-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com thanks for joining us for the second hour of 360.

we begin with breaking news on a story about michael flynn. the trump white house was told last month that flynn had misled senior authorities about his conversation with the russian ambassador. on joining me on the phone, one of the reporters who broke the story. explain what you have learned. according to your reporting, tell me what the white house knew and when they knew it regarding michael flynn and his contact with russia, prior to trump taking office. >> caller: yeah, so this came to head at the end of the obama administration. literally on the last full day that obama was in office on the 19th of january. and there was a debate within the intelligence community and the justice department and the fbi. and basically, you had the intel chiefs, brannon and clapper and yates who wanted to go to the trump white house, after the

inauguration and let them know that the way pence, the vice president elect and other administration officials in the incoming administration mischaracterized based on a conversation they had with flynn, his conversation with the russian ambassador. and so comey, the fbi director, initially, on the 19th of january opposed going to the trump white house to let them know this information. after, you know, trump comes to office, sally yates, who's then acting attorney general makes the case again and convinces comey, sometime after the 23rd of january but before the 31st that this information needed to be passed on, so they shared it with the white house. >> so they, in terms of the intercepts of the conversations

of flynn with the russian ambassador, those were looked at once, according to your article, after intelligence officials were surprised that russia didn't retaliate for u.s. actions against russia, is that correct? >> caller: correct. the fbi has a wire tap on the russian ambassador and other diplomats, and they collect that all the time. and so after putin didn't respond as many officials had expected, intell analysts were scratching their heads, trying to figure out what happened, why didn't putin do what was expected. when they looked through the intelligence, they saw these communications between flynn and the ambassador. when sally yates who was at that point, the deputy attorney general, when she saw them, she was really alarmed. she felt like flynn had crossed the line, in particular, the logan act, which is an obscure statute, which would bar a u.s. person like flynn before that

person becomes part of the government, from trying to lobby or influence the policies in another government. she knew that the logan act was something that was not going to be pursued and that the fbi had an ongoing investigation looking at basically trump associates and their ties to russia. so it wasn't an issue, really, until you started to have the mischaracterizations publicly. and so the idea is, is that the russians knew what flynn and the ambassador had spoken about. and they could tell from the way pence, sean spicer and the chief of staff were talking that they were mischaracterizing, based on what flynn was telling them, what was discussed in those calls. >> which is fascinating, because you had the vice president, vice president pence going out on television saying mike flynn never talked about sanctions with russia's ambassador, sean spicer and others as well. and because the russians knew

that wasn't true, there was concern by sally yates and others in the intelligence community that flynn was potentially vulnerable to blackmail. >> caller: exactly, that he put himself and the administration in a position that could be compromised because, you know, basically what could happen down the road is the russians could say to flynn, knowing that he had mischaracterized or potentially mischaracterized his conversation with the ambassador and use that and hold that over him. and so by sally yates going to the white house and letting them know, the goal there was to kind of remove that leverage that the russians might have. >> didn't mike flynn actually, in an interview with the washington post, with your paper say that sanctions were not discussed, and then the following day call you back, call the paper back and say well, actually, i can't say for certain what was discussed? >> caller: that's right. so last wednesday in an interview, he said no, no, no. there was no discussion of this. you know, and --

>> i said flynn, not pence, obviously. >> caller: yes, flynn says no, no, no. and the next day we hear back from his spokesperson just to clarify, who revised the statement to say that flynn no longer recalls but that it might have come up in that communication. now as we also are reporting in the story, according to officials who had been briefed on the wire tap and the transcript of that wire tap, it was, sanctions was the main topic of conversation. so they're skeptical that flynn doesn't recall this. >> wow, so that bears repeating. sanctions were a main topic of conversation. it wasn't as if it was an off-handed remark of, you know, it wasn't just an off-handed one-note remark. >> caller: that's right, according to two officials that we spoke to who have been briefed on this. it was, as they described it, a main topic of the discussion. it wasn't something that kiss lee ak maybe threw out at the end or something like that.

>> and according to your sources, i don't know if you have sources on this or not, were others in the trump administration aware what flynn was doing at the time? was he asked to have this conversation with the russian ambassador? or were others aware of this conversation before or even during or immediately after it happened? >> caller: yeah, i mean, i don't know the answer to that. i mean, basically, you know, what the officials told us is that they believed that pence had been misled, along with spicer and along with the chief of staff. but they do not know if maybe some other officials, you know, were aware of what flynn was saying and doing with regard to kissly ak. >> and for those who are watching and remember the name sally yates. the odd, i don't know if it's coincidence or the odd part of this, sally yates was the acting attorney general who has since been fired by the trump administration because of her public or ostensibly because of her public statement telling doj

lawyers not to defend trump's executive order on immigration. >> caller: correct, yes. and obviously, sally, when she provided this information to the white house counsel, she was accompanied by another national security official, a professional, a non-partisan person, a person who's not, you know, a person associated with the democrats, let's say, because she really wanted it to be seen as a non-partisan presentation that they were genuinely concerned that this stuff was being mischaracterized and they want the to basically ensure that the trump white house was aware. >> wow, this is fascinating. adam entis. i appreciate you coming on. this story was just posted on the washington post. fareed zakaria joins us as well as david gergen. david, it doesn't stop. >> it doesn't stop. >> again, we don't have reporting on this. this is from the washington

post. >> what's missing from the story so far is the president of the united states. when did he know? and when did he know it? if they had a report to the legal counsel, the general counsel would have reported presumably to the president. why then is flynn still there. >> and in the washington post reporting we should point out, they're not sure what the white house general counsel did with that information. they don't have reporting on who he told or did not tell. >> it's unimaginable that the white house general counsel would sit on it and not tell anybody else. at the minimum, he would tell the chief of staff. in every white house i've ever known, it would go to the president like that. this is very serious stuff. and you've, if you're told that your national security adviser's potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the rush and wersi is extremely serious. the question is, did flynn call the russians at the request of

the president. >> did the president actually ask michael flynn to call, or did michael flynn take this upon himself, which again, i don't know if -- >> if he took it upon himself, why isn't he gone? >> president trump was asked about flynn just a short time ago at the swearing in of steve mnuchin who's now been sworn in as treasury secretary. [ inaudible questions ] >> thank you. >> well, that's the first time i'm seeing it. clearly i should have said what the president didn't say, because he refused to answer the question whether he has confidence in mike flynn. there's conflicting reports that kellyanne conway came out saying that flynn had the full confidence of the president. and sean spicer said it's being

evaluated, his role. stunning. >> it's pretty stunning, and to go back to the point that you and david were discussing. just imagine a circumstance where essentially the incoming national security adviser, michael flynn is confronting this issue of russian sanctions, the obama administration put sanctions on. what is the chance that he would freelance on that and reach out to a foreign above the agovernme contact and promises about sanctions without checking with the president-elect? >> it seems hard to imagine. >> it is hard to imagine that that would be a circumstance. so the crucial question has to be, did donald trump tell mike flynn to make contact with the russians and tell putin, don't overreact to these sanctions, we're going to water them down when i come in. we don't know, but it also fits into a larger pattern here, which has been puzzling. donald trump's world view, as we know it, is the rest of the world has always been trying to screw the united states. our allies try to screw us. the chinese, his words are

raping us. the japanese, you know, don't pay for their own defenses. we know what he thinks of all these muslim countries. the one exception has always been russia. he has never said anything nasty about russia or putin. always been conciliatory, always been nice. and then you begin to see these, you know, series of actions and events, and so you do have to ask yourself, what is going on. >> if memory serves me correct, he tweeted, praising vladimir putin for not responding to the u.s. so, again, it raises the question, did he ask flynn or approve in advance him calling up the russian ambassador and having a conversation, which according to the washington post recording didn't just mention sanctions, it was the main topic. >> it was right there at the center. his latest story is, flynn's, is he forgot, he couldn't remember

whether he talked about it or not. and he clearly was on a mission. we have to be very careful here, because we're playing with serious, serious issues. but i do think the country deserves some answers. the president, the white house, need to square up on this and tell us what is going on. why, you know, when did the president know, the famous question, what did the president know and when did he know it? the howard baker question some years ago. you don't want to go that far in this analysis, but i do think it's murky enough, it's suspicious enough, and particularly the fact that they have been sitting on this now for three weeks. they didn't, you know, they clearly wanted to ride it out. you know. were hoping that this would never become public >> this story is breaking tonight because the washington post through sources has just learned about it, but we should point out that the white house has known about it since they were informed by sally yates. >> before they fired her. >> before they fired her. which, again. >> and here's the question that i think one has to wonder about. what did flynn tell the russian

ambassador with regard to president trump? it's quite possible that he said something to the effect, i have a message from the president-elect. here's -- in other words. >> and those recordings -- >> so fbi, u.s. intelligence officials have heard recordings that either confirm that president trump knew about this or perhaps leave it ambiguous. so we're in the situation where you're right. we have to be very careful. but there is actual hard evidence here out there somewhere. >> the other question is, how did flynn, who, you know, ran the defense intelligence agency who's had a career in intelligence not think or know that the phone calls of the russian ambassador would be intercepted and recorded. >> there are a lot of veterans in washington today asking that question. that seemed very odd. because anyone with that kind of experience would know that there's a lot of phone, you know, wire tapping going on for diplomats in washington, especially the russians.

>> fareed, david gergen, thank you so much. sources call it a toxic environment in the white house. plus a new sign tonight that donald trump's pick for labor secretary may be in jeopardy. and the white house continuing to push false claims of voter fraud. the latest in that is coming up. and one snack box. can i keep the walnuts? yes. but i get to pick your movie. can i pick the genre? nope. with the blue cash everyday card you get cash back on purchases with no annual fee. backed by the service and security of american express.

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so no matter where you go, your peace of mind and confidence will be as unlimited... as your mileage. visit the certified pre-owned sales event, now through february 28th. and learn more about our unlimited mileage warranty, only at your authorized dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. a short time ago, the senate voted to confirm steve mnuchin as treasury secretary. president trump had this to say a short time ago. >> america should know that steven, our nation's financial system is truly in great hands. with him, we're going to have no problem, believe me. once again, with this appointment i am following through on my promise to appoint only the very best and the brightest. he is a legend with a track record of success.

i've watched this over the years. he's been my friend for many, many years. everything he touches turns to gold. >> meanwhile, president trump's labor secretary nomination may be in question. the nomination has been mired in controversy, including the admission that he hired an undocumented housekeeper. some are saying they are still not on board, and if they do not get behind him, it could be a steep climb for confirmation. so four gop senators withholding support. how difficult would that make confirmation if they continue to? >> if they did vote no, then mr. puzder will not get that job as labor secretary. now those four senators, i've talked to all four of them. susan collins, lisa murkowski of alaska, tim scott and donnie isaacson. each of them are saying that they want to review his record, they want to hear what he has to say.

and some of them have different levels of concerns, based on his views, his record running a fast-food empire, as well as the controversies in his past. as you mentioned, hiring an undocumented imgrant as a household employee. there was an emergency meeting last week in senator mcconnell's office where they discussed these issues at length with these senators and others who sit on that key committee. and the republican leadership and business groups, anderson, i am told are putting in a very tough sell, a hard sell. they want to get him confirmed, because they believe he would be helpful for big business. there's still some confidence among republican leaders that they can get him confirmed but it will be a fight. >> one of the nominees involves oprah winfrey. >> this involves a messy divorce between andrew puzder and his wife in the 1980s. at that time, his wife leveled domestic abuse allegations

against him during their divorce proceedings. she has since withdrawn those allegations and has actually apologized for making them and is vouching for his character in these confirmation hearings. but she appeared in disguise at the oprah winfrey show and talked about the issue of domestic abuse. she has revealed in a letter that i have here tonight from the two, to the committee that she actually only appeared on that show because she wanted to get a free trip to chicago and said that she apologized for even appearing on that show. but the senators on that committee are reviewing tape of that show and expect that to come up at the confirmation hearings this thursday, which could be rather contentious, anderson. >> we'll follow that. in these early weeks, multiple sources are painting a picture of turmoil in a staff that's anxious and this time around sources are describing an environment that's kind of toxic, to the point that some

campaign aides who were upset about noting jobs now say they dodged a bullet. dana bash has details. >> reporter: a joint white house press conference with the canadian prime minister. a standard in front of the cameras. behind the scenes, there is turmoil. concern is about getting fired. as for the chief of staff, reince priebus, sources inside several trump feif comcomes sayy are on soled ground. >> reasons priebus, good guy, well-intentioned, but he clearly doesn't know how the federal agencies work. >> reporter: priebus then called him, who played cleanup.

sort of. one alliance that appears solid right now is that of priebus and chief white house strategist, steve bannon. multiple sources tell cnn that they have a close working relationship and that bannon sees priebus as a partner. one source jokingly said they are co-parenting. >> to support president trump. >> reporter: in fact, priebus is with the president a lot. trump has kept a relentless schedule of meetings and photo ops and priebus is almost always there. critics argue he should spend more time making the white house function. but sources say priebus wants to be at the president's side for one big reason. trump is firmly in charge of the wu white house. so priebus feels like he needs to be there to cheer on good decisions and steer him away from bad ones. the president rewards those who tow his line, especially on fact-free statements on claims

of widespread voter fraud. >> voter fraud is a serious problem in this country. >> reporter: trump sources tell cnn that the president loves steven miller, his campaign travel buddy and speech writer. miller was instrumental in writing trump's ill-fated travel ban. the president was furious with the way that was handled. but comments like this keeps 31-year-old miller in the president's favor. >> our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see that as we take further actions to protect the country are very substantial and will not be questioned. >> reporter: as for the most visible of white house aides, kellyanne conway, despite having a bumpy week or two, sources say that president trump still has full confidence in his counselor. just ahead, we have breaking news and a claim the trump administration continues to make involving voter fraud. new hampshire is speaking out saying they are not aware of any

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breaking news tonight in the trump administration's claims of widespread voter fraud in new

hampshire. the republican governor there, again, republican governor, telli telling nh1 news it's not aware of any voter fraud. steven miller had been doubling down on their unsubstantiated claim that thousands of people were bussed from massachusetts to new hampshire on election day. has the white house provided any evidence yet on any of these unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud? >> reporter: no, they haven't. ever since they have made that claim, throwing the popular vote to hillary clinton, the white house to this date, to this hour has not provided any evidence of this. they continue to point to a study from the pugh research centers that perhaps people are register in multiple states.

you heard steven miller, the white house policy director say on abc yesterday what president trump said last week privately to senators, that people were being bussed into new hampshire from massachusetts to vote illegally. anderson, not only is the new hampshire governor saying this is not true. politifact gave steven miller a "pants on fire" for that. we did speak to an official earlier today who said that the white house has no evidence of this. >> the thing they keep pointing to about people on multiple, registered in multiple states or dead people on the rolls, that's bad recordkeeping, that's not voter fraud unless real people are taking the place of dead people and voting in the name of dead people. and several people on the staff are registered in multiple states. have they taken any steps into researching that? didn't they task the vice president with that? >> reporter: that's right. president trump said vice

president would be tasked with this. he was asked about this in his office when he was fielding questions about the fate of michael flynn. he said that the vice president has yet to sit down with the attorney general, jeff sessions, about this, mainly because sessions was just sworn in and is just getting situated as being attorney general, but according to sean spicer, once they have that conversation, this effort is going to get under way, but anderson, it's important to note to our viewers as you just noted, to this day, to this second, the white house has presented no evidence of widespread voter fraud, so it's unclear what the attorney general, what the vice president is going to find once they launch this investigation. >> multiple states review records from the vote to look for this very kind of stuff. jim acosta, thanks. joining me now is fergus cullen and david becker he's also author of a study that president trump keeps claiming found

everyday of voter fraud. it did not. fergus, let's start but. you live in new hampshire. you were republican party state chair there. steven miller saying stay in one who goes and talks to anyone who's been in politics for a long time in new hampshire, they know people are being bussed in. your response. >> it's the exact opposite of that. anyone who's been involved in campaigns in new hampshire knows this is not true. it's a rumor that gets circulated probably since they invented the bus. but there's no evidence of it whatsoever. >> but you're a long-time democrat, right? >> no, a former chairman of the new hampshire republican party. >> i do know that. i just want to throw that out. i want to play a little bit of what steven miller said yesterday. >> you have millions of people who are registered in two states, people who are dead, and 14% of non-citizens according to academic research at a minimum

are registered to vote, which is an astonishing statistic. >> so that 14% is a stat cited multiple times, and they every crites cited different sources for it. it seems to be from the electoral studies issue, which is based on faulty data analysis, is that correct? >> yeah, i think that's right. and the authors have multiple times said you can't cite this report for the idea that 14% of voters are non-citizens. it doesn't pan out, time and again. and this goes for the pugh report. the people who have done the research have said that it doesn't say what the white house is saying. five years ago, the voter rolls did have some administrative inefficiencies with people registered in multiple states, mostly because people moved. >> fergus, would you have

considered, because there's voter fraud, which is people voting illegally, which donald trump, president trump said initially, three to four, 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally. now they're including multiple registrations in states and dead people on rolls. would you consider dead people on rolls as well as people registered in new hampshire and new york and they moved and they didn't inform the state that they'd moved, would you consider that voter fraud or is that just bad recordkeeping? >> that would certainly be bad recordkeeping, and it's not critical. it only becomes a problem if someone is trying to vote more than once in the same election, voting in two different states or two different communities. what the trump administration, the president himself is alleging is that people are coming up on buses, specifically to engage in a felony,e exposin themselves to a $5,000 fine and a year in prison if they're caught with a vote like that.

it simply isn't happening, certainly in any kind of organized way. anybody who thinks that buses are being employed for this has never rented a bus. it's hard to do as i can tell you from personal experience. >> you're saying this has been a rumor for a long time in new hampshire politics? >> oh, sure. this is an old canard, it comes up every election cycle. new hampshire does allow for same-day voter registration, which is what gives this whole thing a little bit of, a kernel of truth in which people can suggest there's massive fraud going on. but that's entirely different from suggesting that fraud is going on. people are casting legal votes here when they show up on the day of an election. that's legal in new hampshire. you can argue that that's a bad law and ought to be changed. and in fact our legislature is thinking about doing that, but that doesn't constitutes massive fraud on the behalf of individuals or a group of people.

>> with dead people on the rolls or multiple states registered, all officials would like that not to be the case, why is that still a problem? why is that still out there and why can't it be eliminated? >> in the five years since we published that report, the voter lists have got and lot better, something that several states have spearhead ed to keep rolls up to date. so the voter rolls are much better off today than they were. and they're going to continue to get better, and fergus is quite right. the difference between a voter roll and someone going through the checks and balances to commit a felony, for the big payoff in casting a ballot in which 140 million ballots are cast, it just doesn't happen in any substantial degree. i was looking at the voter turnout numbers in new hampshire for 2016 versus 2012. and actually, the democratic

turnout in the three counties that border massachusetts actually went down in 2016 compared to 2012. so there's zero evidence that this kind of thing is going on. fergus cullen, really appreciate you being on. also david becker, appreciate your expertise. just ahead, are venezuelaen passports falling into the wrong hands? this is the result of a year-long cnn investigation. we started this last week, now part two of our investigation coming up. hashtag stuffy nose. hashtag no sleep. hashtag mouthbreather. just put on a breathe right strip. it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than cold medicine alone. shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. breathe right.

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. there is breaking news tonight about one of the subjects in our investigation into fraudulent venezuelan passports. th hours ago the department issued sanctions against al azzami. they say he oversaw multiple shipments of drugs and helped a violent drug cartel. we've reached out to the venezuelan government but have not received a response.

and as the debate over border security continues we've uncovered new and startling details about venezuelan passports. for terrorists, it doesn't get much better than venezuelan passports that can be used without a visa to enter hundreds of country, but not the united states. we found passports and visas sold through the venezuelan embassy in baghdad. tonight our investigation goes even further. turns out the warnings have been raised for years and the u.s. government has known about it. what's more, the issuance of the passports has been linked to people with ties to terrorism and within the highest levels of the venezuelan government. here's more on "passports in the shadows." >> reporter: marco ferrera is now at peace. the former venezuelan general was in charge of venezuela's

immigration office, but he had to flee after backing an aborted coup against the then president hugo chavez in 2002. he said he took something very valuable to use officials. inside information about how passports and visas were being issued to thousands of criminals and potential terrorists on orders frommis h his own govern. it happened when you were in charge? >> it happened when i was in charge. >> reporter: do you believe it's happening now? >> i think now it's easier. >> reporter: a cnn investigation has uncovered a long history of the venezuelan passports and visas apparently being issued and sold to non-citizens, an alleged scheme that involves corrupt officials with terrorist ties. what were you finding was wrong with the documents that venezuela was handing out? >> one of the problems were the corrupted people that were working in that place.

but the second one, the system. because everything was very odd, and they have a lot, a lot of leaks in their process. >> so i think what you're telling me is that in venezuela, if you're holding a venezuelan passport, maybe even have a venezuelan birth certificate, there's no reason to believe you were ever born in venezuela or are venezuelan. >> yeah, because you have the birth certificate. you have a, access to everything. >> reporter: you can become a brand-new person. >> yes. >> reporter: perfect. a venezuelan passport is one of the world's best, because you can travel to more than 130 countries without a visa, although the united states is not one of them. what marco ferrera says he witnessed more than a decade ago in venezuela is remarkably similar to what this man says was taking place as recently as 2014, out of the venezuelan

embassy in iraq. when he was the embassy's legal adviser. he reported to venezuelan authorities about the scheme he says he found in baghdad, that included selling venezuelan passports and visas to people from the middle east. he says his report went nowhere. the venezuelan government denies the allegations. general ferrera said that should come as no surprise. >> no, absolutely, no. >> reporter: the claims of passports for sale aren't a surprise to u.s. officials either. in 2006, this congressional report warned that venezuela is providing support, including identity documents that could prove useful to radical, islamic groups. and at the time, the state department warned congress that venezuelan travel and identification documents are extremely easy to obtain by persons not entitled to them. roger noreaga is former ambassador to the organization of american states.

he now works for a conservative think tank in washington. you testified a couple years back that there's thousands of these passports floating around, connected to people that we won't, we don't want to be able to travel the world. >> very early on, around 2003, chavez death, and office about five years, evidence started to emerge that his passport office and those that issue the national identification cards were issuing identification, legitimate identification to people of middle eastern background. >> reporter: making them venezuelans. >> giving them documentation to elude detection as they're moving across borders. >> reporter: their confidential intelligence report from latin american countries obtained by cnn says from 2008 to 2012, 173 individuals from the middle east

were issued venezuelan passports, among them, those linked to hezbollah. a report was also issued to a u.s. congressional subcommittee. the man behind the operation, the report says is someone well-known to u.s. authorities. tarik el azzami. el azzami took charge of of granting citizens from different countries, especially syrians, lebanese, jordanians, and iraqis. this man, gazi is wanted for questioning by the fbi for his fund raising efforts with hezbollah contributors. a former venezuelan diplomat who

worked in the country's embassy in syria, they say he has facilitated the travel of hezbollah members to and from venezuela. he could not be reached for comments. >> if we do not get our arms around this problem, people are going to die. we have -- >> reporter: aided by venezuelan passports. >> absolutely. passports are a critical part of this. they're literally the ticket into the hemisphere. >> reporter: this is not just a venezuelan issue. today there's any doubt that passports are linked to terrorist groups like isis, listen to rob wainwright, the director of europol. >> a whole network, a criminal architecture of a very sophisticated passport forgers, document facilitators that are providing these facilities to

criminal syndicates notice main, but increasingly, we're seeing connections with the terrorists. >> reporter: he says the level of sophistication terrorists are using to alter lost or stolen syrian, iraqi passports is astounding. >> >> sosome of these have the ability to alter the biometric data to suit the needs of one of their members who needs to move. the quality of what they do is pretty good and difficult to spot at the border as they cross. >> reporter: back in miami, marco ferrera worries about the consequences of where all those venezuelan passports and visas ended up. would you be surprised if some day there is a major terrorist attack and somewhere in the rubble they find the suspect has a venezuelan passport in his pocket?

>> i am begging god that that never happen. i'm very concerned for my country. but it wouldn't be surprising some day to see that happen. >> has there been any reaction yet to this story? >> well, yes, in venezuela, the national assembly there has ordered an investigation into allegations of passports and visas being sold ouflts country's embassy in iraq. the assembly also asking for an investigation into the venezuelan vice president named as a named as a drug dealer by the u.s. treasury department tonight. venezuelan lawmakers want to know if he was involved in issuing passports and i.d.s to middle easterners. for the second time in a week, marco rubio has raised our concerns on the floor. he and many many others concerned about the possible selling of passports, especially

to terrorists. >> what about the state department, have they been responding? >> they're only referring us to its most recent terrorism overview, there were credible reports that venezuela maintained a permissive environment that allowed for support of activities that benefited known terrorist groups, their words and they're sticking basically to that statement, anderson many. >> incredible, we'll continue to follow it. just ahead, the race to prevent a catastrophe of the nation's tallest dam, nearly 200,000 people have been ordered to flee to safer ground in northern california. t-mobile today. switch to the search for relief often leads... here... here... or here. today, there's another option. drug-free aleve direct therapy. a tens device with high intensity power that uses technology once only available in doctors' offices. its wireless remote lets you control the intensity,

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mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect for californians. the dam is holding back some of the highest water levels since it was built. one of its spill ways has failed with more storms in the forecast. ryan young has more. >> dramatic instagram video shows a look at the massive amounts of water rushing from the oroville spill way in california. >> it's really really flooding, and it's really loud. >> the water overtaking trees, land and whatever else stands in its way, it's an emergency that led to frustration and confusion, as more than 180,000 residents were suddenly ordered to evacuate three counties near the dam. many resident thes stuck for hours in massive traffic jams as they left.

>> our phones started going off, and we loaded up the kids and took off. >> my daughter called me and told me we had to get out. i have a handicapped daughter that can't walk and the ambulance won't come in and take her. >> while at oroville dam, the main spill way now has a gaping hole, nearly the size of a football field. the only remaining protection, an eroding emergency spill way, that according to the department of water resources hasn't been used in 48 years since the dam was put in service. emergency crews are moving large rocks into place to help shore up the area. measures they hope will prevent a catastrophe. >> if that is not addressed and we don't take care of that, and mitigate it properly. essentially what we're looking at is approximately a 30 foot wall of water. >> in 2005, environmental groups

claimed the spill way wasn't designed to be the permanent emergency backup. officials didn't pay for the fix at the time. >> ryan joinings us now. do you know when people might be able to return to their homes? >> that is the big question right now, there was a rumor all day long, in the neighborhoods that people would be allowed back in. that is not the case just yet, even after the last few days, there hasn't been any rain. people were thinking maybe they'd be allowed back in. we heard 100,000 cubic square inches of water is being let out, they believe in the next few days, after doing some analyzing, they'll be able to open the residents and the neighborhoods back up again. >> thanks very much. we'll be right back. ...it's a supercomputer. with this grade of protection... ...it's a fortress. and with this standard of luxury... ...it's an oasis. the 2017 e-class. it's everything you need it to be...

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that's it for us, time to hand things over to don lemon. cnn tonight starts right now. what is this, the white house or the apprentice. this is cnn tonight. i'm don lemon. who's going do hear the president say you're fired. michael flynn under siege. kellyanne conway says flynn has the full confidence of the president. one official claims the knives are out. and according to sean spicer, president trump is evaluating the