Happy friday it is friday. Its been a long, busy news week. I have been telling you its friday for the last hour. We begin with a trade war thats escalating in a big way this morning. President trump more than doubling tariffs on chinese imports from 10 to 25 on 200 billion. China is vowing to retaliate. We just dont know how yet. The worlds two largest economies are set to resume talks in two hours meanwhile, President Trumps attorney Rudy Giuliani is planning to visit ukraine to persuade the incoming government to pursue investigations into joe biden. Let that sink in. The president s lawyer is trying to convince another government to meddle in the u. S. Election. Also this morning, new questions emerging about attorney general bill barr. Did he tell the truth when senators asked if the president asked him to investigate anyone. Statements like this from President Trump have people wondering what i would like to see with iran, i would like to see them call me. John kerry speaks to them a lot. John kerry tells them not to call. Thats a violation of the logan act. Frankly he should be prosecuted on that joining us now to discuss this, kaitlyn collins, cnn white house correspondent, michael smerconish, host of smerconish and frank bruni, cnn contributor. I want to start with the latest on the talks, kaitlyn. The president more than doubled the tariffs on 200 billion worth of goods at midnight the thinking had been before that if the talks went well last night the tariffs may not have gone into effect at midnight but they did. Thats where we are now. The talks are scheduled to resume in the next two hours or so. The question is of what they are going to achieve today by meeting. People think it is a good sign they are meeting for the second day in a row. Talks were scheduled for today and yesterday. They got through the dinner that the treasury secretary and the president s chief trade negotiator had with the chinese delegation. The question is what they are going to achieve today. The chinese said in their statement they are going to have to respond to the increase in the tariffs. They havent said exactly how theyll respond or when. Clearly, they think there could be progress made today. The people we have spoken with dont think theyll reach a big agreement today which is a big difference from where we were two weeks ago, how u. S. Officials were feeling about the talks it sounds like china reneged on some parts of agreement that the u. S. Thought were settled. So the president is frustrated, understandably, by that. And is doing tariffs in retaliation. Its hard to know frankly, how concerned to be or seriously to take it since, as you know, the president often makes a grand announcement or even some grand action and reverses course later that day. Hes working with a net in this instance. As you have been reporting all morning long, this doesnt impact those goods that are already approaching our shores. If there should be some kind of a resolution today then i think he can proclaim a political victory given that he made a pledge during the 2016 campaign that he would address this imbalance that exists in trade and the theft of our intellectual property. I cant help but think the white house thinks this is their best moment to make an agreement because of the gdp numbers and we are at full employment and there is a perception that the chinese economy is more vulnerable than ours i will say there is reason to believe they will not make a deal today. The president wrote just moments ago talks with china continue in a congenial manner. There is absolutely no need to rush. That may get to the point michael was making that the tariffs wont be felt until the goods actually arrive on u. S. Soil. There is another aspect to this. Maybe the president does want a deal today. But, frank, being tough on china is not necessarily bad politics. No. I think it makes him look strong in his eyes and a lot of peoples eyes. This is him following through on something he said during the campaign. He hasnt met all of his campaign promises. In the short term, this isnt a bad look for him at all. If this goes on, if Consumer Prices go up on certain products. If americans feel this in a way thats deleterious what happens then . If americans have less purchasing power, if the prices of things they want to purchase go up, i think hell have a hard time explaining that if they say, i feel less wealthy under your presidency than i do now. Thats where it could be three, six, nine months from now if it goes on without a resolution. Lets talk about this jawdropping revelation that Rudy Giuliani is going to ukraine to get them to investigate President Trumps political opponents. Let me read this. This is from the New York Times. Rudy giuliani says this. We are not meddling in an election. We are meddling in an investigation which we have the right to do. There is nothing illegal about it. Somebody could say its improper. This isnt foreign policy. Im asking them to do an investigation that they are doing already. And that other people are telling them to stop. Im going to give them reasons why they shouldnt stop it. That information will be very, very helpful to my client the president and may turn out to be helpful to my government. Let me get this straight. First they were looking for help from russia. Now in this election they are looking for help from ukraine. How does it make sense for Rudy Giuliani to advertise this . There are people in the white house who wish Rudy Giuliani would stop making comments like that ones hes making there to the New York Times. They do not think it is helpful. People inside the Justice Department and the white house think they are responding properly to the russia investigation and the outcome of the Mueller Report, especially as it relates to the attorney general. They do not find it ever helpful typically based on people we have spoken to inside the west wing that when Rudy Giuliani makes stunning comments saying hes seeking help from other governments to discredit some of the investigations or prop up the president , thats not something the white house wants to hear from the president s outside attorney. There is consternation inside the west wing about what Rudy Giuliani does, especially things like this. This is something they dont want him to do or say publicly on the record to the New York Times this has to do with a story that broke in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago about whether joe biden used undue influence to stifle an investigation by the ukraine government into his son hunter. Rudy giuliani has been on the phone, texting, calling, trying to drum up the story for months. He admits it. Hes proud of it. Now hes talking to the New York Times saying im going to ukraine to try to get them to investigate joe biden. I find it staggering, michael. Particularly the phrase again, this is a quote. Some people might say its improper. Some people might say its improper to welcome the assistance of a foreign country in an election. Some people may say its more improper to try to go and attract that involvement. Michael. If two months ago joe biden determined, you know what, hes had enough. His long and distinguished career the over, family considerations necessitate that he not run for president , would Rudy Giuliani be making the trip now . The answer is of course not. It lays bare the partisan nature of the visit. Its a shame that we have a tendency to take a look at the events based on which outlets report them and then decide whether we think they have merit. By Rudy Giuliani being the person to give this heft, hes undercutting the president s eventual argument if he wants the claim to be taken as legitimate frank, why does President Trump need ukraines help to win the election . Hell take help anywhere he can get it. The notion that this is not meddling in an election is ridiculous its about the election. They wouldnt be doing it otherwise as we sit here today, joe biden is 20, 30 points ahead of anyone else in polls. I dont think this is how it will play out. If you were playing the smart money you would say joe biden will be the nominee. Thats something the Trump Administration is considering. To have Rudy Giuliani out there trying to create trouble for joe biden during the election. Thats the quintessence of meddling in an election. This is a story fox is pushing. Well continue to follow it from every angle. I want to play sound from senator Kamala Harris of california questioning the attorney general just last week. Remember when she was pressing him and he was squirrely on whether or not the president had asked him to investigate anybody. Listen. Has the president or anyone at the white house ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone yes or no, please, sir. Yeah, but im trying to grapple with the word suggest. There have been discussions of matters out there that they have not asked me to open a investigation. Perhaps they have suggested . I dont know. I wouldnt say suggest hinted . I dont know. Squirrely, right . At least squirrely. He was really struggling with the word suggest. So now and michael, i will put it to you. Now we learn from the president himself that hes been talking to advisers about investigating john kerry for violations of the logan act for discussions that john kerry had with people in iran more than a year ago about the sanctions there. Is it possible that the president asked william barr to investigate john kerry . Senator harris has written a letter to barr as a follow up saying whats going on here . I guess its possible. That may be what she was after. It may be what the president has in mind. I was wondering in this back and forth why would the iranians listen to john kerry. If we accept the president at face value that he would be receptive to some form of contact from the iranian leadership. But john kerry who today has no portfolio tells them not to do so. Why would they listen to kerry and not be receptive to have dialogue with the president . That made no sense to me just that part . For now. Okay. All right. Thank you all very much. Be sure to watch kwoez sm smerconish at 9 00 a. M. Tomorrow morning. The threat of flooding is real in texas and the southeast. Schools are closed in the houston area after torrential rain in the past 24 hours. More rain is on the way. Ed lav has more for us. Houston is the city that floods. Its been a treacherous night. Not just here in houston but across the region in southeast texas. This is one road in downtown houston. This is water being pushed out one of the main bayous getting pushed up into the city streets. Emergency officials have been dealing with situations like this popping up all over the region. In fact, overnight there were nearly 40 motorists stranded in their cars along interstate 10. Portions of that highway have been shut down. All of the motorists have been rescued in the overnight hours. Its been a long night as the rainfall has fallen for hours and hours here. So the threat of more flooding continues as the bayou system fills up. The threat of flooding becomes a dangerous situation and will be through the day in the houston area ed, i feel like it wasnt that long ago i saw you standing in flood waters in houston. It keeps on happening again and again. Thank you very much. President trump escalating the trade war with china. More than doubling tariffs overnight. Were going to get reaction from a republican member of congress next. Is your floors best fri. Only roomba uses 2 multisurface rubber brushes to grab and remove pet hair. And the roomba filter captures 99 of dog and cat allergens. If its not from irobot, its not a roomba. Stand up to chronic migraine with botox®. What if you had fewer headaches and migraines a month . Botox® prevents headaches and migraines before they even start. Botox® is for adults with chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. Botox® injections take about 15 minutes in your Doctors Office and are covered by most insurance. Effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. Dont receive botox® if theres a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Having headaches and migraines more than half the month . It could be chronic migraine. Text track to 50334 for our migraine tracker, then talk to your doctor. Motor . Its pronounced motour. For those who were born to ride, theres progressive. Its not small. But its not just big either. Its the kind of big where youll never have to ask, should i scooch up . Its big that looks at a sunroof and wonders why it cant just be most of the roof. Its big thats better because we built it that way. The spacious, 121 cubic feet of cargo space ford expedition. The latestous, 121inisnt just a store. Tyace its a save more with a new kind of Wireless Network store. Its a look what your wifi can do now store. A get your questions answered by awesome experts store. Its a now theres one store that connects your life like never before store. The xfinity store is here. And its simple, easy, awesome. If you are just waking up, a, im envious. B, you are waking up to a trade war. President trump doubled tariffs on 200 billion worth of chinese goods. It went into effect at midnight. Joining us now is republican congressman will herd of texas. Thank you very much for being with us. You are critical of this move in this posture from the president. Why . Lets start with the facts. We are, indeed, having a deal with an aggressive china who has been doing things for years like hacking into our systems, stealing our intellectual property, using it for themselves to undercut u. S. Businesses. They have been flooding the market with cheap steel thats in opposition to a number of international agreements. So china has been and still is engaged in a number of Economic Activities negative to the u. S. Economy. Ultimately the u. S. Economy. The way you deal with that is not what using a tit for tat tariff war. Ultimately a tariff, we should think of a tariff like a sales tax on whom . On american consumers. Its going to be more expensive for americans to buy products. Thats why this has a longterm impact on the u. S. Economy. Also, we need to realize that one of the things is how do we compete with china in the markets. One way is to focus on competitiveness. We should be working with mexico and canada on countering the threat in china. The steps we should be taking, if a u. S. Company cant do something in china then a Chinese Company cant do that in the United States of america. Thats simple reciprocity. That would ultimately balance the problem we are dealing with in china. Thats something that doesnt require negotiations with the chinese. This is something we can do by ourselves on our own. The other thing we have to remember that china is an authoritarian government. They dont care about pain impact on their citizens. They are going to be able to with stand pain longer than the u. S. Economy can. You dont want to get into a tit for tat with an authoritarian government a sales tax on the american consumer. To be clear this is not because your opposition to tariffs isnt because you are soft on china. I have heard you more tough on china than most on issues. Take Artificial Intelligence which we dont have tommy t del into but you think china could be edging us out there its a threat to our economy. Another thing we can do today. There is a Company Called zte, a Chinese Company that manufacturers cell phones. They are the largest producers of cell phones. They have found multiple times they violated a number of international treaties. We should have had a ban on u. S. Manufactured integrated circuits. That would have killed zte. Its one of their most important companies. That would show we are being tough and we are not going to allow these kind of praks i thes by the Chinese Government practices by the Chinese Government the president gave a pass when he was doubling tariffs overnight. Stay tuned. Well check back in a few hours. Im interested in where the trade talks go. It could get worse or they could have a deal in the next few hours. I want to talk to you about various aspects of the russia investigation. Let me first play sound overnight. Former fbi director james comey was part of a cnn town hall. He was critical of the current attorney general. Listen. What do you think of the way attorney general barr behaved . He acted in a way thats less than honorable in the way he described it in writing and during a press conference and continues to talk as if hes the president s lawyer. Thats not the attorney generals job. William barr, less than honorable. Your response . I have had many disagreements with jim comey. Jim comey takes steps when he was part of the fbi that he probably shouldnt have. I think where we are and all of this. Coming to congress to talk about and ask questions about understanding the perceived differences between his opinion of the Mueller Report and the interpretation that was done by william barr. The judiciary committees are the committee where that should happen. I would hope that all the members of the judiciary committee, especially senior democrats would actually go in and read the less redacted version of the Mueller Report that has already been provided. There is a version that only has seven lines marked out on the senior Democratic Leaders are able to view. Lets hear from mueller. How are we going to deal with what republicans and democrats agree on. They are going to try to do it again in 2020. They are doing it with their allies and using disinformation to do that. We do not have a counter disinformation strategy. This is something i have been talking about since previously to the 2016 election we need to have a strategy on how to deal with this kind of russian covert action in the future. We need to start because our elections right around the corner you say you do Want Congress to hear from Robert Mueller presumably soon. You acknowledge its different from what we are hearing from Lindsey Graham and others particularly in the senate. I dont know what they are saying on the topic. I do believe that this can settle things by actually you know, were talking about a report. One dudes opinion of a report written by another dude. Lets have the dude who wrote the report come to congress to talk about it. People get to ask him questions. Then we should be talking about this disinformation strategy and how to deal with it in the future you might be the first person who ever called Robert Mueller a dude. No disrespect to the attorney general or bob mueller. No disrespect to any dude for that matter. Congressman, your committee has put in a subpoena bipartisan subpoena. Both leaders, the Ranking Member and the chairman of the Intelligence Committee want the counterintelligence information that was gleaned as part of the mueller investigation. A, why is that important . B, if doj stonewalls and doesnt hand over everything which they havent in other requests, is it Worth Holding the Justice Department in contempt . The contempt question, i think we are a ways away from that. This is a good sign of bipartisan support trying to get to uncover this information and why is this important. A part of this is to get a better understanding of what the russians were trying to do in our elections so we can prepare for it in the future, so we can make sure that our Intelligence Services are doing what they need to collect information to prevent it from happening in the future everyone should agree on that, one would think. Amen, brother. Thank you, dude. I appreciate your time. Good to see you. Somehow framing it in 80s terminology, i understand it. So easy. Thank you, congressman. The dude abides. Thats how Robert Mueller should respond to the request to testify. The dude abides fired fbi director james comey said he has no doubt when it comes to President Trump and obstruction of justice. You will hear from him next. Morning. What are you doing . Isnt it obvious . Nah. Were delivering live market coverage and offering expert analysis completely free. Were helping you make sense of the markets without cable or a subscription from anywhere you are. I get that. But what are you doing here . Nice pajamas. Really . I say pajamas. Pajamas, pajamas, whichever. Good. Yahoo finance live. Stream free anywhere. Welcome to the show. Lets make finance make sense. Rheumatoid arthritis or Psoriatic Arthritis. When considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis or active Psoriatic Arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. It can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened. As have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, low blood cell counts, higher liver tests and cholesterol levels. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. Your doctor should perform blood tests before and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if youve been somewhere fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Dont let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. Dont let another morning go by without ahmm. Exactly. Ctor and doug. Liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. Nice. But, uh. Whats up with your. Partner . Oh. Well, we just spend all day telling everyone how we customize car insurance, because no two people are alike, so. Limu gets a little confused when he sees another bird that looks exactly like him. [ loud crash ] yeah. Hell figure it out. Only pay for what you need. Liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty you wouldnt accept an incomplete job from any one else. Why accept it from your allergy pills . Flonase sensimist relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. And all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. Flonase sensimist. Former fbi director james comey speaking out in an exclusive cnn town hall two years after being fired by President Trump. Comey is now weighing in on whether he thinks mr. Trump obstructed justice. In your opinion there was corrupt intent at least in several of the episodes . Sure looks that way from the reports factual recitation. Now its up to 800 former federal prosecutors who worked in both republican and democratic administrations who signed a statement saying muellers findings would have produced obstruction charges against President Trump if he werent president. Do you agree . I agree. No doubt . No doubt. Joining us now is josh campbell, former fbi special agent and Law Enforcement analyst. He worked with both Robert Mueller and james comey. You are the perfect guest for us this morning. What did you hear last night in james comeys tone and in the substance of what he said . What was most interesting is what hes been saying all along has been validated by Robert Muellers investigation. You have to focus on the fact that this is one person we have heard who was on the receiving end of the alleged obstructive behavior. Now hes telling his story. He told in his book and described that the president directed him to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn, for example. We all know when that didnt happen the president terminated the person who was investigating him. The one main takeaway is hes been ahead of the curve all along. Now we have people now coming to his agreeing with what hes been saying to include over 800 federal prosecutors as we have been reporting what i heard is two things. The analytical, impressionistic. The analytical, you have an accomplished lawyer telling us he believes there was obstruction. He wasnt directly talking about where he was fired. He was talking about the mcgahn episodes the stuff in the Mueller Report. James comey sees clear obstruction, vital signs of the crime. Then there was the impressionistic. It was where he was critical of the character of some of the people now in the public spotlight, one of whom is Rod Rosenstein who just stepped down as the Deputy Attorney general yesterday. I want to play what he said. I think people like Rod Rosenstein who are people of accomplishment but not real sterling characters, strong characters find themselves trapped. They make little compromises to stay on the team, echo his words. Use the term spying. Talk about collusion or just be silent thinking thats what i need to do to survive. In the process, hes eaten their soul. Not strong character. Thats harsh. It is harsh. Coming from someone who worked with these people obviously there is no love lost between the Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein and james comey. Rod rosenstein was instrumental in what appears to be a pretekt to his firing writing a memo about the Hillary Clinton investigation. What was interesting and we have heard this before is that prior to jim comey being fired and Rod Rosenstein playing the role, you go back in time to when he invited jim comey to speak to a group of his attorneys to talk about leadership. He heralded comey as a great leader who made tough decisions in the case and is now playing a role in the firing. If youre jim comey, it has to sting a little bit. Hes surveying the landscape. This is someone i know having worked for him thats moored to his values and orbits any situation trying to determine the most ethical thing to do in this situation. When he looks across the landscape and sees people who stick their finger in the wind and make a decision in their best interest personally, it has to grate on him. That leads us to attorney general bill barr and how some people now see him as not so much of a straight shoort and a nakedly partisan person which apparently caught people by surprise. Here is james comey on bill barr. I think he acted in a way thats less than honorable in the way he described it in writing and during a press conference and continues to talk as if hes the president s lawyer. Thats not the attorney generals job. Doesnt make me happy to say it, but he lost most of his reputation with the way hes conducted himself there is that manner of speaking again. Not materialing character, less than not honorable. There have been critics. Many, many experts. Folks have been watching his behavior. If you remember, jim comey came out of the gate giving barr the benefit of the doubt. Wait, pump the brakes. This is someone who served our country for decades. Lets wait and see. For him now to look at the behavior and make the assessment that he thinks is less than honorable. Hes not a partisan coming out of the gate saying i was against him all along. Now the attorney general has let us all down and is serving as the president s lawyer, defense counsel. It grates on someone who used to be in a position where you are independent, apolitical, not on the president s side can we play one more exchange . You need to explain it to us. When james comey suggests or doesnt rule out that the russians have something on President Trump. Listen. Do you think the russians have leverage over President Trump . I dont know the answer to that. Do you think its possible . Yes. He chooses his words so carefully. Hes trying to send a message. He could have said, look, i didnt see any evidence of it which is a very different answer than, yes, its possible. I agree its a different answer. He was asked the question what do you believe . If you were him and he described it before. This pattern of behavior he was briefing the trump team on the russian threat. Their main focus wasnt on impacting the country. These are his words. That raised eyebrows. Fast forward to the president trying to drop an investigation into Michael Flynn as it related to his connections to the russians and the president firing him. I dont know how you stare at those facts and dont have the question in your mind. Is the president operating with some type of corrupt intent or malfeasance as it relates to his relationship with russia. He said its possible. Josh campbell, thank you very much for giving us the insight this morning. New this morning, facebook is slamming its cofounder after he called for regulators to break up the social media giant. A New York Times oped, chris hughes says Mark Zuckerberg has unchecked power and facebook is now a powerful monopoly. Brian fung live with the latest on this. A little intramural battle absolutely. This is an extraordinary statement targeting one of facebooks key members, key cofounders here. Lets take a look at what the facebook statement said. Facebook said it accepts with success comes accountability. You dont enforce accountability by calling for the breakup of a successful american company. Accountability of Tech Companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet. This is obviously on the heels of an oped that takes aim at facebook for being a monopoly, certainly arguing that facebook has become so powerful now that its been able to crowd out other competitors and should be broken up. Chris hughes, the former cofounder of facebook, you know, has clearly thought a lot about his role in the company and what it has led to. He clearly feels a little bit of guilt about it given, you know, how much money hes made with his 2 stake in the company. Hes divested from facebook and no longer is invested in any social companies. Yesterday he was on nbc talking a little bit about how facebook has sacrificed principles in favor of a growth objective. Lets look at what he said. Im angry at mark and a lot of facebooks leadership for taking something that held so much promise and could have been so amazing and sacrificing quality, security, stability for clicks. So this comes at a very sensitive time for facebook obviously. We are awaiting a multi billion dollar potential fine from the federal trade commission as facebook wraps its investigation with that agency about its privacy practices brian fung, thank you very much. Chris hughes, you heard him just there. He joins kate bolduan on cnn. That will be interesting to hear him speak. The College Student killed last week. More about this special young man. Music [ watch me walk by Spencer Ludwig ] cant take no class about this im on my way im on my way like this hey to start your investment plan, find an advisor at massmutual. Com sfx [ mnemonic ] our new, hot, fresh breakfast will get you the readiest. buzzer sound holiday inn express. Be the readiest. Hi sweetie. I just want to let you know. Forget the cards and the flowers, all i really want is a daughterinlaw. Or a bracelet. Hmm. Get engaged this mothers day or get mom a bracelet. Jared. State of the Art Technology makes it brilliant. The visionary lexus nx. Lease the 2019 nx 300 for 359 a month for 36 months. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. Is your floors best friend. Only roomba uses 2 multisurface rubber brushes to grab and remove pet hair. And the roomba filter captures 99 of dog and cat allergens. If its not from irobot, its not a roomba. My dream car. It turns out, they want me to start next month. She can stay with you to finish her senior year. Things will be tight but, we can make this work. Now. Grandpa, what about your dream car . This is my dream now. Principal we can help you plan for that. Heres the story of Green MountainCoffee Roasters costa rica paraiso. Meet sergio. And his daughter, maria. Sergios coffee tastes spectacular. Because costa rica is spectacular. So we support farmers who use natural compost. To help keep the soil healthy. And the coffee delicious. For future generations. All for a smoother tasting cup. Green mountain Coffee Roasters. From now on, when the sun shines warm and gently on my face, i will know that its you holding me in spirit just as you did in our life. Thats the girlfriend of riley howell, the College Student killed as he stopped the gunman who opened fire at the university of North Carolina last week. Lauren westmoreland joins us now along with her brother matthew who was also close to riley. Guys, thank you so much for being here. We can only imagine how painful a week that you have had since riley was killed. Lauren, the more we hear about him, the more we know how special riley was. You guys were together for five and a half years. You were talking about someday getting married. So just tell us about this guy that you loved and knew so well. Well, i dont know. People ask me that question, what was your favorite thing about him. What was your, you know, best story that you had with him. I just think there were too many for me to ever count. Its just a lot of things that now, you know, im thinking about a lot of these memories weve had. Its been really helpful to get me through this a little bit day by day. He was just one of the most he was the most wonderful person i have ever met. I think about that every day how accepting he was of me and everybody that i made him meet. You know, all my friends. All of my family members and his family members were so wonderful to me. They still are. I can see definitely meeting them where he got his personality from and kind of just like who he was as a person. He was just the most genuine and amazing person i ever knew. Or will ever know matthew, when you met riley for the first time through your sister lauren, is it true that he picked you up . Im sure it happened the first time. It definitely happened every time since then whenever i would come home from school thats quite an icebreaker, lifting up the not small brother of your girlfriend. Im substantially bigger than he is. He would lift me off my feet. He was always excited he was a physically confident person. So, lauren, when you heard that it was he who rushed the gunman as the gunman opened fire, did that surprise you . No. It was something that i was trying not to think about until i knew for sure. It was a lot of sitting there waiting, wondering, hoping that he wasnt scared or anything like that when it happened. Its just like as soon as his parents told me thats what happened, i thought, of course, of course thats what happened. I heard apparently that the shooter, i guess, thought he had internal injuries and riley has tackled me before. I can definitely assure you that was most likely true. He just i dont know. I knew he would do Something Like that to save or protect other people. You know, with us it was always playful. This time it was something he did to ensure that other people would be safe. I knew that would happen. Matthew, your thoughts on that . I just feel the same way. Again, i was trying not to think about that. I didnt want that to be the case. I knew if he was in the same room, i knew what he would do. It played out exactly the same way in my head. Mmhmm. I know you all have been obviously dealing with your own deep grief this week. Are you aware that this has happened again . Are you aware that in colorado this time another student, a senior in high school had to tackle and take down a gunman who opened fire in his classroom and lost his life in the process . Painfully aware, yeah. Not only that, but almost a week to the hour from when it happened to riley. Mmhmm. Yeah. Its difficult. We know what they are going through. We definitely understand. Lauren, i guess im just wondering if from where you sit, is this our new normal where there are so many guns in the hands of unhinged people that its going to take very special people like riley, like kendrick castillo, thats what we are going to rely on our classmates to lose their lives and take down these gunmen . All i can say is that i hope and i just it shouldnt be. It shouldnt be the fact that, you know, im sitting here thinking that maybe what riley did is what people are going to have to start doing. I dont like to think about the fact that someone else had to do the same thing. At the same time its like heroic, but we still needed him here. That kind of thing. There never should have been a scenario in which they had to lay down their lives, especially not ones so young who still had their whole life to live. This should be something thats taken care of before it ever comes to Something Like this. I dont ever want to have anyone else deal with what i did when i walked out of my last exam and i had to look at all these texts, phone calls, asking me if riley was okay, if i had heard from him. There was a shooting at charlotte, you know, have you heard from him, and im sure it was the same thing for Kendrick Castillos parents that day and im sure that it was just as horrifying a realization and night or day that they had to go through and no one should ever have to go through that ever. No. How do you two move forward from this . Well, were both of our families, ours and the westmorelands and the howells, we are putting together a foundation, we have it organized, the riley howell foundation. Org. Its all we can do right now is take action to help families who are going through this. So now only a week later there is another family that needs help and not every family gets the Media Attention and eventually that does die down when all the cameras go away and the news has left town they are just left with silence in their house and we want to be there for them when that happens because thats all we can do right now. We want people to feel like they can actually do something. This is their way they can do that. And its kind of yeah. Sorry. Understood. I should let people know the rileyhowellfoundation benefits victims of gun violence so they dont feel alone in their moment of grief like you are experiencing right now. That is generous of you guys to be thinking of other people already and knowing that this is going to happen again. Lauren and matthew westmoreland, thank you for talking with us this morning and we are so sorry. Thank you for having us. Thank you. One more time, here is a picture of this american hero, its riley howell. And we will be right back. Discover. Hi, whats this Social Security alert . Its a free alert if we find your Social Security number on the dark web. Good, cuz im a little worried about my information getting out. Whys that . [bird speaking] my social is 8 7 5 dash okay, i see. [bird laughing] somebody thinks its hilarious. Free Social Security alerts from discover. But one blows them all out of the water. Hydro boost from neutrogena®. With hyaluronic acid to plump skin cells so it bounces back. Neutrogena® and your mother told me all her life that i should fix it. Now it reminds me of her. Im just glad i never fixed it. Listen, you dont need to go anywhere dad. Meet christine, shes going to help you around the house. The best home to be in is your own. From personal care and memory care, to help around the house, home instead offers personalized Inhome Services for your loved ones. Home instead senior care. To us, its personal. Home instead senior care. Youwhen you barely the clip a passing car. Minor accident no big deal, right . Wrong. Your Insurance Company is gonna raise your rate after the other car got a scratch so small you coulda fixed it with a pen. Maybe you should take that pen and use it to sign up with a different Insurance Company. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise their rates because of their first accident. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Plants capture co2. What if other kinds of plants captured it too . If these industrial plants had technology that captured carbon like trees we could help lower emissions. Carbon capture is Important Technology and experts agree. Thats why were working on ways to improve it. So plants. Can be a little more. Like plants. The matters. Ar. Introducing the allnew 2019 ford ranger, its the right gear. With a terrain Management System for. This. A bash plate for. That. An electronic locking Rear Differential for. Yeah. This. Heading to the supermarket . Get any truck. Heading out here . Get the ford ranger. The only adventure gear built ford tough. The police force in freeport, texas, has gone beyond the call of duty to make a little girls dying wish come true. Ed lesson dara introduces us to abigail arias. The tattoo im getting is the Freeport Police department badge. Get it on straight. Ramel arias wants to always carry the shield of his hero, a freeport, texas, Police Officer, badge 378, an officer on the mission fighting officers. What is your number . 758. I wanted to put that 758 because baus they are actual badge number and her writing. The ink honors his niece, officer abigail arias. The newest sixyearold boot strutting, cowboy Wearing Police officer. I promise. I promise. To protect. To protect. In february abigail was sworn in as a Police Officer by the chief. It was her dream. You couldnt have picked a better role model to put on that uniform and represent Law Enforcement in general first responders. Does the Police Uniform help you fight the bad guys . Yes, sir. It keeps me brave. When she wears it, she wears it with pride, she wears it with dignity, she respects it the way we should respect it. On top of that, shes fighting something that you and i are not fighting. Reporter the dream is actually a dying wish. Abigail is battling a rare cancer that has spread through her body. Im just blessed that we were the chosen ones to be able to do her lifelong dream of wanting to be a Police Officer. Reporter . Her cancer is terminal, it rises in the kidney and it is terminal. It is common in kids. Shes fighting for her life. So my bad guy got into my lungs. Her cancers are called the bad guys. If you ask her she will tell you that the bad guys are still in there. Oh, my goodness. What did you do with those . I arrest people. Reporter ryan is the owner of prison break tattoos, he calls it a safe haven for first responders. He has seen it all here, but this work of art left him in tears. Never in my six years have i had someone come in to memorialize a child thats still here with us. Something is giving her strength. Now that i got your badge im always going to be fighting the bad guys with you. Were going to beat them bad guys, baby. Yeah. You know i love you, right . You are the strongest toughest little kid i have ever known. We have to pray that she beats this. She has work to do here. I know he wants her up there, but were going to be a little selfish today. We need her here. Lord, here we are in in special place with this special little angel. Its like a shield for me, too, man. To be able to know that im doing this for her and that i have a piece of her for the rest of my life. Its a permanent badge of honor. Where do we go next, daddy . Cnn, houston, texas. Gosh, that is a beautiful, beautiful story. Okay. New day continues right now. The u. S. Tariffs have kicked in. China will now have no choice but to retaliate. Im representing the u. S. A. And were not going to be taken advantage of anymore. Nobody is going to get off lightly. At the end of the day the consumer in the u. S. Is going to feel most of the brunt of it jung the evidence is there to prosecute. Sure looks like its there. Comey has been tarnished and discredited. We have to take his word and his way here seriously. Hes not out of line. My son was totally exonerated by mueller. If donald trump jr. Defies this subpoena, he ought to be jailed. If i were his lawyer i would be reluctant to put him back in this circus. Announcer this is new day with Alisyn Camerota and john berman