right now. top of the hour. 8:00 a.m. on the east coast. president biden is giving a rare press conference last night talking about his highs stakes meeting with china's xi jinping and signaling a hostage deal could be coming soon in the israel/hamas war. biden says he has been deeply involved in the negotiations quote mildly hopeful. we will be joined by the family of a 3-year-old who is being held hostage in gaza right now. kaitlan collins speaking with joe manchin about his political future. she is going to join us with the details. and the pentagon's ufr chief is resigning. he says there are ufo sightings that could be the act of foreign adversaries or even aliens. we will get into it. this hour of "cnn this morning" starts now. new this morning, a shooting attack near jerusalem. israeli police say six israeli personnel were injured at a security checkpoint. the three attackers were shot and killed. getting a better picture of why the israel defense forces decided to execute that quote targeted operation at al shifa hospital. the pentagon says evidence shows that hamas and the palestinian islamic jihad were using hospitals to console their operations and hold hostages. no hostages were found in the operations. president biden seem optimistic the release of some people held by hamas could be coming soon. he to catch himself from divulging too much at that press conference last night. >> what i meant was i am doing everything in my power to get you out. coming to help you get you out. not sending military in to get them. is that what you thought i might mean? no, no, no, i was not talking about military. i am getting into too much detail. mr. secretary, i'll stop. but i am mildly hopeful. >> tension over the war in gaza spilling into the streets of washington, d.c. protesters last night demanding a ceasefire. they clash add with police outside of the dnc headquarters. top lawmakers inside the building, had to be evacuated. with us ger youshon baskin, hel negotiate the release of an israeli hostage captured by hamas in 2011. thanks for coming back to the program. when you hear this series of what sounded like hopeful remarks from the white house, john kirby, the president in that press conference last night, does it say anything to you that we're closer to this? >> i hope so. but i've learned over the years that hope isn't enough. we have to be very careful about these statements and what we know from them. there will be a deal when there's a deal. and even when there is a deal, until it's implemented we can't be huch sure there is a deal. it's so tricky and sensitive now and being handled at the highest levels. there are demands that both are making. they are impossible for both sides to get everything they want. for israel, there must be a deal that includes a significant amount of hostages because it will include concessions by israel such as a pause in the fighting or a ceasefire, which will require a redeployment of forces to more safe locations. it will probably require releasing prisoners from israel, some of them designated as perhaps dangerous prisoners. the easy parts are adding more humanitarian aid and fuel and other things. but these are very, very sensitive. hamas, of course, wants to hold on to as many hostages as possible and drag out the release as long as possible in the hope that international pressure will build on israel to end the war with hamas in power. >> we are showing pictures of the march ongoing. families of hostages, supporters of hostages. our reporter lieberman had been with them yesterday. the public pressure here, having within in kind of the -- been in the very complex and pressure-packed association that negotiators are in now, how much does the public pressure matter? >> it's building and it matters a lot because israeli politicians at the end of the day are politicians. and even if it seems they are detached from the people most of the time, they have to see the pressure of these families. their message is compelling. they are on television all the time, on radio telling the stories of infants, babies, children, elderly people, women being held hostage. 238 people. it's just unbearable to hear their stories and to know the pain that they are going through. and it impresses upon the politicians. but what hamas is asking for i am afraid there are very few politicians would agree to deliver what they are asking for. they are asking to empty the israeli prisons of all palestinian prisons, including many dangerous people, killed mean israelis. >> including who was released as part of the release you helped negotiate, right? to speak to people about how that agreement over 1,000 palestinian prisoners, including a leader of hauchl, to get one israeli soldier out nfts what is feasible now for hundreds. >> yeah, look, at the time that g he was release, those very same people who release are the ones who led the operation, the terrorist attack against israel on october 7th. they are the leaders of hamas. unfortunately, both the israelis and the palestinians were not wise enough to exploit the opportunity of releasing an israeli soldier from gaza at the time to change the nature of relations and everything that has gone on since then has led to the explosion that happened on october 7th. and there is nothing that can excuse the terrorism that hamas committed october 7th, but we have a reality here with two people living in this land fighting a battle for their lives for their right to exist and with when we don't resolve that conflict we end up with horrific violence that we have seen today. >> thank you as always for being with us. >> thank you. president biden meeting face to face with china's leader xi jinping at a time of multiple global crises, trying to ease tensions between themselves and prevent conflict as wars greige in ukraine and gaza. >> we are reassuming military-to-military contact, direct contacts as a lot of you press know follow this, that's been cut off. it's been worrisome. that's how accidents happen. misunderstandings. we are back to direct, open, clear, direct communication. we are restarting cooperation between the united states and prc and counternarcotics. so today with this new understanding, we are taking action to significantly reduce the flow of precurbser chemicals and pill pressers from china to the western hemisphere. >> after today, would you still refer to president xi as a dictator? a term you used earlier. >> look, he is. i mean, he is a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is -- [ inaudible ]. the old saying goes, trust but verify. we maintain the agreement that there is a one china policy and that -- i'm not going to change that. that's not going to change. >> any sort of deadline or timeframe or how long you are willing to support israel in this operation? >> i think it's going to stop when the -- when hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder and abuse and just do a horrific things to the israelis. you have a circumstance where the first war crime is being committed by hamas by having -- quarter of their military hidden under a hospital. and that's a fact. that's what's happened. y i'm working on how i can be helpful in getting the hostages released and have a period of time where there is a pause long enough to let that happen. can't tell you how long it's gonna last. but i can tell you, i don't think it will ind until there is a two-state solution. i need it clear to the israelis i think it's a big mistake for them to think they are going to occupy gaza and maintain gaza. >> joining us analyst david singer. good to is have you. we talked to you yesterday leading up to this and a lot of folks have said and the headlines this morning are sort of it's good they at least talked and our countries military to military are talking again. big picture? you noted xi said planet earth is big enough for both super.ers. is there an asterisk to that? >> the asterisk may be it's big enough, but the two sides are going to be fighting for larger parts of the planet. you know, it was a really fascinating day out there at this mansion south of san francisco because it really showed the changing power dynamic. you know, for 30 years when american presidents have been meeting chinese presidents, the chinese have had the benefit of six, seven, eight percent growth. they were clearly on the rise. and now all of a sudden president biden was dealing with president xi at a time of considerable or perhaps short-term weakness in china. president xi needed something, to show everybody back home he could manage the biggest relationship to -- for china as well. so you heard him complaining to president biden about the effectiveness of some of the technology cutoffs. you heard him make the case that the united states and china needed to get along well enough that investment from american companies could continue. and he made that case even stronger when he went to see chief executives of american companies, a big dinner here in san francisco, immediately after the summit. so all of a sudden xi jinping seemed a little bit on his back foot. >> to that point, he also, according to u.s. officials, complained about perceptions of china in the u.s., how it's covered, how lawmakers talk about it. to your point, it seemed a little sensitive for a world leader of a -- the number two power in the globe with a very large nuclear arsenal. does this -- is had for show, or do u.s. officials believe their theory is right, they have problems now, they are really shifting on this? >> so, phil, i don't think it's for show. i think it's for real. i think the real question is, is it lasting? right? what we've seen happen in the past few months is the chinese have suddenly can't wanted to re-engage. they have had the treasury secretary, janet yellen, over. they have had secretary of state blinken, who was there yesterday, along with yell nl. they had the commerce secretary, gina raimondo there. now they are going to begin to have the military talk again. they feel a need to show that they are re-engaging. i think bigger question is, has this just bought some time and that after their economy is recovered, are we, you know, back in contentious issues on taiwan, on the south china sea, on technology. i think one of the most hopeful things may be if they discuss a bit, and they are inch bing tha way, the increase in nuclear ars analysis and artificial intelligence. we didn't see much as there, but there is at least a channel opening up. >> yeah, you flagged that yesterday. they seem to allude to it yesterday without a lot of detail which i guess is understandable. we will wait for your reporting on it. david, thank you. >> great to see you guys. in gaza we continue to see death that is according to the u.n. humanitarian agency on wednesday. the u.n. security council adopted a resolution calling for a series of humanitarian pauses in gaza. we should note the united states, united kingdom and russia all on the security council abstained from that vote. many hospitals in gaza have run out of fuel. over 6,000 gallons of fuel have been allowed into gaza through the rafah crossing delivered to the u.n. relief and works agency. this is the first known delivery of fall since the siege on gaza and they say it is 9% of what is needed daily. for more information about how you can help cnn.com impact or text relief to 707070 to donate. sneer joe manchin telling our kaitlan collins he is considering a run for president next year. he says he won't be a spoiler if he chooses to run. video shows alec baldwin on the set of "rust" before the deadly shooting that killed the film's cinematographer. what it could mean for potential new charges in the case. and live pictures out of boston. a group of protesters demanding a ceasefire in gaza are trying to block rush hour traffic, demanding that democratic senator elizabeth warren use her influence to stop the fighting. more coverage after this. will not be seeking re-election, senator joe manchin won't say if he plans to leave the democratic party while he he was a presidential run. >> are you going to leave the democratic party? >> well, you know, i'm -- i don't know if i've ever -- i never considered myself a washington democrat. i have been a very independent person. i don't really think -- >> does that -- that sounds like you are leaving. >> no, you have a d or r by your name, shouldn't identify who you are. if you change who you are because you change you have a d, then you have an r, an i, people go back and forth. it's more for the person's political, i think, than more for who the person is. no matter what i have by me, i am an independent thinking, i vote independently and i have done that for 40 years. so we'll see. >> joining us is cnn anchor of "the source" who spoke to mansion directly, i think twisted him up a little bit there, kaitlan collins. it was a fascinating interview not just -- his views on the democratic party and the current state are fairly well known, whether or not he would stay in the party was a great question and i think he had some difficulty responding to and was thinking to in tremendously time. in terms of the third party run, after this conversation, what's your read? >> it's not clear that he has made up his mind. everyone seems to take away from those answers -- you know, a nonanimal is sometimes just as reve revealing as a direct answer. he is considering it. he talked about the timeline. he talked about knowing around march around super tuesday whether or not if there is viability for a third-party run. what struck me the most, he is concerned about a donald trump re-election. he says it would be the end of democracy as we know it. he talked about trump not respecting elections and the results unless he wins them. but the point that we made to him was that that's exactly the white house's concern. if he does run, it helps donald trump because trump has a firm base of support. obviously, president biden has a squishier base of support and the concern that votes would go to joe manchin -- >> could we play that? >> it's a fascinating part of it. listen to this. >> i think we lose democracy as we know it because he has no regard whatsoever for the rule of law, who we are as a country. basically, a transfer -- >> but that's the white house argument as well as to why they don't believe you should run, if you did you would take votes from biden and help re-elect donald trump. >> i am not going to be a spoil early. i am not looking for spoilers. i am looking for how we are going to govern this country from the middle. you can't run your life from the extreme. >> that is a genuine concern of his. he does believe the parties, as you know, phil, from being on the hill several years have become too polarized. that is an argument when you look at the poll numbers. people don't want a rematch between trump and biden. the question is where joe manchin fits in and what he does next given he was facing a challenging re-election if he was going to run in west virginia, decided not to pursue that, there wasn't an avenue for him to stay there. so that is a genuine concern of his. the question is what he is going to do about it. >> why is he so sure that if he does get in, it would not help trump? >> conventional wisdom and certainly what you hear from the white house and president biden's allies is they believe very certainly that it would be. trump's team believes that. one thing we talked about that was fascinating as well is senator mcconnell is part of his argument and allies argument to why trump should endorse jim justice his most formidable challenger in west virginia it would lead mansion to not run and potentially launch a run and help trunch in the election. republicans think this, too. i asked him actually, for all his talk about bipartisanship on the hill and senator mcconnell praising senator manchin for saving the filibuster, senator mcconnell flew to west virginia and recruited his challenger making him make this decision. he said that's politics and but clearly he has someone who prizes those relationships he has in the senate. >> you mentioned the timeline for a potential third opinion party candidacy. you made a great point, he doesn't know his place now, doesn't have a path necessarily to win the senate race. do we have in i idea? >> the white house's hope is he helps get out with the argument to mobilize the middle, help people he believes are kind of the silent majority to help them support president biden. the question is, is -- if he gets into the race and he spends a few months and realizes it could help trump and gets out, he spent several months on the campaign trail making the argument why joe biden should not be re-elected. it's an open question of his future, what he does next. he has a non-profit he started with hi daughter focused on mobilizing the middle they say. what does that look like in practice and who are those centrists out there to mobilize. >> yeah. the best part about the interview, you see he is thinking through in real time. he is not as calculated as some politicians -- >> which are the best interview. >> no, i know. >> sticking to to their talking points. the democratic one, seems clear that he -- it could potentially leave the democratic party because he laughed and didn't answer and said, well, you know, i have never been a washington democrat. he has been a democrat in washington for decades. it seems a real moment for him of where he is going next and what party he is affiliated with. >> kaitlan collins, she is okay. >> i was going to say we call that getting collins'ed. >> you're coining it. >> you're like, ahh, how do i answer this? great enter view. this is new video. look at this. just obtained by nbc news. it shows alec baldwin during the filming of "rust" days before that deadly on set shooting that killed cinematographer halyna hutchins. this shows him walking through a shooting scene speaking with the film crew about safety. >> wait a second. i am going to shoot right. go on the other side of the camera. i don't want to shoot towards you. >> so involuntary manslaughter charges against baldwin were dismissed a couple of months ago. in new mexico, a grand jury is expected to decide soon whether charges should be re-filed. joining us is bob, criminal defense attorney and host of the law and crime network. good to see you. so this is something that would be admitted to the grand jury and what impact would it have? >> well, let's start with the fact as a former homicide prosecutor i have never seen a case as tortured, twisted and bizarre. two years later back in the grand jury again. we have charges. we have charges dismissed. back to the grand jury again. from a prosectorial, very sloppy. the prosecutors will argue that the fact that he knows in this clip you are showing get people out the of the wail, don't point the gun shows recklessness not doing it on the day the victim is shot. the defense attorney will argue that the prosecutors' theme for the last through years through this twisted route of prosecution is that he was not concerned about safety but that this clip actually shows that he is in fact concerned about safety and to support his theory that the gun misfired and that he did not pull the trigger. this shows that the defense will show that he was being cautious about this. so, guys, i mean, the bottom line for this entire from a prosectorial standpoint is j are we two years later, two years later with all of the investigative resources and powers that we have, as prosecutors, finding video that was right on a camera? why wasn't this information given to prosecutors? why did they not seek it earlier on? it's complete amateur hour. just from the standpoint of justice and fairness, this prosecution is really a mess.