for the united nations. more than that, you have an important job to do and informing the world about our work, where we make progress and when we fall short. i deeply believe in your mission. i have been saying you are connecting the world. a connector between the united nations and the world. at a time when governments across the world are harassing journalists, cracking down on press freedom, i have worked hard to be your allies and defender. the fight for freedom of the press is everybody's fight. i have a brief today to allow maximum time for questions. let me make three points. first, syria remains a gaping hole in the conscious. it has become a synonym for hell. as i told the council three days ago, we have collectively failed the people of syria. peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen. second, i am closely following the deteriorating situation in south sudan. this week marks the third anniversary of the fighting.

twitter the united nations has such great potential. right now just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. that's not the only shot he's taken at the international organization since american diplomats sat silently by while others on the security counsel passed a resolution that hurts our closest allies in the middle east. israel. the president elect suggests he has the power to slow administration down, but not stop them t. big loss yesterday for israel and united nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. too bad, but we'll get it done anyway. now conservatives see an opportunity to draw upon his experience with manhattan real estate. >> it's an organization that exacerbates tensions. i think that's good in real estate in downtown new york city and trump ought to find a way to put his name on it and turn it into condos. >> charles isn't alone. senator ted cruz, john mccain, rubio, and speaker of the house paul ryan are all calling for the united states to stop sending so much money to the unle

suspect that he will use this vote when he comes into office to leverage some reforms at the united nations. at the u.n., 75% is spent on personnel and united states pays 22% of the total budget. so there are a lot of, i think, reforms and institutional reforms at the u.n. that could be done. i think that he will probably look at u.n. voting patterns and if people want to go against us at the united nations, there will be consequences. >> thank you so much, brian hook. former assistant secretary for george w. bush. thank you, brian. >> thank you. >>> a difficult back to work commute for parts of this country buried under a holiday blizzard. your latest travel forecast up next. a little bit later, an incredible story of survival. we will hear from a mom who walked 26 miles in the cold and the snow to save her family. will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at ope

breaking news right now at the united nation. a security count on a resolution demanding to an end to israeli settlement in the west bank. a lot of stuff, there is a new question for world leaders today. this morning, president-elect trump doubled down on this tweet, thursday, the united states must greatly strengthen and expand their capabilities until such time as the worldcom to i worldcom -- world comes to its censuses. >> the president-elect told you what? >> let it be an arm's race. we'll out match them in every pass. >> and out last them all. >> vladimir putin took a question at his annual press conference this morning. when someone accelerates and speeds up the arm's race, it is not us. >> joining me now is nbc's kelly o'donell and katy tur. kelly, you are in florida and mr. trump is spending the day playing golf with dwootiger woo. how is this leading the republicans in trump's team. >> reporter: one of the questions is how seriously or literally should donald trump's tweets be taken? is he trying to set policy through t

president-elect trump slamming the united nations over the vote, tweeting, the united nations has such great potential but right now, it just a club for people to gettinto get together, talk and have a good time be so sad. about a quarter of u.n. budget, 3 billion dollars comes from the u.s. annually. >> joining me now, former u.s. ambassador to united nations, and senior fellow john bolton. what is your reaction to this? that is where you hedge you hung your hat for a number of years, is it just a place to get together and talk. >> i had fun, defending american interests, probably not other people not so much fun. but, this was a clear abuse of the u.n. to disadvantage israel. obama administration's -- is a reputing a of 50 years of bipartisan american policy it steps in to try to tilt scales in favor of palestinians against israel, and rejects this 50-year-old dock rain called land for peace, that israel gives baxter torrey -- territory it won in wars that were directed against it, it gets peace in exchange. i can't think of a worse way for the obama administration to go out, it will

funding to the united nations. we'll have more on israeli settlements and the vote at the united nations after headlines. meanwhile, in the west bank, israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse a protest of palestinians on friday ahead of christmas celebrations in bethlehem, where christians believe jesus was born. the crackdown came as palestinians -- many dressed as santa claus -- approached israel's massive separation barrier. protesters were demanding unrestricted access to jerusalem. they currently must apply for permits to travel to the city, which borders bethlehem to t the north. president obama on friday signed the national defense authorization act, or ndaa, providing nearly $619 billion for war and military spending. the measure passed both houses of congress with a veto-proof majority and will bring troops a modest pay raise while increasing the number of active duty soldiers to more than 1.3 million. the ndaa also restricts transfers from the guantanamo prison guaranteein

the russian ambassador to the united nations say they will veto a united nations say they will veto a united nations proposal to put in monitors to check the situation in aleppo. there are reports that buses sent to rescue people from two besieged towns in the north of syria have been set alight and attacked. the buses were on their way to the towns of foah and kefraya, which are surrounded by rebel forces. in a deal between the government and rebels, in exchange for the evacuation of people from those villages, thousands are due to be escorted out of the opposition held part of eastern aleppo. a number of buses containing fighters and their families have started to leave the last rebel—held enclave, according to reports from syrian state tv. richard lister reports. more buses lining up, as it seemed this on—off evacuation would continue. red cross vehicles could also be seen waiting to go into the city. the authorities said they would oversees the situation, but the evacuation has still not happened. and the smoke still lying over the city shows just how difficult this has become. ca

and this is the problem with the united nations. u've got so many undemocratic nations who resent the fact that israel is this bastien of democracy in the middle east. i met with the prime minister and he was ready to negotiate without pre-conditions at any time, any place and he favored a two state solution for two peoples. i think that's correct. and i think we ought to work towards that, and not censure israel. >> you had a chance to meet with a lot of senior israelis. talk about the public's attitude in terms of the incoming president. are they excited about a president-elect donald trump? do they think he's going to be able to get a peace deal through? >> well, i think a lot of it depends on the ideological spectrum but there's hope. there's talk about moving the u.s. embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. which i support, we voted that in the 1990s to give the president the authority to do that. no one has done it yet but the fact of the matter is -- >> that wouldn't ignite concerns on the street level or the broader arab world? >

the united nations no longer serves the purpose for which it was created. >> right after the u.n. was created, of course, the united states expressed to truman a democrat through and through was the first national -- international leader to recognize israel as being an independent nation and now they're wanting to give those places back. >> on that note, dr. gorka, what can president-elect donald trump do, if you can give me a quick thing on this to turn it around. >> i think the statements he's already made are very, very clear. the u.n., as an institution, will not be favored by the white house after january 20th. remember, we are the largest funder of this institution. without our money, it simply cannot function and the ten nations that were behind this outside of the current administration will suffer whether it is bilaterally, economically or diplomatically. they would pay a price or basically a modern version of anti-semitism. >> can i throw in something? >> real quick. >> the u.n. -- i looked into this, rockefeller provided that to the u.n. so long as the primary office of

the inner works of the united nations. it is a balance because on one hand you have to preserve the autonomy of individual nation states but oregon you need to set the stage for what is globally acceptable diplomacy, so the u.n. security council and the fact that the permanent members have veto power is incredibly important. today the united states an an abdicate it their role as a permanent maybe of the council by abstainening from this vote and break egg with traditional diplomatic practice. we need to remember that u.n. security counsel members are going to be changing in the new year. the nonpermanent members taking off venezuela and bringing on kazakhstan. so an interesting time for the u.n. in 2017. >> cost does this say from now on the united states doesn't inertly have israel's back? >> not at all. this is more than a last easterly do last-ditch effort by own tone make things harder for trump. the american people stand with israel and that at the voting booth in november. this does note mean a whole lot. we'll see a

to me this is culmination of decades-long problems at the united nations. itedded nations has become a place where authoritarians go to be excused. where atrocities are often ignored. where you have united nations doing business with people like saddam hussein and oil-for-food program, giving sus ten nance to a regime that was struggling with its own finances. the united nations with many respects become more trouble than it's worth for the united states. eric: there certainly has been a failing of the international order. you have isis, terrorist attacks, horror what happened in syria. civilians killed on a mass scale. all this are the very issues that the united nations was established to address and hopefully solve, to quote, promote international peace and security. this is the first resolution at the u.n. at the security council been passed in seven or eight years? >> right. there has been this obsession at the united nations with israel. there is targeting of israel over the years. the united states has often i think taken a role in playing defense for

this comes ties with the united nations. this co m es after ties with the united nations. comes after the security council adopted a resolution demanding an end to israeli settlement building on occupied palestinian land. the resolution was passed after the united states refuse to veto it standing breaking with long—standing us practice. donald trump has suggested he will reverse the us position on this at the un after his inauguration. translation: the decision was taken at the un yesterday pa rt decision was taken at the un yesterday part of the swansong of the old world biased against israel. we are entering a new era and as president—elect trump said yesterday this is going to happen much quicker than people think. all the american president afterjimmy carter kept the us commitment not to try to impose conditions provide all agreement on israel in the security council. and yesterday, in complete contrast to this commitment including a commitment by president obama himself in 2011, the obama administration conducted a shameful anti— israel ambush at the united nations.

what becominginges the role of united nations? here's what the president-elect tweeted yesterday about the u.n. the united nations has such great potential, but right now it's just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. what do you make of that? >> yeah, i mean, look, denigrating the united nations is something that you hear from time to time, but the reality is it's still indispensable. it still has a lot of peacekeepers who are doing really good work. you have organizations like unicef that are really important for the world. the united nations is not going to go away just because lindsay graham and donald trump want it to. i think more importantly, when the trump administration comes into power, they're going to find that israel can play its politics and refuse to meet with foreign ministers from senegal and new zealand and so forth and that will have no effect, but much more important will be the united states' efforts in the region, and those evefforts cant be dialed back and insulted and talke

, how the administration will deal with the united nations. it will be interesting, at least from my perspective, to see how she deals with some of these challenges and how she deals with president-elect trump's very aggressive stance towards the u.n. >> we'll all be paying close attention. rebecca bird, josh rogin, thank you so much. >>> donald trump taps a bush adviser for his cabinet and he doesn't agree with the president-elect's stance on iraq. i really did save hundreds on my car insurance with geico. i should take a closer look at geico... geico has a long history of great savings and great service. over seventy-five years. wait. seventy-five years? that is great. speaking of great, check out these hot riffs. you like smash mouth? uh, yeah i have an early day tomorrow so... wait. almost there. goodnight, bruce. gotta tune the "a." (humming) take a closer look at geico. great savings. and a whole lot more. channel islands national park. coronado. saguaro. you'll see there's one that's an eagle. my number one goal is getting more funds ou

i out to represent the united nations foundation.specifically went up on capitol hill and made the case of why it's important for the united states to pay nearly 25% of the united nations dues which comes to the tune of $3 billion. you look at the parties, the unpaid parking tickets. our colleague eric shawn at the fox business channel wrote an excellent book 10 years ago. and i say are we getting our bang for the buck at $3 billion when we snub our closest allies in the middle east. and whether we should be paying more than the other 193 countries. david: oil for food was claudia's scoop. but you mentioned the $40 billion. where does all that money go? there must be somebody skimming way up at the top taking millionsf doars, right? >> i don't know where a lot of it goes. the $3 billion goes to the u.n. general assembly. that's just attraction of the systemwide budget. 8 billion was the last number from the obama administration five years ago. it's been five years since they gave us accurate figures on how much the u.s. gives. the u.

we had a close productive ties between the united states and the united nations. lso recently met with mayor deblasio of new york and governor christie of new jersey and i will speak to governor cuomo from new york. the united states continues to grow strength and the new york metropolitan area. thank you again for your friendship over the past decade and i wish you continued good substance. and engage more closely with the united nations so that you will and thank you very much. let me say one last thing. i am happy to take your questions. >> mr. secretary-general, thank you a dead for the last -- thank you again for the last press conference and for your cooperation with us. we really appreciated that. thank you for your freedom of the press. my last question to you is a simple one -- i have a soft one. in two weeks, you will face two options. right for president of south korea or -- which one of the options will you choose and a clear answer now? thank you. >> the first part of your , of course, i will take more days to take rest. the last 10during years, frankl

senegal, faithful to its principles and chair of theand as united nations committee, for thein alienable rights of palestinian people, continue to reach a two-state solution. thank you. >> i think the representative of senegal. i national make a statement. shall make a statement. >> i thank the sponsors for their efforts and the delegations that worked so hard and intensely to reach a result. it has been voted in favor because we are convinced it will contribute to preserving the two-state solution. which we believe is the only solution that could lead to a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace for palestinians and israelis. can never be brought from outside, but will need to be negotiated. the international community does have an obligation to do everything it can to promote an agreement. with today's vote, this security council did what it had to do. years, spain two has repeated numerous times, that we were in favor of the council on the palestinian question when the time was right. possible, to have a text on which there was a consensus that could move towards peace. that day has co

speech text they are capitalized and what he is clearly thinking ahead to is when he says, the united nations are committed to the idea that no one nation or one brace, they are seeking or imagining a world in which nobody dominates, but that things are held in balance by the cooperation of all of the human refer to as the civilized nations. for him britain and the soviet union went balance themselves in europe. the united states would manage its own hemisphere. china would help control asia. what is remarkable about this vision is not only does it kind of happened, but there is this really important region of the world that is invisible in this vision. he does not talk about the middle east at all as a factor going forward. it is that particular blind spot that becomes kind of significant in world history later on. paul: at this point, the recent united nations is now capitalized is it is going to be, like the league of nations, and organization. prior to this kind of been the coalition fighting this war, but now in his mind it is an organization. it is the united nations. i think it is impo

it's whether or not the united nations, israel and other nations and other people throughout the worlde the u.n. as an honest broker and the answer is no. >> nbc news has confirmed steven adviser steven miller is going to write trump's speech. we know he penned many of trump's speeches, one of which we saw on the floor of the republican national convention in july. >> the indications are that it would be similar to the speeches that we've heard donald trump deliver on those big, national types of stages. he was criticized by some for the tone of that convention speech. having it be pretty dark and somber. his supporters say it really reflected the sentiments they were feeling at the time and continue to feel and kind of were behind them supporting his presidency. so, the important thing about this inaugural address is that it gives donald trump an opportunity to really unite the nation. as we've seen over the past month or so, it remains a very divided country. he can use this big stage, of course, to do that. but i wouldn't be surprised, of course, if he included a lot of those themes

according to donald trump, the united nations is little more than a social club. the president-elect tweeting yesterday, quote, the united nations has such great potential, but right now, it is just a club for people to get together, talk, and have a good time. so sad. trump was highly critical of the u.n. security council vote last friday that condemned israel's stoplight building on land claimed by the palestinians. the united states abstained from that vote, but breaking from past precedent, it declined to veto the resolution. israel now accusing the obama administration of orchestrating the vote. the white house denying that claim. after the vote, trump tweeted things that the u.n. will, quote, be different, when he becomes president. and over the weekend, he said the big loss yesterday for israel and the united nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. too bad, but we will get it done anyway. besides his comments this weekend about the middle east and the united nations, trump also suggested he's willing to engage in a nuclear arms race, and he cal

we have mike huckabee, with that idea of taking funding away from the united nations. we also had trump there, flirting with the idea of bringing john bolton, who's talked about basically just getting rid of the physical building, the united nations is in. trump seems to be ennarmed of him, at least somewhat. in terms of the united states, its relationship with the united nations as an institution, what can we expect with druonald tru as president? >> based on my reporting, the trump has antagonized the u.n. this is not a group they're going to embrace. but if you look at their pick for u.n. ambassador to the united states, governor nikki haley of south carolina, you see trump trying to use that position in a way to show a different kind of face to the world. someone with a different background, a different temperament. he may not put an emphasis on it dealing with steve bannon, rex tillerson, but he'll have haley there as someone who's an asset and a hawk. >> last week trump also called on the united states to strengthen and expand its nuclear capabilities, something

reason thepoint, the united nations is now capitalized is because come in his own mind, the united nations will be like the league of nations had been come on organization. prior to this, it had been the coalition that had been fighting this war. but now in his mind, very much, it is an organization. it is the united nations. i think it is an important moment of change. speech.ivering this the gliders have already taken off. the boats have already left the dock. he knows what is about to happen. he has spent the last several days at a small farm in virginia, near monticello, that is owned by his closest advisor, paul watson. he was technically his appointed secretary, but he is really his military advisor and one of his closest friends. he had been staying there with his daughter and her husband. was a journalist who had brought a newspaper out in seattle. they were drafting what is perhaps one of the great speeches or moments in fdr's presidency, which is the d-day prayer. talk about this before a player. we play it. >> this is one of my favorites. this is not on the syllabus because it m

>> not well and the united nations -- some members of the united nations, some officials, have been very critical of donald trump even before the election calling him out for his statements about using terror, killing the families of terrorists, building a wall. you know, donald trump and some united nations officials haven't gotten along anyway so this could be daump counterpunching. it could also be donald trump threatening the united nations but if you talk to people who are experts on this, i was just speaking to our "wall street journal" reporter on the united nations, trump being combative with the united nations would not serve the united states well. it's not a club where they go talk about happy things. they've been discussing syria, north korea, very serious issues throughout the year, it's a really -- they're dealing with tough issues and if donald trump could do something it would be withdraw funding. however, that gap would be likely filled by china or other u.n. members and any of the permanent members could veto donald trump's actions if he wants to actually try to negotia

and the united nations. i also recently have met the mayor of york and will speak soon to the governor. the united nations continues to draw strength and to engage more closely and thank you very much. i am happy to take your questions. >> with the correspondents association thank you for that cooperation with the us we appreciate that. and for freedom of the press to last tough questions and then to face two options. because this is the of last question which do you choose? >> and as you know, lasted 10 years. and with those vacations in has been tough. simeon diller -- united asians so i still have 15 days to go. so never fear after 15 days i try to have as many people as possible. and my friends consider seriously what of what i could and should do. in that situation and the future of their country and this is one of the biggest challenges of the people that i am encountering. so that transforms the career that is one of the prides the korean people have. and i also understand that desperation to help the

israel, it shows that the united nations is not even handed, that israel can no do right. and it's what's really ridiculous is that at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are dying in syria you have genocide in south sudan. you have people being killed all over the country, and i would say that the united states has not done a lot of things in syria over the past several years, so they condemn israel for settlements. prime minister netanyahu said to me two days ago, that he's for a two state solution, and he believes there should be two states two two peoples. meaning that the palestinians have a right to their state, but so do the jews have a right to their state. and he said he would meet with the palestinians, at any time in any place, with no preconditions, but the palestinians, unfortunately, have decided they don't want to meet, they just want to use the united nations to whip israel and to embarrass israel and for us to fall into that trap was a really grievous error. >> i want to bring in a palestinian voice, i spoke a few minutes ago to a senior palestinia

pull out the united nations. let's go back to former senator scott brown. that was at the end of president-elect trump's message we were talking about that. with a speech about israel. we were interrupted. i was asking a question your question and we do not discuss in the united states the issues of the palestinian authorities pain -- pain those who attacked a really citizens in the fight with israel. they don't consider them to that. we don't talk about the fact that they did give land to the egyptian and has enjoyed peace with egypt since the late 1970s. the gaza strip was turned over to the palestinians there has not been peace. those issues are not discussed but those are facts. the reason i say that to you is regardless of the fact is support for israel in the united states shifting. we see the boycott and sanction movement growing on college campuses among left-wing organizations is a commitment of this country to israel in jeopardy. it is our greatest ally in the region. it is a sea of non- democracies. an

they use us as an ally as it did at the united nations for the very first time. that becomes a real problem. >> this is hugely problematic. it puts the united states in a bad position and a position we should never be in against israel. this has huge diplomatic implications. >> another opportunity for donald trump to come in and say, we've got this. i am going to fix this relationship. >> he has a lot of messes to clean up on aisle 7. >> he keeps spilling the bottle and stuff keeps breaking. >> one of the big subjects that will come up. some members of congress are talking about what to do about the united nations. do we defund the united nations? there is so much money that goes into it, a general pot and one that goes into united nations peacekeeping and the peacekeeping one is $2.3 billion and we can question whether or not they always do what is right. >> there is a third, other u.n. initiatives. we put in in $2012020 10 $2 mil. >> we signed a ten-year deal with israel, the biggest and largest deal in its history for $38 billion worth of military technology we

this resolution is not an imposition on terms by the united nations, but rather a measure to salvage the prospects of the two state solution. therefore we hope that we will definitely see a step in the right direction, as we have several times in this council this several times reiterated in this council. we have several times reiterated in this council. >> i now give flow to the ambassador of new zealand. -- i now give the floor to the ambassador of new zealand. i was so very pleased that in this last meeting of the year we were able to a duck a very positive step on a most very difficult issue. theapplause reflects pent-up frustration that the council has been unable to, for so long, pass an resolution on the issue. that urgent action was necessary. i noted earlier, the focus of resolution 2334 is on settlements, the primary threat to the fidelity of the two state solution. as others have pointed out the resolution also includes welcome need to stophe violence and lays the groundwork for a return to negotiations. there is no question that ongoing israeli settlement activity in pale

. >> trump also on twitter ripping the united nations after a resolution condemning israeli settlements. israel putting the blame squarely on the obama administration. >> friends don't take friends to the security council. >>> plus, kacahaos and violence. fights break out in malls across the country while claims of shots fired send people sprinting for the exits. >> historic visit. shinzo abe prepares to visit pearl harbor with president obama, 75 years after the surprise attack. >> i think he's doing a great job by even showing up there. it's going to end a big chapter. >> and it was a golden year for women in sports, from katie ledecky's dominance to the final five's brilliance. but only one could be the female athlete of the year. >> we begin with the trump transition and the president-elect's new tweets targeting president obama and the u.nited nations. hallie jackson is covering the president-elect near his mar-a-lago estate. she joins us from west palm beach. a lot to get to already this morning. >> yeah. >> let's start with what's on his schedule. he did take christmas off. he wa

the chinese don't always vote with us at the united nations. but i asked them, how would you feel if people were dictating to you where the border should be in the south china see? how would you feel if the united nations adopted resolutions saying your borders should be here, not there? of course they all said, never, we would never agree to that. i said, then why do you support these palestinian resolutions at the united nations? only israel can decide how its security will be planned, implemented, and above all, safe guarded. unfortunately secretary kerry's speech veered away from that principle, trying to reintroduce the '67 lines. more than 80% of the israeli public oppose the line that secretary kerry put forward today. >> all right, sir, we're going to have to leave it there, dr. dorie gold, thank you so much for joining us with your reaction to secretary of state john kerry's impassioned speech today, it seems like he got more worked up about the israelis and palestinians than about syria or just about anything. thank you for your time.

for the united nations.e than that, you have an important job to do and informing the world about our work, where we make progress and when we fall short. i deeply believe in your mission. i have been saying you are connecting the world. a connector between the united nations and the world. at a time when governments across the world are harassing journalists, cracking down on press freedom, i have worked hard to be your allies and defender. the fight for freedom of the press is everybody's fight. i have a brief today to allow maximum time for questions. let me make three points. first, syria remains a gaping hole in the conscious. it has become a synonym for hell. as i told the council three days ago, we have collectively failed the people of syria. peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen. second, i am closely following the deteriorating situation in south sudan. this week marks the third anniversary of the fighting. lea

it's not just the united nations that has this position.every country in the world that's speaking at the united nations, the british, the french, the russians, the americans, everybody around the world except for the right wing radical fringe in israel believes that they need to stop colonizing territory. >> in 2001, israel offered to end all settlements and the occupation, give the palestinians a state. they said no and killed 4,000 people. in 2008, omer said to the palestinian leadership, we'll give you even more. the palestinians said no. when the palestinians refuse decent offers from the israelis, you can't put the blame on the israelis. >> but it was the offer of the israelis, it wasn't a mutual offer to be agreed upon. >> one side is building settlements -- >> but it doesn't actually stop. >> yes, it has. >> according to the resolution -- let me get in here. >> in 10 months the palestinians refused to come to the bargaining table. >> i spowhat they want is for t not to be any jewish. >> this is prime minister benjamin netanyahu, acc

we've got former israeli ambassador to the united nations ron prosor live from israel on the speech bibi netanyahu just gave and why christians needs to fear the resolution president obama allowed to pass. i'm back from jordan, i'll tell you what is really going on, on the ground. >>> both of the developing story, president-elect trump is in palm beach. we'll have reaction out of mar-a-lago as soon as it comes. >>> the president-elect causing a stir in the last 24 hours after suggesting privatizing the multibillion dollar veteran affairs hospital system paid for by you, the taxpayer. we're about to take the pulse of one soldier. three tours of duty in iraq. he was nearly killed by improvised explosive device in iraq. we've got an exclusive interview with sergeant anthony cala why trump might be onto something. >>> the dow is set to hit 20,000. the dow industrials straddling the flat line, we are less than an hour from the closing bell. live from the floor of the new york stock exchange. happy to be back with you guys. let's start the "countdown." breaking news that is just hitting the ta

>> i think the united nations needs to understand that israel is not always the bad guy. what resolution has been passed by the united nations condemning the slaughter of 500,000 people in syria. does the u.n. say anything when israel is attacked viciously by hezbollah and hamas or a 13-year-old girl killed in her bed by palestinian terrorists? i think most american political leaders in the congress believe that the u.n. has been one-sided and that the prime minister of israel told me that the three threats to the jewish state, a nuclear weapon, the ayatollah with a nuke, the marginal zation of the jewish state by groups like the united nations and terrorist groups like al qaeda and isil. what i want the u.n. to know is that, i understand you do good things. i would like the u.n. to be a better organization for helping people to advance the cause of liberty. the only democracy in the region is is rail. it is odd to me that the u.n. singles out the one place where people can elect their leaders and the rule of law trumps religion to punish them and have a one-sided view of

a vote at the united nations security council. that policy is causes senior officials in israel to publicly say they're ready for the obama era to be over and the trump era to begin. every member of the security council voted for it except the united states. which abstained effectively allowing it to pass. the u.s. had the power to veto the measure but did not. of course, all of this made israeli officials furious and that is where we find our correspondent in jerusalem. you have been watching and talking to your sources in israel. i want to start with what the prime minister said publicly calling this resolution shameful. he blames americans for letting it pass and he now is saying that israel will re-evaluate relations with the u.n. explain exactly what that means. >> reporter: well, to be specific, prime minister netanyahu blames president obama and secretary of state john kerry. as for his diplomatic moves, he's taken a number against the u.n. as well as some of the security council countries that introduced this. prime minist

take against the united nations next year?ator lindsey graham who said the u.s. would consider pulling funding for the u.n. netanyahu announced after the vote that israel would cut funding to five u.n. organizations totally $8 million. he also said israel would reconsider relationships with the u.s. representatives working here and promised more steps may be ahead. >> and taking waway the funding could be a big deal. the u.s. funds 22% of the u.n. oren, thank you. >>> 25 days until donald trump takes office. the president-elect is moving to address potential conflicts of interest in the administration. that includes dissolving the charitable foundation that bears his name. it appears the plan is already hitting a legal snag. we get more from cnn's jeremy diamond. >> reporter: good morning, joe and alison. president-elect trump is staying at his mar-a-lago residence in palm beach, florida. he has nothing publicly scheduled. that comes after the weekend where he spent the christmas weekend with his family and attended christmas

what he should not do is change america's policy 40 years at the united nations. if the security council resolution goes through, it completely ties the hand of an incoming president. you can't undo a security council resolution. you can't take away a veto. and this security council resolution is an invitation to the international criminal court to go after israel. it's an invitation to the bds movement to start sanctioning israel. it's a very, very bad resolution. and there is a big difference between an outgoing president making a speech and changing the policy, which can then be changed by the incoming president, and doing something permanent and irrevocable, and that's why i think donald trump did exactly the right thing. he said to the president, you do what you want in the last days of your administration, but don't tie my hands. i actually wrote a piece about this before the election, urging the president not to tie who we then thought would be the new president, hillary clinton's hands. i'm confident, by the way, if hillary clinton has been elected, she wo

this is what the united nations has become. obsession with israel is emblem attic of a broader misplace of its priorities. >> to that point, ted cruz tweeted on christmas eve, quote, spoke with israeli prime minister netanyahu tonight to wish him happy hanukkah. no u.s. dollars for u.n. until reverse. what do you make of that? what kind of a movement do you see building in congress or in a new trump administration to pull money from the united nation snz. >> most americans are not aware of the fact that we pay about a quarter of the rate of the u.n. >> 22%? >> we're paying an organization that spends half its time -- more than half its time and energy and resources trying to attack the only jewish state on the planet, a tiny little spec, while genocide mayhem, murder, terrorism is going on all over the world. it's an obsession that to an outside a observer appears to be insane. why are we doing this? the rest of the time is spend undermining the united states and democracy and our allies around the world. it's an organization t

relationship with the united nations security council? really isn't the only one, his colleague lindsey graham said this weekend, just take a listen to this. >> i will respond in kind. 22% of the united nations budget comes from the american taxpayer. and i'm going to lead the charge to withhold funding until they repeal this resolution. >> so, netanyahu saying that the u.s., quote, coordinated with other countries. and demanded that the resolution pass. i mean, what is the proof? what do we think has happened here? >> again i haven't heard any details about how the u.s. coordinated behind the scenes. clearly there have been tensions between the two administrations. this is the u.n. security council that voted for this. i mentioned earlier france, britain, russia, china and japan very close. some of those very close american allies. so there's blaming the u.n. as an organization but this is the security council itself that voted for this. those countries should be criticized, as well, if we -- if the new administration from -- their vote.

senegal, faithful to its principles and chair of theand as united nations committee, for thein alienable rights of palestinian people, continue to reach a two-state solution. thank you. >> i think the representative of senegal. i national make a statement. shall make a statement. >> i thank the sponsors for their efforts and the delegations that worked so hard and intensely to reach a result. it has been voted in favor because we are convinced it will contribute to preserving the two-state solution. which we believe is the only solution that could lead to a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace for palestinians and israelis. can never be brought from outside, but will need to be negotiated. the international community does have an obligation to do everything it can to promote an agreement. with today's vote, this security council did what it had to do. years, spain two has repeated numerous times, that we were in favor of the council on the palestinian question when the time was right. possible, to have a text on which there was a consensus that could move towards peace. that day has co

only time in eight years the obama administration exercised its veto in the united nations was against one-sided settlements resolution in 2011. and that resolution did not mention incitement or violence. now, let's look at what has happened since then. there have been over 30,000 settlement units advancing through some state of the planning process. that is right, over 30,000 settlement units notwithstanding the positions in the united states and other countries. if we had vetoed this resolution just the other day, the united states would have been giving license to further unfettered settlement construction that we fundamentally oppose. so we reject the criticism that this vote abandons israel. on the contrary, it is not this resolution that is isolating israel, it is the permanent policy of settlement construction that risks making peace in possible. virtually every country in the world other than israel opposes settlements. that includes many of the friends of israel, including the united kingdom and france and russia. all of whom voted in favor of the settlements resolution in 201