miss an episode of "the five." that's it. "special report" next. this is a fox news alert. welcome to washington. i'm bret baer. new information about the suspect in the weekend bomb attacks in new york and new jersey. what did federal authorities really know? and we have new surveillance video of that suspect just minutes before one explosion rocked manhattan. senior correspondent rick lev levinthal joins us live with the latest. good evening, rick. >> reporter: good evening, bret. businesses on 23rd street spent the day cleaning up and replacing doors and glass damaged or broken in saturday night's explosion. as you mentioned, we now have new surveillance footage taken from a camera a few doors down of the suspect ahmad khan rahami

pulling a rolling bag believed to contain the two pressure cooker bombs he left here in chelsea as new questions emerge about whether this was a representable attack. the father of terror suspect ahmad khan rahami said he feared his son had been radicalized after one of several trips overseas to pakistan and afghanistan, his son turned violent hitting his mother and stabbing a brother. >> they checked it, he's okay. >> reporter: the fbi did open an inquiry known as a guardian file and interviewed rahami's father and other family members but sources tell fox rahami was not interviewed because he was incarcerated at the time and the agency said it found no ties to terrorism. law enforcement forces tell fox news rahami's travel history including the overseas trips had been thoroughly scrubbed

resulting in no red flags. rahami is still hospitalized after being wounded in a shootout with linden, new jersey, police officers monday morning and has already been charged in that incident facing five counts of attempted murder and weapons offenses, held on $5.2 million bail. one of the officers wounded in the shootout, peter hammer, wases released from the hospital today. >> this was a horrific police and investigative work and it's a testament to the level of sophistication that our law enforcement today brings to investigations like this. >> reporter: tuesday, the homeland security secretary toured businesses near the bomb site in chelsea where 29 people were hurt saturday night, joined by new york city's mayor and the nypd's counterterrorism chief. >> i don't feel vulnerable because of an attack like this. this is the age we live in. we've talked about this many, in times publicly. it's a part of life at this time in history.

>> reporter: officials are examining rahami's computer and phone records to see if he had help or support in plotting or building weapons of mass destruction but at this point say it appears he acted alone. we've also learned tonight that rahami was carrying a handwritten notebook when he was captured filled with extremist ramblings including references to terror leaders anwar al awlaki and osama bin laden and the phrase the "join us in our new front." we also learned that investigators have tried to question rahami in his hospital bed and we're told he's so far not cooperating. >> rick levinthal in manhattan. thanks. we'll talk more about this with the panel. president obama covered a lot of territory today as he made his eighth and final united nations address as president. president spoke for 48 minutes. he had zero interruptions for applause there. he focused on climate change before the civil war in syria took, took a jab at russia and seemingly donald trump without

mentioning his name in that speech. foreign policy experts say today's speech seems to be more about what the president didn't say than what he did. correspondent david lee miller reports. >> reporter: the president's speech was part victory lap, morality lesson and finger pointing. he did not mention the recent domestic terror attacks or failed truce in sheer ya. instead, he focused on the mindless medieval of isis or isil, emphasized diplomacy and its role in the war. >> those who seek to build rather than to destroy and there is a military component to that. it means being united and relentless in destroying networks like isil who show no respect for human life but means in a place like syria where there's no ultimate military victory to be won. >> reporter: the president also lashed out at russia for its territorial ambitions. >> if russia continues to interfere in the affairs of its neighbors, it may be popular at home, it may fuel nationalist fervor for a time, but over time, it's also going to

diminish its stature and make its borders less secure. >> reporter: while never mentioning donald trump by name, he seemed to criticize trump's agenda. >> tonight a nation ringed by walls could only imprison itself. >> reporter: the president's speech lacked its usual applause lines. he did, however, get a laugh. >> i've noticed that another times both america's adversaries and some allies believe all problems were either caused by washington or could be solved by washington and perhaps too many in washington believe that as well. >> reporter: u.s. republican senator ron johnson of wisconsin who was at the general assembly to hear the president's speech thought it missed the mark. >> disappointing speech. i was really hoping that he would truly address the pressing problems of the world and it really is centered in syria and iraq. we got to defeat isis. he laid out that goal two years ago. we have to first accomplish that goal. >> reporter: the president spent the afternoon at a summit to raise money for the world's

nearly 65 million refugees. >> if we were to turn refugees away, simply because of their background or religion or for, for example, because they are muslim, then we would be reinforcing terrorist problem began probl propaganda that nations like my own are somehow opposed to islam. >> reporter: not only is this president obama's last appearance at the general assembly while still in office, it also marks the final days of ban ki-moon as secretary general, his term expires at the end of the year. the process continues to name his replacement. bret? >> david lee miller, live outside the united nations. david lee, thank you. funding the government could come down to a fight over national security. as we brought you on "special report" last night, a new inspector general report in the department of homeland security showed that more than 800 immigrants facing deportation were mistakenly granted citizenship. now, as correspondent doug mckeller reports, some conservatives are trying to use

the power of the purse to get congress to act to stop potential terrorists from getting in. even before the three terror attacks of this weekend, 38 house members signed a letter to the house gop leadership urging a suspension of the administration's syria, middle east and north africa refugee programs. the recent attacks have added new impetus. >> indeed, we have already seen this, you know, with orlando, with san bernardino, chattanooga and the attacks just in the last couple of days. this is our future and when the administration seems to be communicating to the american people that we better get used to this, i don't think so. >> reporter: also adding to the urgency for congress to act, the recent inspector general's report showing how dhs accidentally made citizens out of 858 immigrants who are supposed to have been deported. people from dangerous parts of the world. one senator believes the i.g. grossly understated the number. >> we believe there are more than 900 additional, a total

number of around 1,800, who had hair fingerprints managed in a different way. the current number exceeds 1,800 and may grow larger. >> reporter: republican congressman brian babin wants to attach his proposal to suspend the refugee program to the ongoing negotiations over the continuing resolution to fund the government past september 30th. he says the house leadership has been responsive to his plea. >> i just hope my colleagues in the house will get this into the c.r. and get it passed. >> reporter: one house leadership aide told fox news the chances of suspending the refugee program are zero. the reason, congress is tied up in delicate negotiations over the continuing resolution with zika funding and a 9/11 lawsuit bill unsolved. and another add-on that would suspend the refugee program because they've taken blame for shutdowns in the past and democrats are more than willing to try again.

several gop sources say it's the democrats' intention to keep republicans here as long as probable. since republicans have more senate seats up for grabs in november than democrats do, the longer that both parties are here slaving away i stead of being at home campaigning in close races, the better the democrats' chances of reclaiming control of the senate. bret, back to you. >> live up on the hill, doug, thank you. a bipartisan group of former national security officials are sending a letter to lawmakers urging them to uphold an upcoming presidential veto of the jasta bill, that veto is expected in days. the bill allows victims' families to sue saudi arabia and any country believed to have materially supported terrorists carrying out attacks inside the u.s. in their letter the officials write, "the effect of this legislation on our national security interests as well as the unintended consequences it would inevitably have on our relationships in the middle east and europe and our standing throughout the world are very troublesome." attorneys representing the 9/11 families responded saying,

"those arguments were unanimously rejected because they deeply and demonstrably mischaracterize existing law and jasta's scope and effect and are entirely subjective as the authors themselves concede." the bill passed unanimously in the house and the senate. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has signaled the senate will vote to override the veto when it happens. major premium increases, high deductibles and private insurers getting out. with all these continuing to plague the affordable care act, or obamacare, democrats are now suggesting another option that could turn president obama's signature health care law into something else entirely. rich edson reports. >> the patient protection and affordable care act is passed. >> reporter: in president obama's first year, congress overhauled the american health care system. even before the end of the obama administration, democrats are pushing a major change to

obamacare. it's called the public option. the creation of a government-run health insurer designed to compete with private insurance companies. democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton and a large group of congressional democrats are now pushing the idea. >> i think we're seeing the public option come back out of desperation, quite frankly. we've seen the united health groups, the aetnas of the world, withdraw from widespread participation in exchanges. >> reporter: last month, aetna announced it was withdrawing from 11 of the 15 states where it offers obamacare plans. the company says it has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in obamacare. united health care and humana have made similar announcements. critics charge even with tax subsidies to help customers pay, obamacare insurance plans are still too expensive. too few customers are signing up and the system, they say, is unsustainable. dr. jeffrey bahrke, a supporter of republican nominee donald trump, claims the law's designers intended these results. >> the reality is, we had to pass this bill to watch its

collapse in order for us to get to single payer government health care. that is the only thing that makes sense to me with this obamacare demise death spiral as we're currently seeing. >> reporter: democrats blame insurance companies for what they say is service to shareholders instead of patients. more than two dozen senate democrats joined a resolution declaring that, "giving all americans the choice of a public non-profit health insurance option would lead to increased competition, reduced premiums, cut wasteful spending an administration, marketing and executive pay and ensure customers have the affordable choices they deserve." one economist says a public option may help reduce health care costs though with republicans in control of congress, he says changes to regulations to help and compel insurance companies are the most realistic ways to improve obama compare. >> i think these measures would sustain competition at an adequate level within the health insurance exchanges.

over time, i think that competition can and should grow. >> as for president obama on democratic efforts to change obamacare, he says they are improvements as he supported the public option while congress debated the bill in 2009. he suggests in the "journal of american medicine" that congress should also increase government subsidies for those buying obamacare insurance. bret? >> more on this with the panel. rich, thank you. with 49 days to go, the republican and democratic presidential nominees are taking a different approach to campaigning in the final days before the election. at least today. hillary clinton is spending the day at home for debate prep. while donald trump is out and about holding rallies in north carolina and making note of his opponent's absence from the trail. senior national correspondent john roberts joins us with more. good evening, john. >> reporter: bret, good evening to you. with hillary clinton at home doing debate prep, dronald trum, again, had the campaign trail all to himself taking full

advantage of a clear lane to press his attacks against his opponent. long before he hit the stage in north carolina, trump was tweaking his opponent on twitter writing, "hillary clinton is taking the day off again. she needs the rest. sleep well, hillary. see you at the debate." in front of a crowd that included more young voters than usual, donald trump, again, zeroed in on the terror attack in new york city today. pinning the blame for homegrown terrorism on what he called a failed clinton/obama immigration policy. >> these attacks were made possible because of our extremely open immigration system which fails to properly vet and screen the individuals, their families coming into our country. my opponent has the most open-borders policy of anyone ever to seek the office of presidency. >> reporter: while he hasn't mentioned it at any recent campaign rally, in interviews, trump is renewing his call to add profiling to the arsenal of tools to root out terrorist attacks before they happen.

pointing to israel as an example. >> we have no choice. look, israel does it and israel does it very successfully. it works. we see somebody that we think there could be a problem at airports and other places, you talk to them and you see what's going on. >> reporter: trump is hoping his get tough on terrorism message are resonates in north carolina. a state where hillary clinton is trying to build a firewall. an influx of well-educated workers lured by the tech boom and the controversial north carolina bathroom gender law are just two items that should play in clinton's favor. the real clear politics average of polls shows the state up for grabs. both candidates are still fighting off negative per spepspepg sepgss. the "washington post" today reported trump may have violated u.s. tax law by using $258,000 in donations to his foundation to settle legal disputes involving his for-profit businesses. trump's son, donald jr., touched off a firestorm of criticism when he compared the refugee issue to a bowl of skittles

where two or three of the candies are poisoned. the skittles folks didn't like that one bit. and watch what happened to florida congressional candidate charlie crist when he told the debate audience why he is voting for hillary clinton. >> i believe that she is honest and i look forward to voting for her. >> reporter: well, hillary clinton's strategy is to take some time off the campaign trail to brush up on policy and to prepare a few plum lines to try to get under donald trump's skin at their first debate. trump instead prefers momentum and adrenaline campaigning hard all this week then taking the weekend to get ready for hofstra. bret? >> john roberts live in north carolina. john, thank you. as we mentioned, hillary clinton is off the campaign trail today, but not keeping quiet. today, the democrat nominee weighed in on friday's police shooting in tulsa, oklahoma, where a white officer shot a black man seen with his arms up shortly before that man was killed. correspondent jennifer griffin is in chappaqua tonight with the latest from the clinton

campaign. good evening, jennifer. >> reporter: good evening, bret. hillary clinton held a 45-minute telephone call with her national security team today and called into the steve harvey radio show, an effort to appeal to african-american voters who she hope will come out and vote for her. she addressed the most recent shooting of an unarmed 40-year-old black motorist in tulsa, oklahoma. >> this horrible shooting again. how many times do we have to see this in our country? in tulsa? an unarmed man with his hands in the air? >> reporter: terence crutcher was shot and killed by a white female police officer after his car stalled on the highway on friday. a lawyer for the officer said she thought he was reaching into his vehicle. clinton tweeted today, "another unarmed black man was shot in a police incident. this should be intolerable. we have so much work to do." >> this is just unbearable.

and it needs to be intolerable. and so, you know, maybe i can, by speaking directly to white people, say, look, this is not who we are. we've got to do everything possible to improve policing. to go right at implicit bias. >> reporter: michelle obama will be on the campaign trail for clinton in pennsylvania next week. philadelphia voters and african-americans in pennsylvania could be the key to hillary clinton winning those 20 electoral votes. and also the key to her cobbling together what has been the elusive obama coalition that she needs to win. back to you, bret. >> jennifer griffin live in chappaqua, jennifer, thank you. more voters are requesting absentee ballots in the battleground state of ohio. more than 524,000 absentee ballots have been requested, and crease of 40,000 more than the

2012 presidential election. right now, the average of recent polls gives donald trump a slight edge over his democrat rival, hillary clinton, in ohio. up next, wells fargo ceo grilled on capitol hill over a massive banking scam. let's see what fox affiliates around the country are covering tonight. fox 29, philadelphia, john lewis has been awarded the philadelphia's liberty medal for his dedication to civil rights. lewis is a civil rights veteran who spoke about the 1963 march on washington. after receiving the honor, lewis said he never saw family or fortune. all he wanted to do was make the country a little better. fox 11 in los angeles where it's splitsville for one of hollywood's highest profile couples. angelina jolie has filed for divorce from brad pitt. an attorney for jolie said the decision was made, quote, for the health of the family. the couple was together for 14 years and have 6 children. the popularity of this power couple also known as brangelina

got this news into outside the beltway. this is a live look at mime ma. the big story there tonight, a zika-free zone. authorities declared victory in free venting further infections in miami's winwood arts district following aerial sprayings of pesticides. cdc even lifted a warning for pregnant women to stay out of the neighborhood saying it was no longer a zone of active transmission. miami beach, however, continues to be an area of concern. that's tonight's live look from outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. constipated? trust number one doctor recommended dulcolax use dulcolax tablets for gentle overnight relief suppositories for relief in minutes and stool softeners for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax, designed for dependable relief

wells fargo ceo was under pressure today on capitol hill. some senate democrats including

massachusetts senator elizabeth warren are calling for him to resign following a banking scam that cost more than 5,000 employees their jobs. fox business network's senior washington correspondent peter barnes reports on the fireworks coming out of today's hearing. >> reporter: wells fargo ceo john stump looked like he'd been run over by a stagecoach. his bank's corporate symbol. after angry senators from both parties slammed the bank for opening as many as 2 million deposit and credit card accounts without customers' approval or authorization. >> you should resign and you should be criminally investigated. this just isn't right. a cashier who stands a handful of 20s is held accountable. >> reporter: stump scrambled to explain what went wrong saying he was deeply sorry and should have acted sooner to stop the practices. >> i accept full responsibility for all unethical sales practices in our retail banking business, and i am fully

committed to fixing this issue, strengthening our culture, and taking the necessary actions to restore our customers' trump. >> reporter: two weeks ago, regulators fined wells fargo $185 million in the scandal which hit customers from 2011 to 2015 and it refunded more than 100,000 of them $2.5 million in fees. the bank blamed dishonest employees and said it began firing them when they were caught in internal audits. more than 5,000 workers in all. its head of community banking took early retirement and the bank announced reforms. but some senators are demanding tolstead and stumpf refund millions in stock bonuses. bonuses lawmakers charged resulted from a higher company stock price when executives pushed employees to sell more products to hit sales goals for more pay which inflated profits. >> is that a pressure culture situation, putting tellers and personal bankers in an

impossible situation? >> senator, that has no place in our culture. i've actually read that and it hurt to hear those words. >> some republicans charge regulators with dropping the ball on the phony accounts saying they investigated only after the "los angeles times" reported on the bank's practiceses in 2013. bret? >> peter, thank you. what do you think? do you think wells fargo's ceo should step down? let me know on twitter @bretbaer, #specialreport. the dow jumped ten today. the s&p 500 was up a half. the nasdaq grew six. the future is here. today, the federal government issued its first rules for self-driving cars. not everyone is ready to let go of the wheel. >> today, we put forward the first federal policy on automated vehicles. >> reporter: that policy is designed to be flexible, ranging from cars with drivers, to those without a steering wheel or brake pedal. >> it is a first of its kind

taking us from the horseless carriage to the driverless car. this is hopefully the beginning of a process of identifying and addressing transportation barriers faced by underserved populations. >> reporter: there are self-driving cars from ford, uber, tesla, gm and google which acknowledges one of its self-driving google cars caused an accident near san francisco. it swerved to avoid road debris, running into a bus. minor damage, but it proves a point. the technology is still in drivers ed. >> as more and more people are using these devices and getted using to them, i think you're going to see a progression where they get more comfortable in giving control to the vehicle. >> i think a google car is going to be a safer driver than i am. >> reporter: last month in arizona, google vehicles were involved in three accidents. all police say caused by human error. >> driverless cars have the potential to eliminate drunk, drugged and drowsy driving. >> reporter: while mothers

against drunk driving is all for these driverless cars, not everyone is convinced. >> take the human element out of their decision of pulling in front of us. they see us as a vehicle, not an 80,000 pound truck. >> reporter: 94% of road fatalities are the result of human error according to the federal government. which hopes that today's guidelines allow for the industry to evolve. making roads safer, less congested and less polluted. automakers say we can see driverless cars for sale in as little as five years. bret? >> interesting. william, thank you. the u.s. air force says a u2 spy plane has crashed in california killing one pilot and injuring another. the plane went down just outsid sacramento. it's a high altitude spy plane which routinely flies at 75,000 feet. a defense official say russia was responsible for bombing a humanitarian aid convoy outside aleppo, syria, monday, killing around 20 people.

russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman denied the accusation today. the united nations' aid agency suspended all convoys in syria putting an already fragile cease-fire agreement between the t u.s. and russia into further doubt. u.s. and russian relations remain tense on everything tonight from syria to suggestions that russians are responsible for several recent hacks including the breach of the democratic party's computer system. while many here in the u.s. are skeptical of russia, tonight from moscow, senior foreign affairs expert amy kellogg takes a look at how russians feel about us. >> reporter: though it's not their election, they aren't shy about picking sides on the streets of moscow. >> clinton. because she's a lady. >> translator: trump. i do not trust her. i don't like her. >> reporter: russian president vladimir putin has not endorsed either candidate but observers say donald trump would be his pick. >> vladimir putin definitely

favors trump. not that much because he likes trump so much, but because i think he's really afraid of hillary clinton. >> reporter: recent clinton comments putting trump and putin in the same chauvinistic club did not go unnoticed here. >> the grand godfather of this global brand of extreme nationalism is russian president vladimir putin. >> reporter: all of this against a backdrop of strong anti-american sentiment here in russia. a leading pollster here says that somewhere between 60% and 65% of russians have a negative view of the united states. that's down from 80% last year, but still it leaves a lot to be desired. >> feelings are more about russia and its role other than a global role and also that the problem that, are russia lost its status as a great power. >> reporter: russia and the u.s.

have crashed over crimea, eastern ukraine and syria. russians tend to see the yoouts united states as trying to impose its will on the rest of the world. allegations that russia hacked into hillary clinton's e-mails there's speculation putin must be enjoying seeing the gloss come off the campaign for the presidency of the world's biggest democracy with its scandals and smears. in moscow, amy kellogg, fox news. french authorities made eight new arrests in the horrific truck attack in nice that killed 86 people. the paris prosecutor's office said today the suspects all have links to the attacker who drove a truck into a crowd gathered for a celebration back in july. all eight were arrested in france and at least five face preliminary terrorism charges. isis has claimed responsibility for that attack in nice. north korea continues to thumb its nose at the rest of the world. state media there reports today that leader kim jong-un supervised a ground test of a new rocket engine to launch

satellites. and wants to launch one as soon as possible. the news comes amid global condemnation of the north's fifth nuclear test earlier this month. senior foreign affairs correspondent reports tonight on the country's continued disregard for international bans. >> reporter: north korean leader kim jong-un checking out his country's latest provocation. images purport to show a ground test of a new rocket engine. the north koreans claim it is powerful enough for a long-range ballistic missile. that would be capable of striking the u.s. with a nuclear weapon. this follows two tests of nuclear warheads this year as well as other missile tests from a range of platforms. it's got the pentagon worried. >> what concerns me most is they will get there. they're going to get there. once they have those capabili capabilities, what are they going to do with them? >> reporter: as north korea increased its nuclear threat, the obama administration practiced a criticized policy of strategic patience, refusing to engage with pyongyang unless it

rejects its nukes. today at the u.n., president obama sounded downright impatient. >> when north korea tests a bomb, that endangers all of us. any country that breaks this basic bargain must face consequences. >> reporter: meeting on the sidelines of the general assembly, president obama and chinese premier agreed to boost cooperation in dealing with north korea. china has also been criticized north being tough enough with its north korean ally. that might be changing. the "wall street journal" is reporting beijing could be cracking down on a major chinese firm across the border with north korea facilitating pyongya pyongyang's nuclear weapon development. this under the pressure from the obama administration which feels like time is running out. >> pressure doesn't feel like a enough. criticism, the pressure wasn't brought up through the chinese fast enough. >> reporter: also at the u.n., president obama branded north korea a country that is an economic wasteland. it is an increasingly dangerous one as well. bret? >> greg, thank you.

an incredible show of power from mother nature. in costa rica. temporarily closed the international airport in the country's capital. costa rica's volcano erupted several times sends smoke and gas billowing into the air and raining ash down into san jose. residents lives around the base of that volcano have not been evacuated yet. after clearing ash from the are runway, the airport re-opened. president obama makes his final address to the united we'll see how well panelists think he did. plus the latest on that investigation into terrorist attacks next.

until basic questions are answered about how communities co-exist, the embers of extremism will continue to burn, countless human beings will suffer, most of all in that

region, but extremism will continue to be exported overseas. and the world is too small for us to simply be able to build a wall and prevent it from affecting our own societies. aggressive nationalism, a crude populism, sometimes from the far left but more often from the far right which seeks to restore what they believe was a better, simpler age, free of outside contamination. >> president obama addressing the united nations general assembly for the last time as president. this time speaking for almost 50 minutes. zero interruptions for applause compared to about 12 of them in 2009. within the first 90 seconds, he talked about climate change and the ravages of climate change. took him about 30 minutes to mention the word, syria. he said terror, or terrorism, three times and mentioned isis three times in that speech. let's talk about that first with our panel. steve hayes, senior writer for the "weekly standard."

amy stoddard. and mercedes schlapp. steve, a not so veiled reference to donald trump even though he didn't mention donald trump. overall your thoughts on the speech. >> he couldn't resist the elbow at donald trump. look, i mean, this was barack obama's attempt i think that at a victory lap, and if that were the case, the speech could is been considerably shorter because he doesn't have that much to celebrate. what struck me as i listened to the speech was it sounded almost like profesorial, barack obama, the university professor. a speech filled with buzzwords that might impress undergraduates about international relations but very little resemblance to the kinds of things we're seeing on the ground unfold today. he talks about syria, he laments the fact nothing was done to prevent the slaughter in syria. who's the leader of the free world? i mean, this is a guy who gave a speech in defending his libya policy, his decision to go into

libya. he said the united states occupies a special role to prevent such atrocities and he did nothing. >> yeah, to that point, we have the president at a later event on refugees speaking on just that. syrian savagery. >> in recent years in the united states, we've worked to put in intensive screening and security checks so we can welcome refugees and ensure our security. in fact, refugees are subject to more vigorous screening than the average terrorist, and we've seen in america hardworking patriotic refugees serve in our mill tear and start new businesses and help revitalize communities. i believe refugees can make us stronger. i believe history will judge us harshly if we do not rise to this moment. first and foremost, we must recognize the refugees are a symptom of larger failures, be it war, tensions, or persecution.

if we truly want to address the crisis, wars like the savagery in syria, must be brought to an end and it will be brought to an end through political settlement and diplomacy and not simply by bombing. >> okay. amy, this is "the atlantic" in which he talked about this decision in syria in april. "the fact i was able to pull away from the immediate interests, not only with respect to syria but also with respect to our democracy was as tough of a decision i've made. there's playbook in washington that presidents are supposed to follow where america is directly threatened, the playbook works. the playbook can also be a trap that can lead to bad decisions. in the midst of an international challenge like syria, you get judged harshly if you don't follow the playbook even if there are good reasons why it does not apply." i guess today he was talking about inaction in syria and he had inaction in syria.

>> right. i mean, we remember that he drew a red line and that he called for air strikes and the congress rejected him and then we've watched the whole situation deteriorate and this is now a new normal where something like this is going on where the world stands by especially the united states in a position of leadership really paralyzed these last couple years from 2013. and it's gotten worse and worse and really he threw out some tough talk, i thought it was interesting today on russia, but the headline here is that we seem to be powerless in the face of russia's role here. they're in the driver's seat. and so he -- you know, he's running out the clock. he's leaving really soon. trump won't talk about this because he is sympathetic to russia or whatever his position is. it's not, you know, it's not the american position. it's not usually the republican position. and then hillary clinton because she doesn't want to be associated with a failed policy

in the middle east, especially in syria, from the obama administration, doesn't want to talk about it either. and so you heard ed royce, house member today, chairman of the armed services committee, saying -- >> foreign affairs. >> excuse me. foreign affairs. sorry. saying basically that we have to try to act through passing a sanctions bill. i don't know what that will do. but basically saying these are russian, you know, russian airplanes that are stopping the aid convoy. russia is actually helping assad with ethnic cleansing. but this is not being debating at all. it's not being addressed by obama and not being debated in the presidential campaign. >> ben rho rrdes echoed that tonight. mercedes, what about his mess e messaging here? >> clearly, president obama is pushing through two messages today. it's two enemies, trump and putin. clearly i think when you look at the case in syria, he last year

mentioned in the united nations, same type of speech, saying we need to ensure that assad must be out of power. obviously, the diplomacy has not worked. obviously, the fact that russia does have more influence in the syrian region and assad has more power now than he has in the past, i mean, shows the weak position that -- that the united states is in right now. >> we pointed out on this panel the president has said assad's days are numbered, they happen to number in the hundreds and hundreds as of now. steve, what about this investigation into rahami, this suspect, taken in. the fbi is now saying about this, in august 2014, the fbi initiated an assessment of ahmad rahami fwbased on comments madey his father during a dispute presented to authorities. interagency checks and multiple interviews. none of it which revealed ties to terrorism.

>> well, i think the fbi has some explaining to do. fbi did not disclose the fact it had started this guardian investigation initially. the fbi, assistant director spoke yesterday. did not disclose that fact. said he had a run-in with the law. secondly, when you look at what the fbi was doing, their argument is, look, this didn't trigger a deeper investigation because we didn't find anything when we first looked at it. it's important to know his father is the one who had suggested he was associating with, quote/unquote, bad people overseas who wanted to get their hands on explosives. he had not said this just to investigators but had said this to a neighbor who reported it and you now have the situation where you have a family that is apparently posting messages that are sympathetic to islamic extremism. you have, i think, momentum in the counterterrorism establishment to suggest that this was yet another lone wolf, that everything fits into this new paradigm, that everything's lone wolf attack. and yet the evidence that we've got in front of us suggests that

he at least may have had help. he was associating with bad guys overseas. islamic radicals overseas. his father suggested he was a terrorist and was worried about him getting his hands on explosives through his contacts overseas. >> he cementspent a lot of time overseas. afghanistan. pakistan. this incident with the authorities happens and that doesn't set off red flags. we've seen this in the boston bombing marathon bombers. >> it's terrifying for all of us to find out there was a lead on these people then sort of went dormant then they commit, you know, a huge crime that, thank god in this case, didn't kill anybody. >> we should point out they did a fantastic guy getting the job, to figure it out, do it very quickly. and they do a great job protecting us every day. however, when these things happen, it does raise flags about what flags they're not seeing. >> right. and it's disconcerting. i'm not a troerrorist expert. he'smaker. i don't think he was trained by

the best people. but certainly he's been at it for a while if his father told that to the fbi and that's alarming. >> this comes after the dhs i.g. report that says they gave citizenship to some almost 900 people set for deportation. it does fit into donald trump's messaging on refugees. maybe not directly, but i'm sure he's using this again and again. >> absolutely. it fits into trump's narrative that the broken immigration system needs to be fixed, that there is substantial problems, whole problems with the immigration prom and unless we get that part of it completed and fixed, we can continue to see this potential problem. next up, obamacare, is it headed for single-payer system? that's next.

you won't see these folks at the post office. they have businesses to run. they have passions to pursue. how do they avoid trips to the post office? stamps.com mail letters, ship packages, all the services of the post office right on your computer. get a 4 week trial, plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

the promises of the affordable care act or obamacare just simply aren't panning out. and it is impossible for me to believe that that wasn't known ahead of time. if it wasn't, then the plan is a complete failure. if it was known, then, by design, what's happening is exactly what was intended to happen, so that the government can now come in and rescue the failing plan with a single pair government sponsored plan. >> it's just not family doctors thinking that. there are now experts echoing that very sentiment that this was all designed to fail. as you look at some of the stats. big insurer, like etna leaving 11 of its 15 states by the end of 2016. some 75% of plans offered in the 2017 affordable care act exchanges in 18 states and d.c. will have limited provider choice. that's up from 64% in 2016.

55% in 2015. and then we have entrance and exits from the plan. four additional states are likely to have a single marketplace insurer in all counties, alabama, alaska, oklahoma, south carolina, for a total of five states, including wyoming had already had only one insurer in the state. we're back with the panel. a.b., what about this up on capitol hill? is there a sense that this is kind of been designed to be the camel's nose under the tent? >> i don't think that that's true. and i don't think there is know hope of these resolutions for a single pair or anything moving. if hillary clinton gets into the white house, i don't see a landslide coming and i see her dealing with a republican congress. and it's widely known, it's been anticipated for a year and a half that in the next administration definitely even the democratic president would have be dealing with obama fixes. not repealing and replace but they have to deal with the fact that the exchanges are failing and people have narrowing choices and they are losing their coverage and they can't see their doctor and they are going to

have to deal with the medical device tax and a whole slew of things she is ready to compromise on. single pair thing is election year gamut to excite progressives to turn out to vote. i don't see it going anywhere. >> we haven't covered it that much. it hasn't come up that much in the general election. in the primary hillary clinton and bernie sanders were asked numerous times about what their healthcare plans would be. here's one of them. >> hillary clinton wants to see that all americans have the right to choose a public option in their healthcare exchange. >> i am a staunch supporter of president obama's principle accomplishment, namely the affordable care act. >> on her website, steve, says we need a public option. and it needs to make it possible. a public option. government option. >> well, only in washington could you have a massive intrusion into the healthcare markets five years ago that is

demonstrablably failing and have those on the left say what we really need here is more government. if only we had more government things would run more fixturely. i think the problem is, to go back to a.b.'s point, the problem is even if this wasn't designed to fail, if that wasn't the follow was to get to single pair, there was certainly ample warnings. you remember the 8-hour event at blare house, the debate with president obama and members of the house, all of these things that we're now seeing, were raised by republicans in realtime to make that case. and virtually all of them have come true. at the time republicans were derided as, you know, the sky is falling, chicken littles. virtually all of them have turned out to be right. >> i asked president obama about a number of these things in march of 2010 when i last interviewed him about the issue of healthcare. mercedes, your thoughts? >> well, i think for the democrats, the public option is their lifeline. they know obamacare is failing and they are thinking if we go along with

this approach, public option, especially in election year when they know they need the progressives to get in line and get excited and vote for hillary clinton. but the problem that is it's a public option, anything like the co-ops, we know the co-ops fails. they were disaster and it will be a burden for taxpayers. >> it is a burden for democrats politically. republicans so far have not unified behind one alternative. >> that's true but i have spoken to several lawmakers who have very frustrated they have tried to get the trump campaign to focus on this issue. he stubbornly never raises it. doesn't bring it up, doesn't talk about it i think it can really help the senate candidates in these states where these exchanges are slipping away and where service is going to be cut off and their options gone. i think it's going to actually help senate republicans in indiana and other places where it's going to be happening and price hikes at the last minute. it will pose a challenge to hillary clinton and the track candidates for sure. i think it's an opportunity

missed for donald trump. >> well, in part i asked him about it in the debate. he was praising the canadian system at one point. i asked him about that. >> he liked subsidized coverage and the mandate. >> mention it. stay tuned for a new york politician slowed down, way, way down. tired of re-dosing antacids? try duo fusion! it's two in one heartburn relief. the antacid goes to work in seconds... and the acid reducer lasts up to 12 hours in one chewable tablet. try duo fusion. from the makers of zantac.

finally tonight, new yorkers notoriously move fast. they are always on the move. one late night show decided to slow one new yorker way down and then give the

segment a label. >> i saw him look straight in the eye of the mexican president. he didn't blink. he didn't look like hillary clinton o with one of those long answers. >> it wasn't us. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for this "special report," fair, balanced and and still unafraid. >> it is wednesday, september 21st. this is a fox news lart. breaking overnight, violent protests raging in charlotte

after a deadly police shooting. at least a dozen officers injured, one hit in the face with a brick as hundreds of protestors destroyed police cars, set trucks on fire and smash windows looting stores. >> brand new charges against a man who left bombs in new york and new jersey. the chilling surveillance video shows ahmad rahami strolling down the streets with bags behind him. >> a teacher stomps on an american flag to make a point. good lesson or over the line? we report, you decide. "fox & friends first" starts right now. >> it is the 21st day of

september. you are watching "fox & friends first." i am abby huntsman. >> i am heather childers. thank you for starting your day with us. we have breaking news now. let's get right to the fox news alert. dozens of people injured after rye olts explode in charlotte overnight. this disturbing video showing an officer hit in the head with a brick. looters setting fires and storming stores all after police shot and killed a man they say aimed a gun at them. >> jackie ebb ban nez with the details unfolding right now. >> they have been taking over the crowds hours after police shoot and kill a man they say aimed a gun at them. looting cargo trucks and setting things on fire. right now police are standing guar