hi there. i'm brianna keilar in nor wolf blitzer. it is 1:00 p.m. in washington, 6:00 p.m. in london, 9:00 p.m. in baghdad. wherever you're watching from around the world thank you for joining us. up first, the trump administration taking shape. learned more about donald trump's choices for key positions as well as some top contenders. a tweet from dr. ben carson imflied he's poised to accept a role in the trump white house tweeting an announcement is

forthcoming in my role in making america great again. pretty clear. carson originally saying he didn't want a cabinet position but donald trump asked him to consider becoming head of housing and urban development. we've learned donald trump nominated south carolina governor nikki haley as ambassador to the united nations. a vocal opponent of donald trump during the campaign before reluctantly supporting him. the trump team was asked about the choice of governor haley during a conference call this morning. >> she's done a fantastic job with the state of south carolina in helping to improve the economy, included a number of overseas traded business recruitment missions. there's also a natural chemistry between the two when they met and started talking about their vision of how we wanted the united states represented on the world stage. >> a source says mitt romney is seriously considering the

secretary of state position. he met with the president-elect over the weekend. transition sources say that romney is a leading contender. they also, though, say, there are still others in consideration. more now on the latest donald trump transition developments. cnn national correspondent jason carroll joining us from palm beach, florida, where the president-elect is spending the thanksgiving holiday. so, jason, tell us what more are you hearing from dr. ben carson about this role with the trump team? >> reporter: well, certainly seems like something is coming. something probably this afternoon when you mentioned that tweet where he says an announcement is forthcoming. pretty much says it, doesn't it brianna? wlook he posted on facebook, after serious discussions with the trump transition team i feel i can make a significant contribution, particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone. so it appears there's going to be some movement with ben carson there. we are expecting something perhaps this afternoon.

i think a lot of people, not surprised to hear about ben carson so much, but i think there was some surprise when the name of south carolina's governor nikki hayley went out there-of--o nikki hayley went out there. it appears we'll hear something perhaps this afternoon. >> people were surprised ak nikki haley. so critical of donald trump during the election. >> reporter: right. interesting when you hear on the transition call, that the two had natural chemistry. that's certainly not one expect when you look at their history. nikki heyy you know endorsed senator marco rubio. really went after trump especially during the primaries. after him for not releasing taxes. after him again disavowing in her estimation, david duke, kk

leader, quickly enough. and look what donald trump says he feels she is a governor able to bring people together. obviously referring to her abilities after the shooting there in south carolina, and the controversy dealing with the confederate flag. received high praise for that. she's receiving high praise from a number of people, even though also criticized for not having enough foreign policy experience, but listen to what jason miller said, basically she does have experience dealing with oversea s trading. tim kaine came out in support of nikki hayley as well. interesting choice. nikki haley saying this about what is going on. saying when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation's standing in the world that is a calling that is important to heed. looks as if these two people, haley and trump, have buried that hatchet and ready to move forward and work together. brianna? >> all right, jason carroll for

us in florida. thank you. bring in our super panel to discuss all of this. we have bakari sellers, cnn commentator, former south carolina house member. kevin sheridan, former senior adviser to romney for president. carol lee, white house reporter for "wall street journal" wmp and "washington post" reporter davis nakamura and washington bureau chief for "the daily beast." a mouth full. bakari, you have obviously perspecti perspective, someone from south carolina. you heard what jason miller said about nikki haley having experience doing basically trade negotiations. what do you hear about what must be a lot of surprise from people in your state? >> well, let me first say that i actually served nikki haley in the south carolina house of representatives. our desks sat side by side and i consider her to be a friend. i think jason miller wa oversells the experience quotient a tad.

we don't deal with the complicated issues our geopolitical foes as far as her as ambassador. i applaud myself by donald trump. nikki haily is a statesman, more than competent and nikki haley surrounds herself with good people. she's an american story. she's the daughter of immigrants, and i think she will serve well for young girls throughout the world looking for a beacon of light in this trump administration. i applaud him for making the nomination. >> all right. what do you think about this, carol? look at obama white house, and he's moved foreign policy, sort of this in-house operation. this is someone who could have a lot of influence, right? >> yes. definitely. u.n. ambassador has a lot of influence on the president. she will now have three women, if confirmed in a row. is in all of the major meetings and interesting to see how donald trump runs his foreign

policy, because what he hasn't before, clear from president obama, was a vision, a doctrine, and we don't really know what his is, and so if she is confirmed, she could have a tremendous amount of influence. >> one of the knocks on some of the selections, kevin har, hasn been a lot of diversity. five white guys picked. but now you have nikki haley. as bakari said, sort of this american story. and ben carson,it appears coming onboard? will this quiet critics? >> and talking to michelle rhee. let the process play out. only four picks in and nikki haley will be a heck of a u.n. ambassador. a hypercompetent successful governor stepped into the breach as we all know when the shootings in charleston happened and really brought the state together and the country together along with the victims' families and brought the flag down. that was a real moment in this country's history and for racial healing. she now gets to go to the u.n.

you know, test out skill sets in a different way, but a great pick. >> talk about mitt romney. you having been a former adviser to his campaign. considering the job of secretary of state. not all republicans are onboard with this. listen to what the former governor of arkansas mike huckabee has to say about this. >> he attacked him on a personal level about his character, integrity, his honor. when you do that, only one way i think mitt romney could even be considered for a post like that. he goes to a microphone in a public place and repute yates everything he said in that famous salt lake city speech and everything he said after that. >> listen to how the trump team, jason miller, responded to that. >> we very much appreciate the support and all the help we've gotten from governor huckabee. he's been a fantastic advocate for the president-elect. what will really drive the

president-elect is the judgment and decision-making strength he looks at with potential applicants to, to any position. >> a lot of people, jackie, think romney that a shot here, but you also have newt gingrich, pouring cold water over this idea. what's going on? >> let's just back up a little bit. mike huckabee and mitt romney do not like each other. going back to iowa, 2008. >> personal beaef here. >> personal beef. same with newt gingrich. don't forget, he won south carolina in 2012, mitt romney came back in florida and blew him off the map. two individuals in particular who don't have a lot of love for if mitt romney was up for any position. they would have something nasty to say about mitt romney on his birthdays. one of those things where, you know, all of you guys -- you have to consider the source. >> on his birthday? >> his birthday. >> to me though, sticks out,

mitt romney, bur it hatchet on both sides give a signal to a lot of the establishment in washington wondering where they fit in the or would serve if asked? i saw one in your studio, taping a show for later respected on policy and himself wonders about whether the future of him in this administration. a signal it's okay to step in with donald trump and maybe a signal trump would accept those in the never trump movement. 50 senior republican operatives on foreign policy saying we would never want this guy at our commander in chief. now he is. see if they can bridge that divide. >> seems, kevin, talking to romney folks, a little on lockdown as we see what is supposed to be a private process play out. sounds like he really has a decent chance of doing this. so how -- whether it's in mitt romney's case or the case of someone else, nikki haley, who had disagreements with donald trump and much more hawkish on

foreign policy, how do they bridge that gap? >> i think it's a good sign for the party that it's coming together. two weeks ago we were breaking up at a party. now we're all on the same page, getting together again. whether or not he ends up picking any of these people we've talked about. >> a miracle. >> truly is. whether or not he picks romney or not, i have no ideas knowledge. just know what i read in the "wall street journal" wmp and other places. it's a good sign for the party, for the country dand he has his pick of anybody he wants. came in, did it his way and now can pick anyone inside, outside the party, against him or for him. >> and seems like a lot of people are saying, petraeus saying, if i'm asked, i'm going to do it. they're saying, country first. right, carol? >> yeah. a lot of people are. you see this all the time. there's the battle of the campaign and you move into governing and people put things aside and move on. i have to say if you're a nuke gingrich or rudy giuliani, what am i getting for being in so early? almost like -- i mean, if the president-elect is looking at

romney over rudy giuliani for secretary of state, you must feel a little kind of left out or wondering -- you know? >> even president obama, a team of rivals in the beginning especially foreign policy and hillary clinton, of course, kept robert gates as the pentagon. not unheard of. maybe not quite that pitched battle we saw this around with the name-calming, but precedent for this. >> talk about this "new york times" meeting donald trump had. seems like he's really back pedals from what he said, whether on waterboarding, seems to have rethought that. whether he's having more of an open mind about the paris climate change agreement. is this him actually back pedaling or is he just -- does he just reflect sort of maybe what he -- >> the last person we spoke to? >> right. there is that part of it, but this is one of the things that you heard critics of donald trump warn about throughout the election. be it the primary or general.

since he doesn't really have, not an ideologue, not someone who came with a set of policy positions. as a result, he has a lot of flexibility. also a negotiator. the way he fashions himself and has said, when i said insert x, that was where i was starting. my mind can be changed. >> okay. we actually have, as we were just here talking, we have news. the transition of power alert. learning betsy devos accepting the nomination. charter school advocate. we know it's not going to be michelle rhee. this is someone who is a charter school advocate, as michelle rhee was. what does that say about the priorities here? do you think? in terms of who he's appealing to and maybe what this means? >> i think donald trump has said all along that he's going to take on washington. he's going to take on the teachers' unions in some way, probably. betsy devos a longtime advocate.

charter schools are important to the republican party and part of our platform. a good pick and another woman. >> brianna, if i may. >> yeah. %-pk is a bit ironic. one of the things donald trump ran on was draining the proverbial swamp and he chooses his secretary of education, one of his largest donors. i was listening to the descriptions that we used to describe donald trump as somewhat creating policy based upon the last person he spoke to and being a negotiator. donald trump is also very transactional. in the pick in secretary of education. everyone knows in the republican party you have to go through the devos to get the checks in. this draining the swamp versus this pick for secretary of education is very clearly transactional and flies in the face of this new mantra of dr n draining the swaurmp. >> this is eastern what president-elect obama found coming in.

supposed to be a different kind of politics, but when you, when it comes down to it, you need someone to have institutional knowledge and to do the job. you really only have a certain pool to pick from. right, david? >> right. the feel in your campaign have something to gain as well. policy positions they're pushing agency she does, and i think trump also is someone who's promised to break up traditional ways of thinking. charter school movement. it's been around a while now. see it in d.c. even. michelle rhee was the chancellor. this is something, trying something different, if the status quo is not working. i think he's qucommitted to tha the party is, another way to say try outside the box. try different ideas. >> i wonder, bakari, as you listen to some of what donald trump is saying lately, brushed aside questions about the conflicts of interest when it comes to his businesses, and really if there's going to be this firewall. some people suggested, there's no way for there to be a

firewall, if his children are in charge of his business empire. what do you make of him saying, basically, people knew what i was up to personally, professionally, during the election when they voted for me. this really doesn't matter? >> and he also made the strange statement "new york times" in the, sit-down meeting he had, that because i'm president i can do it. there are no conflicts of interest, because they don't apply to the president. it sounded -- eerie. sounded like, every day a new story came out. oh, the irony of donald trump getting paid $150,000 to his foundation from a ukrainian for a a speech he gave. ethical gray areas he plays in on a day-by-day basis will continue to have these conflicts of interest, and unless he just divests completely from trump enterprises which we know will not be the case, he's going to continue to have these. we have a story today of donald trump jr. actually in october

going to paris to meet with russia and talk about syria. we just have a lot of these different conflicts that involve his children. evank k evank -- ivanka sitting in on meeting. >> we'll see how it plays out. thank you all so much. governor nikki heil haley major critic, called out trump on not releasing his taxes among other things. does this bridge the divide between donald trump and the never trump republicans? we'll be asking one after the break. plus it is the strongest chokehold yet on isis in mosul as iraqi-led forces surround the city completely. live on the ground in iraq later this hour.

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welcome back. we just found out before the break that betsy devos was selected second of education. nikki haley tapped to be u.s. ambassador to the u.n., and relations between president-elect trump and south carolina's governor were less

than cordial. you probably remember, quite critical of each other during the election. seems to have changed, and a statement announcing haley to the u.n. ambassador to the u.n. president-elect trump said governor haley has the ability to bring people together for the betterment of her state and our country. discuss this turn e events joined by congressman adam kinzing kinzinger? what was your reaction, doesn't have a lot of foreign policy experience but also are feeling better, republicans are, because she's a little more hawkish than donald trump? >> a great pick. i mean, it shows, again, something that literally from donald trump election speech where he came out it wasn't like gloating or bragging. it was, there was a sense of humility of, hey, we need to come together as a country. we need to unite as a party and a country, and this furthers

that. not just for the internal sides of things but nikki hayley shown an amazing frankly diplomatic skill set not just in a job at governor but in the sensetive time after the church sheeting and and -- shooting and confederate flag issue. a great pick for donald trump and excited to see her and frankly all the new picks coming. seems like donald trump is focused not just, again, on uniting the party but also in uniting the country and saying, look, we're going to put the best people around in this job to have success here. >> what about the lack of foreign policy experience? your point is certainly well taken, that following that what was really potentially a crisis in her state, she did handle that very diplomatically, but without that substantive experience, heard jason miller say she has experience with trade, international trade, but you talk to people and they say that's not really true? >> we, maybe she has that

experience, maybe not, but i can tell you, when it comes to being a diplomat or ambassador to the united nations or frankly to any other country, it's a skill set where it's more about bringing people together, negotiating solutions. i mean, she's not going to be at the united nations basically independently making decisions about u.s. foreign policy. those will be given to her by the administration. but where the skill set really comes in is the ability to negotiate issues to bring maybe russia and the united states and china together to deal with whatever the next big issue on the plate is to say, how do we come to a solution for the sake of peace, humanity and everything else? so while foreign policy experience is always good to have and frankly in any job, the ability to bring teams together and negotiate is what's most important when it comes to somebody in this position. i think she's a fantastic pick and will do very well. >> i want to talk to you, congressman, about, not a unique position you find yourself in, but some people would block at it and say it might be a little

awkward position. i want to play for you what you said about donald trump back in august. >> donald trump for me is beginning to cross a lot of red lines of the unforgivable in politic. so i'm not going to support hillary but in america we have the right to write in a vote, vote for mark kirk in illinois, for instance. what it's looking like for me. i don't see how i get to donald trump anymore. >> you said that then. you might write someone in. did you? >> yeah. i mean, i'm honest about that, yeah. i followed through on what i said, but, you know, the campaign is one thing. there were a lot of things he said in the campaign i disagree with and was very open about it. i was asked about it. but the moment after the campaign, now you have a president-elect. now it's about supporting that president-ele president-elect, bringing people together that in a campaign felt wounded or people that were angry or anything else and saying, okay. now that process is over. now it's about being president of the united states, and i

frankly have been very excited by what i've seen come from danl donald trump and as a republican? >> when are are excited by? >> actually doing tax reform. issues of deal with an infr infrastructure bill, action versus inaction from president obama. a lot of opportunity. the other thing is this. i think you're going see a president-elect trump reach out not just to republicans to unite them, but say in areas we can work with democrats we ought to do that. the right thing to do. always stuff democrats don't agree with what we're doing. that's the nature of politics. but in areas like infrastructure and tax reform, i think there is an area to have democratic input and i'm excited to see if as a country we can work together like that. >> we are going to wait and see. we have a few weeks yet ahead of us. adam kinzinger, congressman, thank you so much. appreciate your time. >> you bet. happy thanksgiving.

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we just found out moments ago that betsy devos was selected as the secretary of education. president-elect trump releasing a statement asssaying -- >> betsy devos will break the

bureaucracy holding our children back to deliver school choice to all families. betsy devos tweeted i am honored to work with the president to make america great again. a charter school advocate and a big donor to donald trump's campaign. a defeated democratic party is searching for a new leader. here's a sign how desperately it may need one. a new cnn aren/orc poll finds a increase from the poll taken before the election. the party doesn't seem to be hurting their president. obama's approval rating stands at 57%, highest in seven years to talk about what democrats need to do to rebuild, joined by symone sanders, democratic strategist, also the former national press secretary for the bernie sanders campaign, and also with us, ben wickler, washington director for

moveon.org. and i wonder what you think about this. 54% of americans have an unfavorable opinion of the democratic party. some of those people presumably might be democrats and you might have people on the right and people far on the left saying this. right? >> yes. i think the wikileaks matters here. folks to have an unfavorable view of the party because of what they have seen and found in the wikileaks. talked to a lot of people, bring up something they saw or heard in the e-mails that affects them. we're aware, democrats are aware and actively trying to report. >> and talking about a divided house for republicans. they seem a little more unified now. at least in this moment in time compared to democrats. you have a battle for the dnc chairmanship a lightning rod position and john podesta's e-mails explains, some of the

e-mails out from the dnc as well. who do you think is the best person to vhead up the dnc and why? >> keith ellison is terrific. >> he's a bernie sanders guy. >> a bernie sanders guy. a fighter. we don't know who all the candidates are. i think it's good to have a con tested race and great thing for democrats to lay out their vision how they want to lead the party. i know what democrats need to do now is fight to know how to fight and show they know how to win. ask why people are disappointed with democrats, they were supposed to win this election. >> fight for who? clearly there were some people especially who felt they were not being fought for. >> absolutely. fighting for working people across this country of every race and gender. and frankly, you have to fight both against bigotry and hatred and intolerance and also against people trying to rip off the middle class and working class across race. easy for people who want to rip people off to divide people along racial lines. fight back against that and show

we're fighting against people with special interests. the idea donald trump is draining the swamp, he's inviting them in through the front door at trump tower. democrats have to show what they stand for. >> and howard dean, and you're a keith ellison person. >> no. >> you're not? >> no. my former boss is throwing his weight behind keith ellison. >> you're an even better question to ask. you have poured dehoward dean. >> jamie harrison. >> their line, keith ellison, more to the left of the other guys, since he's a sitting congressman, appears he wouldn't leave that position behind, debbie wasserman schultz wore two hats. that doesn't work. is that a real criticism or people trying to get cover for

not wanting someone so, so liberal at the helm of the party? >> a little of both. i definitely think it is difficult to win. you have a chair, a sitting member of congress, two sets of staff. dnc staff and then office staff. whenever you want to get something done quickly can't go to the dnc staff. also go through whatever particular office. i think keith ellison is great, amazing a fighter and committed to the issue, but -- >> howard dean? >> you know, howard dean, 50-state strategy. issue, howard dean on record maligning young people and millennials. telling the bernie folks to get in line and malining bernie sanders. not what we need. we don't need white people leading the democratic party. the democratic party is diverse, should be reflected in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. from the vice chair to secretaries down to the people working in the offices at the dnc. we need a robust discussion about this and i think we need to hear more from all the candidates. jamie harrison of south

carolina, great, too. done real party building, but everyone doesn't know jamie and want to mow what he stands for. i want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks. >> we'll try to have all of these potentials on. symone and ben, appreciate you being here. next, a presidential conflict of interests. donald trump says no such thing. from wall street to k street, concern over his vast business empire is still present. we'll have that ahead. [vo] quickbooks introduces jeanette.

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that just tastes better. with more vitamins. and less saturated fat. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. we just found out moments ago that betsy devos was selected as secretary of educati education. precede lect trump releasing a statement saying, "betsy devos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate.

under her leadership we will reform the education system and break the bureaucracy holding our children back to deliver school choice to to all families. betsy devos tweeted, i am honored to work with the president-elect on his vision to make america great again. the status quo in ed is not acceptable. and bringing back white house reporter for the "wall street journal." david and analyst for the "daily beast." betsy devos, a charter school advocate and donald trump vowing to eliminate common core. a lot of people care about this. kids in school, wonder how federally mandated standards will affect their kids. so who is in favor of this and who's really worried that betsy devos will be the secretary of education very likely? >> sure the nea isn't terribly bleezed about this, but very

much in line with what donald trump discussed when discussing education reform very much in line with what he talked about. not that much of a surprise. remember who else he there. michelle rhee, also a charter school advocate, very controversial columbia when she served. new was going this way. >> someone to shake things up? >> yes. >> conflicts of interest with donald trump. has obviously so many business interests and so many countries. democrats, republicans raising concerns about this. he actually owns or is part of more than 500 companies and about 150 of them have done business in countries overseas. he's brushing off concerns. do americans -- is he right, that americans don't care? >> no. i think americans do care. they elect public officials who are supposed to serve not for their own personal gain, and whenever there's questions like

that, for somebody in elected office, of course, americans definitely care. i think the question that donald trump needs to answer relatively soon and -- what he's going to do about this. because if he doesn't do something to address these concerns, thises goi e thises - be what's talked about his entire presidency. >> and a private business, no one has a problem with that. this is something, part of his cabinet? part of his informal advisers? his children? you know, will they have a role in foreign policy, as suggested, even son-in-law on middle east peace? big questions, and business interests around the world. social media images him meeting with indian businessmen building a trump hotel. >> taking a photo hi women, publpuwith him and later deleted. didn't look good.

>> media going full bore on this and a republican congressman, promising investigation of hillary clinton even before the election. whether republicans will do the same with trump, we don't know. democrats are certainly sounding alarms. >> jackie, not comparing kping y but seeing similarities with the clinton foundation. even bill clinton admitted people may have been trying to curry favor or institutions or countries trying to do that. all may be well that donald trump and his children who run the trump organization say, we're not trying to, you know, do anything, but it doesn't matter. because we already see people flocking to his hotels. trying to be a part of this. this is what happens. people will come out of the woodwork, corporations, countries, come out of the woodwork. >> which is why, to carol's point, there needs to be something then to address this soon. the appearance of impropriety can be just as bad as actual impropriety. not only are people flocking to his hotels, brought in foreign

diplomats or foreign entities to encourage them. delegations were there. it's troubling. it is. >> what about this "washington post" report, carol, about the self-dealing that according to david fahrenthold's reporting, the trump foundation admits it used money from the foundation to basically pay for something that enriches either the foundation or basically donald trump? we don't know exactly what they're talking about, but it could be something like the fact the foundation used $20,000 to purchase a portrait of donald trump. or donald trump used that money. why is that a concern? why is that such a big concern going in to the presidency? >> because, again, it's not something that americans expect from certainly their president. and i think the risk for donald trump in this is, again, if he doesn't deal with these sorts of issues, you're going to have a congress, democrats in congress, who really continue to bring

this up. already seen a letter sent to donald trump's lawyer, asking for more from democrats, asking for more information about this, and it's just going to keep feeding on itself and become -- look, he's taking over as president at a time when people want him to focus on the economy. there's a ton of challenges overseas in terms of foreign policy and this would be a huge distraction. >> my colleague, david fahrenthold's reporting showing that the trump foundation, used trump foundation charity money to settle lawsuits against the trump organization. >> not his money, by the way. for years -- >> scandalous. the latest report came out yesterday you referenced talked about the fact in the 2015 tax filings acknowledged a self-dealing and might have been improper and from past years st declared in previous filings. like a practice, representative and not disclosed.

coming out nounch. >> donald trump talks about draining the swamp. democrats are eager to dust off culture of corruption, something they used effectively in other election cycles. it be careful and transparent and have bright lines. >> he has to be careful because he has a republican congress. will have a republican congress. may not always be the case, ca so much. talk about iraq. a big story coming out of the country. mosul officially surrounded according to iraqi-led forces. we take to you iraq for a live report from the ground, next. so) oooh! when your pain reliever stops working, your whole day stops. (sighs sadly) try this. only aleve can stop pain for 12 hours. plus, aleve is recommended by more doctors than any other brand for minor arthritis pain.

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a. iraqi-led forces say the city of mosul is surrounded, crucial isis supply lines are cut off but the battle is far from over. for more we are joined by cnn international correspondent phil black in erbil, iraq. so, phil, i know this is a slow and difficult advance that you're seeing there, give us a sense of what forces are facing. >> brianna, during the early

weeks of the campaign they made rapid progress across the open ground leading up to mosul itself but ever since iraqi forces entered the eastern flank of the city, thing have slowed down incredibly because they're dealing with an enemy that is just so motivated and prepared. they're really throwing everything at them and they know this urban environment so well. so they know the narrow streets, they're using waves of car bombs, they've dug tunnels, they're using mortar fire in this populated area so it's an incredibly tough battle, one that's having an impact on the civilian population and, of course, on the iraqi soldiers as well that are going up against this on a daily basis. >> this offensive began in october and iraqi officials have been noticeably tight-lipped on the casualty numbers. what have you learned about this? >> the iraqi government has said they're not talking casualty numbers until the operation is finished so we're left to draw our own conclusions what we've seen on the ground and we've been to forward medical positions, triage points,

makeshift clinics as civilians, men, women, children and soldiers are rushed out of the city suffering a wide range of horrific injuries. today we saw people that were injured by shrapnel from mortar fire. as i say, men, women, children and soldiers as well. as well as that, the local hospital here tells us they get around 90 injured people a day from mosul so it's not accurate but it paints a sense along with the nature of the finding that we're hearing that it's bloody and difficult and isis is reeling. it's really hitting civilian population and the iraqi forces very hard. >> they're getting closer to recapturing mosul, these iraqi forces but what about holding it? that's an entirely different situation don't aqap which you are something if they can't hold it. you need to be able to hold it. >> that's part of why the advance in mosul itself has been so slow. so the initial push into the

city that happened pretty quickly but then, of course, you're right. what they discovered was they had to clear these areas and hold them. that is literally going from bidding to building, clearing every single home and what has happened to these forces repeatedly since they've pushed into the city is as they advance they keep getting hit from behind as well. it's the nature of the enemy and it's just this way the iraqi forces are trying to hold the ground as they progress and what it means is the general progression, the advancing, has slowed so considerably because of this. >> phil black for us with that report in iraq. thank you so much for those important details. iraqi forces are saying mosul is surrounded. that's it for me. for our international viewers "amanpour" is next. for our viewers in north america. "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right after this. (jessica) the new recipe of

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hi there, i'm brooke baldwin, thank you for joining me on this day before thanksgiving. we begin this hour with breaking developments on how donald trump is expanding his team and in more ways than one expanding its diversity. he has just named these two women to cabinet-level positions and his former rival dr. ben carson gave this hint that big news is coming about his own "role" in making america great again. also moments ago, president-elect trump selected a woman by the name of betsy devos, a school choice advocate, to become his next education secretary. this is all happening hours after trump named his first outright critic to a cabinet-level position. he chose south carolina governor nikki haley to be his ambassador to the united nations. she is the daughter of immigrants from india. so let's go to jason carroll who is down in palm be