karen travers has more. >> reporter: the standoff on capitol hill continues but today a sign of optimism from house speaker john boehner about the looming government shut june. >> no, i do not expect that to happen. >> reporter: it could be a rough ride until that deadline. today the senate moved further on bill that with keep the government running temporarily and keep the healthcare law funded. >> every time it kicks by it's closer to a shutdown. >> reporter: but the bill to defund obamacare. >> the american people don't want the president's healthcare bell and they don't want the government to shut down. >> reporter: even if congress averts this crisis, there's another one looming. the government will hit its credit limit on october 17th. house republicans are gearing up for that battle. they're considering a plan that raises the debt ceiling but delays parts of the healthcare law for a year and cuts government spending. president obama said it's a no starter. >> no congress before this one has ever, ever, in history, been irresponsible enough to threaten default just to try to blackm

karen travers has more on the story. >> reporter: american nick handler was at the west gate mall on saturday with his 2-year-old daughter. his wife was a floor below them. he heard the explosion and gun fiermt he grabbed his daughter and ran. >> we ended up hiding out in an inventory room. >> reporter: his wife was evacuated by police. the family reunited outside of the street. >> we ran toward each other and hugged. >> reporter: this california native was among the dozens injured. she had surgery on her chet, arm and -- chest, arm and leg. the group al shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. >> extremely deadly organization, very well trained. >> reporter: one of the only al qaeda affiliates to recruit in the u.s. 53 recruits and more than half traced back to minneapolis/st. paul. this is video of a training video of men who died as martyrs. >> this is a real disneyland. >> the realoncern, based on this attack is ones that have gone and are back, could they conceivably be in place here to launch an attack. >> reporter: president obama reached out to kenya's president yesterd

our coverage begins with karen travers in washington. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, diana. good morning, john. it was an unthinkable tragedy yesterday morning. just blocks from where we are right now. 12 people were killed, all of them civilians and eight wounded. now law enforcement officials are scrambling to find a motive. a typical monday morning rush hour in washington turned in to chaos. [ sirens ] >> officials said aaron alexis, a 34-year-old former navy reservist, made his way into building 197 at the navy yard. >> multiple shots fired. multiple people down. >> reporter: d.c. police said it was 8:20 a.m. when the first call came in of multiple victims down. alexis made his way to an upper floor of the five-story building and started shooting down from atrium walkways into a food court below. >> at least five people shot. they are attempting to bring outside. >> reporter: the navy yard was on lockdown for more than six hours. survivors were told to hide in place. >> we put chairs and then tables up against the do

karen travers. >> karen, senator cruz did not surpass the longest seat. that goes to former south carolina senator strom thurmond maid during the civil rights act. >>> we've been here before. government shutdown not unprecedented. it happened 17 times. the last time was in 1995. a stalemate kept00,000 federal workers at home for five days. federal offices and national parks were shut down. cleanup at more than 600 toxic waste sites stopped and it lasted for 21 days. the final cost was $1.4 billion. >>> new shops have opened up at the canton crossing. we have more on what we can expect on this massive construction. welcome. >> no matter who i talked to today they were very opening about the shops opening at canton crossing. there's a lot going on with construction crews working. even one of the restaurants opening up. there is a grand opening in less than two weeks with 70% of the storms opening on this day. people living and working in the area are counting down the days. >> we've been here for several years now. we had a cafe in our building. of course,

karen travers, abc7 news. >> stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage. you can get the latest information on-line at abc7news.com, our site. and we are tweeting the latest developments on abc7 news bay area. >>> breaking news we first brought you, a a child is recovering after being hit in the neck with chards of glass following a shooting in oakland. you can see from sky 7hd officers zeroing in on this car with the back window shot out. a 5-year-old was hit by flying glass and it all resulted from a gunbattle between two shooters in two cars on 27th avenue. no one was hit by the gunfire. neighbors came out to help the little boy and they say he was with his mother and sister. >> they were very shocked. toddlers i would say crying hysterically. the boy was because he knows something is wrong with him and he couldn't figure out why. the sister was more or less in shock and being held by the mother. >> the boy is expected to recover. police are still looking for the gunman tonight. >>> well, it took jurors just three hours to reach a decision against a man

karen travers, abc7 news. >> stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage. you can get the latest information on-line at abc7news.com, our site. and we are tweeting the latest developments on abc7 news bay area. >>> breaking news we first brought you, a a child is recovering after being hit in the neck with chards of glass following a shooting in oakland. you can see from sky 7hd officers zeroing in on this car with the back window shot out. a 5-year-old was hit by flying glass and it all resulted from a gunbattle between two shooters in two cars on 27th avenue. no one was hit by the gunfire. neighbors came out to help the little boy and they say he was with his mother and sister. >> they were very shocked. toddlers i would say crying hysterically. the boy was because he knows something is wrong with him and he couldn't figure out why. the sister was more or less in shock and being held by the mother. >> the boy is expected to recover. police are still looking for the gunman tonight. >>> well, it took jurors just three hours to reach a decision against a man

karen travers, abc7 news. >> stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage. you can get the latest information on-line at abc7news.com, our site. and we are tweeting the latest developments on abc7 news bay area. >>> breaking news we first brought you, a a child is recovering after being hit in the neck with chards of glass following a shooting in oakland. you can see from sky 7hd officers zeroing in on this car with the back window shot out. a 5-year-old was hit by flying glass and it all resulted from a gunbattle between two shooters in two cars on 27th avenue. no one was hit by the gunfire. neighbors came out to help the little boy and they say he was with his mother and sister. >> they were very shocked. toddlers i would say crying hysterically. the boy was because he knows something is wrong with him and he couldn't figure out why. the sister was more or less in shock and being held by the mother. >> the boy is expected to recover. police are still looking for the gunman tonight. >>> well, it took jurors just three hours to reachsion again decision again

travers has more. >> reporter: the federal government inched closer to its first shutdown in nearly 20 years. house republicans took a hard line, pushing for a one-year delay of president obama's health care law, and the condition to keep the government running after the fiscal year ends monday at midnight. >> the house will take important steps to ensure that obama care does not have the opportunity to hurt american jobs and drag down our economy. >> the majority has tried any way they can to repeal, fund, undermine, delay, or whatever. >> and the finger-pointing for who should bear the blame is in full bloom. >> i want to let america know that house republicans are shutting down the government. they're doing it on purpose. >> in his weekly address, which was recorded earlier, president obama insisted once again that the time for negotiating is over. >> no one gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the united states of america just to extract ideological successions. >> there is little hope that the differences between the republican controlled house and the democratic senat

abc news reporter karen travers is in washington. >> reporter: president obama continued to make his case for a military strike against syria, earlier today he sat down with diane sawyer. the foreign minister there said they will push syria to put their chemical weapons under international control and then destroy them. >> what i said i said specificai want to make sure that norm against use of chemical weapons is maintained, in our national security interest. if we can do that without a military strike, that is overwhelmingly my presence. >> reporter: the 11th hour diplomatic surprise may have stemmed from an off-the-cuff suggestion from john kerry in london. >> he can turn over every bit of his chemical weapons to the international community, in the next week turn it over, all of it. without delay. >> reporter: after he said that, the state department was just a rhetorical argument, but now it looks like it is gaining momentum. but the president obama administration is preparing for a strike. and syrian president bashar al-assad remains defiant. he sat down over the weekend to disc

karen travers reports. tedterday at 2:41 pm. cruz started talking on the senate floor. >> most americans could not give a flying flip -- >> redneck rule number one, most things can be fixed with the tapes and extension cords. >> i am a big fan of eating white castle. toeven read a bedtime story his daughter watching back home in texas. he is trying to do a a vote on the government spending bill and also pushing for the defunding of the president's health care law. on government will shut down october 1. that is if congress does not approve new funding. the house will pass a bill that will keep inc. up and running temporarily but completely defund obamacare. tactics are really delaying the inevitable. they are all but certain just bend -- send a spending bill back to the house. then it is up to the house. >> when people see they can get high quality affordable health care for less than their cell phone bill, they will sign up. they will likely send it back monday just hours before the shutdown deadline. >> a live look now at the

karen travers, abc news, washington. >> this just and. will and kate have announced a christening date for the prince. he will be christened october 23 at st. james palace, the archbishop of canterbury will do the honors. he is two months old, the third in line to the british throne. capital bikeshare has officially arrived in the free state. 51 new stations open in montgomery county, including this one in rockville. others in bethesda and silver spring. the stations will bring 450 more bikes into the system, there are already stations and easy, arlington, and alexandra. speaking of taking a bike ride this afternoon, it still looks a little gloomy. really cloudy. and a chance of the sun could come out for the weekend? jacqui jeras is here with a first look at our forecast. tell us the sun will come out. >> i was just looking outside, there is a little break. i got a little blue sky in rossl the belforttop of furniture weather center. looking pretty overcast. 69 right now, a great day for a bike ride, not too hot with cloud cover. our depl

karen travers, abc2 news, washington. >>> well, drive by any apple store and it looks like black friday. people are camped out to get one of the first two new apple fines. it is the first time they released two phones at the same time. the 51, $199 and there's a cheaper version for $99. apple is expected to sell 8 million phones. >> this situation is not what folks in houston planned for. several people were robbed at gun point. the men got into the car and demanded that people hand over their wallets, phone and tablets and took off. nobody was hurt. >> all right. coming up we've been talking about this controversial rule of labeling pit bus. two dogs turned in by their owner who were told to get rid of the dogs or you could live on the street. >> a bus full of students doing the unthinkable. what one mother did after seeing this. >> he was on the field instead of the delivery room. joe flacco speaking out about fatherhood and missing the birth of his second son. when you have diabetes like i do, getting the right nutrition isn't always easy. first, i want a way to help minimize my bloo

abc's karen travers explains how we got to this point. >> reporter: president obama insists u.s. military action in syria will be different. >> this is not iraq. this is not afghanistan. >> reporter: the president says a limited, targeted strike will not lead the u.s. down the path into another unpopular war in the middle east but understands why americans are skeptical. >> the experience with the war in iraq colors how people view this situation. >> reporter: the specter of iraq is looming large. across the nation in town hall meetings. [ indiscernible ] >> reporter: and on capitol hill. >> we only heard one side of the story then. at this point we are only hearing one side of the story now. >> reporter: even overseas. britain one of america's closest allies. prime minister david cameron supported president obama on syria but last week members of parliament voted against joining the u.s. in a military strike. >> it was about how they felt let down over iraq and it was a deep concern which i completely understand of not wanting to get further involved in the difficulties in syria

abc's karen travers reports from washington. >> reporter: republicans rallied in front of the capitol pushing to keep the government working on the condition that health care reform is delayed by one year. a demand even they know will be met with fierce opposition. >> when you hear from senate democrats and the president that obama care is the law. so just for get about it it's not changing. >> reporter: republicans are about to risk a government shutdown to overturn the president's health care bill. >> they are desperate for this bill to fail. >> reporter: the political stand juf with a midnight deadline has real consequences for federal workers and americans. at the pentagon 50% of all civil yamgian employees will be forced to stay home. 112,000 workers at the treasury department suffer the same fate. 16,000 labor department workers will also stay at home. joe jones who cuts hair in mississippi air force base has a message for congress. >> if they were to lose their paychecks like everybody else would lose their paycheck it would motivate them to solve the problems they are facing n

abc's news karen travers has more. >> reporter: tonight, president obama said america is not the world's police. but this time, the nation cannot stand by on the sidelines. >> our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake, in syria. >> reporter: syria said today it would turn over its chemical weapons. president obama said these are encouraging signs. but it's too early to tell if they will succeed. the u.s. is now working diplomatic angles. but the president insists a strike option must stay on the table. but nearly two-thirds of americans oppose military action. spectors of iraq and afghanistan loom large. the president insisted this would be different. >> i would not put american boots on the ground in syria. this would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective. >> reporter: administration officials have made direct contact with nearly 450 members of congress. but the sales pitch isn't working. in the house and senate, more members oppose a strike on syria than support it. president obama said he is sending secretary of state john kerry to europe th

here is abc news reporter karen travers. >> they were in front of the capitol working past monday. on the condition that health care reform is delayed by one year. a demand that even they know will be met with fierce opposition. >> we hear from senate democrats and the president that obamacare is the law. so just forget about it. it is not changing. >> still republicans are about to risk a shutdown. >> they are desperate for this bill to fail of the. >> the political standoff with the monday night at midnight deadline has real consequences for federal workers and americans. at the pentagon 50% of all civilian employees are forced to stay home. 112,000 worker tees treasury department -- treasury department suffer the same fate. 15,000 labor department workers will also stay home. joe jones who cuts hair at a mississippi air force base wants to talk to congress. >> if they lose their paycheck like everybody else will it may help motivate them to solve problems. >> perhaps even that is not enough motivation to avoid monday night's government shutdown. abc news, washington. >> coming u

karen travers now with the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: the day after aaron alexis killed 12 people in a shooting at washington's navy yard the search for answers continues. >> we continue to conduct interviews, exploit digital media and run down every lead we can to piece together his recent movements. >> reporter: since the shooting, troubling details about the gunman have surfaced. the former navy reservist had previous run ins with police in seattle and fort worth texas. his father said he suffered of post-traumatic disorder after helping after 9/11. a source said adding he was having problems sleeping and hearing voices. officials are looking into how contractors like alexis are screened before they get security clearance. >> it really is hard to believe that someone with a record as checkered as this man could conceivably get clearance. >> reporter: around the nation's capital, somber tributes and calls to action. >> washington is recovering but washington needs a lot more answers. >> reporter: officials released the five remaining names of the victims tuesday all 12

karen travers is following the developments. good morning, karen. >> good morning, john and diana. witnesses described a terrifying chaotic scene on saturday. and yesterday president obama said the u.s. will do all it can to support the kenyan people. after a tense day, kenyan officials say they are in charge of the westgate mall. >> we have fully cordoned the building. so that makes no room for escapees. >> reporter: authorities believe all hostages have been released. gunfire, explosions, and billowing clouds of smoke as kenyan military forces battled with al shabaab militants holding hostages in the mall. as many as 15 members of the al qaeda affiliate stormed the mall with grenades and automatic weapons. some were dressed as women. american nick handler was at the westgate mall with his 2-year-old daughter and his 8 month pregnant wife was on another floor. three hours after the first shots were fired, they were finally reunited. >> all of a sudden heard a loud explosion followed by two gunshots, and i immediately grabbed her and luckily i was right by the door so we were able

karen travers, abc news, washington. >>> so here are just a few of the effects from a government shutdown. social security payments could be delayed. and new claims may not be processed. services like medicare and veterans benefits will continue. but new filers may have problems with agencies being under staffed. federal government offices could close. national parks, museums, and zoos would probably close. the state department would have to halt new passport and visa applications in all likelihood. and hundreds of thousands of federal workers could expect to be furloughed without pay. abc's george stephanopoulos will have more. he goes one on with former president bill clinton this morning at 8:00 on this week here on abc 7. >>> a new poll finds most voters want to put the brakes on california's high speed rail project. the usc "l.a. times" survey found that 52% of voters say the $68 billion project linking l.a. to san francisco should be halted, only 43% think it should go forward. now, that number is higher in the bay area with 51% of voters supporting the project. all in all, the majo

diana, john. >> karen travers, thank you. our other big story this morning, weather extremes we will be having today. get ready for 90s middle of the nation. canadian border to gulf of mexico. other extreme in the northeast we get details now from jim dickey at accuweather. good morning, jim. >> good morning john and diana. >> a cold air mass settled into the northeast, new england. the cold front rolled in yesterday. take a look at the early morning low temperatures. 39 in syracuse. 37 burlington. good many spots into the 40s including pittsburgh. down to 46. with that, many spots under frost advisories here this morning. patchy frost expected to develop as we track forward. also, of note, gabrielle, downgraded to tropical depression. bringing heavy ran to puerto rico. back to you. jim, thank you. >> investigators say a reckless hunter is responsible for starting the massive rim fire that devastated the yosemite area. they say he lost control of illegal campfire that since scorched 370 square miles and destroyed 11 homes. af

karen travers has been covering this in washington. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning. secretary of state john kerry said yesterday that president obama is not asking americans to go to war, but a targeted limited strike is necessary to send a message to the syrian people. the obama administration is going all out to rally support for a military strike against syria on capitol hill. >> this debate is about the world's red line. it is about humanity's red line. >> reporter: at the white house. >> i would not be going to congress if i wasn't serious about consultations. >> president obama got a commitment of support from several republican leaders including house speaker john boehner. >> the use of the weapons has to be responded to. and only the united states -- has the capability and the capacity to, to stop assad. >> speaker boehner may be a yes vote. the white house can't count on him to try to convince his fellow republicans to join him. boehner's office called the syria strike authorization a conscience vote and the white house needs to do arm twisting. main lawmake

karen travers live on capitol hill. thank you. keep it here as we get worldwide reaction to the president's address. we will have live updates on "america this morning" as well as "good morning america". >>> president obama's national security team is taking steps to prevent terror attacks related to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. one year ago today that such an attack was carried out against the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. four americans including the u.s. ambassador were killed. >>> across the country, it is a day of remembrance, honoring the victims of the 9/11 attacks. family members of those who died at the world trade center will read their loved ones' names. a ceremony will stop for moments of silence marking the times the plane hit the towers and when the towers fell. there will be a ceremony at the pentagon. thousands will mark this day performing voluntary acts particularly at fire houses, giving a hand to first responders. >>> the names of the victims of flight 93 that went down in shanksville, pennsylvania

karen travers is following the developments. good morning, karen. >> good morning, john and diana. witnesses described a terrifying ayottic scene on saturday. and yed yesterday president obama said the u.s. will do all it can to support the kenyan people. after a tense day, kenyan officials say they are in charge of the westgate mall. >> we have fully cordoned the building. so that makes no room for escapees. >> reporter: authorities believe all hostages have been released. gun fire, explosion and billowing clouds of smoke as kenyan military forces holding hostages in the mall. as many as 15 members of the al qaeda affiliate stormed the mall with grenades and automatic weapons some dressed as women. american nick handler was at the westgate mall with his 2-year-old daughter and his 8 month pregnant wife was on another floor. they were finally reunited. >> all of a sudden heard a loud explosion followed by two gunshots and i immediately grabbed her and luckily i was right by the door so we were able to sprint out. >> reporter: u.s. officials say it is one of the only al qaeda affili

here is abc news reporter karen travers. >> they were in front of the capitol working past monday. on the condition that health care reform is delayed by one year. a demand that even they know will be met with fierce opposition. >> we hear from senate democrats and the president that obamacare is the law. so just forget about it. it is not changing. >> still republicans are about to risk a shutdown. >> they are desperate for this bill to fail of the. >> the political standoff with the monday night at midnight deadline has real consequences for federal workers and americans. at the pentagon 50% of all civilian employees are forced to stay home. 112,000 worker tees treasury department -- treasury department suffer the same fate. 15,000 labor department workers will also stay home. joe jones who cuts hair at a mississippi air force base wants to talk to congress. >> if they lose their paycheck like everybody else will it maym tomotivate them to solve problems. >> perhaps even that is not enough motivation to avoid monday night's government shutdown. abc news, washington. >> coming up

. >> karen travers is joining us from the navy yard. >> reporter: good morning, john and diana. we started to hear more details about what happened here at the navy yard on monday and how aaron alexis got in to building 197 and started that rampage the fbi said they are still trying to determine a motive. what made aaron alexis go on a killing rampage. authorities say his deteriorating mental health may have been a factor. abc news learned in early august he was kicked out of a military housing complex after he complained of too much noise coming from a linen closet. a federal law enforcement official said it is unclear if the navy followed up. around that time, alexis allegedly had a run in with a family at the norfolk. one woman says she was there with her family when her 75-year-old aunt laughed loudly at a joke. out of nowhere, a man that looked like alexis confronted him. >> he kept saying she is laughing at me. we were like. no. then he got angry. >> reporter: three days later, alexis called police in newport >> reporter: three days later, alexis called police in newport a

our coverage begins with abc's karen travers in washington. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, john. good morning, diana. we are learning chilling details on what may have motivated aaron alexis to commit this horrific crime. a law enforcement official tells abc news he was a ticking time bomb. authorities are trying to answer why aaron alexis came to the navy yard to kill. >> we're continuing to conduct interviews, exploit digital media and run down every lead we can. >> reporter: law enforcement sources say he was a ticking time bomb and warning signs may have been missed. on august 7th at 6 a.m., alexis called the newport, rhode island, police and said an unidentified person had sent three people to follow him and to keep him awake by talking to him and sending vibrations to his body through a microwave machine. alexis switched hotels three times that night trying to escape the voices. newport authorities contacted naval station police. it is unclear if the military took any action. alexis' friends said he suffered from ptsd af

nbc's karen travers has more. >> the pentagon acknowledged there were red flags about aaron alexis. >> abc news learned he carved the words better off this way and elf weapon. authorities are trying to determine what those phrases could mean including whether better off this way meant alexis knew he would not survive his rampage. vectors are also piecing together clues about alexis' mental state. one recent incident stands out on august 7th at 6:00 a.m. he called the newport, rhode island, police. he claimed that after an argument at the airport they sent three people to follow him and keep him awake by talking to him and sending vibrations through his body. they contacted naval station police who determined at that point in time alexis was not a threat to himself or others. >> when someone is in a position where they have access to information and facilities because of their clearances, a mental health issue or problem can be extremely serious and it would need to be addressed right away. >> alexis' grieving mother spoke out she had no answers. >> i don't know why he did what he did

abc's karen travers is following the developments. >> reporter: kenya's president declared the nearly four-day standoff is over. >> we have shamed and defeated our attackers. >> reporter: terrorists from al shabaab a somalia-based al qaeda affiliate stormed nairobi's westgate mall. they killed dozens and injured more than 150 people. kenyan officials said five attackers were killed during the fierce battle with security forces. the president said that 11 suspects are in custody in connection with the siege. the attackers have not yet been identified. >> intelligence reports have suggested that a british woman and two or three american citizens may have been involved in the attack. we cannot confirm the details at present. >> reporter: at the end of the long, bloody standoff, three floors of the westgate mall collapsed. bodies are still trapped in the rubble. at least 67 other people died. 51 civilians and six security officers. witnesses told abc news the terrorists were shooting anyone who couldn't believe they were muslim. >> told us we were going to die. >> this woman says she's st

abc's karen travers is joining us from washington with more. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, john, good morning, diana. another big day on capitol hill yesterday as top obama administration officials made their case for a strike against syria, but at this point we are probably a couple days away from a full vote. a small step forward on capitol hill. the senate foreign relations committee passed a resolution authorizing a strike against syria, but the white house still has a lot of convincing to do. several congressional leaders indicated they're backing president obama. right now there isn't enough committed support to pass authorization for a strike against syria in both the house and senate. top obama national security officials went before the house. >> the united states must demonstrate through our actions that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable. >> reporter: secretary of state john kerry grew frustrated when a republican lawmaker wanted to grill him on the attack in benghazi. kerry said there was no place for that

karen travers is joining us with the latest. >> good morning, john. good morning, diana. the obama administration continues to push for a strike against syria. across the country and on capitol hill, there is increasing skepticism. yesterday, a surprise proposal from russia really shook things up. in an interview yesterday with diane sawyer, president obama was direct. >> is military strike on pause? >> absolutely. >> reporter: the pause comes after a dramatic 11th hour diplomatic curve ball that may pull the u.s. back from the brink of an attack on syria. they said look for syria to put the chemical weapons under international control and then destroy them. president obama called it a modestly positive development. but said the threat of military action is needed to stay on the table. >> i don't think that we would have gotten to this point unless we had maintained a credible possibility of a military strike. >> reporter: syrian president bashar al-assad was defiant in an interview with cbs this morning's charlie rose. >> reporter: will there be attacks against american