in order to turn to north korea, we will take concrete actions together with the united states, we will maintain high vigilance in coordination with south korea. japan's prime minister responds to yet another missile launch by north korea. we're in the region live for reaction. social media and the u.s. president, donald trump rejects criticism of his twitter use of the controversy about his son-in-law's ties to russia. plus this -- ♪

singing in solidarity. runners in the great plan chester run sing don't look back in anger as they remember the victims of the attack. and we welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world. from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, i'm george howell. >> and i'm natalie allen. "newsroom" starts right now. good early morning to all here in the states. on the korean peninsula, a defy answer show of source from one side, a vow coming from the other. >> north korea fired a short range ballistic missile on monday, its third in just over three weeks. japan says it landed in the sea within 200 miles of the japanese coast. >> south korea calls the launch a provocation and is promising strong punishment from its military. japan says that it will take concrete action together with the united states.

listen. >> translator: we can never tolerate north korea's continued provocation, ignoring the repeated warnings by the international xhun community. as we have agreed at the g7, north korean issue is the priority for the international community. in order to deter north korea, we will take concrete actions together with the united states. we will maintain high vigilance in coordination with south korea and international community and take all possible measures to secure the safety of the people of japan. >> the u.s. national security councille says president donald trump has been briefed about that launch just hours before that, we heard from the u.s. defense secretary on cbs news "face the nation." and he gave a grave message about washington's standoff with pyongyang. listen. >> a conflict in north korea would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetimes. why do i say this. the north korean regime has

hundreds of artillery cannons and rocket launchers within range of one of the most densely populated cities on earth, which is the capital of south korea. we are working with the international community to deal with this issue, this regime is a threat to the region, to japan, to south korea. and in the event of war, they would bring danger to china and to russia as well. but the bottom line is it would be catastrophic war if this turns into combat, if we're not able to resolve the situation through diplomatic means. >> not mincing words there. let's get more on reactions from south korea and japan. paula than kohancocks is in seo. and will ripley. paula, let's start with you. anything military would be catastrophic. what is the reaction there to yet are another launch by north

korea? >> well, there was a national security council meeting as soon as that launch was known about. we had condemnation from the government calling this a severe threat to the peace and stability not only of the korean peninsula, but also around the world, that coming from the foreign ministry. but we have as you say a new president in south korea just a few weeks into the job, a liberal candidate, and he has said that he wants dialogue with north korea, he has said that he supports more engagement with north korea. but bear in mind in the three weeks that he has been president here, there has been a missile launch every single week. so certainly it's difficult to see how that can move forward, how he could have that engagement with north korea that he has said that he would like. and certainly we've seen condemnation from around the region once again with north korea's missile launch. the missile itself at this point is believed to be a scud

missile, it's not known exactly what kind of scud. this is a short range missile. so not one of the missiles that is more concerning to the region than the median or longer range, but just the fact that north korea is continuing regardless of international pressure, regardless of sanctions and continuing to test the most intense testing really we've sign over tseen over the past year and a half. >> and now let's go to will ripley in japan. he has been in north korea, as que well. and certainly shinzo abe sounding very upset that yet again a missile comes close to japan. >> reporter: absolutely. there is always unsettling for the japanese and particularly prime minister abe who has been trying to push legislation through the japanese diet, the japanese parliament essentially. that would allow japan's self-defense forces to take more assertive actions in asia

pacific and the north korean threat is a big reason for that. that's why you have you've seen japanese warships training along u.s. ships, you have seen japanese planes flying as well. and so all of this cooperation is when you hear prime minister abe talking about concrete action, that is what he is referring to along with programs continued pressure on china to impose stronger sanctions, japan could perhaps inspect north korean fishing vessels that go intoes waters near japan known as the exclusive economic zone, those same waters by the way wheres missile fell today and where three missiles fell back in march coming dangerously close to the japanese coast prompting north korean missile drills for the first time since world war ii and even nationwide alerts that at one point stopped all the trains but that was not activated for the latest missile test. >> and paula, back to you. there have been indications that

the new leader there in south korea is open to negotiations. is that even a remote possibility? >> reporter: well, there is one of his campaign promises. he has been very clear that he is open to dialogue. a departure from the former president parck geun-hye, she ws more hard lined in her approach to north korea and shut down foek tfor example the cason industrial complex which was last sign of cooperation. moon jay inn has been invited by the u.s. president. it will be interesting to see what kind of relationship they can build together.

and we have heard the u.s. president saying that there could be a meeting with kim jong-un. it seems impossible as the missiles continue. >> and will ripley, you've been in north korea several times and those pictures right there of are kim jong-un just beaming after this latest test, and you've seen their military might on full display with their parades. is this a regime that wants to talk or just wants to show its military muscle and get that icbm? >> reporter: good question. i think that there is allege a desire on the part of the north koreans to engage with the understand, but they definitely want do it on their own terms. and i've been told that time and time again during visits to the country in the past few years. last month in particular when i was speaking with officials in pyongyang, there were two failed miss about still launch attempts and i asked why donorth korea

continue to do this even the possibility of harsher sanctions and they said that this is the only way to protect their national sovereignty, they think this is protection from their development, the united states. they look at the military exercises and they feel that it is a dress rehearsal for invasion of north korea. and that narrative that the kim government has used repeatedly over the last 70 years and they have successfully stayed in control of that country in part by convincing the population that the government needs these weapons and they need to be constantly on guard. >> will ripley, paula hancocks, we thank you both. angela per abomerkel says i time to stop depending on traditional allies. >> she shared that message during a campaign stop in munich sunday. the chancellor didn't mention donald trump by name, but said

her experience at the recent summit was telling. >> translator: the times when can completely count on others are over to a certain extent. i've experience canned this in the last few days and that is why that i can only say that we europeans must take our fate into our own hands. >> merkel's comments come after president trump criticized nato allies and refused to endorse a global climate deal. >> for more on what foollows th g7 summit, let's bring in fred pleitgen. let's talk about the context first. miss merkel is running for re-election. but these comments that sheseis. >> reporter: yes, they absolutely seismic. i've been covering angela merkel since the summer of 2000 and she doesn't make piece comments oth

the cuff even in a campaign. she won't use populist rhetoric. she certainly takes everything she says very seriously. and i think that there are three things that she was talking about which she felt were unsatisfactory as she put to the german perspective and to the european perspective. on the one hand some of donald trump' comments as far as the german economy is concerned saying that germany was bad for exporting a lot of cars to america, comments he made around nato and saying that the other nato countries not pairing but he calls their fair share was unfair to american taxpayers. and they didn't feel like the other european countries that they got the assurances from america that they would have wanted as far as the security of ire rop is concerned. so certainly there were several things that angela merkel didn't like. and then of course the paris climate deal with the u.s. being noncommittal on that, as well. and i think those are the things that prompted her to make the remarks that she did make. but certainly people in europe are taking very seriously and i

was going through the german press earlier today, and they are taking those very seriously, as well. and wondering what the long term consequences of her remarks but also the president-elect trump presidency for germt it a anger europe are going to be. >> so how is she perceived with this new u.s. president?erm ger europe are going to be. >> so how is she perceived with this new u.s. president?rm germ europe are going to be. >> so how is she perceived with this new u.s. president?m germa europe are going to be. >> so how is she perceived with this new u.s. president? german europe are going to be. >> so how is she perceived with this new u.s. president?germany europe are going to be. >> so how is she perceived with this new u.s. president? is she credited for being strong enough or criticized for the opposite? >> reporter: i think that it will be a lot different than it was before. angela merkel was always one who had very, very good relations with the obama administration. i think we saw that also as president trump was on his trip, president obama was in berlin and had a venue with angela merkel which drew a lot of people to come and listen to the two. so those relations were always good and many people in germany don't believe that the very dry and very analytic angela merkel

is someone who can deal very well with someone like president trump who of course makes these. having said that, angela merkel is someone who i've seen be able to navigate these kind of waters. she went through really a cutthroat party that she was the head of where people trying to oust her from the party leadership when she was still the opposition is leader and she managed to go through that with her style that she has. so she will try to work with this administration, but at the same time, i think she's very realistic about the fact that it will be difficult and i think right now the germans feel misunderstood by this new u.s. president. and i want to give one example. he was saying how the germans are so bat d about exporting th cars to america and they say that we produced about 900,000 cars in america just in 2016 alone. so that is the gir merman

perspective. >> angela merkel certainly fired up and her words being heard around the world. fred pleitgen live for us in london, thank you. of course mr. trump now back in washington after the high profile meetings. let's get more perspective from sylvia berelli from politico. let's play off from what we just heard from fred pleitgen about angela merkel the most powerful leader in europe and seeming to not be pleased with how the meetings went with donald trump. >> hi, natalie. yes, actually i actually think angela her kell was in a position where she was speaking at a beer festival in a conservative constituency in southern germany. so we have to put these comments

into context. and, you know, she's speaking to her voters and she's up for re-election in september. and the germans love some degree of healthy xrit the civil to the u.s. so while it is true as fred was saying that angela merkel wasn't pleased with the statements donald trump made about germ about any and the nato discussions, but i wouldn't read too much into this because angela merkel wouldn't pick a campaign rally to decide that she is announcing a major shift in form policy. although at the same time, she is looking to more european integration and to stronger ties with france as the uk prepares to leave the european union. so this may have been a message to the u.s. and to europe and other german allies that germany

will look more to europe rather than across the atlantic. >> and what of the big picture of donald trump's big eight day trip abroad, this was kind of a test for him, and now of course he goes back to the jared kushner story. but how do you think he was received i don't think angela merkel and what is he facing now? if. >> well, trunch's trip seems mp have gone from peak to trough and saudi arabia being the peak of the trip. over a overall trump said that the trip was great and he forged new relations with american allies. i person. ly thiperson werely think that was better are received in the muslim world in countries where programs his predecessor wouldn't have had as much

success than he was in europe. and i think his traditional allies were a bit hardened by his comments on trade, nato and of course the paris being aing cord. now he's gone back to the u.s. where he faces major difficulties. we've seen him on sunday meet with his legal counsels and senior white house staff to try to manage the fallout of the kushner allegations. he tweeted when there is news coming out from sources that are not identified, be it's probably the fake news media making up the stories band so now he's back to business as usual. >> yes, he is. even though he brought on a team that was going to try to dial back those tweets. we'll wait and see if that happens. we appreciate you joining us, sylvia bore relily with politico. thank you. still ahead, a show of

solidarity, thousand of people turn out for the great manchester run to honor the victims of last week's terror attack. meantime some of those who knew the manchester suicide bomber are trying to understand what turned him into a killer. we'll hear from a friend of bred oig ahead.

welcome back. manchester has wrapped uppen emotionally charged weekend less than a week after the terror attack that killed 22 people at an ariana grande concert. thousands descended into the city center for the great manchester run. take a look there. as you can imagine, there was heavy security presence at that event. cnn's phil black is live in manchester following the story for us. and phil, this is a city that is determined to # reclaim itself. >> reporter: that's right. what we saw over the weekend were two sides to this community, one the people who are still clearly grieving and a lot of that happened that the growing memorial in the center of the city, this is where people lined up for long periods of time to come down here and leave their are offofferings an reflect on what happened and the victims. on top of that, you are also

seeing a lot of people going out of their way to really show that their lives and this community will not be changed as a result of the attack. they are doing that in lots of ways. but the clearest example was that great manchester run which despite the security concerns that people had about gathering in big crowds, it still attracted tens of thousand of people. take a look. young girls tense, single minded ready to launch through the streets of manchester. for their parents watching from the side, the degremotions are complex. is one of yours out there? >> yeah. the little one in the blue. >> reporter: what is her name? >> roxie. >> reporter: tell me what you're feeling this morning. >> i'm proud and i'm nervous. i'm proud of her that she's doing it.

all rig >> reporter: girls, boys, men and women came to run and cheer defying those who murdered 22 just days ago g, including seve of the city's children. >> just showing that we can start over. >> reporter: on your mind this morning? >> a bit, yeah. it will be a while. >> reporter: he's not alone. more than 35,000 people turned out, all of them aware this is more than a running event. many more yellow shirts, ribbons and beads, the symbol of manchester. the crowd honored the victims with silence. there were some tears, too. and huge applause for the police and emergency services who responded to the attack and worked to make sure this event could happen. do you have second thoughts being here are today? >> intno, it made me more determined actually to come together and show that we won't be defeated. >> reporter: what does it mean to you to be here? >> because of recent events,

just to show that we want to stay united. >> reporter: show me your back. >> rule 22. >> you can't let them change you. >> reporter: a short distance froms run, people stood in a long line waiting to leave flurs a flowers and messages. others are busy painting bees on walls and people are waiting for hours to have bees inked into their flesh with augull money gg to the victims. >> i know when i look back on it, i know that i will help. >> reporter: people are exploring many ways to prove their resilience. few show it more powerfulfully than the pride and happiness of a young girl and the love her parents. the investigation is still leading police to raid properties and to make arrests. that happened again overnight. 14 men are now in custody in connection to this attack.

back to you. >> about a beautiful story. phil black, thank you so much in manchester. >> very brave parents letting that little girl run, roxie. that was sweet. british police now have are 14 men in custody, they are conducting more raids trying too tracking town people contacted to salman abedi, the suicide bomber. >> a tee ca atika shubert spoke with a friend. >> reporter: the last images of salman abedi. police released these photos to the public for 4e7 in retracing his movements. those who knew abedi are also looking back. local rapper still can't fathom how his friend turned into a mass murderer. >> he's always been happy person. i don't know what happened. he's always been happy person. the salman i knew from agesing a go is not the person that just went and bombed kids.

no way. >> reporter: police now believe abedi assembled the bomb here at a short term rental apartment in the city center just a mile and a half from the arena. in north manchester, police are also still scouring this apartment abedi represented weeks befowee rented weeks before the attack. but with many of the arrests have happened in south manchester where abedi lived. two years ago he was another friendly face in the neighborhood. and then something changed. >> i have time i see a picture of him, facebook or whatever, i just think how like -- i still to know don't understand how. he was the most like laughable person two years ago. how did he just switch like in two seconds. i don't know. this is all confusing to me. we with still chilled together and he kind of left because he was likereligious. >> reporter: parts of south

manchester are known as gang land, but alsoed kind of place everyone knows each other and the attack and its aftermath has hit the community hard. >> i even cried because i found out it was someone i know. someone that done such a bad thing like that is someone that i know. so i even ended up crying in my bed when i found out, i was like what is going on here, what is happening. people are telling me yes, it's him. i couldn't believe it. until now i can't. and i think he was alive two seconds ago. >> reporter: police are still trying to understand how salman abedi plotted the attack. his friends are trying to understand what turned him into a killer. a ttika shubert, cnn. the u.s. president is back in washington and dealing with family troubles sfwlp how mr. trump is responding to go allegations that his son-in-law jared kushner tried to set up a secret back channel to talk with russia. that story ahead. plus, tough talks ahead for the russian president and the newly elected french president. what is likely toe discussed

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accusing the media of peddling fake news calling the white house leak fabricated lies. >> he called it fake. we just keep covering the news. the white house has yet to officially respond, but john kelly says he's not troubled by the reported attempts to set up a back channel with russia. kushner's contacts with russia are under scrutiny. the fbi is looks into it. and three new arrests in connection with the manchester terror attack bringing the number of people in custody to 14. 22 people were killed, many of them young people, teenagers in last week be's s's suicide bomb. and some behind the attack could still be on the run. north korea launches a missile this monday drawing strong protests from south korea and from japan. tokyo says the ballistic missile landed in the sea within 200

miles of gentleman with pan's coa japan's coast. japan now saying that it will take concrete actionwith pan's japan's coast. japan now saying that it will take concrete action together with the united states. this is north korea's third missile test in just over on three weeks. david mckenzie, we've heard about south korea and japan and of course beijing could be a player in trying to thwart kim jong-un's desires with his missiles. what might we expect from beijing if this continues, david? >> reporter: certainly what the trump administration hopes is that china will use its economic leverage over north korea to try to slow or stop the progress of the north korean leadership of developing nuclear weapons. we've just got a response to this latest missile test from the chinese government. they are using very standard language on this particular test saying that they oppose any moves by north korea that break

u.n. sanctions such as this and that they want all sides to get together and discuss, negotiation to try to ease the tension on the korean peninsula. but with these repeated tests like this, it seems that china's leverage as it is isn't necessarily working in slowing kim jong-un's move to develop nuclear weapons that threaten the region and beyond. and certainly that leads to questions, well, could china to more. at this stage it appears that they want to really push negotiations and the enforcement of the existing sanctions but not necessarily harsher sanctions which is what japan and the u.s. might be trying to push at the u.n. security council. >> shinzo abe of japan indicated that he would work with the united states on concrete steps. how is the working between donald trump and the chinese leader when it comes to north

korea? >> reporter: well, certainly president trump and xi jinping appear to have developed a pretty good relationship certainly in comparison to president obama and the chinese leader. and repeatedly president trump has said that the chinese hold the key to solving the north korean situation. but you as i've said, over the last few week you've seen an increase in activity in testing these missiles in north korea. so it appears that the leverage and the pressure being placed by china at this stage isn't enough for the north koreans to change their calculation at all. and if anything, we've seen them increase their activity rather than decrease it. >> absolutely. david mckinsey for us, thank you. and so president trump's first week back at the white houses and he has a great deal to do. reportedly considering a staffing shakeup, he's also set to decide whether or not to withdraw from the paris climate

accord this week. >> sunday he held staff meetings allege mid the latest revelations involving his son in about law and adviser jared kushner. more on that now from ryan nobles. >> reporter: the white house has yet to confirm or deny the report that jared kushner the son-in-law and senior adviser of the president trump attempted to set up a back channel of communication between the russian government and the transition shortly after the president was elected but before he was inaugurated. no one has rushed to kushner's defense, but there was a republican who took on that responsibility, south carolina senator lindsey graham. listen to what he had to say. >> i don't know who linked this supposed conversation, but think about this way. you have the ambassador to russia reporting back to moscow on an open xhan he wichannel,in jared kushner is going move in to the embassy. i don't trust this story as far as i can three it. it makes no sense that the rush are shan ambassad russian ambassador would report

back on a channel that he most like bely knows that we're monitoring. the whole story is special. i' suspicion. i've never been more suspicion be than i am right now. >> the defense of the white house is more than any staff are has offered up, instead they have sent out administration officials to answer questions more broadly saying that they don't know specifically about jared kushner, but the concept itself wouldn't necessarily be that big of a problem. if h.r. mcmaster the nags apsecurity adviser and john kelly homeland security answering questions papd also spotted at the white house was marc kasowitz, the high powered attorney brought in by donald trump to represent him in his personal capacity as the ongoing oig investigations continue. he was seen with ivanka trump leaving the white house lawn on sunday. an indication that he is gearin up the legal team for a long battle ahead. ryan nobles, cnn at the white house. president trump jumped to kushner's defense in a statement

to the "new york times," he said jar are read is ed is doing a g the country. he is respected by virtually everyone and is working on programs that will save our country billions of dollars. in addition to that and perhaps more importantly, he is a very good person. president trump was pretty quiet on dltd line during his foreign trip, but now he tweeted sunday the fake news media works hard at disparaging and demeaning my use of social media because they don't want america to hear the real story. >> mr. trump issing a agrees from safely gending hdefending son-in-law's character, but adam schiff is voicing concern over kushner's security clearance. let's listen. >> there is another question about his security clearance and whether he was foorthcoming abot his contacts on that if about these allegations are true and he had discussions with the russians about establishing a

back channel and didn't reveal that, that is a real problem. but i do think there ought to be a review of his security clearance to find out whether if he was candid. if not, he kbts can madidn't ma clear answer. now paris. emmanuel macron is preparing with a meeting with vladimir putin. the two will meet at the palace of versailles to mark an art exhibit on peter the great's visit to france 300 years ago. claire sebastien is live following the story. good to have you. which topics will be on the table for these leaders? >> reporter: well, the french president has promised tough talks foe qucusing in about particular on syria. they have backed opposing sides in that conflict and they are also expected to touch on fighting terrorism in general and the situation in ukraine is

part of the normandy format of the diplomatic grouping that has been working toward a resolution in eastern ukraine. but there is a good reason really for russia to want to sound out this new french president. he among his fellow candidates for the presidency was the least friendly towards russia by far. you will remember his closest rival marine le pen openly advocated lifting sanctions, be and even visited moscow a month before the first round of that vote. so he is definitely not russia's first choice for the presidency, but now that he's here, they are trying to reach out. you will remember of course they clashled as well after macron accused russia of hacking into his campaign and leaking e-mails online and kremlinslander. but the visit is a small victory here in russia coming after a trip to the middle east and europe by president trump which yielded very little in the way of clues as to the promise

between the u.s. and russia. i want to read you a tweet from a prominent russian senator, he tweeted that the invitation of the rush are shan leader to paris by the president of france shows the final rejection by the eu of efforts to isolate russia. obama's policy has slowly died. so you can see that russia is very much kind of hoping that this signals that the eu in the less reliance on its traditional allies is more willing to give russia a seat at the table. and certainly the optics of that meeting and all the grand democratic eur of the palace of versailles is something that they will certainly welcome. >> and the question about cyberattacks, as well. you will remember the last cyberattack right before the election, there was never an official word pointing to russia, however russia did respond saying that that nation had nothing to do with that cyberattack. will sign beer attacks ee ee ea point of interest about here as

the two leaders speak? >> it hasn't been mentioned officiallybeer cyberattacks be point of interest about here as the two leaders speak? >> it hasn't been mentioned officially by either party, but we assume it will be on macron's mind. it was less than 48 hours before the election that it was revealed that e-mails from the macron campaign had been essentially dumped online and evidence pointed to russia. as i said, at the time the kremlin called it pure slander. whenever they have been accused recently of government sponsored hacks, that is the line they have taken. we have nothing to do with it, it can't be proven. so if it comes up in conversation, we expect this to be an area where they strongly continue to disagree among the various other issues where they still are some way apart. >> claire sebastien for us in moscow. thanks. coming up hooer, sdere, dis slik strikes sri lanka with severe

flooding. and plus remember freddie? the brexit counter van is hitting the road yet again ahead of the british general election. we'll show you where it is headed. frsz

turning into the flooding in sri lanka. at least 169 people are dead, more than 100 are missing after a severe monsoon. >> it's tremendous the water that has come in and the lives lost. allison chinchar are a has the latest for us. >> yeah and unfortunately more rain are is expected in the coming days. so we take a look at some of the images and you can see how high the water was able to come up, as high as 5 meters. that is not widespread, but causing a lot problems. you can see the folks trying to

get out to the streets. the good news is that helicopters are able to come in and start provide some of the relief now that they have at least a temporary break from the rain. but look at some of these totals. we're talking widespread amounts of 200 millimeters. but some areas picked up as much as 450 millimeters of rain. and this isn't over a span of a couple weeks. this was in most cases 24 to 48 hours. here is a look at the forecast though. because we are expecting some about more rain especially to that hard hit southwestern region of sri lanka where we could piblg ck up an official 5 100 mill meelimeters of rain an could trigger mud slides. and the united states has also been dealing with flooding and that is part of a bigger severe weather that has been taking hold for much of this region. now, what we've been noticing and the main threats going forward throughout the weekend have been flooding, strong

damaging winds and also hail and that threat will continue through the day monday. and in the states, this is a big holiday, memorial day, so loot of folks want to get outdoors. and that will be harder in some of these locations. now you have to factor the rain on top of areas that have already had so much rain to begin with. take for example no whmissouri. around branson, we had three people originally that were missing, unfortunately some of those have turned deadly as we continue to see a lot of the flooding problems that they have been dealing with. the good news at least in this region is the rain is done temporarily. that will allow some of the water to begin to recede. but now the flooding threat begins to shift to a different area and in addition to the flooding, we also had other forms of severe weather. damaging wind gusts near hurricane force, but also the

potential for tornadoes and hail. some reporting baseball size and softballs. that won't just dent a car, that will total your vehicle. and we had multiple reports of that size. overall as question looked at the weekend, this ended up being the third biggest outbreak that we ended up having in the united states so far in 2017 because of the amount of damaging wind and hail reports. here is a look at the forecast going forward. you can see more rain is expected in states like texas and into louisiana, but also on the northern side of the storm, areas of the northeast expecting some heavy rain as well for portions of new york and also into pennsylvania. so again, if you have outdoor plans today, you may want to keep the umbrella handy. >> well, we have a holiday so i guess that is what is important. the uk's general election is fast approaching and the political race is tightening. >> so our on richard quest is dusting off frideddy the brexit van and getting on the road

again. he'll give you a preview next. he'll give you a preview next.

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allergytry new xyzal®.ou have symptoms like these for relief is as effective at hour 24 as hour one. so be wise all take new xyzal®. british prime minister theresa may and labour leader jeremy corbyn will be taking questions about their party's

policies going into the june 8 general laekelection. >> and in recent polls, the labour party has been narrowing the conservative's lead. both parties suspended campaigning after the manchester terror attack, but they got right back to work on friday. miss may called for the first snap election last month hoping to strengthen her hand in brexit talks. >> during the brexit capital pain, ri campaign, rich republicard hit in his trusty van and now he's back on the road. here he is. ♪ >> reporter: it's been a long cold lonely winter for poor old freddy brexit. locked up in storage, ignored and unloved ever since that referendum last year. dragged out for a brief rainy day when the sun didn't shine, a

very sorry sight beside the sea. but not even freddy would have predicted he would be needed so soon to ride once again after theresa may called a snap general election. >> we agreed that the government should call a general election to be held on the eighth of june. >> reporter: all hands to get freddy ready again. so freddy passes his road-worthy tests. and freshened up for another big road trip just like last year's brexit journey. happy days in cambridge and the care van park where freddy was in his element. once again it freddy will help us understand the british people as they make their political

choice. this year he will emembark bark week long trip from the capital of wales for the mining heartland of newport, the seaside wonder, and ending the week outside the royal residence of windsor castle. so join me all aboard as freddie returns to the road. and we keep our fingers crossed he'll last the course. >> about happy trails, richard. thanks for watching. >> "early start" is next.