>> i think that vladimir putin is no fool. i think he probably expected that trump would be doing unpredictable things. i think there's probably a percentage that he takes off these comments to bring them back to some type of normality. so he looks at that and says well, that's an opening gambit, that is mr. trump, talk about an arms race, that's an opening gambit but what we really want to do is maybe work together. that's been the hope all along. so what president putin is setting up, is he's saying the old guy, president obama, who is leaving, is the bad guy and the previous presidents, the united states which walked out of the abm treaty back in the bush days, now we can start fresh with this new president who wants to work with us. i think there's a lot of posturing, message sending, and ultimately he wants to work with trump but i don't think he totally trusts that trump can deliver. so i'm reading this as very subtle messaging. >> it's interesting, the key language from putin is restore the framework of bilateral cooper

president -elect trump and russian president vladimir putin. with me, my guests, and a politics reporter for "the daily beast" and susan page, washington bureau chief for "usa today." bobby, begin with you. donald trump said today he had a very nice color from vladimir putin. not everybody can claim that. talking about the importance of relations between the two countries. yet in the last 48 hours the messages between the two about nuclear arms seems, seem almost ominous. it's sort of hard to separate the cold war rhetoric from the warm fuzzies. what do you think is going on here? >> i like that expression, warm fuzz is. it was certainly a chummy letter. you point out, both sides are talking about nuclear armament, president-elect saying he wants to see more nukes and talks about arms race. not talking about russia who exactly is this race with? there's nobody else even close. putin seems to brush that aside by saying, if there's going to be a race it's not going to be us. i think he learned a lesson from the collapse of the soviet union, somet

because everybody knows what vladimir putin's doing. he's not all of a sudden putin claus inviting all the kids over for christmas. that's not a thing. it's not real. the long-held thought that vladimir putin is out for russia and for expanding russian influence at the cost of the united states, that is still very much a reality and i think that takes hold with people like lindsey graham, with john mccain, and many other members of the senate, both democrats and republicans. he's going to face a lot of political backlash if he does that. >> and susan, we were just on the phone with amy klobucar earlier who was traveling in ukraine with lindsey graham and john mccain and john mccain is going to hold hearings on this starting next week. you know, this is along with lindsey graham, these are two senators who have tangled with donald trump before. there's no love lost for them. if they decide to dive into this, you know, big time come next week. >> yeah. i think this is actually going to be a problem for the president-elect. i mean, look, o

and vladimir putin in russia. have said glowing things about the president-elect and damning things about the sitting president. >> well, that's right. and i think for the obama administration, which has spent a lot of time -- a lot of time in the last few years trying to figure out what to do about the middle east, trying to get israel and the palestinians to the table, trying to figure out what to do about syria, and having seen what happened in libya and the intervention there, trying to not repeat those mistakes, i think one of the things that's been -- that's been frankly frustrating for them is to see them coming out frankly looking so badly on all these fronts. but i'll say one last thing about what vladimir putin is doing here. we're now going in to the third presidential administration in which he basically gets to start over. remember, george w. bush said that he looked into his eyes, and saw his soul. and then at the end of that administration, you know, he had invaded georgia and taken territory and th

a very nice letter from vladimir putin. his thoughts are so correct. i hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alter knit path. quote/unquote. to me, not having to travel an alternate path was new language from donald trump in regards to vladimir putin. it was an implicit all that albeit thanking him for the gracious letter and that if things don't go well, there's an "or else"? >> yes, an to that. in some ways that makes sense. dealing with an adversary, in russia's case, a frenemy. sometimes you have a carrot but thieve stick in the background. a comment to nuclear weapons. no subtlety on those. my first reaction, this is from the guy who stopped taking intelligence briefings. no president in u.s. history, democratic or republican, has invited a nuclear arms race, whether with russia, china, whoever it might be. no one has ever done. when you do that, it up sets your allies, undermines the nonproliferation regime and if implemented would actually increase the risk of nuclear war. >> donald trump has take

he will criticize vladimir putin if vladimir putin deserves to be criticized. give him a little bit of time. he's picking his cabinet. he wants to digest the information, and i understand the answer will be pleasing to the american public. >> thank you for coming by. >>> a break for us when we come back. good news when it comes to the u.s. economy. this is the "the 11th hour." . sometimes when brushing my gums bleed. no big deal. but my hygienist said, it is a big deal. go pro with crest pro health gum protection. it helps prevent gum bleeding by targeting harmful bacteria on your gums. left untreated, these symptoms could lead to more serious problems including tooth loss. gum crisis averted. zero really can be a hero.ds) get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first month's payment on select volkswagen models. right now at the volkswagen sign then drive event. >>> lest we forget the season, the tree outside of the stock exchange, and tonight there are continuing signs, as we mentioned, of a strengthening economy for just the second time in

do you see vladimir putin as the enemy? >> you threw out like four or five they thinings. >> do you see vladimir putin as enemy? >> i don't think we have to look at him as the enemy immediately. >> immediately? he just helped hack u.s. elections. >> it would be insane to come in on day one before we've started sitting down, negotiating with people, looking for places where we can work together, and start taking people off the table and saying there's no way we can work with these people. >> what about on the basis of what he's done? he's not an unknown. he's very well known. >> this is where we talk about president-elect trump's america first foreign policy. we're going to look out for americans. we're going to look out for where we can actually work together -- >> he just tried to hack into and affect the u.s. elections. >> let's talk about the reuters report this morning where even dni hasn't embraced the cia report. >> clapper came out on october 7th and said this is what russia does. why would you deny this, jason? >> t

but i've been watching vladimir putin since the beginning and vladimir putin eats people. he's them alive. he's them before breakfast. he humiliated two u.s. presidents in a row, george w. bush and barack obama who thought they could deal with him. be very very careful. don't rush into a comprehensive new deal with russia, a fresh start. we don't need a fresh start with russia. russia needs us. it needs a fresh start with us. putin wants us to look away from what he did in ukraine, the massacre in syria, his attacks on our election and they were -- all of this intelligence agencies agree they did it. and so he wants us to wipe that slate clean >> certainly, right. >> and all he's going to give us is a fresh start? no way. >> if you're keeping both eyes on russia, that's not good enough. i agree with you 100%. thank you for being with us tonight. >> happy new year. >> to you as well. >>> and coming up, bill clinton suggested quote angry white men helped elect trump in november but fox news contributor roy murdoch is shooting down those claims. he's here next with doug schoe

he will criticize vladimir putin if vladimir putin deserves to be criticized. give him a little bit of time. he's picking his cabinet. he wants to digest the information, and i understand the answer will be pleasing to the american public. >> thank you for coming by. >>> a break for us when we come back. good news when it comes to the u.s. economy. this is the "the 11th hour." esurance does insurance a smarter way, which saves money. like bundling home and auto coverage, which reduces red tape, which saves money. when they save, you save. that's home and auto insurance for the modern world. esurance, an allstate company. click or call. youthat's why you drink ensure. sidelined. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. >>> lest we forget the season, the tree outside of the stock exchange, and tonight there are continuing signs, as we mentioned, of a strengthening economy for just the second time in a decade, the fed announced an interest rate hike to the tun

that means vladimir putin. since then, confidence has increased and we have been learning of the case. the cyber weapons that were used in the attack. the most sophisticated which would require vladimir putin to okay the use of the tools. that in addition to other intelligence and human sources leading to that conclusion today that vladimir putin ordered this attack on the u.s. democratic system. the word they are using is it continued unabated since the election on party institutions and party organizations, including but not limited to the democrats. we understand another attempted phishing attack. where you click on a link and allows malware to get on the computer. it was a failed attack on the decli clinton campaign since the first attack. they interrupted with the u.s. system whether or not they wanted donald trump to win. it was successful here and western democracies in europe and eastern europe. >> jim, thank you. the white house taking a more aggressive stance against donald trump on the russian electi

american president—elect donald trump praises vladimir putin's actions, calling them very smart. russia asks the un security council to consider a new resolution to endorse the ceasefire in syria that came into force last night. a post—mortem examination into the cause of george michael's death has proved "inconclusive" — further tests will now be carried out. drivers are told to take care in fog and freezing conditions, as a coach overturns on the mao in oxfordshire injuring seventeen people. and in half an hour i'll be looking back at a diverse year in film from hollywood super heroes to home—grown hits and fabulous foreign—language films. that review 2016, the year in film, with me, mark kermode. good evening and welcome to bbc news. us president—elect donald trump has described president vladimir putin as very smart after he announced russia would not yet be expelling any american diplomats following president 0bama's decision to send home 35 russians in a row about cyber espionage and hacking. mr 0bama had accused the russians of interfering in the us presidential

so why is vladimir putin -- what is he hoping to gain? >>> and not complex. trump says the news media is making too much of his personal business conflicts of interest. but his team says separating trump from his empire is a legal labyrinth that forced him to postpone a news conference planned for today. why are trump and his top aides sending mixed messages? >>> i am wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> we're learning new information about the series of russian cyberattacks, the united states how believes were designed to influence the u.s. presidential election. sources telling cnn that the intelligence community has concluded russian president vladimir putin personally approved the hacking of democratic targets, including the dnc and hillary clinton's campaign manager. the white house is sharply calling out president-elect donald trump on the issue. for the second day in a row. the white house press secretary josh earnest criticizing trump for questioning u.s. intelligence on russian hacking. a source tells cnn trump is concerned but think the

he was personally awarded it by vladimir putin. another person awarded that particular award was the president who liked to torture his citizens. is going to try to detain or deter russian revengism in europe. i have gone to europe over the past few years and repeated instances and talked to european officials that were worried about this thing, that american would adopt a more transactional relationship with the russian federation than even it had under obama. they would also fault obama with being perhaps a little too naive, a little too indifferent to america's relationship with russia which led to the so-called reset. i think you will see a reset 2.0 that will make the first reset look like an act of aggression. >> jonathan, i saw you disagreeing with the first part of what michael said and agreeing with the second part. what was that? >> yes, first of all we've elected a president of the united states who doesn't care about human rights, doesn't care about spreading freedom of speech, doesn't care about rights for gay people,

we should expose the wealth of vladimir putin and olegarks. they would like to be aware of how wealthy they have become. the obama administration has taken a step and we should do more and president-elect trump should take a lesser approach to vladimir putin. he is in the opposite direction of what you described. saying great move by putin and saying hey, folks have just got to move beyond this talk about the election involvement by the russians. wouldn't it be great if he had a better relationship? that's the track he is going on. they want to unravel the union and the power and influence. they have their interest and we have ours. president-elect trump or barack obama, we will have to stand up to the russians at some point. they do respect strength and power. for too long the obama administration has been too acquiescent to the russians. we have outsourced the ceasefires to the french and the germans. it should have been a u.s., eu, russia dialogue. we have to be more engaged and that will get his attention. >> and lucy cavanaugh in moscow a

any reaction yet to trump's praise of vladimir putin? >> hi, jim. no reaction. in fact, the white house isn't responding to that or to this nonresponse from the russian president. but those russian om ra tifs, the intelligence operatives ordered out appear to be complying with that order.perat the intelligence operatives ordered out appear to be complying with that order. a caravan of vehicles spotted leaving this maryland compound used by russian dimts headed for the russian embassy in washington. the evacuation comes after the obama administration ordered the shuttering of the site along with a similar compound in new york and told 35 alleged russian spies to leave the country within 72 hours. in a surprise move, russian president vladimir putin appear sod this rug off the administration's action after russian officials promised a series of, quote, countermeasures would be nouned today, putin changed course saying in a statement, "we will not create problems for american diplomats. we will not send anyone away," even extending this unusual invitation to the ch

he has a bargaining chip when talking about vladimir putin. i can walk up these sanctions, what can you do to help me look good if i make the change and make my relationship with you of your strong but not partial? and this is a foreign-policy last-minute change in the obama administration position to figure out what to do with is going forward. >> this is the largest expulsion of foreign officials since march 2001 when president george w. bush ordered 50 russian diplomats to leave in retaliation for russia planting a suspected spy at the fbi. before that ronald reagan, 55 billion diplomats. not necessarily new. >> we haven't seen a lot of the stuff in the last decade or so. these are older examples. they are out there and always quid pro quos, retaliation is swift, russia retaliated with its own reprisals for those actions this is a different situation where vladimir putin is taking a new tactic say wait a second, i am not going to retaliate. the cards are set for us to take action response. vladimir putin is thinking i will see how i can pla

over a third of republican voter s approve of vladimir putin, the former head of the kgb. ronald reagan would roll over in his grave. and how did that happen? >> reporter: the president wouldn't say definitively whether he thinks putin himself authorized the hack, but said he believes there's no doubt that it points back to the top of the russian government. >> this is pretty hierarchal operation, last i checked there's not a lot of debate and democratic deliberation particularly when it comes to policies directed at the united states. we have said and i will confirm that this happened at the highest levels of the russian government, and i will let you make that determination as to whether there are high level russian officials who go off rogue and decide to tamper with the u.s. election process without vladimir putin knowing about it. >> reporter: regardless president-elect trump's dismissal of the intelligence for blaming the russians, the president said he's urged his successor to work in a nonpartisan way. >> one way i do believe that the president-elect can approach t

just an hour ago, vladimir putin finally responded to new u.s. sanctions saying he will not expel any americans. the move even more shocking because of what happened just hours before. overnight, the russian foreign minister publicly proposed expelling 35 americans from russia after america expelled 35 of theirs, and gave them 72 hours to leave the country. sergey lavrov also proposed seizing two american buildings in russia in response to america closing two russian properties in maryland and new york. the u.s. sanctions are in response to alleged russian interference in u.s. elections, but also this, what the u.s. says is harassment of american dements in russia including this attack by a russian police officer. >> these are a set of actions to impose costs and to make clear not only to the russian government but to other actors that there will be consequences for violating frankly what our international norms of behavior. >> just moments ago, vladimir putin put out a statement calling the move a provocation aimed to further undermine russian/a

vladimir putin this summer in china. then it's naming and shaming in public which was done a month before the election. then you have economic sanctions. the obama administration has tried that for months for the russian action in ukraine. if that doesn't work you can raise it by attacking back really doing the same thing they did to us, right? that could be releasing embarrassing information, say the financial holdings of vladimir putin or going after critical infrastructure in russia. quote/unquote turning the lights off in moscow. this is a concern the obama administration expressed in public. that could lead to similar retaliation from russia. we know russia and other countries have access to our critical infrastructure. is that a path you want to go down? retaliation brings risk. >> since the election do u.s. officials think u.s. cyber hacking activity has continued? >> absolutely. the word they are using is it's continued unabated since the election on party institutions, party organizations including but not limit

vladimir putin. last i checked there is not a lot of debate this happened at the highest levels of the russian government. >> continue to say it is not like any intelligence officials would go rogue. detailing how he faces down russian president vladimir putin over the hacking of the presidential election. president obama saying he told president putin cut it out. >> i thought the most effective way to ensure that didn't happen was to talk to him directly and tell him to cut it out and there were going to be some serious consequences if he did. and in fact we did not see further tampering of the election process. >> michelle kosinski begins coverage live from the white house on this breaking story. the president of the united states blaming vladimir putin for the russian hack. there was no question about that. >> that's right and what we've been hearing from his administration. of course it has the added weight coming directly from president obama. this entire hour and a half long press conference wa

donald trump praising vladimir putin. tweeting "great move on delay by v. putin, i always knew he was very smart." this after the russian president shocked many today saying he's going to do many in response to president obama's decision to expel 35 russian spies and sanctions over meddling in the election. and throughout the day -- this russian plane is said to be on its way to the u.s. to pick up the diplomats the president has now accused of spying. moments ago republican senator john mccain making it clear russia will pay a price for its cyberattacks. >> when you attack a country it is an act of war. >> this amid escalating tensions between the two nations but for now putin says he will not retaliate. he's even inviting the kids of u.s. diplomats to a party at in kremlin. sunland, this tweet by the president elect already being picked up by the russians. >> it was only a matter of minute, kate really before the russian embassy and the u.s. retweeted that tweet of donald trump. of course that praise of vladimir putin where he said, "great move on delay b

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 the united states with allies around the world to say look how ugly their democracy is when you lift up the rock. those were the starting points. >> thank you for that. i invoke the name of richard engel who i'm told happens to be listening to the conversation from his listening post halfway around the world in moscow. what would you add to what you have already heard? >> it's difficult to know what the motivations are specifically for vladimir putin. i think cynthia said they are multi faceted and i believe they are. it goes back to a sense of vendetta against hillary clinton in particular for her stance in 201 2011 and 2012. there were street protests against elections

implicating vladimir putin in the hack of the e-mails. >> not much happened without vladimir putin. >> president obama said it's clear russia hacked. >> the only explanation of the results which was organized from him and lady clinton. >> deputy chairman of the russian senate's foreign affairs committee and close to the kremlin. >> you reject it? >> absolutely. it's american fairytales and fiction. very convenient explanation because in such kind of perceptions russia is a threat. kremlin is evil, all bad boys they are in main task is to make some bad things for america. >> russian media which is dominated by putin's regime and spews propaganda offered a different explanation. it was an inside job, a leak from clinton's own staff or the dnc itself and there's a sneering, mocking tone in much of the coverage here. >> there you go. that's how you prove it was the russians. >> many russians are skeptical of the state media here but even seasoned independent analysts think this scandal is more american hysteria than actual fact. >> so wild allegations. of course we don't believe them. wha

vladimir putin said he knew it was coming. he knew trump would win. he's accusing hillary clinton of being a poor loser. and breaking news. the suspect in germany's christmas market attack killed in italy. this hour his dramatic shootout with police. and critical questions today. let's begin with donald trump. can a tweet spark a nuclear arms race. the united states must greatly strengthen and expand nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. commercial break. ing joe" >> the president-elect told you what? >> let it be an arms race. we will outmatch them at every pass. >> russian president vladimir putin took a question at his annual press conference in moscow this morning. from the kremlin, translation saying when someone speeds up or accelerates the arms race, it's not us. >> kristen welker is covering the president-elect in palm beach. kristen, this all started with vladimir putin telling his general they were going to fortify the russian nuclear arsenal and then just moments after the conversation between

is he trying to get under vladimir putin's skin? and later, first lady michelle obama saying many americans are now feeling what not having hope feels like. we'll talk about what she means. >> d are on the best network. with no surprise overages, you can use your data worry free and even carry over the data you don't use. and right now get four lines and 20 gigs for only $40 per line. you'll even get the iphone 7, the samsung galaxy s7, the pixel phone by google, or the motoz droid absolutely free. hurry, these offers end soon. get the best deals and the best network, only on verizon. my new beer, stella artois, hey cois finished. the people will love it. the party's starting! ♪ ♪ ♪ originally brewed for the holidays. enjoyed ever since. stella artois. host one to remember imy moderate to severeng crohn's disease. i didn't think there was anything else to talk about. but then i realized there was. so, i finally broke the silence with my doctor about what i was experiencing. he said humira is for people like me who have tried o

will donald trump be different and what is it that vladimir putin wants? we'll talk to the american diplomat tasked with figuring that out. but first abc news chief foreign correspondent terry moran is on the ground with a view from moscow. good morning terry. >> reporter: good morning. donald trump's victory came as much of a surprise here in moscow as it did in the united states but no question that people here are generally very happy about. this week vladimir putin showed off his dog to journalists. a loud but obedient. akita. the question some are asking, has putin put a poodle in the white house? >> i think it's ridiculous, just another excuse. i don't believe it. >> russians don't believe it either. around moscow and across this vast country russians are watching with amazement and some in the kremlin with delight over the freakout over moscow's role in the u.s. presidential election. president obama this week implicating vladimir putin in the hack of the e-mails. and dnc. >> not much happened without vladimir putin. >> president obama said it's cle

president-elect donald trump praising russia's vladimir putin. trump tweeting, great move on delay by vladimir putin. i always knew he was very smart. now, the official twitter feed of the russian embassy in the united states also retweeted it, as you can see it, it's circled there, at the very top. trump was praising putin's response to president obama's sanctions. putin saying, quote, although we have the right to retaliate, we will not resort to irresponsible kitchen diplomacy, but will plan our further steps to restore russian/u.s. relations, based on the policies of the trump administration. now, vladimir putin essentially saying, he'll wait to deal with donald trump and let a cold relationship with president obama play out in the final weeks. also today, two russian compounds here on the east coast forced to shut down and senator john mccain announcing plans for a cyber hearing thursday. but tonight, president-elect trump raising russia's putin and this story is really just getting started. we've got a lot more to tell you about. nbc's hans

you have a former kgb/fsb intelligence officer in vladimir putin. is it -- is it credible that anything of this nature could have happened without him knowing? >> i'll say this, it is very credible at this point in time. without him knowing, i doubt it. >> making it really very clear. 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

that means vladimir putin. since then, confidence has increased. that is because of the sophisticated hacking tools and cyber weapons. the most sophisticated which require vladimir putin to okay the use of the tools. that in addition to other intelligence and human sources leading to that conclusion that putin ordered this attack on the u.s. democratic system. the word they are using it continued unabated since the election on party institutions and party organizations, including and not limited to the democrats. we understand another attempted phishing attack. you click on a link and malware attaches to your computer. this is expected in the u.s. intelligence community. part of the reason being, it worked. they interfered with the u.s. election system whether or not they wanted donald trump to win. it is successful here and in eastern europe and they expect it to continue. >> jim, thanks. as you mentioned, jim, unsuccessful phishing attack on hillary clinton's campaign. she spoke out at a closed door thank you

he said not much happens in russia without vladimir putin. and abc news confirming the fbi now agrees with the cia, putin directed it. and it began with putin's concern over hillary clinton becoming president. and now, we learn what happened during this moment right here. what president obama says he told vladimir putin well before the election about the hacking. martha raddatz and her questions for the president. >> reporter: tonight, president obama revealing he confronted vladimir putin about the russian hacking face to face in september, warning him not to tamper with the vote on election day. >> i felelt that the most effective way to ensure that that didn't happen was to talk to him directly and tell him to cut it out, and there were going to be some serious consequences if he didn't. >> reporter: the cia and now the fbi both believe putin himself ordered the hacking of the democratic national committee and of clinton campaign chairman john podesta. i asked the president if he agrees. just to be clear, do you believe vladimir putin hims

listen to this. >> anybody who is a friend of vladimir putin must disregard the fact that vladimir putin is a murderer, a thug, and kgb agent, whose airlines, as we speak, have been targeting, with precision weapons, hospitals in aleppo, who have committed atrocities throughout the region, and has destabilized ukraine. has invaded ukraine, destabilizing, trying to destabilize baltic countries. the list goes on and on. >> tillerson clearly is a friend of russia, of putin. received an award from putin a few years ago. the russians warmly welcomed the announcement today. so what do you say to john mccain? >> well, first of all, i have a great respect for john mccain. and the -- to the extent john mccain is making his case, he is accurate on the facts. but the facts also are that, as a business leader, as a person in the energy field, mr. tillerson had to do -- not had to but would be expected to do business with russia and i am sure he has a cordial business relationship with putin. that's different from being secretary of state and representing your country. it's two different roles. again

still not blaming vladimir putin. now he's taking on the white house press secretary over the russia hack. >> this foolish guy josh earnest. i don't know if he's talking to president obama. you know, having the right press secretary is so important. because he's so bad. but the president is positive. but he's not positive. maybe he's getting ordered from somebody else. >> casualties of war. stand-offs in aleppo today as thousands try to escape the bombed out city. some wounds may take a lifetime to heal. >> as they fled aleppo's ruins, one final trauma. children shot at. it was meant to be a cease-fire, yet still gunmen targeted them as they left the rebel-held east. their terror was clear. their mothers close. >> good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. president obama will hold his last news conference of the year in a few hours. he would likely be pressed to explain how he plans to retaliate against russia for trying to destabilize the election through cyber war. bhar the president's options. even mor

he was awarded it by vladimir putin. another person that was give than is the president of chechnya who likes to torture his victims personally. i think this is -- bodes very ill for anybody who thinks that the united states is going to pick a fight or try to contain or deter russian vanishing in europe. i've gone to europe over the last two years and repeated instances and talked to a lot of european officials who are worried about this kind of thing. that america would return to a purely -- or actually adopt a more transactional relationship with the russian federation than even it had under obama. they would always fault obama with being perhaps too naive, too indifferent to america's relationship with russia which led to the so-called reset. i think what you'll see is a reset 2.0 that will make the first reset look like an act of aggression. >> jonathan i saw you disagreeing with the first part and agreeing with the second part about obama. what was that? >> well, first of all, we've elected a president in the united

>> i agree with vladimir putin with this one and vladimir putin. this kind of moral equivalent that they did it because we had to. there had to be a response, i applaud the obama administration for response and i am happy for our diplomats that they don't have to leave moscow. do you see president putin's refusal to engage of an admission that russia did cross the leine. i would not go that far and although it is interesting. i have not seen everything. i am very struck by the fact that there are senior russian government officials are not going on the record to refute the case that the obama administration published yesterday. that's striking and unusual. i think he's waiting and obviously, he thinks he had concession to win from president-elect trump and he does not want to jeopardize that so he's waiting for the next administration to come and test that proposition. >> were the sanctions, did they go far enough? >> lets remember there were no different sanctions and one was in response to the interference of the president ial election ad with re

vladimir putin says he won't expel u.s. diplomats but will work to restore ties when donald trump takes office in january. after 24 hours, syria's cease-fire is generally holding. the guns have fallen silent, but all sides remain on alert. and the world footballer of the year, cristiano ronaldo, turns down a big money move to china. kasia: hello, and welcome to the program. just one day after president obama announced plans to expel 35 russian diplomats over alleged cyber-hacking, his successor, donald trump, has praised the intelligence of the russian president, vladimir putin, for not reacting in kind. that was in response to putin's decision not to react to the u.s. expulsions by removing american diplomats from russia. with the latest from moscow, here is steve rosenberg. steve: near the kremlin tonight they were putting on a seasonal show. ahead of the new year's celebrations, a song and dance with musical theater. but that was nothing compared to the political theater being played out inside. first up onstage, the for

russian president vladimir putin speaking. what will he say about president-elect and nuclear weapons? welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm miguel marquez. merry christmas to you. it is 29 minutes past the hour. new information about the tunisian man suspected in the berlin attack that killed 24 people. anis amri, the target of the manhunt. police are certain he was behind the wheel of the tractor-trailer. they say they found amri's fingerprints inside the truck and on the door of the truck. we have dash cam footage that shows the fatal moment that the truck plowed into the arcade. you see it on the left side of the screen. a few minutes later, shoppers run for their lives. we learned more about amri's ties to the terror network in germany. let's bring you the latest with journalist chris burns live in berlin. chris, there must be a sense that amri is still in germany. they are banging down doors. >> reporter: they are, miguel. they are busting down doors to look for anis amri across germany and probably

putin sparking criticism from both sides of the aisle. >> anybody who's a friend of vladimir putin must disregard the fact that vladimir putin is a murderer, a thug, a kgb agent. >> reporter: this as trump and his top advisors continue to attack the cia over their findings that russia medaled in the election. >> and it smells like politics, plain and simple. >> reporter: trump's camp offering no proof of their claims as a bipartisan group of senators calls for a congressional inquiry. >> i think we ought to approach all of these issues on the assumption that the russians do not wish us well. >> reporter: president obama reiterating calls for a review to prevent russia from impacting future elections. >> this was not a secret running up to the election. the president-elect in some of his political events specifically said to the russians, hack hillary's e-mails. >> reporter: trump's team says he won't interfere with an investigation. >> he's the president of the united states. the legislature can do what it wants. >> reporter: for his part trump delays a news conference where he addresse

why get religion now if policy is to kowtow to vladimir putin and step out of the way. a policy of retreat, whether you're talking about ukraine, syria, there's -- russia has been waging cyberwar against the united states for many years but all of a sudden, it's time to do something about it, and vice president biden talked about this in october. he said the u.s. is planning to retaliate against russia after the cyberattacks, but he said the following -- the capacity to fundamentally alter the election is not what people think, he dismissed the fact that the result in november would be hurt by these hacks. >> sandra, this has been, as dagen said an entire eight years of dismissiveness against vladimir putin and pooh-poohing the possibility they could be a threat. again, obama was caught saying he would have flexibility after the election, then president medved. >> we all remember that. >> it's frustrating to people like me who have taken this seriously the past eight years. >> fast-forward and look at last few weeks where we've seen kind words exchanged between trump an

know that she probably would have a hard line against vladimir putin and we know that vladimir putin probably fears hillary clinton more than a donald trump. so the answer to your question, alex, i think we know a lot of things but still a lot of things we don't know. >> but to you, jonathan, the same question, put this way. if these hacking reports are true, that russia's role actually changed the results of the election? >> well, that would -- they are not going to have another election, but it would and already is greatly complicating the trump administration. trump is now almost at war with the cia, and he's not even president yet, and if you have, you know, a new secretary of state who is basically closely aligned with the russians and the russians have helped to tilt an american presidential election, wow. i mean, we are in totally uncharted territory with that, and that's what indications are right now, you know, that the cia has considerable evidence that putin tried to intervene in our election on the side of donald trump. >> disturbing to say the least and worthy of much mo

not much happens in russia without vladimir putin. our goal continues to be to send a clear message to russia -- we can do stuff to you. >> public shaming does not work with president vladimir putin. i'm thinking specifically of aleppo and of syria and all the carnage there, much of it at the hands of russian firepower. >>> they were supposed to be brought to safety. instead, they're running for their lives once again. a convoy meant to take these east aleppo residents out of the besieged areas under fire. [ shots ] >> we're going to build safe zones. we're not having them come over. we're going to build safe zones in syria. >> good morning, everybody. welcome to saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. i'm christi paul. we're grateful for your company. >> i'm victor blackwell. good morning to you. the election is over, but president-elect donald trump is getting his supporters together for one last big rally, a stadium rally, just before christmas. >> yeah, the final stop of trump's thank you tour heads to mobile, alabama, today, this after tru

you open your book with a story about vladimir putin senior. who is that? guest: putin's father, also vladimir was hard-working, you know, labor, communist party member, had been in the military, but when world war ii, the great patriotic where they call it began he was recruited to fight. of course, everyone was. ended up fighting at the beach of leningrad, which is where putin is from, today's st. petersburg and if you know your history of the war, the beat the beach of leningrad was horrific. 's father and mother were trapped inside the city. on older brother of his died during the siege and his father was terribly wounded on the battlefield that most people unless they are really history buff probably have never heard of. when they tried to break out of the siege and it's an amazing sight to see even today. it was a horrific battle, the soviet army lost 300,000 men during that battle and his father barely survived. he was previously wounded and limped as a result for the rest of his life and i wanted to begin the story there because even though the war

expel any us diplomats —— president vladimir putin. a nationwide ceasefire in syria is less than 2a hours old. whilst it appears to be holding in most areas, there is some confusion as to which groups or actually involved. if the blind has expired —— a deadline has expired in india for people to get rid of old banknotes. there have been long queues all —— all day. cristiano ronaldo's agent said that the star has been offered more than $100

putin knowing about it. >> i wouldn't be wrong in saying -- vladimir putin -- >> i am going to give you what i'm going to give you. what is the second question? >> do this wes and statements by donald trump embolden russia? >> as i said before i think the president-elect -- it is still in transition mode from campaign to governance. i think he hasn't gotten his whole team together yet. he still has campaign spokespersons filling in and appearing on cable shows. there is just a whole different attitude and vibe when you are not in power as when you are in power. so rather than me characterizing the appropriateness or inappropriateness of what he is doing at the moment, what we have to see is how will the president-elect operate and how will his team operate when they have been fully briefed on all these issues, have their hands on all the levers of government and have to start making decisions. one way i do believe the president-elect can approach this that would be unifying is to say that we welcome a bipartisan, independent process that gives the american people and assurance not o

issues with vladimir putin. we need to make sure that putin understands that our foreign policy towards russia is not going to change unless russia's behavior begins to change. katty: congressman reid ribble thanks very much for joining me. , rep. ribble: good to be with you. katty: about to take a new direction under donald trump. we speak with mikhail gorbachev about distressed on both sides of the relationship, coming up. thetalian court ruled captain of a boat carrying migrants that sank off the coast of libya was responsible for the disaster. years in prison. he was one of 28 who survived when the vessel went down in the mediterranean last year. james reynolds reports. reporter: in april off the coast of libya, smugglers jammed 700 migrants on board this fishing boat. that astonishing to think more than 700 human beings could be put on this boat and sent into the mediterranean. $1600ers took more than from each person. they made about $1 million from putting people on this boat. the helmsman set sail toward

vintage vladimir putin, an attempt, i think, kremlin. vintage vladimir putin, an attempt, ithink, to kremlin. vintage vladimir putin, an attempt, i think, to try to take the moral high ground. thank you very much. a nationwide ceasefire that came into effect overnight between the syrian government and rebel factions appears to be holding across most of the country, although some clashes have been reported. the deal was brokered by russia and turkey with the backing of iran in an attempt to end the civil war that began in 2011. the united states was not involved. here's richard galpin. this was the moment when the tide of syria's devastating civil war turned. buses lined up earlier this month to evacuate thousands of rebel fighters, defeated in their key stronghold in aleppo. a huge blow to the opposition movement, leaving the syrian regime in a commanding position. and giving the regime an opportunity to negotiate a ceasefire from a position of strength. translation: this reflects the reality that after aleppo's liberation the situation

said we can't believe anything vladimir putin says and he's right. vladimir putin is a killer, bad man with bad intentions towards us and if donald trump isn't smart enough to understand that, woe is all of us. >> one of the hillary clinton's most famous lines is that a man who can be baited by a tweet can't be trusted with the nuclear codes, and weren't sure they'd be able to trust donald trump with the nuclear code. for the critics who say that this is basically just a validation of that, what do you say? >> well, we don't know yet. >> should we know when it comes to nuclear weapons? is that something we should know concretely? >> of course. my understanding is, having read this in academic settings, the president of the united states has about 3 to 5 minutes to make a decision, if in fact, a nuclear warhead is headed to washington, dc, new york, los angeles, chicago. 3 to 5 minutes to make a decision to whether or not you'll retaliate and how you're going to retaliate. these are serious times we're living in and we're having a conversation on nati