Last year, but it is going to be much wetter. And the rain has already made it up to new york. Its in d. C. , its in philly, it will eventually be in boston. A lot of the big cities will experience rain. Unfortunately, and for all of the people in twaimes square, n that the rain has begun, its going to keep on rain iing unti we ring in the new hour. Its also raining in chicago. That should be wrapped up by the time the clock strikes midnight that should clear cleup. We also have tornado watches and a thunderstorm watch until 8 00 p. M. Eastern time. The storm watch is through 7 00 p. M. Eastern time. And so we could get some rough weather on the way, as well, for folks heading out to celebrate. Here is the timeline. By 7 00 p. M. , well be in the rain for the northeast, d. C. Possibly out of it by then, but places like nashville, atlanta, also getting the rain, and then by midnight, of course, still stuck in the rain, across places like new york, boston, d. C. , atlanta, with temperatures around 48 in new york, chicago will ring in the new year around 46. Kansas city at 25. Dallas at 46. So new york city temperature will be 48. It will feel like 45. And we will have steady rain across the big apple. Ryan . Jennifer gray, thank you for that report. We appreciate it. Now lets go to our team of reporters covering celebrations across the United States and beyond. Randi kaye drew the tough assignment. She is in st. B. A. R. T. s and it looks like she has a golf bag behind her. Well get to randi in a second. Randi, miguel is slightly mad at you right now. Reporter randi kaye, ill get you miguel, what are the crowds like there right now in twaiime square . Were pretty far away from the ball drop. Reporter well, its not st. Barts, but were enjoying the purifying rain that only new york city can bring. There are tens of thousands of people packed in here and look at those heavy souls there under plastic. There may be having an issue with too much Carbon Dioxide in that one bag. But these folks have been packed in here for many, many hours. Why . Because they have front row seats. Those are the good seats, folks, thats the pole where the ball actually drops at midnight here in times square. This is a little sense of the crowd a little closer up now, we have people from all over. You guys ready for this . Happy new year. Theyre like, oh, god, get us to the bend. Japans representative here, korea. Where are you guys from . The persians are here oh, my god. Kansas city in the house. Newlyweds and wisconsin. Just north of madison and these guys we are going to go now to senator Elizabeth Warren who is speaking about her president ial bid. Here she is. I never thought i would run for anything ever in my life, but americas middle class is getting hollowed out, and opportunity for too many of our young people is shrinking, so im in this fight all the way. Right now, washington works great for the wealthy and the wellconnected, its just not working for anyone else. But im optimistic. I believe in what we can do together. Im going to build a grassroots campaign. Its already got people from all across this country that are going to be part of it and together were going to make change. And if people out there see it and want to be part of it, i hope they go to elizabethwarren. Com and join us. Bauz this is how were going to build the movement that will change america. Do you have a question . You know the urgency a lot of democrats feel about defeating donald trump in 2020. Whats your message to a lot of democratic voters who say, i love where senator warren stands on the issues, but i worry about accountability. I worry about a campaign more about native american ancestry than the middle class. Look, im in this fight because i understand whats happeninging happening to working faemgs. I grew up in a paycheckpaycheck family. I run for office because im grateful down to my toes for the opportunities that were given to me and i am determined that we will give those same opportunities, not just to some of our kids, but to all of our kids. I think when we fight for something positive, something big. When we tell, not just tell, but show what democrats will get out there and make happen, i think thats how we win. Senator, do you think your politics are too polarizing for a National Audience . You know, the way i see it right now, washington works great for giant drug companies, but just not for people who are trying to get a precipitation filled. Washington works great for forprofit colleges, but not for young people who are getting crushed by Student Loan Debt and you can keep going through the list and the problem weve got right now in washington is it works great for those who have money, to buy influence. And im fighting against that and you bet, its going to make a lot of people unhappy. But at the end of the day, i dont go to washington to work for them. Our government should be working for the people. And thats the movement im going to lead. Senator, you articulated this very point throughout the course of your career. And you saw a real estate a developer from new york expropriate that message in 2016. How do you basically convince people that this message is still a message that belongs to the democratic party, given that its again, its been expropriated and used effectively by a real estate. We have to get out there and be clear about what were fighting for and weve got to show were willing to fight for it. Its not enough just to talk the talk. Weve actually got to be willing to get out and walk the walk. And that means weve got to stand behind the kinds of changes that will matter in the lives of everyday people. And when that means standing up to big drug companies, we wont do what this administration has done. And that is, raise prices wherever you want. Weve said, were going to make real change. Followup, how does your message compare to that of Sherrod Brown, for example, and others who are making some of the same points. I think its great that we have a strong and growing group of democrats who are making these arguments and fighting these fights. Thats how we build a movement. We do it together. Senator warren, you have not been afraid to take on donald trump, really, head to head in the past. Do you expect that you will need to go headtohead, toetotoe with him and throw it right back at him as he has already started to do. Look, i think the central part of winning this is to get out and talk with people about what were fighting for. We want a government that works not just for the rich and the powerful, we want a government that works for everyone. And we can make that happen. We have to do it together. I think thats how we win. Senator warren all right, we are going to break away from this. Elizabeth warren, who today announced that shes forming an Exploratory Committee to run for president of the United States, speaking to reporters for the First Time Since that happened. Harry entin joins me now, a senior Political Writer and analyst for cnn. Harry, im surprised not surprised, but impressed that she didnt just come out and make a blanket statement, but actually answering questions from reporters. I dont know how much shes answering them in specificitspe. But this, i think, demonstrates that shes taking this seriously and that shes ready to get her foot out there and take that first step. Shes definitely taking it seriously and the fact that she was really the first of the major candidates to put her foot into the ring. I think she recognizes that shes going to have work hard for this nomination. It was interesting to hear the questions and her responses to them on the questions of electability, as well as on the question of, shes not going to be the only progressive voice in this campaign. Bernie sanders, Sherrod Brown are most likely to get into this race and how is she going to separate herself from them in order to win the nomination. Ive heard a lot of democrats answer very similarly along the lines that she did by saying, you know, the more, the merrier. Lets get more voices out there that think in similar ways that i do. At some point, though, youve got to draw some lines of distinction between her and other candidates. We havent even got into 2019. But as we get closer to 2020, you will see those progressive voices start to go at each other. But at this point, theyre just happy to be in the race and want to see, before they go negative, can they make a step going positive. Harry entin, thank you for being here. Heres the latest from Elizabeth Warren, your very interesting, but not nearly as interesting as this next person that were going to go to or where she happens to be, and that is our randi kaye. Randi, basically everybody here in the new York City Bureau is jealous of you. We know miguel is jealous of you, because hes out in the pouring rain. Explain to us where you are and what is going on in st. Barts and how theyre going to ring in the new year. Reporter well, i am in st. Barts and i am at gustavia, which is the main port here. And this is really a billionaires playground. This is where everybody comes for new years eve. But as you remember, ryan, last year there was 170 miles an hour winds here from Hurricane Irma and destroyed much of st. Barts, there was more than 1 billion worth of damage, but you can see that they have rebuilt. And if you take a look at this scene here behind me, these are all multi, multi, hundreds of milliondollar yachts. Its incredible here, absolutely incredible. These are owned by mainly billionaires. They come here for the new years eve celebration. Its a huge party, a lot of celebrities here, Paul Mccartney is here, mariah carey is performing tonight. But we are on a yacht called the jean machine thanks to super yachts st. Barts and jean machine for hosting us. It is 180 feet long, it has jet skis, it has a ja c jacuzzi, a swimming area in the back, a rope you can climb up the side of for fun, it has a water slide. They put it out in the water when theyre not tethered here in port and you can go down the water slide. It also has what im standing on here, a golf green, can you believe it . Im no golfer, but just for kicks and so everybody can have a good laugh at me, i am going to give it my best. Now, theres some boat traffic, so you know, were going to yell forea and make sure i dont hit anybody, but lets see. So ryan, i dont know if youre a golfer, but im going to try my best here. Hold on, we have a boater going by. Stand by one moment. You know, its busy. Its a busy time here. So lots of traffic. But were going to be on this yacht tonight for the big new years eve show at 8 00. And starting at 8 00 p. M. Okay, here we go. Oh did you see that it was perfect. I know you didnt follow it out. Well do one more before i let you go here. There is a green out there. See that . Theres a green. Im going to try to hit that before any other boats come by. Did you hit it . Here we go. Well try it one more oh very close. I got about halfway there. Anyway, well have a great party tonight. So much fun. I hope youll join us from sunny st. Barts. Randi kaye definitely drew the short straw for cnn today. Excellent swing, randi. Were all very impressed back here in new york. Thank you, randi. Still ahead, Comedian Louis ck walks into yet another controversy by mocking the students swho survived the parkland shooting in his routine. Youll hear the tape for yourself. But heres a look at more of dubais spectacular new years eve show. Unbelievable. Thats from just moments ago. vo you do more than grant wishes when you share the love. You give hope. Get a new subaru, like the all new forester, and charities like makeawish can receive two hundred and fifty dollars from subaru. vo get zero percent during the subaru share the love event. Its a revolution in sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now during our lowest prices of the season. It senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. It can even warm your feet to help you fall asleep faster. So you wake up ready to make your resolutions, reality. And now, the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only 1299. Ranked 1 in Customer Satisfaction with mattresses by j. D. Power. Plus, 24month financing on all beds. Ends new years day. Sleep number. Proven, quality sleep. What do you look for i want free access to research. Yep, td ameritrades got that. 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Joining me now is ben ferguson, hes a conservative talk radio host and cnn political commentator. And nina turner, the president of our revolution and a cnn political commentator. So, ben, i think the best way to describe this is mixed messaging on behalf of the president , which is not uncustomary from this white house. But this particular issue is the president s Signature Campaign issue. Hep talked over and over again first about a concrete wall, and then secondly, that mexico was going to pay for it. Now were talking about steel slats or some version of that and taxpayers paying for it. I mean, explain this kind of changing position from the president. Look, i think when the president on the campaign talked about mexico paying for the wall, he actually thought he was going to be able to get that done. In reality, he has to deal with congress. And youve seen how congress has been to deal with. So i think the president understood after getting to washington and becoming the president that the reality of getting mexico to pay for it was probably not going to happen. And thats the reason that the American People who voted for him said, mr. President , were fine with us paying for it, we dont have an issue for it. Thats why the president has dropped it, but the others have used it as a talking point against him. I would go back to this. The president has been consistent. We need Border Security. In fact, 54 democrats in the senate just five years ago voted in favor of spending a significant amount of money on Border Security, including border wall or slats, whatever you want to call it. And now theyre saying no to it, and its only because donald trump wants it so badly. So do a lot of the American People, though, and i think thats where theyre messing up. But ben, it seems as though even in this conversation, youre moving the deal posts a little bit. Donald trump came in as the great dealmaker. He had republicans in both the senate and the house. Arent you giving him kind of a big out here by saying that congress has been too difficult to deal with, for him to deliver on his Signature Campaign issue, when he promised that he was the great dealmaker that could get these things done . Again, i would point to the 54 democrats just five years ago that voted in favor of more than 40 million in funding to build Border Security and the border wall. Now because of donald trump being president , theyre saying no. You have to have the 60 votes in the senate to do a deal and the president has been advocating for this for the last twoplus years. And when you dont have the votes because democrats refuse to do whats right for Border Security, thats the reason why we have the Government Shutdown and were in the position that were in right now. The president understands this is an issue of national security. Its an issue of protecting American Workers and wages. And its an issue of making sure that people come into this country the legal, lawful way. You look at the Police Officer that was killed in california. He came to america, by the way, as an immigrant legally into the country. And an illegal immigrant who did not follow our rules was able to kill him right around christmas. So this is an issue the president has gone allin on. I think hes been very consistent about that. And unfortunately, youve got politics ryan, is this a conversation here or just one person nina, im about to get to you. I would love for you to come in, nina. Come on in. So, the president said that mexico was going to pay for the wall. That was never going to happen. Because no president of the United States of america can dictate how another country is going to spend their money. Thats number one. Number two is, securing this country is a holistic conversation that is bigger than just a wall and bigger than just scapegoating i would agree with you on that. One group of people just on the southern border. In terms of a Police Officer being shot its not one group of people. Ben, let nina talk. Hello, ben you had all this time. Let a sister get in here. In terms of a Police Officer being shot, all of our hearts should ache. My son is in Law Enforcement right now, took the oath to protect and to serve. My husband is a former Police Officer, so i get it on both ends, both on the protection side and also being a black woman who is the mother of a black son. So everybody in this country should be upset when Police Officers are gunned down. But let us not amen. Scapegoat people have bad behavior, whether theyre americanborn citizens, look at what dylan roof did to black parishioners, so there are bad people, whether theyre americans or not. What we should not doe, thou, t is scapegoat an entire group of people just because there are bad actors across the spectrum, whether theyre white, black, brown, yellow, or red, human nature can be extremely unpredictable. So nina heres what the president ben, ben, hang on. Nina, whats the path forward here . How do democrats handle this situation now . Theyve got a president thats unwilling to deal on that front. Theyre going to take control of the house here in a couple of days. If youre advising the Democratic Caucus in the house, how do you see a way forward that can accomplish your goals, but at the same time, get this Government Back open . Ryan, thats it. Weve got to open the government. We need grown folks to get together around the table and determine, first things first. 800,000 employees of the federal government right now who are in flux, who need to pay their mortgages or their rent. They need to eat and they have families to take care of. That should be their first, second, third, fourth, and fifth concern. Secondly, do a deal. We need comprehensive Immigration Reform and hopefully ben would agree with that. I agree. Thats long overdue, that this congress for several congress and also president ial administrations have not addressed comprehensive Immigration Reform in this country. We need to help our daca recipients. So there are so much that we should be able to come together to do, but the first concern, ryan, is to make sure that those 800,000 people who served this country in a different way are not left and waiting and not knowing how theyre going to pay their bills or where their next meal is going to come from. Well have to leave it there. Ben ferguson, nina turner, sorry, ben, got to go, a lot to cover today. We appreciate you both being here and happy new year. Happy new year. Happy new year. Next, day ten and counting. Were live at the white house with the latest on the Government Shutdown and what democrats plan to do as soon as they take por. What makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever . Great tasting, hearthealthy california walnuts. So simple, so good. Get the recipes at walnuts. Org. Amazon prime video so when you say words like. Show me best of prime video into this. Youll see awesome stuff like this. Discover prime originals like the emmywinning the marvelous mrs. Maisel. Tom clancys jack ryan. And the man in the high castle. All in the same place as your live tv. Its all included with your amazon prime membership. Thats how xfinity makes tv. Simple. Easy. Awesome. As we count down the hours to the new year, the days to the partial Government Shutdown are racking up. We are now in day ten, meaning this impasse breaks into the top three longest shutdowns since 1980. And it looks like democrats plan to put the ball back in the Republican Court when they take control of the house in three days. The democratic aide says that the house will vote on a package that includes six Senate Spending bills and a stopgap measure, all to get the Government Back open. Lets get now to cnns sarah westwood. She is at the white house. Sarah, any signal on how the white house might respond to this package that the house will be voting on in just a couple of days . Well, ryan, its not yet clear exactly how the white house will respond to this plan. We have asked. But its key, because Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has already said that he wouldnt pass a bill on the senate floor that the president doesnt endorse. Now, President Trump remains dug in behind his demand for funding for his border wall. Hes been telling aides that he will not sign a bill that provides just 1. 3 billion for Border Security plus a fence. Thats the offer that democrats had put on the table before the shutdown began. Now, incoming acting chief of staff budget director Mick Mulvaney has already signaled that the president is willing to come down off of that 5 billion number, but theres just not been a lot of specificity about what exactly the president would support. Now, mulvaney has also said that Democratic Congressional leaders have not been invited back to the white house for further negotiations, but despite that, the president has been on twitter railing against democratic kopcongressional leas for leaving town during the shutdown that he created. So ryan, things today still looking about as they did ten days ago when the shutdown first began, a stalemate. Yeah, and this could take some time, sarah. It seems like were talking about weeks now as opposed to days. Sarah westwood, thank you for that report, loive from the whie house. And today the final day on the job for defense secretary james mattis. And in his farewell message, hes urging republicans to keep the faith in our country. Detail s on how his very public parting of ways may impact the pentagon. You always pay your insurance on time. Tap one little bumper and up go your rates. What good is having insurance if you get punished for using it . News flash nobodys perfect. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch and you could save 782 on home and auto insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. My digestive system used to make me feel sluggish. But those days are over. Now i take metamucil every day. It naturally traps and removes the waste that weighs me down. So i feel. Lighter. Try metamucil and begin to feel what lighter feels like. Take the metamucil two week challenge and lighten up. Just take metamucil every day for two weeks. Are you ready for the challenge . 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Did you know you can save money amarin thanks the clinicians and patients who participated by using dish soap to clean grease on more than dishes . Using multiple cleaners on grease can be expensive, and sometimes ineffective. For better value, tackle grease with dawn ultra. Dawn is for more than just dishes. It provides 3x more grease cleaning power per drop, which cuts through tough kitchen messes, pretreats laundry stains, and even tackles grease buildup on car rims. Tackle tough greasy messes around your home, and save money with dawn ultra. Brand power. Helping you better. Today is the last day on the job for defense secretary jim mattis. This morning, he sent a farewell letter to the department of defense employees that some may also say could be a message to President Trump. Secretary mattis announced his resignation because of the president s decision to withdraw troops from syria. But over the weekend, republican senator Lindsey Graham said that President Trump is now r reevaluating such a rapid drawdown. Cnn pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, joins me now. Barbara, tell us more about this mattis farewell message for the d. O. D. Hi, ryan. It does come now as now the incoming, acting secretary, patrick shanann, his first job may be to figure out what President Trump really wants to do about withdrawing troops from syria. Is it on pause . Is it happening rapidly . No one really seems to know. And as he begins his tenure actually tomorrow. Mattis left the building actually today. Were not sure if hes actually going come back at this point. And he left behind a message to the troops, which has just perhaps a little bit of a dig at President Trumps isolationism. Let me read part of it to you. The secretary saying, our departments leadership, civilian and military, remains in the best possible hands. Our department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult. So keep the faith in our country and hold fast alongside our allies allied against our foes. Alongside our allies. That is secretary james mattis in his final hours in office. Once again endorsing alliances and coalitions he believes very strongly that is essential to u. S. National security. Ryan . And as jim mattis leaves this post today, barbara, i want to ask you about a tweet that just came out from the United States military. This is from u. S. Strategic command. It says, times square tradition rings in the new year by dropping the big ball. If ever needed, we are ready to drop something much, much bigger. Barbara, it was accompanied by a video of a b2 bomber. You know more about this than i do, but this seems unusual. Is it not . You know, the world, i think it is very safe to say is hoping for a very peaceful new years and this message may have struck a very odd chord. Look at that video. Thats a b2 bomber, tweeted by the u. S. Military test firing, test dropping some of its newest, most advanced precision heavy weapons. The u. S. Strategic command, ryan, of course in charge of control of Americas Nuclear weapons and telling the world that it is ready to drop its weapons if it needs to. So of course Everybody Knows that. Everybody knows the u. S. Military is ready at all times. Americas adversaries know that. So why would you tweet this again when the world is hoping for a very peaceful calm, celebratory new years eve enemy coming hours. Its already new years overseas. It may be striking a very peculiar note. Ryan . Yeah, peculiar may be the perfect word to describe that, barbara. I cant come up with another one at the moment. Barbara, happy new year. Happy new year. First it was me too, now its never again. Louis ck trying to make a comedy comeback, but hes getting major backlash for joking about the Parkland School shooting. Hear how one of the survivors is responding. Stop fearing your alarm clock. With zzzquil pure zzzs. A drugfree blend of botanicals with melatonin that supports your Natural Sleep cycle so you can seize the morning. Zzzquil pure zzzs. This is a pretty big story trending today. Survivors of the Parkland School shooting coming out swing at louis ck after the comedian mocked their activism in his routine. Take a listen to this leaked audio from the set performed in december. And we should warn you, it may be offensive. They testify in front of congress, these kids. Like, what the [ bleep ], what are you doing . Youre young. You should be crazy. You should be unhinged, not in a suit saying, im here to tell you [ bleep ] you. Youre not interesting, because you went to a high school where kids got shot. Why does that mean have to listen to you . How does that make you interesting . You didnt get shot . You pushed some fat kid in the way. Now i got to listen to you talking . There is some pretty strong reaction here. One survivor tweeted this response, lew ck, although taking jello shots and eating mush ro mushrooms might have been ideal for you when you were 18, that is not the luxury that we have after having to see our friends in caskets. Weve dean own d own della on. You are not endorsing what lew ck had to say in any way, but explain to me the kind of interesting place he finds himself in. I want to walk gingerly here, because i want to keep my radio show when i leave the set here. The reality is, look, from a comedic point of view, comedians have to have freedom of expression. They even have to have the freedom to offend. That, of course, does not mean the freedom from criticism. If you dont like a comedians jokes, speak out. The response on twitter and social media against louiss jokes was palpable. The emotion from survivors was stunning and it was heartbreaking to see. I dont agree with the jokes. Louis can defend his own jokes. Very smart guy, very funny guy. But when youre a celebrity and youre under the glare of the spotlight, you should know that if youre going to do a joke like this, theres going to be backlash and there should be. If you dont like a comedians jokes, change the channel, dont support them. Speak out. But to me, if you dont like somebodys speech, comedy or speech is more speech. Some on twitter literally want to silence the guy. To me, it goes beyond the line. People get offended on the left and the right. Silencing comedians, because theyre talking about topics of the day, even if its upsetting, is the wrong response. Heres what another comedian, jud apatow had to say about it. He said, this tacky, unfunny shallow routine is just a symptom of how people are afraid to feel empathy. Its much easier to laugh at our most vulnerable than look at their pain directly and show them love and concern. Louis ck is all fear and bitterness now. He cant look inward. Is this fair from jud apatow. Is he separating or is he combining louis ck the human being or the character on stage . Jud on twitter has been really outspoken on issues of showing a lot of empathy and compassion on a variety of issues. I have a lot of respect from judd apatow. So we have to think about not pushing the envelope, not doing comedy anymore. And the big problem for louis ck is, its not just these jokes. It has more to do with everything in his past and along those lines. Dean, appreciate you being here. Lets get a live look now at the dow. In the final day of trading in 2018, you know, its better than in the red. It is in the green, up about 200 points. Still, going to end up being the worst year for the markets in a decade. We will be right back. What makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever . Great tasting, hearthealthy california walnuts. So simple, so good. Get the recipes at walnuts. Org. This holiday season, families near you need your help. Visit redcross. Org now to donate. 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Here are our top eight trending stories of the year. Times up times up in 2018. On january 1st, a group of women in the Film Industry unveiled times up as an anti harassment plan, a sequel to last years me too reckoning. We are just pushing the movement along and doing what we can with our voices and our solidarity. We are here standing in solidarity with women everywhere, saying times up, inform is enough on sexual harassment, assault, abusive power. The Group Supports women who encounter Sexual Assault, harassment or inequality in the workplace. Especially those outside the Entertainment Industry who lack financial or legal resources. And now that weve all joined as one voice, it feels like empowerment to those women who never had it. Number seven yanny. Do you hear yanny or laurel . A computerized recording of two seemingly unrelated words divided the internet again in 2018. It says laurel. It literally says play it. Hold on, okay. Yanny. Yanny. No. And it seemed everyone had an opinion from Law Enforcement what weve determined right now is that the audio sound that youve been hearing is actually the name laurel. To capitol hill. It is laurel, and not yanny, all right . Come on. How many laurel fans here, huh . Yeah, right . Okay, thank you. In the end, science called a winner. If you heard laurel, you are correct. And like the dress, yanny or laurel served as further proof it doesnt take much to break the internet. Number six. This amazing case of spiderman. A young migrant from mali living in the shadows. But in a span of 30 seconds, his selfless act of bravery captivated the world. He scaled a fourstory building in paris with his bare hands to save a childs life. For his heroism, french president Emmanuel Macron granted him citizenship. He now works with the paris fire brigade. Number five, a deep sigh of relief after 38 agonizing minutes. With Nuclear Tensions between north korea and the United States running high, people in hawaii got this text. Ballistic missile threat inbound to hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill. An Emergency Alert that sent panicked families to seek shelter anywhere they could, with some even putting their children in storm drains. Within 12 minutes, congresswoman gabbert tweeted this was a false alarm. But there was no word from the governor, who admitted he had forgotten his twitter password. What happened today was totally unacceptable. It took 38 minutes for the Emergency Alert system to declare a false alarm. Number four, a different kind of activism rocked the internet when dozens of viral videos exposed everyday racism aimed at africanamericans. Barbecue becky, permit patty, pool patrol paula. These women got the meme treatment after they called police on black people doing everyday things in public places, even starbucks got its share of social media scorn after two black men were arrested for waiting in a store in philadelphia. Starbucks later apologized for the incident and launched employee anti bias training. Number three, professor Christine Blasey ford publicly accounting her alleged Sexual Assault. Its hard for me to breathe, and i thought that brett was accidentally going to kill me. Ford accused then Supreme Court nominee, brett kavanaugh, of assaulting her when they were just teenagers. An accusation he repeatedly denied. President trump mocked fords testimony during a campaign rally. How did you get home . I dont remember. How did you get there . I dont remember. Where is the place . I dont remember. How many years ago was it . I dont know. I dont know. In a certiseries of tweets, claimed if the attack ford alleged was, quote, as bad as she says, charges would have immediately been filed with local Law Enforcement authorities. The hash tags we believe dr. Ford, believe survivors and dear professor ford started trending as hundreds of thousands of women took to social media to express their solidarity. And using the hash tag, why i didnt report, countless more spoke of feeling ashamed and powerless after their own Sexual Assault experiences of no one believing them. Number two, in parkland, florida, the students of Marjory StonemanDouglas High School turned the worst day of their lives into a political movement. We can say, yes, were going to do all these things. Thoughts and prayers. What we need more than that is action. Students created the never again movement to prevent gun violence and help organize the march for our lives in washington, d. C. Which became the most tweeted about movement of all of 2018. More than 2. 5 million was raised for march for our lives via Facebook Fund raisers. Even president Barack Obamas inspirational tweet about the march became the secondmost liked tweet of the year. And number one, never before has a president used social media quite like this. Communicating directly with more than his 57 million followers. From antagonistic tweets about World Leaders and political foes to trafficking in half truths, realdonaldtrump set political discourse. Whether hes blasting what he calls the rigged witch hunt of the mueller investigation, calling the media fake news or heaping praise on allies and supporters. The president tweeted and retweeted more than 3,000 times in 2018 and is the most tweeted about political figure of the year. Make America Great again. Happy new year. Thats it for us. The lead starts right now. Its not 2019 just yet, but 2020 is under way. The lead starts right now. President trump holed up in the white house and popping off tweets like new years confetti, calling the southern border an open wound and saying its wall or nothing. Warren is in. The senator becomes the first democrat to make a president ial bid, and shes not the only one making noise. Plus, 2019 coming around. Its now midnight in moscow as Vladimir Putin celebrates the new year by detaining an american citizen. Is this putins pay bacback fort