helping kids in shelters create a path to a brighter future, go to cnnheroes.com and nominate someone you think should be a 2017 cnn hero. that's it for us tonight. thanks for watching. an american cargo ship and destroying collide. a search for missing seven crew members. a frustrated president trump at the investigation of u.s. meddling of the u.s. election intensifies. reports from washington and moscow this hour. grief turns to anger. people demanding answers and justice after the building fire that killed dozens of people. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. "cnn newsroom" starts right now.

>> thank you for joining us. we begin this hour with the developing news out of japan. seven sailors are missing after a u.s. warship collided with a larger merchant vessel. it happened early saturday morning. >> the warship is the "uss fitzgerald." three were evacuated but they're all in stable condition at this point. the philippine merchant vessel has been identified. for more on this story, let's bring in a journalist with us live in tokyo. good to have you with us this hour. let's, first of all, talk more about this operation. continues hour by hour. now, what is the latest you're hearing from officials. >> well, it's been 14 hours, george, since this collision took place off the coast of japan and the seven missing crew members, the search is still

under way by both the u.s. side and also the japan coast guard who has also been involved in this rescue operation from the beginning. wae haven't had any updates since this afternoon regarding the whereabouts or the conditions of the missing seven people. we know, as you reported, that three people were medically evacuated from the ship the "uss fitzgerald" including the commander of that ship. we know the "uss fitzgerald" had a major collision on the right side of the ship. but the u.s. navy saying the biggest damage is invisible to us from here. it's occurring underneath the water surface and that apparently has triggered the flooding within the vessel. that situation, they now say, has been stabilized and the ship itself is being towed back towards its original base, the home of the seventh fleet here

in this region. as i say, it's been over 14 hours since this incident occurred at 2:30 a.m. local. we don't have a whole lot of detail on what is going on in terms of the rescue operation. but vessels from the u.s. coast guard helicopters have also been involved in this rescue operation. >> so, first of all, talk to us just about the fact that you say 14 hours on at this point. the situation stabilized on the ship at this point. but do we know anything more about why this happened? how it could have happened and a very busy waterway. >> that's right. i think the fact that it is a very busy waterway is raising questions already about the reason as to why this incident occurred in the first place. although it was 2:30 a.m. local time. so, in the middle of the night. u.s. coast guards have said, excuse me, japanese coast guards have said that this area around the tip of the peninsula is

persistently busy, even at that time of the hour. a lot of commercial ships heading towards the port of tokyo, which are two of the busiest ports of japan are also crisscrossing that area. in a way, sort of notorious area for ships to navigate. the japanese coast guard told us that there have been a number of incidents in the past. the latest that it had some fatalities happen four years ago where six people from a japanese commercial ship collided with another vessel andand. this is a notorious busy area that we're talking about in terms of where the collision occurred. >> following the story in tokyo. thank you for the reporting. joining us now to talk more about this is lieutenant colonel cnn military analyst. good to have you with us at this hour. first of all, how could this have happened? how could a containership

collide with a u.s. destroyer. a very sophisticated piece of equipment? >> this is a navy combat ship of the line traveling through international waters. of course, it's going to have all its electronics on and deck watches and even though it was the middle of the night, this is a combat ship ready for action at any time. to be approached by a ship of this size is really puzzling to everyone. it has two surface search rad radares. and state of the art equipment. how could it happen and to cause that much damage. it's just boggling right now and everyone is asking me the same questions. we'll know more. i look at the automated ship tracking and it was following the route of the container ship and it was on an erratic path but the "uss fitzgerald" should have seen that. >> you talked about this

happened at 2:30 local time. what would the situation been like on the u.s. destroyer at the time this happened? >> as i said, this is a u.s. navy warship. they might have been scaled back a little bit, but still would have a full complement, all the weapon systems would be manned and might be down to minmimum bt the officer of the deck to know what is going on in the area. for a container ship to be able to approach a u.s. navy destroyer is very puzzling. >> let's take a look at the ship itself and look at the damage that happened here. you see it took quite a rescue operation, you know, to get the members off that ship. talk to us about that. how that all came together. >> well, if you look at those pictures, it's very telling. you see the damage above the water line. but what's more important, what's more damaging is the impact under the water line.

these container ships, most of them and this one does, i checked, has a bow under the water line. a huge projection in front of the ship. so, when the vessel struck the destroyer, it didn't just hit above, it put a huge hole under the water line. that's why you have the three flooded compartments. that was the initial problem. they had to seal on the three compartments. i understand now they're trying to pump that water out of there. this is a very big operation. at the same time, they have to address the crew and the rescue. other navy ships en route. there are other navy aircraft in the air and the japanese coast guard is helping, as well. big, big rescue operation under way. we have to resolve what happened to the seven crew. >> you touched on this, obviously, a hole in the ship. the ship lost propulsion and they're doing their best to pump water out of the ship. how does an operation like that continue on for the next several hours? >> that's the problem. so many things they have to deal

with. the captain of the ship has been evacuated off the ship and now you have the executive officer in charge and he has to make sure they're handling all the safety things on the ship. he has to conduct the rescue operations and attend to medical care for the injured crew and he's got to figure out what's going on. you know, a very stressful time out there. they're fighting to keep this ship from suffering any more damage. it looks like they've stabilized the ship, but to move a ship with that much water, it is going to be very difficult. i suspect they have to tow it in. we have a lot of problems ahead for ship. we have to find what happened to these seven sailors. >> that's certainly the pressing issue at this point. the bigger question beyond that, how did it happen? thank you for your expertise and insight. we'll stay in touch with you. the u.s. president donald trump now confirms he is under investigation in connection with the federal probe over russia in

making that disclosure. he also added high powered washington attorney john o'dowd to his legal defense team. >> now speculation the russia investigation could eventually force the number two man at the justice department to recuse himself. cnn jessica schneider explains. >> reporter: whether rosenstein will oversee himself from overseeing the russia probe which he launched by hiring director mueller. >> director mueller will have what he needs to conduct that investigation appropriately. >> reporter: mueller and his growing team of prosecutors are planning to clear in the clearest indication yet that the probe could include obstruction of justice in the firing of fbi director james comey in which rosenstein played a role. but a justice department spokesman tells cnn, as the deputy attorney general has said numerous times, if there comes a time he needs to recuse, he will. nothing has changed. thursday night rosenstein issued

a peculiar statement saying americans should be skeptical about allegations. >> are you under investigation by the fbi. >> reporter: he took aim saying i am being investigated by firing the fbi director by the man who told me to fire the fbi director. witch-hunt. if rosenstein is fired outright by president trump then rachel brand would then oversee the russia investigation. >> i will strive to take my role with integrity. >> reporter: a civil litigator by training, her second stint with the doj having previously served under the bush administration. all this as members of president trump's transition team preserve all records pertinent including any relevant foreign travel. a memo obtained by cnn asked transition officials related to trump campaign associates specifically michael flynn, former foreign policy adviser

carter page, paul manafort and deputy rick gates and roger stone. meanwhile, mueller's team is examining the president's son-in-law and top adviser jared kushner's russia-related meetings. including whether he was acting as a member of the trump campaign and transition and met with the head of the russian bank in december and the bank said it was to discuss business. but the white house has said the meeting was part of kushner's foreign policy responsibilities. mike pence who led the transition team is now lawyering up. but told reporters today to not read too much into it. >> jessica schneider reporting there. jill dougherty now joins us live from moscow. and we just heard vice president pence reiterate just routine, just routine. but it really is anything but with this investigation ongoing and all the while russia has been tired of this, of course,

he's reported. but it just keeps evolving, it seems. >> it does. and you know the russian media are covering this. they are, to a certain extent. the words that you're hearing most often, i would say, would be witch-hunt and hysteria. hysteria. they would say by the main stream media in the united states. and the witch-hunt which is the phrase we just had on the screen from president trump and others in his administration is basically the idea that the russians are saying there are enemies of the president who want to destroy him and his presidency. so, they are drumming all of this up. they also, president putin was almost laughing about parts of it just a couple of days ago. he joked that if comey, the former head of the fbi, needed any help that russia was willing to give him political asylum. so, it's a combination of kind

of dismissing, laughing and then saying it's a big plot. but, natalie, i would say that the russia media, by that i mean primarily tv, they're not going into a lot of the nitty-gritty details of how american democracy functions. you know, all sorts of things that in the united states we're following. because it could cut in a way that might not be useful for the kremlin. because their message, really, is that american democracy is dysfunctional. that what you're seeing on capitol hill and all these hearings is essentially american chaotic democracy. and that is a message that they want to get across. it is a message also for their own people which is don't watch, don't emulate american democracy. stick with here russia, mr. putin, where everything is organized and predictable and we don't need any chaos. natalie? >> all right. yes, it's easy to cast it off as

hysteria or whatever without explaining to the viewers perhaps there why they think that. we get it. jill dougherty for us, thank you, jill. still ahead here -- >> we should say the main stream media is the media. right? >> it is the media. that's what it is. still ahead here on "newsroom." we take you to london. people there angry. there is a great deal of pain as people demand answers after the deadly tower fire that took place there. one man recounts the final moments of his brother's life inside that building.

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shortly after the verdict was announced, castillo's mother ca called it incomprehensible. >> my city loved this city and this city killed my son. a murderer gets away. are you kidding me right now? we're not evolving as a civilization. we're devolving. we have taken steps forward. people have died for us to have these rights and now we're going back down to 1969. what is it going to take? so, anger there in the united states and anger growing in the wake of london's deadly tower fire on the streets there of london. protesters filled the streets across the city friday calling for justice for victims. police confirm at least 30 people died in wednesday's fire.

a criminal investigation is under way. the ceo of the company managing tower talked with my colleague richard quest and denies any wrongdoing. >> we do not accept that we ignored people or not addressed things. people have different views, but that does not mean that we ignored them. i believe when we go through this process, i believe it will show we addressed all the issues you raised there. i find it is quite difficult to get into detail with that. >> the idea of not installing a sprinkler system. i understand, it's pretty difficult in a 1970s building, if not impossible to suddenly put a second staircase in, but not installing a sprinkler system, which experts say would have doused the fire. >> this is part of the thing that has come out of this. a bigger picture. >> but did you consider a sprinkler system in that building? >> the most majority of the buildings in london do not have

sprinkler systems and that's because a number of reasons. in terms of did we look at the -- it started in 2013/'14. so, one of the things as we go through these investigations and questions is did we look? but the reality is actually mass majority of local don't have sprinkler system. >> among those expressing outrage over the high rise fire. the fire highlights how differently poor people are treated in the united kingdom compared to wealthy citizens. he's demanding change. >> you can't contract out everything to the private sector. the private sector does wonderful things. but they have for-profit motives. they cut corners. if you haven't got the officers to check on the enforcement of buildings, don't expect it to be

done. are there fire extinguishers? i knock on doors all the time. we have all been up the tower blocks. they exist across the country. where are the fire extinguishers on every corridor? where are the hoses? are the fire doors really working? where are the sprinklers? if you want to build these buildings, then let them at least be as good as the luxury penthouse buildings that are also being built. these buildings aren't are the question. you either demolish them and house people in a different way or you absolutely refurbish them to the best of quality that we can do. >> do you think this says anything about the value that is placed on the lives of people who cannot afford to buy their own property to live in some of the nicer? >> this is a tale of two cities. this is what dickens was writing about in the century before the last and it's still here in 2017. it's the face of the poorest and

the most vulnerable. my friend who lost her life was a talented artist, but she was a young, black woman making her way in this country and she absolutely had no power or agency. she had not yet achieved that in her life. she had done amazing things. gone to university the best in her life, but she's died with her mother on the 22nd floor of the building. and it breaks my heart that that is happening in britain in 2017. breaks my heart. >> you know, these officials there are offering answers, but are those answers leading to solutions and are they acceptable to the outrage that's being felt on the street because many people died in this were beginning to learn the names of some of the people who died in this fire. one of them 23-year-old mohammad. >> he escaped the war in syria to start a new life in london. his brother spoke with cnn's

fred pleitgan. >> he came here to britain as a refugee from syria and ended up living right here which is, of course, the building that caught fire in the night from sunday into monday. now, mohammad lived on the 14th floor and while the building was on fire he managed to call his brother who was standing on the outside and he told him on the phone the ordeal and how he was struggling to stay alive. i managed to speak to his brother and he told me about what he witnessed. >> i said, mohammad, leave everyone. you make it out, you make it out yourself. then he said, i can't. he was speaking slowly and slowly. then he was shouting from the window. he shouted water, water from the window here. help, help, he was shouting from the window. and he felt the water. he said because i was speaking,

my brother is stuck in the building. they wouldn't let me in. when they let me in, i told them where he was. he went to 113 and then he said, i can feel the water coming on our flat. i said just tell them to splash some more water, please. in the same place. please tell them, i can feel it. then he couldn't breathe. he said, he was speaking like this, hashem, i can't do anything. i said, come down. he said, no, hashem, i can't. then he cried a lot. he said, hashem, put me through to my mama. my mom is in syria. he wanted to speak to her, but he couldn't. i didn't do it because i wanted to save him. i said he could come out safe and then he would speak to my mom as much as he would. we had big hopes. we thought we will finish our

studies. hopefully syria becomes peaceful and we can go back and do lots of things in syria. we can help a lot because currently we can't do anything. yeah. and everything collapsed. everything stopped. starting, again. and i don't think we can start and do everything again from the beginning. my mother, my mother is so devastated. she's crying every time. she dozen know what to do. she wants to see mohammad. she says i want taso seeburial. i can't continue without my family. i'm lost. i came here to flee syria, that's the reason. but why did i come to the ek because i wanted to be with my brothers. i wanted is to stay with them. i dies in a building in a flat.

all my dreams and hopes have collapsed. >> from this vantage point, you can see just how badly the tower was damaged in the fire. while on the bottom floors, we see some of that cladding that some believe may have been responsible for accelerating the fire is actually still in tact. the worst burns you see there. now, hashem says that with his brother having died in that fire, his entire world essentially collapsed. and the last thing he now wants is for his mother, who lives in damascus, to be able to come here and see her son for the very last time and bury him here in britain. fred pleitgan, cnn, britain. >> we'll continue to follow that investigation. what in the world started that. coming up here, he is supposed to take a break from the white house, but the president slamming a so-called witch-hunt, instead. the man who opened fire at a

congressional baseball practice was found with a list of names. we'll have more as "newsroom" continues.

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these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh. sure. still yes! you can get it too. welcome to the party. introducing gig-speed internet from xfinity. finally, gig for your neighborhood too. welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." good to have you with us. i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. the "uss fitzgerald" is making its way back to its port in japan after its collision with a large container ship. this is live video of it being brought in by tug boats. they're searching still for seven missing crew members.

three of the injured required medical evacuation, including the commanding officer. the navy says all three are in stable condition. isis is claiming its first operation in israel. the fatal stabbing of a policewoman in jerusalem on friday. hamas is denying isis claims saying the attack was carried out by people belonging to the local leftist. cuba is denouncing u.s. president donald trump's decision to impose tighter restrictions on tourism and business dealings with havana and methods that are doomed to fail. mr. trump announced friday he is rolling back key parts of the deal and his predecessor barack obama. we'll get more on it from patrick in havana. >> before an audience of anti-castro cuban exiles in miami's little havana, donald trump didn't hold back. >> now that i am your president, america will expose the crimes of the castro regime.

>> reporter: undoing barack obama cuba policy that open the communist run island was a trump campaign promise. soon, most americans won't be able to book their own trip to cuba, but will have to join a guided tour to make sure their dollars don't go to the cuban military, which controls large parts of the economy, including hotels. increased restrictions that worry americans already visiting cuba. >> coming to cuba is not only wonderful for americans to find out the other side, but it's a very interesting place with wonderful people. and i just think that it's a horrible idea. >> i love it here. the people are amazing. the culture is rich. every day has been beautiful experience. and i think something like that would dampen a relationship. >> reporter: u.s./cuban relations will likely be hurt, but won't be a full rollback. the american flag will continue to fly over the newly reopened

u.s. embassy in havana. u.s. cruise ships and airlines will continue the service to the island that restarted in 2016. but in an exclusive interview with cnn, cuban officials that coordinate anti-drug smuggling efforts with the u.s. are afraid the increased cooperation is suffering under president trump. the biggest impact will be felt in the u.s., he says. because cuba is not a country that the drugs are coming to. fundamentally, the drugs go north. if there is a step backward in the cooperation, the impact will be felt in the u.s. the trump policy is designed to target the cuban government for human rights abuses, not the cuban people. but they could be caught in the cross. fire. >> reporter: too much of the money is going directly to the pocket of the cuban government. air bnb says in the last two

years it has sent over $40 million to cubans who rent out their homes. money that is helping to fix up scenic streets like this one in old havana. private entrepreneurs who run prive lt cars were banking on more americans coming to the island. already in this garage, we have 14 employees, she says. before we rent it all out of my house. we have grown a lot and it's all been thanks to the increase in tourism. much of the emerging private sector in cuba is banking on the hope for better relations with her neighbor, the united states. a future that is increasingly in doubt. patrick ottman, cnn, havana. president trump is taking a break from washington to visit camp david for the first time since joining the white house. before that trip, mr. trump seemed to be going after deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. on friday he tweeted, i am being investigated for firing the fbi

director by the man who told me to fire the fbi director. which hnt. joining me now is a political analyst and president of global policy institute at liola. we want to talk first about the developments with president trump and what he tweeted, as he sees it. let's take a look at that now. i am being investigated for firing the fbi director by the man who told me to fire the fbi director. kits witch-hunt. is this a witch-hunt? >> the tweet is a bit cryptic. there is evidence even though we're at the very early stages, just knowing the tip of the iceberg to suggest that members of the administration may have been involved with the russians in ways that are unsavory. and, so, we have a house committee. we have a senate committee. we have a special prosecutor. we need not rush to judgment.

we will know a lot more in the coming months. so, in a preliminary way, yes, the president is in trouble. if you see the drip, drip, drip going on day after day of story about this, he will lose control of the agenda to this story. so, it will damage his ability to govern. but it is certainly not a witch-hunt at this point. >> and these continuing tweets from the president, will that damage his situation legally? could it? >> well, his tweets are frequent and incendiary. in some ways, he is providing a special prosecutor and the investigators with new evidence every day. how many people have said that we need to make the president stop tweeting. but he's not going to. that's who he is. that is kind of his personality. so, you can't ask a leopard to change his skin. you have to remember that that's's donald trump. what got him elected is being an outsider, being different, being someone who wasn't wedded to the

beltway problems. so, what worked for him as a campaigner isn't working for him as president. he needs to make that transition. the problem for trump, i think, is that he jump under to the deep end of the pool without learning to swim. he doesn't know how to govern. he's not been able to work well with congress. he has not been able to work with the intelligence agencies. the president's tweets interfere with his ability to lead. >> let's look at where this investigation could be going. the president said he's being investigated vis-a-vis the comey firing. where does that put deputy attorney general rosenstein. trump said it was rosenstein who told him to fire comey and trump gave an interview that said, no, it is my decision. should rosenstein recuse himself at this point? >> you can get to the point where everyone is recusing themselves. one of the things i think you need to remember relating, for example, to watergate was that was a make or break situation for so many people.

those men and women who behaved honorably and who did the right thing and didn't cave in to political pressure, those with urt were the heroes. people like the assistant attorney general and the proscure, they all have the eye of history on them. they know that. after what happened with watergate, we know some lessons. we know what to look for. the chief lesson being the crime isn't the problem, it is the cover up that is the problem. to the extent that the president tried to interfere or obstruct the investigation, it can only haunt him. >> other members of the trump administration are hiring lawyers, including vice president pence. what does that tell you? >> well, when the president's lawyer hires a lawyer, which i heard on the news today it happened, it's actually wise to do that. this is a very serious investigation. there are serious allegations. there may be criminal prosecuti prosecutions. who knows. so, it is wise to protect yourself. washington, d.c., can be a vicious place and you need to take care of your interests.

>> michael, we thank you for joining us. >> thank you. well, officials are learning more about the man who opened fire at the congressional baseball practice wednesday near washington. >> james hodgkinson not only posted anti-republican messages on social media, new evidence about his apparent interest in republican members of congress. >> reporter: we've learned a chilling new development about the shooter, james hodgkinson who opened fire on a baseball field where members of congress were practicing for this year's congressional baseball game. hodgkinson was found with a list of names on him at the time of the shooting. on that list were names of members of congress, including members that were at that baseball field at the time. including alabama congressman mo brooks. brooks confirming that to cnn along with a law enforcement source. now, this law enforcement source is stopping short of calling this list an assassination list, but, still, it is a very

important part of their investigation. at this point, law enforcement sources say that there were no victims whose names were on that list. meanwhile, the congressman, steve scalise who was among those injured continues to improve, but an update given on friday tells us that the congressman was in very dire shape when he arrived here to this hospital. the doctor described it as being imminently in danger of death. that being said, he's gone through a number of surgeries and even though there is a chance that his progress could be slowed down, they do expect him to make a full and complete recovery. ryan nobles, cnn, washington. >> ryan nobles, thank you. the e-commerce giant amazon makes a big acquisition and this one could be the start of a major change in the way you get your food.

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few major shakeups from the world of business friday.

amazon bought the organic grocery chain whole foods for a whopping $13.7 billion. it is the company's biggest venture yesterday and two conventional stores after a series of smaller experiments. not to be outdone, though. one of amazon's biggest brick and mortar competitors walmart expanded its web presence. it picked up an online men's apparel company. yahoo! is no more after verizon closed a deal for the company's core business a few days ago. what is left is now a holding company called altaba. whatever holding company does. a lot to talk about here. let's bring in michael, the head of international growth and development of the digital agency huge. good tahave you with us, michael. >> good to be here. let's talk, first of all of that banner behind you. whole foods and amazon. i remember when whole foods was just this little store in a strip mall in austin.

it's grown into this big mega chain, but it struggled with stock price and it struggled to shed that high priced image. so, how will this help? what is the plus and minus? >> i think it's a big deal. this is a bold move for amazon, but also very important deal for whole foods. there's, obviously, been a war going on in all markets around the united states between grocery stores. and they've been focused on competing with one another. you see kroger competing with whole foods and publix and others really trying to own the share of the grocery bag or the grocery basket. and this move by amazon is symbolic, but it's also reflective of how important fresh produce and grocery sales are to their business. if they're really to grow. if they are to really achieve the ambition that they have to compete with walmart and to take that, take that, this important

part of our experiences, obviously, our food, we have to have it. they need to make a play that puts them closer to the street level. so, this is a big move. it's bold for amazon. it's important for whole foods. but, more importantly, this is a major wakeup call for all retailers. and anybody that operates as business as usual in the brick and mortar retail business. >> you know, we thought we are all just going to the grocery store and buying our groceries. until i read this story, i didn't realize what a machine it had become. jeff bezos nothing will stop him from getting ahead, maybe toppling walmart in this area. >> they have ambition to be dominant or be leaders in every market. but when you have a market that like the u.s. grocery market that does more than $600 billion in annual retail sales, this is a must-win battle. and it's critical for everybody that's in that space to make sure that they either protect

what they have or for newer entrance like amazon to take the share so that can grow their business. it also represents a more frequent type of purchase than people often make with amazon. >> we have about 30 second left here. so, look, you see whole foods investing more in the customer experience. they even introduced restaurants in some of their stores. one here in atlanta. with this new merger, how significantly does that change? >> i don't think that it can change. i think this is where there is a lot of drama that's going on with the reporting of this, but it's, it's really important when you think about whole foods. whole foods is not just a retailer. it is an experience and a brand. you talked about being in austin and seeing it. it has a cult-like following. if tries to change everything too much, they will face a revolt by these loyal customers who they just don't shop there, they like the experience. they go there. it's been part of their life. it just can't be changed to an

automated ecommerce experience. it really needs to stay and play the cultural role that it plays in our lives. >> don't send robots around it. we love our whole foods people. they're so friendly. all right. fascinating. fascinating. >> michael, thank you so much for your time. "newsroom" right back after the break. be the you who doesn't cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. be the you who shows up in that dress. who hugs a friend. who is done with treatments that don't give you clearer skin.

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new icyhot lidocaine patch. dennis rodman is in china now following his five-day trip to north korea. he arrived in beijing's airport just a short time ago. he is surrounded by reporters, you can see. not revealing details but told cnn he will offer more information next week. >> rodman's fifth trip to north korea. he wants to bring sports to that country and open the door. time to talk now about extreme heat and very dry conditions that have caused fires across the southwestern part of the u.s. our meteorologist derek is here. >> you'll see aerial visuals of one of the many fires that are actively burning across the southwestern united states. check this out this in the santa fe national forest. it grew to more than 700 acres on friday.

0% containment right now. you will notice some of the firefighters battling this blaze and about 150 personnel doing that as we speak. four helicopters and five air tankers and five attack platforms and several structures and small communities at risk. voluntary evacuations for those areas and highway 4 remaining closed. the good news is here that the fire is showing signs of slowing down. but this is all part of the bigger picture here. what's happening over the southwestern u.s. if you're tuning in from california to nevada, as well as utah and southwestern arizona, prepare yourself for excessive heat. we all know this part of the world gets hot this time of year. but, goodness, it's not even officially summer yet until next week wednesday. unbelievable. when we put our temperature trend forward over the next seven days, we don't really like to see that deep, dark shade of red and hot pink showing up on our weather maps because that

indicates extreme heat. what really is happening here is what's called a heat dome. an area of high pressure. well, think about high pressure as a region with sinking air. it actually contains the heat that we receive from the sun. tries to radiate back from the earth, but it gets trapped in. that high pressure acting as a lid. not only pollutants that help just kind of make the problem worse, but that hot air tries to escape into the atmosphere and it can't. it even warms more. how hot is it going to get? temperatures are going to soar. this is in celsius, by the way. predicting a high of 49 degrees in phoenix, arizona. you can say, well, it gets hot here. well, that's 120 degrees fahrenheit if you do the conversion and we have to bring this up because a major population of the u.s. lives in this particular area. so, when we're talking about temperatures soaring to 120, 122, it's not even officially summer yet. well, we've got some thinking to do about how we're going to

prepare for a long season ahead. give you a heads up quickly about some of the potential for tropical development across the gulf of mexico and just west of africa. this is an area that the national hurricane center has a high probability of development. it is june, hurricane season is under way. so, we are monitoring this region for potentially our second named storm of the atlantic season, i believe. temperatures there in the oceans are right for development. >> wow. >> interesting to see what happens. >> hurricane season getting on. that is our first hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. the news continues after this. 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.

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a u.s. navy destroyer kolt i'ds with a merchant ship off the japanese coast, seven are missing. outrage and mourning in london as protesters demand answers in the tower fire. president trump adding a high powered lawyer to his defense, amid the expanding russian investigation. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to viewers here in the united states and around the world, i am george howell. >> i am natalie allen. "newsroom" starts right now. good day. 5:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast. we beg