♪ announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." >> good evening, charlie rose is on assignment today. the escalating conflict with north korea has cast a spotlight on the shifting power dynamics and asia. presentmains ever competition. --na's growing chow or growing power calls into question the u.s.'s role. richard mcgregor wrote a book reckoning," we are

pleased to have him back. the two seo. richard: thank you for having me back. jeff: good to have you. how do you define it today, and is it over? americana in east asia is really america as both the dominant power in east asia since the second world war and also the sort of policymaking power in asia since the second world war. i begin you an example. it is remarkable that 70 years still has troops in south korea, still has troops in japan,. it has troops in australia. that is pax americana, and interwoven set of security guarantees that the u.s. provides for east asia and has

provided for 70 years. i guess linked up with the economic system that the u.s. has a build a since the second world or and built along with europe, basically built around open markets and roles, rules of the road for trade, security, for the high seas, and the like. years removed from world war i, this all comes back to world war ii, doesn't it? richard: it does. way, the u.s. is allied with china in. it all stems from their. when the u.s. returned sovereignty to japan in the 1950's, it did so while disarming it and basically taking away japanese or and policy are many decades and also formed alliances with the

philippines, australia, and the like, which feared japan. all of the alliances survive today. abouttalk a little bit the history between these two countries and how it got to where it is today. richard: for me this is fascinating, and really why i wrote the book. i lived in for a long time in both countries and i was always interested in their relationship. i was in a bookshop last night and it occurred to me if you go into most bookshops in the a cottage industry u.k., books on asia, the but there is very little on japan and china. this is a highly consequential relationship, the world of's second and third biggest

economies. asia's two superpowers and a emotionally scarred history. china considered it self to be japan's big brother, it fell behind japan, was rudely invaded japan. and really only in the last 10 to 20 years out of 150 years, japan-china is getting back on top again. they have always demanded the west treat them as equals, quite rightly feared the u.s. had racist policies toward asia. but they struggle to treat each other as equals and it leads to an antagonistic relationship. jeff: for most of the history china has been the big brother. were, but if you talk to the japanese they'll say

we were not ever the little brother. we are japan. they claim that many people in japan think that china's mindset --to return to this form of in which china is the center, the middle kingdom and everybody else is a form of tributary state. get onhina allows to with allies as long as they pay some sort of obedience. japan says we were never like that and we will never be like that and they are determined to stand their ground. >> can you talk about the scars that remain, maybe even deepened at times with discussion over what apologies should be made over world war ii? complex,this is a fractured area where you don't pick up a sensibilities from the day-to-day headlines of japan

demands china apologize -- sorry, china demands japan apologize for the war. there is no doubt that chinese propaganda about japan works because it is based on true facts. china,id brutally invade they killed many people, there was a massacre, etc. but immediately after the war and the decades after the war, china never asked japan for an official apology. they never wanted to talk about the master, it wasn't a priority for them. but once they started to become more powerful, once they thought they wanted the respect accorded to them, that is when they started talking about history more. japan was very unprepared for that. japan thought they had settled all of those issues.

japan struggles to have any sort of introspection about history. about the history of the history wars. thatyou look from perspective, you'll see it's a matter of internal politics and both countries. >> post world war ii one country does a better job of modernizing and appreciating technology? richard: absolutely. you may remember when you were growing up the number one threat was japan, when the japanese rockefeller -- and pebble beach. this was considered nationalism. actionly culminated in by the u.s. against japan on semiconductors. it is quite remarkable.

once japan faded as an economic threat, we forgot what in an -- what and intense period it was. the u.s. was always a security -- japan was always a security ally of the u.s., hence, helped mediate the trade differences. china is a deadly geopolitical rival of the u.s. and that will make the trade issues harder to handle. >> a lot of people forget about the threats that people felt from the japanese economy in particular. that economy in the 1980's -- that economy as big as it is remains stagnant to a large extent today. how does that factor into the japanese-chinese relationship? richard: to be fair they have been doing better than people

think, but they have a bigger problem than increasing economic productivity. they have a diminishing population. they are going to go from about 120 million people to about 90 million. not only do they feel they have lost their advantage against china as an economy, there is a big psychic turnaround. it was only 20 or 30 years ago that japan was on top your in the space of a couple of decades, that has really fli pped. the past 10 to 20 years. 1%.n has grown they feel aggrieved by the turning of tables and it doesn't make for a psychologically healthy relationship. >> they both have aging power relations -- aging populations? richard: they do. and we are really at the dawn of

-- every country in east asia has terrible demographics. japan may be the worst, china does as well, south korea does, taiwan does. ,he problems that japan has now china will have that in spades in 10 or 20 years. and without switching the competition, that will help the u.s. >> trade continues to thrive between japan and china. this is more of a political discussion we are having. richard: it is one reason i guess, japanese-chinese bilateral trades, one of the biggest trade relationships in the world -- not only that, it is investment. japanese car companies like u.s. car companies have an enormous in china and china represent the future for them. it is the same with the japanese the same with,

new goods when they build factories in china. that is really the anchor of the relationship and one reason why for all of their attention, for all of the fact that their navies face-off in the east china sea every day or every month, the relationship has never gone off the rails. they are deeply pragmatic countries and i don't think they want to have a fight because it is our to damaging. -- it is far to damaging. >> is were a possibility in the future? richard: it is a possibility. -- ae had a whole multiple of books saying the war between selling out and so-and-so. the chances of war are higher than they used to be.

i guess the trigger point is there disputed territories in the east china sea. there are a few small islands which has become symbolic of geopolitical competition. 2012, when japan change the status of those islands, it is my understanding -- and i talk about it in the book -- the chinese did consider at the time whether they should take military action to make their point or regain the islands. one reason they didn't is very interesting -- two reasons, obviously. chinese are still building their military up. andn has a formidable naval air force, but most important china has to be sure of victory. a battlef japan lost to china, it would be a national shame, etc. but if china lost a battle against japan again with the

-- communist party's presti jemima, that means a regime change. they have to be sure of winning. >> who is more responsible for stoking fears, for stoking problems over these disputed islands? richard: you are putting me on the spot there. sidestionalists from both watching this will pour into attack me, but i don't want to be sitting on the fence. i will say there is a fault on both sides. japan handles history issues terribly. at the top of the government in japan they have been revisionists on history and resisted making amends for what happened long time ago. that is definitely the problem, but i think the problem is bigger in china in this respect; china is a single party

authoritarian country. they do not have free speech in the way we understand it. it is very difficult in china with that sensibility against japan for politicians are anybody to stand up and call her a much more open debate about japan not being an enemy of japan. in the early 1990's when the chinese started a tragic education -- started patriotic system of education in primary schools and high schools, and the like, japan was the number one target. japan's faults, and there are many, i think it is the chinese propaganda system which drives anti-japanese sentiment in china/ ,nce they start winding it up it is difficult to wind it back. i think that is the core of the problem. >> our grudges carried mostly by the older generation, or does it

cross the demographics? that is a good question. and it often seems in china it is like the balkans. all of these young people have great memories of wars they never experienced. it's not that -- elderly people have living memories of the japanese atrocities and cruelty. i think that was important in the 1980's and 1990's when policy started to change, but these days it strangely seems to who feel mostple intensely about japan. i think that is for a number of reasons. the education system, which i talked about the war, and i think also the fact that japan is a one area they can eke out on andhey can speak out show their patriotism. there is not much they can speak protesting japan is

one of them. i think a lot of disgruntled people, there antigovernment or anti-establishment sentiment and it builds from there. japan --o cropped all brent said "i don't think we understand the japanese people here it don't think they understand us." has anything changed? richard: during my research for the book i came across that. the u.s. and japan have a close security relationship now. the pentagon and the japanese military, but i think we have forgotten the aspect of the trade's we talked about before, how did all of her relationship this has been for a long time and many different u.s. officials did not dealing with the japanese. henry kissinger is a prime example, james baker, brent

-- the consummate professional, hardened realist. somebody who dealt with all sorts of dictators around the world and for him to say the hardest people to deal with were the japanese i found quite startling. but also telling about the problems the alliance has experienced. >> so, you appreciate the extra narrowly obligated relationship between china and japan, how do you approach the ascetic fear? richard: the u.s. is a very difficult balancing act. if the u.s. muscles up in asia, as someone like, it runs the risk of precipitating conflict, and in fact getting ahead of asian allies which want the u.s. to be there to keep the peace to be a conciliator or bouncer, -- for

balancer, but not necessary fight wars. but if the u.s. leads a vacuum that will be more dangerous, because china will fill it. china already has this salami slicing policy in east asia, the sea, china sea, east china accumulating influence in such a way that it is hard to the u.s. to push back. i think at the core of what the u.s. has to do as long as the u.s. is committed to its position in asia is to strengthen alliances. that is the most important thing. the second thing that has to happen if people are going to push back against china does not necessarily involve the u.s. it involves other asian countries joining together here at instead of what the u.s. used kescall the hubs and spo

relationship, it is now kind of a network arrangement. japan and india, japan and the philippines, you numb and india and india. all sorts of allied countries joining together in new types of security partnership to bolster the old u.s. alliance system, which is not as strong or dominant as it was. >> china once the u.s. there on their terms? richard: yeah. the fascinating thing about china is china has been a huge winner from pax americana. let's not forget that. the u.s. is the security guarantor in asia has provided a platform for the chinese economic miracle. that is not to say the chinese didn't do in themselves through good policy, hard work, and the like. but without a peaceful regional

and international environment, which the u.s. provided, that was the platform, the runway, which china took off. , china didn't do anything in building that system, they plugged into it in 2000. u.s. helped built it. , unsurprisingly, once eventually to be the dominant power itself in asia. power, athey are a big big economy, maybe in 10 years the biggest in the world, they do not want to rely on the u.s. anymore for security. they are building their own navy and aircraft carriers, and the like. a what the u.s. to reduce their slowly.e, but i think they don't want anything to happen is a bit asleep. >> will president trump get the cooperation he wants from china

or north korea? richard: i would say in a word, no. china has a number of calculations on north korea, but the pride one -- the prime one is what does china prefer. do they want a north korea that collapses into south korea? china would have a u.s. ally on its border with u.s. troops. do they want refugees spilling across into their territory or do they want to have a dictator who they think can be deterred and contained? they have consistently gone for the latter. we should also be clear -- and i think it is not always clear outside of asia that china and north korea did not get on. they do not trust each other and that applies in spades to the current leadership. xi jinping has never met kim

remarkable. china's leverage is limited. they haven't got it. they could use it, but it is the kind of leverage that could have enormous blowback. >> they think china and north korea get along, they don't? richard: they don't. the old propaganda line like lips and teeth, north korea always used to play china off against the soviet union. they have their own way of doing things. it is the kim family business and dynasty, that is what drives them, not being nice to china or anybody else. >> jubilee people underestimate the kim dynasty? richard: clearly they have. there isad collapsist for years, it didn't happen. we had this guy come in and take

control at age 30. we don't know too much about internal politics, but we certainly know he didn't know how to run a country. he has done it absolutely ruthlessly, killed rivals or locked them up. and he has accelerated the new nuclear bomb building program and ballistic missile building program. the core power in internal politics are the scientists, all of the people with qualifications to do what they are doing. and kim has clearly given them their head while eliminating all other rivals. it has so far been -- maybe it will crumble in front of us one day, but so far to talk about it in a cold fashion, a remarkable performance. >> when we talk about north korea, people talk about the u.s., china, russia, japan

doesn't get discussed a lot. should it be? richard: yes and no. japan struggles to play the role of conciliator on the korean peninsula, because of lineal record there. the fan and south korea are important allies, but they have relationship themselves. with the election of a new government in south korea which is antagonistic toward japan, even more so. they will not be the broker on the peninsula, and this is secret.uch an open but i don't think they support a united korea either. japan is important in this respect. buildup andmilitary now the accelerant provided by north korea is transforming japanese security politics. so, most people have the idea

that japan is stuck at this pacifist constitution, etc. that is changing rapidly and gradually. constitution its to allow it to fight more easily alongside the u.s. they are now getting offensive weapons in a real sense for the first time since 1945. a big change would be if the pan japanuclear itself -- if went nuclear itself. i don't think it will, but that is down the track. if japan continues to feel threatened by china. how this oneing small rogue nation is driving the discussion right now. richard: yeah. and nobody knows what to do about it. >> the book is called "asia's reckoning," really appreciate your time. richard: thank you very much.

jeff: charlie rose is on assignment today. i'm jeff lohr. investigators from major league majorll have uncovered -- have uncovered a scheme of spying on opposing teams. the boston red sox used technology in the apple watch to steal hand signals in games

against the new york yankees against other -- new york yankees and other teams. joining us is the man who led the reporting. michael, welcome. michael: thank you for having me. >> as far as you have been able to gather, when did team first notice something might be amiss? the yankees had been deeply skeptical about the red sox, but they couldn't figure out how they were stealing signs from them. the teamal manager of had some guys look at different things the red sox were doing, and try to figure it out. was at the bat boy, third base vote, how are they doing this? they were able to figure it out last month in a series game in boston that someone in the red team trainer was

using this iphone watch as a way of receiving information. it is against baseball's rolls to have any kind of electronics -- baseball's rules to have any kind of electronics in the dugout. you can steal signs, but you cannot have electronics. >> does it go back months or years? michael: i think it goes back months. the red sox when they had to talk to major league baseball in baseball confronted them last week, they told a baseball it has been going on for at least a month. they had been using this system since at least july. there were other teams the red sox play against they used this equipment with. the yankees or major league baseball believe was involved in this? michael: it looks like the team trainer and several of the

players, and the team's video analyst. the staff that looks at the footage that is coming in throughout the game. 's star second baseman was injured, but in uniform during the series, but in the footage provided to major league baseball he was seen talking to the trainer and then taking information and passing it to other players. this was a key part of the by thed complaint filed general manager of the yankees. >> younger guys is one thing, but presumably a veteran should -- no better?estio youael: it is a known rule can't have a electronics in the isout, but stealing signs part of the game, something that happens.

that is why in baseball you see a lot of times the catcher running out to the mound to talk to the pitcher with his mitt over his face, because he is trying to basically tell the pitcher how he will change the sign so they can communicate. this is part of another problem with baseball where the games are too long. if you watch the playoffs, the second half of the game is the catcher running out to the pitcher and talking to him to stop signs from being stolen. >> part of this, looking back, you can get why some teams thought something was going on. i think over the summer there were excessive visit to the mound, right? there was a concern on the part of the catchers or managers? michael: correct. the yankees knew something was going on. they were trying to take every measure it to stop it. you have the catcher

saying it's going to be the second son, the sign i'm putting down. the catcher is putting down different numbers with his fingers. the other thing is the catchers saying whatever i put down, through this ditch or whatever, and that is why question or -- why the commissioner in boston talk to the league said stealing signs of a game, you can't stop people, but you can have -- you cannot have people with electronics in the dugout. >> it is a 21st century object here, the iwatch, but ultimately just guys, one person relaying something else and eventually getting it to the batter. michael: some people were joking with me that they didn't know they still had iwatches, or that there was a use for them. the red sox would have analysts

looking at the video footage. at fenway park there is apparently a big distance between where the video footage is taken and where the dugout is. to move information more quickly they were sending it to the trainer who had the watch on. the trainers were interviewed by major league baseball and the trainer said, look, we were just doing what the players told us to do. they gave us this watch. they were just following what we said. the same thing came from the video guy, it was the player doing this. this is a common theme we have seen. it was this clubhouse personnel, people with less power on the team succumbing to the athletes the wanted them to do different things and going along with these schemes. >> there was immediate counter accusation from the red sox that the yankees are stealing signals from using the television

network there. is there anything to that? the yankeeswe know and red sox are long-term rivals . it is a long-standing thing. the interesting thing is the rivalry hit a peak about 10 years ago. they were both good winning world series, big personalities on both sides. just ethic, big baseball games -- epic, big baseball games. has cold and it has become less exciting. it's like they said you're going to file a complaint against us, we're going to file one against you. they raised the ante on it. it is not clear that it is as substantial as the one the yankees filed. the red sox admitted to it. davet they say that

--rowski and rob manfred not involved? michael: the question is how far do you want to push the investigation, do you want to figure out if they knew about it? does it matter? if it were to come out that the manager and front office know about it it would give an even bigger conspiracy, cast a bigger shadow on this. it's justx says look the player, it's part of the game, the manager didn't know. withess is that will fly the commissioner's office, but manford once-- if they could.r, there was a similar allegation about the patriots and they moved quickly to penalize the patriots.

hem, took away draft picks. and then new allegations came out and new questions were raised about did they do this in the super bowl, how did it help them, different things like this. it looked like he had covered up for the patriots and made the decision before he knew the findings to get out of the way and move past it. this is something that has haunted him until today. when he suspended tom brady people said oh, look, you're going hard on brady to make up for going too easy on spygate. he has to be careful not to fall into that trap. idea how long any the process will be? michael: the problem is the yankees' complaint will delay this year my sense is the commissioner's office will want

to close it in one else will -- in one fell swoop. the investigation into the red sox was moving along quickly and manford was preparing to issue discipline, but then they yankees delayed it and it will drag out. we can see this go on for .nother few weeks my guess is they don't want to make an announcement during the playoffs or cast a shadow during the playoffs, either. my guess is you would see it before the end of the month. >> the red sox made the accusation on monday? michael: yes. they fired it against the yankees on monday, about a week and a half after the yankees about their complaint. >> are there other teams that believed they noticed this as well? michael: we have not heard accusations i other teams being

made about the red sox, but this is something that comes up every few years in baseball. but he had binoculars in the stands trying to steal signs . there was an incident in the 1990's where they had cameras. obviously a big thing in the 1950's with the giants who had a very detailed system to steal signs to allow them to come back and overtake the dodgers. then bobby thompson had the shot heard around the world. that was something that came out a few years ago in a piece that did.wall street journal" this is not new in terms of the game, what is new is the technology. the other thing that manford said, baseball has never sanctioned a team for this. the red sox general manager said

i have dealt with these issues before, we have dealt with it from general manager to general manager. we have dealt with it on the side, but this is different. this is raising the ante going to the commissioner. yankee fans up in arms, in their glory after they saw some of this news come out, boston and are saying look, this is part of the game. theard comments from yankees' manager yesterday and he said technology is just part of the world we live in, he was talking about whether there might be some technology to not sign stealing,lp but they could potentially stop it. i wonder in the course of your research have you heard anybody talk about what might be done to stealingdvanced sign or cheating techniques from taking place? michael: we would need a new way

of communicating in baseball. part of that is signs. is tog numbers down, this the mound, that is part of the game. the question is is there a way the picture could communicate with a catcher without the body signals. we have not seen that. that sounds like science fiction to me and it would take away from part of the game. at the and of the day, baseball is entertainment. some people find this story particularly interesting, because rivalry teams are trying to get the upper hand on each other. this is not an existential threat on baseball. i can imagine it having a huge impact on the game unless things are handled poorly from here. who knows how technology would impact that. >> part of it is serious, part of it is funny. it is an enjoyable side pursuit

or people to discuss right now. and you're right, it is hard to having pitchers microphones. michael: this is something we see in washington, like you had some type of super technology. then you open it up to hacking and other things. we had a hacking issue in baseball just two years ago where one team broke into another team's computer to steal scouting information. people are going to try to get the advantage to matter what. when you raise the ante there are other ways to come at it, what the system be encrypted. how could one team get the advantage? it is part of the game. i covered theago steroid scandal and that cut to the integrity of the game,

statistics, and what was going on behind the scenes. had there been a cover-up, why did so many players use the drugs, it doesn't feel like that yet. i'm not saying it couldn't happen, but at this point it doesn't feel that serious. ♪

♪ michael, you have had a big story,roke news on this

but also on james comey and the investigation into potential russian collusion and the trump administration, the trumpet campaign. i want to talk about that as well if i could. you are in washington. what is the latest on the mueller investigation? is trying toay job figure out what is going on with that. and that is perhaps a more serious and a little harder. the mueller investigation is moving forward hearing mueller taken an aggressive stance appeared they are putting folks in front of the grand jury. it feels to be a serious thing that is going on. we don't have a ton of insight into what he has or what he has learned. we reported that he now has a letter that trump wrote before he fired comey, unvarnished thoughts about why he wanted to

get rid of the f ei director. -- the fbi director. the white house was able to get the department of justice to draft a different document to rationalize the firing. we are trying to uncover everything we can, chip away, figure out what is there? . every time something comes out we don't know what it will mean in the larger picture, but stuff like that -- trying to understand what went into the comey firing, what trump was thinking, why he wanted to get rid of comey. and how much does mueller understand about what trump was trying to do, that is these we focus on. >> the man afford it seems to be a huge part of this. what is the latest reporting you have on what is happening with manaford?

stance: he is taking the that he was cooperating and out of nowhere back in july they executed a search warrant at his house. the thing that is unusual about that, a lot of things lawyers try to work things out, the government will ask can we have this document, can we subpoena this, whatever. but it would only be in a situation where the prosecutor thought the witness was destroying evidence, something may be lost, where they didn't trust the person they were dealing with that they would execute a search warrant. it was done early in the morning, knocking, waking people up. it is intrusive. that was a substantial move. why would mueller do this? we do not know. we do know that mueller would like to finish the investigation as much the can and learn as much as he can, because there is a larger issue here for the country here at this has put a

cloud over the presidency. the president has said please go as quickly as you can to move this, because it does cast a shadow on trump. constantlyhing he is asked about, something that they white house has to answer russians about and that there are -- answer questions about and there are articles in the paper about. has to getis mueller documents, the comey firings, lynn,happened with f and talk to people at the white house. see this is something that will go on for many months your the iran-contra special counsel went on for six years. we are just four or five months into this one. who knows how much longer it will go. interesting you say

that. i was thinking about that, previous special counsel's. they don't necessarily always and quickly or cleanly. what mueller doesn't want to do is close up shop and then a day later there is a story in the paper about something he missed. they want to turn over every rock and make sure there is nothing there. if we were to say ok, we're done, then something comes out and it raises russians about the investigation. are going to be painstaking -- raises questions about the investigation. they are going to be painstaking. the way we read what is going on. >> what leverage does the president have to try to get them to end this war finish this sooner rather than later? michael: the president could try and fire mueller, clean out the justice department, put people

in there and try to fire mueller. i think that would send congress through the roof and go back to the special prosecutor and basically appoint someone to deal with this on behalf of the justice department. look, a few people thought trump could survive firing comey, i think even fewer think he could survive firing mueller. that would be a very aggressive move and i'm not sure what he would accomplish there. besides that, there are not really other ways he can move mueller along. his lawyers have met with mueller, provided him with documents to lay out an argument why trump couldn't be charged with obstruction of justice, because he could pardon anyone at any time. they can do that, but i guess

that mueller is going to work on mueller's time. >> we have not heard much from jr. or jared kushner, two relatives that have been mentioned a decent amount around this investigation. what is your sense that their team is thinking right now and how to they figure into the future? jr. is going to be interviewed by the senate in private tomorrow. we will not have access to what that looks like. it will be behind closed doors, at thecourse don,jr. is center of the meeting where russians reached out to the campaign saying we have information on hillard clinton. , kushner, and man with them.

the administration has told different stories about this. first they said it was about adoption, then it was more about derogatory information the russians had on clinton. r. part of it,n, j his involvement in this meeting. we know it is dumping that mueller is looking at. is asking who was this they were meeting with, was there more to the story than what the white house had. white house says we look at them, the stuff they had, it wasn't of interest. it was not significant and we moved forward. staffs where the don, jr. sits -- stuff sits. >> the extent that mueller's investigation has gone beyond russian collusion, i know there has been talk about a redline and the president's comments on that are whether or not it would

involve family financials. where'd you understand mueller's investigators have gone? the president said this redline thing, if mueller was looking at the financial information of him and family, that would be the redline. he explained what would happen if he crossed the redline. the assumption is -- and he didn't say this -- that he would get rid of mueller. there are scattered reports about mueller looking at different things, looking at was their russian money that went to trump, what were the business ties to russia, we do not have a clear picture on that. it is a large story, many different aspects. there is manafort, flynn, business issues, meetings between campaign officials and russians. then there is all the stuff that has gone on in the white house, the commie firing, -- the comey

comey firing. accusationse been that mueller is hiring democrats and people that donated to hillary clinton's campaign. has mueller done anything that you have been able to see to mitigate some of that? michael: no. the white house has taken a look at the folks mueller has hired and tried to see where they could poke holes and get people disqualified and off of the investigation to throw hurdles in mueller's way, and find a way to maybe get what they would think to get more impartial folks. the thing we know is mueller went out and hired the best of the best, folks that work in the justice department are now in private practice, folks that know criminal law well, folks

that are experts in counterintelligence, know how to deal with appellate appeals and a nitty-grittyness of filing as part of trials. it is a team of about 15 prosecutors and largely the best of the best. one member used to be the head of the enron tax force, a very aggressive prosecutor. someone playing a big role in the mueller investigation. >> it is more fun talking about baseball. michael: yeah. diversionice to work on this story, but i have to get back to the figuring out of the mueller stuff. >> nice work with regard to this latest story that came out and always good to speak with you. michael schmidt from ""the new york times" joining us from the

washington, d.c. bureau. thanks for your time. michael: think you for having me. ♪

♪ horse racinga two- to a packed field, at least six candidates considered for the next fed chair. a drag on inflation brings investors pushing higher. betty: insurance, energy, resources rattled as hurricane irma leaves devastation in the caribbean. >> i'll be breaking japan's second-quarter gdp growth.