that means cities like boston are going to be dealing with rain but also new york city. so if you have plans to go to new york city or really any of the cities that are expecting rain, do be sure to remember your umbrella, the rain coat, rain boots and all of that stuff. the good news it is going to be mild. certainly much warmer than it was last year in new york. the temperatures oddly enough are going to be getting warmer throughout the night. so that is a good thing. this will actually be the first time it may actually rain during the ball drop since the early '90s. so keep that in mind. it's been a while so check to see if you are allowed to bring things like umbrella but rain boot and rain coat is absolutely allowed. atlanta thunderstorms in the forecast. if you plan to go out to the peach drop, same thing. see if you can bring the rain gear with you because both of those cities, in addition to knoxville and philadelphia and boston looking at rain in the forecast. >> allison chinchar, thanks so much.

i am proud to shut down the government for border security, chuck. i will at that time mantle. i will be the one to shut it down. i'm not going to blame for you. >> trump is growing increasingly frustrated for his failure to get funding for his campaign promise. >> the chances for a border wall is shrinking by the day, by the hour. >> we don't need to be on the hill whatever, fighting on when are they going to open the government back up. >> he is calling the cops on me because i'm taking a phone call at the doubletree hotel. >> this is basically a case of breathing wall black. >> it's hur phil. it's humiliating. i'm a person and i deserve respect and fair treatment. >> quickly after a fair investigation, they fired the two individuals. >> announcer: this is "new day weekend" with victor blackwell

and christi paul. good sunday to you. the white house is waging a public relations war, attempting to shift blame for the government shutdown to democrats. >> several tweets yesterday where the president blames democrats for failing to fund his border wall, despite saying earlier this month he would proudly own any shutdown. >> i will shut down the government. >> okay. fair enough. i disagree. >> i am proud. >> we disagree. >> i am proud to shut down the government for border security. i will take the mantle. i'm not going to blame you for it. >> for the next four days the republican control both houses of congress and there are no votes scheduled on reopening the government. most likely the first votes to fund the government will not come until democrats take the house and that happens on thursday. >> the president's twitter spat with democrats took a new turn yesterday when he blamed democrats for the crisis at the u.s. border with mexico.

cnn's jessica dean joins us now. jessica, the president is now blaming democrats for the deaths of two moigrant children who wee in border security. >> reporter: i will show you a tweet you are referring, victor. the president tweeting this yes that re yesterday. yesterday. as you can imagine, this sparked outcry from democrats and one of them congressman ted lieu, a democrat from california, he tweeted, quote. the president was referring to an 8-year-old boy who died on christmas eve and a 7-year-old girl who died earlier this month

in december. both in federal custody at the time of their deaths and that sparked, of course, a lot of questions about how that could happen, what happened surrounding their deaths. immigration, of course, just a linchpin in this shutdown that is now dragged on for days and days and as you two pointed out, probably not any movement coming until at least january 3rd. we know the president cancelled his new year's eve plans to stay in washington like in christmas. he was expected to go down to florida to mar-a-lago but he decided to stay here in washington. he also tweeted, yesterday, that he was waiting for the democrats to come on over and negotiate a deal but mick mulvaney, the acting chief of staff there at the white house, telling us yesterday that nancy pelosi and chuck schumer have not been invited to the white house. one of the strategies here, of course, is also to put the blame on democrats but specifically nancy pelosi, saying she is not

dealing because she doesn't have votes to get that speakership when most likely she has the votes and will become speaker. this drags on and certainly a stalemate continues here in washington. >> jessica dean for us in washington, thank you had. a creditor white house correspondent for bloomberg news is with us now. good morning, margaret. good to see you. >> good morning. >> will you break this down for us real quickly? we have to clarify this. we just heard in that sound bite the president say i will own this essentially and then, of course, in that tweet, saying that he will put this squarely on democrats' shoulders. is there any indication, as we head into 2019, connected to 2020, as everybody is watching, any indication that his base finds his contradictory, i mean, direct contradictory statements

to be all problematic for him? >> christi, i think the base is very sensitive to the idea that he might cut a deal, though it would seem favorable to the incoming democratic majority in the house or that would walk away from this idea of a wall. and so it's not so much when he said he would own the shutdown that was a problem for the base. that may be a problem for kind of the center, but for the base, it was the idea that he might cut a deal early on to avert a shutdown which is what republicans in congress thought he was going to do. and so it was a surprise to many of them when the president sort of backed away from that deal and said he would own the shutdown. that is what the president thinks the base wants to hear and the base gets sort of angry and chides him and pokes him when he they think he might be caving. the president is trying to juggle two audiences at once. for the general public when he said in that video that we are still replaying that he would

own the shutdown, a lot of his aides saw that as a kind of a rhetorical mistake. trying to juggle the two interests i think you see the president doing. the democrats are not in control yet and it's still the republicans in congress who have not been willing to pass what the president wants because they know it can't actually pass. >> "the washington post" is reporting that president trump has concerned about the market decline and that might hurt his re-election bid in 2020. he tweeted out yesterday 2018 is called the year of the worker. it was indeed a great year for the american worker with the best job market in 50 years. the lowest unemployment rate for blacks and hispanics and all workers. big wage gains. the president has bragging rights here, no doubt about it. >> yes. >> but look. if the market volatility we have seen the last couple of days, if that becomes something that we

see as more consistent in 2019, that volatility, is there a gauge of how detrimental that is come re-election? >> the market reflects confidence. the market is a complicated thing, right? it's always a huge driver of not just sort of consumer behavior but voter behavior, how voters feel. do they feel good about the future? but there are so many ways to measure it. the gdp numbers are really good and the unemployment numbers have been really good and the president had bragging rights on thes things, but wages have not caught up. for a lot of american workers they are not personally experiencing those sort of boom of those academic gains. when the markets dropped, not only dip, if that is uncertainty or loss of confidence, that could be a problem for the president. he knows in order to sort of

pursue these immigration policies, other more controversial policies that please the base, in order to hold the center, he has got to be able to continue to have those bragging rights on the economy, on markets, on all of those things. and when those are shaky, the ground underneath his feet also becomes shake yif. >> margaret talev, thank you. >> thank you. "time" magazine is reporting an alleged tie between a top trump campaign figure and russian ex-pie. here are the players on your screen. boy arkin told "time" during the 2016 campaign, manafort was trying to pay the money back. manafort is scheduled to receive his first sentence in early

february. b boyarkin and deripaska -- the first chance for democrats to demand answers and actually expect to receive them by issuing subpoenas. cnn's randy kaye gives us a look at one area where they could start -- the trump family business empire. >> reporter: is the trump organization mixed up in money laundering? that is what some members of congress want to find out. deutch bank has a history of illegally laundering russia money and a relationship with the trump organization. >> they paid hundreds of millions of dollars to the state in fines because they were laundering russia money and this apparently was the one bank that was willing to do business with the trump organization. now is that a coincidence? >> here he comes! >> reporter: there is also the michael cohen problem. the trump organization's long time lawyer pleaded guilty in

august to eight counts including campaign finance violations tied to his work for trump, which cohen says included payments designed to silence women who claimed they had affairs with trump, which trump has denied. >> he directed me to make the payments. he directed me to become involved in these matters. >> reporter: voters were kept in the dark as they headed to the polls. yet, cohen admitted in court filings that in coordination and at the direct of a federal office he kept information that would harm trump from being made public during the 2016 election cycle. what will the trump tower in moscow? cohen said the negotiations ended in 2016 before the iowa caucuses. turns out that was a lie. according to rudy giuliani the talks continued into november, the month of the election. in court, cohen admitted he made his false statements consistent with individual one, political

messaging and out of loyalty to individual one. just who is individual one? donald trump. all of this matters because if it's true, it could prove trump was seeking business with russia while moscow was secretly working to get him elected. and speaking of hotels, attorneys general for maryland and d.c. have filed a lawsuit and subpoenaed financial records from the trump organization and the trump international hotel in d.c. >> this is the most coveted piece of real estate in washington, d.c., the best location. >> reporter: the hotel plays host to foreign officials and leaders from around the world. the lawsuit suggests the president breached a clause of the constitution when prohibits the president from accepting payments from foreign powers while in office. all said, at least five commits in congress now poised to probe the trump organization on everything trump has touched,

including his yet to be released tax returns. randi kaye, cnn, new york. be sure to tune into "state of the union" this morning with lindsey graham and terry mcauliffe on the show with jake tapper on "state of the union" this morning at 9:00 a.m. and at noon. ken?! chicken. chicken! that's right, candace-- new chicken creations from starkist. buffalo style chicken in a pouch-- bold choice, charlie! just tear, eat... mmmmm. and go! try all of my chicken creations! chicken!

16 minutes past the hour right now. two portland, oregon, men do not have a hour this morning. >> here is cnn's miguel marquez. >> reporter: this is basically a case of breathing while black. white people calling the police

on black people for either a mall offense or infraction or no offense at all. in this case, jermaine massey checked into a hotel on december 22nd, a doubletree hotel, part of the hilton chain of hotels in portland, oregon. he had gone to a concert. he was coming back to his room. his mother had texted so he wanted to make a phone call. he wanted to do it in the lobby because it seemed fairly urgent. the lobby was busy so he went to a secluded area infant lobby and started to make his phone call and he was then confronted by a security guard. he hung up on his mother and used the video on his cell phone. we want to show you that. >> he is calling the cops on me because i'm taking a phone call at the doubletree hotel. say hi, earl. >> portland police will be here soon. >> thank you. call them. i'm waiting. they are coming in? why are they coming? >> escorting you off the property. >> because what? i'm staying here. >> not any more. >> how am i loitering in an area that is public?

>> you're standing here. >> this area is off limits at a certain time? >> only if you're a guest. >> i am a guest. >> you didn't tell me that. >> i said i'm a guest. i told you that. >> reporter: mr. massey was on "the don lemon show" and don asked him, why do you think this sort of thing keeps asking across the country? >> it's hurtful and humiliating and i don't understand why it continues to be an issue. i'm a person at the end of the day, just like everyone else, and i reserve respect and fair treatment and i did not receive that on saturday. i think there is a lot of perceptions about black males in particular, that we are threats and we are harmful and we are just fearful individuals, and, you know, that bias, it impacts these situations, and it's harmful to us as a people. >> reporter: so far as doubletree and hilton hotels, the parent company hilton has

issued a statement apologizing for the incident saying they do not condone discrimination in any way and clearly after a quick investigation, they fired the two individuals. cnn has reached out to those two individuals. one couldn't be gotten ahold of. the other did not get back to us. but even the mayor of portland ted wheeler say all of this is part of the systemic nature of discrimination against african-americans in america that happens way too often. mr. massey and his lawyers are thankful for what hilton has said and done in response to this. they would like more. they want to see something in writing from them about the policy that led that security guard to confront mr. massey in that way in a public space. the hopes is that it will never happen again. back to you. >> miguel, thank you. newspaper across the country may have been victims of a cyberattack this weekend. several papers, including the "l.a. times," had trouble getting their saturday editions out on time because of a print

malfunction. at one point, customer service lines were a mess. >> tribune publishing said it found malware on its servers on friday but workers say they have gotten very little information beyond that. the "l.a. times" quoted a source saying the attack originated outside the u.s. but a spokesperson for tribune publishing couldn't confirm that. they say no one's credit card information appears to have been compromised. new year, new you! that is a resolution every once in a while, right? for some of us that could mean, look. we want to get our financial wallets and planning in order. we have an expert who is going to tell us how to do it and the smart way to make that happen coming up. ♪ there's no place like home ♪

argh! i'm trying... ♪ yippiekiyay. ♪ mom. ♪

so glad to have you with us. 23 minutes past the hour. >> i'm victor blackwell. sorry to cut you off. >> that's okay. 2019. i know we all have things we want to get done in 2019 and a lot of us is making sure our finances are in order but a lot of the we don't know where to start and especially with the new tax code. it's confusing. >> here when you need to know to hit the goals and make things right and doing it the right thing is mitchell singletary who is columnist for "the washington post" and author of "the financial fast." first, we will get to viewer questions in a moment. first, we have to tell people that they have to approach their resolutions the smart way and what is being smart? >> basically, you want to be

very specific about your goals. you want to be able to measure them. you want it to be relevant. you want to be actionable or attainable. and you want to be timely so you're going to put a time limit on when you're going to, like, save money or open your retirement account. just don't say i want to save more money or i want to have more money for retirement. that is not going to help you. you need to be very specific about how you're going to go about doing it. >> you have to have a plan. >> yes. >> essentially. >> you have to have a plan! >> how do we craft that? >> one of the things, for example, if you say you want to get rid of debt. i suggest you do something called the debt dash which is a quick way to hit some of that debt so you list all of your debts from the smallest to the lacerati largest and make minimum payments on the rest but the top debt. they say you have to do one with the highest interest rate. you know how i know people talk about me but, listen.

i know the right way. if you were going to use math to this thing you wouldn't be in debt in the first place because it's not logical to have a high credit card debt with high interest rates. if you can knock debts off quickly and i do this with people all the time. they get rid of debt and they say i can do! next thing they have gotten the debt rid of because they areing in energized. >> let's put up the ways and list of not smart ways to approach the resolutions. take the first one here. i'm going to save money money. that is not the way to approach it. what is the smart way to approach that? >> that is crazy! that is like i'm going to lose weight and you're still eating chips! you know? so you want to say, i'd like to save at least $1,000 this year. it's specific and you can attain it and it's in a time period. you say three to six months

living expenses. most say you are out of your mind. you say i'm going to save a thousand dollars. that is next to cover an emergency. if you can save more than that, that's great. but don't set the goal so high that about february you just -- you're forgetting it. that's what you want to do. be specific. i said be specific. i'm going to save $1,000 in 2019 and that is very attainable for a lot of people. >> that makes a difference to put something definitive down because then i feel like your goal is attainable. >> then you have to break it down month-by-month or pay-by-pay. >> that's right. >> i want to get to a couple of questions from viewers here. david jordan, listen. this is what dave wants to do. i applaud him! he has got losty goals. i want to pay off debt, open another retirement account and have at least two years worth of

living expenses saved by year's end. >> yea, dave! if you haven't been doing that already, you won't be doing that, dave. i hate to bust your bubble. start slow. do the debt dash and get rid of debt. knock the smallest one out. you want to open a retirement account. the first place to look is your workplace. if you're not in your workplace retirement plan and you have one you've got to do that. i know right now everybody is like the market is insane. i am not saving in that crazy thing. but you have to! then in terms of getting out of debt, do the debt dash. that two years that is just going -- by february or march that person is just -- dave is going to be, i can't do it. try one month's living expenses or 1,500 or 2,000. make it so you can achieve it and you won't give up halfway through. >> that's true. steve says i want to give to charities every year to help them stay active. do i have to bundle every other

year if i want to continue to give yearly? i think this comes down how do i donate? i donate to things i care about but i can also benefit myself when it comes to tax deduction? >> i'm a tither. my husband and i give 10% of our gross income to our cherch aurc we give every week on a regular basis. i believe giving should come first and i know that sounds crazy to a lot of people but i believe to whom much is given, much is required. if you wait until after you pay everybody and you won't give to charity and charity means more money every month all through the year. we just kind of getting past the holidays so everybody is giving thanksgiving through christmas. but people got to eat in january. and february. and march. and if -- i love that he wants this to be a goal. every month pick the charities that are important to you or your church and give regularly like it's a bill. if it becomes like a bill, it becomes of who you are. and i find that people who do

that first, give first, that means the rest of the money you got to manage in a good way. i applaud someone who wants to do that and do it regularly. just pick a couple of charities. here is the other good thing. if you pick charities and you do it regularly when people come at you for that crazy stuff and pay for things, you say i have giving plan. i give every month. >> yes. you do feel like you've done something good when you give. there is definitely that. mitchell, i want to have lunch with you. >> you pay, right? >> you know initial is tight now. michelle is tight with her money! >> that's right! >> happy new year. >> all righty. 2018 this past year, packed with star gazers, right? the discovery of planets and stars and other space objects. former nasa astronaut leroy chiao is going to talk to us about it.

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gilda radner, hilarious. the new cnn film "love gilda" used special access to her diaries and photos and home videos to tell her story in her own words. >> some of the biggest female comediennes have been so inspired by gilda's life and her work that they kind of wanted to send a message out there. >> hi. i'm guild ilda radner and -- ok now. >> dear gilda. it's me, fran drescher. >> dear gilda. i loved watching you on "saturday night live." >> gilda radner was a huge inspiration to me. >> when i was about 9, i saw the sketch that judy miller showed and it inspired tow to write my own one-person comedy sketch and it was directly because of you. >> thank you for teaching us it's okay to be radically wacky and fearless and you have placed a trail for so many of us and i am so grateful.

>> this incredibly funny girl who is like equal to the guys. >> i started to experience g symptoms and i talked about your symptoms and then i survived and then i thrived. >> gilda radner was a bloody great girl. >> not only were you brilliantly funny, had you a terrific soul. >> "love gilda" new year's day at 9:00 p.m. you can watch that and ring in 2019 with us. live from times square with anderson cooper and andy cohen. it starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. in 2018, there have been incredible stories about our space. new details about a cigar-shaped object that came rapidly tumbling through the solar system and discovery on rover on

mars and ghost particles and end of two new missions. >> nasa astronaut leroy chiao is joining us. i don't know if people heard about this weird-shaped object. tell us what that was about that got into the atmosphere. >> well, that is the object you're talking about is the first interstellar object that we have detected that has passed through our solar system. probably not the first one. just the first one we detected. it was odd because it was cigar-slapcigar cigar-shaped and not round as you expect from other planets and in low energy state but it did pass through and it's gone now. not to return for a very long time. we still don't know what it was. >> the curiosity rover, another big story of 2018, some interesting elements in martian soil. how about that? >> absolutely. it discovered the presence of

methane in the soil, which could be an indicator of some kind of past life on mars. very interesting because it also compliments discoveries by other space probes to asteroids and comments that also found organics indicating the presence of organic molecules and amino acids could indicate there is life elsewhere in the universe that is more prevalent than we might have previously thought. >> interesting. i know that scientists were able to trace the origins of this ghostly particle as well. what was that about? >> oh, my goodness. this was really incredible. of course we talked about them for many decades and finally detected them some years ago and now detecting them more regularly. this is the first time we have actually traced neutrinos in a straight line back to its origins 4 billion light years away and so that is exciting and interesting.

trill i don't know theses are passing through our bodies at any moment and prevalent and hard to detect because they have no charge and easily deflected and it's -- this is really a significant event. >> kepler and don ended nasa missions. what did we learn from them? >> kepler discovered many many exo planets. we had not discovered them before. we thought they were out there and now new missions out there looking for more exo planets and that finding more that might have earth-like conditions and discovery of the different organics on the different bodies out there. they indicate there may be more like out there than we had thought originally. >> mind boggling what nasa has discovered. in saying that, we know they have the new horizons mission currently. is the shutdown affecting that in any way? >> the shutdown is unfortunate,

of course, on mission critical activities, support the international space station will continue but we have faced these things at before and other government agencies and we will get through it. unfortunately, we probably wouldn't get as much coverage of some of these missions because those functions may be shutdown or curtailed but hopefully we get through the shutdown soon and get back to business. >> there are new missions, right? >> oh, absolutely. there are new missions out there. in fact, rex reached a asteroid. incredibly we were able to get the spacecraft there and orbit it and it will scoop down and bring a sample and actually return it to the earth and that will definitely be a first. very exciting things out there in this next year or so. >> all righty. leroy chiao, thank you so much. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> thank you. happy new year.

>> you too. what is the only thing that upstages the biggest college football games of the year? an animal. >> of course. >> bone crushing hits and incredible plays in this game. the semifinals, both of them fantastic, but one viral moment we will show you a fan gets a new friend. a bald eagle! what is going on? we will show you why it's presented trending. that and the highlights are coming up. n in can determine your future. the y helps fill the opportunity gap with education programs for all. for a better us, donate to your local y today. for a better us, whoooo. with tripadvisor, finding your perfect hotel at the lowest price... is as easy as dates, deals, done!

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alabama and clemson playing for the national championship. you haven't heard that before, have you? >> coy is here. third time in four years the tigers and tide going for the title again. both teams ab lobliterated thei opponents in the title game. alabama dominated oklahoma 28-0 before the blink of an eye. watch this play early in the

game. josh jacobs nearly stopping a mud hole there in the oklahoma defender. the sooners never gave up but never game within closer than 11 points. the tide vaunted defense just giving the heisman atrophy winni -- trophy winger kyler murray fits all night. 88.9% of tua's passes were complete and the second highest percentage of any bowl ever. bama cruising into their fourth straight bowl game. orange bowl champs. mckinney's reaction afterwards summed up their feelings. >> we rocked it, man! we going to cali! >> we will be there too covering the national championship game next weekend. the cotton bowl had clemsonnan notre da -- clemson is young and full of

energy like their head coach. true freshman justin ross had two touchdown catches. trevor lawrence their quarterback just turned 19 but they are saying he could already play in the pros and i agree. look at this pass. the incredible catch of the day. higgins with a one-handed juggler area somehow securing it before he goes out of bounds. clemson destroying the irish 30-3. the most exciting thing in this game for notre dame fans came after the national anthem. a bald eagle named clark goes rogue and lands on a notre dame fan! this is albert armas. he said afterwards he was, quote, scared crapless. then there was another fan at that this eagle landed on. these videos and photos have gone viral. his wife kim missed the whole thing while she was in the restroom! listen to who his favorite nfl team is. >> i still have a goose bump or

whatever. it was so cool. unbelievable the eagle land on me. and i'm a big philadelphia eagle fan! >> still trending this morning. but the two reactions, the juxtaposition. the scared for your life or actually just nerves of steel. calm and collected is fascinating. >> it reminded our producer of another time that an eagle caused a little problem. take a look at this. >> when was that? >> do you remember this? >> yes. >> i'm surprised he landed in his office! >> yeah. >> i'm surprised he let it stay. >> my goodness! these things can get a wing span up to eight feet long and be up to three feet tall. that is an intimidating animal. i don't blame anyone who is reacting with fear. incredible stuff. >> i would do the same thing. yes. >> they are beautiful. >> you'll see him here in a minute. err is going "we are not doing that again."

>> yes. i was surprised the people at the game who were around the eagle. they were so calm. an eagle! take a picture! >> look at this crowd. >> look at her. she didn't realize it yet. >> the eagle came in and no one else is afraid. >> that thing will poke an eye out, kid! look at the smiles. >> what did the guy say? he was scared? >> scared crapless. >> i believe it! >> he probably had to go. >> appropriate. i would be afraid that thing would maybe like pigeons do! thank you, coy. >> you're welcome. >> well? >> have that with your cheerios, folks! this has been a year of political first. tweeting and fighting and learning to navigate a completely different landscape in washington. cnn's dana bash counts down the top political stories of 2018. ♪

>> reporter: when a former student opened fire, murdering 17 people, including 14 students at marjory stoneman douglas high school, emma and others channeled their sorrow into action. >> everybody politician who is taking donations from the nra, shame on you! >> reporter: across the country thousands of students heard the cry coming from parkland, florida, and staged a 17-minute walkout, one minimum for each victim of the shooting. >> enough is enough! >> reporter: then their demand for a stricter gun laws went global with "march for our lives." >> we can and we will change the world! >> reporter: washington felt the weight of several icons passing away in 2018. ♪ >> reporter: senator john mccain died in august after a 13-month battle with brain cancer. the naval fighter pilot and

former prison of war was known for reaching across the aisle for get things done. in classic mccain style he asked the two men who defeated him for president to eulogize them. >> what a better way to get a last laugh and have george and i say nice things about him to a national audience. >> we honor our 41st president. >> the country also mourned the death of former president george h.w. bush, described as decent, honorable, and gracious. the 41st president who managed the end of the cold war without a shot fired was eulogy guysized a shot fired was eulogy guysi b the his son. >> one grieving for not one parent but two. the passing of the 41's wife of

73 years, barbara bush just seven months earlier and an american icon who was remembered by another famous son. >> she was our teacher and role model on how to live a life of purpose and meaning. >> president trump continued to put immigration front and center in 2018. >> when you prosecute the parent force coming in illegally, which should happen, you have to take the children away. >> images of children in cages sparked an outcry from both sides of the aisle, along with revelations that at the height of the policy more than 2,600 children were separated from their parents after entering the u.s. illegally. bowing to political pressure, the president reversed himself and signed an executive order to end the separation. a few months later in a raw political move to motivate his base, he warned against a caravan of immigrants headed to

the southern border. >> we're not letting these people invade our country. >> the president largely stopped talking about the caravan after election day but not about immigration. he ended the year, threatening a government shutdown if he did not get funding for his signature campaign promise, the border wall. the president stunned the world in helsyinki this year and accepted putin's denial for meddling in the 2016 elections. >> i have great confidence in my intelligence people but i will tell you president putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. >> angry democrats and republicans lashed out in disapproval. senator mccain called it one of the most disgraceful performances by an american president in memory. but that wasn't the only 2018 trump shocker on the world stage. after months of rhetorical fire and furry with kim jong-un, president trump broke precedent

by agreeing to a summit in june in singapore. after a nearly five-hour trump/kim meeting they announced what they called a denuclearization agreement. despite the warm embrace, 2018 come comes to an end with reports that the hermt kingdom is still operating secret missile bases. >> we have made vektry tonight. >> the year of the woman with record numbers of women running for and winning on a local and national level. a total of 25, 102 women will serve in the house next year, breaking the previous record of 85. women from all walks of life are flooding the hill, with one exception. republicans. only 13 gop women will be in the house next year, the lowest number in a quarter century. supreme court fights are always high stakes but president

trump never imagined what would happen when nominating brett kavanaugh, someone he thought was a rather safe pick. several women came forward, accusing kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, leading to a day of public testimony for the ages, starting with christine blasey-ford. >> i believed he was going to rape me. i tried to yell for help. when i did, brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. >> kavanaugh followed with a fiery defense. >> i'm not questioning that dr. ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in some place at some time, but i have never done this. >> ford's story touched a nerve among women across the country, who had been sexually assaulted and afraid to come forward or not believed. a new front in the me too movement. republican jeff flake had just announced he was a yes vote and this happened. >> you're telling me that my

story doesn't matter. >> kavanaugh was ultimately confirmed to the high court's swing seat. trump's second supreme court win in just two years. a kavanaugh no vote would cause trouble for some red state democrats up for re-election in places like missouri where that state's now gop senator-elect josh holly predicted it would be a game changer and he was right. >> big deal? >> very big deal. >> that could make the difference? >> i do. >> backlash against the kavanaugh fight energized their base and helped republicans maintain their majority in the senate. >> and cnn predicts democrats will regain control of the u.s. house of representatives. >> on the house side a very different story. democrats found that blue wave and rode it back into the majority, winning 40 seats, almost twice the 23 needed to take back the house. >> there was no collusion

whatsoever. >> it's been over a year since special counsel robert mueller was given the mandate to investigate yaush interference in the 2016 election and any possible collusion with trump ai aides or associates. the president spent the year trying to undermine it. >> it's a terrible witch hunt. >> the mueller investigation has revealed that many in trump's orbit had contacts with russians, 16 to be exact. but the most stunning revelation? trump's long-time personal attorney and fixer, michael cohen, sentenced to three years in prison and turned on the president, cooperating with federal investigators. the president now calls cohen a liar and a rat. >> selling america out to the russians. traitor. >> the president's former campaign chairman, paul man mant pled guilty to several crimes, cutting a deal with mueller which, by year's end, fell apart. manafort is looking at the possibility of more charges from

the special counsel. 2018 ended with the president appointing another attorney general after firing jeff sessions. five people pleading guilty and four sentenced to prison. >> all righty. we wish you a happy new year. thank you so much for making us part of your morning. we hope you make some great memories today. >> "inside politics" starts after a quick break. ♪ ♪

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a shutdown showdown. both sides dig in, ahead of 2019. >> whatever it takes, i'm going to have a wall. >> it's tough to deal with a president who changes his mind on an hourly basis. >> plus this message for the troops. >> america shouldn't be doing the fighting for every nation on earth. and tis the season, for possible presidential runs. >> during the holidays, family, friends and advisers