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New Day Saturday

Key Tax Reform Vote Due Tuesday; CDC Gets List Of Banned Words For 2018; Possible Purge In North Korea Top General Goes Missing; Canadian Billionaire. Wife Found Dead In Home; The Legacy Of Omarosa Manigault-Newman; Hitting The Trails With A Therapist. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired December 16, 2017 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically what everybody's been waiting for now for weeks. There's a final bill. There will be no changes.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that we are going to be in the position to pass something as early as next week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know about me personally, but for the country as a whole it's going to be a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sources tell us that the president's lawyers are planning to meet with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team, we're told as soon as the coming week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is if when Bob Mueller picked his team, he was fishing in the never-Trump aquarium.

TRUMP: When you look at what's gone on with the FBI and with the Justice Department, people are very, very angry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is way, way beyond the pale in his criticism of the FBI and the DOJ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drumbeat of war against North Korea growing louder by the day.

REX TILLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATES: The United States will use all necessary measures to defend itself against North Korea aggression.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States must protect itself if there's an immediate threat against our security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. The president could be getting closer and closer to his first major legislative win. A final deal on tax reform is on the table, and House Speaker Paul Ryan says that the first big vote could happen on Tuesday. CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: The final details of the bill, released

last night, so let's get you up to date here. Despite a pledge to reduce the number of personal income tax brackets, the bill does keep all seven -- they are modified. The plan lowers tax rates for most of those brackets.

BLACKWELL: Then, there are a few provisions here. It's a lot to take in. The biggest tax cuts, goes to businesses. Now, the corporate tax rate drops from 35 percent to 21 percent. You remember the president wanted 20, but he's OK with 21. The bill also calls for a $2,000 child tax credit which helped flipped Rubio from a "no" to a "yes" -- now refundable a large portion of that.

PAUL: Individuals will also be able to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local taxes. And the estate tax exemption would be doubled. Now, Obamacare does take a hit under this plan. It removed a key individual mandate to help finance the bill.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, there is no Democratic support for this. Republicans cannot afford to lose more than two votes to get this to the president's desk in the Senate at least. CNN White House Correspondent, Abby Phillip, joins us now. Abby, the president called Senator Rubio on the bill, after Senator Rubio became a "yes". Do we know what they talked about?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Victor. Well, the president picked up the phone and made a call to Rubio yesterday, after Rubio indicated in some tweets that he was likely to support the bill. The call was to confirm that that was a firm yes and to thank him for his support. Remember, Rubio has been working with the White House on this, Ivanka Trump, in particular, has taken an interest in this child tax credit issue. And he's not been estranged from the process when I talked to White House aides and the Hill aides. They expected him to come on board as long as he got a little bit more money for that. The White House is really trying to button this one up making sure they don't have any last-minute surprises as we get into next week. The president wants to sign this before he leaves for his own Christmas break and goes down to Florida.

BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about the degree of confidence from the White House, and the health of two senators -- Senator Cochran of Mississippi, Senator McCain, obviously, of Arizona, struggling with some health concerns. Will they be back to cast those affirmative votes? Do we know?

PHILLIP: Well, we're not entirely sure. I think Thad Cochran, who's been dealing with ongoing health issues, his staff says that they expect that he will definitely be there next week. Although, you know, with health, it can always change. John McCain is really the wild card here. He's been dealing with this cancer battle, and we know over the last couple of days that his health has not been particularly good as he's dealing with side effects of his chemotherapy treatment.

And an indication of how concerned some Republicans are, the president actually called into the hospital -- where John McCain is being treated -- and talked to his wife Cindy McCain. The president tried to get through to John McCain, but for whatever reason wasn't able to. And the White House indicating that that -- in that conversation the president, you know, wished him and his family well.

We also saw the press secretary tweeting words of support overnight. So, there is some concern there that John McCain's health is not what anyone would like it to be. That being said, even if both of those senators are not in the Senate next week, there's still some confidence that they will have the votes to get this one passed.

[07:05:24] BLACKWELL: All right. Abby Phillip for us, there in Washington. Abby, thank you.

PAUL: Michael Bender, CNN Political Analyst and White House Reporter for the Wall Street Journal with us now, as well as Asawin Suebsaeng, Political Reporter for The Daily Beast. Thank you both so much for being with us. Michael, I want to start with you. A lot of people are sitting at home right now. They're watching this, and they're thinking what does this mean to me? On the surface, on what we know, what's the biggest takeaway?

MICHAEL BENDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it depends on who you are really. There are -- as you mentioned earlier, there are some really big cuts here for corporations and there are some really great tax cuts for business owners up to a certain income level. And individuals will see a cut initially here across the board. The problem with some of those individual cuts, though, is that they phase out over time, and it's up to future lawmakers, future versions of Congress to decide whether to extend those breaks. And you know, finally there are -- what -- it doesn't really mean anything yet.

We still have a few days to go. You mentioned some of the folk to watch here. It does look like they have the votes to pass this bill, but you know, they thought they had the votes to pass the health care bill until the moment when John McCain walked on to the Senate floor and gave a thumb's down. It does look like they have a bit more of a cushion on this one, but you know, with Congress, let's -- let's just wait to see until they actually get the votes and get this to the president's desk.

PAUL: Asawin, this was promised as something that would be simplified. Do you see a simplified version of taxes for the American people here?

ASAWIN SUEBSAENG, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR THE DAILY BEAST: Well, it's simplified in the sense that the White House was trying to get -- or Republicans in Congress were trying to get the actual tax reform bill. Unfortunately, for the Trump administration, this is not the ambitious wide-sweeping tax reform bill they wanted at the onset. This is at best a tax cut bill -- something more of the run of the mill Republican. But to go back to what's in the bill, I think this is a bit of a mix of promises trying to be kept, and also promises being broken in term of candidate Donald Trump. On the campaign trail, the current president promised repeatedly that people like him, fabulously rich Americans, would not be given a major giveaway. Given the nuances on the bill, that's -- that's a bad joke at best.

If anything, something like the Trump Organization, which is considered a pass-through, benefits very, very, very much from this. But in terms of trying to keep promises, in the bill, there is the nuking of the Obamacare individual mandate, which even though Republican Congress and the president have failed to repeal Obamacare. This is something that they can give, at the very least, as a sock to their base saying, look at all the work we've done to undo the "damage" that has been done by the Affordable Care Act.

PAUL: OK. I want to pivot here to something that happened overnight that, I think is confusing to people and it's a bit perplexing, but the Trump administration announced that they are prohibiting certain words to be used in reports that will go for budget, specifically from the CDC. They're forbidding the CDC to use these words -- you see here on your screen -- vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based, science-based. Michael, I mean, we look at some of those and we say, OK, understand the political power play that might be ingrained in this, but vulnerable, entitlement, what does that say to you?

BENDER: Well, that says to me that -- that, you know, these -- this is a president who doesn't really put that much stock into -- the White House thinks these words are being overused and overplayed and over defined. This is another -- you can chock this up to a president who promised to be, really promised to be politically incorrect coming into office. And you know, he -- so some of these words and definitions aren't going to hold the same sort of sway and stock in this White House as they have in -- in White House past, and we're seeing that again with this list here.

PAUL: Yes. Asawin, the -- the people who were in the meeting, it's reported in the Washington Post, a long time CDC analyst that they talked to, said the reaction of people who -- when they got this news, the reaction was incredulous. He said it was very much, are you serious? Are you kidding? Have you ever seen anything like this, and do you suspect there is room for the CDC to push back on this?

[07:10:22] SUEBSAENG: Well, it's a little bit unclear at this moment, and this certainly does stick out as something not necessarily business as usual. But if we all remember that President Trump campaigned on being allegedly the most LGBT-friendly Republican, at least running for president in recent history, and just to see words like diversity and transgender on the so-called banned list of words seems like a reversal of promises in terms of standing up for minority and LGBTQ community that seems all too normal with this administration now.

BENDER: If I could jump in here, I would say that maybe a parallel here is Rick Scott, the Republican in Florida who is close with Trump and one of his early endorsers. A lot of similarities between the two as well -- both outsiders, both had no political experience at all in elected office or otherwise before being elected to the current office. Rick Scott in Florida a few years ago, banned the references to climate change and the state Department of Environment Protection. And this seems to be like -- it seems to be a pretty close parallel to that objective back then.

SUEBSAENG: And the Trump EPA has been going through certain motions as well.

PAUL: No doubt about it. Michael Bender, Asawin Suebsaeng, we appreciate you both. Thank you.

SUEBSAENG: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Some new propaganda from North Korea calling the president frightened, and warning American it could soon face disgrace and destruction. We're live from the Korean Peninsula next.

PAUL: Plus, as the GOP gets closer to passing tax cuts, will that fix the damage done to their brand by Roy Moore in Alabama.

BLACKWELL: And Omarosa, out! The highest-ranking African-American aide to the president leaves the administration. Now, raising questions, more question about diversity in the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:16:27] PAUL: 16 minutes past the hour right now. And an aggressive warning from North Korea to President Trump. State media saying, the U.S. could soon face "disgrace and destruction."

BLACKWELL: The regime also called President Trump an "old lunatic" who is frightened. Let's go down to CNN's Ivan Watson, joining us from Seoul, South Korea. Ivan, the comments from North Korea, just hours after the statements by both Secretary of State Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Mattis.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's true. And we have to recall, this is somewhat historic that you had a U.S. secretary of state and a senior North Korean diplomat sitting in the United Nations Security Council. None of them walking out in protest as the other was talking. So, that's kind of a step forward -- something that we haven't really seen in years, haven't seen with the Trump administration and North Korea. That said, they both stuck to their guns. They both pointed the finger at each other for the tension on the Korean Peninsula. Take a listen to an excerpt of what the North Korean ambassador had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JA SONG-NAM, NORTH KOREA'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Our possession of nuclear weapons was an inevitable self-defensive measure to defend our sovereignty and the right to resistance and development from the U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail. And if anyone is to blame for it, the U.S. is the one who must be held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The ambassador's statements were somewhat more moderate, you could say, than the stuff we're seeing in the North Korean state media today, where one report describes President Trump as an "old lunatic" and goes on to say, "war maniacs of the U.S. are urging Congress to discuss the issue of pre-emptive attack on the DPRK, referring to the need to withdraw American citizens from South Korea only to make a war against the DPRK an established fact."

In his comments, Secretary of State Tillerson, well, he said he was open to sitting down and talking with the North Koreans, but without any -- without any preconditions to those possible negotiations. And recall, North Korea has fired at least 20 missiles this year alone and conducted a sixth nuclear test, all of those are banned according to multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Victor and Christi.

PAUL: Good reminder there, Ivan. Thank you so much. Ivan Watson for us there.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's stay with North Korea and a pretty dangerous place to be there, and it's the number two spot, right under Kim Jong-un.

PAUL: Particularly dangerous. Yes, this morning, there are strong indications that Kim has moved against a man who occupied that number two position, and it's likely that everyone else inside Kim's circle is looking over their shoulders. Here's why. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Intelligence officials from Washington to Seoul are paying closer attention to Kim Jong-un's inner circle. General Hwang Pyong-so, believed to have occupied a position second only to Kim himself, has been out of public view for about two months.

KEN GAUSE, NORTH KOREA LEADERSHIP EXPERT, CNA: He could be being sent to detention, he could be retired, or he could be executed. All of these things are on the table.

TODD: He also could be under-going so-called re-education -- time in a prison or labor camp to brainwash him into towing the party line. Could Hwang have been purged? There's no shortage of entry surrounding him. A South Korean lawmaker recently told CNN, it was for "impure behavior."

[07:20:04] Hwang Pyong-so directed North Korea's General Political Bureau, which makes sure every soldier in North Korea's massive army is properly indoctrinated. Hwang had already disappeared when a North Korean soldier made a dramatic defection across the border in mid- November. But the analyst says, he could still be taking the fall for that.

BRUCE KINGNER, FORMER CIA DEPUTY DIVISION CHIEF FOR KOREA: It really was quite an embarrassment for the North Korea regime. So, someone had to pay for it, and it may have been Hwang being a very senior official.

TODD: But analysts say, Hwang was also involved in a brutal power struggle with a man named Chae Long-hae, who has close ties to Kim Jong-un's family. Chae is believed to have orchestrated General Hwang's removal and has taken over his job. Experts say it's likely a revenge plan for a move Hwang made three years ago.

GAUSE: We know Hwang Pyong-so replaced Chae Long-hae as the head of the General Political Bureau in 2014. If you look at the formal leadership lineups of the two -- of the North Korean leadership, the two have interchanged places on a number of occasions, which would suggest a possible rivalry.

TODD: Analysts believe it's also possible that Hwang Pyong-so simply amassed too much power, which threatened Kim Jong-un. A U.S. intelligence official telling CNN, Kim demands absolute loyalty from his subordinates and has a history of punishing officials who he views as seeking personal gain or prestige at his expense. Experts say, Kim also loves to pit his top aides against each other.

KINGNER: It's, sort of, like a lion tamer in a cage with lions. They can take him out, but if you have each of the lion standing on a very small platform, they're more focused on maintaining their balance on that platform rather than lashing out at the lion tamer -- or the North Korean leader.

TODD: The only person who expert see as truly inside Kim regime, his younger sister Kim Yo-jong. Her star has been rising recently. Kim did execute other members of his family, his uncle, his half-brother, but Kim Yo-jung is a direct blood relative who Kim Jong-un trust completely. One analyst says she is bunker safe. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: The final version of the GOP tax plan has been revealed. Next, will it pass? Will you see a difference in your paycheck?

PAUL: And if it does pass, could it reset the narrative for the GOP and move them beyond any damage done by Roy Moore, say, in Alabama?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:01] PAUL: You're up early on a Saturday morning, 26 minutes past the hour, we're glad you are. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you this morning. We have a live look this morning at the Capitol Hill. This is where the action is happening this week, at least starting on Tuesday. House Speaker Paul Ryan says the first big vote on this comprise bill for the GOP tax plan will go to the floor on Tuesday. Then we'll see when the Senate hits it. We've seen the back and forth, right? The negotiations, the dueling bills in both houses of Congress, big votes coming on Tuesday. It's going to head to the White House after that if it passes both chambers.

PAUL: By Wednesday, they're hoping that it will be at the president's desk by Wednesday, which means he could be days away from delivering on that promise of tax cuts for Christmas. Just within the last 12 hours, Senate leaders won over key Republican holdouts. This is not a done deal yet, we have to point out though, the White House is not sitting on the sidelines though, they are active in this.

BLACKWELL: If this bill passes, will it be a big win for the White House? Will it be a big injection of new life and energy for the GOP and move them beyond a lot of the damage that we saw this week or the last couple of weeks by the campaign or the candidacy of Roy Moore? Joining us now to talk, Amy Kremer, Co-Chair of Women Vote Trump; and CNN Political Commentator Shermichael Singleton. Good morning to both of you.

AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR OF WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: Good morning.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, I want to put the Roy Moore-Steve Bannon conversation a little later and start with taxes here. And Shermichael, let me start with you. This very likely will get to the president's desk in the next couple of days. I want to talk about how the tax plan corresponds with what the Republican Party says it is, and I want to go to the party platform -- the definition of the priorities of the GOP. 2016 platform says this: "We must impose firm caps on future debt, accelerate the repayment of trillions we now owe in order to reaffirm our principles of responsible and limited government and remove the burdens we're placing on future generations." The most recent estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation says this will add a trillion dollars to the deficit by 2027. So, reconcile these two things. What the Republican party says it is, and what this bill does potentially to the deficit in the next ten years.

SINGLETON: Well, Victor, I mean, I think the independent tax foundation analyzed a bill and released some data a few weeks ago, that indicated over a ten-year period we're likely to see about a million jobs created. We're expecting about 2.9 percent increase in wages. You think about the child tax credit, for example, that's going to increase by 65 percent which will benefit families across the country. But as it relates to the deficit, that is something as a fiscal conservative that bothers me, and it's my hope that as we get closer to the passage of this bill, we put more measures in place to reduce our spending. Because I think that's critically important as the country continues to expand, as we continue to fight terrorism around the world. You just can't continue to print more money because, of course, that adds to the deficit. That causes further issues which is why the Fed, as we have seen, has for the third-time, increased rates.

And so, I think a lot of people at least on a conservative end of the spectrum will probably raise arguments that we need to do more to ensure that the deficit does not increase.

[07:30:18] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And you're not the only person bothered this -- at by this, obviously. We also heard from Senator Bob Corker during that first Senate vote who said this and let's put up on the screen. This was December 1st. "I'm not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations." But Amy, just yesterday he said this, "The question becomes is our country better off with or without this piece of legislation. I think we are better off with it." Nothing dramatically changed as it relates to the impact on the deficit, Amy. So, what happened to the conviction? What happens to the concern? And what do you tell that Republican voters who are also concerned about the addition to the deficit?

AMY KREMER, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: Well, I think many of us are concerned about it and I haven't spoken with Senator Corker, I'm not sure of anything other than what you read there. But I do think it's a once in a generation opportunity, it's been over 30 years since we had tax reform last. We know it's a huge memo task and I think that probably many people are thinking, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This is a good start, either you start here or you get nothing at all and as we all know it's about compromise in Washington.

So, this is a good start and let's go forward and cut back on some other things and cut the spending and reign in that deficit and I believe too that as more money comes back into the country and these corporations create jobs and more people are spending money, it's going to create -- it's going to create more income for the federal government and pay down some of our debt and deficits.

BLACKWELL: We'll talk more about taxes a little later in the show. I want to switch now to the election in Alabama. And what that means for the GOP into 2018 for Steve Bannon? There's a piece in The New York Times this weekend about how some of the establishment Republicans are trying to -- as they care rise it cut him off with the knees. I'm talking about Steve Bannon here after his back in Roy Moore, and what that led to an Alabama.

Amy, to you, you were the former chairperson of the Tea Party Express which this era is being compared to back with you, backed candidates in 2010 and 2012. Is the Bannon good for the conservative movement, is he good for the Republican Party as they try to legislate?

KREMER: Well, I know it's easy for everybody try to -- to try to lay the blame on Steve Bannon. But honestly, this is not -- you can't lay this at Steve Bannon's feet. I firmly believe that had Mitch McConnell not gone nuclear on networks on the primary. And then nuclear on Roy Moore in the runoff, that we wouldn't have been in this situation. Quite honestly, Victor, I think that if Mitch McConnell had stayed out of this race, we would have probably ended up with Mo Brooks as the nominee and he would have won that 20-30 points easily. But o on forward --

BLACKWELL: Mo Brooks, the congressman from Northern Alabama who came in third in the primary.

KREMER: Right. But I mean, also you have to remember that were it not for the Tea Party movement, we wouldn't have Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul, and Pat Toomey, and Ron Johnson and some of these other senators. So, while everyone wants to think that, you know, Mitch McConnell is the Kingmaker and he has all the answers, that's not quite true. I think -- BLACKWELL: But if not for the Tea Party, probably also you wouldn't

have the losses in Delaware with Christine O'Donnell, the loss with Sharon Angle in Nevada.

KREMER: But that was a Democratic -- that was -- that was a Democratic seat and --

BLACKWELL: Those are also seats that the Republicans were expected to win. Or had a good chance of winning.

KREMER: The Democrat seat in Nevada, I mean it stayed in Democratic hands. I mean, the thing is, you come to a point where when you have a Republican that votes with Democrats more than they vote with Republicans, we don't need that. That's watering down the brand, that's diluting the brand and I think that that's what happened with Christine O'Donnell.

And with Tadey, can I call on Tadey -- can I was one of the first ones to call on Tadey can to get out of that race. Now here we are six years later of that see this up again. It's an opportunity for Republicans to take that seat.

BLACKWELL: Well --

KREMER: But I think every race is different and we have to look at them differently.

BLACKWELL: But let me say this as I come to you, Shermichael. As you say that some Republicans who vote with Democrats more than they vote with Republicans, 538 plug shows that many of the Senators that Bannon will challenge in 2018 vote 80 percent or more with President Trump. Maybe 80 percent isn't enough for Bannon, but those are the numbers.

Let me come to you on this other element you've written in the past, earlier this year about President Trump and his relationship with Steve Bannon and their marketing genius as you call it. Is his relationship now damaged with the President? I mean, he encouraged the President to back Roy Moore, but Mitch Mc Connell encouraged the President to back Luther Strange, they both lost.

[07:34:54] SINGLETON: Right, no, I think it does put the President in a very precarious predicament because I think Steve Bannon most certainly understands the language, the moods, the feelings of many of the individuals who support President Trump at the base and that as his core and I think for the President, stepping away from Steve Bannon too much I think he jeopardizes losing some of that support with his base and that something that he cannot do Because as we know, his approval ratings are across the board. Aside of his bases extremely low. And so, you don't want to lose that core base of support.

But I think Roy Moore, backing him by the President, by the RNC was certainly a mistake. I mean, you saw there was an influx number of African-American women and African-American men who turned out against Roy Moore and arguably against President Trump. And I think if Steve Bannon continues to support these types of candidates and contest Republican candidates who would likely win, it's going to be detrimental to the Republican Party in the long run.

And so, what concerns me is that when voters look at some of this individuals they -- it becomes anonymous with conservatives and they becomes anonymous with the GOP as a whole. And for me as an African- American Republican who is, of course, concerned with minority outreach engagement and targeting, I wonder how much more of a challenge that will be in the long run as the country becomes more diverse.

BLACKWELL: Yes. All right, that's Shermichael Singleton, Amy Kremer, we got to cut it there.

KREMER: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you so much for being with us.

SINGLETON: Thanks, Victor.

KREMER: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, controversial Senior Staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newman is out at the White House. She resigned from her position, at that moment she was tasked with improving African- American outreach. The question is when it comes to black support for the President, did she do more harm than good?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:17] BLACKWELL: So, this is tragic mystery in Canada, a police are investigating a suspicious death, at least two deaths I should say of a billionaire and his wife.

PAUL: Yes, government officials are confirming this morning that Barry and Honey Sherman were found dead in their mansion yesterday afternoon. Police say, at the moment the deaths are just suspicious, they're not homicides, necessarily, but they say that could change. CNN affiliate, CTV reports Barry Sherman was the founder of the largest Canadian owned pharmaceutical company. And French describe the couple as incredible philanthropist and great leader to made their community "a better place to live".

BLACKWELL: Well, she served as the top ranking African-American in the west wing before announcing this week that she was resigning.

PAUL: But Omarosa Manigault-Newman discussion of race, hitting a nerve in the black community it seems where many say she didn't represent them. Randi Kaye takes a closer look at her White House legacy.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the White House, Omarosa Manigault- Newman's job was to reach out to. African-Americans, improve relations and get their support for the President's agenda. But if you listen to the reaction to her work and her, you might think she did more harm than good. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNNY HOSTIN, SENIOR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS: Truth be told she's really a pariah in the African-American community. She's always sort of been the villain and her job is the director of outreach in the African-American community was almost a slap in the face to the African-American community.

KAYE: On The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg, piled on.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, THE VIEW: I hope that you find your people because maybe they're looking for you. She does been so nasty to so many women and so many women of color.

HOSTIN: Yes.

GOLDBERG: You know, so many women of color --

KAYE: Women like radio and talk show host Wendy Williams.

OMAROSA MANIGAULT-NEWMAN, FORMER POLITICAL AIDE, WHITE HOUSE: Did you have a nose job?

WENDY WILLIAMS, HOST: No.

NEWMAN: It looks like you had a nose job.

WILLIAMS: No.

NEWMAN: No, I mean, I just look at before and -- honey, before and after, before and after --

WILLIAMS: But, if I can suggest because the only thing that I have had done to my face is a little Botox, I would suggest for you some Restylane, the lines stay. They say good black doesn't crack, it's cracking.

OMAROSA: And I would -- and I would suggest a wig that doesn't fluff my head three inches, that --

KAYE: After she took the White House job, Spike Lee had an especially strong reaction. Slamming her on Instagram, posting this picture of her wearing a clown nose. And despite all her claims she supported President Trump only to help the black community.

NEWMAN: I will never forget the people who turned their backs on me when all I was trying to do was help the black community. It's been so incredibly hard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Omarosa Manigault-Newman was also known for hostile exchanges with the community including one at a gathering for the National Association of Black Journalists earlier this year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, here we go -- here we go --

NEWMAN: Ask your question, but don't lecture.

KAYE: As for her assertion that she saw things in the White House that made her upset --

NEWMAN: I have seen things that have made me uncomfortable, that have upset me, that have affected me deeply and emotionally that has affected my community and my people.

KAYE: At least one late night critic simply had enough.

TREVOR NOAH, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: Oh, when she says, "her people", does she mean reality show stars? Because she was not fighting for black people in the White House. My people, slow down, Omarosa parks, slow down. You can roll hard with President Trump for a year and then come back to the neighborhood like -- that was really weird, right? Anyone else notices that? It was just me, anyone? Oh, and if you're wondering whether black people were buying it, just ask Robin Roberts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye Felicia.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:45:11] BLACKWELL: Years of bloody conflict, disease running rampant and a health care system in shambles, CNN gets rare access to Yemen where millions of people are at risk of losing their lives as they face a devastating humanitarian crisis.

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BLACKWELL: It has been called the world's forgotten war. Two and a half years of conflict in Yemen has led to one of the worst humanitarian crisis and pushed the health care system to the brink of collapse there.

PAUL: Yes, you know there are a million recorded cases of cholera. Access for western journalists extremely were -- but a rare, but our Clarissa Ward with able to travel there for this exclusive report for you.

[07:50:03] CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yemen is unraveling. In the north, air strikes pound Iran backed rebel stronghold. Among their recent targets, the presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa. In the south, the streets are run by a patchwork of militias, though it's unclear who is actually in control. Some are loyal to their sponsors in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, others to extremist groups. All vying for control of (INAUDIBLE) port and precious oil resources.

Life here is dangerous and chaotic but surprisingly, it's not the bombs and the bullets that are killing the most people. It's the humanitarian crisis that is growing by the day as Yemen edges closer to becoming a failed state. Outside the Sadaka hospital, medical waste festers in the hot noon sun, Al Qaeda graffiti still dubs the walls. Inside, the situation is hardly better. The hospital is in desperate need of everything from ventilators to basic antibiotics.

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NAHLA ARISHI, DOCTOR, YEMENDOCTOR, YEMEN: This is -- this is a more serious condition --

WARD: Dr. Nahla Arishi, started working here 24 years ago.

ARISHI: This is the worst situation now, it's aggravates now.

WARD: Because of the war.

ARISHI: Because of the wars. We are trying, we are -- our doctors trying but this is our possibilities, this is what is in our hand.

WARD: 3-year-old Hazar, has been sick with the serious lung infection for weeks.

When did you come to the hospital? And go --

His mother Jamaal, only brought him to the hospital three days ago. She says the journey from here village was too far and too expensive. Life is hard since the war diseases spread, she tells me. He's my only child.

Chicago Pediatrician John Kahler is here to try to help. A rare visitor from the outside world. On this day, he's visiting the neonatal ward.

JOHN KAHLER, PEDIATRICIAN, CO-FOUNDER, MEDGLOBAL: There's the soap?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No,no,no.

WARD: There is no soap, just bottled water.

KAHLER: So, in addition, to be (INAUDIBLE), these babies are jaundiced.

WARD: Jaundiced.

KAHLER: Right. And so, they're going to get phototherapy.

WARD: The newborns have to share an incubator, increasing their risk of infection. Doctors and nurses are also in short supply. Leaving mothers to step in and lend a hand.

KAHLER: At this point if time, even if we got more beds here to fill the numbers of patients, we don't have the staff.

WARD: When you look at doctors like Dr. Nahala, who could be overseas, are you impressed?

KAHLER: I am not just impressed, I'm all inspired by them. This is a passion to them. I did -- the doctors that person, these hospitals, those are the real heroes.

WARD: Heroes armed with little more than determination and resilience.

What goes through your mind when you see a child die because you don't have the right equipment to care for that child?

ARISHI: I can't speak, as I am a mother, I am a mom, I have three kids. But this is our -- this is what's in our hands, this is our facilities. And we are daily speaking but no one heard us.

WARD: A cry for help, but for Hazar, it is too late. He dies the day after our visit. Another death that could have been prevented in Yemen's forgotten war. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Aden.

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[07:58:42] BLACKWELL: One in four Americans sees a mental health therapist when they need help.

PAUL: But, where people are getting that help? Apparently, that's changing. There's a growing trend of doctors and patients getting off at there, but couch and going for a walk.

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EDWARD ADAMS, CLIENT OF THE THERAPY: I cannot tell you how I feel about something a 140 carried, was like in China.

DENICE CLARK, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST: Walking to an (INAUDIBLE) is exactly what it sounds like rather than being enclosed in an office space, the therapy session takes place outside while we walk. I mean, you know, this is how I should be approaching it, I'm -- yet, I'm shutting that out right now.

For some clients, coming to a therapy in an office setting is intimidating. Walking side by side, clients are a little more free to express themselves.

ADAMS: They makes me just open up a little differently in makes the conversations seem more natural.

CLARK: I maintained their confidentiality, if we're a little to close to others, we'll stop for a minute and let people pass.

ADAM: I'm an outdoors guy by nature, I like to garden and I like being active. And so, this is just a natural fit for me. The park itself is really part of the therapy process, when I had therapy in the past and going into the office, it does feel sterile.

CLARK: When we're out walking, we're moving forward and it's the exact same thing we're doing in the therapy to process, we're moving forward.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're basically -- what everybody has been waiting for now for weeks, there's a final bill, there will be no changes.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that we are going to be in the position --

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