the president pushing his lawyers to let him sit down with robert mueller. the special counsel now willing to limit questions if the president meets face-to-face. terror at smaller u.s. airport and concern for the tsa. the agency eliminating screening at 150 smaller airports. and one of the nation's top college football coaches put on leave. urban meyer is accused of ignoring domestic violence allegations. what did he know?

good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm kaylee hartung in for christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. that was a shocker about urban meyer. we will talk about that more in just a bit. we start this morning with what stephen colbert calls a tweet-nado. the special counsel suggesting he would reduce the number of obstruction of justice questions he wants the president to answer so long as obstruction is addressed in the sit-down interview. the president's lawyers offered to provide written answers to obstruction questions. trump legal team wanted the interview limited to things before he took office relating to collusion. >> "the new york times" reporting that the president is pushing his lawyers to do an interview. he believes he can convince them

this is a witch hunt. but rudy giuliani is not on board yet. >> he always has been interested in testifying. it is us. the team of lawyers that have reservations about it. >> it did not take long after president trump was briefed on it to fire up the twitter feed. he has repeatedly criticized sessions' decision to recuse himself from the russia probe. this tweet may be the most scathing and raises questions. was president trump venting or was this an order from the top? more from jeff zeleny from the white house. >> reporter: dave and kaylee, president trump has made no secret about the discord for the

investigation. he called on the attorney general jeff sessions to bring an end to the russia probe. the white house quickly responded this was all about the president's opinion. not a directive to end the investigation to the attorney general. we asked press secretary sara sanders. how does she know it is opinion or presidential directive. >> when he temperatulls you as r of his staff, how do you know it is opinion? >> the president makes it clear. the president is not obstruct g obstructing. he is fighting back. the president is stating his opinion and clearly. he is expressing the frustration. >> reporter: no question the russia investigation continuing to consume at least some of the president's bandwidth here. the president is traveling for another campaign rally this week. he is campaigning for the midterms. after that he will end up in new jersey by late this evening.

he will start summer recess vacation there. the russia investigation and all the fallout is sure to follow him. dave and kaylee. >> jeff, thank you. president trump is monitoring the paul manafort trial closely. he is comparing him to the mob boss al capone. he is asking where is the russian collusion. he lplans to question his bankers. paul manafort's lifestyle was the focus on monday. there was a shocker from the prosecution about who may not take the stand. we get more from cnn's jessica schneider. >> reporter: dave and kaylee, this saw a number of issues on day two. prosecutors floated the possibility they may not call rick gates to testify. they could have just been

bluffing. it sent shock waves through the courtroom. rick gates was the former associate to paul manafort. he worked as deputy during the campaign. rick gates has pleaded guilty to two counts. the defense team has said they plan to use rick gates' testimony against him to discredit him. to say rick gates was the embezzler and flipped on manafort to help himself. interesting development there. prosecutors called a flurry of witnesses, including an fbi agent who is part of the pre-dawn raid of paul manafort's condo last july. he talked about the hundreds of documents they seized and the loan applications with paul manafort's name on it. there were a number of witnesses called to represent paul manafort's lavish lifestyle. one employee from a high-end men's clothing store in

manhattan. he talked about paul manafort being one of the top five clients. they expect to call more vendors to the stand today. this is a fast-moving trial. prosecutors told the judge they expect to wrap the trial next week. dave. >> jessica, thank you. cnn -- jessica, thank you. cnn has learned that tsa is planning to eliminating screening at 150 airports. they also say the proposal would come with a small undesirable security risk. a tsa spokesman saying the documents confirm a debate within the agency. two of the september 11th attackers first flew from portland, maine. a small airport there would be less secure. cnn's rene marsh has the latest

from washington. >> reporter: dave, this would be a major change for travelers and a shift in how tsa uses resources. the proposal, the agency is considering, calls for elimination of the tsa screening at small and medium sized airports that operate commercial plane was 60 seats or fewer. operating theory is treerrorist are not interested in the smaller airports and they are targeting larger airports. >> big or small against anybody you can go after. so the opportunity to go after a 50-person passenger jet is very attractive. >> reporter: the concern is the lack of imagination for how bad actors could exploit security weaknesses at smaller airports. after our story broke, tsa sent

talking points communicating how to respond at airports nationwide. a final decision has not been made. dave, kaylee. police in phoenix have arrested an employee at the facility holding migrant children on charges he mostle mostlessmostles lefted -- he molested a 14-year-old girl. a witness describes seeing the suspect kiss and inappropriate touch the victim to. southwest spokesman says they work with law enforcement to bring the full force of the law to bear when warranted. ahead, the plane crash in mexico caught on video from inside the cabin. so how did 103 people survive

all this? more from mexico city. next on "early start." and it's time to get outside. pack in even more adventure with audible. with the largest selection of audiobooks. audible lets you follow plot twists off the beaten track. or discover magic when you hit the open road. with the free audible app, your stories go wherever you do. and for just $14.95 a month you get a credit, good for any audiobook. if you don't like it exchange it any time. no questions asked. you can also roll your credits to the next month if you don't use them. so take audible with you this summer... on the road... on the trail... or to the beach. start a 30-day trial and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime, and your books are yours to keep forever. no matter where you go this summer make it better with audible. text summer5 to 500500 to start listening today.

know about cognitive performance? as you'd probably guess, a lot. that's why a new brain health supplement called forebrain from the harvard-educated experts at force factor is flying off the shelves at gnc. forebrain's key ingredients have been clinically shown to help enhance sharpness and clarity, improve memory, and promote learning ability. and now every man and woman in america can claim a complimentary bottle. just use your smartphone to text the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20. scientific research on cognigrape, a sicilian red wine extract in forebrain's memorysafe blend, suggests not only sharper recall, but also improved executive function and faster information processing. your opportunity to get into harvard may be gone, but it's not too late to experience a brain boost formulated by some of their brightest minds. just text the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20 with your smartphone to claim your complimentary bottle of forebrain. do it now - before you forget. that's the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20.

4:12eastern time. the plane crash in mexico with 103 passengers and crew members survived was all captured on video from inside the cabin. take a look. [ screaming ] >> [ bleep ].

>> unreal. ashley garcia took that video from her seat on the plane. she spoke about the ordeal to cnn last night. >> honestly, it was something that i would have never imagined. it is always been such a big fear of mine and to have it actually happen is insane. when it was happening, i thought this cannot be true. >> the crash investigation just getting under way. more than 100 survivors trying to explain how they made it out alive. leyla santiago has more from mexico city. >> reporter: dave and kaylee, we are learning more about the accident and survivors. we understand more than half of the 103 people on that aeromexico flight were from the united states. many are connecting here in mexico city. as we have spoken to them, they

told us when they got on the flight, it was raining outside. there was wind and something, some wind gust is how they described it, brought the plane down. there was a dash to get off the plane and then they saw flames and smoke. many, all, we have spoken to say this was a miracle. now the investigation begins. the investigators have been able to recover the black boxes and say they are in good condition and they will be critical in getting a better understanding of the sequence of events and what led up to that plane coming down. even the ntsb has sent some investigators to look into it. in the meantime, many survivors are saying they are just lucky to be able to tell their stories. dave. kaylee. >> lucky indeed. priceless royal artifacts stolen from the swedish

cathedral in a daring plot. making off with jewels belonging to former monarchs. they were taken from the cathedral west of stockholm. they were stolen from the motor boat. the items stolen were part of the funeral regalia from the king and queen. it pales in comparison to the swedish culture history. president trump ratcheting up the pressure on the trade war on china. stock futures pointing to loses this morning. global markets dropping. u.s. stocks finished mixed. jobs reports on friday could bring fresh relief. u.s. trade rep will consider raisi raising tariffs from 10% to 25%. both u.s. and china have not

imposed tariffs on billions of dollars, but the president's mission here is clear. >> the bottom line is the president will continue to hold china responsible for their unfair trade practices. this has gone on for long enough. he will do something about it. >> there will be a public comment period running until september. then the administration will make a final decision. it is never too late to make things right. 20 years after stealing from her job, a woman repays her debt with cash and apology. we will be back on "early start" in just a minute.

does your business internet provider promise a lot? let's see who delivers more. comcast business gives you gig-speed in more places. the others don't. we offer up to 6 hours of 4g wireless network backup. everyone else, no way. we let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. them, not so much. we let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. the others? nope! get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call or go online today.

ohio state university placing head football coach urban meyer on paid administrative leave while investigations if he knew the domestic violence allegations over fired coach zach smith. meyer says he was aware of the incident with the smiths in 2009, but did not know a 2015 allegation. >> courtney smith told meyer's wife about it and she believes the head coach also knew. here is what she told the sports stadium network about the alleged 2015 abuse. >> came to my home. he wasn't happy. we got into an argument. when i stood up to him, he didn't like it and took me and shoved his hands up against me up against the wall. my daughter was clinging to my leg. he obviously -- it registered with him what he was doing. he took my son and left.

>> you can watch the full interview at watchstadium.com. urban meyer says he and the athletic director agree being on leave during the investigation will facilitate the completion. zach smith's attorney says once he get a chance to tell his side, it will be corroborated by police. >> this is a man that could be probably elected governor in the state of ohio tomorrow. this is the most prominent person in the state. >> the second highest paid football coach in the country. >> you know him personally. >> i do. urban meyer has been a man of upstanding character. the thought he knew and denied knowing and did nothing is really troubling. i think this could be a tipping point in the sport and in the college sports landscape for him to be put on paid leave while investigating what he knew and

what he did not do. it will have an incredible back drop. >> and against the me too era, he could be in trouble. led us know what you think -- let us know what you think about it. next, houston police believe a 20-year old grudge is the reason for the murder of the arrest cardiologist. the doctor was killed two weeks ago while riding his back. pappas has not been seen for two weeks and evidence in his home links him to the killing. >> he is very dangerous. we need to get him into custody. we think he is suicidal. we should assume he is armed. >> this man is dangerous. this man is capable. this man has some skills. >> cnn called a phone number for

pappas' real estate company on wednesday, but it went to voice mail. that is also a number listed on the firearms auction web sites as well. a former waitress trying to make amends 20 years after stealing money from her employer. owner of elcharro received $1,000 in cash and apology letter. the woman worked for her in the 1990s while attending the university of arizona. the woman said she stole from the restaurant. >> she wrote, it has been 20 years, but i carry great remor e remorse. please accept my apology and this payment. may god forever bless you and your family. >> the first time being away

from home going to school. so not only are they coming to school, they are learning about life. i think it is one of the life lessons that our family tries to instill in our employees and it is a good feeling to know she felt she needed to take care of this and i really respect her for it. >> the woman who sent the letter added she was a terrible waitress and fired before she could pocket more than a few hundred dollars. >> how long had that been eating her up? >> and the money. >> were you a waitress? >> never. >> i believe everyone should. ahead, the special counsel is willing to limit questions of obstruction of justice, but robert mueller has one condition. the president has to answer them in person.

the president pushing his lawyers to let him sit down with robert mueller. the special counsel now willing to limit questions if the president meets face-to-face. terror at smaller u.s. airports is not a big concern for the tsa. the agency eliminating screening at 150 smaller airports. and one of the nation's top college football coaches put on leave. urban meyer is accused of ignoring domestic violence allegations. what did he know? a shocking story in the state of ohio. no one more prominent in that state today. welcome back to "early start."

i'm dave briggs. >> i'm kaylee hartung. 30 minutes past the hour. robert mueller offering a tradeoff this morning. the special counseling suggesting he would re -- counsel suggesting he would reduce the number of obstruction of justice questions if the president sits down with mueller. the president's lawyers offered to provide written answers to obstruction questions. trump legal team wanted the interview limited to things before he took office relating to collusion. >> "the new york times" reporting that the president is pushing his lawyers to do an interview. he believes he can convince them this is a witch hunt. but rudy giuliani is not on board yet. >> he always has been interested in testifying. it is us. the team of lawyers that have reservations about it. >> the source tells us the two sides are talking, but taking

baby steps toward each other. >> it did not take long for the president to fire up his twitter feed. he is calling on jeff sessions to put an end to the rigged russia investigation now. was president trump just venting or was this an order from the top? we get more from cnn's jeff zeleny at the white house. >> reporter: dave and kaylee, president trump has made no secret about the discord for the investigation. he called on the attorney general jeff sessions to bring an end to the russia probe. the white house quickly responded this was all about the president's opinion. not a directive to end the investigation to the attorney general. we asked press secretary sara sanders.

how does she know it is opinion or presidential directive. >> when he tells you as a member of his staff, how do you know it is opinion? >> the president makes it clear. the president is not obstructing. he is fighting back. the president is stating his opinion and clearly. he is expressing the frustration. >> reporter: no question the russia investigation continuing to consume at least some of the president's bandwidth here. the president is traveling for another campaign rally this week. he is campaigning for the midterms. after that he will end up in new jersey by late this evening. he will start summer recess vacation there. the russia investigation and all the fallout is sure to follow him. dave and kaylee. >> jeff, thank you. president trump is monitoring the paul manafort trial closely. he is comparing his former

campaign chairman to the former mob boss al capone. he is asking where is the russian collusion. he plans to question his bankers when the trial resumes this morning. paul manafort's lifestyle was the focus on monday. there was a shocker from the prosecution about who may not take the stand. we get more from cnn's jessica schneider. >> reporter: dave and kaylee, this is a swift moving trial that saw a number of issues on day two. prosecutors floated the possibility they may not call rick gates to testify. they could have just been bluffing. it sent shock waves through the courtroom. rick gates was the former associate to paul manafort. he worked as deputy during the campaign. rick gates has pleaded guilty to two counts in washington, d.c. he is currently working with the special counsel's team. the defense team has said they plan to use rick gates'

testimony against him to discredit him. to say rick gates was the embezzler and flipped on manafort to help himself. interesting development there. prosecutors called a flurry of witnesses, including an fbi agent who is part of the pre-dawn raid of paul manafort's condo last july. he talked about the hundreds of documents they seized and the loan applications with paul manafort's name on it. there were a number of witnesses called to represent paul manafort's lavish lifestyle. one employee from a high-end men's clothing store in manhattan. he talked about paul manafort being one of the top five clients. they expect to call more vendors to the stand today. this is a fast-moving trial. prosecutors told the judge they expect to wrap the trial next week. dave and kaylee.

cnn has learned that tsa is planning to eliminate screenings at 150 airports across the country. this move to save $115 million a year, but it also comes with a small, but undesirable security risk. a tsa spokesman saying the documents confirm a debate within the agency. two of the september 11th attackers first flew from portland, maine. a small airport there would be less secure. cnn's rene marsh has the latest from washington. >> reporter: dave, this would be a major change for travelers and a shift in how tsa uses resources. the proposal, the agency is considering, calls for elimination of the tsa screening at small and medium sized airports that operate commercial planes with 60 seats or fewer. operating theory is terrorists

are not interested in the smaller airports and they are targeting larger airports. national security experts disagree. >> the message is attack any way you can go after. so the opportunity to go after a 50-person passenger jet is very attractive. >> reporter: the concern is the lack of imagination for how bad actors could exploit security weaknesses at smaller airports. after our story broke, tsa sent talking points communicating how to respond at airports nationwide. a final decision has not been made. dave, kaylee. former president obama is weighing in on the first round of endorsements. he endorsed 80 people up and down the ballot.

gavin newson is one from california. one name not on the list is alexandria ocasio-cortez. her primary win suggests the party is shifting too far left. obama is expected to endorse more people ahead of the campaign in several states. a sharp rise in insurance costs for those covered under the affordable care act may slow down. the wall street journal cites lower numbers for insurers. in florida and georgia and michigan, you may see prices drop. also helping the slowdown is states like california seeing healthier enrollees and markets

have stabilized now insurers have had a few years to compare costs like maine to use programs to protect against unexpected costs. the trump administration rolled out new rules on thursday. those plans to don't have stick to all of the protections. it is a risky alternative which is not right for everyone. bottom line is shop around if you are in the market. unbelievable video coming up next. this week's plane crash in mexico caught on video from inside the cabin. how did 103 people survive this? more from mexico city next here on "early start." can you think of anything

more important than your brain? your mind is an incredible machine, but as you get older, it begins to slow down. blood flow declines, neurons misfire, and your brain even shrinks. you may experience a lack of sharpness, find it harder to focus, or forget important information. fortunately, now there's forebrain, a top-selling cognitive performance supplement at gnc from the experts at force factor. for a limited time, every man and woman in america can claim a complimentary bottle. just use your smartphone to text the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20. forebrain's scientifically studied key ingredients have been clinically shown to promote sharper recall, clearer mental energy, and better concentration.

nothing is more important than taking care of your brain. and now you can, with forebrain. claim your complimentary bottle by texting the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20 with your smartphone. do it now - before you forget. that's the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20.

the plane crash in mexico

with 103 passengers and crew members survived was all captured on video from inside the cabin. take a look. [ screaming ] >> i'm so scared. [ bleep ]. >> ashley garcia took that video from her seat on the plane. she spoke about the ordeal to cnn last night. >> honestly, it was something that i would have never imagined. it is always been such a big fear of mine and to have it actually happen is insane. when it was happening, i thought this cannot be true. >> the crash investigation just

getting under way. more than 100 survivors trying to explain how they made it out alive. leyla santiago has more from mexico city. >> reporter: dave and kaylee, we are learning more about the plane accident as well as the survivo survivors. we understand more than half of the 103 people on that aeromexico flight were from the united states. many are connecting here in mexico city. as we have spoken to them, they told us when they got on the flight, it was raining outside. there was wind and something, some wind gust is how they described it, brought the plane down. there was a dash to get off the plane and then they saw flames and smoke. many, all, we have spoken to say this was a miracle. now the investigation begins. the investigators have been able to recover the black boxes and

say they are in good condition and they will be critical in getting a better understanding of the sequence of events and what led up to that plane coming down. even the ntsb has sent some investigators to look into it. in the meantime, many survivors are saying they are just lucky to be able to tell their stories. dave. kaylee. >> leyla, thank you. priceless royal artifacts stolen from the swedish cathedral in a daring plot. making off with jewels belonging to former monarchs. they were taken from the cathedral west of stockholm. suspects escaping from across the sea in a small open top motor boat. the items stolen were part of the funeral regalia from the king and queen. the stolen artifacts pales in

comparison to the swedish culture history. it sounds like a george clooney movie. >> it sounds like "the crown." you know, beer sales are slumping. one brewer thinks it found a new ingredient to spark higher revenues. we'll explain next.

these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4 week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/try and never go to the post office again

does your business internet provider promise a lot? let's see who delivers more. comcast business gives you gig-speed in more places. the others don't. we offer up to 6 hours of 4g wireless network backup. everyone else, no way. we let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. them, not so much. we let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. the others? nope! get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call or go online today.

news rocking the college football world as ohio state university places urban meyer on paid administrative leave while investigating the domestic violence allegations over coach zach smith. meyer says he was aware of the incident in 2009 involving the smiths, but not 2015. >> courtney smith believes her husband told the head coach about it. here is what she states about the alleged 2015 abuse. >> came to my home. he wasn't happy. we got into an argument. when i stood up to him, he didn't like it and took me and shoved his hands up against me up against the wall.

something he did often. my daughter was clinging to my leg. he obviously -- it registered with him what he was doing. he took my son and left. >> you can watch the full interview at watchstadium.com. urban meyer says he and the athletic director agree being on leave during the investigation will facilitate the completion. zach smith's attorney says once he get a chance to tell his side, it will be corroborated by police. greg schiano will not take over. it will be ryan day. houston police believe a 20-year-old grudge is the motive in the murder of the doctor. a man whose mother died on the operating table is named the suspect. the mother of joseph pappas was the patient of dr. hausknecht. evidence in the home of pappas

links him to the killing and he has not been seen in two weeks. >> he is very dangerous and we need to get him in custody. we think he is suicidal. we should assume he is armed. we need to find this man. this man is dangerous and capable and this man has skills. >> cnn called a phone number for pappas' real estate company, but it went to voice mail. that number is also a number on a listing of firearms web sites. california authorities hope they have turned a corner on the carr fire. temperatures are expected to hit near 100 degrees again today. the fire has burned 121,000 acres and is 35% contained. it is now the sixth most destructive fire in state history. more than 1,000 homes have burned. everyone who was reported missing in the carr fire has now

been accounted for, but six have died. the redding police chief says many arrests have been made in connection with looting. a former waitress trying to make amends 20 years after stealing from her employer. the owner of el charro in tucson received a surprise envelope with $1,000 in cash and apology. the woman worked there in the '90s while working for the university of arizona. >> she said it has been 20 years, but i carry great remorse. accept this payment plus 20 years of interest. may god forever bless you and your family. the restaurant owner was floored. >> the young person being away from home for the first time going to school. they are going to school and learning about life. i think it is a life lesson that our family tries to instill in

our employees. it is a good feeling to know she felt she needed to take care of this and i respect her for it. >> the woman who sent the letter added she was a terrible waitress and glad she was fired before she could pocket more than a few hundred dollars. two new jersey brothers knocked it out of the park searching through collection of old baseball cards. they found five topps cards from 1952 mickey mantle. $1 million value. the most valuable cards are currently part of the auction that runs through august 19th. let's get a check on cnn money. wall street looking at a lower open. stocks are down following the mixed results yesterday.

corporate earnings over concerns of trade and investors are trying to sort through both. tesla with the biggest quarterly loss in history, but the stock is still set to pop because investors feared worse. the company burned through $400 million in cash reserves last quarter in part to ramp up production of the model 3. tesla still has more than $2 billion in cash leftover. investors see a sustainable path forward. that is pushing the stock up 10% in the pre-market trading. the stock is down for the year and lost 11% this month. elon musk also apologizing for the rather bizarre earnings call this month when he called analyst questions boring and refused to answer others. a joint venture between coors and marijuana company called hydropothicary is

bringing a beverage to canada. the drink will hit store shelves following the legalization there. it will not contain alcohol and it will start selling next year. part of the effort to boost sales after relavenue beer has been slowing. it seems the young people, 21 to 27, drinking far less beer than a decade ago. i would include myself in that. tequila. >> that's what we're thinking about at 4:59 a.m. "early start" continues right now. the president pushing his lawyers to let him sit down with robert mueller. the special counsel now willing to limit questions if the president meets face-to-face. terror at smaller u.s. airports is not a big concern for the tsa.

the agency eliminating screening at 150 smaller airports. and one of the nation's top college football coaches put on leave. urban meyer is accused of ignoring domestic violence allegations. what did he know about the actions of his recently fired assistant coach? a shocking story in the state of ohio. welcome back to "early start." i'm dave briggs. >> i'm kaylee hartung. in for christine romans. it is thursday, august 2nd. 5:00 a.m. in the east. robert mueller offering a tradeoff this morning. the special counsel suggesting he would reduce the number of obstruction of justice questions if the president sits down with mueller. the president's lawyers offered to provide written answers to obstruction questions. trump legal team wanted the interview limited to things before he took office relating to collusion. >> "the new york times"