hack into the toughest parts of our country. >> wasn't a 400-pound guy. >> i don't know why it has to be 400. >> all right, that does it for us this morning. i'm putting an end to this right now. >> does conjure a really strong image in your mind, doesn't it? >> thank you so much for joining us. >> you said one of the best -- >> army-navy, watching the cadets take the field was a beautiful picture of america. >> a beautiful picture. >> just trying to figure out the camera here. stephanie ruhle -- >> we love america. >> -- picks up the coverage. >> i know stephanie loves america, too. >> i do love america. i'm not so big on fat shaming. thank you so much. i'm stephanie ruhle. new this morning, hacked. the cia claims russia intervened in the election to benefit donald trump, and the president-elect is calling those claims ridiculous. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's just another excuse. i don't believe it. but russia isn't the only superpower mr. trump is talking about. questioning the long-held one

china policy. >> i don't know why we have to be bound by one china policy unless we make a deal with china. >> today, china fires back. also breaking this morning, retaking aleppo. syria's military claims that government forces now control more than 95% of its biggest city after a relentless bombardment over night. >> and back here in the states, an arctic blast. thousands of flights cancelled, roads blanketed in snow, and a massive winter storm stretching from the midwest to the northeast. we're going to begin today with a different kind of storm, a tweet storm, maybe? no, with the president-elect making more headlines worldwide with his talks about china and russia. meanwhile, back at trump tower, there's a new slate of meetings set for today. among those on the list, west virginia democratic senator joe manchin, and former texas republican governor rick perry. both under consideration for energy secretary. and guess what? you're in luck because we have got it all covered for you this

morning with an all-star msnbc team. and i want to take you first to peter alexander and david sanger, chief washington correspondent for "the new york times." peter, before we get to the cabinet, i want to start with china. and what specifically the president-elect said over the weekend about america's relationship with them. >> i fully understand the one china policy, but i don't know why we have to be bound by a one china policy unless we make a deal with china. having to do with other things, including trade. >> china. okay, so specifically, one china policy, what does it mean? and why are trump's comments here so significant? >> yes, let's try to put this simply. the one china policy has been the cornerstone of the diplomatic relations between the u.s. and china dating back to president nixon's trip there decades ago. a diplomatic acknowledgment of the chinese position that there only is a single china and that taiwan is a part of china. and under this policy, the u.s. has its formal ties with china, not with the island of taiwan

that the chinese view as a renegade province, but the u.s., of course, does have a non-official relationship with taiwan that includes selling arms to the island. donald trump has signaled a willingness to confront china, even questioning this policy. that's what make that phone conversation he had with the taiwanese president so jarring to so many people, specifically in foreign policy circles. this weekend, as you were talking about, trump indicated he's not going to hesitate to upset china until the country comes to the bargaining table on trade and frankly until it does more versus north korea as well. >> all right, donald trump does indeed like to shake it up. david, i want to read to you the reaction that the chinese foreign ministry put out. a quick quote. upholding the one china principle is the political basis for developing china/u.s. ties. if this basis is interfered with or damaged, then the healthy development of china/u.s. relations and bilateral cooperation in important areas is out of the question.

now, david, donald trump's point is that they haven't actually helped us in certain areas like trade, like north korea. so is there an argument to be made that maybe we should shake things up? does donald trump have a point? >> well, there is the possibility that you want to go shake things up. but if you do shake things up, you want to lay the basis for it. and that means you want to make sure that your allies are onboard. you want to make sure that you have a coordinated strategy, which is hard to do before you have a secretary of state and the rest of your national security team there. it's a very big move to question the basis of the relationship that nixon set up starting in '72, and then that was repeated when we opened diplomatic relations in 1979. so you want to make sure if you're doing that,io ahave all your ducks in a row. and then you are to raise the question, do you necessarily want to go make trade the one

issue on which you're questioning a broad relationship with the second largest economy on earth, and one that a nuclear powered and so forth. if you want to reassess the relationship, you want to do that in the broadest possible context. >> not necessarily via twitter. peter, i want to talk about the latest on these cabinet appointments. today, we're hearing joe manchin and rick perry are headed to trump tower. >> headed there today. rick perry is the leading candidate right now for secretary of energy. both of them up for that post. what's notable is it was back in 2011 in the republican primary debate, remember the famous oops moment. he was talking about the agencies he would want to get rid of. one was energy, but he said oops because he couldn't remember it at the time. also expected today at trump tower, the washington state congresswoman that is cathy mcmorris rodgers. her name is rumored as the next possible secretary of the interior. raul labrador will be at trump

tower today, as well as a another former trump rival, carly fiorina expected to make an appearance. >> i want to talk a bit about rex tillerson. at this moment, it seems the exxonmobil ceo appears to be donald trump's pick for secretary of state. a lot of people are uncomfortable. how difficult will it be for rex tillerson to get confirmed given the close relationship he has, albeit a business relationship, with russia. the fact that exxonmobil cannot drill in the arctic, if those sanctions were lifted, that would be a big pay day for the company. >> i think you're right. the bottom line now, we have heard from lawmakers in the last 24 hours expressing reservations about this. we heard from senator mccain saying he had concerns. he would like to learn a little more about this relationship before he would be voting, which makes this likely confirmation hearing to be such a contentious one. marco rubio himself tweeted about it, basically said a, quote, friend of vladimir is not what i'm looking for in a secretary of state.

nonetheless, donald trump at the end of the day, michael hayden, among others from the intelligence community saying today, you know, one of the most important things is that you have a person who has the president's ear. now the president-elect's ear, and it's clear that rex tillerson does. so he would be a valued asset. that's just one more thing that lawmakers will have to judge as they consider his confirmation as it approaches. >> he also does know vladimir putin very well. some have said outside henry kissinger, there is no other american who has dealt with vladimir putin as much as rex has. with condoleezza rice in his corner, he holds quite a bit of credibilities. peter, thank you so much, and david. >> now we have to talk more about russia. why? because they have been accused by the u.s. intelligence agencies by not only interfering in the november election, but deliberately working to tilt the outcome to donald trump. that is according to a congressional official knowledgeable on the matter, speaking to nbc news on the condition of anonymity. trump, however, he ain't having it. >> they have no idea if it's

russia or china or somebody. it could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace. >> always such a visual. all right, that obviously prompted a string of angry tweets from former illinois congressman, republican joe walsh, who said, quote, i'm an american. some foreign government has been messing with our elections. that is b.s. that can't stand. i'm an american. this morning, trump tweeted, can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and we tried to play the russian/cia card. it would be called a conspiracy theory. congressman walsh joins me now. congressman, good morning. you have supported donald trump in the past. and u.s. intelligence has for two months said that russia was deliberately trying to interfere with our election, and donald trump has never embraced those findings. so what now? why this weekend were you set off into a twitter rage? >> i went after this during the campaign, stephanie, but i mean, think about it. you're right.

"the washington post" came out friday night and said, russia attacked us. you knew and a lot of us knew this was probably going on, but it was confirmed with that "washington post" report. and they specifically said the cia said they did it to help get trump elected. you mess around with our democratic elections, that's an attack on our country. and stephanie, it's a fact. everyone knows it. all my former colleagues on both sides of the aisle know it. all of our intelligence agencies know it. and for donald trump to come out and call it ridiculous, man, he should be leading the charge. demanding an investigation. >> then congressman, if you believe this to be true about russia, and it is as serious as you say that it is, do you still support donald trump as our president-elect? >> yes, i still do. but stephanie, if he does not get serious and lead on this, i mean, think about it, steph.

the cia said russia is messing with our election, and trump attacks the cia. instead of attacking russia. he's got to man up and own this. he's the president-elect. >> but congressman, i don't disagree with you. but here's more of a little bit more of what donald trump actually said over the weekend. take a look. >> i have no doubt that the russians were involved -- >> i think the democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country, and frankly, i think they're putting it out, and it's ridiculous. >> okay. so sorry -- that was john mccain in the beginning. donald trump saying maybe it's democrats who put this out. we also heard from john bolton, who might be the next deputy secretary of state, who said this could be a false flag, possibly the work of the obama administration. what makes you think donald trump would ever turn? gary case purauf said in the past, one issue, one name donald trump hasn't flipped on throughout the campaign has been

vladimir putin. >> yeah. look, i'm not a republican. i'm not a democrat. i'm an american, man. this is absolutely crazy. and i think the country is blown away by this. donald trump has a little bit of time here, stephanie. he's got to adjust what he's saying and come out really strong against russia. and most importantly, demand an investigation. and stephanie, it's not just him. i am so disappointed in the reaction from my republican party in the last two days. we were attacked, and yet very few of them are calling for an investigation. this is profoundly disappointing. >> well, not all republicans. over the weekend, we saw lindsey graham, we saw john mccain, say that separate from the probe that president obama has asked for, they want to review all these materials. here's what john mccain said. >> i have no doubt that the russians were involved in very serious breaches.

that has to be the subject of overall hearings that we're going to have on the armed services committee. the whole issue of cyberattacks. >> so it's not all your fellow republicans. you've got john mccain, you have rand paul, you have lindsey graham. one other name, someone who has been out front early about the threat of russia, has been mitt romney. and mitt romney is now sort of in the background in terms of secretary of state pick, and you have rex tillerson at the front, someone with a very good relationship with russia. that doesn't concern you? >> it's -- stephanie, it's very concerning. mitt romney, you're right, who acknowledged that russia was our biggest threat, all of a sudden now, he's hamstrung because he wants to be secretary of state. but look. i place this at the feet of donald trump. he's got to grow up and own this. he's the president-elect. for him, to side with russia and not our intelligence agencies, man, that's almost an act of

treason. he has got to demand an investigation. >> all right, well, president obama, i inferred it before, has ordered a review into all of this. he wants it done by january 20th. what do you hope to get out of all this information? >> well, look. january 20th may not be long enough. we need an independent bipartisan investigation, probably a lot more than what president obama is looking at. this is something, again, stephanie, every american -- i mean, think about it. a foreign government messed around with our elections. put down your partisan spears. this has got to be something we all go after. >> what does this do to donald trump's relationship with the intelligence community? his team actually criticized the u.s. intelligence community, saying these are the same people that said saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction. donald trump and his team taking this approach, what does that do to the president-elect's relationship with the intelligence community, which is a massively important

relationship for somebody who is going to be the next president? >> a hell of a lot of harm, stephanie. that's what it does. his statement friday night, when he took a shot at our intelligence folks, man, again. that is -- he's an american. our intelligence people work hard day and night. for him to take a shot at them was wrong. and he's got to walk that back. as quickly as he can. >> all right, joe. i hope he's listening. i hope he's watching. thanks so much for your thoughts. >> all right, coming up, more on the growing distrust between president-elect trump and the u.s. intelligence agencies. we have been talking about it all morning. we're going to stay on it. what does this growing rift mean as he prepares to take office? but thirst, nearly 2,000 flights canceled as parts of the midwest get walloped with nearly a foot of snow, and christmas isn't even here. the latest on major travel delays and when the airlines expect to get back on track. stay with us. ning the safe.

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welcome back. you're watching msnbc. happening now, a major winter storm packing snow and freezing rain. the worst. well, it's pushing eastward. so get ready. the storm hit the northern plains and the great lakes, downing power lines, causing highway pile-ups and thousands and thousands of flight cancellations. morgan radford is at chicago's o'hare airport, where more than 1,300 flights were grounded. morgan, with the exception of frustration, anger, maybe desperation, what's the situation there now? >> reporter: we're seeing all of it here now. in fact, hundreds of flights canceled this morning. nearly half of them right here in chicago. but interestingly, stephanie, that's actually a relief compared to the thousands that were canceled over the weekend. you can see passengers here behind me. many of them scrambling to book on later flights. some telling me they have to buy

entirely new tickets on different airlines just to try to get where they're going. the process, they say, isn't cheap, and it isn't easy. take a listen. >> a lot of delays. took a while to get here. >> my first flight got canceled, so i had to rebook last night. >> my original flight was cancelled so i had to rebook. >> how has this entire experience been, being canceled, rebooked? >> expensive. >> reporter: well, a lot of these airlines are now stepping in. united airway saying they're willing to waive any of these rescheduling fees, whereas delta and american are saying they're going to offer full refunds, especially if you have been delayed significantly more than 60 minute or 90 minutes, but meanwhile, these passengers are simply trying to get in the air and to where they're going, stephanie. >> frustrating times. thanks, morgan. >> let's turn to meteorologist bill karins, traging the storm for us. how bad is it? >> it's bad enough to cancel school and cause a lot of problems on the roads. especially new hampshire and

maine. 13 million people are still under winter storm warnings or advisories. the blue shows you heavy snow, still continuing in new england, and now the rain is ending for d.c. and philadelphia. additional snowfall mostly up there in maine. the next big story is the frigid polar air, the dreaded polar vortex is splitting up, weakening, going to send air from siberia, over the north pole, down through canada. we're going to feel it in the u.s. this is the next big story, and the temperatures, you're not going to like it. even in new york, down to 16 with a windchill of zero by friday. yeah, that time to make sure you know where the heavy coats and everything else are too. >> i do not like that. and i must say, isn't it extraordinary how the older you get, your relationship changes with school being canceled? >> i dreaded it this morning. >> as a kid, it is your dream come true. as an adult, your worst nightmare. >> up next, we're going to take you overseas where big

developments in the fight for the city of aleppo are taking place. the syrian military backed by russia, claims they have taken back control of the city from rebel fighters. we're going to get you an update on the situation in aleppo after the break. they are the natural borns enemy of the way things are. yes, ideas are scary, and messy and fragile. but under the proper care,

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deliver over one point four million meals to those in need. get a new subaru, and we'll donate two hundred and fifty dollars more. ♪put a little love in your heart.♪ welcome back. you're watching msnbc. we're following a major development overseas in syria after a month-long offensive, pro-government forces say they're closer to getting back full control of aleppo after claiming 98% of the city's eastern strip. that territory was held by rebels vying to push president assad out of power. nbc's foreign correspondent ayman mohyeldin joins me with more. how significant is this. >> a very significant development. probably one of the most significant in the last several years since the begin of the civil war. poised to set the favor in favor of president assad. this is a stronghold of rebels they were using to launch

attacks in other parts of the country. now, the the regime is able to capture the entirety of the city, they would control the two largest cities of the country. more importantly, they would control the western part of the country and really put the u.s.-backed rebels on their back heel. perhaps sending a decisive blow to the end of the conflict. it's more likely going to bring them to the negotiating table. it's created a humanitarian disaster, for the most part, it's set to shore up president assad's hold on the country and forced the rebels backed by the u.s. and other countries to perhaps come to the negotiating table. we're starting to get glimpses of that with the u.s. trying to negotiate with the russians a safe passage for some of the rebels and civilians trapped in there by the thousands. >> pock to us about palmyra. >> if you look at the syrian battlefield, the syrian government is fighting two fronts. one, the rebels backed by the u.s. and other countries. two, isis. for the most part, they have ignored a little bit of the isis front, so to speak. isis has been on the run for the

past several months because of the u.s. coalition in iraq and syria. now they seem to have launched this surprise attack on palmyra. we saw a couple months ago, pictures of isis destroying the ruins and those kind of monumental images that we saw. well, they have now retaken parts of the city. they are recaptured parts of the syrian army's military and hardware. it shows the group, isis, is capable of still launching these counteroffensives despite what is happening in iraq and what is happening with the u.s. and coalition air strikes against isis inside syria. about 4,000 isis fighters managed to overrun the city in a manner of days. >> this is such a comicated -- >> the conflict doesn't seem to be dying down. a disaster. interesting to see how president trump handles this when he gets in office. >> is it picking up or status quo? >> it's status quo to say the least. it's going to be more

complicated when trump gets into office because he signaled he wants to work with russia. that's important for the u.s. allies backing the rebels who are now losing. >> what makes it so interesting to me is donald trump isn't taking daily intelligence briefings, just you describing this to me, i'm thinking, my gosh, the amount president-elect trump has to figure out and work through, extraordinary. thank you so much. we're going to stay on that when we come back, talking a president-elect who says he doesn't need the daily intelligence briefings. >> i don't have to be told, you know, i'm like a smart person. i don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years. >> what does it say about how prepared he is to assume the presidency? it is a change election. he's a different kind of guy. and days after the president-elect hammered boeing for the cost of air force one, the aircraft giant inked a multi-billion deal with iran. details on that deal and what it means for boeing's future dealings with the trump administration.

that's next.

welcome back. time now for your morning primer. everything you need to know to get your day started. we begin at trump tower where president-elect trump will hold more leading, including with joe manchin and former texas governor rick perry. both under consideration for energy secretary. >> pulse nightclub held a private vigil to mark six months. can you believe it, six months, since the gunman shot and killed 40 people inside the nightclub. there's also new surveillance video from the night showing people sprintding for their lives from the club moments after the shots began. >> and cardell hayes has been found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of former new orleans saints defensive end will smith following a traffic accident in april. hae faced up to 40 years in prison. >> a suicide bomber killed at least 25 people at a chapel adjacent to egypt's main coptic christian cathedral in cairo. the blast took place as the mass

began in the chapel, and was about to end. it coincided with a national holiday in egypt marking the birth of prophet muhammad. >> it is about time. this breaks my heart, to break out the shovels. the snow storm that pounded the midwest yesterday is heading east. more than 3,000 flights were cancelled yesterday, with more expected today as the storm is expected to dump up to a foot of snow on upstate new york and throughout new england. >> now we have to turn to boeing. we talked about them last week and air force one. another deal has been announced. a $17 billion deal to make new jets for iran. the biggest deal between the two nationals in nearly four decades, but it could face serious challenges with the new administration coming in. why? because donald trump has threatened to tear about the iran nuclear deal. ali joins me now. what exactly does the deal entail, and what are you hearing in iran about the significance?

>> good morning, stephanie. well, it's a massive deal. 80 airplanes to be sold to iran over the next tn years, in a deal worth almost $17 billion. and the regime here is touting it as a major victory because since that landmark deal was signed, the government in iran has complained they haven't seen any tangible results from the nuclear deal. they're certainly seeing it now. it's the biggest commercial deal between the united states and iran since the storming of the u.s. embassy in 1979. but there are questions as to whether this deal will remain airborne under a trump administration that's fiercely critical of iran and the iran nuclear deal. what's for sure, stephanie, is that iran's ailing and aging fleet of aircrafts, which have one of the worst aviation records in the world, are in desperate need of an upgrade, and they're getting that now. they're getting 80 planes which they have been dreaming about for the last four decades. stephanie. >> all right, thanks so much for joining us. >> we're going to take you back

to trump tower where we're awaiting a series of big meetings today, including at least two candidates who initially opposed donald trump for the republican nomination. now they're going to see the president-elect. rehema ellis is at trump tower. what's going on today? >> reporter: well, stephanie, what we hear is that one of those rivals, former rivals, was the former governor of texas, rick perry, who may be considered for the department of energy secretary. interesting because when asked during the debate what department he would get rid of, he said the energy department. in that line, someone else who is also being considered, west virginia governor and democrat joe manchin, is expected to come here today, in part because he has been opposing president obama's energy policies. but to your point about what were the other rivals besides rick perry, there was also carly fiorina, and during the campaign, trump said some things that were not so nice about her, but we understand that over the

weekend, she praised what she called trump's brilliant decisions. and perhaps she's being invited here today because of some of the nice things that she had to say about him. stephanie. >> maybe. all right, thanks. >> we're going to take a turn. president-elect donald trump raised eyebrows this weekend. he likes doing that, when he said he doesn't believe a cia report that russia intervened in the election to his favor. >> why would the cia put out the story that the russians wanted you to win? >> i'm not sure they put it out. i think the democrats are putting it out because they suffer one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country. >> well, that's one way to look at it. here to talk about that and more of the trump transition of matt schlapp of the american conservative union and also former political director for george w. bush, and greg miller. greg, let's start with you. you wrote that donald trump and the cia could be on a collision course, specifically over the issue of russia's role in the election. what do donald trump's words

this weekend do to his relationship with intelligence officials? he's got to work with them very closely in a very short amount of time? >> yeah, i mean, he's got to -- in a month or so, he's going to be in a job where you think he would be relying to a large extent on these same intelligence services he's now disparaging. i think it was a devastating remark. but it was the latest in a long series of remarks and moves by trump that have been dismissive of u.s. intelligence agencies. but saying that he doesn't feel like he needs to hear the same thing every day, he doesn't need to be briefed by the cia, doesn't believe -- called their assessment on russia ridiculous. this looks like a president who has no time whatsoever for these intelligence services, and that doesn't bode well. i mean, for the relationship between the white house and the 16 spy agencies. >> matt, do you think it's that donald trump doesn't trust the intelligence community? is that why he's not taking the

briefings every day? i want to share just a bit of what he had to say. >> you are getting the presidential daily brief. >> yes. >> only once a week. >> well, i get it when i need it. if something should change from this point, immediately call me. i'm available on one minute's notice. i don't have to be told -- you know, i'm like a smart person. i don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day. >> matt, i clearly have never received an intelligence briefing. is it the same thing every day? >> well, it can be. and i actually think his answer makes some sense. he's going to do -- look, he's going to be the president in the way he wants to be president. he's shattered all the norms on how to get there. i think he's going to shatter norms on how you be president. he was clear any time there's new information, and he's not sworn in yet, let's make that clear, as president, certainly, he will need to know that information to make decisions. i think it also says that he's going to rely a lot upon the people he's picked to run these

agencies. mike pompeo at cia, general mattis, k.d. mcfarland and general mike flynn, they're spending a lot of time with him, certainly k.t. and general flynn walking through the world with him, walking through what their approach to these real serious questions should be. but remember, he's not sworn in yet. and as president, i expect him to do what he said he was going to do, which is keep us safe. >> does that mean -- are you saying that when he is sworn in, he is going to be taking these briefings on a daily basis? >> you know, i don't know what he will do or not do. i think what he said was he will make sure he makes time any time there's new information the president needs to know. my experience with president george w. bush, it went far beyond the daily brief into regular meetings with what you might call the war cabinet on a daily basis or several-week basis. you know, the threats facing america are huge. and we shouldn't get wrapped up around one briefing. it really becomes an all-day,

all-night event for the leader of the free world. >> i want to take a turn and talk rex tillerson for a moment. the apparent choice for secretary of state, though you know, it's not over until it's over. greg, if rex tillerson is chosen, what kind of bipartisan grilling is he going to face? i mean, he's not a traditional name. >> yeah, not a traditional name, and ties to russia sort of add to a strange, bizarre phenomenon in this administration that is really heavy on affection for russia. i would think that along those lines, he's going to face a great deal of scrutiny. you already have mike flynn as a national security adviser who very controversially took a trip to appear at putin's side at a gala in moscow last year. and you have donald trump's repeated expressions of admiration for putin. and support for how russia is conducting itself in the war on syria, which is completely at odds with the u.s. strategy and

intentions. >> matt, what's your take on rex tillerson? when you see names like condoleezza rice back him, that clearly gives him credibility. he's been an extraordinarily successful man at exxon, but heme are concerned about his ties with russia. the fact he's bib awarded the highest honor of friendship, the highest accolade one could get if you're not a russian, it's got some people concerned. are you concerned? >> yeah, first of all, i do not admire nor do i respect vladimir putin. i think he is a thug. and i think that our country needs to be awfully careful with him, but that we do have to deal with him. i think rex tillerson might be the first pick that is going to experience extra scrutiny for a variety of reasons. and i think this is why we have a constitutional system where the senate gets to ask a lot of tough and probing questions to see if they want to confirm him. i'm confident in the end he will be, but we're going to go through a process here. i think you said it exactly right about rex tillerson.

he has a deep understanding of russia. not just vladimir putin and having a strong relationship with him, he's been involved extensively in russia since boris yeltsin ran the country. he's somebody who understands this important country. i do not see how that is a downside for the next secretary of state. like condi rice who spent her ka academic career studying russia, this could be a positive. >> they come from the business community, and we have talked a lot about the positives of these veer successful people, but given your experience, how complicated will it be for someone like rex tillerson? as the ce, of exxon, you think ceos of publicly traded companies are public. he's not. exxon is a private company. you don't see a lot of leaks. if he's running the state department, that place is like swiss cheese with the amount of leaks, controlling that. how difficult will it be for rex

tillerson to take a position like that? >> you must have covered the state department because you know it well. look, i have been on the record publicly saying i think john bolton was the strongest choice. because he understands the building well, and what happened with a lot of people who are picked from the outside into the state department, into the truman building is they get eaten alive because these are people who have spent their whole lives understanding a region of the globe well, and a lot of times there are political disagreements that get played out in the front page of the press. that's a huge challenge for someone who hasn't spent a day in public office. donald trump hasn't spent a day in public office either and he's shattering the norms and he's going to pick outsiders with a fresh approach. if we don't realize that now, we need to realize that. >> i have never covered state department, but i have covered business. exxon, though massive, is a very private organization. the majority of interviews with rex tillerson are with the boy scouts of america, not with

business. thank you for joining me. coming up, a chilling admission. the jury in the dylann roof trial back in session after watching that two-hour confession video on friday. it was crushing. >> and later, he ain't talking. bob dylan, a no show at the nobel prize ceremony in stockholm. we'll have some of the powerful statement he wrote accepting the prize. you have to love bob dylan. ♪

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welcome back. i'm stephanie ruhle. you're watching msnbc. federal prosecutors will be back at work today in the trial of dylann roof. picking up where they left off after playing roof's own confession for a stunned courtroom in south carolina on friday. >> in charleston, and -- you know. i did it. >> msnbc's mariana atencio is

live in south carolina. where does the prosecution go from here? >> reporter: stephanie, the prosecutor said they may rest their case midweek. the defense filing this motion overnight, asking to strike a portion of felicia sanders' testimony. she was the first witness called to the stand. the woman who one of the few who survived the attack. she called dylann roof evil. it's one of the few things the defense is doing. they said in opening statements they will call few if any witnesses. meanwhile, the prosecution using dylann roof's own words in that damning videotaped confession against him to prove racial intent. i want you to listen to this other part of the video where he explains why he chose mother emanuel church specifically to target black people. >> i wasn't going to go to another church because there could have been white people there. >> you didn't want to kill any white people?

>> no. >> you just wanted to do that to black people. >> right. >> reporter: now, that video introduced on friday along with a hand-written journal of dylann roof's found in his car. testimony is under way very soon today. court has just resumed in this pivotal second week of dylann roof's federal death penalty trial, and stephanie, the defense, they already conceded that dylann roof is guilty of having committed this act. they are now focused on persuading jurors to spare his life. >> extraordinary story. devastating. thank you so much for giving us an update today. next, major courtroom flori. a woman accused of hiring a hitman to kill her husband. she said it was a police set-up. details on the trial ahead. he gets a lot of compliments.

he wears his army hat, walks around with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad.

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is unbelievable. real life drama being played out in a florida courtroom. accused of hiring a hit man to kill her husband and at the center, a hidden camera video of a fake crime scene set up by police officers. lawyers say the police department overstepped their authority so they could look good on a reality tv show. now a judge has to decide if all images of the staged crime scene will be shown in court. nbc's kerry sanders is in west palm beach and has the latest. >> reporter: it is the video dahlia's lawyers don't want to see. >> i'm sorry to tell you, he's been killed. >> reporter: set up a fake crime scene telling dealershipolito. same day in 2009. her lawyer said the police abused their power and only

wanted to get sensational video for the tv show "cops." her attorneys say she never intended to have her husband killed and that baiton beach police set her up. >> posting all this footage for the world to see. do you believe that is good police practices, yes or no? >> i can't answer that. >> reporter: before the trial, the judge threw out that video but the tape came up during defense questioning, now prosecutors say that opened the door to play the video. the judge could make a ruling later today. jurors have already seen this video of her talking to an undercover cop about killing her husband. >> i'm positive. like 5,000% sure. >> we find the defendant guilty. >> reporter: she was convicted of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years but the decision was thrown out on appeal. this time around, dipilito's actions at the center of the case.

>> it is based 100% on miss dipilito's words, actions, intent. we'll ask this jury to disregard those videotapes that this world has seen because they are a direct by-product of police corruption. >> it's unbelievable. this morning, the defense expected to call a police expert to the stand. we still don't know if dahlia will testify in her own defense. the lawyer said she would take the weekend to think about it. we'll take a break. next, he's not there. patty smith stumbling through bob dylan's hard rain's going to fall at the nobel. a no-show to accept his award and more on his unconventional acceptance that he wasn't even there, next. and tonight, don't miss "all in america: bernie sanders in trump country."

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with new car replacement™, we'll replace the full value of your car plus depreciation. liberty mutual insurance. . i'm sorry, could we start that section? i apologize. i'm sorry. i'm so nervous. >> this one just for me. we've got to cover this. patty smith's nerves got to her when performing bob dylan's 1963 classic "hard rains going to fall" at the nobel peace prize. bob dylan was a no show but words read by the u.s. ambassador to sweden. >> not once have i ever had the time to ask myself or my songs literature so i do thank the swedish academy both for taking the time to consider that very

question and ultimately for providing such a wonderful answer. >> bob dylan surely literature. an artist, a poet, and now a nobel peace prize winner. he said joining the names of the literature laureates is truly an honor beyond words. and he is a man known for pretty extraordinary words. great one. that's going to wrap us up this hour. i'm stephanie ruhle. i'll see you tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. you can find me anytime on twitter, actually, maybe i'll be back in a few minutes because my friend, ali velshi, is here. good morning. >> what a great way to end your honor and kick off this one. thank you, stephanie. see you back in a few minutes. right now on "msnbc live," triple threat. donald trump ignites fresh controversy over how he plans to deal with russia, china, and iran and how often he needs to be briefed on all of it.

>> i don't have to be told i'm a smart person. i don't have to be sold the same thing and same words every sicksick single day for the next eight years. >> oil and water whach. what we know about rex tillerson and a potential showdown and murder for hire. seven years ago. go too far in setting their trap? president-elect trump rejecting conclusions by the cia that russia influenced the u.s. election tilting it in his favor calling the whole thing, quote, ridiculous, blaming democrats, a bipartisan group of senators are now planning an investigation. >> very interesting. once they hack, if you don't catch them in the hack, they have no idea if it's russia or china or somebody. it could be somebody sitting