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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Attacks Mueller Amid Reports Mueller is Eyeing Tweets; Democrats Gain in New Midterm Race Ratings; Massive Mine Planned Where Bears and Fish Live Now; Death Toll in Wildfires Grows, At Least 6 Dead; Russia Flexes Military Might with Navy Day Parade; 2000s, The I Decade; Trump on Cohen Secret Tape Heard "Get Me a Coke, Please"; Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 29, 2018 - 20:00   ET

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


[20:00:00] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: The president arrived at the White House just a few minutes ago. It's unclear right now if he'll continue his tirade once he settled in for the night. It's also unclear what exactly has set him off. But it could be a number of things, as we've told you. His former attorney and loyal friend Michael Cohen appears to be ready to flip on him. Sources say Cohen is willing to tell Mueller that Trump knew in advance about that infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting, the one with the Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.

And on top of that the president has learned along with everyone else that Cohen has been secretly recording their private conversations for who knows how long. We played one of those tapes for you last week. It's the one where Trump and Cohen discussed whether to pay off an alleged mistress by cash or check. And today Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani is claiming that tape has been doctored.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: He abruptly ended that recording as soon as the president said the word check. We are now -- what we're investigating is why did -- how did that happen? What actually did happen? What was eliminated? And then he's got to raise that question with every one of these tapes. How many of them are -- did he play around with?

We have determined the fact that he tampered with the tape in the sense that he abruptly mid-conversation turned it off. Now we know he didn't do that for a good reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN White House correspondent Boris Sanchez joins us live from New Jersey where the president spent the weekend.

And Boris, let's start with these attacks against Mueller. Walk us through what the president is alleging here.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Ana, yes, in a series of tweets the president sent out earlier today we saw not only his freshest attacks on the special counsel but his most direct against Robert Mueller. The president calling his investigation illegal and then going on to cite what he perceives as conflicts of interest by the special counsel himself.

I'm going to read you a portion of one of his tweets. The president writes, quote, "Is Robert Mueller ever going to release his conflicts of interest with respect to President Trump including the fact that we had a very nasty and contentious business relationship."

CNN has reached out to the White House to find out exactly the president meant by a contentious business relationship. The White House has yet to respond. But there is previous reporting out there that may shed some light on what the president is talking about. Earlier this year both the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post" reported that privately the president had expressed frustration with the special counsel, told his own White House counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, in part because of a dispute that he claims Robert Mueller had with one of his golf clubs, the one in Virginia, where he says Mueller failed to pay legal fees.

Now a source -- a spokesperson for the special counsel told the "Washington Post" at the time that the president's description of that dispute was inaccurate. We should also point out that there was plenty to fact check in these tweets but for the sake of brevity we will just signal that the Department of Justice itself, ethics attorneys for the Department of Justice, have looked into questions of conflict of interest for Robert Mueller, and a spokesperson earlier this year declared that Robert Mueller's involvement in this case is appropriate.

Of course the backdrop is what you mentioned, Ana. Not only the revelations coming from sources close to Michael Cohen, that he's ready to testify about that Trump Tower meeting but these recordings that now Rudy Giuliani is questioning the veracity of -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Boris Sanchez, lots for us to dig into. Thank you for that report.

Let's talk about these new attacks against Robert Mueller as well as Giuliani's claim that the Cohen tape was doctored with us. With us, Former Trump White House lawyer James Schultz and former prosecutor Paul Callan.

So, Jim, I've got to start with these attacks against Mueller. We learned within the last few days Mueller is actually scrutinizing Trump's tweets as part of his obstruction of justice investigation and yet the president here is tweeting all about him.

If you were still a White House lawyer, what would you tell the president right now?

JAMES SCHULTZ, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Look, I've said time and time again, I think the president is well served talking about all the good things that are happening right now with the economy and the tax cuts and regulatory reform and attacking Robert Mueller is not the best use of his time.

CABRERA: Does it hurt him?

SCHULTZ: I think it just distracts from the good things -- like I said, from the good things that are going on. I don't think it puts him in any more or less legal jeopardy. But it certainly distracts from all the good things that the administration's accomplishing.

CABRERA: Paul, a lot of news has broken over the last few days, and to Jim's point there was good economic news on Friday. And yet here goes the president, on this Twitter tirade, on the attack. What do you think set him off?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's very strange because you would think he'd want to keep the topic on the booming economy, which is a very good story for him. But I think the president has been unnerved by the fact that Michael Cohen, who was as we call him the fixer, and nobody seems to deny that that was his role, is now turning apparently and eager to flip and testify against the president.

[20:05:09] A lawyer of many years, a personal lawyer like Cohen, would cause anybody I think to be unnerved. And now you see a total change in attitude toward Cohen. A guy who Giuliani had described as truthful and, you know, he was showering him with compliments. Now Giuliani is --

CABRERA: Honorable.

CALLAN: Honorable, that's right. And now he's a liar and all kinds of other derogatory terms.

CABRERA: Jim, let's talk about Robert Mueller because he's a Republican. He's a Vietnam War hero, a former FBI director in both a Republican as well as a Democratic administration. He's just doing his job right now. Michael Cohen is the one who supposedly betrayed Trump. Giuliani compared him to Brutus. So why is Trump then trying to discredit Mueller instead of Cohen?

SCHULTZ: I think it's just a continuing theme of attacking the investigation, trying to push along that there was no collusion. And it's the president's right to do that. To turn around and claim that there was no collusion. The personal attacks on Mueller, again, I think they're a distraction from the good things that are going on. And as it relates to Michael Cohen, certainly he has his own legal jeopardy at this point in time as well.

CABRERA: Is the president in legal jeopardy because of what we've learned through Cohen's lawyer this week, through sources about what Cohen may be prepared to testify about, including that Trump Tower meeting saying that Trump knew about that in advance?

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: Well, I think it's way too soon to speculate on any of that. Largely because we don't know what Cohen has to say. I mean, the fact that they released that tape this week and we heard that tape, it was a tape quite frankly that wasn't -- the audio was not very good on it. There's questions on both sides as to what was said, who actually released the tape, whether there was a violation of attorney-client privilege as a result of it. All these things are big questions at this point in time.

CALLAN: But, you know, Jim, I think what really is amazing about the whole thing is given all of those problems with the tape, and I agree with you that they were there, why did they waive attorney-client privilege and release the tape? Because they did it because they thought the tape backed up the president. And now Giuliani is saying the tape has been tampered with, the tape is fraudulent and Cohen's a fraud. So the president is not being well served by this defense, which changes the storyline every other day.

CABRERA: What do you think about that?

SCHULTZ: Well, I'm not sure if the --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: I mean, Giuliani -- the president's team waived that attorney-client privilege. This was a tape that was supposed to not be available as part of the investigation.

SCHULTZ: There's a real question as to whether they went to the special master and asked for that -- that hasn't become public one way or the other at this point in time, whether informed consent occurred as it related to that tape and who released the tape. It was a chicken and egg issue there. But nonetheless, the tape is public and now that the tape is public certainly Giuliani's going to want to defend the president as it relates to the contents of that tape. No question.

CABRERA: But Jim, we have confirmed that the president's legal team did waive attorney-client privilege for that tape. You're right, as far as it being out in public, that's one thing. But they waived attorney-client privilege and allowed that to be -- be put forward as evidence as part of this investigation into Michael Cohen. They thought it was going to be exculpatory, remember?

SCHULTZ: If they did, they did. And if they waived it, then that's -- then the result is the fact that the tape's out there anyway. So -- for everyone to hear. So the result is still the same. I think at the end of the day, though, the bottom line is there's no indication that there was ever a payment made. So it's much ado about nothing as it relates to the tape because no actual payment was made as a result of those conversations. At least that's what we know today.

CABRERA: I want you guys to listen to Rudy Giuliani this morning trying to discredit Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: He's destroyed himself, Chris, as a witness. I've prosecuted, you know, 5,000 cases. I'd never prosecute a case on this guy's testimony. First of all, he talks to the press. He may be taping me. Second, he's contradicted so many times that, I mean, you begin your cross-examination by saying which set of lies are you going to tell us today, Michael? Let's go through them now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Paul, does Giuliani have a point?

CALLAN: Well, no. You don't -- I mean, you don't criticize the other side by saying he's talking to the press while you're talking to the press. You know, I mean, seriously. The -- you know, I don't think -- I think that Giuliani thought and had vetted Cohen. He had met Cohen and Cohen had represented the president for a long time. So you would think when Giuliani went out and started praising the honesty of Cohen that would have been based on some kind of reasonable lawyer's investigation. And now a week later he says the guy's a liar. So, you know, I don't think Giuliani's doing much of a job for the president with respect to Michael Cohen.

CABRERA: Jim, I'll give you the final thought.

SCHULTZ: Well, I think he has done a complete 180 on Cohen.

[20:10:02] The fact that Cohen's taping -- I've been a lawyer a long time. I've never taped one conversation with any of my clients. That's certainly an oddity at best as it relates to the practice of law. It's lawful to do in New York. No question about that. Because all you need is one side to consent to that. But certainly it's not something that a lawyer typically does in the common practice.

CALLAN: And it's a violation of the ethical rules for lawyers in New York. He could be disbarred for doing it. It may not be a crime in New York, but it is improper conduct even in New York.

CABRERA: Important last point there. Paul Callan, Jim Schultz, thank you both. Appreciate your legal expertise.

Coming up, the death toll rises as monster wildfires spread across California. Hundreds of homes are destroyed. Thousands are threatened and people have died in all of this. CNN is on the ground. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Get ready for midterm madness. In 100 days voters will deliver their verdict on President Trump's first year, two years now, in office.

[20:15:06] And while the political landscape could shift dramatically in three months, right now the wind is at Democrats' back.

CNN's chief national correspondent John King explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One hundred days now until the midterm elections a new CNN rankings, brand new rankings give the Democrats even more reason to feel bullish about their odds of retaking the big prize, control of the House of Representatives. To the campaign trail in a second. First, though, a reminder of the

current state of play. Let's look at the House as we speak today. 235 Republicans. That's the majority. You see the red seats down here. Democrats in the minority with 193. But that's the state of play here in Washington.

Let's take a look at our new rankings out on the campaign trail and you will see 235 Republican seats. Well, we rank only 158 of them as solid Republican going into the final stretch of the campaign. 29 likely, 18 lean Republican. You see the yellow, the gold? That's 27 toss-up seats. Strong number for the Democrats. 182 solid, nine likely, 12 leaning Democratic seats.

So how do the Democrats get to the majority? Here is their dream scenario. Win the likelies, win the leans. If they could sweep these toss-ups, that's the gold down there, 230 if the Democrats essentially run the board. 230, well in excess of what they need to be the majority. Again, that's a dream-o vision. But it does show you how this is well within their reach heading into the final stretch.

One of the reasons they're so bullish, let's take a closer look at the toss-up seats. See the red on top? Of the 27 toss-up seats, 25 are currently held by Republicans. 25 of the 27 toss-ups are currently Republican-held seats. Only two held by the Democrats. Again, with the wind at your back, a reason the Democrats are optimistic more Republican seats moving from the red into the competitive side of our map here.

Another reason the Democrats are optimistic heading into the final hundred days, their standing today is even better than it was at the beginning of the year. They were optimistic then. Look at the Republican numbers. 177 solid to begin the year. Down to 158 solid now. More seats have moved from dark red, solid Republican, this way toward the Democrats.

The Democratic numbers are up. 182 solid now, up from the beginning of the year. So this map looks good for the Democrats now at 100 days out. Even better than it was in January. A lot can happen between now and then, but heading into this final stretch, Democrats believe their odds are quite good of retaking the biggest prize this November, control of the House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Our thanks to John King.

Joining us now, CNN presidential historian Timothy Naftali and the Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun-Times," Lynn Sweet.

So, Tim, the traditional midterm dynamic, especially in one of these election years is that there are some flips going on, right? What do you think is going to happen this year, especially now that the economy is so strong?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Oh, Ana, I can just see this clip being run over and over again when I make a prediction that turns out to be totally wrong. Here's what I think people should be looking for. Right now the president's approval rating is so low that if you compare that to presidents with similar low approval ratings in a midterm period you can expect to see a switch, a large number of seats go away from the president's party to another party. That's if we follow precedent, right? There's something else that's very interesting, however, which makes this different. I'm not saying it changes the outcome. It makes it different.

The president is now in part running against his own party. In the sense that today's tweet, where he talks about he wants funding for the wall and he wants funding for tougher immigration laws, he's saying to Republicans, if you don't give me what I want I'm going to go out there and I'm going to campaign, I'm going to campaign for Trump people, people who only want what I want, which means the dynamic we're going to see in the fall is that not all Republicans are going to get the support of President Trump.

And to hold on to his -- to hold on to the Republican majority in the House he needs every Republican to win. So --

CABRERA: That's an interesting dynamic when you take a look at how he has made enemies about -- with some in his own party.

NAFTALI: Yes.

CABRERA: But, Lynn, regardless of whether Republicans want the president to stay quiet or not, he apparently has no plans to do so. He's going speak his mind. Here's what he told FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, the famous quote, it's the economy, stupid. Well, if it's the economy, then we should do very well. I just don't know any reason why we shouldn't do well. The economy is the strongest ever and I think that's going to have a very positive impact and I am going to work very hard. I'll go six or seven days a week when we're 60 days out, and I will be campaigning for all of these great people that do have a difficult race and we think we're going to bring them over the line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Lynn do you think he can do it? And where can he do it?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Well, I'll tell you one place I know he -- that Trump is going to be unwelcome, in one of the biggest competitive House races, it's in Illinois.

[20:20:03] It's the 6th Congressional District. Congressman Peter Roskam is fighting against Democrat Sean Casten. President Trump coming would be no help and would be a negative. Also if you look at of those 27 tossup seats that John King was talking about, the ones where you have Republicans running in districts won by Hillary Clinton and there are a handful of those, you won't see these candidates beseeching the president to come in and help them. Maybe case specific, Pence could help, Vice President Pence. So every House race is usually its own story. So in broad brush President Trump will not be welcome in every district.

You know, by the time President Obama was in his second term, you know, he didn't have a calling card open in every place either. So you have to pick and choose. And that's what I think President Trump will discover. And he will be very powerful in the districts where he does need to nudge someone across the line. But those are districts probably that were going to be in his favor anyway.

CABRERA: The president has been tweeting a whole lot today, as we've been discussing. He's playing shutdown politics. He said, "I would be willing to shut down the government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for border security, which includes the wall. Must get rid of lottery, catch and release, et cetera, and finally go to the system of immigration based on merit. We need great people coming into our country."

Tim, do you think Republicans really want to be talking about a shutdown 100 days before the election?

NAFTALI: No. But I think President Trump does. And I think President Trump is saying this because he believes the turnout will determine the midterms and he's going to turn out his base. And he is hoping that he can beat the odds in 2018 that he beat in 2016. I am sure there are people trying to tell the president this is not the best approach or maybe they've given up. But he doesn't care. He won in 2016 playing the game the way he wants to play it. He's trying do it again. He thinks by pressing the buttons that his base care about they will come out and vote and there will be enough of them to hold on to a slim majority in the House.

CABRERA: Lynn, I want to turn to the president's attacks against the media. The president met one-on-one with the head of "The New York Times," we've learned, A.J. Sulzberger. "New York Times" is revealing disturbing details about that meeting. The paper writing, quote, "Mr. Sulzberger recalls telling Mr. Trump at one point that newspapers have begun posting armed guards outside their offices because of a rise in threats against journalists. The president," he says, "expressed surprise that they did not already have armed guards."

At another point Mr. Trump expressed pride in polarizing the phrase -- popularizing the phrase, I should say, "fake news," and said other countries had begun banning it. Mr. Sulzberger responded that those countries were dictatorships and that they were not banning fake news but rather independent scrutiny of their actions.

Lynn, what is Trump's end game here? I mean, state-run media?

SWEET: Well, his end game is -- the multiple stories in this is that he still has a craving for the approval of the "New York Times." And that is evidence, even though that's the newspaper that -- one of the newspapers that's under attack because he gave time and -- you know, to the publisher. I don't know whether or not this very important message that was sent to the president today by the publisher of the "New York Times" will have any impact at all.

Someone who is proud of popularizing the term "fake news" may not care what the publisher of the "New York Times" thinks about it. Sad to say, but what is important is that the news organizations keep doing its job, as CNN does, as the "Sun-Times" does and every one of our colleagues do, because the stories still have to be done and maybe at some point President Trump will understand the news and the job of the news in a different context.

I don't think so. I think what's important is for us to make sure that the infection that the president is spreading when it comes to journalism and the free press in America is limited.

CABRERA: Tim, are you surprised to hear this from an American president?

NAFTALI: One of the things that keeps us together is a combined joint love of our Constitution. When Mr. Trump, President Trump, speaks this way, he is not speaking like someone who loves our Constitution. At the basis of our Constitution is the First Amendment. He is president of the United States. So an American president is saying this. It is unprecedented for an American president to say this publicly. Nixon sometimes said it privately. But the fact of the matter is it's up to Americans to decide if this is what they want to hear from their president and whether their love of the Constitution, which as I said binds us, requires or not an understanding and commitment to the First Amendment.

[20:25:07] I suspect Americans are committed to the First Amendment.

SWEET: And may I just add, Tim and Ana, very quickly, for a president to be -- it would be something if the president could be as committed to the First Amendment as he is to the Second.

CABRERA: Lynn Sweet, Timothy Naftali. We'll leave it there on that poignant moment. Thank you.

Coming up, our special series about the Alaska wilderness and the Trump administration's controversial plans to drill and mine there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WEIR, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: In nearby Catmine National Park my team learned firsthand that this part of Alaska is nirvana for bears.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:30:07] CABRERA: A fight is brewing right now between the federal government and people trying to save one of the most unspoiled natural environments on earth. It's happening in Alaska. Work is beginning to develop a massive gold and copper mine there. But the problem is where and at what cost.

CNN correspondent Bill Weir went to see for himself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WEIR (voice-over): This is a beach landing on a battleground. No bombs or bullets, thankfully, just gorgeous quiet. But that little camp holds a band of brothers determined to defend it from invasion.

(On camera): What happens if a bear comes for a drink right now?

DREW HAMILTON, WILDLIFE GUIDE: Just stop.

WEIR (voice-over): Among them is Drew Hamilton, a biologist and guide for the World Wildlife Fund, who makes a living getting cozy with grizzlies.

HAMILTON: It takes a couple of days out here to really ease into it and realize that the bears are just part of the landscape and they're going about their business.

WEIR (on camera): Yes.

HAMILTON: And as long as you don't mess with them, they're going to leave you alone.

WEIR (voice-over): In nearby Katmai National Park, my team learned firsthand that this part of Alaska is nirvana for bears and wolves, whales, and eagles. A wonderland all made possible by salmon. Tens of millions surge into southern Alaska each summer to spawn, feeding every form of life, including a multibillion dollar fishing and tourism industry dependent on the health of this landscape.

HAMILTON: We've got bear tracks, we've had wolf tracks, fox tracks.

WEIR: Which is why Drew worries less about wild animals and more about the human beings coming towards us on the beach.

(On camera): What are you guys up to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We work for a surveying company up in Anchorage.

WEIR (voice-over): They are hesitant to admit they're doing work for the Pebble Mine, one of the most controversial projects in Alaska history.

HAMILTON: This red spot right here.

WEIR (on camera): This is it. This is where it all started.

HAMILTON: This is where it all started.

WEIR (voice-over): About 80 miles from the beach, a Canadian mining company called Northern Dynasty discovered enough buried treasure to propose the biggest gold and copper mine in the world.

But when the EPA under Barack Obama determined that blasting it open and digging it up would threaten the fishery, stock in Northern Dynasty tanked, partners bailed, the companies sued. But then --

JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT: Congratulations, Mr. President. WEIR: A reversal of fortune. In one of his very first acts running

Trump's EPA, Scott Pruitt met with Pebble and then settled the lawsuits. When CNN revealed that meeting, there was an outcry in Alaska. Most fishermen, tribes, even Governor Bill Walker are opposed to the mine. And Senator Lisa Murkowski said she would never trade salmon for gold. But Northern Dynasty refuses to give up.

(On camera): The latest plan includes a 100-mile natural gas pipeline to power the mine. It would run past that active volcano into a massive port system here on this beach. Imagine ships and semi-trucks instead of bears and foxes, and then a 35-mile road through some of the most pristine wilderness in the state.

(Voice-over): Since Scott Pruitt resigned amid scandal, the new man in charge of the EPA is Andrew Wheeler, a former lobbyist at one of Pebble Mine's law firms. He declined our request for an interview.

TOM COLLIER, CEO, PEBBLE PARTNERSHIP: This is in the Roosevelt Room and that's Gore and Clinton.

WEIR: But the CEO of Pebble was happy to talk.

COLLIER: Nobody can guarantee there won't be an accident. Right? But we've done a hell of a lot to minimize the possibility of there being an accident on this site.

WEIR: Pebble Mine would sit in a wetland prone to earthquakes. So the biggest worry is a tailings damn failure like this one in British Columbia, which sent a lake full of acidic waste downstream. But Collier says the mine site is so far from Bristol Bay, that is a risk he can live with.

COLLIER: If there is an accident, it will kill fish for about 20 miles down the north fork of the Koktuli, and that's it. And for 10 years, it will come back naturally.

WEIR: Utah's Bingham Canyon is the biggest mine in the world. Pebble has enough wealth to dig one three times bigger. But after all the resistance, those plans have been cut in half.

(On camera): And there are some theories that you shrink the footprint of the mine in order to get the permit and then once you spend billions to build the port and the pipelines and the roads and all of that, you say, well, we need to expand.

COLLIER: There's a lot of gold and copper and silver and molybdenum in the ground out there. And we do not have any current plans to expand beyond what we're talking about with this permit.

[20:35:06] But it wouldn't surprise me if somebody, us or someone else, doesn't do that at some point in the future.

HAMILTON: I mean, they're basically talking about putting 175-mile gash across this pristine habitat.

WEIR (voice-over): Plans and promises aside, Drew sees this is first piece of survey equipment as the beginning of the end of this wilderness as we know it.

(On camera): What do you say to the argument that this means jobs, this means an infusion into the Alaskan economy?

HAMILTON: I say there are already jobs here. You look at the town of Homer in the bear viewing industry, there are millions of dollars being made here already in its current wilderness state. You look at the other side of the mountain. There are tens of millions of dollars already being generated in a fashion that can be sustained for decades and decades and decades. Why can't we just keep that going?

WEIR (voice-over): So he and his fellow bear lovers will try to stop the invasion through persuasion, but the clock is ticking. As Army engineers rush to review their plans, Pebble hopes to get their permit and a wave of new investors by the fall of 2020, right before Donald Trump's next election.

Bill Weir, CNN, Alaska.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: We are continuing to closely monitor the fire situation in California tonight. This is a fast-moving, often erratic wildfire, claiming at least six lives. Another seven are reported missing. And at this point the biggest of the California fires is the Carr Fire near Redding . It's only 5 percent contained. That's after crews have been battling it for a week.

CNN's Dan Simon filed this report from Redding, California.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, for the first time we're now beginning to hear fire officials express optimism about the overall effort. They've indicated that the containment number is going to go up. That means that the resources that they've put into this fire now seem to be working. You have about 3500 firefighters on the front lines. And obviously a lot of aircraft dumping water on the hot spots.

In the meantime, we are in the Lake Redding Estates subdivision, and you can see this is one of the homes that has been destroyed. You can see this is a two-car garage. You see the two vehicles right here. And underscore the random nature of it all. You can see right next door you see this house that is perfectly intact.

You have 38,000 people that are under an evacuation order. You have these people who are very restless. Obviously, they want to try to get back into their homes. And people who of course have homes to get back into. You can't get a hotel in the area. It's just impossible. And some of the evacuation shelters have also reached maximum capacity but now that this containment number seems to be going up we should get an indication of what that number will be later tonight. But now that it's going up hopefully it means that fire crews will soon have this blaze under control -- Ana.

CABRERA: Dan Simon in Redding, California. Thank you. Coming up, Putin's parade. The Russian president shows off his

military might as the American president mulls an invitation to Moscow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:42:19] CABRERA: Welcome back. The Russian military put on a massive show today meant to send a message to the world. Russian president Vladimir Putin leading ships and sailors at today's Navy day parade in St. Petersburg.

CNN's Fredrick Pleitgen is also there and he says this show of force is carefully choreographed to show how Russia's military compares to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A display of Russia's naval power in the heart of St. Petersburg. Vladimir Putin inspecting the vessels from his own presidential boat then touting the advances of the country's naval forces.

PRES. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (through translator): The Russian fleet successfully resolves the tasks of the country's defense capability, makes a significant contribution to the fight against international terrorism, and plays an important role in ensuring strategic parity.

PLEITGEN: Strategic parity means parity with the U.S. and its NATO allies. Russia showcasing a submarine nicknamed "The Carrier Killer," designed to hunt U.S. aircraft carriers. A new stealth frigate and a spy vessel aimed at countering American missile defense technology.

(On camera): On this day, Vladimir Putin's message to the West is very clear. Even though Russia's military might not be as big and as well funded as militaries in the West, it can still be a threat to America and its NATO allies.

(Voice-over): Last week Russia also showing off new missile technology, including a hypersonic missile the Kremlin says can beat American defense systems. All this right after both President Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed working together to prevent a new arms race at their recent summit in Helsinki, a point Putin reiterated this past week.

PUTIN (through translator): Russia and the United States have a stake in that. The whole world has a stake in that. And not starting an arms race.

PLEITGEN: But while Russia may be interested in preventing an arms race, Russia also clearly wants to show America and its allies that its forces are stronger and more advanced than at any time since the Cold War.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, St. Petersburg, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Coming up, the I decade explosion. From the launch of the iPod to the rise of Facebook. We look back at the tech ideas that revolutionized the 21st century. A preview of tonight's brand new episode of "THE 2000s" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:49:09] CABRERA: Just try to remember life before Twitter, before Facebook, before smartphones. Really it wasn't that long ago. The 2000s gave us the iPhone and an avalanche of technology that completely changed the way most of us live our lives. It's our decade in focus for this CNN original series. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID POGUE, TECHNOLOGY JOURNALIST: All kinds of things have changed because of the smartphone. So there are new rules. Are you allowed to have your phone at the dinner table? Should you be looking at your phone on the sidewalk on a busy street? People are looking at their cell phones while they are driving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a price that you pay with respect to that accessibility. And that is it's always there. It is always available. You never really unplug.

GIL TROY, HISTORIAN: With all these new technologies, we've become a society of instant gratification.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to download this movie now. I want this song now. I want to read the news now.

[20:50:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instant gratification has changed our social etiquette, too. We now unfriend people. We follow people. We run on their walls. In the '90s that was considered graffiti.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's being in "New York Times" technology writer Farhad Manjoo.

Thank you for being with us. You also write this book, "True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society." So let's dive into the decade we're talking about.

FARHAD MANJOO, TECHNOLOGY WRITER, NEW YORK TIMES: Yes.

CABRERA: You have this technology explosion, the rise of Apple, and iPods, iPhones, iPads. The creation of social media, Google, Amazon, on and on and on. What forces were at play during this decade that allowed for this huge tech boom to happen?

MANJOO: Yes, I mean, it was a decade that started with the tech industry kind of in the dumps because of the -- you know, the dotcom boom and it ended with technology becoming the most dominant cultural and social force in the world, the thing that, you know, is still with us and kind of changing everything about our lives even to this day. And it happened, you know, because of those inventions you mentioned.

The iPhone particularly, it gave us this future where we were always accessible, where we always had the Internet with us and social networking. You know, that was the thing that made the Internet -- turned it from a utility into basically just fun. Everyone is on it because everyone else is on it and it's kind of the main public square now.

CABRERA: I also think about remember the days of encyclopedias? Because now we have information at our fingertips.

MANJOO: Right.

CABRERA: It's so accessible. But it wasn't just the gadgets that came to really define this tech explosions and the Web sites and the companies that made them. I mean, let's talk about the visionaries that brought them to life, people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos or Bezos. How important were these individuals to this era of technological advancement?

MANJOO: Yes. I mean, you can kind of see it in the stock market today. I mean, the biggest companies in the world today are the ones that were created by those visionaries, you know, in the late '90s or the ones that came back, thanks to those visionaries and, you know, in the case of Apple. You know, Steve Jobs really in his second stint at Apple, during the 2000s he really changed the entire face of the tech industry. He gave us the iPod, changed the way that we understood and we got entertainment, and then, you know, with the iPhone kind of changed the entire tech industry and became kind of the dominant platform for development for -- you know, until now.

Jeff Bezos, you know, created this store that then changed a lot of else in our lives. You know, made everything more convenient and gave us, you know, cloud storage. Kind of everything we access online is based on -- you know, is running from Amazon servers. And you know, and you also had sort of upstarts. You know, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in the 2000s.

CABRERA: Yes.

MANJOO: In his Harvard dorm room.

CABRERA: Farhan Manjoo, thank you so much for the discussion.

And be sure to tune in. "THE 2000s: THE IDECADE" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Coming up, caught on tape. Irrefutable evidence of a thirsty president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP PERSONAL LAWYER: They don't have a --

TRUMP: Get me a coke, please.

COHEN: They don't have a legitimate purpose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:57:46] CABRERA: The price of a can of Coke is on the rise. Fallout from Trump's tariff on aluminum. But that probably won't stop the president from slugging down a dozen a day.

Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Talk about grasping at straws. Have you heard the juiciest part of the Trump-Cohen tape?

COHEN: Well, they don't have a --

TRUMP: Give me a Coke, please.

COHEN: They don't have a legitimate purpose.

MOOS: Incontrovertible evidence of a thirsty president.

TRUMP: Get me a coke, please.

MOOS: Living up to his reputation for daily consumption of --

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Twelve Diet Cokes, right?

JORDAN KLEPPER, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE OPPOSITION": That's 144 ounces of president fuel.

MOOS: You'd be surprised how many commenters tweeted, "My favorite part is when he yells, 'get me a Coke, please.'" Others ranked it up there with "Mom, the meatloaf" from "Wedding Crashers."

WILL FERRELL, ACTOR: Hey, Ma, could we get some meatloaf?

MOOS: There were comparisons to JFK, my fellow Americans --

JOHN F. KENNEDY, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask --

TRUMP: Get me a Coke, please.

MOOS (on camera): But there was one thing that got the most comments that even critics found pleasing.

(Voice-over): "Wow, he said please." "He said please? Must be a fake." "Trump says please to the help. That's my president."

He hasn't always been complementary about his favorite beverage, tweeting, "I have never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke." And, "I'll still keep drinking that garbage."

Jimmy Fallon once chronicled the president's behavior as he downed his daily dozen.

TRUMP: The American dream is dead. Bing, bing, bong, and that. God bless the United States.

MOOS: Now he has a red button on his Oval Office desk to push when he wants a Coke. But when he was a candidate, he actually had to speak.

TRUMP: Get me a Coke, please.

MOOS: As one commenter noted, "Things including hush money go better with Coke."

Jeanne Moos --

TRUMP: Get me a Coke, please.

MOOS: CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: That's going to do it for me. I'm Ana Cabrera. Up next, it's a brand new episode of "THE 2000s," followed by the "HISTORY OF COMEDY" at 10:00. Thank you for being here with us. Have a great night.