michael cohen, lanny davis is coming on the show. he has proof of what he wants people to know about the situation regarding michael cohen, the president, and david pecker, the head of the "national enquirer." new evidence for people to digest themselves tonight. >> 9:00 p.m. eastern, we'll be watching. chris, thank you. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, breaking news, a cnn exclusive. the white house will no longer issue summaries to the public of president trump's phone calls with world leaders. a major break from his predecessor's protocol. this as the president goes full speed ahead for a second one-on-one with vladimir putin. and trump tells supporters, don't believe what you read or hear or see about him. a stunning statement by the president of the united states. what's he talking about? and our special "outfront" series about oil drilling in alaska. the president is going full steam ahead with that. can you believe in climate change and still say "drill,

baby, drill"? let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, breaking news. a cnn exclusive this hour. president trump suspending white house protocol. tonight, he says, no longer going to release summaries of his calls with foreign leaders. it's a major break from long-standing white house protocol. this breaking news from our kaitlan collins coming as russian president putin gives trump what appears to be the runaround. but the kremlin, as they tell you things, right, says it's received trump's highly touted invitation for a second summit in washington, d.c. tonight a russian aide, though, saying putin's not ready. telling reporters, quote, i think it would be wise to let the dust settle and then we can discuss all of these questions in a business night way, but not now. not now? that is hardly an embrace of an invitation to come to the white house. i mean, you know, trump didn't seem to be aware of that, because he's still plowing full steam ahead with his summit. he had his press secretary announce it on twitter, as we know, surprising his own top

intelligence chief. also tweeting that he's, quote, looking forward to the meeting with putin. talking about that they're going to talk about more issues discussed in the last summit, issues so important the president's own secretary of state today suggested the outcome of the helsinki summit is going to go down in history. >> the president has been clear about some of the things we've agreed to. we'll put together a business council, there will be places that will stop practices. there were many things that came from an incredibly important meeting between president trump and president putin, one that i'm, i think the world will have benefited from, when history is writte written. >> what are those many things? well, most of the things we know of from the helsinki summit, let's be frank, have come from russia, because the president wouldn't let anyone else in the room other than his interpreter. military agreements about syria as well as a purported proposal that could give crimea to putin.

possibly eastern ukraine going to a referendum. the lack of details is probably why more and more republicans are telling trump to slow it down. >> what dupg abo-- do you think this idea of bringing putin back for a second summit after the first summit went? >> i don't necessarily think that's a good idea. >> i think the first summit was a terrible mistake. i think a second summit would be equally bad. >> do you think he got played by putin? >> absolutely. no question about it. >> no question about it, played by putin. just to be clear, with that w-- was a republican that you saw and heard saying that. he's not the only one slamming trump for that summit. former republican governor, new jersey governor, christine todd whitman called trump unfit for office after his meeting with putin, saying, we must put aside the gop label as hard as that might be and demonstrate the leadership our country needs by calling on the president to step down. now, that's absurd. the president is not going to step down. but will he step aside from the second summit that putin seems

to be panning? paul ryan today, making it clear that putin is certainly not welcome in the halls of congress. >> are you comfortable with vladimir putin coming to washington to meet with the president? >> we will certainly not be giving him an invitation to do a joint session. that's something we reserve for allies. >> russia is not an ally. just to state the obvious. at least the obvious to pretty much everybody but the president. it's been nearly 17 years since putin last stepped foot in washington, right? this would be a hugely momentous occasion. at the time, it was a three-day summit with then president george w. bush. there are good reasons that he has not been back in 17 years. here's the president's u.n. ambassador. >> we don't trust russia. we don't trust putin. we never will. they're never going to be our friend. that's just a fact. >> she says that, opposite of what her boss says. kaitlan collins is "outfront" live at the white house. kaitlan, this criticism of the president regarding putin, and putin frankly telling -- seeming

to say, hey, i don't know. maybe when i get to it. i'm not jumping at this invitation, could be hitting home. you have some big breaking news from the white house. they're changing how they handle calls with foreign leaders now. >> erin, this is big. the white house is no longer going to publish these public summaries of the readouts of the president's calls with foreign leaders. and that brings to an end a common practice, not only in democratic, but also republican white houses, that has gone on for some time now, essentially to establish the record that the president did speak with a world leader. they don't often have a lot of news, but they do have a public record of who the president spoke with. we've seen this play out in recent days. the white house not announcing calls that the president had with the president of turkey and the prime minister of israel. the press found out about those calls through either the foreign media or those foreign governments. and then the white house confirmed them, but did not offer details on what exactly was said during those calls. now, in the past, they've issued very short smaeummaries of what exactly was said. they've talked about tariffs or

trade or middle east policies. anything like that can be involved in those calls. that's no longer going to happen. instead, these readouts will still happen internally, but they will not any longer issue these things to the press, as they have done in the past. now, former administration officials who have served in previous administrations have expressed some concern about this. number one, saying that it's the white house not being transparent, by not publishing these calls. but two, they also lose their opportunity to shape the narrative of what was said during a call with a foreign leader. you'll recall back in april, as there was all of this discussion about trade with canada and the white house published a very different readout than the canadians did of the president's call with the prime minister, justin trudeau. those things are no longer going to happen. instead, the canadians will be able to publish their readout, but the white house is not going to do the same. now, of course, erin, all of this comes as there are still questions about what was said during the president's sit-down with the russian president, vladimir putin, but now we are learning that the white house is

no longer going to be announcing and publishing these public summaries of president trump's calls with world leaders. >> all right. thank you very much, kaitlan. obviously, a significant development this evening, as team putin says, you know, whatever, when we get around to it for this meeting, that you've invited us to in washington. first in 17 years. "outfront" now, the top democrat in the house judiciary committee, congressman jerry nadler. congressman, i want to get your reaction first to kaitlan's reporting. the white house no longer going to put out its own version, its readout, right, its way of shaping the narrative on these crucial calls with foreign leaders. does it matter? >> yes, it matters. it means the president is not going to take the american people into his confidence and the american people should know less about what's going on, because apparently he doesn't trust the american people or trust the democratic process. so he can make private deals with other countries or what he thinks are private deals and it's no business to the american people. that's anti-democratic and authoritarian. >> well, of course, you know, here's the thing.

when it comes to the summit, as an example, right, putin's been putting out his version bit by bit, saying trump agreed to a referendum in eastern ukraine and crimea and all sorts of things that are completely against u.s. policy. are you going to do anything about this? or it's the president's prerogative to put or not put out these summaries? >> well, i don't know that we can force the president to put out the summary. we can criticize him for it. and we can hold hearings and ask the administration what was done if congress would be willing to confront the president. but under the republican leadership, we're not holding hearings on anything or certainly not anything to confront the president or his administration. whether it's on the child abuse at the borders or whether it's on the fact that the president humiliated himself and the united states at the summit, that the united states -- that he believed putin's assurances over all of our intelligence agencies about the russian's interference in our elections, or the fact that the president is not doing anything to protect

our next elections from an ongoing attack by the russians, congress is supine under the republican leadership. >> obviously, the latest we have, i believe it was from chief rogers was, you know, nothing -- they haven't been given any authority by the president to go ahead and do anything about an attack on the elections. that's the latest statement we have. i mean, the russians today said, about this invitation, that the president has issued, right, they've acknowledged they've gotten it, right. they've invited us to washington. their comment was wing it would be wise to let the dust settle, and then we can discuss all of these questions, but not now? why is putin not jumping at this? >> because he humiliated the president and now he's playing with him. now he's just running a victory lap. it's -- it's insulting to the united states. and how could the president have announced that he was inviting putin to the united states without getting an acceptance behind the scenes first? >> i want to turn to the house

speaker, paul ryan. you know, you obviously saw what he said today about putin, right? he said he's not welcome in our house. because he's not an ally, right? couldn't be more clear about it. he also spoke today about the white house's suggestion, right, not just a suggestion, right, but they said that they are looking into the mechanisms to strip security clearance from former intelligence chiefs, including john brennan and james clapper, right? others that they mentioned already don't have security chiefs. let me play ryan. >> i think he's trolling people, honestly. i think some of these people have already lost their clearances. some people keep their clearances. >> trolling? that's all it is? i'm sorry, congressman, can you still hear me? >> yes, we can now. >> okay, i'm sorry. so what paul ryan said, let me just read you what he said -- >> i heard what he said. >> you heard, okay, he said, i think he's trolling people. it sounded like he was making light of it. do you agree with that analysis?

just trolling? >> no, this is punishing distinguished public servants who devoted their careers to protecting the safety of the american people. it's punishing them for expressing their opinions. it's another attempt to say that we control all the information and we don't want criticism. and i think that is wrong and dangerous. >> i also want to play you what the attorney general said today, jeff sessions. he was speaking to a crowd today. and i want to play for you what happened. this, obviously, is a reference to hillary clinton. here it is. >> lock her up? [ crowd chanting: lock her up ] >> well, so -- i heard that a long time, over the last campaign. >> you obviously know the attorney general, right? a colleague of yours over on the senate side for years. the department of justice, which he of course runs.

and often he does so while the president threatens him with shhis job. was it appropriate? >> it was not appropriate. the audience was a bunch of kids and it was a missed opportunity to educate them and say, that was a partisan chant and the fact is she was charged with nothing. we know a crime was committed during the 2016 election and that crime was committed by the russians in attacking our elections and by various people in the trump campaign, by cooperating with them. and that's under investigation. that's a serious crime. and the next serious crime would be not to do anything to protect our current elections. and look what the house just did. the house republicans just voted to zero out all funds for helping states protect their own election machinery. that is the risk of abetting criminal activity by the rup russians, trying to destroy confidence in our democracy. and this nonsense about "lock

her up" ought to be relegated to a previous year and let's talk about what we ought to be doing to protect our democratic institutions. we have a president who trashes the courts, trashes our police agencies, trashes every institution that might put any limit on his power and that might investigate what happened and might protect us in the future. >> all right. thank you very much, congressman nadler. to me, you know, hearing that was sort of reminiscent of john mccain and that famous moment where he said, "no, no, no, ma'am, no, ma'am." >> that's exactly right. >> a moment where he could at least say, we just don't talk like that. thanks so much. >> thank you. next, breaking news, polls closing in a key state tonight. we are watching a lot of close runoff races. they're all important here. a republican, by the way, comparing the blue wave that he sees coming to a 500-year flood. can democrats actually pull that off? plus, the alleged russian spy about to appear in court. her lawyer is "outfront" tonight. and breaking news, pop star demi lovato hospitalized, an apparent drug overdose. the reason, we're learning more about what happened tonight. [ horn honking ]

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i see what's going on here. everybody's got different taste. well, now verizon lets you mix and match your family unlimited plans so everybody gets the plan they want, without paying for things they don't. jet-setting moms can video-chat from europe. movie-obsessed teens can stream obscure cinema. it's like everyone gets their own flavor of unlimited. (chuckles) it's a metaphor. simile, not a metaphor. hm. well played. (vo) one family. different unlimited plans. starting at $40 per line. switch now and get $300 off our best phones all on the network you deserve. breaking news. polls just closing in georgia. several high-stakes runoffs tonight with big implications for the midterms. trump, himself, weigh in on the governor's race in georgia today, tweeting, "today is the day to vote for brian kemp, will be great for georgia, full endorsement." the republican winner facing democrat stacy abrams, who would be america's black female governor if she won. tonight's polls closing as a top election forecaster is shifting 17 house races away from sure

republican wins. that would be a sea change. larry sabato's crystal ball at the university of virginia center for politics is moving eight house races to toss-up. these were all eight of them lean republican. now in pure toss-up. is there a blue wave coming? i'm using that word, because that's what a republican is calling it today. i want to go now to kyle c condick, managing editor at sabato's crystal ball. he's the one who wrote this piece today. april ryan, american urban radio network's white house correspondent and our mark preston. kyle, you did the research here. we're talking about 17 races shifting, 8 of them specifically going from lean republican to toss-up. what's causing the shift? >> well, i think it's big-picture factors and also individual factors in these districts. so for much of this cycle, we've seen that, you know, the president's approval ratings have been kind of in the low 40s. the house generic ballot, a national poll that asks voters whether they're going to ask for a democrat or a republican in their respective house district. it's been around a lead of

about -- a democratic lead of about 6 to 8 points, which is about in the range where you would think that the democrats would have a decent chance to win the house. we just got the second quarter fund-raising reports from the fec for april through june. dozens of house republicans got out-raised by their democratic challengers. some of those races are among the ones that we moved today. and also, history just suggests that, you know, when a matter takes control of the house, as the republicans did in 2016, there's often a price to be paid more that. and 36 of the 39 midterms since the civil war, the president's party has lost ground in the house. so you put all of that stuff together, and you could start to see how the democrats could net the 23 steets theats they need control of the house. >> so there are a lot of democrats really thrilled to hear you say that. but april, some democrats i've spoken to, the number kyle puts out there, 23, and they go, gosh, we might only get 5. they're terrified they don't have the excitement and

enthusiasm to deliver on what kyle is saying could be possible. do you think democrats can actually pull this off? >> i want to say this, erin. politics is personal. and for this political season, it is about how personal is the politics for you? and if you go to the polls? this is just a moment. a straw holes moment of time. we've still got a little ways to go. and if the elections were to happen today, there's a lot of discontent. and people are revved up to go. but what happens in november for some of those elections in november? you know, and i think about how the gop, it's in favor for the gop, when you have white people who -- white gop members who like to go to the midterms. they are known to go to the midterm elections. also, there are issues of the economy. it's doing well. also, you have gerrymandering. so you have some things that are in favor of the republicans, but then you have democrats who are very upset about this climate. the naacp is talking about vote now because of the atmosphere of hate. you have people who are on the

immigration issue who are very upset. again, going back to the issue, the politics is personal. and how personal is it for you? it denser if you go to the polls and vote. >> so -- that's the crucial question, mark. kyle is going through some of the numbers he's been running, right, for the house. on the senate side, a senior democratic senator told me recently that he thinks democrats can take the senate. he thinks it's going to be 51. possible? >> look, anything's possible in this political environment. i think that is rather ambitious, given where these races are playing out. ten of these races are playing out in states that donald trump won by double digits. let's just take three of those away, such as michigan and a couple of others. and you're looking at incumbents that are in very, very difficult races right now. democratic incumbents, meaning bill nelson down in florida, joe manchin in west virginia, heidi heitkamp in north dakota. >> and he has all of those as wins. >> and they're all different states, mind you.

so trump country isn't just in the middle of the country, erin. >> that's right. >> it's pockets around and that is going to be difficult for senate democrats. >> so kyle, this whole issue of the blue wave, right? that i was referring to republican representative kevin yoder. he's from kansas. he told david drucker of the "washington examiner" about his campaign saying, my assumption is, we could be heading towards a 500-year flood. a democratic wave. now, those are some big -- those are some big words. what do you say, kyle? realistic? >> bewell, look, yoder is an interesting case, because he's one of the 25 republicans that represent a district that hillary clinton won in the last presidential election. you know, in 2010, we had the republicans pick up 63 seats, but part of the reason for that was that the democrats were defending almost 50 seats that john mccain had won in the previous presidential election. soy mentioned that there were just 25 of those so-called crossover seats. so the republicans aren't as exposed in 2018 as the democrats

were in 2010. however, you know, if things break right for the democrats, i think you could see them pick up significantly more than the 23 seats they need. 30, 40, maybe even 45 seats, something like that. and i think that would probably classify from yoder's perspective, as sort of a huge wave. >> it sure would. and i just have to say, when i'm hearing the democrat strategist who was telling me, what if we only get five seats from the 23. and you're saying possibly 45. it's amazing how uncertain the situation is. and as we have this poll closing tonight, mark, in georgia, right? there is this whole side story that's become much more of a stront story than the dae-- fro candidates want. jason spencer, who actually went on an episode of sacha baron cohen's new series. this actually happened, this is actually real. let me play it for you. >> in america, there is one

forbidden war. it is the "n" word. now, i am going to be the terrorist. you have three seconds to attract attention. go! >> [ bleep ]! [ bleep ]! [ bleep ]! >> are you crazy? the "n" word is nuni. not this word. this word is disgusting. >> and then spencer pulled his pants down after being told it would scare terrorists. >> we say in the mossad -- i mean, not in the mossad, if you want to win, you show some skin. >> okay. >> okay, show it to me. now, try to touch me. >> i'll touch you, i'll touch you with my buttocks! i'll touch you! drop the gun or i'll touch you! usa! >> okay! yeah, i see the look on your face, mark. >> usa! how about that? >> yeah, just tag that on at the end. >> the two candidates here, kemp

and kagel in this runoff have condemned everything about this. yet they were forced to talk about it. >> yeah, they were. i mean, look, this is very embarrassing. this is a terrible thing right now for the republican party, because you have one individual who is a republican who is now saying and doing things that cast terrible aspirations upon the republican party as a whole, okay? so that in itself -- i should point out that that state rep is not somebody who was necessarily well liked in georgia amongst his colleagues. somebody who had lost a primary and is going to be out of office in five months anyway. so good chance we won't see him around. but i will say this, though. talk about this georgia race, you know, we'll get a republican nominee tonight, wow! because because you have two candidates right now on the republican side that are running so far to the right, they've talked about -- kemp has talked about driving around the state of georgia in his pickup truck and picking up illegal immigrants and taking them back to mexico. so you have that. and then as you pointed out at the top, stacy abrams, who is this progressive firebrand that

could be the first african-american governor ever elected. it's amazing. >> it's amazing. and the choice is stark, just to be clear, when you talk about kemp driving around in his pickup truck, picking up illegal immigrations. we should say, again, trump came out today with a full-throated endorsement of kemp. april, pretty incredible, though, that you have a video like that, that became something that the republican candidates, where we're going to get the results here momentarily, had to talk about. >> yeah. well, you know, this is -- sacha baron cohen just played tonight climate right now. and for some, this is what they want. this is the political incorrectness that we're seeing from the head. and you know, this candidate felt it was okay. but you know, it comes out of a state of georgia where you have a potential african-american woman to be the new governor of that state -- stacy abrams, turning it purple. we're not in a moment in 2018 where we should be doing that kind of thing. we're going backwards instead of

forwards. >> all right, thank you all so very much. i appreciate it. and next, the alleged russian spy, maria cryptic message to russia after trump's win. and our special "outfront" series. bill we're tonight on the ground in alaska, at a town at the heart of one of trump's most controversial moves. >> there are three topics of conversation most days. polar bears, the weather, and donald trump. are you a fan of president trump? southwest has 69-dollar one-way sale fares

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new tonight, alleged russian spy maria butina about to have her second court hearing. she remains behind bars this evening, held without bail, labelled a flight risk. cnn now reporting that butina had access to high-level u.s. government officials attending meetings with stanley fisher, thaen the vice chairman to have the reserve and nathan sheets, then the undersecretary for international affairs in the obama administration. "outfront" now, maria butina's attorney, bob driscoll. i appreciate your time. so many questions. the u.s. government says your client is a, quote, serious

flight risk. government attorneys say her lease was up at the end of this month. her boxes were packed. they have proof, they say, she was planning to move money outside of the united states. are you saying all of that's false? >> yes. in large part, the government was well aware she was moving to south dakota with her boyfriend, because i informed the government of that at the end of june. and so there was no surprise on the government's part that she was packing her boxes. she did, in fact transfer money to russia to pay her credit card bill, which was with a russian bank. so she is not a flight risk in any way. in fact, she's been receiving media exposure for well over a year. all of these different connections people are bringing up now have been published online for a long time. and she has not fled. she testified before the senate intelligence committee rather than go back to russia. and she stuck around after her apartment was searched in april. so i don't think -- i mean, if she was going to leave, i think she would have left.

and i think the government's argument was a little bit disingenuous, particularly because i let them know exactly where she was moving to at the time she was moving. >> so, look, they also say your client trained as a spy in russia. they say she's sophisticated. look, you're an american lawyer, right? you're an american. are you sure that she's telling you the truth, bob? are you really confident in that? >> well, the government -- i want to clarify, the government has not charged her with being a spy. the government has not brought any espionage charges at all. they've brought a failure to register as a foreign agent case, which is something very different. so she hasn't been involved in any classified information. she hasn't done anything kind of spy-like. and you know, there's been nothing that she has told -- >> well, they can use the words they're using, but they're saying she trained as that. they're saying, so to your point, they're not going that far in the complaint, but that's what they're saying. you're saying you're confident that she's telling the truth. >> there is nothing she has told me that has been proven incorrect thus far. and there are plenty of things

that the government have said that have been either out of context or flat-out false. so she attended -- let's go back to those meetings that i mentioned when i introduced you. the meetings with top u.s. treasury officials. she was there with an official named aleksandr torshin. and i believe you have specified that it was more of a translator role, is how you may have explained it. the court filing that we have, of course, details a conversation that the two had. your client, maria butina and aleksandr torshined that t ed h night that trump won the white house. and they say that butina told the russian official who we believe torshin, i'm going to sleep, it's 3:00 a.m., i'm ready for further orders. the russian agent responds, think about which levels of life we could work towards bringing us closer, isis, understandably. what else we need to look at? the american agenda. that doesn't concern you item what is this about "orders"? what orders was she weigaiting do you know? >> this is one direct message on twitter over several thousand between the two of them.

maria and aleksandr torshin are friends. there's lots of things about dogs, about russia, about families back and forth. there's plenty of things and they occasional talked american politics and talked russian politics. so again, this is an example of cherry-picking. and i think when all of this is put in con contetext, the end o day, the government after surveilling her for 18 months, they can't come up with anything she did. there haven't been any dead drops anywhere, it appears she went to a bunch of cocktail parties and a few nice dinners and that's what the government is calling a conspiracy. but i haven't seen anything that was accomplished of any significance. one person's infiltrate is another person's attend, i guess. >> right. they say she offered people sex in exchange for position, including the boyfriend that you mentioned. but you claim -- and that's something i want to address. i have not seen the evidence for that, and that actually very much upsets me that the government in the course of a

detention hearing is bringing up the sex life of my client. i've been asking the government for any evidence that that's true. and i haven't seen it yet. so maybe we'll -- maybe it will be forthcoming. maybe it won't. but i do not personally believe that the government acted appropriately in bringing up those leakses in open court the other day. >> when you mentioned torshin and butina are friends, i want to just ask you about that. because torshin is of 64. butina is 29. obviously, we can do the math. 35-year age difference. he's a banker with close ties to vladimir putin and the kremlin, former russian senator. he's a former deputy at the central bank of russia. he refers to butina at one point during the filings saying, you have upstaged ana chapman, referring to the russian spy. how do two people like this become friends, bob? are you comfortable with this? a kremlin insider, a central bank guy, senator, putin guy, takes her into a meeting with a vice chair of the federal reserve when she's 26 years old. does this add up to you? >> well, maria founded a gun

rights group in russia and called the right to bear arms. and after she had founded it and it existed for about a year, torshin became interested in that group. and that's how they became friendly. and you know, it's obviously good to have a patron like that if you were in maria's position. so then when she came to the u.s. to do work, to either visit with the nra or eventually become a student. when torshin visited the u.s., she would serve as his translator at the national prayer breakfast. aleksandr torshin does not speak any english at all, so he needs help when he goes around america and has meetings. and so she served as his translator for a few trips, as other translators that served for him before. so, again, i don't think it's really anything to read into it. you know, too much. there's certainly no romantic relationship and they were friendly and that was it. so i think that, again, people are taking this out of context. and i think if you take the russia part out of this, it becomes a lot less exciting. and unfortunately, people are filling in the gaps in their mind with the red sparrow and

other popular cultural things rather than looking at the facts of actually what happened. >> bob, i appreciate your time. i look forward to having you back as this case develops. obviously, high interest and a lot of ties here, as we all know. inauguration prayer breakfast to various members of the trump family and campaign. thanks so much, bob. >> thanks for having me, erin. and next, is president trump in denial about the effect of his trade war? >> what you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening. plus, our special report. a place full of beauty, some say, though, it is in grave danger with the promise of big oil from president trump. ♪

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tonight, the president denying reality when it comes to his tariffs, saying they won't hurt americans? >> the european union. they're a big abuser. but it's all working out. and just remember what you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening. >> okay. if what we are seeing and what we are reading is not what is happening, why is the president planning to spend up to $12 billion to bail out american farmers hurt by those tariffs, right? he's putting real money against something that he says is not real, so that does not add up. and the republican senator, ben sasse, put it this way, this trade war is cutting the legs

out underneath farmers and the white house's plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches. tom foreman is "outfront." tom, the president says, do not believe what you see, do not believe what you read. and yet, of course, the facts are facts. they're putting these subsidies out there for a reason. how are american farmers being hurt here? >> because they're being caught between the warring sides. look, president trump has made it very, very clear. tariffs are the greatest, he says. so when he looks at more than $500 billion worth of chinese goods brought into this country every year, he says, they want to slap tariffs on at least half of them, maybe on all of them, to force china to the bargaining table. but so far, china has responded by saying, they'll put their own tariffs on about $130 billion worth of american imports. it's a lot less, but it's enough to hurt, and that's where this $12 billion comes in for agriculture. specifically what we're talking about here is soybeans. this is the biggest agricultural

expert from the united states to china. about $22 billion worth of soybeans are grown for export every year here. and more than half of them go across the ocean to the chinese market. when those chinese tariffs kick in and they don't sell so well there anymore, when they turn more to argentina and brazil, they could force that to basically stay at home, creating a glut of soybeans here, driving the prices through the basement, and that's where you need the $12 billion, or at least the white house thinks so. because what they would do is then pour that $12 billion into the soybean belt of america. see that green part in the military? that's where most of them are group, helping those farmers, helping those communities, and not incidentally, helping politically, because those are areas that voted overwhelming for the president, who is now pursuing these tariffs, erin? >> and of course, any basic econ 101 would know that pouring subsidies is in at the very least distorts the market, which

is not a very good thing. but i guess we're not supposed to believe what we see, just believe the handout. so are these tariffs good for these farmers? >> take a look at this. back in 2014, the average bushel sold for more than $15 billion -- $15 per bushel of soybeans. now it's down to around $8 per bushel. that's the lowest in ten years. so this idea of a stimulus out here, money being spent to help offset the impact, the white house says it's temporary, but it has to overwhom not only the fear of a trade war, but also this trend. if not, a lot of farmers in trump country could be in a lot of trouble. erin? >> all right, thank you very much, tom foreman. and next, our special report. >> skinny hungry polar bears aren't the only warning sign up here. they're seeing more and more freakish rainstorms in the winter and blizzards in the summer. >> skinny polar bears are a depressing and sad sight and

bill we're wi bill weir will take you to ground zero. and breaking news, music superstar demi lovato has been hospitalized, an apparent drug overdose, front and center for so many americans. we are live with the latest this hour. this ski lodge with my mini horse? because hotels.com lets me do me. sorry, the cold makes him a little horse. hotels.com. you do you and get rewarded. money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,

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only village inside the arctic wildlife refuge, there are three topics of conversation most days. polar bears, the weather, and donald trump. are you a fan of president trump? >> yeah, he does good things. he does bad things. i'm grateful that he got the bill passed. >> reporter: december's tax cut bill also opened the arctic refuge to drilling. and the government is now moving fast to lease 800,000 acres on this pristine coastal plain. this is where the last great caribou haerds give birth. a place brimming with life and beauty, made all the more fragile by a staggering rise in arctic temperature. >> do you believe in climate change? do you think it exists? >> there is a cooling and there is a heating. the ice caps were going to melt, they were going to be gone by now, but now they're setting records. >> reporter: that is the exact opposite of the truth. and this time lapse of nasa satellite data clearly shows how the relentless burning of fossil fuels is melting the arctic at a record pace. including the oldest, thickest

ice here seen in white. that's why they are wandering into town. they need ice to hunt seals, and without it, whale scraps are the next best thing. but skinny, hungry polar bears are not the only warning sign that is the kaktovik airport, and they're moving it away from the coast as the sea level rises. they're seeing storms in the winter and blizzards in the summer, but at the same time all the modern creature comforts in this town from the clinic to the school were paid for with oil money. and with the promise of fresh millions for their native corporation, most of the folks here are eager to tap into the one product that is changing their land forever. >> we use gas and oil. what do we use to go hunt caribou? we use gas and oil. we have this right to develop on our own land.

>> reporter: a so-called scoping meeting with federal officials lays bare just how emotionally divisive this issue has become. >> think about what's going to happen to this land if there is an oil spill and the response that's going to come along with it. >> thank you for that message. may i ask where you are from? >> reporter: that loaded question and the tension in the room shows how much resentment there is for outsiders who want to protect the refuge. and to the anubik here on the coast, those environmental rivals include the gwichen tribe up in the mountains, folks fiercely opposed to drills. >> so they partnered with the oil companies. we told them our position. our culture, our spirituality, our traditional way of life is based on the caribou, and we're not willing to give it up. >> i'd say that they have the moral high ground. they're trying to preserve their culture, and the people that are

for oil are doing it for money. >> reporter: back in kaktovik, robert thompson is the anti-drilling gadfly, a wildlife who carries a revolver in case that skinny polar bear gets grouchy thinking gun is more powerful than dirty harry's gun. >> reporter: really? he pointed out the arctic corporation is worth billions thanks to royalties from other drilling sites. but that wealth does not trickle down, and his neighbors here believe that that tapping the refuge will finally bring the wealth and respect they deserve. >> there are a lot of people in chicago or dallas or iowa who believe this is their land too. it is a national wildlife refuge, like a national park. and they want to keep it pure. >> but they will never set foot here. i don't think it's right for them to be able to tell us what we can and cannot do with our own land. you know, we're the best stewards of our land. >> reporter: that is the kind of local support pro drilling

lawmakers like lisa murkowski love to highlight. the senator is a driving force behind opening anwar, and she insists that wildlife won't be harmed, despite our numerous requests, she refused to be interviewed. and one reason may be that unlike the president, she is one republican who believes in man made climate change, but wants her state to keep drilling regardless. >> if this will happen here, it would just destroy the entire -- the entire place. >> reporter: up in the refuge, photographer florian schultz is one outsider who has spent years here, capturing the magic of this place, and he hopes everyone, including the good folks at kaktovik, will take the long view. >> i'm using resources. i'm driving a car, but i feel we need to think in new ways. we need to think in new technologies and stay with the value of keeping wild landscapes, because once they're gone, they're gone.

>> it's incredible when you think about that this is happening, a lot of americans didn't realize this is already starting. it's happening. >> it's happening. >> and you spent obviously almost a week covering this, doing these pieces, and tomorrow another one. >> another one. we're going to go from black oil up in the north to the yellow kind down in south. take you to the site of one of the last great salmon runs on the planet. million surge through crystal bay up through the streams to spawn in the exact place where they were born. it gives billions of dollars to the fishing and tourism industry. but in a place that many consider too close for comfort, a canadian mining company discovered what may be the biggest copper and gold mine in the world. and they're worried about what it takes to get that buried treasure out could harm the fit. it pits pro-mining republican against pro-fishing republican over which is more valuable, this red gold that swims into our lives every year or the ones

they want to come get for all the devices we need. >> it's an incredible story, and i can't wait to see it, truly. the footage has been stunning as well. thank you so much. incredible reporting and bill will be back with us tomorrow night with that. and next, pop singer demi lovato rushed to the hospital after an i a parent drug overdose. a crisis striking so many americans. now live tonight, we're at the hospital with the latest on her condition. with best in-class towing best in-class payload and best in-class torque the f-150 lineup has the capability to get big things to big places --bigtime. and things just got bigger. f-150 is now motor trend's 2018 truck of the year. this is the new 2018 ford f-150. it doesn't just raise the bar, pal. it is the bar.

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get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call or go online today. breaking news. singer demi lovato rushed to the hospital, suffering an apparent drug overdose, according to a source close to the family, part of the drug crisis we are seeing across the united states that so many americans are facing tonight. let's go straight to miguel marquez in los angeles. miguel, what do you know? >> reporter: a source close to her family telling "people" magazine that she is in stable condition at the moment. it was about 11:22 in the

morning, just before lunchtime that police and fire responded to demi lovato's hollywood hills home. she was brought to a local hospital where she is now, and everything that we understand is that she is doing all right. this is certainly a young woman who has had a very tough time. six months ago, she announced that she had -- was celebrating her six years of sobriety, and then a few weeks ago, she released an album or the song called "sober" indicating she had had trouble and had a relapse into drugs and alcohol. this is somebody who has spoken very broadly and openly about her use of cocaine, alcohol, mental health issues, and eating disorders in the past, and now it seems that she is struggling once again. in that song "sober," some of the lyrics to it were interesting to note. one of them is "i am sorry that i am here again.

i promise that i'll get help." and a lot of fans tonight hoping she gets that help and she is okay. erin? >> thank you very much, miguel. and of course that promise one is physiologically impossible for people to make across this country grapple with the drug crisis. thank you so much to miguel and thanks to all of you for joining us. anderson starts next. good evening. today on russia, it was a whole new president trump. he called out the kremlin for election interference. he said it plainly, without any hedging at all, except his version of russian interference doesn't exactly square with reality. i'm very concerned, he tweeted, that russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming election. so if he left his tweet right there, you might think well finally, finally he is actually expressing concern about russia attacking our democracy again. if you left it right there you might think the president is finally unambiguously saying that multiple intelligence agencies have been saying, that russia remains interested in attacking the upcoming election