in a moment, richard engel reports from iraq. but we begin with nbc's gabe gutierrez in allentown, pennsylvania. >> and we have this bedroom here -- >> reporter: gasan and sarmat had big plans for this home. now it is emptier than they thought possible. >> it feels like it's a nightmare and i'm going to wake up and it's all going to go away. >> reporter: they bought and furnished this house in allentown, pennsylvania, awaiting the arrival of six relatives from syria who they say had started the immigration process 13 years ago. >> this was ready to go. >> this is all ready to go. the beds, the sheets, the pillows. >> reporter: saturday morning, just hours after president trump's executive order, those relatives were turned away at philadelphia's airport. >> two security guards were waiting for them. they took them. they said, are you syrians? they said yes. they said, come with us. >> reporter: gasan's two brothers and their families, orthodox christians, had visas and were approved for green cards. >> he's waiting to come here.

richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. >>> the last man to leave his mark on the moon has died tonight.his is video of gene cernan speaking at a memorial service for astronaut neil armstrong. cernan spent three days on the moon in 1972. while there he traced the initials of his 9-year-old daughter in moon dust. on the return home he offered a message of peace and hope for all mankind. cernan flew to space three times and to the moon twice. he was 82 years old. >>> tonight d.c. firefighters packed into an animal hospital to watch over a sheepdog they just saved. i was so struck by this i shared it on my facebook page. caesar's 3 years old. from a burning home in northwest d.c., when firefighters got him out of that house on clingle street, caesar wasn't even breathing. firefighters tweeted out videos as they performed cpr. they managed to get caesar's lungs working again but he's still in critical condition. caesar's family was out of town at the time. and investigators don't know how that fire started. >> hopefully he's going to be okay. >>> a massive winter storm that swept across the

live in turkey, burse, here is chief foreign kpgs richard engel. >> reporter: a hunt is on for this man, turkish media broadcast this selfie video, he reportedly took days before he ran into a nightclub and unloaded into the crowds on new year's eve. 27 of the 39 people killed were foreign tourists from israel to lebanon, india and beyond. among them injured was american jake raak. he told us hundreds has just welcomed in the new year when a gunman burst in. >> i was probably the luckiest person in the whole thing. i find myself very fortunate. i was with nine people, 7 of us were shot. >> reporter: hiding under a bench pretending to be dead, he suffered through the pain fearing any sound or move would betray him to the gunman. >> he was walking under a bench, when i shot me i didn't move. i just let him shoot me. >> reporter: isis said the attacker was a soldier of the brave cal a fate. >> the gunman firing at victims inside the club for 7 to 10 minutes are he loading multiple times witnesses say and still managed to escape, even though there is a police station just across the street.

in moscow, our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, sat down with its top editor. >> reporter: here in russia, president trump's inauguration was cause for celebration. that's no surprise to u.s. intelligence agencies who claim moscow put considerable efforts into helping him win the election. and allege that the chief editor of russia today or rt played a key role. >> well, most of that criticism make us laugh, really. >> reporter: intelligence officials have said that rt worked hand-in-glove with hackers and the government to change the impact -- impact the u.s. elections on putin's orders. >> did you read that report? >> yes. >> it's as much sad as laughable. >> reporter: the specific 25 page report she's talking about was released by the u.s. director of national intelligence. it mentioned her by name 27 times. it described rt funded by the kremlin as part of a triangle moscow set up to discredit hillary clinton and help donald trump. with hackers stealing information, wikileaks spreading it around and rt fanning the flames with negative coverage of clinton. >> no serious p

i want to get to our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, overseas as he normally is, and is very familiar with inns tan bile. he's watching what is happening after this terror attack that's happened there. richard, what do you know? >> reporter: this took place at a nightclub called reina. reina with you attacker, who came in senately dressed. there were hundreds of people there at the time. >> reporter: he went in and started praying gunfire. there are reports of people jumping out of the club into the water in order to eye scape. there were also women trapped in the women's rest room, panished who made a 911 called, saying they were trapped, hearing gunshots.cked who made a 911 called, saying they were trapped, hearing gunshots. there were reports of them shouting inacious bick. s.w.a.t. teams have closed off the area in a several-mile radius, and the suspicion is it's an isis attack or isis supporter who carried it out. unfortunately istanbul has seen its fair share of these kind of attacks and there's quite a few that have -- so you were talking about the united states possib

the fear is he could slip into isis territory in syria before they do. >> richard engel in turkey. >>> with 18 days until the inauguration, president-elect trump faces fire from both sides of the aisle tonight. he's raising concerns by suggesting he will share new revelations that "other people don't know" about the cyber attacks during the u.s. election. this as his advisers continue to question u.s. intelligence about russia's involvement. nbc's kristen welker has details. >> reporter: tonight, new fallout after that cryptic new year's eve statement by president-elect donald trump that he might have more information to reveal about those hacking allegations against russia. >> i also know things that other people don't know. and so they cannot be sure of the situation. and i want them to be sure. >> reporter: today the president-elect's team pressed for details about what mr. trump knows and whether he'll make it public before his midweek meeting with intelligence officials. >> what does he know, sean? >> well, you know, we'll wait till tuesday or wednesday. what we're trying to figu

richard engel, nbc news, moscow. >>> still ahead, improving relations knowing where you stand. it's never been easier. except when it comes to your retirement plan. but at fidelity, we're making retirement planning clearer. and it all starts with getting your fidelity retirement score. in 60 seconds, you'll know where you stand. and together, we'll help you make decisions for your plan... to keep you on track. ♪ time to think of your future it's your retirement. know where you stand. ♪ time to think of your future why pause a spontaneous moment? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and g

richard engel reports from istanbul. >> reporter: a hunt is on for this man. turkish media broadst this selfie video he reportedly took days before he ran into a nightclub and unloaded into the crowds on new year's eve. 27 of the 39 people killed were foreign tourists from israel to lebanon, india and beyond. among the dozens injured was american jake raak. he told us thousands just welcomed in the new year when the gunman burst in. raak is recovering from a gunshot. >> i find myself very fortunate. i was with dying people, seven of us were shot. >> reporter: hiding under a bench pretending to be dead, raak suffered through the pain fearing any sound or move would betray him to the gunman. >> he was walking on a bench above my head where my head was underneath. when he shot me, i didn't move. i just let him shoot me. >> reporter: isis said the attacker was a soldier of the brave caliphate. the gunman was firing at victims inside the club for seven to ten minutes reloading multiple times and still managing to escape, even though there's a police station just up

. >>> joining us now live from istanbul, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. chard, what is the latest on the manhunt? >> reporter: well, dragnet is underway with extra checkpoints set up. the gunman wearing a dark jacket and backpack when he went into this club with two weapons, an automatic rifle and a pistol, he took off his overcoat before leaving and then escaped in the chaos as injured and terrified people were leaving the club. authorities in this country have expressed confidence that they will find him, but with every passing day that becomes more complicated. isis has claimed responsibility. and the fear here is that the gunman, if he's not caught soon, could try and make his way into isis territory, crossing the turkish border going into syria. at that stage it would be much more difficult for him to be caught. but the death toll so far remains at 39. many of those people who were killed and injured foreign nationals. this club is one of the ritziest in all of istanbul, popular with tourists, popular with arab nationals, in particular, people from th

richard engel has the latest from istanbul. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: at one of istanbul's exclusive nightclubs they counted down, looking forward to an exciting year to come. then just after 1:00 a.m., cctv footage caught glimpse of a terrorist arriving. bullets ricochetting off cars as he rushed to the nightclub's door. he is wearing a dark coat and a backpack. the footage slows down, shows the gunman moving decisively, shooting everyone he saws. >> saw one person they are shooting. >> reporter: witnesses tell nbc news, it took less than ten minutes to kill dozens. then the gunman dropped his weapon and escaped among the fleeing survivors. this woman says her husband was shot next to her. there were people on top of me. i pushed them off. everyone was crying. the smell of gun powder was everywhere, she said. the club is called popular witht set. least 39 people are dead. their families overcome with grief. now a manhunt is underway. turkish officials say they are confiden they will catch him. so far there's been no claim of responsibility. the suspicion here is this is the work of

lester. >> richard engel in moscow for us tonight. richard, thank you. >>> on the historic night like this, there's no one better to turn to than tom brokaw. tom, america first was part of the message we heard today. where does that come from, and where does that lead us? >> well, steve bannon, who is one of his principle advisers on the message he wants to get out there, has already said today this was exactly what we wanted to do. the speech was short on eloquence, long on bombast, it was america first. and they think that they have got to change this country into what is called ethnonationalism. get back to less diversity, more about america, less about operating the global economy. we'll see how it plays. the fact is that this world now is interconnected in ways that it never has been. in my lifetime or in yours or in the history of the world, because of the way it works. but you cannot underestimate donald trump's ability to reach so many americans who feel the same way. we heard it today on the mall, we heard it from people sayi

a manhunt is underway in turkey to find the gunman. >> that was richard engel reporting. the state department says raak was the only u.s. citizen injured in the attack. the rampage lasted less than ten minutes. as for the gunman, police believe he made his escape in a taxi. >>> tomorrow the sentencing phase begins for the charleston church shooter. he's 22 years old. he's going to represent himself as federal prosecutors seek the death penalty. last month a jury found dylann roof guilty of shooting and killing nine black parishioners at the emanuel ame church in south carolina back in june of 2015. roof confessed to those murders, said he intended to spark a race war. >>> the first family is back in the white house for the final weeks of president obama's term. the washington weather was less than welcoming just before noon today when obamas returns from their holiday break in hawaii. one major item on the president's agenda, he will deliver a farewell address in chicago next week. he told supporters he plans to express his gratitude and offer thoughts on where we all go

so let's get the latest from istanbul and nbc chief foreign correspondent, richard engel. richard, good morning. let's start with reports that these eight people have just been detain eed in connection wh the attack. what do we know about them? >> all that we know is that urk theish authorities do not believe that the gunman is among them. we have seen recently that turkish police just put out via social media and released to news agencies here two very blurry images taken from news surveillance video. these are the third images that the -- the second and third images that police have released. difficult to make out who this attacker is. he's wearing a dark jacket, appears to be looking on a cell phone in one of the images. they did not release a name or any other details, only, effectively alerting people in this country to be on the lookout. there is a dragnet underway. there are extra checkpoints in this city. also extra checkpoints nationwide. the biggest concern is that now that isis has declared responsibility for this, and right from the beginning, turkish officials

that needs efforts from both sides. >> our thanks to richard engel for that report. alex?ll, former president george h.w. bush continues to recover from pneumonia while hospitalized in texas. a spokesperson says the 92-year-old is becoming more active and can now sit up. and is also working with a physical therapist to regain his strength. the former president is also talking with physicians, staff and visitors and started returning phone calls. the former first lady barbara bush discharged from the hospital on monday returned yesterday as a visitor to be with her husband. >>> and one day after fainting while delivering his state of the state address, minnesota governor mark dayton announced he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. >> i had a biopsy last wednesday down at mayo and then we received those results last friday at noon, which confirmed that it is cancer most certainly, and that it has not spread almost certainly. >> well, governor dayton who turns 70 tomorrow expects to learn more from a fallow-up to the mayo clinic next week, if but he doesn't think the dia

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel, who we spoke with, who is so familiar with the region, so familiar with istanbul said there were records of ice sis being relate d don't overemphasize that report, but the lone wolf type of attacker that claims to be associated with isis as we saw in san bernardino, and other places right before their attacks. what's your thought on how to discuss this, malcolm? >> the closer you are to isis' caliphate, the less type of attacker that you have on that from that dimension. you have people who are actual cells in iraq, in -- i'm sorry. not just in iraq, in turkey, who are run -- isis' turkish wing and daert out logistical operations, pushing agencies on into europe, and carrying out the suicide -- many of these suicide attacks we have seen this year, but without attribution, so the government of turkey knows it may be the islamic state, but they're not going to say anything, because even isis knows that it is far more advantageous to allow turkeys to use these attacks for political purposes, but also to get your point across that you're dest

joining me now from istanbul, with the latest is nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel,more details do you have right now? >> reporter: well police confirmed that in an operation they say happened earlier today, just a few hours ago, an joouz beck national was detained just outside of istanbul, a working class neighborhood beyond the airport. that there was this police operation. he was staying with a friend of his. also apparently staying with his son. and then in quite a dramatic media event here. it was announced on turkish television with a photograph of a very bruised suspect being held by the throat. also video of the suspect being paraded through a street in a head lock held by turkish police. there has been a manhunt going on in this country since new year's eve, since apparently this man is, according to turkish police gunned down 39 people. and they say, he has just been caught. >> richard engel reporting live from istanbul with that breaking news update. richard, thank you very much. there is more mtp daily right after this. introducing otezla, apremilast. ote

and with us now live from istanbul, nbc news chief foreign correspondent, richard engel. t the latest is on the manhunt, but also, this is just another in a long string of terror attacks aimed at turkey. can you explain to our viewers exactly why turkey has become such a target this year? >> reporter: absolutely. first on the manhunt, the problem is the militant managed to escape. he was wearing a black jacket. he was wearing a backpack. he went into this club called reina, which is a little bit further down this street, which police have opened up. and after he was shooting at the people inside for about seven to ten minutes, he dropped his weapons, took off his coat, and left while people were escaped, injured and terrified people. and isis has now claimed responsibility and the fear here is that with every hour that passes, it's more difficult to find him, because he could cross the turkish border and enter into syria, into isis territory, where it would be much more difficult to track him down. still, a dragnet is up. there are extra security checkpoints. there is real

steve. >> all right, richard engel in turkey. chard, thanks. >>> now back to washington, back to politics, back to the first day for the new congress. the 115th session now under way. end of an era in the senate, vice president joe biden, of course he's the president of the senate as vice president, and he presided today over his final swearing in ceremony. he leaves office later this month, this after eight years as vice president before that, 36 years as the united states senator from delaware. and as he has in the past, biden had plenty of fun with a newly sworn in senators and their families. here's a few of the highlights. >> thank god you're here. i'm so glad you ran again. i really am. >> thank you. we love you. >> appreciate it. >> son-in-law. >> hey, how are you? nice to see you. >> you sound like my daughter. >> give me that. >> can i have a picture with just the kids? >> absolutely. >> come on. >> you get right in here. bless me father i have sinned. >> you're not going to be in town long enougho hea his confeson. >> as

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel got a big interview with a senior official at china'sinistry of foreign affairs. richard joins us live from beijing. thanks for staying up. please tell us about your interview. >> reporter: as you know from covering diplomacy for so long the chinese government does not like to show its cards. generally when ask you for interviews, they're either declined or they take a very long time or you get written statements in chinese, but what we got this time was an actual sitdown interview with a senior foreign ministry official, and i think it's because of the urgency many people in this country feel and the government feels now that donald trump is making so many rapid-fire appointments and so many rapid-fire decisions, and china frankly doesn't want to be left out. it wants to lay down its markers. it wants its prubl priorities to be known and to be clear, so that there is no confusions or even worse a potential escalation of a trade war or even a military escalation, and really, there were two main priorities that we discussed in this interv

nbc's richard engel is there. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we spoke to an american who survived the attack which took place in that nightclub down this street. he said when the gunman opened fire those who could escape did, others tried to hide or just drop to the floor and pretend to be dead. isis has claimed responsibility for this, the first terrorist attack of 2017. a drag net has been set up across turkey to find the terrorist who rampaged through one of istanbul's ritzy nightclubs on new year's eve killing 39, and injuring dozens. among the injured american jake raak, a defense contractor from pennsylvania. he was recovering at a hospital this morning from a gunshot wound. >> i was shot in the hip. the bullet travelled to my knee and lodged in my knee. probably the luckiest person in the whole thing. i find myself fortunate. i was with dying people, seven of us were shot. >> reporter: he was among hundreds at the club reina popular with 14 tourists, a lone gunman stormed in around 1:00 a.m. >> somebody said there were shots fired and i

. >> reporter: i'm richard engel with this family who left everything they knew behind and got on the plane for america. they got as far as they layover in cairo where a gate agency told the man he and his family would be deported. what happened when you told everybody, we're not going? >> wow, that was a terrible moment. when i saw their faces and the terrible pain. they were about to faint. >> after two years of vetting -- >> reporter: even after they risked their lives in iraq and some were killed for it. it's taken the state department a long time to approve their visas. now they are all on hold because of president trump's orders. >> american government invited me, gave me visa, told me come, you have helped us in the past. it's unbelievable. >> reporter: 19-year-old benyad already knows he loves america. the state department invited him for an exchange program. one of his favorite memories was going to a white sox game. >> i fell in love with the place, with the american way of life and their optimism. >> reporter: convinced they were leaving with their new visas, they sold thei

we get more from richard engel. >> reporter: it's just before midnight new year's eve. turkish media say this is the gunman on his way by taxi to the nightclub with a backpack full of guns and ammo. just over an hour later he runs through the club killing 39 people. minutes after that, police say he shows up again being thrown out of a cab, reportedly because he didn't have any money. he goes on the to hail another and disappears. tonight we're getting our first look at what he left behind. a party that turned into a massacre frozen in time. people have been coming to pay their respects outside the club all day. there's grief here but no longer any shock. there's been nearly 30 terrorist attacks in turkey in the past year. the mood is more one of anger and fear of what could come next. turkish police have cast a nationwide dragnet. state run media are blanketing the air waves. tight security there at the airport would make it difficult for him to escape by air. turkey has a long border with syria and analysts think he might try to cross it for sanctuary in isis territor

nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us from istanbul. what do we know about the gunman and the eight people police have detained in connection with this attack? >> reporter: we know those eight people are being questioned. tuish police put out new photographs. the original photographs were very blurry, hard to distinguish anything about this gunman. but just in the last hour or so, a new photograph has emerged and seems to be a selfie taken by the gunman himself. no way to verify if it is in fact the militant, but it was put out by turkish authorities. now, they have to find him. american survivor jake raak was recovering at an istanbul hospital this morning from a gunshot wound. >> i was shot in the hip. the bullet travelled to my knee and lodged in my knee. i was probably the luckiest person in the whole thing. i find myself very fortunate. i was with nine people, seven of us were shot. >> reporter: rrk aak was among hundreds at the club called reina. when a lone gunman stormed in around 1:00 a.m. >> somebody said that, you know, there

shots inside the nightclub and among those injured is an american, jake raak, he spoke to nbc's richard engel earlier today. here's a little bit of what he said. >> somebody said that, you know, there were shots fired and i did not believe it and until i saw the gunman and then started shooting up the whole place. he was walking on a bench above my head where my head was underneath. when he shot me, i didn't move. i just let him shoot me. i was shot in the hi the bullet traveled to my knee and was lodged in my knee. i was probably the luckiest person in the whole thing. i find myself very fortunate. i was with dying people, seven of us were shot. >> reporter: raak was released from the hospital shortly after talking with richard engel and on his way home back to the u.s. but some harrowing stories of survivors going through this. one woman in fact a ukrainian woman posted on facebook some video of celebrations leading up to the countdown to the new year and you can see just how many people were around and what a joyous event that was and she said in the post that not everyone she was with sur

last night richard engel had the word from beijing.ve access inside north korea with the nuclear program that could test president trump early on. bill neely is in pyongyang with north korea's warning to the u.s. tonight. >> reporter: from kim jong-un's defiant and unpredictable regime, a direct challenge tonight to president trump. cancel your military exercises on our doorstep. they are the root cause of tension on the korean peninsula, he says. the joint u.s./south korean exercises are due to begin in weeks. in a rare interview with this secretive regime, the man who deals with u.s. affairs told me america can't stop north korea. we will match american nuclear weapons, he says, with our own. north korea, he warned, is ready to test launch its first long-range missile. is the launch imminent? it'll be carried out at any time, he says. before taking office, president trump tweeted, it won't happen. if it does, it would be another step towards north korea's goal of building a nuclear weapon able to hit the u.s. west coast. a former nor

here's richard engel on the suspect and an american shot in the terror attack. >> a hunt is on for this man. turkish media broadcast this selfie video. he reportedly took days before he ran into a nightclub and unloaded into the crowds on new year's eve. 27 of the 39 people killed were foreign tourists from israel to lebanon. india and beyond. among the dozens injured was american jake rock. he told us hundreds had just welcomed in the new year when a gunman burst in. >> rock was recovering from a gunshot wound. >> i was probably the luckiest person in the whole thing, i do find myself very fortunate. i was with nine people, seven of us were shot. >> hiding under a bench, pretending to be dead, rock suffered through the pain, fearing any sound or move would betray him to the gunman. >> he was walking on a bench above my head, where my head was underneath. when he shot me, i didn't move, i just let him shoot me. >> isis said the attacker who shot unarmed people was a soldier of the brave caliphate. >> the gunman was firing at victims inside the club for seven to ten minutes, reloading mu

i'm richard engel in istanbul.pects but don't believe they have the attacker in custody. >> reporter: american survivor jake raak, a defense contractor from pennsylvania is recovering in an istanbul hospital this morning from a gunshot wound. >> i was shot in the hip. it was lodged in my knee. probably the luckiest person in the whole thing. i find myself very fortunate. nine people, seven of us were shot. >> raak was among hundreds at the club called reina. a lone gunman stormed in around 1:00 a.m. >> somebody said there were shots fired. i initially didn't believe it. nil saw the gunman and started shooting up the whole place. >> reporter: as the gunman moved from victim to victim. raak said he dove under a bench and pretended to be dead as the terrorist stood above him. >> he was walking on a bench above my head. when he shot me, i didn't move. i let him shoot me. >> reporter: raak said he struggled not to flinch so the gunman wouldn't shoot him again. a manhunt is underway across turkey to find the terrorist wh

nbc's chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, is there. richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we spoke to an american who survived the attack, that took place in the nightclub just down the street. he said when the gunman opened fire, those who could escape, did. others tried to hide or drop to the floor and pretend to be dead. isis claimed responsibility for this first terror attack of 2017. the terrorist went through one of istanbul's nightclub on new year's eve. among the injured, jake raak, a defense contractor from pennsylvania. he's recovering at an istanbul hospital this morning. >> i was shot in the hip. the bullet traveled to my knee. i find myself fortunate. i was with dying people. seven of us were shot. >> reporter: raak was among hundreds at the club called reina, popular with foreign tourists and the turkish jetset crowd. a lone gunman come in around 1:00 a.m. >> someone said shots fired. i initially did not believe it, until i saw the gunman and he started shooting up the whole place. >> reporter: as the gunman mo

joining us is richard engel. richard? >> good to talk to you. >> might be the story of the century. might be. we don't know. >> it is very, very strange. this has been bouncing around for several months now. there have been a lot of allegations. i wouldn't even call them rumors at this stage that the russians put together a file on donald trump, compromising material, compromising him financially, personally -- >> stuff that he did that was bad they had documentation of? >> that they caught him on tripps to russia and neighboring states doing nefarious things and they have evidence to back it up and that he effectively fell victim to a russian trap. this is the allegation. and they have assembled this file of compromising information on him and they are just waiting at any moment to either use it or use it to blackmail him so he is a sort of puppet. i have heard these allegations for a long time. i have heard very specific allegations, times, places, amounts of money, specific activity, i haven't been able to prove any of it. >> you have been chasing the story. >> i have called peop

joining us is richard engel. richard? >> good to talk to you. >> might be the story of the century. might be. we don't know. >> it is very, very strange. this has been bouncing around for several months now. there have been a lot of allegations. i wouldn't even call them rumors at this stage that the russians put together a file on donald trump, compromising material, compromising him financially, personally -- >> stuff that he did that was bad they had documentation of? >> that they caught him on tripps to russia and neighboring states doing in tnefarious thin and they have evidence to back it up and that he effectively fell victim to a russian trap. this is the allegation. and they have assembled this file of compromising information on him and they are just waiting at any moment to either use it or use it to blackmail him so he is a sort of puppet. i have heard these allegations for a long time. i have heard very specific allegations, times, places, amounts of money, specific activity, i haven't been able to prove any of it. >> you have been chasing the story. >> i have called pe

he spoke to richard engel earlier today. this is what he said. >> somebody said shots were fired. i facially did not believe it until i saw the gunman and then he started shooting up the whole place. >> reporter: raak was released to the hospital and is on his way home. they know of no other americans among the victims. back to you. >> isis claimed responsibility for that attack. >>> the russian diplomats ordered to leave the u.s. are back in their home countries tonight. the plane carrying all 35 of them landed in moscow earlier today. president obama expelled the diplomats as punishment after the administration found that russia interfered and launched cyberattacks during the election season. russian president vladimir putin condemned the expulsion and the accusation. >>> israeli police questioned prime minister netanyahu at his home today, asking me whether he took expensive gifts from two businessmen. netanyahu is calling the accusations baseless. >>> president-elect donald trump has to wait three weeks before he's sworn in as the president but the new congress gets sworn in t

nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent richard engel has the story. >> reporter: i'm richard engel family who left everything they knew behind and got on a plane heading for their new home in america. they only got as far as their layover in cairo where a gate agent told him he and his family would be detained and deported. >> what happened when you told everybody we're not going? >> well, that was a terrible moment. when you saw their faces, they turned pale and they were about to faint, believe me. >> reporter: the family was traveling on a special visa which they got because he was a translator for the u.s. government during the iraq war. he showed it to me. >> it's issued by u.s. embassy. after two years of investigation and vetting. >> reporter: even though translators like him risk their lives working for americans in iraq, and some were killed for it, it's taken a long time for the u.s. state department to approve their visas. now they're all on hold because of president trump's orders. >> american government invited me, gave me visa, told me come, you have helped us in the

joining me now is msnbc's chief foreign correspondent richle engel in istanbul. richardthis was isis taking responsibility for it. we don't know if they really are to blame. what do they know about the hunt for the suspect and at rests this he made last night? >> reporter: a lot of images have come out both still pictures and veo of this suspect put out by turkish media and by police that, selfie video also of the suspect getting out of a taxi shortly after the attack on the nightclub, him changing money in december as well, going back several months, entering a bus station in the city of konya so they have a lot of pictures but so far they said they do not have this man in custody. there are police checkpoints across the country. there have been these raids both here in istanbul and in the city of konya. lot of the raids are taking place in istanbul and in particular neighborhood where there are a lot of immigrants from central asia, and there have been numerous reports throughout the day here in turkey that they are looking for someone of central asian desc t descent.

richard engel has the latest. >> reporter: it's just before midnight new year's eve. turkish media say this is the gunman on his way by taxi to the nightclub with a backpack full of guns and ammo. just over an hour later he runs through the club killing 39 people. minutes after that, police say he shows up again being thrown out of a cab, reportedly because he didn't have any money. he goes on to hail another and disappears. tonight we're getting our first look at what he left behind. a party that turned into a massacre frozen in time. people have been coming to pay their respects outside the club all day. there's grief here but no longer any shock. there's been nearly 30 terrorist attacks in turkey in the past year. the mood is more one of anger and fear of what could come next. turkish police have cast a nationwide dragnet. state run media are blanketing the airwaves with the alleged gunman selfie video. two suspects were detained at istanbul's airport. tight security there at the airport would make it difficult for him to escape by air. but turkey has a long border

he spoke in his hospital room with nbc's richard engel about the horrifying or deadeal. he dove under a bench and played dead as the gunman went and shot people already on the ground. >> i do find myself very fortunate. i was with dying people. seven of us were shot. when he shot me, i didn't move. i just let him shoot me. >> reporter: you didn't flinch? >> no. you've got to stay as calm as you can. >> reporter: and take the i took a bullet. >> he says his phone may have been crucial. the bullet went from his hip to his knee where it lodged and it missed all of his major arteries. >>> in news for your health now the american college of physicians has now added a popular medication to its recommendation for type two diabetics. metformin has been added for bringing down high blood sugar levels and is often less expensive. >>> meantime, you're never too young for a new year's resolution. the american academy of pediatrics says even preschoolers can get in on. for them being friendly to animals or brushing your teeth twice washing their hands after using the bathroom and bef

chief foreign correspondent richard engel has new video of the suspect getting out of a cab just minutes after the attack. there are reports the cabbie kicked the suspect out because he didn't have any money. you can see that story on nbc nightly news coming up at 6:30. >>> take a look at what was left behind by a tornado in mississippi. buildings splintered, trees toppled, no one was hurt but tens of thousands lost power. >>> now you're nbc 10 first alert weather. >>> rain off and on all day today. the clouds and drizzle stuck around for folks on darby road and mill road in havertown, delaware county. you can see the umbrellas out. didn't really see that rain all day long. finally moved out. we'll still see light drizzle and possibly showers later on this evening. we'll get to that in a second. but we have a little break here currently. we are seeing fog developing as a result of still light winds and those temperatures steady with the moisture hanging over our area. here's the neighborhood temperatures. everything that fell today was rain because no temperature that you are going to se

he talked to richard engel. >> i was shot in the hip. the bullet traveled to my knee and is lodged in my knee. i was with nine people, seven of us were shot. >> kelly, police have detained eight people in connection with the night club attack but that the gunman was not among those eight. we also have new pictures of who they believe that suspect might be. so some developments just on this monday. >> yes, definitely, richard. you can imagine the intensity surrounding the search for this gunman. authorities have been pretty adamant all along that it is only one gunman they're looking for but as you mentioned, there are these repor in state media that eight people have been arrested -- sorry, not arrested but detained for questioning in connection with this attack. we don't know the specific surrounding why they were brought in and questioned, very tight lipped on the part of officials regarding this investigation, only that the gunman, as you mentioned, was not among them. we do have these pictures, these grainy pictures from security cam

nbc's richard engel has the latest from istanbul. >> reporter: turkish officials say they are getting very close to identifying this gunman. the question is, finding him. throughout the day, turkish media have been broadcasting increasingly clear images, also video. they show him clean shaven, but we don't know anything about him burden of proof he's from. only the claim that he was an isis fighter. isis saying he was one of their soldiers of the brave caliphate. but, what we saw and what we heard from survivors of the this attack was that it was anything from brave. the gunman was running through this club shooting people, some of whom were already on the ground pretending to be dead. witnesses said that the gun masn was going up to people on the ground, shooting them as they lay, moving to the next one, shooting them. we spoke to an american who was hiding under a table. his legs sticking out, the gunman actually was on top of the bench, and was shooting down, shot him in the leg, and this american, jake raak who was suffering from a gunshot wound when we spoke to him and now on his