athena, what do we know about why now? the timing of this with the naming of names and these entities being blamed? >> well, the hope is that this will have some impact, why did this take so long? why wasn't it sooner? the white house has been asked that question quite a bit and their response for starters is they wanted to make sure intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies were able to do their work. able to carry out thorough investigations, to make sure they had evidence they needed that russia was behind this attack. we know the white house has come under fire including from democrats to not responding sooner. that's their answer. another part of their answer is they wanted to be able to protect the classified sources and methods they've used to determine that russia was behind these actions and there's also some sensitivity. the white house didn't want to appear to be putting their nger on the scale for the president's preferred candidate hillary clinton. they believed she was going to win and they didn't wa

make athena's wish come true. on national believe day, macy's doubles its contribution to make-a-wish....that will help send athena on a trip to paris for her fifth birthday next year. "her dad took her brother to paris for his graduation, germany and paris and always said he'd take her. unfortunately he's passed now so she still wants to go 'cause her dad promised to take her there." there." wish is granted, it helps give a child extra energy, it gives them hope, it gives them strength to battle their life threatening medical conditions." conditions." athena is just one of the many kids who will see their wishes come true, thanks to make-a- wish and to contributions like those from macy's. 3 next at five, wisconsin's presidential vote recount approaches the finish line. we'll have a live report from one of the counties just finishing its work. 3 and summerfest anniversary party next year..,.why you'll be freefalling in 2017..when we come back. wisconsin recount of the presidential votes will very likely continue

athena jones is traveling with the president in honolulu, athena, all of us are very envious of your assignment. on a serious note, what do you know about trump and obama's relationship moving forward? >> reporter: hi, boris. this is a relationship that's been of intense interest. after all these are two men who spent a lot of time saying not very nice things about one another. president obama of course arguing on the campaign trail that president-elect trump was not fit to lead, not fit to be president. of course that all came to an end on election day. you saw the two meet up for that 90-minute oval office meeting just a couple of days after the election. and they talked at least a handful of times, according to the white house. the white house is focused on a smooth and professional transition. they say they want to make sure they give the president-elect's team all the information they need, all the guidance they need to try to help their administration be a success. what you don't hear is you don't hear people in the white house reading out these private conversations. that's wh

back to you. >> thank you, athena. a crazy day after christmas or violence breaking out across malls across america. what sparked the chaos that played out in nearly a dozen states. more next. >>> time for an early start on your money. inauguration is coming up in a few weeks. the cabinet confirmation process still a long way to go. so far, the president-elect's nominees include five billionaires, six multimillionaires. according to the wall street journal. that sis a net worth close to $0 billion. bernie sanders tweeting yesterday. saying this, donald trump, the anti-establish republican is building a cabinet worth $13 billion, he is saying. the hypocrisy astounds me. sifting through the holdings could be a slow process for the nominees. they have to pay enormous legal fees and also make sure their books are in order. also on the list of things they need to do, they have to talk about all of the organizations they have been affiliated with since the age of 18. they have to name clients who pose conflicts of interest a

. >> cnn's athena jones is with president obama in hawaii. she has more on the sanctions. >> reporter: good morning, joe and alison. the president is calling the steps necessary and appropriate. said they are coming after repeated private and public warnings to the russian government. he said all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions. he repeated the assertion that the activities could be coming from the highest levels of the russian government. the treasury department named nine individuals who will be subject to expanded sanctions. those include the military unit and its chief and domestic security service. the state department is declaring 35 russian operatives pers pers persona non grata. the government is shutting down two russian government compoun compounds. one in new york and one on the eastern shore of maryland not far from washington, d.c. the white house is stressing the announced moves are not quote the sum total of our response. the u.s. is taking covert measures aimed at delivering one message to russia. there are con

back to you. >>> athena jones in hawaii. what a moment that is in honolulu. >> historic. >> it looks like the day after christmas wasn't so festive. a lot of violence at shopping malls across the nation. one day after christmas. this is out of manchester, connecticut. you hear people screaming and punches thrown at the shops of buckland hills. a large chase ensues and our affiliate says one officer assaulted. a mall in ft. worth, texas, on lockdown after this sight after 100 middle school and high school students at the food court. once the lockdown was lifted, parents got to get their kids. and in aurora, illinois, a huge brawl at fox valley mall. teenagers had to spent down the stairs to get out of the mall. >> when i was that aiminge, i w still playing with what i got for christmas. this was the scene in beechwood place mall in ohio. unfounded reports of an active shooter. police say it began after a fight broke out among teenagers in the food court. panic at hamilton place mall in chattanooga. shoppers took the sound of

athena jones as well. appreciate it. let's talk more about this with my panel jill dougherty, former cnn moscow bureau chief and russia consultant. cnn military analyst mark hertling, also want to bring in david andelman editor emeritus of world policy journal and a cnn.com opinion contributor and cnn military analyst major general james spider marks also with us. we have a big panel right here. what more do we know about the 35 russian operatives who have been ordered to lead the u.s.? does that mean there are dozens more who will be allowed to remain in the u.s. as russian operative operatives? >> that's the easiest part of it because obviously the u.s. would allege they were spies. we don't know what they did but you can imagine that in a tit for tat response, the russians will be kicking out png, as they say, persona non grata and kicking out americans out of moscow from the embassy so that is in a sense kind of the cold war scenario, but then you get into some other things that have been pretty nasty. i'm noting thi

athena what more are you learning tonight about this major move by the president? >> reporter: well the white house says that russia shouldn't be surprised by these actions and they are stressing that the moves do not amount to the quote up total of our response. the administration is also planning convert measures, all aimed at delivering one message to russia, there are costs and consequences for their actions in a statement. the treasury department named individuals for sanctions. the state department following suit declaring 35 russian intelligence operatives persona non grata and giving these spies just 72 hours to leave the country. the government also shutting down two russian government-owned compounds. one in new york and this one on the eastern shore of maryland. in a white house statement the president said all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions. and repeated that the activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the russian government. these moves come as president elect donald trump continues to dismiss the u.s. intelli

>> athena, thank you so much.ive from honolulu. >>> let's discuss all of this with democratic congressman from california, mike honda. >> thank you for getting up early for us. >> you as well, general. we may not know your history. >> in colorado. as you look back at the 75 years since the attacks on pearl harbor. hiroshima, what are your thoughts. >> as a japanese american and a person who's been through the camp experience and as a policy maker, looking back at these incidents has a much broader perspective for me than most people. i look at this as symbolic to leaders going through the process of reconciliation about the act that occurred at pearl harbor. but it's also symbolic that the president had visited hiroshima. those are two main lessons i think we need to carry on. there's another here, and that is the domestic consequences of pearl harbor that visited the 120,000 americans and japanese ancestry where our government had set aside our own constitutional rights. jap japan, the idea that the japanese gove

>> as athena suggested, he was very, very careful how he raised this subject. he was clear that he was proud of hillary clinton, thought she had done a great job under tough circumstances. thought she had been treated unfairly by the news media. but he did say that he thought that the campaign, perhaps the candidate, took too much for granted and played things cautious because of the polling, because of some of the things that donald trump had said and done that they felt had made him vulnerable and perhaps neglected some key parts of the country as a result of it. and wound up on the losing end, even though she won the election in the popular vote by 3 million votes. >> let me ask you this. there's a lot of blame going around and being assigned but not necessarily accepted as we look at this race. if you look at president obama, certainly he won two big elections, no question. but if you look at the democratic party lawsuits since 2009. in the senate, in the house, in the statehouses, in the state legislature, which will be enormously important, did the presid

so athena, is this president obama's way of trying to cement his legacy on these issues, but it's also minute here? >> reporter: that's right, bree non. exactly what he's trying to do. we've heard the president talk how he wants to run through the tape on his presidency, to work up until the very last minute to get as much of his agenda done as he can, and he's doing this in the face of someone that we know has campaign and promises to undo much of that agenda. so he's working on two fronts. implementing some of these policies, some of which will be difficult for a president trump to reverse, but also using his conversations, the white house calls them consultations, with the president-elect, to try to, to nudge him on some of these issue, explain the thinking behind some of his policies in the hopes that a president trump could keep some of those policies. we saw that a couple days after the election when the two sat in the oval office 90 minutes and understand a few days later we heard president-elect trump, he maybe open to keeping, for instance, some of the popular provisions of ob

. >> athena jones is live this morning at the white house. good morning, athena. >> reporter: good morning, poppy. this was a wide-ranging speech. the president used it to tout his administration's accomplishment when it comes to counter terrorism. he talked about the killing of osama bin laden, weakening al qaeda, the progress made so far against isis in iraq and syria. and he also talked about the important work of protecting americans, a more broadly administrati administration's success of thwart i thwarting foreign terrorist organizations. >> no foreign terrorist organization has successfully executed and planned an attack on our homeland. and it's not because they didn't try. plots have been disrupted, terrorists have been taken off the battlefield. >> reporter: now, critics might point out while a foreign terrorist organization hasn't been able to carry out a plot on american soil, there have been others, lone wolf attackers who have been able to successfully attack america, whether in orlando or san bernardino, people who are inspired

athena, what are you hearing today?> reporter: this has been a position of multiple administrations. the white house is not responding to this move by israel to cut ties with the country that is voted against it in this u.n. vote, but the message the white house was sending in abstaining in that vote last week is that the obama administration agrees with much of the international community, that the continued construction is not helpful to the peace process, not helpful to any eventual two-state solution. the white house is stressing this is not a new position, not something that should have been a surprise to the israeli government. here is who are of what ben rhodes had to say about this in an interview on israeli tv. it's not an ambush when president obama and secretary kerry have been saying in hundreds of conversations and public comments that israeli settlement activity was pushing into the west bank in a way that was making the two-state solution unachievable over time when we see laws that aim to legalize outpos

it is a great development for athena.s who came in yesterday, we had our investor day yesterday, lots of fun for them to meet my people and see what we are planning on doing -- i guess they see it the way i do, which am thrilled about. david: you follow this very closely. it is at the core of your business. do you have a sense of your for the incoming president-elect? do you have a sense of where this it in the list of priorities and when it might be done? if fundamental reform of obamacare? fact, a reform of obamacare is not what athena needs. athena needs an end to the programs being pushed out and forced to the top of our research and development priority list. for the last seven years, there have been big federal mandate and they have dithered. they have said, we have to do it this year or next year, and we were ebbing and flowing with these mandates. if there are no mandates and no reforms, that would be fine. if there are no mandates and some reforms, that would be better. the key to us is no meaningful new stage 5.

jim. >> athena jones in hawaii with the president. thanks very much. >>> also tonight, the first indication in months as to the whereabouts of one of the world's most wanted terrorist. that is the isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi. let's go to cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr. unusual, somewhat, for them to telegraph, the pentagon to telegraph that they're getting closer to him. >> the pentagon officially not saying anything about this, jim. i can tell you that a u.s. official told me -- i want to quote this u.s. official directly -- said in the last few weeks we've been aware of some of baghdadi's movement. so what they're indicating is not that they have realtime intelligence. they don't know where he is by all accounts right this minute. otherwise they would go after him. but they have a report that indicates some recent indications of where he might be. now, they're not saying whether he is in iraq or in syria, you know, both places could be likely, but what they are doing is continuing to watch, gather more intelligence, m

athena jones is standing by in hawaii where the president is on his holiday vacation. we know, athena, that president obama is taking note that nearly 700,000 just signed up last week but the numbers of first-time enrollees are down. >> that's right. in terms of first-time enrollees the administration says people enrolling for the first time wait until the last minute to sign up so the enrollment period goes to the end of january. we know from sylviaer be well the administration plans to ramp up its outreach efforts to them starting next month. you mentioned the president saying last week today 670,000 people signed up in a single day. he called it the biggest day yet so that have been touting these numbers, the white house encouraging people to continue to sign up even though republicans are planning to repeal this bill. they don't plan for that to kick in right away. the thinking among the folks at the white house is the more people that sign up, the more people benefitting from this bill, the harder it might be for republicans to repeal it so they're touting those n

let's head out to athena jones with more on what both leaders had to say.thena, good morning to you. >> good morning, don. that's right, it was a historic day. a day 75 years in the making. the u.s. president and japanese prime minister together for the first time at the "uss arizona." both leaders delivering moving speeches and talking about the people who never made it home. both also stressing the power of reconciliation and the importance of tolerance. here's more of what the president had to say. >> it is here that we remember that even when hatred burns hottest, even when the tug of tribalism is at its most primal, we must resist the urge to turn inward. we must resist the urge to demonize those who are different. >> to many, that statement sounded like a challenge to some of the divisive rhetoric heard from president-elect trump on the campaign trail. now, prime minister abe called the partnership between the u.s. and japan an alliance of hope and said his visit to the "uss arizona" left him speechless. poppy, don. >> all right, thank you, athena. le

cnn's athena jones is in honolulu covering president obama. athena, the visit is something of a return gesture of sorts to president obama. tell us about that. >> reporter: that's right, jake. president obama visited hiroshima seven months ago to this day. he became the first sitting u.s. president to do so, to pay his respects to the tens of thousands of people who died there. now prime minister abe coming here today. i should mention to you, i believe we may have pictures of the two leaders arriving not long ago on the "uss arizona" memorial where prime minister abe paid his respects, offering prayers to those who died not just on that ship but on -- all over pearl harbor. more than 2200 who died that day. according to the prime minister's press secretary. he began thinking about making the trip more than a year ago but didn't make it official with president obama until they met briefly on the sidelines of the summit in peru in november. now you have the long-awaited visit 75 years later with the two leaders making history. jake. >> earlier

i'll turn cnn's athena jones in honolulu. athena, set the scene for us of these two leaders as they are about to take part in a remarkable healing moment of history. >> reporter: hi, martin, it will be remarkable as you mentioned. the first time a japanese prime minister, u.s. president are going to be visiting this memorial. what you can see behind me, the uss "arizona" memorial is the next step today before the two deliver remarks. they'll be laying wreaths at that memorial and we expect prime minister abe to offer prayers for the souls of those who died. not just there but also throughout pearl harbor on the day of that attack 75 years ago. this visit is coming seven months after president obama made history becoming the first sitting u.s. president to visit hiroshima and deliver remarks, pay his respects to those who died and now prime minister is doirng the same. these trips are serving as bookends. the white house says they serve as showing the power of reconciliation. the ability for these former adversaries to become

let's go to athena jones with president obama in honolulu. athena, we know the president condemned russia's hacking but what has been the reaction here in the u.s. to his sanctions? >> well, the white house hopes that these sanctions will have some impact. i can tell you the white house is not responding to the non-response from president putin. they're directing us to the state department. the state department official telling cnn "we have seen president putin's remarks, we have nothing further to add." so i don't expect much news on that front. mean while, trump supporters like former new york mayor rudy giuliani, who is, of course, been one of trump's most vocal supporters and defenders, are continuing to cast doubts on the conclusions reached by multiple u.s. intelligence agencies when it comes to russia being involved in hack. here's what he had to say on fox. >> you get your own people to review it. there's no question that the intelligence that president obama has been getting has either been incompetent or politicized. i would urge pr

and athena joins us live from honolulu.se, athena, you're there because the first family is there for your holiday vacation. what do you know about michelle obama's plans after she leaves the white house? >> reporter: well, a big takeaway from the interview she's been giving is she's leaving the white house but not going to be leaving the public stage. she is well liked. she has a lot of influence and is going to use that influence in her post-politics life she's about to embark on. she's talked about wanting to remain engaged if public life, in public service, continuing work on issues she's well known for, things like girls' education and mentorship and promoting healthy eating and also, perhaps, taking on some new initiatives. she told "vogue" magazine, i've never been a former first lady before, i'm going to have to feel it out and see how i want that life to look, what i want that life to look like. first, though, president obama said he promised to take her on a long vacation after the inauguration. erin? >> all right

let's go live to athena jones in hawaii. athena, let's begin with the president's plan on offshore drilling. >> right, hi, john, this is the example of the president trying to run out the tape. he's talked about working up until the very end at the things he wants to accomplish. we understand the president plans to move as early as today to bar offshore drilling in parts of the atlantic oceans. that means no more leasing of oil rights. what's interesting, he's made several other moves to restrict drilling in the waters around the u.s. in the past. being done using a law from 1953 that will make it much harder for any future president to reverse. of course the future president in mind we're talking about is president-elect donald trump who has promised to boost u.s. energy production. it will not be an easy thing for trump to come in and reverse. he's trying to protect his legacy on two fronts in some ways. doing as much as he can on the policy front. also having conversations with the president-elect to try to influence him

athena, let me start with you. what steps do we think the obama administration will likely take? >> hi, jake. you mentioned some of them, expanded sanction, diplomatic measures, even covert action, actions that they say will be taken at a time of their choosing that won't be announced. we also expect the government will name the individuals associated with the russian disinformation campaign. that's really what it's all about, jake, russia is known for using these disinformation campaigns to meddle in and influence elections in various countries. u.s. intelligence officials believe they hacked information mostly from the democratic party organizations and officials and used it to attack hillary clinton and her presidential campaign. these moves are coming after months of internal debate over how to respond. the white house has come under fire including from democrats for not responding sooner to this russian cyber activity. but if you speak to white house officials, they say they wanted to make sure that intelligence and law enforcement agencies had the time to do their work. car

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all right, athena, great to see you. thank you so much. "outfront" with me tonight, rick santorum, former republican presidential candidate and former senator, of course, from pennsylvania. michael nutter, former democratic mayor of philadelphia. david gergen is here, former presidential adviser to four presidents. and salena zito, washington examiner, staff reporter, and "new york post" columnist. you can't claim christmas, senator, can't take credit for christmas. senator santorum, please tell me, trump weighing in on president obama's comments saying, no way that obama could beat him. this is, yes, of course a bit of obama monday-morning quarterbacking about the election but as the president-elect, why even take this on? >> well, because that's just who donald trump is and at least for the time being, this president-elect period, he's still going to have his twitter account and still going to use it and, you know, he has proven that the old adage that mike nutter lived by, which is if somebody attacks you in politics, you don't let that

athena jones is live at the white house with more. what have you learned, athena? >> good morning, alisyn. folks here at the white house from the president on down have largely avoided criticizing personnel decisions but the administration does have a problem with the trump team's move to question energy department staff. donald trump's transition facing new resistance from the obama administration as the handoff of power nears. the department of energy refusing to comply with the trump team's request to name employees who worked on climate change issues. the white house arguing this memo, requesting information about the department's work on climate, was out of line. >> there were reports about what certainly could have been in an attempt to target civil servants. career federal government employees. their work transcends the term of any one president. >> reporter: an energy department spokesman telling cnn the trump memo left many in our workforce unsettled. the obama administration responds creating new tension with the incoming president who once called climate

thanks so much, athena jones in honolulu.ppreciate it. >> although trump has dismissed the hacking claims, many republicans support the sanctions against russia, even calling for more. some lawmakers, including john mccain, feel the retaliation should go further. >> when you attack a country, it's an act of war. so we have to make sure that there is a price to pay so that we can perhaps persuade the russians to stop this kind of attacks on our very fundamentals of democracy. >> let's talk more about this. pr brian morgan stern and political analyst ellis. mccain is call thg ing this an f war. might this spell donald trump to change his tune. >> a lot of folks have been saying the hawks on the foreign relations committee and donald trump are butting heads. that seems to be true. let me posit a possible scenario that trump goes to moscow and says, what a smart guy you are. john mccain and lindsey graham are going to slap all these sanctions on you unless you work with me. i don't know if it is coordinated or just a coincidence.

cnn's athena jones reports. >> reporter: hi there. a historic day here at peril harbor. a moment 75 years in the making and pictures and videos, the likes of which we've never seen before. a u.s. president and a japanese prime minister going together to the uss arizona memorial a pay their respects to the fallen. both leaders delivering moving remarks and invoking the sights and sounds of that day in 1941 when more than 2400 people never made it home. president obama saying abe's presence shows what's possible between nations and how former foes can become the best of allies. >> as nations and as people, we cannot choose the history we inherit. but we can choose what lessons to draw from it. and use those lessons to chart our own futures. wars can end. the most bitter of adversaries can pictubecome the strongest o allies. the fruits of peace always outweigh the plunder of war. this is the enduring truth of this hallowed harbor. >> the prime minister saying his visit to the uss az left him speechless. here's more of what we had to say. >> as the prime minister of japan, i

cnn athena jones has more. >> reporter: president obama moving to prove his legacy before he hands thedency to donald trump. tonight new measures to bar offshore drilling indefinitely in parts of the arctic and atlantic oceans. >> i share people's concerns about offshore drilling. i remember the bp spill in the gulf of mexico too well. >> reporter: it's an issue front and center for the president who sees climate change as the greatest threat facing future generations and believes u.s. and the world must do more to combat it. >> we're not moving fast enough, and we have to keep going for the sake of our kids. america has to lead the world in transitioning to a clean energy economy. >> reporter: his last minute move is based on a 64-year-old law, not an easily reversible executive law. a the incoming president vowed to pull out of the climate accords and increase energy production. >> every energy dollar that isn't harvested here in america is harvested instead in a foreign country. often foreign countries, not very friendly to us. >> reporter: and the president isn't just taking action

. >> and so athena, russia took the unpredictable route. the predictable route would have been putting sanctions or at least removing american diplomats as many thought he might do as a result of the foreign minister who said that was the recommendation but preemptively, would the white house have still requested american intelligence or american personnel to leave russia, anticipating that that country might be expelling them? >> i don't have any information about that, fried redricka. the white house has no response to russian president vladimir putin's non-response. they pointed us to the state department and the state department official told cnn "we have seen president putin's remarks, we have nothing further to add." i would note that you'll ren when they put out all of these actions yesterday the white house said some of the actions the u.s. will take will be covert, they won't be announced so while we're not seeing president putin responding in a public way, that doesn't necessarily mean he's not going to respond in a non-public way

suzanne. >> athena, it looks gorgeous out there.py holidays to you. >>> for decades, they have been planted all around us, russian spies. the goal to influence events to benefit russia. our cnn pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, is taking a closer look. >> fbi cameras captured russian operative, anna chapman and a federal undercover agent meet ng a new york coffee shop in june, 2010. 17 days later, chapman and nine other russian sleeper agents were arrested in new york, new jersey, and virginia, charged with conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of russia, spies who had burrowed deep in american society. they had watched them for months recording dropoffs of packages and meetings on staircases. even one meeting just yards from cnn's offices in new york. the u.s. believes the group never got its hands on classified information but the russian infiltration into the u.s., a classic moscow move. >> what they do is more than just collect. they actually try fluns events to the benefit of russia all over the world. this is something the

cnn's athena jones is live in honolulu with the details. this is a first. this is the first time that a sitting japanese prime minister has made this visit. obviously this comes in the wake of president obama's visit to hiroshima not that long ago. what do we expect the leaders to say? >> reporter: good morning, poppy. well, today kicks off with a bilateral meeting between the president and the prime minister followed by a wreath laying ceremony at the uss arizona memorial. then later the two leaders will deliver remarks, which we expect will focus on the power of reconciliation. this is a historic visit, as you noted, and it's one that one witness to the pearl harbor attack i spoke with is welcoming. 95-year-old robert lee says he's glad to see japanese prime minister shinzo abe making this trip. >> i think it's the greatest thing in the world. i think we've already gone through quite a bit of healing. >> reporter: he remembers well the day of japan's surprise attack 75 years ago when more than 2400 people lost their lives. >> it's very vivid in my memory,

athena jones is traveling with the president. >> reporter: hi, kate. kicks off with a bilateral meeting between the president and prime minister followed by a wreath laying ceremony. later the two leaders will deliver remarks focused on the power of reconciliation. a historic visit. one witness i spoke with is welcoming. 95-year-old robert lee says he's glad to see japanese prime minister shinzo abe making this trip. >> i think it's the greatest thing in the world. i think we've already gone through quite a bit of healing. >> reporter: he remembers well the day of japan's surprise attack 75 years ago when more than 2,400 people lost their lives. >> it's very vivid in my memory. very much so. >> reporter: still a young man, just two years out of high school rotc, he looked on from his bedroom. later dashing to his front lawn as japanese bombers flew low over his home. headed for battle ship row. >> i grabbed my .22 caliber target rifle and shot all 16, .22 caliber lead shots. >> reporter: at the plane? >> at the planes. >> reporter: thinking it would wo

running through the tape and presenting a series of direct challenges to trump. >>> cnn correspondent athenaeporting for us. nearly two dozen cities in china are choking on extreme smog for another day, but there could be relief in site. meteorologist is at the international weather center with more on that. >> hello, max. we take a look again. it has not just been a short-term problem. this has been a long-term problem. look at some of the images coming in out of beijing. again, it looks like incredibly dense fog that we've been experiencing in many of these areas. protests also taking place. you can see placing masks on a lot of statues in and around the region as kind of a symbol for this area. numbers are finally starting to get better in the southern regions, and that's because we've had not only some rain move into this area but the wind direction is changing. that's been a big improvement. take a look at some of the numbers south of beijing. we are talking somewhere between 50, up to the 200 range, which, again, is still high, we're still talking the very unhealthy range in that purpl

>> athena jones with the president in hawaii, thank you. even before donald trump's tweet praising putin, one of his top aides suggested it was a domestic political ajep da behind the obama administration's decision to sanction russia now. cnn international correspondent suzanne malveaux has more on that. they're really saying this is all democratic politics. >> trump and his transition team are in lock stem with the talking points, the main one being u.s. blaming russia, president obama specifically, faulty and incomplete. despite the intelligence briefings trump has received, he continues to express skepticism over russia's involvement and at the same time lavishing praise on putin. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: donald trump tonight praising russia's vladimir putin, tweeting, "great move on delay by v. putin. i always knew he was very smart." trump applauding putin's remarkable move the wait for trump to take office before responding to president obama's decision to expel russian diplomats and new sanctions. >> i think we ought to

athena jones, elise labott, oren lieberman, thanks very much. >>> and bringing in the former israeli ambassador to the united states, he's now a member of the parliament in israel. the knesset and deputy minister of ddiplomacy. thank you for joining us. appreciate it. >> thank you, jake. >> talk to me about the evidence your government claims to have that the u.s. actually drafted this resolution conspired to put it forward at the security council? what kind of evidence are we talking about? >> well, what they've received from other governments around the world who have been involved in this and i think that we're not disclosing those sources. i think that the prime minister's made it very clear that he believes that the -- that president obama's administration has been instrument until formulating this resolution and advancing it. it's a pretty serious charge. i think the overwhelming sense in the state of israel and talking from the states of jerusalem, a sense of hurt, a sense of abandonment, outrage. i'm talking to you here, where i am, about a 200 mile drive from where 400,000 s

athena, surprise in the obama administration there was no russian retaliation? as a follow, that the sanctions will stand after donald trump takes office? >> reporter: jim no response yet from the white house to this non-response from the russian president, but, remember, some of the actions the u.s. said it's going to take are going to be covert actions, unannounced action. that certainly could be the case on the rush side of the equation. you don't have president putin dismeting u.s. diplomats that doesn't mean he's not taking any action. they expect two things. one, russia will respond in some way and expect russia will continue its cyber hacking activities. certainly continuing trying to carry out these cyber hacking activities. so they stand ready to respond to that. as for whether the sanctions will be reversed by a president trump, one of the white house officials who spoke on a call with reporters yesterday said, hypothetically, you could reverse them, but i don't think that would be a good idea. you now have republicans on capitol hill, for instance, ch

athena jones is at the white house with the latest. what is the latest? >> in a wide-ranging speech yesterday president obama touted his administration's accomplishments in the fight against terror groups. the killing of osama bin laden, the weakening of al qaeda and the progress made so far against isis. and while he didn't mention president-elect trump by name, he did press his case for closing the prison at guantanamo bay and for maintaining the ban on torture. these are two areas where his views are clearly at odds with the president-elect. he also talked about the need to uphold american values during this fight against terrorism. like following the rule of law and protecting civil liberties. not making decisions based on fear. here's some of what he had tasay about that. >> adhering to the rule of law is not a weakness in the long term, it is our greatest strength. the whole object oive of these terrorist is to scare us into changing the nature of who we are and our democracy. and the fact is that nations and people do not make good decisions when t

>> athena jones no honolulu, thank you. bringing in will ripley for more on this. will, why visit pearl harbor? what is the purpose for the trip for the japanese prime minister? >> it's personal for shinzo abe. his grandfathered visited, but those visits were not publicized give ton how close the two countries were to the end of word war 2. 75 years later, president obama visited back in may and gave a speech where he talked about the importance of a world without nuclear weapons. shinzo abe expected to deliver a similar message, and this is the last opportunity for these two leaders to put this kind of public image forward before the incoming donald trump administration, and a marked shift in rhetoric where donald trump talked about an arms race, mentioned during the campaign. japan potentially arming itself with nuclear weapons, much to the horror of many in that country who remember hiroshima and nagasaki. this is a peaceful gesture and the last opportunity for abe to do so before he focuses on moving a partnership forward with the united states under the trump

this is getting a lot of attention. >> athena jones live from the white house.'s talk about that. with me is democratic senator ed markey. welcome, sir. >> thank you. >> what do you make of the trump transition team demanding, sending out this 74-question questionnaire to the department of energy? >> it's irresponsible. every single academy of science in the world, every single country has reached the conclusion that climate change is real, the planet is dangerously warming and that human activity is largely responsible for it. any employee of the department of energy that has been working on climate science over the last eight years is actually doing their job. it would be irresponsible not to deal with the issue. now what we're seeing is an inquiry by the trump transition team that goes right to the heart of the integrity of the science which has been conducted at the department of energy, at the epa, at the other agencies of the federal government over the last several years, dealing with this issue and these -- >> do you have proof of that? do you have proof

joining me to discuss cnn's athena jones.e us a sense -- we should point out you are in hawaii, that's where the president and his family are for the holidays. how is the white house responding now especially to what we saw from donald trump following that vote? >> reporter: hi, erika. the white house is reminding everyone there is one president at a time. those are the exact words we heard from the president's deputy national security adviser, ben roads on a conference call. he said after january 20th, then president trump will become responsible for foreign policy, but not until then. here is more of what he had to say about this. >> it's unusual, there has been a lot unusual during this transition. look, the way in which president obama handles his business is we control what we control. he has been very gratuitous, very clear to us, that we are to help execute the most successful transition we possibly can. so that will be our attitude going forward. we will do our part to do whatever we can for the incoming team and do o

athena jones, cnn, honolulu, hawaii. >>> russia's defense ministry says divers have found the black boxcording from a crashed rush jet. but it could take weeks to extract the data. the plane's cockpit voice recorder is still missing. strong currents and deep water have complicated the search. the plane was carrying 92 people when it went down sunday in the black sea. >>> a facebook invite goes viral. thousands show up to a 15-year-old's birthday party in central mexico. the crowd was so large police had to deploy extra security. a 66-year-old man died at the party and another was injured after they were trump petrample during a horse race. the invitation was supposed to be for a much smaller gartherin but 1 million people rsvd'd and the party exploded. >>> thank you for joining me today. "at this hour" starts right after the break. ♪ lend him a helping hand. ♪ put a little love in your heart. ♪ ♪ take a good look around... ♪ ...and if you're lookin' down, ♪ ♪ put a little love in your heart. ♪ ♪put a little love in your heart.♪ ♪ in your heart. (avo) the subaru share the love event is h

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and athena anderson, the president is also going to come back to washington and really try to sit downmbers of the democratic party to try to protect what is potentially the biggest item, most significant of his legacy. that is, obamacare. can you tell us about what's behind that? >> reporter: that's right. he's coming next week. he'll be meeting with house democrats and senate democrats together on capitol hill on wednesday to try to strategize a way to push back that gop effort to repeal the affordable care act, this, as you noted, the president's signature domestic achievement and they have been pushing for people to continue to sign up for obamacare saying that any changes that are made won't be made immediately and also the thinking that you already have 20 million plus people who are benefitting from this law. the more people benefitting, the harder it might be for republicans to dismantle it but we already know from republicans that this is at the top of their agenda. democrats are going to be talking about ways they can fight back. we know there's going to be a day of action, w

back to you. >> athena jones, thank you very much. we'll look forward to that moment in history. from the current president acknowledging the nation's past to the next president getting ready for the nation's future. president-elect donald trump announced a new pick for his white house team and it's for a newly formed position involving homeland security. let's get to senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny for the details. he's in palm beach, florida, where trump has been holding meetings at his mar-a-lago resort. tell us about the latest pick and tell us how trump has elevated this position. >> martin, donald trump is reaching into the george w. bush administration as he looks for and appoints someone in charge of homeland security, counterterrorism and cyber security, it's not a new position. obama, of course, has had someone in that position, her name is lisa monaco, her name -- she's been oversee these responsibilities as well but what it appears the trump team is doing is elevating thomas bow start to be an equal with retired lieutenant general michael flynn. one of the

athena, he's moving on several fronts before time runs out. >> reporter: hi, that's right. part of the president's plans to run through the tape, as he puts it. to accomplish as much of his agenda as he can in the final days. of course we know that president elect trump has vowed to undo many of those policy. the president hopes to make that difficult for him. >> president obama moving to secure his legacy on the environment and beyond before he hands the presidency to donald trump. tonight new measures to bar off shore drilling indefinitely in parts of the baltic and atlantic oceans no part to assuage concerns about drilling. it's an issue that's been front and center for president, who sees climate change as the greatest threat facing future generations. and believes the u.s. and the world must do more to combat it. >> we're not moving fast enough. and for the sake of our kids we've got to keep going. america has to lead the world in transitioning to a clean energy economy. >> president obama's last minute move is based on a 6 4-year-old year law. not an easily reversible

. >> athena jones is live outside the white house this morning. good morning. very different speeches from the president and the president-elect. both on the same issue. >> reporter: that's right. very different speeches from two very different leaders who have different ideas about how to approach these issues. lest anyone call president obama weak on terror, he delivered a forceful defense of his administration's counter terrorism efforts and made the case for continuation of his approach to dealing with these issues. he talked about killing osama bin laden. he talked about weakening al qaeda, the progress made so far against isis and he talked about the need to continue to focus on diplomacy and working with allies, not only to defeat terror groups but also to deal with other issues like iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon. here's more of what he had to say on that. >> terrorists would love to see us walk away from the type of work that builds international coalitions and ends conflicts and stops the spread of deadly weapons. it would make life easier for the

athena jones in honolulu. thank you so much. to come, his immigration policies forced many conservative latinos to dump trump before election day. so why are they back on the trump train now? we'll get an answer to that after the break. but first, a look back at some of the political figures we lost in 2016. >> for almost 30 years, justice antonin nino scalia was larger than life presence on the bench. >> what should you do when someone offers you drugs? >> say no! >> every woman is entitled to have her opinion. and her right to give that opinion. to anybody, particularly the man she's married to. >> it will continue. >> i janet reno do solemnly swear -- >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> janet reno became the longest-serving attorney general of the united states in more than 100 years. >> i don't know how the world will remember me. but i simply hope that the world, and especially our people, remember me as what i r

athena jones, thanks very much. now, the trump response, which as we mentioned at the top was notably brief. it said, in full, quote, it's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things. nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, i will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation, end quote. more now from cnn's sunlen serfaty who joins us from just outside mar-a-lago. so sunlen, from those around donald trump been echoing what's in that sentiment? in effect, expressing continued doubts about this assessment? >> reporter: that's right, jim. and that's why this very short statement by president-elect donald trump should really come at no surprise. because it really does keep in mind with the posture that he and members of his transition team have been taking in the last days and weeks about this. you know, that is really to dismiss the claims of the intelligence community, the conclusions, i should say, of the inte