A morning newscast featuring breaking news and weather reports. I wouldnt bring him anything thats unsubstantiated before i knew what it was actually about myself. Last year, cohen testified before two congressional committees regarding Russian Election interference, but a source familiar with cohens testimony tells cnn he did not testify that trump had any advanced knowledge of the trump tower meeting. Now the president s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is attacking cohens credibility. The man is a liar, a proven liar. Theres no way youre going to bring down the president of the United States on the testimony, uncorroborated, of a proven liar. I guarantee you, this guy is a proven liar. Reporter when just a few weeks ago, giuliani seemed to have plenty of faith in cohens truthfulness. If he believes this is in his best interests to cooperate, god bless him. He should cooperate. I do not expect that Michael Cohen is go to lie. Hes going to tell the truth as best he can, given his recollection, and if he does that, were homefree. Reporter sources say cohen doesnt necessarily have
corroborating evidence, no tapes for instance, so it may be his word against the president s. Back to you. All righty. Thank you so much, sara. The president has no Public Events on his schedule this weekend. Hes staying at his golf resort in bedminster, new jersey. Sarah westwood is nearby in berkeley heights, new jersey. What are you hearing . Good morning to you. Reporter good morning. President trump is settling in for another weekend here in bedminster amid those Unanswered Questions surrounding how much he knew about that nowinfamous meeting in trump tower between donald trump jr. , his son, and a russian. Trump departed the white house yesterday without taking questions about claims from his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, that he knew in advance of that meeting, something trump denied in a tweet early friday morning. Now, facing this renewed scrutiny of his campaigns ties to russia, trump has been struggling to change the conversation, making remarks yesterday in the rose garden about the economy and firing off a series of tweets about democrats, their positions on immigration, the senates
inability to confirm some of his nominees. And of course, this is all happening against the backdrop of an otherwise successful week for the president , relatively speaking, who Made Progress In Trade Talks with the European Union and was able to tout strong gdp growth from the Second Quarter of this year. Those numbers were released on friday. But russia continues to distract from the president s economic agenda. And if that wasnt distraction enough, washington was set ablaze on friday by perhaps the coincidence of the year. Special Counsel Robert Mueller and donald trump jr. Seen waiting at the same airport gate at Ronald ReaganInternational Airport in a photo obtained by politico. Now despite the Social Media Frenzy over the picture, a spokesman for mueller says the two did not interact. All right. Sarah westwood, good to see you this morning. Thank you. Joining us now to discuss this, daniel lippman, reporter and coauthor of the political handbook, and joy jackson, cnn legal analyst and criminal
saying, you know, he is an honorable lawyer who will cooperate, if he wants to, and then when he starts to cooperate, you tear him down, that is just a 180 that is hard to explain. And so, it seems like Rudy Giuliani did not think through the ramifications of doing that. And we should also remember that donald trump jr. Made a call right before the meeting and right after that trump tower russia meeting, to a blocked and unknown number, and we know from other reporting that the residence at trump tower where trump lives uses a blocked phone number, and trump was in trump tower that day. He was not campaigning. And so, you would expect that someone like donald trump jr. , who said in an email, if you have dirt on russia, i love it. The circumstantial evidence is
building up a little bit. Joey, let me ask you, what is Michael Cohen up to . Is he trying to get a pardon from the president , in other words, give a glimpse of some of what he can reveal, or is he trying to make his case with mueller about why he would be a good witness and maybe have a reduced sentence, if it came to that . Its a great question in terms of the Strategic Point of view. I dont buy into the fact that hes looking for a pardon at this point. I think that the ship has sailed in terms of that in his mind. I think that theres a very public divorce going on as it relates to Michael Cohen, who would take a bullet for the president , who seems to be firing a lot of bullets at the president at this point. So, i think the angle, as he mentioned in his interview, is hey, its about my family, its about my country. I have information. Its going to clearly, the president doesnt have my back. Im thinking hes saying that in his mind so i have to go fend for my family and state that i
have information for myself. I have knowledge that could be useful for prosecutors. Im going to cut the best deal possible i can, and if that means cooperation with the prosecutors to get that deal, thats exactly what im going to do. President be darned. Thats my point of view. Daniel, youve got the last 30 seconds. This was otherwise a pretty good week for the president , certainly economically, it ended well on friday, and yet, this dark cloud is hanging over his head, and that dark cloud is cohen and the investigation. I feel like thats every week in washington where there is some progress on domestic issues and then the russia bear just continues. And i think we should, in terms of your earlier question to joey, i think cohen is waiting to see what exact charges he gets, potential charges, and then he will have a way to negotiate that cooperate deal. I dont think they presented him a bill of charges yet. So you dont think hes gone one way or another yet . I think theyre sifting
through all the evidence that, you know, the million pages of documents. So, they havent concluded, i think, exactly what he is liable for. All right. Daniel lippman hes ascribing to the philosophy of each person for himself and god for us all. Thats my point of view. Joey, thanks for the philosophy. Daniel lippman as well, thank you both for joining us. Thank you. Thanks. There is a family in Northern California this morning calling hospitals and shelters looking for two children and their great grandmother who have been missing since their home was destroyed by a wildfire. The challenges ahead for the firefighters working to gain the upper hand on getting control of this fire and finding those people. Plus, as we were just talking about there, the economy had a real strong increase. Is it going to last, and whats behind it . Dont text and drive isnt that what all police tell us . Look what happened when an officer in missouri didnt follow his own rules. We compare rates to help you get the price and coverage thats right for you. Thats amazing the only thing that would make this better is if my mom were here. What . an unexpected ending i knew at that exact moment. Im beating this. My main focus was to find a team of doctors. Its not just picking a surgeon, its picking the care team and feeling secure in where you are. Visit cancercenter. Com breast lean on me, when youre not strong and ill be your friend ill help you carry on lean on me. Two Young Children and their great grandmother are missing as fire crews battle a rapidly expanding wildfire in Northern California. The carr fire were talking about in Shasta County has devoured nearly 50,000 acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses thus far. Two firefighters died trying to stop the flames from spreading, but this morning, the fires only 5 contained. Cnns paul bacaman is joining us live. I look at whats behind you, paul, and its so striking when you think about the families that have to come back and see what used to be their home. You talked to the family that owns what is behind you. What did you learn . Reporter well, christi, martin, as you can see over my shoulder the remnants of a house. This fire, the carr fire, tore through west redding, this neighborhood of stately homes, and it reduced many of them to rubble. As you pointed out earlier, 500
homes destroyed, another 75 homes damaged in the carr fire. And what theyre trying to do is prevent more of this from happening. This morning we understand now off in the distance to the west, the small town of igo has been evacuated, and thats because firefighters dont want to risk another scene like this. Now, as for this family, we talked to the son who had grown up here, a young man. He was thrilled that his parents got out alive. He also is searching around for the family cat. There seems to be one thing green left on this property, and thats a bush back there, and they were thrilled when they found the cat inside. But also some soulcrushing moments. Can you imagine coming back to your childhood home and seeing whats left of it, knowing that some of the memories, mementos and all of that are gone . With a fire that moves fast like this, its not like a hurricane where there might be a threeday buildup and someones fairly certain that its going to hit
says that he proves the economy is doing great. Were talking about the new numbers that have come out, the gdp. But economists say, hold on a second, not so fast, theres more to it, and well tell you what that is, coming up next. Also, President Trumps trade war with china is really hitting farmers. Were going to tell you how farmers in iowa are reacting. vo why are subaru outback
does your Business Internet provider promise a lot . Lets see who delivers more. Comcast business gives you gigspeed in more places. The others dont. We offer up to 6 hours of 4g Wireless Network backup. Everyone else, no way. We let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. Them, not so much. We let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. The others . Nope get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call or go online today. Rise and shine its saturday, and you do not want to miss the weekend. Im christi paul. And im Martin Savidge in for victor blackwell. So, 4. 1 , the number everybodys talking about. Really strong Economic Growth number for the u. S. , the strongest in four years for the gdp, in fact, and it fulfills one of President Trumps big campaign promises. But what does it really tell us about whats going on with the u. S. Economy, and Where Do We Go From Here . Christine alesci has details on all of that for us. Reporter martin, christi, the reading on Economic Growth is very strong, no doubt about that, but there are some important details that highlight whats really going on with the economy. Top line, it grew 4. 1 , the strongest increase since 2014. President trump wasted no time taking credit for this, holding a Press Conference to tout the numbers, but this is only one
report, and his predecessors have hit even higher marks. Under president obama, for example, the economy hit 5 growth in a quarter. For president s bush and clinton, there were quarterly growth rates of 6 and 7 . The big question right now can the u. S. Generate a relatively high number for the year . The president said on friday he thinks 4 is sustainable. And if hes right and the strong Growth Continues through the remainder of the year, then it could mark a high point for the trump administration. But right now, economists are predicting Slower Growth for the second half of the year, in part because of some onetime factors that boosted growth in the Second Quarter, like a boom in exports, which surged 9 , some of that driven by orders for things such as soybeans before the tariffs took effect. That will likely cool off next quarter. Business investment was also a bright spot. Many executives i talked to are feeling good right now because of tax cuts and reduced
regulation, but concerns over trade and geopolitics could threaten that optimism. Consumer spending and Government Spending increased as well. Bottom line, these numbers are robust and will certainly be a Talking Point for republicans heading into midterms, but its not a guarantee the rest of the year will be as strong, especially with the ongoing trade negotiations. Martin, christi . All right. Laid it out very well for us. Thank you. President trump is offering farmers a 12 billion package in the form of farm aid to try to help them out of the trade war with china as it impacts their business. But farmers in iowa apparently have some mixed feelings about it. Cnns scott mclean spoke to some of them. Scott . Reporter the president was in iowa this week to promote a white House Workforce Development initiative, but perhaps those listening most intently were farmers, because President Trump is leading a new trade war against china thats putting American Farmers on the front line, whether they like it or not. Iowa is known for its field of dreams, but these days it isnt here. Corn and Soybean Prices have been stubbornly low for years, and now it seems washington has made things worse. President trumps hardline approach has sparked an escalating trade war with china, prompting a 25 tariff on american soybeans, which sent prices to a tenyear low. This is just an openended conflict, and who knows where its going to end. Reporter iowans overwhelmingly voted for President Trump, but clark porter, whose family has farmed here for over a century, wasnt one of them. You saw this coming from a mile away. Yeah. Reporter this week, the white house announced a 12 billion assistance plan to help farmers like porter. How does it feel, though, to be essentially taking Government Assistance . Its absolutely it was absolutely unnecessary. I dont think that we should
have even gotten into this position. Reporter hes not alone. The president of the Iowa Farmers Union called trumps approach extremely reckless, and kim reynolds, the republican governor up for reelection, warned that nobody wins in a trade war. This week, she politely pushed the president to make a deal, and fast. We need to get things done sooner rather than later, so that was my message. Reporter things are getting done, but with europe. After a brief trade spat, trump touted his deal to make a deal on free trade with the bloc. But we just opened up europe for you farmers. Youre not going to be too angry with trump, i can tell you, because reporter a deal with europe is far from finished. Neither is the trade war with china. But for all of the president S Trade War Skeptics in iowa, he still has plenty of believers, like david danker and his son, hunter, who farm corn and soybeans. I think this should have been done a long time ago. It will hurt for short term, but in the long run, i think it will work out better for everybody. Reporter how do you think this ends . China gets hungry and calls
the u. S. And wants to, hopefully, get some more soybeans. Reporter can you envision a scenario where america doesnt win . I think us not winning would be probably us going back to the way it was before the tariffs and the trade war. Reporter the good news is that many iowa farmers say theyre expecting a Pretty Healthy harvest this year but with higher Production Volume usually also comes lower prices. That 12 billion federal aid package, it will help in the short term, but farmers may need even more cash if this Trade Battle Doesnt End soon. Martin, christi. All righty. Scott, thank you so much. So, listen, prosecutors are releasing their list of potential witnesses in the Paul Manafort trial, set to begin next week. Well talk about whos on the list and what we can expect from whats coming this week. Plus, cbs is investigating reports that chief executive les moonves sexually harassed several women. Details behind the allegations, coming up. [music playing] vo from the beginning,
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