and the kremlin made this clear, that decision always rested with vladimir putin. the russian president. and he just gone out on state media and said he's made the decision not to expel those u.s. diplomats. he said that the restoration of ties between the united states and russia will be dependent on donald trump's policies. so vladimir putin mindful of the fact that in less than three weeks from now, donald trump will be the new president of the united states, and it's him that he believes he can do a deal with. it's him he believes that the relationship between russia and the united states, which has been so badly strained over the past several years, over various issues from syria to ukraine to major expansion, that relationship can be rebuilt. and there's a step towards that, i suppose, as a gesture towards donald trump. vladimir putin is saying he's not going to act on his foreign minister's advice. he's not going to respond in a tit for tat fashion towards the -- to the u.s. expulsion of russian diplomats. he's just going to sit tight and see what donald trump does and hopefully build a relationship with that new administration.

>> but not do it without some tough words for president obama. just looking at the statement in from the kremlin and vladimir putin just to us now, ending it by saying i pity president obama's administration for finishing their work this way then going on matthew to inviting all children of american diplomats in russia to the kremlin for christmas, and saying congratulations to elected president trump and the american people. we'll keep following this matthew chance thank you so much. this announcement from russia coming right on the heels of the tough sanctions against russia announced yesterday by the obama administration. the target russian intelligence agencies and the expulsion of dozens of spies. u.s. officials say they were posing as diplomats. justice correspondent is live in washington with more on that. good morning, popty with only three weeks left and 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 intelligence. intelligence officers operating here and using these compounds for intelligence collection purposes. >> reporter: the u.s. sanctioning nine russian individuals and entities, including the russian spy agency, the fsb, and the russian military intelligence unit the gru. the u.s. intelligence officials say the gru ordered the attacks on the democratic national committee and other political groups under orders from the kremlin. in a statement, president obama says the cyberattacks could only have been directed by the highest levels of the russian government. obama and u.s. intelligence officials have implied that

russian president vladimir putin was directly involved in the hacks. in part, to hurt hillary clinton's campaign. obama warning, "all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions." the stiff sanctions drawing bipartisan praise. >> we cannot allow a foreign power to impact our elections. >> we're the united states of america and you will not mess around with our election system. >> reporter: speaker of the house paul ryan calling the sanctions overdue as republican senators john mccain and lindsey graham vow to hit russia harder calling for even stronger sanctions. >> need to name putin as an individual of this inner circle because nothing happens in russia without his knowledge or approval. >> reporter: meanwhile, the white house looking to take covert retaliation, as well. saying, "these actions are not the sum total of our response. the u.s. says it is ready for any response from russia." >> the truth is that we enjoy the greatest capability of any country on earth. that's offensive and defensive.

>> and obama has now also declassified intelligence on russian cyber activity to help cybersecurity companies both here and abroad identify and detect and disrupt russia's cyber attacks in the future. don? >> thank you, evan. president-elect donald trump dismissing u.s. sanctions against russia. for months the president-elect has denied the u.s. intelligence community's conclusions on russia's meddling in the elections. trump now says he will meet with intelligence officials next week to get the facts. and those facts keep changing. we go to cnn's jessica schneider for that with an update on the story. they do keep changing. >> they do keep changing, don. and donald trump continues to express that skepticism that he has repeatedly expressed about the alleged russian attacks. he continued the doubt when he spoke outside mar-a-lago saying we should, quote, get on with our lives. and then donald trump issued this statement saying it's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, i will meet with the leaders of the intelligence

community next week in order to be updated on the facts of the situation. top transition adviser kellyanne conway say the sanctions seem largely symbolic and continue to cast doubt on the intelligence. itself. and conway also accusing president obama of playing politics. >> even those who are sympathetic to president obama on most issues are saying that part of the reason he did this today was to "box in" president-elect trump. that would be very unfortunate if that were the motivating -- if politics were the motivating factor. we can't help but think that is often true. >> conway refusing to say if donald trump will reverse the actions once he takes office. reince priebus only saying it is up to the president-elect and trump will be talking to his leadership at the defense department and state department before making any decision. it's interesting to note current white house homeland security adviser lisa monaco saying rollback of sanctions will be

quote highly unusual and inadvisable. >> thank you very much for the reporting. so much to discuss. let's bring back matthew chance and evan perez, and let's welcome in more guests, robin wright contributing writer for the new yorker and a joint fellow at the u.s. institute of peace and woodrow wilson center. also philip mudd former cia counterterrorism official. let me begin with you, philip mudd, because this is just -- no one expected this this morning. we expected tit for tat. we expected russia to do what the kremlin said they were advising putin to do, pull back, push out, expel these u.s. diplomats from russia. now putin comes out with this statement saying he's not going to do that. he's going to defer any action until trump takes over and not create problems for american diplomats. what do you make of this? >> well, this is remarkable. you can dismiss vladimir putin as sort of a tin pot thug. let's be clear, the man is smart, if not brilliant.

let's go back over the past few years. annexing crimea, hugely popular in russia. putin's approval ratings in russia hovering at or above 80%. unthinkable for an american president to have ratings like that. when the americans pull back from syria, who moves in? the russians. now they've succeeded just over the past week, there's a cease-fire on thursday night, and potential peace talks brokered by who? the russians, the turks, the iranians, the americans not there. now finally he looks like the good guy this week in refusing to cooperate in tit for tat. i think what's going on is he's setting the stage as president-elect trump is trying to reach out to say, if you want to talk, you want to make america great again, i want to make russia great again. let's sit down and talk. i think this is a brilliant move. >> and, listen, there have been some in, you know, in the political world and also in the intelligence world who would say that these leaders, including netanyahu, and putin, they were actually playing donald trump, this is a strategy for donald trump that they may not be so

friendly towards him but a strategy that they're using to -- >> so their benefit? >> to get what they want. and i have to ask you this, robin, isn't this the whole reason that president obama and bush before him referred to one president at a time, and any foreign policy decisions or questions about it would be targeted to the person who was in office at the time and not the incoming president? >> absolutely. and vladimir putin is clearly playing to a lame duck president, taking advantage, whether it's on the issue of cyber attacks or on syria in positioning himself or the next administration and building power, building his position. but this is also a very important juncture in which the russians, may not be taking action publicly on diplomats expulsions, but you can bet they are doing a lot behind the scenes. just as the americans are when it comes to cyberwar.

that the real action on this issue is playing out in ways that are not visible, that are -- they're going after each other in an ever more that there is likely to be an intensification of the cyberwar. people talked about the revival of the cold war. we've moved beyond that kind of cold war. the tit for tat expulsions and that kind of thing. we're into something much more profound, much deeper and will define more of the 21st century -- >> robin, if you read this statement, this statement is stunning. >> yeah. >> when you read the -- the entire statement. >> it is. he's inviting children of american diplomats to the kremlin for christmas. let's just get vladimir putin is inviting the kids of american diplomats to the kremlin for christmas to say thank you for the sanctions. matthew chance, robin? i mean robin you first. what? >> well, that's absolutely game. it's clearly a message directed at one person and that's the president-elect of the united states. this is a way of saying we do want to engage and, you know, trying to put off the kind of

tension, the cycle that might have been created and soured a relationship before it even started three weeks from now. so, it's very smart move, and it's a wait and see game. i think putin has been very clever and this will make it easier for donald trump to continue on his course. the question, of course, is what's going to happen among republicans. but there is a deep sentiment on the hill that the russians must be punished further. and the debate in washington will not be democrats versus republicans. it will play out largely among republicans what they want to do, and very different visions about russia. >> matthew you're in moscow. this is straight out of vladimir putin's playbook. this is how he plays the media and the people in russia, as well. >> it's classic. he's an absolute master of this kind of thing. i mean he's almost literally playing santa claus this time of year by inviting children of u.s. diplomats to the kremlin to witness these amazing sort of new year's shows that are staged there every year.

and he's doing that, of course, to reach out to donald trump yet again. he's repeatedly reached out to that administration-in-waiting because he needs him. he needs donald trump. he needs a friendly administration in the united states to alleviate the sanctions on the country that have been imposed by president obama. that, to -- to look again at the annexation of crimea. to look again at nato expansion. and of course the conflict in syria. we've all been talking about this. russia along with its partner in turkey, and with others, and with the syrian government, have given syria the best chance it's had in years of ending the devastating conflict there, and that would be in the failure -- end in the favor of russia, and he wants the united states administration of donald trump to be part of that, as well. all of these issues that vladimir putin wants to do a deal with trump on and he doesn't want to, you know, kind of ambush that relationship before the administration has even begun. >> evan, to be clear, three

strained, if not adversarial relationships with the current administration look quite rosy when it comes to the incoming administration within the last 24 hours. bashar al assad in syria. benjamin netanyahu in israel. 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 that relationship soured. barack obama tried to reset the relationship, we see where that has ended. and now, vladimir putin sees, you know, he's come out ahead in both, you know, administrations, 16 years of relationships with american presidents. he can now, you know, start over again with donald trump and we'll see what he can win out at the end of that -- of that period. i think that -- that's why you see the intelligence community, the defense department, the pentagon, the law enforcement community in the united states is very skeptical of the russians, and their intentions here. >> except russia hasn't come out ahead, really, over the last 16 years when it comes to their economy. the sanctions that the u.s. have

put on them have really hurt them. there's a lot of bluster and verbiage and what whatever you want to call it from putin but it actually hasn't benefited the russian people. >> i think that's right. you've got to look at this two ways. first as you're suggesting there's an economic piece of this sanctions might have actually impelled vladimir putin, who has to at least think at some level about his domestic constituency to move forward to try to develop a new relationship. but let's move beyond that and say are we going to see because of these russian moves, putin's moves, some removal of sanctions. you heard robin wright rightly point out that the congress itself has said there has to be some sort of measure, additional measures as a result of tampering the elections. so it's not just the president-elect who makes decisions about putin. it's the congress who i think will put another foot down and then when the president-elect gets into the oval office, he's going to have some realities. i expect the russians to keep stealing american secrets beyond computers. the second is he's going to deal with russia and iran, russia and

syria, and he's going to have european allies come in and say what are you going to do when the russians continue to disrupt our elections? so reality is going to be difficult. i think the president-elect is going to realize the man he decided to develop relationship with actually senatnores all ni. this is a difficult relationship. it's not a cinderella moment. right now it's easy. it's going to get more difficult when things get on. >> i'm glad you said that because i want to bring in robin here. if we can. because, and it's sometimes hard to take the politics out of this and people, you know, do things through an ideology and a political lens all the time but on the surface if you just look at it and you read the statement this is all smoke and mirrors. the question is whether it's a democratic administration, or a republican administration, whoever would be coming in to the white house next, if you read this sort of thing and this was happening, should they fall for this? shouldn't they know that this is posturing, on the part of these dictators? >> of course. the big question is going to be

when congress moves to impose more sanctions or take action and legislates on this, will president trump veto it? and this is where the rubber hits the road on a new administration. when you see that tension play out over russia and that's why vladimir putin is taking these incredible steps what looks like he's not responding, even though we know he will be taking actions against this behind the scene. this is going to be a tough moment. it's also going to be interesting to see what president-elect trump says after his briefing next week from the intelligence community about just how deep these penetrations the intelligence penetrations, the cyber attacks have gone. he can't help but worry about what happens to future american elections. >> all right, guys, thank you very much. fascinating conversation. fascinating developments. >> yeah. >> in just the past hour. thank you all very much. have a wonderful in your year. >> several world leaders

embroiled in a diplomatic showdown or showdowns with the outgoing obama administration. they say they are waiting for president-elect donald trump to make their next move. how will trump handle these leaders? we're going to ask a member of his transition team next. we live in a pick and choose world. choose. choose. choose. but at bedtime... ...why settle for this? enter sleep number and the lowest prices of the season. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow!

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russia president vladimir putin says he is not going to kick dozens of diplomats out of russia in retaliation for sanctions. instead he wants to wait for president-elect donald trump to take and to respond to the u.s. move to take office and then he'll respond to the u.s. moves now we're joined by a republican congressman sean duffy of wisconsin, he's a member of donald trump's presidential transition team, and the executive committee. i have so many questions for you. and thank you very much, congressman duffy, for coming on. >> good morning. >> did you get a chance to read the full statement from the kremlin this morning? i'm not sure if you did. >> i did. i saw the top line. >> i think it's fascinating and i think it's important to read

it so you can understand the complexity and just how interesting it is. okay so here it is from the kremlin and from russian president vladimir putin he says we see new unfriendly steps by the outgoing u.s. administration as provocative aimed to further deteriorate russia and u.s. ties. it contradicts interests of russia and american people. considering the special responsibility of russia and the u.s. to keep global security it damages the entire complex of international kind. it goes on to say according to the prevailing international practice the russian side there is every reason for an adequate response. we'll talk about that. then he says, reserving the right to retaliate we will not stoop to the level, and this is, of quote kitchen irresponsibility -- irresponsible diplomacy and further steps toward the restoration of russian american relations will be built on the basis of the policy which will be carried out by the administration of donald j. trump, of president trump. returning to their homeland, russian diplomats will spend the new year holidays in the circles

of relatives and friends at home. we will not, this is important, create problems for american diplomats. we will not send anyone away. we will not prohibit their families and children to use for their usual vacations spots in the new year's holidays. moreover all children of american diplomats in russia i invite you to new year's and christmas tree at the kremlin. it is a pity that president obama administration finishes its work this way but not nevertheless i congratulate him and his family and a happy new year. congratulations to the elected president donald trump, the american people i wish all welfare and prosperity. and again that's from the kremlin. surely the incoming administration sees this as smoke and mirrors and will not fall for it. >> i i think all of us see this as smoke and mirrors. don, let me take a step back and look at what america's relationship has been with russia and look at what i think donald trump is going to do. i don't think barack obama has

projected strength to russia. as you recall, he told, through a messenger, vladimir putin that he would have more flexibility after his 2012 election. we all remember that with mitt romney, he said the 1980s foreign policy rap when he said that russia was our number one geopolitical foe and then russia, crimea, ukraine, now in syria making a difficult situation even worse, barack obama really hasn't done anything tough with russia. so he's walking out the door, we have these sanctions, but russia's been able to walk all over us and the rest of the world as a bad actor and i feel -- >> why would the incoming administration now criticize these sanctions which are not as harsh as the sanctions for crimea, and and for ukraine why would you criticize this now that the president is taking actions even republicans want stronger sanctions against russia? >> so -- now i'm not in donald trump's mind as you know. but i'm going to speculate here.

i think the frustration of mr. trump is, that this does have an air of politics. and that mr. obama's trying to diminish mr. trump's win by saying there's reasons why my policy is, whether it's obamacare, my foreign policy, or my open southern border law since the last election. it wasn't actually my policies. it was fox news or it was the russians or it was fake news. there's a reason why -- >> -- would you say that -- >> more to -- >> the fbi and krooib and every intelligence agency and also that john mccain and lindsey graham are also trying to undermine donald trump's election? and president? >> no, no. there's two different points. one is, what role did the russians have? were they trying to influence our election? and you just mentioned intelligence agencies that have made that point. i haven't seen those briefs yet. but then the question becomes, did they actually have an impact on our election? and i would argue to you, don, at least in my part of wisconsin which is a blue state that went

red for donald trump they really didn't care that the dnc was supporting hillary clinton over bernie sanders. that didn't change their vote. the fact that we have information that came from podesta's e-mails about internal squabbles in the clinton campaign, i don't think you or anyone else can give me any silver bullet of these leaks that changed anyone's vote. they didn't impact the election. >> well, that's that's not even -- >> that's not even at play here. according to the obama administration they don't believe that it would change the outcome of the election. to critics of the -- >> are you disagreeing with these intelligence reports? 17 agencies have said that the russians tampered with the election. >> what i'm telling you is i went back to washington after the election, and i was there for three weeks, and never did i get a briefing. the intelligence agencies haven't come to congress and laid out this information. i'm looking forward to going back next week and seeing that evidence, seeing that information, and being tough with russia. but i don't think we can look at

what's happened with foreign governments hacking american systems and think that barack obama has been tough. i don't know if you recall this but the chinese hacked opm. office of personnel management, and what they're trying to gather is what americans have security clearances so they could find out which ones were working for the cia. and they also have information on members of congress -- >> -- it sounds like you're saying that -- >> no, i'm not -- no what i'm saying:no don what i'm saying is, where in the hell has barack obama been when this has been happening over the last seven years? >> that's a criticism -- legitimate criticism -- >> -- of the last three weeks. so my point is, listen, i'm opposed to russia hacking, i'm opposed to china hacking in any of our systems, whether it's our election or personal data or government employees. we should hold all of them to account. why then is the question is barack obama so engaged now in this russia issue when he really hasn't had a back bone for the

last eight years? and i think the concern comes to is this more political than really trying to -- >> there have been very strong -- stronger -- >> and i would join barack obama and other republicans -- >> there have been stronger sanctions presented against russia before these sanctions. and again so if -- you said that you're not getting information from the intelligence agencies. what do you think mccain and lindsey graham are basing their information on if they're saying 99 senators agreed thatrussians tampered with our election? you said you're not getting information. what are they basing theirs on? what's the disconnect here? >> well, i don't know what they're basing their information on. maybe they've had a briefing in the senate. but nunez in the house who chairs our intelligence committee did ask for a briefing at least for his committee and the intelligence community didn't show up. so, again, i think we have to look at, if you take a step back, i don't think from my vantage point barack obama has been tough. and i think when you don't have strong leadership from america

bad actors become worse. what i'm looking for for donald trump is to set aside maybe the little barbs he's taken on his electoral win, and actually look at what russia has done, look at what china has done, what other countries around the world have done to america and take a stuff stance and i think what donald trump believes in is like ronald reagan you will have peace through strength. you don't get peace through weakness and i think that's going to be a fundamental shift. and if russia, vladimir putin thinks he's going to have a better partner, a softer partner in barack obama, i don't think that will be the case with donald trump. you even saw that last week when russia was talking about modernizing their nuclear weaponry. donald trump didn't cower from that he came on and said guess what we're going to modernize our nuclear weapons. >> that was frightening to a lot of people -- >> in regard to russia did >> i get your point he'll be stronger under donald trump even considering the letter and the complimentry tone of what he has

said about the trump administration. thank you so much congressman, happy new year to you. >> thanks. >> fascinating interview. u.s.-israeli relations hitting fair to say rock bottom after the u.s. abstained from a u.n. resolution condemning israel's expanded settlements. can the incoming trump administration repair the rift? what will that look like? we're going to speak with a former israeli ambassador next. t the market. but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

welcome back to "new day." the long-held alliance between the u.s. and israel is now on the rocks following a u.n. security council resolution condemning israeli settlements in east jerusalem and in the west bank. how will things change during the trump administration? probably a lot. joining us now is a former u.s. ambassador to israel and egypt now a professor at an okay university at princeton university. thank you for being with us, sir, and happy new year. >> thank you, you, too. >> i'm very interested in your insight as to whether or not what has transpired between israel and the united states is at least in part because of

personal animus between president obama and prime minister netanyahu or if you don't buy into this is personal at all? >> oh, it's highly personal. the foundation of the u.s./israeli relationship actually is better than it's ever been. provision of u.s. security assistance, support for israeli anti-missile promise, intelligence and strategic cooperation are at their height. but the two leaders, netanyahu and obama, just never got along. and you're now seeing this come out in a very negative way right at the end of the administration, especially after mr. netanyahu appears to have endorsed mr. trump. it's really a shame that we're not looking at what's important here which is the strength of the bilateral relationship. >> the netanyahu spokesman said yesterday that israel is still committed to a two-state solution. but kerry says netanyahu's

policies are quite different than that. he said as much in his speech. do you agree with that? who's right? >> he's made contrary statements over the past years. back in 2009, he said he supported a two-state solution. on the eve of his last election, he backed away from it. he's back and forth on this. and it's hard to know exactly what he's thinking. what is clear as secretary kerry said in his speech is that the israelry government has not pronounced itself in favor of a two-state solution and most of the members of netanyahu's cabinet actually oppose a two-state solution. so it's hard to see netanyahu's claims to be credible. >> don pointed out in that interview yesterday a number of these cabinet members are opposed to a two-state solution very publicly. palestinians, a number of palestinians, will say that that's just talk and very careful wording. by the spokesman or spokes people for netanyahu netanyahu himself saying yes i stand by a two-state solution. netanyahu said it recently in a

60 minutes interview because they don't believe that that really means independent and equally sovereign palestinian state in places like east jerusalem, gaza, the west bank, et cetera. how do you read it? >> well, that's exactly why secretary kerry's speech, as well crafted as it was, should be read carefully. because the point that he made is not really whether one mouths the words two-state solution. but whether or not actions on the ground, whether it's settlements on the israeli side, or incitement and violence on the palestinian side, are proof of whether the two sides are ready to make peace. and kerry was unsparing in his criticism of both sides saying it's about time that people actually do on the ground what they say they want. which is to create a two-state solution. >> saying one thing and doing another, and that's exactly what john kerry said in the speech. you said that there wasn't anything new in that speech. so, then, the question is, why

is netanyahu so upset? is it because he is maybe strategically he doesn't have as much leverage as he once had? >> well i think he's upset largely because the speech is as strong as it was, and it lays bare all of the inconsistencies in both israeli policy but also in palestinian policy and no leader is going to want to see that happen. he's now exposed. the israeli press for example has taken him to task since the time of the u.n. resolution a week ago for policies that are leading israel into a very bad direction in which you may have the beginning of a one-state reality where israel will have to make a choice between being a jewish and democratic state, or not. >> palestinian president abbas said he's ready to meet once israel stops building settlements. netanyahu said it's the palestinians' refusal to accept

israel as a jewish state that has caused a stalemate. what do you think is holding up the process? >> i think both of them are avoiding taking hard decisions. i think the palestinians have put themselves high up in a tree without a ladder by demanding a full settlement freeze before even talking. i think netanyahu has put himself up in a different tree, by continuing this settlement policy, which is eating up palestinian land. and both of them are simply climbing higher and higher in this tree without taking into account the fact that they ought to come down to earth and understand that there are two societies are the ones that are suffering from their lack of leadership. >> well put. thank you so much. we appreciate it. have a great new year. >> thank you, you, too. >> coming up next, have a little fun. >> all right. >> it is new year's. and we've had a lot of hard news this morning. so, we're going to talk a little music, a little classic rock. i got to hang out with the classic rockers chicago. >> you did? >> you are jealous.

as they celebrate 50 years of music. we get a preview of their new year's documentary next.

they have rocked for nearly 50 years. you definitely know their chart topping hits. chicago is a band that calls themselves brothers.

cnn traces the band's windy city routes all the way to the top of the charts in now more than ever the history of chicago we got a backstage pass to meet with the band on the final leg of their tour. here's a preview. after 47 golden platinum records, dozens of charting songs and more than 100 million albums sold. snoitd i was walking down the street one day ♪ >> chicago, the legendary band, is still rocking today. a brotherhood started with a hand shake nearly 50 years ago. >> it was a handshake and a jam session. >> could you ever handle success? >> no, none of us did. >> to have this kind of success for this long is unprecedented. >> so when was the -- when was the pinch me moment. >> you want to walk up on stage? >> we caught up with chicago on the final leg of their tour in omaha, nebraska.

>> omaha, how the hell are you? it's a true band. a band of brothers. >> a band of brothers. >> yeah. >> we would build these songs and build these albums together. and at some point i realized, and i think we all realized that music is, indeed, what we're going to be doing. pretty much for the rest of our lives. >> the music talent is amazing. transcends all ages. >> you can't finds producing this kind of music today. this is it. >> there have been decades more wild than others like their years at caribou ranch. ♪ >> caribou ranch happened to be very close to a college town. a ton of drugs. there are really big drugs. >> and it ended up just kind of being a party in the rockies. ♪ if you leave me now

>> chicago was flying high. but then came their heartbreak. original guitarist died suddenly accidentally shooting himself. >> that made us all pull up short, and we didn't know what we were going to do. >> you've said that you were still working through terry's death. >> yes. >> to be honest with you, i give terry a look every night. when we play saturday in the park. ♪ there's a lyric in there that we first had. ♪ ♪ singing for a song >> i still dream about terry. >> he was like the musical leader of the band at the time. he would want us to stay together, as well. >> you loved him. >> mm-hmm. >> he's very lovable. >> they did, they say, what terry would have wanted.

they stayed together and kept playing. chicago has toured every single year of its existence. >> chicago! >> and finally in 2016, the ultimate honor. >> it is my honor to finally induct chicago into the rock & roll hall of fame. >> but no sign these rockers are slowing down. not even close. le. >> i've always contended that music keeps me in a childlike state. that's not too bad. >> we wanted to be as organic as it started out being and that's why we're still together. >> not a bad assignment. my thanks to all of them. pretty good time. next year the remaining original band members of chicago will mark an incredible 50 years together that makes them the longest, the longest u.s. rock

band ever to play together. all right. you can see now more than ever the history of chicago, sunday 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. ♪ i was walking down >> i said don is not -- >> pretty good. if this anchor thing doesn't work out. >> go to the tease. >> they're yelling at us. come on, it's new year's. >> yeah it's been a big year for the entertainment, lots of losses. we'll discuss all of that, those who have fallen, coming up next.

as 2016 comes to an end it may be remembered, at least in part, for so many of the stars that we lost. especially in the final week. especially this week. pretty unbelievable. let's discuss it all with entertainment tonight host and cnn contributor nischelle turner and former editor of "people" magazine larry hackette. let me begin with you. what a year. good thing that it's over in terms of these deaths. we lost david bowie, and we lost prince. these are two artists that you say were particularly tough for their loss. why? >> because they were still incredibly active. they were still, although they were getting older they were incredibly productive. david bowie had an album that came out three days before his death. prince had thousands of hours of music in the archives. and it was shock. there's a whole litany of other rockers, it goes on and on. and i think baby boomers being

who they are, they're passing away. it comes in this incredible horrific cluster this year. >> he says incredible horrific cluster. in the last week zsa zsa gabor, george michael, and carrie fisher and her mother debbie reynolds. there have been more been the past two or three weeks. >> i was thinking about this yesterday just the month of december alone, i felt like that there was a lot over and over and over again. and the end of this year seemed like there was really a cluster of folks. but when you think about this year, and i started going over the list last night and i found myself saying oh, my goodness, i forgot. i forgot about this person. i forgot about this person. and and started thinking it really has been a banner year for loss. it and and and i don't think any of us can explain it. i remember being out at mrs. reagan's funeral this --

this earlier this year and -- and talking to people about the fact that it -- it felt lick we were losing our icons more and more like this generation was really starting to go away. and -- and it's kind of sad because it was the greatest generation i believe. >> you're right about that. when you think about, allen thicke, "growing pains," mrs. brady, such great movies. zsa zsa gabor. these are iconic figures from a generation that some of the young folks may not even remember except for tvland but they had a very impact on many of our lives. >> also in a period of time when pop culture was exploding. you had television and movies and so you became familiar with a whole greater number of people. when they die, people like anne haggerty who you watch on grizzly adams and alan rickman, there's so many folks out there that we are familiar with because of pop culture and when they die you become more aware of it.

>> also nischelle turner i mean muhammad ali. >> yes. >> you know, gosh i mean, celebrity just one of his many, many things and titles that he embodies. i mean that is a moment when america came together and -- and remembered and honored what he did for all of us. >> absolutely. and i was at that funeral, and you're right i mean his celebrity was one that crossed every single genre. sports, politics, of, of acting, of -- and -- and i remember at his funeral thinking there are people literally from every corner of the world here from every genre, from every race, creed, age and they all were there for one purpose because they revered this manpy mean it, really was a sight to behold. and the interesting thing is to about -- about muhammad ali, i mean, all of us have a -- regardless of our age, all of us have this -- this memory of him and this -- this fondness for

him. will smith i remember talking to him there, and he was saying to me, i'm not sad today i'm celebrating a beautiful life and a life that was well lived. >> there you go. guys thank you so much. happy new year to you. >> we're going to be right back with some closing thoughts you don't want to miss.

2016, a year we will never forget. >> poppy and i are good friends. it's been a pleasure being here with you. >> we're back to friends. >> this is my last week of doing double shifts. up early, up late. >> we usually don't drink before 9:00. >> bring in a surprise, right? >> come on in. >> the light of my 2016. not only my awesome husband. but our little nugget, siena. hey, baby. hey, baby. how you doing? >> here you go. >> want to meet don lemon? this has been my wonder of the year. is having this little 8-month-old nugget. with this amazing man. >> these are for you. >> we thought you were going to wear these in. those are mine.

>> show the world what they are. >> crocs. i wear these in the office and everywhere when i'm not wearing shoes. >> i just got a pair. >> you just got a pair. >> and when you become a dad you get crocs. >> cheers. >> happy new year, everyone. you want to say happy new year? time for "newsroom." with martin savidge. >> good morning to all of you. poppy, a beautiful, beautiful baby and family there. thanks very much. don, happy new year to you. >> to you, as well martin. >> thank you, "newsroom" starts now. good morning, i'm martin savidge in for carol costello. thanks very much for joining me. just hours after russian officials vowed retaliation for those u.s. sanctions against russia vladimir putin has changed things up completely and he says he will not impose sanctions on the u.s. putin saying this morning that he will wait