james mattis john kelly may have been heroes in combat. i don't know, i'm not a military man and can't judge but i do know something about civilian government and the way they behaved as disgraceful and frightening. they tried to impose their military views after they were rejected by civilian leadership. they were self righteous subversive and disloyal. oh, and they were swampy at the same time. mattis was paid $240,000 and up to $500,000 invested in stock options by general dynamics that builds tanks, step submarines ammunitions. he also received a speaking fee from another company. john kelly was paid $166,000 from dying corporation who gets their revenue from government contracts. they just love saying their noble role, saving america from disaster by controlling a crazy president. if they have evidence that the president of united states is mentally ill or unfit to carry out his duties, then it is there patriotic duty to make that evidence public. james mattis, john kelly, rex tillerson, all the rest of you in the self regarding commi

as you know, president obama fired him and essentially so did i. >> to be clear, james mattis resigned in protest. with me is peter bergen, who has an op-ed on cnn.com about the president's war with his generals. clearly the president is peeved over mattis' departure and how it all went down with that resignation letter. they were not able to see eye to eye on syria or afghanistan for that matter. but what do you make of the president's criticism? >> it's startling because go back two years, jim mattis, a retired four star, secretary of defense, john kelly was four star, secretary of homeland security and chief of staff, mike flynn, retired lieutenant general was national security security adviser when he left, mcmaster also a three-star general, hired as national security adviser. the place was rife with the kind of leading military figures of the generation. now president trump has really attacked mattis personal lly in his press conference, saying he fired him, which sun true. he essentially got rid of john kelly, and getting rid of james matt mattis. he's had a spat with admiral mc

defense secretary james mattis. all of that happening as senior administration officials continue to put pressure on trying to reconsider and that apparently appears to have worked we know that trump visited with u.s. troops in iraq after christmas he also sat down with his influential friend republican senator lindsey graham over the weekend and coming out of that meeting and his trip overseas the president seems to be seems to be deciding now not to rush that withdrawal and instead extend it to a four month period which is the minimum that his commanders on the ground had asked for. they specifically. a longer period in which to complete this withdrawal what specifically do we think they're going to be doing in this period of four months. that's right the initial announcement for this withdrawal was so rush that members of the pentagon really didn't have any details even to share about it with the press it appeared that they had not been forewarned of the president's decision is so that led to a scramble on the gr

james mattis resigned on december 20th in protoaest to withdrawing troops from syria.dent announced he moved his departure date up to january 1th. let's go to the pentagon. good morning to you both. and barbara, just set the record straight because there is more than one fact here that proves what the president is saying is just not true. >> reporter: well, you know, you're going to remember that when this all erupted on that day, the president actually tweeted that mattis was retiring and thanked him for his service. very rapidly that all fell apart. but the facts are when mattis went to the white house that day to meet with president trump, he already had a resignation letter in hand. he was planning to resign, and he had left a pile of the letters back at the pentagon to be distributed to the news media. that's what happened. it had been building for weeks. mattis was increasingly concerned that the president simply wasn't listening to any of his advice. it wasn't the fact about necessarily agreeing with him, but if the president was marge e i izing him he felt he h

the president falsely stating today that he fired his former pentagon chief, james mattis. >> as you know, president obama fired him. and essentially, so did i. i want results. >> reporter: mattis resigned in protest over the president's sudden decision to withdraw troops from syria. saying as much in a scathing resignation letter that sources said trump didn't realize was so critical. he blasted the retired general today. >> but general mattis was so thrilled. but what's he done for me? how has he done in afghanistan? not too good. >> reporter: trump, who didn't serve in the military but prides himself on being surrounded by generals, adding -- >> i think i would have been a good general, but who knows. >> reporter: though that's far from the president's only feud in washington. with incoming senator mitt romney telling cnn's jake tapper this today. >> he was endorsing me, i wasn't endorsing him. and i haven't decided if i'm going to endorse in 2020. >> reporter: that interview coming after romney bashed trump in a scathing op-ed in the "washington post," claiming the trump presidenc

trump also criticized his now former defense secretary james mattis, whom he forced out early last weekbefore his planned departure date of february 28th. the president said he was not happy with mattis's role in overseeing the role in afghanistan. >> we should point out that mattis was not fired. he resigned on december 20th. president trump went on to offer his thoughts on the conflict in afghanistan and added that he himself would have been a good general. >> here to talk about all of it, general barry mccaffrey, a former battlefield commander in the gulf war, retired u.s. army four-star general. general, thanks for joining us. this -- it's interesting we spoke in the last block about mitt romney, incoming u.s. senator. in this op-ed he wrote critical of some aspects of donald trump's performance as president. and mitt romney said one of the reasons he chose to write that op-ed was the exit of james mattis from this administration and the resignation letter that james mattis penned. to see the president going after his now former defense secretary in public, it is to put it mildly an

james mattis officially leaves his post at 11:59 p.m. tonight.s to a controversial decision to pull all u.s. troops out of syria. a decision he felt strongly against. what you think will be the new u.s. policy as we head into 2019? >> two goals in the first and foremost is to contain and degrade isis. the second is to create a degree of stability such that we can get of those refugees spread throughout the middle east back into damascus, back into syria. the third and final goal for the president politically is to show and demonstrate. to say, i promise that i would bring troops home and i am doing that. we will spend the money not over there but here. we'll see those three things become very large and his rhetoric. >> julie: when president trump initially announced his decision to withdraw troops, it was lindsey graham was a staunch ally of a president who came out with very strong sentiment against the idea. he issued a statement announcing the move. in obama-like mistake made by the trump administration. this week and he had a change of heart

what do you expect their feeling to be at that next defense minister's meeting without james mattis there? >> there is a lot of worry among the europeans. i remember i was with mattis with defense secretary mattis when he first went right after the inauguration when he took his first foreign trip and we went to munich to the security conference and brussels to nato and there was so much reassuring that jim mattis was doing with the europeans. it was a lot of don't worry. you know, we still have these institutions, this america is still america. so he was -- there was a lot of that. most of the european diplomats i talked to love jim mattis and they tend to, they were pretty -- this whole idea of mattis as the last man standing sort of almost the last adult in the room sort of originated in europe. so i think there is going to be a lot of concern. we don't know yet how acting defense secretary patrick shanahan, he does support -- we believe he does support nato but we're not -- nobody is sure yet how strong he is going to be on defending the alliance to president trump. he has made a point

trump also criticized his now former defense secretary james mattis, whom he forced out early last week before his planned departure date of february 28th. the president said he was not happy with mattis's role in overseeing the role in afghanistan. >> what's he done for me? how has he done in afghanistan? not too good. not too good. i'm not happy with what he's done in afghanistan. and i shouldn't be happy. but he was very happy. he was very thankful when i got him $700 billion and then the following year $716 billion. so i mean i wish him well. i hope he does well. but as you know, president obama fired him. and essentially so did i. >> we should point out that mattis was not fired. he resigned on december 20th. president trump went on to offer his thoughts on the conflict in afghanistan and added that he himself would have been a good general. >> we have an area that i brought up with our generals four or five weeks ago where taliban is here, isis is here, and they're fighting each other. i said why don't you let them fight? why are we getting in the middle of it? i said let them fig

james mattis says while the u.s. is the indispensable nation, we cannot serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing ou respect to the allies.ll we must use all tools of american power to provide for the common defense including providing effective leadership to our alliances, nato's 29 democracies demonstrated that strength in their commitment to fighting alongside us following the 9/11 attack in america chasm in his resignation letter, he said to provide a full transition to a new confirmed secretary of defense, he would stay on the job through february so that he could attend nato's d meeting of defense ministers at the end of february. president trump then took the position of in effect, you're not resigning because i'm firing you and he pushed james mattis out of the defense department on july 1st. on january 1st, sorry. at that nato defense minister's meeting in february, for the first time in history, nato defense ministers will not be joined by an american secretary of defense

well he could be no more different from james mattis we're talking about patrick shanahan who is now the acting secretary of defense for the u.s. he'll be in that position as trump expands his search for a permanent replacement and while his predecessor james mattis came with decades of experience commanding troops in afghanistan and in iraq shanahan has only been a part of the military for eighteen months prior to joining the trouble ministration he was the c.e.o. of boeing so he brings a corporate sensibility to the post he's seen as a very able administrator but lacking the opinion in the military backbone that matters have and that's leading some critics to view this position with caution that he may become more of a yes man for trump's policies james mattis who officially has resigned and is no longer with the defense department left a farewell memo to his employees that said the him is the defense department remains in the best possible hands but he also in what is being viewed as another underhanded criticism of trump's policy of withdrawing u.s. troops in this quick fashion h

essentially, defense secretary james mattis quit, a.b., and the president is trying to rewrite history thinking, one of the most -- the biggest concern to senate republicans right now is the departure of mattis, the syria policy and who the next secretary of defense is. this is a very bad time for us to not have stability at the pentagon. james mattis, as you know, is beloved by the entire rank and file in the military, and this is a loss, and the president who knows how beloved james mattis is to not be able to contain himself before his acting cabinet at the table and to trash him that way is simply astonishing. there are republicans we know across town today just dismayed he would speak this way. we have not heard from any of them. >> thank you so much for being with us this morning. stick around with cnn all day to see this historic day in congress as the new house and senate begins their new work. also ahead on new day, we will speak with the number two democrat in the senate, dick durbin. he was in the situation room meeting with president trump. >> that will be fascinating to he

it took military officials by surprise and then in 2018 then defense secretary james mattis came up withific policy. that policy banned certain transgender military members, in particular members with a history of the medical condition gender disforia. that is a condition affecting how an individual identifies as to their sex. what the pentagon is saying here is that we have never and we will not ban all transgender members. approximately 9,000 transgender members are in the military. we have a number during the obama administration, 937 of those members were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. presumably this transgender ban would only apply to those people who have this condition, gender dysphoria. we will see how it will take effect seeing how the supreme court said this ban can go into effect immediately. this is battling out here amid the statements. >> let me ask you for clarification because as i understand it the way that james mattis and defense secretary tweaked it as you explained gender dysphoria, it means that those transgender individuals if they want to continue to serve woul

eventually james mattis resigned. joining us now to discuss this, the pentagon and state department spokesperson. i want to start with james mattis quit. president trump is trying to re-write history before our eyes. >> secretary mattis determined he was not being successful with the president and his voice was not being heard and every obligation that we have as saw pwoer subordinates is to make that determination, and so if it's not working it's not working and he made the determination to leave, and there's a military term, and it's called stealing a march, and he said, boss, this is not working and i offer my resignation. >> i am trying to re-write history, or lie as we are all watching about how james mattis left, is one thing, and admiral kirky, it kirby, to run him down. what is the impact there? >> that was very disappointing to see. very ungentlemenly, in my view. all of this is doing nothing to improve and make for healthy civil military relations. the president runs down former or acting generals and admira

reason we now have an acting secretary of defense is that donald trump fired defense secretary james mattis, something the world knows is a lie. in fact, general mattis shocked donald trump with a public resignation letter that took donald trump several days to figure out was actually an attack on him. donald trump's first encounter with the american military involved what most men his age in 1968 were trying to do, and that is avoid military service in combat in the vietnam war. last week the day after christmas "the new york times" revealed that the foot doctor who provided donald trump with the written excuse of bone spurs to get out of military service told his daughter that he did that as a favor for donald trump's father who was then the doctor's landlord. now that donald trump has spent some time around generals including his former defense secretary, retired marine general james mattis who he now condemns as incompetent, donald trump thinks that he could have gone all the way to the top in the american military. and today he actually said this. >> i think i would have been a good ge

putting a team together. >>> "the new york times" is reporting that jim webb may take over for james mattistepped down in december after the announcement from the president he is pulling troops out of syria among other things. one official told the representatives for vice president mike pence and acting white house chief of staff who reached out to webb. he represented virginia in the u.s. senate and launched an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2016. >>> police revealing this video. and the hunt for a gunman who killed a 7-year-old girl. it shows the suspect's car near the scene of the shooting. jazmine barnes was killed with her family while riding in the car. tips have poured in to investigators, but the suspect remains on the loose. cnn's nick valencia spoke to the victim's family. they say they are living in fear. >> reporter: we sat down with the mother of jazmine barnes. we also spoke to jazmine's sister. both were in the car at the time of the shooting. in fact, alexis says she made eye contact with the suspected shooter. she says the description is slightly different from the man s

jame mattis was his defense secretary for two years. jim mattis resigned in a dignified way. he did not praise donald trump but did not criticize donald trump. he has literally not said a word in criticism of the united states. and trump today trashes jim mattis who is an unbelievably distinguished general and served valiantly as defense secretary swallowing hard to try to keep things, you know, in check at times going along with decisions he didn't agree with. as defense secretary for two years. the day he leaves, the first day out of office, trump trashes him. one thing to criticize mitt romney who criticized him. another thing to criticize democrats. fine. that's what trump does. criticizing jim mattis will not sit well with people including people like other people in the cabinet. what about the acting defense secretary shanahan. what do you think about that criticism of the man you just served as deputy for two years. somebody should ask mcconnell. what do you think of that criticism? >> also, by the way, as he's about to go into a room with the democrats, he makes some

for three years. >>> president trump taking a few parting shots at his former defense secretary james mattise president claiming he fired his pentagon chief when mattis resigned in protest. here is the president taking on mattis' departure it. >> what has he done for me? how has he done in afghanistan? not too good. i'm not happy with what he's done in afghanistan. i shouldn't be happy. he was thankful when i got him $700 billion. and then the following year, $716 billion. i wish him well. i hope he does well. as you know, president obama fired him and essentially so did i. i want results. >> mattis was supposed to leave the white house at the end of february. the president moved up the departure date by two months with aides telling cnn that the president was frustrated by the media coverage of mattis' regulsignation letter. >>> president trump talking back plans for immediate withdrawal from syria. the original 30-day drawdown plan is physically impossible without significant risk to u.s. forces. pentagon officials say four months is closer to reality. speaking to reporters at the cabinet

the reason for james mattis's departure is this policy in syria. president trump has been saying that isis is defeated. listen to what he said shortly after making this announcement that you would pull troops out of syria. >> we have won against isis. we've beaten them and we've beaten them badly. we've taken back the land and now it's time for our troops to come back home. >> reporter: a central disdpe t disagreement with his military leaders was that claim. just minutes ago vice president mike pence is speaking at a conference right now. shortly after this news broke, he said that isis has been defeated and the caliphate has been destroyed. there's no backtracking from the white house on that claim. again, this death over in syria really calls into question whether that is true and whether there are pockets, as the president was briefed in iraq. his military leaders told him when he visited iraq that isis is not totally defeated, they are still a problem in the region. it seems this death will put a finer point on that situation on the ground in

it was acting defense secretaries first meeting, james mattis recently occupied. >> the team is executingrational training every day. the collaboration has been a seamless. >> even though he is no longer part of these meetings the president had some notes for his former defense secretary. >> what has he done for me? how has he done in afghanistan? not too good. as you know president obama fired him and essentially so did i. >> over the past year rex tillerson, david show ken, scott pruitt, nikki haley, the attorney general jeff sessions, ryan zinke, defense secretary james mattis, and white house chief of staff john kelly have left the administration. there are more cabinet changes coming. but a third of the cabinet officials of this afternoon's meeting or acting in their roles including the chief of staff, defense secretary, attorney general, interior secretary, epa demonstrator and ambassador to united nations. while the president considers permanent repletion's, mick mulvaney spent his first day in his latest administration role. acting chief of staff. >> i want to thank mick mulvaney.

what we heard after james mattis left, they were undermining that policy. >> bret: that is not what lindseyten. >> don't let iran get the oil fields. don't let isis come back. the president is knowing down to his reevaluation. >> he is changing course like a drunken sailor. there is no thought behind it. what we need is actual rational policy in syria and on border security. all we have the emotional ranting of a child. >> bret: okay. >> the reason why he got so much pushback from republicans was not just any way he dated which seemed impetuous, there was a disagreement about whether or not isis had actually been defeated. there were so many republicans that felt it is happening. >> the administration changed its opinion within days, within hours. they said, not defeated and then what they said, even richer was that after that they said, russia and iran are going to defeat them. it will be even better. >> first of all, the president has spoken during the campaign. he did not believe syria was a proper place to be. >> bret: he definitely had a plan to get out. >> he had told james mattis a m

y el presidente trump asegurÓ que en esencia habÍa despedido a james matti, a pesar de que Éste habÍa, anunciÓ el 20 de diciembre. y autoridades mexicanas y activistas en pro de los inmigrantes consideran que quienes participaron en el fallido cruce de la frontera entre mÉxico y california el pasado lunes, estÁn siendo incitados por personas que presuntamente viven fuera de mÉxico. jorge fregoso los explica cÓmo repercute esta situaciÓn en los inmigrantes albergados en tijuana. jorge: fueron repelidos por decenas de agentes de la patrulla fronteriza. incluso usaron gases lacrimÓgenos para evitar la entrada a territorio estadounidense. >> denota que los estÁn claramente manejando. algunos estÁn realizando estas acciones. jorge: pero lo que mÁs llama la atenciÓn es que en las grabaciones y se escuchan voces de los extranjeros que intentan convencer a los agentes fronterizos para que les permiten el paso. evitan hablar de esos extranjeros que de alguna manera los estarÍan incitando para cruzar al otro lado. los migrantes dicen que al llegar a la frontera se toparon con un fuerte operativ

i was there this week, i looked up and there was james mattis. hoowas surprised. that even though he did pen that letter that i think raised expectations that maybe he's ready to dish some time soon about his experiences in that white house, he assured me that is not happening anytime soon and i'm talking potentially years. that was the word he used to me. >> nancy pelosi not going to afghanistan. democrats are upset. we can look at it as a tit for tat. one of the members that was going put up an amendment to force the pentagon to assist members that wanted to go to iraq, syria, etc. it got killed in the house rules committee which was under republican control. the president is pulling troops out of afghanistan. the speaker waunlnted to go the and was not able to. >> a lot of fighting men there. >> thank you, jonathan. >> thank you, jonathan i hear it in the background and she's watching too, saying [indistinct conversation] [friend] i've never seen that before. ♪ ♪ i have... ♪ introducing zero account fees for brokerage accounts. and zero minimums to open an acco

this guy, replacing james mattis, major general, he's got no government experience. no policy experience. and he is not a veteran. what is your take on? >> well, first of all, happy new year, katie, hi, jack, good to see you. look, the traditional role of a deputy secretary of defense going back, oh, 20 years, has been mr. inside. and the secretary's been mr. outside. and most, in fact, some of the most successful senior administrators in the dod have been budgeteers. one comes to mind as bob work who left the job about two years ago. so in terms of the function that fits the deputy's job, shanahan, by all accounts, has done well. the question is, can he transition over into the strategy and policy arena. and my sense, at least in the short term, is that a lot of that's going to be absorbed by mike pompeo, perhaps john bolton will assume a lot of the mantle of sort of the liaison to the allies, keeping peace among the services and all the other things, the traditional roles. we'll wait and see whether shanahan will fit the bill. >> one of the things that mattis said

former secretary james mattis resigned last month after president trumpou aed he was pulling troops out of syria. >>> we learned news about a shooting in southeast d. a man has died at the hospital after getting shot on barnaby road. this is near the maryland line.w d on the identity of the suspect or victim. >>> this morning aanemains in critical condition after being shot in the head. he was the teuned victim in a new year's day shooting. he was walking to lunch just after noon yesterday on first and kennedy streets. two nearby groups of men began arguing and someone pulled out a gun. shots were fired and one of the llets hit the man. police are hing surveillance video will lead to an arrest. >> we have a couple of peopl'r talking to and we're searching video. >> the shooting hapned down the street from a d.c. crime camera. >>> tetre are some newls in the death of the u.s. marine inside the barracks. the gunshot that killed the marine was not self-inflicted. >> we're told the maas on duty and in uniform when he died yesterday with a single gunshot wound to the head. the marine corps i

allies led to the departure of the ministrations secretary of defense james mattis so certainly this is compounding tensions too with turkey the united states as nato ally certainly there have been some problems with regard to the fact that in recent days the president has threatened the turkish leader air to want given that there has not been an assurance that the u.s. is happy with with regard to the kurdish forces that assisted the united states in its effort to defeat eisel the united states looking for that assurance and saying that if it does not come that there would be a threat in terms of devastating turkey economically this is what the president said on sunday the two leaders have since spoken and say that they are working towards resolving those differences but at the same time turkey has been very clear of how it feels about the kurdish forces that they view it connected to a larger terrorist network and those assurances have not yet been worked out so not only are there tensions between these two allies and regionally but certainly this is only compounding the problems o

the president also talked about his now former defense secretary james mattis, who said he was essentially fired when he resignation. general mattis saying that he would stay until the end of february, he officially left the position on monday. here is the president. >> in afghanistan, you have one india.g -- any mention what gold you want india to have? >> they should be involved in afghanistan. i'll give you an example, i give our generals all the money they wanted and they did not do such a great job in afghanistan. they have been fighting in afghanistan for 18 years. evenal mattis thanked me more the following year when i got him $716 billion, he could not believe it. because our military was did read it. now we are rebuilding our he was responsible for the new orders of the f-35 fighter jet and the f-18s, the ships, the muscles and everything. he was so thrilled. but what has he done for me? how has he done in afghanistan? not too good. ism not happy with what he done in afghanistan and they should not be happy. but he was very happy and thankful when i got him $700 billion, and then

of all may have been this that he told about the defense secretary -- former defense secretary james mattis, who resigned last month. >> i wish him well. i hope he does well. but as you know, president obama fired him, and essentially so did i. >> there's no essentially about it. mattis was not fired, okay? he wasn't fired no matter how many times this president says that. he quit on december 20th in a letter that made his feelings about this president's policies pretty clear. right now let me quote from that letter, okay? so he says here, he says, quote, my views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues. because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with your in these and other subjects, i believe it is right for me to step down from my position. i believe it is right for me to step down from my position. was there a quote about essentially fired? step down. that's not being fired no matter what the p

that happened today after james mattis stepped down.e'll talk about some of the issues shanahan is expected to face early on in his new role. plus, police looking into two separate new year's eve attacks in europe and one called an act of terrorism. we'll have more coming up. oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven? and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. oh! up to 12 pounds? a two-year study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, or death. oh! no increased risk? ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ozempic® should not be the first medicine for treating diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not share needles or pens. don't reuse needles. do not take ozempic® if you have a p

there was james mattis, the second of defense.ohn kelly first dhs secretary and then his chief of staff. general michael flynn was the president's first national security adviser and we all know how quickly that changed. h.r. mcmaster replaced him. but now they're all gone. after very public and messy breaks with a president who, by the way, had this to say about himself. >> i think i would have been a good general but who knows. >> joining us now is cnn national security analyst peterberg again. he just wrote a piece for cnn.com titled now trump is at war with the generals and in it you say trump believes he was elected to end foreign entanglements and that alliances like nato are ripping off the united states. while u.s. military leaders are keenly aware that nato allies have been fighting shoulder to shoulder with them since the 9/11 attacks. how fundamental is that difference and world view between the president and generals and what does it mean for the president and the pentagon going forward? >> rl were i think it's fundame

that's right so the person taking the helm from james mattis is patrick shanahan and they could not be more different in their background while mattis was a general of decades serving in the military having ground experience in afghanistan and iraq shanahan was the executive of boeing aviation and in fact has only eighteen months of any military experience he is seen as a person who is a capable administrator and will carry out trump's. orders however critics are fearful that he may become more of a yes man to trump and his. urges without really being that counterweight that matus had been described as the adult in the room for making these foreign policy decisions but matters in trying to appease some of these fears upon his leaving his position as defense secretary which took effect with this new year he released a memo a farewell to his employees that said that the defense department remains in the best possible hands and that. the employees of the defense department should try to avoid distractions and remain focused on their sworn mission of protecting the us constitution good to

president trump changing his story on the departure of james mattis. >>> and the not so slow withdrawalis really happening behind the scenes at the pentagon. next. i am not for colds. i am not for just treating my symptoms... (ah-choo) i am for shortening colds when i'm sick. with zicam. zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines... ...zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam. oral or nasal. life isn't a straight line. things happen. and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. but at fidelity, we help you prepare for the unexpected with retirement planning and advice for what you need today and tomorrow. because when you're with fidelity, a partner who makes sure every step is clear, there's nothing to stop you from moving forward. >>> in our world lead, you may have noticed the president went from demanding a 30-day withdrawal from syria to agreeing to give the pentagon four months. tweeting, quote, we're slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families. trump allies point to this as a slow down or a pause

and today the president attacked his former defense secretary, retired four-star general, james mattis. >> but what's he done for me? how has he done in afghanistan? not too good. not too good. i'm not happy with what he's done in afghanistan. and i shouldn't be happy. but he was very happy, he was very thankful, when i got him $700 billion and then the following year, $716 billion. so i wish him well. i hope he does well. but as you know, president obama fired him and essentially, so did i. >> keeping 'em honest, if "essentially fired" means "did not fire," what the president said would be true. it doesn't mean that, however. general mattis resigned in protest of the president's policies and even released a letter detailing their differences. now, there was a long, proud tradition of that in the military and in u.s. government service, but you don't see it much anymore, because people these days want to stay as close to power, as long as they possibly can. but mattis resigned. and his resignation letter is polite, but very clear about the president's actions. now, because of that lett

taking aim at some of america's top military minds as two more retired generals, john kelly and james mattis, serve out their final days in his administration. nbc's geoff bennett has that story. >> reporter: tonight the commander in chief locked in a war of words with his generals. president trump lashing out at those questioning his decision to withdraw u.s. troops from syria. >> if you pull american influence out, you're likely to have greater instability. >> reporter: mr. trump tweeting, some failed generals who were unable to do the job before i arrived like to complain about me and my tactics. retired four-star general stanley mcchrystal among those slamming trump's syria shift, while going a step further. >> do you think he's a liar? >> i don't think he tells the truth. >> is trump immoral in your view? >> i think he is. >> reporter: that's as two of the men trump calls his generals exit the administration, john kelly out as chief of staff and defense secretary jim mattis resigning in protest over mr. trump's world view. >> i see my generals, the generals are going to keep us so safe.

. >>> james mattis had advice for staff on his last day in the trump white house. hold fast. words part of a farewell letter. the now former defense secretary sent it to pentagon employees. he also said he is confident staffers will continue defending the constitution. deputy secretary patrick shanahan became acting defense secretary at midnight. >>> investors are hoping to put the turbulent year of 2018 behind them. despite small gains yesterday, stocks posted their worst yearly decline since 2008 during the financial crisis. analysts say there is more volatility ahead because of uncertainty about the world's economy. >>> north carolina's animal laws are now under scrutiny following that fatal lion attack. the wildlife center where 22-year-old intern alexandra black was mauled to death, and they remain closed looking at how that lion got out of the locked enclosure. north carolina is one of four states with little or no laws for keeping wild animals in captaintivi captaintivi captivity. >>> time now for a look at your weather on this new year's day. >> reporter: good morning

other people in acting roles are david bernhardt in for ryan zinke, and patrick shanahan in for james mattis. patrick m. shanahan / acting united states secretary of defense: "the threat is real. the risks are real. we need to control our borders."mick mulvaney is still the budget director - but is now also acting chief of staff, with john kelly leaving.a permanent replacement has not yet been named - and is not a position that requires senate confirmation.in washington, i'm natasha chen reporting. (vicki) some of the most beautiful parts of the bay area are being affected by this partial government shutdown, now in it's 12th day. kron4's maureen kelly shows us the impact it's having on stinson beach. reporting. (vicki) some of the most beautiful parts of the bay area are being affected by this partial government shutdown, now in it's 12th day. kron4's maureen kelly shows us the impact it's having on stinson beach. the entrance to the parking area of the stinson beach recreation area is gated off......with one sign reading park closed....and another explaining that this is all due to a lapse

the tweet came hours before defense secretary james mattis ended his two years as pentagon chief. >>> well, we're now 11 days into the partial government shutdown and still there is no sign of a deal between democrats and republicans. mr. trump released a video yesterday reminding democrats that any bill must include money for a border wall. democrats unveiled two plans to fund the government, but neither of them included wall funding. meanwhile the smithsonian is on the brink of shutting its doors like several other federal government agencies affected by the shutdown. >> to close down culture and the arts to people, to affect people's paychecks and their sa, makes me a little uncomfortable as an american citizen. >> funding the government is just a basic function and it's disappointing that we're here again and congress and the president can't seem to get it together. >> the smithsonian will close tomorrow because of the political stalemate. democrats plan to pass a bill without wall funding as we had mentioned when they take over the house on thursday, but the gop controlled senate

. >> reporter: that decision triggered the resignation of his defense secretary james mattis who saidhat the president's snap decision to abandon allies on the field of battle. fighting continues as u.s.-backed forces close in on the last isis stronghold, capturing at least one american in the process, warren christopher clark, a houston resident. according to this letter he sent isis, he offered to teach english in the islamic state. instead, he was apparently thrown into the front lines. clark is now more than one of 700,000 foreign fighters captured and held by u.s.-backed forces in syria. if the u.s. were to pull out abruptly, all of those fighters almost certainly would be released and able to return to the battlefield. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >>> north korean leader kim jong-un is in beijing this morning for a four-day visit. kim's visit comes after u.s. and north korean officials reportedly met in vietnam recently to discuss the location of a second summit. the trip also comes a week after kim warned that he may take an alternative path if the u.s. is not sanction

james mattis resigned after president trump resaid he was o pulling troop of syria. >>> a man remains in critical condition as he was shot in the head. he was walki to lunch just dyter noon yesterday on first and kentreet northwest. two nearby groups of men began arguing and someone pulled a gun. were fired and one of the bullets hit the man. police are hoping surveillance video will lead to an arrest. peopleave a couple of we're talking to. we're working on getting a ndokout for the suspect we're searching the video cameras. if we have some video that's of >>e, we'll release it to you guys. the shooting happened down the street from a d.c. crime camera. >>> this morning we're still working to learn new information about a shooting in south st d.c. pris aren't revealing much. there was a huge presence on barn na byroad. this is the dc/maryland line. noord yet if that shooting happened inside or outside a building. >>> we are n learning details of the death of a u.s. marine inside the barracks onapol hill. >> officials tell -- >> officials are saying the gunshot that killed the ma lean

took aim at some of the top military minds as two more retired generals, john kelly and james mattis serve their final days. >> reporter: tonight the commder and chief locked in a war of words with his generals. president trump shing out at those questioning his decision to withdraw u.s. troops from syria. an> if you pull amernfluence out, you're likely to have greater instability. >> reporter: mr. trump tweeting somfailed generals who were unable to do the job before i arrived like to complain about me and my tactics. retired four-star general stanley mccrystal among those slamming trump's sudden serious shift whilgoing a step further. >> i think he's a liar. >> is trum>>p iim donra'tl h your view? >> yes. >> reporter: that's two of the men mr. trump calls his generals exit administration. john kelut as white house chief of staff and defense secretary jim mattis resigning in protest r. trump's world view. >> i see my generals, generals will keep us so safe. these are central casting. if i'm doing a movie, i pick you general. >> reporter: they are latest in a string of former high-ra

sweeney was a retired rear admiral who served under former secretary james mattis. ecall, retired and left his post just last week. sweeney says he is returning to the private sector. >>> glitz, glam? well, it's the golden cloeglobe. who will win big next year? a preview, next. >>> dramatic video out of corpus christi, texas. police and bystanders flipped over a burning car on the freeway in order to help a trapped driver. take a look. >> their drivers were already out of their vehicles trying to push the car over when police arrived. the officers jumped out to help, and once they flipped over that burning car, police were able to pull the 70-year-old driver out of the wreckage. officials say that car was hit by a wrong-way driver who died on the scene. the man who was rescued from that burning car survived and is expected to be okay. largely thanks to those really generous bystanders. >>> all right, hollywood is rolling out the red carpet once again for award season starting with tonight's 76th annual golden globes. and the awards show honors the best in television

honestly who could want to get in the way of that defense secretary james mattis quit right away saying that trump should find somebody more aligned to his own views on this and apparently it's proving difficult to find someone in washington who wants to end a war and not start. this should have stuck around because voice of reason national security advisor john bolton confirmed. one hundred percent without a doubt adam really that to me would be leaving one one hundred percent advice this is destroyed. when i agree probably so you are in syria isn't really about syria it's about keeping these guys happy and these guys until someone leaves to tell jordan charm. this is a race row has erupted in south africa after a local health department reportedly told white doctors not to apply according to a leaked document the department is aiming to hire four hundred and sixty six black doctors its equity target also includes thirty two indian twelve white and four mixed race professionals. we are unapologetic about addressing these imbalances of the past south africa including causey natal remain

y el presidente trump asegurÓ que en esencia habÍa despedido a james matti, a pesar de que Éste habÍaalifornia el pasado lunes, estÁn siendo incitados por personas que presuntamente viven fuera de mÉxico. jorge fregoso los explica cÓmo repercute esta situaciÓn en los inmigrantes albergados en tijuana. jorge: fueron repelidos por decenas de agentes de la patrulla fronteriza. incluso usaron gases lacrimÓgenos para evitar la entrada a territorio estadounidense. >> denota que los estÁn claramente manejando. algunos estÁn realizando estas acciones. jorge: pero lo que mÁs llama la atenciÓn es que en las grabaciones y se escuchan voces de los extranjeros que intentan convencer a los agentes fronterizos para que les permiten el paso. evitan hablar de esos extranjeros que de alguna manera los estarÍan incitando para cruzar al otro lado. los migrantes dicen que al llegar a la frontera se toparon con un fuerte operativo y que muchos evitaron internarse al vecino paÍs. incluso aseguran que fueron intimidados y w decidieron regresar. >> se puso bien fea la cosa. jorge: activistas aseguran que incl