i'm rene marsh. >> that is an extraordinary moment. los angeles are partying celebrating the world series. >>> white house john kelly defending the way president trump handled the condolence call for the widow of la david johnson. >> kelly did not hold back. >> i was stunned when i came to work yesterday morning and brokenhearted at what i saw a member of congress doing. a member of congress who listened in on a phone call from the president of the united states to a young wife. and in his way tried to express that opinion that he's a brave man, fallen hero. he knew what he was getting himself into. >> late last night president trump weighed in with a tweet of the fake news media is going crazy with whacky congresswoman wilson, a democrat who was secretly on a very personal call and gave a total lie on content. it is worth noting sergeant johnson's widow invited wilson to listen to the call. for more on this, cnn's sarah murray at the white house. >> reporter: good morning. white house chief of staff and refired general john kelly maki

. >> i'm rene marsh, it's friday, october 20, 5:00 a.m. in the east. white house chief of staff making an emotional appearance. kelly defending the way president trump handled a condolence call to the widow of sergeant la david johnson, who was killed in an ambush in the niger. kelly also condemned frederica wilson who has sharply criticized the president for using intensive language on the call. kelly didn't hold back. >> i was stunned when i came to work yesterday morning and brokenhearted at what i saw a member of congress doing. a member of congress who listened in on a phone call from the president of the united states to a young wife. and in his way, tried to express that opinion that he's a brave man, a fallen hero. he knew what he was getting himself into. >> the storyould have ended there, butate last night came another tweet from the president. quote, fake news is going crazy with whacky congresswoman wilson, a democrat who is secretly on a very personal call and gave a total lie on content, worth noting, sergeant johnson's widow invited wils

i'm rene marsh in for christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell.ritical item on the president's agenda as well as the first charges in the russia investigation is at the top of the list what have is happening in washington this week. >>> somebody could be in custody as early as tomorrow when a judge is expected to unseal the first indictment in the indictment of robert mueller's investigation into possible collusion into russia and the trump campaign, as well as possible objestruction of justi by the president. then social media companies will be on capitol hill to testify on capitol hill. >> the big policy deadline on wednesday the day house republicans have to introduce their tax reform bill. on thursday, trump campaign foreign policy adviser carter page will be interviewed by the house intelligence committee on russia's meddling in the election and on friday, president trump heads off for 12-day trip to asian countries amid the north korea nuclear threat. a lot to discuss this morning so let's do that. joining me is andre bauer and former lieute

for more let's turn to renee marsh. >>reporter: good morning.t is it appears the vice president made the trip on air force two knowing he'd walk out before the main event, and it comes as government watch dogs are investigating several cabinet officials for their use of private jets and milled tear planes. he left the game in his home state when players from the 49ers took a knee during the national anthem. sunday started with pence tweeting that he was looking forward to cheering on the colts. once at the said jump, his aides told reporters that pence may depart the game early and that they should stay in their vehicles. after around 30 minutes in the stadium, pence tweeted that he left the game because @potus and i will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, flag or national anthem. later, the president tweeted he and pence discussed walking out beforehand. i asked @vp pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespected our country, i am proud of him and second laity karen. the walkout is drawing sharp criticism with some

rene marsh has been all over this, especially the whitefish deal and joins us now.e focus, right? >> oh, yeah. you can bet that they are going to get that question. the focus of this hearing is going to be that federal response, did anyone drop the ball? if so who? we know the head of fema will be there, brock long, as well as top officials from the department of defense, health and human services as well as the army corps of engineers. back to that headline off the top there, the fbi, cnn has learned, has now opened a preliminary inquiry into the $300 million whitefish energy contract which was secured by puerto rico's electric power authority. now the energy firm was contracted to build -- rebuild parts of the electrical grid. if the fbi's inquiry develops into a full-blown investigation, it would join several other inquiries under way. it wasn't immediately clear at this point exactly what aspect of the deal that the fbi is going to be looking into, but we do know that members of congress have raised concerns about the process. there was no bidding process and fe

i want to bring in cnn's rene marsh. t the only trump administration to have raised questions now about his travel, particularly use of private planes to get back and forth and whether that was a wise expenditure of our tax money. >> exactly. you know what, jim, we want to make sure no one is arguing with the fact that the vice president needs to play on air force two. the bone that critics have to pick is whether this was the best use of tax dollars because it appears the vice president made that cross country krtrip air force two knowing he'd walk out before the main event even began, and it comes as several other trump cabinet secretaries are being investigated by government watchdogs for their use of private jets and military planes. >> reporter: vice president pence's nfl walkout sunday has stirred up plenty of controversy. >> this looks like a pr stunt to me. he knew our team had the most players protest. he knew that we were probably going to do it again. >> reporter: stunt or not, pence left the indianapolis colts

i'm rene marsh in for christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. an important temperature and turning point in the russia investigation. robert mueller has filed the first charges in his investigation floor possible russian meddles in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the trump campaign. sources tell cnn that anyone charged could be taken into custody as early as monday. now these developments are coming hours after president trump again blasted the investigation on twitter. >> it is a landmark moment in the investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. sources briefed on the matter say a federal grand jury in washington approved the first charges in the investigation led by special counsel robert mueller. a spokesperson declined to comment. the indictments are sealed but plans are under way for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as monday. >> when you see a sealed indictment like this, it happens for one reason. there is a fear that the defendant is going to flee the jurisdiction. >> mueller wants

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rene marsh is on the story and has more. so he has a number of threats, death threats, as well? >> reporter: that's right, poppy and john, that's what we're told from the independent ig's office. but when you hear this, it really sounds like the security bubble you would expect around the cia chief or even the fbi director. but this is the epa administrator, responsible for protecting the environment and regulating pollution. and cnn has learned, as you said, that the 24/7 security around him is being beefed up. they're hiring more agents, they're installing new security equipment. i want you to take a look. according to a source familiar with the decision, terhe epa isn the process of hiring and training some 12 new agents for that team. again, 24/7 protection. ba based on the dollar figures we've seen in the job posting, salaries for the job will cost at least $2 million. the epa is also stepping up security outside of pruitt's office. the epa recently made arrangement for access card readers and even an alarm system. a source tells us that they were also even considering biom

i'm rene marsh in for christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. good sunday to you. good to have you. >>> this is a critical week in washington. the investigation into russia's meddling in the 2016 election could strike its first blow as early as tomorrow. >> now on tuesday, facebook, twitter, google all heading to capitol hill. their executives will be testifying on russia and the use of social media to influence the 2016 elections. >>> lawmakers this have their hands full with tax reform. wednesday is the deadline for house republicans to introduce a bill that could be president trump's first major legislative win. >>> thursday, the house intel committee interviews former trump campaign adviser carter page on russia's meddling and trump will meet with leaders in japan, south korea, and china about the trade and the north korea nuclear threat. >>> the white house says it has no comment on the russia probe, it's launching an all-out assault on hillary clinton. president trump and some republicans on the hill are trying to launch dueling investigat

. >> and renee marsh joins us now. understand lawmakers sent a letter about the travelment what are they hoping to find out. >> reporter: right. so anderson this is the letter, three pages here, that lawmakers sent. the house democrats sent this letter. they sit on the committee that essentially oversees the interior department. and they are writing the letter to the inspector general also raising concerns about zinke's mix of political activities in official business. they do say that they want investigators to answer if all the laws and rules were followed on these trims. but again, we do want to point out we do not know at this point if any laws were broken. that is the very question that is under investigation, anderson. >> all right. renee marsh. thanks very much. coming up, something to make you smile at the end of the day. the ridiculous is next. what powers the digital world. communication. that's why a cutting edge university counts on centurylink to keep their global campus connected. and why a pro football t

cnn's rene marsh is working story for us. agency take bing these threats very seriously. >> they absolutely are. tonight cnn has learned the agency is beefi ining the 24/7 security for pruitt hiring more agents and installing new security equipment for his office all while there are new questions tonight about whether pruitt's epa policies favor industry over the health of the american people. scott pruitt is rapidly expanding his security force to an unprecedented level. cnn has learned the epa's in the process of hiring and training a dozen new agents to provide 24/7 protection for pruitt. salaries, alone, could cost $2 million. not including training, equipment, or travel. the agency says the level of protection is dictated and determined by the level of threat. pruitt faces four to five times more death threats than his predecessors, that's according to the epa inspector general's office. as security spending increases, pruitt hopes to cut the epa's budget by 30% including major cuts to the agency's enforcement work and st

i'm rene marsh in for christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell.ry, the crittal investment in the russia investigation. we are learning that special counsel robert mueller has filed the first charges in the russian meddling in the 2016 election and probable collusion with the trump campaign and the sources telling cnn and say that anyone charged in the investigation could be taken into custody as early as monday. >> it is a landmark moment in the investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. sources briefed on the matter say a federal grand jury in washington approved the first charges in the investigation led by special counsel robert mueller. a spokesperson declined to comment. the indictments are sealed but plans are under way for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as monday. >> when you see a sealed indictment, it almost always happens for one reason, there is a fear the defendant will flee the jurisdiction. >> mueller wants to send a signal to other perspective defendants, if there person who has been indicted or perso

. >> i'm renee marsh in for christine romans. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. after days of painstaking investigation authorities are starting to piece together a picture of the man behind the las vegas mass a ter. among the new details cnn has learned he went out of his way to protect his privacy, paying nearly $370,000 in cash for a house in mesquite, nevada, even though the 2,000 square foot home had a commanding hill top view he obscured it with a solid mesh privacy fence that blocked neighbors' view of his home. >> on his real estate application he said his income came from gambling. authorities found 19 of the shooter' knenearly -- meticulou plan and anger that drove it developed over some time. >> more than 100 investigators have spent the last 72 hours combing through the life of 64-year-old stephen paddock. he is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo. and living a secret life. much of which will never be fully understood. >> well officials also say there is evidence the gunman planned to survive the attack and escape. the usual for a mass

more tonight from cnn's renee marsh. n, critics are not arguing against the vice president flying on air force two. the bone that they have to pick is whether this was the best use of tax dollars because it appears the vice president made the township on fair force two knowing he'd walk out before the main event. vice president pence's nfl walk out sunday has stirred up controversy. >> this looks like a pr stunt to me. he knew our team has had the most players protest. he knew that we were probably gog to be -- >> pens left the game in his home state after some players from the 49ers took a knee during the national anthem. something they've done at all five games this season. sunday started with a tweet. looking forward to cheering for our colts and honoring peyton manning. aides tell reporters he may leave the game early, and they should stay in their vehicles. around 12:55 p.m., as expected some players from the 49ers kneeled during the national anthem. 1:08 p.m. pence tweets i left the colts game because potus and i wi

to help answer that question, cnn's renee marsh b joins me live. renee, what are you finding out about how much all of this is costing taxpayers? >> well, the air force says it cost them $30,000 per hour to fly a c-32. the aircraft that the vice president flies on. air force two. vice president pence flight from las vegas to indianapolis on saturday took about three hours and 20 minutes. and cost about $100,000. pence then flew from indianapolis to los angeles on sunday and that flight was about four hours and 45 minutes and the cost was about $142,500, so the grand total, nearly a quarter million dollars. now, had pence skipped the game, which he left rather early and flew straight to los angeles where he was scheduled to attend a fund-raiser, the trip would have cost much less. about $45,000. total. now, of these flight costs we're talk iing about here, they do n include the cost of advanced personnel, secret service and even support on the ground. some of the costs we should point out though of the flight specifically to los angeles, that will be

renee marsh is our cnn regulation correspondent. so tell us about this flag, renee. and specifically when this flag is flown. >> so, i can tell you, it is a military ritual. i spoke with people at interior department who have been working there for a pretty long time and they say they don't actually recall ever seeing this happen at the agency before. now, according to washington post which first reported this, a security staffer actually takes an elevator to the seventh floor on the interior department and then climbs the stairs to the top of the building to the roof to raise a special flag whenever the interior secretary, ryan zinke, enters the building. and when zinke goes home or travels, the flag which is blue, a blue banner and also has the agency's seal with seven white stars, it comes down when he is not there. and when zinke also isn't around, the same sort of ritual happens for his deputy secretary but using a totally different flag. a spokeswoman for zinke told the paper he is a former navy seal commander and says that this is a navy flag flying tradition

. >> renee marsh, please keep us posted with what you learn on this.hanks so much for your reporting. >>> lawmakers say they want answers on how and why four u.s. soldiers died in niger. the president is still playing politics. they are going back and forth over gold star families. there's a new turn in this. we have it next. ers, it's time to wake up to keurig. wakey! wakey! rise and shine! oh my gosh! how are you? well watch this. i pop that in there. press brew. that's it. so rich. i love it. that's why you should be a keurig man! full-bodied. are you sure you're describing the coffee and not me? woman: we demand a lot from our eyes every day. i should know. i have chronic dry eye caused by reduced tear production due to inflammation. so i use restasis multidose®. it helps me make more of my own tears, with continued use, twice a day, every day. it's also what i prescribe to my patients who have this condition. restasis multidose® helps increase your eyes' natural ability to produce tears, which may be reduced by inflammation due to chronic dry eye.

i'm rene marsh. >> that isn

i'm rene marsh. >>> i'm dave briggs. have a great weekend, everybody. we'll see you monday. >>> president trump on the attack again using congresswoman wilson of lying. >> he said i guess he knew what he was getting into. >> his way tried to express he's a brave man. he knew what he was getting himself into. >> he was trying to do damage repair. >> he called her an empty barrel. >> why are we trying to be cruel to each other? that's not who we are. >> if you have anything to say other than this is a tragedy get some duct tape out and shut up. >> had we anticipated this attack, we would have devoted more resources to it. >> there may be a reason for subpoenas. >> the u.s. military does not leave its post behind. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> welcome the our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is your "new day". the president just can't let it go, once again accusing the democratic congresswoman of lying about the content of his condolence call to the family of la david johnson even though the family con

cnn government regulation and aviation correspondent rene marsh is here. what did the ig found?> they say no violation of law in the simple request and uses of these aircraft. but steve mnuchin did not get off scot-free. the report shows how he had run up quite a tab for taxpayers for seven flights on government planes. the inspector general's report also dinged him for what is essentially flimsy justification for the use of these government airplanes. the inspector general saying, and i'm quoting, he's concerned about the justification given. the inspector general went on to say in almost all cases a single -- i'm quoting -- single boiler ploit statement was the justification when more rigorous justification should be given. as for a that trip, brooke, to see the solar eclipse, that caught a lot of headlines when he flew to kentucky. it cost taxpayers nearly $27,000. the ig did say there is no evidence to show that mnuchin chose that date to specifically coincide with the solar eclipse. all of that said, the ig goes back again to the concern over justification for the use of th

renee marsh is our cnn aviation and government correspondent and she joins us.ched the numbers. how much did this trip cost the american tax payer? >> all right. get your calculators out. the air force says it cost $30,000 per hour to fly a c-32. that's the aircraft that's used to fly around the vice president. it's known as air force two. so we do know that pence's flight from las vegas to indianapolis on saturday took about three hours and 20 minutes. the cost for that leg, $100,000. pence then flew from indianapolis to los angeles on sunday. that flight was about four hours and 45 minutes and the cost of that, $142,500. so the grand total nearly a quarter million dollars. had pence skipped the game which he left very quickly, as you just pointed out, and he flew straight to los angeles where he was scheduled to attend a fund-raiser, the trip would have cost a lot less, about $45,000 total, and all of these estimates that we're talking about here, brooke, they do not include the cost of advanced personnel, secret service as well as support on the ground. we sh

i'm rene marsh in for christi paul this morning. >> i'm victor blackwell.s morning, the crucial probe into the russian meddling in the 2016 election. a federal grand jury the in washington has approved the first charges in this case. >> and special counsel robert mueller is leading the investigation. he is focusing on potential collusion between the trump campaign and russia as well as obstruction of justice by the president. cnn has reported that mueller and investigators on capitol hill are scrutinizing trump and his associates financial tie toes russia. pamela you brown helped to break this story. she has more on the new revelations. >> it's unclear what the charges are because, as i pointed out, the indictment is still under seal and it's not clear whether those under indictment have been notified. a spokesman declined to comment for this, but as we have been reportinging, mueller was appointed in may to lead this investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 u.s. election. and under the regulations governing special counsel investigations, deputy att

. >> rene marsh reporting for us, thanks very much for that. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. >>> "outfront" next, break bing news, america's top general breaks his silence on the niger ambush that killed four american soldiers. 19 days out, why are there still many more questions than answers? >>> plus, trump gets in a last word to the widow of a fallen hero. why did he use a tweet to suggest she's a liar? >>> and trump about to declare an emergency on opioids. dr. sanjay gupta goes to the u.s./mexico border. and that is have trump's wall will or won't stop the drug 50 times stronger than heroin. our special investigation. let's go "outfront." good evening, i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, breaking news, new information on the deadliest combat loss of trump's presidency. the chairman of the joint chiefs taking 50 minutes of reporter questions about the niger ambush. dramatically changing the timeline of the fire fight that left four american soldiers killed by isis fighters. general joseph dunford s

. >> joining me right now cnn's rene marsh with more on this. it's not just the protests by the vice president when it is the vice president it also involves taxpayer dollars. how much. >> that's right. let's walk you through this. the air force says it costs $30,000 per hour to fly a c-32, air force 2, the aircraft that the vice president flies on. pence's flight from las vegas to indianapolis on saturday took about three hours and 20 minutes, that costs about $100,000. pence then flew from indianapolis to los angeles on sunday, which took about four hours and 45 minutes, that cost $142,500. the grand total for that trip, $242,500. now, had he skipped the game that he left very quickly, the cost to fly from vegas to los angeles, would have been a lot lower. a total of $45,000. of course these flight estimates, kate, they do not include the cost of advanced personnel, secret service and support on the ground. now some of the costs we should point out to los angeles, that will be reimbursed by the republican national committee because pence was a