thank you, pentagon. you can see the video showing something moving through the sky leaving behind a con trail. there it is. see it? looks just like a plane, don't it? this got a lost attention yesterday after the defense department reported that the military was not involved. and it could not confirm what caused the trail. norad assured it was no threat. thank you, norad. a pentagon statement reading "all d.o.d. entities with rocket and missile programs reported no launches, scheduled or not, during the time period in the area off the reported contrail." the f.a.a. ran radar replays from monday afternoon of a large area west 6 los angeles and that did not reveal any fast moving unidentified targets. whatever it was it happened miles off the coast just north of catalina island. the pentagon reports that there was no information to suggest it was anything other than an aircraft. there is a side-by-side comparison of the mystery contrail on the left and a confirmed jet trail on the right. similar, same colo

>> jim miklaszewski at the pentagon tonight. the mystery continues. >>> news tonight about that planned cargo bomb attack on the u.s. by al qaeda in yemen last month. scotland yard says the timer on the bomb intercepted in england the one that was in a toner cartridge, was set to go off in mid-air at 5:30 in the morning eastern time, october 29th, the day the bomb was discovered. one calculation says that would most likely put the bomb over the eastern seaboard in canadian air space. >>> we told you last night about the giant carnival cruise ship "splendor" stuck in the pacific ocean, dead in the water after an engine fire. it's now being towed to shore, slowly and the passengers found their cell phone service came back to life. one of those passengers who happens to be a technician for our denver tv station kusa, phoned in an eyewitness report from onboard ship. here's how david zambrano described the situation. >> everything is shut down, although the bars are closed, the casino is closed. people are doing their best to stay i

our own jim miklaszewski from the pentagon tonight. >> reporter: it took the pentagon and military more than a day and a half to come up with that explanation. but there's one gaping hole in their story. they still can't say exactly what it was. it's the shot seen around the world. caught by a traffic chopper, it appears to show a missile streaking across the skies near los angeles. but the pentagon's efforts today to entirely shoot down that theory may have come up short. a terse statement from a pentagon spokesman says, "there is no evidence to suggest this is anything else other than a condensation trail from an aircraft." the pentagon ruled out this was anything launched by the u.s. military or government. but even now could not offer any hard evidence that it is in fact a plane. even though many missile experts are already convinced. >> all of the characteristics of this make it look like a jet contrail, doesn't look like anything like a rocket. airplanes go slow and rockets go fast. this is going slow. >> reporter: some websites have even tentatively identified the plane. us airwa

the world i was trying to describe of the pentagon. the world of crony corporations that build those bases and make the weapons so on and so forth. i think they and the bush administration in particular help drive us. it was like they got in a car and said hey, this car works and drove us directly to the nearest cliff. you know, my own answer is a longer more historical one which is the cold war ended in 1990? and in this country -- it ended by our major enemy who to the last moment most people in washington saw as a major power basically disappearing. it disappeared from the face of the earth more or less overnight. it was extraordinary. we dealt with that here in washington particularly in the country. as a giant triumph. it was a victory, you know? and that was probably the crucial moment where real american monies could have been redirected somewhere else. i mean, there was no -- we were looking for so-called rogue states. the military and in washington they were looking for enemies, you know, these modest regional states like nort

the contract perhaps it's a bet by the pentagon that it that the status quo can hold. yeah whether any other funds capable of fulfilling the contract agree both sides the. well of course there are the the the contract was shut down under suspicion of impropriety last july the new government of rose. by a complaint about the contract that the fuel when the fuel was sold that the money had gone to the family of the prior president of the ousted president. and so they requested that the the whole the whole contract be be real let the pentagon agreed. nine companies bid for the contract there are at least two or three other very large fuel providing firms related still related to the west that could provide the fuel so yes if the government decides that it does not want to use these two firms there are companies that can step in. talking about the amount i said they said where the corporation is supposed to supply the fuel do you believe it's so purpose is to support the u.s. operations in afghanistan or does it have anything to do with influence in the former soviet space

>> jim miklaszewski at the pentagon tonight. the mystery continues. >>> news tonight about that planned cargo bomb attack on the u.s. by al qaeda in yemen last month. scotland yard says the timer on the bomb intercepted in england the one that was in a toner cartridge, was set to go off in miair at 5:30 in the morning eastern time, octob 29th, the day the bomb was discovered. one calculation says that would most likely put the bomb over the eastern seaboard in canadian air space. > we told you last night about the giant carnival cruise ship "splendor" stuck in the pacific ocean, dead in the water after an engine fire. it's now being towed to shore, slowly and the passengers found their cell phone service came back to life. one of those passengers who happens to be a technician for our denver tv station kusa, phoned in an eyewitness report from onboard ship. here's how david zambrano descrid the situation. >> everything is shut down, although the bars are closed, the casino is closed. people are doing their best to stay in good s

in 171, he leaked the so-called pentagon papers, a secret study of u.s. decision making about vietnam to the media. he's the focus of the 2009 documentary "the most dangerous man in america." jamie rubens was chief spokesperson for the state department during the clinton administration. he's not adjunct professor at columbia school of international public affairs. and finally, michael hastings, contributing editor of "rolling stone." his article, "runaway general" led to the ousting of general stanley mcchrystal. and he's the author of "i lost my love in baghdad -- a modern war story." okay, daniel, what do you make of all of this. should this have been published? things being said in the diplomatic arena from one official to another. is that our right to know? >> well, nothing in those documents, embarrassing as they are to some people and their kind of snarky comments, nothing remotely compared to what michael hastings published, what he overheard in general mcchrystal's headquarters, and i thought properly published. i think president obama made the ri

to promote the war former military officers would get talking points directly from the pentagon than say them on the air no questions asked if they certainly don't stand this gesture. that is nina the retired u.s. general talking point. in iraq ruled by the message yet needs to be a magine iraq imagine iraq under control zarko you're talking point link iraq to iran i believe that iran is now the number one troublemaker in iraq that's bad enough but a lot of these pentagon pundits were making big money from defense contracts most of the t.v. and the weight of military analysts have ties to military contractors people who could possibly be making money on day or most would consider that a potential conflict of interest maybe not even potential at the same time reporters who did ask hard questions were punished by the white house luckily their managers stood by them reporter jonathan landay covered the speech dick cheney gave in august two thousand and two to the veterans of foreign wars many of us are convinced that saddam hussein will acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon that was based

the pentagon now has no choice but to wait and try to anticipate. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski is on duty there tonight. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. pentagon and military officials claim that this latest leak will pose a threat to national security and the lives of american service members but admit there's nothing they can do to stop it. u.s. officials tell nbc news that the upcoming document from wikileaks contains top secret information, so damaging it could threat senate ratification of the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms control treaty with the russians. according to the officials, the information contained in classified state department cables reveals secrets behind the s.t.a.r.t. negotiations, and embarrassing claims against russian leadership. information that could provide ammunition to republican opponents of the treaty on capitol hill. >> the russians are not going to be surprised that american officials say derogatory things about them. what they're going to be extremely upset about is that it's being leak

this is an issue where the pentagon is not in control. we are seeing an extremely uncertain time with the regard to the legislation with regard to the courts and the legislature. the decision to engage on that issue was made -- we wanted to provide the press with as much context about what the pentagon was doing in light of the uncertainty as we possibly could. and we made the decision that this had to be on background because the individual involved wears several hats with regard to this issue. and in fact, it was not the determiner of overall policy and direction. where we are going on this. these are judgments being made by the white house, by the senate, by the courts. so you -- i think it's well within your right and we're -- we understand the criticism that was made about that particular background briefing. but in all honesty, we felt that was an exception, rather than a rule, and that was the context in which we made the decision. >> well, the bottom line is that the issue is too controversial for you guys to -- but this is life.

in 1971, he leaked sot-called pentagon papers, a secret study of u.s. decision making about vietnam to the media. he's the focus of the 2009 documentaire "the most dangerous man in in america." jamie rubin was chief spokesperson for the state department aduring the clinton administration. he's now adjunct professor at columbia school of international public affairs. and finally, michael hastings, contributing editor of "rolling stones." his article, "runaway general" led to the ousting of general stanley mcchrystal. and he's the author of "i lost my love in baghdad -- a modern war story." okay, daniel, what do you make of all of this? should this have been published? should we know what things in the diplomatic area are being said by one official to another? is that our right to know? >> well, nothing in those documents, embarrassing as they are to some people and their kind of snarky comments, nothing remotely compared to what michael hastings published, what he overheard in general mcchrystal's headquarters, and i thought properly published. it really

the pentagon spokesman claims he has "no knowledge whatever," of what happened. that is what they are telling us. a show of force with the president overseas? an accidental launch from a submarine? or a russian submarine? 5 miles off los angeles? somebody knows. whoever launched it has to know. right now we don't know. and now a source tells our reporter "it is, in fact, a missile. the u.s. government knows where it came from," and our source believes it may have come from a submarine, classified. and now our national correspondent at the pentagon. are there missile test facilities in that area? >> there is an air force base 100 miles from los angeles and is a missile test facility but they say they did not launch. and a naval air station closer to los angeles. they say they didn't do it. but norad is saying someone clearly knows. and they are getting closer to finding out what happened. and they expect to tell us before not too long. so we may find out in a matter of hours what the explanation is. norad putting out a statement earlier. "at this time we cannot pr

to promote the war former military officers would get talking points directly from the pentagon than say them on the air no questions asked if grandstand gesture. that is now you know the retired u.s. general talking point imagine an iraq ruled by the message needs to be american in iraq imagine iraq other countries are clearly talking point link iraq to iran i believe that iran is now the number one troublemaker in iraq that's bad enough but a lot of these pentagon pundits were making big money from defense contracts most of the t.v. and the weight of military analysts have ties to military contractors people who could possibly be making money on the war most would consider that a potential conflict of interest maybe not even potential at the same time reporters who did ask hard questions were punished by the white house luckily their managers stood by them reporter jonathan landay covered the speech dick cheney gave in august two thousand and two to the veterans of foreign wars many of us are convinced that saddam hussein will acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon that was based on a

to promote the war former military officers would get talking points directly from the pentagon then say them on the air no questions asked if it's a good. gesture. that is needed retired u.s. generals talking point imagine an iraq ruled by the message needs to be magine at iraq imagine iraq other countries are talking point link iraq to iran i believe that iran is now the number one troublemaker in iraq that's bad enough but a lot of these pentagon pundits were making big money from defense contracts most of the t.v. and the radio military analysts have ties to military contractors people who could possibly be making money on the yeah or most would consider that a potential conflict of interest maybe not even potential at the same time reporters who did ask hard questions were punished by the white house luckily their managers stood by them reporter jonathan landay covered the speech dick cheney gave in august two thousand and two to the veterans of foreign wars many of us are. saying will acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon that was based on absolutely nothing. it was pulled out of

jennifer griffin makes sense of it live at the pentagon, how serious is this jennifer? good morning. >> reporter: good morning bill. well, it's being taken very seriously at the pentagon, we're told the shelling began at 2:00 a.m. local time, it lasted for about 90 minutes, we're told about 200 artillery shells were fired, it was even between the two sides but north korea fired the first artillery shells on to that island. this is the most serious escalation between the north and south koreans since back in march, remember the north koreans sank that south korean ship, killing south korean sailors, there's a de

to promote the war former military officers would get talking points directly from the pentagon then say them on the air no questions asked if they certainly don't share this gesture. that is meeting with a retired u.s. general talking point imagine an iraq ruled by the message needs to be a magine iraq imagine iraq under control zarko you're talking point link iraq to iran i believe that iran is now the number one troublemaker in iraq that's bad enough but a lot of these pentagon pundits were making big money from defense contracts most of the t.v. and the radio military analysts have ties to military contractors people who could possibly be making money on the war most would consider that a potential conflict of interest maybe not even potential at the same time reporters who did ask hard questions were punished by the white house luckily their managers stood by them reporter jonathan landay covered the speech dick cheney gave in august two thousand and two to the veterans of foreign wars many of us are convinced that saddam hussein will acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon that was

a live report from the pentagon three minutes away. a follow-up on a big story we covered in "kelly's court." a decision eulg are involving a florida dad who stormed onto a school bus and threatened kids who were bullying his disabled daughter. stay tuned. you want some fiber one honeclusters? yeah. you must really care about him. what? you gave him fiber. this tastes way too good to be fiber. they're delicious crunchy clusters with sweet honey and half a day's worth of fiber. you care about my fiber? not really. [ male announcer ] fiber one. ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ] [ rattling ] [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continu ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote. [ malhis day starts thwith his arthritis pain.. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and

the pentagon does put an awful lot of background. there's a big reefing in the briefing room, with the senior official and they announced its on background. they did this must be push back. it was a briefing on don't ask don't tell. and they got a little bit contentious that we were all pushing back. and finally, i raised the question at the end of the night but why is his personal background? if we can name the person, it would give a lot more weight to the pentagon argument. this is an issue with someone who is reviewing all of the legal ups and downs on this and the judges decisions on tomaso tells it was providing -- was trying to provide parity in the pentagon's position on all of this. and i said it would be helpful to everybody here if we knew this person was. and finally chose morel said you can say this person is also a lawyer. i'm mentioned in the story we need a reason why this person is on background. just morel said because that's the way we say it is. so i quoted jackson he got got upset with me. i just felt it was impo

to promote the war former military officers would get talking points directly from the pentagon than say them on the air no questions asked if. gesture. that there is no you know the retired u.s. general talking point. in iraq ruled by the message needs to be read in iraq imagine iraq under control start talking point link iraq to iran i believe that iran is now the number one troublemaker in iraq that's bad enough but a lot of these pentagon pundits were making big money from defense contracts most of the t.v. and the weight of military analysts have ties to military contractors people who could possibly be making money on the. most would consider that a potential conflict of interest maybe not even potential at the same time reporters who did ask hard questions were punished by the white house luckily their managers stood by them reporter jonathan landay covered the speech dick cheney gave in august two thousand and two to the veterans of foreign wars many of us are. quire nuclear weapons. that was based on absolutely nothing. it was pulled out of thin air there was absolutely no i

to promote the war former military officers would get talking points directly from the pentagon than say them on the air no questions asked if they serve a good. gesture. that there is no you know the retired u.s. general talking point. in iraq ruled by the message needs to be a wedge in iraq imagine iraq other countries are clearly talking point link iraq to iran i believe that iran is now the number one troublemaker in iraq that's bad enough but a lot of these pentagon pundits were making big money from defense contracts most of the t.v. and the radio military analysts have ties to military contractors people who could possibly be making money on the war most would consider that a potential conflict of interest maybe not even potential at the same time reporters who did ask hard questions were punished by the white house luckily their managers stood by them reporter jonathan landay covered the speech dick cheney gave in august two thousand and two to the veterans of foreign wars many of us are. quire nuclear weapons. that was based on absolutely nothing it was as if it was pulled o

nbc chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski joins us from d.c. what are you learning, jim? >> reporter: quite frankly, contessa this is unbelievable that this could have happened, the u.s. military, for nearly -- more than a half day now claim it is doesn't know exactly what happened. now, pentagon and military officials here confirmed that it appears there was a missile launched into the skies to the west of los angeles, the missile appeared to head off in a northwesterly direction. still, they claim they don't note source of that missile. now, interestingly enough, a short time ago in a statement from nor rad and north com, that is the front line of defense against any kind of external threat to the united states, issued a statement in which they said that they are trying to provide the specifics of what happened here and determine the exact act or intent or whatever happened. that indicates they may have an idea of what happened but aren't ready to tell us yet and they did say in the same statement at no time did this present any kind of threat to the homeland it does ap

the pentagon officials say the video is the only indication of a possible missile shot. the navy and air force strongly deny they fired a missile and using satellite imagery, north come and norad had no launch. it looks like it's through a heavy traffic area around los angeles. faa officials tell nbc news they reviewed the air traffic control tapes and those radar replays did not reveal a fast-moving object in that area. and at the same time, there were no reports of any unusual sightings from pilots. so then, what is it? military missile expert john pike believes it's an airplane, likely a jumbo jet and the appearance of it streaking upward is an optical illusion. >> it's coming out of the sunset and it looks like it's being launched out of the water but it's not. >> pike and military officials point out the object is moving too slowly and changes course like an airplane, not a missile. the pentagon tonight says that they insist or believe that it was an airplane and insist that whatever happened did not pose a threat to the u.s. a senior military official tells us if w

that we don't accept the mina corp we don't accept red star then i think that the pentagon would act and perhaps change the contract perhaps it's a bet by the pentagon that it that that the status quo can hold these companies came out of nowhere and grab contracts that over the last several years have earned them three billion dollars and now and dish and all three hundred fifty million dollars it's not clear who really owns them it's not clear who works there who benefits from from the contracts who they're linked to the allegations are to the former government incidentally the same firms during the regime of. were linked to that family and so all of these questions the appearance of this is not positive it doesn't look good for the united states it doesn't look good for the pentagon. every look at some other stories from around the world this hour we're told from the news daily will cain has climbed to ninety eight after the latest blast shot out clouds of ha gas and debris more than sixty five people were injured many of them critically eruptions of mount merapi have intensified i

and, tonight, pentagon officials are calling for calm. in arlington, jay korff, abc7 news. >> thank you, jay. >>> bob ryan has more on this from the perspective of a meteorologist. >> here is the image, and sometimes, is interesting that what we see and what we think we see is not exactly what is happening -- and sometimes, it is interesting. here is another example of a conrail, and sometimes because of the orientation of the aircraft and because of the sunset and the elimination of the vapor trail, that is the contrail, if it weren't intercontinental plane coming all of the way from southeast asia to london -- if it were an intercontinental plane. because the plane is flying directly overhead, that is the reason sometimes we see these contrails. they are not contrails or missile launches. if you want to learn more, go to tbd.com, and i will tell you why i think this was a contrail, and you can also good to tbd.com, and i explained all of that -- and you can also go to tbd.com, and i explain all of that. >>> the commission investigating

you have seen what the pentagon unveiled. what's your view of the pentagon's efficiency moves and what are things you would add and other ways you would add to become more efficient? >> i'm very hopeful that the 23 efficiency initiatives that have been announced in the new policy that came out recently are the right ones. they talk about simplifying, they talk about weapons programs that are shorter in duration. lessening the change requirements. more collaborative approaches, working with contractors so there's alignment of goals so the best value is produced for the money that is spent. i think that i probably wouldn't add too much more than what we have out there. the 23 initiatives. what i would say is that we haven't seen the results of that yet and it will take time. very hopeful -- the acquisition reform act of 2009, plus the new efficiency initiative for the $100 billion of costs reduction, or really cost reallocation, because we are expecting to see a 1 to 2 percent above inflation rate of improvement and we arnk the

the pentagon has awarded a fuel contract worth of a three hundred million dollars to supply its the us air base in kyrgyzstan to a corporation that's under investigation by the u.s. congress the company won't disclose its ownership but there is speculation in the founding of our securities leader. here might be involved the supply deal does directly goes directly against the requests of the country's president was told by that and steve levine a contributing editor at foreign policy magazine says the cooperation involved in getting in the deal lacks transparency two companies involved mean and red star both of them have a very strange mysterious appearance neither of them has an identifiable office they work through offshore shell thanks in gibraltar and the appearance of this is not if it doesn't look transparent it doesn't look clear and it's not clear why the pentagon would again award the contract to the same company as before how was the government going to respond to this we haven't heard anything as yet but how if the curators decide that they're going to complain about this off

says the va did direct mailings and the pentagon advertised it on every website it could. even with all of that out reach, veteran mike herrera is rushing to finish his paperwork in time. >> i hope i don't miss out on the opportunity. >> reporter: in just a few weeks it will be too late. >> if anybody even suspects they might be eligible for this payment, we want them to apply. >>> vets who want to claim the money can submit an application through defense.gov by december 3rd. a pentagon officials says congress is monitoring how many people are filing and how many claims are getting paid and it'' %-deadline.ey may push back the3 >>> coming back up on fox 45 morning news. ever wonder what it's like to be in the news business? >> what do you think the public would rather hear from last, someone ho ha won every broadcat award on the face of the planet? >> the film opening this weekend that takes a comical look at what goes on behind the lens inside later the ravens have a late come back in atlanta. find out if it was enough >>> falcons driving, matt ryion finds pull back. take

the pentagon officials say the video is the only indication of a possible missile shot. the navy and air force strongly deny they fired a missile and using satellite industry north com and norad had no launch. it looks like it's through a heavy traffic area around los angeles. faa ficials tell nbc news they reviewed the air traffic control tapes and those radar replays did not reveal a fast-moving object in that area. and the same time, there were no reports of any unusual sightings from pilots. so then, what is it? military missile expert john pike believes it's aairplane, likely a jumbo jet and the appearance of it streaking upward is an optical illusion. >> it's coming out of the sunset and it looks like it's being launched out of the water but it's not. >> pike and military officials point out the object is moving too slowly and changes course like an airplane, not a missile. the pentagon tonight says that they insist or believe that it was an airplane and inst that whatever happened did not pose a threat to the u.s. a senior military official tells us if we're not e

kyrgyzstan is going to to send a message to the pentagon that we don't. mean a corporation we don't accept red store and i think that the pentagon would act and perhaps change the contract these companies came out of nowhere and grab contracts that over the last several years. three billion dollars it's not clear who really owns them it's not clear who works there who benefits from the contracts who they're linked to all of these questions the appearance of this is not positive it doesn't look good for the united states it doesn't look good for the pentagon. every look at some of the stories from around the world and the death toll from indonesia's deadly you know has quite a few one hundred two. after the way you last shot out clouds of hot gas and debris more than seventy people were injured many of them critically the eruptions of now i'm dropping have intensified in the last few days triggering mass evacuations experts fear that a new lava dome forming in the bow of the crater who collapsed triggering and never a massive deadly surge. when taking off

the pentagon officials say the video is the only indication of a possible missile shot. the navy and air force strongly deny they fired a missile and using satellite industry north com and norad had no launch. it looks like it's through a heavy traffic area around los angeles. faa officials tell nbc news they reviewed the air traffic control tapes and those radar replays did not reveal a fast-moving object in that area. and at the same time, there were no reports of any unusual sightings from pilots. so then, what is it? military missile expert john pike believes it's an airplane, likely a jumbo jet and the appearance of it streaking upward is an optical illusion. >> it's coming out of the sunset and it looks like it's being launched out of the water but it's not. >> pike and military officials point out the object is moving too slowly and changes course like an airplane, not a missile. the pentagon tonight says that they insist or believe that it was an airplane and insist that whatever happened did not pose a threat to the u.s. a senior military official tells us if we

mean a corporation we don't accept red star then i think that the pentagon would act and perhaps change the contract these companies came out of nowhere and grab contracts that over the last several years have earned them three billion dollars it's not clear who really owns them it's not clear who works there who benefits from the contracts who they're linked to all of these questions the appearance of this is not positive it doesn't look good for the united states it doesn't look good for the pentagon. and a brief look at some other stories from around the world now the death toll from indonesia will cain has climbed to ninety eight after the latest blast shot out of clouds of hog gas and debris more than sixty five people were injured many of them critically the eruptions of mount merapi have intensified in the last few days triggering mass evacuations experts fear that a new lava dome forming at the mouth of the crater could collapse triggering another massive deadly surge. winds are picking up in haiti as tropical storm thomas approaches the island police have urged the island's one

that the pentagon would deploy 10% of the navy to protect the president. brian? >> savannah guthrie in mumbai. we'll be checking in with you along the way. one place the president will not be going on this trip is india's high tech and job-rich capital bangalore. it's the place often blamed for the outsourcing that's killed so many american jobs. our own ian williams shows us what the president will not be seeing during this particular trip. >> reporter: this is the city that gives president obama sleepless nights. >> let me know if you need any help. >> reporter: bangalore, india. >> does this make sense? >> reporter: servicing america. 24-7, with everything from online shooters to personal assistants. >> you have an appointment today at 3:30. >> reporter: india's outsourcing and i.t. capital is booming. a $60 billion industry, employing 4 million people across india. 60% of its work for the u.s. >> people feel we are taking jobs away from the u.s. i think it's unimaginable. in the u.s., the cost would be 10 or 12 times more than what we're providing. >>

the pentagon study began ten months ago. the question: what happens if congress repeals the policy that forced more than 13,000 personnel to leave the military in the last 17 years. some 115,000 troops responded to a mailed questionnaire. 70% said allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would have positive, mixed or no effect. on the other hand, 30% predicted negative effects. among combat troops 40% were opposed to the idea. that figure climbed to 46% among u.s. marines who answered the survey. defense secretary gates and the chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mike mullen favor lifting the ban as does president obama. at a briefing today, gates addressed the combat unit concerns. >> part of this is a question of unfamiliar yard, part of it is stereotypes. and part of it is just sort of inherent resistance to change when you don't know what's on the other side. so i think that the contrast between the significant levels of concern for those who had... who said they had never served with someone who was gay as opposed to

senior pentagon press liaison in baghdad, and also here at the pentagon. he's much respected by the media, because he short of tells it like it is and has been helpful on mbeds and media and so forth. and elisabeth bumiller, who started the beat -- no, you started the white house beat on september 10, 2001. thinged obviously changed a lot the day after that. she expected, according to a bio that i read, or expected to be more of a domestic policy white house reporter. and then, of course, the next day became, you know, -- >> everything changed. >> everything in the world changed. as it did for me, i left l.a. and went to new york the next day. you know, i wanted to -- i think i wanted to keep my remarks report. even though we have two hours, we want to hear from the audience and the hear you talk. i wanted to touch on a couple of issues. you know, this is -- especially a good time to have the panel. because of the obama administration has now been in for, you know, some period of time. and even though that secretary of defense is the same as it was in the

the pentagon's explanation for this mysterious sight in the southern california skies. >> every woman i know my age with kids has the same back pain in the same place. >> it's a growing pain for anybody stuck in front of the computer for hours. how to leave that discomfort sometimes without even leaving your chair. >> the rain has moved out and the sunshine is all over the bay area. it is going to be a gorgeous day, here's a look outside from our mount vaca cam. coming up, today's high temperatures, your veterans day forecast, it is tomorrow, and the weekend. i know you want to know about that. your weekend forecast in just a few moments. ,, [ female announcer ] at&t makes it easy to choose the services that fit your life. [ spokesman ] who doesn't want more choices? i like choices! you can even choose wireless voice service. [ chuckles ] not with my cable company. well, it's time to switch. check this out. [ female announcer ] call to get u-verse tv and internet plus choose home phone or wireless voice service starting at $99 a month. switch now and get a 30 day money back guarantee

a pentagon study group has concluded that lifting that ban will cause no major problems. >> don't ask don't tell when it comes to soldiers in the ranks the majority of men and women don't care. last summer the pentagon polled fourth hundred thousand active-duty and reserve troops asking them how they would react to lifting the ban. seven out of tens of the effect would be positive, mixed or nonexistent. the survey also asked is asking an openly gay person in the unit would have been a factor in an intense combat situation. most had no strong objections of the was significant minority is opposed to serving alongside openly gay troops. in the marines the number reached 40%. but the report has not been officially released yet but some of the results were linked to the washington post. congress will get a chance to vote on don't ask don't tell when it returns for a session. the repeal is been written into the pentagon's budget request to gay-rights groups launched a campaign today to pass the bill before republican dominated house takes office in january. today the got a boost from cindy

the pentagon says it is likely a trail left by a jet, but the pentagon has no information about a specific plan in that area at that time, leaving the site in the sky a mystery for many. >> officials are doing a full investigation, trying to determine exactly what we saw. the u.s. is not under a threat. they do not believe this is a missile launched by a foreign country. in arlington, courtney robinson. >>> new at noon, a fighter after -- a fire on a dreamliner jet made a landing in dallas after smoke was discovered on the plane. the dreamliner scheduled to be available to airlines next year. >>> 7 passengers are being checked out after an incident on a metro bus. ed six adults and one child were taken to the hospital as a precaution. right now d.c. fire officials are not sure why that bus stopped so quickly. looking outside now, our week of sunny, but chilly days continue. we have a look at our first forecast. hi, steve. >>> and absolutely beautiful day. look at temperatures as outside. 58 at dulles airport. satellite and radar -- hard to find anything at all. mainly clear skies in the mo

to promote the war former military officers would get talking points directly from the pentagon than say them on the air no questions asked if it's a good day read stand just wrap that is needed to tell us talking points imagine an iraq ruled by the message yet needs to be some action in iraq imagine iraq other countries are talking point link iraq to iran i believe that iran is now that number one cricket maker in iraq that's bad enough but a lot of these pentagon pundits were making big money from defense contracts based on the t.v. and the radio. have ties to military contractors people who could possibly be making money on the war most would consider that a potential conflict of interest maybe not even potential at the same time reporters who did ask hard questions were punished by the white house luckily the managers stood by them reporter jonathan landay covered the speech dick cheney gave in august two thousand to the veterans of foreign wars many of us are. weapons. that was based on absolutely nothing. it was pulled out of thin air there was absolutely no intelligence no evi

what is the pentagon saying? and what is the pentagon not saying this morning about it? >>> and washington state expected to ban the sale of caffeinated alcohol drinks. the same type of beverage that sickened nine college students at an off-campus party last month. we'll have all of those stories coming up. ten minutes till the top of the hour. [ male announcer ] montgomery and abigail haggins had a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit, which provided for their every financial need. [ thunder rumbling ] [ thunder crashing ] and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. ♪ and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. >>> and it's six minutes till the top of the hour. new this morning, according to the associated press 1 in 5 drivers will be 65 or older by the year 2025. more aging drivers means more risks for everyone on the road. researchers say fatalities from crashes begin to increase at around age 75. and a driver over

the pentagon says it now knows what caused this smoke in the sky. next what life is like on board the luxury cruise ship that broke down in the middle of th >>> 4:45 is our time. metro system wants an inspection of escalators and found many need their oily brake pads replaced. others need to fix brake pads altogether. they made the discovery after six people were injured at an escalator accident in l'enfant plaza. >>> president obama said the u.s. has failed to reach a free trade deal. the president had hoped to announce a deal while in south korea. >>> a 16-year-old boy is recovering after being shot in southeast washington. he was walking on 14th place southeast last night when he was shot in the back twice. police say his injuries are serious but they do expect him to survive. no word yet on whether police have any suspects. >>> the 4500 people stranded aboard a carnivalruise ship are getting closer to dry land this morning. tugboats have been pulling the ship back to the waters of san diego where it should arrive early this morning. passengers a

jim miklaszewski is live at the pentagon. i know you've done a lot of reporting talking to officials. what did they tell you? >> reporter: here in washington and in south korea are calling this act by north korea provocative and, quite frankly, alarming. this was a regularly scheduled exercise by the south korean military there on that island to the west of the korean peninsula. they started firing the artillery after informing the north koreans in advance of the time and date. shortly after north koreans opened up with about a three-hour barrage of artillery shells that struck the island killing two south korean marines and, in fact, wounding some civilians there. according to u.s. military officials, the shooting has stopped. this particular incident appears to be over for the time being. nevertheless, it's very disconcerting. it's interesting what the u.s. military is doing. that, quite frankly, on the surface is nothing. there have been no orders for movements, repositions, reinforcement, troops in south korea. they don't

a new and highly anticipated report from the pentagon on the potential effects of repealing "don't ask, don't tell." good morning and tnks for joining us for "news 4 today." i'm eun yang. >> good morning. i'm joe krebs on this thursday, the 11th day of november, veterans day in the united states, as we take a live look outside. beautiful dawn here in the nation's capital. 47 degrees. and tom's here to look at the forecast for today. looks like we have clear skies. it will stay that way all day? >> yeah, does look like another day with bright sunshine. you're gng to want to wrap your hands around a bwl of hot oatmeal. it's cold out in the suburbs just outside the beltway. many locations are down into the low to mid 30s right now. in prince george's,fairfax, montgomery counties. it's in the low 40s in washington. upper 40s right ar the bay. and around the blue ridge and shenandoah valley, temperatures there are just in the low to mid 30s. from mount pleasant to morningside. vienna, and centreville. wheaton and germantown we've got a clear sky and off to r west temperatures are older in w

we are live from the pentagon with the latest. we are live from the pentagon with the latest. >>

the pentagon is talking this morning and experts. hear what they are having to say this morning about this. ci >>> welcome back. there is a live look from our oxon hill camera. off to a very nice start. temperature there, 46 degrees? >> 47. it should say 47 hopefully. >> all right, 47, 46, about the same. >> they are one degree apart. i figured that out in my head real quick. this morning, i got to tell you. tucker and i are both struggling with what do we say now. it is the same forecast we've had all week. let's take a look at the current temperatures out there. here in washington, it is 47 degrees at this hour. at dulles airport, 41 degrees. 44 in baltimore. frederick, maryland, 34 degrees. ocean city, maryland is at 48 degrees. satellite-radar composite for our region, clear skies. things look great. you will see a couple of clouds stream in here from the north or east. that will be it. nothing significant and bring no precipitation with them. simply put, the forecast for today, you know it as well as i do. mostly sunny, mild an

>> it actually applies to more than the pentagon. the pentagon is just one attack surface. i was talking to somebody who does a lot of very good investigations of these activities and after google disclosure, they were called in, said, hey do we have this problem? no, but you have four other problems coming from china, you have been hacked eight ways from sunday, happens all the time. virtually every major company is being hacked by chinese. >> what is the defense mechanism? >> the defense mechanism? what you should do is air gap your crown jewels, 2 or 3% of what you know that you really can't afford to have out should not be on a networked computer. it is a hard way to do business but that's the number one thing you have to do. tough assume you have been hack and put in pretty sophisticated behavioral tracking and forensics to log what's happening and make sense of it after the fact at least make sense of where the damage has occurred. >> what about national security beyond institutional security to web functionality to our financial systems to the functionality of our po

what is the reaction at the pentagon? >> admiral mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs was awoegen by aides when this started, he informed secretary gates and we're told that president obama was awoken at 3:55 a.m. in the morning here by his security individualsor, tom donilon. it's being taken very seriously. a senior defense official says nobody wants the situation to escalate but they're keeping a very close eye on the situation, the white house calling for a halt to the belligerence by the north koreans, all of this comes a few days after the north north koreans revealed it has a second track to producing nuclear weapons, bill. bill: we have thousands of u.s. forces stationed in south korea, it's been that way for 50 some odd years. any u.s. troops involved in this, jennifer? >> no. of course, there are 30,000 u.s. troops on the ground in korea, it's been that way, i should mention, since the 1953 armistice. technically north korea and south korea have been at war since then. no u.s. troops were involved in this incide

it's not impossible because the pentagon isn't a monolithic. it is not accept the tea party in the pentagon, but there are generals and bob woodward's baquero colin powell says to someone in the white house and mazie to barack obama you know, there's more than one general in your pentagon. you don't have to take the first piece of advice that's there putative if obama and his crew handle this badly, and it's possible. we don't know. we may have a different secretary of defense of the pentagon. -- there's an x factor. >> you could have some kind of split on those lines and that would be dangerous. i will leave it to you whether in the electoral terms to be on the small or mac side rather than the large war side of your argument, but it is dangerous. >> i have a question, too which is to what extent do you think the economy will dictate as the decisions and afghanistan, to what extent does it become really hard to sustain a lot of planning in afghanistan at a time the u.s. economy is -- >> that is a terrific question because it has been striking

the pentagon says no, none of that happened. today a spokesman said the department of defense is satisfied, quote, the con trail was likely caused by aircraft closed quote. earlier on "studio b" the famous first cyst -- physicist agreed. >> first of all's the rocket is not accelerating. booster rockets that take it to 15 or 20,000 mile-per-hour. this is cruising. missiles never change directions. third, it's going in the wrong direction. we fire from los angeles, vandenberg, we fire east to west in the pacific. sometimes over north over a polar orbit. this thing was going northeast in the wrong direction. >> shepard: all right, all right. not everybody is buying all of it i'm just saying. jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon tonight. come on, roll up. jennifer, officials there say they looked at all the different information before deciding this is probably just a jet. >> shep, this is not rocket science but you would think it was when it took the pentagon at least 24 hours before they put out a statement saying that it was