i have to tell you, hagel was expected to attend. all reporters were given information late last night that he would be there. now the word is he will skip it. the official word is that hagel wants the day to all be about ash carter celebrating him, his nomination, his family but, look, there is no way around it. this is a last minute change in plan. secretary hagel several days ago pushed out of the job by the white house, a lot of controversy about he was with leaving. on both sides, did he push? did he jump? was the job too much for him? why did he move on?

ash carter and chuck hagel are not the best of friends. they had difficult times when carter was his deputy at the pentagon. no love lost to know small extent between the two men. that said, i think it will pass very quickly. i want to follow up on something jake was saying. carter is not particularly by any stretch a politician, a political animal in washington. he's a strategic thinker, a technocrat. they may be one of his advantages. he doesn't come with political baggage. john mccain when he holds the confirmation hear canning beat up on the president's policies but he won't find an ash carter track record of political decision making that he can go after. so that may smooth the past just a bit. call he skeptical about the susan rice hug. if you had the last three secretaries defense run into problems with the national security staff, with susan rice and the very so-called heavy handed micromanagement from the white house i'm not sure ash carter is coming into anything much different. it doesn't seem there will be any real change on th

secretary hagel announced 10,800 instead of the 9,800 originally planned because, as secretary hagel told us as we spoke, afghanistan remains a very dangerous place. this is chuck hagel's fourth trip to afghanistan but his last as secretary of defense. we travelled with him to a tactical base in eastern afghanistan where he met with troops, sharing his own

secretary hagel says 10,800 troops will remain in the country. he made the announcement during a press conference today, as mentioned, with afghan president ashraf ghani in kabul. secretary hagel says there's been delays and this is really the reason for keeping the troops there. he says there's been delays with u.s. allies signing security pacts to send troops, more than 2,000, actually, to join nato forces already helping train and assist afghan security forces, so secretary hagel says the contingent of u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan for the first few months next year but added u.s. commanders have really been given flexibility with the dates. hagel also talked about the surge of taliban attacks in kabul over the last two weeks saying "we will take appropriate measures against taliban members who directly threaten u.s. and coalition forces in afghanistan." now that said, u.s. military officials still say that the plan remains that the number of troops will be scaled back to 5,500 in afghanistan in 2016, and then the plan again is to pu

unfortunately for secretary hagel.about the fact he was going to give quality, candid ed aadvice to the president and white house. it doesn't mean necessarily that the white house is going to take it. >> jim thank you so much. kristen, thank you so much. >>> up. next from military policy to politics. we'll preview the louisiana senate run off. it's saturday. things don't look for the democrat. >>> 2016 hillary clinton one potential candidate playing in on the garner nonindictment. >>> and chris christie got good news about the bridge gate investigation. this is what he had to say. >> when i was u.s. attorney i used to really really dislike when politicians who didn't know a tenth of what the prosecutors and the grand jury knew would second guess their work based purely for political reasons or out of ignorance. ring ring! ...progresso! you soup people have my kids loving vegetables. well vegetables... shh! taste better in our savory broth. vegetables!? no...soup! oh! soup! loaded with vegetables. packed with taste. i t

what will he do different than chuck hagel did?his mean for the war on isis and what does ash carter's tenure mean for the troops and military families facing future deployment. well, president obama really -- will president obama want new ideas and more change at the pentagon? right now the pentagon doing what it does best some days of the week, a bit of political drama. the two men will not appear together and they most definitely were scheduled to do. so carol? >> it's like a soap opera. barbara, stand by, i'm going to take you live to the white house. these are live pictures. there they are with president obama. they will soon announce ashton carter is his pick to replace chuck hagel as secretary of defense. carter who served as deputy secretary for hagel and leon panetta was the chief weapons buyer and while he has no firsthand military experience he has extensive background at the pentagon. if confirmed, he would be president obama's fourth defense secretary in six years. we will bring you that announcement when it happens bu

my previous comments about secretary hagel, even in the president's comments about secretary hagel 10 days ago in the state dining room, he talked about how he had relied on secretary hagel's advice as they confronted a wide range of national security challenges. certainly, the president expects , not only from the secretary of defense, but every member of his national security team, direct, unvarnished advice based on that individuals expertise. >> was he getting that under secretary hagel? the president was pretty clear, and i have been, that the president appreciated the kind of candor and advice he received from secretary hagel during his two years of serving as secretary of defense. >> some republican lawmakers have noted this is his fourth defense secretary in six years. they have argued that creates a sense of unsteadiness. can you speak to that, is there concern that changing defense secretary so frequently, in some ways, destabilizes the agency? >> i don't think there is any evidence to support that claim. the president is very pleased with service and leadership and advice h

hagel. this is about 20 minutes.

he was up for the position when hagel was named. and he has been enthusiastic about the job for some time. he's a real technocrat in the best sense of the word in that he has a real enthusiasm for these issues. and again, understands both policy and the budget. he can literally tell you how some of these systems are built. from his background as a physicist. >> let me ask you a quick question. is there a mistake to have a secretary of defense opposite of the political party of the administration that you're frozen out? with hagel, i mean. >> no, that wasn't the criticism. remember, bob gates was a republican and seemed quite successful that it was about personality and approach and his ability to work within the white house's national security appear ratus. gwen: let's talk about that. you said that they were close friends. i don't know if -- if senator hagel, they were close friends in a senatorial way. >> exactly. gwen: do we know about this relationship this new nominee has with this white house? since so much discussion around h

if confirmed he will succeed chuck hagel who resigned last ponth -- month. >> reporter: chuck hagel wasically fired. the islamic state of iraq and the levant is now the focus. >> it does mean as we consider the next remaining two years of the president's time in office, that another secretary might be better suited to meet those challenges. >> reporter: so i that are replacing hagel a man who was fought and wounded in vietnam, with ashton carter, a man who never served in the military. >> i think leadership comes with a responsibility of also knowing when it's probably a good time to let someone else come in and -- come in behind and pick up where you have left off. all right carter is very familiar with the massive mash -- machinery that is the pentagon. known for demanding results and a fiercing inth elect. he has two degrees from yale. his doctorate is in theoretical physics. in 2006 he publicly urged then president bush to bomb a launch pad in north korea before a missile test could be conducted. he is known for speaking his mind and speaking truth to power, but past secretaries und

so hagel said either he goes or i go. he went. that was pretty tough.i said, boy, i've got a lot of respect for this guy. but at the confirmation hearings, you're taking money from the north koreans, and he gave a speech at rutgers with an iranian professor, i mean, horrible, horrible stuff. carter's not going to have any problem, okay? because the republicans like him. you took money from north korea, senator hagel, carter recommended bombing them in 2005. is that who you want? maybe some people, you know, do, okay? but if you didn't want to get him in, those are things that you could -- that you could use. so i think it was, well, we're going to shake things up to show you that we're not going to just keep things going, so we threw him under the bus. and i've got to tell you, it was the worst handled resignation i have ever seen. you're going to fire someone, you better have the other person picked. not only did they not have it, then they listed people, all of whom turned it down, you know? that's why i used the colt mccoy analogy here before. everyb

the president tapping ashton carter as his pick to succeed chuck hagel as defense secretary, a pentagoneran known for his expertise on nuclear issues. if confirmed, he would be the president's fourth pentagon chief. >> today i'm pleased to announce my nominee to be our next secretary of defense, mr. ash carter. now, with a record of service that has spanned more than 30 years, his public service, as an adviser, as a scholar, ash is rightly regarded as one of our nation's foremost national security leaders. >> whoever becomes the next defense secretary will face a host of foreign policy problems including the ongoing civil war in syria, the growing threat of isis and increasingly aggressive vladimir putin and the struggle to contain iran's nuclear ambitions. this as recent fox polls show americans are expressing deep doubts about the president's handling of global affairs and our nation's standing in the world. nearly six in ten americans believe president obama's leadership on foreign policy is weak and indecisive, and about that same number say america is less respected around the worl

quick note, chuck hagel was not there.hen you see handoff from one secretary to the another the person is there, significant or not, we don't know but the fact remains that chuck hagel did not choose to be part of the ceremony today at the white house. eric: martha, one of the most contentious issues dealing with the pentagon and our national defense was benghazi. and now newly-declassified testimony from closed-door hearing from benghazi in 2012, suggest at least five republican lawmakers on house intelligence committee believed that former cia director david petraeus was less than truthful when about that attack when i blamed assault on that video a claim we all know later unraveled. >> that is perhaps the biggest unexplained question as to why general petraeus's testimony, right after the attack was so wrong and why several, two months later after he came back in he tried to tell us he never said that in the first place. eric: why was it wrong? june ya'll turner was white house national security council official under p

hagel confirmed that aqap killed somers.province. militants also killed a south african hostage. >> we know that president obama ordered the raid. this week, the militants release a video threatening to kill somers if washington didn't meet its demands. we also heard a short time ago from secretary of state john kerry who says, quo, the murder of luke somers during a rescue operation say reminder of the brutality of the terrorists in al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. again, we're waiting to hear from secretary hagel who is going to be addressing the public, the world really, any moment now from kabul, the presidential palace. so as soon as he comes up with that microphone and he's live, we'll take you there live. >>> so let's talk about this "rolling stone" backoff about the report of a brutal gang rape at the university of virginia. in the article, a woman that they called jackie claimed she was assaulted at a paternity party in 2012. the magazine says it has doubt it's of her story and issued an apology on its website. >>

certainly hillary clinton was this team of rivals, but i think secretary hagel less so. we heard whisperings from the white house that he didn't express his views coherently enough. as my kids would say, that was a feature, not a bug. that's why hagel was brought there in the first place, not to make waves and do what the white house wanted. now, in ash carter you are getting someone who is more ideological aligned with the president, but he's no shrinking violet. we saw the look that he gave the president when he promised to give candid advice there at that press conference. that look was not just for the president, it was also for the white house staff. it was also for the senate confirmation committees. he's going to be his own man. if he has a fat, it's that he thinks probably correctly he's the smartest guy in the room. and that may bounce off a president who has the same characteristic. >> we don't need a body language expert to know it was weird not to have hagel there weird at all, which makes this transition interestingly. we're at war with isis. the administrat

defense secretary chuck hagel said the u.s.ill keep 1000 more troops there at least next year combachlt hagel said the plans to leave 9800 troops in afghanistan is abandoned, but not because of the increased attacks from the taliban. john? >> reporter: hundreds of u.s. troops that planned to return home for the new year will remain in afghanistan. outgoing secretary of defense chuck hagel made a surprise visit to afghanistan where he made a surprise announcement. the u.s. plans to pull troops out of the country are put on hold. delays on signing security pacts to send 2000 troops to join nato forces to train and assist afghan security forces. >> that will mean delayed withdrawal of up to 1000 u.s. troops rather than 99800 could remain this year or next year. >> he added that u.s. commanders have flexibility with the dates. hagel joined in kabul where there has been a surge in attacks. >> we face threats and changing environments of threats, but one thing needs to be clearly understood. we are determined to make sure that our pe

hagel was noncommittal, we're told.s is his first trip to baghdad since the war with isis began. in fact it's the first time any defense secretary has been to baghdad since the iraq war officially enned december 2011. it is likely hagel's last trip overseas as defense secretary. >> they have to lead. they're the ones that have to be responsible for the end results. we can help, we can train, we can assist and advise, and we are doing that and will support them. >> hagel was addressing u.s. and australian troops at the baghdad airport. u.s. defense officials say that what iraq needs to fight isis is not more weapons but competent military leaders. >> after the release of this torture report from the senate, what are they saying around the pentagon about that? >> well, there's a great deal of frustration in the intelligence and community and also among military commanders. in the intel undergenerals community they feel the contes of when these decisions to use these methods, these enhanced interrogation methods, torture,

secretary hagel today said that 10,000800 troops will remain in the country. he made the announcement as mentioned during a press conference with afghan president ashraf ghani in kabul. he there's been delays to send a couple thousand troops to join nato forces on the ground helping train and assist afghan security forces. so he says the contingent of u.s. troops could remain in afghanistan for the first few months next year but added that u.s. commanders have been given flexibility with the dates. that said, hagel also talked about the surge of taliban attacks in kabul over the last two weeks saying, quote, we will take appropriate measures against taliban members who directly threaten u.s. and coalition forces in afghanistan. now, u.s. military officials despite not pulling out these 1,000 troops say the plan remains to scale back to 5500 troops in afghanistan in 2016 and to pull all remaining forces out of afghanistan in 2017. back to you. >> john huddy, thank you. >> pakistan's military claims to have killed a top al qaeda operative. he served as heads of

secretary hagel says there's been delays -- this is the reason for keeping troops there. there's been delays with u.s. allies signing security pacts, keeping forces on the ground, training afghan security forces. this has been developing over the last couple of months. even more than a year actually. so secretary hagel says the contingent of troops could remain in afghanistan for really the first few months next year. the surge of taliban attacks in kabul over the last two weeks saying we will take appropriate measures -- coalition forces in afghanistan and that said, u.s. military officials say the plan still remains to scale back to 5500 troops and pull all u.s. troops out of afghanistan by 2017. >> all right, john, thank you very much. >> we return from terror attacks to cyber attacks. hackers targeting employees and families at sewn in entertainmen entertainment. threatening e-mails that claim responsible for the attack. >> the fbi is aware and investigating the threatening e-mails sent to some employees at sony pictures. a line in the e-mail says it was sent by the g

hagel spent the weekend in afghanistan. his fourth and final trip as defense secretary. the difference between afghanistan and iraq is that afghanistan wants the u.s. there to assist and advise and train. >> they want us to continue to help them support them. that's a big difference between afghanistan today and where we were in iraq. >> cnn's jim sciutto spoke with hag hagel. he will have that live on "new day." >>> six prisoners in guantanamo bay have been transferred to uruguay. president obama, has vowed to close the prison. >>> the potentially explosive cia report details what the cia did following the 9/11 terror attacks. now there are fears the release of the report could lead to violence against americans around the world. former president george w. bush challenging the conclusions of the report. he says whatever the report says is way off base. >>> 39 minutes past the hour. an early start on your money. how did it become monday? good start for the week for asian shares. chinese trade data show exports and imports weakening. european shares not following that lea

we're going to hear from chuck hagel in a moment.ttom line question is, do you believe senator dianne feinstein's report or the cia director john brennan when he comes out with a very different assessment of the effectiveness, as he calls it, of some of the techniques. we're going to continue our analysis. thanks very much. once again, the defense secretary chuck hagel is speaking out on the senate's report, the preparation for the pentagon for possible retribution by terrorists in the mid dell east against american diplomats and military personnel and civilians. we're going to hear what chuck hagel told our own jim sciutto. that's coming up next. you're driving along, having a perfectly nice day, when out of nowhere a pick-up truck slams into your brand new car. one second it wasn't there and the next second... boom! you've had your first accident. now you have to make your first claim. so you talk to your insurance company and... boom! you're blindsided for a second time. they won't give you enough money to replace your brand new c

secretary hagel discuss the would draw of 1000 troops. leave just under 11,000 troops in the region until next year. this is secretary hagel's final trip to afghanistan. carter has been chosen to head the pentagon. that announcement was made by president obama on friday. a little bit more than a week after secretary hagel said he was resigning. this announcement from the white house is 20 minutes. >> good morning, everybody. please have a seat. it is wonderful to be able to announce the filling of one new job. before we do -- [laughter] i wanted to make a somewhat broader statement about the economy. ash is willing to indulge me. last month, america's businesses created more than 300,000 jobs. this keeps a pace this year that we have not seen since the 1990's. so far this year, over the first 11 months of 2014, our economy has created 2.65 million jobs. that is more than in any entire year since the 1990's. our businesses have created 10.9 million jobs over the past 57 months in a row and that is the longest streak of private sector job g

if carter is confirmed, he'll replace chuck hagel. >>noticeably absent at the nomination ceremony: secretary chuck hagel. at the pentagon yesterday, hagel wouldn't share why he's resigning, or there e reports there was a lot of friction between him and the white house. but, an administration official says hagel looks forward to ntthceiho congrestoe fast, >>a 600 billion dollar defense bill clears the house. it includes money for benefits for u-s service members, and funding toin equip syrian rebels fighting isis. the measure would also continue to prevent prisoners at guantanamo bay, from th is transferred to gin cted to ta up >>new jersey governor chris christie has been cleared in the so- called bridge-gate scandal. christie was accused of orchestrating a traffic jam by closing down lanes on the george washington bridge. as payback against a political rival christie has denied the allegations and now investigators say they found no evidence the governor was aware t t cs. gov' aidesir t in sc >>while several women claim they were gro

, something the white house complained hagel didn't do. >> if confirmed in this job, i pledge to you,y most candid strategic advice. >> reporter: he is expected to be confirmed by the senate, but if the experience of the last three secretaries of defense are any indication, getting the job might be the easieiest part. >>> graham allison is the director of the center for science and international affairs, and joins me live now. you know ashton carter pretty well. this is arguably a job that no one wanted. how do you think he is going to adjust to his new position? >> well, i think it's a good choice, and i think ashton will prove himself to be well suited to the job. i had the good fortune to know him for more years than fear i can remember. i recruited him here when i was dean. i appointed him assist important professor. he grew up to become a professor. he was the director of the center i currently direct. ashton has shown himself to be adaptable, adjustable, agile, but always determined, and i think that he's just what the job needs at this point. >> what was he like to work with? h

chuck hagel makes a surprise visual it to baghdad. hagel met with u.s. troops and thanked them for their work. he will also sit down with iraq leaders. this is expected to be hagel's last over saes trip as pentagon chief. u.s. embassies around the world are on alert beefing you have ske security based on a new report of the cia. one side says the release could mean danger, even deaths for americans abroad. the other could spell the end of violent torture as a means of interrogation. >> the tours were still in a smoldering ruin again this began. >> what's the latest with this. >> reporter: the latest is that we're hearing this report or series of reports, sort of a document up here in washington is coming out sometime early to mid average today. in the state department the pentagon have already told their people overseas after the report comes out, watch your back. u.s. embassies and 2000 marines in the gulf and mediterranean are on alert this morning as the cia releases a report on water boarding, sleep deprivation and more against mohammed, osama bin la

hagel spent the weekend in afghanistan. the final trip as secretary. he says the difference is afghanistan's government wants u.s. troops there to assist and advise and train. >> they welcomed us. they want us to continue to help them support them. that's a big difference between afghanistan today and where we were in iraq. >> cnn's jim sciutto spoke with secretary hagel in afghanistan. he will have that story live on "new day" later this morning. >>> six guantanamo bay prisoners transferred to uruguay. president obama since he was running for office vowed to close the base. >>> a top secret cia report. the explosive report details what the cia did following the 9/11 terror attacks. now there are fears the release of that report could lead to violence against americans around the world. former president george w. bush is already challenging the conclusions of the report. bush told cnn that whatever the report says is way off base. >>> so it was just like the beatles, but with less singing and no beatles. the duke and duches

but that's chuck hagel.else. >> >>. >> reporter: at the end of the month, u.s. forces will give up their combat role for training, advising and assisting afghan forces. a new mission as the u.s. prepares for a complete withdrawal in the coming years. >> we saw how the iraqi forces dissolved with the advance of isis. why are you confident that afghan forces will perform better? >> they want us here.

he served as hagel's deputy. he has served in a number of jobs in the past to the pentagon, including the top acquisition official, essentially the top weapons buyer. he knows the budget. he knows how billions of dollars in taxpayer money is spent buying weapons with budget cuts come, he will be very experienced in being able to formulate any budget plan, what to keep, what to cancel potentially. those are all the pluses that are seen for ash carter, he knows the military, he knows the military leadership. part of the big question jim may be better to answer this, does this answer the mail for the white house? they pushed hagel out saying they wanted to transform to new leadership. ash carter well respected but he's really part of the old existing leadership here at the pecht go pentagon. will he be able to deal with the white house micromanagement, will he be able to offer new ideas and have them accepted? >> jim, take it away. >> reporter: yes. well, you know, the term white house micromanagement, that seems to

chuck hagel making a surprise visit to afghanistan announcing the change in the troop's drawdown. why the pentagon is keeping an extra 1,000 troops there. >>> a major development in the sony picture cyber attack. this as the f.b.i. is looking into those chilling new e-mails that threaten employees and their families. >>> and u.s. naval engineer in trouble with the feds allegedly trying to sell secret documents detailing how to sink its newest generation of aircraft carriers. >>> first new details at this hour on the american hostage held by al-qaeda terrorists in yemen. he was as we've been reporting, killed today during that brave rescue attempt by a u.s. special forces. 32-year-old photo journalist luke somers, kidnapped in september in yemen's capital last year. the group planned to kill him today. u.s. special forces were sadly unable to save him. now the very latest in washington. >> reporter: as soon as president obama believed luke somers was in imminent danger sometime mid-morning yesterday, he signed off on a mission to rescue him. the commander in chief said this morning

hagel met with u.s. troops. he will also sit down with iraqi leaders to discuss isis. the visit comes after a stop in kuwait on monday. this is expected to be hagel's last overseas trip as pentagon chief. >>> right now, u.s. cembassies around the world are on alert, beefing up security ahead of the new release of a new report by the cia. it highlights enhanced interrogation technique used in the aftermath of 9/11 to get information and the center of a long-standing tug of war. one side says the release could mean danger, even death for americans abroad. the other believes the evidence could spell the end of violent torture as the means of interrogation. but chief of staff jeremy bash cited the pressure in the shadow of 9/11 to prevent another attack. >> the trade towers were still in a smoldering ruin at ground zero when this program began. >> nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. good morning to you, tracie. >> reporter: dara, good morning. we're expecting to get that report to actually see it sometime by midafternoon. but the state department, the pentagon, they'

a day earlier, chuck hagel was there to speak with military leaders. jim sciutto has this cnn exclusive. >> reporter: this is chuck hagel's fourth trip to afghanistan but his last as secretary of defense. we traveled with him to eastern afghanistan where he met with troops, sharing his own experiences, the first enlisted combat veteran to serve as defense secretary. >> do you think it will be a loss for the defense secretary position to have somebody who didn't have that experience? >> that's not for me to decide. everybody brengs to their positions their own set of positions and strengths and i believe my set of experiences fit me very well but that's chuck hagel. i don't ever judge anybody else. >> reporter: at the end of this month, u.s. forces will give up their combat role for training, advising and assisting afghan forces, a new mission as the u.s. prepares for a complete withdrawal in two years. we saw how it dissolved with the advance of isis. why are you confident that afghan forces will perform better? >> they want us here. they want us to as

they had their own agenda and hagel could not contain them.shton carter, he has been in this system as undersecretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense he knows the building. he is also quite close to the president. he has a real personal relationship with the president. hegel did not, panetta did not gates did not. knowing the pentagon and knowing the president could put him in a good position. >> the president had not even announced this yet. bloomberg is reporting this is who he settled on. presumably is going to happen. he will not be nominated and the confirmation will not be until republicans control the senate. it will be interesting to see what confirmation he faces. ted cruz spoke today at a conference by concerned veterans for america and the weekly standard. listen to what he said about the prospect of the nomination of carter. >> it is an unfortunate statement that we already are facing the fourth secretary of defense in six years. at a time when the threats are this great, we should not see more turnover at the defense de

out going defense secretary hagel said a lot more work to be done. jamey mcintire has is that story. >> out going defense secretary chuck hagel hailed the report he sentence to the president as showing improvement in the way the military handle did sexual assault in the ranks but not enough. >> sexual assault threatened lives and wellbeing of the women and the men who 7 our country in uniform. >> the report includes arand corporation survey of 145,000 serve service members. the numbers suggest a decrease in the late of servicemen and women who say they have been sexually assaulted over the past two years down from over six % to women to just over 4%. the report also says among those who say they were assaulted, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of victims actually willing to come forward up from 10% to 25%. hagel's directive orders a multi-year study of rescue factors, new training for junior officers and civilian bosses and strict rules to prevent retaliation against vict ims. critics such as kyrsten jillbrand says that does nothing t

what did secretary hagel have to say about that? >> reporter: he said that he was encouraged by what he heard both from u.s. commanders and from iraqi officials. he met the iraqi prime minister today. iraqi forces finally coming off a defensive footing slowly some minimal offensive operations. that said, a lot of expectations management here, meeting with american commanders. they're saying it's going to be several months before there's any major operation by iraqis to take back any significant pieces of isis territory. >> jim sciutto in kuwait, thank you so much. how much valuable intelligence if any was gathered from these harsh interrogations? that depends on whom you ask. the cia today defending the program saying it was effective. were any potential terrorist attacks thwarted? did it help lead the u.s. to find osama bin laden? those questions for two former cia operatives coming up next. sheila! you see this ball control? you see this right? it's 80% confidence and 64% knee brace. that's more... shh... i know that's more than 1

and why chuck hagel is being forced to defend the mission. >>> hello. i'm fredericka whitfield. welcome to the cnn newsroom. we begin this hour with a violent turn to those protests playing out across the country. demonstrations in berkeley, california, getting out of control. it happened four days after a new york grand jury decision and 3,000 miles away from the place where eric garner died in a police choke hold. here now is dan simon. >> reporter: chaos on the streets of berkeley, california. protesters demanding to be heard after a grand jury decision not to indict police in ferguson, missouri, and new york turned violent. there were hundreds of local police that donned full riot gear. police used tear gas to disburse the crowd. >> berkeley is mn for protests and the first amendment, and we do everything we can to insure that people can peacefully exercise their freedom to express themselves. in this case our response occurred because, you know, the group -- they did start throwing rocks and bricks and bottles. also small pipes were thrown at our officers. >> this -- >> rep

and hagel game some long, rambling responses and insisted that he was good with what happened and it a mutual decision. but it went on for so long that he never actually took a question about the sexual assault report that he was there to present. i tried to and him a question about that i guess we'll have to wait for the history books write the definitive account of the departure of chuck hagel. >> thank you, jamie. >>> bliss in abu dhabi have arrester aid suspect in the murders of an american women. officials in the united arab emirates also say they have uncovered a plat by that same suspect to plant a bomb in front of another american's home. the state department is calling these acts of terror. on monday a 37-year-old kindergarten teacher was stabbed to death in a bathroom mall -- in a mall bathroom by someone who was completely covered in a covering traditionally worn by muslim women. we will have to wait at least one more day to see nasa's new orion space craft launch. the space agency cubbed the lift off today after a series of problems. andy gallagher has our report now from

explain. >> look at the way hagel was ousted.he trash talking, behind the scenes, anonymously blaming the obama foreign policy failures on him. if you look back over the history of the obama administration, this is not an ab rag aberration. this is how this president rolls. they micromanage from the top. look at what happened with obamacare. look at what happened with veterans affairs. president was asked a few months ago, how are you so slow to recognize the isis threat? he blamed it on the director of his national intelligence agency. so, why would anybody want to come in and serve as a doormat? i think that is why a lot of people are, in fact, saying no. >> julie, one, do you think that's fair? two, since we've had a trial balloon here for collin powell, is that a serious possible? >> you look at michelle flournay, two people close to her told me she doesn't want this job. number one, she didn't transport if she was going to be restrained in the same way hagel was. she wanted more freedom. number, two she looked at this point

hagel gave him everything he wanted.t the end of the day, chuck hagel was viewed by the white house as almost too passive. i think the real reason why he was let go is because the white house, after the mid terms, felt luke they needed to show they were doing with -- they were shaking up the national security team. the reality is he didn't want to shake up his national security team. he went for the lowest hanging fruit. >> it was interesting to see the republicans who voted against chuck hagel in confer rags sudd suddenly embrace him. >> i agree firing is too harsh. this is conscious decoupling >> wow. pharrell williams and gwyneth paltrow on the same show. >> i thought hagel was brought on to be a non-factor and was performing in that role. i was surprised by this. you now have three former defense secretaries that say the white house is too insular and is micromanaging on foreign policy. you have a policy making process that is troubled. and a substantive policy that i believe is a disaster. >> the question is where d

hagel is in kabul, afghanistan, this morning on an unannounced visit. hagel is set to meet with the afghan president and commanders over there. he believes afghans will defeat a surge of taliban violence in the capital. this will likely be hagel's last trip to afghanistan as pentagon chief. he's going to be stepping down as soon as the senate confirms his successor. >>> young people across philadelphia are reacting to. recent grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of eric garner and michael brown. yesterday students held a die in demonstration. shea dropped to the floor to symbolize the deaths of the two men. across town in kensington students there left class and marched through streets of philadelphia. >>> in new york city marchers were on the move again last night. they held a die in at popular bryant park underneath the christmas tree. thursday night police arrested hundreds of protesters. >>> a large crowd took to the streets of boston last night listening to speakers demand an end to excessive force by police and in washi

first, defense secretary chuck hagel talking about his decision to resign saying, you have to know whenleave. was he really forced out or not? we're going to break it don for you. that and much more, right after this. looking for one of these? yoplait. smooth, creamy, and craved by the whole family. you'rbam!ean. charmin ultra strong cleans so much better it meets even the highest standards of clean. with a soft duraclean texture, charmin ultra strong is 4 times stronger. and you can use up to 4x less. charmin ultra strong. a e. >>> welcome back, everybody. major headlines today and take you to los angeles, police are ready to investigate any allegations against bill cosby regardless of the statute of limitations. he fought back today with allegations he assaulted a minor. >> reporter: legal papers bill cosby's attorney calls it meritless and unsupported claiming it was filed immediately after mr. cosby rejected the plaintiff's outrageous demand for money in orpder not to make her allegations public. >> this looks to me like bill cosby is getting ready to wage war in a court of law. >>

we are told that chuck hagel made sure ashton carter was in the spotlight and wished him well. none theless a lot of questions of whether carter will be his own man. carter himself turned to the president sort of dramatically and looked him in the eye and said this. >> if confirmed in this job i pledge to you my most candid strattic advice and you will receive candid military advice. >> very clear that ash carter sent a signal not only for the president but everyone gathered around that he plans to be his own man, whether or not he clashes with the white house as his predecessor had. >> he sets a strong tonight. he will be the fourth that the president had under him and will that give him more leverage. >> reporter: maybe after looking around and the other potential candidates bowed out, it is clear that the president was struggling to get a new defense secretary. it will be hard to push ash carter are out when he is pledging to be his own man. and republicans like linsay graham said he has great credit essentials and they think he will be confirmed, but the republicans like bu

this will likely be hagel's last trip to afghanistan as pentagon chief. he's going to be stepping down as soon as the senate confirms his successor. >>> back in the u.s., thousands of people took to the streets across the country to protest what they call injustices. they're referring to the back to back grand jury decisions not to charge police officers with crimes in the deaths of eric garner and michael brown. nbc takes us to those protests. >> reporter: for a third night protesters took to the streets in new york and in dozens of cities across the country. from washington, d.c. to wall street and west chester county, new york. >> we want to push for a prosecutor. >> reporter: it's a refrain that's familiar, echoing from miami to massachusetts. back to new york, marchers staged a die in at an apple's store. the city's police commissioner says he expects the crowds will dwindle. >> these things tend to peter out on their own. people get tired of marching around aimlessly. >> reporter: so far the chants go on. >> erin garner, mike brown, shut it down, sh

chuck hagel speaking to reporters at 1:30 eastern. we plan to bring you an event with tom perez highlighting a report showing that millions of american workers are victims of wage violations. that's live at 2:00 eastern time. as long as the event with defense secretary hagel allows us to, we will get that to you as well. >>> speaker john boehner spoke about today's immigration legislation in the u.s. house. he reacted to the grand jury decisions in ferguson and new york city saying both are serious tragedies and the american people deserve more answers about what really happened. >> good morning, everyone. we are weeks away from the start of a new american congress with a republican senate and the largest house gop majority that we have seen in 90 years. senator mcconnell and i have pledged to focus on the american people's priorities, starting with jobs. we expect to keep that pledge. this week and next, we are working to complete work on a number of important items. the president thumbed his nose at the american people with his acti

so hagel said either he goes or i go. he went. that was pretty tough. i got a lot of respect for this guy. but at the confirmation hearings, you're taking money from the north koreans and -- he gave a speech at rutgers with an iranian american professor and you're in cahoots -- horrible, horrible stuff. cart are is not going to have any problem because the republicans like him. why won't it cause problems? you took money from north korea, center hag until carter recommended bombing them in 2005. is that who you want? well, maybe some people do. but if you didn't want to get him in, those are things that you could use. so, i think it was, well, we're going to shake things up, to show you that we're not just going to keep going, so we threw him under the bus. and i got to tell you, it was the worse handled resignation i have ever seen. you're going to fire somebody, you better have the other person picked. not only did they not have it. then they listed people, all of whom turned it down. that why i used the colt mccoy analogy. everybody turned it down. i

he was actually in the running last time when chuck hagel got the job.that, he was the head of defense procurement, the chief weapons buyer in the pentagon. and was actually credited with doing a lot to push through some of the emergency urgent equipment that they needed in iraq and afghanistan to counter ieds, roadside bombs, that sort of thing. so very much familiar with the bureaucracy of defense, and a thinker on defense. he's actually a physicist by training, but he's done a lot of work on nuclear weapons. so very much knows the pentagon. i think that is his strength. as i say, we were expecting this. the only issue really was the timing, and it looks as far as mr. obama is concerned, the timing is now. he became the frontrunner actually because some of those who were previously thought would move in have moved -- abstracted themselves out of the running. like perhaps somebody who would have been the first woman u.s. defense secretary. so in some ways, he became frontrunner by default. >> can we go so far as to say he's dovish or hawkish, or is he b

chuck hagel, senator from nebraska, a republican. >> senator hagel is the reason i really was appointedy the attorney general. as a former chief of staff to senator kennedy, i wasn't exactly the person who everybody would automatically assume would be assigned this task, by the attorney general and the administration. chuck hagel, who i have known since agent orange for over 20 years, personally pushed at the white house and at the department of justice, claim that i was the right man to do this. >> you wanted this job, you say. >> oh, yes. i think millions of people would have wanted this job. >> did many people apply for the job? >> of no idea. >> to this day, i don't know if the administration sought out others. or offered it to others. >> what were you doing at the moment you decided you wanted the job? >> i was feeching at the university of pennsylvania law school, i was teaching. and i read about the program. i was coming back on the train, and i said to myself, i think this is something that i want to do. >> because you -- step back. where were you the moment of 9/11? >> at the u