women's shelters. >> good boy! >> so that women fleeing an abusive relationship don't have to choose between leaving and leaving their pets behind. we've had clients from 21 states. they're driving thousands of miles. that tells you the need and that tells you the power of the relationship between a woman and the pet. when you watch the woman come through the doors and then they see their pet. >> i missed you! >> and everything is right in the world for a while. >> and to learn more about stacy's life-saving work or to nominate your own hero, go to cnn heroes right now. thanks for watching, everyone. our coverage continues. the u.s. president ramps up his border dispute with mexico, threatening now, to impose tariffs, if mexico doesn't stop the flow of illegal immigration on the border. plus, search operations

resume after a boat sinking in budapest, hungary. 21 people still missing. also ahead, the last abortion clinic in missouri. we'll know in the next 24 hours if it will be allowed to continue operations or if it will be shut down for good. the casualty of america's long-running battle on abortion. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm george howell. the "cnn newsroom" starts now. 3:01 on the u.s. east coast. president trump's anger over illegal immigration is taking a form of a new threat, tariffs, used as a weapon against mexico. in a series of tweets, president trump said he would impose a 5% tariff starting june 10th, unless mexico stops illegal

immigrants from entering the united states. and that will increase until the problem is solved. but mexico's president is telling president trump, i don't want confrontation. he says he is sending some government representatives to washington friday, hoping to reach an agreement that both countries will be happy with. all this comes as u.s. customs and border patrol apprehended the largest group of migrants it has encountered. more than 900 were families that crossed over. whether you call it venting or a tirade, president trump had a lot to say thursday. a lot of it, filled with falsehoods. jim acosta has this. >> reporter: one day after robert mueller left the door open to the possibility that the president has engaged in criminal activity, the president

fired back. >> i think mueller is a true never trumper. he is somebody that doesn't like donald trump. he was appointed. and despite that, and despite $40 million, 18 trump haters, including people who work for hillary clinton and some of the worst human beings on earth, they got nothing. it's pretty amazing. >> reporter: but much of what the president said wasn't true. for starters, the latest cost of the mueller report and russia investigation is $25 million, not $40 million. and as for the president's claim, that mueller was conflicted, steve bannon told investigators the search was ridiculous. and the president said that mueller wanted the position of fbi director. but that's not true, either, according to people around him. the president appeared to make a

startling admission. russia, russia, russia. russia has disappeared because i had nothing to do with russia helping me get elected. but the president tried to clean up that part about russia helping him get elected. >> russia did not get me elected. i got me elected. russia, if anything, i think, helped the other side. >> reporter: here's the reality. a 2017 u.s. intelligence community report stated, we assessed putin and the russian government had a clear preference for president-elect trump. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. i think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. >> reporter: the president appeared sickened by the idea of being impeached. >> it's a dirty word, the word

impeach. it's a dirty, filthy, disgusting word and had nothing to do with me. >> reporter: even as democrats are using the "i" word more and more. >> i think we should open up an impeachment inquiry. that's a more direct name to the oversight we were already involved in. >> reporter: the president claims he has nothing to do with the efforts made to hide "the uss john mccain" when he was in japan. >> i don't know what happened. i was angry with john mccain because he killed health care. i was not a fan of john mccain in any way, shape or form. >> reporter: former vice president joe biden said his legacy should be honored. >> john mccain was a war hero anything less than that is beneath someone that doesn't treat him that way. he is a hero. >> a lot to talk about.

let's bring in cnn's senior political analyst, ron bro brownstein. good to have you with us. >> thanks, george. >> let's talk about the tariffs, starting june 10th and increasing each month, if that nation doesn't, as he said in a tweet, stop, immigrants crossing the border from mexico illegally. as far as the nation is concerned, what would it mean for the united states? what would it mean for mexico? >> we've seen the mexican government, to a striking extent, really, try to avoid conflict with trump, even though it is a left-leaning government. it will be interesting to see how they react to this. mexico and -- mexico and the u.s. are important trading partners of each other. i believe mexico is the second-largest source of cars manufactured in the u.s., after the u.s. itself. the largest foreign source. it's become an important

destination for u.s. exports. this will be a lot of pressure on both countries. all this comes at a time when 2018 signaled that the southwestern states in the u.s., arizona, colorado, nevada, new mexico and even to some extent texas, really are the emerging frontier of the competition between the parties. and republicans are at risk of losing their traditional advantage in many of those states. particularly arizona. this is going to put more pressure on the elected officials from the states because it's already unpopular. you saw the arizona chamber of commerce issue a statement today. what will martha mcsally, the republican senator, say about it. what will john cornyn and cory gardner in colorado say about it? >> is it legal?

it is not clear that the president has the legal authority to impose tariffs at this scale. and we know white house lawyers are talking to lawmakers to get them comfortable with this approach. is this something that could get tied up in legal challenges even before that june 10th date arrives? >> i saw chuck grassley, the chairman of the senate finance committee, question the legality of it. we'll see. this is an area where congress can make a clear statement against this. that would require republicans to do something they almost have never done, which is to vote against the president. if he does go ahead with this, as he does with everything else, we would likely see it go to court. i'm not enough of an expert in the trade laws to tell you, whether this will be able to be sustained in court. but it was striking that grassley tonight, was out there right away, questioning whether the president really had the

authority to do this. >> this comes on the heels of the u.s. and canada. this replaces nafta. what impact does this have on the u.s. mca, whether it gets ratified? >> that's striking about all this. on the same day the president submitted a language to congress that is designed to set the clock in motion to force the house to vote on his revised, updated nafta, after the speaker nancy pelosi signaled clearly that democrats want more time to consider it. this does kind of make a mockery of the whole idea of a free trade agreement between the three countries. when you say you are going to use tariffs as a way of putting pressure on mexico, for an issue that is unrelated to trade, the

obvious question, is this is going to put anxiety on the supporters of free trade and the mexican government, who has gone out of the way to avoid conflict with trump. >> we saw the president do something today that he's not done before. president trump admitting on twitter that russia helped him get elected and attempting to walk it back not even an hour after that. this is the first time we've ever seen him do so. >> it was remarkable. it gave the suggest that it was a tweet sent in rage more than anything. robert mueller, if anything, he has signaled he wants to be a noncombatant from here on out. it is a piece, when the president feels like he is under threat, he attacks the --

whatever source. he attacks the legitimacy to whatever he perceives to be the threat. today, he tweeted before he thought and acknowledged what the mueller report made abundantly clear and what mueller repeated in his statement yesterday. that russia's interference was not just to sew discord in the u.s., it was to benefit one candidate, donald trump, and hurt another, hillary clinton. >> and the president stepped up his attacks on robert mueller. listen. >> i think he's conflicted. and he loves comey. you look at the relationship that those two -- whether it's love or a deep like. he should -- he was conflicted. robert mueller should have never been chosen. i think he is a total, conflicted person. i think mueller is a true never-trumper. >> ron, you'll remember, there was a time when president trump,

his staff, his surrogates, all praised robert mueller and his team and his report. now, mr. trump suggesting that mueller was conflicted in his work. how does that stand in your view? or does it come across as if this president is conflicted on mueller? >> i mean, it is -- i think this is the preempted attempt of discrediting mueller now. what the president anticipates will be public testimony, however reluctant from the former special counsel. and what can you say about this? the president reverses himself and runs back over his tracks. there's a reason why his approval rating among the public is running roughly 35 points below the share of people saying the economy is good or excellent. that's an unimaginable number for anyone who has been around politics overtime. it is this sense among a

significant portion of voters that question his temperament, in the language he uses and the sentiments he expresses. and every time he does something like this, aimed at providing talking points for sean hannity and the fox radio hosts, he's n incentivizing the goal of stirring up his base. it's the core political trade of his presidency. he does it every day in a different way. this is an example of that. >> ron brownstein, we appreciate your time and perspective today. thank you. >> thank you. now, to the issue of abortion in the united states. it is legal in this country. but several conservative states are adopting bills that restrict women's access to safe abortion. louisiana, the latest to pass a near total ban. on thursday, that state's governor signed a bill outlawing

abortion six weeks into pregnancy, before many women would know they are pregnant. the state of georgia, facing blowback from big companies. they may stop making movies and tv shows in this state if the abortion law takes effect. and a court battle in missouri, to keep the last functioning abortion clinic functioning in that state. the clinic operator tells cnn, they are being held hostage by political regulators. >> in the state of missouri, we've had targeted regulations of abortion providers and the rules put in place for decades that have continually regulated abortion to the point that, while the law of the land, as you pointed out in your intro, shows abortion is legal in the country, it is totally different from state-to-state and region-to-region. and in the state of missouri,

abortion has been legal but not accessible for so many women. and that's true in parts of the united states. i talked to women about the things they talk to me about when they seek an abortion. the things that i'm forced to talk to them about because the state health department requirements. in addition to invasive pelvic exams that aren't necessary. and i tell them, i'm sorry you have to go through these things. and i'm sorry but i don't know if i can take care of you next week. >> the missouri court will make its ruling on friday. a major search is going on in hungary, on the danube river. at least seven south korean tourists were killed in that incident. hungarian police have detained the ship's captain as they continue to investigate the cause of the crash. >> translator: on the

recordings, you can see the small ship and the big ship, both of them heading north. "mermaid" turns in front of "viking" for some unknown reason. "viking" flips it. and in seven seconds, "mermaid" falls on its side and sinks. >> paula hancocks has the latest there. >> reporter: it's being treated as a search and rescue operation. but hopes are starting to dim of finding survivors on survivors of the danube river. the search and rescue teams have extended the area they are searching. 30 kilometers downstream they're searching, as well. we know strong currents and the intense rainfall recently has made the rescue operation very difficult. now, we also know that more than 40 family members from here, from south korea, are heading to

budapest to see what they can do to find their family members. we know that there's a rapid response team that's going to be in the area and also the foreign minister will be heading over to head this up. of the 35 people onboard this ship, "the mermaid," 33 of them were south korean. we know also that the south korean president, moon jae-in, had spoken to the hungarian minister. he had assured there were divers and medical professionals trying to find survivors. what we heard from police, that after this collision, between the mermaid and the cruise ship, "the mermaid" had very little time to get passengers off of the ship. authorities will be salvaging the ship. they believe it could take days to actually bring it from the

bottom of the danube. at this point, it is still being treated as a search and rescue operation. authorities saying they're doing everything they can to try and find more of the passengers. paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. still ahead, president trump gives israel's prime minister a map of israel that includes the golan heights. we'll tell you what the prime minister wrote on it, ahead. and arab leaders hold emergency summits to call out iran for alleged hostilities against the oil industry. the latest from saudi arabia, as cnn newsroom continues. this is not a bed.

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in israel, there are deepening political problems for that nation's prime minister and the u.s. middle east peace plan could be a casualty. president trump's middle east env envoy, his sister-in-lon-in-law kushner, is there. he was pleasaresented with a gi. it was a map of israel that includes the golan heights. mr. netanyahu beamed as he

showed it off. showing that the president had featured the territory with the word, nice. this follows attacks on oil tankers. iran denies the hostilities. the saudi king was adamant, saying iran's actions threaten region security and stability. nic robertson, live in jeddah, saudi arabia. it seems the saudi king is making his point on iran, along with a show of force that he has regional support. >> that seemed to be how things unfolded in the two summits that concluded overnight here. the gcc, and the arab league summit, in both of those meetings, the king getting what he wanted. there was a clear message.

the reason we're in this situation with iran, is because we haven't been firm enough in the past. and he called for international solidarity and support in tackling with it, tackling this issue. this is what he said. >> translator: we call upon the international community to assume its responsibilities in the face of the threat posed by iranian practices to international peace, security and international law and to use all means to stop the iranian regime from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. its sponsorship of terrorist activities in the region and the world, and the threat of navigation in the international straits. >> reporter: the king got the answer back from both of those summits that he wanted. there was a message coming back, the gcc saying in their conclusions, they support saudi arabia in the face of the situation.

they support the emreirates in e face of those ships being attacked off of the port a few weeks ago. the king heard what he wanted. but it was interesting. the language that was used in the joint communiques wasn't strongly against iran. and i think it's significant, as well. there were no new red lines drawn here if iran does this, then "x" and "y" will happen. the language wasn't bellicosing. the king said he wanted peace and security in the region, including for the iranian people. the iranian foreign spokesman has criticized the saudi king, saying they were following a western and zionist agenda and is fighting this issue. >> nic robertson, thank you for the reporting and we'll keep in

touch with you. moving on from the russia investigation. that's what the u.s. president wants to do. an it appears the kremlin feels the same way. . also, she was one of the first people to blow the whistle on russian hacking. now, she is behind bars and forbidden from speaking with media. we're the slowskys.

we like drip coffee, layovers- -and waiting on hold. what we don't like is relying on fancy technology for help. snail mail! we were invited to a y2k party... uh, didn't that happen, like, 20 years ago? oh, look, karolyn, we've got a mathematician on our hands! check it out! now you can schedule a callback or reschedule an appointment, even on nights and weekends. today's xfinity service. simple. easy. awesome. i'd rather not. welcome back to viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching cnn newsroom live from the atl. i'm george howell. this hour, a search and rescue operation is under way in budapest, hungary. this for 21 people after a river

cruise ship collided with a sightseeing boat in the danube. at least seven south korean tourists were killed on that boat. police have detained the cruise ship captain. the u.s. president is telling the mexico president that there will be tariffs if they don't stop illegal migrants coming into the united states. the u.s. president also went on a falsehood-filled tirade thursday. among other things, he attacked special counsel robert mueller and he declared that mueller said he was innocent and called him a, quote, never-trumper. and he said that russia wanted hillary clinton to win the presidency. that's not true. the russian president himself said he wanted trump to win the presidency. it is clear that president trump is tired of dealing with the russia investigation. he attacks every chance he gets and just wants to move on.

and he has company, in moscow. our fred polite ken explains. >> reporter: the statement this russia meddled in the 2016 election. >> that allegation deserves the attention of every american. >> reporter: despite the mueller report's clear findings, moscow continues denying attacking the u.s. democracy. blasting and mocking the special counsel. a senior member saying, mueller failed to put the blame on russia, as well as to prove russia's connections to trump. now, he is trying to justify himself in front of those who have placed serious hopes in him. >> we have a lot of questions. >> reporter: moscow claims it was anti-trump democrats that pushed the mueller probe. and that was trump's messaging

he repeated this morning. >> 18 trump haters and people who worked for hillary clinton and some of the worst human beings on earth, they got nothing. >> reporter: despite the kremlin submitting documents to suspend a key nuclear arms treaty with the u.s., the kremlin and the trump white house seem eager to move on and improve relations. mike pompeo traveled to russia this month to meet with vladimir putin and sergey lavrov, to work out areas where the u.s. and russia can cooperate. vladimir putin's spokesman refused to talk about robert mueller's statement. >> translator: no. i can't comment on that. we spent enough time talking about mr. mueller and the results of his work. >> reporter: russia has long said it wants to get relations with the u.s. back on track, claiming continued talk about election interference would only get in the way. fred pitt polite ken, cnn,

moscow. we have yet to hear from the woman who was among the first to sound the alarm in moscow's election interference. her name is reality winter. she was a u.s. intelligence specialist who leaked the classified report on russia's cyber attack against the u.s. voting system. for that, she is serving more than five years in prison and is prohibited from speaking with news media. our reporter spoke with her mother as she traveled to visit her daughter in prison. >> this is a soldier who protected us. >> reporter: reality lee winner. a decorated airman. >> when you see somebody go poof on your screen, you've got to have it right. >> reporter: a russia whistle-blower, the first to be arrested in the trump era. and cnn has learned, currently

blocked by u.s. prison authorities from speaking to the media for any publication purposes. in may 2017, reality winner leaked a classified nsa document to a media organization, describing a russian cyber attack on a u.s. voting machine company. it was the first time the extent of russia's war on the u.s.'s electoral machinery was revealed to the public. winner did little to cover her tracks and was arrested even before the document was published online. she pleaded guilty and is currently serving a sentence of over five years. the prosecutor said winner had leaked top secret information that revealed intelligence sources and methods. reality's mother, billie, invited us along as she went to visit her in jail. >> today, we are traveling up to ft. worth, which, it's probably about a 7, 7 1/2-hour road trip. >> reporter: what are you

thinking about? >> the anticipation of seeing her, being able to hug her. >> reporter: this is as far as we are allowed to go, even though we've been seeking permission for months now, to interview reality in prison. but we've been stonewalled by authorities. as we wait for billie, prison officers come by. >> what are you all doing? >> we're with cnn. >> cnn. >> reporter: trying to block our line of sight. eventually, we just leave. the united states federal bureau of krn teprisons tells cnn, the worden's decision is final. we've been blocked from interviewing reality, her mother, billie, agrees to give us her first major tv interview since reality began serving her

sentence. how was reality? >> that's a hard question to answer. i can see the sadness in her when we show up. i feel like she's embarrassed to be where she's at. >> reporter: the prosecution argued the release of those documents endangered american national interests. >> we, as americans, deserved that proof. how is it she put us in danger by giving us that proof? i wouldn't change what she's done. what she did was noble. and i think what she did was patriotic. >> reporter: we have been blocked from accessing reality. has reality, as far as you know, come under pressure to stop her from speaking to the press? >> she has been warned. she has been frightened, as far as restrictions on her communications. she knows, with her plea

agreement, what she can and cannot discuss. but the bureau of prisons has made it harder for her. they're telling her she cannot have contact with any journalists or media in any way, shape or form. >> why do you think the shorts a authorities are so hard to block reality's access with the outside world hearing her voice? >> the prosecution painted her to be a very evil person. and i honestly believe that they're afraid, that if america gets to know who reality winner really, is they're going to see that wasn't the case at all. >> reporter: if you could say anything to the president, what would you say to him? i would say release her. she deserves it above anyone else. she has served her country. she deserves this. >> reporter: back at home, billie says she's going to keep

campaigning for her daughter to be released. keep trying to show the world that her daughter is not the traitor she was portrayed as. >> this is my christmas card when she was in jail that first year. you deserve so much more than this little card because you are my mom and my home. that's what reality is, you know? >> reporter: cnn, kingsville, texas. now, to the aircraftmaker boeing. one night assume simulated training would be mandatory for a sophisticated plane like the 737 max, especially after two crashes. but it turns out that's not the case. boeing is proposing putting the planes back into service without giving pilots additional experience in simulators.

our drew griffin, explained his thoughts on that earlier. >> boeing and the faa have yet to announce the final package and proposal, as farr as software and retraining packages to bring the 737 max back online in the united states. but what we are learning is that boeing has proposed the various u.s.-based pilot groups, that when the 737 max is returned to service, it will not include any kind of recommendation for hands-on simulator training for 737 max pilots. it would just include what they would call a computer-based training or retraining program on the mcas system. that means that airlines would not have to take the expense and the time to put their 737 max fleet pilots back through a simulator training. so, it would be an economic win

for the airlines. the question, though, is would it be a safety win for the pilots and the flying public? the pilots we've talked to seem to be split on this, believing that simulator training does not necessarily have to be required. although some think that maybe out of the abundance of caution, the faa should require it. we're waiting for that final proposal. but this would be a big step in speeding along the 737 max back into the air, if retraining on a simulator was not required. >> again, that's the voice of our senior investigative correspondent, drew griffin, following that story. now, to singer r. kelly facing new and serious charges in his sexual abuse case. he's been indicted in chicago on 11 new counts on sexual abuse and assault. four are felonies that have maximum penalties of 30 years in prison. it's the latest legal headache

for kelly, who has faced accusations of abuse, manipulation and inappropriate encounters with young women for more than two decades. r. kelly has consistently maintained he is innocent. the governor of arkansas says flooding in his state is almost unbelievable. and the pictures you see here, the devastation, it is incredible. officials say it could get even worse. that story is next. termites.

we're on the move.

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take a hard look here at these images in the state of arkansas. that state has been hit hard by deadly flooding. and there's fears it could get worse. the state's department of emergency management warns that several levees are leaking water and threatening thousands of homes along the arkansas river. let's bring in our meteorologist derek van dam in the international weather center. that state has been hit hard by the storms. the flooding and strong storms.

>> without a doubt. we're talking about weeks of incessant rainfall. you're looking at the flood warning page from the national weather service. you see that shade of green and that is flood warnings across the central united states. you can track the entire mississippi river delta from the north to the south, as it exits into the gulf of mexico. and i trace that out because it's important. the arkansas river is also part of that same waterway system that eventually flows downstream and exits towards the gulf of mexico, which takes several weeks after incessant rainfall like this season. if you tally up the river gauges that are reporting flooding, we're talking over 400 locations reporting flooding. 80 river gauges reporting flooding. that includes states of arkansas and missouri, and no wonder.

considering we have seen over 20 inches of rainfall in the past 30 days, where you see that shading of white and purple, you look at the river gauges specifically. this is the van buren river gauge. the flood stage is at 40 feet. and we're talking about the difference that demarks flooding. and that moves toward the missouri river and into the gulf of mexico. we're in a lull here. but there will be more shower activity in the parts that are hardest hit across the u.s. severe weather, we have two tornadoes, and that brings our total topping 400. unbelievable. this is unprecedented for central u.s. incredible amount of active

severe storms creating tornadic thunderstorms. in terms of severe weather, texas, michigan, northern wisconsin, virginia into the carolinas. large hail, damaging winds. maybe, perhaps, an isolated tornado. can't rule that out. now, there is some silver lining for this weather forecast. we're starting to see if the weather pattern is starting to change. we're becoming more zonal. that's a fancy term for weather patterns moving from west-to-east across the u.s., instead of having the big dip in the jet stream. this is going to change our severe weather setup. it could diminish it in the comicom coming days. and it will give us relief from the heat wave. temperatures will cool down across many locations. that's the good news out of this. >> derek, thank you. still ahead, it's a despised word for the u.s. president. that word, impeachment. something the american leader can hardly bring himself to say. we'll explain ahead. st o

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our jeanie moos explains. >> reporter: it used to be just another word in president trump's vocabulary. >> the impeach word. impeach trump. maxine waters, we will impeach him. has he done anything wrong? no. let's impeach him anyway. >> reporter: as impeachment loomed larger. >> what a job he's done, we're impeaching him. >> reporter: the president's word got shorter. >> to talk about the "i" word. >> reporter: and he blew up. >> the word impeach. it's a dirty, filthy, disgusting word. >> reporter: it wasn't so dirty, filthy and disgusting five years ago, when citizen trump tweeted about president obama. are you allowed to impeach a president for gross incompetence? now, it's impeachment he's calling gross. those obscene founding fathers, a bunch of dirty, old men apparently. and someone else used trump's

old excuse. >> this was locker room talk. >> reporter: to explain how filthy impeachment got into the locker room constitution. many consider impeachment to be and they rush to defend it. it is second in beauty only to the word resignation. comedians were already eyeing the president's use of the "i" word. >> the big "i" word. ♪ are the words that begin with "i" that lead to the president ♪ ♪ inappropriate, insufferable and impeachy ♪ >> reporter: to randy rainbow. >> to talk about the "i" word. >> what? >> the "i" word. >> impotent? irrational. >> reporter: now, that president trump considers itch peop s itc

be -- >> it is a dirty word. >> reporter: is that an impeachable offense? jeanne moos, cnn, new york. for the first time in the history of the scripps national spelling bee, a group of kids have conquered everything the dictionary can throw at them. the contest is so competitive, it is broadcast on a u.s. sports network. and just hours ago, eight winners were crowned after an unprecedented 3 1/2-hour final. officials said they were running out of challenging words 17 rounds in. and anyone left after the 20th round would be a champion. >> l-a-u-t. >> you are correct. >> e-l-a-s. >> you are correct. >> m-v-i-l-l-e-a.

>> you are correct. >> l-l-e-t-t-e. >> you are correct. >> -- p-e-n-d-e-l-o-q-u-e. >> you are correct. >> a-m-a. >> correct. >> this is unbelievable. -- n-u-o-u -- >> you are correct. >> y-l-i-c. >> that would stump me, for sure. all eight kids from 12 to 14 year old, each are getting a ski scripps cup and $50,000 cash

prize. miriam webster concedes and is so proud. thanks for being with us for this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell at the cnn center in atlanta. "early start" is next. for viewers around the world, more news from my colleague in london.

hi. the president picks another fight, this time it's over border security with mexico. is the putting his own trade del in jeopardy? o-d-y-l-i-c. >> not just him, this entire group winners of the historic national spelling bee. you don't think they committed treason? >> they don't realize what they are doing is antithetical to the democratic system they have. >> is it antithetic to democracy to investigate