trump is applauding vladamir putin for brushing off new u.s. sanctions against russia. the kremlin leader saying he will not expel american diplomats after president obama ordered 35 russians to leave the country as punishment for election related hacking. in a tweet, trump is praising putin's "great move," adding that he always knew putin was very smart. russians are starting to feel the impact of the sanctions, with people leaving a diplomatic compound that was forced to close and heading to the russian embassy. today, some experts suggest that moscow's muted response is a classic putin move, designed to manipulate and even surprise. as the drama plays out, president-elect trump is facing a decision about whether to keep or lift the sanctions once he takes office in three weeks. top adviser kellyanne conway telling cnn that president obama may have taken action against russia to box in trump. i'll talk about all this with the top democrat on the house armed services committee. he's standing by along with our correspondents and analysts, as we

breaking news, putin's surprise move. the russian president reacts to new u.s. sanctions saying he won't expel american diplomats just hours after the united states kicked out 35 of his. >> there will be consequences for aggressive activities from the russian government. >> the u.s. closing down two russian compounds in the u.s. but russia could still retaliate. wait and see. >>> president-elect trump says he'll review the details with intelligence officials, then adds, the country should move on. is president obama boxing him in? >> that would be very unfortunate if that were -- if politics were the motivating factor here. >> holiday havoc. a massive nor'easter blanketing new england with snow, as much as two felt expected as cities around the world prepare for new year's celebrations. new york city adding thousands of police officers, and the countdown begins to 2017. >>> but we begin today with yet another surprising twist in the diplomatic war between the u.s. and russia. just an hour ago, vladimir putin finally responded to new u.s. sanctions saying he will

. >> intelligence sources have told nbc news u.s. officials believe that russian president vladimir putin is personally involved with trying to influence the u.s. elections. the cia concluded it was done to help mr. trump. >> more than half of americans are concerned. 55% say they are significantly bothered by the news that hackers in connection with a foreign government to influence the election. casey? >> well, you don't need us to tell you this, but it is the monday before christmas, traditionally the busiest shipping day of the year for packages and other parcels. today is expected to be the busiest mailing day of the year. the postal service says this year could be even busier than last year. "nbc 10" stopped by this post office in north philadelphia where some people were trying to get a jump on the crowd. >> it gets worse as it gets closer to the 25th. we've experienced the line on the 23rd and we decided to try to cram just a little bit. >> tomorrow's the deadline for first class shipping to guarantee your package arrives by

ladies and gentlemen, we are on the eve of a new u.s. administration that has stated its commitment to working with its regional partners to fight terrorism and restoresta kbilt to the middle east. the question of how are two countries can cooperate to address the challenges that i have outlined is therefore in order. i believe that we share with the united states and with the new administration a firm belief in the importance of restoring stability and the territorial integrity of the nation's states through supporting 2345ish8ly owned -- reconciliation and revival of these states. how else can we face the growing threat of terrorism. and how can we bring about a peaceful conclusion to the multitude of crisis in our region? the interests of our two countries are in clear convergence, in syria, we can work together for a peaceful settlement according to the vienna process and based on the geneva declarations, in libya work to support the implementation of the agreement and all inclusive government. we both share the unrelenting commitmen

. >>> russian officials have reacted sharply to the new u.s. sanctions. a presidential spokesperson said moscow considers the measures unjustified and illegal under international law. he said president putin will order an appropriate retaliation to the sanctions. a foreign ministry official added such one-sided steps have the goal of damaging relations. >>> philippine president rodrigo duterte has attacked the u.s. diplomatic core. he called ambassadors from the countries spies. he held interviews with local media outlets on thursday. he said most u.s. ambassadors are spying and asserted they would try to undermine foreign governments. they referred to a story carried by a local newspaper earlier this week. it said a recent former ambassador to the philippines outlined a list of strategies to undermine duterte territory and called for his eventual ouster. the u.s. embassy in manila denied the allegation. he's been ratcheting up his opposition to the administration of obama. the obama government is critical of the bloody campaign against the illegal drug t

we are willing to co-operate wih the new u.s. leadership. cooperation is in the interest of the entire world. we are jointly responsible for providing international security and insuring the regime. i would like to emphasize that attempts to break that balance are perilous and can lead to a global catastrophe. it is important to direct the united states to fight real and not invented enemies, global terrorism. that is addressed by the russian military in syria. they have delivered some very serious damage on terrorist troops and showed that russian air forces, navy, and land troops are able to operate far from their home bases. we are seeing the work done by some special operations troops, inside the country fighting some insurgent groups and separate casualties. we will continue our work. i would like to thank all of our security officers and military servicemen for their courage and loyalty, for being loyalty to their horn and the honor of russia. >> dear colleagues, when people feel they are right and they act as one, they go along the pa

there is also breaking news. u.s. officials telling cnn that the hacking tools used do point to russia which may explain some of what josh earnest said this afternoon. especially his tone. >> might be time to not attack the intelligence community. but actually be supportive, of a thorough, transparent, rigorous, non-political investigation into what exactly happened. >> that after president elect trump tweeted this, "if russia or some other entity was hacking, why did the white house wait

>>> happening now, breaking news. u.s. terror bulletin. tonight, a new warning that isis may be plotting attacks on american soil with churches among the possible targets. we'll look at the potential danger in the days ahead. >>> isis allegiance. the berlin market attacker vows his support for the terror group on a video after he was gunned down in italy. >>> up in arms. donald trump talks even tougher about expanding america's nuclear might, telling a tv news anchor, let it be an arms race. is he threatening vladamir putin? >>> and unsettled. the obama administration refuses to veto a controversial u.n. resolution defying pressure from israel and from president-elect trump. this hour, new details on the dramatic clash between global allies and between the current and future u.s. president. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and from around the world. wolf blitzer is off. i'm jim acosta. you are in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news tonight. a new warning of isis threats against churches

i think with the new u.s. president, everything will get better. >> these sanctions won't influence russian politics. >> of course, they will influence us. they will become much better. i personally think that everything they introduce against us makes us stronger. >> obama is living. trump will come and everything will be all right. >> reporter: so there you have it. a lot of optimism for the trump administration, a lot of suspicion of president obama, a lot of the folks here simply reflecting the same kind of language that we saw from the kremlin. stephan stephanie? >> reporter: certainly remains to be seen. thank you very much. >>> joining me now, msnbc contributor, michael mcfaul, former u.s. ambassador to russia. ambassador, thank you very much for joining us. happy new year to you. >> happy new year. >> let's start with these sanctions -- [ speaking in foreign language ] . as they say. >> thank you. i need to work on my russian. let's turn to these sanctions. and they were -- they were issued in part, ac

new york city the epicenter for new year's eve in the u.s. on high alert in the wake of terror attacks across the globe. nearly 2 million people are expected in times square and authorities are preparing unprecedented security measures. brinn, what is the nypd doing to prepare for the big night? always preparing for this night. >> reporter: that's right. they start preparing for this night a year ago once that ball drops. it's a security plan that is many layers and it's constantly evolving as more terror threats sort of pop up around the world. in particular for this year, something new we learned from the nypd is they're going to station 65 sand trucks and 100 what they call barrier trucks which are basically department vehicles, they'll be placed all around the perimeter of times square. that's very new for this particular year because timally we see a few of those trucks spotted around but not building somewhat of a fence around this area to secure all those people who will be in here celebrating the new year. another thing that we're hea

it's the start of a new era in u.s./russian relations or a dangerous precedent that will embolden the russian leader? later, a court reinstating the murder conviction of a kennedy family relative. will michael skakel have to go back to prison? >>> donald trump praising vladimir putin for putting off retaliation for sanctions meant to punish russia for meddling in the u.s. election. putin says his response will depend on what trump does after he is sworn in. the trump tweet says, "great move on delay by v. putin. i always knew he was very smart." our experts, evin farkvelyn far you've covered russia a long time. i'd like your reaction to this tweet phrasing putin. >> i'm laughing because he's grading the russian leader's diplomat homework. really weird. we haven't ever really seen that. second i'm befuddled because i vacillate between thinking he's got this great plan where he's going to butter up vladimir putin, you know, but he's going to hold the line somehow. two the other side where i get scared, i think does he hav

. >>> breaking news tonight, u.s. officials telling msnbc news that vladimir putin was first involved in the hacking of the u.s. election. will the u.s. respond and how? we'll also get reaction tonight from the president-elect's transition team. "the 11th hour" begins now. and good evening to you from our headquarters once again here in new york. quoting u.s. intelligence officials, nbc news is reporting exclusively tonight that russian president vladimir putin was personally involved in his nation's covert campaign to interfere in the american presidential election. two senior officials say there is a, quote, high level of confidence that putin dictated how hacked information from democrats was leaked and deployed. this intel comes directly from diplomatic sources and spies working for american allies. quoting directly from the report, what began as a vendetta against hillary clinton morphed into a correction to show american politics and to split off key american allies by creating an image that other countries coul

that's in response to the new round of u.s. sanctions against russia announced late yesterday by the obama administration from moscow's alleged interference in the u.s. presidential election. >> we've been clear all along. there will be consequences. we will respond at a time and place of our choosing and that's what you're seeing done today. >> donald trump also weighing in this morning saying he will be meeting with intelligence officials about the matter next week. we've got the best team of reporters in the biusiness following all the angles with the late breaking details. we start with pentagon correspondent hans nichols. first, mr. putin saying no american diplomats will be expelled from russia. remember our conversation here on air yesterday afternoon where the predominant thinking was that we would, in fact, see the same number of diplomats expelled. what happened? >> reporter: chris, that's what american officials were expecting. this is standard tit for tat retaliation. one expels some spies, one retaliates and sends

responding further to russia and the new u.s. sanctions his advisers are calling out the obama administration for what they see at politics at play. >> we've been talking about this for a while. i think that, all we heard through the election was russia russia, russia, whether it came to anything donald trump did it seemed. now since the election, it's a fever pitch of accusations and insinuations. >> reporter: trump officials are speculating that the administration sanctions against russia are a distraction to undermine his win. and tie his hands on russia before he becomes president. >> i will tell you that even those who are sympathetic to president obama on those issues are saying that part of the reason he did that today was to, quote, box in president-elect trump. that would be very unfortunate if that were the moat -- if politics were the motivating factor here. >> reporter: since the sanctions were announced trump himself has only issued a two-line blunt statement thursday night saying, quote, it's time for the count move

this is not a new u.s. position. the fact of the matter is if we're serious about achieving peace, we need to stand behind the things we believe? >> woodruff: ben rhodes, deputy national security advisor to the president. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we return to president-elect trump's comments about the need to build up the united states' nuclear arsenal. and to john yang for that. >> reporter: are the president- elect's tweets and comments signaling a change in u.s. nuclear weapons policy? and should the nation beef up its nuclear arsenal? we turn to: matthew kroenig, an associate professor at georgetown university who's written extensively about nuclear weapons, and joseph cirincione, the president of the ploughshares fund, a non-profit organization that advocates for disarmament. he, too, has written widely on the subject. gentlemen, thank you both for joining us. mr. cirincione, let me start with you, when you hear or read the president-elect saying that the united states must greatly strengt

u.s. high commissioner for refugees. during his first speech before guterresffice, said the respite of be ready for changes. >> we need to redouble our efforts to resolve conflicts from the crisis in syria, yemen, south so don -- south sued on, and elsewhere, to long-running disputes including the israeli, palestinian conflict. we need arbitration and creative diplomacy. anchor: the new secretary-general has his work cut out for him. we take a look at his objectives and his challenges. reporter: he is the first former head of government to lead the united nations. an engineer by training, antonio to bees is known political savvy, as promised her of portugal he helped broker independence and transferred look out to china in the 90's. was the u.n. commissioner for refugees from 2005 teeth -- 22015. he raised funds for an inspiring number of refugees around the world. he also dealt with the fallout of what he has called his top priority, ending the conflict in syria. >> the domestic problems

with a new u.s. president. so i think he's trying to look to kind of calm things down and see if that new relationship is going to yield something. as much criticism as donald trump has taken, i think he's made one important point, which is we should not sort of personalize this issue. and there has been a lot of personalizing over the question of russian leadership. russian leadership is pretty much focused on one person, vladimir putin. but i think some of the efforts, you hear this in the u.s. media, hear this among u.s. politicians, it is as if putin and russia are synonymous terms. i think donaldrump is refrned from beioo personalizing the issue on putin, but we'll see if he's successful in doing this, and in the meantime, i think putin is appreciative of that. and so we'll have to see how this develops. but i would caution against the idea that there is going to be some reset and all is going to be well with russia. russia has a broad pattern of misbehavior that will not be rolled back by the a

the possible of the u.s. pulling out of the a accord is not good news. she says it will be detrimental not for the agreement, but for the united states. >> it would take the united states out of a global evolution of the global economy. and parse the united states into nonmovement when the rest of the economy is moving forward. >> reporter: it was considered a break through when the u.s. and china ratified agreements at the world's largest emitters of green house gases. but it was china that held the key. >> china took the leadership on climate change many years ago. in fact i would say four to five years ago. and they already took the leadership on climate change and they were incredibly generous and patient to wait for president obama to get into his second term. but if the united states now chooses not to execute that partnership, that doesn't mean that china backs away. china will continue to move forward. this is a huge opportunity for china. china is so committed to this. because they know that it's good for them. and they're going to take more lea

he wants friends not enemies and is ready to work with the new u.s. administration. and on this day, we take a look at a drug trial in south africa that could be a game changer for the curing aids. ♪ host: it is good to having with us. the french president has just announced he will not seek a second term in the presidential election next spring. he has been growing increasingly unpopular in france, but with the right wing gaining ground by the anouncement has put the left in a difficult position. the socialist party will need to choose a candidate. a candidate to stand against the far right and the conservatives. we want to cross over to our correspondent in paris. good evening. this is, it is not a big surprise, but what reasons did he give her deciding not to run again. ? reporter: many people expected him to want to run again, so it was a big surprise. and an emotional speech tonight, he basically said it was his duty not to run again to make sure that his party, the socialist party but does not fall apart because the country was facing a strong terrorist threa

we are starting with a lot of developing news. in the past 90 minutes u.s. officials closed down a russian-owned compound in new york expected to close another in the eastern shore of maryland this afternoon. 35 russian diplomats now have until the end of the weekend to get out of the country. but russian president vladimir putin in a surprise move is ruling out retaliation for the new u.s. sanctions on russia. at least for now. we are also watching the monster storm pummelling the northeast. deadly now. one person killed. hundreds of thousands now without power as the nor'easter dumps more than two feet of snow across new england. cities around the world are ready for new year's celebrations tomorrow night. that means boosting security with fears of potential terror attacks. we have a lot to get to starting with russia and vladimir putin. guaranteed to be tops on the political agenda in the new year. senator john mccain planning armed services hearings featuring top personnel from the intelligence committees.

u.s. why did well, details have not been released. sources familiar with the negotiation say carrier will receive tax incentives from the state, where vice president-elect mike pence is governor. sources add carrier's parent company, united technologies, a major defense contractor, now avoids angering the new administration. >> 10% of united technology's business, more than $5 billion, comes from the u.s. government. technology's single biggest customer. >> robert james who has made furnaces for 15 years has questions today. >> we need to know what's behind it. >> for jt bray, raising a young family, relief. >> some people are saying this is a christmas miracle that we get to keep our jobs. our kids will have a good christmas. >> our thanks to kevin tibbles. >> it is one of the most iconic holiday traditions in the big pl that matter. >> five, four, three, two, one. go! >> that was the scene right outside our window here. you have alec baldwin and kate mckinnon who helped flip the switch o

doug: the day -- russia talkeder about improved relations, china has spoken out. >> we urge the new u.s. government and later to fully recognize the sensitivity of the taiwan issue. continuing to uphold the one china policy to avoid the broader picture of china uslife being interfered with or damaged. >> since jimmy carter, u.s. presidents have not had any official contact with taiwan's leaders although unofficially, america is their biggest ally. trump has already changed that approach. some say that his support for the one china policy should be renegotiated. we trump: i do not see why need to be bound by the one-china policy unless we make a deal with china. they are taxing us heavy at the borders when we do not text them. -- we are mess of building massive fortress in the middle of the south china sea. >> trump already angered china when he took a congratulatory call from taiwan's president. he is the first u.s. leader to officially talk to at taiwanese leader in four decades. genie: the champions league is coming up in february. we have found out who will be playing whom in the fin

david: breaking news, u.s. just abstaining in a u.n. vote condemning israeli settlements, something that israelis tried to prevent. >> donald trump tweeting out, as for the u.n., things will be different beginning january 20. >> and paul ryan, saying this is shameful this is a blow to peac peace. our unified republican government will work to reverse the damage done by this administration, and rebuild our alliance with israel. ambassador dan gillerman former israeli ambassador to united nations. on first part of what speaker ryan said, comments about security of israel. highway will that security be affected. >> thank god israel security did you not depend on security council of the u.n. but on its own security forces. israel is proved time and again this it is rely on no one, and only on itself, and will continue to rely on itself, to do what is best for israel security. and israel's future, their the united nations resolutions come and go, israel is there to stay. david: this particular resolution was interesting, at first egypt was b

abc news, new york. >>> new york times among those saying that it usually takes years before a u.s. president or someone changes policies on nuclear weapons, and he did it 140 words before being inaugurated. >>> expansion of the nuclear arsenal, a spokesperson is trying to clarify. >> trump sees modernizing the nuclear capabilities as a way to pursue peace through strength, not advocating the use of weapons, and not meant to be read as new u.s. policy, but critics say it risks fuelling a arms race with >>> there were tense moments on a plane for trump's daughter, ivanka, a passenger accused of harassing her was kick off the flight in new york. >> trump was headed to hawaii with her husband and children when the man shouted at her, accusing the trumps of ruining the country. witnesses say the passenger was so upset he was shaking. he was removed and secret service did not have to intervene. >>> a europe-wide man hunt underway this morning for the man suspected of driving a truck into the christmas market in berlin. amri known to german and other european security agencies, but also t

live in the digital operations center, matt delucia, "nbc 10 news." >>> u.s. senators are calling for a special bipartisan panel to investigate cyber attacks. the focus will be on russia's alleged efforts to influence the presidential elections. >> going to find out what the russians are doing to our political system. what other foreign governments might do to our political system. >> we need to get to the bottom of this. we need to find out exactly what was done. >> intelligence sources have told nbc news u.s. officials believe russian president vladimir putin was personally involved to trying to influence the u.s. elections. the cia concluded the hacking was done to help mr. trump. >>> more than half of americans are concerned that russia interfered in the election. that's according to a national nbc news wall street journal poll. 55% say they are concerned that hackers working in connection with the foreign government influence the election. >>> today is the deadline to sign up for health care for next year. the deadline was extended after a record number o

we're prepared for cooperation with the new u.s. administration on anac equit ablable basis. >> a stunning update on the tragic plane crash on monday night that killed 71 people onboard. many of members of the brazilian soccer team were on there. audio obtained revealed the pilot's frantic words repeatedly saying he was running out of fuel. keir simmons has details. >> we're asking for priority in our approach. we have a fuel problem. the controller tells the pilot he can start his approach in seven minutes. two minutes later, the pilot again asks to land but is told there's an aircraft below. she asked how much time do you have to stay put? fuel emergency, the pilot responds. i'm asking for immediate descent. a short time later, the pilot says the plane is in total electrical failure and out of fuel. the aircraft slams into the side of a hill, short of medellin airport. >> really chilling to hear. that was keir simmons reporting. the recorder supports what a flight attendance told a rescuer, the plane had run out of fuel and turned

u.s. intelligence officials believe they carried out the cyber attack to help president elect donald trump and they did so on president pew din's orders. >> the government also shut down two russian owned facilities in new york and maryland that were used to collect intelligence. the state department is kicking out 35 russian operatives from the embassy in washington and the consulate in san francisco. >> obama administration officials acknowledge that president elect trump can wipe out the sanctions as soon as he takes office but they say he should think twice before doing so. >> list sanctions to make it easier to interfere with the elections. >> president elect trump is skeptical that russia was involved. he was asked about possible sanctions wednesday night following a meeting with boxes promoter don king. >> president obama said he will be providing a report to congress about russia attempts to interfere in the election in the coming days. craig boswell, cbs news the white house. >> r

russian officials have reacted sharply for the new u.s. sanctions. moscow considers the measures unjustified and illegal under international law. he said that president vladimir putin will decide on a reciprocal reaction, a former official in charge of human rights said that obama's actions will damage the chairman of the international affairs committee in the upper house of parliament calls the measures the death throes of the obama administration. he said the outgoing administration has no political or ethical right to put the u.s. on a path toward destruction. >>> fill peechb president duterte has called u.s. ambassadors spies. he says most u.s. ambassadors are spying and they try to undermine foreign governments. duterte referred to a story carried by a local newspaper earlier this week. it said a recent former u.s. ambassador to the philippines outlined the list of strategies to undermine duterte and cause his eventual ouster. duterte has been ratcheting up his criticism of barack obama demanding american troops leave the philippines. obama is c

in addition to the news, u.s. sell you larp and summer fels extend their sponsorship for another 10 years. really nice to think about summer and summerfest when it's like it is outside. >> nice to see that old video, people walking around in shorts. >> sunscreen. don't need any of that now. >> temperatures in the 70's three times. now we're getting punched right in the gut. it hurts out there and it's going to get even worse. i want you to be ready. i know a lot of you think it's so cold out there right now. next week is a wheel different level of cold. behind me we're making snow. that is at the rock sports complex and things are great for making snow. to do cross-country skiing. natural snow on the way and most of the ski areas are up and going already. let's do this in chronological order. starting with in evening. no real problems out there. a passing flurry or two. temperatures are cold. bandle 8-. winds out of the west at 10 to 20's. again, it's cold but it's drive. wind chills will be in the teens. now, we

believe this includes advocating for a new u.s. policy that integrates the cry for human freedom with denuclearization. we also believe that means supporting

he has selected david friedman the new u.s. ambassador to israel, supporting israeli settlements, moving the embassy from tell leitel aviv to jerusa. also today house republican leaders announced when the new congress does come back in january, they're going to introduce a measure denouncing the u.n. for that very resolution. i've also been told this morning that trump received his intelligence briefing. he met with his national security team and spicer says trump will make some kind of statement later this afternoon on the economy, but we're going to look to see if he has more reacting to kerry's speech. jake? >> suzanne malveaux, oren lieberman, elise labott. read more of the mission to save diplomacy on cnn.com. talk of secretary of state kerry's assertion a short time ago "the two-state solution is in serious jeopardy." our panel, hala gorani, and our other panel members. hala, stasht with yrt with you. did secretary kerry's speech do anything to change the chance of peace in the middle east or is it possible it might have

even one meeting just yards from cnn's offices in new york. the u.s. believes the group never got its hands on classified information but the russian infiltration into the u.s., a classic moscow move. >> what they do is more than just collect. they actually try fluns events to the benefit of russia all over the world. this is something they have done for decades. >> reporter: within days at the airport in vienna, an elaborately core rio graphed transfer. the ten russians traded back for four other russians charged with being in touch with western intelligence services. now, the state department is expelling 35 russian officials it says violated their diplomatic status, this, after the u.s. xlclaim of interferenc in the presidential election and harassment of u.s. diplomats overseas. vladmir putin, a former russian intelligence officer, well acquainted with the so-called illegals programs, putting agents into u.s. society. >> the fact that they would continue to do that to establish these american legends and cover stories for these people that are tryi

russia's vladimir putin vows to keep one the u.s. in any new arms race. trump basically says, bring it on. and from russia will love. trump shares what he calls a very nice letter from putin in which the russia leader calls for steps to restore cooperation. trump says he hopes both sides can live up to those thoughts. wolf blitzer is off. this is "the situation room." >>> be on the lookout for suspicious activity saying isis sympathizers are calling for attacks on churches and holiday gatherers in the united states. the man wanted or the attacking a berlin christmas market has been shot dead in italy. at the same time, isis has released video of the attacker, vowing allegiance to the terror group and calling for attacks. that comes as german officials say he was considered one of the most dangerous in the country months before the attack. russian president vladimir putin is vowing to keep one the united states in any new arms race after a tweet from president-elect donald trump that the u.s. must expand its nuclear capability. trump upped the andy saying

new u.s. water law that could have an impact on california. president obama signed new legislation that orders the golden state's federal water project to deliver the maximum amount of water possible to farmers and other users. while farmers welcome the measure, scientists fear it will conflict with state laws meant to ensure enough water for endangered fish. >> marty:in the south bay. police officers arrested two people after they noticed a stolen car in a target parking lot in morgan hill. according to police-- the pair tried to buy items inside the target with stolen credit cards. inside the car, police found a large amount of stolen mail. officers were able link the stolen credit cards to a burglary at a san jose home wednesday night. and discovered the car had been stolen from a parking lot in hollister. the pair are now facing a string of charges including suspicion of car theft and possession of illegal weapons. police are on the hunt for thieves who stole thousands of dollars worth of

developing news. in the past 90 minutes u.s. officials closed down a russian-owned compound in new york expected to close another in the eastern shore of maryland this afternoon. 35 russian diplomats now have until the end of the weekend to get out of the country. but russian president vladimir putin in a surprise move is ruling out retaliation for the new u.s. sanctions on russia. at least for now. we are also watching the monster storm pummelling the northeast. deadly now. one person killed. hundreds of thousands now without power as the nor'easter dumps more than two feet of snow across new england. cities around the world are ready for new year's celebrations tomorrow night. that means boosting security with fears of potential terror attacks. we have a lot to get to starting with russia and vladimir putin. guaranteed to be tops on the political agenda in the new year. senator john mccain planning armed services hearings featuring top personnel from the intelligence committees. president-elect donald trump promising to meet w

arianna huffington joins us to discuss her latest venture, and the rise of think news. u.s. stock benchmarks jumped the most in a month. bloombergs edgar at large with me for the tech takeaway. they have not performed well since the election. what made today different? stocksink you see some left out. i believe it has been a month since election. it has been an interesting month. hasresults of these stocks been blamed a lot on the focus of the trump administration and the notion that maybe there were some excuses that trump would take a hard line on amazon with taxes, as if the irs was not already doing that. the performance of the market today was spectacular. amazon, netflix, facebook, google leading up into november, and then underperforming in the month since the election, i think one of the reasons you see that versus the s&p 500 might actually be the emergence of the snapchat ipo. the kind of tech investors who put a lot of money into a new hot ipo are sort of getting some capital together, selling the other stocks so they have ammunition to buy snapchat. emily: intere

maybe drawing from the past to describe the future of new u.s. nuclear capability. and in case you're wondering, no, the white house didn't have anything to say about it, not even on background. they're steering clear of it. >> kevin kork, thank you. we're getting new reaction to president-elect trump's handlin. former defense secretary robert gates tell the washington post, quote, there is some value the president-elect's disruptive approach in the u.s. not being so reliably passive. congressman sean duffy is one of the first members of congress to support donald trump and larry corb. congressman duffy, i'll start with you first. this is sparking new concerns about the president-elect's policy on nuclear arms. >> listen, i think it's refreshing to a lot of people across america. you have donald trump responding to putin who is talking about strengthening his own nuclear arsen arsenal. and the fact that america has been so passive over the eight years that's emboldened not just russia but china. you have putin who went to the ukraine, to crimea, now he's in the midd

in response to new u.s. sanctions ice invite all children of the u.s. diplomats to the new year and christmas show at the kremlin signed yourself sincerely, vladimir putin. the u.s. shut down two russian-owned government compounds one in new york. and another in maryland, a 45-acre property purchased by the soviet government in 1972. vehicles were seen leaving the maryland estate and returning to the russian embassy in washington. the white house says the russians working at the compounds were spying on the u.s. >> what these individuals were doing were basically collecting intelligence. they're intelligence officers operating here and using these compounds, one in new york, one in maryland, for intelligence collection purposes. >> reporter: russia, however, refutes that the escapes were being used for espionage. >> i thing it's quite scandalous that they chose to go after kids. they know that those facilities mentioned in the notes are vacation facilities for kids. this is christmastime. >> reporter: four of the russians sanctioned by the u.s. are part

the white house has not said how it will vote on the resolution. >> breaking news, the u.s. officials tell fox news/beijing sent new surface to air missiles to the south china sea. what is that all about? >> reporter: jon, breaking right now. u.s. intelligence satellites spotted new chinese weaponry on a high end island in the south china sea. it is a province that belongs to china. but they believe that these missiles will go to the spratley chain of islands in the south china sea. that is the first time it would be that they go to the spratlies. gun placements are spoken in the south china sea. they have built up 3000 acre of artificial islands and bomber flights have occurred. and a keek ago they flew a long range nuclear bomber. moments ago, i spoke to former head of a force intelligence and he reacted. >> this is another example of the adventurisms and aggressiveness of the chinese in the face of quite frankly, an a nemic and feckless set of policys that we have seen in the last eight years. >> now to counter the chinese threat, the head of the u.s. air force needs 3000

. >>> in the fight against isis today the u.s. defense secretary announced that 200 new u.s. special ops troops are heading to syria. abc's alex marquardt has the latest from that war torn country. >> reporter: tonight, as the battle against isis intensifies, the increase in u.s. forces designed with one purpose. >> bringing down the full weight of u.s. forces around the theatre of operation like the funnel of a giant tornado. >> reporter: the 200 additional special operations troops join 300 already in syria, tasked with training and advising forces as they prepare to advance to raqqah, isis's de facto capital city. we've seen the fierce fighting in aleppo. ravaged by four years of war. forces loyal to president bashar al-assad have almost completely pushed out the rebels clinging to parts of the city. >> rounds coming from the front line which is about 100 yards away. >> reporter: tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes in this historic city that has become the symbolic epicenter of syria's war in the past few days alone. alex marquardt, abc news. >> our thanks

>>> right now on wusa9, vladimir putin is criticizing new u.s. sanctions against russia but he says he will not expel american diplomats in retaliation. good evening, i'm ellen brian. russian president vladimir putin will wait to see the policies of donald trump's administration before taking retaliatory action against the u.s. dozens of russian officials are preparing to leave the country after president obama ordered them expel for russia's hacking during the presidential election. in response to the decision, president-elect donald trump tweeted, great move on the delay, i knew he was very smart. as part of the sanctions, the u.s. is shutting down two russia owned compounds, one in new york, the other is on the maryland eastern shore in the town of centerville, 90 minutes outside of washington. wusa9's pete muntin reports it has now been exposed as a russian hideout for spies. >> reporter: russian diplomats were just booted out, the talk of the town in centerville, population 4000. many thought this was simply a russian retreat. now some rumor

. >> intelligence sources have told nbc news u.s. officials believe russian president vladimir putin was personally involved with trying to influence the u.s. election. the cia concluded the hacking was done to help mr. trump. >>> more than half of americans are concerned that russia elect. and that's according to a new national nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. 55% said they're significantly bothered by the news that hackers worked in connection with a foreign government to influence the election. international migrants day in new york. immigration activists held a rally to protest president-elect donald trump's policies. some held signs that read we refuse to accept a fascist america and new york rejects hate. >>> another week, another close loss for the eagles who have now lost five straight games and nine of their last 11. this time it was the baltimore ravens who got the better of th. it came down to the final play. carson wentz and the eagles electing to go for two points and the win. it's easy to get down with the losses pi

only three weeks until donald trump is sworn in as the new u.s. president. once the vein of wall street and he is bringing hope of lower taxes and less government intervention in the economy that is already having an impact. you can clearly see the effect on u.s. treasury bonds with the yields dropping significantly and u.s. stocks rising. with the u.s. transitioning to trump, europe moving forward without the u.k., and elections in germany and france, investors are gearing up for another year of uncertainty in 2017. fanny: it is getting difficult to breathe in sarajevo, so authorities have banned half the city's cars from driving on roads. the concentration of hazardous particles is far above safe levels it as the economy continues to grow, so does the volume of cars on the bosnian capital's roads, and that means even more pollution. reporter: for more than a week, dense smog has completely obscured the view of sarajevo from the city's surrounding hills. in a bid to alleviate the situation, the local government has ordered the introduction of alternative dr

he also said that the new u.s./russian relationship he's looking forward to could only work on the basis of equality, mutual respect for interests and noninterference in the internal affairs of each other. noninterference in each other's internal affairs like each other's elections? in october, the month before our presidential election, the department of homeland security and the director of national intelligence officially and formally declared that russia was meddling in our election by, among other things, hacking into the democratic party's servers. then right after the election, the head of the nsa put a pretty fine point on it. he publicly affirmed unequivocally that russia, yes, did hack into the u.s. election in order to achieve a specific result. >> there shouldn't be any doubt in anybody's mind. this was not something that was done casually, this was not something that was done by chance. this was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily. this was a conscious effort by a nation state to attempt

u.s. relationship. all of this is a lot to take on for the still unnamed secretary of state. president-elect donald trump tells fox news exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson would make a great secretary of state. >> to me a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. he does massive deals in russia. >> reporter: but it is exactly those ties tillerson has to russia that are worrying democrats and republicans. >> i have obviously concerns of reports of his relationship with vladimir putin who is a thug and a murderer. >> reporter: in 2013 he gave him the friendship award. mr. trump hasn't announced for his pick yet but "the washington post" reports renewed concerns of the russians interfering in the u.s. election according to the cia. >> i think it's ridiculous. just another excuse. >> reporter: 17 known u.s. intelligence agencies concluded the russian government directed the hacking but that's not the only issue on which the next president and the mr. trump says he'll de