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New Day Saturday

Kim Jong-un To Suspend Nuclear And Missile Tests; Trump Praises Kim's Pledge, "Very Good News, Big Progress"; Sessions Said He Might Quit If Rosenstein Was Fired; Justice Department Looking Into Comey's Handling Of Memos; Former U. S. Presidents Among Hundreds Expected At Funeral; Man Accused Of Extorting Flood Victims. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired April 21, 2018 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: -- incredible work she's doing, go to CNNHeroes.com. And while you're there, nominate someone that you think should be a 2018 CNN hero. We'd love to meet them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: North Korea announcing it will stop conducting nuclear tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first time that the president of the United States and North Korean leader are going to sit down face to face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He needs cash. That means he's got to talk to Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All it is, is a freeze of something that Kim Jong- un has already proven he can do.

MICHAEL AVENATTI, ATTORNEY FOR STORMY DANIELS: Michael Cohen is going to flip on this president and knows where the bodies are buried or at least many of them.

JAMES COMEY, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE FBI: I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with the reporter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that he arranged for these memos to be leaked and thought that they were classified raises serious questions about his judgment and about his integrity.

GEORGE BUSH, 43RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She truly believes that she'll be wonderfully received in the arms of a loving god and, therefore, did not fear death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good Saturday to you. After decades of name-calling, threats of destruction, and defiant rocket launches, this morning, an unexpected pledge from North Korea could finally bring a diplomatic breakthrough. PAUL: Kim Jong-un says his regime is stopping nuclear and missile

tests. This is an announcement that shocked world leaders. It's already being praised by some of the country's toughest critics, as well. It's worth noting what is not in the pledge, however. There's no mention of short-range missile tests, no promises to let weapons inspectors into the country, and no plans to get rid of the missiles and the nuclear warheads the country already have. CNN's Abby Phillip is traveling with the president in Florida, has reaction to this news. But we do want to start on the Korean Peninsula with Ivan Watson, who's live in Seoul. So, Ivan, I know this is a dramatic turnaround from where we were months ago from North Korea mourning that it could target Guam to an attempt at peace. How did they get here?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the question everybody has: why are they making the decision? And the timing is important. We're just six days away from the first meeting between Kim Jong-un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in, which is being described as a precursor to the eventual summit between Kim Jong-un and President Trump. So, after a Workers Party meeting in Pyongyang, that's the ruling Workers Party, Kim Jong-un announced that North Korea had mastered nuclear weaponization, it has miniaturized its nuclear bombs, and it no longer needs to carry out nuclear weapons tests or intercontinental ballistic missile tests. And in fact, it is going to, in its words, discard it's nuclear weapons testing facility in the north of the country. That's the facility where in September of last year, North Korea conducted its most recent and most powerful nuclear weapons test. And now, the government is announcing that it's going to focus on economic development and on improving relations with its neighbors. This is a message that has been welcomed not only by President Trump but by the South Korean government. The Japanese, notably, being quite a bit more skeptical, saying, hey, we need complete denuclearization, that is something that North Korea is not quite saying yet. And if you think about the years and just the untold riches and treasure that have gone into developing this nuclear weapons program, it's going to be very important to watch what would it take to get North Korea to say, hey, now, let's dismantle the weapons and bombs that we spent so much money trying to produce. Victor and Christi.

BLACKWELL: There's a long way between this assertion and denuclearization of the entire peninsula. Let's now go to Abby Phillip traveling with the president. And President Trump was quick to praise this announcement.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor. And you can see how optimistic he is about it based on the fact that he sent two tweets last night lauding the announcement from North Korea. In one tweet he says, this is very good news for North Korea and the world. He calls it big progress and said that he's looking forward to the summit. And in a second tweet, he reiterated North Korea's message about shutting down that test site and also stopping missile test, and said progress is being made for all. All of this is pushing toward a meeting that President Trump is eager to have with the North Korean leader by the end of May or early June. He's tasked his highest level national security officials to try to get this done, including sending the CIA Director, Mike Pompeo, to Pyongyang to meet with Kim Jong-un over Easter weekend in a secret meeting.

But here's a part of the problem for the president from a political perspective, before he can get to that meeting, there has to be some kind of evidence that North Korea is moving in a direction that the United States and its allies in the region want it to move in. And perhaps, this announcement from the regime this week is a first step in that direction. The president had two days of meetings with the Japanese prime minister here in West Palm Beach this past week. And one of the main points that the Japanese want to make is that it's not enough to say we're going to stop testing. As Ivan pointed out, the Japanese want the entire peninsula to be denuclearized and they also want the return of prisoners that have been captured and abducted by the North Korean regime over the years. So, there is still a lot undone here.

[07:05:43] And President Trumps also hinted this week, perhaps to send a message to Kim Jong-un that, you know, if he sits down for this meeting, he's willing to walk away if he feels like it's not fruitful even if he is sitting in the room. So, there's a lot of back and forth happening right now all in an effort to try to get the political dynamics in the right place before this meeting happens. A lot of folks are worried that what's happening is that Pyongyang is making a lot of noise, saying a lot of things, but not really willing to do what it takes to make real progress toward denuclearization. And that, in exchange, President Trump is going to give Kim Jong-un the optics of a very high-level meeting between the president of the United States and the leader of North Korea. So, before then, I think the United States is hoping that North Korea gives them much more than they have given the United States over the last several years. Meanwhile, the president has told his aides he wants this meeting to happen. We are looking at a couple of weeks now, and he's eager, as you see, to make it happen, Christi and Victor.

BLACKWELL: A lot on the table to discuss. Abby Phillip and Ivan Watson, thank you both.

PAUL: And joining us now, CNN Military Analyst, Major General James "Spider" Marks. General, thank you so much for being here, first and foremost.

JAMES MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST (via Skype): Sure.

PAUL: Does this development attach now new expectations to this upcoming meeting between the president and Kim Jong-un?

MARKS: I don't think it increases the expectations. We should feel good about it, but there's a huge amount -- I think Victor said this -- there's a huge amount of green on that pool table between this statement and reality. So, we should be very, very skeptical. Let's be frank, over the course of this regime's existence of over seventy years, they have never spoken the truth, never. So, we need to look at this and say, great, we appreciate this offer. A lot of inspections have to take place. A lot of preconditions need to be in place. So, the expectations need to be measured as we move into this.

PAUL: You make a good point here. Because, again, we need to mention there's no mention of short-range missile testing in this concession that they seem to be giving. They don't promise that weapons inspectors will be able to get into the country, they don't promise to destroy the stockpiles that they may already have. So, with all of that said, what do you think prompted this alleged new mindset of Kim Jong-un?

MARKS: In my mind, Christi, I think it's very clear. Look, Kim had this visit with Xi Jinping a few weeks ago, and he comes back to North Korea and he suddenly has found a bunch of wisdom. I think he got some very clear guidance and some assurances from Beijing in of terms what his right and left limits need to be in terms of how he deals with this summit going forward and then long term what's going to take place with the United States. But again, let's be very skeptical about all of this. We had the framework in 1994, and then we had the nuclear breakout in North Korea in 2006, but you can chalk that agreement up to failure. North Korea's a nuclear power, it has developed these nukes. It has a very strong inventory of missile capabilities, and the Japanese and the South Koreans are absolutely spot on to be concerned because the United States might want to address the ICBM capability, but the short-range capability is what can trike Tokyo and Seoul very, very easily. So, there are a lot of elements to this discussion, not mention, of course, the presence of U.S. troops on the South Korean portion of the peninsula. Although, North Korea said we're OK with that. Again, we've got to verify all of this.

PAUL: And the three Americans that are still being held prisoner right now in North Korea, do we know if there's any active engagement to release them or how this could affect that going forward?

MARKS: Again, great questions all. This is a bunch of happy talk. I'm very skeptical about all of this, having spent a good deal of my adult life looking at this problem. So, this is a lot of work for a lot of diplomats, a lot of great military leaders, a lot of great economists. You know, North Korea wants these sanctions lifted. I think Kim's starting to feel the heat. He's starting to personally feel that his elites around him are coming in and looking at him saying, hey, man, we've got to adjust this. It's starting to affect me and how I live. Frankly, they don't care about their people but they care about themselves. And Kim's getting a very clear message.

PAUL: Really quickly, I only have a couple seconds left, but major general, are you confident that North Korea can hide the stockpiles they have?

MARKS: Yes --

[07:10:13] PAUL: Is there a good sense of what they have?

MARKS: No. I'm trying to be helpful here. I know you're quick for time. It's very difficult. Yes, they can hide this stuff, but we don't know the baseline. We really don't have a solid number of what's in their inventory. So, you have to start with that. That's kind of the first.

PAUL: All right. Major General Spider Marks, always appreciate your insight. Thank you for being here, sir.

MARKS: Thanks, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Short on time. But it's tough to have the conversations about North Korea in a limited amount of time.

PAUL: Wrap it. Wait, I got one more in.

BLACKWELL: One more.

PAUL: I got to get one more in.

BLACKWELL: There's always one more.

PAUL: Thank you, major general there.

BLACKWELL: President Trump may be, again, trying to discredit the Mueller probe. This time by suggesting it is illegal because, as he says, it was based on leaked, classified, that investigation is still going on, documents. What could this mean for the Russia investigation? That's next.

PAUL: Also, heavy floods are leaving people in Hawaii trapped, and there's more rain on the way.

BLACKWELL: Also, a private funeral is playing later today for former First Lady Barbara Bush. We'll look at her life and her legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY: Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. And I wish him well.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:42] BLACKWELL: President Trump made a pretty stunning claim in a tweet last night casting doubt again on the legitimacy of the Mueller investigation. Here's what's different: this time he writes that James Comey illegally leaked classified documents to the press in order to generate a special council. Again, the president's spelling of "council", not ours. Therefore, the special counsel was established based on an illegal act. Really? Does everybody know what this means? Joining me now is Daniel Lippman, Reporter and co- Author of "Playbook," Politico. Daniel, good morning to you.

DANIEL LIPPMAN, REPORTER FOR POLITICO AND AUTHOR: Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: So, what do you think the president believes this means?

LIPPMAN: I think that he's trying to lay the groundwork that if he wants to fire Rod Rosenstein who helped put this special counsel investigation into motion, then he feels like he has the basis to do so. Although, we have to take every Trump tweet at face value which means, basically, he likes to vent. And so, if he just does a lot of tweets, it makes him feel good, instead of actually firing people which he sometimes is reluctant to do.

BLACKWELL: The Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to the Washington Post, has suggested that if the president does more than just vent, if he goes to the step of actually firing Rod Rosenstein, then Sessions would be put in a position where he would have to consider resigning. Does the president have a true appreciation of what that would mean? Or you know, the president's not been a fan of Sessions for a while, so if he has to take the heat over the Rosenstein firing, don't threaten me with a good time, both of you can go, and I'll take you at the same time.

LIPPMAN: Yes, but I don't think President Trump wants Jeff Sessions out in the cold. Just imagine the book that Jeff Sessions would write. He would go on his own Comey-style book tour. And so, I also think, I don't know if Sessions would actually resign. He could be just leaking this to try to stop Trump from firing Rosenstein. A lot of Republicans in the party have said, oh, we're not going to support Trump, and then they all come around. So, some of this is just P.R. for Sessions.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, let's talk about this development in the Stormy Daniels saga -- I think appropriate to call that. Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal's former lawyer is believed to be cooperating with federal probe into Michael Cohen's activities, and his name is Keith Davidson. He brokered both of their hush money deals with the president. And -- which always seemed peculiar to a lot of people. But this puts Cohen into a position where he can either, you know, flip and work with the federal investigators or also have the option of now holding off and facing jail time. What's the significance from your understanding of Keith Davidson now playing a role in this investigation?

LIPPMAN: I think it just underlines that anybody who gets wrapped up with Trump, with Michael Cohen, and various settlements and hush money, they all get pressure and they all eventually cooperate. We're still waiting on Paul Manafort, as well. And so, with Michael Cohen, it's a real question, I think we're going to have to wait a few weeks or a few months until, you know, Robert Mueller has some actual charges to bring against Cohen because they alert Cohen's lawyers and say that we're going to charge you unless you flip. And so, that will maybe speed up the process for Cohen actually singing to the prosecutors.

BLACKWELL: Well, this, of course, being in the southern district of New York, and they would bring the charges, but I hear your point here. Let's go now to another topic. There's a lot to discuss this morning. The Justice Department watchdog is looking into Comey's handling of his memos. Let's watch. Let's go to Jim Sciutto and we'll discuss on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: President

Trump attempting to discredit the just-released Comey memos tweeting: that they showed "clearly" that there was no collusion and obstruction. Also, he leaked classified information. Wow! Will the witch hunt continue? Former FBI Director James Comey says he drafted the memos which are not classified, documenting seven meetings and phone calls with the president because he feared that Mr. Trump would lie about them, telling CNN --

COMEY: I've tried to be transparent throughout this. And I think what folks will see if they get to see the memos is, I've been consistent since the very beginning, right after my encounters with President Trump.

[07:20:08] SCIUTTO: Comey's memos revealed that as FBI director, he informed then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that parts of the so- called Steele dossier had been corroborated by U.S. Intelligence. Comey wrote, "I explained that the analysts from all three agencies agreed it was relevant, and that portions of the material were corroborated by other intelligence." The memos highlight the president's apparent obsession with the Steele dossier, which Mr. Trump brought up with Comey unprompted several times, including during one meeting at the White House. Comey wrote, "the president brought up the golden showers thing and said it really bothered him if his wife had any doubt about it. He then explained, as he did at our dinner, that he hadn't stayed overnight in Russia during the Miss Universe trip. President said, the hookers thing is nonsense, but that Putin had told him we have some of the most beautiful hookers in the world. He did not say when Putin told him this."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you believe him or did you think he was speaking hyperbolically?

COMEY: It didn't seem to be speaking hyperbolically.

SCIUTTO: A spokesman for the Kremlin said, Putin could not have made the remark to Trump saying, they had never communicated before Trump became president. In another encounter, Trump expressed anger at then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for delaying a phone call to Trump from Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Flynn said that the return call was scheduled for Saturday," Comey wrote, "which prompted a heated reply from the president that six days was not an appropriate period of time to return a call." In telling the story, the president pointed his fingers at his head and said, "the guy has serious judgment issues."

Yet, Trump defended Flynn tweeting, "So, General Michael Flynn's life can be totally destroyed while shady James Comey can leak and lie and make lots of money from a third-rate book?" The word shady, misspelled in the tweet. Trump was not the only official interested in Flynn's legal fee. Comey wrote of an exchange with Priebus saying, "he wanted to ask me a question, and I could decide whether it was appropriate to answer. He then asked, do you have a FISA order on Mike Flynn? I paused for a few seconds and then said that I would answer here, but that this illustrated the kind of question that had to be asked and answered through established channels." COMEY: I was confident that if the president's chief of staff and

White House counsel asked the Justice Department they would get the answer, and so I could give the answer in a moment and use it to illustrate the way it should work going forward.

TRUMP: We're going to find the leakers. They're going to pay a big price for leaking.

SCIUTTO: Some of the president's greatest ire was directed at the media and stopping leaks from the White House. "I said something about it being difficult," Comey wrote, and he replied that "we need to go after the reporters and referred to the fact that 10 or 15 years ago, we put them in jail to out what they know, and it worked. They spent a couple of days in jail, make a new friend, and they are ready to talk." Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Daniel Lippman from Politico still with us. And so, Republicans in Congress, namely House Republicans, demanded these memos. They wanted them, and then they were leaked to the public, to the media. Has this paid off for them?

LIPPMAN: It almost paid off more for Jim Comey. It happened the exact week that he released his book. And so, I don't think that Republicans look good from this. I think because once you read the memos, you realize that Comey is a credible witness. He was there, he's not, you know, writing lies in the memos. And for Trump to go after him for leaking those -- some of the memos to his friend who was a Columbia law professor who shared it with the media, it's ironic because Trump is the biggest leaker of them all. He will call up journalist and plant stories, and he's done that for years.

BLACKWELL: There will certainly be some who questioned whether or not Jim Comey wrote lies in his memos, the president being one of them especially on that request for loyalty and asking for him to let the Flynn matter go. But as it relates to the classified nature of these, the president in his tweet suggested that that is a fact. But there is an ongoing investigation to determine whether or not these memos, especially the ones leaked to a friend that went to, I believe, it was the New York Times to try to bring about the special counsel, if those, indeed, were leaked illegally.

LIPPMAN: Yes, I would note that as FBI director, you have the statutory authority to, you know, declassify some stuff, and so -- or to share things that are classified and then redact them. And so, the inspector general of DOJ may clear Comey after all. But it seems like this is an effort to try to silence Comey and say he did all of this illegal stuff when I think Comey is pretty careful in how he shares information.

[07:25:10] BLACKWELL: Yes, they're focused on two memos specifically: one, that was sent to a friend that -- in which Comey redacted the classified information, and then another in which there was information that was retroactively determined to be secret or classified, and that's part of the investigation there. But could this have now backfired on Comey? He proved to be a pretty capable tactician in writing these memos and then passing them to a friend, and bring about the special counsel he was hoping for, but could this realistically backfire for the former FBI director?

LIPPMAN: I don't see how it backfires. I think, you know, we are both journalist, it's good that we know what happened during those one-on-one meetings with the president. And it's not like they were sharing plans about how they were going to go after al-Qaeda moles in America. It was more about discussing matters of public policy and whether, you know, Trump's attempts to get loyal -- get Comey to be loyal to him. And so, that doesn't seem very classified to me.

BLACWELL: All right. We'll stand by for the inspector general's report on the classification of those -- the information in those memos. David Lippman, thanks much.

LIPPMAN: Thank you, Victor.

[07:26:31] PAUL: Well, final goodbyes being said at a private funeral today for former First Lady Barbara Bush. Our next guests have some really moving stories about her. One, saying that she had a deep national yearning for a civility in politics. And who, something about a service code name that was tranquility. We'll clue you in on the other side of the break. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:47] PAUL: Welcome black -- back, 31 minutes past the hour. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. The private funeral for former First Lady Barbara Bush will begin in just a few hours. Has several former U.S. presidents and hundreds of others are expected to attend the service at Saint Martin's Episcopal Church, in Houston. President Trump will not attend in order to avoid disruptions, but First Lady Melania Trump will be there.

PAUL: Thousands of people visited the church yesterday for a public viewing while Lady Bush are lie in repose. Former President George H. W. Bush, alongside his daughter, Dorothy, greeted mourners as they paid their respects. And let's look at this picture here with CNN contributor and author of First Women, Kate Anderson Brower. Who is with us also, opinion columnist for The Hill, Brent Budowsky. But I want to put that picture back up if we could please of George H. W. Bush, and his daughter, Dorothy, by the -- by the casket there. It is hard, is it not, Kate, to imagine George H.W. without Barbara by his side.

KATE ANDERSON BROWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It is. I mean, they were married for 73 years, the longest marriage in presidential history, and I believe that he is now the only former president to be a widow since Herbert Hoover. So, this is something that's pretty unusual that he's going through it, they just been together for so long. She was 16 and he was 17 when they met at a country club dance many years ago. So, this is certainly very difficult for the family.

BLACKWELL: Brent, your memories of the first lady.

BRENT BUDOWSKY, OPINION COLUMNIST, THE HILL: Oh, she always brought a dignity, and a grace, and a good humor and an integrity to public life. There'll be many words of praise given to Barbara Bush, today and all of them will be real, all of them will be true, and all of them will be sincerely believed. I have been seeing her from my role with Senator Benson when the Bensons and Bush's became close and friendly after they ran against each other for the Senate and during the Clinton presidency.

And when George Herbert Walker Bush and Bill Clinton, ultimately became friends and respectful partners and did a lot of good works for America together. She represents a great generation an ideal, and ethic of public life that has been American since Jefferson and Adams, and has lived on today. And hopefully will live on for many years that she was a wonderful, wonderful human being, a spectacular lady. A great-grandma, a wonderful mom, and a terrific first lady, and everyone that said their admiration for her today deserves it, believes it and knows it's true, she was special.

PAUL: Kate, you know, Brent has mentioned there the relationship that H. W. Bush have with the -- with Bill Clinton. Will with the Bush's -- that's all of the Bush's have with the -- with the Clinton's, and how they bridged the gap of politics and a real opposing view of politics, and still have this close relationship. I want to show a picture here of President George Bush with Michelle Obama, I believe we have it. Because there is affinity -- an affinity for each of them, for each other's families. How much do you think Barbara Bush, contributed to the closeness that the Bush family, in general, can feel, that the Obama's can feel for each other despite the -- you know, political turmoil that seems to always be swirling?

[07:35:17] BROWER: Well, you know, George W. Bush famously said that Bill Clinton is a brother from another mother. You know, they are a very close friends. Bill Clinton would go to Kennebunkport in the summers, and they really -- you know, it is about civility and decorum and respect. And Barbara Bush has said, you know, I may not agree with your politics, but she could see beyond that.

And I think it's sad that we don't see that as much today. It's sorely missing in our national discourse. I would say -- you know, I got a call a couple of days ago from a butler who worked for the Bush's. And he excitedly told me that he was invited to go beyond to the funeral. And this is the kind of people they were, the butlers and the maids who worked for them loved them. They were their favorite family to serve, and it's because the Bush's treated everyone with respect and care about them. And knew their names, and when someone passed away in the butler's family, the Bush's would get on the phone and call them. And this is something that says a lot about who they were as people, as they cared about people and treated them well. And I just want to say it's really wonderful that they've invited so many of the staff to attend the funeral today.

BLACKWELL: Yes, there's even a photograph that's floating around of many of the Houston public transportation workers who were wearing those iconic strings of pearls in honor of Barbara Bush, this weekend. And former Secretary of State, then, head of the joint chiefs, (INAUDIBLE), told the story, Brent, about when President George H. W. Bush was making transition into office, and Barbara Bush was asked who will be dressing you in the White House. And she says, I have my own clothes, and I'll be bringing them with me, thank you very much. Talk about that transition from Nancy Reagan to Barbara Bush, and what she brought to that position in the White House.

BUDOWSKY: Well, what's amazing about Nancy Reagan, which I had written about before, is the extraordinary role that she played in ending the Cold War by encouraging President Ronald Reagan, to be a great president and to achieve nuclear arms control. And Barbara Bush and George Herbert Walker Bush, when Reagan was president were part of that. They were in the middle of that, they were helping with his expertise and her goodwill, and when she became first lady, she continued that. And she worked, as he did, with a lot of other people from both parties. They believed in peace, they believed in diplomacy. George Herbert Walker Bush was very skillful after Reagan left in helping to end the Cold War and steering the world community.

They do represent a great generation. When Barbara Bush was a young woman, the man she loved was a war hero in the Second World War. And when George Herbert Walker Bush was a young man, the woman he loved for so many years was Rosie the Riveter supporting the world back home, and doing what's right for America. They were special people, he is just an amazing man, holding hands with her for 70-plus years is moving and wonderful and special. And they deserved each other in the noblest sense of the word. They both did much for America, and God bless them.

PAUL: All right, Brent Budowsky, Kate Anderson Brower, thank you so much for sharing -- you know, your memories and the history that you know. We appreciate it so much.

BROWER: Thank you.

PAUL: And we'll be having special coverage with Wolf Blitzer, starting at 10:00 a.m. right here on CNN, as we remember first lady -- former First Lady Barbara Bush. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:13] PAUL: Well, fixed mortgage rates went up bit a half of percent while adjustable rates are down slightly. Here's your look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:29] BLACKWELL: Keith Davidson was on the other side of a deal with Michael Cohen when the two arranged a six-figure settlement payout to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on her alleged affair with the president.

PAUL: Well, now the former lawyer for the adult film actress is cooperating in the investigation against Cohen in the New York. And that could affect what happens to Daniels' case in California. Here's the latest on the legal drama from CNN National Correspondent Miguel Marquez. MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The bicoastal legal drama pitting the porn star against the president has its first hearing in a California federal court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AVENATTI: The court recognized, to quote the court, that there are gaping holes in the application by Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump to delay this matter.

MARQUEZ: Stormy Daniels' aggressive button-pushing lawyer Michael Avenatti, wants his case to move forward as quickly as possible.

AVENATTI: It is always been our intention to make sure that this case proceeded expeditiously.

MARQUEZ: The stakes enormous if the case moves forward, the president himself could be deposed about a $130,000 payment to the adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, which he denies knowing about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you hear about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?

MARQUEZ: The question, but did he buy her silence about an alleged affair through his trusted and loyal fixer, Michael Cohen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you file to protect this Fifth Amendment?

MICHAEL COHEN, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: We're not answering.

MARQUEZ: Much of that hearing centered on whether Michael Cohen would assert his Fifth Amendment right to refuse and answer questions in this California civil case, while Cohen is also a target of a federal criminal investigation in New York.

[07:45:11] AVENATTI: I believe the indictment will be issued within the next 90 days.

MARQUEZ: In court, Michael Cohen's lawyer Brent Blakely, used Avenatti's public claims against him. Arguing the delay, in this case, is imperative until he can sort through what the federal government has on his client in New York. And if his client is charged, as Avenatti says, then the civil case would have to wait. Avenatti says not true, there may be a middle ground.

AVENATTI: They can very easily co-exist, and I think the court indicated that the court may ultimately find that when his honor discussed less intrusive means relating to allowing this case to proceed on a parallel track.

MARQUEZ: Citing security concerns, Stormy Daniels did not appear in court after a chaotic appearance earlier in the week in New York for a hearing regarding the FBI raid of Michael Cohen's New York office, home, and hotel room. Lawyers on both sides admitting in court they don't know exactly what was seized and what the focus was in New York last week as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into Cohen's business dealings.

According to a source, investigators were seeking information about a range of issues including Cohen's 2016 hush agreement with Daniels. Investigators are reportedly also seeking records related to a deal between former playmate Karen McDougal, and American Media, Inc., which prevented her from publicly discussing her alleged 10-month affair with Trump, he denies the affair. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: All right, other news here. The FAA is changing the rules for how airlines inspect their engines after a passenger died on a Southwest flight.

BLACKWELL: Plus, just as the floodwaters are receding in Hawaii, the torrential rain may not be over. The latest forecast is ahead.

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[07:51:08] PAUL: Well, victims of the devastating flood we've been watching in Hawaii say one of their rescuers threatened to leave them unless they paid him.

BLACKWELL: Yes, police in Kauai arrested a boat operator on suspicion of extortion, robbery, and terroristic threats, but the man has not been officially charged. People say he would pick them up in his boat, and when he got about 200 yards offshore he would demand money so they felt like they had no choice but to pay.

PAUL: The man's brother says it was all just a misunderstanding. All right, well, we'll see how this pans out. But look at what the people are dealing with there. This island of Kauai got more than two feet of rain in 24 hours. So, there were landslides that were just burying a lot of the roads there. What is it going to be like today because we know more of this is on the way? CNN Meteorologist Alisson Chinchar, of one of my favorite Islands. This is where we got married, the beach where we got married. It's so sad to see.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and you know, the thing is these are wet places, they get rain in Hawaii frequently. Just not this much rain in a short period of time. OK, so take a look at this is the water vapor satellite. OK, see all the bright unicorn colors that you see there. That's where all the really heavy rain was. And it kept trailing over the same spots over and over again, to the point where you had so much rain. Look at some of this areas of Kauai, over 30 inches of rain, 28. Even the Princeville Airport on Kauai picked up over 14 inches of rain

in just about 48 hours. Now, you have to keep in mind the highest total in that 48 hours was the 32.35 inches. To put this in perspective, we got to talk about some other city. For example, Seattle, that's more than they would -- that's almost what they would see in an entire year. And Miami, they got about half of what Miami would see in a year in just two short days.

So, again, this is a lot of rain. Even for a place that is used to having rain. Now, here's the thing, those original totals were from several days ago. Now, take a look at these. These are just from the last 24 hours, areas of Kauai picking up an additional four to six inches of rain. That's going to be the problem because not only are some of the low-lying areas already flooded, but you have the rivers, the creeks, the streams that are there, that are already swollen and now you're adding even more rain on top of it to a lot of these locations.

Now, widespread totals likely to only get about one to two inches, I want to emphasize that. But it's those heavier pockets where you see the yellows, the oranges and the reds that's where you could end up seeing Victor and Christi as much as four inches of additional rain. And rain is in the forecast for Princeville for at least the next several days.

PAUL: My goodness.

BLACKWELL: Not getting any better soon. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

PAUL: So, the FAA is changing the rules for how airlines inspect their engines. This -- it issued new inspection requirements yesterday for engines like the one that failed, of course, last week on that Southwest flight, it killed one person.

BLACKWELL: Airlines will now have to use an ultrasound to inspect the engine, not just the naked eye. The 20 minutes into that Southwest flight, the fan blade broke off, the engine and shrapnel shattered the window. Window, a person was forcedly pulled out and later died.

All right, the breaking news that North Korea says it will no longer need to test missiles. We're following that.

PAUL: President Trump is welcoming that news but a lot of people are saying is this really a step towards denuclearization? We are live in South Korea at the top of the hour. Do stay close.

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[07:58:42] ANNOUNCER: "STAYING WELL" brought to you by Aleve. All day strong, all day long.

BLACKWELL: With this week's "STAYING WELL" features an exercise called Foam Rolling. It's similar to yoga, it's becoming a popular way to release tension and improve mobility.

COREY DOBYNS, LICENCED MASSAGE THERAPIST: Foam Rolling is a tool essentially. So, it's a piece of foam that you use for stretching, self-massage.

KATE EDWARDS, PHYSICAL THERAPIST, ORTHOPEDIC SPECIALIST: You're essentially using your body weight on a foam roller to decrease the tension in the muscle and also get rid of these knots and trigger points.

DOBYNS: So, you'll going to do some scissor kicks.

EDWARDS: Different several studies that shows Foam rolling is good for increasing range of motion, increase in blood flow to the area, improving and maintaining tissue health.

AMY WIDENER, REALTOR: I do it whenever I feel -- you know, some tightness, whether that's in my neck or in my back or in my hamstrings.

DOBYNS: You have hip joint out to the lateral side. When you're rolling around, you're looking for these spots that trigger just a little bit of discomfort and then you mash on them a little bit. You can roll on it.

EDWARDS: So, you'll probably spend about 20 to 30 seconds per body part. People can do it too much if they're on there for like 20 minutes. You don't want to damage the muscle tissue or the connective tissue.

WIDENER: It's not an activity that feels wonderful on your body. It's kind of intense but I find that after you're done and you spend a little time on those sore spots, it's amazing the release that you get.