the u.s. president versus "morning joe." the twitter war escalates. and the chinese president warns residents not to challenge the mainland authority. political chaos that london wishes it could forget. >> live from cnn headquarters in atlanta, i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. "newsroom" starts right now.

it is 4:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast. several issues on the president's plate. push for progress on the health care and the meeting with the president of russia, but his twitter war with two u.s. journalists taking a twist with the supermarket tabloid. >> the co-hosts said the white house tried to use a negative article about them to influence coverage. here is gentlemenis jessica sch. >> reporter: engaged in a war with the white house, mika brzezinski and joe scarborough say this. >> they say if you call the president up and you apologize for your coverage, then he will pick up the phone and basically spike the story.

three people at the very top of the administration calling me. >> reporter: they first lobbed the accusation in the washington post column friday morning. >> he appears to have a fragile childlike ego, especially with women. >> reporter: this is the story the national enquirer ran in june. the tabloid hounded her family to get the story. >> they were calling my children. they were calling close friends. >> the national enquirer. >> reporter: the president has close ties to the enquirer which endorsed him during the campaign. president trump and the national enquirer publisher are close friends and allies. the editor in charge issued this statement. at the beginning of june, we reported a story that recounted the relationship between joe

scarborough and mika brzezinski. we have no knowledge of any discussions with the white house and joe and mika about our story and no involvement in the discussions. after the accusation from the couple on air, the president responded tweeting, watch low rated "at morning joe" for the first time in a long time. fake news. you called to stop an article. i said no. bad show. scarborough quoted the tweets and called him out. i have phone records and those records show i have not spoken with you in months. nbc quoted about the threats and calls from the white house as they were happening. the white house is putting out a different spin. official says it was joe who called jared kushner about the up coming national enquirer story. he told him to call the

president. the official denies there was indication that the president would help kill the story in exchange. >> very interesting allegation there is. we have to see how it plays out. >> we will have a guest here in a moment to talk about that. moving forward. the president's patience wearing thin over the stalled efforts of replacing obamacare. >> if senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately repeal and replace at a later date. >> in the past, mr. trump said repeal and replace. it would happen simultaneously. that is still the preferred route. >> the congressional budget office states 50 million people would be without insurance. joining us now is brian klass who teaches at the london school of economics. let's start with health care,

brian. why would the president and republicans want to repeal obamacare without having something right to replace it? >> i think they want to create a cliff where the repeal without replace option is so bad that the cbo says 32 million more people would be uninsured and premiums would double and it would put pressure on the republicans in the senate and congress to repeal and replace. that is the responsible thing to do. you cannot pass legislation and say clean up the mess later. it is something that is a reckless approach. it is completely at odds with what trump has been saying for months. he pressured republicans in congress to do it simultaneously. they stated a preference to repeal and replace later. >> is this a move just to get obamacare out of the way because it seems that over and over again for this president it has

been about getting rid of something that has mr. obama's legacy? >> yes, i think that is part of it. i think this is a broader point of the insurance markets in the united states. obamacare is a trade in term for health insurance in america. people are mostly happy. people want pre-existing conditions to be covered and subsidies and want children to be on their plans and they want medicaid to be available to poor and disabled people. obamacare is similar with health insurance. people are upset because it is too expensivexpensive. you need to come together in a bipartisan way and look fixes f. it is to fix health insurance to work to lower cost and increases competition and protects vulnerable people. that is a bipartisan goal.

this bill process is shutting out democrats. there is no democratic amendments. that is why we have this mess where republicans are feeling skittish about passing something that the cbo says we'll kick people off insurance and cause premiums to rise for vulnerable people. >> stressful for anyone in the country. especially those on obamacare and can't figure out what their future is. let's switch to this tweet by president trump. it is a vulgar tweet. he again has the calls for him to stop. he just can't or doesn't want to. what is it because it seems like he just can't self restrain or doesn't want to. which is it? >> this is who he is. president trump has behaved like this as candidate trump. he behaved like this as reality show star donald trump.

he behaved like this as a businessman. this is fundamentally who the person is. the problem is those tweets carry the monday kiker of the u states president. it is undignified and embarrassing. he should apologize. i don't think he will because he never does. this is not the behavior of a person in the oval office. this is something where we should be able to debate health care policy and tax policy. the things that divide on policy okay, you can debate them. this is a fundamentally inn decent act he is doing on cyber bullying in a misoginistic way. i'm disheartened that republican senators speaking out about it. >> it just seems he doesn't know he is embarrassing himself.

it is not just the country and denigrating of the office. he is shooting himself in the foot every time he does this and shows this character or lack there of. >> he is a political master class on shooting from the hip straight into his foot. he does this on twitter. he is undermining his policy agenda and undermining the gravitas agenda of the united states. it is embarrassing. it is undignified and embarrassing conduct. including his wife who alleges to campaign against cyber b bullying should take away the feed because it is doing damage. >> brian klaas, thank you. the u.s. and south korea sending mixed messages of north korea while president trump is warning that washington's patience is over. south korea president moon jae

in with the open dialogue. >> here is moon's statement. president trump and i will not pursue a hostile policy against north korea. we have no intention to attack north korea. we do not wish to see the regime replaced or collapse. our barbara starr has this report for us. >> reporter: president trump first white house meeting with south korea's president moon came with a message for north korean leader kim jong un. >> the era of the north korea regime has failed. many years it has failed. frankly that patience is over. >> reporter: but now what? how does the trump administration intend to stop north korea's rapidly accelerating efforts to build a missile and warhead that could hit the united states. >> we are working with south korea and japan and partners

around the world on a range of diplomatic security and economic measures to protect our allies and citizens from this men sdac known as north korea. >> reporter: the united states military remains on alert. watching for any hint of a missile launch or even another underground nuclear test. trump initially leaned on china to help stop north korea's weapons tests. >> the relationship developed by president xi and myself is outstanding. >> reporter: pressuring chinese president xi to influence with kim. that changed. the trump administration issued new sanctions against a chinese bank for allegedly helping north korea. then hours later, announced a massive u.s. arms sale to taiwan which china states is a renegade

province. >> the u.s. armed sale to taiwan has seriously violated international law and basic principles of international relations. >> reporter: with diplomacy uncertain, u.s. military options for north korea have been updated. >> the president has directed us to prepare a range of options including a military option which nobody wants to take. >> reporter: but a u.s. military strike could trigger catastrophe. >> if the u.s. chose to strike north korea in any way we would most likely see an immediate north korean response. that could be counter attack on south korea. it could be another cyber attack. kim jong un feeling emboldened, would likely react in a strong way. >> reporter: and a north korean counter attack could have a massive human toll. millions of south koreans and 28,000 u.s. troop and families at risk.

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. barbara, thank you. now to hong kong. thousands of protesters there are marching. the annual protest hours after the national flag raised over hong kong marking 20 years since the end of british colonial rule. xi jinping has visited, but left hong kong. >> before he departed, he warned against challenging chinese authority saying it will not be tolerated. mr. xi swore in the first female leader kerry lam. there were issues saturday as police and demonstrators scuffled. >> let's go to hong kong and our correspondent ivan watson is there live where protesters gathered. ivan, good to have you with us this hour. direct words from the chinese president. how is that message perceived on the ground where protesters are doing what they typically do in

hong kong. >> reporter: i think people here are showing their opposition to that kind of statement in this uniquely hong kong tradition. annual pro democracy march. every year on the anniversary of the handover from british rule to chinese central government rule. you won't see this, george, in any other city in china. it is diversity of political opinion. labor unionists dressed as zombies as you can see complaining of long working hours. you see the arrest and jailing of the chinese leader who was released from jail for health reasons. this is a unique tradition

because unlike the rest of china, hong kong allows opposition political parties and freedom of the press and expressi expression. china has one party. communist party rule. one of the themes among the diverse activists who come out here is a concern that 20 years after the hand over from britain to china that democratic freedoms are eroding here and that china is gradually tightening its grip on the city. the chinese leader xi jinping made his first visit as leader of china to hong kong. he said this city is more free and more democratic than ever, but he made clear that there are limits to that freedom. listen to the except of his speech today. >> translator: any attempt to endanger the security challenge the power of the central government and authority of the basic law of the hksar or use

hong kong to carry out activities against the mainland is an act that crosses the red line and is absolutely impermissible. >> reporter: now here's another issue here. there's clearly among the diverse political opinions a disaffection. the recent hong kong university poll show 62% of those surveyed. 62% of them are not proud to be chinese citizens. only 34% are proud to be officially part of china. when you look at the numbers among the youth who responded. that number soars to 80%. there is a growing ambivalence of people who live in the city. we are in the commercial center right now and the mainland. george. >> ivan, you are surrounded there by protesters on the

streets. there are people who moved to hong kong from the main therela. help our viewers to understand because there are those that support the president's message for unity. >> reporter: that's right. we have also seen rallies and events today celebrating the anniversary of the hand over or authorities have described it the return of hong kong to the motherland. we saw a couple blocks before where we are right now an interesting kind of confrontation. peaceful, thankfully, between dpl demonstrators waving the flag of china and these demonstrators. some people are proud to be part of china although hong kong has a unique and cultural and linguistic identity. this is one of the reasons for

the tension here. it has helped drive up the real estate prices and led to a housing crisis which is at the root of much of the disaffection of the young hong kongers feel of the chinese central rule here. >> ivan, we are seeing on the streets with you giving us this view of what happens in hong kong. it is what makes that city different from other cities in china. very diverse array of political opinions there. again, the chinese president saying there is a line that cannot be crossed. our senior international correspondent ivan watson live in hong kong. thank you for the reporting. still ahead here on "newsroom" troops on the ground say the battle is nearly over in final days to bring the fiercest fighting. and a graduate student disappears in the west.

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welcome back to you. world leaders paying respects to the father of germany. the ceremony to honor the former

chancellor helmut kohl will be held today. >> of those attending, the french president emmanuel macron. the prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the former u.s. president bill clinton. kohl led the country between 1982 and 1998 and pioneered communication with east and west germany. he was 87 years old. iraqi forces are confident the fight to retake mosul is nearly over. the victory will come within days not months. >> commanders say the isis fighters who remain look to do as much damage as possible. our nick paton walsh is on the frontlines. >> reporter: it is clear to our sources on the ground in the overnight period, iraqi forces have managed to secure the mosque. the great system pmbolic place

announcing the beginning of the caliphate. they moved past it and deeper into the city of mosul. hundreds of meters between them and the river which marks the end of the isis territory. it is no comfort for thousands of civilians called in the area that isis control. we saw some emerging yesterday talking of an absence of water and some injured and hobbling out of the rubble. the question is it is a matter of days says the u.s.-backed coalition and iraqi government before mosul falls entirely. the question is how does iraq deal with the uncertainty that isis will become in the months and years ahead. they are only seeing parts of it reaching into baghdad and elsewhere. there are towns where isis has a substantial presence in. this is not over. they defeated isis, but politically, too, they have to se enter into a moment of

reconciliation. baghdad is shi'a. they have a lot of shi'a forces fighting in areas which are sunni members. sunni and shi'a are split. the question is how do you get that sunni part of the population and extremists of whom felt more affinity with isis than anybody else. how do you get them to come together and iraq to heal? the pace in which declarations of victory have been made which suggest reconciliation is not on top of the agenda. we will have to see in the months ahead. without broader healing here. we may see something like isis rear its ugly head again. >> nick will join us live in the next hour. for the u.s. state of illinois, a man is under arrest for a disappearance of a graduate student. she was last seen june 9th. authorities charged brent christiansen with kidnapping

her. >> video shows yang getting into christiansen's car the day of the complaint. the complaint also said he visited online forums describing how to carry out kidnappings. a doctor opened fire on friday at the hospital where he used to work killing a woman and turning the gun on himself. the shooter was described as a disgru disgruntled employee who resigned two-ye years ago. he was wearing a white lab coat. >> five are said to be in serious condition. authorities have not offered a motive at this point. the fbi says the shooting does not appear to be an act of terrorism. >> it was terrorizing for people. food, water, medicine. venezuela is running out of most of it. we will see the journey as many cross the border looking for

help. and a month like no other. coming to terms with the painful and unprecedented few weeks. the special cnn report ahead. we are live from atlanta, georgia at this hour. you are watching "cnn newsroom."

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like technology that can update itself. an advanced fiber-network infrustructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most. a warm welcome back to viewers in the united states and around the world. you are watching cnn "newsroom." i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. two tv journalists allege the white house tried to influence their coverage of the president by offering to kill a negative article about them in a tabloid. the tv hosts say they ignored it. the president tweeted watched low rated "morning joe" for

first time in long time. fake news. he called me to stop a national enquirer article. i said no. bad show. the u.s. president sending a message to north korea that patience is over. that was while he hosted south korea president moon jae-in. chinese president xi jinping is warning hong kong not to challenge beijing authority. he marked the 20th anniversary of its return to chinese rule by britain. mr. xi swore in the leader kerrkerry lam. thousands of people gathered for a protest march. fair to say the u.s. president has a thing for personal attacks. punching back as his aides say that he likes to do that makes

him unlike others. it is not just the content of the latest attacks that are raising questions. >> the target of his anger, television hosts points to another unique caquality. here is randi kaye. >> reporter: you could say donald trump is always plugged in with flat screen tvs throughout the white house. tv comes first in the morning. "fox & friends." and one of the last things he does before bed. >> i watched this morning a couple of the networks. "fox & friends" in the morning. honorable people. >> reporter: trump loves seeing himself on tv. he is known to shh others to hear taped interviews he did and what is said about him on tv. it is an obsession like no other president before him. nurtured by his experience in television as a reality tv star on "the apprentice." >> we never had a team lose so

badly. you're all fired. all four are fired. >> reporter: it's a useful tool for him too. early on during the campaign, he turned to tv to brush up on the military. >> who do you talk to for military advice? >> i watch the shows. i really see a lot of great -- when you watch your show and all of the other shows and you have the generals. >> reporter: according to the washington post, the president is known to hate watch. tuning in to networks and shows that are anything but complim t complimentary of him. >> every network you see hits me on every topic. >> reporter: the president watches so much tv reportedly hours a day, that some members of congress have started using it to get his attention. representative elijah cummings on "morning joe." a day or so later, trump called

cummings to talk about opioid drugs. he knows the power of message all work together. randi kaye, cnn, new york. thank you. republican efforts to repeal and replace obamacare is putting people at risk. >> many have lost hospitals and crin putting many at risk. >> reporter: here in richland, georgia. two hours south of atlanta, it is a different world in the by city. access to a hospital is not a guarantee. >> i'm the only physician. >> reporter: this doctor has been the only doctor in town since the nearest hospital shutdown in 2013. nearly 100 rural hospitals have

closed since 2010. to add insult to injury, the facility was shuttered without warning. >> the hospital closed by friday. >> reporter: what was that like? >> it was very devastating. very had. >> reporter: dr. raju was the chief of staff at the hospital and is now in high demanded. >> i see 22 or 25 patientients day. >> reporter: raju says most of the patients are elderly and 95% of the patients are now on medicare or medicaid. under the health care senate bill, these would shrink putting the only doctor in town shutting down. with the nearest hospital a 45-minute drive away, residents of richland live in a medical desert. it makes the jobs of ed and his crew of emts harder.

his two ambulances serve an area larger than los angeles. they receive 1,200 calls per year. >> it can be an issue with the hospital with a bed. >> reporter: since the hospital shutdown, they become mobile emergency rooms. >> rural georgia is dying. there used to be hospitals in the state. >> reporter: it is more than an inconvenience for richland resident with no hospital close by and dr. raju unavailable, she had to call an ambulance we she caught the flu sdplchlt . >> it is easy to get fluids here. >> reporter: but others who serve from something more serious have not been lucky. >> i can remember having to ventilate somebody. i have seen people i know all my life die. we can't save everybody, but it

is nice to save the ones we can. >> reporter: rural residents are in a public health crisis. small hospitals like this are closing across america, but especially in the southeast. here in georgia, the state identified up to 50 other small hospitals in danger of closing doors. nick valencia, cnn, richland, georgia. as the political crisis grows deadlier, many venezuelans are running out of the things they need to survive. stay with us.

the crisis gripping venezuela growing more violent with each passing day. new clashes erupting with police and protesters in caracas on friday. >> the travel ban has been hit on luis ortega. officials say 83 people have died since the demonstrations

have started in the last few months. >> venezuelans desperate for food and medicine have been traveling to the colombian border for basic necessity ies. >> we have our report from the border. >> reporter: this is the border between colombia and venezuela. we are in colombia. this is where tens of thousands of people come from venezuela to cross into colombia to find some relief from the economic instability. the political unrest. to get basic goods to feed families and health care. you see this woman is coming through. looks like she has bread and she has some potatoes as well. she is saying this will last her about five days. she crosses into colombia because she can't find this stuff over there. she says it is cheap on the other side. she says on the other side there

isn't any food. she says they are dying from starvation. you know that is just one face to what many here are calling a humanitarian crisis. we went on to the other side of colombia. we talked to a store owner there. they told us often times in colombia, the shelves are certainly full, but because of the weak currency of venezuela and low wages. minimum wage is $45 u.s. a month. many cannot afford to buy things on the other side if they find it. soap at this point is a luxury. leyla santiago, cnn, cucuta, colombia. london comes to terms with a month that tested it in brutal and unexpected ways.

megan's smile is getting a lot of attention because she uses act® mouthwash. act® strengthens enamel, protects teeth from harmful acids, and helps prevent cavities. go beyond brushing with act®. for those of you who followed the news the last several machinonths, you know t terror attacks and uncertainty. london has been through one of the worst months in recent times. >> now in a special film for cnn, nick looks back of the month that put britain under

pressure. >> reporter: summer in the city. you would not know it from above, but a wounded scarred city. multinational, multifaith and multiculture london. the mood on the ground is the same. lazy. playful. sweltering heiyde park. still a detectible anxiety, perhaps. the hint of fewer tourists in the square. and for the boys from south korea to dance their selfie stick dance. it wasn't just the heatwave. june was searing in many ways. month of political shocks. theresa may clinging to power and inclined to mixing with the general public.

for others, june was the cruelest of months. terrorist savagery. and terrible human tragedy recorded on mobile phones. in june, london gathered and stood in silence time and again. more often perhaps than they have in a single month. these have been a terrible few weeks for london. unprecedented in recent times. >> this is a very resilient city. this is a very, very, resilient set of communities. we are as shocked as anybody in this local community or across the country at what has happened. >> reporter: we revisited the site of the london bridge attack. drove south across the river just as the terrorists had. it is now a concrete barrier to

protect pedestrians from being deliberately driven into. evil visited london bridge on saturday, june 3rd, just after 10:00. the atrocity lasted eight long minutes. the abandoned terrorist van on the bridge. people hiding. cowering under tables in restaurants. nearby market attracts many tourists. three women, five men were murdered that night. victims of five nationalities. australia, france, spain, canada and britain. terrorists shot the people dead in the market. a police officer standing over one. the foreign secretary described them and scum bags. the terrorists had long knives. he had a police baton. he suffered multiple injuries. >> members of the family and the

girlfriend. that's enough. you've done more than enough. i will however have to answer that question at a later stage. i can't be a police officer without my left-hand and without my left leg. >> reporter: the bovictims gettg a drink are now receiving counselling here. no one would talk to us. it is the same at barrow market. people were trying to move on. staff working on that terrible night were keeping their own counsel. a sense of family still freshly in mourning. few people haven't returned to work. business life has resumed. every day they hurry past the shrine in the middle of london

bridge. this is basically a memorial to a city banker. a spaniard. he died using his skateboard defending a woman against knife attack. hence the recurring skateboard motif. a group have been attending the shrine every day. none of them knew him, but admired him and his valor. the queen somehow seemed more visible during the month. at 91, she does what she always does in june. tending trouping of the color and races at royal ascot. she had an abbreviated speech at parliament. did so without usual regalia. and without her husband, her son in place for the day.

driving out of town and you simply can't miss it. a black monolith among the tire marks. a shell of a stump and accusing finger. tragedy struck grenfell tower on wednesday, june 14th before 1:00 in the morning. the local resident was filming on his mobile. >> looks to me. >> help! >> oh, my god! >> help! >> oh, that's where the stairs are. all you could hear is people screaming. that was it. people's windows up there and screaming the whole time. for people to help them. >> reporter: revisiting the streets a week after the four and the grief was still

palpable. in recent days, people posted pictures of their loved ones. they were still going up with hope long faded. this man was remembering his father. miss you, dad, he skrocrolled o the photo. one woman was coming to terms with apparently losing six relatives. her mother, sister and three nieces. >> how do you want your family to be remembered? >> love. memories. pictures and everything. >> it's been horrible. it is really starting to hit me now. it's like up to now i've run on anger to get things done. i'm running out of anger to run on. and there's nothing left to run on. i don't know what -- i don't know what's going to be there when there's nothing left.

>> reporter: utterly drained, joe broke down at the end of our interview. disappeared off into a corner and sat facing a blank wall. anguish personified. just a day before the grenfell fire, the royal academy exhibition opened in london. an annual tradition for art lovers. even here, art resonated. a screen howl for our times. and this artist calling it unborn. and this piece never again. north london, monday, june 19th. shortly after midnight. and a man is pinned to the ground. this was the driver of the van.

he had just veered off the road and driven in the group of muslim worshippers. one man died. ten others injured. most of the victims and witnesses were somali. >> i was shocked. shocked. i never see something like that. even in my country with war, i never see people like this. never. >> reporter: she is 29. he runs the cafe a few yards away. the victims were his customers and friends. he is still in shock. >> this is unbelievable. as a human being would you like to go around the city you live in and looking behind your back. >> reporter: that's what you feel now? >> yeah. would you like that? the country you are living in. every time you come out from

your house if you are driving, if you are walking, you have to look behind your back because you never know who is there. >> reporter: londoners are hoping july will also be warm, but in that very english way, not quite as hot as june. it also like it to be uneventful. some communities and in central and northwest london are still healing. nick blass, cnn, in the great and recovering city of london. >> city loved by the world. we wish for them an uneventful july. >> great city indeed. >> thank you for watching this hour. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. the news continues here on cnn after the break. >> we'll be right back.

the u.s. president and the new president of south korea talk north korea, overshadowing it all, though, mr. trump's latest twitter spats. a few blocks, that's all that remains as the iraqi army pushes isis out. we'll have a live report this hour. and the chinese president draws a red line saying he won't tolerate challenges. >> i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell from