let's to back to cnn's brian todd in panama city beach for us where we're starting, i understand, brianto start seeing some first responders? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. just moments ago, some bay county sheriff's deputies have arrived on the scene. they took a sledgehammer to a fence, trying to get to that house. they did get to the house and knocked on the door. then they did not get any response and came out. i just asked one of the deputies if there's anybody in here requiring rescue. he says they're not sure. they're just checking houses that have very severe damage. these deputies just went around that side of the house. they may be emerging any moment now. but they just went through this fence with a sledgehammer, so checking some of these houses. and you can see the damage in some of these places here. our photo journalist and i will walk this way. you can see the roof of that house got completesheared off o right-hand side there. a lot of cinder block damage on the other side. here come the sheriff's deputies here. gentlemen, did you find anyone? all the houses were vacant

want to go to brian todd who's on the beach here in panama city beach. wind picking up where i am. how's things where you are? >> reporter: very similar to where you are, john, we were just getting some really strong bursts of wind. i almost got knocked over a second ago. check out the surf behind me. violent breaks just off the coastline here. this is going to be the story for the next couple of hours, where it will not be safe for us to be standing here, we're going to move inland. what they're expecting is maybe 11 to 13 feet of storm surge, this is much higher than normal. when we talk to people who are from here, who normally surf here, say this is much higher than it normally is. when you see the water level and the crashing of the waves behind me, it's pretty violent. they have closed most of the bridges around here. i can see a bridge from here. they have closed th ed is whe d and they close when the winds get to 50 miles an hour. 7 miles an hour shy of the 157 mark, which would make a category 5 hurricane. we're going to see if we get to that po

brian todd has that. >> reporter: on the ground, with fbi agents in florida, as the suspect's van wase. >> they are a major component of this investigation. probably safe to assume they were monitoring, tracking the suspicious parcels after they were informed by the well-trained postal employees that are around the nation. so they're there, because they're part of that team. >> reporter: felix nader was a u.s. postal inspector for 26 years. his concern now, even with the arrest of suspect cesar sayoc, more bombs could be in the system. >> we're hoping that the heightened sense of awareness would put people on cue to be more aware and alert of anything that might be suspicious. >> reporter: he won't give away specific techniques for screening bombs but he and current postal service officials say they have sophisticated screening device, surveillance cameras to monitor suspicious behavior and elite members of the postal inspector police looking for explosives. >> these dangerous mail investigation specialists are highly proficient in the use of state of the art equipment. >> reporter: w

brian todd, stay safe yourself. died down a little bit in panama city beach, but this huge storm moving inland toward tallahassee. it picked up so much speed over the last day, where is it headed next? we're going to take a quick break. when we come back, we're going to speak to some storm chasers following the path of this historic storm. if you're turning 65, you're probably learning about medicare and supplemental insurance. medicare is great, but it doesn't cover everything - only about 80% of your part b medicare costs, which means you may have to pay for the rest. that's where medicare supplement insurance comes in: to help pay for some of what medicare doesn't. learn how an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by united healthcare insurance company might be the right choice for you. a free decision guide is a great place to start. call today to request yours. so what makes an aarp medicare supplement plan unique? well, these are the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp and that's becaus

in the aftermath of hurricane michael, let's go back to cnn's brian todd. s in mexico beach, florida for us. that's ground zero of this storm. brian, give us an update. >> reporter: right, wolf. we have been able to confirm there's been one death now reported here in mexico beach, one death at least here, but that brings the death toll to 17 people overall killed in hurricane michael. we will now take you to some video from the air of a drone we have just kind of flying over area where i'm standing, and it can show you kind of a wide shot of some of the areas. we have a search and rescue team that has just returned to a staging area a few yards away from me. they're going house to house, busting down doors, climbing through windows, trying to find survivors. they're using specialized equipment. they're using cadaver dogs. they're using what they called live-find dogs, which is specially trained to smell out survivors underneath the rubble. they're just deploying every possible resource that they can. they are not finished yet. they can to this at least until

let's bring in cnn's brian todd. brian, what is the president saying now?is a dramatic change from what he said only a little while ago. >> it is a huge change, wolf. you know, about a year ago the two men were exchanging personal insults, calling each other rocket man and dotard. now president trump says he loves kim jong-un and experts are saying that sends the wrong message. since their unprecedented and at times unusual meeting in singapore, president trump has bragged about his close personal relationship with kim jong-un. now, he's taking it a step further, into a full-fledged bromance. >> and i was really being tough, and so was he. we would go back and forth, and then we fell in love. okay. >> tonight analysts say it is time for a reality check on the man donald trump is now in love with. >> he is somebody who killed his half-brother with weapons of mass destruction in an international airport. he killed his uncle. he's blown people up with anti-aircraft guns. he is cruel. he is vindictive. he is blood-thirsty. for donald trump to say that he's in l

we will check back with you, brian todd. diane gallagher is in panama city, another area hit hard by the deadly storm. the first full day since michael. what are you seeing? >> reporter: you know, wolf, every block looks something like this. at least one structure that has been ripped from the ground by the winds of hurricane michael. people woke up to see the damage on their homes. they felt the damage. a lot of people rode the storm out. i have three of them with me. becky, her son philipp, and her grandson, chris. your home is -- talk to me about riding the storm out. >> it was scary. my children wanted me to leave, but when i have an animal and they only have so many places you can put them. i don't have cages. i have to ride it out. >> what was that like? >> it was rough to see my air conditioner about bounce out of the wall and the floor shaking. just so i could be safe. i tell you what, i'm an old girl. i rode out on a broom. >> i appreciate your sense of humor. you weren't going to stay. you didn't want to leave your

(grant)brian todd explains how residents and tourists preparing for what is expected to be (ken)a big story we are tracking - hurricane michael is now just off the coast of florida... and is expected to make landfall by tomorrow afternoon. (grant)brian todd explains how residents and tourists preparing for what is expected to be a dangerous category 4 storm. (nats)tonight, after brushing past cuba with heavy rains and strong winds, a strengthening hurricane michael is now plowing towards florida.the panhandle is bracing for impact.gov. rick scott/ (r) florida"hurricane michael is a massive storm that could bring total devastation to parts of our state."water along coastal inlets and roadways is already rising.last-minute preparations: sandbagging doorways, boarding up buildings, clearing the beaches, gassing up cars and buying up supplies.store worker "we opened at 6:00. by 6:15p, we sold out of every generator we had."this couple even moved up their wedding by a day - not waiting til tomorrow to tie the knot.cindy guinn/ bumped up wedding"we bumped it up to tuesday night, sunset. and

need to face tolerate as a human society and everybody needs let's bring in our correspondent hans brian todd he is in central berlin for us where there are a number of festivities taking place today for twenty eight years a german reunification i have got to see you so we heard. the president of the bundestag there touching on the challenge of migration he also touched on another number of other issues as well what did you make of the speech that he delivered. well it was a very thoughtful very searching at times very philosophical speech and i think in the end what he was trying to say is that the celebration of unity not only concerns the unity between germans from the east and west which is obviously the reason why we are celebrating the state today but he was also trying to extend this idea of unity to the need for unity between different parts of the population not just east and west but also the poor and the more well to do the political elites and those who feel that the political elite has somehow left them behind and also including migrants who have come into germany in larger numbe

let's begin with cnn's brian todd. brian, residents of florida's panhandle, they are reeling right now in the wake of this historic hurricane. they are reeling, wolf and they are trying to get a handle on it. a massive tree behind mow snapped off and brought down this power line in tallahassee. this is the kind of impediment that blocked us from getting around and blocked first responders to get to one of the most isolate and devastated towns in the entire region. from the air, mexico beach is a wasteland. homes and businesses around this florida gulf coast city took the brunt of the storm, obliterated by winds as high as 155 miles per hour. this was a middle school gymnasium. this a mobile home park. now an apartment complex. in some areas nothing is left by a concrete slab. as the storm came ashore, brian waddell hid in his bathroom. >> this is probably the scaredest i've ever been in my life. for a while i didn't know what was going to happen. i was trying to call people and we didn't have no cell phoner is vicious b

brian todd, it's feeling a little better where i am, but you tell me how is it in pcb?reporter: well, in panama city beach, brooke, the word is don't let down your guard. a lot of the more dangerous wind gusts have passed, but they're still getting some very strong wind gusts here and still a lot of damage. this railing just snapped off the deck there. power failures, could present a problem as we move into the evening. storm surge is still going to be a factor. i'm going to swing around here. you can still see that these trees here are being really robbed and still getting just a lot of these wind gusts. they're presenting problems here. the wind is still kind of shifting sideways, hitting these trees. a lot of larger trees have snapped in half in this area. storm surge is going to be factor, predicting 11 to 13 feet of storm surge in some areas. city managers say they're pleased with elevation levels and they really do hope to withstand a lot of the storm surge. that is still by no means certain at this point. as we know, storm surge comes in fits and starts and can r

. >> let's go to brian todd, our other colleague who is on the phone. ian, as i understand it, at last check, you were trying to get in to mexico beach by ground, but i know it's been nearly impossible. these are the first images we're seeing from brooke. what can you tell us? >> right, poppy and jim. we're trying to get there still. a number of road closures and a number of roads blocked by downed trees and downed power lines. we're navigating our way around. we took video as we made our way east on 388 trying to get to mexico beach, and that was pretty treacherous. just massive trees downed in the road. we were able to get around some of those trees, but then you come to other areas where it was just -- allowing people through. there was one road blocked to mexico beach. >> folks, bear with us here because communications are extremely difficult from there. we have heard of families who can't reach family members on the ground. first responders cannot, but we have both brooke baldwin above mexico beach. we have brian todd on the ground as we get their s

and as brian todd reports, many questions involve what the president himself has said. >> reporter: onail, donald trump bragged openly about how much money he made from the saudis. >> they buy apartments from me they buy 40 million? 50 million. >> reporter: tweeting, quote, for the record, i have no financial interests in saudi arabia. while it's true trump does not own hotels or other businesses in saudi arabia, critics say he has in the past and continues to profit from saudi money. >> the president cared about the president himself and the narrow business interest and the national interest is a secondary concern, if that. >> reporter: two groups are suing president trump for violating part of the constitution that forbids a president making money off a foreign government. >> the law was adopted to prevent conflicts of interest. >> reporter: since trump took office, his hotels have benefited from saudi business. the trump international hotel in washington was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for food and accommodations by a saudi lobbying firm. "the washington post" reports trum

stand by for a moment, brian todd is in panama beach city for us. brian, what are you seeing, what are you hearing? >> reporter: it's hard to put into words how violent this storm as just turned in the last two minutes, we got off panama city beach and we're just about a block inland. we're going to show you some of the trees and the bourls. this truck that we're transmitting from could -- conditions here have really deteriorated in just the last few minutes, they are expected widespread power outages, they already have 60,000 people without power. i'm going to take you over here. just look at the violence with which these trees are shaking her. i'm a new feet away, i can't walk too much further out because it's so dangerous here. and this is the point where you have to start watching, as i'm talking to you, i got to keep looking up because of flying debris all over the place. i just saw a tarp go flying over there, i have got to always kind of look around here, just to see that there's not something coming at me. you can see the contortion of these

cnn's brian todd is working this part of the story for us. more, brian, about this deeply disturbing trend. >> reporter: right, wolf. we are getting new information tonight on an alarming rise in extremist attacks in the u.s. getting more deadly. we are learning violence from right wing extremists have been outpacing islamic-inspired attack in the u.s. for several years. carnage in pittsburgh, thought to be the deadliest attack ever on jews in the u.s., multiple assassination attempts with mail bombs, a white man tries to enter a predominantly black church. when that failed he shot up a kroger shopping center killing two african-americans. it is part of what experts say is a jarring trend in america. >> the terrorist is here, in pittsburgh, kentucky and elsewhere. >> there's a definite spike. it has been rising since 2012. we are seeing a lot of hate group activity. >> reporter: a u.s. government report last year said there had been almost three times as many attacks by far right extremists than by islamist-inspired extremists in the u.s. sinc

cnn's brian todd is in mexico beach. n, a lot of evacuees are returning to the area and coming back and finding there is nothing there. >> reporter: that's right, jake. and this is what that looks like. and when they're coming back to neighborhoods like this, this is what's left of an entire neighborhood here in mexico beach. completely flattened. huge objects just tossed around. these large pieces of fencing here. this washing machine just jettisoned and furniture from some houses landing in other houses. rescue teams as we speak, jake, are sifting through rubble like this, to try to find survivors. for those who did survive and are just now coming back to their homes. today has just been excruciating. laurie june comes upon what was once her house and screams in agony. >> what did we do to you! >> reporter: she and her husband randy lived in a two-story how soon tomorrow, completely flattened when hurricane michael rolled through. its contents thrown across a canal. she says she's looking for her fire box, which has her

cnn's brian todd is also in mexico beach for us. brian, search and rescue efforts, i take it, they are continuing there tonight. >> reporter: they are, wolf. a short time ago, i spoke to a leader of the south florida urban search and rescue team. they are deploying basically as we speak to try to find survivors, try to find people who may be trapped. they're using cadaver dogs, using what they call live find dogs to try to find survivors. and they're combing through this area. they have had to use specialized equipment, wolf, to extricate at least one person. they have otherwise had to rescue 15 other people who otherwise couldn't get out on their own. this is the kind of stuff they're going through. this is a bathtub that was torn off and jettisoned. and yet something like this survives. a bottle of white wine. over here, i can show you a washing machine that was completely jettisoned from a house here. the entire unit jettisoned along with its hoses and its wall attachment and the wall. imagine how heavy that was to be swept away.

wolf. >> thank you, brian todd, reporting.ore breaking news we are following, a truly bombshell "new york times" report saying president trump used, quote, dubious tax schemes and, quote, outright fraud to build his fortune and is not the self-made man he claims to be. your insurance rates skyrocket after a scratch so small you could fix it with a pen. how about using that pen to sign up for new insurance instead? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ the doctor's office just for a shot. but why go back there... when you can stay home with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. in a key study neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the day after chemo and is used by most patients today. neulasta

cnn's brian todd is following the cohen story for us.l cohen has clearly gone through quite a change. >> reporter: right, wolf. we have new information on how cohen is prepared to move again on his former boss. from being the man who would really have done anything for donald trump, even vowing to sacrifice his own life essentially, michael cohen tonight has made that 180-degree turn just about complete. >> the next question of the united states of america -- >> reporter: for 12 years michael cohen was the ultimate trump loyalist, once vowing he would take a bullet for his client. >> i would protect mr. trump. that's what it is. >> reporter: according to a friend, cohen said he would rather jump out of a building than turn on donald trump. the night trump may want to push cohen out that window. after the president's former lawyer turned on his old boss in court in august, he's now turning up the heat on him. >> the disloyalty is the stuff of shakespeare. >> reporter: a democrat with knowledge telling cnn's m.j. lee, cohen is prepared to

cnn's brian todd not only is keeping track but consulting with experts. what are you hearing? >> reporter: wolf, people who have reported on donald trump, written books about his life say it is a pattern that goes way back to well before his reality show days, from women who simply criticized him to the those who brought credible accusations of misconduct toward him, no one is spared the teenage level insult. by his own admission donald trump doesn't pull punches. >> i said i can't be nice if somebody hits me. if somebody hits me i got to hit her back or him back ten times harder. >> reporter: but today's tweet, calling porn star stormy daniels horse face appeared to be an especially low blow, directed at a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair and then paid off to stay silent. biographers of trump say it is part of a pattern, a holdover from his reality show days. >> it is just a characteristic of donald trump that he treats people this way, particularly women. >> reporter: for years trump had used crude insults to gain attention, famously going aft

cnn's brian todd has been following the secretary's progress with us. ian, he seems satisfied with this visit. >> reporter: right, wolf. mike pompeo, as always, is couching his visit with kim jong-un in positive terms, but tonight there are some serious questions being raised, especially about kim's promise to let inspectors look at a key nuclear test site. president trump's top diplomat, fresh off a critical meeting with kim jong-un in pyongyang, north korea, is expressing character izic optimism about the u.s.'s relationship with the brutal dictator. >> this i think is a good outcome for all of us. >> reporter: mike pompeo says kim jong-un is ready to allow international inspectors to look at what was once a key nuclear testing site. this is where kim jong-un's regime conducted bomb tests, including the most powerful blast last year, a test of a hydrogen bomb many times stronger than the one the u.s. dropped on hiroshima. they appeared to destroy at least three tunnels there. days later, u.s. intelligence officials told cnn that's all it appeared to be

brian todd reporting. the president has approved a federal emergency declaration ahead of hurricane michael's arrival. a few minutes ago, he addressed speculation he actually may name his daughter ivanka to replace united nations ambassador nikki haley, who unexpectedly announced her resignation today. let's go to our chief white house correspondent, jim acosta. jim, this caught almost everyone off guard. >> reporter: it certainly did, wolf. the white house is already worse on a replacement for nikki haley. president trump is talking up the prospects of one contender, his daughter, ivanka. the president said he couldn't think of anyone more competent for the position. that's what he said to reporters earlier this afternoon. and as for haylee's departure, she did not want to leave the administration after the midterm election, should the gop lose the house, i'm told. she did not want to look like she was abandoning the president if the democrats rout the republicans in the mid terms. at a time when the whit

let's go to brian todd. 's in panama city beach for us in florida, not far from where michael made landfall. brian, this is the most powerful storm on record to ever, ever hit the florida panhandle. >> reporter: it certainly is, wolf, and we're feeling the effects of it right now. first responders are just now venturing out to see who wall a blocks there completely sheered off. part of the roof collapsed over there. this part of the roof was insured over and there's a water leak over there. this area still not safe to venture out in for the residents, but the first responders are just now getting out into these areas. if you look at this house behind me right here on surf drive, there's a dramatic video from earlier today of what happened to this house. part of the roof got sheer sheared off. part of the second floor was torn off, part of the wall came completely off, as we walk you toward that showing you some of the video earlier. we were told a short time ago that hurricane michael's western eye wall clipp

but in the meantime, let's go to brian todd, who is in panama city beach, florida. and brian, tell us what the situation is like where you are right now. >> reporter: right, jake. we're getting to a point now where first responders and other city officials may be able to start coming out and looking at some of the damage and looking at maybe some people who need to be rescued. possibly they could start venturing out in the coming minutes. but again, that's a little dicey. we're not out of -- totally out of danger yet as some of the damage is just now being assessed. i can show you some of these trees came down over here. there was a tree that snapped in half over there. there is a railing over here that just snapped right off of a deck and a fence was compromised, just broken in two, just down the street a short time ago. we're still getting some gusts of wind, still getting some power lines shaking here. we did hear some transformers blow here earlier today. so it's still, you know, a pretty dicey situation here with damage assessments, with storm surge also. storm

maybe not taking this too seriously. >> brian todd, appreciate it. thanks.ng to keep a close eye on the hurricane throughout the broadcast. north dakota democratic senator heidi heitkamp as you'll recall voted against brett kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. she seems to be in a difficult political race obviously and maybe political trouble because of that vote. coming up i'll talk with the senator about actions and consequences. ♪ from the start, the c-class was ahead of its time. [ indistinct radio chatter ] still, we never stopped making it stronger. faster. smarter. because to be the best, is to never ever stop making it better. introducing the new c-class. visit your local mercedes-benz dealer for exclusive offers. ♪ when the moon hits your eye ♪ like a big pizza pie ♪ that's amore ♪when the world seems to shine ♪like you've had too much wine ♪ that's amore ♪ bells will ring ♪ ting a ling a ling ♪ ting a ling a ling more to love. applebee's new neighborhood pastas. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. sharper vision, without limits. day

a state approved agent brian todd sold passports to three russian citizens. they each paid commissions to his company as required by law. but they also transferred more than one hundred sixty eight thousand euros to the account of an offshore company registered in the british virgin islands boned by none other than brian turner the passport vendor. this upshall company transferred one hundred thousand euros turn account in malta belonging to keith. the prime minister's chief of staff. this suspicious activity however it did not trigger a legal investigation at the time. that is to say until simon who was leader of the opposition in the maltese parliament caught wind of the reports. i decided to give it to the magistrate because i was extremely angry that nothing was done was done about it so the money laundering gauges knew that nothing was done and likewise. the commissioner of police knew about it and was doing nothing. the prime minister's chief of staff maintains that these want to transfer their refund for a personal loan i expect of the prime minister t

let's bring in cnn's brian todd. brian, what is behind the president's drop on the forbes 400? reporter: a lot of dissatisfied customers and declining property values are behind the drop. take a look. tonight donald trump is only 258 places behind amazon founder jeff bezos on forbes' list of the 400 wealthiest americans. between this and "the new york times" piece on the trump family tax schemes, those who chronicled the president say he has to be seething ♪ i would gradually stand up >> reporter: he has built his professional and business reputation on his self-made wealth. >> i started off with $is presidential and now i'm worth over $10 billion. >> tonight the reputation is taking a list. in its new list of the 400 wealthiest americans out today, "forbes" magazine puts president trump's ranking at 259, the third straight year it has dropped, down 11 places from last year, a development his biographers say will drive donald trump crazy. >> he isn't concerned about his character. he is concerned about the presumed content of his wallet. so to go down on the list that he has fo

here's cnn's brian todd. >> reporter: on the campaign trail on the on the bragged openly about how much a he made from the saudis. >> they buy apartments from me they buy 40 million? 50 million. these dauz he's on the defensive. tweeting quote for the record i have no financial interests in saudi atrabia. critics say ehoohas in the past and continues to profit from saudi money. sfwlp he cared about the president himself squel it's a secondary concern at that. >> terrirr sighing the part of the that sues and added to prevent conflicts of interest, corruption, and the appearance of corruption. >> since trump took office, his hotels have been fet said. it was paid hundreds of thousands by a saudi lobbying term. the washington's post reports it made a lot of money this year from booking by crown prince's entourage. the post says the hotel also made money from people with with the kingtime. >> there's every reason to believe it's successful. trump pledge toads remove himself from day to day operations of his properties, turning them over to his sons. >> it's not enough constitution to simply

i want to get now to cnn's brian todd. brian is in panama city beach, florida, for us as well. brian, you have seen some tremendous destruction where you are. describe what you're seeing. >> reporter: right, don. this is surf drive, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods of panama city beach. this house here was the subject of some video earlier today, some very dramatic and horrible video where you saw the roof being torn off this house. the side of it being torn off. this is the aftermath. we talked to the son-in-law of the owner of the house. he came here with his wife, whose mother owns this house, and they said the family was completely devastated. luckily, don, no one was here at the time that that occurred, but the family is just heartbroken over what happened here. i can tell you here in the aftermath some of the information we learned about the house from that family who owns it. this part up here that got completely blown away, the roof got sheared off. by the way, that roof, a hunk of twisted metal, was tossed about 75 yards down the road here and still kind of embedde

brian todd is in mexico beach. brian, describe the scene where you are right now. >> i can give you a sense of what the storm did and the power we were dealing with here. i'm standing in the middle of a section of houses that are not here anymore. like this bathtub looks like it got tossed and could have been in houses down the street. we talked to residents who had furniture that wasn't their furniture. furniture being blown into their houses. you have a heavy marble countertop that is not going anywhere now, but you get a sense of this thing has traveled. a sort time ago, two houses were not too much smaller than this one. that's a large structure. two houses were right at about the same place along the beach. both got picked up and swept all the way over here. now, we can go a little bit wide here and show behind me. we have a drone up in the air not far from me that can give you a sense of the area. the only thing i can equate it to is i was in japan after the tsunami when we came across town where is there was

brian todd has been in mexico beach and he spoke with survivors struggling to process all that they have> reporter: lori june comes upon what was once her house and screams in agony. she and her husband lived in a two story town home which was completely flattened. its contents thrown across a canal. she says she is looking for her fire box which has her marriage license and other critical documents. she can't seem to find it. and the frustration and fear just seem to pour out. >> we're renters, so we can't replace this. this is our life. >> reporter: lori and randy have lived in nemexico beach for jus over a year. >> we will rebuild somehow. i just don't know how yet. if we don't get no help, we'll damn sure be living under a bridge somewhere. >> reporter: the city was founded in 1949. and now the mayor is trying to help residents pick up the pieces. you can describe the biggest dangers? are people in need of rescue? >> that has been handled. fema boots on the ground people have walked the city yesterday. >> reporter: while coast guard you crews rescued survivors from the air, cnn is le

we have brian todd on the ground as we get their signal back up again. >> that's the road on the left side of the screen. that's the road that brian is on, trying to get into there. wow. >> so we're going now, we have, i believe we're in touch with another colleague on the ground there. >> chad myers, are you with us? in this severe weather center? because our signal keeps -- we keep losing it with brooke and brian. but brooke was talking about that right turn of the storm, and it was just, you know, just right in the bull's eye there was mexico beach. >> you know, the flight path that she's been taking all along the beach showed the big empty space which is where tindal air force base was, and we could see the overwash of that beach there. and we expected it to be just as bad here in mexico beach, and it is. it's breathtaking to realize that there's a couple city blocks there where buildings used to be, homes used to be. then you take a look at some of the newest construction that's on the beach itself. on pilings, on pillars, and those oceanfront homes are still there. but behind th

cnn's brian todd has a closer look at what you might call the trump doctrine. ian, what are your sources telling you? >> they're telling us that the pattern of president trump cozying up to dictators, cutting them slack on alleged human rights abuses is starting to hurt america's stature on the world stage. they say his failure to bring the hammer down on people like the saudi arabia royal family, vladimir putin and kim jong-un is starting to diminish america's power. president trump is still swooning over his relationship with kim jong-un. >> do you trust him? >> i do trust him. yeah, i trust him. that doesn't mean i can't be proven wrong. >> why would you trust him? >> reporter: in an interview with cbs's "60-minute" president trump noted that kim jong-un hasn't fired a nuclear warhead or missile in several months, something he credits to his relationship with him. >> then we fell in love. >> reporter: and he didn't seem bothered with the track record on human rights. >> i want to read you his resume. he presides over a cruel kingdom of repression, gulags, sta

i'm brooke baldwin alongside brian todd. the last time i saw you is when you were rolling it out and had the incredible pictures. here we are. tell me what you have been up to today. >> we did and we have been toemitoem i combing through the neighborhoods that have been flattened. they were deployed not far from where they are. they are looking for possible survivors and looking for a live dog with them, specially trained to sniff out those who may be still living. they had to use specialized equipment to extricate one person from a home. otherwise 15 people couldn't make it out. sometimes local officials tell us they have a handle on this, but you are getting a sense that maybe they don't quite know the extent of what we are dealing with. unfortunately a grim possibility pathat we are going to find survivors trap and possibly dead people here. >> you were also talking to me earlier about what i noticed yesterday. it was much, much quieter and the difference between yesterday when we were rolling in as a national guard was r

brian todd is in mexico beach and joins us on the phone. what you are seeing. >> we are probably about 50 miles north of mexico beach and trying frantically to try to get into mexico beach over roadways and bridges. they are blocked with massive trees in the way or power lines or law enforcement. one road we were not able to pass, they told us with several other roads and we are stuck on the route heading south. we are getting this from everything we are hearing and communicating with our colleagues back home, and making it difficult for first responders. they are seeing the ariel responders with houses flattened and water up to the roofs of some houses. now we are getting the impression that they could be stranded there. unless first responders can get in over bridges or by boat. >> and as you try to get in throughout the day, you encountered law enforcement, talk about who you met and what you are seeing. >> we encountered a lot of law enforcement and they are arguing with a guy who is not letting him pass. that's the kind of thing you en

brian todd got the firsthand look at this unbelievable devastation. you spoke to so many residents and you heard their stories. what can you tell us about what you are seeing and what people are going through? >> reporter: wolf, they are going through shock and sheer heart break as they come back to their homes for the first time since the hurricane. many are advised by the mayor and others not to come back because it's not quite safe. what's incredible is you walk around the rubble in mexico beach that is so devastated. it's the partial personal aspects of people's lives. this is a young child's game of boggle. this is an ice shaver for shaved ice and flavored ice and ice cream and things like that. it's very heavy with a motor on it. this was tossed we don't know how many yards zeec. we have furniture from other people's homes that was tossed about. if we go wide from where i am, you can see the scope of what happened to just this neighborhood in mexico beach. look at it. it has every structure right immediately behind me that was completely flatten

brian todd is on this story for us. brian, what are you hearing?eporter: wolf, we are hearing there are serious questions about what this man's wife knows in this case, but also questions about his ties to china's security apparatus. we are learning tonight the keys to solving this mystery could well be in beijing. he's a top leader of interpol, the world-famous global crime fighting organization. tonight a deep mystery surrounds him. he has vanished from his post in france, missing for more than a week. >> this is very strange because it is a very high-ranking position within interpol. >> he is a former top chinese law enforcement official, was assigned to interpol headquarters in france. a senior official tells cnn he was not on french soil when he was last seen. his wife is the person that reported him missing. even though he was missing more than a week, she didn't tell police until thursday night, french officials say. the french interior ministry says his wife recently received threats over the telephone and social media. >> the wife is going

let's go to brian todd, he's in panama city beach, brian, what are you seeing there? >> reporter: john, there's some very, very strong bursts of wind here, it's really deteriorating in the last few minutes, the rain is not going to be the issue at least initially, creating storm surge. this storm surge behind me is getting to 9 feet, potentially, and it's going to surpass that in just a little bit, it's going to get maybe 11 to 13 feet. wh getting a strong band of rain here. you can't really be out in this and we're going to have to retreat inland in a couple of minutes to get away from this. but what you have to look out for now when the wind picks up like this, when the cat 4 really gets onshore is shingles blowing off roofs. so we're talking about a lot of people also having to evacuate, but not enough for local officials. they say about 4,000 people have taken shelters in several shelters in the florida p panhand panhandle. that's really not enough for local officials, they really wanted to get people in there, but at this point, they say don't move. it's really g

cnn's brian todd has been investigating for us. brian, what are you learning?we're told this is an investigation that's unfolding on several different tracks. there are plenty of clues to sift there. forensic evidence, but this is a manhunt that also involves putting together a profile of the person or people who did this. former fbi and u.s. marshals agents tell cnn the manhunt for the person who delivered five pipe bombs to cnn and others is now one of the most intense searches in recent memory. >> this is number one. this is all hands on deck. not just in new york, not just here in d.c. but across the country. >> reporter: experts say the perpetrator left important clues. the packages didn't explode, which means fingerprints, dna could be retrievable. a law enforcement official tells cnn all the devices appear to be constructed similarly, pipe bombs, at least one containing projectiles. at least two of the packages, addressed to democratic donor george soros and to former cia director john brennan at cnn's time warner center had stamps on them that had not b

let's begin with brian todd and the investigation into the mass murder at the pittsburgh synagogue. brian, what is the latest? >> reporter: wolf, we have new information tonight on the alleged shooter's social media rants in the days and even in the minutes leading up to the massacre. and we've learned that federal prosecutors have initiated the process to seek the death penalty for the suspect who made his first appearance in court today. entering court in a wheelchair, wearing a blue shirt, handcuffed, the accused synagogue shooter, robert bowers, who was shot by police, but is now out of the hospital, appeared before a federal judge in pittsburgh. tonight, he's behind bars. prosecutors say bowers is a flight risk and danger to the community. >> we will have the opportunity to present evidence, demonstrating that robert bowers murdered 11 people who were exercising their religious beliefs, and that he shot or injured six others, including four of whom were police officers responding to the shooting. >> reporter: bowers faces 29 federal charges, some punishable by death. >> rest ass

our own brian todd is already in fort walton beach. brian, you are in a rather vulnerable area.hat are you seeing? >> reporter: right, wolf. believe it or not, we are seeing the initial stages of storm surge even though the storm really hasn't arrived in earnest right. right behind me the bay coming off the gulf. look at the water and storm surge. we are told by local residents, the sheriff and the cnn team this is not normal, that the water levels at high tides are not up this high. this is a beach and the water has washed completely over the beach and i'm standing in several inches of water on bay drive. when are told this could wash through when the storm pushes through in earnest here, this water could get higher. some of the local residents are a little vulnerable to flooding here. a lot of them now like these houses over here are up on stilts, they're elevated so they're not vulnerable to flooding, but the big question in this, wolf, is going to be the wind. this is going to be a very heavy-wind event here with this hurricane, much more powerful winds than in hurricane flo

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let's go to cnn's brian todd. what are you hearing?we are hearing that kim is preparing to allow international inspectors to examine his key nuclear bomb testing facility, but there are real questions tonight about whether this is a sincere, transparent offer or an elaborate dodge. kim jong-un could be on the verge of giving donald trump the diplomatic cover he may need to justify another summit. tonight, south korea's intelligence service says kim's regime is preparing to allow foreign inspectors to visit its vaunted nuclear test site. >> it is a good will gesture but i don't think anything necessarily can be learned. it really depends on who is going, what equipment they have, what access they have. >> reporter: what the inspectors see or don't see there will be crucial. it is where kim's regime conducted at least six nuclear bomb tests, including its most powerful blast ever last year, a test of a hydrogen bomb many times stronger than the one the u.s. dropped on hiroshima. in may of this year, the north korean's put on a show for r

brian todd is in panama city beach, florida, that place is going to really look so different from whatple remember it as when the sun comes up. wh what's it been like for you, brian? >> reporter: it's been devastating, chris. of all the dangerous periods associated with the storm, people sometimes take this period, when the brunt of the storm is passed, they take it a little less seriously. you cannot take it less seriously because of what we're looking at here. right now it's pitch black around here. we've seen reporters talking about this in the towns they are. no less serious here. it's pitch black. the only light hire is from our camera crews. this is what makes it so dangerous. when you're trying to move around, you're in your neighborhood, check out the house, take pictures, you're going to come across something like this, this downed power line, you won't be able to see normally because you're not going to have lights like we have. you're going to walk right into it and drive right into it and that is extremely dangerous. look at this house hire got completely sheared off on the

our brian todd is out front. >> reporter: from the air, mexico beach is a wasteland, homes and businesses around this florida gulf coast city took the brunt of the storm, obliterated by winds as high as 155 miles per hour. this was a middle school gymnasium. this was a mobile home park. this was an apartment complex. in some areas, nothing is left but a concrete slab. as the storm came ashore, brian hid in his bathroom. >> this was probably the most scared i've ever been in my life. for a while, i didn't know what was going to happen or, you know, i was trying to call people. we didn't have no cell phone service, but the wind was really, really, really bad. >> reporter: florida governor rick scott says officials are assessing how long recovery will take with damage reports still coming in. >> this hurricane was an absolute monster, and the damage left in its wake is still yet to be fully understood. today, the top focus is search and rescue. >> reporter: but those efforts are being hampered by impassable roads, something we discovered as we tried to make our way into mexico beach. downed