Oscars. Choice closed door testimony from james comey, just the opening act. We are expecting two major Court Filings involving former Trump Campaign chairman paul man if a fort and former trump lawyer michael cohen. The filings may review new details about muellers probe of possible russia collusion. Its been a wild week in the russia investigation and that frenzied pace continues today. To start this hmorning, we arin going to see james comey on capitol hill. He will provide testimony, but he will do it behind closed doors. That is just part one of the news. We are expecting to get from muellers team a filing to explain what exactly happened with paul man na fort. The government dropped a bombshell. They said initially that paul man na fort w manafort was testifying. Then they said he was no longer cooperating. The other big filing were waiting on today is what is going on with Michael Cohens sentencing. This is coming from special counsel Robert Muellers team and from the Southern District of new york. Michael cohen has asked for no prison time, so this is an accident to respond to that request and potentially the extent of michael cohenens cooperation. So plenty brewing on this friday. Back to you guys. Thank you for that. Some time today, president president is expected to name state Department Spokes woman Heather Nauert as his ambassador to the united nations. The former fox host is relatively inexperienced. She will replace nicki hailey who reportedly sparred with other administration officials. John bolton and mike pompeo are currently looking to downgrade the jab to no longer be a cabinet level position. A review of absentee ballot envelopes has revealed irregularities with signatures. This comes as dan mccreedy withdraws his investigation. Drew griffin has the latest from North Carolina. Christine and dave, major developments again in the validity of the election in the Congressional District 9 here in North Carolina. The loser in this race, the democrat, dan mccready has now rescinded his concession. He no longer thinks he lost. He lost by 905 votes. Hes now wondering if those are valid because of the voter fraud investigations and the other Big Development is our own review. Cnns review has expanded now into two counties, the review of absentee mailin ballot signatures shows dozens of these absentee ballots were witnessed by four people, all four People Associated with the same ring that is involved in now a criminal investigation in bladen county, the state of North Carolina, the board of elections here investigating whether or not hundreds of absentee ballots were illegally stuffed in favor of the republican candidate and potentially up to a thousand absentee ballots potentially in favor of the democrat were were thrown out, sosa prosecute pr s votes of the democrats. It looks more and more like this is headed to a runoff election. David raladao officially conceded to t. J. Cox. Initially, the race was called for the incumbent. Right now, 235 seats for the democrats, 199 seats for the republicans and, of course, that North Carolina race remains to be called. A new consensus candidate to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney general is emerging this morning. 68yearold bill bar was attorney general once before in the early 90s during the george h. W. Bush administration. Lawmakers from both parties have spoken highly of bar. They say it would be easier to confirm in the current highly polarized political environment. Bar would be Robert Muellers boss. Hes gone on record expressing confidence in the special counsel who worked under him during bars earlier stint as ag. Barr said muellers investigation would not deinvolve into a witchhunt, though he has expressed disappointment at the news some of muellers teammate s donated to democrat candidates. The dow closed the day down just 79 points after a 785point plunge. The nasdaq at the end of the day up rebounding from a fall of 2. 4 . The s p 500 bounced back and ended the day down slightly. The decline came despite statements from beijing indicating that president see jing pixi plans to move ahead with the trade talks as planned. The general reported fed officials are determining whether to have a wait and see approach. President trump has repeatedly criticized the fed for raising rates this year. Overnight, two former Major League Baseball players died in a car accident. Luis valbuena and Jose Castillo were involved in the accident. News from hollywood, kevin hart is stepping down two days after he was asked to be the announcer. At issue are past angry antigay and homophobic comments made by hart. He later posted a comment saying i have made the choice to step down from the oscars because i do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be a celebration. I am sorry i hurt people. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together, not tear apart. Much appreciation to the academy. Things are back to normal after some overnight drama right here at cnn new york. A bomb threat forced the evacuation of our building for about 90 minutes. The caller who phoned in the threat claimed there were five devices here in columbus circle. Employees vacated the building and it was declared all clear around midnight. Not the message you want to wake up to on your phone. But thanks to our team, were on the air this morning and thanks the to ourer our team who worked overnight. Were going to go live to beijing, next, regarding the trade war. And roads turn to rivers. More on the storms that swamped parts of california. It was here. I couldnt catch my breath. It was the last song of the night. It felt like my heart was skipping beats. They said i had afib. Whats afib . I knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. I needed answers. My doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. Oncedaily xarelto®, a latestgeneration blood thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. Warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your bodys natural bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. For afib patients well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of stroke. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. Learn all you can to help protect yourself from a stroke. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. The conflict between the United States and china is expanding. Beijing anchored by the arrest of a tech giant huawei. That arrest came at the request of the u. S. Government. That has investors worldwide rattled. It was a real whos who guessing game here for many of the day yesterday trying to figure out did the president of the United States know when he was sitting down with xi jinping that there was an extradition order for this high profile executive and is this some sort of a Political Tool in its trade war . Generally speaking, the judiciary operates separate from the state department. However, we know this president likes to get involved with the justice department. This is what beijing is trying to figure out. Here is peter navaro speaking last night. The president was unaware of it going into that dinner, as were all members of the team. Look, i think whats interesting to observe here is the fact of the matter is, the reason why were having some trouble with china is they do stuff like this all the time. They lie, they cheat, they steal, they force technology transfer. Any given day, there have been actions taken with china over the course of the administration. So whether the president knew or didnt know doesnt change that it will play into the negotiations. So far, they havent taken the debate. This needs to be watched very closely as thises process moves fought. Its hard to overstate how big a profile she has here in china. It would be like taking a super high level executive at apple and trying to extradite them to china. There are a lot of tech executives having the conversation in the c suite, do we need to send delegations to china. Theyre worried there could be some retaliation. Well see if that has any effect on Business Travel or not. Clearly, the story is just beginning. Thanks, matt. The Trump Administration reversing an obama era cool emissions rule days after a u. S. Government report warned aggressive action is needed to curb greenhouse gases. The rule change lifts a mandate that new coal plants use costly carbon technology. Its unlikely the change will lead to new coal plants sprouting across the country simply because natural gas and other Power Sources are cheaper, but environmental groups are calling the proposed change an act of die hard denial. The New York Times claims trumps new jersey club hired undocumented undocumented immigrants. Two women say they entered the country illegally. The managers of the club knew they were working illegally and helped them avoid detection. A Trump Organization spokesperson says the company has tens of thousands of employees and strict hiring guidelines. Former president george h. W. Bush, now in his final resting place at his president ial library at texas a m university. Hail to the chief played as americas 41st president was carried off his funeral train in college station. You can see the bush family looking on with hands over hearts. The navy performed its largest ever 21 aircraft missing Man Formation flyover during the funeral services. James baker, the president s chief of staff and best friend. Ive always been proud that george bush used to describe our relationship as one of big brother and little brother. He used to say that one of the things he liked best about me was that i would always tell him what i thought, even when i knew he didnt want to hear it. Then we would have a spirited discussion about that issue. But he had a very effective way of letting me know when the discussion was over. He would look at me and he would say, baker, if youre so smart, why am i president and youre not . He was a leader and he knew it. It was nice to see laughter throughout this week. They clearly wanted that to be a part of it. And yesterday, the family was surrounded by their friends. This is their friends, their family, a little more relaxed than i think the formality in washington. And the train was a wonderful touch by 41. Up next, something we havent seen in the nfl since the 80s. Well have more on this run for the ages. Watch this. No way. No way. Get on out of my way. This isnt just any moving day. This is moving day with the best inhome wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. And this is moving day with Reliable Service appointments in a twohour window so youre up and running in no time. Show me decorating shows. This is staying connected with xfinity to make moving. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and twohour appointment windows. Click, call or visit a store today. Check out that dramatic scene in burbank, california. The sloping road turning into a raging river by record breaking rain. Downpours stopped traffic and spurred evacuations in areas already ravaged by wildfires. One forced the closure of the Pacific Coast highway and surrounding roads in and around malibu. A rocket crash landing, there was a stalled hydraulic pump and ended up in the ocean. The mission, though, was a success, launching the supplies spacecraft to the International Space station. It was Throwback Thursday for Tennessee Titans derrick henry. Watch this. Just the Second Player in nfl history with a 99 yard touchdown run. That included debilitating stiff arms along the way to Jacksonville Jaguars defenders, one of the best defenses in the league. That ties tony dorset for the longest run in franchise history. The titans crushed the jags, 309 on thursday night football. It looked to me like pamplona, spain, when you unleashed the bulls. Everyone just had to get out of the way of derrick henry. That is fun to watch. Hes having a great morning. 25 minutes past the hour. Were expecting major developments today on three fronts in the Mueller Investigation. More on james comey, Paul Manafort and michael cohen, its all next. That grandpas nose is performing flight of the bumblebee . No, you goof. I cant believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my Car Insurance with geico. Nice. I know, right . [nose plays a jazzy saxophone tune] believe it. Geico could save you 15 or more on Car Insurance. New revelations expected today in the Mueller Investigation. What else does the special counsel know about the Trump Campaign in russia . And the president is about to name a new u. N. Ambassador. Questions surround the choice of a former cable news host. Breaking overnight, two former Major League Baseball players killed in a car accident. And a stunning announcement out of hollywood. Kevin hart says hes stepping down as host of the oscars. The search begins anew. Good morning. A very busy, busy friday ahead. Very busy day for developments in the special counsels russia investigation. Closed did door testimony from former fbi director james comey, just the opening act. Were expecting two major Court Filings by robber muellers team involving Paul Manafort and former trump lawyer michael cohen. Filings may reveal significant new details about Michael Cohens probe of possible collusion. Good morning. Its been a wild week in the russia investigation and that frenzied pace continues today. To start this morning, we will see james comey up on capitol hill. He will be provided testimony but hell do it behind closed doors for house republicans. He and the committee struck a deal that he would provide this testimony as long as they would release the transcript soon after he does this deposition. That is part one of the news. We are expecting to get from muellers team a filing to explain what exactly what happened with Paul Manafort. The government dropped a bombshel bombshell. They said initially he was agreeing to cooperate and then they said he lied when he was supposed to be cooperating. This document should give us more details about what went wrong. The other big filing were going to be waiting on today is what is going on with Michael Cohens sentencing. This is coming from special counsel Robert Muellers team but from the Southern District of new york. Michael cohen has asked for no prison time, but this is an stunt for the government to respond to that request and potentially to lay out the extent of Michael Cohens cooperation. So plenty, plenty brewing on this friday. Back to you guys. And the days after President Trump fired fbi director james comey, the department of justice began a trump obstruction of justice probe. This was before special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Two sources telling cnn Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein and top fbi officials viewed trump as a leader who needed to be reigned in. Pamela brown explains. Good morning. Cnn has learned and the hectic eight days after President Donald Trump fired fbi director james comey, Deputy Attorney general rod rosen stein and top fbi officials viewed trump as a leader who needed to be reigned in. And they discussed a number of options then asked Andrew Mccabe took the extraordinary step of opening a obstruction of justice investigation. The sources say it was an idea that the fbi previously considered, but the probe wasnt opened until after comey was fired and before mueller was appointed. The justification went beyond trumps firing of comey and it included the president s conversations with comey in the oval Office Asking him to drop the investigation against security adviser michael flynn. Sources say the fbi would only take such action if they suspected a crime had been committed. Now, as they considered various options relating to the president in the hours the days following comeys firing, mccabe and rosenstein held a number of meetings to discuss the