president trump's sister unleashed in secret recordings, calling her brother a liar with no principles who can't be trusted. the u.s. president meantime lashing out at the fda and blaming the deep state for a vaccine conspiracy. plus, wicked weather. a million acres on fire in california, and the gulf coast preparing for not one, but two potential hurricanes this week. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to you, our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom."

it is the eve of u.s. president donald trump's big week in the spotlight. testimonials from those who know him best are expected to be around his party's national convention, but those are normally preapproved and flattering and comments by his older sister, well, they're anything but. retired federal judge maryanne trump barry is heard bitterly criticizing her brother in audio secretly recorded by their niece, a vocal critic of the president. >> the tweet and the lying, oh, my god, i'm talking too freely, but, you know, the change of stories, the lack of preparation, the lying, [ bleep ]. >> the reporter who broke the

story appeared earlier on cnn to describe some of the exchanges. listen. >> mary trump heard her brother sedaid on fox news, at the time as you recall, children being separated from their parents and being put in the cramped quarters and maryanne gave a conversation with her niece and said it is all about the base, all he wants to do is appeal to the base, he has no principles, none, none, and his base, if you're a religious person, you like to help people, not do this. >> maryanne trump barry appears to be the source of the claim the president had a friend take a standardized admissions test to get into college. >> i mean, i know you can get into college, and he went to

fordham for one year and then he got into the university of pennsylvania. i guess he had somebody take his exams. >> no way. >> and -- >> he had someone take his entrance exams. >> s.a.t.s or whatever. >> you're kidding. >> that's what i believe. i even remember the name. >> oh, man. >> the white house has called that allegation absurd. republican strategist and cnn political commentator ana navarro say the tapes are extremely significant. >> i hope somebody takes these excerpts and turns them into a campaign ad. because there is something incredibly powerful about her own voice, describing her brother in those terms, as cruel, and phony, and a liar. things so many of us have thought. to hear his sister say it, his

older sister say it is just -- it is just jaw dropping. >> and that's a sentiment echoed by our chief media correspondent brian stelter. >> the quotes about how the president doesn't read stand out to me because we heard that from white house aides. we have not heard it from his family members before. this is shocking material from the president's sister. it is also sad, it is sad to see a family torn apart like this. it is sad to see a family so broken. and i know the trumps have broken many families. there are many liberals and conservatives who don't talk to each other anymore. >> president trump is trying to brush off the controversy, releasing a statement that reads, quote, every day it is something else, who cares? i miss my brother and i'll continue to work hard for the american people, not everyone agrees, but the results are obvious, our country will soon be stronger than ever before.

joining me now to discuss all this is leslie benjamuri. thank you so much for joining me. so you heard some of those takes there, we heard, you know, similar things from a plethora of former trump associates and people close to the president, do these tapes tell us anything we haven't heard already? >> i think they confirm what we have been hearing for several years coming out of this white house from people who have left the white house, who worked around closely with the president. but i think they are topping some very fundamental issues. remember that the election, the november election is really coming down to the number one issue being really how people feel about the character of the candidate that they're going to vote for. and so this really strikes at, you know, this ongoing question of the integrity of the president, of his competence, and i think very importantly it

comes from his sister, from a member of his family, and this is a president who, like all presidents, quite a lot more, care so much about loyalty, care so much about appearances, and she also, of course, attacks his intelligence, by making the allegation that he cheated on the s.a.t. which is something that the president has taken very seriously. he's frequently talked about his iq. but i think, you know, if you go back to the democratic national convention, you look ahead to the republican national convention and you think about where the country is right now, the number one thing at stake right now is the public health crisis, the number of americans dying and the economic crisis. and this really i think raises yet another question about whether the sitting president has what it takes, is competent, has the integrity to really lead the country for another four years. >> presumably no trump supporter will be saying, well, this

changes everything. >> no, i think we have seen for a long time that there is a core of donald trump's base that stays with him and of course there is a line that accompanies anything like this release, which is an attempt to smear his character. but if you look at the numbers, this is a president that is very well aware as we all are that he is significantly down in national polling, but there is a lot at stake and there is still a lot to be played for in swaying a number of voters, not only as to who they might vote for, there is a core of people who won't have decided, but most importantly whether they'll turn up. i think the number one issue on the agenda is the competence of the president. 64% of americans polled do not believe what the president says about the pandemic crisis. that's quite extraordinary. but really the convention last week, and the convention this

week will be about motivating and energizing voters for trump, his base, but the democrats are very broad unity coalition, to turn out in november and vote, in the election which is going to be fraught operationally as we all know. >> yeah, absolutely. let's turn to the republican convention next week. we know that they're planning more live events than the democrats were in terms of speakers. we know that we're going to hear from a lot of trumps and many people who have become viral stars in the conservative circles like the couple who wielded guns at black lives matter protesters. who do you think we're going to see and what kind of stories do you think they're hoping to tell? >> well, the first thing is they have held this very closely, there hasn't been a lot of information released until very recently. the second thing is donald trump made a big play out of the democrats recording speeches, of

not being in person, and this really gets to the heart of the main division, which is that the vice president biden, the democrats and frankly experts and many of the american people are taking the gravity of the pandemic, the need for social distancing, for wearing masks incredibly seriously and by really pushing back and saying we'll be in person, we will have people at the events, we'll wait to see whether president trump wears a face mask, of course, kamala harris and vice president biden certainly did. that's a very big signal to the american people. so in part, what we're looking at in this convention is a -- a story about what matters to america, and the president is going to speak every night. president trump, we're told, will appear every night. i think we'll see a doubling down on the culture wars. and a lot of attacks, of course, on vice president biden, kamala harris, attempting to portray the democratic party as being

lefties who will not be able to restore the economy. and this is a very interesting point. it is because, of course, getting americans back to a work that is safe, dealing with the pandemic is the number one issue on the americans' agenda and donald trump wants to portray himself as the only person who can lead the country economically. it is a difficult message to send at a point when he's directly culpable for the economic downturn that america is facing now. that i think he's going to try to do, it will be interesting to see how successful he is. >> it is going to be fascinating to watch. thank you so much, leslie, for your analysis there. we appreciate it. >> thank you. the u.s. house of representatives was back in a rare saturday session, called back from august recess by speaker nancy pelosi. it passed a $25 billion measure to provide funding desperately needed by the postal service ahead of this november's election.

funding the president insists the post office doesn't need. president trump has threatened to veto the bill, but it probably won't survive the republican-led senate. and a programming note for you, tune in for our live coverage of the republican national convention, starting on monday night at 7:00 eastern time. we'll have full coverage and analysis on cnn.com. more than 5.6 million americans have new been infected with the coronavirus. the death toll is now more than 176,000. in the past 24 hours, johns hopkins university recorded more than 44,000 new cases and more than 900 new deaths from the virus. with the nation in the grips of the pandemic, u.s. president donald trump went golfing at one of his properties on saturday. again. he also made a baseless accusation that the federal food and drug administration is deliberately delaying vaccine trials until after the election

in november. cnn's jeremy diamond has more from the white house. >> reporter: this time the president is going at it with his own food and drug administration and its commissioner dr. stephen hahn. the president suggesting that the fda is intentionally slow walking the development of therapeutics and vaccines so that they don't come out before the november 3rd election. of course, there is no truth to that. let me read you directly the president's statement. he says the deep state or whoever over at the fda is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. obviously they're hoping to delay the answer until after november 3rd. must focus on speed and saving lives. now, of course, there is no evidence to back up what the president is saying here. the white house nor the fda have provided any comment or evidence to back up the president's claim here. it is notable because the president has gone after so many of his public health experts previously, now he's going after dr. stephen hahn and the fda who

he praised in the past for actually moving very quickly to develop some of these therapeutics and other medical interventions necessary to go after the coronavirus. in fact, the president, he's the only one who actually suggested in the past that there is some connection between november 3rd election day and the development of a coronavirus vaccine. the president suggesting previously that a vaccine might be ready in time for election day. but, of course, every public health expert including the president's own has said it is much more likely that a vaccine will be ready by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. jeremy diamond, cnn, the white house. most european nations lifted strict lockdown restrictions weeks ago and now cases are surging again. the latest on that. plus, what the u.s. can learn from europe's approach. stay with us. we support memorable moments, concentration - in hectic times . and focus to win the day. unlike ordinary memory supplements... neuriva's clinically proven ingredients

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the number of lives lost to the coronavirus worldwide topped 800,000 on saturday. 23 million people have been infected. in some parts of the world, cases are holding steady or dropping, some countries are seeing surges. italy for instance topped 1,000 new cases on saturday, for first

time since may. more than 1200 new cases were reported in the uk and the government adviser warns of possible draconian measures. brazil second only to the u.s. reported 50,000 new infections with nearly 900 deaths and as we can see the virus is impacting countries around the globe. a festival in india to honor a hindu god, but with more than 3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country, it is a more somber occasion than usual. today there is a special prayer in the temple, the priest says. we're pray be everyone is cured and the coronavirus will end. prayers also in baghdad, where shiite pilgrims are gathering for the beginning of a holy month, despite calls from clerics to stay at home as covid-19 spreads across the country. the number of cases here rising above 200,000. this virus has no regard for

religion or the people who practice it, the global death toll now more than 800,000. some experts say some very down to earth measures are what is needed right now. in bolivia, where infects topped over 100,000, healthcare workers go door to door in the areas of la paz to hand out medical kits. i have shortness of breath, one woman says, i have seen the doctor and she has tested me. one more month and i think i will be okay, put a lot of people have died in the neighborhood. peru will soon begin phase three clinical trials of a vaccine developed by a chinese company and is in talks to buy millions of doses of a potential vaccine. its case count is the sixth highest in the world. lebanon is under a partial lockdown for two weeks after its infections doubled since an explosion rocked the city more than two weeks ago. everyone has been mixing one man says, corona has certainly

increased. we have to take care of ourselves and fix our homes. a curfew is in place with exceptions for making repairs, clearing rubble and giving out aid. a helping hand that much of the world affected by an unmerciful disease could use right now. now, a warning from the french health minister, coronavirus is spreading much more quickly in france among people under 40 than those over 65. in an interview published sunday, the officials said covid-19 is four times more active among the younger group than the older group. according to johns hopkins university, there are more than 275,000 cases in france. so let's get more on the situation there and what french authorities are doing to protect the public health. for now, we're joined by melissa bell in paris, french authorities, particularly in marseille, seem to be taking this resurgence very seriously. >> that's right. what we have seen over last couple of weeks really here is

authorities trying to add extra restrictions all the time, to try to bring the rising coronavirus caseses -- figures back under control. so masks for instance were obligatory indoors and shops. now on a growing number of french streets they have to be worn in many neighborhoods. that means, kim, that the focus of authorities shift from hospitals, and on to the streets, it becomes a matter of law and order. the new front line in europe's fight against the covid-19 pandemic, its soldiers no longer healthcare workers in hospitals, but police men and women patrolling the streets to warn tourists and locals alike of the new rules. here in marseille, national police units have been brought in to enforce the recent law that made masks mandatory in a growing number of french cities. the fine for not wearing one is

nearly $160. >> translator: if there weren't police on the streets enforcing, people would wear it less. when they see us, it reminds them it is mandatory and often that's enough. >> reporter: part of the problem is the new regulations here in france were brought in quickly as coronavirus cases rose these last couple of weeks. as a result, they can be confusing and difficult to enforce. these police men and women behind me are checking people's masks on the streets and also obligatory on the beach, but what they explained is the new rule would be too difficult tone force in such a crowded space. since the reopening of the eu's internal borders in june, europeans have been heading south for the summer. and from greece to croatia, from spain to france, covid-19 figures have been rising. and it is to contain those rises that fresh regulations have been introduced. before in france, masks were mandatory in ind door spaces and enforced by shop keepers or on public transport by the owners

themselves. >>. >> translator: we were on the front line and it was hard to get people to comply. people need to be scared, they need to be fined to understand it is mandatory, especially in a city like marseille, people won't listen much to a conductor, but will listen to the police. >> reporter: but police unites say their new responsibilities bring fresh problems for an already stretched police force. >> translator: we had the yellow vests and now it is covid. and while we're busy with those missions, we cannot fight other crimes like delinquency and that's our primary job. that's what it should be. >> now when you look at those covid-19 figures in that wider region around marseille, over the course of a month, the number of cases per 100,000 people grew 10 fold. what's happening now over the course of the next week is people will be heading back north, back to school, back to work and the government, the authorities are now looking at what measures they need to take in schools and in workplaces to try to keep people safe.

>> well, excellent reporting there, in your piece, and it raises one question i wanted to ask you about, earlier this summer amnesty international published a report that suggested there was plenty of evidence of racial bias in coronavirus-related policing. the situation seemed particularly bad in france, with black people being fined and arrested at rates several times higher than white people. so was this an issue in the community and have they taken any steps to address this? >> kim, you're right, france is a really unusual country in many ways insofar as normally data about ethnicity and so on can't be collated at all. it is a very difficult conversation for them to have. the idea that all french people should be considered alike in front of the law, the result, of course, it is very hard to measure any discriminations, hard to get a window into how bad things are and therefore to fix the situation. what the coronavirus crisis did was give us some figures and you're quite right, when you

looked at neighborhoods outside of paris, for instance, with much more ethnically diverse populations you saw the numbers of stop and searches were double what they were inside paris. and then, of course, you saw an equivalent rise in the number of deaths as a result of covid-19, figures in the area outside of paris were much higher than the death rates inside paris at the time at the very height of the outbreak here back in march and early april. so it gave you an opportunity to see that not everyone was treated equally, either by authorities trying to bring the outbreak under control, or in terms of outcomes once people found themselves threatened with catching the virus itself. so it provided that interesting way of looking at what was happening in france and it also gave some movement for a while to people who took to the streets to protest about it. so coronavirus did give us that insight into how french society works, kim. >> we'll see if that continues. thank you so much for your

analysis. appreciate it. for more on all of this, let's turn to mohammad munir, a virologist at lancaster university in lancaster, england. thank you for joining us here. we seem to be trapped, cases drop, cases rise, that's what you're seeing right now in the uk, and across europe, is there any way to prevent this? >> there are possibilities to prevent it. i think the major message i want to pass here is 80% of people still are susceptible, they don't have immunity against the virus. small clusters start to appear, if we don't control the small clusters, it is going to go into an outbreak which could be uncontrollable and we're putting in the situation we have been same before in march, april, here in europe. certainly there are possibilities to avoid that.

mainly to follow the rules, and what has been put in place to stick with those rules and regulations because, i mean, we all know that taking the carin the road is a risk, if we do not tailgate and follow all the traffic lights, we can avoid accidents. similarly we can avoid catching coronavirus, because coronavirus doesn't come home and doesn't knock on your door, all it does is that when you go out, you can bring the virus. following rules and regulations are critical to a wide -- large cluster of the cases. >> critical as well as testing. you've been working on a fast diagnostic test, these rapid tests tend to be less accurate, under circumstances, but there is a school of thought that suggests we shouldn't worry about the accuracy that if we tested regularly and quickly, every two days at school or college campuses we with get a much better handle on outbreaks. is that -- is that a good idea, is that feasible?

>> well, yes, absolutely. that is the real test moving forward. what we have learned in last five, six months is really to be applied to a second wave or have a -- earlier we can detect the smaller clusters before they morph into uncontrollable outbreaks and in that whole scenario testing, tracing and isolation is the most critical. if we apply tests for vulnerable communities, even if it is falling -- failed in the first instance, second instance will pick it up. a broad scale application of testing, especially in the vulnerable communities as the communities where people are going back into the new normal, particularly indoors, the transmission is getting really much of concern. that is the place where we can really pick the infections. >> sounds like you're describing schools among others.

we're hearing about coronavirus and kids, just as many in europe and the u.s. are heading back to school. we know that children don't get as sick but there is more and more evidence they can transmit the virus very effectively. now the world health organization says children age 12 and over should wear masks. kids 6 to 11 should wear masks on a risk-based approach. children aged 5 years and under shouldn't be required to wear masks, but i want to ask you in the uk, the uk government says masks are not recommended for primary or secondary schoolchildren. who is right here? >> well, i think we have now strong evidence is that the face covering does protect the virus, not only to trust other people, but also catching the infection to some extent because the virus in the initial state does determine what is the fate of the disease later. so i think face coverings there is no doubt on that, having it on and protected. so now the question comes to the children, it is a little more

complicated when it comes to the children wearing the face masks and the covering. so i personally would recommend my children to go into school, having the face covering, because that is where we can have a little barrier for not only transmission, but children might not be able to get infected as much as we adults or elder people will get, but the problem really lies when they come back to the family, to the parents, they transmit back to the community. that's where i'm worrying that the community spread starts and we will be having more cases. in germany, majority of schools are open, they have increased numbers of cases. >> that's what we're seeing here in the u.s. as well. listen, thank you so much for

your expertise. we appreciate it. all right, coming up after the break, the battle against hundreds of wildfires raging across california. plus, two tropical storms are getting stronger and threatening the u.s. gulf coast. the warnings and the forecast coming up next. audible is my road-trip companion. it's kind of my quiet, alone time. audible is a routine for me. it's like a fun night school for adults. i could easily be seduced into locking myself into a place where i do nothing but listen to books. i never was interested in historical fiction before, but i'm obsessed with it now. there are a lot of like, classic and big titles that i feel like i missed out since i don't have time to read, mean i might as well listen. if i want to catch up on the news or history or learn what's going on in the world, i can download a book and listen to it. because i listened to her story over and over again,

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welcome back, to you our viewers in the united states and canada and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber and you're watching "cnn newsroom." right now the governor of california declared a state wide emergency as wildfires rage across the state. the white house approved a major disaster declaration after the

fires tore through 1 million acres of land or more than 4,000 square kilometers in a month. the warm dry weather and lightning strikes are contributing to the calamity and as cnn's michael holmes reports, thousands of courageous firefighters are risking everything to save lives. >> i'm going to get you out of here, okay? >> reporter: firefighters trapped on a ridge line in california, the only way out is up. a helicopter crew braves gusting winds to scoop them away to safety. a close call here, but it is a pitched battle across the state to put out more than 500 fires, many caused by lightning strikes. officials say two of the blazes are among the biggest they have had in almost 90 years. more than 12,000 firefighters are battling the flames, many working 24 hour shifts. so far, it is not enough

manpower to hold back the fires, which have burned an area bigger than the size of rhode island. neighboring states are sending help, but state officials say they need more. >> we also reached out across the border into canada for resources and support. and many of you recall in 2017, some of the best wildfire firefighters in the world from australia, we also have requests out for that talent as well. >> reporter: officials say there are too many fires right now to save some homes, and nearly 120,000 people have been evacuated. some people are taking it into their own hands to protect their property. >> we got here, flames were all out in front. and halfway down my driveway, my house was set way back. so, we just started getting to work. and we put the fires out. and so far we have saved it, but you never know. >> reporter: in previous fire

seasons, prisoner firefighters have been used to help contain the blazes, but authorities say there are fewer of those resources now because of early releases due to the coronavirus. forecasters say dry thunderstorms are in the forecast, which could bring more lightning and strong winds to the region, making the job of those trying to stop these ever growing wildfires even more dangerous. michael holmes, cnn. one of those people who had to evacuate was darcy smith in vacaville, california, the owner of funky chicken rescue, which rescues and adopts unwanted animals. i spent years in california covering the wildfires, i know how frightening they can be up close. describe your experience with the fires, what did you see, what did you hear? >> thank you for having me. it was insane. the fire came extremely quickly, it was very, very hot.

and it destroyed everything in its path. we had to evacuate without much notice. and we have over 200 animals at our animal facility so we had to get everybody out. >> we're seeing pictures of some of those animals that you had to take out of there. how hard was it with the fire coming, you know, i heard you describe the propane tanks were exploding and so on. how hard was it to get all the animals out under those conditions? >> it was extremely difficult. thankfully we had help, everybody we had on our help list was also evacuating, because the fire was so large and the span was so big that everybody that normally helped us was also evacuating all of their animals.

so -- >> i was going to ask that question, some of the animals have special needs. so how hard was that? >> extremely hard. but we have animals in wheelchairs, we have a lot of blind animals, and to evacuate them at 2:30 in the morning was very difficult. >> did you manage to get them all out? >> we got all of them out except a pack of our alpacas. and it about killed me to leave them, but we put our animals in a safe spot and we came back to try to get them, unfortunately we never did get them out of the sanctuary. but they were on a dirt lot and we did have a fire break around them. so i was just praying. >> so hopefully they're still okay. you were forced to evacuate. where did you go? >> we had a friend who had a

farm, who we took most of our chickens too. we have over 200 chickens and a lot of other farm animals there. and some had to go to the shelter and then the fair grounds where they keep a lot of the livestock. you're emus went to the fair grounds. >> i understand you've been cleared to go back. are you back home now? >> yes, about 10:00 our time this evening we were able to get all the animals back. and so everybody is back and settled in. and now we're reaching out to other sanctuaries and animal control for anybody that needs us to take in their animals. >> what does the area look like now? >> well, thank goodness our area, our home and our sanctuary was untouched. but there is so much destruction, so many people lost their homes, i have never seen

destruction this bad by a fire. >> wow. and just tell me what happens next. i know the community is coming together to help people in need. what is the process now of sort of, you know, starting people, getting people back together again. >> i think that's what really what it is. the community is coming together, providing donations to get people for the animals, get their animals taken care of and feed for the people, get clothing, and get them fed. and housing and temporary housing and until they can go back. we have a large area that is still evacuated with wildfires, so -- >> well, listen, we wish you, your family and all of your animals of course all the best. we appreciate you joining us here today. thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. all right, well now it is

time for a check of the global weather forecast. meteorologist derek van dam joins us now. let's turn to the question at hand here, california firefighters undermanned, underequipped, hoping they might get a break from the weather. doesn't look likely. >> there has been a lot of discussions, kim, too, about a term known as dry lightning. what is that? as the name infers, a thunderstorm that has literally no rain associated with it, but it does have lightning, and that, of course, can spark wildfires and unfortunately that's what occurred this past week. there was a period of three days, 72 hours, over 10,000 lightning strikes sparked over 350 wildfires across central and northern sections of california. that is what is ongoing. and that is the threat going forward, in fact, the firefighters here fear to see this kind of a weather map showing pop-up showers and thunderstorms. of course, with dry lightning there isn't much rain associated with it. so that won't help in aiding the firefighting efforts, it is just

going to unfortunately hinder them because the potential exists for additional wildfires to be sparked. just a quick update, these wildfire complexes that were started by lightning are referred to just that, the scu lightning complex fire, which is now, by the way, the second largest in acreage wildfire in recorded history for the state of california, that's incredible. not just california, it is over the entire western u.s. we have 90 large active wildfires from colorado to the pacific northwest, it is emitting a lot of smoke and emissions into the upper levels of the atmosphere, degrading the quality of our air from colorado to the central portions of california. >> thank you so much, derek, appreciate it. more bad news potentially, two tropical storms both heading toward the gulf of mexico could hit the area within days. and both storms could intensify to hurricane strength. now, this is a rare event, only twice in recorded history have

two tropical storms or stronger weather systems been in the gulf of mexico at the same time. evacuation orders are set to go into effect in some places in the coming hours. let's bring derek van dam back with us to discuss this. according to the national hurricane center, the upper gulf is going to get a one-two punch. what kind of blows are we expecting here? >> we're talking a 48 hour separation between landfall and tropical systems from louisiana to texas, perhaps even alabama. it is right across that gulf coast area that we're monitoring closely. here's the gist of the story. we got tropical storm marco and laura. tropical storm laura, that's going to approach the gulf of mexico about 48 hours later. it is a complicated scenario, i'll try to break down the individual storms for you. we're eagerly awaiting that 5:00 a.m. update from the national hurricane center that will, of course, give us a lot more clues for where these storms are

exactly headed. at the meantime, we have the latest update, 110 kilometer per hour winds, still a tropical storm and this system is forecast to strengthen to a hurricane status before making landfall sometime midday into monday evening for the louisiana coastline. and you can see the hurricane watches that are in place, including the greater new orleans region, entering an area with very warm water. we look to tropical storm laura, this is the storm we see the potential for explosive growth. this system, according to some computer models, has the potential to really rapidly intensify. after it passes through cuba, and re-emerges across the warm waters of the gulf of mexico. this is the one we want to watch. but we have that 1-2 punch of two tropical land falling systems here in the next three days. >> we'll be following that throughout the day. thank you so much, derek. appreciate it. frequent faux of vladimir putin is being treated by german

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an update on gravely ill russian opposition leader alexei navalny. his chief of staff cesssays nav is in stable condition. hospital officials say the kremlin critic is undergoing extensive tests and results won't likely be known for days. navalny suddenly became severely ill thursday on a flight to moscow and later fell into a coma. those closest to him believe he was poisoned. for more on this, let's bring in cnn producer in london. uk foreign secretary dominic ra rabb has been outspoken calling for a full investigation. what is the latest there? >> reporter: well, the foreign secretary has tweeted on saturday he felt relieved that

navalny was in berlin in germany, receiving the medical care he needed. he certainly shares that sense of relief with navalny's family and his wife julia who did not think he was safe as long as he was in russia. his family did not trust the doctors that initially treated him in the siberian city. they wanted to move him to germany. that was initially blocked by the doctors who said he was not well enough to undergo that journey. at that point, his wife rejected that, she says and her team allege that navalny was kept in russia for long enough for any potential poison that may have been administered to clear away from his body. certainly his family now feeling relief that in their view that now he's in safe hands, treated by doctors who they trust. >> so, of course, he joins a growing list of kremlin critics who ended up either dead or very

sick including with cases which happened where you are in the uk. >> reporter: that's right. right here in england in 2018, military grade nerve agent was used to target a former russian spy, sergei skripal and his daughter. they survived but were gravely ill. there was another case about ten years before of another former russian spy who suffered a very slow and very agonizing death after being poisoned by a radioactive substance here in london. unfortunately he died, kremlin denies all involvement in those cases and rejects any involvement with the navalny case, kim. >> thank you very much for that. appreciate it. well, 2020 is about to throw us another curveball. this time from space believe it or not. an asteroid that needs to learn the meaning of social distancing when we come back. stay with us. find your keys. find your get-up-and-go.

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concentration - in we suppohectic times .oments, and focus to win the day. unlike ordinary memory supplements... neuriva's clinically proven ingredients fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. take the neuriva challenge with our money-back guarantee! well, political turmoil, unrest and hurricanes weren't enough, now nasa says an asteroid is heading our way. and you'd wonder if it has an agenda, it is expected to brush

past the earth one day before november 3rd, u.s. election. the asteroid is named 20 18 vp one, and is about two meters or about six feet wide. basically my size. so here you can see its orbit as the white circle while the earth is the blue circle. so now let's project the orbit from today to november 2nd. you can relax, the chance of it hitting earth is estimated at 0.4%. but that's not 0. i'm kim brunhuber. for more on the scathing comments about president trump from his own sister, "cnn newsroom" continues in just a moment. stay with us. hike!

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scathing words from president trump's older sister, donald is out for donald, period. we'll have more of the newly released secret recordings of maryanne trump barry. president trump goes on the offensive against the fda, accusing the agency of playing politics with coronavirus vaccine trials. and wild weather on two u.s. fronts. california battles some of the largest wildfires ever, gulf coast residents eye two tropical storms. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to you our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom."