a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! well, it seemed like change is on the way. >> another democratic challenger pulls off a major primary upset. tropical storm gordon turning deadly as it makes landfall near the alabama/mississippi border. the trump white house blasting the explosive allegations in that new book from watergate legend bob woodward. protesters rattle the

kavanaugh supreme court confirmation hearings with a crucial day of questioning ahead. an extraordinary news wednesday. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." i'm dave briggs. >> and i'm christine romans. it is wednesday, september 5th. it is 4:00 a.m. in the east. good morning, everybody. breaking overnight, a new democratic primary upset from the left. in massachusetts, a boston city councilwoman, ayanna pressley, soundly defeating ten-term incumbent congressman michael capuano. pressley joins a growing list of younger, more progressive democrats, many women and people of color, winning competitive primaries. miguel marquez was there, filed this report for us. >> reporter: christine, dave, just an absolute upset here in the seventh district of massachusetts. this district had been tested two times by pollster, in february and this august. in february, capuano was up by 12 points. this august, just a few weeks ago, he was up by 13 points. she got people out that don't typically vote.

she's a city councilperson in boston. and even though she was part of the political establishment, even though he was a far left by american standards, a progressive, liberal democrat, she was able to best him by getting people out with the campaign slogan that change can't wait. she wanted a bolder campaign. tonight, she talked about doing this not only for women, but for african-american men behind the wall in prison, for immigrants. here's a little of how she addressed the crowd tonight when she thanked michael capuano for making her a better candidate. >> mike capuano is unapologetically himself. on many occasions throughout the years when there was a strike or a rally, i would find myself sharing a stage, a microphone, or a bull horn with him. and, well, he forced me to bring my best, just like in this race, and i thank him for his 20 years

of service. >> reporter: certainly, this is an indication that insurgent energy amongst democrats across the country, whether it's florida or georgia or new york state, and now here in massachusetts, is alive and well. within an hour and a half of the polls closing, michael capuano had conceded this race. he clearly knew that the votes were just there for her in a very big way. it seems he may be the victim of a very blue waive already. christine, dave? >> thank you, miguel. capuano could not have been more gracious. in his concession speech, the ten-term incumbent never faced a serious challenge since taking the seat in 1998. he took the stunning defeat in stride, calling it a sign of the times. >> clearly, the district wanted a lot of change, and apparently, the district just is very upset with lots of things that are going on. i don't blame them. i'm just as upset as they are. but so be it. this is the way life goes.

>> capuano had nothing but praise for ayanna pressley, telling supporters she will be a good congressman who will serve massachusetts well. tropical storm gordon making landfall late last night west of the alabama/mississippi border, and it has already turned deadly. a child killed in pensacola, florida, from -- when a tree fell on top of a mobile home. strong winds also knocking out power in the panhandle and southern alabama. thousands are in the dark. the system tracking to the northwest now, leaving emergency officials in mississippi worried about potential flooding. >> one of our concerns is that storm surge. so, we're watching the waters right now, because those winds are shifting on us. as the storm makes its approach, starts to go inland, we'll start to see winds shift and we'll see the tides come up. >> gordon had sustained winds of 70 miles per hour when it made landfall. the system expected to weaken rapidly today, but it could dump as much as 12 inches of rain

from florida's western panhandle to southern arkansas. president trump on a twitter tirade last night, seeking to discredit a bombshell, new book by "washington post" reporter bob woodward. the president suggesting baselessly in one tweet the award-winning veteran journalist is a democratic operative because the book released two months before the midterms portrays chaos inside the white house. cnn's jamie gangel has more on woodwa woodward's meticulously reported book. >> reporter: dave and christine, this explosive, new book from legendary journalist bob woodward goes inside the trump white house with woodward detailing extraordinary measures that senior aides have taken to circumvent the president, to, in effect, step in and stop what they saw as president trump's most -- and this is a quote -- dangerous impulses, including stealing and hiding documents right off his oval office desk. there are also some stunning

revelations about the russia investigation. woodward recounts a dramatic session at the white house in which trump's then personal attorney john dowd puts the president through a mock interview to see if he is capable of testifying to special counsel robert mueller without perjuriering himself. woodward reports that trump fails the test. what's more remarkable is that dowd and trump attorney jay sekulow then go and re-enact the scene to robert mueller himself in an attempt to convince mueller that trump is incapable of getting through an interview. according to woodward, mueller isn't convinced and responds, "i need the president's testimony," and then mueller says, "i want to know what was his intent on comey, i want to see if there was corrupt intent." dave, christine? >> certainly some startling revelations

there, and some of the most startling quotes in woodward's book come from two of the president's top aides. chief of staff john kelly is reported to have called president trump an idiot, erratic and unhinged. woodward reports that he ranted in a staff meeting "we are in crazy town! this is the worst job i've ever had." james mattis is described as exasperated and alarmed by the president, saying mr. trump has the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader. officials are pushing back, chief of staff kelly saying he and the president have, quote, an incredibly candid and strong relationship and calling the story complete bs. mattis also denying he uttered the words attributed to him, describing the book as fiction. >> one important player not appearing in the book is president trump himself. that's why bob woodward decided to release audio recordings to prove he did make an effort to interview the president for his side of the story. listen now to the conversation between woodward and mr. trump

when they connected by phone three weeks ago. >> and as you know and are living, we are at a pivot point in history. >> right. >> and i would have liked to have done that, and i maximized my effort, and somehow, it didn't get to you or -- >> it's really too bad, because nobody told me about it, and i would have loved to have spoken to you. you know i'm very open to you. i think you've always been fair, but we'll see what happens. >> no doubt, the president concedes on tape that woodward has always been fair. overnight, mr. trump suggested the legendary journalist included lies and phony sources in his book. i should note, he also added, christine, on that phone call, well, okay, lindsey graham did actually tell me that you did want to interview me for this book. so, he lied on that very phone call about knno one having told him. >> and he had lunch with

kellyanne conway about that and the president denies having heard from her. she says -- >> she walked into the office when he was on the phone. >> just remarkable. special counsel investigators saying they will accept written responses from the president related to whether the trump campaign conspired with russia to sway the 2016 election in his favor. sources say the letter left open the possibility of an in-person interview as part of a wide-ranging russia probe. the decision represents a concession by mueller to trump's lawyers and appears to make a subpoena of the president less likely. brett kavanaugh faces another day of confirmation hearings this morning. one day after this ugly scene. warring senators, jeering protesters, dramatic demonstration rocks kavanaugh's hearing on tuesday. democrats came ready to attack. senator richard blumenthal, one of the leading voices opposing president trump's supreme court nominee called for the hearings to be adjourned almost as soon as it began.

he said his colleagues had not had time to review tens of thousands of documents from kavanaugh's time at the bush white house. >> mr. chairman, we have been denied real access to the documents we need to advise -- >> mr. chairman, regular order is called for. >> -- which turns this hearing into a charade and a mockery of our norms. >> well -- >> and mr. chairman, i therefore move to adjourn this hearing. >> kavanaugh's views on reproductive rights and environmental protection have been under the microscope since the moment he was nominated, but one senator on the judiciary committee, senator ben sasse says opponents' hysteria has nothing to do with kavanaugh and everything to do with congress, tweeting this -- "judge kavanaugh doesn't hate women and children. judge kavanaugh doesn't lust after dirty water and stinky air. no, looking at his record, it seems to me that what he actually dislikes are legislators that are too lazy and risk-averse to do our actual jobs." all right, ten minutes after the hour. time for an "early start" on your money.

high-level players from facebook and twitter face congress today. they'll respond to accusations of political censorship and lack of security against foreign interference. the senate intelligence committee will grill facebook ceo sheryl sandberg and chief executive of twitter jack dorsey about their efforts to prevent election meddling this fall and accusations of a lack of effort. both platforms have admitted to negligence in allowing russian manipulation on the sites in the 2016 presidential election. in prepared testimony released yesterday, sandberg wrote "we're heavily invested in people and technology to keep our community safe and keep our service secure. this includes using artificial intelligence to help find bad content and locate bad actors." dorsey will testify about twitter's algorithms and content monitoring involving hate speech and harassment. internet giant google declined to send a high-level executive to capitol hill today. that should be very, very interesting. >> and we hear an empty chair might represent google at these hearings, which will certainly turn into a circus. a high-profile mayor just

made a major career decision. >> this has been the job of a lifetime but it is not a job for a lifetime. >> more from chicago's rahm emanuel, just ahead. familiar face replacing the late senator john mccain on capitol hill. my name is jeff sheldon,

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and get two months free. are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec®. it's starts working hard at hour one. and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. stick with zyrtec® and muddle no more®. former republican senator jon kyl tapped by arizona governor doug ducey to replace the late john mccain. kyl is the attorney who's been advising brett kavanaugh. now he gets to vote on his confirmation. it is my honor to be helping on the kavanaugh nomination. i believe in judge kavanaugh. and in that capacity, i've been able to support not just judge kavanaugh, but the administration, and i think the proper administration of justice. >> kyr is well liked by the president's political team and

mccain family. he says he won't be running for re-election, leaving open a bruising primary in 2020. chicago mayor rahm emanuel says he will not seek a third term. he announced the decision at a city hall news conference alongside his wife. >> this has been the job of a lifetime but it is not a job for a lifetime. amy and i have decided it is time to write another chapter together. we have more to do, and from now until then, we'll do everything in our power to get it done and walk out the door, hopefully, leaving chicago and chicagoans in a stronger place. >> emanuel previously represented chicago in the u.s. house and was president obama's chief of staff for nearly two years. he brought his brash style to the mayor's office. he announced it a trump-free zone and harshly criticized the president's immigration policies. well, it's already turned ugly in the florida governors race, shaping up to be a fight

to the finish. a new quinnipiac poll shows the democratic candidate, tallahassee mayor andrew gillum leading congressman ron desantis by 50%-47%. the race will be the most closely watched race in november. desantis has tied himself to president trump, who endorsed him in the primary against more establishment figures. gillum would be florida's first black governor. days after winning the nomination, gillum was targeted in a racist robocall that came just after desantis told florida voters don't "monkey this up" by electing gillum. north carolina's unconstitutional gerrymandered map will be used in the upcoming midterm elections. a federal court ruling says there is insufficient time to redraw it before november, and imposing a new schedule for the elections would likely confuse voters and depress turnout. republicans hold 10 of north caroli carolina's 13 seats in the house. a redrawn map could affect the

overall balance of power. the current north carolina map will not be used again after november 6th. coming up, famous filmmaker tyler perry stepping up to try and solve a 15-year-old mystery. and another mystery surrounding the most famous slippers in movie history is now solved. this wi-fi is fast.

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removed from store shelves back in june but warned some locations are still selling the product. get rid of your honey smacks. filmmaker tyler perry along with civil rights attorney benjamin crump announcing a civil suit against a former sheriff's deputy they believe may be responsible for the disappearance of two men 15 years ago. terrance williams and felipe santos went missing in naples, florida, one in 2003, the other in 2004. both were last seen with then deputy steve calkins, who arrested them. he was later fired for giving conflicting statements to investigators, but no charges were filed. tyler perry now doubling the reward he was offering to $200,000 for information leading to the conviction in the disappearances of the two men. it wasn't the wizard, but an fbi sting operation that recovered the most famous slippers in movie history, 13 years after they were stolen. >> tap your heels together three times. >> the ruby slippers that dorothy wore in "the wizard of

oz" were taken in 2005 from the judy garland museum in minnesota. the pumps, size 5 1/2, are one of four known pairs that garland wore in the classic film. it is estimated they are worth more than $2 million. authorities still looking for whoever stole the slippers. but they have them back. >> referred to as the holy grail of hollywood memorabilia by one prominent author. all right, a major democratic primary upset overnight. the challenger who beat a ten-term incumbent, next. plus, all-out war between president trump and watergate journalist bob woodward over his damaging, new book. hopes you drive safely.pany but allstate actually helps you drive safely... with drivewise. it lets you know when you go too fast... ...and brake too hard. with feedback to help you drive safer. giving you the power to actually lower your cost. unfortunately, it can't do anything about that.

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well, it seems like change is on the way. >> another democratic challenger pulls off a major primary upset. tropical storm gordon turns deadly as it makes landfall near the alabama/mississippi border. the trump white house blasting the explosive allegations in a new book from watergate legend bob woodward. protesters rattle the kavanaugh supreme court confirmation hearings with a crucial day of questioning ahead. welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. i don't think he began speaking until 5:00 p.m. or something? i mean it was a whole day of talking, talking, before you heard from him. >> yeah, it was a head-spinning day. it was a circus, though. these senate confirmation hearings are not tremendously effective. i'm dave briggs, 4:30 eastern time. we'll get to that in a moment. we start with breaking news overnight. a new democratic primary upset from the left. in massachusetts, boston city councilwoman ayanna pressley

soundly defeating ten-term incumbent congressman mike capuano. the 44-year-old pressley joins a growing list of younger, more progressive democrats, many of them women of color, winning competitive primaries. miguel marquez files this report from pressley's victory celebration. >> reporter: christine, dave, just an absolute upset here in the seventh district of massachusetts. this district had been tested two times by pollster, in february and this august. in february, capuano was up by 12 points. this august, just a few weeks ago, he was up by 13 points. she got people out that don't typically vote. she's a city councilperson in boston. and even though she was part of the political establishment, even though he was a far left by american standards, a progressive, liberal democrat, she was able to best him by getting people out with the campaign slogan that change

can't wait. she wanted a bolder campaign. tonight she talked about doing this not only for women but for african-american men behind the wall in prison, for immigrants. here's a little of how she addressed the crowd tonight when she thanked michael capuano for making her a better candidate. >> mike capuano is unapologetically himself. on many occasions throughout the years when there was a strike or a rally, i would find myself sharing a stage, a microphone, or a bullhorn with him. and, well, he forced me to bring my best, just like in this race, and i thank him for his 20 years of service. >> reporter: certainly, this is an indication that that insurgent energy amongst democrats across the country, whether it's florida or georgia or new york state, and now here in massachusetts, is alive and well. within an hour and a half of the polls closing, michael capuano had conceded this race.

he clearly knew that the votes were just there for her in a very big way. it seems he may be the victim of a very blue wave already. christine, dave? >> yeah, certainly, it is a fascinating development there. michael capuano could not have been more gracious in his concession speech. the ten-term incumbent had never faced a serious challenge since first winning the seat in 1998. he took that stunning defeat in stride, calling it a sign of the times. >> clearly, the district wanted a lot of change. and apparently, the district just is very upset with lots of things that are going on. i don't blame them. i'm just as upset as they are. but so be it. this is the way life goes. >> capuano praised ayanna pressley, saying she will serve massachusetts well. tropical storm gordon making landfall late last night west of the alabama/mississippi border, and it has already turned deadly. a child killed in pensacola, florida, when a tree fell on top

of a mobile home. strong winds from the storm also knocking out power in the florida panhandle and southern alabama, leaving thousands in the dark. the system tracking to the northwest, leaving emergency officials in mississippi worried about potential flooding. >> one of our concerns is that storm surge, so we're watching the waters right now because those winds are shifting on us. as the storm makes its approach, starts to go inland, we'll start to see winds shift and we'll see the tides come up. >> gordon had sustained winds of 70 miles per hour when it made landfall. meteorologist pedram javaheri tracking gordon for us has the forecast in the cnn weather center. >> christine and dave, good morning to you both. yes, we're watching what's happening here with gordon, what is left of gordon, beginning to gradually weaken, moved ashore at about 70 miles per hour, so just shy of what would have been a category 1 hurricane. but of course, the impacts between 70 miles per hour or 75, which would put it right there in the low end of a hurricane,

really it doesn't make much of a difference. still seeing similar impacts on the coast and seeing impacts that are forceful along this area as well. we'll watch it closely. some of the communities across this region seeing generally 30 to 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts across the area, but the system itself will begin to quickly move out of here, eventually end up in northern mississippi later this afternoon. in fact, here's what's happening. still seeing some of the feeder bands or outer bands bringing rainfall towards pensacola on into mobile, but even there we'll see conditions improve. in fact, we'll see clearing skies as we go in towards sunset. so maybe even say see a nice sun break across that region into the afternoon hours. but the flood watch has been in place not really across the south but also across the midwest where this system's going to end up, and that's an area we're expecting additional say 4 to 6 inches over the next couple of days. >> pedram, thank you so much for that. president trump was on a twitter tirade last night, seeking to discredit a bombshell, new book by "washington post" reporter bob

woodward. the president suggesting baselessly in one tweet that the award-winning veteran journalist is a democratic operative because the book released two months before the midterms portrays chaos inside the white house. cnn's jamie gangel has more on woodward's meticulously reported work. >> reporter: dave and christine, this explosive, new book from legendary journalist bob woodward goes inside the trump white house with woodward detailing extraordinary measures that senior aides have taken to circumvent the president, to, in effect, step in and stop what they saw as president trump's most -- and this is a quote -- dangerous impulses, including stealing and hiding documents right off his oval office desk. there are also some stunning revelations about the russia investigation. woodward recounts a dramatic session at the white house in which trump's then personal attorney, john dowd, puts the president through a mock

interview to see if he is capable of testifying to special counsel robert mueller without perjuring himself. woodward reports that trump fails the test. and what's even more remarkable is that dowd and trump's current attorney, jay sekulow, then go and re-enact the scene to robert mueller himself in an attempt to convince mueller that trump is incapable of getting through an interview. according to woodward, mueller isn't convinced and responds, quote, i need the president's testimony. and then mueller says, i want to know what was his intent on comey, i want to see if there was corrupt intent. dave, christine? >> all right, jamie. you know, some of the most startling quotes in woodward's book come from two of the president's top aides, chief of staff john kelly is reported to have called president trump an idiot, erratic and unhinged.

woodward reports an irate kelly ranted at a staff meeting, quote, we're in crazy town, this is the worst job i've ever had. the book portrays defense secretary james mattis as exasperated and alarmed by the president. mattis is quoted as saying trump has the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader. both men among the chorus of administration officials pushing back. chief of staff kelly saying he and the president have, quote, an incredibly candid and strong relationship, called the story total bs. mattis also denying that he uttered the contemptuous words attributed to him. he describes woodward's book as fiction. one important player not appearing in the book is president trump himself. that's why woodward decided himself to release audio recordings to prove him hae made an effort to interview the president and get his side of the story. listen to this conversation between woodward and trump when they connected by phone three weeks ago. >> and as you know and are living, we are at a pivot point in history.

>> right. >> and i would have liked to have done that, and i maximized my effort. >> right. >> and somehow, it didn't get to you or -- >> it's really too bad, because nobody told me about it and i would have loved to have spoken to you. you know i'm very open to you. i think you've always been fair, but we'll see what happens. >> the president did later acknowledge that lindsey graham told him woodward wanted to interview him, also that woodward has always been fair. overnight, mr. trump suggested legendary journalist had lies and phony sources in his book, and there is a tweet for that, folks. in 2013, donald trump tweeted "only the obama white house can get away with attacking bob woodward." there's always a tweet for that with this one. >> of course there is. special counsel investigators responding to president trump's legal team, saying they will accept written responses from the president related to whether the trump campaign conspired with russia to sway the 2016 campaign in his favor. they say the letter left open the possibility of an in-person

interview as part of a wide-ranging russia probe. the decision represents a concession by mueller to trump's lawyers and appears to make a subpoena of the president less likely. brett kavanaugh faces another day of confirmation hearings this morning. one day after this ugly scene, warring senators, jeering protesters and democratic demonstrations rocked kavanaugh's hearing tuesday. democrats came ready to attack. senator richard blumenthal, one of the leading voices opposing president trump's supreme court nominee, called for the hearing to be adjourned almost as soon as it began, saying his colleagues had not had time to review tens of thousands of documents from kavanaugh's time at the white house. >> mr. chairman, we have been denied real access to the documents we need to advise -- >> mr. chairman, regular order is called for. >> -- which turns this hearing into a charade and a mockery of our norms. >> well -- >> and mr. chairman, i therefore move to adjourn this hearing.

>> kavanaugh's views on reproductive rights and environmental protection have been under a microscope since the moment he was nominated, but one senator on the judiciary committee, senator ben sasse says opponents' hysteria has nothing to do with kavanaugh and everything to do with congress. >> judge kavanaugh doesn't lust after dirty water and stinky air. no, looking at his record, it seems to me that what he actually dislikes are legislators that are too lazy and too risk-averse to do our actual jobs. >> the hearing resumes today at 9:30 a.m. usually, these battles are fought over visceral issues -- abortion, education, discrimination, not document requests. but we'll see where we go on day two. another battle on the hill. time for "early start" on your money. high-level players from facebook and twitter will face congress today to respond to accusations of political censorship and lack of security against foreign interference. the senate intelligence committee will grill facebook ceo sheryl sandberg and chief executive of twitter jack dorsey

about efforts to prevent election meddling this fall. both platforms have admitted to negligence in allowing russian manipulation on the sites in the 2016 presidential election. in prepared testimony released yesterday, sandberg wrote, we're investing heavily in people and technology to keep our community safe and keep our service secure. this includes using artificial intelligence to help find bad con at any time and locate bad actors. dorsey will also testify before the house about twitter's algorithms and content monitoring involving hate speech and harassment. internet giant google declined to send a high-level executive to capitol hill today. mark zuckerberg with an op ed in the "washington post" this morning saying that, you know, protecting democracy is an arms race. congress members want to know exactly what these companies are doing in this arms race. >> well, zuckerberg also writes he wants the public sector and the private sector to combine to protect our election integrity. ahead, a high-profile mayor just made a major career decision.

>> this has been the job of a lifetime but it is not a job for a lifetime. >> what's ahead for chicago's rahm emanuel, just ahead. and the familiar face replacing the late senator john mccain on capitol hill. my name is jeff sheldon, and i'm the founder of ugmonk.

before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize i've got a hundred orders i have to ship out. shipstation streamlined that wh the order data, the weights of , everything is seamlessly put into shipstation, so when we print the shipping ll everything's pretty much done. it's so much easier so now, we're ready, bring on t. shipstation. the number one ch of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get two months free. of great savings and service. with such a long history, it's easy to trust geico! thank you todd. it's not just easy. it's-being-a-master-of-hypnotism easy. hey, i got your text- sleep! doug, when i snap my fingers you're going to clean my gutters.

ooh i should clean your gutters! great idea. it's not just easy. it's geico easy. todd, you will go make me a frittata.

a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! former senator jon kyl tapped by arizona governor doug ducey to replace the late john mccain. kyl happens to be the republican attorney who's been advising president trump's supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh. now he gets to vote on his confirmation. >> it is my honor to be helping on the kavanaugh nomination. i believe in judge kavanaugh. and in that capacity, i've been able to support not just judge kavanaugh, but the administration, and i think the proper administration of justice. >> kyl is well liked by the president's political team and by the mccain family.

he says he won't be running for re-election, leaving open the possibility of a bruising primary in 2020. chicago mayor rahm emanuel says he will not seek a third term. he announced the decision at a city hall news conference alongside his wife. >> this has been the job of a lifetime but it is not a job for a lifetime. amy and i have decided it's time to write another chapter together. we have more to do. and from now until then, we'll do everything in our power to get it done and walk out the door, hopefully, leaving chicago and chicagoans in a stronger place. >> emanuel previously represented chicago in the u.s. house and served as president obama's chief of staff for nearly two years, bringing his trademark brash style to the mayor's office. emanuel declared the city a trump-free zone and harshly criticized the president's immigration policies. 12 candidates have announced they will run to replace him next february. it's already turned ugly in the florida governors race, shaping up as a fight to the

finish. a new quinnipiac poll shows the democratic candidate, tallahassee mayor andrew gillum, leading his republican opponent, congressman ron desantis, by three points, 50%-47%. the race will be one of the most closely watched contests in november. desantis has tied himself to president trump, who endorsed him in the primary against more establishment republicans. gillum would be florida's first black governor. just days after winning the democratic nomination, gillum was targeted in a racist robocall. that came after desantis told florida voters, "don't monkey this up" by electing gillum. >> of course, some context here. if polls were correct, gillum would not be the democratic candidate in the first place, right, because no one saw him coming out of nowhere to win the democratic nomination. so it's tough to know what to take away. all right, amazon just became the answer to a trillion-dollar question. we'll get a check on "cnn money" next. this wi-fi is fast.

i know!

i know! i know! i know! when did brian move back in? brian's back? he doesn't get my room. he's only going to be here for like a week. like a month, tops. oh boy. wi-fi fast enough for the whole family is simple, easy, awesome. in many cultures, young men would stay with their families until their 40's. russian warplanes carrying out dozens of air strikes against the last rebel-held province in syria, idlib, the latest operation killing 17 civilians, including 7 children, this according to the volunteer group white helmets and other media activists. the kremlin shrugging off a warning from president trump, raising concerns about a new large-scale offensive in a densely populated region.

i want to go to istanbul now, bring in cnn's jomana. >> christine, good morning. the situation on the ground in idlib, according to activist people on the ground, they say it is calm, coming after that bloody day on tuesday, as you mentioned. more than 25 air strikes, according to opposition activists and the rescue group the white helmets, saying they targeted western idlib. they say at least 18 people were killed, most of them women and children. and the feeling amongst people there is that this was also a sign of what is to come but also a message, a response to the warnings, the threats coming from president trump and others against this offensive, a message from the russians and the syrian regime that this will go ahead, their assault on idlib will take place and they will move on to recapture that last

province under the control of the rebels, especially that the warnings that are coming from the u.s. seem to be very specific, saying that it is ready to act, if chemical weapons are used, something that has really infuriated so many syrians, christine, saying, what about conventional weapons? what about the air strikes, the barrel bombs that have claimed more syrian lives than chemical attacks? all this happening while you have about 3 million people crammed in idlib province right now just waiting for this offensive to happen. as some have put it, it's like waiting for their death sentence to be carried out. >> all right, just tragic. thank you, jomana krad cha for us in istanbul. dozens of carcasses have been found in botswana. the elephant massacre was found during an aerial survey. they were mutilated by poachers for their tusks. in may, the country's new president ordered the country's

antipoaching unit to stop using military weapons. boy, are those pictures difficult to see. >> hard to watch. >> david mckenzie live for us in johannesburg, south africa, with more. david, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dave. yes, you know, they are shocking images, but it's important to look at these images because they represent a very disturbing trend in botswana. botswana is normally a safe haven for elephant populations. more than 100,000 of the majestic animals in that country. i've reported on that issue several times. but this scientist who i've dealt with in the past saying nearly 90 elephant counted in just a few weeks of an aerial survey. it shows that the poachers for that ivory that elephants have due to the demand in asia are just going in deep to tourists and conservation areas in botswana, killing those animals, hacking off their ivory and presumably shipping it to asia. it shows also, based on previous

investigations by us, that the chinese ban on ivory hasn't yet had the effect of stopping the slaughter. the botswanan government says these reports, including our own, are unsubstantiated and sensational, saying "at no point in the last months or eventually were 87 or 90 elephants killed in one incident in any place in botswana." well, there's no indication this was one incident. it appears to be several weeks of killings. and the worry is, is that this could really decimate the herds in a key population center for elephants. the scientists looking at that statement from the government, we asked him what he thought of that. he said, well, i 100% stand by what i saw. the evidence is irrefutable. dave? >> irrefutable and devastating. a very important story. david mckenzie in johannesburg, thank you. just about top of the hour.

let's check on "cnn money." a critical day in the trade dispute with canada as the trump administration tries to renegotiate nafta. talks resume today. last week the u.s. reached a preliminary deal with mexico, but a deal with canada did not happen. the americans want canadian concessions on agriculture. president trump said he wants canada to end its steep tariffs on u.s. dairy products, but canada has pledged to protect its dairy farmers and its dairy industry. amazon is america's second trillion-dollar company now. its market cap briefly topped $1 trillion yesterday. apple was the first company to do that. it did in t in august. those two companies now make up more than 8% of the entire value of the s&p 500. amazon shares have doubled in the past 12 months. apple's are up nearly 40%, while amazon hitting high numbers, critics point to low numbers for amazon workers. vermont senator bernie sanders took a shot at ceo jeff bezos yesterday, saying the wealthy mogul should be paying employees

higher wages. >> haven't heard a lot about that. are there numbers to back all this up? >> bernie sanders, of course, is someone who wants higher wages in general, higher minimum wage in general, and there has been some criticism that so many of these warehouse jobs maybe don't pay as much, and jeff bezos makes an awful lot of money. that's an income inequality debate for another day. >> more to come on that. "early start" continues right now with a shocker in massachusetts politics. well, it seems like change is on the way. >> another democratic challenger pulls off a major primary upset. tropical storm gordon turns deadly as it makes landfall near the alabama/mississippi border. and the trump white house blasting the explosive allegations in a new book from watergate legend bob woodward.