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Poll: Trump Approval Drops to 36 Percent Amid Stalled Agenda; Re-Election Campaign Paid $50K to Firm Repping Trump Jr.; Fired FBI Director Writing Book About Public Service; Senate Health Bill Vote Delayed After McCain Surgery; Pope Francis' Confidants Blast Some Trump Supporters; Women of ISIS Describe Life Inside "Caliphate"; Tech World Hit By Sexual Harassment Storm; U.K. Judge Rules U.S. Doctor Can Examine Charlie Gard. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired July 16, 2017 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- keeps eating away at the credibility of the president.

[07:00:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is it lie after lie after lie? If you clean, come on clean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ty Cobb is powerful Washington, D.C. defense attorney. He is now expected to oversee the White House response to the Russia investigation.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to repeal and replace Obamacare.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Republican Senator John McCain recovering from eye surgery will not perform any official duties all next week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump was in Paris this week. He met the French president's wife, Brigitte Macron, and he said, you're in such great shape. If he said that to you, would you be flattered or offended?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd be taken aback. I wonder if she could say the same of him?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: I hope Sunday is good to you today. Thank you for spending some time with us this morning here.

We are talking about a lot of things when it comes to Washington -- the Russian scandal, the intense battle over health care, stalling the president's agenda, and taking a hefty toll, it seems, on the president's approval rating.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, look at these numbers. According to a new poll from "The Washington Post" and ABC News, just 36 percent of likely voters say President Trump is doing a good job, 58 percent disapprove.

This comes as President Trump deals with the fallout of a secret meeting his son and campaign aides held with the Russians. The president's reelection campaign has since paid $50,000 to a law firm that is now defending Donald Trump Jr.

PAUL: Also from memos to a memoir, the man who was once at the helm of the Russian investigation is writing a book about his public service now. What fired FBI Director James Comey could share about his involvement in the election and its controversial interactions with President Trump.

BLACKWELL: And health care off track again. Overnight, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell putting the brake on this week's planned vote after word that Senator John McCain is recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot. The Senate cannot afford to lose even one vote, so the voting will be delayed on that plan.

With me now is CNN politics reporter Eugene Scott, and CNN contributor and former ethics czar in the Obama administration, Ambassador Norm Eisen.

Good morning to both of you.

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, Mr. Ambassador, let me start with you.

And a new official statement via Twitter from the president defending his son Donald Trump Jr., and this is what he says, Hillary Clinton can illegally get the questions to the debate and delete 33,000 emails that my son Don is scorned by the fake news media.

That coming within the last few minutes on Twitter. For the first question given during a debate, someone lost a job. There was an investigation for the 33,000 e-mails. This is now an investigation into this potential or possible collusion with Russia and what we're learning is not fake news because it's been disclosed by his son-in- law, his also senior adviser, and his son.

NORM EISEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Victor, thanks for having me.

And I have to say that the president's tweet is unseemly. He is the chief law enforcement officer and this situation is a very serious one. The e-mail trail between Don Jr. and Mr. Goldstone makes clear that there was an enthusiastic embrace of what was described as a Russian government effort to aid the Trump campaign and to hurt Hillary Clinton. That raises a host of legal issues under American law, campaign finance violations, possible conspiracy relating to the computer fraud statutes, a host of other legal issues.

So, the president should be allowing the investigation to proceed, not slandering it. It's ridiculous to say that passing a debate question is illegal.

BLACKWELL: Eugene, let me come to you about what this exposes and still the major challenging of this incoming attorney Ty Cobb who is going to be joining the White House staff is to control the message. If you've got the president waking up 6:30 Eastern starting to tweet about this investigation, that, I would assume, does not fall in line with where Ty Cobb wants the White House messaging to go?

SCOTT: I would imagine that that's the case, Victor. But if Ty Cobb has been paying attention to the president before he came on board, he certainly realizes he did not control Donald Trump when it comes to social media. I think one of the big challenges that the president's team has faced in responding to this is that the message they want to put out is quite an incomplete message which forces the media, opponents and even other Republicans to go on the record to clarify things.

[07:05:11] For example, he tweets about Trump Jr. and e-mails. The reality that is very important is that it was not just Trump Jr. attending this meeting. It was his campaign manager, as well as a current White House adviser to the president himself and as we have learned, other people. And so, the reality is when the president tweets things that are not completely true, he keeps this story in the news because the new has to clarify it.

BLACKWELL: All right. Ambassador, let's move on to Jared Kushner who is of the three campaign official who were in the room, the only one who's a part of the administration. And you believe that it's unlikely due to the nature and what we are learning about the number of people who are in the room now, up to eight, that it's unlikely that he simply forgot about this meeting and it opens him up to liability related to false statements. But is that something that can be proven, that he didn't simply forget?

EISEN: Well, the special counsel, Bob Mueller, will make that assessment based on all of the evidence, Victor. He'll look at the nature of this e-mail that was forwarded to Mr. Kushner. We know that. And it says in the subject line, Clinton/Russia. So, he'll need to assess whether this is the kind of meeting that Mr. Kushner would have forgotten or not. Reportedly, a hundred foreign meetings have been added to Kushner's filings with the United States for his security clearance.

The false statements liability is significant. And, remember, often when with prosecutors feel that something wrong has happened, but they can't prove the underlying case, they believe Mr. Kushner was involved perhaps, at the end, if the evidence shows it in the computer fraud, they go after the false statements. And so I think there's a serious worry here. I think Mr. Kushner is probably not sleeping very easily these days.

BLACKWELL: Yes. He also had a shift in his legal team as well this weekend. Eugene, let me come to you with the latest on "Washington Post"/ABC News poll numbers that show that 48 percent of respondents disapprove strongly of the president's job so far in office which is up from the polling in April. Is the Russia controversy at the center of that? Or on is it potentially something else?

SCOTT: It appears to be not just the Russian controversy but the multiple levels of it, right? So, when we talk about Russia in the past, we usually can pinpoint one thing. For example, maybe around January or February when you thought of Russia, you might have thought of Michael Flynn.

But I think what it's leading about 48 percent of Americans not to trust president Donald Trump at all is that there seems to be multiple layers to this Russia situation and the past week is a perfect example when we got at least three different stories in as many days regarding this specific meeting. As people find out more information, more information that comes public, there are more questions that the American people have.

BLACKWELL: Now, Mr. Ambassador, before we let you go, I want to talk about health care now we know this potential vote will be pushed back. And we know that you were an opponent of the Senate bill, the first one that came out. Now, there's this revised bill with the Cruz amendment.

I want to read for you something that Trump campaign economic adviser Stephen Moore, now CNN economic analyst, wrote for CNN.com.

He says of the Cruz amendment it's smart because it doesn't take anything away from anyone. If you want Obamacare, you can have it. You can have the coverage for the 10 essential benefits. You can have subsidies and the exchanges supposed to save $2,500 family, it's there for you.

Also making the case that if someone wants a bare bones kind of strip down health care plan as well, or health insurance plan, they can get that.

Your response to what we are hearing from Stephen Moore?

EISEN: Well, I have to disagree with my friend Steve Moore. Let's not look at those who are on either side of the issue.

Let's look at the Congressional Budget Office estimates. These plans, both of them, I think the second plan is a little altered, are going to throw ten of millions of Americans off of the health care that is currently available. There is no question that the ACA, Obamacare, need to be fixed. It ought to be fixed in a bipartisan way. There are things that need to be done.

It's basically working. I think the president's questioning has caused it to suffer, but I don't think the new bill is a step in the right direction. They're going the wrong way, making it more partisan.

The proof of that is, at the moment, they don't have the votes to move the bill this week.

[07:10:02] It's hanging by a thread. One more Republican defection, they won't be able to get a vote on the bill even to discuss the bill. So, I think they are going the wrong direction. Let's work on it in a bipartisan way. BLACKWELL: We'll have to see if any of the problems that some of

these Republicans senators had with the first Senate health care bill are resolved by the second one.

CNN politics reporter Eugene Scott, and former ethics czar and ambassador, Norm Eisen, thank you both.

EISEN: Thank you, Victor.

SCOTT: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And three big guests on "STATE OF THE UNION" today with Jake Tapper. Jay Sekulow, attorney for the president, as well as Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who's right now a no vote on the health care bill, and the ranking Democrat on Senate Intelligence, Mark Warner. Again, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper, today at 9:00 a.m., only on CNN.

PAUL: Well, James Comey, the former FBI director fired by President Trump is shopping a new book deal.

Brian Stelter will be talking about it.

Hi, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.

Yes, all of the major publishing house are said to be keenly interested in what Comey has to say. This could be a multimillion dollar deal. I'll have the details in a few minutes.

BLACKWELL: Also, more fallout over president Trump's compliments of the French first lady about hers looks. This time, Australia's foreign minister weighs in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wonder if she could say the same of him?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And a rare insight into the life of ISIS told by their former brides. What attracted them to the terror group in the first place and what happened once they got there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE BISHOP, AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: A look to the European men that they are here and ISIS, they are strong men, you know, with guns and they can protect them. It's an idea that is just like movies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:53] PAUL: Well, former FBI director to author James Comey writing a book about his time in public service.

BLACKWELL: He is known for his meticulous memos. So, what else will he say about his role in the 2016 election and his Oval Office encounters with President Trump. CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter is here.

So, a lot of people including myself will be looking forward to reading whatever he is willing to talk about in this book.

STELTER: Yes, he had only one public hearing where he spoke at length about his experiences with President Trump and about being fired. We haven't heard anything else from James Comey but now we know the book deal is in the works. "The New York Times" is reporting they are working on a pitch to publishers. It's going to go out the next few days.

And the way this works, guys, is when you are an A lister like James Comey or a former president or somebody who has a big story to tell, all the big publishing houses try to bid four book and usually the highest bidder wins. So, in the next few days, there's essentially going to be an auction for this book. It won't come out for a while though.

And according to "The Times", it won't be a tell-all. It's going to be about Comey's entire career, not just his time with President Trump, but shortly even a few pages about President Trump will be of great interest to people, even if this doesn't come out for a year or two.

PAUL: All right. Listen, we want to shift gears here. We saw something on FOX News that we don't normally see, the Shepard Smith this week. Let's listen here together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEPARD SMITH, FOX NEWS HOST: What is it lie after lie after lie? If you clean, come on clean, you know? My grandmother used to say when first we practice to, oh, oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. The deception, Chris, is mindboggling and there are still people who are out there who believe we're making it up, and one day, they're going to realize we're not, and look around and go, where are we and why are we getting told all of these lies?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Obviously, very passionate there, Brian. "The Washington Post" is calling this a Cronkite moment. What are you hearing?

STELTER: This is unusual on FOX News because most of the hosts on FOX, really all of the opinion hosts, are pro-Trump and are expressing support, making excuses in some cases for Don Jr. and trying to explain away this evidence of Don Jr.'s willingness to collude.

I think Shep Smith is the exception to the rule, sort of breaking with the narrative that we've heard from conservative media, and that makes sense. You know, Shep is a news anchor at the network. He is known for his independent streak, but this moment in particular was striking because I think he is expressing what most of the country is wondering, why all of the misleading statements?

However, I think we got to recognize because of the dominant narrative of conservatives media being that Don Jr. is a victim, that this is all about a blame game, that Russia did not actually interfere, you've got to look at the poll and see how that's affecting the country. The new "Washington Post"/ABC poll this morning finds that only 33 percent of Republicans believe that Russia tried to interfere in the election, 80 percent of Democrats believe the same thing.

So, there is a big, big partisan gap even in basic beliefs whether Russia was trying to support Donald Trump and that is at least, in part, a result of FOX News and other conservative media coverage of the story.

PAUL: All righty. Brian Stelter, always good to hear from you. Thank you so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

PAUL: And he's not going anywhere, folks. You can catch Brian on "RELIABLE SOURCES", of course, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern today, right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Democrats are taking Kid Rock's Senate run plans seriously. The singer, whose name is Robert Ritchie, tweeted his announcement this week and his intentions responding to questions about what appears to be his campaign Web site. His tweet insists this is not a joke. Some people still believe it is.

But Senator Elizabeth Warren responded to the announcement in an e- mail to her supporters saying this: Well, maybe this is all a joke but we all thought Donald Trump was joking when he rode down the escalator at Trump Tower and announced his campaign, too.

Question: Was President Trump out of line when he complimented the first lady of France's looks? A close U.S. ally is hitting back with some choice words of her own.

PAUL: Also, two close confidants of Pope Frances are blasting evangelical support of Donald Trump. Why they describe some voters as, quote, community of combatants with xenophobic and Islamophobic vision?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The Whitewater investigation unfolds and Hillary Clinton becomes the focus of prosecutor's interests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first lady arrived to a crash of cameras. There were vocal Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters and detractors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the first time the wife of a sitting president has ever been forced to appear before a grand jury and testified under oath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was subpoenaed by the independent counsel Kenneth Starr who wants to ask her about those missing law firm billing records that mysteriously appeared in the first family quarters.

JAMES STEWART, AUTHOR: You now have independent counsel Kenneth Starr, a prosecutor with unlimited financial resources and unlimited time who is doing nothing except investigating you. If you have anything to hide, that is not a situation you want to be in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:22] BLACKWELL: A Senate vote on the Republican health care bill has been delayed again, this time because Senator John McCain is in Arizona recovering from surgery.

PAUL: As President Trump's agenda stalls and the Russia controversy swirls, a new "Washington Post" poll shows the president's approval dropping to 36 percent.

BLACKWELL: Also, we are learning the president's re-election campaign paid $50,000 to the law firm now representing Donald Trump Jr.

PAUL: And former FBI Director James Comey is writing a new book that will detail his experiences and public service could reveal new details about his role in the 2016 election and his interactions with President Trump before he was fired.

BLACKWELL: Do you remember this moment from the president's trip to Paris?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're in such good shape. Beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is among those criticizing President Trump for his remarks to the French first lady this week. She talked about it in an interview with Australian media. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERVIEWER: If he said that to you, would you be flattered or offended?

BISHOP: I would be taken aback, I think. It's a rather interesting comment to make. I wonder if she could say the same of him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PAUL: President Trump often leans on his base of evangelical supporters as his support. But two close confidants of Pope France are blasting Trump and his supporters what the religious leaders called a xenophobic and Islamophobic vision. They wrote in "The Catholic Journal" this: The panorama of threats to their understanding of the American way of life have included modernist spirits, the black civil rights movement, the hippy movement, communism, feminist movements and so on. And now, in our day, there are the migrants and the Muslims.

Daniel Burke, CNN religion editor, with is us now.

First of all, talk to us about that statement.

DANIEL BURKE, CNN RELIGION EDITOR: Well, it's really a remarkable article, Christi. As you mentioned, it's written by two men who are pretty close to this pope so we don't know if this is what the pope thinks but we know that the people who are talking to the pope think this.

It calls out Steve Bannon, the president's adviser, by name for promoting an apocalyptic battle in which the Christian West battles Islam. It really says the union between Catholics and evangelicals in American politics is built on hatred of other groups. They call them a community of combatants at one point.

And what the article makes a point is this is really contrary to the way the pope thinks who is trying to build bridges to other groups, particularly Muslims at a time when divisions between religions is really dangerous. So, the article makes a point that as the U.S., evangelicals and Catholics continue down this road, it could get even more dangerous.

PAUL: OK. So, Father Spadaro explained what he meant behind his words to "American" magazine and I want to read what he said, quote: The central question is the mutual manipulation between politics and religion, which is a risk that is not exclusive to the United States, it's a constant risk. Often this fundamentalism is born from the perception of a threat of a world that is threatened, a world that is a collapsing, and so, it responds with a religion from a reading of the Bible transformed into an ideological message of fear. It's a manipulation of anxiety and insecurity.

Daniel, on some level, hasn't religion always influenced, in some way, or manipulated politics, even though they are supposed to be separate?

BURKE: Oh, sure. I mean, if you remember the first people, the first colonists who came to the United States came strictly because of religion. They set up theocracies in the United States, the first pilgrims. So, this has always been a thread within American politics.

I think what Father Spadaro is looking at this through a European lens and saying that maybe it's time for the Catholics and evangelicals in the United States to rethink this and for them to take a step back from politics. It's unusual to hear a Catholic priest to make an argument. This is not an argument that we've heard Pope Francis make. In fact, he wants Catholics to bring their values to government, bring their values to the polls.

So, I would liked him to delve into that argument a little bit more, show how Pope Francis himself exemplifies exactly what he is calling for, the separation of church and state.

PAUL: Daniel, is there a gauge of how expansive the evangelical support is for Donald Trump and do they believe Donald Trump to be a true Christian?

BURKE: Well, the second question, part of the question, I'm not sure. But the first part is, according to surveys, white evangelicals, two- thirds back him, according to an April poll.

[07:30:07] They support the job he is doing. You know, he often presents himself as the protector of evangelicals.

When he speaks to evangelical groups, he says, as long as I'm president, no one is ever going to stop you from praying, no one is ever going to stop you from speaking in the manner that you want to.

But you can make the argument that evangelicals also protect this president and while his approval ratings among some groups have been slipping, among evangelicals, they certainly have not. Two-thirds still approve of the way that he is doing his job as president.

PAUL: All righty. Daniel Burke, we appreciate the conversation. Thank you.

BURKE: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Well, some women in Silicon Valley are now talking about sexual harassment there. Next, we are going to hear from six women who gave CNN their firsthand accounts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was about ego and power.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a moment that I felt my leg being grabbed under the table, that I thought, holy molly, this is real!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Also, the women who wanted to marry ISIS fighters. Were they tricked with false promises? Were they willing partners in horrific crimes? We are taking to you a refuge camp next where many are being held and they are telling us quite the stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:25] PAUL: Well, the mothers, wives, girlfriends of ISIS fighters, some of them flocked to ISIS based on promises ISIS was making to them. So, people are wondering, are they willing supporters of what we have seen ISIS doing? Or are these innocent victims drawn in by false promises? BLACKWELL: Nick Paton Walsh spoke with women in a refugee camp. But,

first, it's important to point out that these women have not been charged in what is essentially a lawless area. They have been rounded up as ISIS sympathizers until authorities can figure out what to do with them.

Here's Nick Paton Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't kid yourself. They saw the video, girls, mothers, some who married into ISIS who knew what they were about but still came. Now jailed in a refuge camp, stock in limbo as ISIS collapses and trying to go home, they want your pity and that you believe them when they say it was all, all of it, a huge mistake.

(on camera): They use women for sex.

RAHMA: Yes. It's very disgusting.

WALSH: Three Indonesian sisters say they paid thousands of dollars to get here and lured by the false promise of free health care and schools, but ended up living off selling their jewelry and paying thousands to get smuggled out. It just wasn't as pure a caliphate as they expected.

RAHMA: They say they want to jihad for the sake of Allah but what they want it's only about women and sex. It's disgusting.

FINA: I heard if they marry a widow, they will get a thousand dollars.

WALSH (voice-over): Single women arrivals like them kept in a commune while they look for husbands.

NOOR: The manner of the women inside the dorm is very different, it's very far from Islam. Harsh manner, gossiping, shout each other, backbiting and fighting between the women and, oh, I was very surprised when I see that.

WALSH: Sida (ph) explains the dorm is a bit like tinder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When the woman arrives in this dormitory, she makes a sort of CV, puts down her age, name, how her personality is like, what she looks for in a man. And men also post their CVs.

WALSH (on camera): This is like tinder of the caliphate?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes, it's dating. So, you meet, you talk for 15, 20 minutes, and then it's a yes or no. If they both agree, then they get married. It's very quick.

WALSH (voice-over): She said she came for charity work but her husband was killed the second time they tried to flee. She's as appalled by the Paris terrorist attacks as she was by the coalition bombing of Raqqa and just wants to go back to France.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I love life. I love to work. I love my jeans and I love my makeup and my parents. The only thing I want is to go back.

I'm not far from the beach. I used to go to beach every weekend in a bikini.

WALSH (on camera): In a bikini?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes, in a bikini.

WALSH (voice-over): May is Syrian English teacher who is first husband was killed by sniper in Homs and says she was traveling to Turkey when she was relayed in Raqqa where she met and married a Moroccan, Bilab (ph).

WALSH (on camera): Were you looking for a woman when you went to Raqqa?

MAY: No.

WALSH: How come you found one just like? You moved into a how and said, who is this guy next door?

MAY: I think God sent him to me.

WALSH (voice-over): She says ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Adnani knew Bilab (ph) and allowed him not to fight. He's now in jail. She is disapproving of less pure love stories.

(on camera): Did you hear other stories of women here who came looking for husband?

MAY: They look to the European men that they are here and in ISIS, they are strong men, you know, with guns and they can protect them. It's an idea that's just like movies. Many of them was very shocked because when they got married from a man, you know, three, four days, one month, they divorced.

I know a woman, she was married six times and after three days, she goes to court and asks the judge to divorce her from him. And when the judge asked her, why you want divorce? And that man say that she prevent him from making any, you know, sexual, you know?

And she say, I can't accept him. I'm all the time thinking of my dying husband. And the judge asked her, so, why marry him if you don't want him? He say, I will send you to the prison and will, you know, slash (ph) you. And she is crying, no, no, it's last time, I promise.

[07:40:00] WALSH (voice-over): Her husband was once arrested for smoking by the religious police and because they weren't talking to women, she had to literally enter a man's world to get him out of jail. MAY: You know what? I had a crazy idea. I just my husband call this

his shoes and his, you know, that view? I covered my eyes but that black glasses and put lens down from my nose. I take it from him and I take my boy and let's go to the police part.

WALSH (voice-over: Can you do me a man voice now?

MAY: (INAUDIBLE).

WALSH: That is how men sound.

(voice-over): These stories decide their fate here whether they stay in limbo or go home.

MAY: I think that you don't believe me! You know? I speak language more than most.

WALSH (on camera): Yes.

MAY: Don't you feel there is a trust in my eyes?

WALSH: Yes. Your husband, what if you never see him again?

MAY: I want someone to kill me because I can't kill myself. It's suicide, and I can't commit sued. I just can't.

WALSH (voice-over): Nick Paton Walsh, Analisa (ph), northern Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:40] BLACKWELL: Well, there is a scandal in Silicon Valley. Women now coming forward revealing stories of sexual harassment.

PAUL: One tells, in fact, of an investor exposing himself to a female entrepreneur. Another woman says she was groped during a business dinner.

Now, CNN senior tech correspondent Laurie Segall sat down with them. Please let us forewarn you here, this is not a conversation that is appropriate for children. So, we just want to give you a heads-up. We want to make sure you understand what's coming out of this here.

But Laurie Segall did talk to them and some fascinating conversations here.

Good morning, Laurie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECH CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christi. Hey, Victor.

Well, it's a watershed moment for Silicon Valley. We have heard stories of sexual harassment happening behind closed doors for years, but now, those stories are finally coming to the surface. Six women agreed to speak with us about their personal experiences with sexual harassment in hopes that they can bring about change. Take a listen.

BEA ARTHUR, FOUNDER, THE DIFFERENCE: You don't want to tell people that you were in a business meeting and somebody shamed you and made you feel less than. Who wants to say that?

LEITI HSU, CO-FOUNDER, JOURNY: It was a moment I felt my leg being grabbed under the table that I thought holy moly, this is real.

LISA WANG, CO-FOUNDER, SHEWORX: We're sitting at a Starbucks and he grabs my face and tries to make out with me.

CECILIA PAGKALINAWAN, FOUNDER, APPLOUD, STYLETREK: I hate to say this, but it's the norm. And I hope that we can change that.

So, this is my story. In 2001 the environment was a lot different because of the dotcom crash. So I was faced with raising more money or letting go of employees.

So one time I had a meeting with a potential V.C., one of the more powerful ones out there, and he ordered a $5,000 bottle of wine. And I couldn't even remember how many times the glass got filled.

All of a sudden, he was conveying to me how attracted he was to me, tried to lean over to kiss me and I pulled away. I'll never forget when he touched me under the table and looked into my eyes and grabbed my leg and squeezed it and say, you know, I'm going to help you. I'm going to do this for you, as if he was my savior or something. And at the same time he is violating me.

ARTHUR: I was lucky enough to have an advisor or mentor who had never expressed any romantic or sexual interest in me and we were literally working on spreadsheets, the least sexy thing in the world. Remember, we're sitting side by side in front of a computer.

And at the end of that he stood up and he pulled out his erect penis, genitalia. He pulled out his erect penis. And it was right in eyesight.

It was awkward. It was uncomfortable. It was unfair. But it happened. And it wasn't the last time something like that would happen.

HSU: When he did that, it made me feel disgusted.

PAGKALINAWAN: Demoralized, and disrespected.

GESCHE HAAS, FOUNDER, DREAMERS/DOERS: Like I didn't have any worth as a woman in business.

PAGKALINAWAN: Like all of my accomplishments, I'd already raised $5 million in venture funding, like none of that mattered.

SEGALL: Now, many of the women we spoke with talked to us about wanting better reporting standards for anyone who wants to speak out. So, this idea of making it easier for women to come forward, there's not exactly an HR department when it comes to VC firms.

So, now that stories are coming out, it's going to be more about accountability and actually creating a structure for change and moving that dialogue forward -- Christi, Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. Laurie, thank you for bringing us that story.

Now, in the past three weeks, two Silicon Valley executives have resigned over allegations of sexual harassment. For more, you can visit our page at CNNtech.com/sexual harassment.

PAUL: A terminally ill child at the center of a controversial case in the U.K. is raising questions about the quality of life, government outreach and the rights of parents when it comes to their own children. We're going to speak with a child welfare law specialist and look where this may go this week.

Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:44] PAUL: Even with years of intervention and tutoring, people with dyslexia can still struggle with reading and writing. But there's a growing list of smartphone apps and off the shelf technology that are helping level that field.

CNN health writer Jacqueline Howard looks at how it does so in this "Tech-ing Care of Your Health".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH WRITER: Cole Harvey and his brother Stephen have dyslexia, a learning disability that makes reading and writing hard.

COLE HARVEY, 9TH GRADER, SAINT FRANCIS SCHOOLS: I felt like everybody was smarter than me. And when technology came in, I was able to compensate.

MARTHA RUST, ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST, AMAC ACCESSIBILITY: The school systems are having students bring their own technology to the classroom so students could put apps on it that really works for them.

HOWARD: Apps like Bookshare and Darwin Reader let students hear words as they're highlighted on the screen. Grammarly can help young writers pick the right words and also catch spelling mistakes. The smart pin can help with note-taking. A recorder on the pen captures what you hear and sinks it to what you write.

The pen can be tricky to use and may be better for older students. Educators do stress that no technology can replace good face-to-face instruction.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: O.J. Simpson will go before a Nevada parole board this week. He served a minimum nine years for his conviction of kidnapping and armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

[07:55:06] Simpson was sentenced in 2008 for attempting to steal sports memorabilia at gun point. The Simpson's lawyers argued that the crime did not justify the time. They said that Simpson, who is 70 years old, was getting a does taste of payback from the Nevada justice system after his acquittal in the Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman murders.

PAUL: OK, I want to go to this heartbreaking story that has really captured the worlds' attention, from the White House to the Vatican. We're talking about 11-month-old Charlie Gard. He has this rare terminal condition and is at the center of a legal battle in the U.K. now.

Doctors there say he's not going to survive this illness. His parents say let's give him an experimental treatment. Let's give him a shot. But this experimental treatment is in the U.S. Doctors say it's not in Charlie's best interest.

But in a glimmer of hope, a neurologist from New York's Columbia University Medical Center is being allowed to fly to London to assess Charlie's condition this week.

Ashley Willcott is a certificated child welfare law specialist. She's with us this morning.

Good morning to you and thank you --

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, CERTIFIED CHILD WELFARE LAW SPECIALIST: Good morning.

PAUL: -- for walking us through here.

So, what do you think it is that changed the judge's mind, first of all? Was it the public pressure that was put on this case?

WILLCOTT: You know, I don't know if it was public pressure or not. It might have been. But I do think what made a difference was there was a doctor from the United States who said there's a 10 percent chance that this experimental treatment can improve the condition of the child. And so, I think that pressure said, okay, let's do this and see if perhaps that's an option.

PAUL: I had heard it was an 11 percent to 56 percent chance.

WILLCOTT: And it may have changed.

PAUL: Depending on -- yes, I think that -- that was the last percentage that came out on Friday about this. But that's still -- even that sounds risky. WILLCOTT: I think it is risky. But bottom line, it comes down,

should a parent be able to decide what medical treatment to pursue, even if it's experimental for a terminally ill child? Or, you know, in the United Kingdom, the court is allowed to intercede and allowed to say, no, parent, you don't get to make that decision. We're going to make that decision because the hospital didn't support you.

I think it's important to note, the hospital now supports the parents in saying, OK, it's worth exploring this treatment to see if it's an option. And once that happened, the court said, OK, we're going to let you do it.

PAUL: So, the hospital, in a sense, really kind of drove where this was going to go?

WILLCOTT: Absolutely. And under U.K. law, that's what happens. The hospital can say we're speaking for this child that cannot speak on its own behalf and we're saying it's best to take the child off life support, you don't agree, parent, we're going to go to the high court.

PAUL: So, it was an interesting moment, I think it was Friday, when the parents, they were all in court, and there was an argument being made that the parents should not be part of that initial meeting between the doctor -- doctor from the U.S. that is going there, Michio Hirono, and the rest of the British team. They were saying maybe the parents shouldn't be in this first meeting because they may not be able to speak freely with the parents there. And at that point, you had the mother shaking her head in court saying, no, I understand what's going on.

What would -- do you see, in any way that the parents should or should not be in that meeting?

WILLCOTT: Right. From my perspective as working with children, think as a parent, if your child is in the hospital and you are excluded from a meeting that has to do with the health of your child who is terminally ill. To me, that's appalling, right?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLCOTT: In the United States, you're going to say, no, it's my child. I have a right to be there and I'm going to be there, no matter what. So, from that perspective, to me, the right thing to do is let the parents be there.

PAUL: And we'll see if that happens. We know that the doctor is there, Dr. Hirono is there, meeting with the baby and the British team tomorrow. We will certainly keep you posted.

Ashley, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

WILLCOTT: Thank you. Thanks for having me this morning.

PAUL: Absolutely.

Victor? BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you.

And thank you for joining me this morning.

Starting now, "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING". Sitting in today, Nia-Malika Henderson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIA MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Everywhere he goes, the Russia story follows. The president's son now caught in its current.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: This is all of it?

DONALD TRUMP, JR., SON OF PRESIDENT: This is everything. This is everything.

HENDERSON: Shifting explanations and a growing number inside the room at a meeting with Russians.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's a meeting that most people in politics probably would have taken.

HENDERSON: And after a long good-bye, the president returns home to a stalled Senate and unfulfilled health care campaign promise.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I am sitting in the oval office with a pen in hand waiting for our senators to give it to me.