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
Good morning, its wednesday, september 20th. We are following a number of stories. President trump was America First se u. N. And steps up his warnings to north korea meanwhile, republican as far as see daylight on Health Care Reform. Some gop governors arent so sure about that. The Russian Investigation rolls on with new details on whos paying the president s legal bills but first, two Natural Disasters unfolding in real time. Rescue efforts happening right now in mexico after a powerful earthquake ripped through that country yesterday and Hurricane Maria about to slam directly into puerto rico. Well go straight to meteorologist bill karins with a check on the storms latest track. Bill. Power knocked out. Roof damage done, structural damages beginning as the strongest weekends are moving on shore in puerto rico. Overnight, can you see the storm, 124mileperhour winds in st. Croix. Now the storm is about to make
landfall. Lets get into the zoomed in radar. You see san juan to the north
we still have our veto at the united nations and can decide what climate ceilings are in the paris agreement. what was missing was any diplomatic position for the rest of the world to rally around. i don t know if that s an echo of george w. bush or not but this was not a speech in any way that was designed to garner international support. david ignatius, what was your takeaway from this speech? i thought it had bombastic rhetoric, as always with donald trump. he dropped the equivalent of twitter bombs. when i looked at it, as you and i have discussed, i found there was an awful lot of conventional language, especially about the united nations that, to be honest, i found welcomed. i thought that the president was attaching his america first view as a stress on sovereignty to the united nations and its institutions. he has become a champion of u.n. reform. that s good. he actually talked about doing more on human rights issues. that s a rare moment for the trump administration.
could restore our credibility in the region. the win deth the window to re our credibility has closed. i think when he steps back from his red line comment it was a sign and a symbol to the american people that he is not keeping the leadership role as the commander in chief he was playing initially and he is losing his resolve. add to that his inability to garner international support. he failed on that level as well. i think it s a lack of leadership and i don t have faith the president and this administration can handle this crisis appropriately and it will end up costing us more and great think it will greatlyout whay outweigh any benefit. bill: you are a no vote.