wolf? >> all right. barbara working your sources at the pentagon. thanks very much. >>> let's get some more on all of this with former state department official and hillary clinton national security adviser, jake sullivan. jake, thanks very much for coming in. >> good to be here. >> what do you think, the president said to a group of germis i journalists including me today, let me read specifically what he said. i'm quoting president trump. "the time is right for an immigration bill as long as there is compromise on both sides." i assume you're encouraged by that. >> well, i'll believe it when i see it. this is somebody who during the campaign talked about a deportation force to round up millions of people who gave a speech in phoenix after he went to mexico and said 11 million people would be subject to deportation. and who has presided over in his first weeks in office the raids and roundups of mothers and grandparents and people who are just law-abiding and going about their lives so the

wolf? >> pretty surprising that he was, in fact, out of the loop until february 9th for all practical purposes. jim, what about spicer? what did he say about whether flynn intentionally lied or misled about the information to anyone inside the white house? >> reporter: i think it's a key question, wolf, because they repeatedly said today the reason why flynn wases let go, or forced to resign,s was that he misled top officials inside this administration including the vice president, but sean spicer said time and again that while he had misled top officials at the white house, he would not say whether or not flynn had intentionally misled officials. here's what he had to say. >> are you saying that the national security adviser was intentionally misleading the president, the vice president, yourself, when he made these comments to -- >> no, look, the trust is given by the president. it's a relationship between he and any individual. and so as i mentioned in the comments, maybe it was because

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> translator: this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news, the white house is defending the president's travel ban, but president trump is on the attack. calling appeals court arguments disgraceful, suggesting the courts are political, and insisting that the travel ban order was perfectly written. and just in, the president's own supreme court nominee takes a different view, calling his comments about the judiciary demoralizing and disheartening. all of that as the appeals court considers how to handle a lower court freeze on the president's ban. in the middle of the immigration fight, president trump sends out a tweet blasting nordstrom department stores for treating his daughter ivanka, quote, so unfairly by discontinuing her fashion line. the blast is then retweeted in the president's official white house account, generally reserved until now, for government issues. the white house is defending the move, but critics say it is another ethical line cr

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> we're following a lot of breaking news. out of president trump's marathon news conference, a free willing combative exchange with reporters unlike anything we've seen in the white house for a long time. among the many headlines, the president said he did not direct his fired national security adviser michael flynn to discuss sanctions with russia's ambassador to the u.s. before inauguration day. but he said he would have despite a law that bars unauthorized people from communicating with foreign governments. mr. trump says he's asked the justice department to look into leaks from the intelligence community and he denied reports that some of his high-level aides had constant contact with the russians during the campaign saying he had nothing to do with russia. the president says he will revive his controversial travel ban by issuing a new executive order that's tailored to the decision that put a hold on h

[applause] governor wolf: thank you. million in additional money for our state system of higher education. [applause] governor wolf: thank you. just as the people of pennsylvania make their children otherpriority, so to parents, aunts and uncles, a top priority for all of us. across the commonwealth they told me that they very much appreciated how often politicians came to see them, but that they preferred real action. like improving senior services. one of my first initiatives as was to improve home-based and community-based care services so that more seniors could have more options for getting the care that they needed without having to move out of their homes. it is why -- thank you. [applause] it is why when health insurers threatened to kick 187,000 seniors off their health plans, we stepped in and took them to court to make sure that their coverage stayed in place. just this past year we distributed more than $2 million in lottery proceeds to 43 senior community centers across the commonwealth. we made it easier fo

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> translato >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> the first address to congress, he'll be speaking to the entire nation tonight in a primetime address is a prime opportunity to hit the reset button after a bumpy first month in office. the president says he'll be speaking from the heart. and aides say he'll present an optimistic vision focusing on the renewal of the american spirit. after speaking of the carnage in the inauguration address. senior official say president trump would like a compromise immigration bill and he may make mention of that tonight. the officials says the legislation may allow undocumented immigrants to stay without worrying about deportation but concedes it will take a softening on boeing sides to make a deal. republicans are already divided how to handle obama a care, and there are deep differences as well over the president's budget. one key republican senator says it will be dead on arrival because of the proposed cuts

>> reporter: that's right, wolf. the white house has been in turmoil the last couple of days of how to deal with general flynn and the report that he did in fact discuss the sanctions when he spoke with the russian ambassador. now we're learning the president himself has known about these phone calls for weeks raising questions about why it took so long for him to fire his national security advisor. the president's top national security advisor retired general michael flynn is out. the first casualty in donald trump's tumultuous white house. >> the evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for general flynn's resignation. >> reporter: trump fired flynn after losing faith in him for misleading the vice-president about whether he discussed sanctions with the russian ambassador. but the president has known about flynn's calls for weeks. the justice department warned the trump white house in late january that flynn misle

>> that's right, wolf. the white house is pushing back on the notion that a special prosecutor is needed to investigate the trump campaign's contacts with russia. the continued questions on russia come as president trump tries to reset the narrative here in washington by offering congress a sneak preview of his budget. president trump's message to washington, get ready for the budget axe. >> we're going to do more with less. we're going to do more with less and make the government lean and accountable to the people. >> reporter: in a preview of the trump administration's first budget, white house officials say the president plans to ask for a staggering $54 billion increase in defense spending offset by massive cuts in non-defense programs as well as foreign aid. the budget boost for the pentagon is so big it eclipses what the federal government spends at the state department and epa. >> we are taking his words and turning them into policies and dollars. >> reporter: the white house still grappling with que

. >> that's right, wolf. you'll notice the president made those comments as he was sitting at the table with some senate democrats there. senator heidi heitkamp, joe tester, joe manchin. these senate democrats are facing tough re-election battles. so the white house had those senators over today to talk about a variety of subjects. the subject of the supreme court pick, neil gorsuch, did come up. as you heard there, he was asked about what senator blumenthal has been saying about what judge gorsuch said. and you heard the president there say, make this accusation that senator blumenthal is distorting his comments and he took this shot once again at senator blemmenthal resurrecting this old story from when senator blumenthal was running for election to the senate in the state of connecticut when he falsely claimed he'd served in vietnam. when he had not done that. that was something that the senator apologized for several years ago. but because of this controversy, the president is resurrecting those comments

there is no question about it, wolf. and, look, this is the -- one of the issues that we are seeing with the trump administration is that in their effort to drain the swamp and go against the establishment here in washington, they basically did away with all the processes, right, the vetting that should be done before or as you put your cabinet together. so, people like flynn, people like puzder today who just withdraw his name from consideration from becoming secretary of labor, none of these people were vetted properly by the administration to say nothing of the vetting that would have to take place in a public arena at their confirmation hearings. so, this is one of the problems with trump's a kind of go it alone attitude. you know, for someone who claims to be such a great and successful businessman, he has not shown great managerial skills up to this point. >> as we report at the top of the hour, flynn's security clearances have been suspended for now. congresswoman, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wo

>>> i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news and extraordinary white house news conference by president donald trump. he started by defending his first week in office saying he inherited what he called a mess and claiming to have accomplished more than any new president. then he spent more than an hour unleashing his anger at the news media and detailing his grievances with coverage of his administration. the president was questioned repeatedly about contacts between his campaign aide and russian officials. he dismissed the reports as a joke, but he also defended -- fired national security advisor michael flynn who lied about improperly discussing sanctions with russia a. mr. trump said flynn was just doing his job and that, quote, the leaks are absolutely real. the news is fake. president trump also announced the new executive order on immigration. he says it will be tailored to the federal court decisions that throws his p

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> we're following breaking news. president trump's secretary of state rex tillerson has just arrived in mexico on a mission to strengthen ties badly strained by the president call for a border wall and homeland secretary john kelly is taking part of the talks in mexico. ahead of the talks with american counterpart mexico's foreign minister says mexico doesn't have to accept unilateral decisions. the new executive order on travel restrictions will now be issued next week. had had been expected this week. sources also say it's being carefully tailored to avoid legal challenges that sidelined the president's previous travel ban. >>> some angry constituents loudly voicing their issues in sometimes emotional and sharp exchanges on which the white house is calling in part at least professional protests. we're covering all of that and much more this hour with our guests including the top democratic of the armed se

wolf? >> brian todd reporting. the trump administration comes up with a plan to crack down on illegal immigration. says the objective is not mass deportation but says a million people could go. what about the so-called dreamers who came to america as children? so how old do you want uhh, i was thinking around 70. alright, and before that? you mean after that? no, i'm talking before that. do you have things you want to do before you retire? oh yeah sure... ok, like what? but i thought we were supposed to be talking about investing for retirement? we're absolutely doing that. but there's no law you can't make the most of today. what do you want to do? i'd really like to run with the bulls. wow. yea. hope you're fast. i am. get a portfolio that works for you now and as your needs change. investment management services from td ameritrade. you're a funny guy. best of the oscars. funny how? how am i funny? scorsese finally wins. could you double check the envelope? show me best picture. what's the difference? show me bes

wolf f. thought it was fascinating to hear president trump try to nudge the israeli prime minister in the direction of limiting the amount of settlements that are taking place there in the palestinian territory that is obviously something that is a great irritant in the region and something that even this white house has said that perhaps the israeli prime minister could get a handle on. and you heard the president there say that to prime minister netanyahu during this news conference to which prime minister netanyahu not really jabbed back but responded by saying the art of the deal. you can see that the negotiations were beginning right there. why don't we play a moment that we saw a few moments ago. >> as far as settlements, i'd like to see you hold back on settlements a little bit. i think a deal will be made. bebe and i have known each other for a long time. a smart man, great negotiator. it might be a better deal than people in this room even understand. that's a possibility. so let's s

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news just two weeks in office, our new cnn/orc poll shows president trump with the lowest approval rating for a newly elected commander in chief since modern polling began. just 44% approve of the way he's handling his job. also breaking this hour, an embarrassing blunder by the u.s. military. officials at the central command now acknowledge they released video seized over the weekend in a raid on al-qaeda before it was properly analyzed. it turns out that video had previously been released, it is nine years old. and there is growing confusion over president trump's foreign policy. administration is sending mixed messages on russia and israel. but it did take decisive action on iran today, announcing new sanctions in the wake of the country's recent ballistic missile test. we're covering all of that, much more this hour with our guests including the senior democrat in the house enit wi

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> we're following breaking news exclusive new information coming into cnn about efforts by the trump white house to have agencies including the fbi refute stories about contacts during the presidential race between trump campaign officials and russians known to u.s. intelligence. we're also following the uproar the president sparked by calling the wave of deportations under his aggressive new policy "a military operation." the white house says the president did not misspeak by homeland secretary john kelly later clarified there will be no, repeat no use of military force in immigration missions. kelly was in mexico with rex tillerson trying to smooth relations that are fraying under the trump policies. there was open disagreements as they met with top mexican officials. the foreign minister there were, quote, negative feelings between the countries and a relations have a long way to go. we have our guests i

senator, thanks for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. thanks for having me. >> it took this historic tie-breaking vote from the vice president of betsy devos to be confirmed as secretary education. you believe she's the right person for the job but it took our vice president to get her confirmed. >> vice presidents have voted to break ties before. >> not for a cabinet nominee, though. >> i'm not sure of the great significance of that. i just don't. on the other hand, what i like about miss devos, she believes the parent should have the power and we shouldn't consign children to remain in a failing school. she's used her influential and her wealth and activism to allow that mother to choose a better school for her child. i think that's where we need to be. >> the attorney general nominee, senator jeff sessions, congressman tom price, nominee for health and human services, they are waiting for their full votes on the senate floor. do you think there's any doubt about their confirmation? >> i think they will be confirmed. they are strong ca

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news. sources inside the trump administration are telling cnn the white house is considering issuing a revised or even a new executive order on travel. they say it would have more clarity and be more narrowly taylored than the order now frozen by the 9th circuit court of appeals. there is growing concern meanwhile inside the white house over a report that national security advisor michael flynn discussed sanctions against russia with the country's ambassador before mr. trump took office. sources say vice-president pence who previously vouched for flynn was relying on flynn's word there was no talk of sanctions. flynn now says he's unsure whether the topic was discussed. and republican lawmakers from two solidly red districts got an earful at town hall meetings from constituents voicing their anger. congressman jason chaffetz of the oversight committee was shouted down by an anti-trump

>> wolf, we've got to find that out as well. i mean, the unfortunate thing is if the vice president who put his credibility on the line by defending general flynn when it was clear that flynn knew that was not accurate and it may be clear the president knew that was not accurate, really raises a whole host of additional questions that i think, again, we need to get to the bottom of. and i would think the administration, if they want to remove this cloud that's over the whole administration in terms of these contacts and ties with russia, they need to cooperate with this investigation in every way because we've got a lot of questions that we need answered as policymakers, and quite honestly, the american people deserve answers, too. >> are you going to call on general flynn to testify? >> we first of all have to make sure that the transcript verifies what the press has reported but if the transcript verifies that information, i think it's absolutely appropriate that general flynn testify before our committee. >> senator, stand by

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in t"the situation room." >>> president trump on the offensive, lashing out at both the fbi and the news media. he used twitter to slam the fbi saying you can't stop national security leakers who he says are giving classified information to the media. but the white house is also playing defense after cnn was the first to report that top officials asked the fbi to knock down media reports that trump associates were in frequent contact with russian officials during the election campaign. the white house says it wasn't trying to pressure the fbi, but house democratic leader nancy pelosi says chief of staff reince priebus, and i'm quoting her now, committed an outrageous breach of the fbi's independence and she's now asking for a formal investigation. the president is also keeping up his attacks on the media and railing against what he calls fake news and again using the phrase, quote, enemy of the people. and in a stunning break with accepted long-standing practice, the white hous

wolf? >> important issue indeed. jeff at the white house, thanks very much. the vice president mike pence, meanwhile, continuing his trip through europe today. his first foreign trip since taking office. visiting nato's headquarters in belgium just a little while ago. he addressed the reporters, and he said this. >> i think it's a demonstration of president trump's leadership that before taking office he was speaking about the fact that the united states provides more than 70% of the cost of nato today and we are -- we are committed to continue to do our part. the time has come for our nato allies to step forward. >> we want to bring in the secretary general of nato. he is joining us from brussels right now. mr. secretary general, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> you were with the vice president when he said that the u.s. commitment to nato is firm. were you reassured by those words? >> absolutely. it's a consistent message. i have heard from president trump in two phone ca

some other context here as well, wolf that, i think is important. steve bannon, the chief strategist that spoke here, also noted that it was at that speech in 2011 when steve bannon, br t breitbart news started to pay attention to donald trump. this conference means a lot over the course of the president's history, means a lot of kind of the growth of him on the political side of things, and you saw once again as his advisors made clear yesterday, everything he promised on the campaign, that's what he wants to deliver on. that's the message he feels is the winning message, wolf. >> all right, phil. thank you. phil maddingly over at the cpac conference for us. the president also spent a good amount of time at the top of his speech attacking the news media, what he called the fake news media. he tried to clarify what he meant when he called that -- the news media the enemy of the american people. >> a few days ago i called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are. they are the enemy of the people. because they have no sources. they just mak

you have been listening to dan slater talk about his book "wolf boys: 2 american teenagers and mexico's most dangerous drug cartel". now it is your turn to ask questions. 202 is the area code, 748-1800 in east and central toronto, 748-8201 in the mountain and pacific time zones. dan slater, remind us why you named the book "wolf boys: 2 american teenagers and mexico's most dangerous drug cartel". >> guest: the book is called "wolf boys: 2 american teenagers and mexico's most dangerous drug cartel" for a couple different reasons. the mexican drug cartel these boys joined, they would refer to their foot soldiers, their assassins as wolves. there was one other reason, i was working on the book, i just happened randomly to pull the novel lord of the flies off my shelf, a novel i hadn't read since ninth grade or something but i picked it up and started be reading it in became totally absorbed in the book and i started to see the story i was working on through that lord of the flies lens. boys left alone on an island without any governance and turn against each other. that was a major theme i

. >> that's right, wolf. president trump, according though this white house, fired his national security advisor, michael flynn just a couple of nights ago as all these questions are now swirling about whether or not the president's aides or associates during the campaign had contacts with russian individuals who are known by the intelligence community, the operatives in the russian intelligence community, and that is going to be a dominant question here at this news conference if the white house elects to give that question -- this is a two plus two news conference, as you know, wolf, to -- questions for the american press to questions for the israel press. if the white house allows somebody from the mainstream news media to ask a question, which has not happened in the last few news conferences,ing that could get asked of the president. what did he know and when did he know it? that age-old question will likely be asked of this president. getting back to the he issue of israeli prime minister netany u netan

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news. one hour from now, a federal appeals panel will hear arguments over president trump's ban on travel from seven mostly muslim countries. we're going to bring that to you live. the emergency hearing will focus on a lower court judge's order halting the ban, backing that move a growing coalition of states, tech companies and advocacy groups opposing it. the justice department, which wants the appeals panel to rule that the judge went too far either way, the president's travel ban could end up before the u.s. supreme court. >>> the white house is standing by president trump's false claim that terror attacks are being ignored by the news media, but a white house list of attacks includes the slaughters in san bernardino, orlando and paris, all are among the worldwide attacks covered extensively by cnn and other major news organizations. >>> and every democratic senator today voted against president tr

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >>> we're following new developments in our exclusive reporting. tonight the white house says it did nothing wrong by asking the fbi to deny reports of communications between president trump's campaign aides and russians known to u.s. intelligence. the president himself didn't address the issue as he spoke to the annual conservative conference, known as cpac. instead he promoted his aggressive agenda and launched new attacks on the news media saying dishonest reporters do, quote, a tremendous disservice to our country. shortly after the president's speech, media organizations including cnn and the "new york times," were blocked from attending an off-camera white house briefing. the move is believed to be unprecedented in modern times and prompted some other news os to boycott the press briefing. also tonight the police malaysia say one of the fastest acting chemical agent was used to kill the brother of kim jong-un. it was banned under a 1993 comme

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >>> tonight the trump administration is promising the budget plan will put america first with a 10% increase that mr. trump is calling historic. some lawmakers in both parties already are questioning the numbers. some key republicans are saying the boost in military spending may not be big enough, while many democrats are raising flags as the white house vows to offset it. >>> the president's allies are pushing back on calls for a special prosecutor to investigate the trump's camp ties to russia. chairman nunez is warning against the witch hunt, and he said there is no evidence of contacts between trump officials and the russian operatives. but the top democratic says no conclusions have been reached. the white house has sent president trump a new loophole to wrap up the fight against isis and an ambitious timetable to destroy it in less than ten months. scott taylor is a former navy seal and our correspondents and analysts are also standing by as w

>>> i am wolf blitzer. you are in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> we're following breaking news. white house counselor kellyanne conway is now saying that national security adviser lieutenant general michael flynn enjoys the full confidence of president trump. flynn has been under fire for a call to the russian ambassador to washington before mr. trump took office that may have included talk about u.s. sanctions against moscow. sources have told cnn, i am quoting now, the knives are out for flynn over the controversy. there is growing scrutiny of president trump's patio strategy session with japan's prime minister. the leaders discussed north korea's missile test while dining at a restaurant at mr. trump's mar-a-lago resort while aides used cellphone flashlights to illuminate potentially sensitive documents as other diners looked on. >>> sources are telling cnn that government lawyers are now working on language for a possible new executive order on travel. at the same tim

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>> absolutely, wolf. she is defending her move saying that even though the senate did find her in violation of the rules of decorum, she believes she was just trying to present the facts as she -- whether or not he would fairly enforce laws involving that could hurt and disenfranchise african-americans. i asked her questions about why she carried on with this line of attack on the floor. even as she was warned last night that this could break the senate rules. she strongly defended her decision and said that the reason why she did it was to prosecute the case against jeff sessions. take a listen. >> do you really believe what that letter says that she -- that he could unfairly intimidate and disenfranchise elderly black voters? >> yes. i believe the facts show that is exactly what he did. in fact -- >> you think he would do that as attorney general? >> let me read to you what she says he did. >> senator, do you think he would do that as attorney general? >> she says he accomplished, mr. sessions accomplis

wolf. >> brian, thank you very much. brian todd reporting.teve bannon makes a rare public appearance. he says the president is maniacally focused on keeping his campaign promises and he has a warning. >> if you think they're going to give you their country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken. every day, every day it is going to be a fight. ♪ why do so many businesses rely on the u.s. postal service? because when they ship with us, their business becomes our business. ♪ that's why we make more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. ♪ here, there, everywhere. united states postal service priority : you won't replace the full value of your totaled new car. the guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, you won't have to worry about replacing your car because you'll get the full value back including depreciation. and if you have more than one liberty mutual policy, you qualify for a multi-policy discount, saving you money on yo

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >>> we're following new developments in the widening crisis of the trump administration over its contacts with russia. president trump speaking publicly for the first time about the resignation of national security michael flynn. at a news conference with the israeli prime minister he called flynn a wonderful man. he blamed intelligence leaks in the news media even though aides say it was mr. trump who fired him. the president manages to ignore or avoid any tough questions about his russia contacts including stunning new revelations reported by cnn. official sources disclosing that high-level trump advisers were in constant communication with respected russian operatives dunk the 2016 campaign. the first trump nominee to go down in flames. fast-food ceo andrew puzder withdrawing his choice for secretary of labor. after puzder was losing support with four republicans say they would vote no and as many as eight other gop defections possible. president

calls radical islamic terrorism, wolf? >> did you, jim accosta at the white house. the breaking news as president trump talks tough on iraq sources say the white house is planning to respond to the iranian missile test with more sanctions against iran. let's go to our global affairs correspondent elise lab it. what else are you learning about this, elise? >> well, wolf, these are very similar to the sanctions that president obama put on iran over the past few years when it launched a ballistic missile test. so, what it is is an existing executive orders, presidential executive orders that deal with both terrorism and also weapons of mass destruction. so, these will be additional designations of entities and groups barring them from doing any u.s. companies from doing business with iran. of course, this is in response to that iranian missile test and it has to be taken into context, wolf, of that very stern warning by national security advisor michael flynn, yesterday saying they were putting iran on notice. today president

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> we're tracking multiple breaking news stories tonight. president trump's national security advisor says iran is, quote, officially on notice after test fired a ballistic missile. michael flynn says the launch violates a u.n. security council resolution that calls it the latest in a series of provocative moves by iran. president trump accompanied by his daughter ivanka makes an unannounced visit to delaware's dover air force base to honor a u.s. navy seal killed in this week's antiterror raid in yemen. chief petty officer william ryan owens was the only american to die in the operation which targeted al-qaeda leaders. as his supreme court nominee is introduced up on capitol hill, president trump says senate republicans should, quote, go nuclear if needed to cut off any filibuster by democrats. that would change the rules to allow confirmation by a simple senate majority. and while former exxon/mobil chief rex t

these have been very large, wolf. and from the people we've met -- and it's not just us dipping into these town halls looking at pictures or dropping by. we've actually sat down and tried to meet the people and listen to their concerns, try to figure out where they're coming from. it's been a grandmother of a toddler who said, hey, she preferred to stay at home with her toddler. a nurse who is a new mom who says she wanted to become involved. these are people who live in the district who are truly concerned. and comments like what they're hearing from sean spicer, we actually just stopped here and talked to somebody back here. she said frankly it's just making her more mad that that is just not true. i want to give you a look just at what we're seeing. we're two hours, wolf, before this all kicks off. you can see there's a large police presence. there are already people who are gathered here. they brought their signs. they're anticipating hundreds of people showing up here to the representative's town hall. and this i

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." ♪ >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news this hour. the trump administration unleashes a stern but vague threat to iran. michael flynn going before reporters and cameras to condemn iran's ballistic missile test. he says the united states is putting the tehran government on notice. tonight, a senior official says the administration is conducting a review of how to respond. we're also following president trump's trip to dover air force base for the return of the remains of a u.s. navy s.e.a.l. killed in a raid in yemen. the u.s. raid targeting al qaeda, killed nearly 40 people, including 13 civilians, about half of them children. after initial praise of the mission, the white house says it can't be called a 100% success because of all the casualties. also breaking, president trump urges senate republicans to do what it takes to win confirmation of his new supreme court nominee judge neil gorsuch. mr. trump signaling he supports the so-called nucl

wolfed down chocolate chip, i can say without bias, is the best scoop you ever had. [applause] >> thanks to the savannah book festival, mark murphy, one of the many masterminds of this amazing event, thanks to roy and richard, my hosts, thanks to youngsters who snatched me off the street last night and took me to another phenomenal meal, in savanna and thanks to the students at windsor force high school who hosted me yesterday morning for a nice talk, about reading and writing and publishing world and to make a life for yourself as an adult and a way of living that feels meaningful. a subject that is near and dear to my heart. it has been really amazing to be here, so amazing there have been moments, the massive division that seem to define the current political moments, constantly assaulting us and just exhausting to see the same thing again and again for anyone who thinks and feels as you do. seemingly not that a lot of other people do. these divisions on ideological lines, wealth and opportunity lines, certainly race, to go writer and wider. it is a tough time. yo

i'm wolf blitzer. and you're in the "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> breaking news tonight. president trump confirms that a new executive order on his travel ban is possible. cnn has learned that the trump administration won't immediately appeal to the u.s. supreme court after the defeat of the 9th circuit ut yesterday. sources considering tweaking the original version. tonight insiders have growing concern about michael flynn's contact with russia before mr. trump became president. flynn appears to be walking back that sanctions were not discussed after a "washington post" report contradicted his denial. we're told vice-president pence is scrambling to get to the bottom of all of this after he vouched for flynn on national television. we're also following a reversal by president trump. he's now promising to uphold the longstanding policy of recognizing taiwan as part of one china. the president making that commitment in a phone call with china's president, backing awa

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> tonight, the trump administration is giving the green light for a potentially huge increase in the number of undocumented immigrants who are detained or deported. the department of homeland security releasing new guidelines on who will be targeted as more aggressive steps are taken to enforce immigration laws. dhs officials attempting to calm fears in immigrant communities saying they are not aiming at mass deportations. and the newly released memos show the administration is leaving in place obama-era protections for the so-called dreamers. the young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the united states as children. also tonight, president trump responds to growing pressure to speak out against anti-semitism after repeatedly deflecting questions on the subject. he's now calling a series of new threats targeting the jewish community horrible and painful. mr. trump says his visit today to the new african-american history museum here in washin

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> we're following the fate of the national security adviser floif. white house sean spicer says the white house is quote evaluating the situation. there are concerns within the administration that flynn play have lied to pence about whether he discussed sanctions with russia's ambassador before inauguration day. spicer's statement coming just minutes after white house counselor kellyanne conway said something very, very different publicly claiming that flynn has the president's, quote, full confidence. also this hour, a disturbing new assessment of north korea's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon that could reach u.s. shores. u.s. officials tell cnn that a weekend test launch shows kim jung un's regime is making progress. claiming the nation is a quote big, big problem, by trump. he was not asked that he detail questions about the missile test during his news conference with the canned yan prime minister.

wolf? >> manu raju, thank you very much. >>> there's breaking news coming in to the situation room from france where investigators have opened a terrorism investigation after a machete-wielding man attacked a soldier outside the louvre museum. they identified the subject who was shot and wounded. our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto, with new information. >> reporter: that's right. some i.d. facts about him, 29-year-old egyptian, his name has not been released. we also know that he was a resident of the united arab emirates, where dubai is. he traveled to france originally in november, a couple months before the attack, on a tourist visa. actually, it was later in france, he then bought his car, he bought the machetes that he used in the attack on a french soldier there. also, notable in his egyptian passport, there was a visa to saudi arabia, just clues because one of the first things we're going to look at with an attacker is they investigate for possible terrorism is wh

what do you think about what michael wolf has to say? essentially he says that the media demeaned themselves in trying to take down the trump administration. >> i think he is exactly right. his analysis is spot on. and newsrooms have benefited from having people who share michael wolf's view on this. his view of the proper role of the press. of course there should be tough coverage of the white house. there should be fact-checking of the white house. all of that is entirely appropriate. but the press is not the opposition party. and really since last summer in the campaign, the press has talked itself in to the role being stopping donald trump. there was a brief may be five

governor wolf says he wants to move pennsylvania forward and focus on families. we want you to join the conversation. what would you tell the governor and lawmakers about the budget battle and which programs should receive more funding. each out to us on twitter or facebook. >>> seven candidates trying to become philadelphia's next district attorney. his former number two, shabazz, made his candidacy official yesterday asking his voters to judge him by the accomplishments

look behind me, wolf. the distance, that is the water pouring out of oraville dam kicking up after that spray. that's a good sign. they say the water level here so now dropping at about four inches per hour. it had peaked, of course. it was going over the spillway, and that's when all these fears for massive flooding and possibly a huge and colossal breach surfaced. that's when they evacuated all those people. this is oraville lake, and look at it. we can give you an interesting perspective. during the drought more than two years ago you could walk parts of this lake. you could walk the lake bed, wolf, and now it's completely filled with water. they have had so much rain here over the past few months. the good news as we pointed out, the lake level is dropping. they needed to drop even more before the next storm hits so they could assure everyone's safety. back to you now, wolf. >> we'll take the good news for now. paul, thanks very much. >>> right now the president and the canadian prime minister justin t

. >> hello, i'm wolf blitzer. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we begin with breaking news this hour at the white house and up on capitol hill. take a look at live pictures coming in from inside the white house briefing room. just a little while from now, the press secretary sean spicer will be taking reporters' questions again. we'll bring it to you live as soon as it begins. the trump administration is celebrating the announcement of the president's supreme court nominee, neil gorsuch. the president said he told mitch mcconnell to invoke the so-called nuclear option if necessary, allowing it to be approved by a simple senate majority. >> we end up with that, good luck. if you can, mitch, go nuclear because that would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was caught up in the web. so i would say, it's up to mitch but i would say go for it. >> we're also following dramatic developments on capitol hill after a fiery hearing. the senate judiciary voting for fav

let's move on to governor wolf.e announced his budget proposal, his third of his governorship in harrisburg. among the highlights -- increase in spending for education and pension costs, holds the line on personal income taxes. this is a governor who wanted to raise taxes. now he doesn't really want to do it, but he want to hike some fees for state police, marcellus drilling, some business taxes, wants to streamline and consolidate state services to try and fill this $3 billion budget gap. it's very significant. then you have state senator scott wagner, who's a potential foe for wolf in this year's governor's race. warns state residents, "don't be fooled. this budget raises spending. this is, you know, tax-and-spend democrats here." looking back to wolf's first proposal a couple years ago, very activist, very confrontational. i mean, how would you describe this one, brian? >> well, he definitely came in activist, confrontational, an aggressive chief of staff, as well -- bad relationships right from the get-go. lots

i mean wolf blitzer. you're in the "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> we're following breaking news. president trump fills a gaping hole if his national security team naming respected arm lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster as his new national security adviser. mcmaster taking over the job after michael flynn was fired and another top contender turned the president down. for the first time vice-president paengs pence is acknowledging that michael flynn misled him. pence revealing his disappointment during a news conference with the head of nato. the vice-president in brussels trying to reassure allies of president trump's commitment to nato and europe. top officials in sweden are expressing anger and dismay with president trump for spreading inaccurate information. speaking in florida the president referenced, quote, what happened last night in sweden, the president says he was referring to a fox news report about immigration and crime in sweden. >>> also this hour, we're lear

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news including denials by president trump and his press secretary. they are rejecting the fact that the president's supreme court nominee judge neil gorsuch told democratic and republican senators that president trump's attacks on judges are, quote, demoralizing and disheartening. also breaking, the uproar over a tv plug for ivanka trump's clothing line by top trump advisor kellyanne conway. during a live tv interview from the white house, she urged people to buy the first daughter's merchandise which has been dropped by nordstrom department stores. the white house says conway has been, quote, counseled, but lawmakers are now reaching out to the office of government ethics which has been overwhelmed with calls and e-mails. >>> and the former director of national intelligence now speaking candidly about president trump's travel ban which is now before a federal appeals court. james clap