absence. we will be live at the high court. hello, iam hello, i am matthew and welcome to cap his verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. lots to dig into intraday s programme, especially what is happening on the battlefield in ukraine and what appears to be the start of the counteroffensive. the key of says it is, shifting to offensive actions in some areas. ukraine s deputy defence minister described the eastern city of bakhmut is the epicentre of hostilities and claimed russian forces are on the defence there, as well as in the self. the ukrainian army has released these images, showing what it says are ukrainian forces destroying russian positions in the direction of bakhmut. this is in the direction of bakhmut. this is in the direction of bakhmut. this is in the occupied eastern region of donetsk. in contrast, russia claims it has faltered in major ukrainian attack in the same regions. its defence ministry has released this
welcome to verified life, three hours of breaking stories in checking out the truth behind them. lots to actually dig into in today s verified, especially what is happening on the battlefield in ukraine in what appears to be the start of that counteroffensive. tf cells died in excess is switching to offensive action and kyiv says it is moving to a counteroffensive action and on defence as well in the south. ukrainian army has shown these images sing the forces are destroying russian positions in the direction of bakhmut, in contrast, russia s thing it is thwarting ukrainian attacks in the same region in releasing this video showing ukrainian armoured vehicles coming under heavy fire and moscow s since 250 ukrainian troops were killed and a number of armoured vehicles had been destroyed. the claims have not been destroyed. the claims have not been verified by the bbc and we ll hear from our verified teams later the hour. return to the maps is in the hour. return to the maps
world. i m laila harrak. thousands of people ordered to evacuate their homes in california as the storm-battered state endures another round of heavy rain and flooding. donald trump facing new legal woes. the former u.s. president now weighing whether to testify before a grand jury about his alleged role in a hush money scheme. plus, a major step for the middle east as iran and saudi arabia strike a deal to restore diplomatic ties. the surprise agreement helped along by beijing. we ll break down what it all means. announcer: from cnn center, this is cnn newsroom with laila harrak. we start this hour in california, where residents are getting battered by more storms, the result of yet another atmospheric river. at least two people are dead and nearly 10,000 people are under evacuation orders. more than 40,000 homes and businesses currently without power according to poweroutage.us. the central coast has been the hardest hit with creeks being turned into raging rivers
latest. reporter: in what would be an historic case, the manhattan district attorney closer to bringing criminal charges against former president donald trump in a long-running investigation. we will look at the facts and the law and let the investigation and justice and what justice requires will dictate how much time we take. reporter: prosecutors are giving trump the chance to testify before a grand jury investigating his alleged role in that $130,000 hush money payout to adult film star stormy daniels days before the 2016 election to cover up their alleged affair a decade early. since potential defendants are required by law to appear in front of a grand jury, it indicates a decision on whether to charge trump could come soon. it s one thing to lie on your untruth social. it s another to lie before a grand jury. i don t suspect that he is going to be coming. reporter: his former attorney, michael cohen, meeting with prosecutors friday. he was sentenced to three