and control systems which can cause a nuclear war by accident. and right now you've got hypersonic speeldy missiles being developed by a number of countries including u.s. and russia. what that does is cut down decision time. that means you could have a warning and that means the president only has two to three minutes to make a fatal decision of this country and indeed the world. so those are things that are really breaking down. and we've in addition had a break down in arms control, in danger of having no regulatory understandings at all of arms control including if we do not renew new start which is sort of the last treaty standing. we won't have any verification. and when we have no verification, both sides assume the worst about each other. and there you go into a spiral.

so we're in a period of -- yes, we're in a period of growing instability in the nuclear arena. >> and one of the other suggestions you have is for both members of congress and white houses to setup and nato will see how that could work out as well. sir, thank you. >> thank you very much. and thank you to our international viewers for watching. for you "newsroom" with max foster is next. u.s. viewers brand new reporting coming into cnn about the massacre in el paso. "new day" continues right now. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. all right, good morning and welcome to your "new day." alisyn is off. erica hill with me. and we do have breaking news just into cnn. sources tell us the alleged el paso killer told investigators that he targeted that city because he thought it would be wrong to carry out the attack

near his hometown which is near dallas. >> we want to get straight to cnn's ed lavandera who just broke this story. tell us more about what you learned. >> we've been reporting over the last few days that investigators have been speaking with the gunman in the el paso wal-mart shooting and for a little more insight into some of what has been said and what we're hearing from sources with knowledge of the investigation is that this 21-year-old suspect has shown a reticence and a shame as one of his reasons for picking the el paso area that for some reason he thought that if he carried out an attack like that in his hometown, that his parents and his family and friends would know that he was the one who did it and that that is one of the

reasons why he wanted to get away from the allen, texas, area which is a suburb of dallas which he'd driven more than 10 miles to get to the el paso area. one of the reasons why these sources say the el paso area was targeted in the end. >> all right, ed lavandera again, thank you very much for the report dune in el paso for us. again, the news the alleged killer in the el paso wal-mart, he targeted that city because he didn't want to carry out the attack sources tell us in his hometown. i will note el paso is no abstraction here. el paso has been ground zero. it is well-known el paso is 80% hispanic and this killer made clear in this suspected screed he wrote he wanted to target latinos. maybe he didn't want to carry it out in his hometown of dallas, but it does seem el paso was

carefully chosen. and that as you know from being there, that's how the people of el paso think. >> absolutely that's how they feel. >> gentlemen, thank you for being with us. there's also new movement this morning on the issue of battling gun violence in america. and when i say new movement, new words and new language. the question is will it lead to new action? but the new language is notable, and it's largely coming from mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader. we played the sound a bunch. let's play it one more time so people can hear it. discussions about background checks, expanding background checks for gun purchases, he wants that to be front and center in the senate. listen. >> there's also been some discussion about background checks. it's an issue that's been around for a while. a lot of support for that, and there's a bipartisan bill in the

senate. pat toomey of pennsylvania, a republican and joe manchin of west virginia, so those are twoimes that for sure will be front and center as we see what we can come together on and pass. >> okay, josh green, again, the language from him on expanded background checks being front and center of the debates, to me that's new. what september new is action. those two are very different. >> it's new in the sense clearly mcconnell feels political pressure to speak up and not duck on this issue. but the two things that stood out to me was the language he used. front and center is different than saying i'm going to take that bill and put it on the senate floor for a vote. the other thing mcconnell said that we didn't have in that clip was he's not going to call the senate back in session. that to me obviously suggests a lack of concern or a lack of urgency on this issue. and as we've seen after past

shootings a lot of times weeks go by, all of a sudden the urgency and promise to act people expect to happen in the immediate aftermath trails away and we go back to the normal of no new gun control. >> i'm curious what the take is at the white house this morning. we've been talking about the president's conversations at the nra this week, and those are important. but, you know, has this sound from mitch mccomas you point out was talking to local radio and sometimes you get more when they're talking to a local news outlet than when it is a national news outlet because they're speaking directly to their constituents. i wonder if any of this is making any waves whatsoever this morning? >> well, the white house knows they have an immense amount of power over this situation. the president can decide to tell mitch mcconnell to bring the senate back into session and mitch mcconnell would have no choice but to do that. right now he's on the phone talking to gun rights leaders,

people in the nra, various leaders in congress including mcconnell, including leaders on the democratic side. he talked to nancy pelosi and chuck schumer recently so he's having a lot of conversations but there's no sense yet the president is going to lead on this issue, that he's actually going to push mcconnell to do exactly what he wants because it seems the president is trying to figure out where he is on this issue, whether or not his base will abandon him if he pushes for any kind of gun control. if the president decides he wants any background check bill to pass, he's the only one that can make that happen. we know mitch mcconnell has leaned on things notice past, but things on the floor, it's happened in the past. the president knows he has the power but it's not clear he's ready to use that yet. >> on that note, we do have some breaking news. there's some breaking tweets on

this subject. he says serious discussions are taking place between house and leadership on meaningful background checks. guns should not be placed in the hapds of mentally ill or deranged people, i'm the biggest second amendment person there is but we all must work together for the good and safety of our country. common sense things can be done that are good for everyone. i want to bring susan glasser into this discussion. >> when you're having a discussion about gun legislation, depending on the audience you're talking to when you say common sense gun legislation that has very different connotation. >> although he says serious discussions are taking place also, what he does not say here, susan glasser, is i want expanded background checks now, republicans give me expanded background checks, and he could

say that. so he's maybe pushing in some ways but not as far as he could go. >> that's right. there's a circialilarity to this conversation now. trump has been fairly consistent in the immediate aftermath, and he will say he often mentions background checks and mental illness. he's never pressed or extended his political capital anyway. i think it's very important to note that the nra was really the most steadfast supporters of trump in 2016 at a time it looked like even other pillars of the republican party at points were abapdening him and he's really stuck politically. i think mitch mcconnell and donald trump have done the bear minimum this week in terms of communicating there's a political up roar about this. but josh is right, the language matters here, and you're not

hearing from either the president or the senate majority leader, a real meaningful commitment to actually do anything. i think they want to see what the politics look like in september when congress comes back from its recess. >> which is a great point. we're in august. the president is getting ready to leave on vacation. mitch mcconnell is not going to call anybody back. anything could happen in the next couple of weeks. you know, as we lead into september anything could happen to change the discussion, and that may fee bee sadly part of the calculus too. and if people are still fired up about it, really feeling concerned then that will dictate what we do come september. >> that's an absolutely -- right, president trump would not be leaving for his golf course if this were a matter of true urgency for him. and i think that mitch mcconnell as clever as he is understands that and knows that and knows trump going off golfing is likely to be the end of this

discussion at least at any kind of serious level. one of it things mcconnell has done is say i'm willing to put this fruntd and center. what we've seen from trump in his statements yesterday, what we've seen from statements just now, he's more concerned about the views of the nra than he is about responding in a meaningful way to the massacres we just saw. >> if you see skepticism in the face and hear it in the words of our group gathered here is because all of us have unfortunately covered this for a long time. i want to move onto iowa for i can because joe bidep gave what was considered a blistering speech about president trump. it was a moment some said was the strongest in this campaign to date. it is a version of joe biden some people think is one of the better versions of him. but he's also the version of joe biden that says things that are controversial inadvrptly to be

sure. i want to play you something he said when he was speaking to a group of what we understand was hispanic and asian voters in iowa yesterday. so let's listen to this. >> we have this notion that somehow if you're poor you cannot do it. poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids, wealthy kids, black kids, asian kids. think how we think about it. >> poor kids are just as talented as white kids. you know, the distinction there are there are poor whites and, you know, how do you think that plays there? a gaff, something more than that, a window to his soul, what do you see? >> it's definitely a gaff and joe biden has a long record of making gaffs. so i don't think this one will stand out in that long record, but it does add to the question whether or not joe biden is attune to the moment, whether or

not his moment has passed and whether or not he knows how to speak to his democratic base in 2020 which is a much more maurdern or much more woke base where statements like that are sort of seen as relics of the past and he may face some of those questions. his lead has been very fragile in part because there's an agitation among those members about whether or not he's ready to not only take on trump which is whole other question but whether or not he's ready to speak to the issues that face the country in a way that relates to the modern times and not necessarily to his history in the senate in the '70s and s '80s. >> he was also asked specifically about calling a president a white supremacist. we've seen other candidates come out.

most recently elizabeth warren. he was not willing to go that far. in fact, making the point he's not going to essentially give the sound bite to be used again, and i think we have that now. let's play that. >> why are you so hooked on that? you just want me to say the words so i sound like everybody else, he is encouraging white supremacists. i can determine what that means. i know everybody wants somebody to call somebody a liar, i say they don't tell the truth, okay? you want to hear me say liar so you can put it out and say biden called someone a liar. that's not who i am. >> as a response, you can go a couple of different ways with this, but as a response how smart is it of biden in this case to say i'm not going to give you that because clearly he doesn't want it to come back and haunt him. whether it be in a campaign ad from the trump campaign or elsewhere. >> he did say trump enables

white supremacists and encourages him so i don't really see the distinction between encouraging him and saying he is one. biden evidently does. it seems silly to me, a lot of other candidates have come out and said he is a white supremacist. i think elizabeth warch tweeted it last night or this morning. so i don't know what he gains other than the fact biden sees himself as being a notch to the right of the left, woke, as phil would call them candidates and want to stay positioned in the center as a moderate. whether positioning yourself like this and the issue of white supremacy is appropriate or politically helpful, i don't know. but it seemed like a strange distinction for biden to make. >> again, that combined with the white versus poor and susan he also keeps referring to theresa may as thatcher. part of what has been seen as a successful trip to iowa for the former vice president, but does

this continue to raise certain questions about him? >> look, it's all very on brand for joe biden, and what you see is what you get. a gaff-free candidacy was never an option. you know i've talked to advisers, supporters of joe biden who recognize that's part of what makes this such an uncertain moment for the former vice president is that they themselves don't know what's going to come out of his mouth at any given time. but again right now he's running in the democratic primary where gaffs like that have a different meaning than they would if he was taking on donald trump who we know also has a lot of challenges speaking and you can't even sort of grasp one of his sentences. so that would be the heck of a general matchup in 2020 between two candidates where anything could come out of their mouth at a given time. i do think his statement yesterday about the poor kids really plays differently in the democratic primary than a general election context. >> a gaff-free campaign was never an option. >> it may be the line of the

morning. >> thank you very much for being with us this morning. staying on politics now, he is now part of the next democratic debate. he made that debate stage, he's getting on his soapbox later. what andrew yang wants voters in iowa to know next. usaa took care of her car rental, and getting her car towed. all i had to take care of was making sure that my daughter was ok. if i met another veteran, and they were with another insurance company, i would tell them, you need to join usaa because they have better rates, and better service. we're the gomez family... we're the rivera family... we're the kirby family, and we are usaa members for life. get your auto insurance quote today.

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a new poll of iowa voters shows former vice president joe biden and senator elizabeth warren on top, but the person who might be getting the biggest reward from this poll is down there at 2%. that is andrew yang because the 2% means he just got a ticket to houston. the site of the next democratic debate. he now qualifies for that debate and democratic candidate for president andrew yang joins us now. thank you very much for being with us. your reaction to the news. >> we were thrilled, john. we know it was just a matter of time that we punched our ticket

to the fall debates. americans want solutions not sound bites. that was the message that went through loud and clear at the last debate. we're thrilled to have two more debates to make our case to the american people. >> you say americans want solutions, not sound bites. this is first time we've had a chance to talk to you since the massacres in el paso and dayton. what's the solution there, and is there one being floated now by democrats and republicans? mitch mcconnell saying we will discuss expanding background checks and red flag laws. is that a solution in your mind? >> it's very much a big, big -- the biggest part of the solution. we need common sense gun laws, gun safety laws in this country, universal background checks, red flag laws. the vast majority of americans support this legislation, and i'm optimistic that republicans will do the right thing, overcome the nra's objections and help pass these laws to help make the american people safer. >> and again you have experience

in the business worlds where often you look for compromise in ways that politicians don't seem to now, so from the perspective of a democrat, what would democrats settle for or should they settle for here in this discussion? how much could they pocket, do you think? >> well, if you look at the polling, john, 85%, 90% of americans support universal background check, support red flag laws, so these to me should be very clear goals that democrats and republicans come together to meet. this isn't a situation where democrats should fall short of the goal line, where those laws are concerned. >> okay, but if you can't get an assault weapons ban, for instance, which i knee your also in favor of, would you walk away from red flag laws? >> well, you have to get done what you get done, but you're right i'm completely for an assault weapons ban as well. and that should be on the table.

hopefully we can get that done along with these other measures. >> i know your in iowa right now and i hope you enjoy the fair. i want to get your reaction to something vice president joe biden said yesterday when he was speaking largely to hispanic and asian voters. listen. >> we have this notion somehow if you're poor, you cannot do it. poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids, black kids, asian kids. think how we think about it. >> poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids. what do you read into that form youilation? >> i think it's joe biden trying to convey a message and it came out the wrong way. the fact is there are many, many poor kids in this conthat are underrepresented minorities, kids of color and it's joe biden

trying to express something that came out the wrong way. we know who joe biden is, and this to me should not be something that comes out of left field. >> why dooupg therenow and disc whether or not the democratic candidates choose to call the president of the united states a white supremacist as opposed to creating room for white supremacy or promoting white supremacy? why is it important in your mind to call him that directly? >> well, to me you should judge an individual by their actions and words. and so in this case, i mean, it's very clear the president's actions and words have conveyed a very strong sense to many, many americans that he has white supremacist beliefs and that's the only standard we can go by. >> and would you call him a white supremacists since all the candidates seem to be getting

asked that now? >> i mean, again, if someone acts and speaks in a certain way, then you have no choice to say that's what he is. >> have you tried to fry butter yet at the iowa state fair? >> you know i had the turkey leg, i saw the butter cow from afar, but i've not actually tried to fried butter or the fried oreo and i hear they're excellent. i've been fascinated all day to have it today guilt-free. >> thank you for being with us. and good luck at the fair and good luck on that meal ahead. >> thanks, john, thanks, erin. >> i like he's also focused on the fried oreo, because i don't think that should be overlooked. >> he thought about it. well, the 2020 democratic candidates descend on iowa, and president trump is head today the hamptons today for a fund-raiser. and today's high dollar event has customers worked up to say the least.

christina alesci is in southampton, new york, with more this morning. the backlash continues today. >> reporter: that's right, erica. i am in southampton as you said just two hours outside of new york city where donald trump will arrive to attend two high dollar fund raisers. his supporters will pay up to $250,000 to hang with him. the rnc expects these two events will bring in $10 million. just a little background on this area, trump won this area in 2016, but that is not reflective of the politics during the summer and here's why. wealthy new yorkers, bankers, lawyers, investors flock to their summer homes in the hamptons over the summer and they're both democrats and republicans. these are the people that donald trump chides in his rally and says they are out of touch with the average working person and yet he is here taking money from them from the rnc, and also he

has friends here including to your point billionaire real estate developer steven ross who's also an investor in high end gym concepts, so soul cycle and equinox that have made diversion and inclusion and diversity, i just made up a new word, part of their business model. and consumers really feel betrayed by the fact the owner, one of the largest owners and investors in these businesses is supporting donald trump because they see his values as anti-thetical to his. john? >> christina alesci, this has been very controversial over the last few days. thank you for being with us outside soul cycle out in the hamptons. children in clas as their parents get caught up in immigration raids. how a mississippi superintendent is dealing with this situation, next. so why treat your mouth any differently? listerine® completes the job by preventing plaque, early gum disease, and killing up to 99.9% of germs.

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i'll pass. parents and children separated after immigration raids in mississippi where authorities arrested nearly 700 undocumented workers in one day. many of the children whose parents were arrested were in

class for the first day of school. joining us is chad harrison, the assistant spript for the scott county, mississippi, school district. in his district as many as 15 families were affected by these raids. as many as 15 families impacted. as of this morning do you know how many of those families have been reunited? >> well, actually, as wednesday when the situation took place, the information that we got was that every child had an adult that they -- a family member that was home with them. i can't say two parents were home, might have been just one apparent but every child we had had someone at home that was a parent or guard dwrn. >> and i know that was a priority for the school district, that you were even telling bus drivers do not let that kid go into a house unless you know there's an adult there because we will make other

arrangements and until we know that child is safe. >> it's my understanding as part of the protocol for agencies are schools are supposed to be given a heads up if there's a chance that one of the people arrested may have a child in the school, they need to account for that and children should be a top priority. you didn't receive any advanced notification, correct? >> alisyn, we didn't receive that. the first real notification i believe was the fact we just had a large number of hispanic students being checked out of school and then we began to realize what was happening there in the different communities. so we have about 500 hispanic students and i'd say 70% of the students were checked out of school. the first knowledge that we had officially from any federal agent was a phone call or visit and at that time they started trying to -- they started trying to let him know which parents

had been aphenprehended and so forth. so we went through a process there where we verified whether or not someone who said they had a kid in school truly did have a kid in school and so forth. i guess that's how they determined who they were going to release at that time. >> was he given any explanation as to why you were not given more of a heads up, again, as the way we all understand it agency protocol dictates? >> alisyn, i'm not aware and i don't think he's aware of any reason why we did not receive that information. >> how is the community doing this morning? as you mentioned we have a number of families. we're back here from el paso and we talked to folks, you know, in the communities around the country who said following that shooting they are feeling targeted in a way they haven't before. even prior to these raids how is

the community doing and how has this and as of yesterday we've made contact with about a hundred of those. we're just trying to let them understand how school is a safe place, come back to school, get in here and we'll take care of you. as you know in the school business we've got three main priorities. buts right now teaching the kids is the furthest away. we're trying to make sure the kids know we've got a safe place. we've got a number of communities and churches and right now these families have food, clothing and shelter and they don't know when they're going to be able to go back to work. simple necessities of life and things like that are on issue. so we're trying to do as much as

we can as a community to help these families. it's been really great to see everyone come together as a community, as a state. we've had calls all the way from the east coast, all in between, so many organizations wanting to help, and that's really meant a lot to all of us. >> it's important to point that you. when we're looking at something like this, it's important to let the kids know their safe, that the families have a safe place to be because no one can concentrate on learning when they're worried about where their mom or dad is. continue to update us too on the situation there. thank you. >> all right, thank you. >> so what an emotional scene at the airport in dallas. a pilot lost in vietnam finally returning home. you wouldn't do only half

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roxana: our students don't have part-time needs. so they absolutely cannot have part-time solutions. angelia: one of changes that we need is smaller class sizes. rosanne: we need a lot more school nurses, a lot more school counselors. rodney: counselors provide that social, emotional core that's needed. marisa: schools need to be safe places for our children to learn. ever: every student has the right to quality education. no matter what neighborhood you live in. angelia: we are cta. rosanne: we are cta. marisa: we are cta. narrator: because we know quality public schools make a better california for all of us. this morning there is significant up heaveal in the nation's intelligence sector and the deputy director of national intelligence sue warden abruptly resigned joining her outgoing boss dan coats. both will be gone next week.

president trump quickly picked a new acting director. joseph wire will step in as the acting director of national intelligence. he's currently head of the national counter terrorism center. the president still has not said who he wants to nominate as a permanent director of national intelligence. this morning a manhunt is under way for a gunman who shot and killed two people in the middle of a busy interstate during rush hour. apparently this started as a crash, two cars involved. the situation escalated from there. horrified drivers actually trying to swerve around the gunfire. police say they found drugs in the victim's car but at this point they're still not sure about the gunman's motive. the fda is cracking down on companies illegally marketing vaping. the companies were given 15 days to correct the violations or face further action. this comes as the fda is facing

greater juteany over its response to the epidemic of youth vaping. >> a former vietnam fighter pilot is finally home and the son who waved good-bye to him last time 52 years ago as a little boy actually had the honor of flying him home. he was declared dead four months later. his body, though, had never been found. his son, brian, a southwest airlines pilot was just 7 years old when he lost saw his dad. in june he got a call that changed his life. >> they had been searching in my dad's crash site area and they said we did find human remains. you can't imagine what an honor that is for a son to be able to do that for his father. >> so brian knight personally flew his father's remains back to dallas on thursday. the entire airport just came to a standstill during the

ceremony. colonel knight will be buried saturday. >> people were still buzzing about what a meaningful poignant moment that was. as we enter the hottest month of what forecasters kperkt to be a perilous fire season thousands of people in paradise, california, still reeling from last year's historic and deadly camp fire. >> as news of the fires broke and more of what happened to people and the fire and how many people were impacted, that's going to really kind of hit home, that, wow, this is really big deal. tens of thousands lost their homes, entire families were sleeping in their cars in parking lots, it was total chaos today. the majority are still displaced. when we actually hand over the

title and the keys of an rv to someone who doesn't have a home any longer, it's such a powerful thing to provide such a basic human need. how can we not help if we're in a position to help? >> that is such a great question. how can you not help if you're in a position to help? >> go to cnnheroes.com. do it now. five years have passed since the death of robin williams. now the son of the beloved actor is with us this morning to talk about how we can learn from his experience.

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your dad and five years on now, there's a lot that happens in the grief and in the mourning period. how are you guys doing today? >> well, my family and i are doing all right. i have a 2-month old son which is exciting and new and a lot of work. but happy i can wake up every morning and show up for him. we're adjusting to the new normal, but day after day things are -- are getting better. >> a lot of people who are long time fans of your father's work and, you know, he brought so many people so much joy, were surprised when they heard about his passing, surprised when they heard about his struggles. for you, though, to watch the public go through that while you're trying to deal with all this privately i imagine that was a real struggle in and of itself. how did you handle the two?

>> i had trouble differentiating the two. so it was really hard, but over time i learned how to share what was needed and to be able to spend time with, you know, more kind of a public environment and then separate time to spend with my family. you know, so it was a learning process. >> it's also been what your focus is and in terms of what your focus on making mental health a really important part of the conversation, on talking about suicide, on talking about helping people you love and helping them find the help you need.

what has that been like for you as you're navigating that path now? >> the focus on mental health advocacy means to really identify the underlying issues associated with what's going on both culturally and with our communities, and my specific focus is stigma and ending the discrimination associated with it. the energy provided by thousands of organizations across the u.s. requires people wanting to end that stigma so that money and donations and funds can be unlocked for research and for organizations seekin to make a difference and impact in these communities. >> and how are you seeing -- i mean the conversations you're having, even the conversations being had to reduce that stigma in the last five years, it does feel like especially in the last year or two, there has been a

bit ground swell of not only support but of willingness to talk about it. do you find that? >> i find that young people, people under 25 are much more willing to talk about what they're dealing with, their personal challenges and struggles and are finding ways to connect both with others and also, you know, older generations. and i'm really hoping that we can continue to be brave and courageous when it comes to being open with the issues and struggles we deal with personally and i'm finding that things are opening up. there's momentum but we have to keep on continuing to apply effort and energy to ending the stigma. >> you mention you have a 2-month old son who's named after your dad. there's so much joy in becoming a parent and there's so much joy in seeing this new life.

i would imagine, too, you're thinking a lot about what you're going to tell him about his grandfather so that you carry on that legacy, so that he knows who he was, not just the public but he knows who he was for you as a father and lof those memories. what are some of those things you're looking forward to sharing abo sharing your son about your dad? >> one of the things i want to share is that my dad loved to do what he did. he was so passionate about entertaining and comedy, and he just gave his all in entertaining and i wouldn't wan to follow in that path of passion, whatever it may be, and do so courageously and with love and joy. and so that's what i really hope i can instill in him. >> well, sounds like a good plan for moving forward.

really a pleasure to have you here today, zack. thank you for making the time. and we do want to put up too on the screen the national suicide prevention hot line. the number is there, where the website is there. if you or someone you know is hurting please do not hesitate to make that call. >> what a wonderful message from zack williams this morning. thanks so much for that. we have new information this morning about why the el paso shooter targeted that city. those new developments coming up next. when did you see the sign? when i needed to jumpstart sales. build attendance for an event. help people find their way. fastsigns designed new directional signage. ...and got them back on track. get started at fastsigns.com.

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since you're heading off to dad... i just got a zerowater. but we've always used brita. it's two stage-filter... doesn't compare to zerowater's 5-stage. this meter shows how much stuff, or dissolved solids, gets left behind. our tap water is 220. brita? 110... seriously? but zerowater- let me guess. zero? yup, that's how i know it is the purest-tasting water. i need to find the receipt for that. oh yeah, you do.

a very good friday morning to you. i'm jim sciutto in washington. poppy harlow is off today. in just a few minutes president trump will leave the white house for a weeks vacation and to the hamptons for it a fund-raiser.

but before he goes he'll face questions. first on the possibility of new gun control legislation. emphasis on possibility. the president says discussions are under way, weighing in just minutes ago with two tweets. even senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says that certain gun control measures are important, even urgent in his words, just not urgent enough to end the august recess early. the president also facing criticism this morning after his visits with shooting survivors in el paso and dayton. the visits were closed to the press but cellphone video shows the president in front of those doctors, injured victims of the shooting bragging about crowd sizes. all this inside the texas hospital where those victims were being treated. cnn's senior washington correspondent joe jaunz is live at the white house. and joe, let's begin on gun control. forgive me, we've been here before. the the president has raised the possibility of significant gun control measures in the past, always pulled back