high level advisers as he faces a big decision on russia once he's sworn in. >>> also, convicted again. a cousin of the kennedy political dynasty may be heading back to prison after a new ruling that his murder trial was fair after all. this hour, another dramatic twist in a sensational case that's been on and off for some four decades. >>> we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the around. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm jim sciutto. you are in "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking news. >> the breaking news tonight, president-elect trump is applauding vladamir putin for brushing off new u.s. sanctions against russia. the kremlin leader saying he will not expel american diplomats after president obama ordered 35 russians to leave the country as punishment for election related hacking. in a tweet, trump is praising putin's "great move," adding that he always knew putin was very smart. russians are starting to feel the impact of the sanctions, with people leaving a diplomatic compound that was forced to close and heading to the russian embassy.

world. i'm fareed sa car ra. we have an important show for you. we'll start with russia. is america's relationship with this long-time foe about to change quite dramatically? did russia push for trump's election? and why? can america counter russia's black ops? also, the paris agreement on climate change. >> this gives us the best possible shot to save the one planet we've got. will president-elect trump answer it? i'll make the case why he should not. and can cities go their own way. the major of los angeles, the biggest city in the biggest state in the union on the power of the nation's mayors to resist and counter trump on immigrat n immigration, climate change and much else. finally, a last look at aleppo. >> you bear responsibility for these atros citis. but first here is my take. we are now getting a sense of american foreign policy under donald trump. the president-elect has consistently signalled he wants to be accommodating toward russia and tough on china. that seems to work backwards. china is for the most part comfortable with the american led international syste

jacob soboroff live in new york headquarters. we could hear the price that russia will pay for disrupting america's elections. what implications in three weeks until america's new president takes the oath of office. he remains at his resort today in florida of the final throw of his transition doubling down on his economic promise of keeping jobs and production in the good, old united states of america. can he win the political fight if he's not practicing what he's preaching. here we go again. another winter wall on the northeast city standing by for a foot of sw. we are tracking the storm and finding out how officials are gearing up. >>> we want to start in the hacking story. we'll expect the white house to issue a financial sanction against russians. we are hearing those sanctions are out against the top leader. joining me now to discuss this breaking news is hans nicolls and tammy leitner. hah hans, we are hearing it coming out in the hour. what do you know? >> five entities and four individuals are targeted by these sanctions. they are coming from the treasury department.

morning, russia reacting to the united states government, punishing what officials say was interference in the presidential election. in moscow, the russian foreign minister, sergey lavrov was suggesting the expulsion of 35 u.s. diplomats, that's equal to the number the united states is declaring persona non grata. the russians may also close two u.s. officials in moscow, which is also the number of russian compounds that the u.s. says it will be shut down. one in maryland, another on long island here in new york. this less than a day after the u.s. government leveled sanctions against the fsb, the russian spy agency that seceded the kgb, and giving nearly three dozen diplomats who the u.s. accuses of being intelligence operatives 72 hours to leave the country. the president also imposed sanctions on the russian military intelligence service, gru, four of its high-ranking officers and three companies suspected of supporting it. also targeted, two suspected russia-based hackers wanted by the fbi in earlier cybercrimes, including alleged attacks on banks and ecommerce sites.

alarmed by russia's actions". the united nations has welcomed a ceasefire in syria brokered by russia and turkey. russian president putin said the warring parties had declared their readiness to start peace talks. family doctors warn that patients in england could wait more than a month for an appointment because the system's overstretched. devon and cornwall police investigate the discovery of the bodies of two men at a flat in st austell. detectives are treating the deaths as "unexplained". also in the next hour... tributes to hollywood star debbie reynolds, who's died at the age of 8a. # good morning, good morning! best known for her role in musical singin‘ in the rain, her death comes just a day after that of her daughter, carrie fisher. and then half an hour, i will look back at the past 12 months for the royal family, dominated by celebrations to mark the queen's 90th birthday. that is 2016, the world yea r, 90th birthday. that is 2016, the world year, with me, daniela relph. —— the royal year. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the us president barack obama has authori

by president obama announcing of russia's alleged spe interference election of our election and naming individuals specifically for their roles in all of this and expelling 35 russia diplomats from the united states. we have our guests today and we are lining up to digest all of these news. hans nicolls remaining at the pentagon for us. break news actions down for us and what's being done here. >> think of it in three parts. one is the retaliation against four individuals and interfering and direct and medaling of the election that just happened. the second part has to do with harassment of u.s. diplomats in russia. that's what it seems of the 35 expulsions declaring of the 35 diplomats here in the state from russia. and the back end of it, there is a little bit of a defense and there is a clear csigma phi epsil epsilon -- and helping u.s. cyber security firm protecting america institutions and individuals. it gives you a reminder of ronald reagan and a bear being in the woods. grizzlies' steps what i say they are calling it. >> i won't attempt to pronounce some of these men. wh

connections to russia talked about. john mccain, very concerned about ties to vladimir putin, a man he call as thug and murderer and marco rubio who sits on the foreign res relations committee. rubio tweeting in the last 24 hours any friend of vladimir putin is not someone he wants to see as secretary of state and rubio, in a powerful position on foreign relations because he could stop that confirmation before it even gets started. the fact trump is getting pushback from prominent republicans shows this could be a serious showdown for the preside president-elect in the early days of his election. and does he want that battle? some republicans are showing support for tillerson, like tomorrower secretary of defense bob gates and former secretary of state condoleezza rice. not as though there are republicans who don't support the nomination. be prepared for a fight if it ends up being tillerson. >> and another fight going on as donald trump is positions himself as a russia hacking denier. tell us about this feud with the intel committee. or with the intel community, i should say. >> repor

there in russia's scientific and economic development. the degree for establishing this strategy has been designed. we have been facing attempts at external pressure starting with myths about russia agenda and trying to meddle in other country's elections. i am sure we will renounce from our problems. i am hoping that the doping scandal will enable us to create a state-of-the-art system in russia and i hope that will be prepared by next year. i would like to say that all this bad press, accusations, and media reports, all these activities, we understand them and we know how to address them. we would like to invite our counterparts to engage jointly in important international projects, specially in areas where russia's presence and engagement is desirable. we don't want any controversy. to some of our international counterparts looking for enemies, russia was never looking for enemies. on the contrary, we want to be friends. we can not permit our interests to be violated and stepped over and we will decide our future without taking unwanted advice from abroad. at the same time, we

some russia would strike back after the white house announced new sanctions yesterday, but even though russia threw out few threats before the announcement they decided to play the waiting game and perhaps wait for a new president to come on january 20th. here is some of the statement from russian president vladimir putin. considering the special responsibility of russia and the u.s. to keep global security, it damages the entire complex of international ties. reserving the right to retaliate, the restoration of russian-american relations will be built on the basis of the policy, which will be carried out by the administration of president donald trump. all of this comes on the heels of the obama administration announcement of sanctions on several russian individuals, and entities for meddling in the u.s. presidential election. 35 russian diplomats are also being expelled. they have fewer than 72 hours to leave now. two russian compounds in new york and maryland are closed. u.s. says russia tried to influence the results of the election, and at the same time, destroy the integrity of t

white house over this year's election hack. how will moscow fight back? we're live in russia. >>> a new cease-fire taking effect in syria after five years of bloodshed. is this enough to get the two sides talking about lasting peace? >>> and they are getting ready to party in times square. security is being stepped up ahead of the big new year's eve celebratio celebrations. we will tell you what new steps are taken. welcome to "early start." i'm alison kosik. >> i'm joe johns. it is friday, december 30th. 4:00 in the morning. christine and john are off. this morning, we are waiting to see what steps the russians plan to take. planning to retaliate today for the sanctions president obama just laid down punishing russia for election hacking. the white house announcing measures against four individuals and five entities and expelling dozens of diplomats drawing condemnation from the russian government and the president-elect. president-elect donald trump downplaying the hack but with a new twist. it is time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. in the interest of the

, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield filling in for brooke baldwin. we start with russia's bizarre reaction to america's retaliation for hacks targeting the dnc during the 2016 race. just hours after the u.s. hit russia with some of the toughest sanctions ever imposed, russia did what few anticipated -- nothing. america forcing russian diplomats suspected spies out of this country, shuttering two russian compounds, one in maryland, the other in new york, and hitting russia's chief intelligence agencies with tough sanctions. russia deciding not to engage. president putin issuing a statement which included an invite to the children of american diplomats in russia to christmas and new year shows in the kremlin. and then came this tweet from the kremlin's twitter account reiterating that festive sentiment that has left a lot of people scratching their heads. it's apparently from putin who "offers his new year greetings to president obama and his family, also to president-elect donald trump." let's go live now to moscow and senior international correspondent matthew chance. matthew, the

at russia for its meddling in the presidential election. but will anything rein in russia's leader? >>> get on with our lives. president-elect trump dismisses concerns about russian interference in the u.s. election. >>> and eyes on isis. u.s. officials tell cnn they're aware of isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi's recent movements. after years of hunting, is the military getting close to permanently removing him from the battlefield? >>> wolf blitzer is off. i am jim sciutto, and you are in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> and tonight we are following the breaking news. president obama ordering a sweeping array of u.s. actions to retaliate for russian's cyberattacks and meddling in the presidential election. an executive order slapping sanctions on russia's top two intelligence agencies and other companies and individuals. the u.s. tossing out some 35 russian intelligence operatives and closing down a pair of russian compounds in new york and near here in washington, d.c. president says all americans should be alarmed by russian's actions. but presi

. i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. this is cnn newsroom. >>> russia is at the center of two major stories here in the waning days of 2016. >> it is presently 10:00 a.m. in moscow. we are still monitoring for any new reaction. this of course after the united states slapped russia with unprecedented new sanctions, punishment for its alleged interference in the 2016 election. >> in syria, it's 9:00 a.m., and we are keeping a close eye on a nationwide cease-fire. russia and turkey brokered the truce. is he far it appears to be holding. more on that in a moment. >> first let's talk about the u.s. president barack obama, who did promise that he would sfon to russia about this alleged hacking in the u.s. election. he has done that, unveiling a range of any sanctions which are all partly requiring three dozen diplomats to leave the united states. >> the sanctions are punish hent for russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election. u.s. intelligence agencies say russia hacked into computers at the democratic national committee. they released a trove of damaging information about

syria and russia for the brutality. the u.s. is calling the -- the u.n. is calling the violence modern evil. there are graphic scenes. this will be remembered as a crushing victory. after 4 years of fighting, these men, women, and children can resist no more. the rebellion against president assad in aleppo is over. the final push, three weeks of it, broke through. city's squad, the british-backed white helmets, have given up. they will be evacuated. one rescuer says yesterday we found children under the rubble crying for help, but we could not help them because the regime forces had advanced and the bombardment was intense. the army had help here. russian warplanes and fighters collapse. they have been accused of war crimes, shooting women and children in the streets. >> these reports are untrue. the syrian-arab army would never do such things. the army is securing the evacuation of civilians and the departure of any fighters that surrender. this is an attempt to tarnish the image of the syrian army after its victory. >> it has been three weeks of .ell for most of it and activist has b

russia was behind the hacking during the election. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's just another excuse. i don't believe it. >> reporter: fiercely, the president-elect dismissing the intelligence community assessment that russia meddled in the election to help him win. >> they have no idea if it's russia or china. could be somebody sitting in a bed some place. >> reporter: claiming without offering specifics the analysis is politically motivated. >> i think the democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country. >> reporter: but it's not just democrats. a group of bipartisan senators are joining forces calling for congress to launch an in-depth probe into russia's tampering. saying the reports should alarm every american and urging cyberattacks cannot become a partisan issue. >> i think they did interfere with our elections and i want putin personally to pay a price. >> reporter: this as speculation continues over trump's nomination for secretary of state. multiple sources familiar with the transition

bipartisan group of high-profile senators calling for an investigation this to russia's role in the u.s. election. >> the fact the cia and fbi disagree showed the need for a bipartisan investigation that gets to the bottom of this. the investigation should be tough, strong and bipartisan, and should have access to all materials, classified and not. >> in a joint statement released this morning, senators chuck schumer and jack reid and republican senators john mccain and lindsey graham said it should alarm every american. donald trump is dismissing the hacking claims blaming them on democrats that are bitter over the outcome of the election. >> i think it is ridiculous. another excuse. i don't believe it. i don't know why. i think they talk about all sorts of things. every week it's another excuse. we had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the electoral college. the final numbers are 306 and she is down to a very low number. i don't believe that at all. >> you are saying you don't know why. do you think the cia is trying to overturn the results of the election to weaken you in

trump's ties to russia. now trump is believed to be favoring a ceo close to vladimir putin for secretary of state. is trump planning the biggest shift in u.s. ties to russia in decades? >>> and plan of attack. north korea's kim jong-un orders military drills and prepares for a simulated attack on the south korean leader's residents. is he using political influence in seoul to his advantage? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. >>> we're learning new information about russian interference in the presidential election and why intelligence now believes a series of cyber attacks were designed to help donald trump win. according to a source, they were convinced in part after discovering that hackers stole documents from both democratic and republican targets but leaked only documents deemed harmful to hillary clinton's campaign. president-elect trump continues meanwhile to reject the intelligence assessment, likening on twitter to a conspiracy theory. he goes on to ask why it wasn't brought up before the election even though in early october u.s. intelligence agencies said they wer

putin in a surprise move is ruling out retaliation for the new u.s. sanctions on russia. at least for now. we are also watching the monster storm pummelling the northeast. deadly now. one person killed. hundreds of thousands now without power as the nor'easter dumps more than two feet of snow across new england. cities around the world are ready for new year's celebrations tomorrow night. that means boosting security with fears of potential terror attacks. we have a lot to get to starting with russia and vladimir putin. guaranteed to be tops on the political agenda in the new year. senator john mccain planning armed services hearings featuring top personnel from the intelligence committees. president-elect donald trump promising to meet with intel officials next week. last hour, the ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee telling msnbc more sanctions from congress are necessary. >> what really gets the russians' attention isn't the expulsion of diplomats or people masquerading as diplomats but economic sanctions like those imposed over ukraine that hurt the russian econom

-- slaps sanctions on russia. 35 russian diplomats are being expelled from united states for alleged interference in the november vote and two compounds owned by the russian government are also being closed. we will go live to washington for more. also on the program, moscow says the government opposition groups have agreed on a nationwide truce that is due to go into effect at midnight local time. russia and turkey say they will guarantee a cease-fire will analyze its changes of success. german authorities release a man suspected of being an accomplice of anis amri. the prime suspect in last week's terror attack in berlin. officials also confirmed that amri pledged allegiance to the islamic state in the months before the drove a truck into a crowded christmas market. ♪ christopher: my name is christopher springer. good to have you with us. in the u.s., the obama administration has imposed a series of sanctions on russia, including the expulsion of 35 diplomats and the shutting down of two russian compounds in maryland and new york. the sanctions come amid allegations of russian in

the u.s. government is retaliating over russia's hacking of the u.s. election. in abunprecedented step, the obama administration has just named names of those believed to be responsible. six russians and five entities including russia's main intelligence body now facing sanctions. this as obama orders 35 russian operatives to leave the united states and they have to do so within 72 hours. the president also announcing it is shutting down two russian compounds here in the u.s. russia will now fall victim to expanded sanctions, diplomatic measures and later covert actions russia warning it will respond to any hostile new steps. cnn's athena jones is following the latest developments. i'm joined by cnn justice correspondent evan perez. first to you athena in honolulu. the obama administration releasing a lengthy statement. what more? is next? >> hi, fred, that's right. it's a lengthy statement. i want to read to you some of the highlights of it. i won't read you all of it. we know the president says he's taking these actions, a number of actions, in response to what he calls the russ

bolling. it's 5:00 in new york city and this is "the five." new responses today from russia after obamapu punished them. it imposed sanctions, closed two russian facilities and ordered nearly 3 dozen diplomats to leave by the weekend. >> what russia has been engaged in over the last few months and years is unacceptable. the president is sending a message to tell them to cut it out. that's why he ordered aggressive action in order to curb -- to deter them from doing this again. >> russia's embassy responded to the sanctions with this lame duck tweet. president vladimir putin condemned the actions but said russia won't retaliate. putin says, nyet. >> yeah. this was not a winning diplomatic moment really for the united states. because instead of coming back with an iron first, he said, kind of a head fake. that wasn't any kind of sanctions they should be worried about. then you have the president-elect donald trump coming back saying that putin in fact -- he knew he was very smart. so this isn't great optics for president obama right now. there's always been this kind of thinly veile

president vladimir putin. tillerson represented exxon's interests in russia when boris yeltsin was in power. he was later ordered the order of friendship, one of russia's highest honors for foreigners. andrea mitchell joins me on the phone. besides experience dealing with the russian government, what other qualifications does tillerson have? can you give us perspective here? >> reporter: well his qualifications certainly as a global business executive are vast in terms of his context around the world, that's on the plus side. the negatives and i think an hour ago you were talking to the former ambassador to russia, mccall, the downside is no experience in diplomacy, no experience in running the state department. of course running exxon mobil as he has for all of these years is certainly a huge management plus, but he doesn't have experience in other aspects of diplomacy. so that would be the downside. when we broke this story about an hour ago on your program, chanel, what two sources. telling me close to the transition is that he is the voice, but of course in the world of donald tru

. >>> barack obama retaliates against russia, sanctions issued, diplomats ejected while donald trump says it is time to move on. >> plus, in syria a nationwide ceasefire, but not all groups are involved in it. >> and later, a killer with a conscience. meet the man who claims he killed dozens of people under orders from rodrigo duarte, now president of the philippines. >> a president who has admitted to doing the same. live from cnn headquarters in atlanta, welcome to viewers around the states and the world. i'm george howard. >> i'm natalie allen. this is "cnn newsroom." ♪ >>> as we begin with russia at the center of a cyber war and a ceasefire. >> it is presently 11:00 a.m. in moscow. we are still monitoring, waiting for new reaction coming from that nation, this after the united states slapped russia with unprecedented new sanctions, all punishment for its alleged meddling in the u.s. election. >> it is 10:00 a.m. in syria now and the world is holding its breath as a fragile nationwide ceasefire appears to be hold in. russia and turkey brokered the truce. we will get more o

senate investigation into russia's reported attempt to influence the election. he now joins at least four other senate leaders who want answers. >> obviously, any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing. and i strongly condemn any such efforts. i agree with senator schumer, mccain, bur, and others. sim lply cannot be a partisan issue. >> this as high ranking members of congress raise more questions today about rex tillerson as trump's possible pick for secretary of state and how the president-elect is defending tillerson's ties to russia and putin. >>> and first, it was boeing and now this morning, the president-elect now taking on another u.s. defense company, lockheed martin in what's being called today the $4 billion tweet. stocks dropping immediately after trump calls the company's f-35 program, quote, out of control. >>> and hundreds of flights cancelled across the country due to bad weather as millions brace for a week of bitter cold and snow. temperatures in many parts of the country expected to be 15 to 30 degrees below normal. we've got all of it covered f

vowing to retaliate likely today for the sanctions president obama has just laid down. punishing russia for election hacking. white house announcing punitive measures against four individuals and five entities and expelling dozens of diplomats. this is drawing condemnation from the russian government and president-elect. donald trump again downplaying the election hack, but he has a new twist. here is the latest statement. it is time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. nevertheless in the interest of our country and great people, i will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of the administration. the top aide is calling it toothless and limiting the options. here is kellyanne conway on cnn. >> these retaliations and sanctions put forward by president obama and his administration, some seem largely symbolsymbolic. some are saying that part of the reason obama did this today was to quote box in president-elect donald trump. that would be very unfortunate if that were the political motivating factor here. we can't

silicon valley. well, that didn't happen. but in modern russia, it's easy to get confused. with an extra helping of spy -- spycraft, technology here developed a world apart from silicon valley, and that did not change when the soviet union collapsed. 25 years later, russia has copied large parts of the web the rest of us know and love. they built the russian internet. and with the new laws cooked up by the kremlin and rubberstamped in moscow, more and more, it's a sovereign internet. like anything sovereign, it needs walls to protect it. and virtual walls are going up today. to find out exactly how the russian web works, there's only one thing to do -- i had to upload myself. now that i'm inside, i will meet a tech oligarch, travel to into a, and dive surprising and very remote startup scene and chase the ever elusive russian hacker. >> you could create the technology which helps to predict the crime. >> silicon valley may be home to some of the biggest tech giants in the world, but it's being challenged like never before. some crazy tech geniuses have popped up all over the planet makin

against russia. we have full coverage of this. nbc's ron allen at the white house, hans nichols at the pentagon. ron, let me start with you. i know this hasn't been announced yet, but lay out the nuts and bolts of what you think you'll see this afternoon. >> reporter: we think we'll hear sanctions. the question is, who will they be directed at? what exactly will they be? russia is already facing a number of sanctions because of its invasion of ukraine, crimea. the administration, president obama, has said that this hack and leak operation was directed, orchestrated by the most senior members of the russian government. he has all but named vladimir putin himself as being behind this, saying that not much happens in russia without vladimir putin being involved. the question is, will they try to sanction the russian president, his inner circle? will they even rereal exactly what they're doing? also, there's a big question about what proof they will provide without revealing how they discovered this information. revealing -- or compromising sources and methods. the other problem with s

state. could his fate be tied to russia and putin? >> he said he doesn't believe those intelligence findings on russian hacking but at what cost? >>> the 45th and future president has put off the announcement about his plans for the family business. "the 11th hour" begins now. >>> and good monday evening from our new york headquarters. tomorrow will put us just 38 days from inauguration day for the new 45th president who tonight said on twitter he will announce his pick for secretary of state tomorrow morning. nbc news then confirmed mitt romney got the call tonight, the call from donald trump telling him he would not be getting the job. he said, quote, it was an honor to be considered as secretary of state of our great country. and breaking just moments ago, two sources now telling nbc news that exxon mobil ceo will get the job of secretary of state. rex tillerson has ties around the world, especially russia, where tillerson once ran companies. he knows many people well, he knows putin well. the press has come in roaring with the news that u.s. intelligence agencies believe russia

president obama takes action against russia for alleged interference in the us presidential election. there'll be sanctions against individuals and 35 russian diplomats expelled from the us. russia says it's a very destructive move. earlier in moscow, president putin declared a ceasefire deal in syria brokered by russia and turkey. it came into effect an hour ago. and the actress debbie reynolds has died at the age of 84, just a day after the death of her daughter carrie fisher. good evening. president obama has announced a series of measures against russia and said there was evidence of ‘malicious cyberactivity‘ in the recent us presidential election. he's authorised sanctions against anyone responsible for undermining the election process and he's also approved the expulsion of 35 russian diplomats from the us. three weeks before donald trump is sworn in as president, promising to rebuild relations with moscow, mr obama said ‘all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions‘. tonight russia said it would order ‘adequate reprisals‘ as our correspondent laura

, on russia's involvement in the u.s. presidential election after nbc news broke the story last night that vladimir putin was directly involved in moscow's effort to interfere in our election. here is the in the a portion of an interview that will air in full tomorrow morning on npr's "morning edition." >> i think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we at a time and place of our own choosing. some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be but mr. putin is well aware of my feelings about to this because i spoke to them directly about it. >> the president-elect, meanwhile, took his road show tour to hershey, p.a., tonight but as kelly o'donnell pointed out, there were no mentions from the podium about the russia matter or the interference in the election. also tonight the nbc news investigative unit filed a followup to their report from last night. this time looking at why the obama white house didn't do more on russia's hacking before election day. the report that aired tonig

russia's hacking of the u.s. presidential election. we're following several developments this hour. on the intelligence front. and analysis points to russian president vladimir putin's involvement. a senior administration official says the hacking "could not have been done without the highest levels of the government, including the president himself." officials also say that the hacking has continued since the november election. on the global front -- president obama promises the u.s. will retaliate against russia. we'll hear from the president's feeling in a news conference within the hour. and the president says he confronted president vladimir putin about the cyber attacks. >> i think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action, and we will at a time and place of our own choosing. some of it may be explicit and publiciz publicized. some of it may not be, but mr. putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because i spoke to him directly about it. >> on the political front, hillary clinton weighs in on

to take the reigns of office in the white house and the hope is still in russia that this poor relationship with the obama administration can be transformed into something much more positive under president trump. >> matthew chance, thank you very much. >>> this announcement from russia follows tough sanctions announced by the obama administration against russian agencies and expulsion of dozens of spies that u.s. officials say were posing as diplomats. let's get to evan perez live in washington with the very latest. good morning, evan. >> good morning, don. with only three weeks left in president obama's administration he is firing back at russia for their alleged meddling in the u.s. election. 35 russian diplomats now have less than 72 hours to leave the country. u.s. intelligence officials say they were spies posing as diplomats. the expulsion part of a massive crackdown by president obama against russian alleged cyberattacks. also includes shutting down two russian compounds located in maryland and new york. >> what these individuals were doing were basically collecting int

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 election by hack

freaking out about that as the clock ticked toward midnight, was russia. because russia was distracted by something else on december 31th, 1999, they had something else totally crazy happen to them at the turn of the millennium. new year's eve is a huge holiday in russia. it's a huge party there. everybody that day was gearing up for the celebration even bigger than usual because it was '99, but then shock and surprise, with no warning, at noon on new year's eve, 1999 in russia, their president got on tv, it was a surprise broadcast, and he said good-bye. he said good-bye. i'm quitting effective immediately. boris yeltsin randomly quit as president of russia on new year's eve, 1999. it was a total shock. i mean, that said, russia had been through a lot of shocks at that point, 1989, of course, the berlin wall fell, 1991, the soviet union collapsed. that year 1991, boris yeltsin had been elected president of russia. before that, all soviet leaders had just been picked by the communist party. they had just been chosen internally by the party up to and including mikhail gorbachev. he was ele

johnson. and just how deep is russia's reach into our country? the 11th hour begins now. the 11th hour begins now. >>> and good evening, once again, from our new york headquarters. tomorrow puts you just 37 days from inauguration. tonight, president-elect donald trump continued his ever-expanding thank you tour. this time the suburbs of milwaukee. his opening acts included wisconsin governor scott walker, vice president-elect mike pence and house speaker paul ryan greeted bay few boos from the crowd. boo. >> speaker paul ryan, i have really come -- [ crowd booing ]. >> oh, no, i've come to appreciate him. where is paul ryan? he's like a fine wine. everyday goes by i get to appreciate his genius more and more. >> at the end of the evening, accepting packers jerseys as gifts, this moment was really the first time ryan and trump have shared a stage during the entire election season. meanwhile, in transition news, the debate over trump's pick to become the next secretary of state, rex tillerson, dominated today's headlines pretty much. tonight, trump touted the support tillerson is getting

matters are and the threat that really faces not just national security apparatus but also russia was behind the attack on sony and others, so that russia perception presented by the trump campaign is really not as benign as the new administration would like us to think, really are interested in subverting a lot of aspects of american culture and american national security. >> jeremy huff, nancy bash, thank you very much. i wish we had more time. i'll see you back here tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern. steve kornacki picking up breaking news coverage right now. >> craig, thanks for that. good afternoon, everybody. i'm steve kornacki live here in new york. topping our agenda right now, retaliation. president obama hitting russia with sanction and see a slew of new measures for alleged involvement in trying to disrupt the u.s. election. he says, quote, all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions. a spokesman for vladimir putin says russia will consider its own retaliation as well. the homeland security adviser to president obama is going to join me live in just a minute. a

fallout over the cia report that russia interfered with the u.s. election to help donald trump win. a former acting director of the intelligence agency delivering this chilling assessment. mike morale tells the cipher brief it is an attack on our very democracy. he goes on to say this is the political equivalent of 9/11. that is quite at odds with the president-elect. just minutes ago mr. trump tweeted quote unless you catch hackers in the act it's very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. why wasn't this brought up before the election? yesterday mr. trump openly scoffed at the cia's claim. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's just another excuse. i don't believe it. >> a bipartisan alliance of senators is pushing back, though, against trump's dismissal and calling for an investigation. the lawmakers saying the claims of russian interference should quote alarm every american. next hour we'll hear from the senate's most powerful republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has scheduled a rare news conference next hour. we're covering all of this this morning. jason ca

this is bbc news. the headlines at 12. russia's foreign minister calls on president putin to expel 35 us diplomats, in retaliation for a similar move by washington. the syria ceasefire between the government and rebel groups appears largely to be holding, despite reports of isolated clashes. drivers are told to take care in fog and freezing conditions, as a coach overturns on the mao in oxfordshire, injuring 17 people. a warning that national parks are under threat, as figures suggest government funding has been cut over the past five years. also in the next hour — learner drivers could be allowed on motorways. it's part of proposals to give learners a voluntary target for a minimum number of lessons before taking their test. and as the international olympic committee creates a new team of refugees, we've been following some of the hopefuls. that's in half an hour on bbc news. welcome to bbc news. the russian foreign ministry has announced it intends to expel 31 american diplomats from its embassy in moscow and four from its consulate in st petersburg. the measure is in response

, in part, quote, any intervention by russia is especially problematic because under president putin, russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines american interests. earlier senate majority leader mitch mcconnell expressed his confidence in the work of the cia while strongly condemning russia. >> belief that somehow republicans in the senate are reluctant to either review russian tactics or ignore them. the russians are not our friends. invaded crimea, senator mccain and i and some of our democratic friends met with delegation from the baltic countries just this past week to say they're nervous about the russians, is to put it mildly. >> now, contrast to that to what we've heard from the president-elect. mr. trump told fox news he doesn't believe russia tried to influence the election to help him. today took to twitter and tweeted this. unless you catch, quote/unquote, hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking, why wasn't this brought up before the election? the answer is a resounding, yes, of course, we have been reporting about russian

today. that's under attack. and the principle opponent is russia and what they are doing. i think there is going to be a great deal of concentration on russia. russia is using its influence to affect the geographical boundaries of democratic, independent states as well as democratic institutions within these democratic states. and their target, quite frankly, has been their neighborhood, the former republics of the soviet union, but also the former communist bloc, and then beyond, including the united states of america. so we all see what's happened in ukraine. and we know that russia has invaded the territorial integrity of ukraine. we know they are continuing to disrupt the development of ukraine as an independent democratic state. but we also see their activity is well beyond ukraine. of course in moldova and georgia, there is physical presence of russia's aggression. but recently, we saw an attack here in the united states, a cyber attack where they compromised our cyberinformation, and then used it to try to discredit the american democratic election system. it was not, in my view,

house announced the punishments yesterday in retaliation for russia's meddling in the presidential election. in a statement today, putin said, quote, we regard the recent unfriendly steps taken by the outgoing u.s. administration as provocative and aimed at further weakening the robert-u.s. relationship. the runs contrary to fundamental interests of both the russian and american people. consider the global security responsibilities of russia and the united states this is damming to international relations as a whole and said russia that the right to retaliate but he would not make trouble for u.s. diplomats dipld in russia. rich -- russia denies interfering but all 17 american intelligence agencies concluded the kremlin was behind the hacking. all of this hacking exposed thousands of e-mails, some containing rather embarrassing situation. the head offered the cia and fbi say russia did it specifically to help donald trump win the presidential election. well, the president-elect has said he disagrees and in fact insists president obama and at the dem e -- democrats are trying to tak

amy: the u.s. retalliates against russia. a war of words over middle east peace and a ceasefire in syria. we ring in 2017 with a look of the global issues facing the president and his successor tonight on "washington week." as the clock ticks down towards a new year, the white house tackles some unfinished business sparking tensions between the outgoing president and the president-elect. president obama made good on a promise to punish russia for hacking the u.s. elections and the president-elect dismisses as an action saying there is no conclusive evidence that russia was behind the espionage. >> we need to get on with our lives. amy: most republican and democratic lawmakers disagree vowing to take action against president putin. >> there are 100 united states senators and 99 of us believe the russians did something and we are going to do something about it. mccain and secretary of state kerry. >> the israelis do not need to be lectured by foreign leaders. amy: donald trump, we cannot allow israel could be treated with total disdain and disrespect. there may be a confrontation bet

now. >> thanks, brooke. from russia with lulls, the lead starts right now. a former cia director calls it the political equivalent of 9/11 but the president-elect calls it ridiculous. now new details on the debate within the intelligence community over whether russia was trying to throw the election to donald trump. >>> it's not just democrats who want answers. republicans in congress now saying that they also want an investigation into russia's meddling. one of those leading the charge, senator john mccain. he will join me in just a few minutes. >>> every minute feels like death. tweets from a little girl who knows nothing but war. they're still trapped inside aleppo and tell cnn they fear the syrian regime will kill them. >>> good afternoon, welcome to the lead, i'm jake tapper. today the senate majority leader voiced support for a full congressional investigation into russian meddling into u.s. elections as we learn new details about russia would have been acting this way though there is some disagreement as to whether the goal was to definitive help donald trump or weaken hil

for andersen and that is the story tonight. the white house unleashing sanctions on russia, as well as high-ranking kremlin figures, bouncing diplomats and shedding a pair of russian compounds in the u.s. and now late tonight the president elect who has been so relukt about blaming anyone for the hacking is speaking out again. we're joined for the latest on what the president elect is doing and the current president is doing in response to this. so what did president obama have to say about why he took these actions now? >> well this extraordinary set of sanctions president obama says was in response to not only the meddling in the u.s. election but also to months of harassing of the u.s. diplomats in russia. the president said in a statement, "these actions follow repeated, private and public warnings that we've issued to the russian government and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm u.s. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior. he also added the u.s. will take additional actions that will not be publicized. that jim is a refere

. russia was trying to help him win the white house. >> they were in a terrible campaign. whether it is blamiing james comey or the moment that we are not involved in the recount of the states. they need to get over it. >> for more of the interviews with kellyanne conway. and about the man who could be secretary of state. a new week of testimony of the trial suspected shooter, dylann roof. and plus, dylann roof's haunting confession on tape. and guess what, millions are braising for snow. there are much more on the way. we have it all broken down for you. we begin this hour at trump tower. a live look at the president-elect trump holding meetings for cabinet posts and we are seeing one of their rivals going up the golden elevators. carly fiorina on the list for a position. and rex tillerson of his ties to russia and the possible interference by moscow. >> it could be russia -- i don't really think it is but who knows. >> the russians are not our friends. >> this is insane and in the same article. report was inconclusive. it is not as if their intimate friends, i think this is getting bl

syria. brokered by russia and turkey. some forces laying down weapons after nearly six years of war. heading live to the region in just a moment. first though russia is vowing to respond to hash u.s. sanctions, punishment for hacking in the election. including the expulsion of diplomats. >> it's over. the curtain's down. a bad play is over. the world world is witnessing a destructive blow on america's prestige and leadership that has been dealt by barack obama and his hardly literate team. masked helplessness. no enemy could have caused more harm to the u.s. president-elect donald trump seemed anxious to get past this saying time to get on to bigger and better things. nevertheless meet with intelligence community to get better updated. jim sciutto with more on how the u.s. is responding. >> tonight president obama ordering strong and far reaching retaliation against russia for its unprecedented cyberattack on the u.s. election system. the u.s. is imposing sanctions against nine russian individuals and entities, including the fsb spy agency and military intelligence unit, bot believe

the house intelligence committee adam schiff and the former u.s. ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul. plus, early reaction to donald trump's apparent choice for secretary of state, rex tillerson. the chief executive of exxon mobile who has a particularly close relationship with putin. >> a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. >> mike rowe will be here. >> i put our lives at risk. >> at what democrats can learn from donald trump on how to win over working class voters. joining me for insight and analysis are doris keargs goodwin, kimberly strasse whether and rick stengel. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning. when "the washington post" story about russian involvement in our election was posted online friday night, it was nothing less than explosive. the cia counsincluded the run s interfered. further, in september, the white house wanted congressional leaders to sign off on a statement supporting efforts to support the integrity of the election. two