 military personnel in qatar right now at the air base camp. Its a Major Military staging point for the United States in that part and a very long runway key for flying Strike Missions. Much more on this story coming up later. Officials call it a purely criminal act. An american missionary working to educate children horizontal now been kidnapped in nigeria. Were going live to the region for details. You total your brand new car. Nobodys hurt,but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had a Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. I guess they dont want you driving around on three wheels. Smart. New car replacement is just one of the features that come standard with a base Liberty Mutual policy. And for drivers with accident forgivness,rates wont go up due to your first accident. Learn more by calling switch to Liberty Mutual and you can save up to 423. For a free quote today,call Liberty Mutual insurance at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. An update now on the search of those three missing british teenage girls who ran away to turkey. Police now believe the three girls have actually crossed from turkey into syria. Its feared they were trying to get to syria to join isis. The girls, two of them 15 years old, one 16 years old, they disappeared about a week ago. Were just hearing word that an American Woman working as a missionary in nigeria has been kidnapped. Police say five men scaled the walls of her workplace on monday and they quote, whisked her away. It happened in an area located away from where the Terror Group Boko Haram operates. Cnns arwa damon is joining us now from neighboring chad. Arwa what do we know about this very Disturbing Development . Reporter well this woman, reverend Phyllis Sortor was running an ngo that helped nomadic fulani children. Two of the five men who scaled the wall were mask md. They whisked her away to the nearby mountains firing into the air. At this stage, the Police Commissioner of kogi state says they believe this is a control act. However, the concern is because this group has demanded 300,000 in ransom they could end up selling her onto the highest bidder. Do they suspect boko haram even though this is an area that is not necessarily in boko harams reach . Reporter its not in boko harams reach, wolf at least not at this junction in time. This area is south of abuja, around 200 kilometers to the south, say over 100 miles. But it is an area where a few years ago, boko haram did manage to stage a massive prison breakout of their own fighters. Since then the nigerian authorities have put checkpoints into place, making it quite difficult for boko haram fighters to assess it. However, we spoke to a nigerian intelligence source who says another terrorist organization that is something of a spinoff from boko haram, they remain loose ties does have cells in this particular state. Its ties to boko haram have been significantly diminished. But, again, the concern is that since this does seem to be a highly sophisticated criminal act, it could be that this gang does have the intent if this ransom isnt paid to capitalize on the fact that they do have a western hostage and potentially pass her on to an organization sell her on to an organization like boko haram. Horrendous story. Arwa, thanks very much. Theres a mystery over the skies of paris right now. Drones over major landmarks in the city. What is going on . We have details. Rmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrma. Checking your credit score is for chumps. I have great credit. 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You still own your home. Take control of your retirement today lets get back to todays terrorrelated developments and bring in for some serious analysis our intelligence and security analyst, former cia operative, bob baer joining us from colorado and from new york our cnn Global Affairs analyst bobby ghosh. Guys, thanks very much for joining us. Bob baer this relationship the United States has with qatar and we saw the president and the emir in the oval office a little while ago, both praising this relationship saying its great. But as you know theres deep suspicions here in washington and in the arab world that theres money that goes somehow from qatar to fund some of these terror groups including isis, right . Absolutely, wolf. Look, heres the problem. Khalid Sheikh Mohamed used to work for the qatar government. We know qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood in egypt, syria and other countries. A lot of that money supposedly filters down to the Islamic State, which ideologically is not that far from the violent wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. And i think that lets remember, qatar is a wahabi country, they believe in the ultimate establishment of a caliphate of some sort. If this money continues to go in it wouldnt surprise its probably been cut way back because of what the Islamic State has become. Theres certainly that suspicion is well grounded. Bobby, you want to weigh in on this sensitive issue . I think at the early stages of the uprising of bashar assad in 2011 there was a lot of money going in from qatar to anybody who would fight against assad. Some of that money wouldnt surprise me turns up in the hands of isis. But i think since then since isis sort of broke out and became this universally recognized group, i think theres been some more restraint from qatar. Lets also remind ourselves, whatever the amounts that went in from qatar, the very high likelihood that the amount that went in from saadudi arabia was much, much larger. Its not just qatar we have to worry about. Its many of americas allies in the middle east. Whats also worrisome today, bob, another 90 syrian christians kidnapped by isis forces in syria. Explain whats going on here. What are they after . Well what theyd like to do ultimately is drive the christians out of syria. The syrian christians the people who had been kidnapped in eastern syria, have traditionally been allied with the minority shia regime in damascus. So theyre very much tainted in this civil war in syria. Very much considered the enemy, if you like. And the fact theyre calling them crusaders makes me worry about their fate. Remember these people have been there before. Islam in that part of the world. It would be a true tragedy if the christians were run out of the middle east. Remember bobby, these are women and children elderly people not just men who are fighters. They kidnapped 90 christians and we dont know what theyre going to do with them. Indeed. They kidnap people for all kind of reasons. For ransom thats a big source of income for isis. But unfortunately, we have also seen those gruesome videos of the other things they do with the people they kidnap. The hope is that because these people were taken from a region that is run essentially by syrian kurds that are already fighting against isis the hope is that these kurdish militias backed by u. S. Military might be able to affect some kind of rescue mission. One can only hope thats true. If these people remain in isis hands for a very long time those hopes will begin to fade and the worst scenarios can then play out. Lets hope for the best for these christians in syria. Bobby, thanks very much. Bob, thanks to you as well. Meanwhile, theres that mystery over the skies of paris. Police are investigating the sighting of at least five drones over wellknown landmarks, including the eiffel tower, the u. S. Embassy. All the drones were spotted flying between midnight and 6 00 a. M. Paris time. Police in france say they have no clue who flew them or why, but they say theyre investigating. Coming up the head of the department of Veterans Affairs here in the United States is publicly apologizing for something he said about his military record. The controversy, the potential fallout, thats next. The Veterans Affairs department here in the United States already facing enough problems now the man who runs the department has had to admit he embellished his resume a bit, saying he served with the u. S. Special force when is he did not. Secretary Robert Mcdonald made the claim during a conversation with a homeless veteran. You happen to be a veteran . Really . Army navy . Army what unit . Special forces. Special forces . What years . I was in special forces. Our Susan Malveaux has been watching the story for us. He really wasnt in special forces. Hes apologizing. The question is whether or not this is going to be enough for people to take here. This is what were seeing here. Veteran Affairs Secretary mcdonald is doing some serious damage control since this all broke. Hes holding a press conference in 90 minutes, which were going to attend to try to explain his actions, i assume apologize again. He got caught lying on camera during a cbs story on the Veterans Affairs efforts to address this serious homeless problem in the veteran community. Well a homeless vet told mcdonald he had served in the most elite units of the armed forces the special forces and you saw his response. He said he, too, was in special forces. Turns out he completed army ranger training, graduated, but was never assigned to a baa battalion or special ops unit. Instead, he served in the 82nd airborne until his retirement. He fessed up immediately, said what he said was wrong. He went on to release a statement saying he incorrectly stated he had been in special forces. I have Great Respect for those who have served our nation in special forces. They and all veterans serves a department that provides in the care and benefits theyve earned. I remain committed to continuing our progress to improve va services. The white house seems to be quite committed, at least for now, saying they accept the apology, they would like to move on. We heard from the American Legion today as well. They say, well, you know it was an unfortunate choice of words. A lie is a lie. There is some mistrust here that hes going to have to rebuild on that trust. So the two things hes doing today, meeting with us in about an hour or so to explain himself again, and hes also meeting with the American Legion this afternoon. So well see if all of this how it shakes out and whether or not they can survive this. At least he immediately apologized came clean. Hes trying to get in front of this. And youre heading to the department of Veterans Affairs to attend this news conference. Well see what happens. Thanks very much. Thats it for me. Ill be back 5 00 p. M. Eastern in the situation room. Newsroom with ana cabrera starts right now. Good afternoon. Im ana cabrera in for brooke baldwin. We begin with a scary scene for morning commuters in Southern California and an investigation thats intensifying right now. At least 28 people are hurt after a metro link passenger train collided with a truck just before 6 00 this morning. Five cars derailed three of which could be seen as youre watching these pictures. Theyre lying on their sides. Now, this wreck happened between the cities of oxnard and camarillo while heading south to los angeles. A charred skeleton is all thats left of the truck. Remarkably no one was killed in this crash. Cnn has also learned that the driver of that produce truck involved was not injured. But he left the scene. He has since been