happening now on the "newsroom," donald trump tries to reboot. >> i want to jump start america. it won't even be that hard. >> while more republicans revolt. but if they're not with him -- >> don't let a friend vote donald trump. >> -- will they be with her? let's talk live in the cnn "newsroom." and good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. donald trump losing ground and desperately trying to find traction with a change of message. but even as the billionaire pitpit pivots he faced another avalanche of defections. dozens say he is potentially too dangerous to earn their vote. cnn's jason carroll is here with

a closer look. >> good morning to you, carol. trump says that open letter is politically motivated. in that letter national security experts say that donald trump lacks the basic knowledge of the u.s. constitution and u.s. laws. trump says he does have the right temperament to be president. but a number of people within his own party simply do not believe it. another prominent republican coming out this morning against donald trump. maine senator susan collins penning an op ed in the "washington post" explaining why she cannot vote for her party's nominee. i've become increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and his inability to add mmit error or apologize. this as republican security officials warning in an open letter that trump is unqualified to be commander in chief. the experts who served in republican administrations from

nixon to george w. bush labeling trump as dangerous, reckless and lacks the character, values and experience to be president. >> our system has produced a candidate who is fundamentally unfit for office. >> trump firing back at those who signed the letter, calling them the failed washington elite who made the world such a dangerous place. >> i want to jump start america. and it can be done. and it won't even be that hard. >> the gop nominee unveiling a new economic plan monday, hoping to reset his company after hitting a rough patch since the convention. >> she is the candidate of the past. ours is the campaign of the future. >> trump is revising his tax plan now, calling for three tax brackets with the highest rate being 33% for individuals and capping the corporate tax rate at 15%. and in an effort to appeal to working class voters, he hopes to make child care expenses

deductible. >> at the center of my plan is trade enforcement with china. >> trump once again called for renegotiating trade deals like the trans pacific partnership. >> a vote for hillary clinton is a vote for tpp. >> wrongly claiming that hillary clinton supports it. >> he wants to basically just repackage trickle down economics. >> clinton slamming trump's plan, saying there is little in there for the middle class. >> economists left, right, in the middle all say the same thing, that trump's policies would throw us into a recession. the last thing we need. >> trump's daughter ivanka also attended that economic speech yesterday in detroit. she spoke to the detroit free press and came to her father's defense, saying that he does have the right temperament top president. clearly, though, a new poll

seems to show otherwise. poll out today showing clinton at 46%, trump at 34%. trump talked about needing to jump start the country, jump start america. it's very clear he needs to do a little bit more to jump start his campaign. jason osborne is a trump sport supporter and a strategist for the ben carson campaign. i'd like both of you to take a look at all of the republicans disavowing trump. put the picture up. put the graphic up now. put it up. we're looking for it. there's a lot of them. we know there's more than 50. we had this special graphic made. here it comes. i'm building up the drama. anyway, you get the drift, brian. i ask you what is happening to your party with so many republican defections? >> it's not a great position to be in, but it's in august. and so i suppose there's time to

fix this, the rift within the party. we've seen so many people breaking off, though, over the course of this campaign in part because of the scorched earth primary campaign that donald trump ran where he sort of took no prisoners, went after ted cruz's spouse. now coming into the fall, taking on the khan family i think was not just wrong but politically miscalculated. there have been a number of steps along the way that have cast doubt on donald trump's judgment. so i think this is the result of those decisions. and he's got a heavy lift in the next few months to try to repair the damage. >> jason, i didn't mean to make light of all of those republican defections. but this is unprecedented. why in your mind is this happening? >> i think brian was right. we did have a very contentious primary. there were 17 candidates out there. trump was able to come in and beat them all. what we're seeing right now is a

number of people to donald trump's point that a lot of these are the washington elite, that have relied on years and years of relationships with insiders here in washington for contracts, et cetera. so when they see a candidate like donald trump, who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in, and he may not speak in the language they're used to, they get afraid. so they're looking for -- the hope is that he loses this fall so they can then attach themselves to somebody in 2020 and come out and run again. i think that's the wrong approach. i think we have to look at what is the fundamental difference between a republican and a democrat. that is government is not the answer. donald trump yesterday said that we need to spur growth in our economy, whereas hillary clinton's approach is let's throw more government grants out there that don't create jobs. >> well, here's the thing. going back to the republicans who are now disavowing donald

trump, mr. trump responded to these. there were 50 national security officials. he responded to them in the usual way. he's a counter puncher, so he counter punched. he said these insiders along with hillary clinton are the owners of the disastrous decision to invade iraq, allow americans to die in benghazi and they're the ones who ae allowed the rise of isis. all of these prominent republicans allowed americans to die at benghazi and allowed the rise of isis? >> misdirected rage i think is probably one of the reasons why this letter was published in the first place. during the primary where he essentially accused president george w. bush of lying to get us into iraq, that's not exactly going to be a coalition builder in terms of building the republican coalition he needs to win in the fall, attacking your fellow party members and accusing them of things they didn't do probably isn't the best way to win their votes.

i'm just guessing. >> jason, he was supposed to unify the party during the republican convention, right? but it seems like he is just simply unable to unify the republican party. frankly how can you win a presidential election without your own party? >> i disagree that he hasn't been able to unify the party? >> really? >> you're picking out a small number of people given the vast number that vote in the election. >> it's not a small number of people. it's more than 50 people now. >> right. there have been stories out there of democrats that are average people out there that aren't working in the government that have come out and said they support donald trump now over hillary clinton because of what hillary clinton and her failed leadership as secretary of state. this is a woman that claimed to when she was running for senate that she would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in new york. and there has not been one job. in fact they've lost jobs in new york. here is a man who has created

hundreds of thousands of jobs in the private sector. as we move along, that he is able to articulate what his tax policy is, what his trade policy is, what his energy policy is and how he's going to make america stronger. >> but here's the concerning thing. hillary clinton is picking up republican voters as the "washington post" points out, quote, the democrats' out reach to republican moderates during the dnc had an effect. 17% of republicans plan to support clinton after the democratic convention. so you would have to think with all of these prominent republicans coming out, brian, that that percentage will rise. >> well, this is like an endorsement letter. i don't know how much effect it will actually have. but the clinton campaign has been reaching out to republicans. the unfortunate part that many republicans, myself included, hope that the trump campaign would try to do is to bring other republicans along and stop

giving them reasons to doubt his ability to be president. stop giving them reasons to doubt his judgment. because the candidate on the other side just lied to the country in a series of statements about how she handled classified information. and that is a really important topic that republican national security experts should be pouncing on instead of their own candidate. if their own candidate stops giving them reasons to do that, maybe we'll see a different election going into the fall. in a little over six weeks donald trump and hillary clinton will finally meet face to face as the first presidential debate takes place at hofstra university on long island. while mr. trump has railed against what he says is a rigged debate system, hillary clinton is throwing down the gauntlet on h her rival. >> the debate over the debates just getting started. just a single moment or two in a

debate can be critical to helping voters make their decisions. last night hillary clinton's chairman went on the record saying she plans to be there, attempted to be a challenge to trump to state his intentions. donald trump has grumbled publicly that two of the three debates are scheduled during football games. the rnc has said it supports trump on that. the clinton statement said last night secretary clinton looks forward to participating in all three presidential debates scheduled by the independent debate commission. with so much at stake in the fall election, she believes these debates will provide the american people with an important opportunity to hear from candidates on critical issues. she said it's concerning that the trump campaign is already engaged in shenanigans around these debates. not clear if he's trying to avoid debates or just toying with the media to create more

drama. went onto say the only issue now is whether donald trump is going to show up at the dates and times and places that have already been set. part of what's going on here really is that the trump campaign essentially has accused hillary clinton of trying to game the system with the scheduling. certainly the clinton campaign denies that. the first one is supposed to be on september 26th. >> we'll be watching. still to come in the "newsroom," house speaker versus harley riding businessmen. paul ryan's primary fight goes to the polls today. will anti-establishment anger win? i have asthma...

...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine. i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop breo and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take breo more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma

does not improve or gets worse. ask your doctor if 24-hour breo could be a missing piece for you. see if you're eligible for 12 months free at mybreo.com. i'm hillary clinton, and i approve this message. michael hayden: if he governs consistent with some of the things he said as a candidate, i would be very frightened. gillian turner: he's been talking about the option of using a nuclear weapon against our western european allies. max boot: this is not somebody who should be handed the nuclear codes. charles krauthammer: you have to ask yourself, do i want a person of that temperament controlling the nuclear codes? and as of now, i'd have to say no. [bill o'reilly sighs] and as of now, i'd have to say no. all providers. getters. drive with uber and make more than $300 a week by driving a few hours a day. calling all nine-to-fivers and night owls. with uber - a little drive goes a long way. start earning this week. go to uber.com/drivenow

it's turning out to be a primary to watch in wisconsin. paul ryan facing off against businessman paul nelen today. ryan is heavily favored to win,

this less than a week after that belated trump endorsement. >> reporter: good morning, carol. remember, this is more ted cruz country than it is donald trump country. back in the april presidential primary this district voted overwhelmingly for ted cruz, which is one reason why donald trump perhaps belatedly endorsed paul ryan, knowing he needs to do well in the southern part of the state. mike pence, his running mate, will be in the milwaukee area tomorrow as part of that effort to take back wisconsin. in this primary for ryan's house seat, paul nehlen would have to pull off an upset. ryan is heavily favored after spending a lot of time, money and effort in this district and just having the name recognition here. ryan's campaign views, his back

and forth with donald trump is nothing more than a distraction. yesterday in pleasant prairie, wisconsin, he was asked by a voter about donald trump and whether or not donald trump could be removed from the ballot and paul ryan could jump in. paul ryan shrugged it off and said this. >> our party's different than the democratic party pap . they have super delegates. our party doesn't work like that. our party is a pure grassroots party. so the primary voter votes and the person who wins the most delegates bound to those primary votes wins the nomination fair and square. so it's a grassroots decision. and he won the votes fair and square. he won more votes than everyone else, enough delegates to get the nomination. and the convention occurred a couple of weeks ago where he got the nomination and he is the nominee. that's how it works in our party. he got 14 million votes. nobody else got close to that. that's just the way the system

works. >> not the most resounding endorsement of trump. that's kind of the way this relationship between paul ryan and donald trump has really played out. paul ryan after that whole back and forth has kept a low profile. did not talk to the media today or yesterday. will talk to the press after the polls are called and presumably after he wins tonight. paul ryan keeping a low profile before he gets back on the campaign trail to try to save that house majority that is increasingly at risk if donald trump's standing continues to decline. >> stay right there. i want to bring in cnn's chris moody. welcome chris. so chris, donald trump belatedly endorsed paul ryan. does ryan really care about trump's endorsement? >> i think this endorsement was a lot bigger than just his house reelection campaign. this is a national thing really. it goes back to early on when

right here on cnn paul ryan would not endorse donald trump for president and eventually came around. and then he did endorse him. then when donald trump had the opportunity he said the very same thing, that he, quote, was just not there yet. i think that move was premedicated to humiliate paul ryan. that got reince priebus to scramble to donald trump, including mike pence as well, his running made and say, hey, look, we have to get this party united and together and we can't screw around anymore basically. and then donald trump came and and endorsed paul ryan. i don't think it would have made much of a difference in the house primary we're talking about today. >> a recent vanity fair article titled paul ryan can't win. even if he wins his primary today, he runs the risk of losing the gop. do you agree with that? >> i'm not entirely sure about

that. the real concern for paul ryan and the senate republican majority is that if donald trump is underperforming significantly in these battleground states, that they could lose the house andmajority. one of the things i've been told by senior republicans is that if donald trump is lose iing by te points in battleground districts, it's going to be hard for those incumbents to hang on. he is down in states like new hampshire and michigan. that is the real concern for paul ryan and mitch mcconnell. one reason why they're advising their can'ts didates to run the own race, to try to distance themselves from donald trump as much as possible. we'll see what happens in the coming weeks, but that is where the big risk is for republicans to have donald trump at the top

of the ticket. at least what they're saying right now. >> chris, clearly that the gop members are confused to say the least. the never trump republicans are growing in number. many say they will actually vote for hillary clinton. jason taylor, a conservative blogger, is angry at the republican chair reince priebus. he wrote earlier this week, the rnc chairman and his colleagues don't need an autopsy for the 2016 election cycle. they need a pen to write their letters of resignation. do you think that reince priebus is regretting his support for donald trump? >> i think it would be impossible to psychoanalyze reince priebus. he was put in a very difficult position. he was kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't. when he was running the primary, his job was to make sure the candidates were treated fairly and the people had their voice heard throughout the country. he decided not to take steps to

block donald trump despite many voices and efforts within the party to do whatever they could to keep him from winning the nomination. now we've seen they are all in for trump at the rnc. earlier today reince priebus deputy sean spicer sent out a memo defending why this election is so important to republicans, pointing to hillary clinton on domestic policy and foreign policy and obamacare and things like that. they're dug in. so the republican party will have an opportunity soon to decide if they want to have reince priebus again. i imagine that that meeting when they have that election for the new party chairman will be something to see. i would highly recommend any reporter get to that meeting and cover it. it's going to be wild, i imagine. >> what are you hearing from insiders about that? >> not a whole lot right now other than the fact that they'll have to gauge what happens this cycle. if they do pull off a miracle -- not a miracle, but if they do

pull off what appears to be a difficult road ahead, which is winning the white house given how down donald trump is in the polls right now, that reince priebus and the republican national committee will have a lot to do with that. they are essentially running the field operation for donald trump. donald trump had a skeleton organization before the rnc essentially took it over. when trump became the presumptive nominee. if they win they'll get a lot of credit. again if there's a loss, there will be a lot of fingers pointed, a lot of folks trying to figure out who can lead them out of the wilderness. still to come in the "newsroom," battle lines drawn in the race for the white house and women voters are caught in the middle. will donald trump's child care proposals be enough to woo women away from hillary clinton?

good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. donald trump has declared he will be a champion for women when he is in the white house. recent polls show that female voters are just not into him. among them a new post convention survey from the "washington post" and abc news shows hillary clinton with a whopping 23-point lead among women overall. the post notes that that is clinton's highest support among this group to date and it is due in part to clinton's improvement with college educated white women, a group of voters that usually vote republican. donald trump is not ceding this ground to clinton. >> my plan will also help reduce the cost of child care by allowing parents to fully deduct the average cost of child care

spending from their taxes. >> so let's talk about this. welcome to all of you. hi. is this a good first step for mr. trump? >> it's a fantastic step. we saw the policy speech yesterday that you can deduct average child care from your tax rules. in addition to that, also for lower income families you can deduct from half of your payroll tax. this is a child care plan that applies to the middle class, to families in a lower income graphic. >> sabrina, i know you've been critical of mr. trump. is this a good first step in your mind? is it enough to repair the rift between women voters and mr. trump? >> i'm not sure it's going to be

enough to get him the women vote, but i am happy to see he's opened up the conversation. giving resources back to families so they can make choices in their lives that make the most sense for them. when it comes to child care we want to make sure we have a marketplace that provides for the most affordable quality care out there. many options for people so that people can make arrangements based on their needs and wants. i think a child care tax credit would be a step in the right direction certainly. >> and carol, i know you're a clinton supporter. but is this a good first step for donald trump? >> not really. >> he's talking about child care. that's a good thing, isn't it? >> i think donald trump has no credibility with women on so many levels that this little bone, these few woorrds will do nothing to stem the huge tsunami of republican women who are going to vote for hillary in the

fall. >> but he has introduced this issue into the republican narrative, something that hasn't been done before. >> way too little way too late. first of all, it's a tax deduction. and that is going to help elite women, the top percent of women in this country. it does nothing for working women and the working class that he pretends -- >> it's a deduction. >> it's a deduction. so you have to be itemizing your taxes in order to take this deduction. >> he didn't mention this in the speech but the campaign came out and said this is also going to apply to the payroll tax. they will have greater take home pay. not only that, his speech helps millennial women who can't even get jobs. they're not at the point of even getting a job or even getting married. >> she's done a lot of research

on this subject. i know it's your sweet spot. sabrina, go. >> what's important is that when government gets involved in a lot of the progressive solutions out there for the issue of child care, which is a real one for working women and working parcht pare parents they very often are biassing parents to a particular child care facility. most people would prefer to have a family member or a friend or a relative be able to help care for those children. so that's a very good thing. we don't want to bias people toward one system or another. we want them to have the freedom to make the choice that works for their family. that's why returning resources to individual families so they can make those arrangements is the best approach. whether or not this helps trump is almost beside the point. it's time to think of better ways to help working families. that will go well beyond

november. >> first of all, let's look at hillary clinton's proposals. she is supporting universal prek which is so important for working families. she's supporting investment in child care, raising the wages of child care workers which is abysmal, way below the rate that anybody should be paid. and she is supporting how child care is an integral part of what a working mother needs. not just for the elite who have nannies but also for all the working women of this country that have many different arrangements. i agree with that completely. and we need investment in child care, not tax deductions for the rich who itemize their taxes. >> let me pose this question. it's great that mr. trump brought this issue up but he didn't really expound on it in his speech. why didn't he? because he is having problems with that demographic. >> it's great he mentioned it and he should expound upon it

some. but something i think is a myth is women want to be spoken to through the lens of their gender. >> but child care is a big issue. >> yes, it's a big issue. but what is a bigger issue is woman who are unemployed and can't find jobs, women who are in poverty more at the end of this administration than at the beginning. when you speak about lowering taxes, that applies to women across the board. yes, child care is important. but we don't necessarily want to be seen through the lens of our gender. >> wait, wait, wait. i want to interject something. it is very difficult if you're low income or you're poor and you can't afford child care to rise out of poverty no matter what. >> sure. >> minority women, millennial women can't even find jobs. donald trump's speech is about job growth. >> what he says about women and

how he has so few proposals that have anything to do with women and no women on his economic policy group. >> i would add that i agree that most women don't like the andering and e pandering of gender politics. there are different issues that affect men and women and child care is one of them and paid leaf a leave and equal pay do impact women. whether or not you think we need to grow government to solve them or rein government in to solve them, there is a conversation that needs to be had. >> i bring that up because ivanka donald trump and her wonderful speech brought all these issues up and she directed them specifically toward women, child care and equal pay. >> yes. i agree that republicans have been behind on some of these issues. yesterday was the start. i just challenge the notion that and i think it's kind of offensive to women that a lot of

times the democrats paint them as only caring about contraception and abortion and these gender specific issues. most women vote on the economy and terrorism. >> if ivanka trump really believes in what she said at the rnc i think she should vote for hillary clinton. >> thanks to all of you. coming up on the "newsroom" we're learning more this morning about what killed a young boy on a kansas city water slide. what investigators are saying, next.

be the you who doesn't cover your moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. be the you who shows up in that dress. who hugs a friend. who is done with treatments that don't give you clearer skin. be the you who controls your psoriasis with stelara® just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before starting stelara® tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. always tell your doctor if you have any signs of infection, have had cancer, if you develop any new skin growths or if anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions can occur. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® or any of its ingredients.

most people using stelara® saw 75% clearer skin and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. be the you who talks to your dermatologist about stelara®. a month after 9/11, i got a call from david and he told me he was going into the national guard. he was sent to iraq to be a gunner on a humvee. a car pulled up in the driveway and three soldiers got out, and the sound of their boots as they came up those stairs will, will stay with me the rest of my life.

you have moments when you really don't want to live anymore, it's a fate that i would not wish on anybody, not anybody. when i saw donald trump attack another gold star mother, i felt such a sense of outrage. ...wife, she was standing there, she had nothing to say, she probably... i would like to tell donald trump what it feels like, the sense of emptiness, that only losing a child can bring. those people should be honored and treated with kindness for the rest of their life, and i don't think that donald trump will ever understand that. priorities usa action is responsible for the contents of this advertising. seconds can mean the difference between life and death. for partners in health, time is life. we have 18,000 people around the world. the microsoft cloud helps our entire staff stay connected and work together in real time

to help those that need it. the ability to collaborate changes how we work. what we do together changes how we live. there is growing concern this morning about the safety at amusement parks. two big incidents sparking this. a 10-year-old boy died riding a water slide over the weekend. and later three children were

terribly hurt on a ferris wheel. >> it's tragic. we're learning right now about the world's largest, tallest water slide. caleb schwab died of a neck injury. and the investigation continues. this little boy who is the son of representative scott schwab and his wife and this was this weekend that he was on that water slide. they have a raft. you go in a raft and there are at least three people that are in it. two to three people and the weight has to be 400 pounds. we did confirm with police he was in the raft with two adult women. but in the end he wasn't in that raft anymore. and it goes up to 168 feet, seven inches. that's how tall it is. it goes down and goes up again to 50 feet. that is when the tragedy happened. the pastor of the family now is speaking out. >> caleb was a 10-year-old

child, but in many ways he was a man of god. so he's going to be missed for his energy, for his life, for his smile, for the way he lit up a room. >> and the investigation is continuing. the park is open. the ride obviously is not open. now i take you to tennessee, because a county fair, greenville county fair, a ferris wheel, three children were in one of the baskets and they over turned and the children fell 35-45 feet. this is a county fair in eastern tenness tennessee. what we now know is one of the three children is in critical condition. they just held a press conference minutes ago. >> two of the children were alert and answering questions. i can't tell you whether the third was or not, but the third child was -- does have a head injury. and was intubated last night and is still in the hospital. as far as i know, all three kids

are still in the hospital but i'm not for sure. >> captain tim davis is saying they're looking to see whether there was a mechanical issue. carol, i've covered many trials in this country and i've covered some trials that involve amusement parks and rides. and the investigation is critically important, because is it a mechanical issue? is it criminal negligence? was there something wrong with the ride and they kept the people coming because they were making money and the lines were there. could this have been prevented? that investigation is extremely important for any civil of criminal responsibility. >> sad. still to come in the "newsroom," the accusations keep oncoming for former fox chairman roger ailes. another fox anchor says he sexually harassed her.

get between you and life's dobeautiful moments.llergens flonase gives you more complete allergy relief. most allergy pills only control one inflammatory substance. flonase controls 6. and six is greater than one. flonase changes everything. ♪ it means having the freedom to act as you choose-to pursue your goals, and live the life you envision. so i knew that i had a house. and that's all i knew. but, i didn't know how i could retire with just a house. we considered doing a regular refinance.

we even considered selling. but, those things were not the best way for us to use the equity in our home. liberty home equity solutions helps homeowners age 62 and older access a portion of the equity in their homes through a home equity conversion mortgage-also known as a reverse mortgage. it's a government-insured loan with the benefits of a traditional home equity loan -without the monthly payments. the reverse mortgage has allowed us to pay off the original mortgage and freed up that money and we know that for the rest of our life we can be comfortable. my mortgage originally is paid off which is a great difference in my monthly income. and i can live here forever. which is what i wanted to do all along. you can get the funds you need quickly-most liberty loans close in 60 days or less. you can choose to receive them as a lump sum or a

line of credit, a monthly check, or any combination. you've got a life to live. and live it. it's the best thing ever. i couldn't have done this without liberty and a reverse mortgage. we'd be more than happy to recommend liberty to anyone who wants to get a reverse mortgage. get the facts about reverse mortgages: call today to request your free information kit. including a booklet and dvd, there's no obligation.

the idea coming out against a powerful employer with allegations of sexual harassment is scary. yet another high-profile woman at fox has found the courage, even though it could jeopardize her financial welfare. fox news anchor andrea tan taro accused roger ailes of take her off in the air in retaliation for sexually ar hassing her. it's astounding because she signed an agreement forbidding her from disparaging her employer which means she could be sued by fox news. her attorney says she is willing to take the risk.

victims rights attorney gloria allred is with me now. let's talk about that. good morning, gloria. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning and thanks for being here. the fact that andrea tan taro is speaking out, at her financial peril, does it surprise you? >> it is unusual because often employers will require, as a condition of employment, that an employee will sign an arbitration clause as fox has, and that any dispute has to be resolved confidentially and not publicly. >> so would you have suggest fire department you were her lawyer that she come out and talk about these allegations against roger ailes? >> my job as a sexual harassment lawyer for employees, carol, is to advise my clients of the benefits versus tris, of any action they plan to take or we would advise them to take. if the risks outweigh the

benefits, it's really up to the client to decide if she's going to assume those risks or not. as plaintiffs' lawyers, we like employees to be able to have their day in court, to be able to file a public lawsuit if the case cannot be settled. but the trend is toward arbitration. although we're able to challenge some arbitration clauses, some will stand. so it's really up to her. i will say that there are many women including successful producer shelly ross, who have also spoken out and alleged they were sexually harassed by roger ailes in addition to gretchen carlson. so these women are very, very courageous. they found their voice and decided they're going to take whatever risks are inherent in being able to speak out. >> i think you're right. what people don't realize is that tantaros is off the air,

right? sure she got a settlement and they're paying her, but she's paying the price. she can't do what she loves, can't be on the air, can't work for anyone else. i guess she came to the conclusion, what do i have to lose? >> actually, if there is a settlement, often settlements, not necessarily with fox, but with most employers, will require that the employee who receive it is settlement -- and we've done thousands of such sexual harassment settlements, not be able to speak out and, in fact, if she does speak out, she may have to return some or all of the compensation that she received in the settlement. so employees have a tough choice to make because often they want to be able to speak out and to also get the sell mesettlement which will help to compensate them for any doctor bills or therapy bills they may have incurred as a result of having to suffer sexual harassment.

retaliation, i need to add, is part of the law. sometimes an employee can't prove she was sexually harassed although she has a reasonable basis for asserting it, but she can prove she was retaliated against. often she will be able to prevail in the sexual harassment arbitration, trial or settlement because she's able to show evidence that she was retaliated against. >> my final question to you, "the new york times" interviewed me because i was sexually harassed in my 20s, i 20e8d them, quote, i stirl think there are consequences for women who come forward vocally. a part of me thinks things haven't changed much. i hope i am wrong, gore yeah, but what do you think 1234. >> i think bad news is that sexual harassment in the workplace is still widespread. it's still pervasive, it is still severe for million of os women. the good news is that female employees and some males who are

sexually harassed, are learning they have rights, go toing employment lawyers, learning what their rights are and asserting their rights. in many cases they are receiving confidential settlements so they never have to file a public lawsuit and they can also get a good recommendation as part of the settlement from their employer so they can go on in the future career and not have to be concerned that seeking sexual harassment settlement is going to affect them in the future. i might add that i have an article coming out on "the wrap," an entertainment news wep stiet day helping female employees who are sexually harassed, or males, to know what they should do if they're sexually harassed, what steps they should take to protect them stefls. >> gloria allred, thanks so much. >> thank you, carol. >> you're welcome i'll be right back. like this guy. technically i'm a cook.

sign up here. drive a few hours a day. make $300 a week. actually it's a little bit more than that. that's extra buy-you-stuff money. or buy-them-stuff money. calling all early risers, nine-to-fivers and night owls. with uber-a little drive goes a long way. start earning this week. go to uber.com/drivenow i just wish it had been for a better reason. me, too, but the eulogy that frank's daughter gave was beautiful. i just feel bad knowing they struggled to pay for the funeral, especially without life insurance. i wish they would've let us help. but, it did make me think, though. about what? well, that i could leave you in the same situation. i don't have life insurance, either. if something were to happen to me tomorrow, how are you pay for my funeral? or my other bills? nothing's gonna happen to you tomorrow. you don't know that. i made a promise to always take care of you kids. without life insurance, i'm not keeping it.

besides, i already looked into it and between my budget and health, well ... you should call massmutual. they have a new policy called guaranteed acceptance life insurance. i got covered with one call, and it was an affordable option for reliable coverage. what do you think, mom? i think it's time to make sure i keep that promise. if you're age 50-75, it's easier than ever to get reliable coverage at an affordable price. call massmutual today for guaranteed acceptance life insurance. with no medical questions or exams, you cannot be turned down. with one phone call, you can get coverage ranging from $2,000-$25,000, and premiums can start at less than $10 per month. guaranteed acceptance life insurance can help your loved ones cover expenses such as funeral costs, remaining medical expenses and credit card bills. we have several payment options, and benefits are paid quickly and directly to your beneficiaries. they can use it for any expense they choose. for more than 160 years, our policyowners have mattered most to us.

massmutual's ratings are among the highest of any company in any industry. you can feel confident we can help you protect the people who matter most to you with guaranteed acceptance life insurance. call massmutual today at this number. call now! weand sustainability goals asool one of our top priorities.mental i definitely rely on pg&e to be an energy advisor. anything from rebates, to how can we be more efficient?

pg&e has a number of programs, to help schools save on energy. when i see a program that fits them, then i bring it to them. with the help of pg&e we've been able to save a tremendous amount of energy and a tremendous amount of money. we're able to take those savings and invest it right back into the classroom. together, we're building a better california.

at 58 minutes past. russian president vladimir putin sits down with the turkish president today, the first time they've met sense russia sat down a turkish jet. now in the wake of the failed coup in turkey, russia may be working to form an alliance with that nato nation. another rough day ahead for delta air lines passengers. the atlanta-based carrier announcing 100 flight cancellations today and at least 200 flight delays. they're warning those numbers could go higher. delta was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights on monday because of a computer outage stranding tens of thousands of customers. heisman winning quarterback tim tebow is hoping for a comeback in professional sports. this time not football, but major league baseball. he hasn't played baseball since

junior high. his agent says it's not a publicity stunt. he has talent and his trainer says he's impressed with tebow owes bat speed. the next hour of cnn "newsroom" starts now. happening now in the "newsroom," donald trump tries to reboot. >> i want to jump start america, and it won't even be that hard. >> while more republicans revolt, but if they're not with him -- >> don't let a friend vote trump. >> -- will they be with her? let's talk live in the cnn "newsroom." good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me. donald trump tries to get his campaign back on course and back on message. >> this is what i want to do for our country. i want to jump start america, and it can be done, and it won't even be that hard.

>> but even as the billionaire businessman pivots to the economy, he faces another avalanche of defections. dozens of fellow republicans including a u.s. senator and national security experts say he is potentially too dangerous to earn their vote, and the top republican in congress hoping to beat back today's challenge largely fueled by his luke-warm relationship with donald trump, house speaker paul ryan locked in a primary contest reflecting the party's growing divide. let's begin with jason carroll and a closer look. >> this is not the message the trump campaign wanted to be talking about. let's start with maine senator susan collins who penned the op ed coming out saying she can't support donald trump going forward, saying she's dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and what she calls his inability to admit when he's wrong or apologize. this coming on the heels of the

open letter signed by 50 gop national security experts. these people, some of them on this list include people like tom ridge, former secretary of state, saying donald trump lax the self-control, lax the character, the values and experience to be president. here is a quote from the letter sayings, we are convince thad in toefl office he would be the most reckless president in american history. trump, as you know, carol, has come out with his own response basically saying this letter is politically motivated, that these people are politically motivated. he said, quote, these insiders along with hillary clinton are the owners of the disastrous decisions to invade iraq, allow americans to die in benghazi, and they are the ones who allowed the rise of isis. donald trump's daughter ivanka coming to his defense, giving an interview to the "detroit free press" basically saying her father does have the right temperament to be president saying, quote, her father's

critics are simply scared of a trump presidency. >> some of those people who signed the letter, michael hayden, john negroponte, former deputy sake tir of state. eric ettleman was dick cheney's national security adviser -- >> the list goes on and on. the bottom line is this, the trump campaign wanted today's discussion to be about the economy, all the things he laid out in the kmak speech yesterday in detroit. what you're seeing with senator susan collins, mike kirk from illinois who decided not to endorse in june, this is an ongoing problem for the trump campaign. he says he has a party that's united, but it certainly looks like a party divided. >> even when he spoke before the detroit economic club, high profile republicans didn't show up for that speech. >> a number didn't show up for that speech. in trump's defense, he says despite all of what's happening now, despite the dip in the polls, it's early, it's august,

come labor day things will change. >> jason carroll, many things. while trump loses ground with gop experts, paul ryan looks to win big in his home state. it's primary day for the republican house speaker in wisconsin. voters right now heading to the polls just days after trump's delayed endorsement. cnn's manu raju is in wisconsin with more. >> reporter: a steady stream of voters are coming into this polling location which is not far from paul ryan's house. we'll see if there will be a high turnout primary, typically august are low-turnout primaries. it's not closed off to republican voteers. we'll see how the independent voters may end up voting. paul ryan heavily favored in today's primary. paul nailin, his opponent would have to pull off a monumental upset tonight. the flap between him and donald trump was viewed by the ryan campaign as nothing more than a

distraction, not necessarily something that will hurt him politically, largely because this district overwhelmingly voted for ted cruz in the april presidential primary. that's probably why donald trump turned around and en dorsd paul ryan, knowing he had to do well in southern wisconsin. paul ryan has avoided questions about donald trump over the last couple days. he spoke to voters but was avoiding talking to reporters. yesterday in a campaign stop he was asked by a voter specifically about donald trump and whether or not the party could still dump donald trump and whether or not paul ryan could run in his place. he brushed it back. >> our party is different than the democratic party. they have superdelegates where party leaders can sway the nomination. our party is a pure grassroots party. the primary voter votes, and the person who wins the most

delegates bound to those primary votes wins the nomination fair and square. it's a grassroots decision. he won the votes fair and square. he won more than everybody else, enough delegates to get the nomination. the convention occurred a couple weeks ago where he got the nomination, so he is the nominee. that's how it works in our party. he got 14 million votes and nobody else got close to that. that's just the way the system works. >> reporter: not a real resounding endorsement of donald trump, but that's the way this ryan-trump relationship has gone. tonight ryan will answer questions from reporters after the polls close presuming he does win which is widely expect zbld manu raju reporting live from wisconsin, thank you. let's circle back to the trump defections. jackie kucinich is a washington from "the daily beast." joining them cnn senior political analyst and senior editor for "the atlantic" ron

brownstein. welcome to all of you. >> thank you. >> julian, provide us with some historical perspective, all the high-powered republicans coming out against the nominee. is this unprecedented? there are more than 50, more than 60, right? we couldn't count them all this morning. >> pretty remarkable and unprecedented. you had controversial nominees, barry goldwater in 1964, many republicans didn't like hubert humphrey in 1968 many democrats didn't like. this outpouring of opposition going into the general election is quite stunning. i think it poings to an unrest about trump as a candidate, and it points to republicans looking at poor polling numbers including states like georgia and utah and seeing this could be a disaster for the party. >> jackie, you heard what jason carroll said, the election is 90

days away, he has plenty of time. does he? >> that should be done by now, right? now it's about the independents, about recruiting other people to vote for him. the republican party after the convention and every other case i can think of, has kind of been on lock. i think what you're seeing now, behind closed doors, you've had republicans tell us that trump is a different person. he said he sounds really reasonable. you don't see rally trump behind closed doors talking to republicans. there seems to be an awakening with some of these republicans that, wait, he's never going to be the guy behind closed doors out in the open. perhaps going forward with foreign leaders if he ends up being president. there is some very clear worry out there which is why you see this letter coming out yesterday, and you also saw this before even the primaries were over back in march. the concern particularly among the intelligence and the national security community is just rising at this point. >> ron, you heard how mr. trump

responded to that letter signed by the 50 national security officials. he's a counterpuncher and said, quote, the insiders along with hillary clinton are the owners of the disastrous decisions to invade iraq, allow americans to die at benghazi and they're the ones that allowed the rise of isis. some of these people weren't in office, weren't serving their country when that terrible thing happened at the consulate in benghazi and weren't present for the rise of isis. >> i think that argument will resonate with a slice of the electorate overall, the idea that donald trump is an outsider, facing almost bipartisan opposition from insiders in both parties. the problem is that piece of the electorate is clearly not a majority. this letter in particular i think is a missile aimed directly at donald trump's biggest vulnerability with the voters that are keeping him between where he is, in the low

40s, and any chance of getting near 50%. that essentially swing voters and in particular college-educated white voters where he's underperforming, every republican nominee in recent times and with him he faces two big challenges. one is that 60% of them, the abc-washington poll post said 60% consider them biased against women and minorities. 60% say they don't consider him qualified to be president. when you get this kind of roster that goes back to the reagan administration, william howard taft iv, deputy secretary of defense for reagan, cia director, former director of national intelligence, pretty much the whole condoleezza rice brain trust, all these people, in essence, seconding the message that they, too, don't see 2ru78 as qualified, that's a big hurdle with stroeters he needs to get from where he is to where he has to be. >> julian, another poll just came out, a monmouth poll showing clinton widening her

lead to 12 points. is there a point when a nominee simply runs out of time to erase a double-digit lead? >> there sure is. i think people like to talk about these game changing moments or turning points such as when trump makes a speech on economic policy. but the truth is, it becomes harder and harder for a candidate to remake themselves, to fundamentally change the direction of national polls. if you dig yourself into a hole that's too deep, there's no getting out of it. i do think there are many republicans, and this is what you're watching now, who are feeling that donald trump might be reaching that point. we shouldn't expect a game change. the only issue is some kind of crisis, some kind of economic catastrophe, national security issue that somehow changes the basic dynamics of the campaign. that's really all that can do it. >> so jackie, hillary clinton still has this problem with likability, her unlikability numbers are still huge.

so if donald trump doubles down on that, would that matter? >> neither of them are terribly likable, if you look at the polls. hillary seems to actually be making up some of that. but, you know, to ron's point, if people fundamentally don't think that donald trump is qualified to be president and think hillary clinton is, that's going to trump whether they want to have a beer with her at the end of the day. that's what we're seeing right now in the polls. >> all right. i'll have to leave it there. >> go ahead, ron, quickly. >> to reenforce julian's point, he's basically running even with her on the two biggest issues, the economy and terror. what that says is this is a personal judgment about his character, temperament, qualifications, viewing him as racially difficult i have sive. after 14 months, it's hard to imagine that's going to change enormously in the next remaining 190 days. i think it makes it tougher that

it's not tish yoop debate putting him in this hole. it's a personal judgment about his values and qualifications. >> ron brownstein, julian sel ser, jackie kucinich, thanks to all of you. coming up, i'll talk to a republican policy expert who signed the letter slamming donald trump. has he heard from the cloin ton campaign, the trump campaign? we'll ask him next. marco...! polo! marco...! sì? polo! marco...! polo! scusa? ma io sono marco polo, ma... marco...! playing "marco polo" with marco polo? surprising. ragazzini, io sono marco polo. sì, sono qui... what's not surprising? how much money amanda and keith saved by switching to geico. ahhh... polo. marco...! polo! fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. polo! ssoon, she'll be binge-studying. get back to great. this week sharpie singles now twenty-five cents.

office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. what is freedom? yes, it's riding a horse across fields and stuff. but it's mostly getting to watch your directv with unlimited data from at&t. we're setting families free. so they can stream away - and not squabble over who's using how much. so go, family. watch. freedom. ha! seize the data! get our best unlimited plan ever so you can stream and surf all you want...with unlimited data from at&t ...be quicker than everybody. allyson felix needs to... to win at home, she needs to be quicker than... allyson: chloe! that's why allyson felix uses bounty.

the quicker picker upper. allyson: chloe! allyson: chloe! bounty is faster and 2x more absorbent than the leading... ...ordinary brand, and faster than chloe too. allyson: come on chloe! bounty the quicker picker upper if legalzoom has your back.s, over the last 10 years we've helped one million business owners get started. visit legalzoom today for the legal help you need to start and run your business. legalzoom. legal help is here. it's built-in backup wbraid helps stop leaks by channeling them back into the core

giving you the best protection at home and on-the-go tampax. power over periods.

on the trump campaign, again from within the party. 50 national security experts, all of them republicans, signing a letter refusing to vote for their party's nominee. they called trump dangerous saying, quote, unlike previous presidents who had limited experience in foreign affairs, mr. trump has shown no interest in educating himself. he continues to display an alarming ignorance of basic facts of contemporary international politics. these are some of trump's recent comments that seem to have caught the attention of these national security experts. listen. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. >> he's not going into ukraine, just so you understand. he's not going to go into

ukraine. you can mark it down. you can put it down. >> he's already there. >> wouldn't it be great if we actually got along are russia? am i wrong in saying that the. >> i'm joined by james jeffrey, former u.s. ambassador to iraq and turkey and a visiting fellow at the washington institute. he was a national security advisor to george w. bush, also served under president obama. welcome, sir. how difficult was it for you to sign that letter? >> it wasn't difficult. when the people approached me, i realized that the letter encapsulated my views, and i'm happy to do it. >> you really think donald trump is dangerous? >> i think that i stand by those words. i think this is dafra different candidate than any i've seen since i voted in 1968. as we laid out in the letter, there are characteristics he's shown repeatedly that indicate

that the kind of temperament you need in the white house making life-or-death decisions is simply lacking in this individual. >> mr. trump did respond. he responded to you and these other 49 national security officials by counterpunching. trump said, quote, these inside i ers along with hillary clinton are the owners of the disastrous decisions to invade iraq, allow americans to to die at benghazi and they are the one whose allowed the rise of isis. are you responsible for the rise of isis? >> i'm not responsible for the rise of isis. there are basic decisions that occurred. i'm not only someone in the white house and state department when decisions were made, i spent years in iraq seeing the results of bad foreign policy decision. that's what motivated me to speak out. i don't want to see that again. >> mr. trump would say that hillary clinton contacted you and you're working for her.

did hillary clinton contact you? >> absolutely not. i don't even know if they know about this. i'm doing this out of my own volition. >> will you vote for hillary clinton? >> that's a private position of mine. this is not about hillary clinton. this is about donald trump. i've never done anything like this before. i think that that probably is the same with the other people who signed it. >> some republicans, obviously 14 million of them voted for mr. trump, right? i'm sure there are independents and democrats in there, too. they like something about mr. trump. are they completely wrong about him? >> it's not a question of right or wrong in the heart of voters. there's a great deal of frustration and concern in america, particularly along lower middle class and lower income voters. i think we all understand that. this is a question of one's capabilities based upon our

experience doing this to carry out foreign policy, and we don't think he's shown any aptitude for this. >> what in particular bothered you the most that mr. trump said? >> it's not any one policy description he's given, although many of them are outrageous, from making mexico pay for the wall to what you just had him saying about russia. it's the seeming inability to learn from mistakes, to reach out, to get advice and to control his anger, again, when we did this letter, when people disagree with him. the first thing you have to do as an american leader in a foreign policy crisis is listen to alternative voices, listen to people, let people disagree with you. if you don't do that, you're going to get into trouble every time. >> i think some americans think that america isn't as strong as it was, and it wants a strong leader, a strong leader who will stand up to foreign leaders.

is there always such a good thing? >> it is always a good thing. the question is how you stand up to them. we have leaders from harry truman to dwight eisenhower to ronald reagan to bill clinton who stood up to foreign aggression, who stood up to leaders who were pushing the perimeters of their empire, and those leaders also did listen to advise. those leaders did weigh the pros and the cons, they open the door to disagreement. that's what you need to do. >> it's not a sign of weakness if you listen to other people and maybe take their advice from time to time? >> it's a sign of strength. >> ambassador jeffrey, thank you for joining me this morning. >> thank you. still to come in the nooum, "newsroom," a third of americans think hillary clinton is honest and trustworthy. what about those voters who say "i'm with her?"

♪ hey, is this our turn? honey...our turn? yeah, we go left right here. (woman vo) great adventures are still out there. we'll find them in our subaru outback. (avo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. get zero percent on select subaru models during the subaru a lot to love event, now through august thirty-first. i'm hillary clinton, and i approve this message. michael hayden: if he governs

consistent with some of the things he said as a candidate, i would be very frightened. gillian turner: he's been talking about the option of using a nuclear weapon against our western european allies. max boot: this is not somebody who should be handed the nuclear codes. charles krauthammer: you have to ask yourself, do i want a person of that temperament controlling the nuclear codes? and as of now, i'd have to say no. [bill o'reilly sighs]

and as of now, i'd have to say no. ♪ ♪ isaac hou has mastered gravity defying moves to amaze his audience. great show. here you go. now he's added a new routine. making depositing a check seem so effortless. easy to use chase technology, for whatever you're trying to master. isaac, are you ready? yeah. chase. so you can.

california's clean air laws we've cut toxic pollution. we're seeing fewing cases of asthma in kids. and the new clean energy economy has created more than half a million jobs. i'm tom steyer. just when we're making progress, the oil companies are trying to weaken our clean air laws. but we can stop them. send them a message. we're going to protect our kids - not their profits. ♪

checking top stories at 27 minutes past. kansas city police say 10-year-old caleb schwab died from a neck injury after a ride on the tallest water slide yesterday. his pastor says his death has been devastating. >> caleb was a 10-year-old child, but in many ways he was a man of god. he's going to be missed for his energy, his life, his smile, for the way he lit up a room. >> the slide at the water park is 17 stories high as drops

riders at up to 50 miles per hour. the park is scheduled to reopen tomorrow. the water slide will remain closed during the investigation. three girls recovering this morning after falling 35 feet from a ferris wheel at a county fair in tennessee. the basket they were sitting in reportedly overturned. the 911 dispatch just released. >> ferris wheel accident. three fell from a high height from the ferris wheel. they've also called for two helicopters. >> we're putting aerial in operation. we're going to need engine one to set up a ladderment we've got i don't know how many people in a car that is sideways on top. >> i have three kids that have fell from the ferris wheel. three kids. zbl all three girls were rushed to a local hospital. two are alert and talking. the third is in intensive care. her condition unknown.

of course, an investigation is underway. thousands of people having to leave their homes in southern california. the pile lot wildfire is burning more than 6,000 acres. over 800 firefighters are trying to put it out. over 500 homes are under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders. the new case of zika in florida, the 17th case diagnose sod far. this time the virus appeared in palm beach county. governor rick scott said in a statement that infected person had recently traveled to miami-dade county, the area of the original outbreak. good morning. i'm carol costello. thanks so much for joining me. in her history making bid for the white house, hillary clinton is battling not only donald trump but lingering perception about whether she is honest and trustworthy, and even for voters who support clinton, there may be serious concerns.

here is more from cnn's randi kaye. >> reporter: a warm greeting for hillary clinton as she swings through the swing state of florida where she's leading her opponent by six points. >> this is history in the making. >> reporter: history, perhaps, but what about hillary clinton's even history. benghazi, her private e-mail ser vef, false claims about landing under sniper fire. the latest cbs poll shows just 34% of registered voters say clinton is honest and trustworthy compared to 36% for donald trump. even among her supporters at this rally in st. petersburg, there were lingering questions about her e-mails. >> of course we have concerns. we would like to know definitively. we may never know definitively. >> reporter: voter denise fowler lost trust of ms. clinton after

the attacks in benghazi. >> i thought it was a coverup. that's when my distrust started to step up. >> reporter: still, both these women say they will vote for hillary clinton, even despite her repeated false claims that the fbi director said she told the truth about her e-mails to the public. >> the fbi director never actually said she had spoken the truth to the public which is what she was repeating. so is that okay with you? >> that's okay with me because, you know something, the only other alternative is -- that is not an al sternive to me. >> reporter: clinton later walked back her comments saying she short-circuited her brain in her answer, a comment her critics immediately jumped on, but voters here accepted that explanation. >> she compacted the story to make it quicker to talk about. she did give the answers. >> it's a miss spopoken word. if you've ever done public speaking, i have, and sometimes words just flow out.

i don't think there was an attempt to lie to us. >> in her heart she knew there was no ill will on her part and that was her perception, and i accept that. >> reporter: voters we met seem to be okay with a few untruths here and there. >> politics, you have to fudge a little bit, but i think on balance she is truthful, she is honest. >> while voter derrick haines didn't call trump a liar, he did call him a few other things. >> i think he's a racist, a misogynist, a scene phobe and a homo phobe. >> most say clinton win it is honesty contest against trump all day long. >> i don't trust him with my children. i don't trust him to lead this country. i don't trust a word he's saying. >> reporter: trump's latest suggestion that clinton isn't fit to be president if her brain, quote, short-circuits was lost on these voters. >> i don't make too much of anything that trump says because, if there's anyone

that's not facility to be president, it's trump. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, st. petersburg, florida. >> clinton will have another chance to soothe con serns about honesty and trustworthiness when she takes the debate stage against donald trump, and team clinton is taking aim at trump who claims the debates are rigged. her campaign chairman releasing a statement that says in part, secretary clinton looks forward to participating in all three presidential debates. the only issue now is whether donald trump is going to show up. so let's talk about that and more. ellis hen ken is a political analyst and co-author of "the party is over, how he became a democrat" and jeffrey lord is a trump supporter and cnn contributor. good morning to both of you. ellis, hillary clinton mocked truchl in the past saying he could be baited with a tweet. will he take the bait when it comes to these debates? >> she will mock him again, i promise you that. it depends on where he is. if he's still 10 or 12 or more

points down in the polls, he's got to say a sign of the cross and a hail mary pass and that's basically what he's got. people who are way behind have to take chances in political campaigns. >> you think donald trump -- part of his strategy, if he's losing in the polls big time will be to skip the debates? >> the opposite. i think he's got to go and roll the dice. not going, he misses a key opportunity to present himself to the american people. what choice does he have at this point? >> jeffrey, is it possible that donald trump -- what do you make of all of this? i'll just ask it this way. >> i don't think he's going to skip the debates and i think he'll do very well. he is not hillary clinton, quite obviously. he's not part of the establishment. she gets all the press for being the first woman candidate, but really she's the umpteenth establishment candidate. she is establishment to her core. that's a pretty bad place to be

this year. this is why donald trump is the nominee. >> if donald trump is not afraid, and she's an establishment candidate and he finds strength in debates, why does he keep saying that the debate system is rigged? >> well, let's be clear. the people who have put together these debates, just about all of them, have made claim that they're not friends of donald trump or that they are friends -- >> who specifically? >> i'm sorry? >> who specifically? i'd like to call that person up and ask them. >> sure. mike mccurry is the chairman of the debate commission, former press secretary to president clinton. you've got others on there. >> it's a bipartisan commission, democrats and republicans making these decisions, the debate schedule was set a year ago, and noefb complained until now. >> i understand, carol. dick morris ran a column at news max and went through these

people one by one, and their news or statements on donald trump and their ties to hillary clinton. it was a pretty evenings tensive list. i was amazed. i didn't realize some of these people were involved with this. i can understand immediately why there would be concern. >> ellis, are you concerned? >> i am not concerned. this is desperation, right? the two of them will be out on the stage together -- >> jeffrey just said the deck is stacked against donald trump. >> no. this is the kind of thing you say to set expectations in advance in case you don't do well. you say, look, i showed you, we told you it was rigged. this is a traditional presidential debate. maybe two candidates, maybe three, depending on how the third party folks do in the pre debate polling. it's going to be frankly -- often these are a little boring and a little staged. you know what? it's the best thing we've got, with the two of them up there to some degree unscripted. >> jeffrey, it will be quite different from the primary. let's put up a picture of what

that looked like. donald trump was on stage with an awful lot of people. this time on stage with only one other person, and that would be hillary clinton, and a lot of people say she's a very experienced debater, and she does know the issues, whether you agree with her or not. >> carol, we have a little history to go on. i was talking this morning with a friend who had just gone back and taken a look at the bush-gore debates. al gore was getting points for being the debater. al gore's signs, attributed as arrogance. he takes a few steps towards bush and bush turned around and stares him down. there are little things like that. the famous kennedy-nixon debates. the experienced debater was richard nixon. classically it was jfk -- >> i'm not saying that it's a given that hillary clinton will win or anything. i'm just saying that some democrats are saying, look,

donald trump was up there with a dozen other candidates. there was president much time to actually debate or talk that much. it was a synch. he just doesn't have the experience debating only one other person. >> well, experience, as jfk used to say when he was running against nixon, isn't all it's cracked up to be. i think she's got to be very, very kafrl, not appearing as arrogant, out of touch and supremely self-confident looking down her nose at donald trump. a lot of people out there have voted -- >> there is plenty of arrogance to go around on this stage, i assure you, jeffrey. one thing i notice, only one side is backpedaling and complaining about the conflict with nfl games and trying to lower expectations about how inexperienced they are. i'm not hearing any of that out of the hillary camp. >> i have to leave it there. >> yeah, no wonder. >> jeffrey lord, appreciate it. nice to see you both. just ahead in the flurm, russia and turkey's leaders come

face-to-face. it's their first meeting since turkey downed a russian warplane in syria. what this could mean for the united states next. can't sleep? take that. a breathe right nasal strip instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than allergy medicine alone. shut your mouth and say goodnight, mouthbreathers. breathe right. all providers. getters. drive with uber and make more than $300 a week by driving a few hours a day. calling all nine-to-fivers and night owls. with uber - a little drive goes a long way. start earning this week. go to uber.com/drivenow and i quit smoking with chantix. i have smoked for 30 years and by taking chantix, i was able to quit in 3 months and that was amazing. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it absolutely reduced my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions

while taking or after stopping chantix. some had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. most common side-affect is nausea. i can't believe i did it. i quit smoking. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. and you're talking to your doctor about your medication... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira helping me go further. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms.

doctors have been prescribing humira for over 13 years. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ready for a new chapter? talk to your rheumatologist. this is humira at work.

start the interview with a firm handshake. ay,no! don't do that! try head & shoulders instant relief. it cools on contact, and also keeps you 100% flake free. try head & shoulders instant relief. for cooling relief in a snap. moms know their kids need love, encouragement and milk. with 8 grams of protein, and 8 other nutrients.

9 out of 10 u.s. olympians grew up drinking milk. moms know kids grow strong when they milk life. the u.s. is closely watching a meeting the day between the leaders of russia and turkey. the turkish president has been holding face-to-face talks with russian president vladimir putin. relations between turkey and russia soured after turkey shot down a russian bomber on the syrian border back in november. now the relationship seems to be on the mend. cnn senior national correspondent matthew chance live in moscow to tell us more.

hi, matthew. >> reporter: it's more than just on the mend. they are good friends again. i've been watching a press conference between president erdogan of turkey and president putin of russia, heaping praise on one another. four or five times president erdogan called his kremlin counterpart "my dear friend." they've been having a rocky relationship since turkey shot down a russian warplane near the border between syria and turkey. the warplane had been carrying out air strikes against rebels inside syria. what's really concerning about this meeting concerning the u.s. and nato allies as well is that turkey, which is a key nato ally, may be sizing up a little too close to the kremlin, to hear this kind of language, this kind of positivity coming out of a key nato ally when it comes to russia is something that many in the west will be very disturbed

about. >> this is confusing to a lot of people. what might this mean to united states and the fight against isis that russia and turkey are joining forces? is this a good thing? the u.s. is at odds with russia over what it's doing in syria. >> reporter: it is a bit confusing. i don't think russia and turkey are going to be joining forces to fight in syria together against isis. first of all, they back different horses in the race, back two different sides of the syrian conflict. russia is very strongly in favor of bashar al assad. erdogan and the turks are his biggest rivals in the region. that's one of the biggest issues, where russia and turkey still have the possibility of falling out. it's over the issue they fell out in the first place. they've got a whole range of other issues they can cooperate on about trade and other issues as well. from a kremlin point of view, they're looking at turkey as a

possible friend inside the nato alliance. that's something that bothers other allies, the idea that one key player in nato could be very close to russia. >> matthew chance reporting live from russia, from st. petersburg. coming up in the "newsroom," at anchor speaking out on fox and accusing roger ailes of sexual harassment. for lower back pain sufferers, the search for relief often leads... here... here... or here. today, there's a new option. introducing drug-free aleve direct therapy. a tens device with high intensity power that uses technology once only available in doctors' offices. its wireless remote lets you control the intensity. and helps you get back to things like... this... this... or this. and back to being yourself.

introducing new aleve direct therapy. find yours in the pain relief aisle. ssoon, she'll be binge-studying. get back to great. this week sharpie singles now twenty-five cents. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. words panera lives by. no artificial flavors, preservatives, sweeteners. no colors from artificial sources. 100% of our food will be clean by year's end. that's food as it should be. ♪ runstaying in a differentns hotel every night. so i use the hotels.com rewards program to earn free nights. which i can use for my new friends here. thanks, captain obvious. you're welcome. roger that, sir. my name isn't roger. supported by hotels.com.

roger ailes is at the center of yet another sexual harassment claim. fox news anchor, andrea tantaros says she was taken off the air for complaining about ailes' sexual advances. one employee saying they believe ailes topped their phones and monitored his workers. >> what we're hearing is actually now from as many as six employees, current and former employees is that there was a wide-spread fear within the organization that roger ailes and senior executives at fox

news were monitoring their conversations. i want to be clear about this, none of the sources we spoke to had hard evidence that their phones had been tapped, their e-mails were being read. this was a fear that pervaded the entire network. we spoke to talent at fox news, producers at fox news, people throu throughout the organization as well as people who left the organization, all spoke to the same fear, that their e-mails were being read and phones were being monitored. whenever a media reporter like myself or a colleague wanted to get in touch with the network, they always wanted to either meet in person, talk on private lines or correspond by their own personal e-mail accounts. this goes to the sort of culture of secrecy that roger ailes created at the network over the 20-year period he was there. >> what i find most interesting about this is the fox pr machine has been silent. has it responded lately to any of these allegations? >> no.

what's very interesting about how fox has handled this, when these new allegations come up, particularly the sexual harassment allegations, they're very quiet and sort of stand back. in regard to this latest sexual harassment allegation from andrea tantaros, there are competing claims about kpakdly what happened there. bill shine, one of the top executives say she never made any claims of sexual harassment to him. each of these sexual harassment claims is different. we have to deal with each one on a case-by-case basis, and it's not clear how many of the claims that are being made here are true. but certainly fox news pr was very aggressive during the time that roger ailes was at the help in terms of pushing back on its critics. we know roger sails had a inside shop to monitor his critics in the press and other critics. now they've backed off and are much more quiet. i think that reflects some of

the concerns going on among 20th century fox as this investigation into roger ailes and his behavior and the culture at the company continues. >> dylan buyers reporting live from los angeles, thank you. coming up in the "newsroom," another big day for the cnn swim team. coy wire has more. hi, coy? >> reporter: we had america versus russia, olympic records falling. wait till you see the prank we play on a five-time olympian all coming up on "newsroom." has been amazing. le netwk i save a lot of time using t-mobile cause i don't have to worry about the overages. t-mobile has actually come to us and said "we see what is going on in your business, here's how we can help." switch today and get a free samsung galaxy for everyone in your business. we went to t-mobile, and we haven't looked back since.

♪ ♪ only those who dare drive the world forward. introducing the first-ever cadillac ct6. eveyou were once...retty good at now, pretty bad at. it's the same for credit. because credit isn't just a score. it's a skill. go to experian.com and start getting better at credit today. i'm hillary clinton, and i approve this message. michael hayden: if he governs consistent with some of the things he said as a candidate, i would be very frightened. gillian turner: he's been talking about the option of using a nuclear weapon against our western european allies.

max boot: this is not somebody who should be handed the nuclear codes. charles krauthammer: you have to ask yourself, do i want a person of that temperament controlling the nuclear codes? and as of now, i'd have to say no. [bill o'reilly sighs] ...to cook healthy meals... i'd have to say no. yet up to 90% fall short in getting key nutrients from food alone. let's do more... ...add one a day men's 50+. complete with key nutrients we may need. plus it helps support healthy blood pressure with vitamin d and magnesium. takbbq trophies:hese best cracked pepper sauce... most ribs eaten while calf roping... >>yep, greatness deserves recognition. you got any trophies, cowboy? ♪ whoomp there it is uh, yeah... well, uh, well there's this one. >>best insurance mobile app? yeah, two years in a row. >>well i'll be... does that thing just follow you around? like a little puppy! the award-winning geico app.

download it today.

the battle in the pool is heating up twibetween united sts and russia.

michael phelps looking for more gold. he's not the only one vying for gold. we have the jim's gymnastics team competing as well. >> we'll get you all caught up what's coming tonight. last night it was all about america versus russia. the buildup to the women's 100 meter breast stroke. a palpable perniciousness between american lilly king and russia's yulia efimova, busted twice for doping in her career but still allowed to compete. lilly king goes on, reigns supreme, throws salt in the russian wound in the form of an olympic record. a wonderful moment for lilly king. ryan murphy setting a record of his own in the 100 meeting backstroke, the sixth straight gold in this event for the usa. when he was 8 years old, he

wrote a letter to his mom saying, quote, i hope my swimming life continues and i become an olympian, i want to break world records, be the best swimmer in the world. today he wakes up one of the best swimmers in the world. how about the death stare, chad le clos air punching ahead of phelps ahead of the race. it's going torque an intense final tonight. le clos beat phelps in the last olympics in this event. let's move on to tonight. women's gymnastics led by simone biles, many calling her the greatest jim nat ever, only 19. there's a reason my teammates gave me the nickname ninja brang center, i got tony acevedo good.

>> are you kidding me? shut up. >> the old ketchup packet. pro nounsd dead at the age of four for a full minute. a five-time olympian. he said his team will shock the world. >> i'm still wondering why he was shaving your head. thanks so much, coy. thank you for joining me to day. i'm carol costello. "at this hour with berman & bolduan" starts now. she's the candidate of the past. ours is the campaign of the future. >> donald trump tries to kick start his campaign