the spirit of the country that will be lost. the decision is ours. ♪ the u.s. president's new threat, donald trump warning he may shut down the entire southern border if he doesn't get the walled th that he wants. the british home secretary declares the fast growing number of migrants crossing the english clanlele lle a lle channel as incident. and we'll take an in-depth look at the special counsel at the department of justice. we are live in atlanta and we welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. the "cnn newsroom" starts now.

at 4:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast, we start with the latest lines on the partial u.s. government shutdown, it is now into week one. and for some 800,000 federal workers, unpaid or furloughed, it is starting to hurt. the u.s. president is digging in, he is demanding his money for his border wall. even threatening to close the southern border with mexico if he doesn't get what he wants. abby phillip picks up the reporting from here. >> reporter: as the the government shutdown entered its 7th day, the blame game is in full force. the white house blaming nancy pelosi for the shutdown. and while president trump remained largely out of sight, he did issue a series of tweets on twitter and threats at the democrats aiming to up the pressure to end the shutdown. in a bid to gain the upper hand in the negotiations, spr presid

trump is insisting that he will close the southern border until he gets his wall and cut off aid to countries he says have been taking advantage of the u.s. for years. the president also resurrecting talk of a new migrant caravan forming in the honduras tweeting word is that new caravan is forming and they are doing nothing when it, though there is no evidence that one is heading for the u.s./mexico border. trump hoping to energize his base. >> they got a lot of rough people. >> reporter: but after the election, mentions of the caravan nearly disappeared and as recently as this week the president said the problem had been solved. >> the military built some effective walls for me over the last four weeks on the southern border. and we've held them -- we had caravans of people coming up and we stopped them. we stopped them cold. >> reporter: the president's

threat to pull foreign aid also apparently contradicting his own administration's policy. just last week the state department says that the u.s. would continue its strategy of aiding central american countries lithrough $5.8 billio. and meantime as the tone ratchets up, ratcheting down his biggest campaign promise, turning build the wall -- >> ttsz nit is not a fence, it wall. >> reporter: -- into build the fence. >> the president is not willing to give up on the southern barrier. keep in mind steel slat fence that he sent the picture out, that is the ideal border barrier. it is what acbp wants, it is what everybody says will do the job best. so we're not giving up on that. >> reporter: white house aides taking their lead from the president who has been eager to rebrand his wall.

>> it won't be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they would like to call it. i'll call it whatever they want. >> reporter: all of this as the white house seeks to drive a wedge between house democrats. and nancy pelosi's position is at risk now. >> the white house and i met with leader schumer last saturday, and my gut was that he was really interested in doing a deal, in coming to some sort of compromise, but the more rear he we're hearing, it is nancy pelosi who is preventing that. >> reporter: but a new crisis is unfo unfolding. two migrant children thousand dying in the custody of border officials. kyrgiirstejen nielsen traveling the border friday. the visit coming as cnn mass learned an 8-year-old guatemalan boy who died on christmas eve had contracted the flu.

white house press secretary sarah sanders said president trump made phone calls from the office friday and he also canceled his plans to travel to florida where the rest of his family has spent the christmas holiday. that means that for federal workers, this shutdown is likely to last a lot longer. abby phillip, cnn, the white house. a lot to put into context this day. to do that, we bring in inderjeet parmar. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> the facts first. let's start this conversation with the president's own words because it is important to remember what he said when the phrase government shutdown was only a possibility. let's listen. >> if we don't get what we want one way through the other, whether through, through military, whatever you want to call, i'll shut down the government. and il i'll -- >> we disagree.

>> i'm proud to shut down the government. i'll take the mantle. i won't blame you for it. the last time you shut it down, if didn't work. >> and now the president threatening to shut down the southern are border and to cut off some funding if he doesn't get his way and blaming democrats for it, focusing in on nancy pelosi as the reason for this impasse. does this new immediate use ya blitz we' -- media blitz that we're seeing, does it make any difference here to democrats who are dug in? >> well, i think you put your finger right on it there, i think that there is two sides which are dug in. each side really is at the heart of this is a human problem. and the human problem is what you youtd lioutlined in your pa. there are two children who died in custody, there are 16,000

beds holding children and there are people suffering from not being paid during this government shutdown. at the same time, this is being abstracted into a party political football. and neither side really looks like they want to compromise at this particular point. and each one is basically saying, well, we're going to dig in, we're going to try to retain our mass political base as far as we possibly can until we see some damage coming to it. and i think that is what president trump is doing. and president trump hardly ever forgets what he wants which is really val galvanizing his base. he did that in iraq with his soldiers as well. so each side is basically protecting its base. at the heart of it is a human problem and that is continuing. and if he closes down the border, which he can only do if there is a national security

threat, and there really isn't any grounds for that, the impact of that would be very great economically. $2 billion of trade crosses the border on a daily basis. and that would threaten a lot of workers and companies in several states on the border of u.s. and mexico. >> as far as how long this could take, here is one republican's assessment on it. let's listen. >> only a part of 25% and because we keep seeing people losing their lives without one, you do it -- >> how long, january, february? >> until hell freezes over. because we owe to our country. >> very strong words there from represent louie gohmert in that clip down playing the shutdown as only affecting 25% of government. and the president also recently tweeting without any evidence,

important to say that, that the shutdown is mainly affecting democrats he says with republicans seemingly unsympathetic about this thing dragging on, also democrats digging in on their side, what do you make of this bet for no additional funding or no deal? >> well, it is a war of words. they are trying of abstract it from the human problem. people are not getting paid. government workers are having to return christmas presents in order to pay their rent and other bills. they are getting letters from the office of personnel management about how to deal with their mortgage lenders whose repayments they can't now make adequately. and i think each side is playing a big game. the "washington post" had an opinion piece yesterday which said this has nothing to do with principle, this is about base polarization and protect of political bases. and both parties are playing that same game. and it really is going to damage

somebody. and i suspect that it will damage president trump in the longer run much more deeply. but he doesn't appear to care too much as long as his base remains intact. and unfortunately, that could all go very badly even for his own quite dedicated voters. if you look at the other impact going on, the tariff war with china and with mexico and with canada, the impact on agricultural sector in that society, all of that is impacting a lot on republican voters. he doesn't seem to be caring much about that, they seem to be happy with him to an september because of the other things about identity politics. but i wonder how long that may continue. and i think this government shutdown will bring to a finer point as it wears on as well. especially as the house becomes dominated by democrats after the third of january. >> people are starting to feel this, people as you point out, concerned about when their next paychecks will be coming, unsure

when that will happen. it is a lot. are inderjeet parmar, thank you again for your time. >> thank you. and we are following of course the deaths of these two migrant children. a senior trump official now touring the southern u.s.-mexico border, the most recent death, an 8-year-old guatemalan boy who died unexpected. chr kirstjen nielsen went to texas to see for herself how u.s. border agents are conducting medical screenings of migrants. nick valencia as has this report. >> reporter: the details when the visit were very limited, but what we know is that she visited a variety of border patrol stations here in el paso and she will do the same saturdyuma. she was focusing on medical screenings which were a part of the protection measures that she announced after the death of

gomez to try to keep another child from dying. the screenings will focus on children that are in u.s. custody, specifically those 10 years and younger. and her visit happened while migrants continue to be dropped off here at the greyhound station here in el paso. we have heard declarations that catch and release is over, but that is not what we're witnessing. it was earlier today we saw a group of no less than 20 migrants with five to six children included in that group, one of them just a baby, being held in their mother's arms. and what is deeply frustrating to the charities and volunteers is that they try to coordinate with a i.c.e. we saw rlier th iearlier this w program director from a church, he said he tried to reach out to i.c.e. to tell them that he had the manpower and resources to help as many migrants as he needed to, but everyone then i.c.e. dumped off migrants here with no plan, no resources.

>> we were ready. we had staff all ready to take in refugees on christmas eve, and next thing we know, we are watching them drop them off in streets. >> reporter: and the 8-year-old who died in custody, according to the office of the medical examiner in new mexico who conducted lung and nasal swab bes, he tested positive for influenza b. the official cause of death will come after further evaluation and perhaps up to 12 weeks before the official autopsy is released. nick valencia, cnn, el paso. migration also making headlines in the united kingdom. more than 200 migrants have tried to cross the english channel to reach the uk since the start of november. at least 75 of those just in the past few days alone. now, britain's home secretary calls it a, quote, major incident. let's put it into perspective

with samuel burke on the story. and this being called a major incident. what exactly are authorities saying? because it is easy to see how this could play into sensitivity around politics and brexit in that country. >> reporter: the uk officials are saying there has been a significant uptick in just the past few days of syrians, iraqis and especially iranians crossing the stretch of water which is one of the busiest shipping strips in the entire world. the uk authorities are saying this would be like somebody running across a freeway during rush hour on foot. now, why is this happening right now specifically? they say that there are con flew ensz of factors. number one, smugglers may be saying because it is christmas time, there are less border patrol officials is what they are seeming. also because there has been increased security around trains and other types of transportation between france and the uk, it has become much more expensive to use those methods. so they are resorting to small

boats. but also it could be because of brexit. smugglers taking advantage telling these migrants that this could be their last chance to come and seek asylum in the united kingdom. >> and you touched on this a bit, but can you tell us a bit more about what we know about these people? what happens to them when they cross and also tell us more about why they are taking these risks. >> reporter: when they get close to shore a lot of times it is british officials who actually bring them on shore. they are given a medical assessment and then they are handed over to immigration officials. you might assume that this would be majority syrian and iraqi, but actually a boat that came just yesterday, two different boats rather, 11 of the 12 people were iranian. so i want to put up some numbers to give perspective on this. if you look back to 2017, the number of iranians seeking asylum in uk was 2500. 1,000 were granted.

so because of the political and economic situation in iran, you are seeing an uptick in those numbers as people come here. before brexit of course, there is no official saying that the treatment of these immigrants would be any different after brexit, but the smugglers take advantage wherever they can. >> samuel burke live for us in london. thank you. still ahead here on "newsroom," the u.s. plans to pull its troops from syria just as turkey sends its troops into syria. and now russia and turkey are discussing what to do next. cnn following the story live from moscow ahead. plus this -- >> i have two mortgages to pay, so i haven't even looked at how my checking account is going to balance out. >> it is starting to hurt. the government employees suddenly laid off were compelled to work without pay. people caught in the middle of a political tug of war between the white house and congress. the showdown over the shutdown

over the border wall. we'll talk about it. stay with us.

the showdown over the shutdown

political tug of war between the welcome back to "cnn newsroom."

i'm george howell language side ivside -- alongside ivan cabrera. some really bad weather to talk about along the coastline. a lot of rain, wet and nasty. >> and it will make for some incredible records. it is beginning to improve, because a look what the has been happening in tennessee. we lost someone there in the floodwaters as a result of some torrential downpours here. we've been tracking it and the rainfall tallies have been incredible here. in fact now surpassing a foot across portions of northeast parishes of louisiana into mississippi and alabama. and the bull's-eye there for the heaviest of the rain. but because of all the rain that has fallen, we still have a flood warning from hattiesburg west of monroeville, that is the result of again 11 to 12 inches of rainfall. and when you see the stripes there, that is rivers, streams and creeks that continue to overflow their banks. some are under major flood stage

here. so that will take a while for that water to get out of the gulf. but here is the last of the rain. some rainfall across the western panhandle of florida and continuing across the carolinas. but the bulk of the weather has finally pushed to the east where on the northern side of this, we have been seeing the precipitation in the form of snowfall in chicago. so here is the forecast radar as we head through today. improving conditions, but notice this little flow of moisture across the southeast, that will continue to give us at least the tail end not so great weekend, it will be wet, but the problem is close your eyes if you like new year's eve outside, because watch the clock here, by the time we get into monday, that moisture i showed you, that is not just moisture, it will be another storm system that will be tracking east and wouldn't you have it, right at midnight, we'll have rainfall in new york. so we'll be dealing with that as we check in on the additional rainfall that we have over the

next several days. so again, this area saturated and the potential for some flooding. and if you will be watching anderson and andy, they may be getting wet in new york right at midnight. >> all right. a wet start to the year. ivan, thank you. taking place in moscow this day, russian officials set to hear turkey's plans for its forces in syria given that the united states is now backing out. the turkish foreign and defense ministers are in moscow discussing how they plan to fight terrorists in syria, but no doubt that will lead to a discussion of exactly who terrorists are. in moscow matthew chance is following the story. matthew, as turkey and russia coalesce around a plan with the u.s. now out, what happens to the kurdish militia, a group turkey calls terrorists? >> reporter: yeah, the ypg. it is a good question.

and the answer to that is just now starting to emerge. they have been left in a difficult position with the withdrawal of u.s. forces from syria where they have been working alongside the united states and control much territory up there. and it seems that they are inviting back in the assad army, the military of the syrian government, to take over positions around the strategic town of manvich that has been held by the kurdish militia for some time now. and they face a very stark choice. they will either do a deal with the assad government or face the threat of a turkish invasion which is something that they probably would not be able to withstand. and so in the interests of their own survival it seems, the kurds who have been essentially abandoned by the united states by this decision to withdraw

from northeast syria have decided to throw their lot in with the syrian government. of course that is great news for the russians who back syria, great news for their allies iran as well. and both those countries have welcomed that decision by the kurds and the recent announcement by the syrian government that they have started to reoccupy areas around that strategic town. >> and this is also an important point of context, but given the fact that the turks are headed to moscow for these talks, the united states again not really a factor, not really a player in this anymore. what does it say about moscow's just establishing itself as a real force in this equation? >> reporter: well, you're right, the united states have taken themselves out of the mix by this decision by president trump to withdraw from syria. and of course the fact that turkey which of course controls the second biggest army in nato

is now beating a path to the door of the kremlin basically to ask permission of the kremlin of what they can and can't do in that part of northeastern syria that underlines just how powerful moscow has building. it is the pre-imminent military force in syria now. it controls the air space to its air force and anti-aircraft missile systems, which are deployed in great force on the ground in syria. and basically this is something that this withdraw of trump of american forces have emphasized how you powerful russia has become. >> it is interesting. you point out that nato aspect as well of turkey. matthew chance, live for us in moscow. thank you for the reporting. 800,000 government workers suddenly without paychecks in the u.s. all because the u.s. president wants money for this border wall that he said mexico would pay for.

plus, the russia investigation in the u.s. consumed headlines this year. we'll tell you about the man leading that charge from his time in school to his time leading the fbi. so we improved everything. we used 50% fewer ingredients added one handed pumps and beat the top safety standards the new johnson's® choose gentle

♪ there's no place likargh!e ♪ i'm trying... ♪

yippiekiyay. ♪ mom. ♪ from coast to coast in the united states, good morning to you and to our viewers around the world. you're watching cnn news room oig live fr live from atlanta. i'm george howell. the headlines this hour, donald trump threatening to close the southern border with mexico. this if he doesn't get the $5 billion that he wants to fund a barricade between the u.s. and mexico. democrats insist the wall won't happen.

t impasse has led to a partial shutdown of the u.s. government, now entering into its second week. following the deaths of two migrant children while in u.s. custody, the head of the u.s. department of homeland security is back on the u.s.-mexico border. kirstjen nielsen says she wants to see for herself how migrants are given medical screenings. she spent friday in el paso, texas and will be in yuma, arizona on saturday. britain's home secretary calls the rising number of migrants crossing the english channel to get to the uk a, quote, major incident. more than 200 have tried to cross since the start of november. the immigration minister will meet with border force officials in the coming hours. in sudan, protests over fuel shortages and increased food prices have entered a tenth day. security forces somewhere triha break up some demonstrations. at least 19 people have died, 406 others have been wounded so far.

returning to our top story this day, a partial u.s. government shutdown is now in its second week and no solution in sight at this point. some 800,000 federal workers filled with dread about the immediate future not sure when they will be paid next. our ryan nobles has this report. >> reporter: with president trump unable to secure funding for his border wall -- >> i can tell you it is not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they would like to call it. if you don't have that, then we're just not opening. >> reporter: the government shutdown will like continue into the new year. affecting an estimated 25 respect about of the federal workforce. 380,000 employees are furloughed and another 420,000 are still working without pay, including the tsa, smithsonian museums and nags

zoo will close january 2. >> these federal workers want the wall. >> reporter: the president says that the workers support the shutdown, but families we spoke to are worrying about when they may see their next paycheck and they are fed up. >> i have two mortgages to pay, so i haven't even looked at how my checking account is going to balance out. i don't even have children. for people who have kids in school, extracurricular activities, putting food on the plate, those are all things that make it even more disgusting what is happening with the federal government right north. >> reporter: loreen is a physical scientist with the eps. she like other epa employees received in e-mail referring employees to the office of personnel management for additional guidance. the opm thursday tweeting suggestions for workers to send to creditors, landlords and banks if they can't make their payment on time like trading maintenance work like painting and carpentry for rent payments. >> that is absolutely unrealistic. federal workers are going to be

penalized for not paying their bills on time when we just want to go back to work and do the jobs we were hired to do. >> reporter: thursday the president tweeting without evidence that most federal employees are democrats. but workers say their politics shouldn't even matter. >> we are civil servants. we are hired to do our work at the epa, workers are hired to protect human health and the environment. if he wants to imagine that we are democrats instead of us being human beings and civil servants, that is his problem and i hope congress is able to be the adult in the room. >> reporter: ryan nobles, cnn, new york. days before they officially lose control of the house of representatives, republicans wrapped up their review of how the fbi handled two key investigations, specifically they are looking at the justice department's handling of hillary clinton's e-mail scandal and the beginning stages of the russia probe. republicans say investigators went easy on hillary clinton and hard on donald trump. their report says that their aim was to improve trust in robert

mueller's current russia probe. the russia investigation has coupled u.s. politics since may of 2017. is that wh that is when robert mueller was hired. and so far four people have been sent to prison. one person convicted at trial, seven have pleaded guilty and 36 people or entities have been charged. but as more information comes to light, robert mueller is also under the microscope. cnn's gloria borger has this. >> reporter: special counsel robert mueller is a mystery man. perhaps the most private public figure in washington. but as the leader of the russia investigation, he and his team have become a political pinatta after squeezing deals from

former advisers. >> there should have never been any mueller investigation because there was nothing done wrong, there was no collusion. >> reporter: it has been a frame job since says one of his lawyers. >> they are arer they are a groy partisan democrats that make up the mueller team excluding him trying very, very hard to frame him. >> reporter: an angry president fired his attorney general and hired someone more to his liking. and now delights in calling mueller a conflicted prosecutor gone rogue. ♪ it is hard to remember that at the start -- >> i think he is the right guy at the right time. >> reporter: -- mueller was a bipartisan favorite. >> he would have been on anybody's list of let's say the top five people in the country to have taken on this kind of a responsibility. >> reporter: the resume is long. at 74, he has been involved for

decades in some of the justice department's most celebrated cases. mobster john gotti, dictator noriega. and the pan am 103 bombing in lockerbie scotland in 1988. a case that still remains person ale. >> i'll never forget it the visit i practice to lockerbie where i saw the smallpersonale. >> i'll never forget it the visit i practice to lockerbie where i saw the small wooden warehouse that stored your loved one's items. >> he has been effectively the same bob mueller in every place he's ever worked, whether the u.s. attorney's office in san francisco in the 1970s, whether that was the george h.w. bush administration in the 1980s, whether that was the d.c. homicide prosecutor's office in the 90s or the fbi in the 2000s.

he is hard driving, he is t tenacious and thorough and has a strong sense of right or wrong. >> reporter: a rengistered republican, but it is hard to tell. >> i didn't matter him say anything political. >> really? >> i know that sounds weird. he might have said that guy is a jerk. i didn't see it as a partisan issue. >> how would you describe his politics? >> not. >> as in there are none? >> he is apolitical. he is nonpartisan. he is a pretty law and order guy. but he doesn't speak of things in political terms. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. >> reporter: which is partly why president bush picked him to run the fbi in 2001. >> the fbi must remain independent of politics. and uncompromising in its mission. >> reporter: mueller arrived at

the fbi just seven days bush. and when president obama asked him to stay for two more years, it required an congress. the senate approved 100-0. his m.o.? a by the books guy even after hours. >> people told me after the christmas party, wow, we're going to the director's house, a guy who never really interacts with us, that at the end of the party, that he would flick the lights. it is 7:00 to 9:00, it is 9:303 lights on, it has to be a signal. >> reporter: that wasn't much small talk about family at work. a literally buttoned up and buttoned down boss. >> i remember telling him you wear a white buttoned down every day. i asked him finally years after he had been director, what was the deal with the white shirts when you were at the fbi.

he said understood i was leading through a wrenching period of change.said understood i was le through a wrenching period of change. i wanted to whar tear the whitet because i wanted the agents to know that this is still the agency they signed up to join. >> he was in the office between 6:00 and 6:30 every morning and he would always plop his briefcase done on the chair opposite my desk, not sit down and kibbitz or shoot the breeze. immediately what's going on. >> reporter: would you assume that he is managing the special counsel investigation the same way. >> oerks heh, heck yes. it is not a professional choice. that is his dna. what have you got, what have you got. i don't want to hear noise, i want to hear the facts. let's talk about it, what is your judgment.

okay. next. here is our decision, let's move on. i never saw insecurity or nervousness. >> never? >> never. >> reporter: mueller grew up in the wealthy philadelphia suburbs and attended an elite boarding school. a classmate of john kerry, then to princeton. but the combat death of a college friend in vietnam inspired mueller to join the marines. >> he was wounded in combat, shot through the leg, received a bronze star with valor, purple heart and was right back in the fight a couple weeks later. >> in some sense you feel that you have been given a second lease on life and you want to make the most of to contribute in some way. >> reporter: after graduating the university of virginia law school, mueller soon found his way to the department of justice and remained there for most of the next four decades. >> my colleagues here at the department -- >> reporter: two short breaks to give private practice a try.

>> bob mueller has been notoriously unhappy every time he has tried to be in private practice. he just can't defend guilty people. he will meet with a client, they will explain the problem, and he will say it sounds like you should go to jail then. you know, that -- >> so he will tell his client -- >> sounds like you're guilty. bob mueller is someone who sees the world in very black and white terms. >> and more on special counsel robert mueller ahead. hisser to with former fbi director james comey and the confrontation that occurred in a washington hospital. part two of gloria borger's report just made. gentle means everything,

so we improved everything. we used 50% fewer ingredients added one handed pumps and beat the top safety standards the new johnson's® choose gentle

♪ oh, there's no place likargh!e ♪ this one's a pretty big tree... ahh! i'm trying... [ glass shattering ] ♪ yippiekiyay.

[ laughter ] ♪ mom. ♪ we're back now with more on special counse robert mueller. it is no secret that the u.s. president isn't a fan of mueller nor is he a fan of the former fbi director james comey whom he fired.

geor gloria borger explains mueller and comey's relationship, it goes back several years. >> reporter: by 2004, mueller was running the fbi when his phone rang, it was james comey, the first time mueller and comey would find themselves in a very controversial legal drama. >> i was very upset, i was angry. >> reporter: comey was worried the bush administration was determined to keep a warrantless eavesdropping program that mueller, comey and their boss, attorney general john ashcroft, thought was illegal. but ashcroft was in the hospital recovering from surgery leaving comey in charge. >> i was concerned that given how ill i knew the attorney general was, that there might be an effort to ask him to overrule me when he was in no condition to do that. called director mueller. who had been a great help to me over that week and told him what was happening. i said i'll meet you at the

hospital right now. >> reporter: they had to literally race administration officials to ashcroft's bedside. >> director mueller instructed the agents present not to allow me to be removed from the room under any circumstances. >> reporter: in the end, ashcroft backed comey and mueller. >> he enlisted bob mueller because he knew that bob mueller had this incredible nonpartisan reputation in washington. >> reporter: that was then. now trump compares mueller to joe mccarthy and a trump ally warns there is trouble ahead. >> i think the report is going to be devastating to the president. >> reporter: after months of haggling, team trump has provided written answers to mueller's questions on collusion and is convinced trump's problems will be more political than legal. >> eventually the decision here is going to be impeach/not impeach. members of congress are going to be informed a lot by their

statist constituents. so the jury is the american people. >> reporter: and now that jury awaits mueller who is already letting his work speak for itself. as his office wrote to the court recently, senior government leaders should be held to the highest standards. >> bob mueller believes in an american institution. so i think he wants to set the institutions up to make the best decisions that they can. >> reporter: lately we've been getting a xwlim himseglimpse ins world through the court filings, but there is a lot to be learned. gloria borger, cnn, washington. >> an interesting year ahead. we have a sad update to share with you now on a toddler from yemen who was in the u.s. for medical treatment. this 2-year-old boy has died. this according to the council of american islamic relations. his yemen ai mother was granted

u.s. visa to say good-bye to her son. her husband who is an american citizen brought his son to california for twreemt freatmen g genetic brain condition. the funeral service set to take place saturday. we'll be right back. are you a christian author with

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you're watching "cnn newsroom." united kingdom is honoring four british divers for their role in a rescue that captivated the entire board, helping to save the youth football team trapped in a cave in thailand. richard and john are receiving the second highest civilian award for gallantry. they were the first to reach the boys and their coach. two other divers are also getting awards. you see the boys there in that cave. following the death of the former u.s. president george h.w. bush, a surprise came to light. it was revealed that he had a secret pen pal.

kaylee hartung has this report for you. >> reporter: even in death the legacy of former president george h.w. bush lives on through the lives they touched in america and abroad. compassion international, a global nonprofit organization that uses local churches to help children in poor communities released letters shared between the former president and a young filipino boy named timothy. i want to be your near pen pal, i'm an old man, but i love kids and though we have not met, i love you already. and so began a decade long friendship between timothy and the former president. dear mr. and mrs. walker. how are you? i hope you are in good condition. i would like to thank you for not for getting me. you're so nice and good. god is so good to us. bush wrote his letters under the alias of george walker to protect his identity because the secret service was concerned for timothy's safety if it were revealed that he was in friends and in contact with the former president.

the former president of compassion international served as an intermediary between the two pen pals and he says that although former president bush used an alias, he became worried when the former president september this letter with a picture of his dog. and he says that the letters were some of the most sweet and spirited he's read from any sponsor. but bush's habit of revealing hints of who he could be made the job of keeping the form every presideer president's identity harder. timothy, vuf heard of thave you the white house? i got to go to the white house at christmastime. and he included be sure to say your prayers, i do every day. this birthday present will show you the time all around the world. timothy never caught on to the hints about bush's identity and only found out the real identity after he graduated from the program. when he did find out, stafford says that he was surprised to have he been pen pals with someone who had been the president of a nation.

although compassion international and timothy have since lost contact, the bond he shared with the former president is not got be. kaylee hartung, cnn. the countdown is on around the world to new year's eve. and in the case in new york's times square, many people preparing for the big party there. workers are putting the finishing touches on that giant ball that drops at midnight tuesday here in the united states on the east coast. marking the start of 2019. this year as every year, dozens of the waterford crystals wer s replaced with new handmade triangles. more than 1 million people are expected in times square and more than a billion people around the world will be watching the festivities from new york. we're getting close to the new year. thank you for spending this day with us. i'm george howell in atlanta. let's do it again, more news right after the break.

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mom. ♪ digging in on his demand for a border wall. foors the president with another threat. this time shutdown the entire border. plus their next steps without the u.s. involved. cnn following the story live in moscow. also ahead we look at the top stories in pictures. we are live from cnn world headquarterers in atlanta and we welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world.