crisis dujour, and the crisis has been something miraculous from the government in baghdad, responsiveness. as tom friedman pointed out, officials have been fired. as we discussed on last week's show, major reforms have been proposed. the leaders of the world would be wise to witness and pay heed what happened in iraq. if they don't do something to mitigate the effects of climate change now, protests will be coming to their capitals soon enough. the correct answer to our "gps" challenge question is a bit of a trick. chile, sweden, canada and germany all rank higher than the united states in terms of human freedom according to the libertarian cato institute. the united states was ranked as the 17th most free country in 2008, found its ranking dropped three spots to the 20th spot now. the main factors for the u.s.' low ranking included long-term declines in economic freedom and

a drop of rule of law indicators as a result of the war on terror and drugs. perhaps it will be a nudge for the leaders of the land of the free. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. happening right now in the newsroom, a hero's story. >> i tried to shoot him. >> he did. >> i turned around and i saw he had what looked to be an ak-47. he looked like it was jammed or wasn't working. he was trying to discharge the weapon. alec hit me on the shoulder and said "let's go." ran down, tackled him. we hit the ground. alec came up and grabbed the gun out of his hand while i put him in a choke hold. >> three young americans save the day and lives and humbly call it instinct. "newsroom" starts now.

hello and thanks for joining me. i'm fredricka whitfield. we're hearing from all three american who say helped prevent what could have opinion a massacre on a european train. spencer stone, anthony sad her and alec garlotto shouting "let's go." today the three are being hailed as heroes and talked about their courageous takedown, saying they just accounted on instinct. >> turned around and i saw he had what looked to be an ak-47. he looked like it was jammed or it wasn't working and he was trying to charge the weapon. alec just hit me on the shoulder and said let's go. ran down, tackled him. we hit the ground. alec came up and grabbed the gun out of his hand while i put him in a chokehold. it seemed like he just kept pulling more weapons left and right. pulled out a handgun.

alec took that. took out a box cutter, started jabbing at me with that. we let go. all three of us started pinching him while he's in the middle of us. i was able to grab him again and choke him unconscious while alec was hitting him in the head with the pistol or rifle, i can't really remember. >> these are my friends. i was the third one to get up. i just like want the lesson to be learned that basically in times like -- crisis like that, i would want it to be learned that basically to do something, hiding or sitting back is not going to accomplish anything. the gunman would have been successful if my friend, spencer, had not gotten up. so i just want that lesson to be learned going forward in times of like terror like that, to please do something.

don't just stand by and watch. >> i feel our training mostly kicked in after the assailant was already subdued, frankly. when it came to providing security and making sure there wasn't another shooter. it was basically instint, survival. [ inaudible question ] >> not necessarily. i mean i didn't really have much of a state of awareness. it wasn't really a conscious decision, we just kind of acted. there wasn't much thinking going on, at least on my end. i don't know about them. spencer? >> no, not at all. >> he was about -- i don't know, do you guys want to help me out. he was skinny, like probably

160, 170. >> about 5'10". >> well, i trust both my friends very much. if it wasn't for them, i would have been dead and so we all had a critical role in what happened and everyone else that helped. the conductors, the guy at the bathroom. everyone played their own part. no one specifically is to praise, i feel like. >> i know for me personally, i don't know what i would have done if i was by myself. i don't know. i saw spencer get up, i saw alec get up and those are my close friends. >> yes. he clearly had no firearms training whatsoever. and yes, if he knew what he was doing or even just got lucky and did the right thing, he would have been able to operate through all eight of those magazines and we would have all been in trouble and probably wouldn't be here today along with a lot of other people. >> i just want to say to the french people, you guys have been more than kind, the medical

people and the cops and everyone. the surgical team that reattached my thumb and tendons and nerves and everything like that, i want to say thank you. all the nurses, techs, paramedics, they were great. so thank you. >> extraordinary, spencer stone, anthony asadler, alec skarlatos in paris just a couple of days after that harrowing act on a high-speed drain from amsterdam to paris. joining me right now is paolo sandoval in new york. paolo, this was incredible. you listen to these young men and they're very modest, they're matter of fact, but at the same time they say just as important as their instinct was that they trusted each other as friends. they go way back, back to their middle school days. >> it's truly remarkable, fred. what's even more incredible, some of the information that we heard today is they almost didn't end up on that train car to begin with.

it was a small inconvenience. we heard they initially held first class tickets when they boarded that train. they couldn't find that first-class coach so they decided to simply grab a seat on a coach car. it wasn't until the wi-fi wasn't working, they decided to get up, go into that first-class car where the dramatic scenes played out friday and now we are learning more about airman spencer stone. he's in his early 20s. apparently when he's not doing these kinds of acts, he is based out of the azors there as part of his assignment. specialist alec skarlatos, had just returned from afghanistan when they decided to take this trip. and of course their other childhood friend, anthony sadler, a college student, the gentleman you see on the left there. all three them now together reunited as they space the world to retell their story.

tomorrow they get to meet french president francois hollande before this individual returns to the united states. both spencer and alek will likely remain overseas for quite some time, eventually be reunited with their family. you can only imagine the hero's welcome that waits for them here in the u.s. >> incredible. for anthony this is his first trip to europe and all of them kind of were in agreement during that press conference saying this is all so surreal. they couldn't really imagine anything like this happening. the kind of attention that they're getting. they even said that they didn't realize the magnitude of it until many hours passing. so earlier, polo, you mentioned that they will be eventually reunited with their family. earlier on our air, we did get a chance to talk to the father of anthony sadler, and i got a chance to talk to the father of alek skarlatos and all the information they have learned over the past few hours and what

their sons had been through and this is what they had to say. >> we're still settling in as far as the reality and what he shared. it just didn't seem real. it was totally unexpected. it wasn't on any of their radar. they were just out touring europe and having a great time together for the past week and a half. >> astonishing that all three of them were together. one comes back from afghanistan unscathed and they go on vacation on a train and that's when the real action happens for them. >> first you heard from anthony, the father of anthony, and then you heard from emmanuel, the father of alek there. so polo, what more do we know about why the two military gentlemen are needing to stay in europe? they're going to be going to germany. is that for further debriefing with the military, even though they were off duty. but because they are active duty or at least armed servicemen, is that why they have to now go to

the german installation there? the u.s. installation in germany? >> we do know they will obviously have to follow a certain procedure here as they continue to brief officials. clearly now there is a major international investigation that's under way into what happened on that train and what led that gunman to do what he did here, according to what we're hearing. stone also has to undergo several follow-up treatments. he's undergone a surgery to attach a section of his thumb that was severed by that box cutter. he was very appreciative today for french officials and also the medical staff that have really tended to his wounds. he credits them for saving his thumb. and so obviously there will be that process and also the follow-up visits. we did hear today that stone will eventually try to make his way back to the united states, but at this point we don't know exactly when that is. as for his buddy, anthony sadler, he's a college student. he will eventually have to go back to class. you can only imagine what it's going to be like on campus when

he gets back to school this fall. >> when a welcoming they are all in store for, heroic, you know, that really -- not enough can be said about their duties and what they did. all right, thanks so much, polo, appreciate that. so as these americans are being hailed as heroes, the investigation, of course, is ramping up. senior international correspondent nic robertson is joining us from paris. nic, a senior european official is telling cnn that the suspect has been identified and that apparently he was on a list of suspicious people because of activity that he had engaged in. what more are investigators willing to say about him? >> reporter: well, we know from spain and the south, france, these are all countries that he had lived in. he was on the sort of watch list, if you will, for counterterrorism officials because he was associating with radical islamists. precisely what is telling the

french police at this time, we don't precisely know. but the picture that is being built up from counterterrorism officials tells us that this is someone that they will consider potentially very dangerous. this is someone that they consider may have very, very useful information for them. one of the reasons for that is that he went to turkey in may this year, came back two months later. is believed to have associated with french isis members in turkey. not clear if he got to join up with isis and get training with them but the thought is this french isis cell inside turkey has just a few months ago in april tried to get a french algerian student to attack a church here in paris. now, that was thwarted by the police, but not before he killed somebody else. but the concern is, therefore, are there more associates, where did he get the weapons from, could there be more follow-up attacks and who is this isis cell in turkey.

how does turkey fit into all this now because that makes it so much easier for wannabe jihadists to get trained, get ideas and get them sent back here. >> so lots of digging to do for investigators to find out what kind of connections he has with whom and where they may be. thanks so much. nic robertson, appreciate it in paris. still ahead, an unprecedented effort is under way to fight wildfires in this country, in washington state in fact. stephanie elam is on the front line. stephanie. >> reporter: hi, fred. you're talking about 16 fires burning in washington state. more than 200 homes lost. we'll show you some of the devastation coming up. two s in this room. the one on your right is made out of high strength steel and the other is made of aluminum. now i'm gonna release a 700 pound grizzly bear into the room so you better pick a cage and get in it. this is crazy. oh my goodness. why did you pick the steel cage? harder for the bear to get into steel.

you want to see something else made with high strength steel? that's the chevy silverado. made with high strength steel for high strength dependability. beautiful. this is highly irregular.

all right. this breaking news out of beirut, lebanon. protests over garbage piling up, as you see right there, in the streets have turned very violent. police are using water cannons and tear gas on the crowd. demonstrators in the thousands calling the piles of refuse an example of government dysfunction. nick patton walsh is live for us. nick, this is an incredibly volatile-looking situation. >> reporter: the pictures you're seeing are live images of basically pretty much outside the white house, a comparable thing for lebanon, outside the prime minister's residence. there's been this clash unfolding for three to four hours. it began a long time ago but the seed of it was begun when the government failed to collect trash for well over two to three weeks. it piled up, it stank, it rotted

and began #youstink on twitter. they brought out thousands of people today after violent reaction from police to another protest last night in which live ammunition was fired in the air. that got a lot of people angry here. now we're seeing on the streets down here a lot of tear gas being used. and the chants you may hear from the protesters is in arabic, which means revolution. they are wanting the prime minister to resign. he wants a cabinet meeting on thursday and the possibility that maybe they can get other things, the reforms they need to through to appease these protests. this is massively out of hand. water cannons used, projectiles thrown at the police. a real sense of anarchy in the heart of beirut. >> and hard to believe this is over piling-up trash. so the lebanon prime minister, even though you said people are very upset with him and want him

out of there, is it true that he is planning to meet with some of these protesters? if so, when and where? >> reporter: well, let me just bear in mind this is not just about trash. it began about trash. it was sparked because of trash. but it's really about a country that hasn't had a functioning government in well over a year, maybe even longer than that. it's about the business interests that control the political elite tier. people weren't able to get water last year in the capital. there were rolling blackouts and some get it for just over an hour every day, electricity. a country in collapse in its basic infrastructure. and the political elite enrich themselves but aren't looking after the basic people on the streets. the prime minister has appealed for calm. he's told the police to not use live ammunition, not fire in the air again. but right now you can probably hear in my microphone the whistle of further tear gas being fired. a lot of it on the streets down here. some protesters still hiding

behind statues, trying to keep on the streets. we're hearing the sound of breaking glass too. a lot of fires being lit around here. you couldn't get more central than that. bear in mind, one important thing, lebanon was supposed to be the country in the region which was avoiding the violence swirling around there. the civil war in libya and searia, the unrest in egypt. lebanon was able to get through that without major violence. this isn't that but it's a reminder that all is not well in lebanon and they are watching this with fear in their hearts. >> and those booming sounds we're hearing, you're saying that's the launching of the tear gas? >> reporter: some of the noises are tear gas. i think i saw a smoke and flash grenade being deployed earlier on. it'sin kredly hard to work out from my vantage point here in the darkness. we heard last night the sustained use of live ammunition

being shot in the air. that's not been a feature tonight in any major form so far. we've seen a lot of tear gas being used, hence the gas mask we hold here. and they're still using it. as soon as the protesters move down the street, they hit again with the tear gas. >> nick patton walsh, thanks so much. protect yourself from those fumes in the air. again, these pictures are extraordinary. as you heard nick say, it's not so simple, it's not just the piling up of trash but really a number of things from electricity rollouts, blackouts as well as people not getting adequate water and people being very upset with government. many elected officials living very well while others are not. quite the contrast. thanks very much, nick patton walsh. we'll keep a close watch on that and have much more right after this. he king of the campus on day one. but you're armed with a roomy new jansport backpack, a powerful new dell 2-in-1 laptop,

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wildfires continue to rage across the state of washington. the governor calling the situation unprecedented. for the first time ever, the department of natural resources is calling on civilians to join the fight against these fires. >> we want to make sure that anybody we send out there on the fire lines has at least the basic training to get out there and do the job and do the job safely. >> let's check in with our stephanie elam, who's in washington state. explain that further.

what does that mean, that civilians might be engaging with firefighters? >> reporter: it's crazy to think about it, fred, but what you're talking about is a situation where there's so many fires burning in the state, they need all the help they can get so they're asking civilians who might have some knowledge to come in and train and help. we can also tell you that the washington national guard, 700 members, are coming in today to help out. another 200 are being trained who will be able to relieve those folks when they get tired and bring them out. let's take a look at what we are talking about here. we are on lake chelan and this is the only way to see the devastation of this first creek fire that came down and burned through these houses. you can see they're still smoldering here. this is a fire that has burned some 3500 acres and it's 2% contained at this point. overall -- and the fires burning in washington state, 200 homes have been lost but 12,000 more, along with homes and structures are threatened throughout the state. what we are looking at here is just some picturesque -- this is

a beautiful place where we are right here in central washington state. these homes are right here on lake chelan. as you see that fire did not care they were this close to water. you've got burned-out boats and docks, everything gone. you'll see one wood table standing. it was just crazy how this fire raged through here and picked out so much. yet, you go down a few houses and the houses are perfectly fine. so still you've got this fire complex that is burning north of here. we drove through part of that area. you can see the fire has burned through on both sides let alone this fire here. so in this area of washington state, there is just so much devastation and it's just a lot, because a lot of these homes out here are remote and getting to them and protecting them can be hard. in this area here, there is still evacuation orders in place because they're still smoldering up on these hillsides. if the wind changes, that means many of these houses that haven't burned could be in danger again, so that's another concern. but with the smoky air that you can see around us today, they're

hoping that the one good side of some of that lifting today is the fact that they might be able to fight these fires from the air again and that would be much-needed aid, fred. >> and so while you're on a boat and touring that area and you can see all of these lakeside homes and properties as it pertains to the firefighting efforts, are there firefighters, apparatus right there in the lake trying to get to some of those areas that you describe that are more remote, more difficult for people to get to, particularly when you're talking about evacuations as well, how are they utilizing that lake in the firefighting methods? >> reporter: right, yeah. we have actually seen some firefighters just north of where we were actually pulling up water from the lake and using that to fight the fires as well. they are using this as a resource. where they can, they are coming in from the skies as well. but you've got a lot of firefighters out here and they are taxed to the limit trying to fight all these fires, fred. >> incredible. thanks so much. stephanie elam, appreciate that. all right, next, three

americans recount how they took down a terror suspect on a european train, and we'll also hear from one of the heroes' brothers. that's next. e prot to get us moving. i'm new ensure active high protein. i help you recharge with nutritious energy and strength. i'll take that. yeeeeeah! new ensure active high protein. 16 grams of protein and 23 vitamins and minerals. ensure. take life in. i started with pills. and now i take a long-acting insulin at night. i take mine in the morning. i was trying to eat right, stay active. but i wasn't reaching my a1c goal anymore. man: my doctor says diabetes changes over time. it gets harder to control blood sugar spikes after i eat and get to goal. my doctor added novolog® at mealtime for additional control. now i know. novolog® is a fast-acting, injectable insulin and it works together with my long-acting insulin. proven effective. the mealtime insulin doctors prescribe most. available in flexpen®. vo: novolog® is used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes.

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hello again, everyone, and thanks for joining me. i'm fredricka whitfield. the suspect behind the thwarted train terror attack has been identified as ayoub el khazzani. officials say there are strong indications that he traveled from europe to turkey between may and july to possibly join isis in syria. as you know, spencer stone is one of the three americans who helped take down that suspect. well, spencer's brother is speaking out. everett stone is not only calling his brother a hero, he says the air force medic is a true warrior. here's what he told cnn affiliate kovr in sacramento about his little brother.

>> pride is not a good enough word to describe how proud i am of him. he pretty much sums up, what it means, the definition of being a warrior. he should not be alive at all. he saved every single person's life on that train today, close to 554. including the man who was shot in the neck. he was able to plug his wound with his own hand and stopped him from bleeding to death right there on the train and got medical help. we basically just discussed, you know, a lot of people just sit back. if something were to ever happen like that we weren't going to sit down and take it. he did exactly what he said we would do. he stopped the guy from killing everybody. i don't know what the specific word is, but he's getting an award from france on monday, i believe. obviously it's a lot for anybody, no matter where you're from or who you are. it's a pretty -- pretty intense. just taking it one step at a time. basically it's a lot to deal with. he's actually a very laid-back

person. he's not some crazy out of control guy. like i said, he's a warrior and most other time he's pretty relaxed and a fun didn'tguy. he's an airman in the u.s. air force. he's basically a medic, stationed currently in the azor islands in portugal. he just happened to be on vacation in europe. he was traveling around and found himself on the train that day. i got the phone call, he should be dead. we didn't know what happened, we just knew someone was shot. there was a terrorist attack and, you know, other people were severely injured. i didn't even know he was the one that had been shot or was going to die. all we saw were pictures being broadcast by the french media. after the gunman got on the train, shot the first gentleman through the neck, i would like him to tell his story. but basically he took the guy down. there was a fight for the gun. the man also had another sidearm on him and a box cutter and he ended up getting cut up pretty badly for the fight with the box

kurt. his hand was cut down almost to the bone on one of his fingers and he has a laceration right near his eyes. he's lucky his eye didn't get cut or damaged. and then he has a bunch of cuts on his back. when he was fighting for the ak-47, i guess the guy was hitting him over the head with it. he shot somebody and then he turned it on my brother and my brother was able to tackle him. yeah, the terrorist was hitting him in the head with it. i expect nothing else from my brother. like i said, he's a warrior, so -- he's a hero. i think they said they're going to keep him stationed out there in portugal. try not to bother him but primarily going through my mom speaking to him and through skype. >> would he be able to do a skype interview? >> i don't think he would. i think he was going to be over there 30 days. >> so you're off, heading home to see mom. >> yep. >> and how is she doing? >> stressed out.

he should be dead and by the grace of god he's alive. so by the grace of god and, you know, warrior spirit and he took the guy down, that's why he's alive. >> he's a big believer too? >> yep. not only did he save everybody, he ends up being my brother. >> do you have plans to go to france or just your mom? >> we're all working on that. we don't know if we're all going to fly out to france. it's too soon to know. >> so fantastic. everett stone speaking about how proud he is of his little brother, spencer stone, one of the three americans who took down that gunman on that high-speed train making its way between amsterdam and paris. still ahead, historic talks between north and south korea. leaders of both countries sitting face to face in dmz right now. we'll talk about that, next.

many are at the edge of their seats because monday will likely be an interesting day on wall street. but as investors brace for more, possibly more carnage following friday's sell-off, it doesn't mean that you should sell off your 401(k)s. monica meta, joining us now from new york. a lot of people are very nervous. how should people brace for what news should come from the asian markets today or tomorrow when wall street gets back in business. >> don't check your 401(k) for a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks is the bottom line. the one thing you can expect is a good amount of volatility into the next coming weeks. september is historically the worst month for stocks, and we've gotten a lot of not-so-great news. the expectation that there may be bad news coming down the road. so basically what you're seeing, all this volatility, is driven by the fact that we're seeing a global slowdown. china took an unprecedented step

last week to devalue its currency by 3.5%. something it hasn't done since the 1990s. this is really driven by the fact that they're seeing exports reduce, weaker demand at home and the property market in china not be so strong. so china, which is used to seeing double-digit growth, is now looking at about 7% growth. this is bad news for the world economy because at this point we are all so interconnected. the u.s. stock market, 50% of profits, 50% of income comes from global demand and overseas activity. this is why we're seeing all of this craziness at home. >> it is crazy stuff. and some people are putting it even more simply by saying it's an overdue correction and it just had to happen. do you see it that way? >> well, you know, it's interesting because the one thing that hasn't happened yet is the fed hasn't started raising rates. there's been a lot of concern that over the past six, seven years the fed, the central bank has taken unprecedented steps to try to stimulate the economy through this very bad recession, they have pumped out like $4

trillion into the economy to try to bring interest rates low. so when you go to get a mortgage, it's maybe two points lower than it would have been the average rate for the last 20 years. so by doing that, you're seeing -- there's an expectation that maybe you're overpaying for assets. so if you're going out and getting a mortgage and it costs you less every month because interest rates are low, maybe you'll pay more for the house. and so when we talk about appear ov -- an overdue correction, there is definitely the belief as the fed starts to raise rates, you should see some sort of adjustment with asset prices and stocks. >> i know you said don't look at our 401(k)s after a couple of days, but i'm thinking after hearing all that maybe it's a couple of weeks. monica, thank you so much. appreciate that. to asia now, representatives from north and south korea are talking for the second time in the last 24 hours. and that's a pretty good sign after days of threats from

unpredictable dictator kim jong-un. rising tensions along the demilitarized zone. according to south korean sources, the north has doubled its number of troops. the two also traded artillery fire. kyung lah is in south korea. so this all started with the joint military exercises but what does this mean with the trading of artillery fire and what seemed to be hopeful from that many hours of talking now to resume again today. how do you make sense of all of this? >> reporter: well, that second round of talks is under way. we're actually watching to see when it's going to end. this is entering its now 12th hour of talks. so the first round was quite long. the second round is just as long. certainly some very hopeful signs, fredricka, on what's happening here on the peninsula. they're trying to cool it down with these talks. but the reality on the ground is that nothing is actually changed. the exercises are still going on. the propaganda speakers are

still on. and as far as north korea, south korea's defense office is saying that what's happened is that the artillery, that north korea has doubled its artillery forces on the front lines and 70% of the submarines have left their bases. the assumption is that they have been called into action. so while there is this extension of the olive branch, it does appear that north korea is sending very mixed messages. >> all right, kyung lah, thank you so much for seoul. appreciate that. right now there are 23 people, 23 running to be the next president of the united states. but the man who sits closest to the oval office right now has not announced a bid. now a secret meeting between vice president joe biden and a top democrat is fueling speculation that, hmm, he just might run. dough tails on that, next. t in n to get us moving. i'm new ensure active high protein. i help you recharge with nutritious energy and strength. i'll take that. yeeeeeah! new ensure active high protein.

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all right. so is it a sign that vice president joe biden may be seriously considering jumping into the race for president? cnn broke the news that biden met privately with senator elizabeth warren at his naval observatory residence in d.c. a person familiar with their meeting said the two discussed economic policy in a nearly two-hour long meeting on saturday. the move came as a surprise to many, since biden's official schedule showed that he would be spending the weekend at his home in delaware. with me now from new york, political strategist and lawyer brian morganstern. also columnist ellis henneken.

so is too much being made of this or does it mean something that he would be meeting with senator warren and at the same time, you know, there are those who are putting that meeting alongside the fact that hillary clinton's numbers seem to be dipping in certain polls, brian? >> i think it is very meaningful. it really caught my attention. think about hillary clinton's weaknesses in this race. number one, her trustworthy numbers are underwater, people don't identify with her on a personal level. and the far left perceives her as being not liberal enough. enter uncle joe. people really like joe biden on a personal level, and elizabeth warren is an icon of the far left. so these two personalities are really what exploit the core weaknesses of clinton's candidacy and i think they would make an intriguing team. floating this out there is no accident. >> intriguing team. do you agree, ellis?

>> tantalizing would be the word i would use and i've got to tell you, it's got me a little giddy. i would say joe's six-pack more than uncle joe. think about who it is that each of these candidates or potential candidates would appeal to. biden has kind of the middle side of the democratic party, more moderate dems, urban ethnics, jews, say, groups like that, whereas senator warren, of course, the hard core progressive part of the party, which is really where the energy is right now. you throw them together, boy, that sounds like fun to me. >> does it matter that he's run twice before? or does it make a difference that now he's got the kind of political capital, that heft that comes with being a vice president, brian? >> well, it's interesting. it's both a blessing and a curse running as the vice president. you get the trappings of the office, you get to travel on air force two, which is obviously awesome and gives you the air of legitimacy. it's also expensive for a campaign because it presents the

campaign with a mountain of bills right off the bat because of a new rule that says the vice president will have to resume burs the government for a lot of the costs associated with air force two. >> wouldn't it be easy for him to fund raise even they last minute? he's got the name recognition. >> well, not necessarily, and here's y a lot of the big bundlers, the people of raising those big checks are already committed to hillary or to -- in some instances to other candidates. bernie sanders, martin o'malley, people who are already in the race and have already raised millions of dollars. you know, it's not inconceivable, he certainly could, but it's not the easiest thing in the world. >> so, ellis, how much of an impact would it make on how the vice president makes a decision whether he could indeed get the money in time? because apparently reportedly it had been advised by some in his circle that he needs to be a decision by august 1. >> yeah, that's right. not so much in terms of the

money but in terms of getting on ballots. listen, he's the vice president. he's going to raise money and he'll turn out a crowd either way. plus, brian, don't forget he can stick the taxpayers with a portion of those travel bills because, you know, the security, the plane, other stuff he gets anyway. so he totally has the infrastructure and the ability to make this race if he wants to. the question is as he looks inside his soul, does he really want to do it? i don't think any of us know the answer to that yet. >> maybe it wouldn't be as awkward as -- maybe it would be very awkward, unlike a couple of runs ago when biden and hillary clinton are sharing the same stage in a debate, how do you see, i guess, that relationship now? how strange would it be? they were at least colleagues in the same administration and now potentially being contenders, brian? >> well, look, these are both professionals. i can see them being on the debate stage and being respectful of each other and

debating, you know, strongly at the same time. but i think the initial reaction from the clinton camp would kind of be a little bit offin dig nance saying, come on here, we're supposed to be one team and now you're jeopardizing the coronation. i can't imagine that the clinton camp would be happy about that, but in the end i think they'd both be professional. >> brian morganstern, ellis henneken, we'll leave it there for now. thanks so much, guys, we appreciate it. we'll be right back after this.

when tennis fans arrive at the u.s. open this year, they won't have to look far to see that the national tennis center's extreme makeover is well under way. arthur ashe stadium is getting a much-needed roof for rainy days. what's been some of the obstacles to putting this -- it's a massive operation. >> well, for us first and foremost we still want to be an outdoor tournament so it had to feel like nothing was going to change. the players would get on the court and still feel like they're outdoors. the thing about our land here, it's really poor land conditions so the structure that you see above us right now could not support any of this roof. so it had to be built completely independent of the stadium and

frankly had never been done pr in the united states. this year alone the structure became more elegant than we thought it would. i think people will be wowed by it, which is part of our mantra, to have people in awe, not only on the tennis court but around the surroundings. checking our top stories, people in sussex, england, are searching for more victims from yesterday's air show crash on a busy highway. seven people are confirmed dead but police have the names of 11 people who are likely dead once that military jet, historic jet went down. there were some remains that were located in that area. at least 14 other people were injured when the aircraft plunged onto the highway. and british officials are calling it a new chapter in relations with iran. the new british embassy reopened in tehran today. tehran has also reopened its embassy in london. the u.k. foreign secretary says

there is still work to be done to improve relations between the two countries. and surprise! twins. just hours after giving birth to a cub, a giant panda at the national zoo delivered an unexpected second last night. it comes just days after the zoo announced her possible pregnancy. both cubs appear to be healthy. one of them was placed in an incubator and it will be alternated with the other cub so both get time to bond with mama. the next hour of the "newsroom" begins right now. hello again, everyone, thanks for joining me. i'm fredricka whitfield. we begin with breaking news out of beirut. protests over garbage piling up at a minimum have now turned violent. looking at live images right now and you see an awful lot of people gathered there. there's a lot of smoke ith