Comfort comfortable, i incorrectly stated that i too had been in special forces. That was wrong and i have no excuse. I have Great Respect for those who have served our national in special forces. They and all veterans deserve a department of Veterans Affairs that provide them the care and benefits they have earned. We at v. A. Are working hard to restore trust. And again, i apologize to those who may have been offended by my misstatement. We remain very focused on continuing our progress to better serve veterans. I would be glad to take your questions at this time. Mr. Secretary, dave from the washington post. Hi dave. Have you had time to think about what caused you to burst out like that and what was your motivation . Well dave, as i said my biggest motivation was to connect with the veteran. As all of you know in my First National press conference i gave out my cell phone number and many of you have been kind enough to publish it and repeat if and i it and i get calls from veterans every single day. My whole purpose for this job is to try to connect with veterans and to better serve veterans and that is what i was trying to do. Mr. Secretary [ inaudible question ] with your experience, your service to the military then and now, ho could you possibly say such a thing . I made a mistake and i apologize for it. I was in the army. I went to west point. I was an Army Airborne ranger went to Jungle School and desert warfare school. When i was in the 82nd Airborne Division we were the Rapid Deployment force for the military. Did you realize you had made that mistake as you call it and did you ever think you would be corrected . I was talking to a homeless veteran and i was concerned about getting that homeless veteran, if they were a veteran, the kind of care and services they needed. What i said was not on my mind. I was trying to connect this w them and they had people with them and we had people with them to get them into a home if they were a homeless veteran. [ inaudible question ] i apologized to them. Susan malvo. Susan. [ inaudible question ] well what you try to do when you connect with someone is try to find Common Ground. And with veterans my Common Ground is my veteran experience. And so what i was trying to do is find a way to connect with that veteran. And as i said i made a misstatement and i apologize for that. I have no excuse for it. But if you look at my 61 years of biography, you will never find that ive claimed to be part of special forces. I never claimed that. It was a misstatement and a mistake. [ inaudible question ] the question was did Anyone Around me tell me i had misspoken and the answer is no. Mr. Secretary you stated that 60 people have been fired from the department based on misconduct around the scandal allegations before you were secretary and that was also a misstatement. Are you concerned that this can undermine your ability for your trust . For my 61 years, integrity is one of the foundations of my character. The reason i was a boy scout and went to the west point and into the infantry and the reason i joined proctor and Gamble Company and the reason im here and the reason i want to be here to care for veterans. Integrity and character is part of who i am and i will do better that i dont make mistakes likedy like in los angeles. And if veterans are accepting your apology, do you feel like youve used up your one free pass you had with them to. [ inaudible question ] trust is something that is gained every single day, one veteran at a time. When you get these phone call from the veterans or text messages, they tell me the problem they have. I go away and work on it with a team of people that i have and if i can solve that problem, ive earned one bit of trust. Now i may give up a bit of next day but my job is to work for the veterans every single day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and get them the benefits they earned. I served with them. Did you ever serve res ig consider resignation . Im here to make the v. A. Work and so the veterans we serve can get the benefits theyve earned. And weve made progress. Wait times are down 18 and the claim backlog is down and great progress made during general shinsekis time when sloan gibson was interim secretary, we trying to get that down. Last question. Im sorry, i cant hear. [ inaudible question ]. You said there were 900 people fired, 60 directly to the scandal and it was a lesser number but there may be a pattern here. And the chairman and i talk on the phone frequently and we had a great relationship and we Work Together to help solve Veterans Issues and i think you saw great unanimity to do what we need to do. We are here to help veterans. Everybody wants that and nobody disputes that. Youve been listening to v. A. Secretary Robert Mcdonald saying he was trying to connect with a homeless veteran when he a homeless veteran when he misstated his service. And the other top story, the Train Derailment in california. More than two dozen people sent to california and nobody has died. And Hallie Jackson is on the scene at oxnard where officials are updating the investigation right now. What happened here . Reporter can you see the News Conference happening behind me and behind that where the train cars derailed. We know before 6 00 this morning there was a produce truck on the tracks here in oxnard. Were learning moments ago that the driver was a 54yearold man from arizonaand traveling southbound and tried to make a right on to a street and instead he turned right on to the railroad tracks. The conductor carrying 50 people was able to see the truck from a distance away and tried to slow done and could not stop in time. That is when the trap hit the truck creating the incredible amth you are seeing that fiery crash. 28 people were hospitalized and 23 treated at the scene and 24 people critical and fighting for their lives and 13 people are still in the emergency room going through treatment. Metro link is here on scene. This is now an ntsb investigation, a fullgo team has traveled here to Southern California to conduct the investigation and figure out what happened. We know three of the four passenger cars on this train had been recently within the last few years updated with safety features to absorb the energy in a crash like this and impact like this. There was one car that did not have the upgraded safety features but it was in the middle. Officials think this could have been worse if the train cars had not been updated. Those measures were put in place after a deadly 2005 crash in glendale and after another crash in chatsworth with a commuter train collided with a freight train. So we are continuing to monitor the updates but for now it is a while before the trains get cleared. Cranes have to come in and lift the three cars that have been derailed back up and put them back upright so trains can get back to normal here. Hallie jackson from l. A. Thank you for that update. Well take a quick break here and bring you new developments in the fight to fund Homeland Security. It is a busy afternoon in the cycle. Please stay with us. Curling up in bed with a Favorite Book is nice. But i think women would rather curl up with their favorite man. But heres the thing about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. And remember, you only take it when you need it. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. Ask your doctor about viagra. Welcome back. And now to developing political news. First how we got here. As you know another Government Shutdown is looming just three days away. The major sticking point, believe it or not, is Homeland Security security money at a time when we are seeing heightened calls for terrorist attacks in the u. S. They dont want to see the executive action for immigration and now the filibuster four times, the latest coming last night. And here is what will happen without funding. 195,000 Homeland Security staff would still work and not get paid. 30,000 staff would be furloughed. And breaking news this hour that Mitch Mcconnell will offer a way out. A temporary band aid that could fund through september. It would come through a separate vote. So lets dig into this with Ben Dominique from the heartland institute. This morning it seemed like it could be bad news but the latest developments seem it could be better. I think Mitch Mcconnell is doing a good job of giving the American People what they want proving that the president can govern and he cannot. The leadership has promised the base over and over again, next time well fight this fight you want us to fight and this is another example of them proving they are not willing to do that. I think this was an example where you had the kind of toxic nature around this decision and the executive action. You had the injunction from the federal court against it taking place and you had, i think, an opportunity where the base really felt like things are going our way and we are going to get a fight on this subject and instead mcconnell is not just conceding everythingly in kicking the can to september but filling the tree with amendments so democrats in the senate wont have to vote on everything put in there. You think they should go forward with shutting down the dhs. I should say i oppose the existence of dhs. I think i. C. E. Should not be at dhs. And i think it is the off spring of the bureaucracy. But republicans have given their base an indication they would be willing to fight on this. They did so explicitly before the last election and to go through the process that theyve gone through in this it is going to hurt their standing and the question is what are Republican Leaders willing to do to fightish and they said they and they said they wouldnt have Government Shutdowns. Theyve given away their leverage. They said they will not be willing to fight and 41 can fight fiscal policy. And you keep using the word fight and that accurately reflects a way a lot of the base republicans feel. And yet, what is the fight over . This is a simple story. It is a fight to stop the president s new immigration program. Which, right now, has been stopped. Now, i get because we all get politics is about symbolism and standing up and democrats can remember how frustrated they were not standing up to various bush proposal but can you speak to the logic. How do you fight something that is currently suspended by the federal sports. This is more about the optics about the situation. This is Republican Leaders saying republicans are the problem and kicking this back over to the house and saying hey, if you guys want to be whackos about this well let you. But we are not going to lead in the way we promised our base that we would. Over and over again, the leadership we can run things. If you dont have people pushing us to shut down the government and going to the mat, we can make things work but this is an early example of how they dont have an alternative strategy or a solution that gets them to an end goal other than democrats will get their way and weve rolled over. And kicking the can down the road. When you dont have the right information, rogsman massey said it is not clear what the impact is because there are a lot of things that are supposedly funded. And it was said the yo lo series of government. And these folks cant afford to go to workweek after week without getting checks and 30,000 furloughed and it seems like politically the Republican Party survived sequester and shutdown and folks are saying we can live like this. This is okay for us. I think in this case first off, i have to say furlough is fun because you get paid not to work. But the fun thing about this particular fight is this is the one thing where mcconnell and the Republican Leadership gave the false indication to the base they were willing to stand up and have steel to the spine on this issue. That is what is damaging. It is saying we are not just going to surrender but start shooting our own soldiers and hand you our muskets too and that is something the base is bound to react to and another aspect of the lack of trust between leadership and the base going forward. Ben domenech thanks for being with us. Good to be with you. And everything fair game in a live town hall here live tomorrow night on msnbc. So tweet us with your questions and watch us tomorrow night here at 8 00 on msnbc. Re you guys doing . Making sure nothing sticks. Otherwise, we gotta scrub all this stuff off. Huh, what . Nobody thought of this before . Whats wrong with people . Dish issues . Not with improved cascade platinum. It powers through. Your toughest, starchy messes. Better than finishs best. The first time. As if your dishes were nonstick. Cascade. Now thats clean. [ female announcer ] hands were made for talking. Feet. Tiptoeing. Better things than the pain stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic ask if xeljanz is right for you. Xeljanz tofacitinib is a small pill not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. Xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms, and help stop further joint damage. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. Dont start xeljanz if you have any infection unless ok with your doctor. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz and routinely check certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you have been to a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c or are prone to infections. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. One pill, twice daily, xeljanz can reduce ra pain and help stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Ask about xeljanz. Good job still running in the morning . Yeah. Getting your vegetables every day . When i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] couldve had a v8. Two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. President obama just wrapped up a meeting with a key u. S. Ally in the war on terror. Were talking here aboutbabout qatar and this is why we need them. The United States and qatar had a Strong Security relationship. Qatar is a Strong Partner in our coalition to degrade and ultimately defeat isil. The more we can reduce sectarian tensions in the region and isolate violent extremists the more effective we can be. The small arab nation is a big partner against isis but the ties to militants is a big reason for hesitation. They have provided crucial launch zones for Coalition Airstrikes and also offered their bases for the u. S. To train syrian vessels and they were a gobetween with the u. S. And militants. But they have given diplomatic support to the same rebel groups. One example here the past fall the u. S. Treasury Department Said an isis commander received 2 million from an unnamed qatar businessman. And small groups of syrians and iraqis are arming themselves to protect their families. The greatest is a group of syrian christians trained by american volunteers. They trained about 500 men outside of mosul. This is amid news they kidnapped 90 syrian christian this is week in syria. They targeted this region with two dozen airstrikes in the past two days alone. All of that air powner a power and a series of victories say isis is on the run. But Richard Engel said that is not the case. Isis still controlled raqqa and mosul and isis just broke out into labe raw. It is taking over a new country. So if that is defeat of isis or isis on the road to defeat i would hate to think what isis success would look like. Lets get to retired army officer douglas olive ant a director for iraq and senior fellow at the new american foundation. Doug, it is great to have you. Afternoon. Good to have you today. Pleasure. And youre recently back from iraq. I am. And you say it might not happen immediately but the outcome is increasingly clear. What gives you such confidence . The piece is coming together in iraq and the outlook in syria and other places are not so rosie. But with the country Training Forces and training more brigades with the United States assistance and consolidating units from the south and bringing them up to get them into the fight and a series of tactic al tactical defenses in provinces and in the north we have the kurds who are essentially encircling the city of mosul and break the supply lines into syria and isolate that city so that no one can get in or out, at least not into isils other trrs. Ss territories. So all of the other indicates are good right now in the attack. And now there is a Nonprofit Group stepping in to say where others cant and the group is called sons of Liberty International and the guy that heads it is matthew van dyke and spent six months under gadhafi and he said it