cabinet picks has been approved despite fierce opposition from democrats. the latest, rexx, the former exxon oil boss. he has been confirmed as secretary of state, now america's top diplomat. he will represent the country around the world. a host of others also confirmed

today. steve mnuchin also will be treasury secretary and in more controversy, jeff sessions has been approved as attorney general. there was fierce opposition from democrats on t that one as well and they are boycotting altogether a vote on scott pruitt, trump's picked to run the environmental protection agency. let's get a round up on all of this with our washington correspondent. those nominations and approvals coming in thick and fast. democrats not happy about some of them at all. >> no, that was a pretty tight vote in the senate for rex tillerson to become u.s. secretary of state. we were expecting something this type, and that is quite a lot of democratic opposition to all of president trump's nominees, especially right now after the new immigration and travel ban in place.ut

there were more and more doubts about this trumped administration, hence why democrats are really ganging up as much as they possibly can to stop these nominations from getting through to their promised post. the in place. there problem, of course, is the senate is controlled by republicans. meaning if things go across party lines, every single one of donald trump's nominees makes it positions.their it might not be the case with the education secretary because two republican senators have decided to vote no on her. we will have to wait and see what happens with her, but rex titillerson, sececretary of sta, now confirmed by the senate. he will probably be sworn in very soon indeed. that is what this administration has been doing. the swearing-in ceremony by vice president mike pence should be in the next hour. he is not a learned diplomat. he was the head of exxon mobil, and this comes at a time when a lot of diplomats within the state department, a lot of civil

servants and foreign office that theye saying disagree with what this administration has been doing so far, especially when it comes to the recent travel and immigration ban that was announced by the administration. >> one of the major foreign-policy changes we are expecting under the trump administration is in regards to happened today, condemning iran once again for carrying out a ballistic missile test over the weekend. >> yes, and this came frankly out of nowhere. we were not expecting it. national security adviser mike also- mike flynn controversial. it leaves quite a few questions open and we are expecting a briefing for reporters any moment. this is the top line. the trump administration says it is officially putting iran on notice. what exactly that means nobody knows. this is not exactly diplomatic speak.

does it mean that if iran does this again, meaning another ballistic missile test, will there be potentially military involvement from the united states? we simply do not know at this point, but it was a striking statement from the national security advisor in which he also criticized the obama administration for not being , ofng enough on iran, this course, at a time when the nuclear deal with iran is still very much in place, but that has been harshly criticized by donald trump on the campaign trail. a little bit of saber rattling going on here, and this time coming from the white house. >> thank you very much. donald trump has been threatening to change senate rules in order to push through his pick for a judge on the supreme court. senate democrats have vowed to instruct his nomination of conservative neil gorsuch with a so-called filibuster. trump says if there is a filibuster, he will tell

republicans to go nuclear. humblech striking a more tone when he accepted the nomination. >> it is the role of judges to apply, not alter the work of the people's representatives. a judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge. i pledged that if i am confirmed, i will do all my powers from it to be a faithful servant of the constitution and laws of this great country. >> how did the u.s. supreme court work in practice when rulings are absolute and final followed by to be legal bodies throughout the country? crucially, the supreme court can also decide if a president prost actions are unconstitutional. followed by legalthomas what her house has e on the rulings in the pipeline. >> with donald trump at the what will this makes mean for the future of american society? if confirmed by the senate, neil for such will into the team of nine judges, all nominated by

the president, who served for as long as they choose and rule on key debates for society. abortion rights, gay marriage, the death penalty, or global warming. america's highest court has also long played a key role in protecting the country press constitution. some 80 cases and year are dealt with in its chambers and corridors. donald trump's choice is therefore crucial and a chance to swing the balance in the long-term favor of conservatives. among the early cases that could land on the supreme court prost desk are the multiple legal challenges to trump's recent and controversial executive order banning travel from seven mainly muslim countries. this spring, judges will hear a case brought by transgender people, who have been barred by fromginia high schchool using the boys bathroom. the court may also rule in the future of the issue of parenting rights for same-sex couples. with trump promising to appoint

pro-life judges to the court, abortion rights could be discussed. the views and opinions of this of, including those of gore such himself, could throw up a few surprises. in 2003, conservativive judge anthony kennedy voted to legalize sodomy and to legalize the rights of women to abortion. >> in france, the conservative cabinet is struggling to save his presidential bid after revelations he employed his wife and children, paying them up to one million euros while he was prime minister. that is not illegal, but his wife is accused of barely working to earn her salary. vanished,as all but but he insists he is staying in the race. -- a motel you on having a good time, but i will tell you i have decided to be a

candidate in the presidential election and when you decide to be a candidate in the presidential election, you cannot complain abouout the severity of the attacks. they are unfortunately part of our democratic system and we have to confront them. there is one thing i can tell you -- i will fight them until the end. >> despite that appeal to members of his party, one of them broke ranks to say it is time to consider an alternative candidate. >> the presidentiaial hopeful is calling the scandal a socialist plot, and institutional to halt his candidacy. he has asked fellow conservatives for time while he cooperates with the official inquiry. he has been accused of paying his wife and two of his children over one million euros of taxpayer money to work for him despite very little evidence of real work. answers police questions, he also has to answer for his party. opinion polls show him sliding

, meaning he would not go through to a second round. some conservatives are standing by their candidate for the time being. .> we have a candidate he said today give him two weeks to prove his good faith, and i believe in the good faith. >> others wonder if it is time for a plan fee with party rivals sharpening their claws. >> it is not right. he has asked so many sacrifices of the french people, and yet, he does not ask some of himself. >> no one is listening to us with regards to the presidential elections. there is not a minute to lose. we have to take charge of our own destiny and not be governed by the timetable of judges or the media. >> with the countdown elections

in april under way, the right is running out of time to replace him. for his part, he says he is determined to fight until the end. >> professor and french politics expert jim shields is with us from athens university. thanks for being with us tonight. can he survive this? it is not looking good, is it? >> and looking terrible. everylooking worse indeed hour. he was overtaken for the first time by the independent centrist , not qualifying for the presidential runoff. it also shows the gap on him closing to just three points. urgencyoses a whole new on the republican party. get runoff polls that willrm this reversal, we

become the only option. these things are about momentum, and his momentum now is downward. it begins to signal a matter of much timethere is not with the first round of the presidential's now less than three months away. >> what is the next move for conservatives? will they have to go through the primary process if he does agree to step aside? >> there is not time. for the moment, there is no plan b. there is nothing in the primaries that we have just and through in november that will tell us what to do if a candidate who is chosen does not in the end run. the republicans, if they do replace them, will have to either provide a solution -- maybe something like getting together a national council or

having a party to select an alternative candidate, but the moment the republicans look as though they are wondering around in a bit of a daze, do not quite know what the next move should be. that he won act primary in the first place was a bit of a shock to many people. this presidential contest has become completely unpredictable, has in it? have you ever seen anything like this? >> i have never seen anything like this. i have seen a fair few presidential contest, and i have never seen anything like this. we have seene think the finanal surprise, we get th. this has been the most murderous tyrant french politics i can remember. , and maybe nowde him all brought down. incredible.

>> marine le pen will be watching all of this closely. she is currently embroiled in her own problems with the euroropean union. how will she be hoping this plays out? he was a a real threatat to her, wasn't he? >> he was a real threat to her. in a terrible potential scandal here with thee full fororce of f the law closin on him. the marine le pen situation is different with the european parliament pursuing how to recoup funds shehe is accused of having misused. she can use that to her advantage. she stands on an anti-i-e.u. platfoform. many of her supporters are deeplyly anti-eu. to put herself over as a victim of political enemies in brussels actually suits her case, and in the poll i just mention i it cae out this morning, she's actually gaining ground rather than losing ground. >> always a pleasure. thank you very much indeed.

meanwhile in the u.k., lawmakers have voted in favor of legislation that will allow the government to begin the formal process of leaving the european union. 498 lawmakers voted in favor of triggering article 50 of the european constitution. 114 voted against. most him p's did promise to uphold the results of the referendum, but many have criticized the government's plan in this two-day debate, including the chancellor who said the government is prioritizing border patrol, and thatat will hurt the economy. >> democracy is much more difficult when you disagree with the majority, and as people know, i argued passionately in this referendum that i felt that leaving the european union would weaken written's trade and commercial links, that it would diminish britain on the world stage, but i lost. position in my

government for it, and in the -- iwe have to now accept will make some progress and then take an intervention. you have to accept that in a democracy, the majority has spoken. arrested aolice have tunisian man suspected of recruiting for the islamic state group. the 36-year-old is also wanted by tunisian authorities over an in 2015. tunis he's one of 16 people who were arrested today. hundreds of people carried up -- hundreds of police carried out multiple raids. authorities say islamists were planning an attack, which was still in its early stages. nato has condemned cease-fire violations in eastern ukraine and is calling on russia to help stop the fighting. some 20,0,0 people a are left withthout a let tracy.

government forces and pro-russian rebels blaming each other for the crisis. did not stop,g but it was less intense than it has been over the previous two dead days, but i repeat, it has not stopped. i just was in contact with someone who was in donetsk. she said shehe could hear shootg going on. i was not able to speak to people for a a few hours because there's no phone connection there for most people mosf the timeme, but the lalast i he, ththere was sporadidishelling going on, and ofof course, the humanitarian crisis with t the electricityy and water cut off and the heating barely being able to heat people's homes, and the humanitarian situation there is still very serious. >> there have been clashes andeen israeli police protesters trying to prevent the demolition of an outpost in the west bank. israel's supreme court has ruled

the outpost was built illegally on private palestinian land. thousands of police descended on the site early in the morning to remove the families but were met with resistance from hundreds of young protesters. many of the residents will be re-housed elsewhere in the west bank. the sign reads a jew would not dare touch a synagogue. israeli forces have begun evicting residents, but some are refusing to go, setting up makeshift t barricades and throwing rococks at security forces. others pleaded with the offices .r staged peaceful protests they say the supreme court eviction noticee as a betrayal. >> we are surrounded by thornss and stoneses. no one is ever stripped of his land over here. everyone knows it is false and wrwrong.

it is a plot, and unfortunately, they are going to uproot a jewish community in israel for no reason at all. >> about 100 authorized outposts in the west bank. the supreme court ruled it was built on private palestinian land and must be demolished. previous attempts have ended in violence with more than 200 people injured. >> this morning through me back straight to the days of disengagement, of crazy pictures of soldiers. >> even as it is demolished, the israeli government has given the go-ahead to start on more homes in the west bank, emboldened by in the west bank, emboldened by donald trump plus in other racial. the new leader indicated he would not stand in the way of settlement building. well, we will start with the latest on the volkswagen in

missions cheating scandal.l. this is a huge new story. while ago, there were more developments. >> volkswagen would like to put the story to bed, trying to clear the last hurdle by proposing to buy or six all of remainee-liter cars that in the u.s., a plan that would cost 1.2 billion dollars, but if regulators failed to improve it, the cost could rise to $4 billion because they would have cars, andk all of the the german firm has already agreed to compensate owners of two-liter vehicles. the sale of diesel cars has gasped below the sale of carsrs. manunufacturers are pointing to several other reasons why that may have been. rebecca rothman takes a closer look. >> could be the beginning of the end for didiesel in france? according to the latest figures

released by automobile manufacturers, petrol cars are for the firstsel time in years. it comes as a shock to manufacturers who are trying to figure out where the demand for diesel has plummeted. one possible reason is the recent volkswagen scandal after the manufacturer tempered with diesel engines to cheat on omissions tests. manufacturers also say they are worried if they will continue to be able to use diesel cars and paris. emits also admits desk harmful particulate matter, requiring manufacturers to , andll special conductors according to compliance standards, they have skyrocketed production costs. >> workers and managers in south africa's chicken industry marched side by side calling for tariffs on cheaper european imports. protesting outside the office of the european union, delegations in the capital of pretoria, this

is the country chicken producers ,ave made a plan to cut jobs citing the impact of chief european imports. here togetherre with some of the employers to come to the european union, of theas become the face destruction of hundreds and thousands of jobs. not only in the poultry all over the manufacturing sector. >> eu trade officials have denied any dumping and say the south african products are more expensive because of manufacturing inefficiencies. towe are fully committed developing this industry. ourselves with a

different aims. engngaging. we are really committed. >> india has announced big changes to help the poor in its spending plans for the coming year. the lowest income tax rate is to be cut in half. the government is looking to win back support ahead of parliamentary elections. alexander hirst has details. pulle decision to banknotes out of circulation shucked indians and hit the poor particularly hard. in its new budget plan, the government is vowing to push andd with economic reforms offering new policies that it says will restore growth and help india's poorest citizens. a strongtization has potential to generate long-term benefits in terms of reduced

corruption, greater digitization of our economy, increased financial trading and greater formalization of the economy. d monetization helps transfer this process from the tax invaders to the government, which can use these resources for the welfare of the poord mod deprived. >> among the proposal, cutting the lowest personal income tax rate in half to 5% along with corporate tax cuts and a seven-your tax holiday for new startups, targeting over 7.5% growth for the next two years. home to both great wealth and intense poverty, india has high levels of inequality, which have deepened even as the country has developed its economy over the last 25 years. to combat that, the government has promised to push for 100% rural electrification by march 2018 and to support affordable housing. said itnce ministry

would support a basic universal income for the poor. the reserve announced it will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged. investors were eyeing that announcement as they were also i incorporate results. dow jones and nasdaq each above the line. s&p just below. earlier today in europe, basic resources led the game. separate data showed an expansion in china's production. all three indices writing that news to positive territory. time now for a look at other business headlines. apple reported its best quarter ever with all products seeing increases. revenue rose 3% to 78.4 billion dollars. they sold more iphone 7's than what was expected, but the firm warned some customers may hold on upgrades ahead of the 10th anniversary iphone due out

this year. the world's most popular toymaker lego is expanding its london office. the danish company said it would raise prices in the u.k. by an average of 5% because of a weaker british count following the u.k. prostitution to leave the eu, but the expansion is seen as a sign of confidence amid brexit uncertainty. charges inroaming the european union may be abolished as soon as june after the eu reached a breakthrough deal to cap the fees telecom companies pay each other when their customers use mobile phones abroad. the european parliament and eu member states must confirm the deal. finally, hooters restaurants is launching a new restaurant with mail servers called fruits -- ts and you will not see images like this, nor the iconic uniform that led to the .estaurant being called a

it will be a fast dining restaurant. usyou are just showing pictures of the old style restaurant. >> out of nostalgia. >> i was going to say i did not see any of the mail servers in that clip. >> they don't have them yet. >> thank you very much indeed.

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02/01/17 02/01/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! pres. trump: in justice scalia passed away suddenly last february, i made a promise to the american people. if i were elected president, i would find the very best judge in the country for the supreme court. amy: president trump nominates conservative federal judge neil gorsuch to the supreme court. >> scalia was a