barbara starr is working the story at the pentagon for us. first we want to go to cnn chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. you are learning new information from your sources. >> tonight the u.s. intelligence community has growing confidence based on new intelligence that russian president vladimir putin would have had to personally approve of the hacks targeting the election. the advances, the intelligence community publicly announced one month before the election that rausch w russia was behind the hacking, yet president-elect donald trump continues to question the judgment that russia was involved at all. tonight the white house demanding that president-elect trump accept rather than deny. the intelligence community's assessment that russia was responsible for hacking intended to impact the u.s. presidential race. >> mr. trump obviously knew that russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him and hurting secretary clinton's campaign. it might be time to not attack the intelligence community but actually be

we hear from barbara starr that on average he's getting three a week. are you comfortable with not getting them on a daily basis? n >> well it depends. most of us can read father than we can listen. president clinton didn't want to have the daily brief going through for him. he wanted to read it. he would annotate it, write notes back to me saying jim, this sounds like a chapter from kaplan's new book. what do you think? >> he was still getting information daily. this is a little different. >> it depends on how to president wants to proceed. if he wants to proceed by having some things read to him, other things he reads himself. that's up to him. >> i mean the frequency. so he's not doing it every day, he has said. are you comfortable with that? >> sounds like president clinton, another matter. it depends on what it is. if you get the information by

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> barbara starr, thank you. >>> now to talk about the fastest animal is at risk of going extinct. they say that only about 7100 cheetahs still exist in the world. >> they wanted status changed from what it is now, vulnerable to endangered to better protect them. cheeltas, which hunt across a vast amount of land are facing increasing threat as humans encroach on their habitat, hunt them and kill their prey a migrant woman journeys through latin american trying to reach a better life in the u.s. for her growing family. ♪ >>> thousands of migrants are traveling to latin america, hoping to head north for a better life in the united states, but it is a long journey and that journey is proving to be a ripe opportunity for human traffickers to take advantage of them. >> cnn's freedom project has the story of one pregnant woman who is hoping to give her child the american dream before it is too late. shasta darlington has the story. ♪ >> reporter: costa rica is known for its vast beaches and rugged rainforests, a destination that draws tourists from all over t

our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is on that story for us. this is a serious issue, there are very real concerns now about a nuclear arms race with russia. >> reporter: there are, indeed, jim. look at where the u.s. has come from. back at the height of the cold war in the '60s, the u.s. had some 30,000 nuclear weapons. now today, it's down to about 7,000. the question is, does donald trump really want to reverse that trend? less than a month before he takes command of the u.s. nuclear arsenal, the world still is not sure what president-elect donald trump meant with his tweet. "the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes." a trump administration moved to expand the nuclear arsenal would be a stunning and unprecedented reversal of both democratic and republican foreign policy, largely set by ronald reagan. >> a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. [ applause ] possessing nuclear weapons is to make sure they will never be used. but the

barbara starr, let me begin with you. a, do we know what he meant by that tweet specifically when he said "strengthen and expand"? and what do you make of the timing? >> well, the timing is really interesting here, brooke, mr. trump has talked in the past about the need to modernize the aging nuclear infrastructure. that doesn't necessarily mean more nuclear weapons. he got a briefing at mar-a-lago yesterday about the nuclear modernization program, we are led to believe but he did tweet this today so we have to unpack it is he talking about modernizing u.s. capability? is he talking about some kind of expansion of the existing force of nuclear warheads which are limited by treaties? but the timing this comes after -- earlier today in moscow vladimir putin made some remarks about russia's nuclear weapons capability. let me quickly read that. the russian leader saying "we need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and pro

let's go to our pentagon correspondent barbara starr who will put this into context for all of us. i'm sure there are people at the pentagon talking about this all day long today, barbara. >> reporter: call it an arms race, call it nuclear proliferation. the question for the u.s. military now, the new commander in chief, what are his plans for the u.s. nuclear arsenal. russian president vladamir putin vowing today to stay neck and neck with the u.s. if president-elect donald trump does seek to expand the u.s. nuclear arsenal after taking office. >> translator: if someone accelerates and speeds up the arms race, it will not be us. i would say that we will never, iffer in an arms race, we will never spend too much. >> reporter: but putin said he saw nothing new in trump's tweet, promising to strengthen and expand the u.s. nuclear arsenal. this morning, trump went a step further in comments to a morning tv anchor, an alarming statement delivered in a surreal festive setting. >> he told me on the phone, "let it be an arms race, because we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast the

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> barbara starr, thank you.thew chen standing by live for us this hour. matthew, good to have you with us. let's talk about the two super powers who in the past committed to the idea of reducing nuclear arsenals, setting the leading example for the rest of the world. now these latest comments from the russian president and this tweet from the incoming u.s. president-elect make it seems like the arms race could be back on. what's the read there in moscow from all of this? >> reporter: well, i mean it is a very different situation to the cold war between the two super powers of the soviet union and the united states. i mean russia is no longer in that category. it still has nuclear weapons but it doesn't have a global reach in the same way that the soviet union had, and it is not ideologically opposed in the same way it was during the cold war to the west and the united states. but, you know, you're right. donald trump has been going on about this for a while throughout his campaign as well, how the united states

john. >> all right, barbara starr. remember, we do expect an official intelligence review before january 20th. thank you so much, barbara. >>> new this morning, donald trump, standing by one of his favorite phrases from the campaign trail. he just put this out on twitter. he says, someone incorrectly stated that the phrase drain the swamp was no longer being used by me. actually, we will always try to be dts, drain the swam. after some supporters suggested maybe the phrase was going away. senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny, also cnn political analyst and washington bureau chief at the daily beast jackie kucinich and politics reporter at the daily beast jeffrey woodward. so jeff, drain the swamp, it was out, now it's in, what's going on? >> john, it does seem like it's in. the someone who donald trump is referring to is newt gingrich. the former speaker of the house. who started this all again this week by -- in an interview on npr by saying he was told donald trump wants to stop using that phrase, drain the swa

barbara starr, to you. this issue of strengthening and expanding the country's nuclear capabilities. we do know that modernizing the nuclear force has been something many presidents agreed on, but if talking about growing in numbers, that would be a change in policy. run counter to many treaties and military analysts say it's actually not what the country needs? >> reporter: that's a question you have to ask yourself. do more nuclear weapons really add to the deterrent capability to be nonproliferation capability and influence of the united states? because, look, for the last 48 hours, 24 or so, it is not just russia and the u.s. engaging in this dialogue. this is being watched very closely by other nuclear powers. by china, by north korea. by iran. pakistan. india. all of the countries that may have very small nuclear arsenal but do have them, watched perhaps by terrorists groups very savvy on these matters and want to know exactly where the seams may be they could exploit in their effort to potentially ge

we are joined by cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr, jill dougherty, russian consultant and global fellow for the woodrow wilson center, and joe sorencioni, president of ploughshares fund. barbara, the initial statement was that donald trump, the president-elect, wants to greatly strengthen and expand the nuclear capability of the united states. that could mean a few things. it could mean modernize which is within the framework of things that have been discussed over the last several years. however, he seemed to go beyond that this morning when he said let it be an arms race. that would be a change, a big change in u.s. policy. >> it would, john. indeed, undoing decades of u.s. national security policy dating back to ronald reagan. now, trump likes to cloak himself, he's done it before, in the reagan mantle of so-called peace through strength. but remember, it was ronald reagan that sat down at the nuclear negotiating table with gorbachev all those years ago. mr. spicer, the spokesman this morning talking about this is all about showing that donald trump will be a strong president.

let's go to pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, what are you hearing about al baghdadi's possible movement movements. >> well, high friday, a u.s. official is saying to quote correctly in the last few weeks we've been aware of some of baghdadi's movements. they're not saying what it means because it's sincive the information. it's not realtime intelligence. it's not telling where you say baghdadi is right now but it is telling us in the last few weeks they've had some kind of report that they are really exploring much further to see if they can begin to pin down where he's been, who he might have been talking to. where he's moving. they're not even saying this point whether he's in iraq or syria. this is one of the first indications we have in many, many months of the potential of his whereabouts. that video that shows him in the mosque in mosul, iraq, that's over two years old. last month there was an audio recording of him but there's been no sign of him since that video in july, 2014, that has been verified. so now what

>> barbara starr, thank you. >>> the u.n.y council will vote on a draft resolution to stop all settlement activity in occupied territory. benjamin netanyahu is urging the u.s. to veto the measure. but the white house said the israeli activity lacks legitimacy. president-elect donald trump made the pledge during the campaign. >>> u.s. officials say they're just a little puzzled after a kremlin spokesmen in washington and moscow stopped talking to each other. >> translator: as you know, almost every level of dialogue with the united states is frozen. we tonight communicate with one another. or if we do, we do so minimal hi. >> u.s. officials deny a break in dialogue. there was a joint video conference on wednesday between russian and u.s. military operations. and the secondary of state john kerry spoke by phone to sergey lavrov as recently as tuesday. let's go to moscow and see what's happening. matthew chance, live. the u.s. does not know what the kremlin means saying dialogue is frozen. what do they mean? >> reporter: i don't

details from pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> we need to strengthen the military potential of strategic forces especially with missile complexes that can reliably pen trait any missile defense systems. within hours president-elect trump tweeted the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. the two declarations raising the specter of an arms race renewed. donald trump briefed on the need to modernize the aging infrastructure. during the second presidential debate, a hint of his thinking. >> russia is new in terms of nuclear. we are old. we're tired. we're exhausted in terms of nuclear. a very bad thing. >> reporter: nuclear weapons are limited by treaty. russia has 7300 warheads the u.s. just over 6900. the obama administration has given up on the idea of a u.s. pledge for no first use of nuclear weapons, worried the idea could embolden russia and china. u.s. dismantling the own u.s. arsenal has slowed in recent years. putin's nuclear vow came as he boasted of russian military superi

cnn barbara starr reports on the u.s.ussia's long history of spying on each other. >> reporter: fbi cameras captured russian operative in a federal undercover agent meeting in 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 into american society for years trying to steal secrets and recruit agents. the fbi had watched chapman and the others for months, recording drop offs of packages, 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 collect, they actually try to influence events to the benefit of russia, all over the world and this is something that they have done for decades. >> reporter: within days at the airport in vienna, a co

barbara starr, cnn the pentagon. >> for more, we're joined by bob baer. at the highest level, the presidents of turkey and russia appear united in their response, that's not a position shared by many turks. they're angry for the role russia has played in the fall of aleppo. >> turkey is sitting on a volcano right now, it's about ready to go off, it's thanks to aleppo, the war in syria a lot of turkish citizens are upset that erdawan is not doing more. not that he can do much. i know the regime. i know people there. very, very worried about the fallout from moos you will, aleppo. this mess in syria is doomed to move up into turkey. and they don't know what to do about it, they've been begging the american administration to stop the slaughter in aleppo, nothing we can do about it, but none the less, and the same goes for mosul. whoever this guy was, the policeman that shot the russian ambassador, whether he was motivated or in contact with the islamic state doesn't matter at this point. what does is the sympathies for turkish citizens. >> the gunman shouted

our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been working her sources. barbara, what are you learning? >> reporter: a senior u.s. military official tonight says north korea has the capability, key word, to marry up everything that's needed, a nuclear warhead, a missile, and a delivery system. what is holding them up is reentry technology. that's what it takes to put that weapon back into the atmosphere after you fire it and hit the target. complicated stuff that the north koreans are working towards. now what the u.s. worries about is, you know, what do you do about all of it? the officials saying special operations are upping their contingency planning if they were to be ordered in the future to take action against north korea's program. this senior u.s. military officer saying it is north korea that keeps him up at night, wolf. >> you're also hearing, barbara, more about the russian threat this coming day after "time" magazine published an interview where donald trump said he doesn't believe the u.s. intelligence community is right when they point to ru

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been looking into this. tell us, barbara, what you've been learning. >> reporter: why is this so significant? because satellites rub everything from your laptop computer to the military's ability to drop precision bombs. so if those satellites are taken out of commission, that can bring things to a halt. and russia is one of the countries out there that is testing weapons that can bring down, can destroy both commercial and military satellites that the u.s. runs. so the big concern about this latest test is, is russia really making progress in being able to do this? one frightening scenario, it is believed that russia has kamikaze satellites essentially, the term used inside the u.s. military. basically russian satellites that functions as weapons themselves. they saddle up to satellites out in space and blow up. glowing concern that this could pose some serious threats. >> and on another topic, tell us about north korea and the concerns about north korea tonight. >> reporter: always a concern about provocati

bringing in cnn correspondent barbara starr. what can the u.s. incoming president trump do about this if anything? >> very little, jake. that's the assessment right now. it was several weeks ago, in fact, that the director of national intelligence, the top intelligence officer in the u.s., james clapper, said it really didn't do any good, north korea was committed to its nuclear program and it was a losing proposition to try to make them change their mind. what this is saying is that kim jong un not interested in money, not interested in economic or financial concessions. he is full-bore aimed at trying to develop a working nuclear weapons program that could attack the united states someday, and he wants to have it done by the end of next year. within the next 12 months. trump may have to deal with this. and his options may be very limited. if he can't convince the north koreans in concessions, he could sanction china, which is said to be supporting the north koreans in this effort. that's unlikely to settle the region. he could order military ac

cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr is working the story for us. rbara, you have donald trump's communications director saying that the president-elect was actually talking about the threat of nuclear proliferation, and basically needing to reduce it, but that runs counter to what he tweeted. >> reporter: it does, because essentially both then, vladamir putin and president elect donald trump, saying the same thing today. both talking about strengthening and expanding nuclear weapons, and a lot of people asking what are they really talking about? did vladamir putin and donald trump just have their first nuclear standoff? today, russia's president declaring more nuclear weapons are needed. >> translator: we need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and perspective missile defense systems. >> reporter: a clear shot at u.s. defense plans in europe, something russia believes is a threat. within hours, president-elect trump tweeted "the united states mu

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, monitor communications, try and see if they can push this information forward. if somebody knew where he was a few weeks ago, can you begin to determine who he might have met with, who you might have talked to, where and how he might h

jim. >> barbara starr, thank you. just ahead a day after the death of carrie fisher.isturbing news about her mother debby reynolds. the details after this [vo] quickbooks introduces jeanette and her new mobile wedding business. at first, getting paid was tough... until she got quickbooks. now she sends invoices, sees when they've been viewed and ta-da, paid twice as fast! see how at quickbooks-dot-com. >>> breaking news. tonight hollywood legend debby has been rushed to the hospital just one day after the death of her daughter. the 84-year-old actress was one of the biggest movie stars of the fifties and sixties known for films like singing in the rain. but in later years younger fans knew her at fisher's mother. we'll brick you more information as soon as we get it. also tonight a shocking murder that's remained a music for two decades. a child beauty queen killed. her family under suspicion. now her father is speaking out. here is clip from tonight's cnn special report. >> what's going on there, maum? >> it is one of the greatest unsolved crimes in history. >> we ha

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> so what could possibly go wrong?ike something we were talking about before the election was over. but this shouldn't come as a surprise at all. trump has said we need to rebuild our military and part of that is rebuilding our nuclear infrastructure. trump believes in peace through strength and we've been perceived to be weak on the global stage and we need to change that. part of it, it's gamesmanship. he's telling putin, no, no, you need to back down. >> policy paper in 140 characters? >> donald trump's twitter account has become a national security threat. i mean, it's one thing to do it when you're a candidate, another thing when you're president-elect. but when you're commander in chief at the white house, this could start a nuclear war if he pushes out a tweet like this. the reality is, i really wonder and it begs the question of -- after all this conversation about russia undermining our election, the hacking and donald trump refusing to, you know, accept the recommendation from the national security apparatus,

erin that is a claim that's never been verified. >> barbara starr, thank you very much.ay we were talking to the head of the border control union who supported sentiments on that issue. worried about illegal immigration from the muslim world to the southern border but said he absolutely seen no science on that border at any point. joining me now. trump is getting briefings three times a week. and general is flynn is getting them every day and going to trump. that makes him incredibly influential. >> yeah. for this point of the pre presidency. obvious whi once donald trump is in the white house he'll have a lot of people around him that have also be able to get his ear. but for this period of time michael flynn is the filter donald trump is getting a lot of intelligence information through. and a lot of this stuff is going to be new that donald trump. this is not his background. so he's going to be getting some of this information for the first time through the lens of michael flynn and he's not necessarily a reliable lens. reports he used to be known for his flynn facts.

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> donald trump hitting back at bill clinton meanwhile after the exsident told a new york newspaper trump doesn't know much except how to get angry white men to vote for him. trump responded on tuesday tweeting, bill clinton stated that i called him after the election. wrong, he called me with a very nice congratulations. he doesn't know much. especially how to get people even with an unlimited budget out to vote in the vital swing states and more. they focused on the wrong states, he said. >>> now, a two-time wimbledon champion has a long road to recovery ahead. petra kvitova was stabbed during a robbery in her own home. she underwent hours of surgery in her main playing hand, her left hand, on tuesday. world sport anchor don riddel has the details. >> reporter: by the sounds of it petra kvitova is lucky to be alive, but it remains to be seen how this will affect her ability to continue playing the game she loves. kvitova is one of the best players in the world. she is one of the most respected athletes on the tour, and echoing the left-handed style

turning now to cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr, many people are looking at this, barbara, andthey think that it sounds a little like the cold war. >> it appears to. there is a lot of confusion about what either man was talking about today. vladimir putin starting by saying the russian military was the strongest in the world against any aggressor, something perhaps the u.s. military might disagree with. but putin came out and said roughly that the -- that russia needs to strengthen its strategic nuclear forces, strengthen, expand. he wants to go against missile defenses in europe. that's a bit of a slam at the u.s. military which is putting missile defenses in europe to protect them against iran. putin very unhappy about all of this, being very assertive on russian nuclear forces. now, a couple of hours later, president-elect donald trump came out. let's look at what he started off by tweeting. mr. trump saying also, and i quote, the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. so trump

cnn's chief pentagon correspondent barbara starr sat down exclusively with the martinez family. s about it, barbara. >> good morning. you know until now they have never spoken about what happened to them on march 22nd. now, they're ready to talk. they want to tell the world what did happen. >> i'm pushing through it every day. it's difficult. to go through the pain. but you have to look forward. >> reporter: for 18-year-old kiani martinez, her brother and sisters, there is utter devastation beyond the pain of burns, shrapnel and broken bones. their mother gail was killed. all four children and their father, air force lieutenant colonel cato martinez were among the americans critically wounded in the march isis suicide bomber attack on the brussels airport. lieutenant colonel martinez was just back from afghanistan. they'd been waiting to check in for a flight to go on vacation. >> local media are reporting an exchange of gunfire and they're reporting that this is a bomb blast. >> reporter: 35 people were killed. 300 wounded. when the isis attackers detonated bombs hidden in suitc

our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is working the story for us. does this all mean for the actual people who live there? >> it is terrifying for them, wlf. the fighting in syria stepping up on several fronts. first up over the weekend, the pentagon announced 200 additional special operations forces will go to syria to help train and advise those forces fighting isis. but in aleppo, these people, this is a killing field. maybe as many as 10,000 people trying to escape those eastern neighborhoods because syrian forces are coming at them full tilt. we have some overhead video taken by drones showing one of the neighborhoods. constant assault by syrian forces. civilian casualties, nobody can say at this point how many people have been killed, as people try to escape the fighting but are often killed by those government forces. all of this underscoring, besides the humanitarian disast disaster, underscoring what the u.s. believes is the very reason to be careful of russia. this fighting by the regime has basically been facilitated by russian support fo

cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr has more. hi, barbara. >> good morning, carol.be politically unsettling, at least. you know, president-elect donald trump already commenting that china should not be doing this in this area. these contested waters. also, unlike -- likely to unsettle china's nearby neighbors, especially japan, and the philippines. they've been watching all of these moves, as well as vietnam, all of these moves by china for months. so these weapons that they've now installed, are they military significant? that may not really be the point. some of them are smaller, anti-aircraft guns. they have the ability to move these weapons around to these various locations. it doesn't fundamentally change the balance of military power in this region. but what it does do, it demonstrates that china is making a military statement to the region. that it will continue its military buildup in this area. it will move things around. it will very much be a presence there. the chinese foreign ministry saying it's all for china's self-defense and that china has every rig

cnn's barbara starr is at the pentagon with more details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. why is this so significant? well, this cybersecurity firm crowdstrike had also worked for the democrats looking into this hacking and it is a company that has some familiarity with russian patterns of cyberactivity. they have now concluded based on everything they know that it is indeed most likely russian military intelligence was behind the hack into the democrats. what they are also saying is that it is a very similar pattern of activity that was seen previously with russian cyberattacks against ukraine military forces, allowing the russians to learn a great deal about where ukrainian forces were moving around and what they were up to. so where we are is this firm crowdstrike now says there is this pattern that they are able to tie to russian military intelligence being behind the hack into the democrats. it goes along with everything that the u.s. government is indicating. u.s. intelligence officials have been saying for some time now they can trace the activity to the highest lev

barbara starr cnn the pentagon. >> back now with the panel. buck, let he read the first part of the tweet here again. the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. now as with many donald trump tweets in statements. this caused a frenzy for a long time today but the key thing to understand and to know and we don't know because we can't get an explanation from donald trump is did he mean expand the number of nuclear weapons, expand the number of delivery devices? or did he just mean modernize? which is a lot less zbloefrl the campaign issued a clarifying statement on trump's tweet. we can't get in trump's mind specifically as to what he was intending with that at the time. but let's be clear it is a bipartisan consensus that the u.s. nuclear arsenal, the nuclear try ad is aging. they do need to spend more on it. there are those that argue iran will be. at least that is out there. it needs to be updated, changed, modernized. that is pretty much consensus. ash cart -- >> -- absolutely and it has been the policy of t

barbara starr tells us about a family that finally after ten years has some closure. >> reporter: mothera decade. now ten long years after her husband major troy gilbert died in combat in iraq, his body has come home. >> i've been waiting for that homecoming for ten years. and i got it. >> reporter: a heartbreaking ten years during which troy's body was used in propaganda videos and then a call last august. >> he said troy's been found. and i was -- i was blown away. >> this summer an iraqi tribal leader approached u.s. forces in iraq. his tribe had the flight gear and body of troy and wanted to give it back. his f-16 crashed on november 27th, 2006. at the time, u.s. special operations forces on the ground were in imminent danger. >> he was single handedly taking out the enemy and saving our guys. >> currently head of the air force headed the investigation into gilbert's death ten years ago. >> he was so intensely focused on taking that target out, saving american lives that he didn't give himself enough room for recovery. >> ginger received this photo. an image taken from a drone watchi

barbara starr reporting from the pentagon. thank you very much. >>> just in, with 24 days left in office, secretary of state john kerry is said getting ready to outline a middle east peace plan tomorrow. we'll go live to israel next. >>> israel's going ahead with a plan to build hundreds of new homes in east jerusalem, that's defying a u.n. resolution condemning settlement construction there. in what the international community refers to as occupied territory. the resolution led to a bitter war of words between the israeli prime minister and the white house. because although the u.s. abstained from the vote, a spokesman for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu told cnn they have "ironclad information" that the u.s. pushed for the resolution. that's a claim the u.s. denies. oren lieberman is live in jerusalem and before we get to the news of the building in east jerusalem, we have other news that's just in, that's that secretary of state john kerry will give a speech tomorrow at the state department on israel. what more ar

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> we have breaking news into cnn.as been an incident at a nightclub in istanbul. here are the pictures we are looking at now. this is from our affiliate at cnn turk which is showing us what is taking place there. these are emergency responders who are outside of the club and now we have seen people being carried out of the club and people beginning to gather and try to figure out what kind of damage has been done. we see some of those workers waving those people away to get them away from the scene. clearly, this is a situation that they are still trying to sort out now. we are going to be following this very closely. as soon as we get more information, we're going to bring this to you as we can. again, an incident at a nightclub in istanbul, turkey, and emergency workers, as you see, escorting people away from that nightclub. we're going to bring you more as soon as we learn more details. ♪ if you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's, and your symptoms have left you with the same view, it may be time

>> barbara starr, thank you for that report. let's go back to our experts now. we're also joined by the director of the turkish research program in washington. this is in your wheel house when we talk about russia and turkey and how they relate to each other. tell us how this will affect relations, especially as these are big players in the fight against isis. >> russia and turkey have had really difficult relations since the syrian civil war. turkey backs the rebels, russia backs the assad regime. they were locked in a proxy war and that came to an end when they decided to normalize relation. and we saw russia and turkey coming to a convergence relating to most issues on syria. east aleppo is about to fall into the hands of pro-russian regime. and they had a deal, the russians and turks, that they could evacuate the civilians. so it looked like things were working out. the assassination of the ambassador will derail turkish-russian normalization. but i think they got a lot what they wanted in syria, the fall of aleppo. >> when you see this turkish riot police o

let's go to our pent again correspondent barbara starr. were the three men the pentagon says were killed? what terror operations were they tied to? >> wolf, this happened last sunday but the pentagon announcing it a short time ago. three isis operatives killed as they road in a car in raqqah, syria. all three are said to be faci facilitators for foreign attacks, external attacks outside of syria against western targets. two of them said to be involved in those deadly november, 2015, attacks in paris that really shook the world. they were all struck by a u.s. drone as they rode together in a car. we are told no one else was there, just the three men this tells us a good deal about u.s. intelligence facilities because u.s. drones are now able to track targets. they have been following these men, they have waited until they're not near civilians then the drone took its shot. this says a lot about u.s. intelligence in an area that isis still says is its capital. wolf? >> and the u.s. believes these three were actively planning attacks against

our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been working her sources.hat are you learning about how close the u.s. may be getting to him? >> reporter: jim, tonight we are learning that the u.s. military and the u.s. intelligence community may have a fresh tip about where one of the world's most wanted men may be. fresh intelligence has emerged about isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi just days before president obama leaves office. a u.s. official tells cnn "in the last few weeks, we've been aware of some of baghdadi's moveme movements." the official would not offer additional details. >> if there's a trail, it is at least possible to begin to pick up certain things. when you pick up those certain indications of where a person has been, it becomes far more likely that you can actually find him. >> no one is saying if the terrorist leader is in iraq or hunkered town in iraq or syria. but several efforts are under way. u.s. officials tell cnn there are a number of buildings in central raqqah under observation. the u.s. is looking for movement of any senior i

here to discuss is cnn pentagon correspondent barr b correspondent barbara starr. >> his team won't say whether he is receiving daily intelligence briefings since the attacks but events are moving very quickly. the quick attention of the suspect in the berlin christmas market attack had all of the hallmarks of terrorism. soon after, donald trump issuing a statement claiming islamist terrorists saying they are regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated. trump reacting to the assassination of the russian ambassador to turkey and an attack on a mosque in switzerland tweeting "it's only getting worse. the civilize world must change thinking." >> mr. trump has made it clear he understands the threat that radical islamic terrorism poses to our nation and our friend and neighbors around the globe and we have to call it what it is and root it out. >> reporter: hot spots facing trump may only grow and there are questions if he is ready for it. trump spokesman said he's getting briefed by his "national security team," but will not say if he has agreed to start briefing from government int

cnn's barbara starr live at the pentagon with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. let's break some of this down. the campaign against isis, the war, has been going on for two years, prosecuted mainly by the united states in air strikes across syria and iraq. now the white house envoy to all of this says that isis' ranks are depleted down to 12,000 to 15,000 capable fighters. that is a huge drop, 75% from what it was at one point, and in fact, just a few days ago, the administration said it had already tallied, if you will, that 50,000 isis fighters had been killed in the last two years. most of this is taking place from coalition air strikes, pilots generally report what they think the total number of people they have killed in an air strike is. not extremely precise, but it is a pretty good calculation of where they are. the other reason the numbers are going down inside syria and iraq, the last two years you have seen the borders get tightened up, especially the turkish border north of syria, north of that area where the isis fighters had been crossing in in such

barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> all right. yeah, we're talking about terror attacks.as so much going on, even the capture of the drug lord. the big drug lord. and we want to talk about what happened in 2015. what has shaped this interesting year for crime and justice. here's cnn's jean casarez. ♪ >> we are not going anywhere. we're here to do a job. >> reporter: a 41-day occupation at a federal wildlife refuge in oregon ended when four remaining protesters finally surrendered. one of the leading occupiers was killed the month before heightening tensions. the armed occupiers, frustrated with the feds over land right issues. >> world's most wanted drug reported, joaquin "el chapo" guzman capture. >> reporter: mexican navy forces captured notorious drug kingpin joaquin el dhap poe guzeman. he broke out of a prison cell through a hole that led to a tunnel. thisemic. ohio police posting this picture for the impact on families. >> people don't understand what the drug is doing and how it affects families. little kids get caught up in it. >> reporter: and the video of a coup

but first i want to get the latest from barbara starr. this terror attack in berlin underscores the importance of these intelligence briefings. >> reporter: it really does, brianna. one of the concerns is if president-elect trump is not getting the formal briefing from his government intelligence briefer every day, is he getting everything he needs? is he getting that essential two-way conversation with intelligence professionals asking the questions, getting the answers, especially important given what has been happening. when president elect donald trump addressed reporters today, he had his new national security adviser right behind him. retired lieutenant general michael flynn in florida, to discuss world events and staffing. the meeting was on the schedule before the terror attacks in germany and turkey. trump began the day with an official president's daily brief, his first of the week. trump's staff insists he is getting some type of intelligence briefing every day, and will be on top of things from day one. >> he's very much up to

yeah. >> reporter: barbara starr, cnn, washington. >> such a strong family.you for the sacrifice and for the service of the service of your husband and your family. we'll be right back. atter how the markets change... at t. rowe price... our disciplined approach remains. global markets may be uncertain... but you can feel confident in our investment experience around the world. call us or your advisor... t. rowe price. invest with confidence. and my brother ray and i started searching for answers. (vo) when it's time to navigate in-home care, follow that bright star. because brightstar care earns the same accreditation as the best hospitals. and brightstar care means an rn will customize a plan that evolves with mom's changing needs. (woman) because dad made us promise we'd keep mom at home. (vo) call 844-4-brightstar for your free home care planning guide. what's the best way to get v8 or a fancy juice store?s? ready, go! hi, juice universe? one large rutabaga, with eggplant... done! that's not fair. glad i had a v8. the original way to fuel your day. ♪ >>>

pentagon correspondent barbara starr is coving the story for us. what's the delay, barbara?rter: apparently, brianna, both sides are still talking how to make it happen. it looks like they're going to try and transfer it at sea, from a chinese ship to a u.s. navy war ship, but how do you do that? how to make it all safely happen? still seems to be topic number one of conversation. also told there's been bad weather in the area where they're trying to do this. that's held it up a bit. it looks like it's still on. everybody thinks it's still on, but it hasn't happened yet. brianna? >> and a tweet. tell us about this tweet as it characteristic of the president-elect talking about this specific issue? >> reporter: first, he indicated i think strongly that he was quite concerned about china taking this u.s. navy drone, and then you can see the words there. he comes back with another tweet, you know, just let them keep it. now -- the position of the obama administration, the position of the u.s. navy right now, is they want it back. it is u.s. military property. the chinese have a

cnn's barbara starr joins us. tell us what else this report found. >> this is a report by a company called crowd strike basically hired to look into the democratic hacks and found some details that maybe are just another marker on the road that all these hacks lead back to moscow. what the company found is a pattern of activity that they'd already seen the russians use at other times. it really squares with what we are hearing from the u.s. intelligence community. the bottom line growing is that all of this hacking appears to go back to moscow, to the highest levels of the russian government, you know, not something that would happen unless vladimir putin knew about it and wanted it to happen. on the technical side, these are cyber hacking tools that are used by the russian military intelligence agencies and are so sophisticated, as we've already reported, they're the equivalent of what the u.s. national security agency uses in its cyber activities. so another marker here that this was something that the u.s. incr

barbara starr tonight reports. >> i am pushing through it every day. it's difficult. to go through the pain. but you have to look forward. >> for 18-year-old kiani martinez and her brothers and sisters there is utter devastation beyond the pain of burnt shrapnel and broken bones. their mother, gayle was killed. they are father were among the americans critically wounded in the march isis suicide bomber attack on the brussels airport. lieutenant colonel martinez was just back from afghanistan. they had been waiting to check in for a flight to go on vacation. >> local media reporting an exchange of gunfire and they're reporting that this was a bomb blos. >> reporter: 35 people were killed, 300 wounded when isis attackers detonated bombs hidden in suitcases at the airport departure area. in their first interview ever, the family wants the world to know what isis took from them when gayle died that day. >> what do you want people to know about your mom? >> i live every day because of her. i live every day for her. to remember her. and to honor her. >> reporter: she says h

cnn's chief pentagon correspondent barbara starr sat down with the martinez family. >> i'm pushing throughery day. it's difficult to go through the pain, but you have to look forward. >> reporter: for 18-year-old kiani martinez, her brothers and sisters, there is utter devastation beyond the pain of burns, shrapnel and broken bones. their mother, gayle, was killed. all four children and their father, air force colonel cado martinez, were among the americans critically wounded in the march isis suicide bomber attack on the brussels airport. lieutenant colonel martinez was just back from afghanistan. they'd been waiting to check in for a flight to go on vacation. >> local media are reporting an exchange of gunfire, and they're reporting that this was a bomb blast. >> reporter: 35 people were killed, 300 wounded, when isis attackers detonated bombs hidden in suitcases at the airport departure area. in their first interview ever, the family wants the world to know what isis took from them when gayle died that day. >> tell me about your mom. what do you want people to know about her? >> i live

barbara starr is at the pentagon. trump and russian vladimir putin talked within minutes of each other about ramping up nuclear capabilities. >> it's extraordinary, jake. both leaders talking about ramping up, but at the end of today, still not really clear what either man was talking about. did vladimir putin and donald trump just have their first nuclear standoff? today, russia's president vowing more nuclear weapons are needed. >> translator: we need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defense systems. >> a clear shot at u.s. defense plants in europe, something russia believes is a threat. within hours, president-elect trump tweeted, quote, the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. the two declarations raising the specter of an arms race renewed. donald trump briefed just yesterday by senio

bringing in cnn correspondent barbara starr. are officials close to pin-pointing his location? really know the answer to that because this is such sensitive information. very little is being said about it, they are saying that in the last few weeks they've been aware of some of his movements. so this is an indication they do have some recent intelligence. it's not realtime. we don't know where he is right this minute. one official has indicated. but they are working this now, working their way back, trying to see if they can move some of this information forward, where he might be, who he might be talking to, how he might be moving around, and see what they can develop to see if it is possible to go after him at this point. there is a $25 million reward on his head for his capture. he -- the thinking is, you know, he may be hiding somewhere in iraq. he may be deep in deep hiding somewhere around raqqa, syria. they are looking at all of these areas now, taking this report and seeing what they can make of it all. jake. >> i guess the big question is also, what exactly is presiden

cnn's barbara starr is at the pentagon for us. what can you tell us about how this went down?u.s. military drone firing a he hell fire missile to a vehicle traveling on a road. three men inside, the three isis operatives that the pentagon says today they said that they killed on sunday. these three were all involved in plotting and facilitating attacks outside of syria and iraq, against western targets. in fact, two of them are said to have been involved in facilitating those deadly at a tacks in paris in november, 2015, involved in facilitating the financing. another one of the terrorists involved in recruiting foreign operatives. these are people the u.s. wanted to get. very interesting the pentagon is acknowledging they struck three men in one car. what is tells us is u.s. drones overhead are watching raqqa, the declared capital of isis, around the clock to see when and where they can take these strikes. jake. >> this would also seem to suggest something about improved intelligence on isis in syria. while we're on the subject is the u.s. closer to tracking down the isis lea