richard engel early on a friday morning in moscow. ken delaney late on a thursday night in washington. gentlemen, thank you so much for starting off our broadcast with us tonight. >>> our next guest is a proud product of the state of montana and stanford university where he has now returned as professor of political science. more importantly for our conversation, michael mcfaul served as u.s. ambassador to russia for two years ending in 2014. mr. ambassador, what do you make of this little wrinkle about putin richard engel just used based on his own reporting that putin was in more of a managerial function which we could have surmised and chiefly what are the risks for mr. trump? >> well, first of all, of course the russians are going to deny they were involved. that is their job. that's what mr. lavrov did today, the foreign minister. who would predict otherwise? second, i know that system well, i've lived there many years, i was the ambassador, i dealt with cyber security issues every single day for five years in the u.s. government

nbc's richard engel reports from >> reporter: -- anything since he wrapped up his trip in japan. no senior official from the kremlin have commented. in fact the state-run media here is barely covering the story at all. if it is mentioned, it is the fifth or sixth item in the newscast and when it is given that attention, it is said that this is an attempt by the intelligence community to cast shame upon russia that this is the hillary clinton campaign trying to come up with some excuse for why she lost the presidency. in the past the kremlin and kremlin officials have said that these allegations are baseless. and that if the intelligence community of the united states wants to prove them, it needs to show much more evidence. something that the cia and the

richard engel is live in istanbul. how did security break down and what do we think the motives are? >> reporter: details are still coming in. it seems karlov was speaking at a russian sponsored art photo exhibit featuring russian and turkish artists. a few minutes into the remarks a man in a suit, clean shaven, dark suit and tie stood up, shout shouted allahu akbar. you can hear gunshots and he drops to the floor. there are media reports that say the gunman showed some sort of security badge either posing as a police officer, powas a polic officer to gain access to this diplomatic event. in addition to saying allah allahu akbar spoke turkish and perhaps arabic as well. there are reports he said something about aleppo saying the crimes in aleppo can't go unanswered. we are still trying to confirm this. there were numerous -- two russian reports saying he's died. but so far we have not been able to confirm that. so far the russian foreign ministry is saying only that he was shot, hospitalized and the kremlin is in touch

richard engel, nbc news, moscow. >>> a memorial fit for a space hero. family, friends, and dignitaries pay their final respects to john glenn today. he passed away last week at the age of 96. vice president joe biden attended the ceremony to honor his friend. >> we served in the senate together side by side for 25 years and we travelled around the world together. johiest people i ever knew. >> he will be buried in arlington national cemetery in the spring. >> he always looked to cheerful. >> and he did accomplish a lot. >> still to come at 5:00 -- >> san jose police department working to fill their shortage. >> folks venturing outside around willow glen trying to get shopping down before a freeze warning sets in. looking for a few good men and women. ==take vo== s-j-p-d is recruiting at oakridge mall trying to overcome a staffing crisis they've had for years. >>> san jose police going to the mall this weekend looking for good men and women. since 2012, the department has lost nearly 500 officers. those left are forced to work lots of overtime. recruiter

we get their story tonight from our richard engel, inside iraq. >> reporter: this is probably the most important clinic in all of iraq now. because almost every civilian injured in mosul is taken here. and they're treated by derek coleman, from san diego. >> i got the artery. >> reporter: and pete reed from new jersey. we were here, we had over 65 casualties. including 12 dead on arrival. >> reporter: the americans are the first ones to give care to civilians like farida. shrapnel upon tore into her legs moments ago. her brother says isis is firing indiscriminately into mosul. the two 27-year-olds came here on their own. >> quit my job, sold my truck, sold most of my possessions. hope and a dream. >> reporter: the volunteers initially came to work with iraqi forces to help fight isis, but they realized they could do more good saving lives. >> how many front-line medical posts like this are there in mosul right now? >> one. >> you're standing in it. >> reporter: there are 5,000 american troops here, but very view of them are allowed to leave their bases and help out on the front lines.

chief foreign correspondent richard engel what more do we know this morning? >> reporter: a team of russian investigators has arrived from moscow and they will be looking into the murder, the assassination, of the russian ambassador. there has also been heightened security put in place here in istanbul where the u.s. consulate is closed. also in ankara. the entire diplomatic quarter is now seeing a more intensified security presence. we know more about the gunman. you see him in that video wearing a suit and tie, holding his weapon in the air. that was just after he had gunned down the russian ambassador. he's been identified as an off-duty police officer, 22 years old. some of his acquaintances and relatives have been taken in today for questioning. what authorities want to know is was he connected to anyone else? how long was this planned? how did he get so close to the ambassador? the ambassador didn't have his own private security detail. that is the responsibility of the turkish government. but how did he manage to get in? we've been told by security offi

richard engel, nbc news, duhok, iraq. >>> still ahead, driving drowsy. a new warning about the dangers of getting behind the wheel when you haven't gotten enough sleep. why experts say it can be as bad as driving drunk. >>> also, a rare defeat for tech giant apple at the supreme court with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line. >>> there's news tonight for anyone who struggles to get enough sleep. working double shifts, students cramming at night, or as we talked about here last night, people just struggling with insomnia. new research from aaa suggests if you miss just a couple of hours of sleep, your risk of having an accident starts climbing fast. 20% of all fatal accidents are thought to involve drowsy driving. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it's the kind of close call a lot of drivers can relate to. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: a lack of sleep, and suddenly -- >> [ bleep ]. >> your eyelids get ahead and it's like you go into a fog. >> reporter: the decision to drive drowsy has haunted karen roberts for years. a new nursing school gradua

engel, chief foreign correspondent for us tonight in istanbul, richard, thank you. i appreciate you being with us tonight. >> absolutely. >>> again, as we are following these multiple incidents, there have been a number of attacks of various kinds over the last few days, large-scale attacks in yemen, yesterday a significant and complex attack yesterday in jordan and now a shooting at a mosque in zurich and switzerland, the assassination of the russian ambassador to turkey which we were just discussing with richard and this large-scale attack in germany. thdeath toll over the course the evening has gone from 9 people killed in that attack on a christmas market to now 12 people killed, 48 injured and in hospital. it's possible that the death toll may rise. of course, we pray that it won't. lots going on. stay with us. xe this is more than just a credit card. it's how adventure begins. and with the miles you can earn, it's always taking you closer to your next unforgettable experience. become a cardmember and start enjoying benefits built to take you further... like gr

>> richard engel tonight in moscow, thanks. >>> president-elect trump has repeatedly rejected u.s. intelligence estimates blaming russia for the election hacks. tonight we get reaction from team trump to the message president obama aimed at them today from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight, mounting pressure on president-elect donald trump to call out russian hacking in the u.s. election, after president obama called on his successor to take a hard look at what went wrong. >> one way i do believe that the president-elect can approach this that would be unifying is to say that we welcome a bipartisan, independent process. >> reporter: but just moments after the president's press conference, one of trump's top advisers digging in, not disputing russia's at fault, but instead pointing the finger at hillary clinton. >> this wouldn't have happened if hillary clinton didn't have a secret server. >> reporter: in fact, it was one of clinton's top adviser's e-mails that was hacked and exposed, not clinton's secret server. trump weighing in on twitter today, again pointing to the dn

richard engel, inside iraq. >> reporter: this is probably the most important clinic in all of iraq now. because almost every civilian injured in mosul is taken here. and they're treated by derek coleman, from san diego. >> i got the artery. >> reporter: and pete reed from new jersey. >> the very first day we were here, we had over 65 casualties. including 12 dead on arrival. >> reporter: the care to civilians like farida. shrapnel tore into her legs moments ago. her brother says isis is firing indiscriminately into mosul. the two 27-year-olds came here on their own. >> quit my job, sold my truck, sold most of my possessions. came out here on a hope and a dream. >> reporter: the volunteers initially came to work with iraqi forces to help fight isis, but they realized they could lives. >> how many front-line medical posts like this are there in mosul right now? >> one. >> you're standing in it. >> reporter: there are 5,000 american troops here, but very view of -- very few of them are allowed to leave their bases and help out on the front lines. so reed and coleman stepped in. where are

our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel is in turkey. we want to warn you, the images in this story are disturbing. >> reporter: the russian ambassador was speaking at a photography exhibit and never saw his killer. that's him standing calmly behind the ambassador moments before he shot him in the back. with the ambassador down, the killer shouted in arabic and then turkish. we are those who swore loyalty to muhammad and the jihad, he said, as journalists tried to hide, including hassam. >> first he shot two or three times up, and then she shot directly to ambassador. i hide myself behind a table. >> reporter: the assassin was an off-duty turkish policeman. witnesses say he used his badge to get into the russian-sponsored event. the gunman said this was revenge for russia's participation in attacks on aleppo, where evacuations of civilians continue tonight. russia and syria have been widely criticized for their brutal military campaign against the city. it's unclear if the gunman was sent by a terrorist group like isis, or was just angry

richard engel, nbc news, moscow. >>> now to the brutal four-year-long battle for aleppo that appears to be near its end this evening, the russian government, allied with the syrian regime, said today that military action has ceased in eastern aleppo, claiming syrian forces have taken control of the city from rebels. as our bill neely reports, civilians are still scrambling to get out of aleppo, amid horrifying reports of executions. >> reporter: they escaped a slaughter today. thousands fleeing aleppo's last battleground. the young and sick, the old and helpless, besieged for months, trudging from the ruins of their homes. they've fled a relentless onslaught by regime and russian forces, crushing what's left of the rebel east. but not everyone escaped. terrified civilians, sending what they called their last messages. >> the assad militias are maybe 300 meters away. no place now to go. it's the last days. >> reporter: no word tonight of one child, 7-year-old bana, whose latest message read, this is my final moment to either live or die. the horrors are clear on aleppo's streets. shel

. >> nbc's chief global correspondent richard engel. let's start with bill nealy. fact check that statement. is the reason the west wants a cease-fire just to protect terrorists? >> well, there is clearly no cease-fire at the moment. it is interesting that interview was given to russian television. whatever success he's having in aleppo isn't due to his army but entirely due to the militias, iranian and iraqi militias and the russian air power that's bombarded the city for a few months. i have heard from a friend and colleague inside aleppo who said there is heavy shelling. noo sign of a steef. fluz we heard there was a deal brokered by the russians and the turks which would mean thousands of people could come out and a lot of those fighters and civilians and their families could get on buses this morning and leave aleppo. that evacuated people on the buses. they had to scatter in fear and all day there were air strikes, artillery strikes, mortar rounds striking eastern aleppo according to videos posted on social media by people who are inside eastern aleppo. we ca

richard engel, nbc news, da huk, iraq. >>> still ahead, driving drowsy. a new warning about the dangers of getting behind the wheel when why experts say it can be as bad as driving drunk. >>> also a rare defeat for tech giant apple at the more "doing chores for mom" per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50% longer than the leading ordinary brand. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty, the quicker picker upper you don't let anything keep you that's why you drink ensure. sidelined. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. my friends think doing this at my age is scary. i say not if you protect yourself. what is scary? pneumococcal pneumonia. it's a serious disease. my doctor said the risk is greater now that i'm over 50! yeah...ya-ha... just one dose of the prevnar 13? vaccine can help protect you an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. prevnar 13? is approved for adults 18 and older to help prevent infections from 13 s

. >> reporter: i'm richard engel in moscow, where the kremlin couldn't be happier with the way trump's cabinet is shaping up, especially with rex tillerson as potential secretary of state. vladimir mill of is a former russian minister of energy. >> it's absolutely a gift for putin. >> reporter: tillerson is best known here for making a deal with an oil giant called rosneft. that's its headquarters over there. just over the moscow river fromhe kremlin. and analysts say the company is like a cash cow for president putin and his inner circle. mickel, an energy analyst says the dividends earned by rosneft end up in one place. >> this is the personal purse ear wallet of the russian president. >> reporter: and that wallet could grow significantly. and tillerson is at the center of it. exxon mobil and deal in the arctic, russia values at $500 billion. a deal so important, after it, he was given the russian medal of friendship. but the deal is on hold because of u.s. sanctions. >> obviously the conflict of interest is something that is written on mr. tillerson forehead. >> written on his foreh

richard engel is there. what is the erdogan reaction so far? do we think this man was a rogue, an inspired terrorist or do they think he is part of some plot? >> reporter: well, typical of erdogan we have been hearing a variety of different theories coming from him and his inner circle. some of them suggesting that the gunman didn't work alone, that it was too professional, that it could not have been someone who didn't have help and an organization behind him. there have been officials who blame it on the gulinists, the movement that according to turkey tried to carry out the coup in this country just about a year ago. less than a year ago. so even though that doesn't seem to fit with what the militant himself was saying in his -- as he was carrying out the assassination. he was saying he was a jihadi and wanted to do this to punish russia for the attack on aleppo. frankly, we are not hearing a consistent message from the turkish authorities. but they seem to be pushing this conspiracy theory. there are suggestions the united states had a role

joining me now from istanbul is nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. some of the progress attributed to new comments from bashar al assad. >> reporter: this city has been a strong hold of the opposition movement to president al assad. it's been a seat in many ways of the rebels, the largest urban area they hold. they are losing it quickly. according to the russian military syrian forces, syrian government forces now control 93% of aleppo. according to that estimate it leaves 7% still in rebel hands. that area is now still under attack. people are leaving. people are afraid for their lives. the russian official from the military said today that just in the last 24 hours, over 10,000 people have left rebel controlled areas. they call them militant-held areas and gone to government territory. but when they do, there are ominous reports about what's happening to the people. some are being given food and shelter, but the u.n. says it has received reports of hundreds of military-aged men disappearing. >> richard engel live for us in istanbul with the latest

meanwhile in moscow, richard engel, uchb reporting on the reaction there. this as vladimir putin is in japan today. but a lot of reaction in his circle in moscow to what happened, they are feeling good about it. >> reporter: they're saying if the u.s. wants to make the case they are effectively throwing down the gauntlet saying show the evidence. i have been speaking to u.s. intelligence officials who said that the intelligence community is reluctant to show too much evidence. it could reveal sources and methods. this official did echo the reporting we have been having over the last couple of days that said this was a russian campaign. that vladimir putin certainly was involved, had a managerial role and that his role got more direct the more that the campaign seemed to be gaining traction. but like many of the officials who have been saying and making claims like this, this was yet another unnamed official who didn't want to go on camera. didn't want to go on the record. will it go beyond this? if it doesn't, russia feels it is sitting pretty. it can conti

mouse cow, richard engel, thank you very much. the trump's team is quick to dismiss the allegations as he was reporting about russia. others fully accepted that including senator lyndsey graham recognizing this. most of the information that was released was unfavorable to clint and non and not trump. i don't know what their motives are. do you agree of what you just heard from lyndsey graham? i think senator graham deserved a lot of credits as he's recognizing the facts as they are. all of us despite whether republicans or democrats need to recognize that in the next election cycle, this could be aimed at us. this is about a foreign power, a hostile foreign power having their thumb on the scales of american elections. they wanted to show a how bad democracy can be and i am quoting here, "to split off key american allies by creating an image that other countries can depend on the u.s.," do you believer of this that putin accomplished any of those things? >> what's clear is the russis have a phd in this information. you can oftentim

. >> when we talk about a hack that was personally overseen or richard engel used the word managed by vladimir putin. what's that role mean? >> okay. how this intelligence had been gathered was going to be used. was it to be distributed widely? was it to be used in a blackmail attempt? how was the intelligence they gathered through routine cyber warfare, how would they deploy it if at all. and thursday night it was reported that the reasons what they were trying to accomplish and u.s. intelligence is united in one thing. this began as a vendetta against hillary clinton. vladimir putin was outraged by hillary clinton's challenge of the authenticity in 2011. she said things like this is a tough man with a thin skin. vladimir putin had a vendetta against hillary clinton. this began before donald trump was running, before donald trump was the nominee. the cia made an assessment that electing donald trump was part of the operation. it certainly was secondary if you look at the binary operation. this began as a vendetta against hillary clinton and morphed into something else to discredit th

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we get more on that from nbc's richard engel. >> reporter: new video shows the russian ambassador to turkey's assassination was slow and methodical. watch the killer in the suit nonchalantly taking a position behind the ambassador. he eases his hand into his jacket, then fires. the ambassador's remains were repatriated to moscow today. his widow, in profound grief, as a team of russian investigators arrived at the scene. a turkish security official said today, the hit was too professional to have been carried out without help. some in turkey and online went in for conspiracies, blaming the cia. and that anger may have been what inspired this older man to grab a shotgun late last night and fire rounds into the air outside the u.s. embassy in ankara, injuring no one, before he was arrested. it's all part of a new normal, where assassins, terrorists, and those inspired by them, increasingly drive world events. just since sunday, in yemen, 48 people were killed in a bombing. in jordan, another ten. isis claimed both. and now germany, with yet another low-tech truck ramming. >> i think th

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now, in moscow, we've got richard engel. richard, from all of your reporting, fascinating over the last few days, they're celebrating donald trump's election in moscow. >> oh, they are absolutely celebrating this. if you remember just before the elections, this country was putting itself on war footing. people in russia were being told they needed to brace for a potential conflict. many in this country, the official estimates by the kremlin, i'm told, were predicting hillary clinton was going to win and this country was preparing for a serious confrontation. that may have been hyperbole but that was the mood in this country. now there's an atmosphere of celebration. people here think they could have a new start with trump, that it's going to be an era of business, that the u.s. is not going to be lecturing russia about its military moves in areas that were once part of the soviet union, areas like crimea or eastern ukraine. so, they are very happy with trump and they were even happier with the nomination or the expected appo

richard engel is live with us. it is sending shock waves here. what are you hearing from russian officials from these accusations. >> reporter: russian officials are echoing what donald trump is saying that there is no proof that russia was not involved and maybe some russians speaking nationals were involved in their own capacity. if that were the case, top officials told me today that he was not at the kremlin's direction. this had been more or less reported out months ago. we spoke with many cyber security experts and european officials and u.s. intelligence agencies and even several months back concluded that it was russian back hackers attacked the dnc stole the dnc e-mails and had them leaked in his strategic way to harm hillary clinton's campaign. the question is and seems to be is what was the motivation to harm the system and specifically to get donald trump elected. now, it seems like we are once again relitigating this case. of a clip that you just played a while ago, maybe it was the russians or the chinese or somebody in his home. ac

richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. >>> a fire tears through a boat house leaving it in runs. what we're learning about the problem firefighters face d as they tried to battle that blaze. >>> metro haa new website and now some riders are having trouble finding the information they need quickly. what metro is say iing a about tonight on news 4 at 5:00. >>> fedex field for "monday night football." we posed the question. . sleep or no sleep? that's coming up. >>> a lot of excitement building up for the monday night showdown. we want to see your pictures. send them to us using nbc 4. >>> trains are no longer single tracking between college park station. but there are sill still some delays on the green line. a train approaching the college park station experienced a los once that power was restored, then the train operator reported smoke. metro has a team at the scene looking into this. >>> the other oops for e metro today is a digital problem, but it's not to blame for the website woes passengers may be experiencing. kristin wright has more. >> reporter: this morning colin needed

nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins me now. what do we know about this gunman and whether or not he accounted alone. >> we have seen a lot mf images of the gunman today, and we heard from turkish security officials that say they don't believe that he acted alone. that he may have been acting alone that night, but that other people were working with him, a turkish security official said the way he carried out this assassination was highly professional. highly organized. and the reason i say we have seen a lot more, is that i can't remember a comparable moment. this was a political assassination carried out at a press conference with cameras rolling. and showing where he is firing or holding his gun up, we have now seen the moments leading up to that moment. where she coolly walking around the room, looking at pictures on the wall, taking up a position behind the ambassador speaking into a microphone. he eases his hand into his jacket, pulls out a gun, and fires into the back of the ambassador. at that stage he starts to declare

i want to bring in my colleague, richard engel in istanbul with the reaction there with horrific crime in front of so many people. the president here erdogan just spoke a short time ago, there is supposed to be tomorrow and high level meeting in moscow with turkey attending to discuss the situation in syria. there is been a lot of anger coming from turkish officials that this has happened and this is an embarrassment for the country that this gunman, a police officer, carried out this attack. what's unclear was he acting on his own? or was he angry because of russia's involvement in the war in syria which is particularly sensitive right now as the city of aleppo fallen or was he actively involved with one of the many militant groups that are acted in syria. >> richard engel with the latest there. for more, i want to bring in our general barry mccaphee. nice to see you and thank you for being with us on this busy day. >> sure. >> lets talk about this, someone going into public venues and shooting the ambassador and what kind of ripple effect does this have around the world? >> clearly i

i want to go now to richard engel who joins us with the latest. richard, good morning >> well, good morning. mosc moscow has the dispatched a team to investigate this inzwent. and there's a small mourning service taking place at the airport in this country as the body of the ambassador is expected to leave and be repatriated to moscow. this is described by russia as a terrorist attack. vladimir putin said that the bandits responsible will be punished. what we know about the attacker is that he was an off-duty police officer, he was part of the riot police unit, a young man 22 years old. that he used his police credentials, dressed in the uniform of a private security officer, wept to this photography exhibit, was apparently not noticed, was thought to be part of the security detail that was supposed to be there and then he pulled out his pistol, gunned down the ambassador and then gave a statement saying this was revenge for russia's involvement for the war in syria. the u.s. embassy is closed today as is the u.s. consulate here in istanbul due to

. >>> thank you for that, now, lets go to istanbul of richard engel that's there. there was a message from the gunman. did we know that was a message on behalf of someone or he's working on his own, what do we know? >> reporter: the interior ministry said a short while ago that he was a riot police officer in the city. that was a first official confirmation that he was in fact of the members of the turkish security forces. there is reports that he was off duty at the time. he clearly looked comfortable in the room. he was able to get into this diplomatic event with his pistol. he was standing behind the ambassador as cal was describing. while the ambassador was speaking, moments into his remarks, he pulled out his pistol and opened fire and firing a burst of eight or more gunshots and then started to shou shout. what he was shouting in arabic and turkey was, he said, we are those who pledged allegiance to muhammad and the jihad. clearly identifying himself as a jihadist who's carrying this out. as for motivation, he went onto describe that this was pay back for rus