>> welcome to "new day." you see a live shot of the capitol. things are going to get busy there today. the nation's top intelligence chiefs will be grilled by senators about russia and donald trump. that includes dan coats. the washington post is reports that coats told them if president trump could intervene in the russian probe. this comes as the issue builds to tomorrow's testimony from fbi director james comey. he is expected to refute the claims that comey told him multiple times he was not under investigation. sources say jeff sessions offered to resign after a series of heated exchanges with the president. we have a cnn exclusive. u.s. officials suspect russian hackers planted a fake news

story that caused a rift with american allies. we have the stories covered with jessica schneider live on capitol hill. >> reporter: chris, the senate intelligence committee is gearing up for two days of testimony. it starts with officials testifying and tomorrow fired fbi director james comey. today's hearing is scheduled to focus on the reauthorization of the fisa. senators will delve deeply into the controversy and the russia probe. america's top intelligence official dan coats set to testify today amid washington post reporting that president trump asked coats to intervene and ask the fbi to back off the probe of michael flynn. two days after then fbi director comey confirmed the potential

collusion of the trump campaign and russia. this after cnn reported that president trump asked coats to publicly deny the existence of evidence supporting the probe and a conversation coats declined to comment. >> i don't feel it is appropriate to discuss. >> reporter: coats is one of several officials set to face a grilling today over encounters with president trump. including deputy attorney general rod rosenstein who will answer questions pbly for the first time about the circumstances surrounding the letter he wrote recommending comey's firing. the administration pinned the president's decision to oust comey on rosenstein's letter before conceding he had been contemplating for weeks over the handling of the russian investigation. >> he made a recommendation. >> what efforts do have you before the testimony?

>> i wish him luck. >> reporter: tomorrow, comey will refute the claim that comey assured him he was not under investigation. >> if it is possible, would you let me know am i under investigation. he said you are not under investigation. >> reporter: one source says it is possible president trump misunderstood the words which were nuanced. a source familiar telling cnn that the former fbi director will describe the interactions with the president that made him uncomfortable. including a meeting where comey was pressured to drop the flynn investigation. he will not say if it amounts to obstruction of justice. that meeting prompted attorney general jeff session a day later telling him he not want to be left alone with the president again. james comey did not reveal to attorney general sessions that he felt pressured by the president to drop that investigation into michael flynn. the times does report that is

because comey just did not know who he could trust at the justice department. alisyn. >> thank you, jessica. now to the tension between president trump and attorney general. a source close to jeff sessions says the two men have had a number of heated exchanges with the attorney general offering to resign. cnn's joe johns is live at the white house with more. what's the latest? >> reporter: alisyn, heated exchanges and all paints a picture of a president who was furious after losing control of the russia investigation and it happened after his hand picked attorney general, his long time political supporter, removed himself from the process setting up a chain reaction that led to the appointment of special counsel. amid a series of heated exchanges with president trump and attorney general jeff sessions, sources tell cnn the president's ally threatened to resign if the president no longer wanted him in the

position. >> how would you describe the president's level of confidence in the attorney general? >> press secretary sean spicer declining to answer. >> i have not had discussion with him about that. >> last time you said that, there was a development. >> i'm answering a question which is i have not had that discussion with him. >> reporter: the white house still has not clarified the president's position. one official telling cnn they want to avoid giving a definitive answer. the president contradicted his aides in the past. a justice department spokeswoman telling cnn sessions is not stepping down. >> i have recused myself in the matters that deal with the trump campaign. >> reporter: tensions between the two men have been brewing since sessions announced he would step aside from any russia investigation. after failing to disclose two meetings with the russian am bass doppler radar. >> i did not have the communications with the am bar

does. >> reporter: trump believe it is caused a chain of events that intensified the russia probe. the president's anger on display this week when he slammed the justice department for watering down the travel ban. sources say the president would not accept a resignation from jeff sessions. the optics would be bad. a potential backlash. it would be definediifficult fi replacement. even the short-term. the deputy attorney general is rod rosenstein. the person who named the special counsel in the first place. chris and alisyn. >> a lot to get through. we have the panel. editor at large chris cillizza. real clear politics reporter a.b. stoddard and

counterterrorism analyst phil mudd. phil, this is big. the fisa oversight hearing. the foreign intelligence surveillance act. the wiretap claims. the warrant for carter page. one of the extended members of the team. a lot can come out from coats before he gets to he was asked to back off from the investigation. >> i agree, chris. my concern about the hearing today with the congressional hearings going on with what happened with the election last year is it will get diverted from a question that would have been critical a year or two. americans would have been focused on this a laser before the controversy with russia. this is a conversation the authorities have to intercept communications. potentially communications of u.s. citizens. some of the authorities are debated. including the ability to do that

without a warrant. i hope the focus today doesn't divert quickly to what the president said when and focuses instead on what authorities do the people who represent americans want to give the u.s. intelligence community especially collecting against u.s. persons. >> a.b., it could be interesting. there could be a lot of interesting or not. dan coats in the past has not been that for the cothcoming. >> when he was giving testimony a few weeks ago, he backed off of giving details of that conversation when the president reportedly asked him to come out and publicly declare there was no evidence of collusion and he said he will talk to robert mueller. i expect the same response from him today. i think more heat will be brought on rod rosenstein who will probably speak to the writing of his memo which he

described why then fbi director james comey could no longer lead the agency effectively. he will talk about naming special counsel robert mueller. the focus of the tension with the president and attorney general sessions and whether or not the reports james comey felt maybe jeff sessions could not be trusted could become a very tense discussion and line of questions i expect the democrats to pursue. who or not rod rosenstein answers, i doubt. the focus on the attorney general raises the stakes of how independent an attorney general he was and what the relationship was between fbi investigation and attorney general jeff sessions at the department of justice. >> chris cillizza, adding more context to the stakes involved. not so much today with coats, but comey tomorrow. the predecessor to coats.

james clapper. i'm reading what he was just quoted as having said. he says that watergate pales compared to the russia scandal. what do you think that means for him? >> golly. that is a direct statement, chris. it doesn't take analysis. clapper has been critical of trump. clapper went and said very soon after donald trump made the claim that trump tower was wiretapped and ordered by obama. that had not happened. he was the leading first voice out there to do that. that seems like more than what he said before. he has been a trump critic. at some point, though, coats, comey, sessions, clapper, there are others. donald trump clearly is a bull in a china shop. that's why people voted for him at some level because they wanted him to be that guy.

the question to me is does he know he is a bull in a china shop or does he not? is there intent here? does he know when he talks to james comey and meet with him privately and asks if he is under investigation. does he know he is breaking protocol? when he talks to dan coats and say he is not under investigation and does he know he is breaking protocol there? you know, i don't know. presumably someone has told him these are sort of the boundaries which you operate. whether he listened to that or not is the question. it may not matter in the long run. i think you have a pattern of behavior here. he does not think there are rules that apply to him and he repeatedly puts people who work for him in very uncomfortable situations. >> chris, isn't the answer to that he thinks he has a mandate to shake it up and break the

rules and do it differently than the way washington used to run. he campaigned on. that people voted for him on that accord. >> breaking the rules metaphoricall yorks is one thing. i just mean he has no boundaries. that may be fine for the people who supported him. it has gotten him in repeated trouble. this is not just democrats. >> trouble winds up taking on a defining term. phil mudd, we talked about this on and off tv. comey can come down tomorrow and create headlines for the next two or three days. that doesn't mean there will be substance to wind up in charges or major development by the investigation or special counselor otherwise. >> that is right. here's what to watch for, chris. if you are sitting at the fbi now, every fbi fs officer, i wo

say the same thing. please don't talk about the current case against u.s. citize citizens. a case led by robert mueller. a whole second half the story that comey will speak about. russian involvement and presumably his conversations with the u.s. president. if you like doing jigsaw puzzles, watch this. i'll be saying who was at the other end of the russia conversations and can we fill in the puzzle pieces to determine who he is referring to when he talks about russia? i don't think he will use any u.s. persons name. that would interfere with the investigation. >> a.b., a new york times reporting that james comey has had asked jeff sessions not to leave him alone with donald trump. i know that sounds sensational. the point is just what chris cillizza was saying. donald trump doesn't play by the

rules and james comey generally does. he thought he did not want to be in the situation of being on the receiving end of the lack of boundaries and asked questions. he didn't want to be left alone with him. >> right. i think these revelations about sessions on so profound in terms of the politics and potentially some kind of investigation of obstruction if there is any. people obviously think mueller is looking at that. jeff sessions left the room when the president of the united states asked him to leave him alone with the fbi director. if jeff sessions -- questions of whether or not he should have left the oval office. why did he not immediately follow-up with james comey whether or not the president was asking him about the investigation which he was not supposed to do. james comey felt uncomfortable enough with trump to tell sessions i don't want to be left alone with the president. it is uncomfortable enough with sessions to tell him about the

conversations he actually had with the president. that leads to the conclusion that perhaps he did not trust the independence of the attorney general. james comey was trying to protect the fbi and integrity of the fbi and not sharing that with jeff sessions. this obviously is a huge issue for whether or not jeff sessions can hang on and also this investigation. forget trump getting mad at sessions. how much sessions may have done for trump. he recused himself from the russia investigation. then engaged from start to finish on the firing of james comey. he left the oval office when the president wanted to be alone with him. he knew the president likely was firing comey over the russia investigation. that calls into question his independence. that is what could be a surprise revelation tomorrow. if james comey answers questions about why he refused to share

this helsitant. >> it just doesn't go to the context you are referring. it is credibility. credibility is a big part are the contest. it is interesting to see the return questions when comey says whether or not he told the president of the united states he wasn't under investigation. our reporting from gloria borger and jake tapper will be he never said that. this will be a credibility contest. >> panel, thank you very much for helping us sort through it all. tomorrow's testimony is an pointment viewing. "new day" is 5:00 a.m. eastern. coverage begins at 9:00 a.m. we are following a disturbing story out of iran. twin bombings and a shooting in the capital of tehran. iran state media reporting the attack s killed 12 and injured dozens. this is the scene outside the parliament building right now. state media reports suicide

bomber detonated explosives in the building. the attack is over now. they are trying to figure out what happened and deal with the injured. look at this image. a manil lowering the child from the parliament building window in the rush to evacuate. the incident unfolding at the same time the second attack involving a bomb and shooting spree at the khomeini shrine south of tehran. two people were injured. a woman was arrested there. to a cnn exclusive. concerns intensifying that russia is trying to create will iri rifts with the u.s. and gulf allies after russian hackers planted a fake news report with qatar news agency that spurred the crisis. now russia is stoppedirespondin report. we have shimon joining us live

from washington. tell us about all of your reporting. >> reporter: that is right. russia put out a statement. we will get to that in a second. the story is u.s. investigators believe hackers were behind a cyber breach behind qatar news agency. a fake news report friendly to donald trump and critical of iran which is used by saudi arabia and other u.s. allies as a reason to carry out economic and political blockade of qatar. u.s. and qatari officials sent a team to doha to help investigate the alleged hacking incident reported in late may. the intelligence gathered by u.s. agencies indicates that russian hackers were behind the intrusion. the involvement of russian hackers would add to concerns of u.s. intelligence and law enforcement agencies that russia continues to try to use some of

the same cyber hacking measures on u.s. allies that it used to meddle in the 2016 u.s. elections. u.s. officials say they are not sure here whether this was a russian criminals behind the hack or whether or not it was sponsored by the russians. lastly, the statement that the kremlin spokesperson issued denying this report and calling it fake news. alisyn. >> shimon, thank you very much. let us know what else you develop on the story. we'll check in with you. the world is awaiting james comey's blockbuster testimony. what does it mean of what is weighing on the president's mind? we have a congress member who is part of the small white house dinner last night. what was the table conversation? next. he y doesn't c your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. be the you who shows up in that dress. who hugs a friend.

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today top intelligence officials are expected to testify about the private interactions with president trump. tomorrow, fired fbi director james comey is expected to share his story. how is the president responding? joining us is congress member francis. good morning, congress member. what was the president's state of mind? >> i think we are fortunate to

have a leader who is capable of facing the challenges the world recen presents us. president trump and his team has taken it on in all areas. >> did he tell you how he was feeling and about to hear the top intel chiefs testify about russian meddling and if there was any attempt of obstruction of justice from the white house? >> we had a wide ranging discussion of the challenges facing the united states and foreign policy area as well as discussion about our penultimate project in the everglades. >> did you talk about the testimony tomorrow? >> no, but i'll tell you about the hearings. the big game here is comey. i hope they get into what he did about hillary clinton and loretta lynch meeting on the airplane. that is the big story. >> it is? >> it is to me. this guy has been playing games

ever since the campaign. >> the campaign is over. now president trump is in the white house and now the question is whether or not president trump pressed him to back off the michael flynn investigation. >> we'll let everybody get all the words out. there's been a lot of innuendo and vague statements and second guessing of statements. like you said, did he mean this or not mean that? director comey. once the testimony is out, he we will realize this is a side show and we need to focus on making america stronger in the world. >> if director comey reads from the memos that he is reported to have that he took contemporaneously after the meetings with the president where he says the president pressed him to back off the investigation. is that a side show or does it concern you? >> let's see what the context is and let's see what is really said. >> yes, i understand. we are obviously waiting. there are reports out there that

these memos exist and the content. are you concerned by them? >> again, what i'm concerned with is every time this guy comey speaks, it is a different story. i would like to get it all on the table and get the context of it and what was said and not said. it is one thing to apply pressure which deputy secretary rosenstein was not done. it is another thing to move on and save the world. the world is a dangerous place. >> what about the world? terms of russia? do you think that russia meddled in the election? >> disinformation is common aspect of intelligence gathering and espionage. i imagine every country has it. >> this is no big deal? russia does this all the time? we shouldn't be worked up about it? >> the old expression is the people that know done say and the people that say don't know.

there acould be a lot of agenda. i don't think we know all of the sides of the triangle. we will get it triangulated sooner or later. qat qataris have been off the table for some time. they need to align with president trump's sunni-arab initiative and leave iran. >> you are comfortable with president trump inserting himself into this saudi-qatari-arab state some call crisis because of the realignment that was possibly based on a fake news story that was planted by russia. >> the crisis is the way the obama administration enabled iran and the axis of evil to perpetrate mayhem across northern iran and syria and lebanon and fortifying hamas and hezbollah. the initiative of reinforcing

our sunni allies and coupled with the moderate islamic messaging is very important development for our foreign policy. >> is russia perpetrating mayhem? >> i think a lot of the countries always perpetrate to get away with whatever. russia is not our friend. we have to balance a relationship with them just like we have to balance a relationship with china and other countries with interests aligning with us and sometimes not. >> here is the latest abc news washington post poll. just out in terms of how americans are feeling. they asked why did donald trump fire fbi director james comey. 61% of the american public believe it was to protect himself. 27% believe it is for the good of the country. another question about president trump's response to investigations ongoing. 56% believe he is in fact trying

to interfere with the investigations. >> alisyn, i'm not seeing that around the country and certainly not where i'm from in south florida. i'm seeing the people that fought hard to elect donald trump to change the course of the country. they are glad he fired comey. they cannot understand why he did not do it on january 20th. >> thank you, congress member rooney. >> thank you. former fbi director james comey will answer a lot of the questions and some hype will be blown away. what do people want to hear on that committee? it will be a function of what party they are with. we are talking to a member of the house intel committee next. look closely. hidden in every swing, every chip, and every putt, is data that can make the difference between winning and losing. the microsoft cloud helps the pga tour turn

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australia talking to the press. referring to what it was like when he was an air force member dealing with watergate and the fierce fears of what it meant for the government. dan coats will testify in hours about russia and potentially interact with president trump. let's discuss the implications with republican congress member chris stewart of utah. serves on the house intel committee conducting the probe on the election meddling. thank you for joining us, congress member. >> good morning, chris. >> do you share clapper's concerns that watergate pales in c comparison of what we are facing today with the russian interf e interferen interference? >> i didn't hear his entire quote. it is hard for me to comment on it without hearing its entirety. all of us are concerned about russian interference. i have been saying that since --

excuse me. since last september. it's clearly something that american people are concerned about. again, i didn't hear the entire quote. >> basically that's what it was about. because of the threats to the institutions of government and intrigue surrounding what may or may not have happened with involvement of the president's staff that he believes this is of more concern on one level than watergate. >> i think it is much more than that. we're talking about russian interference with the u.s., but other elections overseas. it is not just with mr. trump's actions. it is things before that that is potentially breaking into voting machines. propaganda. the planting of false news stories. leaks that result and many times damaging our national security. taken all together, many of us are concerned of all of those things. it is not just perhaps any

inappropriate activity between previous campaign officials. it is much more than that. >> we just had another member of the house gop on. he said i'll tell you what i want to hear from comey. i'll tell you the real story. what happened on that tarmac when former president bill clinton went on to the plane and met with that obama official. do you think the main question in the midst of the russia investigation is what happened during the campaign? >> i think we are beyond that. that was concerning at the time, but that is not the primary thing better fo we're focused ot all. i went to on moscow last august. i told people they are going to try to meddle in our elections. we know there has been unmasking and we know there has been leaks. there is a lot here that many of us are concerned about. you know, the presidential

candidate clinton. that is not much interest to me. >> let me ask you something here. today is the fisa oversight hearing. federal intelligence surveillance act. the government has to go and doing it since 1978. under scrutiny now. you said you know there is wrongful unmasking. how do you know that? >> at the end of the day, that will be reviewed to the american people. it will be -- >> do you know that happened for political purposes? >> let me say i think at the end of the investigation the american people will see what occurred there. we know that some of that was taken place by people in political positions and what appears to be for political purposes. there is no clear national security concerns that you could assume or draw or ask for that unmasking. we know from that, there have been leaks. that is troubling.

i supported 702. i think it is a very important tool as we try to protect american citizens. when you see what is happening over jae seas in last few days weeks. as someone who supported 702 and someone who sits on the committee, i don't know if i would reauthorize it. not without reform that it won't be used to manipulate political purposes. that is my fear. we have to assure republicans and democrats and the american people that won't occur. to this point, i don't know we can do that. >> look. they important questions and before all of this. i hope you can put meat on the bones of those allegations. we have had a lot of intelligence officials say they don't know if i of it was improper. it will be interesting to hear

what coats says today. let's ask you this. if coats says yes, the president asked me to see if i could get involved in this and back comey off the investigation. if comey confirms that tomorrow and if comey said i never told the president he wasn't under investigation. what will those types of disclosures mean to you? >> i think the president inappropriately tried to interfere with any investigation, he should be held accountable. >> what do you mean? >> i think it is a technical question. i don't know the answer to that. we don't have near enough information to draw that conclusion. it is important to know that mr. coats' office gave us a statement saying he never felt like the president inappropriately tried to int interfere with any investigation. previously to that, we had anonymous leak, but his

statement is on the record. that is the key and most important point. chris, this is a good illustration of the investigation is process. you have anonymous leaks and sources making accusations often denied by the people involved and directly denied. the story is out there and it is one of the things that concerns us. >> absolutely. no question that leaks have to be authenticated and information has to be followed up. it has held to be true and that's why you have the fbi and special counsel with the investigation. with coats and comey coming up, what comes out of their mouths will make a difference going forward. thank you for your candor on the issue. >> thank you. >> be well. coming up, we will talk to the vice chairman of the senate side. mark warner. what does he want to hear in the

testimony before his committee? bill cosby's accuser breaks her silence on the stand. what she said and how the comedian reacted. can we at least analyze customer can we push the offer online? legacy technology can handcuff any company.

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day three of bill cosby's sexual offense trial.

ku andrea constand is expected on the stand to talk about what she said happened to her. jean casarez joins us live from norristown, pennsylvania. jean, give us the latest. >> reporter: good morning, alisyn. a packed courtroom yesterday. you could hear a pin drop when the commonwealth said your honor, we call to the stand andrea constand. after 12 years of silence, bill cosby's accuser andrea constand spoken. describing under oath what cosby did to her in his home in 2004. cosby presented her with three blue pills and told her they're your friends. they'll take the edge off. i said i trust you. i took the pills and swallowed the pills down. 20 to 30 minutes later, constand

explained her speech slurred and vision blurry and seeing double. cosby pleaded not guilty to three charges of aggravated indecent assault shook his head in disagreement as constand testified. i was trying to get my hand to move or legs to move, but i was frozen. that's when constand said she lost consciousness and sexually assaulted by cosby. i was jolted awake and felt his hand grasping my breast. cosby lowered his head and put his hand over his face and constand graphically described the assault. cosby's assault described at length outside the courtroom by at least 50 other women. >> he built my trust by being a friend. he drugged and raped me. >> next, i remember waking up in a bed with mr. cosby naked

beneath his open robe. >> reporter: constand reported the assault one year later. she recalls 72 calls following the assault. highlighting the story she told police and the testimony on the stand. >> mr. cosby, do you have anything to say about the testimony? >> reporter: cosby admitted having sexual relations with constand, but said at all times it was consensual. >> so, jean, you were there. what was the atmosphere like in the courtroom? >> reporter: well, there are very serious. three of the 50 plus accusers of bill cosby that are in the gallery. bill cosby at the defense table at the far end. his chair is lowered. he looks small at this point. the jury focused on andrea constand. constand is confident and appears to be very simple woman and down to earth.

she will pause before an answer and say it deliberately. if she says something that is incorrect. she will say, that's wrong. that's not correct. what i may have had back in 2005. today continued cross-examination. this is the one case, alisyn, where bill cosby could lose his liberty. he is facing up to 30 years in prison. >> the stakes are so high and the testimony obviously representatirivetin riveting. jean, thank you. chris. some breaking news from the president himself on twitter. it is an official statement after all. the president says he has a new fbi director and he gives us the name. we'll give it to you next. with advanced technology, so we can make sure oil and gas get where they need to go safely. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better.

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and the bill you need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount this is cnn breaking news. >> there is breaking news and what it is is as important as how we received it. president trump announcing in a tweet that he has a new fbi

director, nearly a month after firing director comey. it reads it will be nominating christopher a.wray to be new director of the fbi. details to follow. we must assume this is an official statement from the president and it will be his policy move to bring in the next director by this name. wray is well-known in government ranks. he was involved with the department of justice from 2003 to 2005. he headed the criminal division there for president george w. bush. he was in the georgia field office since 1997. he is a very respected white collar litigator. he was governor chris cristie's personal attorney during the bridgegate situation. he is a well regarded man. he does have a pretty interesting and deep government

history. but the cross-suscrutiny is now about to begin. little controversy that the president is bringing someone from outside the agency. >> his name was never floated. among all the names we have heard about, his was not one of them, so we'll dive into all this. the white house is facing two critical days as congress gets set to interview james comey. what is it like for the obama administration to watch all this play out. here with us is valerie jarrett. she has a new initiative we will get to as well. >> so nice to be in the studio. >> great to have you in the studio. that really helps. what it like for you and president obama to watch the trump administration unfold? >> well, i think it is the same as it is for the american people. we're all watching and we're obviously concerned about some of the steps that have been

taken that have a devastating impact on the american people. so, for example, the health care bill that passed the house, coupled with the budget that has been proposed will be devastating. 23 million who will lose health insurance. $800 billion in medicaid cuts. not having women being able to go to planned parenthood. one in five women who in their lifetime used planned parenthood. there are lots of reasons to be concerned just focussing on that as an issue. >> is this as you expected it to go? worse than expected? better than expected? obviously, we were rooting for a different candidate and the reason why is because what we thought president obama was doing was moving our country forward in economy, providing health care, ensuring our safety here in the united states is a top priority. and, so, sure, this would not have been our choice. but i think what's important is that the american people realize

that our democracy is always, always complicated. we take these zigs and zags and they have to be engaged. >> but in particular, for you to have to sit on the sidelines and watch some of the signature issues of president obama's administration such as environmental regulations, the paris climate accord, obamacare be dismantled, how frustrating? >> president obama mentioned yesterday about the paris accord, certainly it is a setback for the united states to not have a leadership role, but i'm heartened to see so many businesses led by the former mayor of new york saying we want to still be a part of this. i think that gives us a reason to be optimistic. >> president obama spoke last night. he was in montreal at an event. let me play for you as well as our viewers what he had to say about all of this. >> in an age of instant information, where tv and twitter can feed us a steady

stream of bad news and sometimes fake news, it can seem like the international order that we have created is being constantly tested and that the center may not hold. and in some cases that leads people to search for certainty and they can call for isolationism or nationalism. or they can suggest rolling back the right of others. >> how is president obama feeling? >> what he meant on to say is there is still this opportunity and optimistic chance for us to work together and that as we try to face the challenges of the world, that we shouldn't pull back. we shouldn't go into our comfort zone. we have to figure out ways of working with one another, and that's where the solutions lie. >> that leads us to your galvanized program. what is galvanized. >> last year we had the united shade of women, 5,000 women from across the country all coming

together to say what can we do to empower women, to ensure that every young girl has that same opportunity as a young boy to grow up and achieve their dreams. so what we're launching are these galvanizing sumsummits. we will start in chicago and talk about how can we empower them, take control of our lives, ensure that every young girl has that chance to pursue her dreams, focussing on workplace values, whether it's paid leave, equal pay, workplace flexibility, affordability child care, the issues every working family cares about and how can we get women feeling empowered to be forces for positive change. we started in chicago. we will have six across the country. we are creating this grass roots effort to really empower women. >> i want to show you the group of gop senators working on health care right now. i'd like you to look at this picture.

which of these men do you feel represents women's health issues? >> let's just say i think the group would be improved quite dramatically if you included some of the 21 women who are in the senate. ask yourself how comfortable would men be if a group of women were making decisions about personal health care issues they might case, whether it's tests for prostate cancer. do they want that solely decided by women? i don't think sochlt we make better decisions when the people's lives who are impacted are at the table. >> thank you for putting a finer example with those examples. >> making men squirm a little bit. >> yes. thank you very much for being here. great to talk to you. we are following a lot of news this morning, including breaking news from the white house, so let's get right to it. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning. welcome to your new day. we do have breaking news.

president trump announcing on twitter that he has a new fbi director, nearly one month after firing james comey. this with all eyes on capitol hill where in just two hours the senate intel committee is going to begin two days of block buster hearings. today they are going to hear from the top intel official dan coats. coats told associates the president asked him, too, if he could intervene in comey's michael flynn probe. >> and, chris, the main event tomorrow, of course james comey on the hot seat. comey is expected to refute the president's claims that comey told him on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation. we're also learning that attorney general jeff sessions offered to resign at one point after heated exchanges with the president. we have all this for you. live on capitol hill with our top story. jessica. >> reporter: president trump trying to steal back