arwa damon, thanks so much for your very courageous reporting. erbil in northern iraq, not very far away. >>> coming up, we're standing by for the white house press briefing. the return of sean spicer to the lectern after a series of questions about his whereabouts yesterday. we'll discuss that and more when we come back. wish your skin could bounce back like it used to? neutrogena hydro boost water gel. with hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin. hydro boost. from neutrogena peobut they're different.ind it's nice to remove artificial ingredients. kind never had to. we choose real ingredients like almonds, peanuts and a drizzle of dark chocolate. give kind a try. ♪ ready or not, here i come.ek.) ♪ anyone can dream. making it a reality is the hard part. northrop grumman command and control systems always let you see the complete picture. and we're looking for a few dreamers to join us. the future isn't silver suits anit's right now.s, think about it. we can push buttons and make cars

appreciate it. >> just incredible reporting, arwa.e also getting some breaking news into us here at cnn just now. we know only a little bit, but here's what we can tell you out of the heart of paris. there is a police operation under way right now in the square in front of notre dame cathedral, that huge, iconic cathedral in the middle of paris. paris police have tweeted, asking the public to avoid the area. again, a police operation under way in the square in front of notre dame. we'll get you more information and bring it to you after this. went to ancestry, i put in the names of my grandparents first. i got a leaf right away. a leaf is a hint that is connected to each person in your family tree. i learned that my ten times great grandmother is george washington's aunt. within a few days i went from knowing almost nothing to holy crow, i'm related to george washington. this is my cousin george. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com in the mirror everyday. when i look when i look in the mirror everyday. ev

let's bring in analyst lieutenant general mark hertling and arwa damon in irbil, iraq. general, what is your take on the reports? >> alisyn, this is very high skepticism. this is without the russians giving us where the information they are getting. this has been reported over of the past couple of years. one report that he was killed in iraq and before that, another report. there have been multiple killings of mr. al bagdadi. they all have been false. there is a reason he is called ghost. there is too much to the story that makes me skeptical. 300 people in one strike. that doesn't make sense. that would have been reported if it happened on may 28th. the second day of ramadan. we would have heard about that. we have not seen anything that proves the strike hit some place. he hasn't been seen in the last two years since he made this speech at the mosque in mosul. >> pawing cruickshank. it is great to have you on here. you are a constant source of information and intel about the issues. much of our skepticism has been fueled by your insights this morning. highlight the p

. >> oh, my god, arwa. that was so striking, all of your video and the interviews. we just wouldn't know this stuff without your reporting and you going there to the front lines. it was hard obviously to watch. i didn't want to lose my composure but you can't turn away. you can't turn away from seeing what they are enduring every day. >> the reason people like arwa has more of a flat affect telling these stories is because she's seen it so many times. it can be arresting for those not familiar with the scenes. we've talked before, what keeps hitting you when you've seen these places and these scenes, what are they going to do with their pain. what's going to happen when they grow up in this situation with no prospect of anything better. if this is as good as it is in life, it's a dangerous proposition. either not about winning the war but winning the peace and giving them a better future otherwise end up with the same cycle now. thanks for being brave enough to be there and telling the stories that matter. >> thank you, arwa. >> to all of you, international viewers.

tell us more, arwa. >> reporter: hi, alisyn.he words that truly encompass what it is people have been through, especially the children. when you look at their faces one gets an understanding of the depth of the trauma. we do have to warn our viewers, some of the images they are about to see they may find disturbing. >> they stumble towards the iraqi troops. they are breathless, their voices are shaking from fear and shock. they use single sentences that seem to hardly encompass the scope of what it is they have actually just been through brap. >> as isis is squeezed into even smaller territory, the civilians they are holding hostage are running out of food. it was only enough to feed the children to try and keep them from crying out. she and her husband, they weren't hungry. on the frontline helping the iraqi army is dave eubanks. he's american ex-special forces. with his team of free burma rangers, volunteer medics. just days earlier, isis massacred dozens of people who were just trying to make a run for it. dave was called to

cnn's arwa damon is in mosul. again, a warning.res are disturbing. >> reporter: they stumble toward the iraqi troops. they are breathless and their voices are shaking from fear and shock. >> reporter: they use single sentences that seem to hardly encompass the scope of what it is that they have actually just been through. >> reporter: and as isis is squeezed into even smaller territory, civilians they are holding hostage are running are out of food. it was only enough to feed the children, to try to keep them from crying out. she and her husband, they went hungry. on the front line helping the iraqi army is dave eubanks. he have's american ex-special forces and with his team of free burma rangers volunteer medics. just days earlier, isis massacred dozens of people who were just trying to make a run for it, and dave was called to the scene. >> we saw these 13 bodies and saw movement. here they are. look at that wall. >> reporter: a man alive, and a little girl who creeps out from under her dead mother's hijab where she had been hidi

arwa damon reporting for us.ery much. >>> all right, president trump left moments ago for miami, where he plans to talk about cuba policy, deliver on a campaign process to tighten restrictions. our rosa flores is in miami where the president will land in a couple hours. rosa. >> reporter: well, hi. good afternoon. you can see behind me that this is the place where president trump will be speaking. we are expecting protests and counterprotests. but let me set the scene for you right now. the building with the steeple, that is where president trump is expected to speak in a few hours. the line to the right side of your screen, these people have been waiting for hours to see and hear president trump speak. and then there is a group of supporters that has already been rallying for about an hour or so. and then we're expecting a counterprotest. but i have to mention, there is a rift that's emerging in the cuban-american community here in south florida. a professor from fiu that's been studying this for a while tells u

arwa damon, cnn, mosul, iraq. >> god bless those people. that's going to do it for me. brooke baldwin is back tomorrow. thanks for being with us. "the lead" with jake tapper starts right now. >>> thank, ana. the tweets are coming from inside the house. "the lead" starts right now. the white house itself now admitting that the russia investigation is getting in the way of getting anything done, so what might happen when james comey speaks in two days? reality check. a 25-year-old federal contractor named reality winner charged with leaking classified intelligence about the russia probe. she one calls the president an orange fascist in a tweet. how did she have top secret clearance? and glaring red flags missed before a terrorist massacre in the heart london. why wasn't anyone keeping an eye on the islamist extremist who appeared in a terror documentary called "the jihadis next door?" good afternoon, everyone. and welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin with our politics lead. for a second morning in the row president trump threw a wrench into the plans of his ow