JUDY WOODRUFF: A banner economic
report out today showed the
strongest quarterly growth

in the United States since 2014.

The Commerce Department's
initial estimate said the U.S.
gross domestic product grew

by 4.1 percent in the
second quarter this year.

That is up from 2.2
percent last quarter.

The president hailed the report
standing outside the White
House this morning, and insisted

the trend would continue.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the
United States: These numbers
are very, very sustainable.

This isn't a one-time shot.

I happen to think we're going
to do extraordinarily well in
our next report, next quarter.

I think it's going
to be outstanding.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Many economists,
however, question whether
that pace is sustainable.

We will look at what is behind
the booming growth, and how
the president's trade war

could affect it, right
after the news summary.

President Trump is pushing back
against claims that he knew
in advance of a 2016 meeting

between his son and
a Russian lawyer.

According to CNN, the
president's former personal
attorney Michael Cohen
says that then-candidate

Trump approved the meeting
for which Donald Trump Jr. had
been promised dirt on Hillary

Clinton.

The president denied the
accusations on Twitter
today, saying -- quote
-- "I didn't know of

the meeting" and that Cohen
was -- quote -- "trying
to make up stories."

We will look at what
these latest revelations
mean for the Russia probe
later in the program.

President Trump and Russia's
President Putin are making
plans for round two after last

week's explosive
Helsinki summit.

Putin said this morning that he
had invited Mr. Trump to Moscow.

The White House responded that
the president is open to the
meeting and looks forward to

hosting Putin in
Washington next year.

Defense Secretary James
Mattis also said that he
is considering talks with
his Russian counterpart.

Flying from North to South
Korea today, an American plane
carried precious cargo said

to be the remains of
U.S. soldiers killed
in the Korean war.

It coincides with the 65th
anniversary of the armistice
drawing down that conflict,

although it never
officially ended.

The transfer could mean a major
promise delivered by North
Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Yamiche Alcindor has our report.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: A promise
seemingly kept with 55 boxes.

Today, at an American air base
in South Korea, service members
loaded what are believed to

be the missing remains
of American soldiers.

Some 36,000 U.S. soldiers
died in the Korean War.

The remains returned today are
just some of the 5, 300 still
said to be in North Korea.

DONALD TRUMP: These incredible
American heroes will sue to
lay it rest on sacred American

soil.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Hours later
at the White House, President
Trump welcome the move.

Mr. Trump thanked North
Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

He said Kim delivered on a
commitment he made during their
summit in Singapore last month.

DONALD TRUMP: I want
to thank Chairman Kim
for keeping his word.

We have many others coming.

But I want to thank Chairman
Kim in front of the media
for fulfilling a promise that

he made to me.

And I'm sure that he
will continue to fulfill
that promise, as they
search and search and

search.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Earlier this
week, Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo said the U.S. believes

that North Korea is dismantling
a missile engine testing site.

The administration celebrated
these two developments.

They say it is proof that North
Korea is turning the page and
that it will hopefully lead to

North Korea giving up
its nuclear weapons.

JAMES MATTIS, U.S. Secretary
of Defense: This humanitarian
act obviously is a step in the

right direction.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Today,
Defense secretary James
Mattis echoed that sentiment.

FRANK JANNUZI, President and
CEO, Maureen and Mike Mansfield
Foundation: So, the Singapore

agreement had only one specific
commitment from the North Korean
side, which was to repatriate

remains.

And so it's pretty clear to
me that they don't want to be
responsible for a breakdown in

this process.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Frank
Jannuzi is a former State
Department official.

He was part of the U.S.
delegation during the
Clinton administration's
talks with North

Korea.

FRANK JANNUZI: It's a good
sign of their determination
not to see the process
fail that they are

now sending these remains home.

However, it may not have
any bearing on their
willingness to denuclearize.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Following
the Vietnam War, the return of
U.S. soldier remains was key

to normalizing
U.S.-Vietnam relations.

That is something the
North Koreans are well
aware of, says Jannuzi.

FRANK JANNUZI: They know that
the recovery of the remains
of U.S. soldiers was actually

the central pillar of the
normalization process.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: For now,
U.S. experts will work
to identify the remains.

Meanwhile, this is just the
first step and what will be a
long push to get North Korea

to give up their
nuclear weapons.

For the "PBS NewsHour,"
I'm Yamiche Alcindor.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Pakistan
has officially elected
a new prime minister.

The country's election
commission declared
populist Imran Khan the
winner after two days

of ballot counting and
allegations of vote-rigging.

Khan's party must now seek
partners in order to form
a governing coalition.

The European monitoring
team deemed the elections
credible, but said the
campaign was riddled

with intimidation.

The U.S. State Department also
cited flaws in the process.

On Wall Street today, markets
were down after more signs of
trouble at tech companies like

Twitter and Intel overshadowed
promising economic growth.

The Dow Jones industrial
average lost 75 points
to close at 25451.

The Nasdaq fell 114 and
the S&P 500 dropped 18.

Still to come on the "NewsHour":
the strong U.S. economic growth
over the past three months,

we break down these latest
numbers; what President
Trump says he knew
about his son's meeting

with Russians in 2016;
wildfires sweeping through
the West; and much more.