donald trump, the salesman. the u.s. president touts the strong u.s. economy in davos. a las vegas casino mogul faces allegations ov sexual misconduct. paris on alert as rising floodwaters threaten parts of that beautiful city. >>itis all coming up this hour. we are coming to you live from atlanta, i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. around the world, it is 4:00

a.m. here on the u.s. east coast. following his two-day trip, the u.s. president back in the united states. he arrived back at the white house friday night. of his time in switzerland, he told reporters, quote, davos was great. >> it was his first time attending the gathering. in his speech before them, mr. trump promoted his vision of america first and took credit for a surging u.s. stock market. the president's good mood might not last long. greater scrutiny over possible obstruction of justice. >> it came to light he tried to fire special counsel robert mueller despite statements to the contrary. we have the latest from jessica schneider. >> reporter: after months of denying the president was considering firing special counsel robert mueller, the

white house and the president's lawyers are refusing to comment on reports that the president tried to do just that. cnn learned president trump ordered white house counsel, don mcgann, but he balked. in a statement, trump's attorney would only say, we decline to comment out of respect for the office of the special counsel and their process. >> the entire thing has been a witch hunt. >> reporter: the stunning revelation that trump tried to oust the man leading the probe is one more point in a pattern of behavior some say could be considered obstruction of justice, the criminal act of interfering with law enforcement investigation. the president asked former fbi director for his loyalty in february, then asked him to drop any investigation into michael

flynn. he fired comey in may because of the handling of the clinton e-mail investigation but later told nbc's lester holt something different. >> when i decided to do it, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story, an excuse. >> reporter: he pressured jeff sessions not to recuse himself from the russia probe, which he did in march. he asked the director of the nsa and cia to push back for the connections between trump and russia. trump was urged to fire then acting fbi director, andrew mccabe. he considered dismissing deputy attorney general, rob rosenstein who has been overseeing this. >> you can air all the activities together, then take the attempted fire and use that

as a window into the president's intentions and, from that build an obstruction case. >> reporter: since the president's push to fire mueller in june, he's denied mueller's firing was ever a consideration. >> no, i'm not. no. what else? i haven't given it any thought. i have been reading oh, i'm going to dismiss him. no, i'm not dismissing anybody. i want him to get on with the task. i want the senate and the house to come out with their findings. >> reporter: whether it weighs to obstruction of justice, it could be the president's perception that takes a hit. >> the president said, repeatedly, that he was not intending to fire mueller. this story seems to say, not only was he intended to, but he attempted to. that puts him in a difficult position in terms of people believing him. his credibility was greatly

damaged by this. >> reporter: since june when they made the push to fire robert mueller, members of the president's team denied that mueller's job was in danger. jessica schneider, cnn, washington. >> thank you. for the most part, the president got a warm welcome in davos. it was the centerpiece of the trip. ♪ organizers brought in a swiss marching band to welcome the u.s. president with a rousing fanfare. when he took, he became the marketer in chief in a global perspective. >> america is the place to do business. so, come to america where you can innovate, create and build.

i believe in america. as president of the united states, i will always put america first, just like the leaders of other countries should put their country first, also. but, america first does not mean america alone. >> mr. trump there brought up a familiar campaign theme and crafted it for the audience of global leaders. >> we will enforce our trade laws and restore integrity to our trading system. only by insisting on fair and res reciprocal trade can we create a system that works not just for the u.s., but all nations. >> let's put it in focus.

the profession sor from london, a pleasure to have you on the show. talk about the president's speech in davos, it was highly anticipated. were there surprises, in your estimation? >> it's well known that president trump, on this occasion, stuck to the script during the speech. i think the speech was reasonably well received. he didn't really change tact very much. what he's done is over a series of speeches, laid out the position he laid out in davos. the issue i could see is the davos discussions were fractures, fear and failure. the fear of unraveling global system, the danger of warfare between great powers and the degree to which populism at home could lead to political

repression and political violence and so on. really, the davos group seemed to listen to president trump and many of them appeared to be quite complacent because the tax cuts and the corporate deregulation has made the united states sort of continue in a broadly liberal direction and opened america for business. a lot of people think president trump hasn't done too badly. he may not grow 3%, as predicted, but 2.6% is higher than it has been. he outlined a major program. not very big change. i thought the davos group appeared complacent about the issues facing the world. >> talk about the message and optics of america first. it was a more knnuanced approac

to america first that he campaigned on with his base championed by the every day working man and woman. talk about the optics of this u.s. president, along with elites at davos and the message this nuanced approach, how that might play with the base that put him in office. >> i think, at the moment, it's probably going to be okay for president trump, but it's quite clear that he has moved a very long way from the very narrowly defined economic nationalism he outlined during the campaign. this tells us important things. president trump really isn't trying to wreck the international trading or any other system. i think he's trying to extract more value from it. that could have repercussions, of course. i think his base will wait and see. as we know, a lot of his base is not really secured by the

effective policies being pursued, but by the symbolic character of this administration, that he plays to that kind of nationalist gallery. he plays to that broad, empty, immigration theme, which we heard a week or two ago, where he prefers norwegian immigrants than africans and others. that's part of the message we secure with his base. those that are looking for a greater investment in jobs, good, well-paying jobs, they are going to wap and wait. the steps toward an agreement in reward to tpp suggests he is willing to make any kind of deal he believes will secure a greater economic interest for corporations. >> briefly here, i have another question on this topic of message. given that steve bannon

certainly no longer in the trump administration, what are your thoughts? do you think president trump would be in davos, had steve bannon been on the team and would the message had been a different america first than what we heard? >> i think there was a big struggle going on within the administration with the bannon nationalistic wing and the, sort of gary cohen head of the counsel. i think there has been a big shift as a result of the removal of steve bannon, whether or not president trump would have gone to davos, i'm not sure. the speech he made yesterday was an attempt to attract. i have cut taxes for big corporations. he claims to put more money in the pockets of american workers and deregulated in such a way, this is a good climate for

investment. i don't think that was off, really. the sidelining is important. i don't think the underlying message has shifted. that made a shift, already, away from the hard core populism, in any case. >> the president certainly back here in the united states and we'll have to see how this plays out politically, this news that he ordered the special counsel, robert mueller fired and backed off after the white house attorney threatened to resign had me moved forward with that. that's the story in play. thank you for your time. we'll stay in touch with you. >> thank you. in russia, a major opposition figure has no doubt the kremlin tried to influence the u.s. election race. he, too, has been the target of hacking and fake documents. >> he planned to run in this year's presidential election, but has been banned from doing so. still, he tells matthew chance

he won't be silenced, in this exclusive interview. >> translator: putin, himself, is the most corrupt. his family is directly involved in corruption. according to official data, 20% of the population lives below the poverty line. why are we so poor? >> regardless of the popularity of that issue, you have been prevented from standing in the forthcoming presidential election. do you think that vladimir putin is genuinely concerned or fearful of you as a political opponent? >> translator: he is scared of all real competition. we see in the election he only allows those to run that don't resist or do campaigning. when they saw we were fighting

for votes, he got scared. the famous putin ratings, the 86%, the 70%, all that sociologists like to say, he controls it. >> the issue of polling numbers is important. as you say, vladimir putin is polling more than 80% popularity in this country, if you believe the opinion polls. you are polling 2%. how much of a political threat does your movement really pose to this kremlin juggernaut? >> translator: look, i stood for election once in my life. in 2012, i participated in the moscow elections. everyone was showing me polls when i had 2%. i got almost 30%. same thing goes for the presidential elections. putin doesn't have an 80% rating, he has an 80% rating compared to other candidates he

has let run. >> as we approach election season, we are already in the election season, as we approach the election, what are you going to do? what is your plan to get on the ballot, promote your cause, or have you abandoned all hope of standing in the election? >> translator: we urge all russians to join a voter's strike, not just refusing to vote, but campaigning to others don't vote as well. we are actively organizing this boycott. this is the reason we are being raided every day and our staff are being attacked. >> as the leading opposition figure in russia, you have been harassed, you get regular visits from the authorities, the police, other inspectors, you have been insulted, widely, and, of course, you have been attacked. how concerned are you, in a country like this, where opposition figures have been killed in the past, how concerned are you about your own

safety and security? >> translator: i'm a reasonable man. i ran my election campaign for 12 months. out of these months, i spent two in prison. i have a clear understanding of what this regime can do. i'm not afraid and i won't give up on what i'm going to do. i won't give up on my country or civil rights. i won't give up on uniting those around me who believe in the same ideals as me. there are quite a few people like that in russia. >> matthew chance with the exclusive interview. a las vegas casino giant facing multiple sexual misconduct accusations. we'll have the response, just ahead. police are talking about how this billionaire couple died in their home in canada in december. we'll have the details coming up here on cnn newsroom. you won't see these folks at the post office. they have businesses to run.

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we have breaking news to report out of afghanistan. >> authorities say more than 30 people are dead after an explosion in kabul. witnesses told cnn the blast

came from a car bomb in front of the old interior ministry. this is a story we continue to follow on this network. authorities telling us this number of people who were affected. we'll bring more details. >> last weekend there was an attack on the intercontinental hotel in kabul. >> 79 wounded, we understand at this point. we'll bring you more information as we learn more. other news we are following now. all past conduct of public figures is being scrutinized under the me too movement. when hillary clinton first ran for president in 2008, one of her senior advisers was allowed to keep his job, despite being accused of sexual harassment by a female subordinate. >> he was accused of inappropriate touching, kissing and sending suggestive e-mails

to a woman he shared an office with. clinton's campaign manager wanted him fired. clinton overruled her. instead, he underwent counseling and received his pay docked. >> the law firm that represented the campaign said, quote, to ensure a safe working environment, they had a process. when matters arose, action was taken. this was no exception. >> he was later fired over similar allegations during clinton's second run for the white house. at that time, he worked for a political action committy, a p.a.c. that supported her campaign. clinton wrote, i was dismayed when it occurred, but heartened the young woman had her

concerned taken seriously and addressed. one of the biggest names in the las vegas casino business is one of the latest accused of sexual misconduct. steve wynn denied it. friday, the board of the company, wynn resorts talked about it and why the effects are felt from vegas to washington. >> reporter: propostrouse says steve wynn, the billionaire, to charges he ever assaulted any woman. the blistering statement from wynn, himself, that a manicurist was forced to lion a massage table, naked, while wynn raped her. the journal also reporting wynn paid the manicurist $7.5 million in a settlement.

wynn says the accusations is the continued work of my ex-wife, elaine, with whom i'm involved in a terrible, nasty lawsuit, where she is seeking a revised divorce settlement. he told the journal, that's just not true. wynn, the latest, high profile and wealthy man accused of sexual misconduct. "the wall street journal" spoke to more than 150 employees and dozens report sexual abuse by wynn. wynn says we find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth and a person is left with a choice. it is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation. the allegations reverberating in politics where despite supporting both parties.

>> i'm a friend of bill and hillary. i'm friends with donald trump. i haven't given a dime to either one. >> reporter: wynn is closely tied to president trump. democrats are demanding the rnc return any campaign contributions from wynn, much the way republicans did with harvey weinstein. allegations are being used to put pressure on the republican party. the democratic national committee saying, today, the rnc helped fund the campaign of alleged child molester, children's health and supported a president accused of sexual misconduct by over a dozen women and remain silent to the allegations, involving steve wynn. last weekend the president had to stay in washington, d.c., because of the shotdown. he was supposed to be at mar largo for a trump fund-raiser.

one of the co-hosts of the fund-raiser, you guessed it, steve wynn. the president sent a video signaling out steve wynn. cnn obtained audio of that video. >> i want to thank you. i want to thank the whole group of money raised. you are special people. thank you, we'll see you the next time. >> the president mentioned other people in that video, steve wynn was among them. he turned 76 today. back to you. >> paul marquez, thank you very much. students at michigan state university are rallying in support of women abused by the former sports doctor, larry nassar. hundreds of people marched toward the administration building, demanding the board of trustees resign. >> like many young women who were abused, they say the board is complicit in the decades of

crime, hearing complaints about nassar, but failing to act. the school is dealing with several lawsuits and under investigation by the ncaa, which regulates u.s. college athletics. u.s. president trump is back in washington after a major speech to the world business and political leaders. >> how did it go over there in davos? we take a look as cnn newsroom continues. we use our phones and computers the same way these days.

so why do we pay to have a phone connected when we're already paying for internet? shouldn't it all just be one thing? that's why xfinity mobile comes with your internet. you can get 5 lines of talk and text included at no extra cost. so all you pay for is data. choose by the gig or unlimited. and now, get a $200 prepaid card when you buy an iphone. it's a new kind of network designed to save you money. call, visit, or go to xfnitymobile.com. welcome back to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world, i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. breaking news out of afghanistan. authorities say at least three

people are dead. more than 70 people have been wounded after an explosion that took place in kabul. witnesses tell cnn this blast came from a car bomb in front of the old interior ministry. we'll continue to follow the story. u.s. president donald trump is back at the white house after two days at the world economic forum in switzerland. he received mostly favorable views for his speech, but he faces a growing storm at home over reports he tried to fire special counsel, robert mueller in june. paris is on flood alert, days after a heavy rain. the seine river overflowed. the river's level reached over five meters. water is rising slowly, now. it's impacted travel around the city for some residents to evacuate. when president trump went to davos, most didn't know which

donald trump would show up. >> true, would it be the bombastic president or the one for movers and shakers. >> they got a bit of both. he lambasted the news media, which he often does, but the audience booed, then he stuck to american rhetoric with a global twist. >> as president of the united states, i will always put america first, just like the leaders of other countries should put their country first, also. but, america first does not mean america alone. >> that was the president at the podium, a more nuanced america first message for world leaders there, business leaders. the question, how did they react

to it? >> our nic robertson took it. >> reporter: the applause wasn't as loud as i was expecting. a former minister from the middle east, i asked what he thought of it? he said, you know, sort of disappointed. nothing in there about the world. nothing he was hoping to hear. let's find out what other people have to say. >> he stuck to the script. everybody thought he would slip up, make a mistake of himself. >> the band was good. >> reporter: the speech itself? >> i would give the speech itself a thumbs up, but the content a thumbs down. >> we know who trump is. >> i heard him say he's going to

be selective about his immigration and choose people who contribute to the government. how do you determine that? how do you determine if a refugee contributes before coming to the country. >> he stands for competition. i'm not against competition at all, but if governments compete, there's 50% winners and 50% losers. >> the president of america, we expected a different perspective. how we see is the changing policy in the world. that was not there. >> there's a lot of curiosity as to what those comments would be. it was well received in davos. >> reporter: people are taking their thoughts home with them. my take away, things i heard from people here, they have heard the words, see what the actions are. another year before the next davos. nic robertson, davos,

switzerland. >> stephen is in brussels. thank you for being with us. after listening to those comments, sounds lukewarm. overall, mr. trump didn't do anything glaringly bad, like sometimes he can, going off script. >> no, i think he was behaving himself. >> yeah. >> he's oo businessman, a salesman, a real estate guy and also president. which comes first, sometimes one wonders. he was in with the global elite, the people he loved to criticize during the campaign and he felt comfortable with them. these are business leaders. he read a speech, a speech that was written for him, his economic team, a pretty good speech. it had a few misleading things in it. i mean, he claimed to create 2.4 billion jobs since he was elected. of course, there was three months of obama in there. and the previous 14 months, more

jobs had been created. he did do well. at the same time, during the q & a, after his speech, he did get in some zingers, as he likes to do, against the media. i suppose this was a way to remind his base that he's still the donald trump they voted for and hasn't been seduced by davos. >> exactly. let's talk about that line that's getting a lot of play that his business folks wrote for him. america first does not mean america alone. putting a global twist on it. what did he mean, specifically? >> i think it was meant to be reassuring, but america first is none of those lines that take that control. he's a nationalist. he's a protectionist. he is someone who believes that global trade is a zero game, believed for 30 years or more

that america's allies take advantage of the united states. the united states goes badly in terms of global trade. in davos, he wanted to reassure that all of america does want allies. he talked about trade as being fair and reciprocal and hinted he might try to re-negotiate an american entry into the asian trade deal he turned his back on. so, these are emollient lines and we'll see what they produce. after a year in office, the president is understanding both the limits of his job and some of the responsibilities and some of the responsibilities have to do with bringing america into relationships with the rest of the world. it cannot be america alone, it never has been. the question is, who will be america's friends and what will

america be willing to do for them and not just for itself? that's the question trump hasn't really answered. >> exactly. two concerns at the world economic forum this year from reports, the rise of populism and wealth disparity. of course, mr. trump's tax cuts tend to favor corporations and the more wealthy taxpayers. he did not address those issues, specifically. we heard some people there, after the conference, they wish he would have stepped out and addressed more issues. what more could he have done there? >> he could have talked about the world trade organization. he could have talked about american leadership in the world, which is something i think makes him uncomfortable because leadership involves alliances, involves bringing people along with you. i think some of his rhetoric is

undermined america's standing in the world because america is what it represents, as well as what it is. it represents rule of law, freedom of speech and ideally, decency and openness to the world. there have been times, you know, his middle of the night tweets indicated a kind of different perspective. some of that is political. some of it may not be meant. if you start calling half the world s-countries, they get insulted for some reason and they are less willing to do what you would like them to do. less willing to do what is in their best interest. trump was trying harder in davos to show america means to lead, but also means to lead along with others and that its nationalism is not purely self-interest. >> again, those were the words.

stephen, thank you so much for speaking with us. i want to update you on the breaking news out of afghanistan. we are getting new video of the aftermath of an explosion that killed at least three people. this happened in the capitol city of kabul. more than 70 people were wounded. a taliban spokesperson linked the responsibility for the attack, targeted afghanistan's old interior ministry building. again, these are the first images we are seeing of the aftermath of the attack. we'll continue to update you as we learn more. >> looking bleak there at that scene. floodwaters are putting a damper on the city of light. paris is a wash after days of heavy rain. ivan will have the forecast for us when we come back here. hi, i'm the internet! you know what's difficult? armless bowling. ahhhhhhhh!

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we turn to that murder mystery that gripped canada. toronto police are saying what many people have suspected for weeks, a billionaire couple was targeted in a brutal killing. >> barry sherman was the chairman of the successful generic drug business. he and his wife were well regarded philanthropists. a long police investigation produced no arrests. pawly newton reports. >> reporter: after six weeks of exhaustive investigation, toronto police left the home of honey and barry sherman with no suspects, no motive, but one chilling conclusion, the billionaire couple was murdered. >> we have sufficient evidence to describe it as a double homicide. both honey and barry sherman were, in fact, targeted.

>> reporter: by one or more people determined to see them die in their own home. >> honey and barry sherman were found deceased in the lower level pool area, hanging by belts from a poolside railing in a semiseated position. >> reporter: there were no signs of forced entry. police are talking to neighbors, witnesses, family members, business associates. anyone who knew anything about their lives or last hours. this murder mystery has shaken many not just in this affluent toronto neighborhood, but the area. they were high profile billion nars, barry, a pioneering drug tycoon always willing to take on big far ma and his wife, patron of several charities. together, they gave away tens of millions. they died such a horrific way.

their children launched an independent investigation of their own and said their preliminary findings are consistent with that of police. prime ministers past and present. the murder has shaken the political establishment with many wondering who could have wanted to see them dead and why. >> paula, thank you for the report. now, to france, heavy rains turned the seine river into an inland sea. many parts of the city flooded. >> the water's creeping up more slowly now, but it submerged roads and transit lines and forced people to safety. ivan joins us with more on if it's going to get better or worse. >> better. today, we are cresting and the forecast was worse than what we are dealing with right now. yeah, there is flooding there. we don't like to see that.

it's not going to rival some of the flood events that have occurred in the city of lights. there we are. there's the tower. watch this as we pull back. you are able to see along the banks water where it shouldn't be. a couple years ago, they got rid of motor vehicle traffic there. this is mostly for pedestrians, bicycles. people can't walk around because we have water over the banks here. as far as how much has fallen, this is a result of very heavy rainfall. we go back to december 1st. since then, we have picked up 183 millimeters of rain, that's seven inches. an average year, you get four inches of 101 millimeters. in the last several days, we have very heavy rain. paris, right over the same area here and this has been continued to be a problem. some of the rain has fallen

heavily at times. we have to go to a statue here built in 1856. this is an historical benchmark in paris along the sen. 1810, not going to get anywhere close to that, 28 feet or 8.6 meters. it doesn't look like we will get to the six meters that impacted them in 2016. that was a big deal, a lot of folks had to be evacuated. that has happened in some areas south and east of central paris. more rain on the way, not going to be a problem. it won't add to the volume that's fallen here. a few showers through saturday night. the big moisture is further south in the med triterranean. that is excellent news.

this front coming through, that is a few millimeters of rainfall coming through tonight and another batch through the day on monday. take a look at this. case and point, this is further south along the river. that is where we have had more significant event as you can see there. water getting too close for comfort. we have had some evacuations. it's cresting today. hopefully folks will get back to their homes shortly. >> thank you. coming up here, we'll have a preview of sunday's grammy awards. >> many will be using their fame to bring attention to the me too movement. name is jeff sheldon, and i'm the founder of ugmonk. before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize i've got a hundred orders i have to ship out. shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everything's pretty much done.

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welcome back to newsroom. the grammy awards are being handed out on sunday. they are about honoring the power of music and the people who make it. >> as we have seen in other awards shows, it will be about activism. we have the report. ♪ >> reporter: new york.

the city jay-z paid homage to hosting the grammy's for the first time in 15 years. the rapper leads the pack in nominations. ♪ >> reporter: he's up for eight, including album of the year. kendrick lamar and bruno mars come in third as the most nominated artist. both are slated to per ferm at the show, hosted by james corden. music's biggest night comes at a complicated moment for the entertainment industry, a sexual harassment industry. me too dominated the grammy's. >> there are very strong self-aware female nominations taking the stage, kesha, lady gaga, pink, lourde, miley cyrus.

we are going to see strong, wonderful moments. >> reporter: musicians tend to be more unbuttoned. here, at madison square garden, anything that happen. that probably includes jabs at president trump. >> historically, they are not as politically charged as other apards shows, but given we are a year past the election and the mood in this country is very fired up and very divided, i would be very surprised if no artist spoke about politics at all at the grammys. >> reporter: the topic of race may come up in light of the controversial comments about african countries. either way, they are showing a strong message of diversity. the most seven nominated artists are people of color. "despacito" could make history. it could become the first

spanish language song to win album of the year. >> it's a great song. a sale so good, it made people go a bit nutty. would you go nutty for nutello if it were on sale? >> i think i would. >> a supermarket chain dropped the price by 70%. shoppers came by the hundreds to get their hands on as many jars as they could. >> pushing and shoving to get it. a scene described as riots happened. across france, one store had to call police after fights broke out. there were no arrests made. they apologized to customers saying it was surprised by the demand. can you really be surprised? >> i know, come on. i'd be in there, wouldn't you? thanks for watching. we're coming right back. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell.

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because getting what you need should be simple, fast, and easy. download the xfinity my account app or go online today. another deadly blast strikes kabul killing three and wounding dozens. taliban claiming responsibility. t t t t also -- america first does not mean america alone. >> the u.s. president makes his pitch to the business community in davos. back in washington, d.c., facing headlines about the ongoing mueller investigation into possible russia collusion. and also ahead, the city of light battles arising