podium, and houthi rebels responding to the new maritime protection force. sandra: great to be with you, john, this is america reports . houthi rebels have been attacking commercial ships in the red sea forcing u.s. navy ships to engage in a firefight. the new force is expected to play defense, patrolling the waters and offering protection. but the houthis now say the u.s. is violating international law. chief national correspondent, jennifer griffin live at the pentagon with the new response from the houthi rebels. not just the houthis but iran is responding to the new maritime task force, hours after the defense department announced a new maritime task force to protect the red sea, iran s islamic revolutionary guard corps announced it has a new voluntary unit to carry out its military operations at sea near the strait of hormuz. according to a top commander, local sailors will be allowed to carry out missiles on vessels armed with rockets. secretary austin announced th
remind you, this is not just a u.s. issue. it s this is an international problem and deserves an international response. john: so, what does that response look like and will the u.s. lead it? hello, john roberts in washington, here we go for another hour. sandra: sandra smith in new york, this is america reports . shooting down drones and missiles in the red sea, troops in the middle east are on high alert. john: new attacks on u.s. bases ins iraq and syria, that brings the total to 100 attacks since october 7th. right to the chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin live at the pentagon with more. early this morning cayman island flagged chemical shipping vessel issued a distress call, a houthi attack drone had struck the tanker. 11th attack on international shipping in the red sea since the gaza conflict began. the same u.s. navy destroyer, u.s.s. carney, who released this video two weeks ago showing it intercepting houthi missiles and drones in seve
transition to a more targeted campaign in gaza to reduce civilian casualties. the defense chief said he discussed pathways after hamas. the pentagon chief is also taking up houthi rebels on red sea shipping which he says must stop and he is urging other countries to publicly condemn the aggression. lloyd austin is attending a red sea security summit in bahrain which is one of the countries taking part in a new u.s.-led initiative to keep the waterway safe. houthi sources took responsibility for attacks monday on two commercial vessels they claim are linked to israel. all countries have the right to move freely and lawfully in international waters. but that foundational global right is under new threat today from the totally unacceptable attacks on merchant vessels by the houthis in yemen. that is endangering our common prosperity and the lives of innocent mariners. and these reckless houthi attacks are a serious international problem and they demand a firm international
though there have been varying reports on the number of casualties. the us geological survey says the quake had a magnitude of 5.9. chinese state media is also reporting that some water, electricity and road networks are damaged. a second quake struck neighbouring xinjiang hours later on tuesday. the damage from that 5.5 magnitude strike was not immediately clear. in a statement, chinese president xi jinping said: he has ordered full rescue efforts to gansu, one of the country s poorest regions. we ll bring you more details as they come in. now, international pressure is growing for israel to ease its military campaign in gaza. on monday, the us defense secretary was the latest to add his voice during talks with prime minister benjamin netanyahu and israel s war cabinet. the department of defense says mr austin underscored the need for concerted efforts to protect civilians and urged israel to plan for transitioning to the next phase of operations. his israeli counterpart sai
bret: okay. thanks, greg. greg: thank you. good evening, welcome to washington. i m bret baier. another record for migrant encounters as a federal appeals court puts a halt to the biden administration s plan to remove a barrier along that border. we will take you there live. sweaty palms among former associates of the late sex offender jeffrey epstein as their names could soon be made public. the latest on this. and remembering the first female justice on the u.s. supreme court tonight but, first, breaking tonight, on the heels of disappointing poll numbers across the board, worries among democrats that president biden could drag down the rest of the democratic party next november. white house correspondent jacqui heinrich has that as she starts us off tonight live from the north lawn, good evening, jacqui. good evening, bret. americans are upset about the state of the economy. and hunter biden s tax crimes put a spotlight on the president s messaging that things woul