back here in kurdish northern iraq, there's unfinished business.or, kamran, still troubles me. 0k, well, time to get ready. i've dug out my old notebook from the time. "road to dibajan, land cruisers, two planes." and these are just notes ijotted down right up to the moment, really, when we got bombed. and i suppose that squiggle, i don't remember, but must be perhaps when it happened. and then my notes afterwards that i wrote that afternoon. "kamran took 20 minutes to die, poor kid. "all my fault that he was with us, "though i specifically asked him beforehand if he wanted to come. "even so, i feel dreadful." ok, i'll bring this with us. let's go. back in 2003, i had to break the news of kamran‘s death to his mother, fauzia. now i'm heading back to see the family again. i must say, of all the stuff we've been doing for this film, this is the one bit that i really, really d read. i mean, forget going up to the front line and the mines and the tunnels and so on, this is the difficult bit. kamran‘s elder brother, nariman, had to identify his body. he

turkish war planes targeting kurdish militant positions in northern iraq.eports of more than 100 pro kurdish activists rounded up in country wide raids. this 24 hours after. it a.t.a.c. the offshoot of the group for the twin bombings at the soccer stadium. after the saturday night match between two of turkey's top teams followed by a suicide bomb attack less than a minute later. that soccer stadium right next to the hotel i'm coming to you live from right in the heart of istanbul. the engine of turkey's economy and its main tourist attraction. imagine attacks on a sporting complex like flushing meadow or yankee sad upper marlbortadium. it easy to see why the president on down vowing revenge. the blade of the state stretching far and wide is how the interior minister responded to the tax. th attacks. that is no idle threat. saturday's attack, alison, was the 17th major terrorist attack by either kurdish militants in turkey the last year alone. along that, the polarization brought about by the failed coup in the summer. this has been one of the most tumultuou

the newest enterprise bearing five-star hotel or an exclusive golf club.it is a restaurant in northern iraq serving fire-roasted carptrump fish's logo features the businessman-turned- politician's distinctive yellow mane.the logo is not only pulling in locals, but those traveling abroad. "he is an american, maybe he is not my favourite, but he is still american. so, i am happy to try a restaurant with an american name with kurdish- iraqi food." owner hopes to open another location in the u-s some day. the force is strong with star wars fans already lined up outside the famous t-l-c theather in los angles.they are awaiting tomorrow night's premieof wars: roug one."i-dacamput thanks for joining us today at

thankfully, i think there is an effort now to create a region in northern iraq for christians, for the asyrians because this is the indigenous people of iraq, the asyrians are the indigenous people and they are trying to have a place where they can worship, preserve their culture and language and be safe from people like a us and all of the other -- isis and all of the other fundamentalists >> thank you for reminding us of that. it is a season of hope and joy but it is also a season where we pray for peace. thank you. we will be right back in just a minute. >>> welcome back. we have father tom and father ninos from oakland with us: tell us, when people, particularly on christmas, can come worship with the congregation >> christmas eve we have the christmas eve divine liturgy which is at 10:00 on saturday morning. everybody's welcome. we do snot have open communion but at the end of every liturgy, we give out a piece of blessed bread. its remnant of the meal the early christians celebrated so everybody leaves with a little something. being greek, we have to give you something when you l

the turkish government is blaming the pkk out of northern iraq. there are some reports that turkish fighter jets have been bombing some positions in northern iraq that they believe to be strongholds of the pkk. the pkk and other kurdish groups have been in a war or insurgency for many years in turkey. there are claims that the pkk claimed responsibility for this attack. the turkish government is blaming kurdish fighters for it. >> thank you very much. >>> coming up, the deal breakers. is donald trump going to follow through on his campaign promise to roll back the iran nuclear agreement? you're watching andrea mitchell reports on msnbc. once i heard i was going to be a park ranger, i got really excited. gabe's obviously really sick. and there's a lot that he isn't able to do, and make-a-wish stepped in. we had to climb up the mountain to get the injured hiker. he fell from, like, a rock. he's been the one that has been rescued so many times. he said to me, "today, i got to be the hero." (avo) the subaru share the love event has helped grant the wi

about 5,000 american soldiers are currently in northern iraq.hey are advising iraqi soldiers who are fighting to recapture the city of mosul from isis. >>> two brothers ages 2 and 3 years of age were the victims of an uninmanageable crime. their father attacked them in their district heights home last month. today they got lots of help with their healing. as derek ward reports, it came from some of the first responders who helped save their lives. >> whoa! >> reporter: a moment like this kids opening presents on christmas morning. it's happening all over the world, but this moment almost didn't happen. >> i'm very happy to see that they are doing much better than th month ago he and his younger brother jordan were fighting for their lives, stabbed by his father during a domestic incident at their home in district heights. medic lieutenant pamela graham responded to the call. it's a kind of call that troubles first responders. >> of course we always think that it can't be right, so it was indeed. >> reporter: graham's response didn't end at the h

another one was in northern iraq where we saw heartbreaking images last year of isis smashing irreplaceable artifacts. that was recently taken by forces and we go there to see what remains. >> reporter: last year destroyed it lies in ruins. half man, half beast guarded palace door ways. now they're gone, symbols of an ancient empire destroyed by isis. these ruins are all that remains. >> reporter: history obliterated and isis wanted the world to watch. with sledgehammers and power tools, what they didn't blow up, they tore down by hand. lala watched the video dozens of times but it didn't make it any less painful. she would like to be an archeologist. she spent years excavating the site. hard to imagine now, but it was one of the richest archeological sites in the world. today this trove of treasures lies unprotected, open to looters. generations have shane the family that looked after the site. this cultural heritage destroyed? >> it's like when your mother is killed or your father is killed and your history is killed at the same time. >> reporter: but this teenager is fighting back with a

orla guerin, bbc news, northern iraq. katty: a desperate situation and and syria. a rock it is the time when time magazine makes the person had the most impact on america and the rest of the world for good or ill. the pic is little surprise. jane o'brien has the details. jane: there is little denying that donald trump has come to define 2016 according to time magazine. accolade is not exactly attribute. mr. trump was picked for reminding america that demagoguery feeds on despair. it may be hard to measure the scale of his disruption, but according to a popular tv show, the president-elect took issue with accusations he divided the nation. president-elect trump: i did not divide them, they are divided now. we will put it back together and have a country that is well healed. kellyhe has tabbed john tier mr. trump's proposed cabinet. the iowa governor may be the ambassador to china. china says he is an old friend, aftermay come as a relief talk of trade and provocative phone call with the president of taiwan. time magazine said trump demolished the politics of yesterd

gunfire ‘my producer and i are on the road in northern iraq.‘ there's not an awful lot of room. armoured vehicle

gunfire my producer and i are on the road in northern iraq. there's not an awful lot of room.off to some front—line in an armoured vehicle with my flak

first of all, this legislation that would create a safe zone in northern iraq for christians.lready set there could be something in syria. not almost this from berlin and where ever. >> so then donald trump says he is going to isis. >> he is really speaking out and will identify and all of the bad things happening the news of christmas is still going on. >> great to see you. >> merry christmas. >> a huge show. we still have kelly ann conway. >>> plus we are bringing this nativity scene to life this morning with real animals out there on our plaza. that's why the camel is here. >> that's where we got the idea for the camel. you wouldn't believe what's in this kiester. a farmer's market. a fire truck. even a marching band. and if i can get comfortable talking about this kiester, then you can get comfortable using preparation h. for any sort of discomfort in yours. preparation h. get comfortable with it. >>> tis the season of bright christmas lights and nativity scenes. we have some of those animals right here on our plaza. >> he has a mind of his own. >> what have you brought wi

targeting the army and the positions were attacked in neighboring northern iraq.orts of more than 100 pro-kurdish political activists rounded up in raids country wide. this is the issue. this is what you were stating. rightly so. saturday's attack in istanbul was the 17th major terrorist attack by either kurdish militants or isis in turkey this past year alone. then you have the political instability and polarization brought by the failed coup in the summer. it would not be an understatement to suggest this is one of the tumultuous years in modern history. >> thank you, becky. >>> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he is excited about working with donald trump. he plans to meet with the president-elect soon to discuss other options to the nuclear deal with iran. president-elect trump vowed during the campaign to tear up the pact which the israeli prime minister calls a threat to israel's existence. >> i think his attitude and support for israel is clear. he feels very warmly about the jewish state. about the jewish people and about jewish people. there

we're getting ready to put a hospital in northern iraq, right outside of mosul. >> and you fly to allthese dangerous places yourself? >> i do. >> could i keep this football? would that be stealing from a child? >> you can't steal from a child, sean. >> good to see you. god bless you. appreciate you being with us. >>> coming up, a charity sean has been following for several years, build homes for heros. helping out a military family that was injured last march in the brussels terror attack. we'll have that story for you next. stay with us. testme test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test test i thought i married an italian. did the ancestrydna to find out i'm only 16% italian. so i went onto ancestry, soon learned that one of our ancestors was eastern european. this is my ancestor who i didn't know about. >>> welcome back to "hannity". sean has within been following a special charity called building homes for heros. we can't let christmas go by without taking a look at another life changing project. >> during

exxon did a deal with the kurds, in which they got the oil from northern iraq. the state department, the national security council, the defense department all said was a bad idea, because it would break iraq apart. exxon said, we don't care. it's good for our shareholders, perfectly fine, perfectly appropriate, we hope that as he transitions to be secretary of state, he will put the interest of the broader interests of the country. and it's quite possible he will, it's quite -- one should hope and expect he will. the puzzle here does remain the russia angle, it's not rex tillerson, he's a fine businessman, he's done what he should do for his company if you add it all together. donald trump's repeated soft generous statements toward putin and russia, the appointment of mike flynn who has taken money honoring putin and the russians. now, tillerson, you wonder whether there is some kind of strange pro russian tilt here that is inexplicable. i have to say, i think that it would be wrong to cast aspergszs on rex tillerson without giving him a chance to explain some o

servicemen have been killed in northern iraq in the past 15 months. >>> well, he'll always be known for the hit song, last christmas, but this christmas, the music world is mourning the death of pop legend george michael. ♪ he died in his home in southern england yesterday. his death comes some three decades after he skyrocketed to fame with the boy band, wham. he later went on to a successful solo career. >> really, i can feel myself going every night. my fans both -- >> his manager told the press the singer died from heart failure. fans are mourning the death of the pop superstar. people laid flowers outside the home today. neighbors described their interactions with his around the village. >> we see him in the village from time to time. go to the local restaurants. a few years ago when it was time. he was just -- >> an autopsy will be confiperf to confirm the cause of death and new details on carrie fisher, who is recovering from a heart attack. debbie reynolds says her daughter is in stable condition in los angeles. yesterday, she tweeted a thank you to the public for their prayers.

>>> donald trump mania sweeping across the northern iraq region known as kurd stan.inessman named his restaurant trump fish. our own ben wedeman explains why the kurds are going wild over the american president-elect. >> reporter: three weeks old, little trump isn't bothered by his pesky brother rasheed. you heard right. this is baby trump. trump hasan jamiel born in kyrgyzstan. he explains what's in a name. >> translator: i called him trump, he says, because trump is charismatic and has clear policies. that's why he won the election. he heard trump say he was a big fan of kurdish forces calling for the fight against isis. in his honor, named his recently opened fish restaurant in the city of dohut after the donald and designed the the catchy logo. in iraq's murky waters, trump inspired some here to hope he'll also make kyrgyzstan great again. this fish is your standard carp. it's the way it's cooked. it's called mezguf here in iraq and big league popular and this is a catch fit for a president. there's no flip-flopping here. it takes just 45 minutes to go from the t

about 5,000 soldiers are in northern iraq.ident joe biden could be staying in the district after his successor is sworn in. biden told the l.a. times that he's planning to live after january 20th. he says the decision is quote, largely driven by family. biden says his wife will continue to teach at northern virginia community college where she has been an english professor since 2009. >>> it is one of the busiest travel times of the year. chuck is tracking what you can expect as family and friends return home. >> good neighbors spreading holiday cheer. the unique surprise that came right to the door. >> reporter: a police and fire response outside a home in prince george's county >>> right now a winter storm continues to make its way across the upper midwest. a white christmas was brought to that region. >> some parts of the state were blanketed by as much as 18 inches of snow. blizzard conditions have made it almost impossible to get around on the roads. slippery out there. low visibility causing a lot of accidents and shutti

verified that the turkish air force has been striking positions belonging to the pkk in parts of northern iraquggesting that this is a conflict that's not going to die down any time soon between the kurdish separatists launching attacks from southeast turkey and iraq and the turkish government. >> thank you very much for joining me. let's see now what you are saying out there about the microsoft pulse question. trump said he's too smart to attend daily intel briefings. are you concerned it could lead to uninformed domestic and foreign policy decisions. this is a run away. 97% of you say yes. 3% say no. there is time to continue voting. go to pulse .msnbc.com. more on the growing rift between the president-elect and u.s. intelligence agencies. does he have to restore good faith at the cia before he takes office? we'll ask mark sanford after the break. stay with us. this is lulu, our newest dog. mom didn't want another dog. she said it's too much work. lulu's hair just floats. uhh help me! (doorbell) mom, check this out. wow. swiffer sweeper, and dusters. this is what i'm talking about. look at

we're getting ready to put a hospital in northern iraq, right outside of mosul. >> and you fly to allo. >> could i keep this football? would that be stealing from a child? >> you can't steal from a child, sean. >> good to see you. god bless you. appreciate you being with us. >>> coming up, a charity sean has been following for several years, build homes for heros. helping out a military family that was injured last march in the brussels terror attack. we'll have that story for you next. stay with us. so basically we have two production options... hey guys, i gotta call you back. (phone ringing) hello? hi mom! oh, hi sweetie! how are you? give a keurig brewer this holiday and they will think of you everyday. listen up. etes. we're not professional athletes... but that doesn't mean we're giving up. i'm in this for me. for me. along with diet and exercise, farxiga helps lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes, lowering a1c by up to 1.2 points. do not take if allergic to farxiga. if you experience symptoms of a serious allergic reaction . do not take farxiga if you have severe ki

he'll be given an update on the push to drive that terror group out of mosul in northern iraq. russian state media also saying that an isis attack on the syrian city of palmyra has been repelled. activists said hundreds of syrian troops withdrew from the city after intense fighting on its outskirts. they report the russian air force conducted over 60 air strikes overnight in the area. they claim dozens of isis vehicles were destroyed and 300 militants killed. for the latest on this fight, let's go to fred pleitgen in damascus. just a day ago, isis was reportedly making gains, now we're hearing from russian state media that they're pushing back. >> reporter: yeah, you know, george, it is the nature of the fighting out there in the desert region. it's very flat. what you see there is forces like isis and the syrian army making quick gains but being pushed back very quickly as well. it seems like what happened is there was a lot of fog and bad weather over that territory in palmyra which somewhat sidelined the russian and syrian air force toss conduct air strikes to hold isis up.

ben wedeman in erbil in northern iraq, not far away from mosul. let's discuss the u.s. fight against isis. joining us, former iraqi ambassador to the united states. mr. ambassador, thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> is the war against isis moving along to your sanction as an iraqi? >> on the iraqi side, yes. it's more or less the last chapter in the book of isis. >> when will mosul be liberated? >> i think we're not talking about mosul. mosul, sooner than that. >> how long? a few weeks? >> a bit more, i would say, because the problem we have here, we have a lot of civilians. the government is very concerned about that. the destruction of inf infrastructure. the rule of engagement is different than normal wars here. we have to take street by street, inch by inch. >> you accept the numbers that the u.s. government is putting out, there are only 12,000 to 15,000 isis fighters yes? >> but they are hardened fighters. key issue here, and issues suicide bombs. those who blow up themselves, they are reduced every day's in that sense, new fighters are not ther

>> reporter: on august 8, 2014, a pair of f-18s launched the first air strikes against isis in northern iraq. now nearly 2 1/2 years later, that same aircraft carrier is gearing up for a return to the fight after being delayed in the shipyard leaving america without an aircraft carrier until early next year. >> this is a military equivalent of spring training. once we complete this at the end of december, then we will go forward and it will be real forces that will be going tli ig with and against. >> reporter: much has changed. russia has deployed dozens of fighter jets and thousands of troops to syria, joining syrian and iranian backed forced. china has moved missiled to the south china sea. the ships commanding officer said his crew will be ready to deal with china or russia if necessary. >> while we don't have any emergent or pending conflicts with them, it's fair to say that we have diverge enter interests in many cases. we need to be prepared to understand how we will react to that if necessary. >> reporter: here aboard uss george h.w. bush -- they are taking part in the final exam bef

phil black, cnn, northern iraq. >> and the children keep smiling. united nations admits it did not do enough to prevent the cholera outbreak in haiti that killed at least 10,000 people after the 2010 earthquake. >> on behalf of the united nations, i want to say very clearly we apologize to the haitian people. we simply did not do enough with regard to the cholera outbreak and its spread in haiti. we are profoundly sorry for our error. >> the asian ambassador to the u.n. welcomed the acknowledgement, but haiti still needs money from u.n. members to improve its healthcare, water and sanitation systems. >>> russia's leader says he wants to work with donald trump but some think he is trying to manipulate the u.s. president-elect. we'll look into that coming next here. you're watching "cnn newsroom." the real gift isn't what's inside the box... it's what's inside the person who opens it. give ancestrydna, the simple dna test that can reveal their ethnic origins. order now at ancestrydna.com and save 10%. rest ways wins. especially in my business. with sl

including thousands in northern iraq. most will never be able to return to their homes because they have none to go back to now. most are destroyed and looted. the program helps give them hope that regardless of where they are, it is still christmas. in new york, lauren green, fox news. >>> the dow gained 15, the s&p 500 finished ahead three, nasdaq picked up 15. >>> donald trump goes nuclear again. supporters of israel are not far behind. we will get reaction from the panel when we come back. >>> does not diminish the united stat states' commitment to israel, the only democracy in the middle east. we would not have let this pass had it not addressed counterproductive actions by the palestinians. >> that is our ambassador to the u.n., samantha power, after the abstention from the vote. let's bring in our panel. jenna goldburg, molly hemingway, charles lane, and charles krauthammer. to anyone who thought it was going to be a quiet holiday week of news, it's not the case. what do you make of this? what ambassador power said

we saw numerous fighter jets in northern iraq and a sweeping roundup of around 200 individuals detainedattacks but also people accused of being sympathizers with the pkk, many of them members of the pro kurdish group, the hdp. it must be said that the hdp did fairly well in the elections that happened here early on in the summer, and they have consistently come out and distanced themselves, in fact condemned attacks carried out by both the pkk and tac. turkey is fighting a multi-pronged war on terror. if you'll remember, the isis attack that happened over the summer where they launched a complex assault on the airport and then of course turkey also had that failed military cous, many wondering what is going to happen next. of course turkey has been a key n.a.t.o. ally. it has had a fairly tumultuous relationship with the united states. some turkish officials are saying that they are perhaps cautiously optimistic that with the incoming trump administration, given how shaky relations were in the second half of the obama administration, they will find in the united states a stronger ally w

military fighting against the islamic state as well as the kurdish passion murder in the t northern part of iraq. it is dramatically shrunk in and we've made major gains in shrinking the territory in northern syria and that is to bt credited for folks like scott dated but the threat posed continuous and increasingly as their battle space shrinks and real estate they take the efforts off that battleground to try to destabilize around the world. so this fight but as the national priority involving the combat operations in iraq will likely continue for the long foreseeable future even after the complete liberation which i'm confident will occur. there is 100 days of operations, as i began by honoring scottmern dayton then a total 28 servicere members lost their lives supporting the operation inal harwich resolve. there's more than 300 special forces now fighting a very complex battle where turkish, see her young, russian, iranian, lebanese, hezbollah and kurdish forces are operating as recent developments in the growing ca humanitarian. they can see congress is behind the mission. they are risking

>> reporter: on august 8, 2014, a pair of f-18s launched the first air strikes against isis in northern iraq. now nearly 2 1/2 years later, that same aircraft carrier is gearing up for a return to the fight after being delayed in the shipyard leaving america without an aircraft carrier until early next year. >> this is a military equivalent of spring training. once we complete this at the end of december, then we will go forward and it will be real forces that will be going tli ig with and against. >> reporter: much has changed. russia has deployed dozens of fighter jets and thousands of troops to syria, joining syrian and iranian backed forced. china has moved missiled to the south china sea. the ships commanding officer said his crew will be ready to deal with china or russia if necessary. >> while we don't have any emergent or pending conflicts with them, it's fair to say that we have diverge enter interests in many cases. we need to be prepared to understand how we will react to that if necessary. >> reporter: here aboard uss george h.w. bush -- they are taking part in the final exam bef

. >> ben wedeman in erbil in northern iraq.nd fred pleitgen joining us from beirut, lebanon, not far from the syrian border. let's bring back the former defense secretary chuck hagel. you look at these two situations, aleppo and mosul, let's talk about syria first. when you left the obama administration, you were upset the president had delivered an ultimatum, a red line, if syria used chemical weapons, they would pay a price. the u.s. did not cross that red line, if you will. i want you to listen to what the president recently told our fareed zakaria about this. >> i think it is the smartest decision from a menu of bad options that were available to us. do i believe that it would have been a profound mistake for us to wade in and to currently have 100,000 troops or 50,000 troops inside of syria right now, do i think that the situation would be better for us? i do not believe so. >> okay. we do know the slaughter that has gone on over these years. 400,000, maybe half a million people in syria have been killed. millions have bee

we had 2013, leaders in kur kyrgyzstan, talking about isis rising in northern iraq and syria and at thate president obama referred to them as the jv team. he hasn't exactly been true to the intel briefinging he's got either. >> can i say something? >> quickly. >> there's a difference between accepting data and facts and then making policy decisions that may be right or wrong. deployment of troops, calling isis jv, it's different what trump is doing where he's saying he actually does not believe the facts and assessments. we have to distinguish between policy differences and facts. this is very different than previous presidents calculating policy based on intelligence. it's just a difference. >> quick final word to you, tom? >> i think that, still what did he do about any of this information over the last couple years? if you're going to relate policy to the intel briefings you get, so what you did with it that affected policy. >> tom fuentes and juliette qaim, thank you to both of you. >>> still to come, donald trump's leading candidate for secretary of state is exxon ceo rex tillerson,

including thousands in northern iraq. most will never be able to return to their homes because they have none to go back to now. most are destroyed and looted. the program helps give them hope that regardless of where they are, it is still christmas. in new york, lauren green, fox news. >>> the dow gained 15, the s&p 500 finished ahead three, nasdaq picked up 15. >>> donald trump goes nuclear again. supporters of israel are not far behind. we will get reaction from the panel when we come back. >>> does not diminish the united stat states' commitment to israel, the only democracy in the middle east. we would not have let this pass had it not addressed counterproductive actions by the palestinians. >> that is our ambassador to the u.n., samantha power, after the abstention from the vote. let's bring in our panel. jenna goldburg, molly hemingway, charles lane, and charles krauthammer. to anyone who thought it was going to be a quiet holiday week of news, it's not the case. what do you make of this? what ambassador power said

we are getting ready to put a hospital in northern iraq right outside of mous mosul. >> and you fly tos yourself. >> i go there myself. >> i don't know how you do it but you're amazing. can i keep this football or would it be stealing from a child? >> we can't steal from a child, sean. >> i can't. good to see you, my friend. god bless you. >> god bless you. >> appreciate you being with us. >> coming up, a charity sean has been following several years, building homes for heroes is helping a military family injured last march in the brussels airport terror attack. we will have that story for you next. stay with us. ♪ ♪ hi, i'm frank. i take movantik for oic, opioid-induced constipation. had a bad back injury, my doctor prescribed opioids which helped with the chronic pain, but backed me up big-time. tried prunes, laxatives, still constipated... had to talk to my doctor. she said, "how long you been holding this in?" (laughs) that was my movantik moment. my doctor told me that movantik is specifically designed for oic and can help you go more often. don't take movantik if you have a bowel

at that time isis was marauding across northern iraq. it seemed to me as look ends that was odd that the cost of the vietnam war and the outcome of the vietnam war 50 years after the gulf of tonkin incident, which as you know, president johnson went on national television that day in 1964 to ask congress to approve his ability to accelerate our intervention in vietnam. it was a claim that north vietnamese patrol boats attacked the uss maddox. based on that, we escalated the war in vietnam. years later, secretary mcnamara and many others admitted the attack never happened. similarly in going to iraq, there were supposed to be weapons of mass destruction. there was supposed to be an imminent threat from iraq. we know what the outcome was there. i was curious again not whether we should or should not have a strong military or grow to war, -- or go to war but what are the , actual outcomes. living in this country, you get a certain narrative and a certain spectrum of ideas. i thought it would be interesting to strap on the backpack and go ar

phil black, cnn, northern iraq. >> i know that is hard to watch. at 10:00 a.m. eastern for cnn "newsroom.." >>> "smerconish" starts right now. ♪ >>> i'm michael smerconish coming to you from philadelphia where we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. donald t

. >>> turkish forces pounding kurdish militants in northern iraq this comes after saturday's car bombing suicide bombings moments apart in istanbul left more than 40 people dead. most of them police officers. this was after thousands of fans had left a soccer game. it is believed the attackers targeted the police patrolling that stadium area. a splinter group of the kurdistan workers' party has claimed responsibility. >>> funeral services are under way for some of the parishioners killed in the bombing of a coptic christian church in egypt. it happened during sunday services. 25 people at least were killed. nearly 50 others were hurt. no claim of responsibility yet. >>> a two-day mourning period in nigeria after a weekend church collapse that killed at least 50 worshippers. the roof came crashing down during dedication ceremonies for the church which were still under construction. the governor was among the dignitaries inside. immediate arrest of the contractor and setting up a task force to figure out what went wrong. >>> president-elect donald trump has called the cia conclusions that

phil black, cnn, northern iraq. >> i know that is hard to watch. we'll see you back here at 10:00 a.m. eastern for cnn "newsroom.." >>> "smerconish" starts right now. ♪ >>> i'm michael smerconish coming to you from philadelphia where we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. donald trump now making clear that his disruptive influence will extend far beyond america's borders. the president-elect just broke with 40 years of american foreign policy by having a phone call with the leader of taiwan, which the u.s. doesn't officially recognize. blunder or did he just expose a fiction? christiane amanpour is here to analyze. >>> plus, will trump slash brexit style anti-globalism sweep europe? two closely watched elections tomorrow in austria and italy will tell us a lot. >>> i'll speak to the first foreign politician to meet the president-elect, the brit behind brexit, nigel fir raj. >>> plus, why does jeff greenfield say trump is poised to have a bigger impact on american politics despite losing the popular vote? >>> also, right h

phil black, cnn, northern iraq. >>> coming up in the "newsroom" a former nfl player gunned down afterment at an intersection. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. there's a range of plans to choose from, too, and they all travel with you anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an orga

a aircraft flying out carrier battle group, or the drone or special forces aircraft is the in northern iraq closest to the target. the network can pick and piecemeal all of these things together because we had developed communications and you canh highways that instantly from all of the world -- everyone is looking at the same video screen trying to figure out what can get to that point the fastest. it is revolutionary technology. and it is pretty amazing when you see it. people who describe the network it can turn its focus so quickly from one part of the world to another because we have so many assets in the air, and people -- and so people on so many video screens analyzing the video that this network can turn a hard stare on the earth in a few minutes. florida, ed, an active in the military? caller: longtime retired. but i have kept in touch with a lot of friends and a lot of their sons. i would ask mr. kitfield who -- on literacy. i understand it is a tremendous obstacle to training and intel. along with that, i have read several editorials about administration's failure to grant visas

and when i say that, i'm talking about the difference between what's going on in mosul and in northern iraq versus what's going on in syria. the mosul fight has been a tough one, jim. you know that. it's gone on longer than the iraqis said, but less time than many of the americans said it would happen. it's going to be a long fight to recover that city and to clean it of the isis fighters. but syria's a different matter. you've heard this before. you now have the russians and the syrians and the iranians and the turks all talking about what they're going to do next and we'll be left out of that. will turkey, a nato ally, go into northern syria and then ask for nato support? don't know. this is going to continue for a while in syria. >> general hertling, bob baer, thank you, as always. >>> and coming up next, with the tenth anniversary of saddam hussein's execution fast approaching, new details of what u.s. intelligence learned from him just before he was hanged, as you'll see after the break, they come from the cia analyst who grilled him. we've all been here. and here... and here. the answ

iraq and syria after this. bill: you mentioned libya. yemen is a big deal, northern boko haram and problems there, what is the long-term strategy as you would state it now? >> that in my mind is the big question, right? if you look at mosul in northern iraq, you have iranian-backed she you yaw militias, you have turkish-backed syria militias, kurds, loosely cooperating with the iraqi army with a land grab. what they're interested in oil, gas, being a position of strength after all of this is done and after isis has kicked out. it is kind of like the british, americans, soviets at the end world war ii, racing towards berlin so they can grab as much land as possible and then, the negotiation begins. and that is the part that really has me worried, you know, that i'm looking at the trump administration what is that long-term strategy? how are we going to govern and how are we going to defeat the new isis insurgency. bill: based on what you heard, based on the appointments, based on the expected nomination, how do you think a trump administration would handle it? >> one,

will northern iraq exist in the same way or will they have increased independence? there is no real sense of where they might go now. they are unsettled. inse borders that were drawn real life on the ground don't always hold up to be true. host: we will talk more about general michael plan will be national security advisor to donald trump. talk about him and his relationship with relevant figures when it comes to places like syria. was a general flynn respected intelligence officer who in some ways was very instrumental in pushing changes. he had a paper that was published some years back that opened a lot of eyes and led to conversation about how intelligence is used, where the failures are, and have things can be changed. -- how things can be changed. the question is once he is in charge of an agency himself, he was pushing a lot of change without consensus. that led to problems. now that he has moved, and really was one of the earliest significant national security supporters for the president-elect, he is going to position.nfluential he has ruffled a lot of feat

reporter: this year the program will help about 6,000 children in dispoliced areas, thousands in northern iraq. many will never be able to return to their homes because most of destroyed and looted. but the program helps give them hope that regardless of where they are, it is still christmas. lauren green, fox news. >>> come january 20th, there might be some bridges to be built across the political aisle. ahead, a look at the president-elect's high-ticket infrastructure rebuilding plan, and if we can afford it. >>> speaking of bridges, those bridges between the united states and israel, they hit some sort of diplomatic potholes while president obama was out on the golf course. our kevin cork is with the president in hawaii. hi, kevin. >> reporter: you're right about that. we're going to talk about that when we come back. what does this mean for the future of u.s.-israeli relations? that story and more as we continue on a saturday. >>> i'm here from bagram air force base in afghanistan. i love you guys. i can't wait to see you again. family road trip! fun! check engine. not fun! but, you've got

this year the program will help about 6,000 children in displaced areas including thousands in northern iraqnone to go back to now. most are destroyed and looted. but the program gives them hope regardless of where they are, it is still christmas. in new york, lauren green, fox news. >>> all right. still ahead, congress is home for the holidays but they'll need to hit the ground running when they return in 2017. we'll tell you about all the issues looming on capitol hill. >>> one group now has bragging rights for a big holiday tradition. their claim to fame and how they did it coming up. ♪ if you have a typical airline credit card, you only earn double miles when you buy stuff from that airline. wait...is this where you typically shop? you should be getting double miles on every purchase! switch...to the capital one venture card. with venture, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase, everywhere, every day. not just ...(dismissively) airline purchases. seriously... double miles... everywhere. what's in your wallet? ♪livin in this crazy world ♪so caught up in the confusion♪ ♪nothin'

iraqs, arabs een and kurdish minority have been trained for decades, and kurds control northern iraq. kurdish authorities allowed iraq to assault from kurdish territory. roads critical supply for iraqi fighting inside mosul, and important corridors for evacuating the wounded for treatment. next from carol, and she is in hendersonville, nevada, line for democrats. carol, go ahead. propagandist,is a everything he says is a lie. he is considered biggest liar in residential politics, politifact says details -- of the time. lied about president obama itizenship, he lied about hillary be iing against the secd amendment. he lied about hillary raising tax. own network, where he spreads propaganda. bannon, the one advisor, is chief for a news ked organization, so-called news organization that deals in propaganda. so trump is -- and the right is much of this false news that, is all i have to say. maryland, democrats line. thomas, you are on. caller: okay. thank you. yeah. pretty s trump is honest, i don't see him making lies, the last aller said, i think ridiculous statements about him. if you