>> harris: it has been a very busy hour an the afternoon continues with topics all ranging about what happened in parkland, florida. the president meeting with families and victims. i'm harris. here's dana. >> dana: students from parkland, florida, putting lawmakers on notice as they speak out in the state capitol, demanding change on gun control. i'm dana perino and this is "the daily briefing." survivors of the parkland shooting meeting face to face with florida lawmakers a week after one of their former classmates used a semiauto mat i rifle to kill 17 people at their school. >> if we had stricker gun control measures in florida, 17 families would be having dinner tonight together instead of mourning the loss roff their loved ones. >> we will not be discouraged. we will not falter. we will not stop this movement.

please, i beg and i demand that every single person in power who has the ability to change the fear that kids feel going back to school, that they do something. >> dana: rich edson is reporting live from tallahassee. there is also a rally supporting the students' ef forts. >> reporter: that's right. while the students lobbied inside the state capitol, outside there was a massive rally that has just broken up and organizers dispersed the crowd here by giving directions to governor rick scott's office. that's where a number of these protesters and demonstrators are now headed. local high school student, others from florida state, florida a&m, teachers, parents, gun control advocates, swamped this lawn. they started gathering late in the morning, spoke early through the afternoon. now, behind this building, this is the old florida state house, is the newer florida state house. that's where the legislative efforts and actions happened in

the florida capitol. that's where students from stoneman douglas high school were lobbying their government. they are pushing for stronger gun control as a major piece of what they're calling student safety. they fear they might be disappointed in what may come out of today's efforts. >> the law has failed us and has let the events that happened in parkland to occur. what we must do now is enact change because that is what we do to things that fail. we change them. to not change the law in our time of need would be a huge disservice to 17 dead at parkland, 13 dead in columbine, 26 dead in sandy hook, 50 dead in orlando, the 59 dead in las vegas. >> reporter: before three bus loads of students got here, there were a number of folks from a local university, students from the local high school in support. and there are also rallies around the country, walkouts around the country from students

across the state. >> dana: how is the florida legislature responding to them today? >> reporter: well, before those students arrived yesterday, the florida state house failed to prove or pass a measure that would have allowed the house legislature to move on to an assault rifle ban. senate's president tells us they still plan to work on a few gun related items, measures that prevent those younger than 21 from buying an automatic weapon. the florida legislature has a compressed timeline. their annual session ends in ab two week. they could come back in a special session, but they're not scheduled to. they're not scheduled to meet after this session until next year. dana? >> dana: we'll see if that changes. rich edson, thank you. survivors calling for action with protests under way outside the white house as president trump gets ready to meet students, parents and teachers with direct experience of these horrific tragedies. john roberts is live on the

north lawn. john, the president is expected to hear these stories first hand from people who were affected by the florida shooting and possibly other shootings across the country. >> reporter: we saw the compelling statements from the students in tallahassee. the president is going to hear a lot of that today. 4:15 in the state dining room, which will hold a significant number of people, the president will be engaging students, parents and teachers. among the people who will be there, we're told 15 to 20 students, parents and teachers of marjory stoneman douglas school where that horrific shooting was last week. there will also be people representing sandy hook, family members of some of the victims of the sandy hook school shooting in connecticut as well. people from rachel's challenge, an organization dedicated to reducing school violence. and other parents, teachers and school students from the local area here in d.c., who have all had some sort of experience with school violence will all be

here. now, the president yesterday did take some steps to move forward to not really on gun control, it's on accessory control. those bump stocks as they're called or slide fire mechanisms that allow the shooter in las vegas to take so many lives on october 1st last year. now the target of the president sent a memorandum to jeff sessions to see if he could ban bump stocks. see what the president said about that yesterday. >> the key in all of these efforts, as i said in my remarks the day after the shooting, is that we cannot merely take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. we must have actually make a difference. >> reporter: the president is also weighing a number of different options and he'll likely hear some of that today from the parents, students and teachers who are in attendance. one of the considerations might be to raise the minimum wage at which you can purchase a firearm. federally 21 for a handgun and

18 for a long gun, which would be a rifle or shot gun, including assault style weapons. the president entertained maybe moving that up to 21. might not be able to be done at the federal level though because that involves a lot at stake. so the president may just be in a position of advocacy. he'll all talk about the mental health issue associated with thaoe deranged shooters who kill so many people. as well as support for tightening up the background checks since the cordon murphy bill which just compels state and local and federal agencies to do what they're supposed to do, and that's report information up to the next database. can't see how that's really moving the ball forward as much as it is just trying to tighten up existing law. >> dana: i think the issue on that is that the conservatives in the house have wanted to attach the concealed carry bill to that cordon background bill. they didn't want to it be decoupled because they didn't want to miss this opportunity. so we'll see what happens with

that. meanwhile, there is continuing fallout from the rob porter scandal that now may affect jared kushner. do you have an update on that? >> reporter: you remember john kelly issued the memorandum saying he would by this friday revoke the security clearance of anybody whose security clearance has been pending since june 1st or earlier. that apparently, at least at the present time, does not affect jared kushner, who has access to some of the highest levels of classified information, including the president's daily brief, which is only seen by a handful of people. it may be because his security clearance was not completed until after june 1st. he had to go back and revise his sm-86 form. dana, you're familiar with that. a couple of times, to include contacts with foreign officials that he hadn't previously listed. here's what john kelly said about jared kushner. as i told jared, i have full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties including overseeing our israeli/palestinian peace effort

and serving as an integral part of our relationship with mexico. everyone in the white house is grateful for these valuable contributions to furthering the president's agenda. there is no truth to any suggestion otherwise. sarah sanders, in the briefing yesterday, went further to say, nothing that has taken place will affect the valuable work that jared is doing. now, don't forget when he issued that memo, john kelly said that he would review this on a month to month basis. so depending on when kushner's final security clearance, sf-86 was finally submitted, he may at some point committed cross hairs in they edict. >> dana: john, there's no white house briefing today. why is that? >> reporter: because they want the focus to be on the president's listening session, round table this afternoon. i know as a former press secretary, you believe there should be a briefing almost every day unless the president is traveling or he's speaking himself to the press.

but, this white house operates a little differently than the one you were involved in. >> dana: i'm gonna see you on the five, so we'll talk to you then. >> reporter: thanks, dana. bye. >> dana: for more on the debate, let's bring in our panelist. i wanted to bring up a poll that was just put out on gun control. pretty interesting. alex, i'll start with you. the first question was, do you support or oppose stricter gun laws in the united states. that support number 6%. the other one is 20 tko you support or oppose a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons. up to 67%. possibly one of the highest we have ever seen on that. given those numbers and the trend increasingly ticking upwards for people who want more gun control, is it becoming untenable for lawmakers in either state houses or congress to not do anything? >> short answer is no.

i don't think that we should make public policy based on what the polls say especially after any certain incident. i think we should make policy based on what's the best policy? simply banning certain types of weapons won't eliminate this sort of mass shootings that we've seen in recent weeks. we do need to do things to reduce the number of mass shootings. the things the president is talking about, possibly raising the age limit for when you can buy rifles. more background checks. strengthening the background check system. those are the things that we can focus on. those are things that have strong bipartisan support. >> dana: michael, if the president is allowing the door ajar, will the democrats be willing to sort of meet in there and push on the open door an try to get something done with him, at least on these things? even if it's not everything the democrats would want? >> absolutely. the president is in a unique perspective as a republican and being able to talk ab eliminating some issues with guns. he can speak to that in a way

democrats can't. while we're never eliminate all gun deaths, all gun violence death, we can reduce them. we had the comi gun in the 1920s, 1930,and we eliminated that. we've had an assault weapons ban before. the courts have found that's constitutional. >> dana: they found it's constitutional, but i think the finding was it wasn't having an impact. that's another question, alex, i'll ask you. what do you think the impact of the passion of the students are bringing and as john roberts said, it is compelling. they are impressive young people. but can they channel that passion into driving good public policy? >> welsh that's a great question. look, it's going to take a long sustained effort. in the past when we've seen mass shootings, we've seen a couple days, maybe a week or two and then people move on. american people, our attention span just isn't that long. so people move on. this is going to take a long time to work its way through congress. as you pointed out with john,

there's already controversy surrounding what would seemingly be simple bipartisan proposal. and so it's gonna require presidential leadership. it's going to require time from lawmakers. so the rally today, while they are the reason we're talking about gun control, they need to keep that up for weeks, months to come if they want to see action. >> which is something i think these kids can do. they understand social media in a way most of us don't. they're not disillusioned with politics the way many of us are. they're survivors of these incidents. i think they will be able to sustain it, put pressure on democrats and republicans. >> dana: they certainly have the power to convene, both online and these rallies in florida. the impressive number of people that they've brought there. unfortunately, for them though, social media comes with bad actors as well, including ridiculous conspiracy theories that these children, who experienced this shooting, are child actors and hopefully we have put that to bed and will not allow that to happen again. >> absolutely.

>> dana: thank you michael and alex. appreciate it. >> thanks, dana. >> dana: i think that we have to be right back. okay folks!

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>> dana: mourn the loss of america's pastor today as we learned reverend billy graham has died at the age of 99. he delivered the message of the gospel to hundreds of millions of people and met with every president from harry truman to barack obama. joining me now fox news sunday anchor chris wallace. billy graham played an important role in a lot of people's lives, both personally, but he was also seen with presidents throughout what has been a remarkable life time he spent on this earth. he said his real home is in heaven. >> that's right. it is a major loss for this

country and one could say the world, dana. billy graham was the most widely heard christian evangelist in history. interestingly enough, back in december of 2013, i sat down and talked with joel olsteen, one of the most popular preachers of our time, about billy graham. take a look. >> as a young evangelist, what did it mean to you the first time that you met billy graham? >> well, chris, it was like meeting moses or abraham. i'll never forget. we walked in the room of his house. he was so kind to invite us. it's like a lob cabin. i started crying. we didn't let him see that. it was just very, very moving. he came walking in. he was very frail. it was about six, seven, eight years ago. when we sat down and talked, she was so kind, gentle man. i asked him for advice. what could he encourage me to do? he just so humble said, how can

i tell you anything? look at those big crowds you speak to. he was always turning the attention away from him onto other, such an encouragement. growing up in a preacher's home, he was always a hero. walking in, i couldn't have met anybody i'd rather have met. >> ky remember as a kid watching on black and white tv. yankee stadium, 100,000 people there, and he would call them to come forward. what was his message? what was his appeal? >> well, i think dr. graham's main appeal was salvation and repentance and christ has forgiven you of your sins. will you make a decision for that? i think on a personal level, he had a conviction and he had that charisma. there was something about him in his accent. you could tell he believed what he was saying. something that just drew ya in. of course, it's god on the inside of him drawing people. >> as i said, we talked with joel olsteen back in 2013 when

billy graham was quite ill an, frankly, we were preparing for his passing. but dr. graham lived on until today, age 99, as joel olsteen said then, billy graham finished strong. dana? >> dana: all right, chris wallace. thanks for bringing that to us today. lot of people were certainly touched by him and will certainly join together in hoping that the lord gives him peace in heaven, as he always said that that was going to be his home. i know several presidents have already put out statements. but they're not the only ones. people all over the world really appreciated what billy graham meant to them. >> he and his wife ruth, beloved wife ruth, are in heaven together right now. >> dana: indeed. chris wallace, thank you. >> you bet. >> dana: president trump is set to address a conference friday. we'll speak to the organizer about some of the controversy at this year's event and more.

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you know what's not awesome? gig-speed internet. when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes! xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party. >> dana: the annual ctac conference getting under way in maryland. president trump one of many conservatives who will take the stage over the next few days. we bring in the organizer of the conference. it's great to have you here. i don't think of you as a very

controversial guy, but every year this seems to draw some controversy. last night there was a question about whether jeanette de sousa would be speak. he tweeted about the students reacting to the assault weapons ban. worst news since his parents told them to get summer jobs. he said while it aimed at media manipulation, my tweet was insensitive. i'm truly sorry. he is not speaking today? >> no. he was never gonna be part of the program. this is one of these unfortunate things that happens on social media where it just gets going. sometimes it's our enemies trying to pick at us, pick at the flaws and they run with it. surprising to us because we see things. it's an institute wasn't ever on the agenda this year. i'm glad he apologized because i can't imagine he meant that with that tweet. as you always say, you'll never get in trouble for tweet you did

not say. dip want to write that book. tweets i never sent. the head of the nra, is he going to be speaking today? on a day where these students are having the rallies and the press conference they have in florida, demanding lawmakers finally do something. we don't know what that something would be on gun control. >> yeah. look. i know this is a tough and raw and emotional moment. especially for these victims, their families. i think it would be a mistake for cpac to back away from having the appropriate conversation around the 2nd amendment, violence in society and what's happening in our communities. i mean, there's a real problem out there in america. we need to talk about it. big mistake to step away from the topics that are causing us trouble in society. we need to step into them. wayne lapierre will be speaking. he's my friend. he's a leader in this area. i'm glad he's going to be there. >> dana: i want to ask you what you think the mission of cpac is today and has it changed at all

since president trump was elected president? the other controversial was about marian lapen coming to speak. she's from -- i guess whether she's part of her grandfather's party or not. it almost seems like americans conservatism is on this march to match up with far right politics of europe. cpac has always been, i think some people think it's a place for diversity and thought. i want to know what you think about the controversy surrounding this idea. i think it's meant to be your thing. this is the american conservative union. it doesn't have to be all things to all conservatives. >> that's right. but you know me. people who see me on your show. i'm a conservative. i'm not a far raoeu person. i'm not somebody who's anti-immigrant. i'm not someone who denies the holocaust. i think what's interesting is people are trying to attack this young woman, marion le pen whose grandfather was a political figure in france and who had some abhorrent position.

she's her own person. she's a young person. she has broken with her family on those positions and she is a new voice in france. by the way, she's a voice that resembles a lot of conservative voices here. she's for traditional marriage. she's pro life. she doesn't believe the welfare state solves problems. and yet she wants to make sure when people immigrate into france, that they want to be french and love the country. these are things we can understand in this country. i think you're right. look, we're gonna give her a chance to address our attendees and the people who watch online an television. i believe in letting people speak and give their point of view. i think a lot of people will have to take back their attacks after they hear her talk. >> dana: putting together cpac is a ton of work, so i wish you the best of luck. congratulations to your niece, who i saw got married over the weekend. matt schlapp. >> thanks very much, dana. >> dana: all right. the stakes are high for the 2018

midterms. we are debuting fox news brand new power rankings. i'm going to tell you about the most competitive races across the country right now. plus senator pat toomey blasting his state's new congressional map amid charges that the new map is just as par san as the old one.

>> dana: a whole lot at stake in the 2018 midterms with the entire house, a third of the senate and 36 governorships all

up for grabs this november. peter doocy is live in washington. peter, where do republicans have the biggest advantage? >> reporter: the senate, dana. that's according to democrats that i have spoken to admit the senate map will make it tough for them to wrestle control of the upper chamber away from the gop. here is why. they've got to defend four times as many seats as republicans. just eight republican seats up this year compared to 26 democrats or the independents who sit with them. ten of those democrats are trying to win in states that president trump carried two years ago. this morning we did publish new fox news power rankings that will get the closest contest. they find two upcoming races leaning republican. indiana and tennessee. four more are leaning democratic, ohio, pennsylvania, montana and nevada. then the tossups. arizona, florida, missouri, north dakota and west virginia. when it comes to governor races, republicans are on defense.

they've got 33 total seats compared to 16 for the democrats. but, the democrats are thought to have an advantage in most of november's 21 governor's races. >> dana: what do you know about the democratic plan to try to win back the house? >> reporter: the plan is to try to tie everything to trump. >> democrats have not come up with a unifying message. what are they going to say to the american people, other than, we don't like trump? unfortunately, for republicans, that might be enough. if you look at his historically bad approval ratings again, that might be enough. >> reporter: republicans think they can play that game, too, though, as there is a democrat they are going to campaign to keep in the minority. >> the most well worn foil in town is nancy pelosi. and i think the former speaker, now minority leader of the house, has once again found herself at the top of the heap in terms of republican boogymen. this is somebody every republican in the country at

some point will talk about nancy pelosi and what she would do if she got her hands on the speakers gravel. >> reporter: in the house where democrats need 24 seats to win. democratic operatives are telling me they're optimistic about their chances because they've had success in some elections since the tax bill passed. that's the same tax bill republicans think is their biggest advantage. dana? >> dana: i'm excited about these fox news power rankings. i hope to have you back often to talk about them. thank you. >> thank you. >> dana: new pennsylvania congressional map is stirring up controversy, with charges that it's nearly as partisan as the old one. and the republican senator from pennsylvania, pat toomey, he's looking to take action saying, quote, look, i think it's inevitable that the conversation's going to take place. the fundamental question is, does it blatant unconstitutional partisan power grab that underminds our electoral process, does that rise to the level of impeachment? join me now, politics editor at the national journal. you wrote about this yesterday.

what's your take on this new map? >> dana, it's loom impossible to take politics out of redistricting. democrats are right. the map republicans drew in 2011 is a jerry mandered map. when you look at the process by which democrats redrew the map, it is filled with politics. the supreme court in pennsylvania, you're elected by party. democrats want a supreme court majority. they have a ruling that came down the pike a month ago. they decided to throw out the maps, draw their own maps. when you look at the congressional district lines in this new map favor democrats. give them an advantage. all these subtle ways that could have a big impact in who takes the majority in the house. >> dana: do the republicans have any standings to get this changed or are we running out of time? >> very limited legal appeal. they're promising they're going to do an overturns of this map in the court. this is a state supreme court decision and a u.s. supreme court doesn't really have

jurisdiction over the state supreme court's decision. in all likelihood we'll be looking at this new map. >> dana: does this affect the connor lamb/rick saccone race in pennsylvania? >> quite a bit. the district connor lamb is running in is not the same district he said he's gonna run in under these new congressional lines. now, connor lamb, this big recruit for the democrats, if he wins in this upcoming election in march, he'll have a lot of momentum. ultimately, he's running for a district that may not exist in a few months. >> dana: let me ask you ab the quinipiac poll. it had been looking better for republican. this just in today. why party would you want to see win control of the house? democrats 53%, republicans 38%. among independent voters, which party would they want? republicans 36% and democrats 47%. you see that widening a bit.

is that consistent with what you're hearing? >> you can live and die by the generic ballot. i think there's two fundamental points that both parties are looking at. number one tax reform has given a boost to the republican party. >> dana: definitely. >> if you look at all the poll, republicans have gained several points on that generic ballot. they are showing them with a little momentum. on the other hand, there's still a lot of time left before the election. the news of the past week, the tragic shooting in florida, i mean, gun control is now the issue of the day. that's an issue they have to discuss. >> dana: let me ask you about that. the students down in florida, they're still holding their rally today, trying to make a big impact. i do think that i talked about it in the a block, the poll also showed there's an increase in the majority of people who want lawmakers to do something on gun control. how does that play in terms of politics? >> so, republicans have always had this political advantage when it comes to gun control.

even if the polls show there's an even divide between whether people want more regulation whrrbgs they don't, the intensity advantage is on the republican side. if you're an nra member, you're going to vote, go to the polls to support the candidate who supports your value. what the student activists are trying to do is ray that intensity level on the liberal side. it was interesting to watch some student activists who are making their point. they weren't trying to find common ground with republican, they're attacking republicans. they're not trying to win over folks in the middle. they're trying to energize the democratic party voters to be more aware and show up at the polls on the issue of gun control. >> dana: josh kraushaur, i'm glad you were here today. >> thanks, dana. >> dana: new developments in the case of two trump campaign aides charged in the mueller probe. we'll bring you the latest. plus the me too movement comes to the nba. the bombshell report accusing one team of covering up years of sexual harassment in the front office. sfx: muffled whistle text alert.

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>> shepherd smith at the fox news death. much more ahead on the student push for stronger gun laws. president trump said he could be open to some changes. but how much power does the president have when it comes to gun laws? what about the politics involved on a controversial topic that riles up folks on both sides of the political aisle. we'll get into it at the top of the hour. we'll see you then. >> dana: dallas mavericks owner mark cuban is vowing to change the culture of the front office following a report that described a work environment hostile to women. a former team president is aqued of making sexually suggestive remarks toward several women, also details domestic assault accusations against the team website reporter. the mavericks say both stphaoed and human resources director have been fired. the team has hired outside counsel to conduct an

independent investigation. new charges against paul manafort and rick gates in a special investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election, but the documents are sealed. meanwhile, the president questioning why mueller's team isn't looking at the obama white house tweeting, if all the russian meddling took place during the obama administration, right up to january 20th, why aren't they the subject of the investigation? why didn't obama do something about the meddling? why aren't the crimes under investigation? ask jeff sessions. michael moore is the u.s. attorney for the middle district of georgia under president obama. thomas dupree, under president george w. bush. let me start with you, tom. it is difficult for the attorney general to respond to the president given that he is recused from that very case. your thoughts? >> yeah. you're absolutely right. look, that is what is known as a retorical question. president trump knows exactly that jeff seswhy isn't mueller

this? this is the latest piece of evidence showing that president trump's ire over sessions decision to recuse himself is not going anywhere. i think they are going to be living with this throughout the administration. it is highly unusual to have a president publicly criticizing his attorney general in this way. but i think this just underscores the president's sense of frustration that through the recusal, the executive branch and the president in particular has essentially lost control over the direction of this investigation. >> dana: michael, what are your thoughts about it? not only is it unusual, but some think it is highly inappropriate. >> i think it's probably evidence that the president's becoming unhinged. and what we see over the last few day, we see the indictments that came down, we see what appears to be a superceding indictment in the case. we're learning about other cooperators. we're learning about people in the indictments who are listed as known and unknown to the tkpwrapb jury. i really think what you're starting to see is the pressure around this president, pressure around administration starting

to push the president to react. that's what he's doing. he shouldn't. there's no question that the white house should not be controlling this investigation. and the idea that he somehow push backes on the attorney general is a dangerous thing. practically, i think would likely set a precedent if trump wants to talk about it, that's right. >> dana: certainly the democrats think about that when they look at all the judges that the republicans were able to confirm, which is 51 after harry reid used the nuclear option back in the obama administration. there's one other thing i want to ask you about. there's been an increasing call and stories that i don't even know if they're right about. michael flynn and whether he should withdraw his plea agreement. somebody i follow on twitter is running for attorney general of illinois. he tweeted this. if flynn was permitted -- he writes this one. he wrote a lot today. it's unclear to me why it would be in flynn's interest to withdraw his guilty plea, even if he could. he is represented by a very prestigious, well regarded law

firm that obtained a deal for him that is unlikely to result in a significant prison sentence. and even if he could withdraw his plea, it is quite difficult to do so. right, tom? >> it is, dana. it's very difficult to do so. look, my take on this is is flynn got an excellent deal from bob mueller. if he were to try to blow that up, essentially saying i am ready to go to trial, that would be an immense roll of the dice. honestly, the possibility that mueller could add additional charges if flynn were to gamble and lose. he could be facing four, five, ten times the amount of jail time he could face under a plea deal. so i would be extremely cautious ab pulling back this plea, at least until you've seen the evidence that mueller now is going to apparently put in in response to the court's demand that mueller give him some evidence. unless there's some sort of smoking gun bombshell in there, i can't see why it would be rational for flynn to pull back this favorable deal. >> dana: michael, this request for isn't, isn't that standard operating procedure?

not something unusual or should suggest there's anything improper that's happened? >> i don't think there's anything to read improperly. this is not unusual for a judge to have a standing order that tells the prosecutors, yes, these are things you have to give over. the law imposes that duty that you would give certain things to a defendant. so i don't think there's anything to read into it. and i think actually this judge said it's a standing order. what you've gotta remember is the withdraw of a guilty plea is not a matter of right. once the judge accepts the plea and has had a chance to look at the plea agreement an says, i'll take the plea, then the defendant, this being mike flynn, would bear the burden of coming in saying there was some substantial reason or manifest in justice why he should be allowed to withdraw it. >> dana: or that he was coerced into it somehow. >> welsh that's right. i think it could be a claim. i think that my colleague here with me is right, in that he may be opening can of worms he doesn't want to open. he may have chance to make an argument that he should withdraw

it. the question is does he want to, given the deal he got? say he withdraws it, what does he have? he could end up with more charges. >> dana: i'm sure his allies think they're trying to help him, but i'm not sure that's the practical outcome. >> i think a lot of this, i saw some things from his siblings who were pushing it. families want to do that, allies want to do it. but his lawyers ought to be telling him, look, you've got a good deal. you need to continue to cooperate an move this thing and put it behind you. otherwise you could face a much stiffer sentence when it comes time to sentencing. >> dana: i am so glad you're here. thank you. >> thank you so much. >> dana: an olympic record in perseverance highlights this results from pyenogchang. gold in women's team prints. the first u.s. women to claim any medal in cross country skiing. it was especially sweet for randall, the only mom on the american team, who set the record by winning her first ever winner in her 18th event over five different games.

lindsey vonn claimed bronze in the downhill. her signature event. the medals helped propel the u.s. into a tie for fourth place with 16 medals overall. the war on syria escalating as russian backed forces try to retake the last rebel helded area. hundreds of people are dead, many children, and a human rights group is blaming the syrian government. plus the military could have a recruiting problem. what a new report said about america's youth and their ability to serve their country.

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>> dana: government backed forces backed by russia are ramping up attacks on syria and unrelenting wave of air strikes and artillery fire, killing at least 250 people over the last few days. a human rights organization is accusing the syrian government of intentionally targeting its own people tantamount to war crimes. conner powell is live in jerusalem. just how bad is the situation now outside damascus? >> reporter: yeah. the consensus seems to be that

it's very bad, some of the worst violence we have seen throughout the war in syria for the last seven years. pretty much every international aid organization that put out a statement has said it's very, very bad. about 400,000 syrians living in that rebel held area. just in the last three days alone, more than 300 have been killed, thousands wounded. amnesty international describes the syrian and russian shelling as, quote, a flagrant war crime that's being committed on an epic scale while the world health organization is accusing the assad regime of intentionally targeting hospital facilities and civilians. opposition leaders are describing it as a new holocaust. it is very, very violent and bloody there. like we saw in alepo, the russians and seer i can't understand appear to want to finish off the rebels in this area before doing anything else in terms of negotiations and talks. >> dana: conor, what is the united states and other international partners doing in response?

>> reporter: yeah. the international community, u.s., pretty much everyone, they have as much a problem today solving the problem with syria as they did several years ago. the trump administration has been solely focused on defeating isis in iraq and syria and really hasn't spent much time and energy trying to find a diplomatic solution to the fighting there. the other thing we're seeing, the russian, who are sort of the other major player here, they're talking about settlement, sergei lavrov, the foreign minister of russia, talked about finding a settlement to end the violence there. this is what we saw in alepo where the russians talked about settlement, but at the same time they escalated the bombing and violence. neither the russians or syrians want to have anyone left to negotiate with, and so they talked about settlements, but they really do pound the enemy into submission. >> dana: conor, thank you for bringing that report to us. a new report showing a growing crisis for the u.s. military

finds majority of young americans are not qualified to enlist. the paper said 71% of those between 17 and 24 would be rejected for service. reasons cited include health concerns, obesity, lack of education and criminal history. the study found about 24 million of the 34 million americans in that age bracket have one or more of those issues. there are new reports that a close confident of benjamin netanyahu has turned state witness and will testify in the corruption investigation into the israeli prime minister. his long time aide was arrested on suspicion of promoting regulations worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a telecom company in return for favorable coverage of netanyahu and his family. a former netanyahu spokesman is suspected of suggesting to a judge that she could be appointed attorney general if she squashed a pending case against netanyahu's wife sara over excessive house hold spending. and we'll be right back. ♪

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>> thanks for joining us. later on "the five", we'll have more on the president's listening session with the parents and students that have been affected by the school shootings. that's at 5:00. i'm dana. here's shep. >> shepard: it's noon on the west coast. it's 3:00 at the white house where president trump is looking for possible changes we're told to america's gun laws. he's already called for banning devices which turn legal weapons to machine guns. this afternoon, the president is set to meet with students and parents and teachers including some of those that survived some of the most heart breaking attacks we've seen in columbine, colorado, sandy hook, elementary in new town. just last week, at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida. we look at the laws and the pressure on both sides. >> we cannot take actions to make us feel like we're