democrats lost their seats over obamacare. >> exactly. >> just ahead, the naacp president cornell william brooksted while protesting donald trump's attorney general nominee. cornell william brooks is here in "the situation room." ok, let me explain. this is your tax return. ok. now, there are many right ways to fill out this tax return. and the irs will accept them all. one of them gets you the most money back. isn't that the one you want? that's the one i want. that's the one you want. mmm... you touched all these. don't just get your taxes done, amy. get your taxes won. jack knocked over a candlestick, onto the shag carpeting... ...and his pants ignited into flames, causing him to stop, drop and roll. luckily jack recently had geico help him with renters insurance. because all his belongings went up in flames. jack got full replacement and now has new pants he ordered from banana republic. visit geico.com and see how affordable renters insurance can be. in einstein since he started the new beneful recipe. the number one ingredient in it is beef. (einstein) the beef is fantastic! (becky) he has

on tuesday, naacp president cornell william brooks and five other civil rights leaders were arrested during a sit-in at the office of alabama senator jeff sessions, demanding he withdraw his name for consideration for attorney general. afterwards, brooks addressed supporters outside of a police station in mobile, alabama. >> what we've done, engaging in civil disobedience in opposition to senator sessions becoming attorney general of the united states. experience,te an but we thought fully broke the law so that we might have someone who will enforce all of the laws as our chief law enforcement officer of the united states. nermeen: trump's pick of sessions has drawn widespread outrage because of sessions' opposition to the voting rights act, support for anti-immigration legislation and history of making racist comments, which included reportedly saying he thought the ku klux klan was "ok until i found out they smoked pot." he has also called the american civil liberties union and the naacp un-american and communist-inspired. in 1986, sessions was denied confirmation for a federal judg

i'll talk to the head of the naacp, cornell william brooks, he's anotht that protest. >>> tweet revenge. trump puts north korea on notice via twitter, warning the u.s. will prevent the kim jong-un regime from developing a nuclear weapon that could strike the american shores. could this prove to be trump's most dangerous tweet? >>> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> it's not the headline the gop wanted to see on this the first day of the 115th congress. but when president-elect donald trump tweeted his displeasure at a plan to gut an independent congressional ethics panel, house republicans were forced to convene an emergency meeting and scuttle their effort. and new tonight, cnn has learned the classified report president obama ordered on election cyber attacks is expected to be ready as early as this week. a source also says trump who's cast doubt on russia's involvement is expected to be briefed on the findings by the director of national intelligence, james clapper, and the cia director, john

the naacp chief, cornell williams brooks. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf bliter and yzer and yo "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking muse. >>> donald trump acknowledging that he believes russia was behind the election-related cyberattacks. in his first news conference in six months, the president-elect denied allegations that moscow has compromising personal and financial information about him. trump calls it a disgrace if u.s. intelligence agents leaked the allegations adding to his tensions with the intel community. an exclusive cnn report revealed that trump and president barack obama were presented with classified documents on this matter last week. trump was offering new details about the plans for his business wu once he is president. he says he is putting his holdings in a trust that will be run by his two sons as they take total control of the company. trump says he won't sell his stake in the firm urged by some watch dogs to avoid conflict of interest. >> s

joining us by phone is the naacp president cornell william brooks and the alabama naacp president bernardelton. cornell, let me start with you. tell us the reason for this protest. why are you doing this? >> we are here in the office of senator jeff sessions sitting and occupying his office because we are asking the senator to withdraw his name for consideration as attorney general or for the president-elect donald trump to withdraw the nomination. the reason being is that in the midst of rampant voter suppression, this nominee has failed to acknowledge the reality of voter suppression while pretending to believe in the myth of voter fraud. we need at the helm of the department of justice somebody who acknowledges the reality of voter suppression, someone who is going to stand at the side of people who need the defense of the attorney general, and a justice department that works for everyone. i'm standing here with the president of the alabama state congress of the naacp, members of the branch who are sitting in literally in the office of a son of -- jeff sessions was born in the birthpla

. >> thank you, cornell william brooks. when we return, i will finish with trump watch. this is "hardball." where the action is. and they're absolutely right. they say that it's hot... when really, it's scorching. and while some may say the desert is desolate... we prefer secluded. what is the desert? it's absolutely what you need right now. absolutely scottsdale. >>> trump watch, january 9, 2017. like many last night, i watched meryl streep talk about donald trump. she did it well. is it okay for a public figure to make fun of the way god made someone? every night here when i'm thinking about what i should say, how i should approach this job of covering the next president, i think about that. should i go after him like a bully like miss streep did last night and let that guide everything i say about him? should i impune him as a person? should i be like the nuns? i didn't want to be like a nun. the guy is a mixed bag. i like what he said about building the country up, about infrastructure, more of it. i agree that we don't have effective control in the nation. most of t

joining us now, the naacp president and ceo, cornell williams brooks. thanks very much for joining us. >> good to be here. >> you tweeted this and it jumped out at me yesterday when i saw it. last night you tweeted, "dear potus, president of the united states, i assure you, in the memory of naacp martyrs, any executive orders suppressing votes will meet unrelenting resistance." all right, explain to our viewers what you're talking about. that sounds like a threat. >> no threat at all. it is, in fact, a promise and prediction. we have seen in the course of this last election unrelenting voter suppression. we have seen our rights denied as americans, particularly seniors, african-americans, latinos, and younger people. and so, if the president insists upon conducting an investigation into voter fraud, as a pretext for voter suppression, the naacp along with millions of americans of every hue and heritage will resist. we will push back. we have, in the course of this campaign, in the context of -- in terms of ten months and no less than ten court victories

. >> thank you, cornell william brooks. when we return, i will finish with trump watch.s is "hardball." where the action is. tiki barber running a barber shop? yes!!! surprising. yes!!! what's not surprising? how much money david saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. who's next? what twisted ankle?ask what muscle strain? advil makes pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain? advil. daddy! lets play! sorry kids. feeling dead on your feet? i've been on my feet all day. dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles have a unique gel wave design for outrageous comfort that helps you feel more energized. dr. scholl's. feel the energy! ...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine. i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a res

conversation with cornell william brooks who is here to discuss president trump's cabinet picks as well as the the ongoing fight for civil rights in the age of social media activism. and then, charles eisenstein, scholar, author, joins us to talk about why this time of political uncertainty presents an opportunity for empathy to drive a new political story. we're glad you joined us. those conversations coming up in just a moment. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ earlier this month, naacp president, cornell brooks and others arrested at the alabama office of senator jeff sessions. president trump's pick of course for attorney general. he johins us to talk about his concerns about the president's cabinet picks and this ongoing fight for civil rights in the social media activism. pleasure to have you. >> thank you. >> nomination of senator sessions which we, cory booker on this program last week, courageously came out against, sitting senator, to oppose his nomination. that, you know those hearings have been postponed. until n

. >> reporter: cornell williams brooke and several other members of the civil rights group were led away in handcuffs from senator jeff sessions office in mobile, alabama. this were pre sessions his record or civil rights, and voting rights enforcement and civil rights. >> he is not for civil rights, spoken out against voter suppression. his record in the senate is abysmal when it comes to civil rights. and, his record with the respect to criminal justice reform is spotty at best and horrific when it comes to immigration rights. >> now, neither sessions or his staff made the call to remove protesters are now free, on bond, that came from building management. sessions who had no comment will undergo confirmation hearings next week. >>> if you are going to d.c. for the presidential inauguration, you might catch a strong smell of marijuana on the national mall. d.c. cannabis coalition will be handing out free joints. the founder of the group says they are just part of the effort to legalize cannabis at the federal level, marijuana give away is, legal, as long as it is done on d.c. land and

conversation with cornell william brooks who is here to discuss president trump's cabinet picks as wellthe ongoing fight for civil rights in the age of social media activism. and then, charles eisenstein, scholar, author, joins us to talk about why this time of political uncertainty presents an opportunity for empathy to drive a new political story. we're glad you joined us. those conversations coming up in just a moment.

. >> i spoke to cornell williams brooks of the naacp, and what he said not about fact that senator sessionslikeable and senate colleagues like him and number of prominent african-americans testified on his behalf. no issue with that. when he sat in at session's office, he and his colleagues treated well and respectfully and cordially. said these three people who testified against sessions today see this as issue of whether or not his actions in the past as prosecutor led to other issues down the road in terms of voting rights violations, voting rights laws that hampered efforts of african-americans to vote in alabama down the road and this is not about whether or not he's a quote/unquote racist. >> i got to get to the break, that's why didn't want to litigate whole thing. i'll give you first word peter. especially for people with heart failure. but today there's entresto... a breakthrough medicine that can help make more tomorrows possible. tomorrow, i want to see teddy bait his first hook. in the largest heart failure study ever, entresto was proven to help more people stay alive and out o

. >>> cornell william brooks is president of naacp he will testify before the judiciary committee. he was arrested outside of sessions office. >> nice to you. >> i tlolook at the question ino part. now recent decision or whatever. based on anything in the last 20 years, is there -- i know euro possessed him being attorney general. >> yes. >> has he done anything that you think makes him unqualified to be attorney general? has he done anything? >> most definitelily. no this where we have seen in recent years a frens decide voter suppression in the wake of shelby decision. >> here what he did, we know 20 million americans voters right to vote is in peril because they have have no government issued id, and law passed imparlying 500,000 thence of the state. he said nothing -- >> so he didn't do anything. he was silent. i'm not saying silence is not important. you're not saying he was actively trying to suppress votes, he was just silent. >> silent while supporting voter id that suppressed votes. >> was he doing anything to prevent people were getting ids. i lot of people -- i you need

for more on the president''s legacy, cornell williams brooks.kind of unplesant because it suggest undermine the guy, accuse him of being an illegal immigrant. nobody new him at school. trump kept it up until week before we get into the fall. and skipped away. nobody got that screwing, your thoughts. >> it does not ignore this country's present and its past. what that means is we are wresting with our racial demons when you use politics who call into question not his birth certificate but his citizenship bus as a consequence his legitimacy. but our legitimacy, the legitimacy of african-americans as citizens of this republican. that is is not a new story. it is a long-standing story in this country. the way he has been treated has been a racial disrespect and not only with respect to african-american but disrespect it our country. because when president trump puts his hand on the bible takes the oath he become our president. president oe barack obama was our president for eight years, everyone. >> how do you put -- the fact that michelle obama is

the organization's national president cornell williams brooks posted a photo of himself with other protesters pledging to stay in that office until sessions withdraws his name from consideration or until they were arrested. they said it ended when the building manager asked the protesters to leave and they refused. at least six protesters were escorted out by officers and placed under arrest. brooks later tweeted, after the jeff sessions sit-in, these mugshots aren't pretty but their pictures of naacp determination. >>> the foreign minister announced they have identified the suspect behind last weekend's deadly terror attack on the istanbul nightclub. but they are not releasing more information about the suspect at this time. the suspect remains at large. new security video obtained by the dha news agency shows the alleged gunman walking into a bus terminal in the turkish city last month. the newspaper reports that sources say the suspect entered turkey from syria and went to the area in november. the two men were detained at istanbul's airport in connection with the attack, which adds they w

. >> listen to what cornell williams brooke said yesterday about donald trump's comments and how he can bring the country together. let's watch. >> it's a campaign in which many of us felt disrespected, and unless we missed the point, in recent hours, in recent days, we are the president-elect referred to an icon of the civil rights movement who came close to becoming a martyr of the civil rights movement, a rev runt and representative john lewis. the president-elect said that he was all talk and no action. disrespected. >> some have called for the president-elect to apologize, and beyond that how does donald trump get to the point where he does what he says he wants to do which is unite a divided country? >> well, the congressional black caucus, 50 of them, latino and progressive caucus, meet with those leaders. it is now time for policy discussions. there are too few getting the idea -- the first idea would be to cut affordable health care. people are confused and they want affordable health care, and they want obamacare, and it's irrational, and we need leadership to bring us togethe

the witnesses set to appear include naacp president cornell william brooks who tweeted his own mugshot after being arrested this week after a sit-in protest at session's office. now nearly 1,500 faculty members from 180 of the nation's law schools are demanding the senate reject sessions. their open letter points out that sessions was denied a federal judgeship after being nominated by president reagan over comments about african-americans. and they say nothing about his public life has changed their view. vita johnson is one of the organizers of that letter. she's a visiting associate professor at georgetown law and joins us now from washington. thank you for being with us. the letter is about one page and then a list of 180 law schools there and has a long list of complaints about sessions. some go beyond the issue of race that we were just discussing here. what is the primary issue that you're most concerned about? >> well, i think'v seen so much interest in this letter because there are just so many different reasons to oppose jeff sessions as our next attorney general. you know, o

in alabama, naacp president cornell william brooks and five other civil rights leaders are due in court today, where theyey will face misdemeanor charges stemming from their sit-in protest january 4 inside the office of alabama republican senator jeff sessions. the six are demanding sessions withdraw his name from consideration for attorney general. due to his opposition to the voting rights act and history of making racist comments. after today's hearing, the six civil rights leaders are scheduled to join a rally outside sessions' office in mobile, where they say they might participate in another direct action. and the screen actors guild held its annual awards ceremony on sunday night, with "hidden figures" winning for best film ensemble and denzel washington winning a best actor award for his role in "fences." the ceremony was dominated by statements of defiance against president trump's ban on immigrants from majority-muslim countries. this is julia louis-dreyfus, who won an award for her role in hbo's "veep." >> i want y'all to know that i'm the daughter of an immigrant. f fled rel

i'll talk to the head of the naacp, cornell william brooks, he's anotht that protest. >>> tweet revengeth korea on notice via

last tuesday, naacp president cornell william brooks and five other civil rights leaders were arrestedduring a sit in at his alabama office, demanding sessions withdraw his name for consideration attorney general. on monday, the "new york times" editorial board criticized sessions for failing to turn over dozens, if not hundreds, of documents requested by the senate judiciary committee's questionnaire. the "huffington post" reported in december that sessions' submitted questionnaire originally failed to disclose even the fact that he'd been denied confirmation for the federal judgeship in 1986. and while the office of government ethics has completed sessions' ethics report, "the washington post" reports sessions failed to disclose that he owns oil interests in alabama -- a breach of the ethics requirements. as of monday afternoon the , ethics disclosure reports for four other trump nomineeees slad to go before the senate ththis week for confirmation hearings have not been made public at all , including the ethics report for homeland security nominee retired general john kelly, whose he

we'll also ask the naacp president cornell william brooks about his arrest in mobile, alabama, at a sit-inprotest donald trump's choice for attorney general. ople!" we catch flo, the progressive girl, at the supermarket buying cheese. scandal alert! flo likes dairy?! woman: busted! [ laughter ] right afterwards we caught her riding shotgun with a mystery man. oh, yeah! [ indistinct shouting ] is this your chauffeur? what?! no, i was just showing him how easy it is to save with snapshot from progressive. you just plug it in and it gives you a rate based on your driving. does she have insurance for being boring? [ light laughter ] laugh bigger. [ laughter ] see me. see me. don't stare at me. see me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. see me to know that... ...i won't stop until i find what works. discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75% skin clearance at 3 months. while the majority saw 90% clea

amy: in mobile, alabama naacp , national president cornell william brooks and five other cicivil rights leaders were arrested tuesday during a sit-in at the office of alabama senator jeff sessions, demanding he withdrawaw his name fofor coconsideration for atattorney general. trump's pick of sessions for the position has drawn widespread outrage due to session's history of making racist comments, opposingng the voting rights ac, and supporting anti-immigration legislation. reportedly he said he thought the ku klux klan was "ok until i found out they smoked pot." he is also called the americans civil liberties union and the and communistcan inspired. in 1986, sessions was denied confirmation for federal judgeship by republican-controlled senate committee over his racist comments. the sit in came as more than 1000 law school professors sent a letter to congress urging lawmakers to reject sessions' confirmation, writing -- "nothing in senator sessions public life since 1986 has convinced us that he's a different man than a 39-year-old attorney who was deemed too racially insenensitive to b

. >> joining me now, cornell williams brooks and cedric richmond. mr. brooks, i want to start with you. senator sessions tried vehemently to say he was not a racist, to push back against this caricature of him that was painted in 1996 when he first went in front of the hearings to try to get a federal judgeship but was unsuccessful in that. has he said or done anything today that makes you feel like he has changed or he is somebody that will be a defender of civil rights in this country, a defender of the causes of the naacp. >> no. i have not heard anything to suggest that he is fit to lead the department of justice. the fact of the matter is we are not -- our endeavor is not to -- nor is our burden to prove that he is a racist. but it is our burden as attested to by the record that he is not fit, nor is he inclined to protect american citizens from racial discrimination. so when you look at the record, going back to 1986 where you had federal officials testifying under oath as to racially offensive remarks -- when you look at those remarks, that behav

video posted on social media shows cornell william brooks and the others being handcuffed.aacp was protesting sessions' nomination as u.s. attorney general. they say sessions has a questionable civil rights record and should withdraw from the nomination. a sessions spokeswoman says the republican has dedicated his career to upholding the rule of law and ensuring public safety. >> in today's tech bytes a preview of this week's super bowl for gadget gurus consumer electronics show in vegas. >> chrysler is showing offer the future of minivans. this is the all electric portal that can operate without a driver. >> it recognizes who is in it and can adjust lighting temperature and music. it's a concept for now. >> also a gaming laptop called predator by acer features a 21-inch curved screen and four speakers. >> price tag $9,000. it will be available next month. good luck buying. >> and mattel is coming out with an artificial intelligence device to help keep an eye on your baby. it's similar to the amazon echo. >> the aristotle can instantly respond to your infant's cry by playin

alabama n-double-a-c-p president, cornell william brooks, saying sessions has quote "failed to acknowledgehe reality of voter suppression while pretending to believe in the myth of voter fraud." sessions was nominated in november. >> vicki:still ahead. for raiders fans. it was heart- wrenching to watch quarterback derek carr go down. but now - oakland is without their backup. find out. who is the 'next man' up. >> grant:plus, ford cancels its plans to build a massive new plant in mexico. instead the company says it plans to put its money in the u- s. details - next. the stock market is turning in a solid gain on the first trading day of 2017. the dow climbing 119 points. the nasdaq. added 45 points. and the s&p -- gained 19 points. >> grant:ford is canceling plans to build a massive new plant in mexico -- instead it is putting its money in michigan.giving americans more job opportunities. the move comes the same day that the president-elect donald trump threatened general motors over their mexican manufacturing operations. from our partners with c-n- n.scott mclean has this report. >> repo

. >> in addition to congressman cedric richmond, cornell william brooks, the president, ceo of the naacp, he was protesting in mobile, alabama, last week. he got arrested for a sit-in. he's going to testify against him as well. these are powerful figures in the civil rights community who are saying this man should not be the next attorney general. >> right, and they're entitled to their opinion but they don't actually know the man and that's why on the pro-sessions side, we have these law enforcement organizations, civil rights leaders, who've actually worked with him and that is a big difference, including democrats from the state of alabama. frankly, i think that what today did more than anything else was really dis-a really, this character that the left tried to pedal for the last few weeks. i think people were expecting a boogeyman to show up today and instead got a man who's dedicated his career to the law of the constitution and i think it's why it was so important that he said he will enforce the law as the attorney general, defend the law as the attorney general, mend relationshi

the d.c.included mayor, naacp cornell william brooks, and other civil rights activists. this is under two hours. [cheering] >> good morning, all. i am the mayor of the best city in the world. i want to welcome the national action network to washington dc. i want to welcome you all to my hometown in your nation's capital, and i want to thank and recognize our reverent al for his leadership. reverend al for his vision, and our reverend al for standing up for all of us. over the last several months we have been reminded of the values we have to fight for. we have been reminded of reverend dr. martin luther king and what he stood for, how he told us that we had to look beyond ourselves, beyond our generation, and make sure this was an america that was worthy of us all. i am reminded in my own hometown that we have to fight on a local level, state level, and federal level. that is why we are truly blessed that reverend al has called us together. he reminds us that it is not where we start, but where we are going. i am proud that in washington dc, the nation will look to us. i

speakers include president cornell william brooks, author and professor michael eric dyson, u.s. jeff merkley and washington dc mayor bowser. this is one hour and 15 minutes. good morning, all. the ariel bowser and i am mayor of the best city in the world and i want to welcome the national action network to washington, d.c. i want to welcome you all to my hometown in your nation's capital and i want to thank and forgnize our reverend al his leadership, our reverend al for his vision and our reverend al for standing up for all of us . over the last several months, we have been reminded of the values we have to fight for. we have been reminded of reverend dr. martin luther king and what he stood for. how he told us that we had to look beyond ourselves, look beyond our own generation and make sure this was an america that was worthy of us all. in my own hometown that we have to fight on a local level, a state level and a federal level and that is why we are truly blessed that reverend al has called us together. it is not where we start but where we are growing and i am proud that in

my name is cornell william brooks, i serve as president and ceo of the naacp. i greatly appreciate the invitation to testify before you today to express the deep concerns of the naacp regarding this nomination of senator jeff sessions to be as attorney general. as you well know the attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer of the united states. particularly for such a time as this with the racial divisions deepening, hate crimes rising from sanctuary to schoolyard with state imposed racially motivated voter suppression spreading in state legislatures, as well as being struck down in federal courts with police involved shootings, reduced to hashtag homicides and videos. it is critical that this committee closely examine senator sessions entire record as a prosecutor and as a legislature. to determine whether he is fit to serve as the chief enforcer of our nations of civil rights laws. based upon a review of the record, the naacp firmly believes that senator sessions is unfit to serve as attorney general. accordingly, we are representing multiple civi

many missed cornell william brooks. i served as president and ceo of naacp.ppreciate the invitation to testify before you today to express the deep concerns of the naacp regarding this nomination and u.s. attorney general. as you know the attorney general know the attorney general is the chief law-enforcement officer in in the united states. particularly for such a time as this, with racial divisions deepening in the hate arising from sanctuaries to schoolyards with data impose racially motivated voter suppression spreading in state legislatures as well as being struck down in the federal courts or police involved shootings reduced homicide and powerless videos is critical that this committee closely examine senator sessions as a prosecutor and legislator. to determine whether he is fit to serve as the chief enforcer of our civil rights laws. based upon a review of the record, the naacp firmly believe senator sessions is unfit to serve as attorney general. we represent multiple civil rights, human rights coalition center just committee not to favorably with f

included dc marl -- william sident cornell brooks and several other civil rights activists. this is just under two hours. >> good morning. of the best city in the world. welcome the o national action network to washington, d.c. you all to my me hometown and your nation's to thank and want recognize our reverend al for his leadership. p al -- reverend al for h vision, and our reverend al for of us.ng up for all over the last several months, reminded of the values we have to fight for. we've all been reminded of reverend dr. martin luther king and what he stood for. we had to ld us that look k beyond ourselves, beyond our own generation for sure this was a america us all. we have to fight on a local level, state level and the ederal level, and that's why we're truly blessed that reverend al has called us together. remind us that it's not where but where we are growin growing. >> i'm proud that the nation look to us in. our city we can't rely on the ederal government and we don't have a state government. we are the city, council, and once.tate all at and because of that, we hav

speakers include president cornell william brooks, author and professor michael eric