bracing for hurricane dorian. that monster storm barreling toward the bahamas. florida is next. and it's gaining strength as we speak. >> also this hour, following days of unrest protesters in hong kong are capping off the week with another march. >> and you know that saying, a picture's worth a thousand words. well, this time it's worth 280 characters. a tweet from the u.s. president could be a matter of national security. >> welcome to our viewers here in the u.s. and around the world. we're coming to you live from atlanta. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell from cnn world headquarters. "newsroom" starts right now. and we begin with hurricane

dorian. a massive storm gaining strength in the atlantic with the path set for florida. >> here's the thing. in just 24 hours dorian went from a category 1 to an extremely dangerous category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles or 220 kilometers per hour. >> it is still unclear, as you can see from this graphic here, exactly where dorian will make landfall. right now it is projected to hit near melbourne, florida. that's in the middle of the state on tuesday. and continue up the coast. >> and again, let's take a look at this storm from the international space station. wow. and keep in mind it's still just a day away from the bahamas. hurricane warnings there and evacuation orders are already in effect. and they're preparing as best they can for a lot of rain and flash flooding. >> karen mcginniss now, she's following the path of the storm, which is still very uncertain. karen. >> it is, natalie and george. it is one of the most

infuriating things that we have seen over the past 24 hours. yes, we saw that rapid intensification where we zoomed from a category 1 to category 4. and it is expected to continue to strengthen. if i were staring this down and i lived in the florida panhandle, it would be terrifying to me. here's what we think is going to happen. right now it has supporting winds of 140 miles per hour. some higher gusts to 160. it's moving toward the west-northwest fairly steady at just about 10 miles an hour. now, here are the bahamas. the northwestern bahamas are currently under hurricane watches as well as warnings. there will be catastrophic damage as this continues to plow its way across the bahamas. but once it enters the florida strait all bets are off. will it make landfall across the florida peninsula? the computer models are just not as certain about that. as they have been in previous runs. here are the wind gusts.

you can see the core here. that's where the strongest winds are. but the coastal sections of florida just about everybody over the next -- from about 72 hours to about 96 hours will feel the impacts of some of these outer bands from hurricane dorian category 4 hurricane. but now look at this. off the coast of jacksonville. off the coast of georgia. just to the south of charleston, south carolina. just to the south of savannah. going to be a very interesting scenario to watch this as these computer models continue to come in because it could bounce into the coast, could come out, follow that jet stream and just kind of curve up the coast. there are a lot of scenarios that can take place here. but none of them are going to be definitive. at least for the next several days when the computer models are going to be rerun and rerun. all right. this is the american model. this is a european. the two major ones that we look at. look at this. off the coast of savannah.

this for the american one. here's charleston. but still the impact is going to be great. charleston floods very easily. so they start to see this rainfall, maybe six, maybe ten inches of rain is certainly possible. but also here's the european model. this off the coast of jacksonville. they are the same time period. it's a little confusing but i just want to point out there's no agreement yet on these computer models. here's the ridge of high pressure. this is kind of keeping this farther to the south. this is going to shift. this hurricane, category 4, is going to take the path of least resistance. and at some point the computer models are suggesting it's going to move toward the west and natalie and george, as it moves toward the west and we think that the trajectory will be along the coast of florida but right now it's just not guaranteed. >> they've made lots of preparations. that's going to be so unsettling for the millions of people impacted. all right, karen, thank you. well, with almost the entire state of florida in the cone of

uncertainty officials are warning everyone to be prepared of course before time runs out. >> we anticipate a lot of rain. losing power is a big probability. you're also in an area prone to flooding. you're likely to see that with this storm. it's really, really significant. and you need to take precautions. >> so take precautions. well, officials say they want everyone to have seven days' worth of food, of water, and emergency supplies for after the storm comes through. they also want everyone to have a full tank of gas in case they're ordered to evacuate. some counties are likely to do that as the storm gets closer like palm beach county. that's where we find cnn's brian todd. >> reporter: officials in palm beach county tell cnn they expect to begin mandatory evacuations sunday morning but they can't force people out of their homes. mayor mac bernard says they won't ask all of the county's

1.5 million residents to get out, but those in some coastal areas and inland neighborhoods with mobile homes will be asked to leave. what is the biggest mistake that people make in the run-up to a hurricane? >> well, the biggest mistake is not preparing. and they don't have food and they don't have the right water. and so it's really to be prepared and also after the hurricane sometimes we lose lives because you know, people are running their generators and so they don't know how to operate it. >> reporter: the rest of the state is also preparing for evacuations. >> for certain people it's going to be necessary and in certain communities they're going to toad nao to do that. >> miami-dade and broward counties preparing states of emergency to prepare. >> it gives our county administrator the authority to direct an evacuation of appropriate areas. >> reporter: meantime, florida governor ron desantis says there is now a fuel shortage across the state. >> we're constantly having trucks being refueled at the ports and then going to fill up these tanks at the gas stations.

we've also gotten georgia, alabama, and mississippi to waive their weight restrictions on trucks so that we can bring in more fuel from out of state. >> reporter: at this wah-wah gas staigs lines have been winding down the corner and down a couple of of blocks. general manager larry peck has been manning the station 18 hours a day. but do people as we get closer to the storm, do they start to panic a little? do tempers flare? >> they do. they get a little bit antsy. but i think because of the seriousness of this stormy see this happening a lot sooner. >> reporter: peck says he ran out of regular unleaded gas but a tanker brought more in. his customers are concerned about running low, filling containers for generators, filling their cars' tanks if they need to evacuate. >> i need gas in my car just in case i have to leave, go elsewhere. >> if something drastic happens and we might have to evacuate, got to have a car. >> reporter: residents also scrambling to stock up on

supplies, water and other essentials. >> it's just stressful. i've been through this a couple of times in the last 15 years, and this is the worst so far. >> everybody who needs water has to get in this line. >> reporter: as businesses rush to restock emptied shelves. to illustrate how difficult the evacuation dynamic-s the palm beach county mayor told us they are reluctant to get hundreds of thousands or even millions of people out on the road all at once heading north because they know there's a good chance to move north once it makes landfall. they're concerned if too many people go out on the road all at once and head north they could get caught in the storm as they try to move. brian todd, cnn, palm springs, florida. >> that's the thing, natalie. i talked to a friend the other night who's debating do we stay, do we leave. they're watching so closely with what happens with this storm track. >> how do they make that decision right now? because it's so uncertain. but as we've been saying for now the hurricane is approaching the

bahamas. the hurricane warning for that region has been issued and the prime minister is telling people in the affected areas to leave immediately. cnn's patrick oppmann is in freeport. >> reporter: here in the northwest bahamas we've been feeling the wind pick up throughout the day. we've seen some of the first rain bands coming through. but really hurricane dorian is still quite a ways away and the full power of the storm will not be felt until saturday and into sunday when this storm could come through here where i am as a powerful category 3 or 4 storm. and that will have a destructive impact on so many of the low-lying islands. here where people are being evacuated from lower islands. the highest point of land is only about 30 feet high. so when you think about the storm surge that could be caused from this very powerful hurricane that could come up along this coast ten feet or

more, that is quite scary for so many of the residents that live along the water. we walk up and down the beaches today and there were few people. people were out buying food and water, gassing up their cars, trying to put storm shutters on their homes, getting everything ready because they know in the hours ahead it will become increasingly dangerous to leave their homes as we were flying in on friday on one of the last flights into freeport here in the bahamas. we were told that the airport would be shut down soon and that people were not going to be able to leave because it's even more dangerous to go out in a boat now. we've seen people actually taking their boats from the ocean into the land trying to get them into areas where they're less likely to be affected. so officials are saying now is the time to get ready, to get all the items you need to ride out possibly several days of very dangerous hurricane if you are in the bahamas and it is going to be a rough ride ahead. but this point many people here don't have any choice but to get

prepared for the worst. patrick oppmann, cnn, freeport, the bahamas. >> you have to feel for the people there. earlier i spoke with basil dean at the bahamas department of meteorology and asked him what conditions are like so far as this storm approaches. >> we have a few clouds. the winds have picked up just a bit looking at around 13 miles per hour. but we do expect that to change over time as dorian continues to make that trek toward the west-northwest. as you would perhaps now, at 11:00 the maximum sustained winds have been now increased to 140 miles per hour, making it a very dangerous category 4 hurricane. the good news for us here in new providence is looking at our satellite imagery the eye is just slightly to the north of new providence and that should lessen the trek to new providence but certainly it will continue to take aim for the

extreme northwest bahamas, in particularly abico and grand bahama. and looking at the forecast wind fields, seems as though they will start to experience those tropical storm force winds as early as 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. sunday morning and from there onward things will go downhill as the hurricane force winds are expected to follow. >> right. how would you characterize a category 4 storm? and what kind of damage it could do for the bahamas. >> all we had to do is go back just a couple of short years, in 2017 was a category 4. moved through the northwest bahamas. as a matter of fact clipping the northwest grand bahama and they had total devastation in western grand bahama. so those residents in grand bahama, they know quite well what a category 4 hurricane can do and i'm quite pleased as to the level of preparedness that i

saw earlier today in the island of grand bahama. it seems as though those two islands are ready for the arrival of rain and we're continuing to urge those who may still be near the coastal areas to move inland. it's going to be a major factor. heavy rainfalls. and there is some slowing down as of this forecast that will certainly add to the rainfall accumulation on those islands. >> all right. airports will be closing in the bahamas and of course it will be the first caarea to feel the brt of this hurricane. >> that's right. hong kong's pro-democracy movement is very much alive despite some high-profile arrests this week. and now the protester there's have a message for beijing. they're refusing to be intimidated. >> that's coming next. also hurricane dorian gains strength as it makes a beeline for florida. we'll have more about the

preparations. us. and for a limited time. buy any samsung galaxy note 10 and get one samsung galaxy note 10 for free.

i got this mountain bike for only $11. dealdash.com, the fair and honest bidding site. an ipad worth $505, was sold for less than $24; a playstation 4 for less than $16; and a schultz 4k television for less than $2. i won these bluetooth headphones for $20. i got these three suitcases for less than $40. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. hong kong pro-democracy activists say they will not be stopped by police bans or arrests of prominent activists. >> live pictures right now in hong kong.

there it is. the 13th straight weekend of these protests. even though organizers canceled a major march that was planned for saturday after police refused to give permission, thousands of protesters are marching right now through central hong kong. and following the story, our andrew stevens is on the streets as well. andrew, tell us about the mood and the tenor of the protests at this point. >> reporter: truth be told there's a lot of determination by the protesters here. they are defying a direct police line, which is you come out here on this day and you are part of an illegal gathering, you are therefore basically vulnerable to arrest and to being charged with illegal assembly. so they have taken that risk. they have come out in the thousands. where we are at the moment, we've been following the marches from where they started. they've come on their way to the

government house where the chief executive now lives. but they met this roadblock. it's a fairly mildly manned roadblock. diverted the protesters away from continuing up the hill to stand outside the chief executive's residence. so what has happened is the protesters pretty much splintered off over the past 10, 15 minutes or so, and what's likely to happen now is that social media will start sending out messages on a way to reconvene, most likely back in the center of town. it's unlikely this is over yet. but as far as the mood here, george, there have already been flags shown by the police saying you are part of an illegal gathering and you are now liable for charging but that has not stopped anyone. if you come up here a little bit you'll get an idea just how miserable the conditions have been here. it's been absolutely pouring with rain over the last hour or so. the protesters have thinned out. like i said, they're more than likely to regroup. >> despite the weather, despite intimidation and even high-profile arrests recently it

seems these protesters are determined to continue. andrew stevens live for us in hong kong. andrew, thank you for the report. we're going to talk with one of those protesters who was arrested. joshua wong is the chair of the party and one of the pro-democracy activists arrested and released on bail from hong kong. first of all, joshua, i want you to talk about your arrest and what happened but i also want you to comment on what you're seeing right now on the streets of hong kong, people defying this pullback by hong kong and still taking to the streets to support your editors. >> the hong kong conduct mass arrests to conduct activist and lawmaker, especially three lawmakers now detained inside police station, still encourage more and more hong kong people come out to the street just like how people saw, thousands of hong kong's people just get in

central hong kong island and show we will not be threatened by beijing and we will continue with our course on free election. yesterday i was arrested but i still joined the protests. >> right. that had to be frightening for you. you were arrested with a handful of other activist leaders. is there any part of you that is intimidated now? >> some of those iconic activists were still detained inside police station, and it's hard for us to guarantee when will they be released on bail. it just showed how the crackdown on human rights and how they expected targeted activists or lawmaker could stop the protest. but just like what happened in the past few hours, hong kong people still took to the street. >> do you feel, joshua, at this point that this movement is going forward or more backwards?

>> people in hong kong are preparing to have protests on hong kong island and might be having assembly at hong kong international airport tomorrow or next monday. it's time for student to have a class boycott. not only university student but even high school student are ready to join the strike to show that not only those stand in the front line, not only those, even youngster born after 2000, those millennials, are the one determined and passionate for hong kong's future. >> but the question is is hong kong, is china, are they listening? >> we have never expected hong kong government will listen to our voice. because hong kong government is just a proxy government. the leader of hong kong, which is chief executive-s just a puppet of communist regime. but we still keep on our fight because we all know that

president xi and beijing are facing certain international pressure and discontent of hong kong people and we are just the one demanding our fundamental right to elect our own government. the right enjoyed by the free world since last century. >> and are you concerned, though, about china's troop movements? >> we strongly aware how troops in china were moving to the border. hong kong government announced that they consider to execute the emergency ordinance, which mean martial law in hong kong. in the worst scenario they can cut the transportation, cut the internet, and even cut the air traffic. and all we aware is how they generate the -- not only result in the crackdown on hong kong but also global economy. and that's the reason for the world to pay attention and send a message to president xi, sending troops or using martial

law must not be the way out. >> joshua wong, we appreciate you talking with us. thank you very much. >> thank you. now to the uk's brexit turmoil. backlash continues against the prime minister boris johnson and his move to suspend parliament. that means lawmakers now have less time to debate brexit as the uk speeds toward a no-deal exit from the eu in october. october 31st, halloween, scary. >> a former prime minister from mr. johnson's only party, john major, is joining the court battle against him to try to stop the suspension of parliament in the run-up to xwrex-it. >> in the meantime downing street says uk brexit negotiators will meet with their eu counterparts to meet at least twice a week in september. the president saying for both sides to "step up the tempo" on negotiations. listen. >> i think our european friends have understood one or two big points in the last couple of

weeks. i think they get that the uk is really going for a deal. they understand that. but they also understand that the uk is absolutely willing to come out without a deal if we have to. they understand that too. and we're serious. we're totally serious about both propositions. and i think what that's encouraging is progress. >> a judge in scotland says a case brought by more than 70 anti-brexit lawmakers will be heard next week, but he declined to issue an immediate court order blocking the suspension of parliament. the ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of congo has reached another troubling milestone. >> the world health organization reports more than 3,000 cases and 2,000 deaths since that outbreak was declared in august of last year. >> medical personnel, we're told, are working to control cross-border transmission of the

virus. a 9-year-old girl from congo 2k50 died after testing positive for ebola on the ugandan border. >> here stateside we continue covering the hurricane that is moving toward florida. that state running low on water and gas as this storm approac s approaches. we'll show you how the state is trying to keep everyone safe. also, it's not just residents. the hurricane is also affecting tourists of course in florida. why many of them may have to change flight plans, coming up.

welcome back to viewers here in the united states and around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom" live from atlanta. i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen.

here are headlines this hour. thousands of pro-democracy activists are yet again marching in hong kong's city center. this the 13th straight weekend of protests. they're taking to the streets in spontaneous groups after a major planned rally did not get police permission and was canceled. the rallies also come after several prominent activists were arrested. in the united kingdom now large demonstrations expected across the country to protest the prime minister's latest moves on brexit. boris johnson facing backlash and at least three court challenges after he announced that parliament would be suspended in the run-up to brexit. the former prime minister john major joined the legal fight to prevent that happening. hurricane dorian continues to gain steam in the atlantic. it is now a strong category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour.

dorian could strengthen even more and get close to a category 5 on saturday as it nears the bahamas. >> right now everyone in florida, they are watching these models to find out exactly where this storm is going. but right now people are concerned, trying to ensure their safety before the storm hits. >> nearly 28,000 linemen, tree crews and support personnel are across the state to help restore the power quickly. more than 200 generators are being delivered for prestaging throughout the state of florida. several schools have already announced closures. some all the way through the week. and uber will be providing rides to shelters as these shelters open. >> as florida residents prepare there for the storm, many stores are starting to run out of supplies at least for now. >> cnn's layla santiago talks

with some shoppers outside of costco in north miami. >> reporter: the manager here tells me they've seen a 60% increase in foot traffic. you can see folks are coming out. and this one is a good example. she has her cart filled with water. that's what we have been seeing for the last few hours that we've been here. people loading up on water, food, anything that they believe they may need should power go out, should the resources be low if hurricane dorian talks a toll here. we've been talking to people as they've been coming out. one of the things that everyone seems to mention over and over, they say hey, we remember irma, we remember what it was like when that happened. so looks like you're getting ready for dorian. what all did you pick up? >> a few things for my kids. >> reporter: buying some things for your kids. what's your biggest concern? what are you worried about here? >> for now believe god to protect us. that's it. >> reporter: prayer right now. thank you. please stay safe out there.

but you can already see every single cart that comes out has water, water, and basics here as folks are preparing for hurricane dorian. i'm going to ask this woman as well. ma'am, i see you're coming out with water. you're ready for the storm? >> yes. >> and what else have you picked up here? you've got some food. >> whatever i need for the baby. >> whatever you need for the baby. how many days do you think you're prepared for? >> i don't know. >> you don't know. >> i don't think it's going to be that bad. >> okay. she's hoping it's not going to be that bad. but i will tell you local officials here have asked people to be prepared for at least seven days. sir, you're prepared as well. you've got some water, some eggs, some quinoa, organic quinoa, i'll add that as well. tell me what you're feeling right now. >> well, a little nervous. we moved out from washington state. so this is our first experience with a hurricane. you know, we have earthquakes up

in washington. so -- >> this is your first hurricane here. okay. well, stay safe. thank you so much for sharing what you picked up with us here. there we go. i think we talked to what, four or five people and you're seeing that people are preparing a little bit of a tone from people as to whether they think this is serious or not. but clearly they're taking note that this is the time to prepare. i will make one more note. one woman just came out of there and right before we went live said they're out of water. so what you just saw was likely the last bit of water for now. the manager tells me they have trucks picking up more water. but when they will arrive and how long that will last is anyone's guess. >> all right. leela santiago for us. air travel, orlando's international airport is taking a cautious approach. it is to stop commercial flight operations starting monday morning. >> cnn's diane gallagher is there and has the story.

>> reporter: on the surface things actually look just fine here at orlando international airport. but behind the scenes they've been working with federal officials, the airlines, to try and determine exactly what their plan is going to be over the coming days as the hurricane gets closer to making landfall. they determined that they were going to go ahead and make the call to cease public operations at orlando international airport starting at 2:00 a.m. monday, and that basically means that there will be no private citizens, no passengers coming in and out of the airport. they will then after the storm passes reassess the situation, look at the damage, attempt to repair anything that has been mixed and then alert the airlines they're ready to reopen. but they don't know what the time frame on that is going to be and for the people coming in and traveling and going in and out of tsa that may not matter because their airlines could cancel flights ahead of that even happening. that's up to those airlines. this is a place that was already

expecting a significant amount of tourists this weekend because it's the last holiday weekendright summer for so many families. they're talking about 130,000 people coming through this airport each day this weekend. that's without the hurricane at all. now, so far we haven't seen very many delayed or canceled flights, although some people say that look, we went ahead and cut our vacation short, we get home a day early because we didn't want to get caught in all of this here. as far as the theme parks go, disney has said that it doesn't have anything on the books right now as far as shutting down for the hurricane but they are going to close their water park, some of their outdoor facilities on sunday to prepare for that hurricane making landfall. again, you have thousands of people who visit orlando to go to these tourist attractions. so many of them here this weekend and a lot of them are going to be trying to get out as that hurricane comes in. >> okay, diane gallagher, we'll

continue to follow it. of course we have reporters up and down coast of florida and in the bahamas as well. >> still ahead on "newsroom" the president's tweets usually set off alarms with the words he uses. but this time not the words. it's the picture. we call it the mother standard of care. it's something we take personally, and believe in passionately. it's the idea that if our mothers were diagnosed with cancer, how would we want them to be treated? that's exactly how we care for you.

with answers and actions. to hear your concerns, quiet your fears, lift your spirits. with teams of cancer experts and specialists, delivering advanced treatment options and compassionate support every step of the way. all here in one place, with one purpose. to fight your cancer, together. that's the mother standard of care. this is how we inspire hope. this is how we heal. cancer treatment centers of america. appointments available now.

the president spoke to reporters before leaving for the retreat in maryland. mr. trump says that the government is ready to help when the hurricane hits. >> hurricane is roaring and it could be a big one. we're hoping that it maybe makes a right and goes up north. but that's about a 5% chance. it's not looking good. and it's one of the biggest hurricanes we've seen in a long time. a long time. so it could be have devastating. >> cnn's kaitlan collins takes a

look at the other developments from friday. >> with the new storm barreling toward puerto rico president trump is reigniting old feuds, clamg the u.s. territory is one of the most corrupt places on earth tweeting "their political system is broken and their politicians are either incompetent or corrupt. congress approved billions of dollars last time, more than any place else has ever gotten, and it is sent to crooked politicians. no good. and by the way, i'm the best thing that's ever happened to puerto rico." >> puerto rico has been taken care of better by donald trump than by any living human being. >> reporter: local officials say otherwise, including the san juan mayor, ho feuded with trump after hurricane maria after 2017, when she blamed his administration for being too slow to respond. as puerto rico and its 3.2 million american citizens brace for another major storm, trump is shrugging off his role as

comforter in chief and focusing on the feuds. but critics say he should focus on his response. after he tossed paper towels to a crowd the last time he visited the island. >> i give ourselves a 10. >> reporter: while the president is on hurricane watch, he's also criticizing his favorite tv channel, tweeting today that we have to start looking for a new news outlet. because fox isn't working for us anymore. trump launching that attack after the network interviewed a democratic party official. all this as the "washington post" reports he recently told aides, "don't worry, i'll pardon you" if they had to break the law to get his border wall built by the next election. >> the wall is being built. we're building tremendous numbers of miles of wall right now in different locations. >> reporter: trump making that claim last week. but officials tell cnn that as of august no new miles of his border wall have been built.

instead, customs and border protection has replaced roughly 60 miles of barrier that already existed but was deteriorating. though officials insist there are plans for 110 miles of new wall in place. >> kaitlan collins there. well, since dorian had minimum impact on puerto rico the government has shifted its staff from puerto rico to florida now. the u.s. president says that he has the right to post what he wants to post on twitter. >> those comments coming after this tweet about the explosion of an iranian rocket. the high resolution of the image prompted questions whether the photo was classified. the tweet says the u.s. was not involved in the accident during the launch adding a seemingly sarcastic "good luck in determining what happened." >> and when questioned by reporters about the tweet, well, here you go. >> i just wish iran well.

they had a big problem. and we had a photo and i released it, which i have the absolute right to do. and we'll see what happens. you'll have to figure that one out yourself. you'll see what happens. they had a big mishap. it's unfortunate. and so iran, as you probably know, they were going to set off a big missile and it didn't work out too well. had nothing to do with us. >> joining me now is nathan gonzalez, a cnn political analyst and editor and publisher of "inside elections." nathan, good to see you. thanks for being with us. >> no problem. >> let's begin with the iran story. what do we know? do we know anything more about what was behind the photo that the president tweeted? >> well, i think so far there's speculation. i think what we do know is that the president doesn't always need the whole story to run with it, to run with a particular story. and i think this is just another latest example. i think time will tell whether he violated something or not.

but being the president of the united states when it comes to declassifying information, i believe he can decide whether to declassify something or not. and so i think this is sort of par for the course but it's also important because we're talking about a major potential international situation, something that's been ongoing for a while. >> right. he certainly indicated it was his priority. but it still remains a mystery. so that's something we'll continue to follow. also on friday mr. trump talked china tariffs. he would not say whether he would be talking with the chinese leader over this holiday weekend, but he did point the finger elsewhere when it comes to this ongoing situation, targeting what he called badly managed companies using tariffs as an excuse for their businesses' struggles. how do you read that statement? >> well, the president never admits a mistake and never admits to doing something wrong. so if there's a particular policy that he imposes or puts

in place and something goes awry, then there's always someone else or something else to blame. i think it's important to remember when it comes to these tariffs that he doesn't hold policy positions closely. and what i mean is that if something isn't going right he can just turn around, change his mind, and he'll declare victory and say you know what, i did the right thing, it was the best ever, and go in a different direction. and i think he cares about the stock market. he cares about the direction of the economy, or how the news coverage around the direction of the economy. so if it continues to snowball into poor coverage or bad coverage, then he's going to shift, adjust, blame, and go in another direction. >> right. you've just got to wroronder wh these companies, how they will react to seeing that the president is looking at them putting it on an american company over what we have as an international trade war.

>> i think companies are in a bind with the president because even though they might be taking unfair blame they also don't want to get on the president's bad side where he invokes his twitter account and is the subject of his ire becaus that could hurt their business further by people not using or buying their products. >> finally, we have heard about another departure from mr. trump's inner circle at the white house. here's what he had to say about the ousting of his personal assistant, madeleine westerhout. >> she said she was drinking a little bit and she was with reporters and everything she said was off the record. that still doesn't really cover for it. mentioned a couple of things about my children. but she's a very, you know, good person. >> yes. she apparently violated the first rule of the president's trust.

what do you make of the president's response and how he handled this? >> i think it's interesting because you can hear in his voice that the tone was different. it wasn't an immediate punch back. he didn't feel like he got punched in his kind of -- and counterpunching. you can feel a sense of sort of remorse but also he felt like he was wronged. when it comes to the white house in general i think it's just a matter of when people leave or when they get on his bad side and not if that happens. it just seems like a scale. but this is someone who had been in the white house since the beginning. and you know, it appears that she said the wrong thing at the wrong time and then things can turn quickly. >> yeah, so how significant is this departure for the white house? she was it seems his closest personal assistant. and as you said, she's been with rim from the start. so this seems to add yet another person to the revolving door we've seen time and time again

inside the white house. >> only time will tell what it ultimately means. but you're absolutely right that she was considered a gatekeeper. a lot of people went to -- had her trust. the president. there was trust all around. and so she was able to be in a very critical role. we'll see who ends up being the replacement and how quickly that trust can be built. but i think the president keeps a very tight circle on that inner circle. so for someone to be gone from that it's not as easy as appointing someone and coming right in. it will take time. >> we always appreciate your insights. nathan gonzales, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> and we will be right back. - in the last year, there were three victims

of cybercrime every second. when a criminal has your personal information, they can do all sorts of things in your name. criminals can use ransomware, spyware, or malware to gain access to information like your name, your birthday, and even your social security number. - [announcer] that's why norton and lifelock are now part of one company, providing an all in one membership for your cyber safety

that gives you identify theft protection, device security, a vpn for online privacy, and more. and if you have an identity theft problem, we'll work to fix it with our million dollar protection package. - there are new cyber threats out there everyday, so protecting yourself isn't a one time job, it's an ongoing need. now is the time to make sure that you have the right plan in place. don't wait. - [announcer] norton 360 with lifelock. use promo code get25 to save 25% off your first year and get a free shredder with annual membership. call now to start your membership or visit lifelock.com/tv

from all corners of our planet we now know that the health of this planet is in danger. >> people want to deny it. but you know what? this is real. the climate crisis is impacting everything from the glaciers, endangered species, even how much rain falls now. and it could claim another victim. rick fullbaum has this for you. >> reporter: the great barrier reef just got a checkup, and the prognosis for now is critical.

the australian government says it has downgraded the reef's condition from poor to very poor. in a new report that tracks its health every five years. it cites the main reason for the decline as climate change. >> this reef has suffered in the last few years. six cyclones, two major coral bleaching events, and various attacks by the predator crown of thorns starfish. so unsurprisingly, the outlook is that the condition has deteriorated. >> reporter: the report says that climate change is escalating, which is increasing sea temperatures and killing off the coral reef, which is home to multitudes of sea creatures. just a few years ago marine heat waves caused such extreme bleaching that about half of the corals on the reef were killed. and the report warns it will continue to deteriorate if action is not taken now. >> with the right mix of local actions to improve the system

and global actions to tackle climate change in the strongest and fastest way possible, we can turn that around. >> reporter: spanning more than 2,300 kilometers the great barrier reef is teaming with life, including 400 types of coral and 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusks. some scientists say a small measure of help may be on the way for this largely manmade problem from nature itself. a chunk of floating lava rock the size of manhattan is drifting down the australian coast over the next few months. experts say it could be like a special delivery of sea life for the reef as the porous rocks are full of barnacles and corals which could find a new home. in an underwater world that has already lost so much. rick fullbaum, cnn.

>> rick, thank you. and of course our big story that we're following this day, hurricane dorian. >> the storm has been gaining strength in the atlantic and has now become a category 4 hurricane. right now it is approaching the bahamas and will likely head northwest toward florida. we'll continue to track the developments for you in the next hour. well, one of the agencies responsible r responsible for collecting data on the storm has been noaa. >> and this week one of their flight crews made history. for the first time ever noaa hurricane reconnaissance mission was piloted by an all-female crew. these pilots took off on thursday and gatherd all kinds of data about the hurricane from speed to temperature. >> the agency says the operation gave scientists and forecasters a detailed look at the structure and intensity of the storm. again, a category 4. that's it for this hour. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell. the news continues right here. stay with us.

with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's, your plans can change in minutes. your head wants to do one thing, but your gut says, "not today." if your current treatment isn't working, ask your doctor about entyvio. entyvio acts specifically

in the gi tract to prevent an excess of white blood cells from entering and causing damaging inflammation. entyvio has helped many patients achieve long-term relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flu-like symptoms or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio. ask your doctor about the only gi-focused biologic just for ulcerative colitis and crohn's. entyvio. relief and remission within reach.

hurricane dorian keeps getting strongly, now a dangerous category 4 and headed right toward the bahamas and florida. we're keeping an eye on it. plus defying the policeman, hong kong pro democracy activists head back to the streets despite warnings. and twitter troubles, the president, the united states responds to concerns about a photo that he published, possibly classified image showing a failed rocket launch in iran. live from cnn world headquarters, we welcome our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm george howell. the "cnn newsroom"