i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. if you can believe it. >> wow. >> 31 minutes past the hour. breaking overnight, negotiators from both parties reaching a deal on a huge spending bill that, if approved, will fund the government through the end of september. now, the deal includes several significant wins for democrats. it would add billions for the pentagon and border security, but nothing for president trump's promised border wall along the mexican border. democrats rejected border wall spending as premature, since the president has not detailed plans for building the multibillion dollar barrier, which he has vowed mexico will pay for at some point. >> also, the bill has no money for a deportation force or federal cuts to sanctuary cities. there is no funding cut for planned parenthood either, and there's a $2 billion increase for the national institutes of health. votes in the house and senate are expected by the end of the week. no response yet from the white house on the agreement, but the deal is the product of s

i'm christine romans. >> and i'm dave briggs. it is monday, may 15th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. what you need to do to protect yourself from that virus in just a bit, but we begin with the critical moment in donald trump's presidency. who will he nominate to be the next fbi director? at least eight candidates interviewed this weekend at fbi headquarters by attorney general jeff sessions and his number two at the justice department, rod rosenstein. a white house official says the president will get reports on the interviews and speak to leading candidates to make a final decision himself. >> so, that could happen as early as this week, as shock turns to anger over the firing of james comey. listen to former director of national intelligence james clapper. he is fearful of a total breakdown of the federal government because of the actions of this president. >> i think in many ways our institutions are under assault, both externally, and that's the big news here is the russian interference in our election system. and i think as well our institutions are under assault internally. >>

. >> i'm christine romans. it is friday, may 12th. 4:00 a.m. in the east. let's begin with the confusion and contradiction from the white house over firing james comey. in a revealing interview with nbc's lester holt, president trump giving answers that directly contradict what his aides have been saying since comey was dismissed on tuesday. >> after saying for days the move was based on the recommendation from the deputy attorney general, trump says the call was his and made long ago. the president also under cuts the idea that comey was fired over the hillary clinton investigation. admitting russia was on his mind. >> what i did is i was going to fire comey. my decision. it was not -- >> you made the decision before they came in the office? >> i was going to fire koemcome. there is no good time to do it. >> in the letter, i accepted their recommendation. you already made the decision. >> i was going to fire regardless. he made a recommendation. he is highly respected and smart and good guy. the democrats like him. the republicans like him. he made a recom

. >> i'm christine romans. you had the biggest decline in the markets in year because the president was knocked off the policy issues. now the temperature has gone down a little bit. >> i feel like washington, d.c. ex exhaled. the entire town. congress, the white house. >> now there's a process. the investigation into russia's meddling now in the hands of the former director of the fbi. robert mueller appointed special counsel. he has the power to investigate, to question, to issue subpoenas and prosecute federal crimes if any discovered. mueller appointed by deputy rod rosenstein. >> rosenstein said the move was not a finding crimes had been committed, but quote based on the circumstances the public interest requires me to place this investigation under authority of the person who exercising the degree of independence from the normal chain of command. >> the appointment following a series of damaging headlines from the firing of the fbi director james comey to the president divulging sensitive information to c

. >> i'm christine romans. it's wednesday, may 24th, 2017. president trump and pope francis face to face shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. the two leaders meeting in private seeming to put their differences aside after disagreeing on several important issues during the campaign. >> the latest stop for the president on his foreign trip that will take him to brussels later today. sara murray is live in rome with more on trump's visit and the rest of today's agenda. good morning to you, sara. >> reporter: the pope is behind me delivering his weekly address. that's after he met with president donald trump. the images were of a much warmer relationship. president trump came out of that meeting and said i won't forget what you said. the white house said that president trump offered a gift to the pope, first edition set of dr. martin luther king jr.'s writing. on the campaign trail the pope said people who talk about building barriers not bridges are not christian. at that point candidate trump called the pope's rhetoric disgraceful. obviou

i'm dave briggs. >> i'm christine romans. 31 minute past the hour. this morning was james comey fired as fbi director for the handseling of the clinton e-mail investigation or something else? the reality for the bureau and white house is this. the russia probe is alive without anyone to lead it and the president of the united states is taking serious heat from both sides of the aisle for a move that stunned the nation and among them raises serious questions about why this move came at this time. >>> democratic calls for a special prosecutor on the russia probe are growing louder this morning. house democrats now asking for the preservation of all documents related to russia and to comey's firing. the fbi director unceremonious termination of echos of watergate. >> the president acting on advice from attorney general jeff sessions and deputy attorney general rod rosenstein who cited comey's handling of the hillary clinton e-mail probe not once mentioning russia. trump, on the other hand, clearly had russia on his mind when he penned an abrupt letter t

. >> nice to see you, i'm glad to be back, i'm christine romans. we welcome all of our viewers here and around the world. breaking news, montana has a new congressman just hours after he was charged with assault for body slamming a reporter. he scores a decisive win over the democrat, rob quist. >> and the celebration was relatively subdued. he owned up to a mistake. joining us in bozeman, month month, good morning to you, good night, whatever it is. interesting, because it's not apparent if this assault on the reporter hurt or maybe even in some cases helped gianforte, what do you sense? >> reporter: well, good morning, dave, i can tell you sometimes it helped in this situation. we went inside where some of his reporters are just leaving as we speak, it's about 2:00 a.m. in the morning here. people were energized by this, they thought he was a good man who made a bad decision. in some cases they thought the reporter never should have gone in that room. despite all that, greg gianforte stepped to the mike and made an apology and talked about what h

i'm christine romans, may 22nd, 4:00 a.m. in the east. president trump is on his way to israel after beginning his first foreign trip in saudi arabia, that stop dominated by a speech that broke sharply with his past rhetoric on islam, the president calling for cooperation from muslim nations, asking them to drive out terrorists and share the burden in the fight against terror. more on that speech in a moment. >> today, though, the president shifts focus to another key mission on this week-long trip, making progress on the israeli/palestinian conflict. president trump wants to make what he calls an ultimate deal for peace. he'll be meeting with israeli and palestinian leaders and make a historic stop at the western wall. our coverage of the president's trip begins with cnn's sara murray, who's live for us in jerusalem, just past 11:00 a.m. there. great to have you, sara. what are the expectations ahead of this momentous visit? >> reporter: well, it's certainly going to be a very closely watched trip and there are a number of bilateral meet

i'm dave briggs. >> i'm christine romans. thanks for joining us.nt trump back in the oval office today trying to get back to the country's business after a long holiday weekend and an even longer overseas trip. key issues on his very full agenda, whether to pull out of the paris climate accords and the search for a new fbi director. the president is also weighing a strategy going forward for afghanistan. that could include more troops, a decision all the more significant after president trump's first visit to arlington national cemetery as commander in chief. >> the president also weighing whether to shake up his team. sean spicer set to brief the media this afternoon amid questions about changes to the press office. it will be the first time since the president left for his nine-day trip that any white house official has briefed in front of cameras and the first since penetrating questions began to swirl around senior adviser and first son-in-law jared kushner. jeff zeleny begins our coverage from the white house. >> reporter: christine and dave,

i'm christine romans. it is tuesday, may 16th, 4:00 a.m. in the east. and here's what we're talking about. after months of venting over the talk about russia and white house leaks, president trump has now combined those two stories into one giant self-inflicted wound. the white house pushing back fiercely against reports the president shared highly classified information with russia's foreign minister and white house meeting last week. - cnn has now confirmed the key points of the story first reported by the "washington post." one official with knowledge telling the "post" that trump said, "i get great intel. i have people brief me on great intel every day" before he reportedly relayed the intelligence details. >> the president did not directly reveal the source of the information, but intel officials tell cnn the concern is russia will be able to figure out the highly sensitive source, highly sensitive in part because the information came from a foreign ally. the intel relates to what is called a special access program or s.a. covering some of the most

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. it's wednesday, may 24. 5:00 a.m. tiechbt. historic moment at the vatican. not so long ago president trump and pope francis face to face shaking hands, exchanging gifts. president trump preparing to meet with the president of italy. but when mr. trump sat down with the pope in private earlier the two leaders seemed to put their differences aside after disagreeing on several issues during the campaign. >> it is the latest up for this president on his foreign trip that will take him to brussels later today. cnn white house correspondent sara murray in rome. good morning, again. it's 11:00 a.m. there in the rome and the president not too long ago finished up that face to face meeting, 28, 29 minutes with the pope. >> reporter: that's right. more we're hearing about what happened in this meeting, and sort of in the expanded audience with the pope the more light hearted it sounds. remember president trump and pope francis have not always exchanged the kindest of words with one another. after they met privately president trump said

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs.ry deal. >> it really is. >> 150 countries have been struck by this. are we next? samuel burke will answer those questions for us. >>> but we begin with a critical moment in donald trump's presidency. who will he nominate to be the next fbi director? at least eight candidates interviewed this weekend at fbi headquarters by attorney general jeff sessions and his number two at the justice department, rod rosenstein. a white house official says the president will get reports on the interviews and speak to leading candidates himself to make a final decision. >> that could happen as early as this week, as shock turns to anger over the firing of james comey. listen to former director of national intelligence james clapper. he fears a total breakdown of the federal government because of the actions of this president. >> i think in many ways our institutions are under assault, both externally -- and that's the big news here is russian interference in our election system -- and i think as well

i'm dave briggs. >> and i'm christine romans.ll the next hour on questions about health care looking like. >> because we don't know. >> it is may 5th, cinco de mayo, 5:00 a.m. in the east. nice to see you this morning. the battle to repeal and replace obamacare begins anew in the senate and republicans will try to merge a compromise to get to 51 votes, no small task given that there are only 52 republicans in the senate. the open question -- how much of the newly passed house bill, including last-minute changes to pre-existing conditions, how much will end up in the senate

i'm christine romans. >> i'm tim bigelbigel i'm dave .ke. >> if he wants to reach out, we're all ears. >> washington lawmakers reaching a deal to avoid a government shutdown. >> we need to stop the drugs and human trafficking. >> donald trump has given us a graveyard of broken promises. >> they say we don't cover pre-existing conditions. we cover it beautifully. >> i think healthcare reform is around the corner. >> and this is not appropriate. >> it doesn't mean human rights don't matter. we need cooperation among partners in asia. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> welcome viewers from around the world and the united states. it is monday, may 1st. no government shutdown. congress has a deal to keep the u.s. government funded through next week, but through september. the bipartisan deal has a lot to discuss. notably money for the border wall. not there. funding for planned parenthood is there. >> and the white house extending an invitation with abysmal human rights record. another member of the security team is

. >> and i'm christine romans. it is friday, may 26th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. breaking overnight, montana has a new congressman, a new congressman with a court date. just 24 hours after he was charged with assault for apparently body slamming a reporter, the republican, greg gianforte, scores a decisive win over democrat rob quist. >> there are the final numbers. gianforte's victory celebration relatively subdued. he took a contrite tone, owning up to making a "mistake." joining us with the latest, cnn's ryan young in boseman, montana. good morning to you, ryan. what are you hearing from the people of montana regarding the message this might or might not send? >> reporter: well, good morning, guys. look, we're in big sky country. i can tell you, reporters were here until after 1:30 this morning. there was a bit of celebration beforehand. when i walked inside and started mulling around with some of the supporters, they were of high spirits. they actually felt there was some energy created by this. look, people didn't like the idea about what happened, but they d

i'm christine romans. >> and i'm dave briggs. the president has been busy. five interviews in the last few days. >> it's been a surreal 24 hours in presidential history. >> each one has new information. each one muddy iing the waters further. >> lot to talk about. >> the behind strags going all out straining for every last vote to get a a health care bill through the house. mike pence, the tomorrformer ho leader himself, a sure sign to be work to be done. before the bill is ready for a vote. moderates do remain the focus. leaders hope they can sell the unhappy with the bill on the fact that if it passes, it could be significantly reworked by the senate. >> although the white house keeps touting progress and it's painfulfully tight with many members on the fence inclouding some on the whip team itself. the white house has its work cut out. >> good morning, there certainly was some hopeful and optimistic rhetoric out of the white house early on monday that they could get this bill through this week. but that has given way to a harsh and stark reality up here o

. >> and i'm christine romans. we could fill the next hour on questions about health care looking like. >> because we don't know. >> it is may 5th, cinco de mayo, 5:00 a.m. in the east. nice to see you this morning. the battle to repeal and replace obamacare begins anew in the senate and republicans will try to merge a compromise to get to 51 votes, no small task given that there are only 52 republicans in the senate. the open question -- how much of the newly passed house bill, including last-minute changes to pre-existing conditions, how much will end up in the senate version? senators warn, some parts may not fit under budget reconciliation rules that allow them to pass a bill with just 51 votes, not 60. despite the obstacles ahead, president trump declaring his optimism overnight. >> i think we'll get it through. the republicans are very united, like seldom before. i mean, you see that today. the republicans came together all of a sudden, two days ago. it was like magic. they're very, very united. you saw that

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. it's wednesday, may 3rd.nteresting comments from hillary clinton she would win the election if it were held on october 27th. christiane amanpour will join us shortly. we'll talk about all of this. she sat alongside hillary clinton. but first president trump and his administration facing major public rebuke from an official fired by trump himself. sources tell cnn former acting attorney general sally yates is prepared to testify she warned the white house michael flynn was lying about talking to the russian ambassador. a warning that came three weeks before flynn was fired as national security adviser. yates expected to tell a senate judiciary committee she expressed grave concerns. flynn could potentially be compromised refuting the white house account that yates gave officials a simple heads up. yates testimony set for monday, russia returns to center stage on capitol hill today. >> fbi director james comey goes before the senate judiciary committee where he'll be grilled about his announcement just before t

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. grief and unanswered questions. an apparent suicide attacker killing at least 22 ppeople at the manchester arena. children are among the dead. at least 59 others were injured. the explosion ripping through a public space just outside the main concert area as everyone was leaving the show. police are treating the incident as a an act of terrorism. >> here's what we can tell you. a male at the scene has been identified as a probable bomber. police are digging into his background right now. it was a chaotic scene just after that blast with thousands of concert goers all trying to figure out what was happening. >> oh, my god. >> what's going on? >> what's happening? >> oh, my gosh. >> dave, what you see when you look at these pictures are thousands of young people. you see parents who have brought their teenage daughters, even children to this concert. when you talk to witnesses and survivors they describe the scene of parents waiting outside the venue to pick up their children, about 10:35 local time in manchester wher

so, let's bring in cnn's chief business correspondent and co-host of "early start," christine romans. christine, peel back some of the numbers. what do they show? >> well, they show confidence among employers to hire, quite frankly. let's look at the jobs added here. you can see 211,000. the president to get to his promise of 25 million jobs created over the next ten years would have to stay above 208,000 every month. so, he definitely did it this month. there's a little bit of weakness over here in march, but it looks as though employers were confident again coming up here in april. the unemployment rate. this is what's really fascinating. this is the number everyone's talking about today, 4.4%, the lowest in ten years. you've got to go back to may 2007. that was before the economy essentially crashed, before the financial crisis essentially threatened the global economy. so, this is a really significant milestone here, almost near full employment. what does full employment mean? that means that companies have to go out and search for workers because you've got an unemployment rate t

our chief business correspondent christine romans is here with more.e budget director, mick mulvaney is framing this, that i find really interesting, he said i don't want to measure compassion based on how many people are in these programs and getting food stamps and getting medicaid. it's about how many people we get out of the program. >> that's right, and put taxpayers first and grow the economy so it's about jobs, not about social safety net, that you don't need them. let me run down the numbers, because critics are calling this reverse robin hood, take from the poor to pay to the rich. mick mulvaney's calling it taxpayers first. this is about taxpayers and getting the taxpayer out of the business of picking winners and losers and social safety nets. what it means for sure here, tanks and tax cuts, bullets and billionaires. this is what critics say. defense spending up, border security up, including $1.6 billion for a wall and $200 billion in infrastructure spending, calling for non discretionary spending being cut, food stamps, s.n.a.p., disabilit

christine romans crunches the numbers next. th t rule of being plant manager k of your employees.manage them. make sure they're producing. woo! employee of the month! you really shouldn't leave their side. vita coco coconut water, hydration comes naturally. your only worry...ty customer first guarantee... will be that one... rogue... cloud. get help with hotels, free twenty-four-hour flight changes, and our price match guarantee. travelocity.® wander wisely.™ >>> will the president ever release his tax returns? well, president trump says he never told treasury secretary steve mnuchin he had quote no intention of releasing his tax returns. the president is offering a clue as to when he may reveal them. he also offered a clue as to how much he would pay under his tax plan. chief business correspondent christine romans has numbers for us. >> keeping the tax suspense alive. when will he release his taxes? soon. hear is what the president said when the audit is over and what he will do. >> it could happen soon. i don't know. i think it is routine to be honest with you. then i'll make a

i'm christine romans. >> and i'm dave briggs. it is monday, may 8th, 4:00 a.m. in the east. romans, one thing i miss about my old life is missing late-night sporting events. i got to see live baseball on the way to work this morning because a game went 18 innings, six-plus hours. >> wow! >> we'll show you that later on. but of course, we start with politics and the investigation into russian meddling back in the spotlight today with a long-awaited testimony from a key witness. the senate judiciary committee hears this afternoon from former acting attorney general sally yates and former director of national intelligence james clapper. >> yates is set to contradict the white house story about the firing of then national security adviser michael flynn. sources say she'll tell the panel she warned the white house forcefully about then national security adviser michael flynn three weeks before flynn was fired. cnn's ryan nobles has a preview for us this morning from washington. >> reporter: good morning, christine and dave. sources tell cnn that she's prepared to set the record s

we bring in christine roman. what are we looking at? >> 90 seconds to the opening bell.ou can say that the investor class is fat and happy right now. you've got volatility at the lowest in 25 years. in general, vvs tors think they will get a big payday with tax reform. they think it really is coming. earnings are good. the investor class is doing well under the presidency that was championing the little guy. so investors doing very, very well here. i want to remark about the cash stockpile. apple yesterday valued the company $800 billion for the first time in history. it has a quarter of a trillion sitting in cash, almost all of it overseas. altogether those half a trillion dollars, big dollars there if there is tax reform or some great 8% or 10% tax on profit that comes back here, that would be very, very good for those companies. and my big question and i'm on the record on this, tax reform, will it create jobs? we have to make sure that money when it comes home goes to work hiring for people. >> fat and happy. christine romans. thanks so much for being with us. ahead

i'm christine romans. there is a lot going on this morning. >> you always surprise me with what day it is. >> it is tuesday. >> because it feels like thursday. >> it is only tuesday, but it is a thursday full of news. fierce push being by the president to the testimony from former acting attorney general sally yates. testifying to a senate committee, she made it clear the justice department was seriously concerned about then national security adviser michael flynn. yates says she told the white house that flynn's talks with the russian ambassador and his lies to the vice president about those conversations made flynn vulnerable to blackmail. >> yates says she gave those warnings in meetings with the president's lawyer, expecting some action. nothing happened. >> we felt like it was critical that we get this information to the white house, because, in part because the vice president was unknowingly making false statements to the public, and because we believed that general flynn was compromised with respect

let's go to christine romans. you were here yesterday with us telling us about those big corporate ceos urging the president to stay in, including some energy companies who wanted to see this remain. >> that's right. they told the president, look, we think that climate change is inevitable and we need to have a seat at the table as the rest of the world comes to a deal on it. by mid century, india is expected to surpass the u.s. so if the u.s. pulls back, who will be the leader on technology, change and initiatives. many companies worry the u.s. seeds its leadership on this stage. also interesting to me, the president apparently has rejected the advice of his job diplomat, rex tillerson, who used to run an emergency company, exxon mobile. exxon mobile in 2007 after a complicated history on climate change acknowledged that it came to the conclusion it is real and it needs to be dealt with. even today exxon mobile is having a shareholder meeting where there was a shareholder movement to try to get the company to gam

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs.he white house taking new steps to reclaim the narrative on two big stories, the president's foreign trip and the russian investigation. now first on the foreign trip. two top aides looking to puncture the idea the president left foreign leaders nervous. national security adviser hchlt r. mcmaster and economic adviser gary cohen without an op-ed this morning. really defining the trump doctrine, if you will. entitled "america first doesn't mean america alone." >> both were on the overseas trip with the president and offer a staunch defense of his vision. the president embarked on his first foreign trip with a clear-eyed outlook that the world is not a global community, but an arena where nation, nongovernmental actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage. we bring to this forum unmatched military, political, economic, cultural and moral strength. rather than deny this elemental nature of international affairs we embrace it. >> sean spicer gave his take on the president's trip

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs.w. >>> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is an early edition of "new day," wednesday, may 17th, 5:00 here in new york. we begin with breaking news. another bomb shell out of the white house, president trump asks fbi director james comey to drop the fbi investigation into former national security adviser michael flynn. this according to a memo written by comey before he was fired. >> the white house issuing a furious denial, but this is now going to be an issue of credibility. whom will america believe? the president or former director of the fbi? this is the clearest evidence that president trump tried to directly influence an investigation in the links between his campaign and russia. democrats warning this could be obstruction of justice, this could be grounds for impeachment. so it comes down to votes and the republicans. we have it all covered for you. let's begin our coverage with j washington. >> reporter: sources telling cnn president

our chief business correspondent christine romans is here with us. cuts. we're talking about $800 billion is the headline we have right now out of medicaid, right? >> right, out of medicaid. we know this administration is set to deliver the full 2018 budget to congress tomorrow. the blueprint we saw in march only dealt with about a third. the full budget includes entitlements and you're right, $800 billion cut for medicaid over the next 20 years, assuming the current gop health care bill passes the senate and becomes law. it cuts medicaid funding two ways. first, it stops the planned expansion of the program. second, it cuts federal funding. the burden shifts from the federal government to the states. medicaid covers 70 million low-income adults, children and disabled americans, and the cbo estimates that as federal money disappears, about 25% less federal money over the next decade, 14 million people will lose their coverage. now, that number is based on an earlier version of the bill. the cbo is set to release an updated version wednesday, and that

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. "new day" starts right now. be your president. >> the president lashing out at his former e opponenteformer op >> i take responsibility. >> she gave a warning to the white house. >> a forceful warning. >> how is health care come? >> i think it is time. this amendment torpedos that. >> we have been making progress this bill. >> the president cut a tremendous deal for the american people. >> this was not winning in the republican point of view. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> all right. welcome viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "new day." it is wednesday, may 3rd. 6:00 in new york. up first, boy president trump and hillary clinton trading jabs over the outcome of the 2016 election. the president responding on twitter late last night after clinton blamed sexism and russia and the fbi in her defeat. >> the congress will face questions about russia and actions in the final days of the campaign. meanwhile, cnn is learning a former obama administration official wil

i'm christine romans. >> and i'm dave briggs.unded by beautiful, brilliant women. we're going to get to the latest on this health care bill. does it have a future and that strong men that the president continues to embrace. they will join us shortly. the administration going all out this morning straining for every last vote to get a health care bill through the house. vice president mike pence, the hammer, a former house e leader himself walking capital hallways a sure sign there's work to be done here before the obamacare repeal and replace bill is ready for a vote. moderates remain the focus. republican leaders hope they can sell those unhappy with the bill on the fact if it passes, it could be significantly reworked by the senate. >> although the white house keeps touting progress and suggest issing a vote is near, the whip count is painfully tight with many members on the fence including some of the whip team itself. the white house has its work cut out here. >> good morning. there was some hopeful and optimistic rhetoric co

christine, roman great to see you this morning. thank you very much. the white house of how vulnerable michael flynn could be to blackmail and she was fired before him. sally yates speaks to cnn in her first television interview since she was ousted. with e*trade's powerful trading tools, right at your fingertips, you have access to in-depth analysis, level 2 data, and a team of experienced traders ready to help you if you need it. ♪ ♪ it's like having the power of a trading floor, wherever you are. it's your trade. ♪ ♪ e*trade. ♪ ♪ start trading today at etrade.com but we've got the get tdigital tools to help. now with xfinity's my account, you can figure things out easily, so you won't even have to call us. change your wifi password to something you can actually remember, instantly. add that premium channel, and watch the show everyone's talking about, tonight. and the bill you need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount >>> i'm old enough to remember when the biggest stor

i'm christine romans. it is 31 minutes past the hour. meddling in the 2016 election is now in the hands of the former director of the fbi. robert mueller appointed special counsel of the probe. he has the power to investigate, question, issue subpoenas and prosecute federal crimes if any are discovered. mueller appointed to the job by the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. >> the appointment comes following the series of headlines like the firing of james comey and the divulging sensitive information to russian officials. >> on capitol hill, the news of the special counsel is greeted with relief. especially by republicans. we begin with the justice reporter laura jarrett live in washington. laura. >> reporter: it came together quickly, christine. this is a really significant move here. i have to under score. this has only happened once before in history. this regulation has only been used once under attorney general reno. the deputy attorney general put out a press release in a one-page order that highlighted the unique circumstance

christine romans joins us now. >> what can it pay for. tax a no-go for republicans but the president said he would consider it to fund infrastructure. >> the truckers have said that they want me to do something as long as that money is earmarked to highways. >> the federal gas task has not increased since 1993. the price at the pump has been overall rising here but still near the lowest prices in a decade. high supply, weak demand, overall extra cash in the pocket of every day americans. higher gas taxes would be felt most by lower income drivers and folks in rural areas who drive more. gas taxes could disproportionately affect people who elected president trump. the bill to repair highways, bridges, airports could top a trillion dollars. administration needs revenue and gas tax raised $29 billion in 2015. so it is a source of revenue to pay for some much needed repairs. >> all right. christine romans, thank you as always. >>> so she worked for the fbi and ended up marrying an isis fighter. this is a must see cnn exclusive investigation n

i'm christine romans. >> and i'm dave briggs. 4:00 a.m. in the east. >>> montana has a new congressman, just 24 hours after he was charged with assault for apparently body slamming a reporter. republican greg gianforte scores a decisive win over the democrat, rob quist. there you see the final numbers. >> gianforte's victory celebration was relatively subdued. he took a contrite tone, owning up to making a mistake. joining us live now with the latest, cnn's ryan young in boseman, montana. so, he apologized. i got the feeling, ryan, that the apology was meant for a national audience, maybe not a local audience. >> reporter: well, you know, one of the things i thought about that apology, we were wondering if he was going to make a statement about this at all. a lot of people thought it was very contrite and the fact that he mentioned the reporter's name, some people were very happy about that. i can tell you, though, some of his supporters were energized by just the idea of what had happened because they felt there were a lot of outsiders co

i'm joined now by cnn's chief business correspondent, christine romans. big, good numbers. >> yeah, and you're going to need a lot more months like that to fulfill the president's promise of 25 million new jobs over the next ten years. >> that's a whole different thing. >> so, this is just the first step in a journey of 25 million jobs. let's look at the unemployment rate, because that's the headline, john's so right. 4.4%. look at that chart. may 2007 was the last time we had a rate this low, and then the whole world fell apart. it's taken years, years to get back to that level, a decade, actually. it's a level that many economists consider full employment. what does that mean? it means that companies can't find workers and that workers have the upper hand and you can start to see wages rise. i haven't seen that yet. 2.5% wage growth in this report. you'd like to see it more robust than that, and that's been one of the sticky parts of this recovery for many, many months and years now. the job growth at 211,000, as i mentioned, is a nice, strong clip, but

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs.ht now. >>> all right, we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "new day." it is tuesday, may 16th, 6:00 here in new york. poppy harlow by my side once again. good to have you. >> good to be here. >> another big day with you here. we begin with breaking news, what could be the worst charge ever leveled against a sitting president. sources telling cnn president trump revealed highly classified information to russian diplomats during an already controversial oval office visit last week. this story false, denying, discussing intelligence services with russians. on both sides of the aisle, shock over the disclosure. the latest firestorm will shadow the president's visit overseas. let's begin coverage at the white house with joe johns. joe, what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning, poppy. the damage to u.s. intelligence is incaculalable. he was coughing up at the white house. >>> the story that came out tonight as reported is false. at no time

thanks very christine romans. >> there are a lot of positive signs about the economy as christine justed but he has more in his conversation with cnn's fareed sa sa car ya. >> so when you look at the economy now the numbers came in very weak, under percent, .7. does that tell you the economy has been somewhat a modest economy, what's going on? >> the first numbers are probably in just admiration. in the winter the gdp numbers have been lower than they should be. generally speaking, recovery has been really good in the sense we're down to 4.5% of unemployment. 16 million jobs created since 2009. inflation is low in stable, gas prices low, stock market's up. a lot of things are positive, growth could be faster that would be great. but underlying this growth pattern is slow growth in the economic force. we are seeing improvements in wages, the latest employment cost index showed a stronger number. so in terms of the recovery from the crises things are looked pretty good generally speaking. i'd have to say that if you told me three or four years ago we'd be where we are today i would have

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. welcome back, my friend. >> thank you!y weekend and i'm back, rearing

i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. it's wednesday, may 17th. d.c. 4:00 in the morning out east. the clearest sign yet president trump trying to pressure the justice department over the russia investigation, sources familiar with the matter say the president asked james comey to end the fbi investigation into former national security adviser michael flynn. >> the sources say comey was so concerned, so april pallappalle documented the conversation. it triggered immediate alarm on capitol hill. >> even republicans expressing extreme concern. oversight committee chairman jason chaffetz asking the fbi to hand over everything related to communications between comey and the president a week from today. white house fighting back. senior washington correspondent joe johns starts our coverage from washington. good morning to you, joe. >> reporter: good morning. sources telling cnn that president trump asked former fbi director james comey to end his investigation into the administration's first national security adviser michael flynn who was fired. here'

. >> i'm christine romans.nutes past the hour and if there's one thing you read today "wall street journal" editorial america first doesn't mean america alone by h.r. mcmaster and gary cohen it's the world view of this white house. >> people are searching for a trump foreign policy. this is essentially it. and we'll break it down for you. >> white house taking new steps to reclaim narrative on these two big stories. president's foreign trip and the russian investigation. first on the foreign trip two top aides look puncture the idea that the president left foreign leaders nervous. national security advice or and economic adviser. "wall street journal" op-ed america first doesn't mean america alone. >> both were on the overseas trip with the president and offer a staunch defense his global vision and now we're figuring out what that is. they say in part the president embarked on his first foreign trip with a clear-eyed outlook that the world is not a global community but an arena where nations nongovernmental ac

i'm christine romans. >> and i'm dave briggs. the president has been busy.e interviews in the last few

chief business correspondent christine romans can answer that with numbers. what do you know?ple is the first $800 billion company, chris. after warren buffett said he nearly tripled his stake, the stock rose to an all-time high. apple having a great year. the stock is up 32%. just this year it has more than $250 billion in cash. think about that. just sitting in the bank. the snag, that quarter of a trillion dollars is mostly overseas and apple won't bring it back until one thing happens, tax reform. it is the only thing wall street cares about right now, guys. lower taxes could mean a flood of cash to stimulate growth. for example, these five companies, apple, microsoft, cicero, oracle together have more than half a trillion dollars combined sitting in bank accounts overseas. that money will probably stay parked abroad. >> fascinating and staggering numbers. thank you very much. so former president barack obama is speaking at this very moment in a summit in milan, italy. he is expected to talk about climate change. so let's check in with nic robertson. he is in milan with mo

i'm christine romans.

i'm christine romans.you always surprise me with what day it is. >> it is tuesday. >> because it feels like

cnn's chief business correspondent christine romans brings us today's before the bell. this week, the focus will be back home on his economic agenda and just how much progress is being made. it was the first dent in that confidence about the trump economic agenda that really shook wall street last week on wednesday, the dow suffered its biggest one-day loss of the year amid white house turmoil. investors finally seeming to react to a constant drum beat of bombshell reports. for the major averages rebounded, the big question for investors, has the trump economic agenda stalled? remember, stocks rallied after the election on homes for tax reform, lest regulation and a boost in infrastructure spending. if those initiatives get stalled in congress by a white house and political parties consumed with investigations, that could derail progress on those economic fronts. in the meantime, you can expect a return to what is called volatility on wall street. last week, wall street's so-called fear gauge sparked sharply, but a return to volatility doesn't have to be a bad thing. it

christine watching the markets before the bell. romans. >> good morning, john.he calm was broken yesterday after reports of that comey memo and you saw the dow simply dive. but there is a whole new news cycle this morning and now you have word of a special prosecutor. perhaps there could be a bounce back. don't hold your breath. i'll have the opening bell right after the break. >> before the bell is brought to you by e-trade. start trading today and go to cnnmoney.com to stay on top of the markets and sign up for the daily news letter. h analysis, level 2 data, and a team of experienced traders ready to help you if you need it. ♪ ♪ it's like having the power of a trading floor, wherever you are. it's your trade. ♪ ♪ e*trade. ♪ ♪ start trading today at etrade.com at crowne plaza we know business travel isn't just business. there's this. 'a bit of this. why not? your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. which is what we do. crowne plaza. we're all business, mostly. a cockroach can survive heresubmerged ttle guy. underwater for 30 minutes. wow. ye

christine romans here to join us before the opening bell. mrs. romans. >> hi there, you guys.president has a big decision this week and believe it or not this pro-business president is at odds with the business community. big business fiercely lobbying to stay in the paris agreement. they have gained this out. they want to have a seat at the take. they say they know what it means for their bottom line and that disrupting it now is not the best way to go for the american economy. some people watching this whole debate saying that basically you'd be giving up american leadership on such important business issues in favor of some coal jobs and that would not be the right trait-off for this president of the united states. here are some companies lobbying and standing by the paris climate deal. microsoft, google, adidas, apple. and even big energy names have stood up and said, wait a minute, we've been at the table. we think we need to stay in it. maybe in part because it favors natural gas over coals and big energy companies make money on natural gas, but still a big decision for