a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the united states and all around the world. i'm christina macfarlane in for max foster here in london. just ahead -- >> the judge setting in motion the possible release of a heavily redacted version of the affidavit where the fbi laid out why they believe there is probable cause a crime was committed. long time chief financial officer allen weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 felonies on

thursday admitting his role in a decades long tax fraud scheme. international community reacting this horror that this could be at the center of fighting. hello and welcome, it is friday, august 19, 9:00 a.m. here in london, 4:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast where a federal judge has released a few new documents related to the search of donald trump's mar-a-lago home and the details they contain on the potential offenses sharpen the focus on the former president. the same judge signed off on the affidavit and he indicated thursday that he is willing to unseal portions of it that were used to just guy the fbi search. he told prosecutors to prepare redactions to the document in case the ruling is to release

it. meantime we're learning that trump's claim that he had a standing order to declassify the documents taken from the oval office is nonsense. cnn can exclusively report that 18 former top trump administration officials have been mocking that claim. here is how trump's former national security adviser put it. >> there was no standing order. i was not briefed on anything like that when i started as national security adviser, i never heard of it, never saw it in operation, never knew anything about it. the president never said anything to me during 17 months there. i just think that it is a complete fiction. >> cnn's sara murray has a closer look at the fight over the search warrant's records. >> reporter: an extraordinary legal battle playing out in florida. >> i think the country depends on information. we want to know what is in there. >> reporter: over what the public deserves to know about the search at mar-a-lago. a judge setting in motion today the possible release of a heavily redacted version of the

affidavit where the fbi laid out why they believe there is probable cause that crime was committed. the judge said he was not fully committed to unseal it giving the justice department a week to propose redactions and explain why each piece should be kept secret. this is after several news outlets including cnn asked the judge to unseal the affidavit that led to a search warrant resulting in fbi agents walking out of donald trump's home with boxes of classified material. >> it is a fishing expedition. >> reporter: the justice department opposing the release of details echoing concerns from an earlier filing where doj said if disclosed the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to their ongoing investigation in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps. head of the justice department's counterintelligence section pointing out the court already found probable cause that evidence of obstruction could be found at mar-a-lago and that releasing the affidavit could chill cooperation from future

witnesses. the government also raising concerns about the risks the fbi has faced in the wake of the mar-a-lago search. despite the justice department's preference for to secrecy -- >> long standing department rules and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time. >> reporter: the judge still appeared inclined to make at least portions of the document available to the public. trump meantime is eager to learn why the fbi targeted his mar-a-lago estate posting in part i call for the immediate release of the completely unredacted affidavit pertaining to this horrible and shocking break-in. his inner circle is when and whether to release security camera of the search. video recorded despite the fbi asking trump's lawyers to turn the cameras off when they got there. >> you still have the surveillance tape, is that correct? are you allowed to share that with the country? >> absolutely, sean, at the right time.

>> reporter: some close to trump say the video could energize the gop base and appear in a campaign style ad. but others worry raw footage showing agents removing more than a dozen boxes could further damage the former president. after thursday's hearing a spokesperson for donald trump said the trump team believes that the full unredacted version of the affidavit should be made public. of course that is not an argument that they made in court, at least not yet. sara murray, cnn, washington. because trump is often tied to more than one court case at a time, there is this, the former chief financial officer from the trump organization has pleaded guilty to a tax fraud scheme and as part of a deal he has agreed to testify against trump's real estate company at trial. >> reporter: long time chief financial officer of the trump organization allen weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 felonies admitting to his role in a decades long tax fraud scheme.

weisselberg has agreed to testify against the trump organization, a company's worked at for more than 40 years. the trump organization goes to trial in october and the manhattan district attorney has said that weisselberg's testimony will be invaluable. also as part of this deal, weisselberg has agreed to pay nearly $2 million in back taxes, interests and penalties and in exchange he will receive a five month sentence in jail. now, weisselberg will not implicate the former president at the trial. he also is not cooperating with the manhattan district attorney's long running investigation into the trump organization's finances. the trump organization put out a statement today calling weisselberg a fine and honorable man and said they look forward to going to trial in october. back to you. the u.s. stock markets begin trading again in just a few hours after closing out thursday on an up note. as the final bell rang on wall street, the major averages had

each logged some modest gains. the dow was up slightly while the nasdaq and s&p had both picked up a quarter point. this came after a rocky day of trading wednesday when all three indices posted losses. with 5 1/2 hours to go to the start of a new trading day, shear where the u.s. stock futures are standing right now. you can see all three in the red currently. meantime trading across europe, just getting under way this hour. both paris and the cac 40 down, but ftse 100 is up. and across asia, also hang seng there you can see up while the nikkei are down. and u.s. mortgage rates took a downward turn last week amid signs that the inflation may have peaked. freddie mac says the 30 year fixed rate mortgage dropped to 5.13%.

however the number is still far above where it was a year ago. mortgage rates skyrocketed in the first half of the rear before peaking in mid june and since then they have been on a roller coaster ride partly because of concerns over the fed's moves to fight inflation. meanwhile high prices keep taking a toll on the u.s. housing market. existing home sales declined for a sixth straight month in july as sales are down more than 20% compared to a year ago. and housing prices are remaining high. according to the national association of realtors, the median home price in july was over $403,000. that is almost 11% more than a year ago. but slightly lower than the record set in june. and while stress might be bad for your health, it is apparently good to makers of junk food. blame the pandemic. fath fears of the recession or inflation, but all this stress apparently giving us a u.s.

fl needed boost. hershey's, coke and pepsi are seeing their stocks trend up even as the overall market is trending down. energy drinks sales have also soared. coming up, long after the polio was thought eradicated, it is back. traces of the terrifying and deadly disease found in city sewer systems around the world. more on what we've been finding and what is being done. and as monkeypox spreads around the world, we'll find out how u.s. officials are increasing the availability of vaccinations for those at risk.

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we're back with some encouraging news on the covid pandemic now. according to the world health organization, overall new covid cases were down nearly 25% last week. and while the number of new deaths increased in some places, overall they were down 6%. as of the 14th, 6.4 million deaths have been reported across the world. cases of the monkeypox virus are rising around the world.

according to the u.s. cdc, there are now more than 40,000 infections globally. monkeypox can be transmitted by any close contact, but it is spreading disproportionately among men who have sex with men. u.s. health and human services sent s secretary stressed the need to contain the virus. take a listen. >> it is important that we all take monkeypox seriously and it is critical that we do all we can to keep this dangerous virus from spreading. >> the u.s. is also stepping up its vaccine effort. it is boosting supply by nearly 2 million doses, that will accelerate vaccine distribution time line and an experimental treatment for monkeypox will be easier to get. officials expect to have enough doses to fully vaccinate and target -- the target population in the u.s. by late september. london is among a growing list of cities where the polio

virus has been detected in waste water and health officials are scrambling to get the most vulnerable vaccinated. salma abdelaziz has more on the vaccine push in the british capital. >> reporter: it is a disease once erad indicated from the u kuchlt. but after decades of zero cases, polio appears to be spreading again. a total of 116 instances of the virus were identified in 19 sewage samples collected in london between february and july this year officials say. no cases of the virus have been reported in the uk so far. and the risk to the public is considered low. but this doctor says officials have good reason for concern. >> it has come as quite a surprise that we've seen so many cases identified in sewage which suggests that there may be some transition in between people. >> reporter: in response the uk announced a vaccination drive for children aged 1 to 9 in

london. >> there are many children who haven't had their usual course of immunizations which is why there is a real concern that that opens up people to potentially contracting polio. >> reporter: polio was once one of the world's most feared diseases striking children younger than five the hardest. the worst form of the virus can lead to permanent paralysis. >> how long have you been here? >> three years. >> reporter: there is no cure for polio. vaccination is the only prevention. polio was first detected in sewage samples from this facility. afterwards more samples were taken from other sewage facilities across london and more polio was found. what is concerning for officials is that these areas, these neighborhoods, have lower vaccination rates. in london, nearly 14% of infants under 12 months have not received a primary course of polio immunization. the shortfall is significant says professor hayman.

is this an overreaction in any way? >> absolutely not. this is what needs to be done in all countries because we live in a world where people travel very much and can carry infections with them. >> reporter: but with vaccine hesitancy and fatigue soaring, doctors will face a challenge. >> there is a real drive for us to reach the communities where vaccination isn't really done, isn't really encouraged. and just try to myth bust a little bit about why vaccination is important. >> reporter: the government aims to complete the polio vaccine drive by september 26. a major feat for an overstretched health service. but it says a necessary response to protect the city's youngest. salma abdelaziz, cnn, london. officials say a so-called brain-eating amoeba is the likely culprit behind the death of a child in nebraska, child died this week just days after swimming in a river in douglas

county. it confirmed it will be the first such death in the state's history. the cdc says the amoeba usually lives in soil and fresh water, but it can in-effefect the brai it goes up someone's nose. infections are rare, but when they do happen, they are usually fatal. the justice department wants the documents used to justify the search of donald trump's home to remain under seal. why they are worried its release could endanger fbi agents. and growing concerns over the safety of ukraine's nuclear power plant in zaporizhzhia as war rages all around it. live reports are just ahead. plus why there may be plenty of fear and loathing for the taliban in kabul. it is a very different story to tell in afghanistan's heartland. past the doubt. past the pain. and past your limits.. no matter what, we go on. biofreeze. frank is a fan of fast. he's a fast talker.

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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm christina macfarlane. if you are just joining us, let me bring you up-to-date. a florida judge is setting in motion the possible release of parts of the affidavit that led to the search of donald trump's mar-a-lago home. he says he is not convinced that the entire document should remain sealed and he has given the justice department until next thursday to argue for certain sections to remain confidential. plus the former chief financial officer of trump's real estate business has pleaded guilty to evading taxes in a long running scheme as part of the plea deal, allen weisselberg has agreed to testify against the trump organization in a future trial. prosecutors say the agreement directly implicates the former president's business in a wide range of crimes. u.s. justice department is vehemently opposed to releasing

any parts of the search warrant records. and as brian todd explains, they are worried about the safety of fbi agents. >> reporter: the possible unsealing of the probable cause affidavit for the fbi search of donald trump's mar-a-lago home raising concerns about what it could mean for the safety of fbi agents. a justice department lawyer telling the judge, if the affidavit is unsealed, the department would want to redact background information on the agents involved in the search. >> if you were an fbi agent right now, i'd be concerned. >> reporter: if the affidavit is released everyone heavily redacted, could it put agents in danger? >> if the basis for invading mar-a-lago was just to find documents, then i think that there is going to be a lot of trouble in the nation. if the affidavit is unsealed with redactions that protect witnesses, and it shows that

there is something really critical that mandated or merited the fbi raiding mar-a-lago, i think that people are going to give the fbi a break. >> reporter: the justice department also warned that targets could be tipped off and witnesses could be spooked. >> people are out there looking for who these witnesses are and who is possibly in danger of being approached if this should come out if the affidavit is released. >> reporter: the possibility that the former president could release surveillance video of the search is also worrisome to current and former agents like josh campbell. >> if the faces of these agents actually makes it into the public domain, that could put the agents at risk because we know after the search at mar-a-lago those two agents who signed court records that were then released, they have faced unprecedented threats to their own personal security. >> reporter: but the threats already made since mar-a-lago have been ominous and are putting fbi agents on edge.

a pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly making threats on social media saying fbi personnel deserve to die. my only going is to kill more of them before i drop. that is according to court documents. in another incident, a social media account bearing the name of ricky shiffer, the suspect who law enforcement says tried to breach the fbi's cincinnati field office before being killed in a roadside shoot-out said on the night of the mar-a-lago search that the search was a, quote, call to arms. >> the rhetoric, it is a civil war, the fbi is the enemy of the people, that activates lone wolfs. >> reporter: and agents are taking extra precautions. josh campbell, a former special advisory agent, says he hears that some agents are carrying extra firepower with them during routine field operations and circling their offices scanning for potential threats before pulling in to the parking lots. brian todd, cnn, washington.

augusts has been a deadly month in afghanistan with the highest number of civilian casualties so far this year. 250 people have been killed or injured in the past few weeks including 21 dead, 33 wounded in an explosion at a mosque in kabul on wednesday. the u.n. mission is calling on taliban authorities to, quote, take concrete steps to prevent all forms of terrorism in afghanistan. a year on and it seems the taliban's rise to power has left afghanistan divided. in the cities especially kabul, there is a fear of the taliban's district islamic laws mixed with equal parts longing for the return of u.s. soldiers. but in small towns and villages in the heartland, there is often little love for americans as clarissa ward report, many remember the days of the u.s. occupation as brutal and deadly. >> reporter: there were no tears in this valley when u.s. forces left afghanistan.

the landscape is awash with white flags marking the graves of taliban fighters killed in battle. among them is the son of nabi. this is your son? he tells us that he was killed during a u.s. supported afghan special forces night raid on the family home in 2019. video of the aftermath shows the scale of the destruction after a protracted gunbattle, the house leveled killing a second son as well as his niece and her daughter. there was a lot of blood spilled, a voice says off camera. the rebuilt living room is now a shrine to the dead. what was your reaction when american forces left a year ago? i said that peace has come to afghanistan, he says. there will be no more mothers becoming widows like our mothers

and sisters who were widowed and our children killed. across this rural taliban stro stronghold, american forces were seen as invaders who brought death and destruction with their night raids and drone strikes. peace has brought a chance to air long held grievances. at the local market, we're immediately surrounded. every household had at least one fighter, this man tells us. and every house had people killed by the americans and their drones and we're proud of that. here this man is treated like royalty. his brother is believed to be responsible for downing a helicopter full of u.s. special forces. so he is taking me to the spot where he says his brother shot down a chinook. it was august 6, 2011. hamas says his brother was hiding behind the trees and shot the chinook down with an rpg as

it prepared to land by the river. 30 americans were killed. the single greatest loss of american life in the entire afghan war. there were a lot of celebrations and not just here, he tells us. it was a big party. i'm sure you can understand that it is hard to hear that people were celebrating about the deaths of dozens of americans. this was a heroic achievement because the people who were killed on this plane, they were the killers of osama bin laden he says. and definitely the people were happy about this. days later the u.s. says it responded with a strike that killed his brother. another white flag raised in a valley where martyrs were made and views hardened. clarissa ward, cnn, afghanistan.

the leaders of ukraine, turkey and the united nations held and emergency meeting on thursday in hopes of preventing a potential nuclear disaster at the zaporizhzhia power plant. the facility hasn't been inspected since russia seized it in march and recent shelling in the area has only heightened fears over safety of the plant. the three leaders agreed on a basic framework to allow international inspectors to investigate the site but moscow voiced their concerns. >> translator: russia has to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all forces of the territory of the zaporizhzhia power station and stop all provocations and all shelling. it is unacceptable that russia puts all of us at the brink of nuclear catastrophe. >> translator: we expressed concern about the ongoing conflict around the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

we do not want to experience a new chernobyl. >> military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant. further deployment of forces or equipment to the site must be avoided. the area needs to denuc denuclearized. any potential damage to zaporizhzhia is suicide. >> cnn has verified video showing russian military trucks inside the plant parked near a nuclear reactor. it is not known when the video was taken. ukraine accuses russia of using the site to shield its military equipment from ukrainian attacks and to fire on nearby towns. sam kiley is joining us live from zaporizhzhia. and sam, we saw yesterday claims of false flag operations that have raised fears that russia may be preparing for a provocation at the plant. so what more are you hearing? >> reporter: i think one of the

things that we have to do in this is separate propaganda from reality. that is what you say struggle on for a refg basis covering this story. but we know that the russians have been using the nuclear power station as a fire base. yesterday i visited a village directly opposite the nuclear power station on the ukrainian controlled side of the dnipro river and there were rocket strikes and a house was destroyed directly from that location. and ukrainians have been accused by russia of having struck back at certain locations in and around that nuclear facility. and that of course raises the specter of some kind of accident. ukrainians are swearing blind that they haven't and are not conducting any kind of attacks against this nuclear reactor, six nuclear reactors on that location, precisely because of the dangers that it poses not just to ukraine but the wider community in europe and indeed

to russia. the wind at the moment is in the direction of russia. so if there were a disaster there, it would be catastrophic for russia and russian occupied areas of ukraine. but amid all of this, russians were conducting cleanup drills yesterday and the day before particularly in the zaporizhzhia region. they are concerned that something might go wrong there, but the false flag allegations are often thrown at russia because russia has form in its own past for conducting fake attentions even on some of its own locations to blame for example the chechen rebls back in in the '90s. of course all of this boils down to the absolute reality can which is russian has invaded this country, it has seized the biggest nuclear power station in the whole of europe.

and it has also declared that it wants to shift its production of electricity to crimea which of course the russians seized and illegally annexed already. that technically poses a great deal of problems. so not only is there a military threat to the nuclear power station, but there is also potentially a technical threat. and for many nuclear scientists the latter poses the greater risk. >> extremely volatile situation, important to take a step back and consider these claims and allegations as theykiley, thank. russian's foreign ministry says it expects international in-spec torspectors to visit thn the near future and we're hearing from pro-russian civilian authorities in s zaporizhzhia about steps they say they are taking to increase security. one official said the protection system of the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been

strengthened due to a possible attempt by the ukrainian army to strike at the facility. fred pleitgen is standing by for us in moscow. what more are you hearing about these potential steps and also about the possibility of these international inspectors gaining access to the plant? >> reporter: hi there. yeah, as far as the steps are concerned, essentially the russians every day accuse the ukrainian of shelling the area of the nuclear power plant or the area around that nuclear power plant and specifically on this day of course the russian military has said that they believe that there will be a false flag operation on the part of the ukrainians and there have been even some officials who said that they believe that the ukrainians were trying to create a radiation leak at that nuclear power plant to then blame that on the russians. so that is sort of the backdrop of what moscow has been saying and also what the military civilian officials there in the zaporizhzhia region have been saying as well who then said that her going to increase the

security around that nuclear power plant site. as far as the visit of the international atomic energy agency is concerned, russian foreign ministry has indeed said that they expect that visit will happen in the not too distant future. they say it was agreed upon in june and so far at least as far as they are concerned it is still something that can happen and certainly something that they would be willing to facilitate as well. of course we do know so far we're still probably pretty far away from that and still seems as though it could be very difficult to actually pull that off. at the same time, it is quite interesting because one of the reasons why the russians keep talking about the possible provocations is they said they believe that something could happen while the u.n. secretary-general is in ukraine. and of course we heard from the u.n. secretary-general in our segment just now calling for the area around the zaporizhzhia power plant and the power plant itself to become a demilitarized zone to ensure the nuclear safety. the russians have shot that notion down saying they won't withdraw their troops from the

plant because they don't trust the ukrainians. so it seems as though what the u.s. is calling for, what the europeans are call willing for, what the u.n. secretary-general is calling for, to have that area demilitarized, is simply not going to happen. at the same time the russians as we've been reporting accusing the ukrainians of continuously shelling that area and also saying that obviously this is a very dangerous situation. it is quite interesting because one official said right now there is actually only one reactor working in that power plant which i believe has six reactors. so already in a very decreased mode of operation anyway. >> yeah, and if those international inspectors gain access, it would of course be a huge step potentially for the safety and security of that plant. fred pleitgen, thanks very much. the european union says serbia and cosovo have agreed to

keep talking. they tried to dial down the growing tensions can which are threatening to escalate into a bigger conflict. they say despite lack of progress thursday, negotiators will keep on trying. >> today's meeting was not normal meeting. i don't give up. today we don't give up. we need to continue discussing. we need to look for a solution. >> kosovo declared independence years ago. from heavy rainfall to extreme heat, the u.s. will see it all this weekend. derek. >> yeah, that's right. many parts of our country thirsty for rain while some other parts of our country are

receiving too much too quick. we also have a chance of severe weather anding in the gulf of m. i'll highlight all these stories cocoming up. . which makes waking up at 5 a.m. to milk the cows a little easier. (moo) mabel says for you, it's more like 5:15. man: mom, really? shipstation saves us so much time it makes it really easy and seamless pick an order print everything you need slap the label on ito the box and it's ready to go our cost for shipping, were cut in halfn ito the box just like that go to shipstation/tv d get 2 months free

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u.s. states have seen double the normal rainfall leading to some drought relief, but it is a different story in new england where a flash drought has developed. some rivers and streams are reportedly at record low levels and with little to no rain forecast this week, it could get worse. experts say the drought has now expanded to other parts of the u.s. northeast including in massachusetts where the entire state is in some level of drought for the first time in more than seven years. let's talk more about it with

meteorologist ter derek van dam. >> i'll take you back two weeks ago, this is new england, here is massachusetts. i want you to see just how the drought conditions expand and intensify as i go forward. i'll advance to the next map and this is actually the latest drought monitor. and you can see how boston to providence, rhode island, is included within that extreme profile of doubt. that of course showing this flash drought that is occurring. what is the difference between a flash drought and what is happening over the southwestern u.s. that is considered a mega drought? the flash drought across the new england coastline is that rapid onset of drought conditions, intensification within a matter of weeks. you saw that when i showed you the comparison between two weeks ago and just now. and it is also set into motion by the low rain and high temperature profile. out west, we're talking about decades of drought problems

across that area which by the way are starting to get eaten away at slowly but surely. we like to see that this. but a lot of rain could lead to serious problems because the ground is so hard and so compacted from the multidecade drought that this amount of precipitation in a short period of time could lead to serious troubles. the potential today for flash flooding across arizona and new mexico, that is where the weather prediction center has a level three of four on its flash flood prediction scale. we also have national weather service issuing flood watches across much of the state of arizona and new mexico, including phoenix to al betterky albuquerque as well. with additional rainfall in the forecast, this could lead to flash flooding and we'll see that rain shift eastward into the state of texas which desperately needs rain too. but too much too quickly could lead to flooding for them. keep an eye to the sky if you

are in iowa today, the chance of severe weather exists. damaging winds, large hail. and i mentioned before the break the potential for some tropical activity across the gulf of mexico, here it is, national hurricane center has a 40% probability. good news is it should stay away from the united states. >> let's hope so. derek, thanks very much for that entire roundup. thunderstorms sweeping across western europe have left at least a dozen people dead. five were killed around the french island of corsica, ten suffered injuries on boats mostly from falling. nearly 125 calls for help at sea were received. and at least five killed in austria and two others in italy, about 100 people were evacuated from their homes this italy's tuscany region. and at least 17 people have been killed in flash flooding in northwestern china according to state media. at least 17 others are missing. thousands are involved in

ongoing search and rescue missions. sudden heavy rainfall led to mudslides and diverted rivers in three areas. more than 6,000 people have been impacted by the flooding. taiwan and china are both showcasing their military capabilities this week as tcros strait tensions continue to rise in the wake of several u.s. lawmakers visiting. blake essig is joining me live. taiwan announcing daily military drills from china over the taiwan strait. so what is the mood there for people about this constant provocation? >> reporter: it is hard to ignore, it always seems to be in some capacity on people's minds. but people here in taiwan have been living under this constant threat from china for roughly the past seven decades. as of late tensions between china and taiwan have seemingly gotten worse following some of these high level visits earlier

this month. while the international community has viewed beijing's recent fiery rhetoric, the military exercises as a dress rehearsal for war, i went out on to the streets in taipei to find out exactly how the people living here feel about the recent developments. twice this month u.s. congressional delegations one led by house speaker nancy pelosi visited taipei. their goal, to reaffirm u.s. support for taiwan and help ease cross strait tensions. although the u.s. delegations came and went, beijing responded by condemning the visits and flexing its military muscle. while the people of taiwan were left to deal with the consequences. >> translator: we kind of expected cross strait tension to be escalated. i don't think the visits are helping taiwan. >> translator: i think it was selfish of pelosi to visit taiwan. >> translator: since there is a taiwan relations act, maybe they are visiting to reassure us that

they stand with us. i don't think that they provoked china. after all, threats from china never stop. >> reporter: despite the constant threat of a forceful reunification from china, take a look around, life here continues. the shopping strict is p distri is packed, restaurants are fool and the mood surprisingly calm. >> translator: we can't rule out the possibility of them to attack taiwan. >> translator: being worried isn't helpful. >> translator: they just are posturing to enhance cohesion domestically. >> reporter: although there is a quite confidence that taiwan's military would be able to hold off a chinese invasion -- >> translator: taiwan's military has regular exercises. >> reporter: but many say that they will do whatever they can to help fight for their island, whether that is by taking up arms or learning to provide first and id. which is why courses like there are being held and the class is

full. >> we remain calm because this is the reality that we've lived under for so many years. but when i see folks turning out for events like this one, i know that while we're not running around panicked, we know that we can do more and we must do more to help preserve the peace. >> translator: i believe the better our preparation is, the less chance the war will be because our rival will not win easily and it is important to show them that we are prepared. >> reporter: peace and stability across the taiwan strait is all anyone wants here, a concept sadly though that people here still tell me that seems more unlikely with each passing day given the current circumstances. it is a sentiment seemingly echoed by beijing officials during their six days of live fire drills following speaker pelosi's visit with the underlying message that time is on china's side and that reunification with china is not a matter of if but when.

>> this is an important issue. blake, good to have you there monitoring it for us. a story we'll of course continue to watch closely. coming up, the nfl decides the fate of embattled quarterback deshaun watson. just how long he is out, when we return. age 50 to 85, and looking to buy lilife insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85,

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the nfl and players association have agreed to suspend cleveland browns quarterback deshaun watson for 11 games without pay. the embattled quarterback also faces a $5 million fine after being accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women. watson is also to undergo professional evaluation by behavioral experts. watson will be eligible to play this week 13 against his former team the texans. elon musk joked about buying manchester united but now jim ratcliff is also showing his interest in purchasing the club. he is majority shareholder of a group that owns several other sporting agencies. the interest came after a

bloomberg report saying that the club's owners are open to selling a minority stake. no comment from the family however. manu is currently worth $4.6 billion and bottom of the premier league table. and basketball analyst dick vitale says he is cancer free. he had been battling two types of cancer, lymphoma, which was diagnosed with last year, and melanoma, which he's undergone multiple surgeries for. after his diagnosis, he took a break from doing games to rest his vocal cords. and there is no doubt that the hit single all i want for christmas is a classic stable of holiday season. ♪ all i want to christmas is you ♪ >> but her attempt to trademark

the title queen of christmas is other singers. the trademark application was filed in march of last year. elizabeth chan who performs only christmas music has filed a formal objection and darlene love wrote on facebook that she has been the queen of christmas since before mariah carey even became famous. that ask it for this edition of "cnn newsroom." stay with us, "early start" with christine romans is next.

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welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. it is friday, august 19, happy friday, i'm christine romans. a document unsealed in federal government shedding new light on exactly what the fbi is investigating in the mar-a-lago probe. it says the investigation involves, quote, willful retention of national defense information. meantime prosecutors argue to keep the probable cause affidavit detailing the reasons for that search a secret. the judge suggested he might actually release som