Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Americas News HQ 20170722

Do. A special edition of americas news headquarters. Elizabeth. Nice to be with you as well. Im Elizabeth Prann in washington. There are other headlines. A shakeup at the white house, well look at the Incoming White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci. Plus, as Congress Stalls on repealing and replacing obamacare, can they find a way to pass any major legislation before facing constituents back home during the august recess . Thats all ahead on americas news headquarters. Now, the u. S. S. Gerald ford, 13 billion dollars and 1092 feet. We did the math for you, thats 113 million a foot. The navy calls it the futur car launch more aircraft in the same amount of time. Its entire flight deck the length of three football fields. President trump on hand for the commissioning ceremony. Here is the president just a few minutes ago. For the rest of your lives, youll be able to tell your friends and family that you served on the greatest ship in the United States navy and, in my opinion, on the greatest ship anywhere in the world. American steel and american hands have constructed a 100,000 ton message to the world. America might is second to none. Wherever this vessel cuts through the horizon, our allies will rest easy and our enemies will shake with fear because everyone will know that america is coming and america is coming stro strong. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was at the commission on the dias. And gerald ford hailed from michigan, playing for the wolverines before entering the navy. Governor, thanks for being here. At some level, wow, this is just cool. Its incredible as an american. And especially proud as a michig michigander. Gerald ford was a prototype michigander. Integrity. Gerald ford was the personification of integrity. You couldnt find a better model. And representing gerald ford as the 38th president of the United States. You talk about integrity and everything weve learned about gerald ford over the past 40 or so years since his presidency has been that, a message of integrity. Can we learn anything about that in Politics Today . The bipartisanship he brought, the sort of the country above man principle . Absolutely, i mean, we need more civility in politics, and i think we should be looking to gerald ford as that role model. He did it for years as a congressman from grand rapids. Everyone respected him in congress. He was in the minority, he worked through issues, he got things done still. During his eulogy, tom brokaw described him as a perfect metaphor as a center, the position he played in football, no play in politics could start without his hand on the ball and now were seeing and hearing the spin of marine one taking the president back, and support staff. Well speak louder after that and you can see that behind us. The president came here to end made in america work, you see the made in the usa banner. And youve got to see that the president thinks that a Strong Economy is linked. And how does that play in michigan . Were a state that makes things. Were the greatest manufacturing state in the nation. You have to figure out, jerry mccauliffe. He was about virginia being the greatest manufacturing state. And if you need a car come to michigan. We have more cars than ships. One i think this that President Trumps advisors will really talk about is how he has changed the Business Community and business regulations in the past six months or so in office. How is that affecting things in michigan . Well, michigan was on the comeback anyway, we see a continuation of that. What would i say is weve got a Bright Future in our country. I think we need more dialog on other issues though, we need to be talking about how do we help people get the skills that they need. We have many openings in michigan, and we have many people looking for spots still. Lets make that connection. The Skilled Trades and all of these wonderful fields out there. My coanchor Elizabeth Prann spent a weekend in detroit and highlighted some of the Success Stories in detroit. What is the work in michigan as you talk to other governors, what do you say works to help them do in their state what youve done in michigan. We did the basics. We reformed our tax system and regulatory system and got people to Work Together. Michigan is the comeback state. Weve gone from a bottom 50 out of 50 state to a top ten state, mopping the fastest growth of personal income in the country and its the basics. People working together and recognizing when they we do things together. Ive got to ask you about politics, especially in michigan, the state that donald trump flipped from barack obama, a long time blue firewall state. Has michigan permanently changed . What are your constituents counting on from the president . Yeah, well, you look at it and you look at the background, michigans always been a state that can go either direction. Its been through a governor and president. You look at the background there. Were a state where if you win all republicans, you dont win, if you win all democrats, you dont win. You have to get people in the center to support you. And he was able to do that. Well, and i know thats something that youre focusing on. The osprey taking off. The marine one lifting off. Governor, appreciate you being here and congratulations to tribute to a great michiganders. And we should have more jerry fords coming in our future. And liz, you did get the feeling that the white house was viewing this as a reset from a very rough week, you saw what happened in the shakeup yesterday. And now, the white house is sort of looking to this. There is no greater president ial image than landing marine one on an Aircraft Carrier. Boy, thats the truth and you know, as we look ahead, theres big changes in the White House Communications team, part of that reset. Sean spicer will be leaving the administration, when Anthony Scaramucci takes the reins next month. And Garrett Kenny jones us on the heels of a breaking news day yesterday, really, a breaking news week. Every week it seems in the current administration. Its no secret, the president had issues with the Communications Team going back to the inauguration and as press secretary, sean spicer has been the face of much of that displeasure. Anthony scaramucci was heavily involved in communications and a pierce defender of the president. He has a reputation as a fighter, which is something were told the president wants. There was a lot of pushback on the decision by several white house staff, Reince Priebus and Previous Press secretary sean spicer. Once it was made he decided to step down and he explained why on hannity. Did you feel pushed out or this was totally your decision . The president obviously wanted to add to the team more than anything. I think it was in the best interest of our communications department, of our press organization, to not have too many cooks in the kitchen. Scaramucci, a former Hedge Fund Manager comes in with almost no background in corporate communications, but he was very comfortable taking questions during his First White House briefing yesterday, even when he was asked about previously criticizing the president in 2015, calling him a hack politician. And brings it up every 15 seconds, okay . One of the biggest mistakes that i made, because i was an unexperienced person in the world of politics, i was quoting another candidate, i should have never said that. Mr. President , i apologize for the 50th time for saying that. And press secretary will be Sarah Huckabee sanders and we may see a lot more of her. At yesterdays interview, he this may bring back the Daily Briefing on camera. Well have a lot more reports in the future. Thank you, appreciate it. For more insight, lets bring in jessie burns, associate editor with the hill. What is your biggest take away. Were focusing so much on the White House Communications team shakeup. There were a lot of others. The big take away, the white house is trying to retool its operations. Theyve been without a Communications Director since mike dempsey left in may. This is an opportunity for sean spicer said, for them to retool operations, the ongoing russia probes and the special one led by robert mueller. Theyre escalating and now that theyre involving Jared Kushner and donald trump, jr. , its more personal for the president and having an ally in the fold would be seen as beneficial for him. I do want to talk more about that, but before i do, you said this is an opportunity for a clean slate. That being said, there was a lot of focus on the president s interview with the New York Times. And what was said about his attorney general. Is this an opportunity to start anew . When thats not probably going to go anywhere especially now we have the Washington Post report there could be new information from the conversations that attorney general Jeff Sessions had during the campaign. Yeah, theres going to be a lot of scrutiny on that, you know, the democrats have already been calling for sessions to come back to the senate and testify. That would be the third time, if he did, that he would have to answer questions on his contacts with the russians, which he initially didnt disclose. He said it was only in his capacity as an alabama senator. I think theres going to be continued pressure on him Going Forward and the fact that, you know, trump, it would be very difficult, of course, for him and thats what republicans are going to be saying for him to have a different attorney general to go through senate confirmation, so, when hes in a difficult position right now, where hes publicly airing grievances hes had, apparently for months over sessions and the probe. And its nearly impossible for him at this point to try to nominate someone else. Were you surprised ive asked this of a couple of folks covering the white house, were you surprised when you saw the report, focus on the Health Care Law and all of a sudden, it felt like it came out of nowhere. Absolutely, the russia story had kind of fallen into the back light for a number of days and trump himself brought it to the forefront by talking how he was angered or frustrated with his attorney general for recusing himself and i think, that kind ofs readout of that, he doesnt like people to kind of signal any kind of weakness and in his view, maybe thats kind of what happened with sessions saying that he those contacts he had with the russia precluded him from having any kind of overseeing role with that probe. I want to move forward. There are certainly so many things were going to be covering this week. When it comes to the administration and comes to russia, we are going to be hopefully earning will more details, because we know Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort will be testifying. Maybe its going to be a private meeting, if im not mistaken, its on wednesday where theyre giving a number of pieces of evidence, such as documents and perhaps emails will be included in that. Are we going to be hearing from those two publicly this week . We dont have any indication that that is going to happen. The Senate Judiciary committee had pushed, they have a public area on wednesday and pushed for trump, jr. And Paul Manafort, to appear before the committee in an open setting. They reached a deal, we understand, to avoid the public hearing and instead a set of interviews and provide documents to the panel and Jared Kushner is preparing for the House Committee on tuesday and before that the day before the Senate Intelligence committee. Its getting more personal for trump now that its involving his soninlaw and involving his eldest son. Absolutely, well be standing by because regardless whether or not its going to be public or private, we personal learned bits and pieces of information. We hope to have you back, we appreciate it. Leland. Thank you. Back here in norfolk, the u. S. S. Gerald r. Ford is the new pride of virginia, built here by 9,000 ship builders. Joining us now is the governor of that state, governor, youre there on the u. S. S. Ford and im on the u. S. S. Eisenhower. I suppose this is the first Aircraft Carrier to Aircraft Carrier interview youve done . I like it. It was great to see the enthusiasm you had and i was struck by the bipartisan message that you had for President Trump from the stage a few minutes ago in the sense that rebuilding americas military no matter who you talked to is a necessary thing to do. Could be the bipartisan issue, right . Thats right. I mean, here i sit on the new u. S. S. Gerald ford, which literally today was commissioned, there are four Aircraft Carriers, we have four Aircraft Carriers right here in virginia. This is who the United States of america is. The strength, the greatest democracy on earth and this is now the most sophisticated ship ever built and im just proud as governor that 9,000 virginians got this ship to the point where it is today. This is a great day for america, great day for virginia, but it is bipartisan today. I sat with the president and talked with the president and when it comes to the issues of defense and military, you know, we see eye to eye on this issue and were got to have continually the greatest military on earth and continue to invest in our navy. Doing that isnt cheap. The gerald ford, 12. 9 billion dollars, two more Aircraft Carriers, from the exact same design, are now on order. Big part of President Trumps agenda and so far the things hes enacted, is reducing regulations, trying to increase the ability of businesses to get things done. Is that also something businessfriendly regulation that republicans and democrats, especially in a state like virginia can come together on or something you can talk to the president about . Clearly, being able to deliver the massive ships, i would if you buy three or four at a time, you will literally save billions of dollars. So, i think on our defense procurement, we need to be smart. I was just at the commissioner of the john warner Nuclear Submarine marine. Theyve bought ten nuclear subs, basically we got one for free. This is how we need to do it, weve got to get people to work in this country. I preside over a state. It was 5. 4 unemployment when i took office, and bipartisan, i told the president work with the infrastructure. Work with you on tax reform and i told the president privately here today, please call me up, i want to work with you on health care. The governors run these programs, we can Work Together and he said he wanted everybody covered, cheaper and better results. Thats what we want as well as governors. And i told the president , let us in, we want to work with you on this. At the risk of founding cliche, this ship is named after gerald ford seen as one of the great bipartisans, and a man who so many times, at a crucial time, really put country above self. Why does that seem to be missing so much in politics, whether it be from the democratic side or from the republican side . Yeah, well, i agree. At the federal level in washington, it has just broken down. We have in the states are not getting the tools that we need to compete on global basis. Im a democratic governor and we have a Republican Legislature it looks like we lost the shot from the u. S. S. Gerald ford. Seems it happens and seems we have the governor back. Governor, can you hear me . Yep. I hear you great. You were making a very good point. I love when all of a sudden Technology Works again. Were you making the point though at the federal level things are broken down. As ive heard you talk both on the dias earlier and now, sounds like a man who might come to try to fix things in washington. When you talked to the president did you say watch out for 2020, if im not coming for you, somebody else did . No, we did not have that discussion. First of all, i was trying to work the president to invest more money in defense here, more Aircraft Carriers, im not a fool. So i was trying to get more investment here, but here, i have a Republican Legislature in virginia, im aic democratic governor. We work on education initiative. Voters and citizens want us to Work Together. Theyre tired of the bickering. Whats happening with redistricting, these lines of so je jeri gerrymandered, start working with your constituents to compete on a global basis. The gerrymander issue is one in virginia. And i spoke with you on the floor. Dnc, you were a gentleman then and we appreciate you taking the time, sir. Great to be with you. Spend some money in virginia. All right. Dont worry, sir, well talk to you soon. Weve all got to eat here, chickfila coming up for the crew. We have much more for the naval station before we go to chi chickfil chickfila. Well talk to a former navy seal now on Homeland Security committee and he is, of course, proud of all the men and women who are going to serve on the u. S. S. Ford, including the hospital corpsmen, take a list be. I think were building a legacy for ourselves and making a name for gerald r. Ford, sailors that are relentless, tireless, willing to help at any given call. I know for me, being on a previous ship, this crew is some of the best. Topnotch sailors and ready for the world to see it. And later, we saw the president depart just a couple of minutes ago. We head back to a big week coming up in washington as donald trump, jr. And former Donald Trump Campaign manager Paul Manafort prepare to testify to congress behind closed doors on the russia investigation. Well also have fallout from the Controversial Police shooting of an unarmed australian yoga teacher in minneapolis. Now, protesters are demanding answers from the mayor. With the nation we doesnt want you as our mayor of minneapolis anymore. We ask you that you take your staff with you. We dont want you to appoint anybody anymore. Boost. Its about moving forward, not back. Its looking up, not down. Its being in motion. In body, in spirit, in the now. Boost® high protein its intelligent nutrition with 15 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. For when you need a little extra. Boost® the number one high protein complete nutritional drink. Be up for it President Trump tweeting out a message to senate republicans, hoping to get them fall in line with health care. Obamacare is dead and democrats are obstructionist, no idea, their votes obstruction, its solely up to the 52 republican senators. Theyre expected to vote on tuesday. Its unclear if theyre voting on a clean repeal of obamacare or replacement as well. Whatever passes in the senate will go back to the house, so, for more insight on the health care debate, we have florida congressman francis rooney. Thank you for joining us, i appreciate it. Thank you for having me on. Elizabeth i know you dont have a crystal ball and youre not in the senate. Any idea what well see, a clean repeal or repeal and replace . What i hope, an optimistic person in business, a repeal and replace. I think it would be difficult to face the American People without an answer to the disaster of obamacare. We have a good answer, and the senate to pass that. Elizabeth there was a press release out with senator Bernie Sanders yesterday and said that parts of this bill may violate the bird rule which means its going to need 60 votes to pass the senate and that could be an entirely bill. It wouldnt be a straight repeal if im not mistaken. Are you waiting to see if more details come out on that . Well, the house parliamentarian signed off on our bill and we know it will work and most of the senate bill mirror our bill and it drops some of the continuous coverage requirements, and scheme of tax Credit System for people on group plans and isolating high risks, plus, turning medicaid back to the states and started out, should be. Similar in both bills. Elizabeth when you look at everything going on. Is there just as much focus . I want to get to the budget, thats also a big topic of conversation. Were you surprised that the budget passed through committee this week . No, i wasnt. Because i tell you, diane black did a really good job with our conservative republican conference that makes up a lot of that budget committee. And it incrowses defense, it cuts everything else, and net 10 billion. Elizabeth we saw, obviously, some dissenters and there was some criticism. Theres two really, really big assumptions in that particular budget. The first is that the economy is going to grow 2. 6 , which its not necessarily as high as what the executive branch proposed, the Trump Administration, which i believe they assumed it would be up to 3 , but the cbo said that you shouldnt assume larger anything larger than 1. 9 growth. The first assumption, the second one, there werent going to be as heavily taxed folks because there would be a repeal of the Affordable Care act, obamacare. Those are two assumptions that lawmakers shouldnt be basing anything on, is that right . Well, but i think we have existential threat if we cant do those things. We have got to fix this obamacare disaster, and if they keep the taxes and do something productive with the money or cut the taxes, either way taxes have to be cut and simplified, regulations pulled back which we have been doing and we can get back to 3 range of growth. Our middle class wasnt built on 1. 9, 1 1 2 , euromyopia. Elizabeth it able has to go through the senate and the house as well. Optimistic . What is going on behind the scenes . Do you feel that republicans are enthusiastic it passed the committee. And if it gets enough votes to pass it im all for it. Elizabeth we heard that the white house is pleased with it. They had their skinny budget they were ng mra planning on, but there were some serious, we saw similarities between the two so well see what happens this week. Theres going to be a lot going on on the hill. Thank you, sir, we appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. Elizabeth coming up, we are going back to our former navy seal and congressman will be joining us. Well be talking about more obama repeal and replace with tax reform, is that going to be more difficult . We will have that story next. Pain isnt always fair. Im not going to let it change my life. Aleve is proven stronger on pain than tylenol 8 hour. And only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just 1 pill. This is my pain, but i am stronger. Aleve. All day strong. Its named after a tried and true member of the greatest generation and that spirit will permeate this ship so long as it sails on the seas, as well as the u. S. Navy spirit, of we have just begun to fight. And mr. President , youll send this ship in harms way and they will happily sail in harms way for you. Leland and with that, welcome back to norfolk. That was defense secretary james mattis earlier today talking about the u. S. S. Gerald ford and the brave sailors who will stand at the helm, often in harms way. Freshman congressman scott taylor knows a thing or two about harms way, a former navy seal, tours of duty in baghdad and ramadi. And represents this area in congress. Nice to see you. Good to be with you, leland. Leland it was shocking to say this this district were in as the highest percentage of active military and percentage of veterans in the country. And i expect the attitudes change with the president here . Youre standing on the Largest Naval base, newest advanced Aircraft Carrier there. We have a proud tradition, more military and veterans in the nation. And theyre happy for the administration to come in and put the strength back in the military, to do the proper spending to get our readiness on point and men and women fighting for us every day. Were very happy. Leland you talk about the spending in the military, this thing costs 13 billion, roughly 113 million a foot, horribly over budget. A number of other navy projects, a new destroyer, horrifically over budget and major problems once its put to sea. How much responsibility does congress have, yes, in appropriating the money, but making sure its money well spent . I think they have a lot of responsibility. Leland are they living up to this . For this project, theres a lot of Lessons Learned and to use taxpayer dollars efficiently and many confident weve learned a lot of lessons. Its a 12 carrier world and right now its the 11th one. We have to invest in our military. Congress should stand up and repeal sequestration, weve hurt our military readiness and deployments extended hurts our family and our training. But at the same time we have to get a handle on out of control costs and army will say 30 over infrastructure, to the tune of 500 million a year. You have to have the leadership and the courage to stand up and say, we have to get a handle on that and close things that you dont need. I think we owe the taxpayers that. Leland well be interesting i know youre a freshman congressman and youre on appropriations. It will be interesting to see what you come back with that need to be cut. As a man who spent a lot of time in combat. President trump tweeted this out this morning before flying down here. The failing New York Times foiled u. S. Attempt to kill the single most wanted terrorist, al baghdadi, the leader of isis. They are sick agenda over National Security. Thats the tweet and thises what the president was talking about, an interview with a u. S. General ahead of special Operations Command by our own katherine herridge. A treasure trove where she had been with baghdadi in raqqa, days, if not within days prior so that was a very good lead. Unfortunately it was leaked in a prominent newspaper a week later and that lead went dead. Thats the challenge that we have in terms of where and how our tactics and proceeds are discussed openly. Theres a great need to inform the American Public what were up to. Theres also a great need to recognize things that will undercut our ability to do our j job. Leland now, the New York Times has come back and said that up until now there had never been any pushback from the pentagon, never asked to hold the story and sometimes its done in National Security situations. The question is this for as. Anger as weve heard this president talk about leakers, where does the responsibility lie for the people who hold the information and leak or with the newspapers not to publish it . I think a little bit of both. No question about it the source of the leak first and foremost, youre talking about and seen it under the administration, criminal acts quite frankly, people maybe dont agree with the president s agenda, that does nothing to alleviate your responsibility to deal with classified information, that could put people in harms way and get people killed. Theres responsibility for the person to protect that information. At the same time, sure, theres a stewardship for the media to do the same to make sure theyre not hindering operations or putting lives at risk as well. Leland congressman, appreciate your time. Like i said, as the appropriation world continues on, you have more bills and come back and talk to issues you know that near and dear. Go navy. Leland it didnt work so well on the armynavy game. Well work on that. Leland a lot more on the commissioning of the latest u. S. S. Aircraft carrier, the u. S. S. Gerald ford and a look at the man the ship is named for. My dad was a very humble man and he was astounded and excited when he found out that this carrier was going to be named after him. It was not expected. A trip back to the dthe doctors office, mean just for a shot. But why go back there, when you can stay home. With Neulasta Onpro . Strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. 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The most awarded luxury suv of the century. This july visit your local volvo dealer to receive sommar savings of up to 4,500. This july visit your local volvo dealer are made with smarttrack®igners material to precisely move your teeth to your best smile. See how invisalign® treatment can shape your smile up to 50 faster today at invisalign. Com its just a burst pipe, i co laugh it. No. With claim rateguard your rates wont go up just because of a claim. I totally couldve no switching to allstate is worth it. Repealing and replacing obamacare has been President Trumps top priority since taking office. On twitter, the president doubling down on that promise this morning, saying in part, the republican senators must step up to the plate and after seven years vote to repeal and replace. Next, tax reform and infrastructure wins. If the Health Care Overhaul stalls in the senate, will that stall tax reform . House Speaker Paul Ryan says the Health Care Failure wont slow down fixing the tax code. Listen. We will do tax reform no matter what happens with respect to any other issue Like Health Care reform because we know we have to do tax reform. Its a once in Generation Opportunity and our tax reform bill is unaffected by the health care bill. Elizabeth boy, oh, boy, a lot going on. Lets bring in from the Bipartisan Policy Center and former Committee Staff director, you have no shortage of experience, more than three decades up in that beautiful building behind us. So, i do want to start with health care. And i just want your take because as of this moment, there are so many unknowns and the senate is it going to be the senate is going to be voting on a bill and we doesnt know what theyre voting on. Even lawmakers arent sure what theyre voting on. First of all, liz, they have to vote on something. They have to take up the house bill to start and they have a motion, what they call a motion to proceed. So the first major vote, do we even want to talk about reforming the Health Care System by voting to proceed to amend something. The first vote will be a motion to proceed. That will require 51 votes, that will be close. If they get on the bill, then there are a number of amendments that will be offered. First of all, probably an amendment to repeal and replace, if that fails clean repeal and replace. Thats not going to go. Thats probably going to have a difficult time. Then a motion, an amendment offered, probably by the leadership, with a cruz amendment, which is a slightly different approach and that probably wont pass. And then well get down to the about ill that the leadership has been working on for the last month or so and well see whether that has the votes at the end of the day. Its difficult votes, all of these are difficult, but i want to point out, should nothing pass, the majority leader has the ability to put procedurally to put the bill back on the calendar and used later in the senate as a reconciliation bill for tax reform, having forward. So theres a silver lining, what youre saying. If everything fails, Health Care Reform, this bill fails, theres still an opportunity for other opportunities for doing, say, tax reform. Elizabeth can republicans, the majority in both chambers, can they survive a failure . They have 20 hours to debate. 20 hours of debate, evenly divided between republicans and democrats, and even after the 20 hours are over with, they can continue to offer amendments and call it voterrama, they can offer, but they cant debate them. They could fail, and pass nothing. If they fail, i do think that theres a desire, a bipartisan desire, no surprise, coming from the Bipartisan Center theres still an opportunity to do some things to fix the individual market in the shortterm to stabilize those markets in the shortterm. And there seems to be some support for that should everything fail. Elizabeth right. I want to get because in the interest of time i do want to get to the budget because you sort of gave us a little bit after leeway there or a door opening where you talked about tax reform, but i want to get your take on the fact that the budget passed through committee so quickly, fairly seamlessly, but we may not see that when it goes to a full vote in the house. Right. Elizabeth you need 218 votes. Its a fractured g. O. P. , you have moderates and hawks, conservatives. House Freedom Caucus who says that this doesnt go far enough. And you have moderates as you say, it goes too far and conservatives who say it doesnt go far enough. Elizabeth not even talking about the democrats. Im a former Senate Staffer and leave it to the house how to pass it. I want to point out, even if they can pass it it comes to the senate. In the senate, here we go again, there are a number of hurdles. And were running out of time for the fiscal year beginning on october 1st. If were going to take any time out for the august recess in a couple of weeks and then come back in september not going to have a lot of time. I want to point out that i do think theres something thats going to force action on all of this and that is the statutory debt limit. We have to raise our statutory debt limit. Elizabeth dont you need democrats on that . Thats exactly where i with as headed. Youre going to have to have 60 votes to raise the statutory debt limit and thats something we cannot allow to happen. The country has never defaulted and that would be an opportunity then to bring some of the issues together. Elizabeth bill, i wish we had more time, but theres tons of moving parts and we hope to have you back. Theres a lot to digest, thanks, i appreciate it. Coming up on americas news headquarters, much more on the commissioning of the u. S. S. Gerald ford, including a look at the man the Aircraft Carrier is named for. When you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, the unpredictability of a flare may weigh on your mind. Thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. Thats how i thought it had to be. But then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control. When certain medications havent worked well enough. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening Heart Failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Raise your expectations and ask your gastroenterologist if humira may be right for you. With humira, control is possible. As we bind up the internal wounds of watergate, more painful and poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate. Leland that was president ford in his first president ial address back in august of 1974. As youll recall, president ford wasnt elected. He took over after president nixons resignation and before he died, president ford learned he would have a ship, this ship named after him, a tribute particularly meaningful to the former navy man, something his daughter talked about today. Hes the 10th president of the United States to have a carrier named after him. With that, lets bring in an expert on president ial history, the author of raising of a president , a man who also now president ford well, and hosted him for dinner a couple of times. Interviewed him in addition. Doug, appreciate you being here as always. So much has been made today about the greatness and welldeserved greatness of president fords legacy now judged, 30, 35 years later. How different was president ford of a man than the man who currently to hold the highest office in the land . Yeah, gerald ford, leland, was the antithesis of donald trump. A different approach to things. Gerald ford was a policy wonk. He got into the details. He was portrayed as a bumbling idiot by chevy chase, that was very inaccurate. He was a very smart guy. Donald trump is big picture, give me a bill, ill sign it. Gerald ford was deliberate in his decision making. Donald trump very spontaneous. Gerald ford was mellow, spoke a pipe in the oval office and listen to advisors. And donald trump is very chaotic and exciting and decisive. And saturday night live viciously went after both men and its kind of sad. Gerald ford was very kindly to chevy chase and chuckled about his portrayals, but after his death, chevy chase gave an interview in which he revealed how maliciously snl really went after him. Leland well, perhaps the current president and president ford would share their feelings about saturday night live over a cup of coffee at one point if theyd ever had one. And one i think that that struck me has always been with me, is what tom brokaw said about gerald ford, and in the eulogy that mr. Brocaw gave of the president , he talked about how thoroughly descend president ford was, his values from being raised in michigan, his time in congress, and then said this about the president once he became president. Once there, he stayed true to form, never believing that he was suddenly wiser and infallible because he drank his Morning Coffee from a cup with the president ial seal. Leland so, with that, doug, how was this man, known for being so thoroughly humbled, now view his name on the most advanced war ship in the world, as it cost 13 billion. I think hed be happy. Theres a little justice to life. Because he was a humble man, but a great man. He had to know that a little bit. He said, im a ford, not a lincoln, when he gave that first speech. One night he told me a story, very dramatic story of a woman named dorothy who married a man who was abusive and who was violent, and in a snowstorm when her baby was born, she rushed him out of the house and fled that man. He was very wealthy. But she remarried and she married a man who was kind and gentle and he raised that little boy and went to the courthouse and changed his name to Gerald Rudolph ford, jr. And i think of that story every time i hear the name gerald ford because she died before he became president. Leland doug, im going to end this and say thank you before the computer ends it for us. We appreciate your insight, sir thank you. Leland well have much more life from norfolk, virginia. The next hour of americas news headquarter. A look at what President Trump had to say at the ceremony. vo pro plan bright mind adult 7 promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. ray the difference has been incredible. She is much more aware. She wants to learn things. vo purina pro plan bright mind. Nutrition that performs. Music Edible Arrangements for summer. Order in store or online. Officers and crew of the United States Gerald R Ford, man our ship and bring her to life. [applause] the uss gerald ford named after our 38 president served proudly in the neighbor during world war ii. Donald trump presiding over the commissioning of the Worlds Largest and most expensive Aircraft Carrier in the world, the uss ford will be home to 4500 sailors and it is the most technologically advanced warship ever put to see. A live look from the uss eisenhower just across norfork. 100,000 tons. What one naval admiral told me, American Power soon to sail the 7 seas. Nice to be with you at home. The capital behind me, also coming up a big shakeup at the white house leads to s for the president s press office. We will take a closer look at it when coming White House Communications director Anthony Scaramucci. Congress stalls on repealing and replacing obamacare. Can they find a way to move forward on any of the president s agenda for the august recess . Americas news headquarters. We watched it unfold yesterday, staff shakeup in the white house which means big changes in the press Secretary Office as Anthony Scaramucci gets ready to join as Communications Director and Sarah Huckabee sanders takes over as press secretary. Reporter Anthony Scaramucci will be a familiar face, former Hedge Fund Manager and contributor on the fox network and heavily involved in communications during the transition at the time donald trump was interested in giving him a high profile position at the white house but he chose not to at the advice of his chief of staff, writes priebus but the president has not been happy with his Communications Team, and wanted to bring someone on board who has a reputation as a fighter. At yesterdays press briefing the new Communications Director laid out what he hopes will change Going Forward. There has been at times a difference between the what we see in the president and the way some of you see the president. And the way the American People see the president. We want to get that message out. To use a wall street expression there might be an arbitrage spread between how well we are doing and how well you think we are doing. We will close that spread. Reporter not everyone was on board with this decision. Writes priebus, Steve Bennett and sean spicer strongly objected. Last night spicer said once the decision was made he decided it would be best for him to resign. He wanted to bring some new folks in to wrap up the Communications Operation and after reflection my decision was to recommend to the president that i give anthony and sarah a clean slate to start from so that they can talk about the president s agenda and help move it forward and he, after some back and forth, understood the offer i was making was in the best interests of this administration. Sean spicer might be the first of several departures. That hasnt happened yet but sean spicer doesnt know what he plans to do next but looks forward to spending a lot of time with his family who havent seen much of for the past 7 months. Elizabeth for more insight we have White House Reporter catherine lucy. Thank you for joining us. I want to get your biggest take away from this week and starting with the shakeup in the communications office. Going forward we see changes, sean spicer is out, a new Communications Director, at the end of the day, the president is not the communicator in chief. Elizabeth who are you reporting to . Writes priebus . He direct to the president. That is how the president works. He is concerned about the messaging, how they are going to appear on television and media and he wants to directly message himself which has pros and cons. He likes to use twitter, he likes to speak to people directly but we will see, does that make a difference how to shape the message . One thing they struggle with his staying on message. Elizabeth quite a few times anthonys style, he was calm, it mirrored what we see with the president. Trying to be a little lighter and engage supporters. The president likes the way he has been performing on television. He is interested in having him join the team. Elizabeth we saw shakeup in the legal team and we had a long report from the New York Times that the president was critical of his own attorney general. What is your take away from both those stories . Did either of those story surprise you . The New York Times reporting in the president s interview, the president likes to push his own message and he shares how he is feeling on things so you want to learn how he is feeling so the frustrations over the News Coverage about russia, the frustrations with the attorney general are things he had been sharing privately so this is spilling out. Advising and a sp also. Will we be seeing that. There was a lot of shakeup in two major aspects, these were not all long fans. And just that these investigations are intensifying. We are looking at a week where we could learn a lot more. And some key players, and the president and folks being pulled into that investigation are concerned. The idea that more players will come into that. Elizabeth thank you for joining us. You covered a lot and a lot more every week. Leland life pictures with fox news alert, donald trump arriving at Dulles International airport, this is Baby Air Force one, not the usual air force one the president flies on the 747, but when the president is on it it is air force one. Waiting for the stairs to pull up. The president left an hour ago from norfork, the base for the commission of the uss gerald ford. Keep an eye on dulles, as the president gets off and see where he is headed with the white house pool. In norfork, a made in america banner that has been hung in the hangar bay at the president was inside the commissioning made in america week for the administration after a rough week in washington. This could reset the narrative, as the matter in chief, lending marine one on a new Aircraft Carrier. Kristen fisher across appear on the uss ford. The juxtapositions this morning, eights in the morning and is very president ial speech this afternoon. Is the white house happy with where they are . In terms of the president s speech they will be happy how he delivered the speech because he stayed on message and focused on two big things. This speech was all about the sailors that will man this ship and the nearly 9000 shipbuilders who made it and many of those were here in the room today. Second the speech was a salute to the ship itself and what it means to our navy and our country. I will have the president explain for himself. This ship is the deterrent that keeps us from having to fight in the first place but this ship also ensures that if a fight does come, it will always end the same way. We will win win win. We will never lose. We will win. Reporter as you mentioned, this was made in america week for the white house and what better way to end it then the commissioning of the largest and most sophisticated warship ever built, made entirely right here in virginia. Leland we heard about the 12. 9 billion ship, the shipbuilders, this is a bipartisan issue of bringing American Military back to what Donald Trump Campaign done. The president getting off air force one, you have to ask, think about this ship, the new catapult something is something the president criticized the cost of it and whether or not it would work. He talked about the f 35, they have one part on the flight deck, they couldnt fly it in, they had to get a crane to lift it onto the flight deck here. Criticism of the cost overruns of this ship. Where does the white house stand on that . How do they balance between rebuilding the military and the cost controls, ahead of schedule and under budget the president promised . Reporter donald trump does not like it when things go over budget and this Aircraft Carrier was trillions of dollars over budget and several years behind schedule. It is not a going to be deployed until 2021 so four years from now. In previous Interviews Trump has been critical of the catapult system, he said it was too expensive, too unreliable but today he didnt mention it though he did bring up a little bit of his disappointment in the fact that this ship was still behind schedule and over budget. We want the best equipment but we want it built ahead of schedule and we want it built under budget. This is the very least we can do for the patriots who have volunteered to give their sweat, their blood and, if they must, their very lives for our great nation. Reporter during the speech donald trump a lot of pressure on congress, urging them to pass the budget including a proposal to add an additional 54 billion in defense spending in next years budget. Now we need congress to do its job and pass the budget that provides for hire, stable and predictable funding levels for our military needs. Call that congressman and call that senator and make sure you get it. You can also call those senators to make sure you get healthcare. Reporter donald trump not missing an opportunity to push for Health Care Reform despite the senate bills demise earlier this week. The staff shakeup, people wondering what is active about that on twitter last night. He stayed on message and new Communications Director he is really going to like him. Leland they like it here. We talked about the catapult system, chief of Naval Operations in a little while, dont want to miss that. Elizabeth the president s own party failed to put together the solution. Not letting Congressional Democrats off, obamacare is dead and democrats are structuralists. It is solely up to the 52 republican senators. One democrat does have an idea. He says it could be time for singlepayer Health Care System and he joined me now. Nice to see you, thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me back on. Elizabeth there have been democratic voices who said they want to contribute, but quite a bit of republican infighting. I want your take on the possibility of a single payer Healthcare System. Is that something democrats could get behind . We would. The president in his book the america we deserve touted care for all and canada and australia in the past, that is something democrats would support. Democrats would support his call for prescription drugs reform allowing prescription drugs to be imported something he called for on the campaign trail. Elizabeth you can read the criticism yourself, criticism for a single payer Healthcare System i massive. This is going to be massive payroll tax hikes, this is going to be impossible for businesses. It is unsustainable, and illusory promise and if you look at countries, rationing and medicaid expansion, in countries you can look at the uk where prescriptions are not covered. Is that something we could sustain as a country and state of tried it but as a country the current costs of healthcare is 49 trillion over the next we 10 years in the estimates if you go to medicare for all would be 32 trillion. You have a 17 trillion saving and you would cut out a lot of excess, of insurance companies, hospitals that are ripping off americans with things like facilities, and medicare isnt able to negotiate that they were able to do so i it would be a cost savings, most importantly the biggest cost to entrepreneurs if you ask them it is not wages, it is healthcare. It is what makes us this is not competitive and often leads to outsourcing. If we want to bring manufacturing back, you shouldnt burden them with the cost of insurance. It could be probusiness. Donald trump used to think it was probusiness, that is why he touted it in his book before running. Elizabeth we can spend the whole hour talking about it but you have enough people who say it is almost impossible support but we heard your argument, the idea sounds appealing but you look at this, it might be almost impossible but i want to continue our conversation and talk about the budget. The budget was something republicans were concerned about this week, we sayyid passed out of committee. There were some democratic amendments, not something that was realistic. I want your take on the budget when it passed committee, i know you have serious criticisms about it. One of my biggest criticisms is if they didnt let stanford bring his amendment forward, he said he does not want a border adjustment tax which is part of the republican plan would have a 20 tax on every import, it would get tax on american consumers, 1. 2 billion tax and it was republican mark sanford who said lets have an amendment so we dont have the massive tax increase, the chair didnt let us vote on that. That is one of my biggest criticisms, we didnt even get to vote on that issue. Elizabeth the vehicle for tax reform, if you look at diane lack who is the chairwoman, this is something they said would never pass out of committee and you had an agreement from a fractured gop out of committee. Are you cortical thinking this is something that will not succeed . Obviously i want a budget to succeed but the process hasnt been a good one. They didnt let us vote on the border adjustment tax. There are cuts republicans have opposed. Tom cole spoke out and passed Committee Hearings about cuts on nih funding and the need to have nih funding and i was defending the appellation all regional commission, where rogers said president s budget cuts, no restoration so i we have to look at where are we going to invest in job training, apprenticeship. Elizabeth that is heading to the house floor. Thank you so much for joining us, really appreciate it. Leland when we come back to uss gerald ford over 1000 feet in length, new weapon systems, new catapults, new radars, 4500 crew members, we will talk to the Commanding Officer from inside the gerald ford when we come back. As we continue coverage a lot of other news of the day severe storms down under, new zealand coping with dangerous flooding and landslides. Back Home Millions in the midwest in the aftermath of high wind, flooding and scorching temperatures all across the northeast. The extreme Weather Center. We are tracking severe thunderstorms moving across the country, moving to the east coast. The heat is sticking with us, temperatures into triple digits. All the details on that coming up after the break. Diabetes can be a daily struggle, even if youre trying your best. Along with diet and exercise, oncedaily toujeo® may help you control your blood sugar. Get into a daily groove. Lets groove tonight. Share the spice of life. Baby, slice it right. From the makers of lantus®, were gonna groove tonight. Toujeo® provides blood sugarlowering activity for 24 hours and beyond, proven blood sugar control all day and all night, and significant a1c reduction. Toujeo® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. It contains 3 times as much insulin in 1 milliliter as standard insulin. Dont use toujeo® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar or if youre allergic to insulin. 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Dont let directv now limit your entertainment. Xfinity gives you more to stream to more screens. Leland it took years to build the gerald ford at 13 million. You see it done here in 15 seconds. The man who will take her to see, captain richard mccormick, joining us from inside the hangar bay of the uss gerald ford. What a proud moment for you and your men. Give us a sense what it was like as the president was there and they ordered the ship to life and you watched your sailors man the decks for the first time. To commission your ship in person, theres a lot of energy on board. Just to have the president here to do that, just to see that energy and spirit of the crew, not just today but the weeks and months and for some people the years, has been a combination of a lot of hard work. They have done a superb job getting it there. I was proud to see them do that. Leland a lot has been made of the new technologies, new catapults, new radar, new weapon systems. What does that mean . How does the ford differentiate itself from the eisenhower that im standing on or the Ronald Reagan that is on station right now or the George Hw Bush . We have a lot of Innovative Technology that provides a more expensive capability in the future. More opportunity to increase the envelope when launching off of an Aircraft Carrier. It is there to provide future capability, direct Energy Weapons with increase in terms of Power Generators and reduce the number the inefficiencies with manpower. The bottom line is it provides a new opportunity for the Summer Technology we have now and possibly in the future can provide national defense. Leland we were looking at testing of the elect a magnetic catapult, shooting sleds off of the front of the carrier. Next week already, she will be at the end you will start trying to land aircraft and take off as you would at war. What will you do before the first deployment we are entering a shakedown period. We are moving into the shakedown. Part of the shakedown period, testing advance launch capability, testing radar systems, which we had on board. The crew on board here is operators, testing and evaluating that equipment and provide feedback in Program Offices in terms of what they can do to make it better or things that meet specifications so we are here to shake it down for the next we 10 months. Following that we will go to availability that allows us to repair things that need to be repaired or install equipment that hasnt been installed yet and move into the next phase which is getting ready for deployment. Working up an air wing, testing a lot of equipment and get assistance to Systems Approach installed. That will lead us to a deployment in the future. Leland we wish you and your sailors godspeed. It makes sailors lives better, a lot of attested by the navy and we appreciate your time and all the best. Thank you very much. Leland fair wind. Elizabeth more on the u. S. Navy as it tests its newest 13 billion Aircraft Carrier and state of the art launch system. We will tell you more coming up. Will the staff shakeup change the way the white house gets its message out . A fair and balanced debate coming up. I have spent years taking overthecounter products for my belly pain and constipation. Ive had it up to here its been month after month of fiber. Weeks taking probiotics days and nights of laxatives, only to have my symptoms return. vo if youve had enough, tell your doctor what youve tried and how long youve been at it. Linzess works differently from laxatives. Linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. It can help relieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements that are easier to pass. Do not give linzess to children less than six, and it should not be given to children six to less than 18. It may harm them. Dont take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. 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I think the ship is headed in the right direction, the point is conservatives are frustrated obamacare is the law of the land almost in august and no tax reform package has been passed and here we are, balancing the budget. We want tangible wins and the communication strategy has been an impediment to that and this shakeup is an opportunity to press the reset button. It is hard for any Communications Team working with this president was i felt sorry for sean spicer. He says something, he didnt fire come email because of russia and the president goes on in bc and says i find coming back because of russia. The president is undermining his own staff. Elizabeth im reporting directly to the president. There might be a more cohesive unit now. I am going to say i agree the president needs to not undermine his own Communications Team but Anthony Scaramucci reports directly to the president , not having sean spicer reported Reince Priebus is a good thing. They seem to have similar personal dynamics. Spicer was a loyalist to rights priebus. Personalities were different. Spicer cant message for a guy he is not like and donald trump and Anthony Colucci Anthony Scaramucci are similar. New york billionaire guy talking about the cbi. These are in new york hedge funds people, they want a lot of money. Most donated to your party last year. There is one other topic i want to get to because there were a lot of headlines, donald trump in an interview with the New York Times, then a Washington Post report friday night of more information from Us Intelligence agencies, not confirmed by fox news, out of conversations the attorney general allegedly had. You can respond to those headlines, two big stories. For all the communication jokes, when the leading lawenforcement officer of the United States has committed perjury saying he had no communication with russia and not only does he have connections but they were talking about the campaign, that is scary stuff for our democracy. He will be investigated by bob mueller. Every day another scandal. Elizabeth he accused himself from that investigation. I will say with regard to the conversations, a sitting member of the United States senate, not the most unusual thing. We dont know what was said, dont jump to conclusions. That is what the Intelligence Report said. He did the right thing you need to learn from southern manners. You have a guy who recused himself. The president made a mistake going after him for recusing himself. Jeff sessions is an honorable guy who supported the president , did the right thing, he showed propriety in the office unlike his predecessor and that was the right the New York Times interviewed trump said i never would have hired sessions if i knew people would investigate me. That is like saying im guilty. It was a bad choice of words. He shouldnt have let sessions do what he did. It happened. Elizabeth thank you both, very interesting debate. Displacement 100,000 tons, the 6 ordinary ship elizabeth the Navy Commissions its newest and largest ship. We will go to norfork and take a closer look at the stateoftheart technology on board and look at this very special tribute. What are all these different topped loaded meals . Its an american favorite on top of an american favorite, alice. Its like rodeos on top of rollercoasters. Get your favorites on top of your favorites. Only at applebees. Get your favorites on top of your favorites. Its about moving forward, not back. T. 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You can see the crew testing it with us led weighing 80,000 pounds to simulate an aircraft. And coming weeks they will use real aircraft attested and this replaces steam catapults and is designed to be more efficient, needless maintenance and launch aircraft quicker. The navy so the smoother acceleration will cause less stress to their aircraft, extending the life there is an lunch heavier aircraft that have not been built yet. Despite its promise to benefit with the system that has been controversial, taking a long time to get controversial and gaining a famous critic in donald trump who said the navy should go back to, quote, steam which is how they launched aircraft since the beginning. I asked admiral john richardson, chief of Naval Operations about that. We took a tour of the hangar bay and talked about the need for the uss gerald ford in the world today. The world is a dangerous place, real world, what difference does this ship make for the navy to project power . When you were talking about something as huge as the uss Gerald R Ford and it straight crew and the air wing, that is a tremendous amount of United States sovereign power that is mobile to go around the world wherever we need it, adding a huge amount of our ability to defend america from attacks and protect our interests around the world. Reporter is it worth it . Is it going to work . Not a great track record, there were some problems. How do you prevent that here . It is going to pay off. When we get it done it will be something but the answer to your two questions are yes and yes. It is absolutely worth it. It will be worth everything we put into this ship. When you go to see and see what she can bring, she has a bit of a trial period left to go but in a couple years she will be ready to deploy and it will be absolutely fantastic. Reporter the president has questioned some of the new technology specifically the catapult saying will it work, is it worth the expense . He is going to be here today. What is your guarantee to him . It is working. We are going to lunch and recover aircraft off this ship next week so this is not a matter of prediction. This is a matter of fact. This technology is under control right now and it will launch and recover aircraft much faster than previous ships. Reporter you and i talked about this in the armynavy game, budget tightness the navy is facing. There has been a lot of Aircraft Carriers in norfork rather than projecting the sovereign power you talked about. How does that change . How does the navy get back to see . The world is a 12 carrier world. The Gerald R Ford makes 11 carriers right now. These ships are in and out of norfork all the time. We are deployed forward, that is where the navy does. When you add the ford into the mix you take the big demand signal out there, more stray groups to meet that demand and makes it better for the navy, sailors and the nation. Reporter what does it do for the navy as a whole to have a brandnew ship like this . Tell me what you are hearing about more our . Morale is good. Sailors understand the importance of their mission particularly those that are going into dangerous places, those sailors are locked down and proud to be doing what they are doing. Morel is very good. When they see things like the Gerald R Ford come online, they see it as a Huge Investment in the nation in what they do. A validation of their mission. A statement that will carry that mission into the future. The final Commanding Officer of the uss Gerald R Ford has not been born yet. That is how long this ship will be around serving our interests. Reporter that is a long time. What is the wish list for the navy Going Forward . We have done a number of studies and been pretty open about that. As the world gets more complicated and our interests grow, we need more navy to protect those interest. Reporter the president talked about that. 350 ships, not only the ships but a lot of new technology and capability to put on those ships. There is information in cyberspace that are part of the war fighting business right now. A very exciting time to be in the navy. The growing realization that investing in our defense is good for the country. Reporter last time we were together you predicted the navy would win the armynavy game. Are you more confident in these predictions today than you were in that one . Navy lost. Thought i would remind you. Thanks for pointing that out. Im here to help. These are not so much predictions and statements of facts. Most of the uncertainty has been wrung out of this program so we just need to execute at this point. Reporter when does she go to see . We will be launching and recovering aircraft next week. Reporter good luck, godspeed to you and your men. Reporter coming up we will head to the flight deck of the uss gerald ford, get a tour and bring that tomorrow at 1 00 eastern tomorrow. Elizabeth we cannot wait for that. We have more up next, a storm causing damage in the midwest. And a look at your weekend forecast which plus a deeper look at the symbolism and motto of the navys new warship uss gerald ford and the legacy of its namesake. Performance especially. Only aleve has the strength to stop minor arthritis pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. This is my pain. But i am stronger. Aleve. All day strong. Cohigher ad higher parents arent perfect, but then they make us Kraft Mac Cheese and everythings good again. Yeah, cause i got allstate. If you total your new bike, they replace it with a brand new one. Thats cool. I got a new helmet. We know steve. Switching to allstate is worth it. Severe storms forcing new zealand officials to declare a state of emergency and three cities on their south island with hundreds of homes have been evacuated after route with water rushed over the river bank. Rescue and Emergency Services working around the clock to rescue people trapped by rising water. Back in the states take a look at this video, strong winds and heavy rain causing major issues for folks in illinois. Residents of had days of heavy rain especially in the chicago area forcing the illinois governor to release a disaster proclamation. The storms have left thousands without hour. Meteorologist adam is in the extreme Weather Center with more. What is the forecast . The good news is those folks are drying off today but that entire system is shifting farther to the east. You are looking at it running across ohio. We will be targeting this area where we could see more heavy rain all the way to the midatlantic, Severe Weather philadelphia perhaps getting close to new york city but everything you are seeing in the yellow band area, we could see severe thunderstorm activity slowly stretching across the country. If youre not in that area, everyone on the eastern side of the country dealing with this heat, current temperatures, fairly early in the day to see temperatures in the mid90s, close to 90 , humidity, moisture in the air, this is what it feels like when you step outside, 107 in kansas city, it is early in the day and these temperatures will only climb in the next couple hours. This is the forecast heat index by 4 00 pm this afternoon. 113 in st. Louis. This will get hot in the next couple hours. That is your saturday afternoon. You have excessive heat watches and warnings from the middle of the country all the way up the east coast. You will want to stay cool in the next couple hours into sunday. Elizabeth thank you, appreciate it. Leland when we come back to norfolk for commissioning of the gerald ford, more on the time honored tradition, setting the watch, breaking the flag as they commission a 12. 9 billion check. Ship. Elizabeth part of a very special ceremony, traveling Navy Tradition by passing the loan glass which signifies the first watch aboard a new ship. Leland that new ship, the uss gerald ford, a blue and yellow tribute to fords alma mater, the university of michigan. There are 38 stars, 26 of those are shaded representing the uss monterey or cdl26. The florida lee pointing true north, represents the boy scouts. Ford achieved the highest rank of eagle scout. Tour of the deck coming up tomorrow, liz. Its been a great time in norfolk. President trump in norfolk, virginia, today, as he welcomes the newest ship in the u. S. Navy, on hand for the commissionerring of the uss commissioning of the uss gerald ford. Welcome and hello to americas news headquarters, im mike emanuel. Melissa happy saturday to you, its fun to be here, right . Mike the m and m show. Melissa im melissa a francis. The Trump Administration facing a dramatic overhaul after a shakeup at the white house