dirty. do you really? i don't. i don't like having to tiptoe around adult words. >> some of them are [ bleep ] and [ bleep ]. we need these. let the better people not use them. families divided long ago by the korean war are moments away from getting off these buses and reuniting with their relatives. the u.s. president in damage control mode after a white house official is said to have become a key witness in the robert mueller russia investigation. and dramatic rescue efforts under way in india for premium stranded by unprecedented monsoon rain. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm george howell. >> and i'm rosemary church. good to have you with us. this is "cnn newsroom."

any moment now emotional reunions are expected to take place in north korea. dozens of families separated by the korean war will be reunited with relatives they have not seen in decades. >> and keep in mind these are very brief reunions lasting only three days. but with each precious hour it could be the last chance for these koreans, many of them over 80 or 90 years old, to see their loved ones. let's go live to seoul, south korea. our paula hancocks is following this story. paula, this day and more specifically the next hour will be very important for these lucky few to see their relatives. >> reporter: that's right, george. if they are on schedule at this point, then the families will be sitting down at this moment with family members, as you said, they have not seen for decades. they are in north korea.

they drove up early this morning. 89 families from south korea. and they will spend the next three days with family members that many of them they say they don't know if they will recognize. they in some cases haven't even met them before if they're meeting nieces and nephews. it will really be an incredible emotional time for these families. it's a fairly organized choreographed event. there are certain hours of each day they will be able to silt down with their loved ones and catch up on 65, almost 70 years of what has happened to them. it really is a very emotional time for them. there are many of these participants clearly are very elderly. the vast majority are over the page of 80. more than 20% are in their 90s. so they really feel that this is a last chance to connect with loved ones, many of them torn apart for the families during the korean war back in the 1950s. and we spoke to one lady who

described how excited she was to be going but also? disappointment she had. these participants are considered the lucky ones. just 89 families going. 57,000 people and families had applied to be part of this first round of reunions. so it just shows what a tiny fraction of the amount of people that would like to be reunited with their families can actually make that happen. now, the red cross here in south korea, we spoke to the head of the red cross. he's pushing for more reunions.

he's pushing for more numbers to be included in each reunion, knowing just how old some of these people are and how desperate it is that they would like to see their loved ones before passing on. and certainly that is a sentiment that we have heard from people who have not been picked for this round of reunions as well. a bitter disappointment but still hoping they could be part of a reunion in the future. >> and keeping the context there, thousands who applied, but again we're seeing this lucky as you mentioned select few who will get that opportunity. watching the time here, presumably in the next hour, as you also point out, if indeed things remain on time. paula hancocks in seoul, south korea. we'll stay in touch with you as surely the world will be looking to see these families get that precious moment together. back in the united states cnn has larned donald trump's long-time personal lawyer could face criminal charges soon. >> a source says federal prosecutors are preparing to charge michael cohen by month's

end. according to the source, the charges stem from $20 million in loans cohen obtained for his family's business. >> now, these been under investigation for bank fraud, tax fraud, and campaign finance violations relating to hush money paid to women with whom donald trump allegedly had affairs. >> president trump and his personal attorney rudy giuliani are working to manage potential fallout, this after "the new york times" report about white house attorney don mcgahn being interviewed in the mueller investigation. >> as ryan nobles reports, what they don't know could mean trouble for donald trump. >> reporter: the president and his legal team spent a lot of time over the weekend trying to convince the american people these conversations or this series of conversations that don mcgahn had with the special counsel was actually good for their legal defense as it relates to the russia probe. listen to the president's chief legal spokesman rudy giuliani discuss this particular topic. >> we have a good sense

obviously of what mr. mcgahn testified to. i can figure it out. >> how do you say that good sense? have you debriefed him? >> no. but mr. dowd has a good sense of it. he talked to him at the time. >> so you don't know what mr. mcgahn -- you don't know 100% of what he testified to to mr. mueller? >> i think that through john dowd we have a pretty good sense of it and john dowd yesterday said, i'll use his words rather than mine, that mcgahn was a strong witness for the president. so i don't need to know much more about that. >> now, even though mayor giuliani contends that they have a good handle on exactly what don mcgahn said to the special counsel, there's another "new york times" report that says exactly the opposite, that the white house and the president's legal team was not prepared for the voluminous amount of information he could have begin to the special counsel and he's not been debriefed outside of a short list of notes that was

provided by don mcgahn's personal attorney to the effect of exactly what he talked about. and that could be the problem for the white house. mcgahn and his legal team have said repeatedly that they've been honest, and there are few people who know as much about exactly what the president's been up to over the past year and a half as it relates to the russia probe than don mcgahn. so the big question is what did the special counsel learn and how could that impact their investigation? that's an answer we may not have for several weeks to come. ryan nobles, cnn, berkeley heights, new jersey. >> and we are joined now by freddie gray, deputy editor of "the spectator." good to have you with us. >> good morning. >> so let's start with this news, that president trump and his legal team don't know what don mcgahn revealed to robert mueller in some 30 hours of testimo testimony, yet this is what the president tweeted. "the failing new york times wrote a fake piece today implying that because white house counsel don mcgahn was giving hours of testimony to the special counsel he must be a

john dean type rat. by allowed him and all others to testify. i didn't have to. i have nothing to hide." so despite not knowing what mcgahn told mueller the president and his personal lawyer rudy giuliani, their standing in this position, they're insisting that mcgahn is a strong witness for the president. how is that possible and why wouldn't they know what he said? >> i think you're seeing probably underneath a lot of the hot air from trump and his twitter feed you're seeing a lot of frustration at the early strategy they adopted to cooperate with the mueller inquiry and to cooperate fully. and now that they have changed strategy particularly under rudy giuliani to say the mueller investigation is a witch hunt against them and needs to be wrapped up as quickly as possible you're seeing a frustration with their early mistake, as it were, in talking as fully and openly as possible

to robert mueller and his inquiry. >> and let's just listen to what rudy giuliani said to nbc's chuck todd on "meet the press" sunday about the possibility of president trump being questioned by mueller. >> i'm not going to be rushed into having him testify so that he gets trapped into perjury. and when you tell me you that know, he should testify because he's going to tell the truth and he shouldn't worry, well, that's so silly because it's somebody's version of the truth, not the truth. he didn't have a -- >> truth is truth. i don't mean to go like -- >> no, it isn't truth. truth isn't truth. the president of the united states says i didn't -- >> truth isn't truth? mr. mayor, do you realize what -- >> no, no. >> this is going to become a bad meme. >> don't do this to me. >> okay. so giuliani, concerned about the president getting trapped into perjury, todd says truth is truth. giuliani replies saying "truth isn't truth." what did you make of that exchange and are giuliani's

concerns valid here about perjury? >> well, i have to say my heart slowly goes out to giuliani because he does always put his foot in it in these interviews. but at the same time if you listen closely it does sound like an orwellian doublethink lie. but i actually think he was saying, you know, as far as we're concerned truth is relative because we're saying one thing, you're saying another thing, what are you going to believe? and actually if you sort of unpick it it's not that sinister a sentence. i think we shouldn't get carried away and say oh, now the trump administration is saying there's no such thing as truth. he's saying that in this inquiry truth is a bit relative because we both come from a very different set of facts. and i think that's indisputable, actually. >> all right. freddy gray, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> not at all. a ceasefire could be getting under way in afghanistan. the government has offered the taliban a truth for eid al adha. it's not clear if the militants will accept but they say they

will release hundreds of prisoners for the muslim holiday. for the very latest cnn's ivan watson following the story live in hong kong at this hour. ivan, it is by no means the first ceasefire we've seen, but given the taliban haven't officially agreed is there any indication that this could lead to measurable progress? >> reporter: well, it's certainly a proposal from the afghan president, the likes of which we have not really seen before. and it is most likely going to be welcomed in a war-weary country that has seen record numbers of civilian casualties this year compared to the past decade. basically, ashraf ghani issuing a statement. you can look at some tweets here. "we announce a ceasefire that would take effect from tomorrow, monday, the day of arafa, till the day of the birth of the prophet, provided that the taliban reciprocate." that would be roughly november 20th. it would be a three-month ceasefire. but again, provided the taliban reciprocate. he went on to write, "we call on

the leadership of the taliban to welcome the wishes of afghans for long-lasting and real peace and we urge them to get ready for peace talks based on islamic values and principles." now, the nato secretary-general has welcomed this proposal. the pakistani foreign ministry has welcomed this, as has the u.s. secretary of state, who you know, in a written statement, george, went on to write, "we remain ready to fill state, support, and participate in direct negotiations between the afghan government and the taliban." so we're definitely seeing some signals here. so of course what is the taliban saying? well, they issued their own statement on sunday ahead of the eid al-adha holiday. it was roughly at the same time that the ceasefire proposal was coming out. we can't really call that i response to the afghan government proposal. but in its statement the taliban was trumpeting, celebrating what it said were its victories on

the battlefield against the afghan security forces, which are of course backed by the u.s., and went on to say, "since the ongoing war in afghanistan is the birth child of american occupation, therefore we have and continue into sift on direct talks with america to bring it to an end," not really talking about speaking, negotiating directly with the afghan government. there have been reports that taliban representatives met with u.s. diplomats in doha as recently as last month. but we don't know specifically -- we're waiting for a response to the ceasefire proposal. one final thought, george, is that the taliban have also proposed releasing hundreds of prisoners today in honor of the eid al-adha holiday. that seems to be a goodwill gesture. george. >> ivan watson following the story live in hong kong. ivan, thank you.

there is grim resignation among the people of idlib in syria. it is the last rebel-held enclave in the country, and the government offensive to retake the area appears imminent. >> and here's the thing. there are nearly 3 million people there, and as our arwa damon reports, for many of them there's simply nowhere else to go. >> reporter: there used to be an ice cream shop on the corner, kids playing in the street, a sense that the violence would not strike here, at least not like this. it's five days after multiple air strikes hit this once quiet neighborhood in idlib province, killing dozens of people, shattering whatever illusion of safety that may have existed. for seven years now syria's unraveling has been documented. "what's the point in all your

filming," ibrahim wants to know. "for there is no humanity in this, in the world's muted response to syria's heartless destruction." only one of ibrahim's five children survived. it's just memories now. the family next door displaced from elsewhere were all killed, seven of them. also killed was a media activist, ahmed. ahmed was just 20 years old, a nurse and first responder by training, a role he played in his native aleppo before the family was forcibly displaced to idlib as the regime took over. when he saw that the responders weren't there, he threw his camera aside and went to save a little girl, ahmed's father mahmoud tells us. but another strike came, in killing them both.

>> allahu akbar. >> reporter: his parents seem stoic together, proud but in pain. but later as his mother shows us ahmed's clothes she breaks down. in the room next door his father shows us his photos. tears he can't cry in front of his wife. they did everything together. a father-son team documenting their nation's pain. now directly a part of it. the sluggish pace of life as we drive through idlib province seems to belie the looming violence. it's the last remaining main rebel stronghold. turkey, russia, and iran have been negotiating to ostensibly come to some sort of agreement, to prevent a total massacre here by the syrian regime and its russian backers. turkey has military observation

posts in the province and has called an assault on idlib a red line. its border has been closed and instead a senior turkish official says his government is pouring millions of dollars into swirling refugee camps. he was just saying he remembers when there were just a few tents here and the rest of it was just the olive groves, and now you take a look and it just has such an aura of permanence to it all. the rolling hills a stone's throw from the turkish brorder is have been transformed into a sea of lost souls from daraya, homs, and elsewhere. idlib's population has doubled as more syrians arrived. as other areas of the country fell back into government control the regime relocated residents and rebel fighters. for those here normal and home have been irreversibly redefined.

"we can't go back, ever," mustapha al haddadi says. he doesn't trust the assad regime. and with nowhere left to go many feel take just waiting for their death sentence to be carried out. arwa damon, cnn, idlib province. well, crews are now trying to help the last people stranded in the worst floods southwest india has seen in nearly a century. and with historic devastation comes a challenge of recovery. plus this. >> i believe there is a disease in the united states and that is the addiction to sanctions. >> cnn's exclusive interview with iran's foreign minister. why he says sanctions won't get the u.s. what it wants. around the world and in the u.s. you're watching "newsroom." this is not a bed. it's a revolution in sleep. the new sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now, from $899, during sleep number's 'biggest sale of the year'. it senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable.

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welcome back, everyone. well, flood waters are slowly receding in the indian state of karala but the threat is far from over. >> many remain trapped in the worst floods there in nearly a century. more than 800,000 people are staying in shelters and officials fear there could be an outbreak of disease. >> our alexandra field is

following this story from hong kong. she joins me now live. so alexandra, what's the latest on efforts to rescue the thousands of people still trapped in these floods? >> rosemary, this is a state that's been absolutely devastated by these monsoon rains, the flash flood waters, and also landslides. but officials are sounding a note of optimism, saying that they hope to wrap up the rescue operations today. there have been some harrowing operations. they've had to do it by boat and by air. that's because so many of the roads are simply impossible. you've seen these national emergency rescue crews navigating as best they can through the water to try and find people who are still stranded on their rooftops or trapped inside of flooded buildings. similarly, you've seen the indian air force lifting people from those rooftops, using helicopters, trying to raise people up into them. harrowing images of children being pulled from some of these homes. so many are injured, so many traumatized. they're trying to get them to hospitals. at the same time you've got some 800,000 people who have been

forced into shelters. countless others who replain displaced unable to access their homes or having houses that have suffered serious damage. rosemary, the indian prime minister narendra modi has surveyed the area. indian officials estimate that we are looking at about $3 billion worth of damage. they've released some $70 million worth of money for resources that are urgently needed for survivors. that is of course food, water, medicine, in some cases oxygen and even fuel. along with so many who are injured the dead, those killed from the flooding, is now in the hundreds. that's the official estimate at this point. rosemary? >> many thanks to our alexandra field, joining us there from hong kong with that update. appreciate it. >> and rosemary, looking at the images there, the situation in kerala, obviously people still trapped, and as long as they're waiting the possibility of disease gets worse and worse. >> that is a real fear for a lot of those people. let's turn to our meteorologist pedram javaheri. he joins us from the

international weather center with all the details. and of course we talked about these flood waters receding slowly, but of course the danger far from over. >> yeah. absolutely. we've had some better news at least. our guys across this region in the past 24 or so hours. we've seen improving conditions in the weather world. but of course the way the volume of water moves downstream it will take several weeks, sometimes several months before conditions really improve dramatically for folks across this region. take a look. just since the 1st of june until the last 24 or so hours this region has received upwards of 1,600 millimeters of rainfall, which is about 60 inches. 90 inches is what has come down. that's the average versus what has come down across this region. 42% above average. right there in the state of kerala, 33 or so million people call that area home. when you pick up excess water, 40% above normal in the wet season. satellite images essentially show what you have now become islands across some of these communities where hundreds of thousands of people have been

displaced, unfortunately, across this region. we know the forecast, again, improving. notice the state of kerrala now in the green. that is where we have no warnings in place. that has been almost unheard of so far since the beginning of june. the weather shifts a little farther toward the north. so at least giving folks across this region a little best a break. the indian meet logical department saying we expect no heavy rainfall across this region for at least the next five days. again, a forecast we have not seen for weeks across this region as the rain really begins to left to the north. so certainly some good news there. we're also watching what's happening across portions of north america. showers, some strong storms across parts of the great lakes region. if you're tuning in from this region, we're watching some disruptions certainly that are going begin to build toward the afternoon hours across the area. but the big news across parts of north america is the hint of autumn in the forecast. over the next couple of days we'll get some cooler temperatures that will begin to shift in. that will bring the temps back down into the 60s in a few spots. the 70s widespread across parts of the midwest as well.

leave you with what's happening down toward the florida keys. pretty cool and spectacular shots too coming in from areas around the key west region, in the florida keys there, where we've had water spouts, multiple water spouts reported. there's a shot of one them across this region. did you know, rosemary and george, that that particular region between marathon and key west in south florida is water spot -- spout alley in the world. it's about 500 water spouts per year across that region. no other place on earth sees that many water spouts. pretty cool. >> did not know that, pedram. that's pretty cool. >> good to see that so close to the coastline. many thanks, appreciate it. >> thank you so much. still ahead, a cnn exclusive interview. iran's foreign minister discusses sanctions and the potential for a deal with the u.s. president trump. what the top diplomat says would have to happen first. that story ahead. plus venezuelans are tacked near the border with brazil as countries in south america feel

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times with their loved ones. the muslim holiday eid al adha. the deal follows an uptick in attacks claimed by both the taliban and isis. the taliban haven't formally agreed to the truce but they say they will release hundreds of prisoners to mark the holiday. pakistan says it welcomes kabul's announcement. a source told cnn the white house did not get a full accounting of what don mcgahn told special counsel robert mueller. mcgahn, the white house counsel, special with the special counsel for some 30 years in three sessions as part of the investigation into russian election interference. iran's top diplomat is speaking out to cnn as his country struggles with a new wave of u.s. sanctions. >> mohammad javad zarif is criticizing the u.s. for leaving the landmark deal and says the u.s. is addicted to sanctions.

here's what he told nick paton-walsh in this xlufts interview. >> would you see any merit in president rouhani and president trump having a one-on-one meeting and seeing what progress they could possibly make? >> not when the previous huge progress that had been made is simply thrown out. >> do you come back to that deal again? because they've torn it up. you've got two or six years -- >> it's the litmus test. the litmus test of whether we can trust the united states or not. it was not an easy political decision for the iranian government and for me personally and for president rouhani to sit down with the secretary of state. >> you took a bit of a personal hit then, didn't you? >> well, that's what diplomats are tor are for. part of our salary is to get personal hits. i believe there is a disease in the united states, and that is the addiction to sanctions.

>> if you felt the u.s. was addicted to sanctions why did you go ahead with the deal? >> that may have been one of the mistakes. but the problem was that we felt that the united states had learned that at least as far as iran is concerned sanctions do produce economic hardship but do not produce the political outcomes that they intended them to produce. and i thought that the americans had learned that lesson. unfortunately, i was wrong. >> so here we go in the opposite direction. you talk about revisiting that nuclear deal but it is clear donald trump has no interest -- >> we do not want to revisit that nuclear deal. we want the united states to implement that nuclear deal. today the closest u.s. allies are resisting those sanctions. the u.s. basically arm twisting its attempt to put pressure. i don't want to use the term bullying. >> you don't want to use the term bullying.

but that's -- >> but that's what it amounts to. >> are they succumbing to, it do you think, the european allies? >> i think everybody looks at it that way. >> is november going to snurt just for clarity here, you're going to have another wave of u.s. sanctions against the oil industry. is that going to take a toll? >> the u.s. sanctions have always hurt. what is hurting, though, is people who want to buy medicine. people who want to buy food. the economic upheaval you that see right now in iran is because of the measures that needed to be taken to be prepared for those days. so we are prepared for the worst case scenario. >> could you ever get a deal with donald trump? >> well, it depends on president trump, whether he wants to make us believe that he's a reliable partner. now, if we spend time with him and he signs another agreement, how long would it last? until the end of his

administration? until he departs from the place where he put his signature on the agreement? >> nick paton-walsh with that exclusive interview with the iranian foreign minister. we will talk to nick next hour about that. the u.s. has refused to forgive billions of dollars in fines to secure the release of a u.s. pastor in turkey. that is according to the "wall street journal," citing a senior administration official. it says turkey offered to free this man, andrew brunson, if the u.s. forgave huge fines on a turkish bank. brunson has been held by turkish authorities since 2016 over his alleged role in a failed coup. the trump administration has threatened more sanctions if he is not freed. in the nation of venezuela there is anguish and a great deal of uncertainty. new economic reforms by the president nicolas maduro could backfire. >> many venezuelans are afraid it could soon get even harder to

find and afford food and other basic necessities. meanwhile, venezuelan refugees are facing more backlash as they try to flee to other latin american cultures. our rafael romo explains. >> reporter: the constant stream of refugees out of venezuela is putting a lot of pressure on neighboring countries. let's take, for example, the border town of pacaraima in brazil, where a mob attacked the group of venezuelan immigrants over the weekend. they also destroyed a camp where the immigrants were staying, setting their belongings on fire. this attack prompted a group of about 1,200 venezuelan refugees to rush back into their own country. last week two other countries in the region announced restrictive measures affecting venezuelan nationals. ecuadorian officials said venezuelan migrants will have to show their passport and not just an i.d. card before being allowed to enter its territory. although we noticed the new rule wasn't being enforced and immigrants were still crossing into ecuador.

peru announced friday it will do the same. some immigrants said they were taken by surprise by the new measures as they were traveling in colombia on their way toque dorr and peru. >> translator: we were already on our way here when they started asking us to show our passports because they were no longer going to show the n.d. and i.d. card. that's why we were so worried. many of us may spend the night here waiting for an answer. >> reporter: meanwhile, venezuelans at home are arbitrating for the outcome of new economic measures announced friday by president nicolas maduro that are supposed to go into effect monday. first of all, the president decreed a 60-fold increase on the minimum wage. employers don't know if they will have enough money to employ ayees. maduro says the government will provide assistance for 90 days. also the government is reducing five zeros from the venezuelan currency dropping its value by more than 90%. many merchants closed their doors over the weekend unable to understand how to change prices to reflect the new currency while shop yipers rush to

supermarkets and gas station that's remained open. according to the international monetary fund venezuela's inflation may hit 1 million percent by the end of the year. rafael romo, cnn, atlanta. >> rafael, thank you. monday marks an economic milestone for greece. that nation is emerging from three bailouts after a nearly nine-year debt crisis and painful austerity measures. public debt is still the highest in the euro zone there. but the economy has started to grow. unemployment is coming down. and tourism there. tourism is strong. well, europe is shifting its view of one of its longest-running allies, the united states. >> and some fear that president trump and his brand of populism is changing europe itself. that story ahead.

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john bren is not backing down. he's defending his criticisms of president trump and suggests the two sides could square off in court. mr. trump's attorney rudy giuliani still maintains the president made the right move. listen. >> bren made the extraordinary charge that the president was treasonous and then just said to you, and i commend you for your questioning, that he has no information the president is guilty of conspiracy. i mean, that is just conjecture, that this man accuses people of a crime that could carry death as the result. totally -- >> it's a highly charged word. >> unhinged character who shouldn't have a security clearance. >> meanwhile, retired admiral william mcraven says he would consider it an honor if president trump revoked his clearance. and former director of the nsa and cia michael hayden told our jake tapper he agrees with the admiral. >> retired admiral william mcraven, who oversaw the raid in which bin laden was killed, he

wrote this in the "washington post" this week. this is also stunning. "i would consider it an honor," he's writing to president trump, "if you would revoke my security clearance as well so i can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency. through your actions you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage, and worst of all divided us as a nation." would you be similarly honored to have president trump revoke your security clearance? >> well, to be included in that group, sure. and frankly, if his not revoking my clearance gave the impression that i somehow moved my commentary in a direction more acceptable to the white house, i would find that very disappointing and frankly unacceptable. >> mr. trump has also threatened to revoke security clearances for other former government officials who have criticized him including susan rice, james comey, and andrew mccabe. among others. and it's no secret that the relationship between the u.s. president and european leaders is on some unprecedented

terrain. >> that's right. and in europe struggling to adjust as a long-time ally, its leader cozying up to the russian president vladimir putin. cnn's melissa bell has this report for us. >> reporter: the story of a bromance that then soured. emmanuel macron had tried with donald trump a different approach to other european leaders. but the imposition of trade tariffs seems to have put an end to any hope of finding much common ground. >> maybe at the beginning there was this feeling that he was simply a strange man. but now it's different. and to some extent there is a new trump. now there is a more radical trump. and people in europe are realizing this is very serious. >> reporter: the g7 seemed to embody that shift. a realization that the transtlablth alliance, both the productive a shared history and a symbol of shared values, was

really being tested. >> translator: i think we have to deal with it because the united states of america is an important partner for us. they do not always have policies we can agree on. the history of the trans-atlantic relations show us a great deal of conflict. but it is very much worth it to solve these conflicts. >> reporter: one thing europe seemed unprepared for was helsinki. its press pored over the american president's arapprochement to russia and deference to vladimir putin partly because of its implications for a europe increasingly divided between those often on the far right who also want to get closer to moscow and the older more traditional european guard that seems now to have digested the shift in what had seemed such a steadfast trans-atlantic alliance. >> it will recover but it will never be the same thing. and there is a loss of innocence. probably on both sides. because one should be under no

illusion, trump is not completely isolated. he reflects very deef occurrence. >> reporter: ks apparent now in the euro zone's third largest economy. last mott italian prime minister was in washington for the first time since an election that steve bannon, president trump's former adviser, went to italy to observe before moving on to france where he spoke at the far right's annual conference. steve bannon's visit in the spring really seemed to fire up the populace here. with donald trump no longer seen merely as i apragmatist who's going to put america first but rather as the representative of a populist and nativist ideol y ideology, the spread of which has been watched with growing alarm here on the continent. melissa bell, cnn, paris. still ahead, much of the political conversation on twitter is toxic. >> coming up, we will hear from the ceo about the challenges in stopping hate speech. back in a moment. (vo) combine the right things.

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no doubt the u.s. is politically divided. and social media often floods the field with false information and hate speech. >> and now tech companies are looking for ways to stop it.

brian stelter spoke with twitter's ceo about how he's facing the challenge. >> hey there. yes. twitter ceo jack dorsey is talking about being more open, being more transparent, and trying to explain twitter's policies to the public. that's one of the reasons yes says he sat down with me for this interview. he also wanted to acknowledge some mistakes in the past? regrets in twitter's past. and he says now he's willing to rethink pretty much everything about the platform, even the fundamentals like the follower count and the like button. it's obviously a moment of reckoning for silicon valley for all these big tech companies that are under increasing public pressure to figure out how to stamp out misinformation and hate speech, harassment and trolling while at the same time providing a platform and a public square for the entire world. here's part of what dorsey told me about recognizing the pressure big tech is under and the fear that many members of the public feel about his

company. >> there's a lot of emphasis today on politics twitter and politics twitter tends to be pretty divisive and it tends to be pretty contentious, and you see a lot of outrage and you see a lot of -- a lot of unhealthy debate that you probably want to walk away from. if you go to other twitters like nba twitter or k-pop twitter you see the complete opposite. you see a lot of empowering conversation. you see a lot of aspects that want to keep you in the conversation and have you engage in the conversation. so we do have a lot of focus right now on some of the negative things given the current environment, and i believe it's important to see those. i believe it's important to see the dark areas of society so that we can acknowledge and we can address them, and i think the only way to address them is through conversation, but it is hard, especially when it feels toxic and you want to walk away

from it. >> dorsey is under pressure from multiple directions. there's been a controversy recently about the far right hatemonger alex jones and whether his twitter accounts should be suspended or deleted. right now jones is in a one-week time out. twitter has been criticized for not explaining those policies clearly. at the same time people like president trump are criticizing the site for allegedly discriminating against conservative points of view. dorsey denied that allegation, said the company does not make decisions based on ideology or viewpoint but instead on behavior. if a user is engaging in harassing behavior, then the account might be suspended or blocked. these are all really complicated questions for ceos, not just of twitter but of facebook and google and other companies as well. what we see are a handful of men in silicon valley trying to figure out what the rules of the digital age are going to be and making some mistakes along the way. what i found from dorsey is that he was asking the right questions, addressing the right

problems, but not yet able to provide all of the solutions, all of the answers. that's something that perhaps he'll provide in the weeks, months, and years to come. brian stelter, cnn, new york. well, u.s. audiences have fallen in love with the glitz and glamour of singapore. >> we've been dating for over a year now, and i think it's about time people met my beautiful girlfriend. >> what about us taking an adventure east? >> like queens? >> singapore. colin's wedding. don't you want to meet my family? >> the romantic comedy "crazy rich asians" clinched the top spot at the box office in the opening weekend here. >> now, the movie made $34 million over five days, beating expectations. it is the first major studio film in 25 years with a mostly asian cast. one media analyst says it's proof that diversity can be good business for hollywood. i want to check out that movie. >> i absolutely do. thank you for being with us for this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. >> and i'm rosemary church.

we'll be right back with another hour of news from all around the world. do stick around. you wouldn't accept an incomplete job from any one else. why accept it from an allergy pill? flonase relieves sneezing, itchy, watery eyes and a runny nose, plus nasal congestion, which most pills don't. it's more complete allergy relief. flonase.

the u.s. president rails against the mueller investigation. after reports about white house counsel don mcgahn's extensive cooperation with the probe. and families finally coming together after decades apart. some lucky ones on the korean peninsula get to reunite with their loved ones. plus this. there is a disease in the united states and that is the addiction to sanctions. >> it is a cnn exclusive. iran's foreign minister talks with our nick paton-walsh about the impact of u.s. sanctions and iran's response to the pressures. >> hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, including here in the united states. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm george howell. from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. "newsroom" starts right now.