for the debate. we'll see where this goes. we're following a lot of news, let's get right to it. >> this is the first trial. this is a very important step. >> the defense team saying rick gates was all to blame. >> this trial centers on matters that have nothing to do with the campaign. >> he's going to go all in for a part. he's going to be the last man defending donald trump. >> there has been no plan to reunite these children. it amounts to child abuse. >> the best way to describe them is to be more like a summer camp. >> you know what the difference is between summer camp and this? you go home to your parents after summer camp. a federal judge blocked the release of software to print 3d guns. >> there are 200,000 down loads. the speech is protected by the first amendment. >> the risk of public safety is hard to overstate. >> announcer: this is "new day" with alisyn camerota and john

berman. >> welcome to "new day." prosecutors laying out their case against president trump's former campaign chairman. they charge paul manafort orchestrated this conspiracy to avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars that he made working for a political party in ukraine and then he lied to banks to gets loan. manafort's defense team accuses his former deputy rick gates of embezzling millions of dollars. after pleading guilty, gates is now the prosecutor's star witness. cnn learned president trump closely monitoring the manafort trial, watching television as he traveled to florida last night. the white house strategy pretty clear. allies of the t the continpresie to try to distance mr. trump from manafort, the man who ran the campaign for three months going through the republican national convention. joe johns has the latest on the trial from alexandria, virginia. good morning.

>> good morning, david. morning of the second day in this critical first trial in robert mueller's investigation into the trump campaign as it were. the white house has continued to try to distance itself from the defendant, paul manafort, the president's former campaign chairman and it could come down to whether he built a multimillion dollar fortune on a house of lies or if he was somehow duped by his deputy. president trump's former campaign chairman paul manafort facing day two of his trial for alleged financial fraud after both sides laid the ground work for what's likely to be a dramatic showdown between manafort and his long-time deputy and government's key witness rick gates. if convicted, manafort is facing a maximum sentence of over 300 years on 18 charges including filing false tax returns, fa failing to report foreign bank accounts and defrauding several

banks. prosecutors say he was a shrewd liar who opened 30 bank accounts in three foreign countries to avoid paying taxes on $60 million of income from his work in ukraine including helping former ukrainian president and putin ally viktor yanukovych. prosecutors arguing the money went towards supporting manafort's lavish life-style, including multiple homes, expensive cars and watches, even a $15,000 ostrich jacket. the defense pointing the finger at gates arguing he was the mastermind behind the scheme who swindled manafort. gates is cooperating with the special counsel after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud the united states and lying to the fbi a fact the defense plans to use to discredit his testimony. gates work it should the trump campaign but neither the president nor the investigation into potentialings are collusion are likely to be addressed in this case. >> this trial obviously centers on matters that have nothing to

do with the campaign. >> reporter: the trump administration continuing to distance itself from manafort. >> paul manafort does not know anything nor could it be possible he did. he was with him for four months. >> manafort has nothing to do with our campaign. >> reporter: despite praising his work during the three months he led the president's campaign. >> manafort came on, he's great. >> bringing in a professional like paul helped us grow the campaign. >> reporter: sources tell cnn the white house strategy is to down play the proceedings, but behind the scenes, the president is keeping a close eye on the trial, watching tv coverage and asking his legal team for updates. president trump has repeatedly said that his former campaign chairman is being treated unfair unfairly sparking speculation that manafort may be holding out for a possible pardon. >> he will be the last man defending donald trump and bet it all on a pardon and that may be where at least he's making his appeal. >> reporter: manafort's lawyers expressing confidence after day one of the trial. >> feeling good.

>> reporter: any chance he may flip and cooperate? >> no chance. >> reporter: early in this case prosecutors seemed to be showing the jury that ukraine got help from both political parties in the united states. today on the stan we expect to see a democratic political consultant and yesterday on the stand tad devine, the chief strategist for the campaign of democratic presidential candidate bernie sanders. david, alisyn, back to you. >> let's talk about this. we want to bring in legal analyst and former federal prosecutor laura coates and chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin. jeffrey, how historically significant is this to see a campaign chairman undergoing a trial like this and facing such a significant sentence if guilty? >> you have to go back to watergate in the mid-'70s for the last time very senior

campaign officials were charged with crimes. john mitchell, who was the campaign chairman for richard nixon and later the attorney general went to prison as did hr haldeman, john erlichman and then white house aides. what is different is those charges related directly to their work on the campaign whereas manafort's charges relate to what he did before the trump campaign. but still he is a very senior -- he was the top official in the trump campaign. his work for the ukraine related to the russia investigation because he was working for a pro-putin candidate making all that money working for yanukovych and the russia investigation is about whether the putin government worked with the trump campaign to defeat

hillary clinton. >> and that is what is significant. they came upon the crimes through the investigation and what's being done here is 23409 about partisanship. tad devine worked for al gore and bernie sanders. it just shows the underbelly of what's done in political lobbying work and campaign work internationally but you have two players here, you have a campaign manager who has these ties and his deputy rick gates who worked on the trump campaign who is now separated himself from manafort because he's cooperating with the government. two big players who haven't revealed any information that would incriminate anyone on the campaign or president trump himself but the dynamic of the underling flipping on the superior is nothing new. >> no, the idea of scape boating somebody else is nothing new. one thing is for sure, nobody can claim that manafort was the quintessential coffee boy of the campai campaign. the idea that one of his

underlings has flipped is what they're striving to convince the jury to say listen, it wasn't me, it was the person who i laid this trust in and i was betrayed. a common theme over the past week in rudy giuliani with respect to michael cohen and, of course, donald trump, the idea of betrayal. >> i knew i heard it somewhere. >> you've heard it multiple times, it's only been four months, though, alisyn. the idea is they're trying to establish and the defense counsel tried to establish a partisanship by having the former bernie sanders campaign orchestrator talk about it. they tried to say you and paul manafort worked on opposite sides of the aisle and the judge said we won't have any of that, that calling to have a partisan affiliation because ultimately this comes down to one thing -- whether paul manafort launder it had money, whether he tried to evade taxes in america. >> one more thing on this, jeffrey. it's interesting, all of our analysis about betrayal, not standing by people or even the

president's judgment that this is among the people he relied upon for advice, including michael flynn and others in the campaign, none of that will be brought into this trial. i sat through a trial of judge ellis' in northern virginia and he's a tough guy. prosecutors are not going to make those arguments about the judgment of the president having manafort around because it's not relevant to what they're trying to prove here. >> absolutely. and there is a reason why alexandria, virginia, is called the rocket docket. think about what they did yesterday. they picked the jury. they did both opening statements and tad devine, i think, just about completed his testimony. that's one day. if this were california that would be a week and the original estimates was that this trial was going to take three weeks. there's no way. two weeks is much more like it. >> this is how trials are

supposed to run. we've just seen so many televised trials that don't run that way. >> that's enough about judge ito. >> wowy. so one of the interesting things is the flagrant way, if you believe that he has these ill-gotten gains, that he was parading around in his ill-gotten gains and his extravagant life-style. let's lay it out one more time for everybody so they can understand what paul manafort is accused of. he allegedly evaded his taxes on $60 million worth of profits. he had 30 plus bank accounts in three countries. i don't know, that gets my attention. he has multiple homes, expensive cars, a $21,000 watch but here's the kicker, he has a $15,000 coat made from an ostrich. >> come on, david gregory has two of those. >> it's not a bad comparison if you've seen his shoes.

but that's the kind of thing i assume that gets the jury's attention. >> and apparently they were captivated by the opening statements. the phrasing made from an ostrich -- >> and the judge said lavish spending is not a crime. >> the ultimate conclusion they were trying to say is listen this is somebody who is spending money so frivolously he never thought it was going to run out and if you think it's never going to run out you must have a hoard of cash. and they talk about the golden goose that was yanukovych, they talk about a cash spigot. all of this suggests to a jury looking at this saying hold on if you have this means, that must be reflected in your tax documents and if it's not, it'ser there in black-and-white or it's not. that's why this is a document-heavy case which is an easier case to prove than one about theoretical intent. >> but this is why this case is

just so difficult to defend a case like this because you can blame rick kitts all you want which is what the opening suggests that manafort's lawyers are trying to do but rick cates didn't force manafort not to pay his taxes. >> or to wear an ostrich coat. >> that is a bad idea, paul, you shouldn't do that. >> this is a case with some real jury appeal. tax cases tend to be boring but one of the things that brings them to life is showing how the money was spent and we're all going to remember the ostrich coat. >> just to bring it back to this overall question, people watching saying this is the mueller investigation, what does this have to do? the point i made about judge ellis, he will be sensitive about people trying to make a larger point about the russia investigation or president trump. i think he'll be disciplined about that. if you are trump or his allies who say no this is still a

witch-hunt even though they're prosecuting paul manafort, what would you say too that, jeffrey? >> well one of the things i've learned during the trump presidency is nothing changes anyone's mind. if someone wants to believe this is a witch-hunt, they'll believe this is a witch-hunt but this is actually a very conventional white-collar crime case. someone made millions of dollars and didn't pay taxes, that's the accusation. it's about submitting documents to a bank to get loans that are false. those are straightforward crimes, they are charged in federal court everyday in this country. it has nothing to do -- it's not something robert mueller invented to torture people affiliated with donald trump and we'll see what the jury says. if there's a conviction, it will be a tremendous vote of confidence for the mueller investigation. if it's an acquittal you can be sure that that will lead the president and his allies to say this was a witch-hunt, the jury

was right, time to shut the whole thing down. >> jeffrey toobin, laura coates, thank you both very much. senators grilling trump officials on those family separations at the border. there are still so many kids who haven't been reunited with their parents. did the trump team ignore warnings of the grave impact that would have on kids? we have a democratic senator who was in that hearing joining us next. of utility, with a range of suvs perfect for any adventure, at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. new laptop with 24/7 tech support. yep, thanks guys.

i think he might need some support. yes start them off right. with the school supplies they need at low prices all summer long. save $200 on this dell laptop at office depot officemax. a hotel can make or break a trip. and at expedia, we don't think you should be rushed into booking one. that's why we created expedia's add-on advantage. now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. ♪ add-on advantage. discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. only when you book with expedia. stay at la quinta. where we're changing with stylish make-overs. then at your next meeting, set your seat height to its maximum level. bravo, tall meeting man. start winning today. book now at lq.com

and help you feel more strength & energy in just 2 weeks.

i'll take that. ensure high protein, with 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. ensure® with 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. oh, mianother dilemma.kfast, am i willing to pay the price for loving you? you'll make my morning, but ruin my day. complicated relationship with milk? pour on the lactaid. it's delicious 100% real milk, just without that annoying lactose. mmm, that's good. lactaid. the real milk that doesn't mess with you. and for chocolate lovers, try rich, creamy lactaid chocolate milk.

more than 500 children are still separated from their parents because of the trump administration's zero-tolerance policy. on tuesday the senate judiciary committee held a hearing on this. so watch as a health official says that he tried to raise concerns about this policy before the trump administration started the practice. >> you told the administration that kids would suffer as a result? that pain would be inflicted. correct? >> there's no question that separation of children from parents entails significant potential for traumatic psychological injury to the child. >> jhioining us now is that democratic senator richard blumenthal. >> good morning. >> what did that witness testify to was the administration response when he said there would be significant traumatic damage to the kids? >> what was most shocking about that testimony is the

administration heard those concerns from jonathan white, the person whose voice you just saw and heard and nonetheless went ahead with a policy that intentionally inflicted pain on children as a means of deterring those asylum seekers from coming to this country. in fact that policy was preceded by what he said was a lengthy deliberative process, perhaps as long as a year when they contemplated how to inflict that pain, how to deter asylum seekers. when i asked those witnesses, there was a panel of career officials who was responsible there was a silence and finally one said the attorney general of the united states signed the order and it was at the direction of the president. my mind went back to the visit to the border when i a beautiful two-year-old child in her

father's arms not knowing whether she would stay with her dad, unsure if they would be reunited. there's more than 400, 500 of these children separated from their families. that's a betrayal of american values, it's inhumane and cruel. >> will those 510 ever be reunited? >> that's the question of the day and we got no answer yesterday. there's still no plan, no system any more than there was six weeks ago to reunite those children. that's why i called it yesterday kidnapping, child abuse, because we would never tolerate that practice in our own communities, in our own states and yet it is the conscious purposeful policy of the administration on the boarder. >> you have heard the other side.

we just had rick santorum on with the other side of the argument, it's these parents' fault. the parents put their children in harm's way. the parents forced their kids to come along on this treacherous trek to make it to the u.s. the parents did something illegal. can you help clarify whether or not you think this is a misconception. are these all drug mules? are these all people who ran across the border illegally or are some of these folks asylum seekers? >> unquestionably a tiny fraction are drug traffickers or criminals of one kind or another. i was a prosecutor for most of my career, alisyn, and i have no tolerance for law breakers coming into this country, but when i asked that young child's father why he crossed mexico by foot over 30 days to escape the violence and persecution and the murder in his home country of el

salvador, he said "i want to save my child. she can not grow up in that country. my brother was murdered in my backyard." they're not coming here only for jobs or better opportunities, they're also seeking asylum from violence and the kind of gangs and murder that have become part of central america and this nation has an obligation to do more to help them in those countries. we need to crack down on the crime that, in fact, causes drugs to be transported into this country from central america. it's the gangs that are doing it and taking advantage of people that live there but the asylum seekers are not coming across to do violence or crime here. >> they're also not coming across for a vacation. so when you hear an official talk about how cushy an experience this is for kids, let

me play for a moment he suggested that it was summer camp for kids. listen to this. >> i think the best way to describe it is to be more like a summer camp. these individuals have access to 24/7 food and water, they have educational opportunities, they have recreational opportunities, both structured as well as unstructured? >> are the children you've seen enjoying this experience? this summer camp like experience? >> no way. you would never send your children to a detention facility behind fences and barbed wire without access to the outside world with very limited instruction, if any, and with tents and camps 20 to a tent without any privacy for

unlimited periods of time, they are incarceration facilities, not summer camps and the idea that they can be kept there indefinitely betrays american values and will violate american law. that's why the administration is trying to undo is so-called flores settlement in court right now which limits the length children can be detained under these conditions. they are far from summer camps. >> senator richard blumenthal, thank you very much for your perspective. >> thank you. >> david? >> day two of paul manafort's trial under way shortly. president trump said to be watching closely. we will ask a watergate special prosecutor if there are parallels to the past. >> teacher: let's turn in your science papers. >> tech vo: this teacher always puts her students first. >> student: i did mine on volcanoes. >> teacher: you did?! oh, i can't wait to read it. >> tech vo: so when she had auto glass damage... she chose safelite. with safelite, she could see exactly when we'd be there.

>> teacher: you must be pascal. >> tech: yes ma'am. >> tech vo: saving her time... [honk, honk] >> kids: bye! >> tech vo: ...so she can save the science project. >> kids: whoa! >> kids vo: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪

day two of paul manafort's trial will get under way soon in northern virginia. prosecutors began their case against president trump's former campaign chairman, charging that manafort orchestrated a conspiracy to avoid paying taxes on millions he made working for a political party in ukraine and lying to banks to get loans. manafort's defense team is

accusing rick gates of embezzling millions of dollars. joining us now, special prosecutor during the watergate scandal, richard ben-veniste. we'll get to manafort in a second. we heard rudy giuliani on the program a couple days ago suggesting i don't know if collusion would be a crime. the implication of that is that any contact with a foreign power, in this case russia trying to interfere in the election would, you know, would be okay. it is so anathema to any campaign i've ever covered to think contact with a foreign power would be anywhere near appropriate. >> well, it was pure sophistry for rudy to talk about collusion is not a crime, echoed by his boss mr. trump. these two words -- collusion and conspiracy -- are synonyms.

it's conspiracy to violate the law, that is an agreement between two or more persons to do an act that violates the law. in this case it would be hacking and dissemination of hacked material interfering with our election and so forth. rudy knows better and it's sad to see him sullying what was once a reputation for being straight and law abiding. >> so to the paul manafort case, the newts of the mueller investigation, it's a conventional tax evasion case involving the president's former campaign manager with ties to putin's russia because of working for yanukovych in ukraine but this is a judge and a case where the suggestion of some link between the campaign and paul manafort is not being made which trump allies would

say has nothing to do with this. that's accurate. >> it's accurate, it's a crime that is alleged that mueller investigators came across in the course of doing their investigation and it's entirely within the scope of his responsibility so he's not to turn a blind eye, nor is the justice department, to credible evidence of tax evasion, money laundering on a grand scope and the evidence -- anecdotal as it is -- about the life-style, the ostentatiousness of having clothing such as has been described, multiple homes, an inventory of oriental rugs, et cetera, et cetera, is probably going to resonate with the public who will ask why this

close associate of the president is now being defended by the president as having been unfairly selected for prosecution and it will also shine a light on the fact that our president, unlike any other person who's run for the highest office of our land, has refused to produce his own tax returns. and there should be no amnesia on the part of america as to what mr. trump is hiding by refusing to produce his tax returns so i think all of that will be in focus with this prosecution. >> let me ask you about your experience not in watergate in this instance but on the 9/11 commission. we talked about the russians seeking to potentially interfere again in the midterms and what

they did in 2016. i don't think comparing 2016 to 9/11 is appropriate. you can have that debate. we don't have to have it here. but what is appropriate is what we learned from 9/11 is it was a failure to imagine what could come next, say after attempting to blow up the world trade center in 1993 was part of the problem in terms of government response. when you hear the light is blinking red again given your 9/11 experience what do you worry about what about what could be coming from russia in terms of interference? >> this analogy was drawn by the president's own director of national intelligence, an office that grew out of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission and to ignore the existential threat to this central feature of our democracy, that is open elections, being exploited by a foreign power which is -- whose

interests have been adverse to our own is existential. we need to arm ourselves and treat this as the threat that it is. >> do you think specifically when you apply that experience to what we're seeing now what specifically the government ought to do, what presents itself? >> well, first of all we need to be quite clear in identifying as our intelligence community has that the russians were behind this intrusion. the evidence is and we need to put a stop to it. one thing that has gotten to the attention of mr. putin and his allies and that is sanctions levied against the oligarchs and those closest to putin. that could be the motivation for why mr. putin put his intelligence resources toward

defeating hillary clinton and getting trump elected. so let's do that some more, let's be vigilant in protecting our electoral process. >> richard ben-veniste, always good to get your perspective. >> thank you. china is responsibilityidin latest move from the u.s. in the trade war. how is beijing fighting back? first, a domestic abuse survivor uses thai boxing to overcome her past. her story in "turning points." >> i'm casey lynn, a mui thai boxer. mui thai boxing is thai kick boxing. you're allowed to use knees and elbows and clinch. when i got into mui thai it was never about self-defense, i wanted to build my trust in men again i dated a guy, started

deteriorating and he threatened to kill my family. he pulled out a revolver and threatened me and stocked me for a year and a half. i got out of it because he robbed a place and went to jail. coming out of a mow test i can violence past walking into a gym where men hitting other people and very few women is -- it was a big, big hurdle. when i first started boxing, all of the abuse flooded back to me but if you hit back, that makes you a fighter. fighting helped me overcome the things i've been through in the past. when i received the diagnosis, i knew at that exact moment, whatever it

takes, wherever i have to go...i'm beating this. my main focus was to find a team of doctors t work together. when a patient comes to ctca, they're meeting a team of physicians that specialize in the management of cancer. breast cancer treatment is continuing to evolve. and i would say that ctca is definitely on the cusp of those changes. patients can be overwhelmed ... we really focus on taking the time with each individual patient so they can choose the treatment appropriate for them. the care that ctca brings is the kind of care i've wanted for my patients. being able to spend time with them, have a whole team to look after them is fantastic. i empower women with choices. it's not just picking a surgeon. it's picking the care team, and feeling secure where you are. surround yourself with the team of breast cancer experts visit cancercenter.com/breast appointments available now.

new laptop with 24/7 tech support. yep, thanks guys. i think he might need some support. yes start them off right. with the school supplies they need at low prices all summer long. save $200 on this dell laptop at office depot officemax. it's the ford summer sales event and now is the best time to buy. man: (on tablet) preparing classic campfire trout. say what? trout. trout. alright. you don't think i need both? why does he have that axe? make summer go right with ford, america's best-selling brand. now get 0% financing for 72 months plus $1,000 ford credit bonus cash on a great selection of suvs. during the ford summer sales event, get our best offer of the season: 0% financing for 72 months plus $1,000 ford credit bonus cash. 0% financing for 72 months you finished preparing overhim for college.rs,

in 24 hours, you'll send him off thinking you've done everything for his well-being. but meningitis b progresses quickly and can be fatal, sometimes within 24 hours. while meningitis b is uncommon, about 1 in 10 infected will die. like millions of others, your teen may not be vaccinated against meningitis b. meningitis b strikes quickly. be quick to talk to your teen's doctor about a meningitis b vaccine. booking a flight doesn't have to be expensive. just go to priceline. it's the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40%. just tap and go... for the best savings on flights, go to priceline.

and i am a senior public safety my namspecialist for pg&e. my job is to help educate our first responders on how to deal with natural gas and electric emergencies. everyday when we go to work we want everyone to work safely and come home safely. i live right here in auburn, i absolutely love this community. once i moved here i didn't want to live anywhere else. i love that people in this community are willing to come together to make a difference for other people's lives. together, we're building a better california.

the trump administration is threatening to escalate its war with china again. beijing accuses the u.s. of blackmailing and pressure after a source tells cnn that pending u.s. tariffs on china could be significantly higher than first announced. cnn's alison kosik is here with more on this. >> good morning, david. those trade tensions between the u.s. and china hitting a new high this morning. china vowing to take countermeasures on the news that the trump administration is considering doubling tariffs on $200 billion in chinese goods

from 10% to 25%. the move putting pressure on beijing to return to the negotiating table or up the ante. a chinese official encouraging dialogue and calling unilateral actions counterproductive. the steeper tariffs could go into effect as soon as next month but a source familiar with discussions says the move isn't finalized and could change. the u.s. imposed 25% tariffs on $34 billion in chinese goods and china responded in kind. president trump says the tariff tit for tat will open up market which is may be the end game but so far it's destabilizing well-established markets. as a stopgap, the administration announced a week ago it's preparing a $12 million emergency aid package for farmers caught up in the trade war but the move has been panned by many republicans as just a short term fix. david and alisyn. >> alison, thank you very much for that. if you were watching "new day" yesterday, you saw the most heartbreaking story ever.

these wildfires continue to rage in california and we met a grandfather who lost two of his great grandchildren and his wife and how he was trying desperately to get back to the house so he is here with us next to explain this devastation and why it's so hard to get out. hi i'm joan lunden. today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice.

new laptop with 24/7 tech support. yep, thanks guys. i think he might need some support. yes start them off right. with the school supplies they need at low prices all summer long. save $200 on this dell laptop at office depot officemax. where we're changing withs? contemporary make-overs. save $200 on this dell laptop then, use the ultimate power handshake, the upper hander with a double palm grab. who has the upper hand now? start winning today. book now at lq.com. if you have moderate to thsevere rheumatoid arthritis,

month after month, the clock is ticking on irreversible joint damage. ongoing pain and stiffness are signs of joint erosion. humira can help stop the clock. prescribed for 15 years, humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. 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. help stop the clock on further irreversible joint damage. talk to your rheumatologist. right here. right now. humira. it's the ford summer sales event and now is the best time to buy. man: (on tablet) preparing classic campfire trout. say what? trout.

trout. alright. you don't think i need both? why does he have that axe? make summer go right with ford, america's best-selling brand. now get 0% financing for 72 months plus $1,000 ford credit bonus cash on a great selection of suvs. during the ford summer sales event, get our best offer of the season: 0% financing for 72 months plus $1,000 ford credit bonus cash. a hotel can make or break a trip. and at expedia, we don't think you should be rushed into booking one. that's why we created expedia's add-on advantage. now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. ♪ add-on advantage. discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. only when you book with expedia.

more than a dozen wildfires are raging across northern california this morning. 70-year-old melody bledsoe and her two great grandchildren, four-year-old emily roberts and five-year-old james roberts died in their home thursday. melody's husband ed bledsoe and his granddaughter amanda woodley join us now. ed and amanda, we are so sorry for your loss. we heard your story, it's heartbreaking that you were on the phone with your five-year-old great grandson james as the fire was moving in. can you tell us what happened when you went to the doctor, you left the house to go to the doctor. did you know how close the wildfires were at that moment? >> the fire was a couple miles away from my house. it was plum across the river.

there wasn't anything near my house and they didn't give know advantage situation noti-- know advantage situation notices or nothing, my wife called me and i took off back up there and when i got up there, there was traffic blocking the road all the way. i got down there and some guy was blown over by the fire, i helped him get out but i still went down there and they stopped me and wouldn't let me go in. it was my babies and my wife and i should have been laying there with them. >> oh, ed -- >> i should have went regardless of what anybody said. the fire was just a big fire tornado and they were -- and the fire didn't come across down

towards my house. it came around the river and came in behind my house and the fire wasn't on the ground. my son lived next door they pulled up to get out, when he got out the fire burned all his hair off and took his both. >> oh, my gosh. >> so he got back into the car -- >> ed, i don't want to interrupt but i wanted to stop to say everybody understands that feeling, your sentiment of your guilt or your devastation but you can't, this is too powerful. these are still ranging. you could not have done anything. that's what all of us want you to know. this is too much. it's overpowering families. amanda, can you explain to us for those of us who luckily don't live in a wildfire zone how hard it is to escape?

what it is like when it encro h encroaches in on a house? >> well, the anxiety, it's scary and from what gary was saying, he tried to get out and the tornado was hovering over the house, it hadn't even hit the ground, it was just a tornado fire over the house. and it took him a minute and a half to catch his breath. >> my son brian bledsoe drove through a big old flame.

the flames just sucked up the house and the roof went down on them. >> that's what those of us who never lived through a wildfire can't understand. a tornado of fire that is over your house, that it's spinning around your house and that it could take the roof off of your house. these are things that our imagination can't even deal with and that you all just witnessed? >> we've never seen anything like it. we've never seen anything like this. >> all the fire was across the street about a mile. you couldn't even -- you couldn't see the fire, just smoke. it was on the other side of the sacramento river and we had a dam and a big old lake so and that's where they was watching to see if the fire was coming across and it never did come across, it went down the river, came around and came in behind us and it just got us.

it just -- i talked to junior and he just knew i was going to get in there and get him. he just -- he just said "grandpa, i'm holding on to emily and grandma." he said "we're waiting for you." he said "don't go in the back door, it's on fire. come in the front door." i said "i'm on my way. i'll be there. don't worry, grandpa's here, i'm right down the road a little bit." i said "i'll be there." and i just wanted to comfort him best i could. >> we can't imagine what grandma was going through staying calm. that's so brave. how can you stay calm. grandpa, you lulled them to sleep for your final time. it was peaceful, they just went to sleep and you calmed them until they went to sleep. and i realized that yesterday and that eased my heart a lot

yesterda yesterday. >> i'm their protector, i should have had my -- i should have taken care of them. >> ed, amanda is right. the fact that you were on the phone with them and you heard their voice and you were keeping them calm. there's nothing that you could have done when you got back to the house or had you been in the house. look at what you're describing. >> i could have laid on top of them and protected them. i could have laid down on top of them and kept them out of the fire. >> i understand, ed. >> i could have done anything. >> nothing you could have done, papa. >> you would have died, ed. >> i could have maybe my big old fat body would have protected they will until the fire went out or something. >> oh, ed, i don't think that's how it works, you know. but i do think, ed, that you make a good point, that there were know advantage situation orders. i mean, how would you have known

to get everybody else out. you're watching the wildfires. are your neighbors evacuated. >> there's six people perished in it by my house and two caterpillar drivers died and a firefighter died up there and it was so terrible. >> i believe at that point even the professionals were like this is a beast. >> well, the professionals, some of them were down the road a little ways but they got them, too, i guess. >> it just took -- it got out of hand so fast. it had its own weather system. it was tragic for everyone and we're sorry for the other family, too, that lost people. >> my son said the grass wasn't on fire, just the trees were getting sucked up in the air and burning and -- it just -- he

said when he opened his doors the leaves hit him like somebody was slapping him. he said it was sucking his breath out and he got back in his car and tried to get out. >> it's unimaginable. others of us know house fires and maybe if you're lucky you can get out a window or go out a door but with a wildfire, what you're describing, hearing you amanda saying it has its own weather system, it's a fire tornado all around your house.

ed and amanda, we are praying for you and your family. i want to point out to our viewers you have a go fund me page. we'll put it on the screen. it's a go fund me page, it's up to more than $50,000 so far and, of course, all of this is to help your family and your great grandchildren. do you want to say a last word, ed? >> i want to tell you something. i want to thank everybody in this country for their support and love for us. people are so outstanding and so loving and i just want to thank them all. i want to hug them all. >> ed, they want to hug you. >> i want to thank them all. i want to tell them all how much i love them and thank them for

their support. >> ed bledsoe, amanda woodley, everyone is playing for you, everyone is sending love to you and, of course, thinking of your four-year-old great granddaughter emily roberts, five-year-old james roberts and your wife, 70-year-old melody bledsoe. thank you for sharing your story. story. we'll be right back.

to keep our community safe. before you do any project big or small, pg&e will come out and mark your gas and electric lines so you don't hit them when you dig. call 811 before you dig, and make sure that you and your neighbors are safe.

top of the hour, i'm poppy harlow in new york, so glad you're with us. moments from now, mueller versus manafort day two. the gloves are off in the virginia courtroom where the campaign chair is accused of hiding millions of dollars to avoid paying taxes. prosecutors are painting paul manafort as a shrewd liar who ran a worldwide scheme to fund his lavish life-style and in a bold move the defense is shifting the blame squarely to mueller's star witness and manafort's former deputy rick gates. let's go to the courthouse outside. joe johns is there with more. this was a very bold move by the defense to pin it all on gates. what do we know? >> that's right rick gates. the lock time deputy of paul manafort and it's clear in the attempt by the defense to establish