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Government Report: Trump Policies Hurt Obamacare Markets; Tying Border Security Into DACA Could Be A Hurdle; Facebook Hands Mueller Info On Russian-Linked Ads; Twitter Exec Calls Fake News "Junk Information Epidemic"; Celebrating TV's Best: Emmys To Be Awarded Sunday. Aired 11-12p ET

Aired September 16, 2017 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:27] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone and welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Our breaking news this morning: the waiting is over at least for some. After more than a week away from home, more residents of the upper Florida Keys can return to their communities. The northern Keys through Marathon Key, open as of 9:00 a.m. today and the lower keys are scheduled to open tomorrow morning.

Let's go live now to CNN's Martin Savidge in Key West, Florida. And so this comes as some relief to many, but then they don't know what they are returning home to -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right -- Fred.

It's going to be ready or not, here they come. And a lot of areas, they are not ready, at least according to the sheriff down here. And there's good reason for that.

This is Big Pine Key. Let's just give you a taste of some of the devastation here. And the cameras do not really show you the scale of it. It is massive.

This area got hit not only by the highest of winds, but it also got blasted by what was, essentially, kind of a tsunami, a storm surge that came barreling through.

They've got heavy structural damage, so many of these homes are not even livable. There's no electricity, there's no water. The sewer if you want to use it, you're going to have to pour water from some place into the back of your toilet. You are going to live like a primitive person from long ago.

And two people who know this well are Scott and Carol, because you rode out the storm. First of all, let me ask you both -- you're all right, right?

CAROL KELLOGG, RESIDENT, BIG PINE KEY: We are fine. Our dogs are fine.

SAVIDGE: Ok. Good. And the house, how did it do?

SCOTT CRABTREE, RESIDENT, BIG PINE KEY: The house did very well, pretty good. We're very lucky.

SAVIDGE: How are you surviving right now?

KELLOGG: We have our refrigerator on generators. We have food. We've been given a lot of bottled water. We're using that to bathe and to drink. And basically we're working, trying to clear trees and get back to life.

SAVIDGE: Do you think people have any idea what they are in for when they come down?

CRABTREE: I really don't. They don't have any idea what they are going to see. And it's going to be tough on them to see what really happened down here. And it's going to be a rude awakening for them.

SAVIDGE: What is night like?

KELLOGG: Night is very quiet, because as of right now there are hardly any people here. It's pitch dark. We don't have street lights in the Keys.

SAVIDGE: The temperature inside the home? That's what I was getting at.

KELLOGG: 89 degrees, 90 degrees. A couple of fans our generator will run, so that will keep us cool enough.

SAVIDGE: Sorry to interrupt, but I was just thinking, I wanted to get you both for (inaudible) time, good idea for people to return or not?

KELLOGG: I would say stay with your family. Stay where it's cool. As long as you know your house is ok, wait a few weeks.

CRABTREE: I would wait, but I'd understand how people feel about their homes. But you're going to live very primitively down here.

SESAY: You will. I mean I can back that up.

And I have to say, Fred, that it is not only very difficult to live, you're going to find that if you have any kind of medical emergency, there's hardly anyone who can really treat you here, because the hospitals are not up to full strength here.

So there are a lot of issues, but the public officials say they admit they had to bow in to the tremendous clamor of people who are wanting to come home and see. But many may just turn around and leave after they have.

WHITFIELD: Right, therein lies the potential risks.

All right. Martin Savidge -- we'll check back with you in Big Pine Key, not far from Key West, but not Key West.

All right. Now to St. Louis -- let's check in there, where officials are hoping for calm today, but bracing for possible unrest.

Protests erupted in the city following the acquittal of a former police officer in the shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith. The 24- year-old was fatally shot after a police chase back in 2011.

Ex-police officer Jason Stockley found not guilty of first-degree murder, breaking his silence, saying his acquittal feels like a burden has been lifted.

The judge's ruling sparked outrage across the city there. Most demonstrators marched peacefully through the streets for several hours calling for justice, but some protesters took out their anger by burning an American flag, throwing rocks and bricks at police.

There are broken windows of t local businesses and at one point demonstrators surrounded the mayor's house, pelting the home with paint and rocks.

Nine officers and one state trooper were injured. At least 23 people were arrested.

CNN's Dan Simon was in the middle of all of that last night and he joins us right now with more on the demonstrations, what's expected next. So, Dan -- bring us up to date.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi -- Fredricka.

Obviously, police are bracing for more protests tonight, and because of that we just got word a short time ago that U2 actually had to cancel their concert tonight.

[11:05:05] We just got a statement from the band and their touring company. I want to read this to you. It says, "We have been informed by the St. Louis Police Department that they are not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event of this size. We have also been informed that local crowd security personnel would not be at full capacity.

In light of this information, we cannot in good conscience risk our fans' safety by proceeding with tonight's concert. As much as we regret having to cancel, we feel it is the only acceptable course of action in the current environment."

Obviously, that's going to upset a lot of fans, Fred. And we know that, according to the band, they will receive a full refund. But the bottom line is, because there could be more chaos tonight, police could not provide adequate security at the venue.

And as you said, we were really in the thick of it last night. For the most part the demonstrations were peaceful, but I have to tell you things really got out of control when several hundred protesters gathered around the mayor's house.

We actually saw this happen. We saw about a dozen protesters pick up some rocks and smash windows. And that's when the police came in. They unloaded their pepper spray, they unloaded tear gas to try to disperse the crowd and it seemed to be successful, because I would say about 45 minutes to an hour after that, the crowd really began to dissipate.

In the meantime, as you said, we are now hearing from the police officer who was acquitted, Officer Jason Stockley. This is what he had to say about the verdict. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON STOCKLEY, FORMER POLICE OFFICER: As far as how I feel right now, I'm obviously, currently pleased that there was a -- that the right verdict came down. And it feels like a burden is lifted. But the burden of having to kill someone never really lifts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: And that is former police officer Jason Stockley. He is also a former graduate of West Point.

Obviously, he's no longer in the law enforcement profession. We're told that he's now living in Houston, Fredricka.

And, of course, again, the elephant in the room is might we see large scale protests like what we saw a couple of years ago in Ferguson, Missouri. Police have been preparing for that possibility.

We know that the Missouri governor has the National Guard essentially on standby, should things get out of control. We know that a number of businesses in the area have boarded up their windows, bracing for more unrest tonight -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Simon from St. Louis -- thank you so much for the update.

So one key piece of evidence in the case, dramatic dash cam video which captured the moment former police officer Jason Stockley shot and killed Anthony Lamar Smith. Prosecutors argue that the video showed Stockley planting evidence. The judge did not agree.

CNN's Jean Casarez lays out the controversial case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A high speed chase caught on police dash cam. Two St. Louis police officers pursuing a 24-year-old black man, Anthony Lamar Smith, in December 2011.

Prosecutors claim Officer Jason Stockley in the passenger seat can be heard saying during the chase, quote, "We're killing this MF-word -- don't you know."

Less than a minute later, after catching up and purposefully crashing into Smith's car, Stockley, on the right is seen opening fire, shooting Smith several times, killing him.

The defense say Smith refused commands to put up his hands and reached in the area where the gun was. Stockley later testified that he feared for his life.

Defense attorneys pointed out that in contrast, Stockley's partner never drew his weapon at any time. Police say a gun was found in Smith's car, but prosecutors claim it was planted; the only DNA on the weapon, Stockley's.

Dash cam video after the shooting shows Stockley rifling through a duffel bag in his squad car. Prosecutors questioned what he was doing. The defense argued that he was looking for medical supplies to save Smith's life.

It all began when Stockley and his partner tried to corner Smith in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant, believing they caught him in a drug deal. Stockley testified he thought he saw a gun as Smith fled.

The trial was heard by a lone judge, and finding Stockley not guilty, Judge Timothy Wilson wrote that he agonizingly pored over every piece of evidence and he found that prosecutors did not prove Stockley's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jean Casarez, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, so where does the city of St. Louis go from here as it looks to heal from this verdict and also the unrest?

[11:10:07] Joining me right now to discuss, Antonio French -- he was a St. Louis city alderman and a former candidate for mayor. Good to see you -- Antonio.

Folks really recall how actively involved you were following the Ferguson shooting as well.

ANTONIO FRENCH, FORMER ST. LOUIS ALDERMAN: Good morning.

WHITFIELD: So, first -- your reaction to the judge's ruling. This was a judge-rendered verdict, not a jury trial.

FRENCH: Yes, like so many other St. Louisians, I am disappointed by the judge's decision, and also some of the language that he used in that decision. It seems, again, that the system is not working for average citizens, especially African-Americans, when it comes to police violence.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean language? I mean he said he agonizingly, you know, pored over evidence, but what was it about perhaps, the language in general of his decision that did not sit well with you?

FRENCH: Well, there is a section of the decision when he describes Mr. Smith as an urban heroin dealer and saying that it is reasonable to assume that he would have a gun, even though his DNA was not on the gun found, only the Officer Jason Stockley. And so I think that was inflammatory. It also seems if you read the opinion that the judge takes great lengths to extend every benefit of the doubt to the officer while making assumptions about the victim.

So, again, it just seems as though the system is not working and if people are still demanding some level of accountability when it comes to violent acts committed by police officers, and I think that's what you're seeing now with people taking to the streets once again.

WATTERS: Right. And many who are taking to the streets are saying this is how they feel empowered in which to express some of the same sentiments that you just did.

What is your hope or what is the hope of many of the demonstrators that taking to the streets might elicit what?

FRENCH: You know, I think what the large crowds show, especially the daytime crowds, which are very diverse, very peaceful, is what it shows is that there is still broad support for systemic change both here in St. Louis and Missouri and around the country when it comes to police accountability.

And so even though there's been a setback, once again, with this decision, people remain firm in their conviction that we need some kind of change.

And so, you know, we've called on the governor not to just use African-American victims of police violence as props and press conferences, but actually move for real changes in the law that bring accountability to the professional law enforcement in Missouri.

WHITFIELD: And you were very outspoken and socially active following the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson. So in your view, how was this emotionally similar or perhaps even different?

FRENCH: Well, I will tell you, the time that has passed between 2014 and today I believe that we have not used it effectively. We should have had much more progress, much more change by this point.

And so when we find ourselves back in a similar situation, it is frustrating for a lot of us who have dedicated a lot of time and effort to these issues. And to citizens who still feel like feel are not protected equally under the law. And ultimately that is what this is about, people feeling that they are equally protected under the law.

WHITFIELD: Jason Stockley, the ex-police officer, saying that he feels a sense of relief, you know, following this verdict. How do his sentiments either calm or further stoke the fires?

FRENCH: Well, this case happened several years ago, so Mr. Stockley has had a long time to reflect and I'm sure he does feel a sense of relief that this verdict has come.

The family of the deceased, Mr. Smith, does not feel the same way, obviously. They feel that the system has failed them. They don't have that sense of relief.

Mr. Stockley, you know, is not an example of a good police officer. This is not an example of what we need to have in our police department here in St. Louis. He was relieved of duty. He was allowed to retire. His actions in a civil suit cost the city almost a million dollars.

Very underreported as a fact that he brought his own AK-47 to the scene of this incident. This is not a model police officer. And so we need to be making changes in the St. Louis police department to change the culture that defends and protects the actions of an officer like Stockley.

WHITFIELD: Antonio French -- always good to see you. Thanks for your point of view.

FRENCH: Thank you.

All right. so this morning, an arrest overseas in the London terror attack.

Straight ahead, live report on the investigation and the political fallout surrounding President Trump's response.

[11:14:57] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.

British police say they are searching a house and have evacuated surrounding homes following the arrest of a man earlier today in connection with Friday's subway bombing. British police described it as a, quote, "significant arrest".

Thirty people were injured when a bomb detonated on a rush hour train. ISIS is claiming responsibility for the blast, but authorities are downplaying that claim, saying there is no evidence of its involvement thus far.

Nima Elbagir is joining us right now from London. So Nima -- What more do we know about the search and there has been at least one report of an evacuation, as well, this morning?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as we understand it, this is a major counter terror operation undertaken by armed police in Surrey which is a county just outside of London.

[11:20:00] The evacuation, police say, is a precaution but they put in place a pretty wide parameter around the home being searched -- about a hundred meters which, of course, leads many that we're speaking to, to surmise that this means that this is directly connected to the bomb maker, the suspected bomb maker in this current investigation.

That significant arrest that you alluded to there -- that's an 18- year-old man who was picked up in the port of Dover. Authorities believe he was attempting to cross over to the European mainland to France. And that has been a nightmare for some time, Fredricka -- both British and French authorities have been watching those ferries for a while and their fear has always been that anyone involved with unwanted activities, as they put it, could attempt to use them as an escape, but clearly this time that loophole was closed just in time -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nima Elbagir -- thanks so much for the update.

So as the attack unfolded in London, President Trump was quick to tweet about it, suggesting the suspect was known to authorities, British authorities saying, quote, "Another attack in London by a loser terrorist. These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive."

But the President's tweets angered British leaders, with the Prime Minister there saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I never think it's helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation. As I've just said, the police and security services are working to discover the full circumstances of this cowardly attack and to identify all those responsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Trump later spoke to Theresa May to relay his condolences.

I want to bring in now David Swerdlick. He is a CNN political commentator and assistant editor of the "Washington Post". Good to see you. And Josh Rogin is a columnist for the "Washington Post" and a CNN political analyst. Good to see you, as well.

All right. So David, you first.

DAVID SWERDLICK, FNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: How can President Trump reassure Great Britain that he can be trusted with any intelligence or sensitive information?

SWERDLICK: Look, Fredricka, we're going to work with Great Britain and we will work with Great Britain. But here's the thing -- a lot of this, a lot of what we saw yesterday is about whether or not the President has gotten his hands around what it means to stand shoulder to shoulder with our closest allies.

Look, I just happened to follow the Danish embassy and the United States on Twitter. And yesterday morning at about 6:30 a.m., I saw that the Danish Prime Minister also a leader of a NATO country, had sent his expression of solidarity and sympathy to the people of London.

President Trump did that also about ten hours later, but in between he sent this flurry of tweets about loser terrorists and about how, you know, our allies are not being proactive enough and so on and so forth. And that's what prompts the kind of comments you see from Prime Minister May, also our closest ally, also a leader of a NATO country, to sort of push back on the President.

And this is a pattern we've seen and I think until President Trump kind of gets in a better lane with how he sort of expresses support for allies, we're going to continue to see that kind of pushback.

WHITFIELD: And Josh, this after the President had said following Charlottesville that he wants to reserve comment before knowing all the facts. But then this interpreted by many was very knee-jerk. So how might other allies, the latest example David just gave, you know, be interpreting how Trump handled the London bomb response or any other matters of global importance?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The Trump administration is sending a clear signal to allies all over the world that it's in their best interests to stay away from Trump as much as possible.

We're going to have the United Nations General Assembly here in New York coming up in a couple of days, and we have to remember that Donald Trump is deeply unpopular on the world stage and a lot of it is because of just this reason. That he seems to go out of his way to disrespect, sometimes insult and alienate allies for no real good reason whatsoever.

I mean, you know, with Charlottesville, he held off because he thought it was in his political interest to do so. In the case of the London bombing, he tweeted because he was trying to promote his immigration idea. And so if -- the travel ban -- so if you think about that, it's really about him. It's not about them.

Foreign countries know that. They are wary of that. They don't know how to handle that. And that forces them to place a lot of distance between themselves and the President of the United States.

WHITFIELD: And Josh, on that message to the U.N. Security Council by the President of the United States; Nikki Haley, yesterday, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., saying there from the White House that she actually saw, you know, much of the dialogue, the speech that will be given. She described it as very strong, her words, and she says that, you know, the President's speech, in it, I'm quoting her now, "he slaps the right people and hugs the right people."

What might be interpreted from that, and what his overall message could be?

[11:24:59] ROGIN: You know, we don't know which Donald Trump we're going to see when he takes the podium Tuesday in New York for his first ever address to the United Nations General Assembly.

If he sticks to the speech, as sometimes he does, we can be assured that it will be a classic, traditional, relatively hawkish, relatively conservative, relatively Republican view of the world, America's role in the world, and U.S. foreign policy, ok? That's what I'm sure that the process inside the interagency has come up with.

But President Trump could go another way. He could say what he really thinks about all of these issues, which is a very different idea.

Now, there's been a lot of change inside the national security bureaucracy lately. We've gotten rid of Steve Bannon, rid of Seb Gorka, you know. John Kelly, McMaster, Mattis -- these are the guys who are ascended; Nikki Haley.

So they are trying to create a traditional foreign policy around this president, but he often bucks that. And nobody knows what he's ultimately going to say and if he's going to stick to the script, including the President himself.

WHITFIELD: So David, if that is the overall interpretation, that the response or the message coming from the President is based on what may be politically beneficial to him, how might his words, his speech to the U.N., potentially be beneficial to him as it pertains to domestic issues that he's still trying to get through by way of working with in a bipartisan way, perhaps, you know, both Dems and Republicans?

SWERDLICK: Sure, Fredricka. So I think Josh is right. If the President sticks to the script, stays on the prepared remarks that he's almost certainly going to have with them when he speaks to the U.N., then likely, like many of his other prepared speeches, he will get a measure of credit from people like us who look at him and say, ok, he can give a speech like a traditional president gives a speech.

If he goes on one of his riffs, which he often does or if he speaks in the manner of the way that he tweeted yesterday, sort of promoting his own agenda at the expense of the broader picture of working with our allies or global partners, then you have a situation where you have more criticism back home, you have a situation where members of congress see that criticism and then feel more like they have more breathing room to disagree with the President on a range of issues or not go along with him because they see his popularity take a dip.

And then that makes it that much harder for the President to push his overall agenda. And that's a cycle we've kind of been in for the last seven, eight, nine months with President Trump.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Swerdlick, Josh Rogin -- thanks so much, gentlemen.

ROGIN: Thank you.

SWERDLICK: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Of course, be sure to watch tomorrow morning, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper. He'll be talking with U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Senator Diane Feinstein.

All right. Still ahead -- a deal or no deal if President Trump and the Democrats come up with a plan on DACA and border security, immigration overall -- what will that plan or deal potentially look like? We'll discuss. [11:27:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:32:20]

WHITFIELD: All right. President Trump said he would let Obamacare implode and that would force Democrats to renegotiate a new health care plan and now a new report from the Congressional Budget Office says Trump's policies are hurting Obamacare.

According to the report uncertainty about subsidies which Trump has repeatedly said he may withhold will lead to higher premiums and a reduction of ads informing people about Obamacare markets will be to lower enrollment over the next year. The office also predicts that 2 million more people will not have insurance by 2018.

We're joined now by Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee of Michigan. Congressman, good to see you.

REPRESENTATIVE DAN KILDEE (D), MICHIGAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So, when you here of letting it implode versus undermining the plan, very different strategies or methods, but ultimately may end up to the same conclusion, you know, a plan that would die. So, is there a way in your view to actually save Obamacare with those methodologies now in place?

KILDEE: Well, I think it starts with everyone being on the same page in terms of what we're looking for and that is to make sure Americans have access to affordable quality health care. It is almost incomprehensible that the president of the United States would intentionally seek to take acts to sabotage that opportunity, to actually hope that Americans lose their health care.

That's what he's doing, and the idea that he would do that and then attempt to be some sort of a credible player in a conversation about how we actually get this right is one of the most cynical uses of executive authority that I've seen in a long time that I've been involved in government. He is not really trying to solve the problem. He's trying to make it worse and what's cynical about --

WHITFIELD: So, what can you as an elected member of Congress do at this juncture, especially hearing that the Congressional Budget Office is saying 2 million people would be uninsured or underinsured by 2018? Is there anything to do? What kind of assurances do you allay to them?

KILDEE: Well, I think the thing that Congress should do is roll up its sleeves and do what we always talk about, but rarely get around to doing, and that is acting a bipartisan fashion to assure that the problems that we acknowledge in the Affordable Care Act are addressed, but that we guarantee that the law of the land is enforced.

I mean, it's a little bit disingenuous for Republican members of Congress to sit on the sidelines while the president actively undermines the law of the land and not stand up and say that we should adhere to the law.

And then if they want to change it, let's roll up our sleeves and do that. But we hear so much from Republican members, especially when President Obama was in office, about the use of executive authority.

[11:35:09] Here the president is using the authority that he says he has to contradict the intent of the Affordable Care Act, which has the result of kicking people off of their health care, to not advertise to them the opportunity to get health care that's affordable and supported by their government.

That's just -- it's such an impossible thing to comprehend, and what's really tough for me is that my Republican colleagues seem to think it's OK and it's not.

WHITFIELD: Isn't the onus also on members of Congress? I mean, because isn't that a role, a powerful role in which you have of checks and balances if you, you know, singularly are seeing there's an overuse or abuse of power, then why aren't more members of Congress willing to challenge or even save, if it means helping the American people who right now count on that health care?

KILDEE: Well, unfortunately, I think some, not all, but some Republican members of Congress are taking the same position that President Trump is taking. They don't like the Affordable Care Act. They don't like especially the fact it was passed by a Democratic Congress with a Democratic president.

And they are willing to violate one of their most closely held principles, the rule of law, the separation of powers, the role of Congress and oversight, they are willing to violate that if they think they can gain political advantage in this debate over health care.

Even if it means more Americans go without coverage when they really need it. That's a pretty cynical position for them to take. Now, I think there are enough Democrats and Republicans that would come together to address this and actually codify and strengthen the requirements for the subsidies to be in place, but it takes a Republican leadership that's willing to put it on the floor.

You know what, here's the thing, if the Republican leadership isn't willing to do it, maybe we need to think about, you know, a different structure. Maybe we need to figure out a way to make sure that the Democrats are in charge. That may be the result that the American people conclude.

WHITFIELD: So, now what about on the issue of DACA and mixed messaging coming from the White House on that? You've got the attorney general who says rescinding it and then not long after you have the president who says, you know, he wants to show some compassion. So, at the same time, the president wants border security to be part of the package.

KILDEE: Well, you know, I think what Republicans and Democrats can agree on is that we should have smart border security. That doesn't mean building a wall. That doesn't mean having a $30 billion army on the southern border, but we can have smart security.

We can be wise about how we do this, but we also need to be smart. DACA was a smart -- was smart policy. The DREAM Act is smart, it's in our national interest. You know, the president has to understand that words are pretty cheap.

Saying that he has sympathy or that he wants to be thoughtful about how to deal with the DREAMers, saying that he loves them means absolutely nothing if on one day he says he's willing to see DACA codified into law and the next day he says, yes, but you're going to have to pay a big price to do it.

WHITFIELD: So, what's your interpretation why he's doing that? His attorney general who, you know, went out and rescinded the plan. One would believe it's on the encouragement of the president, but then the president would turn around and say, well, on second thought.

So, what would be behind that? What is beneficial, what is politically beneficial? Because that's what, you know, is being attached to this president. What is politically beneficial to him by doing that?

KILDEE: I think, unfortunately with this president, his principles are determined by the last person that he spoke to. I think after he came to a very good and logical conclusion in his meeting with Leader Pelosi and, you know, Senator Schumer, he did the right thing by saying, look, let's make this work.

He heard from the so-called base, whoever that is, and he had to change his mind or somehow indicate, well, I didn't go that far. What he ought to do is, you know, when he says he cares about these people, when he says he loves them, stand up for something.

You know, leadership is the act of telling your own supporters sometimes something that it's hard for them to hear. And if this president wants to be known as a leader, he's going to have to tell the Steve Kings of the world, my colleague, and others, that I'm not going to be with you on this.

That you're wrong, and I'm going to stick to what I said I would do and we're going to get this right. That's what the American people want and that's what he ought to do. He's the president of the United States. He's not a blogger, not somebody who has an opinion that is inconsequential to policy making. He's the president. He should act like the president.

WHITFIELD: All right. Congressman Dan Kildee, good to see you, thank you so much.

KILDEE: Thank you very much.

[11:40:03] WHITFIELD: All right. Facebook is handing over specific information on Russian ads to Special Counselor Robert Mueller. How it's related to his probe into the 2016 election next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Facebook is handing over Russian-bought ad information to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller is, of course, investigating the role Russia may have played into the 2016 election. The new information includes details and copies of Russian-planted ads and the accounts that posted them.

Let's bring in host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter, to weigh in on this new information. So, Brian, good to see you. How do these details help in Mueller's case, building the case, potentially?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I think we're learning a lot about what Mueller is really focusing on. The fact that he was able to obtain a search warrant in order to force Facebook to hand over some of this information is very significant.

[11:45:06] Because let's think about it this way, if you are a Russian operative or if you were a bunch of hackers that are trying to influence an American election, one of the ways you might try to influence the election is by putting ads, putting propaganda, in front of American voters.

And one of the ways you might do that is through Facebook, is through the social networks that we all live on and live our lives on every day. So, we know that according to Facebook, there are relatively small number of ads bought by people that they now believe were linked to the Russian government or Russian hackers.

So, you've got this small buy, this small ad buy that was able to reach American voters. We don't know if there was more underneath the surface of that. There are a lot of questions Facebook has not answered exactly how much was going on before the election.

But we now know for sure that Mueller was able to convince a judge to get a search warrant to get Facebook to hand over all these key details. Things that we don't know, but that Robert Mueller's team now knows.

And that's an indication Mueller is building a case about how these kinds of Russian propaganda, intended to meddle in our election, was actually able to reach American voters.

WHITFIELD: All right, very complicated. Of course, we'll be watching you again tomorrow. Brian Stelter, thanks so much. We'll talk more next hour. Be sure to watch "RELIABLE SOURCES" every Sunday 11:00 a.m. Eastern here on CNN.

All right. Still a lot of questions swirling lately about the extent to which social media feeds misinformation. CNN's Laurie Segall sat down with the founder of both Twitter and Medium to hear his thoughts on why this topic keeps coming up -- Laurie.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECH CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. The spread of misinformation on platforms like Facebook isn't just about producing propaganda that could essentially impact an election.

Ev Williams, who created both Twitter and Medium tells me at the heart of the issue it's about money and how publishers and tech companies are benefiting from low quality information. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EV WILLIAMS, FOUNDER AND CEO, MEDIUM: I think the fact that tech companies have to accept is that there are judgments being made all the way down the line. There's judgments about how the algorithm works, what the system values, what the feedback loops are.

And in my opinion, the most nefarious feedback loop that and misinformation on the internet and media in general, it's all driven by advertising, it's all free, and attention is valued, and if you can generate attention, then you can get paid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEGALL: Now Ev went on to call this current climate a junk information epidemic. He said a solution could essentially be moving away from ad-based revenue streams that reward attention, rather than quality of information.

Now, that's easier said than done. When he actually decided to make the shift at his own company, Medium, it meant laying off a third of his staff -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty significant. Thank you so much, Laurie Segall, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:52:24]

WHITFIELD: Television's biggest night, the Emmy Awards, well, that's tomorrow night. But who will win? HBO has more nominations than any other network. "SNL" also leads the pack with 22 nominations. Here's CNN's Stephanie Elam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won the election fair and square and everyone knows that, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Mr. President, you say that literally all the time.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 69th annual prime-time Emmy Awards will celebrate the best of the small screen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Begin today by apologizing on behalf of you to me.

ELAM: And with politics refueling its satirical engine, this year, it's all about "Saturday Night Live."

DEBRA BIMBAUM, EXECUTIVE TV EDITOR, "VARIETY": This was a tremendous year for SNL. It got tied for the most nominations this year. I think it was a great political year. They were on fire. ELAM: With a late start, "Game of Thrones is ineligible this year. It's the robot cowboys of west world dominating the drama categories.

The sci-fi saga is up for 22 trophies including best drama. It will face off with "Better Call Saul," "The Crown," "The Hand Maid's Tale," "House of Cards," "Stranger Things" and ratings sensation "This Is Us."

(VIDEO CLIP)

BIMBAUM: I think it's a popular hit. I think everyone loves it. I'd be surprised if this is us doesn't take best drama trophy.

(VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: The White House hijinks of "Veep" lapped up 17 nominations including best comedy series. The HBO main stay is up against Atlanta, Blackish, Master of None, Modern Family, Silicon Valley, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

(VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Stephen Colbert will host the show, almost a guarantee that politics will take center stage.

BIMBAUM: I think the choice of Stephen Colbert and the way he's done so well in the rating reflects how much he's talked about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is the biggest tv story of the year. So, his name is going to get mentioned and it's going to get mentioned a lot on Emmy night.

ELAM: Much like politics of late, expect the Emmys to serve up plenty of surprises. Stephanie Elam, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, first Harvey, then Irma, and now Jose. Another hurricane threatening to hit the U.S. mainland. Now the northeast could be next.

And new video shows just what it was like inside that nursing home. Police are now investigating after multiple residents died following Irma. That is straight ahead when the NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:59:30]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Waiting is finally over for some people hit hard by Hurricane Irma. After more than a week away from home, residents of the Florida Keys will be able to return to their communities this weekend.

The Northern Keys through Marathon Key already opened this morning and the Lower Keys are scheduled to open tomorrow morning. Let's go live now to CNN's Martin Savidge, who has traveled even further south and now, yes, you are in Key West, what's going on there?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Key West was, of course, the place that everybody knows, and it certainly got the largest population that remained behind. It's been estimated maybe about 8,000 people stayed in the city, rode it all out.

The good news is that fortunately they did not have heavy damage here.