0 you, i'll give you an exemption, that's illegal, not equal protection under the law. >> reporter: paul wants to defund the the affordable care act, but they say he and other obama care detractors need to get over it. >> it was passed and signed three years ago. it was upheld. the president was reelected. this is the law of the land. >> reporter: the president says he is open to changes that would improve the affordable care act, but he would face another effort to cut funding when congress returns from summer break next month. shannon? >> thank you very much. the battle over who in the federal government falls under obama care is the latest fight over the law and it is just beginning. critics say those that crafted the bill need to get a taste of their own medical plan. chief national correspondent jim angle has more. >> reporter: a republican amendment forced all lawmakers and their personal staff to be covered by obama care. one conservative says not making congress live under the law it passed would be ridiculous. >> it would be like going to a restaurant, saying this is a fine dining restaurant, but the chef doesn't want to eat the food he prepared for you. >> reporter: they offered to let lawmakers keep subsidies under the federal health plan. now republicans are asking a new question. if congress is subject to obama care, why aren't all the administration officials who are pushing other americans to sign up for the program? >> sure the administration ought to be in it. why shouldn't the administration participate in the exchanges. that doesn't make sense at all. >> reporter: one republican lawmaker asked the head of a key agency implementing that law that question. >> do you think all government employees, whether treasury, hhs, labor, opm, white house, that they should be subject to the same plans and premiums that our constituents are having to face? yes or no, would you support it? >> yes, i would support it. >> reporter: dave camp is trying to force all administration employees to be subject to obama care like other americans. fox asked health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius about it today. >> i have no problem with it. when congress wrote the original legislation, they put members of congress in, didn't change the federal employee health benefit plan. >> reporter: last year, they ruled even though lawmakers and staff go into the exchanges, they could get the 75% subsidy they now receive from the federal employee health plan, instead of the subsidies under obama care. some analysts say it helped congressional staffers who will lose federal insurance, including republicans who oppose the bill, but now stand to be punished by a law they're still fighting. >> if they don't get that contribution to their premium, their pay is effectively going down by say $10 year. the other issue is people are nervous how the exchanges will be. >> reporter: many lawmakers in both parties worry congressional staffers will be treated worse than other federal employees. but there's no sympathy for members of congress. republican is proposing a law to block the subsidies to lawmakers, saying they deserve no special treatment and should be treated like any other american who purchases insurance on the exchanges. shannon? >> we will talk about all these issues with the panel. thank you. >> yes, ma'am. retail sales up two-tenths of a% in july. stocks made modest gains. dow up 31, s&p 500 up 4, and nasdaq up 14. friends of joke ar tsarnaev pled not guilty. the two men accused of throwing away a laptop, fireworks and other things the day before his arrest. new reports that al qaeda in iraq is spreading in geography and influence. as national security correspondent jennifer griffin reports, the group changed its name and crossed the border into syria trying to win the people of a volatile, war torn region. >> reporter: amidst reports weapons from sudan are flying in to help the rebels, delay in support for the syrian opposition allowed al qaeda to move in. >> i think we have seen under the assad regime currently and the situation they created on the ground that they've given al qaeda and other extremists more room to maneuver. >> reporter: martin dempsey says the u.s. is reaching out to moderate syrian factions. i think we're in a better position than we were six months ago in that regard of understanding the various players and their motivations. many supporters of al qaeda, many fighters from europe flooded into syria to fight the assad regime. four months ago, al qaeda in iraq, the same group the u.s. military pursued for a decade in iraq set up a base in northeast syria, changed its name to islamic state of iraq. >> the u.s. departure has made it worse. big mistake to pull out special operations forces that had the ability to conduct targeted strikes against al qaeda elements. >> reporter: it is the kinder, gentler al qaeda which learned lessons of the iraq war, now luring children with candy and toys. researchers at the rand corporation created a map to show how al qaeda has spread and in the case of syria, most. >> what we have seen in syria is competition between two al qaeda elements, one is independent, wants to go to pakistan. another considers itself attached to al qaeda in iraq. there's been active fighting between those two strands of al qaeda that sit in syria. >> reporter: in yemen, u.s. officials can't confirm reports that the bomb maker was injured or killed by a u.s. drone overnight. he is the bomb maker who knows how to surgically implant bombs in human beings. officials say he remains at the top of their target list. >> jennifer griffin live at the pentagon, thank you. after the break, sweeping changes to voting laws some call a disaster. first we head outside the beltway to florida where wtvt is covering court appearance of three 15-year-olds in the beating of a teen on a school bus. in atlanta, a man that fell from the upper deck during last night's braves game, they say it appears it was an accident. live picture from kdfw in dallas. the big story, the antitrust suit to stop the merger of american airlines and us airways. it claims it would cut out competition and drive up prices for consumers. the airlines deny that. we will be right back. hey, it's me, progressive insurance. you know, from our 4,000 television commercials. yep, there i am with flo. hoo-hoo! watch it! 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