there will be continuity on the fight on isis in eastern syria and western iraq, but what he's looking at is cutting deals, for example, with mr. putin to reach an accommodation on syria and other places. regarding your point on iran, remember, the iran deal was a deal, which is legally binding, but he has space in terms of the sanctions against iran. he can make them stronger, upgrade them, but the problem he may run into is if he's going to hit european firms, he's back to where he was several years ago in terms of destabilizing relations with european partners. >> the chance of doing something against iran bilaterally is much more difficult. let me ask you about syria. do you see more military involvement in syria for the united states under trump? >> no, i think if you're looking at eastern syria and the war against isis, yes, the potential upgrade of it, strengthening of it, but it's important to see. if you look at the initial appointments, for example, national security adviser, flynn. also you have the cia director, representative congressman pompeo. people are thinking this is

. >> some intense moments for rescuers in eastern syria as they pull little girl from under the rubble. the fourth day of government airstrikes. the un says rebel groups there have been agreed in principle to the relief plan but syria and russia have not given it the green light. forty-six people were killed there alone on friday. >> hope francis appoint 17 new cardinals. here is video of the ceremony and the vatican city. they come from a variety of >> the official us capitol christmas tree making a stop in denver on its way to washington dc. >> the 60th annual denver christkindl market is now open a skyline park. while you two were the european christmas village, you can enjoy some beer, warm spiced wine, sausage and more. the market will stay open through december 23. >> tonight, the story of a little pine tree that grew up to be a very big pine tree. >> this tree is so perfect it was chosen to be the official us capitol christmas tree. it paid a visit to colorado. >> is probably the biggest honor lovingly cared for, and put on display for millions to enjoy. that's exactly what happ

beginning of donald trump's, and if your concerns that even if we eliminate the islamic state and eastern syria and westernthe cok about how you see that iraq, we may be allowing a permanent al qaeda safe haven around aleppo? you can you say to what extent the united states has fulfilled its responsibility to protect in that instance? in terms of finishing your job, last week you have exercised your executive authority on multiple fronts, finalizing oil and gas leasing rules on public lands as well as banninga five-year plan chilling in the arctic and atlantic great many republicans say you should hold off finalizing anymore rules as you are headed out the door because they oppose many of them and will seek to overturn them when they control both executive and legislative branches next year. what do you say to that suggestion? pres. obama: on the second these are the same republicans who suggested that they didn't need to confirm a supreme court justice when i was nine months out, until the next election. i think the general approach probably twohat days after merrill -- my reelection, i should

syria. in eastern aleppo, the u.n. ys rebel groups have agreed in principal to a relief plan there, but syria and russia they have not given the green light to that relief plan. 46 people were killed on friday alone, the fourth day of government air strikes. and we want to show smu video that is just difficult to watch. rescuers found a little girl in rubble. these scenes like these, these are brutal scenes and they happen day in and day out. half of her body appears to be trapped. she seems to remain calm there, seems to be in shock and is almost emotionlesemotionless. then she is rescued, but keep in mind, there are so many, so many more who are not rescued. cnn's will ripley is live in istanb istanbul, turkey, following the story for us. will, just talking about the video we just showed our viewers, you get a sense of the pain that so many of these families are enduring for so long. >> it's their reality day in and day out, death ask destruct surrounds these children. it's hard to find people in east aleppo who haven

. >>> overseas to the middle east where there are claims syria rebels prevent civilian families from leaving eastern aleppo. a syria monitoring group says rebels are holding 275,000 hostages. this comes as assad, the president there, and forces intensify bombing efforts. destroyed. at least 140 civilians killed. in fact, in this country, homeland security warn local law enforcement officials to watch for terrorist threats this holiday season. new york city police are taking extra steps to protect that big thanks giving day parade. security alert remains in effect throughout the presidential inauguration in january which will attract thousands of spectators. >>> a kansas water slide where a 10-year-old boy was killed is now set to be torn do injury, and investigators are looking into what happened there. the water slide was the tallest in the world. >>> a california convenience store is asking an owner there asking himself why did he do this? here's a video of an armed robber holding up the store monday, and then that's the owner making a takedown. the fight moved into the street as you can see where

if you have concerns that if we eliminate the islamic state in eastern syria and western iraq, we may be allowing a permanent al qaeda safe haven. the you say to what extent you think the united states has fulfilled its responsibility to protect in that instance? in terms of finishing your job, in the last week you exercised your executive authority on multiple fronts, finalizing oil and gas, rules on public lands and a five-year leasing plan banning drilling, many republicans say you should hold off finalizing anymore rules as you're headed out the door because they pose many of them and will seek to overturn them when they control the legislative and executive branch next year. what do you say to that suggestion? >> on the second question, these are the same republicans who suggested they didn't need to confirm a supreme court justice when i was nine months out until the next election. i think the general approach seems to be that probably two days after my re-election i should stop until the next election. i don't think that that's what the constitution calls for. the regulations t

they're already preparing to return to that sort of desert border land area lawyerly in eastern syria raqqah. bombing the hell out of them is not going to it. you need some kind of ground contingent. and the problem that i see with the trump administration, well there, are several problems, least of which is donald trump's lack of awareness, but is he appointing every official to his cabinet is cementally opposed to the islamic republic of iran and yet irani built militias were just made an official part of the establishment. so they now have wholly owned subsidiaries of the revolutionary corps. is it donald trump realize this, is he going to rely on ground forces to destroy isis in iraq and what will he do this syria where he as opposed aligning russia and assad? so there are too many contradictions in trump's prescription for how to fix the middle east. >> so after a realization might be made based on how michael was laying things out, a 30 day plan, does that no longer even sound realistic? >> well, i think that generals have been mooiking plans. there are some on the shelf that th

islamic state in eastern syria and western iraq, we may be allowing a permanent al qaeda safe haven around aleppo. on alep okay, can you say to what extent you think the united states has fulfilled its responsibility to protect in that instance? in terms of finishing your job, which you just mentioned, last week you exercised your executive authority on multiple front, oil and gas, leasing rules, public lands as well as issuing a five-year leasing plan banning drilling in the antarctic and atlantic. many republicans say you should hold off finalizing rules as you're heading out the door because they oppose them and will overrule them when they hold legislative branch next year. what do you say to that question? >> on the second question, these are the same republicans who suggested they didn't need to confirm a supreme court justice when i was nine months out until the next election. i think their general approach seems to be that probably two days after my re-election i should stop until the next election. i don't think that's what the constitution calls for. the regulations that we have

president-elect will have to weigh in on, the situation in eastern aleppo, syria. a quarter million people there trapped. they're under attack and now they don't have a single hospital operating at full capacity. we'll have that story as "cnn newsroom" continues. ♪ p is for privileges. o is for ordinarily i wouldn't. l is for layers of luxury. a is for alll the way back. r is for read my mind. and i... can't see a thing. s... see you in the morning. polaris, from united. ♪ ♪ ♪ is it a force of nature? or a sales event? the season of audi sales event is here. audi will cover your first month's lease payment on select models during the season of audi sales event. (bing) i've heard it all. eat more fiber. flax seeds. yogurt. get moving. keep moving. i know! try laxatives. been there, done that. my chronic constipation keeps coming back. i know. tell me something i don't know. vo: linzess works differently from laxatives. linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. it can help relieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and co

beginning of donald trump's, and if your concerns that even if we eliminate the islamic state and eastern syria and western iraq, we may be allowing a permanent al qaeda safe haven around aleppo? on aleppo, can you can you say to what extent the united states has fulfilled its responsibility to protect in that instance? in terms of finishing your job, , -- which you just didn't, -- which you just mentioned, and the last week you have exercised your executive authority on multiple fronts, finalizing oil and gas leasing rules on public lands as well as issuing a five-year plan banning chilling in the arctic and atlantic great many republicans say you should hold off finalizing anymore rules as you are headed out the door because they oppose many of them and will seek to overturn them when they control both executive and legislative branches next year. what do you say to that suggestion? pres. obama: on the second question, these are the same republicans who suggested that they didn't need to confirm a supreme court justice when i was nine months out, until the next election. i think the general a

. >>> overseas to the middle east where there are claims syria rebels prevent civilian families from leaving eastern aleppo. a syria monitoring group says rebels are holding 275,000 hostages. this comes as bashar al assad, the president there, and his forces intensified their bombing efforts. has now been destroyed. at least 140 civilians killed. in fact, in this country, homeland security warn local law enforcement officials to watch for terrorist threats this holiday season. new york city police are taking extra steps to protect that big thanksgiving day parade. the security alert remains in effect throughout the presidential inauguration in january, which will attract thousands of spectators. >>> a kansas water slide where a 10-year-old boy was killed is now set to be torn down. caleb neck injury. investigators are still looking into what happened there. the water slide was the tollest in the world. >>> a southern california convenience store owner is fighting an armed robber. the two men wrestled for a little bit, as you saw. the suspect apparently pulled and ran off. the owner was not injured.

in eastern aleppo, syria, more than 300 people have been killed since tuesday as the syrian governmentessly bombed rebel held areas. this is the worst bombing that they have seen since the war began some five years ago. skoolgz and hospitals -- schools and hospitals there are being targeted. >>> u.s. president barack obama back in washington, d.c. after his final trip abroad as president of the united states. in peru, mr. obama emphasized the importance of u.s. influence around the world and he urged ally to take a wait and see approach with his successor donald trump and speaking of the president-elect he has a likely cabinet pick soon to announce. the a source close to the transition process that the billionaire investor, wilber ross is being seriously considered for the commerce secretary. ross supported donald trump during the campaign. >>> one of the main promises of donald trump's economic plan is a massive investment in building and repairing the country's infrastructure. cnn's claire see bags he does have a track record of getting some things done when government cannot. >>> 30

we are in the eastern mediterranean, somewhere off syria, lebanon, and cyprus.xactly where we are is unclear. it's a military secret. germany's augsburg frigate is back at sea. it's objective -- to protect the french aircraft carrier charles de gaulle. >> yes, it's a combat mission. fighter jets regularly take off from the french aircraft carrier to attack daesh terrorists in iraq and syria. and we're supporting this operation by protecting the carrier and ensuring its safety. >> the augsburg was brought into service towards the end of the cold war. it's specially equipped to track submarines. but times change, and so has this frigate. it's now capable of launching anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. but the biggest threat is posed by speedboats armed with explosives. that is why the augsburg's crew regularly runs practice drills. >> signal for the speedboat alarm. >> in this exercise, a speedboat is approaching, but it's not responding to the augsburg's numerous warnings. >> our weapons are locked on you. it turned away immediately -- turned away immediately.

michael flynn is too forgiving of vladimir putin's leadership style and russia's aggression in eastern europe, syria, elsewhere. >> let's talk more, sara murray, more news about the transition team. there's news about senator jeff sessions of alabama, as well. what you can tell us? >> that's right. we are learning senator jeff sessions is the leading candidate to be attorney general. now being the leading candidate could mean that could still change. we know that donald trump is meeting with a lot of different people, but at this point, sort of where we were expecting the ship chips to fall for donald trump. he's an early supporter, and multiple sources tell us the job senator sessions wanted was that donald trump wanted to reward him and his loyalty by giving him what he wanted. it is the kind of hosting that does require senate confirmation. that's one of the things the trump team will be looking a. just to jim's point, one other thing we've sort of learned today about how donald trump's transition is shaping up is the fact he's going to have this meeting over the weekend with mitt romney, someone

michael flynn is too forgiving of vladimir putin's leadership style and russia's aggression in eastern europe, syria, and elsewhere. >> let's talk more, sarah murray about more news about the transition team here. there is news about senator jeff sessions of alabama as well. what can you tell us? >> that's right. we are learning that senator jeff sessions is as of this moment the leading candidate to be attorney general. now being the leading candidate could mean that that could still change. we know that donald trump is meeting with a lot of different people. but at this point, we're about where we were expecting the chips to fall for senator sessions. he has been another one of these folks who has been loyal since donald trump got in the race. he was an early supporter. many told us that the job sessions wanted was ag and that donald trump wanted to reward him and his loyalty by giving him what he wanted. this is a little bit of a tougher hill to climb because this is the kind of posting that requires senate confirmation. now, that may be no problem but that's one of the things that the trump team

pentagon has found there was no misconduct in an air strike that killed dozens of syrian forces in eastern syriat that it was a mistake, saying they wrongly identified the sources as islamic state fighters. the mistake was halted after russian informed the u.s. they were hitting syrian forces. investigation found that intelligence and communication mishap contributed to the error. global news 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. vonnie: thank you. crude oil below $46 a barrel in new york and opec realist to correct differences. they are ready to respect the membersl unless all included oil agreement. tophen schork is here explain what it means. we are hearing rumors and seen speculation and door stepping and drama and saudi arabia same one thing in russia saying another. where will it end up and will there be a deal? stephen: i am highly skeptical. we have to keep in mind this is all about iran. somee looking at the china the sunni side of opec and she aside opec well beyond -- shia side of opec. an area of theof middle

eastern europe. >>> when it comes to syria let's watch. >> if putin wants to go knock the hell out of isis i am all for it 100% and i can't understand why anybody would against it. deals are people and i'm looking at assad and saying maybe he is better than the kind of people that we are supposed to be backing. now it's such a mess over there with everybody involved and the air space is very limited, you know, it's not that big of an area. the air space is very limited. we have world war iii over syria? >> i do think she had a tricky policy to protect certain areas from syria from bombing no fly zone. if you have russian planes involved i'm with that. let's talk about the two elections. i want to know who you're for. i read you in the washington post. you're a hawk. fair enough. do you want bolton to be secretary of state? >> yes. >> why bolton? >> because number one he has at least been in a national position. number two, he is a much more personally stable individual. >> does that look stable what you're looking at right now? >> listen, we are talking about -- >> i'm sorry. i was thinking somethi

. >>> for the eighth consecutive day bombs rained down on neighborhoods in eastern aleppo, in syria.nother 2700 people killed, 120 more wounded. behind the numbers there are the faces of the victims like this little boy. he told rescue workers he was outside watching the war planes and then he saw yellow smoke. joining us now to tell us more about this boy is will ripley. he's live in istanbul. hi, will. >> reporter: hi, carol. thankfully we know that this little boy is okay but to think about the terror that he went through after seeing that yellow smoke and then experiencing that choking feeling that is often associated with the use of chlorine gas. there is no verified proof on the ground that the syrian regime has been dropping these barrel bombs full of chlorine gas, but activist groups have been posting pictures of victims including a family of six who were killed. all visual indications show that they were -- they fell victim to these chemical weapons, specifically this chlorine gas which is really horrific what people go through when they experience it, when they breathe it i

the u-n humanitarian chief says conditions in the eastern part of aleppo, syria have gone from "terrible to barely survivable". more than 300 people have been killed from airstrikes in the last week. the syrian government started launching the attacks on just recently started targeting hospitals. one member of the rescue group called the white helmets says none of the hospitals are operating at full capacity. the u-n humanitarian chief says food in markets is scarce and fuel in gas is unavailable in most neighborhood s. investigators are trying to figure out what caused a house fire in a small indiana town that killed four girls and hurt their mother. fire crews responded to the house early yesterday morning in flora. the town sits about an hour and a half north of indianapolis. the fire trapped bedroom. officials rushed the mom to the hospital and she is in serious condition. neighbors said the community will miss the girls. " the girls were so playful and sweet. they would do anything for anybody. they were very loving. my children absolutely loved them and adored them " two police off

most, if not all, of the hospitals in the anti- government, rebel-held eastern side of what was syria's most populous city are out of service this weekend due to heavy shelling in recent days. as itn's fatima manji reports, children are quite often the victims of these attacks and the focus of frantic rescue attempts. a warning: some viewers may find some of these images disturbing. >> reporter: just north of aleppo, in an opposition held area, a team from the white helmets drill into rubble. a sudden movement of a blanket and a child's face emerges. after four days of bombardment, once again this has become the norm. she doesn't make a sound, a little girl wrapped up in her bedding and the wreckage of war. once she's been pulled out, it's a rush to get her to hospital, except even there she might not be safe. activists say several hospitals have been hit by air strikes. the syrian government denies targeting medical facilities at at the aleppo children's hospital, another victim, three- year-old ayesha, awaits help. it's believed her mother and father have disappeared under the same ru

across the border in syria, drone footage shows neighborhoods in eastern aleppo taken president the forces. captured monday and tuesday, and meanwhile, the u.s. blames human error for the air strike that kimmed syria allied forces. 62 troops killed, and the u.s. said it's only confirmed 15. >>> back in this country, video showing a major pipeline airport. flames lit up the night sky, seen from miles away. the fire burned itself out after more than an hour. there was no damage and no one was injured, and the flights were not avffected. the cause under investigation. >>> health officials warning anyone who took home leftovers from a free thanksgiving dinner to throw them out. three died and 17 others sick after eating the meal at the food-born illness, but they have not pin pointed the exact cause. dozens of people arrested in the nationwide protest over the minimum wage. demonstrators in chicago, detroit, houston, minneapolis, los angeles, and new york demanded wages be increased to $15 an hour. many of those marching are fast food and child care workers who say they can't make ends meet. >

eastern aleppo any longer. >> the lombard since -- bombardments will stop. >> he has achieved his goals and really restructured syrian the sense that most parts of the country that he wants to get a hold of, namely the areas where his a la white coalition is to live, it's under his control now. once eastern aleppo's -- eastern aleppo falls, the western strategy of seeing him toppled and replaced by another regime will have failed. >> i spoke with several former residents of aleppo earlier today and they are concerned about acts of revenge by the assad military and regime, once it has fallen. >> definitely. when you look at the way that wars are being waged in that part of the world, you always see these act of revenge. people killing others who they considered to not be part of their own turf, so to speak. this has been done in the past by the regime and by opponents of his regime. it is part, if you wish, of his tribal way of waging war. >> aleppo is considered one of the main battlefields in this civil war. once it has fallen completely to the military, what does it mean for the rest of the civil war? >> the war w

you are going to start with many papers focusing and syria where rebel fighters in eastern level are facing an offensive. >> the top story. the french catholic paper, you can sell their front page that in rebellion is trapped aleppo. you can see on the front page of photo of a fighter doing a victory sign. the lebanese paper is focusing on the plight of the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in aleppo and trying to flee. , it will out at the international community for its indifference. you can see the headline "the world is watching the infinite tragedy in eastern aleppo without lifting a finger." a cartoon in a saudi arabia at is thelashes out international community where you see aleppo drowning in a sea of blood as the world takes a photo. another cartoon which also has a lot of blood. you can see this pool of blood representing the shape of syria and the russian president vladimir putin depicted as a mosquito sucking the blood. genie: another very tragic story. a lot of papers focusing on the plane crash in colombia that killed him was all the members of brazilian soccer tea

. >>> let's go to syria in eastern aleppo.fter at least 300 people have been killed following five consecutive days of government airstrikes. >> a quarter million people are believed to be trapped in aleppo without a single hospital operating at full capacity. cnn's will ripley has more from istanbul. we have to warn you that certainly the images you're about to see are disturbing. >> reporter: when the syrian regime sent out that mass text message last sunday warning residents to get out or die, they promised brutal attacks on terrorist targets. apparently their definition of terrorist targets also includes the city's medical facilities. just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, one of east aleppo's major hospitals takes a direct hit. moments after the blast a thick cloud of white dust making bloody patients look like plaster mannequins and they were the ones who survived. no one go upstairs, he says, go down. there aren't any patients left. upstairs an apocalyptic scene. the intensive care unit devastated. it was ful

s representative in syria described the situation in eastern parts of aleppo, which are controlled by anti-government forces. >> all eight of its hospitals have either been put out of action or only barelely functioning. >> lelizabeth hoff said 126 medical facilities were hit by air raids and other attacks. 11 hospitals and clinicscs were attacked this month alone in northern aleppo, where fighting has intensified. at the meeting, the u.s. called on russia and syrian president bashar al assad's government to stop aerial a attacks in ththe . russia is arguing it's controlled by terrorists. >>> south korea is one step closer to having a special prosecutor investigate president park geun-hye, who has been embroiled in a political scandal that's led to mass protests and calls for her to step down. on tuesday its cabinet approved a bill that would allow opposition parties to nominate two candidates for the position. once selected, park will be able to choose between the two. park can stop the passage of the bill, but her presidential spokesperson says she will accecept it.t. the special pr

. >> sreenivasan: overseas now, thousands more civilians fled the eastern, rebel-held sectors of syria's largest city, aleppo, this week as the war there took an even more violent turn. the syrian civil defense rescue group reported that at least 50 people were killed today, and 150 injured, amid relentless shelling and bombing. chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner reports. >> reporter: in the last few days, syrian government forces have retaken a large swath of east aleppo, long a stronghold for fighters opposed to president bashar al assad. aid groups say shortages of food and medical care there are the gravest yet. >> reporter: how did your mother die? >> ( translated ): she died of hunger. we haven't had any water or food for five months, they did not feed us. they ate bread, and we were hungry. >> reporter: as the death toll keeps mounting, the top u.n. envoy to syria suggested today the rebels may not be able to hold out. >> this is a military acceleration, and i can't tell you how long eastern aleppo will last. >> reporter: major aid groups are still being denied en

. >>> at least 20 civilians were killed today as renewed air strikes hit the eastern part of aleppo, syria. the u.n. says up to 16,000 people have been displaced in recent days of the fighting there. that leaves about 275,000 people still trapped in that area. france, the uk and the u.s. are calling for an emergency session of the united nations security council to talk about reports of chemical weapons use by the syrian government. >>> back here in the u.s., just in time for the holiday travel season, workers at chicago's o'hare international airport, a very busy place, are going on strike. our correspondent is at that airport tonight. good evening, matt. >> reporter: good evening, bret. it's calm here tonight but a short while ago this airport looked like a mob s hundreds of loud, outraged workers, many of whom walked off the job today demanding the right to unionize and $15 minimum wage pay. now, these workers, nonunion workers are cabin cleaners, janitors, folks who assist people in wheelchairs. they started to strike last night main an effort to cause a disruption in service, fortunat

syria or ukraine. so putin right now is going to try to get from the new american consolidation a of the acknowledgment of his victories, the annexation of crimea, what's going on in eastern ukraine, what's going on in syria. he needs for the new administration to say all right, vladimir, this is your victory. you one, you did everything won. -- you we are going to establish the new world order with you. i'm not sure administration in the u.s. is ready for such a ring. know yet,e don't because the new administration doesn't even have its team together yet, but that's one of the important questions that came out of the campaign. what will be the relationship if donald trump wins between a president trump and president .utin what kind of understandings might they have about the world order. my opinion is that putin has already worked out the model that he would like to use with donald trump. he worked it out on her list berlusconni. he's going to look for some kind of personal relations along the , here we are, way up on top altogether, just the two of us, and everybody else is somewhere there below us. i'm not sure whether the couldan political system handle this kind of s

syria as well. it's about 100,000 children in eastern aleppo. they say there's obviously no chance for them to play. apparently, in some places there are basements converted into playgrounds to at least allow the children a little bit of time to play in. earlier this year, i was in an area besieged where people set up an underground library that children went to as well. it is certainly a very difficult thing and no place that children should be. stark warning from unicef saying the children are in danger and something needs to be done, george. >> i was reading about a hidden playground for children. >> yeah. absolutely. a hidden playground. apparently in eastern aleppo. that's something that unicef was talking about as well where apparently some residents to give the children a little bit of respite. a little bit of calm from all the things going on overhead. you're talking about artillery shelling, fighting, bombs. it's to allow some children to play. up to 200 children come there every day simply to be able to play. that's only one of the thi

he had grown sick and tired of seeing federal muslims -- >>> 6:35, breaking right now, syria's devastation in eastern tennessee, hundreds of wildfires beg your pardon, many of you might vacation in the smoky mountains and know the area well. flames are spreading into gatlinburg, a popular resort town. a number of buildings in that total according to emergency crews. many people wanting to know about the popular ripley's aquarium, home to more than 10,000 living creatures. you can see flames glowing right behind the aquarium which is let up in green. no damage reported there but workers were forced to evacuate loving the animals behind. >>> we're now waiting on sunrise to get a better look at the new damage caused overnight. heart stopping video, evacuees were you can see flames raging on both sides. o'road as embers rained down. at some points they drive around fall ever trees. they've made it out safely and they're okay this morning. mandatory evacuations remain in effect for gatlinburg and areas of pigeon forge. conditions there are changing by the minute. we want to get right to ivan cabrera. look

eastern aleppo and 275,000 residents under siege yet again. this is a tactic that syrian regime has been accused of, described as starve or surren r surrender. we have seen this in other parts of syriaunited nations estimates there are nearly a million people living under siege in eastern aleppo and other parts of the country. the vast majority are in rebel held areas and we are seeing the siege take its toll and when you talk to people there and we have been talking to so many residents over the past few weeks and there has always been this fear that what happens in aleppo happens in other places. where it is going to be the starve or surrender where people will have no optioning but to surrender. there was a feeling that this was a mat of time before we saw this playing out. >> there is a statement from unicef that points out an estimated half a million children trapped in war torn parts of syria and of that, 100,000 possibly in aleppo itself. children who are trapped in what is just a hellish situation and we saw this image, if we could take it full screen. i'm sure you've seen this image of the little girl who has gained traction online, on twitterer as 100,000 followers but wha

eastern aleppo, which is rapidly running out of food, fuel and water. meanwhile, on sunday, the syrian government said it had rejected a proposal by the u.n. special envoy for syria, which called for eastern aleppo to be granted autonomy if jihadist fighters linked to al-qaeda withdrew and the fighting stopped. well, for more, we're joined by two guests. in chicago, dr. zaher sahloul is founder of the american relief coalition for syria and senior advisor and former president of the syrian american medical society. he has visited aleppo five times since the war began. he was a classmate of bashar al assad in medical school. and in washington, d.c., bassam haddad is director of the middle east and islamic studies program at george mason university. he is co-founder of jadaliyya and director of the arab studies institute. he wrote a piece for the nation last month headlined, "the debate over syria has reached a dead end." he's also the author of "business networks in syria: the political economy of authoritarian resilience." welcome both of you back to democracy now! dr. sahloul, i would like to begin with you, to go over what we said in our introduction, namely, t

most of you have seen maps focusing on crimea, perhaps the a2ad zone in the eastern mediterranean in syria. russia has significant capabilities in st. petersburg that cover the eastern balance ticks as well as to cover near the arctic circle. with these, you can see, it is quite a bit of range. with this new technology and these weapons, nato is facing, as you talk to leaders, they describe nato airspace as contested. as well as nato sea space. this means that even now, in the preconflict state, the amount of nato military and naval air craft that go in can easily be pressured, as we have seen by some of the fly-bys. this changes the dynamic and greater emphasis for forward deployed forces. this a brief chart showing come of the capabilities, one of the most geographically invasive parts of russian military capabilities in nato airspace. from kaliningrad, they cover a wide access of lithuania, poland, and with the new news of s 400 missiles deployed, the range possible even to range far west as berlin. those were just the capabilities, some of the land capabilities of the new russian techn

in syria, the assad dictatorship with the help of russia is completing the bloody rebel-held eastern aleo is shuddering as bombs rain down with no place to tre the wounded. we have more on this now from elizabeth palmer. >> reporter: after each air strike, every second counts. but sometimes all the rescue crews can do is take away the bodies. between 200 and 300 people have been killed in the past week of relentless bombing. functioning just have now been hit. and there are none left the help the more than 200,000 residents, many of them already gravely hurt. rescue crews, known as the white helmet, are now experts at finding and saving life in the ruins. slowly, he says. can we flip this rock? this man survived this one air strike, but the bombs are still falling. the goal is to drive opposition fighters out of eastern aleppo. then the government will be looking to talk to president- elect donald trump, says syria's foreign minister, walid moallem. "we will want the next u.s. administration," he says, "to stop funding the armed groups in syria and to tell its allies to do the same."

. >> what are in constant contact with the city council of eastern aleppo as well as civic administrations and other parts of syria we are helping them provide services to the local population in the areas where this is possible. >> meanwhile government and allied forces have been pushing deep into rebel held sums, taking back territory by any means necessary. the syrian army has been making significant advances since it was given help from allied russia a year ago. the regime held western aleppo has also suffered attacks on civilians. these images from russian sources reportedly show a school room bombed while children were in class. laura: thousands of people from soldiers and police officers to tax inspectors and midwives have lost their jobs in turkey. it's the latest purge in the crackdown in the wake of a failed coup. more than 25,000 people have been sacked or suspended since then, accused of having links to the xo turkish leader. the government has backed down over a proposal to target men who slept with underage girls if they agreed to marry their victims. critics say the law would legitimize child marria