reporter: it is, gretchen. good afternoon. the amtrak officials are calling this new system an added layer of security, even as they insist their trains were essentially safe before this system was added. the system is called, as you say, positive train control or ptc. it allows a computer to seize control of the train if it s speeding along a curve where it shouldn t be or if the engineer controlling the train becomes disabled or distracted. along this busy northeast corridor, amtrak technicians completed installation of this system from new haven to boston some 15 years ago. and from washington to philadelphia earlier this month. as of this past weekend, it s now in operation on the stretch of track from new york to philadelphia. experts say had ptc been installed on that stretch back in may, when an amtrak derailment claimed eight lives and injured 200, that accident could have potentially been avoided in that case. the train was later determined to have been traveling at 102 mile
he wants close collaboration with the senate gop going forward. we also have the va scandal to talk about. there were a lot of people on the hill today who seem to not know the answer to any of the questions. it s the first time they had to do so. two officials were asked about maintaining higher salaries while taking lower responsibility jobs. one woman was asked about her move from va headquarters from washington to philadelphia and charging the taxpayers $274,000 in relocation assistance. the i.g. report concluded you used your position of authority for personal and financial benefit. what evidence do you have to dispute that conclusion? sir, i ve been advised by counsel to not answer that question to protect my rights under the fifth amendment of constitution. you had two high ranking
a nigerian family there addressing the pope. and boy, what a whirlwind day it has been for pope francis. the pontiff woke up in new york, but didn t stay long, departing for philadelphia around 8:30 this morning. the pope caught on camera hanging out in the cockpit during the flight. and then, there he goes, it s off to the cathedral basilica of saints peter and paul where he celebrated mass with oh, about 1,600 people. then after that the pope traveled to a seminary to greet about 100 men training to enter the priesthood. his holiness joined the group in singing happy birthday to archbishop charles chaput, then he moved on to philadelphia s
networks, everyone offering live coverage, we are clients of this pooled television feed. i was just going to say, and we will only get an inside view of madison square garden, when they are ready to give it to us. that is inside madison square garden. you see the altar there. just look at them. there s the floor plan where again the plan is for the pope to go around that perimeter with cardinal dolen on a golf cart. the youk riftic celebration is about to commence and we hear the loud speaker. don t forget, this is mass for the attendees. and then this pope is going to get a night s rest, i hope, for his sake. yes. doesn t head to philadelphia until tomorrow morning. he ll need a rest after this
concerns this weekend. security is tight in the united states and abroad for the american independence day celebrations. in the city of new york about 3 million people are expected to gather for events. officials say there has been chatter about terrorist threats for the holiday weekend, but nothing credible or specific. and around 700,000 visitors are expected in washington, d.c., which is another high-value target. our jim sciutto reports. reporter: in new york city today, ramped-up security ahead of fourth of july fireworks. the new york governor andrew cuomo, announcing new plans to enhance monitoring of celebrations across new york state. this is the new normal across the country, increased security at july 4th events from los angeles to washington to philadelphia. as communities big and small respond to an fbi bulletin warning of potential lone wolf attacks timed for the holiday weekend. we know a, that there are a lot of travelers, b,