> i think it is important for us to let minimal make his decision and i think the american people will judge over the course of the next couple of years whether they like what they see and whether these are the kinds of policies and this is the direction that they want to see the and my role is to make sure that when i hand off this white house that it is in the best possible shape and that i have been as helpful as i can with him in going forward and building on the progress that we have made.

the president elect when he had our discussions is campaigning is different from government. i think he recognizes that and in in sincere in wanting to be president and moving this country forward. i don't think any president comes in and saying i don't want to figure how angry and alienate half of the country. he's going to try the best he can to make sure he delivers, not only the people who voted for him but people at large. there is a built-in incentive for him to do that. it is only been six days. i think it will be important for

up and figure out what is priority ies and distinguish wh he's campaigning on and what is practical and what he can actually achieve. there are certain thing that is make for good sound byte but don't always transfer in policies. that's something he and his team will wrestle with and in the same way every president will i did say to him as i said publicly, that because of the nature of the campaigns, and the bitterness and velocity of the campaign, it is really important to try to send some signals of unity and to reach out and to

the term of the campaign. i think that is something that he will want to do. but, this is all happening real fast. he's got commitment to supporters that helped to get him leer and he's going to have to balance those. and know that over the coming weeks and months, hope is that those impulses ultimately went out. it is a little too early to start making judgments on that. [ inaudible ] >> i think that he successfully mobilized a big chunk of the

he's going to win, he has won. regardless of what experience or assumptions he brought to the office, this office has a wiay f waking up, those aspects of his positions or predispositions that don't match up with reality, he will find shaken up pretty quick because reality has a way of asserting itself. some of his gifts that allowed him to execute one of the biggest political offsets in the history. those are ones that he will put to good use on behalf of all the

>> thank you mr. president. [ inaudible question ] what choice do you think the american people make? and if there is still a chance of what you call a direction before the europeans take some of their choice. >> i think the american people recognize that the world has sh shrunk. it is interconnective. the american people recognize that their careers or kids' careers are going to be more dynamic than they may not be working at a single plant for 30

and get more education and plight have to retool or retrain. they want to make sure the rules of the games are fair. what that means is that if you look at surveys americans' attitudes on trade, the majority of the people still support trades. they are concerned about whether or not trade is fair and whether we got the same access to other countries or they have with us. it relates to the bottom when it comes to wages. i made an argument thus far unsuccessfully that the trade of

strengthen workers' rights and environmental rights and level the plainfield and consequences will be good for american workers and businesses. that's a complex argument to make when people remember plants closing and jobs being off short. part of what i think this election reflected was people wanting that course direction that you message around stopping surges of immigration, not creating new trade deals that may be unfair. i think those were themes that played a prominent role in the campaign. as we shift to government, my

sure we have an orderly, lawful immigration process. if it is orderly, and lawful, immigration is good for our economy. it keeps this country young and dynamic, we have entrepreneurs and strivers who come here will to take risks and that's part of the reason why america's historically has been successful and part of the reason why our economy is stronger and positions than most of our competitors is because we got a younger population that's more dynamic. when it comes to trades, i think when you are governing it will become increasingly apparent or if you eliminate trade deals with mexico, for example, well,

the part that are allowing out plants that are shutting down and employing double shifts because they're bringing in some of those parts to assemble out of mexico. and so it is not as simple as we might have seen. and you know the key for us, when i say us, i say americans. i think particularly for progressives it is to concerns are real and anxiety are real. here is how we fix them, higher minimum wage and stronger worker protection so workers have more leverage to get a bigger piece of the pie. stronger financial regulations and not weaker links. yes to trades, trades ensure that other countries trading

labor. being attentive to quality and not tone deaf to it but offering prescriptions that are going to help folks in communities that you forgotten. that's going to be our most important strategy i think we can successfully do that. people will still be looking to the united states. the weight. and, it continues to be my strong belief that the way we are going to make sure that everybody feels 'port of this global economy is not by shutting ourselves off even if we could but rather than working together more effectively than we have in the past.

had about mr. trump and you calling him unfit being commander chief, did anything surprise you when you met with president elect trump and anything concerns you about a trump presidency? >> well, we had a very cordial conversation and that did not surprise me to some degree because i think that obvi obviously a aggregarious person and he's somebody that likes to mix it up and have a big debate. and, what's clear is he was able to tap in -- yes, the anxiety

in a way that was impressive and i said so to him because i think that to the extent that there were a lot of folks who missed the trump's phenomenon. that connection he was able to make with his supporters supporters -- there were events that might have sunk another candidate, that's powerful stuff. i also think that he's coming to this office with fewer sets of harden fast prescriptions than a lot of president maybe rocking

i think he's pragmatic that way. that can serve him well as long as he got good people around him and he has a clear sense of direction. do i have concerns? >> absolutely. of course, i got concerns. he and i differ on a whole bunch of issues. but, the discovered when i came to office. it took a lot of really hard work for us to make significant policy changes and 9/11 our first two years when we had larger majorities than mr. trump will enjoy when he comes into office. and, you know one of the things i advised him to do was to make

really dug in and fought true how various issues play themselves out. i will use an obvious example where we had a difference but it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming year and that's the affordable care act. obviously, this has been the wholly braille for republicans over was we got to kill obamacare. now, that's been taken as an art c article of faith. now, republicans that are in charge and they are going to look and see, lets see, we have 20 million who have health insurance who did not have before.

slower rate since obamacare was passed than they did before which is saved the federal treasury hundreds of billions of dollars. people who have health insurance are benefiting in all sorts of way. anything from no longer having lifetime limits on the claims that they can make so seniors discounts under medicare to free mammograms. now, that's one thing to characterize this thing is not working to an abstraction. okay, now you are going to repeal it, okay, what happens to those 20 millions people who have insurance? are you going to just kick them off and suddenly they don't have health insurance?

are you going to repeal the provision that ensures that if you do have health insurance on your job and you lose your job or change jobs or -- start a small business that you are not discriminating against. that's pretty popular. how are you going to replace it? >> are you going to change the policy that kids can stay on their parents' health insurance plans until they are 26? all these issues? now, my view is if they can come up with something better that actually works and a year or two after they replaced the affordable care act with their own plan, that 25 million people have health insurance and that's cheaper and better and running

one to say that's great. congratulations. if on the other end, whatever the proposing resulting and millions of people losing coverage, and results in people who already had health insurance losing protection and contained in the legislation, then -- we are going to have a problem. i think that's not going to be unique people will respond that way. so, i think on a lot of issues where you are going to see now comes the hard part. now is government. we are going to be able to present to the in coming administration a country that is stronger, a federal government that's work ing better and efficiently.

that is both more effective and true to our values and energy policies that are resulting, not just less pollution but also more jobs and president elect trump rightly would inspect that he will judge on that things get worse. if things get worse than the american people will figure that out quickly. if things get better than more power to him and i will be the first to congratulate him. >> mr. president, you talked specifically about his temperament. do you have any concerns about his temperament?

asked the question. whatever you bring to this office, this office has a habit of magnifying and pointing out and hopefully you correct for and this may seem like a perfect example but i know myself well enough that i cannot keep track of the papers and not organized in that way and quickly after i books coming every night, i say to myself that i got to figure out a system because i have bad filing sorting and organizing habits. i got to find some people who can help me keep track of this stuff. that seems trivia but it ends up

>> because when you are a candidate and you say something that is inaccurate or controversial, it has less impact than you are when you are president of the united states everybody around the world is paying attention, the moves -- i think he's being recognized in that, this is different and so as the american people. all right, i am going to take another question and i will get out of here. nadia. >> thank you, mr. president.

threatened to -- [ inaudible question ] >> what would you advise him considering that of his open views and the syria regime? you talked passionately about it and you ran against the killings of civilians. many people the violence in syria. how do you act to president elect trump's statement that he want to support the syrian opposition, thank you. >> iran is a good example of the

g gap. there was a robust debate of the merits of the iran deal before it was complete. and i actually was proud of how our democracy process that. it was a serious debate and people of goodwill on both sides of the issues. ultimately, we were able to persuade members of the polublic at least enough to support him. at the time, the main argument is iran would not abide by the deal that they were cheap. we now have over a year of evidence that they have abide by the president. that's not just my opinion or my administration.

they'll look at the facts because to unravel a deal that's working. keep in mind this was not an agreement between us and the iran people. it is between other countries. some are closest allies. for us to pull out would then require us to start sanctioning

or china or russia that were still abiding ing by the deal because from their perspective, iran had done what they're supposed to do. it becomes more difficult, i think to undo something that's working than undo something that's not working. and, when you are not responsible for it and i thi you can call it a terrible deal. when you are responsible for the deal then preventing iran from getting nuclear weapon, you are more likely to look at the facts. that's going to be true in other circumstances, for example, the paris agreement. there is been a lot of talks about the possibility of undoing this international agreement. you got 200 countries that have

and, the good news is that what we have been able to show the last five-six or eight years it is possible to grow the economy really fast and possible to bring down carbon emissions as well. it is not just a bunch of rules that we set up. you got in solar panels and creating jobs. you got the big three automakers who have seen record sales and are over achieving on the fuel efficiency standards that we set. turns out that people like not having to fill up as often and save money at the pump even if it is good for the environment. you got states like california

a clean energy agenda separate apart from any regulations that's put forward. 40% of the country already lives under, in state that is are actively pursuing what embodies of the paris agreement. even states like texas that politically tend to oppose me, you wind power and solar power and you got some of the country's biggest companies like google and walmart and all pursuing energy efficiency. what we have been able to do is embed a lot of these practices in to how our economy works and has made our economy more efficient. it has helped the bottom line up

environment. what the paris agreement does is say china and india and other countries that are potentially polluting, come on board. lets work together so you guys do the same thing. and, the biggest threat when it comes to climate change and pollution, does not come from us because we have 300 people coming from china and indiana with over a million people and if they are kind of strategies that we did before we became more aware of the environment, then our kids will be choked off. so again, do i think that this new administration will make some changes? absolutely. these national agreements, the tradition has been that you carry them forward across administrations, particularly

it turns out that they are doing good for us and binding other countries in the behavior that'll help us. last question. >> i am sorry -- you are right. >> you are right about that. with respect to syria. in benghazi, we had an international mandate and coalition and we are able to carry out support submission that achieved the initial goal of preventing benghazi from being slaughter fairly quickly.

>> considering his stance on immigration. and the second administration and you want to maintain the legal fund by governing detainees from gitmo and concern that the gradual transfer are unlibelly to continue to the trump administration. is this the time to protest the theory moving the detainees? president obama: they are both excellent questions.

we have known as daca, who are currently benefiting benefitinge provisions, i will urge the president-elect and the incoming administration to think long and hard before they are endangering the status practical purposes are american kids. i mean these are kids who were brought here by their parents. they did nothing wrong. they have gone to school. they have pledged allegiance to the flag. some of them joined the military. they enrolled in school. by definition, if they are part of the program, they are solid, wonderful young people

and it is my strong belief that the majority of the american people would not want to see suddenly those kids have to start hiding again. and that is something that i will encourage the president-elect to look at. with is true that i have not been able to close the darn thing because of the congressional restrictions that have been placedded on us. what is also true we have greatly reduced the population. you now have significantly less than 100 people there. there are some additional

months. there is a group of very dangerous people that we have strong evidence of having been guilty of committing terrorist acts against the united states but because of the nature of the evidence in some cases, that evidence being compromised, it's very difficult to put them before a typical article iii court. the biggest challenge for us. by strong belief and reference is we would be better off closing gitmo, moving them to a different facility clearly governed by u.s. jurisdiction. we would do it a lot cheaper. and just as safely. congress disagrees with me. and i gather that the president-elect does as well.

options for doing that but keep in mind it's not just a matter of what i'm willing to do. one thing you discover about being president is that there are all these rules and norms and laws. and you have to pay attention to them. and the people who work for you are also subject to those rules and norms. that is a piece of advice i gave to the incoming president. i am very proud of the fact that we will, knock on wood, leave the administration without significant scandal. we have made mistakes, there have been screwups, but i will put the ethics of this administration and our track

the rules and norms and keeping trust with the american people, i will put this administration against any administration in history. and the reason is because frankly we listen to the lawyers. we had a strong white house counsel's office. we had a strong ethics office. we had people in every agency whose job it was to remind people this is how you are supposed to do things. it doesn't mean everybody the way it was supposed to because we have 2 million people working in the federal government if you include the military. so, we had to try to institutionalize this as much as we could. that takes a lot of work. one of my suggestions to the incoming president is to take that part of the job seriously as well. again, you wouldn't know this if you were listening to some

of oversight committees in congress. but if you look at the facts, it works. and this is just one example of the numerous ways in which the federal government is much better today than it was without people really knowing. you look at v.a. people remember the legitimate problems that were pu in phoenix. it was scandalous what happened. what people don't remember is that we have brought in well over a million people getting benefits that weren't getting it before. driven the backlog for disability benefits way down. cut homelessness in half.

better. and one of the mottos i have with my staff is "better's good." perfect is unattainable. better is possible. we will try to share the lessons that we have learned over the last eight years with the incoming president. my hope is he makes things better. if he does we will all benefit from it. all right? thank you, eveyb get a chance to ask more questions. thank you. alison: there you go. right now at 4:00 here at abc7, as you saw there, president obama wrapping up his very first news conference since election day. michelle: a lengthy one. a lot of questions out there he took from reporters on all fronts. jonathan: keep in mind this is

for president-elect trump to take over in january. michelle: protests continue six days after election day, including in your area. montgomery blair students walking out and marching through montgomery county. others protesting in d.c. jonathan: we have team coverage of the events. q mccray with more from president obama. alison: richard reeve witnessing the protests today but begin with q mccray at the abc7 "live desk." q: if you are watching right now y president obama delivering statements from the rose guard -- rose garden and the oval office today. but today is the first day he answered questions from the press since donald trump became president-elect. the press conference took place at the white house before the president is heading to the airport for a flight overseas. he will be heading to greece and peru. he was questioned about his feelings on the election and his legacy as president. before answering any questions he spoke about the importance

president obama: my team stands ready to accelerate in the next steps that are required to ensure a smooth transition. we are going to be staying in touch as we travel. i remember what it was like when i came in eight years ago. it is a big challenge. this office is bigger than any one person. that is why ensuring a smooth transition is so important. q: the news conference lasted more than an hour. he talked about everything from nato, the p agreement, isis and obamacare. chances are while overseas the president will likely face similar questions from world leaders. we will have more on the news conference at 5:00. stick around for that. that is the latest from the "live desk." i'm q mccray. back to you. alison: we took the entire news conference and it is live on facebook. you can see it in its entirety on our page. just go to

of montgomery blair high school. skytrak7 was high above the scene. they marched for miles through the streets demonstrating their frustration toward president-elect donald trump. our instapoll today. what do you think about the students out protesting? head to wjla.com/votenow to weigh in. is it their right or is it a way to ditch class? right now richard reeve takes us inside today's protest. richard: we are here in veterans plaza in downtown this is be the protest ended. it's quiet now obviously. take a look at skytrak7. you see video of the students marching down university boulevard. this was 10:00 this morning. the montgomery blair principal allowed for peaceful protest on the grounds on the football field. that didn't happen. instead hundreds of students left the school grounds and joined other northwood high school students and now the crowd was at 1,000 students.

a parking deck. no property damage. but someone police say threw a bottle. those students walked eight miles. the message they say is to get beyond school property. >> we wanted the nation to see that we don't support trump. we have a voice. we don't respect him putting fear in other people's minds. >> if there are consequences, make up the school work or whatever, they are willing to do that. that is fine. i don't think it sho richard: the school district said they will regard what happened as an unexcusedded absence. coming up at 5:00, you will hear more from the students and you will meet the mysterious adult in the middle of all of this. in silver spring, richard reeve, abc7 news. michelle: a small group of protesters had a big impact on 395 in d.c. abc7's mike carter-conneen took the pictures as they

way to virginia. some stop and got out of the vehicles on the 14th street bridge. inauguration day comes with the celebrations and the protests every four years. the trump hotel is along the parade route and one group wants to set up a protest right there. d.c. bureau chief sam ford takes us inside the legal fight to do that. >> if you love justice, raise up your sam: protesters chanted against trade deal and other issues today. the prime spot for watching tin august ral parade which the park services says will be off limits to protesters on inauguration day. the protesters went before the u.s. court of appeals and asking that the ban be overturned. >> you can't stage manage democracy and say we are only going to allow people that appear to have view points supporting the incoming

sam: the government is saying spaces in front of the trump hotel, near the white house and freedom plaza are controlled by the inauguration committee. protesters argue from all places they should not be excluded from freedom plaza that was named in honor of the most famous protester martin luther king who wrote part of the "i have a dream" speech at the hotel across the street. but it was argued in court that an inagu government decides who uses the plaza and sits in the inauguration seats set up here. >> that is wrong. we are citizens of the united states. we have a first amendment right. >> we'll see. >> i'm sure they have the police to try to stop us. but there are people mo have called for protests at this exact spot. sam: those in court today say it's not new. they were denied access to freedom plaza last inauguration too. they don't want the ban to become permanent.

coverage of the trump transition leading up to inauguration day log on to the website wjla.com. bright start to the day giving way now to clouds and some rain seems to be moving in the area. but we need rain. stormwatch7's chief meteorologist doug hill has the timing on that and when it might clear up. doug at noon the rain we watched south wasn't that much farther south. it's been moving north. the air overhead is dry. fair amount of the rain is gobbled up on the way interstate 81 through the woodstock area. we are watching an inch northward. through the everything hours we are having the scattered showers around the area and area of the low pressure off the coast will move to sea, dragging showers overnight an dragging the cloudiness in the afternoon. a quick look at the future cast shows showers tonight. most are out by the morning rush. michelle? michelle: thank you. breaking this afternoon, long-time pbs news anchor gwen

bruce depuyt is in the abc7 satellite center with her contribution. >> she was off the air in the last tumultuous days of the 23016 campaign -- 2016 campaign battle and now we know why. she had her own battle with cancer. she worked for the wops and "new york times" before switching to television in the 1990's. she was co-anchor of "pbs newshour" with judy woodruff and author of a book a friends remember her as a mentor young people pursuing a clear. some saying, "i first met her as a reporter for "new york times" covering the clinton campaign in 1992. she was tough, and fearless. it's so sad she is gone." joining us now with reaction from the coworkers is jay korff live in arlington. jay? jay: yeah, bruce. a difficult day outside the "newshour" studios in

gwen ifill worked. she passed away at the age of 61. co-anchored the "pbs newshour." moments ago, president obama addressed her passing. president obama: michelle and i want to offer our deepest condolences to gwen ifill's family and all of you, her colleagues on her passing. gwen was a friend of our, extraordinary journalist. she kept faith with the fundamental responsements of her -- responsibilities of our profession. she informed today's citizens and she inspired tomorrow's journalists. she was an especially powerful role model for young women and girls who admired her integrity, her tenacity and her intellect. jay: reaction coming in late this afternoon from a

jay: house minority leader nancy pelosi said saddened by the passing of gwen ifill. a true trail blazer. reporting live in arlington, jay korff, abc7 news. jonathan: thanks, jay. coming up next at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- beefed up security on sacred ground. and this -- >> say i in germany and they didn't have blacks over there then. like said again, he is an older guy. so i let that stuff go. michelle: a fast food chain under fire for taking away a vet's free meal. the reason the manager did it and what the company is doing

jonathan: the parent company of the restaurant chili's is looking to make things right after a veteran had his free meal taken away from him on veterans day. it was in front of him. he was eating it. they took it away. earnest walker posted a video of a manager taken a meal from him at a chili's near dallas. the manager had questions about his uniform and still refused to serve him after he

discharge papers. >> he said i was in world war ii in germany and they didn't have any blacks over there then. like i said again, he is an older guy so i let that stuff go. i believe it wasn't for the temperature of america right now, i believe that hand would have never reacted that way. i think he is probably a good person. jonathan: very forgiving. brinker international which owns chili's says they are taking the matter seriously and they have a planned meeting with steve: showers out there now and will continue in the everything ours. once the shower ends we'll see sunshine but that won't happen until tomorrow. look at the forecast for overnight hours. 38 to 44 degrees. mostly cloudy skies. if you are looking for the super moon you won't have much luck with it, at least not tonight. tomorrow looks okay through the midday hours. more sunshine by noontime in the afternoon. upper 50's for the daytime

storm watch 7 extended outlook. 60 on wednesday. middle 60's on thursday. upper 60's to 7 o come friday and saturday and then a cold front slides through. may bring us showers. highs on sunday and monday. upper 40's to around 50.

i don't want to live with the uncertainties of hep c. or wonder whether i should seek treatment. i am ready. because today there's harvoni. a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. harvoni is proven to cure up to 99% of patients... ...who've had no prior treatment. ...one pill, once a day for 12 weeks. certain patients... ...can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. harvoni is a simple treatment regimen that's been prescribed to more than a quarter of a million patients. tell your doctor if you've had a liver transplant, other liver or kidney problems, hiv, or any other medical conditions, and about all the medicines you take including herbal supplements. taking amiodarone with harvoni may cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. common side effects of harvoni may include

i am ready to put hep c behind me. i am ready to be cured. are you ready? ask your hep c specialist if harvoni is right for you.

national cemetery. michelle: increased security at all brants and gates. ryan hughes shows us what you will see the next time you visit. ryan: pulling up to arlington national cemetery, the drivers are being asked to show government-issued photo i.d. it's part of the enhanced security measures implemented to help protect the sacred grounds. >> we want to provide safe environment for the visitors, workers and those funeral services here. ryan: vehicles are subject to random inspection. if you are walking to the cemetery, you will have to go through a screening process and bag center. >> we are directed by the headquarters to increase the security 'chure, which is part of an overall nationwide military installation. ryan: officials say there is no threat to the cemetery but they are beefing up security

security and in ottawa. fall and winter are the slower times at the similartary so the new security measures will be phased in over the next couple of weeks to work out the kinks before the start of spring. >> the stuff going on around the world. we wouldn't want something to happen to the soldiers and their family. >> i will feel more safe when you check everything, the i.d. and our bags and so on ryan: more than 3 million people visit the cemeteries each year. the lines may cause a delay but officials say it's needed. in arlington, ryan hughes, abc7 news. alison: tonight, a crime inside a restaurant that will make parents shutter. a bathroom assault. and there is more than one victim. area students join the anti-trump movement. first amendment express or unexcused absence? metro riders could face

week. >> with "7 on your side," i see they solve problems. alison: we are ill proving the price -- we are improving the price on home improvement. announcer: now "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side. alison: police say he followed them to the bathroom and held them against their will and he is now charged with sexual assaulting two children inside a popular restaurant where he worked. this stephen tschida has the latest. stephen: this incident took place at a fast food restaurant behind me at a shopping center. we are in the heart of ashburn. this area is dotted with the fast food restaurants. it's all across the area. the one here has an area for small children to play. this incident involving a registered a sex offender at a fast food restaurant has a lot of parents here in ashburn deeply disturbed tonight.

elevation burger at the one loudoun shopping center. about 8:00 last night. elevation burger employee, 20-year-old luis ore allegedly followed two little girls to the women's room. investigators say he held them there and sexual assaulted both of the girls. >> it gives me chills. horrible. stephen: ore let the girls return and they returned and told the parents what happened. the parents called authorities and he was arrested moments later registry for an incident when he was a teenager worked in the kitchen at elevation burger and only worked here a few months. meanwhile, parent wos bring their children to the shopping center said it is not unusual to send two children under the age of 13 to a bathroom together. especially in a venue like this. a small fast food restaurant. >> you feel like it's safe. you can see what is happening.