atlantic? all that and more with the powerhouse britain former finance minister and tony blair's press wizard. and president trump is set to arrive here in london in less than two weeks. the mayor of the city has said londoners made it clear trump is not welcome. what do the protesters hope to accomplish? i'll ask one of the organizers. also, what in the world are 7500 oil barrels doing in the middle of a pristine park in central london? i'll tell you. but first, here's my take. in recent weeks, you will have heard or read about two seemingly unrelated issues. in new york, mayor bill de blasio has signalled his desire to scrap the highly competitive exams for eight new york public schools. in boston there were new revelations from a lawsuit against harvard university that alleges the university systemically discriminates against asian americans in its administrations process. these come from very different directions. but they represent an assault on one of the foundations of modern society. the meritocracy. they are meritocracy is now under siege. on the right many of donald trump supporters see it as a code word for an out of touch establishment that looks down on hard working americans. here in britain, theresa may's call for a more meritocratic society -- run by white anglo saxon -- largely in education that opened up elite institutions to people of talent no matter their background. so let's first talk about the new york challenge to meritocracy. its eight selective schools are a wonder of the modern public education system. admission to them is based on a single test. having well thought connections with lot get you in nor your race or athletic prowess. they have a track record of moving smart kids out of poverty and into the middle class. it turns out to blacks and hispanics comprise just 10% of these schools compared to the 68% of the student body as a whole. it's said to favor asians who make up 60% of the students. but to complain that the schools have a diversity problem as the mayor does is wrong and wrong headed. first, these schools are incredibly diverse. the category called asians actually encompasses people that trace their ancestry to china, south korea, india, bangladesh, philippines, among others. wildly different countries and cultures. perhaps more important, the test is designed to find talented students not raise up specific majorities which the vest of the new york system works hard to do. the challenge from boston to the meritocracy is different. arguing that elite institutions pretend to be meritocratic but don't practice what they preach. and directly and persuasively to the fact that many highly selective academic solutions are biased against asian americans. the lawsuit alleges harvard uses soft criteria like personality to downgrade asian applicants with high test scores and grades and considerable extracurricular activities. that admissions committee to deny qualified jewish applicants. harvard denies the allegations. tests are not perfect and they should be supplemented by other factors. but we should be wary of a system that returns the selections process to one that makes highly subjective judgments. historically that becomes a process that smuggles in prejudice and preferences based on class, race, religion, politics, and money. it was also a process that did not find or promote genuine talent. nor did it create much social mobility. the meritocracy is under assault, but those who attack it should ask themselves. what would you replace it with? a meritocracy is the worst system to zud the elites except from all the others. for more, read my "washington post" column this week. and let's get started. ♪ in just over two weeks' time, president trump and president putin are met to meet in helsinki, finland. it's an interesting choice with an important history. in 1975 the helsinki accords were signed there. this was signed by the united states, canada, and almost every european country. it solidified the post-world war ii order in europe. now the post-world war ii order has crumbled. russia's reach is extending even into the united states. and with a tweet on thursday, donald trump signalled he believes russia's denials despite the findings of his own intelligence community. the administration no longer seems to want to uphold the post world war order at all. nato is as bad as nafta, he has said. these are the atmospherics as the men prepare to have a summit. what to make of all of this? joining me is the editor in chief of the economist, the editor of the evening standard previously britain's chancellor, and tony blair's press guru. so george, this is an odd moment, isn't it? you've had trump come out of the g7 meeting where he has basically let us know that he thought merkel was a disaster for germany. the prime minister of canada was a deceiving guy who one of his aides said there was a special place in hell for. and he can't seem to get -- he's so excited to meet putin just as he was to meet kim jong-un. does atmospherics matter? it does feel like he doesn't really particularly care for the western alliance. >> it does matter. it makes the u.s. a less reliable partner for western countries like my own. and of course the atmospherics drives the media agenda as disintegration. that said, there are bigger trends happening behind that. in many ways america was withdrawing a bit from the world before trump arrived. there are new rising powers like of course china and a more resurgent russia. so how much is the froth of trump's twitter feed? and how much is big macro forces happening in the world i think is debatable. the one thing i'd say is trump is not doing anything to counter those forces. >> the imagery, this is the thing you worry a lot about. what does it say he wants these meetings with putin, with kim jong-un. he likes -- it's almost as if he wants to create husband own alternative to the g7, the strongman 7. you know, erdogan, puth,iputin,e like that. >> i think he's jealous of putin. i think he does believe in the strongman view. i think it's about him. and he's a narcissist. it's all about him. i think he looks at putin, thinks, there's a guy who controls his own parliament, doesn't have dissent, controls his media. basically has far more power than the size of his country and his economy might indicate. and he wants to be like that. added to which i think putin gets away with it a lot more. i think trump would like to get away with it a lot more. i think he looks at trump and thinks all these international bodies, they're a check on me. and they won't be a check on me. i don't want any checks on me so ooum going for the big guys. how can you go from basically saying i got along with kim jong-un, he's kind of a strong leader. that's when he was asked about the death camps. >> he said i think his people love him. about literally the world's most oppressive dictator. >> whereas, merkel is a disaster. it is important to us and he knows it's more important to us than maybe to him. but i think it's also important to america. and that's what i think americans should be worried about. as well as people like us. >> but what about the substance? behind all this, there is also the reality of talking about and doing tariffs. apparently the g7 meeting says i might withdraw from the wto. it's pretty serious substance. >> it's pretty serious. the way to think about it -- and i completely agree with george. he loves autocrats. they're much more on his wavelength. it's much more about person to person bonding. they don't have to deal with things like -- he's drawn by what the economy and market does. that depends on the substance. i think for me the big question is, is what he's doing essentially going to push forward the rugt kind of change in a global world order, if you will. that does need some changes. whether it's in trade, dealing with china in a somewhat different way, in nato. he has a point, actually, that other nato countries aren't living up to their commitment of spending 2% of gdp. so you could imagine a sort of crazy guy from the outside pushing the sort of zugss into doing something better. and this is the negative one. is he actually a wrecker. is going to be able to completely wreck institutions. whether it is withdrawing from the wto or whether it is, you know, turning up at the nato summit saying we don't believe in article 5. wuch would be catastrophic. what happens then is you start seeing a huge rise in fear. then that's the thing that will possibly change the president's mind. what is your sense of whether president trump is willing to have a trade war. saying i intend to do this -- you know, this is -- these are his original positions. and we used to talk about how we had to fight back against japan. now it's china. how worried are you about a trade war. >> i think at the moment trump's bark is worst than his bite. he talked about putting apart nafta. nafta's still intact. he talked about universal tariffs on chinese imports. i think 40% of his campaign he's applied some targeted tariffs which is something previous years presidents have done. when it comes to nato, now more u.s. soldiers on nato missions abroad than when he came to office. he still needs things that haven't yet pulled apart nafta, pulled apart nato. is he prepared to do those things? that's what? world markets which otherwise would have been easy to react to. would that have become a -- this is a president who checks the dow a few times today and ju-- you're the prime minister, you cannot rely on this guy. you don't have the answer to the question is he going to pull up on nato. and, you know, that's -- that creates a lot of uncertainty in decision making, you know? allister and i both worked in dowing street. you had a pretty good idea. i think the problem for any european leader is you just don't know what the response is going to be when you need america's help. that creates the uncertainty before these institutions disintegrate. >> we are going to take a break. next on "gps," my panel will stay with me. we'll talk about the issue that is royaling both the united states and europe. immigration. but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. -i think it'll look really good without the stripes. behr marquee presents: it's got potential. margo and sam had a vision, brought to life in one coat. whatever your home may hand you, behr through it, in one coat. behr marquee, #1 rated interior paint. guaranteed in 1,000 plus colors. right now, get incredible savings on behr paints, stains and primers. exclusively at the home depot. ♪ ♪ and i recently had hi, ia heart attack. it changed my life. but i'm a survivor. after my heart attack, my doctor prescribed brilinta. it's for people who have been hospitalized for a heart attack. brilinta is taken with a low-dose aspirin. no more than 100 milligrams as it affects how well brilinta works. brilinta helps keep platelets from sticking together and forming a clot. in a clinical study, brilinta worked better than plavix. brilinta reduced the chance of having another heart attack... ...or dying from one. don't stop taking brilinta without talking to your doctor, since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily, or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers, a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems. slow heart rhythm has been reported. tell your doctor about bleeding new or unexpected shortness of breath any planned surgery, and all medicines you take. if you recently had a heart attack, ask your doctor if brilinta is right for you. my heart is worth brilinta. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. and we are back. allister, what has happened in the united states as you know is as trump approaches the midterms, he has decided essentially to nationalize the midterm election around immigration. and i think his thinking is this is the emotional core of the base. and it seems to work. the generic ballot where the democrats were leading by 14 points is now down to 7 points. do you think that immigration -- because it seems very similar in britain. does it have enough resonance to get trump to surprise us all with how well the republicans do and badly the democrats do? >> well, about le election, trump is beyond surprising as anything. he surprises us every day. his behavior gets more surprising and sadly normalizing as well. i saw a poll the other day, 92% approval rating among republican voters. that's a very, very solid consolidation of the base. i wonder the extent to which he realizes how despised he is by many people in his country and around the world. as we've seen in recent italian elections and the elections of the last few years, on the back of austerity and the back of the global financial crisis, immigration is a very, very powerful political weapon. and i think what he does is where a lot of people in europe have done, is he takes a real issue and he exaggerates it and makes it worse than it is and makes people feel it's a threat to them. that is very powerful. i happen to think the leader of the western world is grossly responsible. >> george, how would you fight this? democrats say to me, look, what do we do? the democrats say we want open borders. and it describes all these -- none of which are actually true, but in a simple way it puts the democrats on the offensive. you're on the other side of this issue because you've in favor. >> people who have been in favor of immigration in office did not do enough to talk about the benefits of immigration. and we, you know, in some ways went along with public concerns. second, i do think you've got to have elements of border security. i think where the pro-immigration lobby loses is where people see on their television screens just unpoliced borders whether it's the mexican border or the mediterranean here in europe. >> but you were in favor of -- how do you convey a moderate revision. so for example in the last couple of days the european union has committed to further motions. i do think people who want to make the pro-immigration case for diversity in their own communities do have to reassure public concerns about, you know, who is actually coming in. >> you know, allister's point is right. he says you're in favor of borders too. >> i think in the long run the only way to counter that is with a positive vision of your -- there has been a sense they've allowed the narrative to develop. countering that is one thing. but more important is coming up with a positive vision of what immigrants do sfor a economy largely. that was a large part of why people were fed up with the large numbers coming in. >> in this country and i'm sure it's true in the states, areas with large numbers of the immigrants are the areas more comfortable with immigration. in the uk there are not a chance for the change. >> what matters is the change in the rate of change and the ration owe. when you look at what's going on in poland, hardly any. they're obsessed with immigration. >> i mean, i think it -- >> it comes at the same time. if you are cutting public services at the time as you're seeing an includes in immigration. >> i think this is where we're wrong to go along these arguments. it's not true. you know, the uk was facing huge pressure from immigrants. >> i think it's cultural. the idea of being swamped by. >> and the answer to this is how do they do with it. have thrown a difficult foes it's i think we're both saying we're pretty tough at putting over a case. but with trump, yao de-- that gs his opponents on the defensive every time. >> i want to close where we started. george, how worried should we be? really a lot of people in america now worried that we are witnessing the end of the american-led post-world war ii order, trade, nato, all that. >> i think we should be worried. when people like donald trump say to the population, you know, what the hell have you got to lose? peace, prosperity, and security are a lot to do. biepding into that global order. >> hard to do if you don't believe in it yourself. >> yeah. make, actually, president xi and the chinese government it has a stake in the united states, in a t the. we have always felt this very close tie to america. i'm halfway through the albright book on fascism. i think there are far too many parallels for the 1930s for us not to be very, very worried about this sense of international order. being of the mind by the people whose responsibility they are. >> we've got to go. thank you. fascinating discussion. next on "gps" when we think of the 1%. we think of the united states, don't forget china. the wealthier there are growing wealthier at an outstanding rate. it's creating a prop or even years. because you deserve paint that's done right. that's proudly particular. benjamin moore. the standard for paint professionals. only at local paint and hardware stores. ...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. i'll take that. [cheers] 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. new ensure max protein. in two great flavors. new ensure max protein. this is not a screensaver.game. this is the destruction of a cancer cell by the body's own immune system, thanks to medicine that didn't exist until now. and today can save your life. ♪ ♪ does your business internet provider promise a lot? let's see who delivers more. comcast business gives you gig-speed in more places. the others don't. we offer up to 6 hours of 4g wireless network backup. everyone else, no way. we let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. them, not so much. we let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. the others? nope! get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call or go on line today. . now for our what in the world segment. it's not the rich are getting richer. it's where they are getting richer and how fast they're doing it that's fascinating. china has entered into its own gilded age. a new report out by the boston consulting group shows the pool of assets belonging to the very richest in china is now $3.7 trillion. that amount of wealth for that segment is second in size only to the united states. for perspective, $3.7 trillion is more than the entire gdp of germany. and that chinese wealth just like the number of billionaires in the country is growing fast. the reasons are clear. the china's economy is the second largest in the world. it contains 1/5 of the world's population. flexing market power and consolidating wealth. so where does that leave the rest of china? the poor? well, not as well off. the poor are getting richer but not nearly as fast. since 1978 the year china began its economic reforms, their incomes have grown by 400% according to a study last year authored -- that's pretty good. when you look, now look at china's richest 10%. their incomes grew by 1,289% in that same time period. in the u.s., that group's income was 115% higher. the top 1% in china, their incomes rose by nearly 1,900% between 1978 and 2017. these bo -- that's why even as wealth and incomes are rising astronotticly, now welfare programs are scaling up at an astonishing rate. take, for example, debou which has been called the largest assistance program in the world. it provides cash transfers to people living below the poverty line which is china is about $350 per year. they comprise just 3% of the population. it grew to its high in 2011. the chinese are not where they should be on welfare spending, but they are reaching the programs across the board. what i've described china's wealth sore soaring as it may appear contradictly. that is because of china's peculiar mix of economic systems and the slick competence of its authoritarian state. this kind of boundless growth, a nation undergoing a consumering transformation all recall another company at a similar point in its trajectory. the rising united states, of course. next on "gps," after canceling an earlier visit, president trump will arrive here in london in less than two weeks. and the city is gearing up for major protests. what do they hope to accomplish? i'll ask one of the organizers when we come back. ♪ you shouldn't be rushed into booking a hotel. with expedia's add-on advantage, booking a flight unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. add-on advantage. only when you book with expedia. add-on advantage. no one thought much of itm at all.l people said it just made a mess until exxonmobil scientists put it to the test. they thought someday it could become fuel and power our cars wouldn't that be cool? and that's why exxonmobil scientists think it's not small at all. energy lives here. i'm trying to manage my a1c, then i learn type 2 diabetes puts me at greater risk for heart attack or stroke. can one medicine help treat both blood sugar and cardiovascular risk? i asked my doctor. she told me about non-insulin victoza®. victoza® is not only proven to lower a1c and blood sugar, but for people with type 2 diabetes treating their cardiovascular disease, victoza® is also approved to lower the risk of major cv events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. while not for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. (announcer) victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. so stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. gallbladder problems have happened in some people. tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. change the course of your treatment. ask your doctor about victoza®. it's a fantastic thing to come to a country where people are able to express their views. >> that was president george bush here in london 15 years ago in the early months of the iraq war. he had come to the capital for a state visit, but it was marred by mass protests. an estimated 100,000 protesters shouted angry slogans and toppled a statue of bush in the square. the question is will president trump be as gracious about his protesters? he's scheduled to meet with prime minister may and the queen. according to ambassador woody johnson. and he like bush will be met with large protests. the anti-bush protest didn't end the iraq war. so what will the anti-trump protest do? joining me now is a lawyer, the founder of a woman's magazine, and the co-organizer of london's women's march. she's leading an anti-trump protest that will greet the president on the day he arrives. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> so why did you get involved in this? what made you decide you wanted to lead this protest? >> well, women like myself understand that it's time to make our voice count. our vote and our voice count. we can't sit in silence or sit on the fence while we see intolerance, while we see acts on policies that just seem to but actually allow for inequality, intolerance that affect people's lives. >> there are a lot of people in the united states. he has to do business with the rest of the world. he's coming to britain. you know, it's not a state visit as i understand it, it's more of a working visit. what's wrong with him meeting the prime minister? >> the point is not about his visit. the point is the demonstration being put together is a celebration of who we are, the values that the trump administration clearly does not appreciate. and the values that the policies of the administration are stamping down on. the protests, the demonstration is also to bring about a call for action. we expect our elected government officials to take note that we are watching. we expect them to represent us properly when meeting with president donald trump. >> what is the protest going to look like as far as you can tell? >> the protest is going to be a huge celebration of british values. it's going to be -- i mean, definitely it's being led by women. but also being led by coalition of very high profile organizations and grassroots activists supporting us in this. there will be people in london with their pots and pans to bring about the kind of celebration and noise that will drown out a lot of the divisive language that will drown out a lot of the intolerance that are just coming outze ining out of administration. >> people watch this and says it happens more on the left. it ends up with everyone feeling good and everyone pressing like on the facebook or hearts on their twitter, but it doesn't cause change. what causes change is you have to have specific programs and policy agendas. you have to show up and vote. and that, you know, a lot of people come for the celebration and then stay home for the vote. >> to be perfectly honest with you, this is different president not just this mass demonstration wuch we call bring the noise. but i think you will see from last year, here in the united kingdom and other countries, more and more people are actually taking that action to vote. more and more people are recognizing their their voice counts. i surprise that protests or people gathering together collectively or acting individually makes no change. i disagree. for instance, because of the backlash on kaujing children, what did trump have to do? and that backlash didn't just come from the united states. it came internationally. >> we keep doing what we have to do until we see the change we want. >> pleasure to have you on. >> thank you. up next, i will introduce you to one of britain's most celebrated journalists. for 31 years, lucy calloway helped her readers understand business and corporate culture. now she's quit all that for a second act she calls brutal. what sit and why did she give it all up a? find out when we come back. on i, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. behr presents: ordinary versus overachiever. behr premium plus, "behr" through it all with a top-rated paint at a great price. right now, get incredible savings on behr. exclusively at the home depot. ♪ come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away. ♪ ♪ he eats a bowl of hammers at every meal ♪ ♪ he holds your house in the palm of his hand ♪ ♪ he's your home and auto man ♪ big jim, he's got you covered ♪ ♪ great big jim, there ain't no other ♪ -so, this is covered, right? -yes, ma'am. take care of it for you right now. giddyup! hi! this is jamie. we need some help. a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! lucy calloway was one of britain's best known journalists. she spent 31 years in the business as a reporter, columnist, and editor working mostly the business beat. but then she shocked the nation at the age of 57 by saying farewell mostly to the pen and pad of journalism and saying hello to the chalk and chalk board of teaching. calloway is now a teacher instructing london's next generation of youngsters in math. i read you for years. you had this column which was on business culture. so there's a column that every c suite executive said. ceos must have talked to u yo about it. you were in this giddy world where you are a horse whisperer for the financial times. you quit it all at the point where your column was probably at its most influential. why? why being a trainee? >> i'd just done it for too long. you're right. i had this amazing platform. found something i could do. i'd been at the ft for a total of 31 years. and writing that column for well over 20. i just wanted to do something new. i was sort of tired of the cushy lifestyle or at least i thought i was back then. and i wanted to do something that was more useful. and i come from a family of teachers. i'd always rather fancied it. and i thought, i'm going to do this. i'm not too old. and i've set up the things and encouraged other people to do it with me. that was last september. i'm now not a journalist anymore. i'm a teacher. >> what's the biggest revelation, difference -- what's the lead in the story if you were to write one? >> the lead is that teaching is really hard. i had in all thought that i was going to be brilliant at this. i love talking. i really love teenagers. i mind about social mobility. i like math. i like explaining it and what could go wrong. so i thought. but actually, teaching is very, very difficult. i've just completed my training or nearly completed it. i'm still nowhere near there. the arrogance of me. i expected that within a few weeks, i'd be great. >> what's hard about it? >> mainly it's about multitasking. you have to do so many things. for starter, your 32 children, you must be aware of all of them. who understands it and who doesn't. who is talking in the back row and who needs controlling. you need to be aware of who needs pulling on. then i need to be mastering my slides which i'm bad at. i need to know which is my interactive pen and which is my board marker. i get them confused. you need to come supplied with new exercise books. you need to set the homework. so there are hundreds of things every lesson. >> meanwhile, you're doing the substantive part of the math you have to get completely right. >> what happens is i often find myself making moronic mistakes on the board because i'm trying to do all these other things. then the kids go, she's not good at math. it's the hardest thing i've ever done by a million miles. >> when you hear people say why do schools not run like businesses, you have all this experience. if only you could bring the private sector expertise to schools. >> what is so interesting in my past writing about management, most big companies hierarchies have been more or less swept away. but not in schools. schools are very hierarchical. very rule-bound places. and i see both advantages of that. and the disadvantages. in an autocracy, you don't spend hours having meetings. we're just told that, you know, this is the drill for this and this is the drill for that. it makes the school efficient. but there's no soft cuddly feely time. no time to pat us on the head or ask us what we think about anything. >> and they should probably. >> i think so but if it means we never have to go to meetings, then that's a fantastic advantage. and if the end we know what we're trying to do which is educate the kids. we don't need meetings for that. >> you wrote fundamentally journalism was about me and education is about the kids. and i want to know, you know, just watching what you've done and this embracing of humility and taking on this hard work, there seems to be a calvinist part here where you're doing something here that's hard and painful because that vein is good. suffering is rebutting. >> i think my friends and family would say i was just as tiresome as i was. i don't think it's had that big -- but you're right about redemption in a way. there's probably some part of me that feels vaguely zlt 47 abuse i was going on -- it doesn't get much cushier than that. except for the reward, you're right. it's not making my ego feel better. it's about trying to teach the kids some math. >> it's one of the most fascinating ways of giving back i've seen. pleasure to have you on. >> it's been a great pleasure for me too. d stains for months. or even years. because you deserve paint that's done right. that's proudly particular. benjamin moore. the standard for paint professionals. only at local paint and hardware stores. ♪ hawaii is in the middle of the pacific ocean. we're the most isolated population on the planet. ♪ hawaii is the first state in the u.s. to have 100% renewable energy goal. we're a very small electric utility. but, if we don't make this move we're going to have changes in our environment, and have a negative impact to hawaii's economy. ♪ verizon provided us a solution using smart sensors on their network that lets us collect near real time data on our power grid. (colton) this technology is helping us integrate rooftop solar, which is a very important element of getting us to our renewable energy goals. ♪ (shelee) if we can create our own energy, we can take care of this beautiful place that i grew up in. ♪ i'm really excited to be here today. i think the movement is growing. makes you feel like you're not alone. i just want to be a part of it. we are building community in response to this attack on our values. and it's important that our movement makes it clear that we are a society where no one's above the law. and if someone's going to break the law, they're going to be held to account, even if they're the president of the united states. ♪ u.s. tensions with china have been increasing over trade tariffs in recent weeks, but there's something that is not increasing. the amount of plastic waste the united states ships to china. last year china announced it was banning the import of all non-industrial plastic waste like water bottles and plastic bags. and it brings me to my question. roughly how much of the world's plastic waste has ended up in china since 1992? 1/5? 1/3? 1/2? 2/3? stay tuned and we'll tell you the answer. if you're looking for a big fat book of fiction for the summer as i was, try this one. it is to my mind the book that best illustrates the idea of the great american novel. a rich saga of families moving westward on a vast, unformed continent making a new life and a new nation. and now for the last look. i'm in the heart of london not too far from hyde park. a 350 acre area known for its lush green space and pleasant water features. but this week the park's serpentine lake has a stunning addition. a massive stack of painted floating oil barrels. this is an art exhibit by the bulgarian born artist christo. he and his late wife are known for building large scale artworks that involve complex engineering. the artists have wrapped buildings and landmarks in fabric. they have set up thousands of colorful gates in central park and have constructing floating piers that allow people to walk on water. this work is called the london masteban. >> 7,506 barrels stacked horizontally floating in the water. not supporting anything. >> that's 7,506 oil barrels floating in the shape of a mataba. its stark presence juxtaposed with the colors on the water creating an abstract painting on the lake. if you think it looks massive, think of this. opec just raised its target gaily output of oil by 1 million barrels a day. it would take more than 133 copies of the sculpture to contain all of those barrels. but christo wants to come close. he's doing a stack for abu dhabi. he saysitwould bebiggerthan the great pyramid of giza. the answer to my challenge question is "c." roughly half of the world's plastic waste has ended up in china since 1992. and according to a new paper, china's ban of non-industrial plastic waste will lead the world with an additional 111 million metric tons of plastic to deal with by 2030. the impact will certainly be felt around the world. the study found that in 2016, more than half of america's plastic waste exports went to china. germany sent more than two-thirds to the middle kingdom. while efforts to eliminate plastic straws and bags are noteworthy, in order to counter the waste piling up around the world, more initiatives to drastically reduce and manage waste will be needed. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. hey. this is a special edition of "reliable sources". this hour, jim acosta joins me with his stories of trump's war on the media. plus my sit-down with marty baron. and later, a wakeup call. liberal media outlets are sounding the alarms about trump, supreme court, immigration. is the rest of the press listening? we'll get to all of that this hour. but first, heartbreak in annapolis and newsrooms across the country. thursday was the