Today we'll see it tomorrow about
The Foxes alert on calls for action after the deadly, Florida school shooting
You know young survivors the students themselves from that high school
They are demanding change in the making plans to launch a march on Washington and other cities across the country
Amid a revived movement for gun control hello everyone
I'm Eric Shan in for John Scott, and I'm Leah Gabriel. Good morning to you as well
well rallies this weekend and more planned across the country as the pressure is on to toughen up gun control laws as
We learn more about the accused mass murderer
With the couple who took him in speaking out
And still can't process it what he's done because this wasn't the person that we knew he was friends with your son
Yes, sir. How was your son holding up? He's angry. He's angry. He's betrayed. He's you know?
he
Was at that school too, and he had friends at that school?
Steve Harrigan is live in parkland, Florida Steve. What are you hearing this morning?
Leah the students have been very busy going to funerals for 14 fellow students
And three faculty members for funerals yesterday three today two more tomorrow
But they've also been busy going to political events
Anti-gun rallies many of the students deciding to try to channel their grief into political action to try to change the gun laws in this
country
Our elected officials need to get together
overcome their political
Differences and get some things done because they need to save the future of our country and the future of our country are those children
That are currently dying because politicians refuse to take action and continue to to take money from these special interest groups
Another anti-gun rally scheduled for tonight and on March 24th the students here say they intend to lead a national march on
Washington for a major
Anti-gun rally as for the suspected shooter 19 year old Nicholas Cruz we could see him in court at 1:00 p.m.
today for a status hearing
Cruz's public defender has said earlier that he intends to plead guilty to all 17 counts of first degree murder
That would be an attempt to avoid the death penalty
As far as the situation here on the you can see the traffic now moving behind me this road is back open
DUP as far as the stool school goes still shut down until the end of the week
That's when teachers are expected to be allowed back in it's not clear yet when the students will Reba Ginn classes Leah back to you
Will be difficult for all of them as they head back Steve Harrigan and parkland. Thank you
Every day we let the current dysfunction the background check system continue lives are in jeopardy
Well that Texas Senator
John Cornyn of course talking about legislation that the president says he will support just in from the White House
President Trump saying that this effort will improve the system of background checks for would-be gun buyers in the wake of the deadly
Florida school shooting and the president plans to hold a listening session with high school students and meet with state and local officials
On school safety later on this week
What can we expect to happen in Capitol Hill Josh Leatherman joins us foreign policy reporter for The Associated Press?
Oh Josh the NRA supports this legislation is called fix Nick's to try and fix the federal background check system
Do you think with the president's support?
Both sides and the NRA this will pass I think it depends on how quickly people move we often see that in the wake of
These terrible mass shootings. There's some initial momentum. Especially as we hear from compelling figures like these students
Who are seeing all over television and then as it goes on that momentum drains out so we have to see whether this will be?
Something that will be sustained, but you're right the fact that this isn't something the NRA is initially opposing does indicate
It could be something that could get some broad support
And you have pressure from
Students across the country to have this March for Life rally in
Cities across the country and in Washington DC on March 24th that during the debate on Capitol Hill
That's right that certainly is giving up putting a human face on that we know that President Trump in the past has been very compelled
When he sees the human images like he did after that chemical attack in Syria and in Yemen
That could be giving some momentum to this
But it's important to remember there have been times in the past where we saw that just after the Sandy Hook
Shooting at the elementary school we had very compelling images of parents demanding gun control
And that didn't actually end up leading to any action from Congress
Las Vegas shooting they talk about bump stocks everyone said they would BAM bump stocks and that trying to kind of Peter it out
At the same time what's fascinating about. This is you have Cornyn and
Congressman Murphy a senator Murphy of Connecticut
Two opposite ends bipolar different views on gun control Chris Murphy on the left there the young senator who has been outspoken
about Sandy Hook this does show
Opposite sides can get together and there can be bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. That's right. It could be a starting point
I think you're seeing Republicans and Democrats trying to find
Where is the low-hanging fruit the parts of this that aren't?
Terribly controversial you know Republicans and the NRA have said for a long time if we're gonna do gun control
Let's focus on first enforcing the gun control laws that we already have on the books, and that's really what this
legislation to try to
Enforce the the background checks that we already have put more information
Into the system about people who are already in eligible to obtain guns would do and what about further steps for example this dude marches
Are gonna probably call for a complete assault weapons, ban Senator Dianne Feinstein?
She is reintroducing the assault weapons, ban legislation on the band that passed
elapsed in 2004 and back in 2013 it failed by
Twenty votes, and she told the Senate to show some guts
Quote-unquote what are the chances of the assault weapon ban being reinstated?
From all of the lawmakers on Capitol Hill that we're speaking to you and others
There's very little optimism that we will see a step as dramatic as a renewal of the assault weapons
Ban or other major new gun restrictions put into place
You know this is still a very politically explosive issue in the country
And not something that a lot of Republicans are going to be willing to go along it and Cruz only 19 years old a lot
Of people pointing out that he's old enough to buy an ar-15 style got or semi-automatic
But he's not old enough to buy a beer in that state
Do you think that there are some calls to raise the age of people who buy firearms?
I think that's gonna be another difficult one. You'll you'll have gun rights activists saying
You know look the Second Amendment does not distinguish between people who are 19 and 21?
And that that's something that would be an infringement upon people's rights and finally compacts them the Attorney General of Texas
Yesterday had an intriguing plan. He says put guards an armed guard at every school
Maybe brought up at the meeting with the president later on of the week. Here's what Paxton had to say
Do not agree with this solution
I don't think more gun control is going to stop somebody like this kid that came in here and shots
You know these these students. That is not going to stop stop somebody
We need somebody on site as I said who can protect the students immediately patch 2 may bring this up
But if indeed he's meeting with the president later this week
Do you think a federal plan to put armed guards at the schools to protect the kids would be would be?
Sufficient and would that work typically after these shootings when you have calls from
Folks to have you know the answer to gun violence is to have more guns in the right hands of the right people
There's a lot of blowback from those on the left especially those students who we see
Really prominent on this are probably unlikely to support putting more militarization to the schools
And they have been raising the point that look in other countries where there's far lower levels of gun violence especially in the schools
It's not because they have you know every teacher with an ApS. It's not the teachers
It's like a professional
You know police officer a professional school guard with who's armed at the door right, but in this case
I think we have already learned that in the Florida shooting there actually was an officer of that sort who was in the school at
the time and
unfortunately
their presence wasn't able to prevent this tragedy from occurring so tragic sadly wasn't able to get to that buildings that your cruise was as
It was happening it happened so fast Josh. Thank you for your insight. We'll see what happens this week. Thanks. Ally of course Lea
Well more on the Russian interference in u.s.. Elections after the Moller indictment came down Friday
What our next guest a Russian expert says Congress can do to safeguard future elections plus?
Russia's comeback in the Winter Olympics hits a snag as a top athlete is accused of doping I
Think that it's unfortunate
We're trying to make it the cleanest sport as possible and these games clean
And there's no there's no place for it in the Olympics for cheating a doping
Wow exactly some Russia while they keep on getting into trouble this time one of the Olympic athletes from Russia
Failed a preliminary drug test and could lose his medal looking at alexander krishna's ski
Well it turns out he tested positive for a banned substance called melodium
He won a bronze medal with his wife and a curling event
And this couldn't come at a worse time for them Russia has been trying to make a comeback after that doping scheme in
2014 and it is still waiting to be officially reinstated
Laya
Well we're learning more about the Robert Mulder indictment accusing 13 Russians of interfering with the presidential election now
They allegedly set up fake accounts on social media posing as US citizens when asked if Americans were involved
This was the Deputy Attorney General's response listen
There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity
there is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election I
Want to caution you that everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent and lets him until proven guilty in court
So could Russian interference be an issue in the upcoming midterm elections joining us as Alina
Polyakova Russia expert from Brookings Institution nice to see you Alina. Thanks for having me well
Let's start with this Senator Mike Brown said over the weekend that there will be hell to pay
if Russia tries meddling in the US midterm elections
Can we assume that Russia probably already is trying to meddle in the upcoming elections through social media?
absolutely
What we've heard from the National Intelligence
chiefs and their testimonies last week is that they have no doubt in fact that these kinds of disinformation
operations information warfare that the Russians carried out in 2016 are still ongoing and will
interfere in the 2018 elections that are coming up very very soon, so this is a real threat the
Interference as general McMaster said over the weekend is real
The evidence is absolutely refutable at this point
So now's the time for Congress to act and you say that now is the time to take immediate steps?
Immediate steps to prevent these disinformation campaigns. What should those immediate steps be
Well look basically
What the Russians are doing now is straight out of the Soviet?
Playbook the Soviets tried to interfere in US politics and Western politics for decades
But what's different is that now of course? There's the digital space there are Facebook? There's Twitter. There are all of these much cheaper much
Faster ways of transferring disinformation of propaganda the other thing that's different is that during the Cold War years the United States was prepared
We had an entire institutional
interagency effort that was poised to counter these kinds of political attacks, and now we really have just
dissembled and destroy these kinds of counter disinformation efforts and so we need to
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