. . . president donald trump accuses his predecessor, barack obama, of wiretapping his phones before the election, a serious allegation but he offers no proof. plus, stealing the president's thunder, how the on going controversy over attorney general jeff sessions has donald trump sooething. devastation in somalia, more than 100 people have died after a severe famine hit. more are in danger of dying. we'll talk about that from atlanta. welcome to our viewers here in the u.s. and around the world. this is "cnn newsroom." i'm natalie allen.

our stop story as we mentioned, the trump white house has yet to provide any evidence to back up explosive allegations the president made against barack obama in a flurry of tweets early saturday, trump accused the obama administration of tapping his phones last year in trump tower. a spokesman for former president barack obama dismissed the allegation as simply false. a former u.s. intelligence official called it nonsense. the president apparently blindsided his own staff when he charged, how low has president barack obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. this is nixon/watergate, bad, or sick, guy. >> reporter: the white house has not provided any evidence to sfoert t support the president's

unsubstantiated allegations. they said that white house colleagues were surprised by the president's tweet storms. they didn't know about it. it is not uncommon for the president to wake up early and begin tweeting. in this case, he began tweeting at about 6:30 a.m. and he did not run those tweets by anyone in his communications team. he pointed to a story in bright part news that was circulating in the west wing. he claimed that president barack obama worked to undermine trump's presidential campaign and administration, including through various investigations between russian ties and his associates. that story infuriated the president. so that could be the basis of him taking to twitter this morning. later in the day, just a few hours ago, trump's social media director and top adviser, dan

scavino, tweeted out a link to the same breitbart news story, lending credence that this could be the basis of those angry teams. the white house was caught flatfooted and have yet to response with allegations backing this up. the allegations have gotten a lot of attention from democrats and fellow republicans. lindsey graham was at a town hall and talked about it. >> i don't know if it is true or not but if it is true, illegally, it would be the biggest political scandal since watergate. it is my job as a united states senator to get to the bottom of this. >> reporter: so there you heard from senator graham, it is his job as a u.s. senator to get to the bottom of this. these allegations raising a lot of questions. this is really only the beginning of those questions. it is necessary to remind our viewers here that two former senior officials have called the

idea that then candidate trump's phone wrs wiretapped. they said, it is just wrong. one occasions called it just nonsense. the other saying, this did not happen. it is false, wrong. some republicans are also weighing in on the president's accu accuse tory tweets. we are in the midst of a civilization warping crisis of public trust. the president's allegations today demand a thorough and dispassionate attention of serious patriots. they came amid intense controversy over u.s. attorney general jeff sessions and his meetings with russia's ambassador to the u.s. on thursday, as you probably know, sessions recused himself from any investigation related to trump's presidential campaign after his meetings with the ambassador came to light. former and current u.s. officials tell cnn the fbi was

aware of the meetings because the ambassador was under is your vail lens. late saturday, sessions went to meet with his boss in florida. the president is angry that sessions problems upstage mr. trump's address to congress. >> reporter: we can tell that you president trump was very frustrated with his senior staff and communications team on friday morning just before he departed to mar-a-lago according to one source. nobody has seen him that upset, end quote, the feeling being inside the oval office and we had a camera there that was rolling where you could sio figureses having a heated conversation with one another. the feeling inside the oval offices according to sources we are talking to is that the communications, the press team of the white house had allowed the news of jeff sessions recusing himself from the trump campaign, has overtaken the

narrative of the week. they were feeling very enthusiastic after the president's performance of that speech to a joint session of congress. from what we are hearing, the president was upset sessions had recused himself from the case. that was something, according to one source, that the president thought was hasty and overkill. he was hot and exasperated over this. he felt that basically they were just giving their adversaries up on capitol hill more ammunition by having jeff sessions recuse himself. >> let's talk about all of this with scott lewis, a professor of international politics in england. scott, thanks for joining us. this has been yet another charged week for president trump. now, he is sending out a charge about the former president, that the former president carried out the crime. wa do you make of this? >> it is like pretsident trump

was angry about a fire started in part by his own people and decided to respond by pouring gasoline on t the allegations about obama wiretapping trump tower, which are inaccurate on numerous levels, even there is a court order that allows such surveillance, have merely extended this story, instead of trump returning attention to that presidential speech, that i am a leader, i am calm, i am stable. we are back to the impression that many have that this is an unpredictable man that is saddled with the baggage of these russia leaks and that this is not going to go awhich. >> he was frustrated with his communications team that they didn't protect the oval office from the sessions story taking the stage away from him. here he is giving that speech that was so well-received by americans and turns around and pulls a fast one on his communications team and now this

story, this charge against the former president, will likely dominate for some time, because it is such a serious charge. does this remind you of the donald trump that went on his birther rampage and stayed on it for years, never proving that obama wasn't born in the united states but loving staying on it. >> trump will always be trump. whatever you think of his presidential qualities, he is hot-headed and likes the attention on himself and likes the idea he is right and doesn't like criticism. this isn't trump the candidate or trump the businessman. this is trump the chief executive. americans have an expectation that the commander in chief exudes calm and the ability to take in information and think before responded. trump undermined that yesterday, not only with the tweets but as jim acosta pointed out by snapping back at his staff,

because the large he story is that the russia linked story is part of an idea there is chaos and uncertainty in the white house and indeed a division within camps that you would have some people like steve bannon, who wants very aggressive policy and others that are trying to hold it all together like chief of staff, reince priebus. it will be interesting to see which of those camps try toss get the upper hand in the bat forl communications. >> we'll certainly be watching for that. we had the camera there on the oval office when you see steve bannon looking upset and pointing his finger and talking. there is jared kushner and i have ivanka trump. it seems like the pressure might be on ivanka trump who could bring him back down and get him focused and get him to try to be presidential and to keep his

calm. there, again, tough work, because donald trump does what donald trump wants to do when it hits him. >> you had a counter on him to see how long he would go on twitter before he insulted someone. he made it about 4 1/2 days. it probably indicates some people told him to stay on social media or were trying to block him. he went to florida this weekend. when he is down at florida at mar-a-lago. he is isolated from some of his advisers, fuming about what is happening. it is good to talk about the tweets and this wiretapping but i think we need to have the wider picture here. this is an administration which is to be expected to present legislation to appeal obamacare and bring in its economic legislation within the next few weeks. all of that is up in the air. we have no clue if we are going to get anything coherent, because this russia story is

sucking all the oxygen out of whatever they are trying to achieve. >> we are going to talk about that next. we thank you for your comments, scott lucas. thank you. >> as scott mentions, the trump administration russia problem just won't quit. there is no proof any law ws we broken with team trump's contact with members of the kremlin but suspicion won't go away. tom foreman likes a puzzle and has been putting together the strands of this on going story. >> russia is a ruse. >> reporter: different players but the same playbook. this all looks like a witch hunt. the russian government is sounding a lot like the white house in denying any improper ties between the two. >> we are fighting the fake news. >> stop spreading false news. >> reporter: skepticism among the president's foes exist and why. >> i would get along with putin. i have dealt with russia. >> you think you would get along

with him? >> absolutely fine. >> reporter: ever since candidate trump excited interest by speaking favorably of russian president, vladmir putin, the web of suspicion has widened. paul manafort, trump's one-time campaign foreman worked for years with the prorussian president of the ukraine. he is being scrutinized for his contacts with russians known to u.s. intelligence during the campaign. president trump's assessment just weeks ago. carter page lived in moscow and did business with russian energy firms and he was on his foreign policy team but not anymore. >> he is an individual that the president-elect does not know. >> reporter: michael flynn re-signed after less than a month when it was found he misled the administration about his talks with the russians.

we now know the president's son-in-law, jerry kushner, also attended a meeting with flip and t flynn and the russians just before the new year. jeff sessions, the nation's top cop, also had contacts with the russians. he could have been the one to decide whether to charge anyone in connection with russian hacking of the presidential election. >> therefore, i have recused myself in the matters that deal with the trump campaign. >> reporter: and there is this. assertions by u.s. intelligence that russian cyberattacks on democratic party computers were aimed at influencing the outcome of the november vote. put it all together and that's why suspicions keep growing no matter how the white house dismisses them. it is important to note there is currently no proof any laws were broken or any influence peddled by anyone tied to the trump team. yet, the yes remains, was any kind of deal ever asked for or

offered in all those meetings with the russians? tom foreman, cnn, washington the president is bringing back a revamped travel ban. the white house could sign a new executive order banning travel from the u.s. to certain middle eastern and african nations. the trump administration is also temporarily suspending fast processing of h-1-v work visas, a popular pathway for skilled foreigners to work in the united states. they typically take up to six months to be approved but companies could pay to have them expedited. starting next month, the fast-track month will be stopped, possibly for up to six months. mexico is doing everything it can to protect its people in the u.s. from deportation. saturday, the mexican secretary of foreign affairs opened legal aid centers at 50 consulates and embassies in the u.s. mexico says the centers are to help migrants who need legal

advice or guidance. the president of mexico called for the centers after the president put in place tougher deportation procedures. civilians are fleeing the iraqi city of mosul as the battle against isis rages on and adding to the misery of suspected chemical attack. our ben wedeman is there on the story for us. that's next. plus, camp david hasn't seen many presidential visits during the past decade. could it's days as official retreat be numbered? if you have medicare

parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. medicare doesn't cover everything. and like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. these types of plans have no networks, so you get to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. rates are competitive, and they're the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. remember - these plans let you apply all year round. so call today. because now's the perfect time to learn more. go long.

the mass exodus out of mosul has picked up out of iraq. they say 14,000 fled on thursday alone. residents who have escaped tell cnn food and supplies are scarce. one family says over the last month they had only eating bread and had water. they decided to leave when mortar round started hitting their house. adding to the misery. a dozen people have been wounded in the iraqi city of mosul.

the red cross suspects a chemical attack is to blame. our senior international correspondent, ben wedeman reports. we warn you some of the video is hard to watch. >> reporter: the 11-year-old yasir lies unconscious in bed. leaving him with a concussion and symptoms that doctors at this hospital say point to a chemical attack. >> shortness of breath. >> reporter: hospital director, dr. luwan miran, has no doubt about what happened. 12 people, including a month old baby have been treated for exposure to chemical agents. in the first such attack by isis since the start of the mosul offensive last october. he was in his house when a rocket landed outside.

>> there was a rotten smell, he recalls and something like burnt oil. there was gas. no one could breath in the whole area. we left the house and the civil defense sealed it up. the u.s. defense department has warned that isis has developed a primitive capacity to produce chemical weapons and has used such weapons in both syria and iraq. the worry now is that with isis desperate in surrounding western mosul, it won't hesitate to use everything in its arsenal. >> the red cross is setting up these tents in the event there are more chemical attacks. now, in a statement related to this incident, the red cross stressed that the u.s. of chemical weapons is a war crime, not that that makes any difference to isis. >> indifferent as it is to the suffering of its victims.

ben now joins me live. we all know you have been a correspondent in the middle east for decades and have seen and witnessed a lot in your reporting. what was it like to see infants struggling after this suspected chemical attack in that facility? >> well, you just realize sort of how isis, when it comes to the suffering of people, really doesn't care. what they did was they fired this rocket from the western part of the sit at this time where they are fighting forces to the eastern side where it is civilian. that part of the city was liberated after three months of fighting. life is just beginning to get back to normal. some people are starting to return to the city and this happens. this really explains sort of what it is. it is a vivid portrayal of how isis, it's approach to

civilians. what it wants to do is terrorize. this is classic terrorism. they want to kill or injure a few people. you terrorize millions. clearly, they don't want to allow the iraqi government to show that they have accomplished something by driving isis out of eastern mosul and trying to create the impression that life is going back to normal. >> that's how they -- that's their approach was horrific if that is, indeed, what happened here. we saw people leaving there in the rain. everyone saw there was likely to be a crisis. the number of people leaving is staggering and perhaps could get worse. what are the predictions? >> the united nations was

predicted as many as 250,000 people would flee the fighting from western mosul. the estimates vary by a maximum of 800,000. we have seen the iraqi government and various international human care yan groups are busy setting up refugee camps and whatnot. the problem is, when these people first arrived, we were at one of the assembly points where people go. it is pandemonium. the iraqis are very worried that isis has put infiltrators among the refugees. many are arriving without shoes and traumatized and injured. as they flee, they are being fired upon by isis with mortars and stripers. it is a struggle to take care of these people and at the same time pursue the fight against isis. natalie? >> we thank you. ben wedeman reporting from the

region. isis is also stepping up attacks against christians in the north sinai region of egypt. many are fleeing their homes. some of them say the government there isn't doing enough to stop the attacks by isis. >> are you christian? the last three words nabila halim's son ever heard. recalling how isis militants threw her into the street, killed her husband and rooted her home before setting it ablaze. she is one of dozens of christian families fleeing north see nigh on the o shores shores u.s. canal. her son knew the danger but refused to leave. if the terrorists kill me, i will have the honor to die a martyr and be with jesus, she recalls him saying. isis claimed responsibility for

the deaths of seven christian ns north sinai since the end of january, some in broad daylight. they issued a threat saying it is obligatory to target egypt christians and ruin their lives. isis battled for control of the coastal desert region. the army claims the upper handy spite this latest exodus. isis attacks in egypt aren't confined to the sinai. in december, a bomb at a church in cairo killed at least 25 people, including many children. isis also claimed responsibility. the government is failing to protect christians. he is the latest arrival from north sinai. he requests that we conceal his identity. he has family left behind. we are told to either convert to islam or pay a tax. we refuse.

a familiar isis threat and a stark choice for christians living in the north sinai. team trump's russia connection isn't over. next, we take you live to moscow for the russian view with our matthew chance. today, unlimited gets the network it deserves. verizon. (mic thuds) uh, sorry. it's unlimited without compromising reliability, on the largest, most advanced 4g lte network in america. (thud) uh... sorry, last thing. it's just $45 per line. forty. five. (cheering and applause) and that is all the microphones that i have. (vo) unlimited on verizon. 4 lines, just $45 per line.

welcome back. i'm natalie allen. u.s. president, donald trump, is planning to sign a new

executive order banning travel from some eastern and african nations. they expect the president to revoke the original ban. some want iraq to be taken off the list of banned countries. malaysia is set to expel north korea's ambassador. tensions have risen after the estranged half brother of north korea's leader died in kuala lumpur. malaysian police say that kim jong nam was killed with a nerve agent but kim jong-un has protested the investigation. they visited a u.s. air carrier while it patrolled the disputed south china sea. the u.s. navy invited a group to discuss the importance of free access to free waters. china claims almost all of the south china sea despite objections from neighboring nation zs. >> a spokesman for u.s. president, barack obama, is responding to wiretapping

allegations from the trump white house. president donald trump has accused his predecessor of tapping his phones during the late stages of the election campaign. mr. trump offered no proof and also claimed, quote, how low has president barack obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. this is nixon/watergate, bad [ or sick ] guy. a spokesman said, a cardinal rule of the obama administration was that no white house official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the department of justice. as part of that practice, neither president barack obama nor any white house official ever ordered surveillance on any u.s. citizen. any suggestion otherwise is simply false. the trump tweets came amid the controversy over u.s. attorney general jeff sessions and his meetings with russia's ambassador to the u.s.

let's get the view from moscow with cnn's matthew chance. we have learned that trump is furious at the sessions rae cusele from the russian hacking investigation is overshadowing his well-received speech before congress. does russia share that frustration? >> reporter: i think it does. donald trump has called this a pitch hunt in terms of the investigations into the connections between him and his team and the kremlin. it is a phrase that's been adopted by the russian foreign ministry as well. sergei lavrov, has called it a pitch hunt, exactly the same. so there are similarities in language that are being adopted by the trump administration and the kremlin. a lot of frustration and anger in russia, the administration they believed was going to be a pro-russian administration and

recognize crimea as being part of russia or do a deal over national terrorism in syria or criticize nato, which is what the russians do, is not materializing. that is because there is this poisonous atmosphere in american politics when it comes to the russian issue. it is politically impossible for donald trump to carry through on his election pledges to build a better relationship with the kremlin. any idea that existed a few months ago that this would be a new era has basically vanished, at least from a moscow perspective. >> one month into this presidency. matthew chance, live from moscow. thank you, matthew. official u.s. presidential retreat, camp david, seems to befalling out of favor, after decades of hosting vacations, peace talks and summits. the getaway that fdr once called shangri-la has been largely snubbed by some presidents.

>> reporter: the presidential retreat, cam david is, located inside a federal park. it is so private, it does not appear on a map. as tax payers continue to pay for its operation, it is in danger of becoming obsolete as president trump prefers his gold-laden golf courses and cozy resorts to the cozy cabins of camp david. president trump arriving in florida to spend another weekend at the mar-a-lago report. >> it is all work. >> reporter: his fancy florida estate, his go-to for getting business done outside the white house and hosting world leaders like japan's prime minister. president trump's weekends at mara lae go a mar-a-lago business money. firing up air force one to securing the beach front property with coast guard patrols. "the washington post" estimates the trips have cost up to $10

million in just five weeks. at the same time, tax payers are also footing the bill to operate cam david, the secluded presidential retreats less than 70 miles from the white house set aside for presidential down time. it costs an estimated $8 million a year to run. trump has expressed little interest in using the cheaper alternative, describing the retreat to reporters saying, it is nice, you would like t you know how long you would like it, for about 30 minutes. >> it doesn't fit everybody. president barack obama, he was a city guy, this was a remote location. i don't think initially president clinton was crazy about it but came to really love it. jimmy carter almost thought about getting rid of it. thankfully, he didn't. >> reporter: famously, carter brokered the historic 1978 peace accord between egypt and israel at camp david.

anita mcbride says for them it was a sanctuary. >> still, the only presidential family that spent 12 christmases at camp david. >> reporter: the private secure location enables some leaders to grow close as bush revealed what he discovered as hosting tony blair. >> we both use colgate toothpaste. president franklin d. roosevelt called it shangri-la. his doctor believed the cooler mountain air helped roosevelt' sinuses. president reagan visited 150 times, often to ride his horse. president clinton failed to get a peace deal after sequestering the israeli/palestinian leaders for two weeks and president barack obama hosted african leaders at a summit early in his presidency but rarely returned spending most weekends at the

house. >> whether trump continues to use mar-a-lago as his so-kuehca winter white house, camp david remains open, doubling as a bunker to ensure safety of government in times of crisis, as was the case in 9/11. china's national people's congress has opened in beijing. coming up here, we will go live for the chinese capital. ahead, to hear about what's expected. plus, "saturday night live's" latest swipe at the trump's administration but this time it pokes fun at attorney general jeff sessions. we'll have a smnippet for you. and zyrtec® is different than claritin®. because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. try zyrtec®. muddle no more®.

somalia's leaders say their country needs food and water and fast. a famine is threatening millions. unicef warning that at least 185,000 children are expected to suffer life-threatening

malnutrition this year. susan susanna price is chief of communications. susana, thank you so much for joining us. those numbers give us a sense of this unfolding disaster that it could be major. tell us what you know. >> we can't confirm the some mali government's figure. we are seeing increasing numbers of children at risk. 185,000 severely malnourished, nine times as likely to die as normally nourished children. we see that figure could well go up by 50% or even double during this year. so, i think, the point is, the action is needed now. we. >> narrator: need to act before famine is declared. we can save a lot of lives.

unicef is doing that, massively scaling up its operation with health, water, malnutrition. as you mentioned in the last famine in 2011, we saw a quarter of a million people who died. half of those were children. we do not want to see a repeat of that again. >> as you say, unicef is scaling up. this is what you do. this is how you operate, other particular challenges. al shabaab, the terrorist groo up group is based. >> the scale of this trout is extreme. it is all of the different areas. last time, we only had it in the south. now, we are looking at the north. we have to cover a huge area. access is limited in some areas. we are not seeing particular problems at the moment. we have always operated in

somalia since the 1970s. we are calling on all actors and parties to allow unrestricted access so we can get to those children who are in need and we can provide them with life saving assistance before if is too late sdpchlt whether the. >> there are also report that is tens of thousands of children are not in school anymore because of their weakened state. so obviously this is serious famine. talk about the conditions. what more do you know about the conditions in the country as far as what's behind this with the drought and what are the redixs for the future? >> we have 30,000 children that have dropped out of school just in the north this year. we mentioned the drought is country-wide. what we are seeing is that it is very much affecting the children. either their parents are moving to try and find food and water.

they are move wg them or even the ones that are left behind are finding it hard. there is a lack of food and water. we are also seeing an outbreak of disease, what really causes child death ns such a situation. the combination of the weakened state and diseases such as cholera, pneumonia, die rhea, malaria. we have limited water slice. they are becoming diseased and we see a big outbreak of watt it terri die rhea, similar symptoms to cholera and over 7,500 cases of this accuse watery die rhea. i was down and saw where the wards were full of children very ill, very weakened, because this leads to loss of fluid.

is means unicef and all the other people, we have to take a really combined approach. it is not just about feeding people. it is about giving them medical care and providing clean water and looking after the kids who are separated from their parents and also making sure schools can remain open and kids can get an education. >> we certainly hope that unicef somalia that your agency does get the support it needs to get in there and help these people. we thank you for your time, suzanna price, for us. thanks. >> chinese lawmakers are gathering in beijing for the opening of the country's annual national people's congress. the meeting comes as china forecasts it's lowest economic growth in decades. china's premier says it only aims to expand the economy by around 6.5%. for more, i am joined by beijing by cnn money emerging markets

editor. a grand ceremony to open the congress but the message, not entirely grand. >> it is a political gathering like no other. some 3,000 delegates gathering in the hall in beijing. the message was a sombre one coming from the me mere. 6.5% around that level sounds like a good headline number. it is the cloeest rate in 30 years. the premier was trying to manage expectations, shall we say in his state of the economy report card. let's take a listen to him first. >> translator: the difficulties we face are not to be underestimated but we must remain confident they will overcome. to ensure employment and improve people's lives. >> one way, natalie to improve

their lives is to try to double their per capita income, the goal of the government between 2010 and 2020. three more years to get that done. they want to create 11 million jobs in 2017. these are very tricky times. they are trying to restructure the state's sector, the big steel and coal companies bring them down and try to raise incomes at the same time. they are very worried outside about protection, measures and what's happening in the region right now and at the same time trying not to overestimate the growth going forward and trying to hold on to 6.5%. back to you. >> thank you, john. next, we will take to you alaska where the sled dog rs off a and running. the iditarod race off and running but the weather is not cooperating. sh your skin could bounce back like... ...it used to? neutrogena® hydro boost water gel. instantly quenches skin to keep it...

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parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. medicare doesn't cover everything.

and like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. these types of plans have no networks, so you get to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. rates are competitive, and they're the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. remember - these plans let you apply all year round. so call today. because now's the perfect time to learn more. go long.

for the second time in three years, the iconic iditarod has been moved to a snowier

location. >> reporter: when you are talking about move ting to a snowier location, you know there are some problems. i want to share some videos on saturday. some 72 mushers, some 2000 dogs brought in to get this ceremonial start underway. the official start gets going on monday. the race has been displaced about 300 miles northward from where it starts. what we are dealing with across portions of alaska. the ceremonial race, the official race starts in fairbanks, well north of where it should be. we want to show you the perspective. when it comes to the conditions across parts of alaska and the lack of snowfall across this region doesn't really take much snow to get started in fairbanks, only say 6 inches is what is needed if the ground is

uneven, the terrain is uneven as well. that covers enough to give you stability for both the sled for the dogs as well. that's not an issue. once you work your way upstream, you have boulders in place and you need upwards of 3 feet of snow for this to be an easy go. some of these areas do not have three feet of snow. that's the concern. they have moved it away from the area that has very little snow. as you work your way farther upstream, the snowfall is going to be little to nonexistent. that's going to be an issue. typically, it takes about nine days to get completed. every year, it gets more interesting with the terrain they have to maneuver around. >> those precious dogs need to have some hiking mittens on. i saw they had mittens on their feet. >> snow for alaska. >> "saturday night live" gave u.s. president donald trump a

break and instead took aim at jeff sessions. kate mckinnon turned him in to play the part and turned him into forrest gump. >> i was on the cover of "the new york times." you want to see me? >> it says you might have committed perjury. >> yeah, i had a bad week. it started out real good. the president made a great speech. folks were thrilled on account of it was real words in a row for a whole hour. we were all happy as a monkey with a peanut machine. i got 800 messages on phone alerts saying i was a sneaky little liar. i talked to the russians. i met with a fellow that turned out to be russian on the account of he was the russian ambassador. his name was sergei kislyak.

i remember any name with the words gay kiss in it. i was the only one that talked to the russians. so just me and michael flynn and j.d. gordon. so just me, michael flynn and j.d. gordon and jared kushner at trump tower. so me, michael flynn, jd gordon and jared kushner at trump tower and carter page and paul manafort. i'm going to have another one of these chocolates. >> snl bringing in forrest gump, pretty ingenious. thanks for joining me. another hour of "cnn newsroom" with hanna vaughn jones from london coming up right after the break. mom, i just saved a lot of money on my car insurance by switching to geico. i should take a closer look at geico...

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according to one source that i spoke to, quote, nobody has seen him that upset, end quote. >> the u.s. president furious over the controversy surrounding his attorney general and russia. he sent out this tweet accusing former president barack obama of wiretapping him during the election. but provides no proof. plus, symptoms of a chemical attack. children treated by doctors in iraq as the battle for western mosul intensifies. why the red cross is worried about the use of chemical weapons. the national people's congress holds the ceremony this morning. on the agenda is china's slowing economy. live f