action, but that s just an instinct on the way we ve seen this president operate. nothing specific here. of course, anything that relates to military planning is always kept so close to the collective vest here. so we don t have any new insight that can be shared publicly on timing. we do expect a briefing today. that may give additional guidance, and it was notable that the one time we have seen the president on camera today, it was on a subject that is very serious. human trafficking, as he signed a bill. surrounded by victims and survivors of trafficking. not an easy setting in which to talk about other topics, but he declined to say anything more on syria or for that matter on paul ryan. we ve not seen the president giving anymore public hints or sort of direction or waving us off either, craig? hans, we heard from the secretary of defense, james mattis a few moments ago.
kelly o donnell at the white house for us. our pentagon correspondent, hans nichols standing by. cal perry and executive eder kevin barren. bill, start with you in beirut. we ve learned airlines re-routed flights away from the areas. there are reports of russian ship movements oust syrian ports. what can you tell us about what s happening in the region right now, and is there at this point an expectation of an imminent attack by the united states? reporter: good afternoon, craig. night has fallen here in the middle east, and once again all eyes are on the skies across syria and in damascus in particular where as one person put it today, you could cut the tension with a knife. there were clear signs today of more troop movements and signs that the number of air strikes across syria had dropped, suggesting that syria was moving