world ♪ ♪ a frantic search continues for the gunman behind a deadly shooting rampage in istanbul. we're learning more about the victims who lost their lives on new year's day. north korea said it's very close to test ag long-range ballistic missile. now the u.s. is sending pyongyang a terse response. a notable absence on new year's day as queen elizabeth is too ill to carry on a decades-long tradition. we'll have it all live here on newsroom. i'm natalie allen. thank you for joining us.

39 people in turkey started the new year celebrating, and that turned out to be their last hour. turkey is now promising to find the shooter who killed them at a popular nightclub in istanbul. the gunman has not been identified. this security footage apds pearo show the attacker shooting as he enters the club. in his first statement as the new attorney general, antonio gutierrez declared it despicable. hopes that the organizers and perpetrators of the heinous act will be identified and brought to justice swiftly. cnn's ian lee joins us from istanbul, and with that statement, it's looking more and more like this is pointing to isis. what are you hearing, ian? >> reporter: that's right,

natalie, it does seem to be whittleing down who is responsible for this act. all the experts we've been talking to have been saying it does bear the hallmark of an isis attack, mainly because in the past isis looks for these soft targets full of civilians to carry out their attacks. pkk coming out today strongly condemning this attack and saying they didn't have any responsibility. that does leave isis. there is also the probability it could be another group or a lone wolf that is responsible for this attack. no one has claimed responsibility and the government hasn't yet placed responsibility. >> right, because there is much to do to find this gunman. do we even know if this was a gunman? have they identified him at all? are there any leads as far as his whereabouts? >> reporter: well, we haven't heard of any leads from the government so far, but they are

saying that he will be caught soon and that there is strong coordination between the security services. but there is a nationwide manhunt underway, and they are very keen to find out who he is. we haven't heard a name. we've seen a picture from the security footage that has been running. that is a crucial piece of evidence of trying to identify who he is. but the police haven't released his name. they do not know if there was anyone helping him, but that is also going to be something they're going to be looking for. if it is isis, who helped him, or if it was another group, where did he have any help carrying out this attack. but when you watch the video of the person doing this attack at the club that is just right behind me, he was actually walking on this street. you can see those bullets ricoch ricocheting and he walked to the door just right there, and that's where they also had that surveillance footage that

captured his face. again, these are crucial things they'll be looking into going forward. >> yeah, and any ideas? are people saying how did he slip out? you know, we see him with certain clothes on and somehow someone with a gun gets back out. i guess it has to do with the mayhem inside. >> reporter: what we're hearing, after the shooting took place, the gun was left behind and he was able to flee in the chaos of the situation. the attack on this nightclub was -- there was a lot of security here. there was a police officer out front, there is a police station about 250 meters down the road. the whole city of istanbul had increased security leading up to the new year's eve celebration. so it is something that they're going to look into as how this lone gunman was able to carry out this attack so close to a

police station and also then sneak away. >> absolutely. ian lee there for us once again. thank you for explaining to us, ian. we've learned more about the victims. at least 27 of the 39 killed were foreign nationals, including, from top left, a film producer from india, a 19-year-old woman from israel, a dual belgian-turkish woman. at least 29 turkish people were killed, including the young man on the bottom right. for more on the shooting, journalist andrew finkel joins me now from belgium. he's been reporting from turkey for more than 20 years. thanks so much for joining us. i have to ask, first of all, what's your reaction to hearing that yet again, turkey that saw

a horrible 2016, got hit again so horribly? >> yes. of course, we thought with the end of the last year, the practice would bring an end to the tourist incidents which have really made us very anxious in turkey. but, of course, the new year began with this who rehorrenduo attack, and i'm sure what's going through people's minds is that this isn't the last attack for the year, that we're in for a rocky year ahead. >> no one points to responsibility, though it points to isis. it is believed this person may have acted alone, but we just don't know. one of the reporters i talked with yesterday in istanbul said turkey has really been encroaching on one town over the border in syria, and that's an important town for isis, kind of a gateway for them, so they're

being pushed out elsewhere. it looks like this is just more coming in to get even. >> reporter: well, yes. the prelude to this attack was the deal that was done at the very end of last year, a treaty, a cease fire which was arranged between russia, turkey and iran and some other syrian opposition forces. well, what that treaty was really all about was giving turkey a freeish hand to move into northern syria, to move against isis strongholds, really to move against the kurds, the syrian kurds, who were operating from the other side of the border and trying to take those same strongholds as well. turkey was clearly making its mark, putting down a stake, saying that they were definitely going against isis. of course, this can certainly be interpreted as a retaliation for that move. >> all the security right now in

front of the club. we were just seeing a few moments ago pictures of the club from the back. it's on the bosborous and there were people jumping into the river to try to save themselves, and they likely did. but let's talk about security forces, because i've been on the anchor desk when many of these terrorist incidents have happened and we've always heard about increased security, increased police presence, but here you have a very popular nightclub. yes, it's a club, but still reports that security was kind of light around the club. >> most fancy places, nightclubs, hotels in turkey have metal detectors at the door, they have bouncers. this is the sort of club you can't just walk in off the street. there are bodyguards outside and

people's chauffered cars. as you said, it's on the side. a lot of wealthy people arrive to this club by boat. it's a clear and obvious target, and apparently there were some warnings ahead of time that it might be targeted. but i guess there's not that much you can do against a man who walks into your front door with a rifle. that's what we saw today. of course, the other thing you have to remember is that turkey has been under a form of emergency law since july when there was an attempted coup. security couldn't be any tougher in turkey. the security forces couldn't have any more powers than they enjoy already to detain, to arrest. there have been, you know, crackdowns on journalists, on academics, on all sorts of people in turkey who the government accuses of siding with the coup makers. i guess people might begin to

suspect that security forces have been going after the wrong people, but really, they're not doing their job properly and have been distracted by the events of july. >> right. well, it is so sad because we've seen all the posts from people in turkey hoping to put 2016 behind them and then 2017 starts like this. it's just a heinous, heinous thing, and i'm sure it's wearing on people there. but thank you so much, andrew finkel, for talking with us. appreciate it. another story we're following. the u.s. is cautioning north korea after leader kim jong-unclaimed the country is close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile. the state department issued a statement reminding pyongyang of u.n. resolutions banning those tests and calling on the country, quote, to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric that threaten international peace and

stability. sima joins us from north korea with more. what would this indicate if north korea takes this next steph in testep in testing? >> reporter: it would be a huge concern, natalie, because until now they've been successfully testing short range and mid-range missiles. i can tell you spirits believe the majority of their long-range missile tests have been failures. but if they do, indeed, have even an intercontinental ballistic missile and then manage to successfully test fire it, it would be a huge concern, of course. it is, of course, another question whether they intend to use it in any kind of aggressive way against another state or country, but the fact that they have it would be of huge concern. north korea the first and only country in the 21st century to test-fire a new clear missile. what we do know, natalie, is

that they have nuclear weapons. we've seen the fifth and largest nuclear test conducted as recently as september 2016, which resulted, of course, in more sanctions. and crucially another piece in the jigsaw puzzle was that they launched a satellite in february of last year which would indicate that they do have the kind of technology to launch a long-range missile. whether they then have the technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead and attach that to such a missile, we don't know, but kim jong-un is saying that he does. natalie? >> we've had this comment from the united states for them to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric, but it seems every time the united states reminds north korea of u.n. rules and sanctions, they just kind of fluff it oslough i

go on. >> exactly, natalie. in effect, any kind of action to be taken against north korea really is limited to sanctions, and this strongly worded condemnation. we've had condemnation from the south government as well. their hands are tied. they can't really take any kind of military action. that's what he's also counting on heading into 2017 with a new administration, a new president in the white house in washington, d.c., a presidential election here in seoul as well. kim jong-un, according to the most recent very high-level diplomatic defector who spoke just a few days ago saying this is exactly the time that kim jong-un jong-un is preparing and pushing forward for his nuclear ambition. that was supposed to be by the end of 2017. some others argue that it may

well happen soon, within the next few months. natalie? >> we know south korea is going through some changes with leadership. is anyone feeling a little more eerie about the usual from north korea because it comes at a time of instability for south korea? >> reporter: this really does play into the hands of kim jong-un, natalie. i'm sorry, i only got part of your question there, but in terms of what's happening in south korea here, there have been protests for nine or ten weeks for park geun-hye to step down. she hasn't yet. parliament voted to impeach her last month, and now that impeachment vote has gone to the constitutional court. so there is a lot of political turmoil here. and regardless of the impeachment or if she'll step

down, there was due to be a presidential election here in south korea this year. so all of this turmoil plays well into kim jong-un's hands. he's not going to likely do anything provocative towards south korea or to tip the boatright now, because it's all working for him. he doesn't like conservative governments in south korea. they are anti-north korea. any liberal government that comes in here with a liberal president is likely to reach out for dialogue to the north and that's what kim wants, once he's kept the country from becoming a new state. >> we're about to get a new president, so we'll have to wait and see what donald trump's tactics are toward the north. thank you so much, sima. india police had to detain a

cap pain after a ferry fire killed 23. the boat reportedly caught fire after a sort circuit in the generator. hundreds of people were headed to jakarta at the time. here's how one survivor described the chaos. >> translator: thick smoke suddenly emerged, blanketing the cabin. all passengers panicked and ran up to the deck to throw floats in the water. in a split second, the fire became bigger. it was coming from where the fuel is stored. >> authorities say 17 people are still missing. and still to come here on "cnn newsroom," more than two dozen russian diplomats are back home after being expelled from the united states. and is donald trump promises to reveal the inside information he knows, the latest in the russia hacking controversy, straight ahead.

welcome back to cnn newsroom. 39 russian diplomats and their

families are back in russia now. u.s. president barack obama expelled them and imposed sanctions on russia for the hacking of political groups during the presidential campaign. u.s. intelligence officials said moscow was behind the hacking but russia denies it. russian president vladimir putin is not taking any action yet, instead waiting to see what will happen when president-elect donald trump takes office. trump, meantime, is not fully on board with the intelligence community's conclusion. the hacking will be part of a briefing he is set to receive as well as a congressional hearing later this week. ryan noble has more on the week ahead. >> reporter: president-elect donald trump will have a busy start to the new year. this week will be filled with meetings at trump tower, including a high-level intelligence briefing where the president-elect is expected to learn more about the russian hack of u.s. interests. trump continues to downplay the significance of the intelligence community's conclusion that the russian government is behind the hack.

this despite statements from members of congress, both republican and democrat, who have been briefed on the matter and described the evidence as overwhelming. during trump's posh new year's eve gathering at his mar-a-lago estate, the president-elect told reporters he remains skeptical of their overall assessment. >> i just want them to be sure because it's a pretty serious charge, and i want them to be sure. if you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong. and so i want them to be sure. i think it's unfair if they don't know. and i know a lot about hacking, and hacking is a very hard thing to prove. so it could be somebody else. and i also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation. >> what do you know that other people don't know? >> you'll find out on tuesday or wednesday. >> reporter: in addition to trump's private intelligence briefing, we could learn more about this alleged hack during a highly anticipated hearing of the senate armed services committee.

senator john mccain, who has a much different view of the alleged hack, called for the briefing. donald trump has just a few weeks ago to round up staff before he's inaugerated, the secretary of affairs and the secretary of agriculture. ryan noble, cnn washington. barbara starr has more on the decades of espionage between washington and moscow. >> reporter: fbi cameras captured russian operative anna chapman in a federal undercover agent meeting in a new york coffee shop in june 2010. 17 days later, chapman and nine other russian agents were arrested in new york, new jersey and virginia, charged with conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of russia. spies who had burrouwed deep ino

society for years. the fbi had watched chapman and the others for months, recording dropoffs of packages, meetings on staircases, even one meeting just yards from cnn's offices in new york. the u.s. group never got their hands on classified information. but the russian infiltration into the u.s., a classic moscow move. >> they actually tried to influence events to the benefit of russia all over the world. this is something that they have done for decades. >> reporter: within days at the airport in vienna, an an elaborately choreographed meeting. now they're talking about how

they ruined their diplomat status. this after the harassment of u.s. diplomats overseas. vladimir putin, a former intelligence officer, well acquainted with the so-called legals program putting agents into u.s. society. >> the fact that they would continue to do that, to establish these american legends and cover stories for these people who are trying to pose as americans in the united states shows how serious they are. >> reporter: but the u.s. has also been caught in the act. in 2013, ryan fogle, a political secretary at the u.s. embassy in moscow, was arrested. the russians claimed they caught him with wigs, dark glasses and cash trying to recruit a russian agent. fogle was expelled. it was never clear if he was set up by the russians. earlier this year a u.s. diplomat was tackled and beaten by a uniformed russian police officer as he tried to enter the american embassy in moscow.

>> the action was unprovoked and it endangered the safety of our employee. >> and in that latest incident, the u.s. wound up expelling two russian diplomats. this count of spy and mousivity and has been immortalized. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. top aide says donald trump will repeal a lot of president barack obama's first day in office. it's not clear which policies the red luck has changed. concerns are growing over queen elizabeth after the 90-year-old monarch missed another holiday church service. we'll have the latest on the queen's health, coming up. plus, why members of a famed

choir are not willing to sing for donald trump and she's quitting the group altogether.

you're watching cnn newsroom live from atlanta. let's update you on the top stories this hour. the pkk said they were not behind an attack on a nightclub in istanbul. a manhunt continues in turkey for a shooter who shot 39 people beginning of the new year. kim jong-unclaimed the country is close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile. he referred to the u.n. as a nuclear power and it will continue to strengthen its abilities. the french president visits

troops in baghdad. the palace says mr. alan will recognize the progress made since his visit to baghdad in 2014. britain's queen elizabeth has missed a second holiday service due to a heavy and lingering cold. the 90-year-old monarch decided to skip the annual new year's church service on sunday after missing the christmas service a week before. phil black has the latest on the queen's health from london. >> reporter: a nasty, persistent cold but nothing to worry about. that's what we're being told about the queen's health after she missed the traditional new year's day church service. other royals did attend, including prince phillip, her husband. he was also struck down by a cold around the same time, but he appears to have bounced back while the queen is still recovering after almost two weeks indoors, out of sight. the same cold, of course, forced her to miss the christmas day church service. these absences are not insignificant.

she is the head of the church of england, something she takes very seriously. we can only assume she has been feeling terrible. but the bucking ham palace is going out of their way to assure journalists that she is okay. she hasn't been moved for medical or any other reason, and she's up and around. she's still working, receiving the briefing papers she has to stay on top of as part of her official role as britain's head of state. they're doing this to ensure there isn't any unassess spspec about what is wrong, that it is really just a nasty cold. >> we'll talk to a royal analyst about her condition in the next hour here on cnn newsroom. with less than three weeks left on his term, president barack obama took to twitter to

reflect on his legacy. he wrote, from realizing marriage equality to removing barriers to opportunity, we've made history in our work to reaffirm that all are created equal. he continued, it's been the privilege of my life to serve as your president. i look forward to standing with you as a citizen. happy new year, everybody. donald trump's inauguration is three weeks away. one woman not only assigned to sing for trump quit. >> reporter: 40 organizations will be in the parade, 8,000 participants. but a new controversy surrounding those performers. jan chamberlain, a former member of the new york tabernacle choir, has written a lengthy

public facebook posting that she is quitting the choir because it agreed to sing with the president-elect. "it is with a sad and heavy heart that i submit my resignation to you and to choir. i simply cannot continue with the recent turn of events. i could never look myself in the mirror again are self respect. i also know, looking from the outside in, it will appear that choir is endorsing tyranny and facism for this man. >> we have freedom of speech under the first amendment. for me this is not a political issue. for me this is a moral issue where i'm concerned about our freedoms being in danger.

. >> the legendary new york city rockettes will be performing at the inauguration. one spoke out about the decision. the majority of us said no immediately. then there's the percentage that said yes, for whatever reason. the inauguration will be voluntary. madison square gardens than we have slots available. >> it's not about the big names. it's about the outpouring of support. >> the president-elect may have a hard time figuring out his inauguration lineup. it's ben reed man.

>> reporter: at 3 weeks old, little yes, you heard right. this is baby trump. trump passsan jameel, to be precise, born in an iraq pakistan. >> translator: i called him trump, he says, because trump is charismatic and has clear policies. that's why he won the election. >> nawar said he heard trump say he's a fan of bigger sources. in his honor, we easily in the city of dell look. trump has inspired some.

> . it's called mu. and this is a catch. fit for a president. >> there's no flip-flopping here. it takes just 4 to 5 minutes to go from the tank, to cutting board, to grill, to plate. no time wasted. >> he's trump's pledge to as i.

here's one man ready to serve the incoming add mirngs. . some places say it's for the new year. we'll show you next. like a free smartphone when you add a line or switch. no trade-in required. choose from the samsung galaxy j3, the lg k8 or stylo, or the the motoz play. all free. and as if you needed another reason, switch to verizon now and get up to $650 to cover your costs. there's still time to get exactly what you want at verizon.

a u.s. company says it's developed a revolutionary new power source, one that could

wend the world off fossil fuels and provide clean, safe energy. take a look. depending on who you ask, this is either a monumental, clean power breakthrough, or it's all flash and no substance. a doctor who also studied at m.i.t. said he and his team of scientists have done something remarkable, inventing a small machine that can create light so brilliant that it's equal to 10,000 suns in the volume of a coffee cup. that's 1 million watts of power. >> it's incredibly compelling. just on inspection, you can tell it's making an enormous amount of power. >> reporter: this process is a result of two decades of research. cnn first featured mills in 2008 when the company was called black light power, and claiming it could make cheap power from water and a chemical reaction that halts hydrogen atoms.

but it never made it to market. recently the company developed a more powerful device. that single flash of light has now been captured in this fun cell, which the company claims can keep a coffee-sized ray of the burning sun burn continuously. then it can take that and provided. the fuel can be pulled from the rhyme si. bio, geothermal. it could help replace the grid. >> it puts the sun's rays into a lower form. >> the electric tron travels around the pro ton. from that solution, there is the mechanism that came out of the if i see i cans where you can

make the electronic go closer to the pro ton. that new stage of matter is from tests we've done over the years. it's shown it's the identity of dark matter, which makes up most of the mass of the universe. >> yes, he said black matter. over the years, his theory has been called nonsense. the stakes are high. if mills is right, quantum mechanics is wrong. >> i applied to physical law that is the foundation of our society based on my work at m.i.t., laser solutions, and it predicted the more stable form and that's what reminds anything of dark matter. >> mills has $10,000 in private investment, and some

communicated. from what i've seen, there is something very novel going on here. >> mills always has contracts with companies in south korea and mexico. >> i don't believe that elect c electrons can be in two places timt. starting with my skepticism, i became convinced. >> 2017 will be significant. beautiful light power, we'll feel tests. i guess if mills, a global power source and, perhaps, help send get this, pedro. where else can one cell store.

. t the. they're still large in nature. >> this is absolutely incredible. right now we're talking about floods. we've got extreme weather in this world. >> i'm just here to show you, they've been experiencing a draut for the next the flooding potential has been significant over this region. people think, when it comes to fligd. . if you have evangelical at a

timed landscape there, raene. >> when you take that away the ground is harden. . much of what we're seeing in the southwestern united states, southeaste southeastern. the convergence of our northern hemisphere and our soern. . 3 million people in heavy

rainfalls have multiple days run through 22 people, you're not ex kplugd. . just a couple dozen tornadoes in the months ahead of us, but notice it picks up in intensity. the next few hours we could see some rain coming across the area and some beneficial rainfall coming down. natalie, when you think about the southeast, it has been so dry, so initially the rainfall was a little problematic. there's been fires as well. now that we've seen multiple days of rainfall, now the soil is able to take that in and it's a lot easier to absorb than, say, what's happening in parts of south america. >> thankful for it, i guess. >> absolutely. alexa on echo can help

people with daily tasks and things like music. but can it help authorities solve a murder catse? that's coming up here. we'll see you on newsroom.

one of the hottest gifts this holiday season was the amazon echo, a voice activated speaker that can answer questions, read news aloud or order products. but the digital assistant it at the center of a murder mystery in arkansas and an ongoing debate over privacy rights. >> alexa, what did you hear? >> is it possible that digital assistant in amazon's popular echo device witnessed a murdered. only they're not asking the device, they're asking he can co's maker, amazon and so far the tech giant is saying no to a police warrant seeking data and recordings, the always on gadget may have picked up. >> it was a lawful issued search warrant by a judge and amazon doesn't believe they have to

comply with it. >> 47-year-old victor collins was foun dead. authorities say there were indications of possible foul play. bates's attorney says the death was nothing more than a tragic accident and her client is innocent. she applauds amazon's refusal to comply with police demands calling it chilling that a christmas gift could be used against people. it scares to me that our criminal system is coming down to our technology which is supposed to help our daily lives and now it's being used against us. >> in a statement provided amazon could change its willingness to cooperate in the case, saying amazon will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. the company went on, amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate dptds as a matter of course.

authorities have analyzed information on the device itself. they believe more echo evidence is stored in the cloud controlled by amazon. the case calls to mind the 2015 apple against the fbi. the authorities wanted to access information contained in the locked iphone of one of the shooters. >> alexa, what time is it? >> it's 1:56. >> the always on voice activated technology is showing up more and more in our lives from thrmts to cameras, even toys, but these modern wonders are also creating some modern worries over privacy suggesting that what happens at home may no longer stay at home. cnn, atlanta. singer mariah carey is ready to move on with it. technical difficulties appear to throw her off in the middle of the new year's eve show in

new york's times square. >> happy new year. all right. >> looks like her ear piece came out there. her dancers kept going as you see but the pop star apparently couldn't hear the track. at one point she called out for help. carey later tweeted about it, blank happens. have a happy and hel i new year everybody. well that is this hour but we have another hour of cnn "newsroom" just ahead. hope you stay with us we're live in atlanta. you're watching cnn.

why is my son having trouble in school? [beep] finding lowest airfare to istanbul. no. i'm tired of fighting with my son over his homework. [beep] home wok restaurant. need a review? no! he's smart but his mind wanders. [beep] seven wonders of the world. why don't you understand me? [beep] i do. i was trying to show how connor feels every day. redirecting to understood.org narrator: join parents and experts at understood.org. a free online resource about learning and attention issues to help your child thrive.

a frantic search right now for the gunman behind a deadly shooting