play into the fact the house probably won t flip? there are a lot of reasons and gerrymandering is one because republicans for the first time in decades had their hand on the pen drawing the maps. but also a population sorting. democrats tend to live in urban areas and college towns concentrated. and republicans are more spread out. and that helps that works in there as well. this weekend we saw senator ted cruz out. we had a rock star reception in texas. also hillary clinton out. does ted cruz have a shot at getting enough support to actually be a general election candidate? does he have broad enough appeal and hillary clinton, what were you takeaways this weekend? i think democrats are on their knees praying every night that ted cruz is the republican nominee. in a big field of four or five republican candidates, ted cruz can come in first and second. but when that field narrows down, the question is, can he do it? that s a little tougher.
the law is working. otherwise it s just been a difficult law politically, focusing on the politics of it, politically to sell to a public that remains skeptical about the efficacy. let s turn to ted cruz, he s going to have a big welcome home event in houston. he got a rock star reception this weekend. he certainly has been a divisive figure in washington but not the case in his home state. it seems like ted cruz is angling for potential 2016 run. i wrote something about a week ago now, all blurs together, but something the headline was how ted cruz won and the republican party lost. i do think with the shutdown. and i do think ultimately ted cruz, if you re looking at winning a republican presidential nomination, ted cruz did himself a lot of good. he is received as a rock star. he will continue to be received
first to moscow where nsa leaker edward snowden has not left the airport but the u.s. is trying to coax him out offering him a passport so he can return home and telling russia he won t face the death penalty. cnn s phil back is at the moscow airport. reporter: when edward sn snowden s attorney comes here he will enter this door and thought during the week snowden would come with him and it hasn t. snowden s application here, after almost five weeks he has no choice but to continue waiting somewhere in the transit snow. they say he is passing his time by reading russian literature. the pope will celebrate mass in a couple of hours. we have been following the pope and his rock star reception.
pope francis faces multiple challenges during his visit to brazil. security has been an issue so far, and the real task looms to make sure the most populous catholic country is keeping the faith in the eyes of the vatican. religious correspondent lauren green has more. reporter: even with a rock star reception, pope francis arrival for world youth day got off to a bumpy start. last night s protests at the presidential palace forced the pope to leave the reception by helicopter. earlier, a driver s wrong turn put them on a street, and they reached the pope s open window. brazilian authorities found a homemade explosive device in a
a u.s. military commander describes challenges such a meeting presents. i have to make sure they understand that i trust them as much as they re supposed to trust me. peace talks begin, afghan forces have taken over responsibility for security in the country. president obama topping off the european visit with a speech in berlin today. not getting the rock star reception he received as a senator five years ago. abc s mary bruce traveling with the president. reporter: president obama today will deliver a speech at the historic brandenburg gate, 50 years after president kennedy s famous ich bin ein berliner speech at the same site. the gate famed for big political statements has become a symbol of berlin reunification since divisions of the cold war. kennedy gave his remarks facing west. today, president obama will address the opposite side speaking to what once was communist east germany. the president has visited the city before in what has become one of the most famous image