Sectarian and tribal conflicts. After all of the precious blood and pressure, america has poured into the deserts of the middle east, im committed to pursuing a different course. Cnn White House ReporterSarah Westwood is in palm beach where President Trump is spending the holidays. And ash withrwa damon is in is. Sarah, the president is not specifically threatening they retaliation. Thats right. He laid out no consequences for the Syrian Government and its allies, russia and iran, if the violence continues, but he did tweet out this warning while he is down here in maralago saying that russia and iran on their way to killing thousands and dont do it. And now turkey so far has been unable to stop the violence in the idlib province. And president erdogan says that turkey is not able to handle a fresh wave of migrants. Hundreds of thousands could be displeased if this assault continues, but again, turkey saying that they are not willing to accept those my gramigrants. And this isnt the first time that President Trump has weighed in on the attack on civilians. In june he weighed in on another sau assault and said a message to the sear yanl presideyrian pres world is watching. And this is just months after the u. S. President withdraw a number of troops. But since then in a white house visit last week, he has reaffirmed the u. S. Relationship with erdogan who he has raised. And the president saying that he is looking for a potential replacement for secretary of state mike pompeo. Thats right. And there are increasingly pointed signs that perhaps secretary of state mike pompeo could be looking ahead to a senate run in kansas, that has been a rumor floating around washington for months now and stoked when pompeo created a personal twitter account. And that has stoked rumors. Of course there has been talk in washington good a number of senior level staff changes, but it doesnt appear that the white house is willing to shake up the staff until after the impeachment trial. So we may not see movement until after the president gets through the trial. Okay. Now to istanbul and arwa damon, tell us more about the situation now. Reporter and you have this very intense bam boabombardment. And people are displaced from syria and from within the province itself. But the spats that they are able to run away to is increasingly shrinking. And turkey has closed its border and so they literally have nowhere safe to go. These children dont need an explanation anymore. They have done it so many times that the knows of a hommotion od to exist long ago. Question we go, we come back, we dont know where to go or where we will end un, he says. It is an existence on the moved, praying that the bombs wont catch up to them or that they will somehow survive. But this time it feels different. The bombings more intense, final, deliberate. Entire areas are emptying out again. 230,000 people are on the move. The children couldnt sleep through the night, they were crying every hour, he says, holding his call. They is all she knows. A cycle that starts with the renewed intense bombings, and then the packing up, the sense of feeling lost, not knowing where to go but having to flee. Finding some sort of make shift shelter. Im taking my family and were heading to a ents it, he says. Whether we have a tent a still unknown. And Organization Says that the dont have the resources. He says we excellent on the grou slept on the ground. They didnt even have blankets. And many end up just establishing themselves along the road, once they think that they have reached safety. But as the regime with the rush shank backing closes in, that may not be far enough. And aid organizations are warning of a catastrophe, you have various condemnations, the warning issued by President Trump. But that is really all just rhetoric at is this stage. And what is especially pain flg for syrians despite all of the heart break of losing those that they love and the drtrauma, reay when they look at the global apathy, this is difficult to cope with, they dont understand how the world has watched and let them suffer. Vital reporting from you. Thank you so much. Pretty go now to khazzani being sta kazakhstan. They will hold a day of mourning for the 12 killed in a horrific plane crash. It went down just 19 seconds after takeoff. It tore through a fence and slammed into a building. And nathan hodge is joining me from moscow. What do investigators think may have caused the crash, do they know yet . Just a few hours ago, the deputy Prime Minister told reporters that a preliminary investigation had shown that there were two possible causes, wo one is pilot error and the other is malfunction. And he added that the plane on takeoff, the tail struck the runway twice. And of course the government has called together a high level investigation to probe accident. And it has ordered a halt to the operations of beck air, the carrier operating this aircraft. It has ordered that their aircraft be grounded. And also the president of kazakhstan has ordered a sweeping review of airport and Airline Security throughout his country. And so certainly were seeing a broad response. And also too as you would imagine, an outpouring of grief over all of this there. How are you finding that people are responding in kazakhstan . I think like many people do around the world, people have taken to social media to expressage outpouring of grief and shockoff thover this. One of the 12 who died was a journalist, skrn cnn obtained a statement from her publication praising her work and expressing grief over the loss. And people have been expressing outright surprise that despite this horrific and catastrophic accident where the fuse lodge w fuselage was torn apart, and while 12 tied, dozen died, doze rescued. And that is remarkable. Thank you very much. Hawaiis governor is viewing do everything vowing to to everything to find a helicopter that has disappeared. They say that we are coordinating with federal and local agencies and are ready to deploy state resources as needed. The chopper disappeared thursday and multiple crews are searching the area. And new details in the case of navy s. E. A. L. Eddie gallon d gallagher. What the men in his platoon had to say about the commander. And President Trump is spending his holiday on the attack and focused on nancy pelosi. And Immigration Judges quitting in protest, what is being said about the toxic environment they are leaving behind 37 up here at the dewars distillery, all our whiskies are aged, blended and aged again. Its the reason our whisky is so extraordinarily smooth. Dewars. Double aged for extra smoothness. Billions of problems. Sore gums . Bleeding gums . Painful flossing . Theres a therabreath for you. Therabreath healthy gums oral rinse fights gingivitis and plaque and prevents gum disease for 24 hours. So you can. Breathe easy, theres therabreath at walmart. Rowithout the Commission Fees and account minimums. So, you can start investing wherever you are even on the bus. Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. coughing need a change of scenery . Kayak searches hundreds of travel sites and filters by cabin class, wifi and more. So you can be confident youre getting the right flight at the best price. Kayak. Search one and done. But you dont feel good. With polycythemia vera, pv, symptoms can change so slowly over time you might not notice. But new or changing symptoms can mean your pv is changing. Lets change the way we see pv. You track and discuss blood counts with your doctor. But its just as vital to discuss changing symptoms as well. Take notice and take action. Discuss counts and symptoms with your doctor. Visit takeactionpv. Com. For the first time the public is hearing from the navy s. E. A. L. S who turned in eddie gallagher, whose punishment was reduced by President Trump. The s. E. A. L. S call gallagher x to toi toxic and evil. He got crazier and crazier. He was okay with killing anybody. Gallagher was fritried on mur and later President Trump reversed his demotion. Gallagher said that he was surprised and disgusted by the blatant lies and he says that i never got to see these videos until well after i had been charged. And one of guys came to visit me and apologized for what they did but th they had to stick with the stories or be charged with false statements. I knew their lies would not hold up and the jury would see through it. It strengthened high resolve to go to trial and clear my name. And admiral, what is your reaction to seeing these s. E. A. L. S talking about the man who used to lead them. And yeah, from tpretty distu details. It couldnt be easy to talk about what they believe gall gallagher did. But the leak came after gallon der appeared t gallagher appeared at maf maralago and is this a very complicated case. Obviously gallagher refuted everything that they said. And which makes it all the more important for the president not to have intervened the way he did. He got involved in a very early phase of the trial and never really let up. And that was an inappropriate use of his powers. Aunts it is not making the s. E. A. L. Community not making their efforts any easier to get good order inside their ranks. And dell me about the cotellf silence. And there is a code of silence and code of honor. And the Text Messages show that they simply said we have to tell the truth. And i think thspeaks well of th code of honor. Yes, there are discipline problems in the s. E. A. L. S, but 99 of them are honorable, very honest men doing a very difficult job under difficult circumstances pnd a circumstances. And i think this shows this. And what does a s. E. A. L. Do if they see their platoon chief doing something wrong . If you see wrong doing, you are expected to report it when you can. And now they have had discipline and issues into the last year or so. And they are trying to get their ma handing around that and they will. No question that they will come to grips with all of that. But it doesnt change the basic nature that they are military men doing a tough job in difficult circumstances, many have deployed multiple times. Combat deployments and seeing combat every single day. And they but they are doing it unkeder honorable conditions. And how do you think that it impacts the s. E. A. L. S Going Forward and how they operate and also their morale . I dont think that it will change tway they operate. They are doing work on behalf of the american people. But it will however, this leak of these interviews it will make it i think going to make it more difficult for admiral green to get his arms around the problem inside his community and really try to look after the s. E. A. L. S and their families Going Forward and getting the ethics where he wants to be. It will make it more difficult for him. But i dont think that it will change the way that they operate as a community. Some great perspective there. Thanks so much, we appreciate you. And President Trump may be golfing at maralago,that the m impeachment may be ruining his break. Hi im joan lunden. Todays Senior Living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. And theres never been an easier way to get great advice. A place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. A place for mom. You know your family we know Senior Living. Together well make the right choice. What are you doing back there, junior . Since were obviously lost, im rescheduling my Xfinity Customer Service appointment. Ah, relax. I got this. Which gps are you using anyway . A Little Something called instinct. Been using it for years. Yeah, thats what im afraid of. He knows exactly where were going. My whole body is a compass. Oh boy. The my account app makes todays Xfinity Customer Service simple, easy, awesome. Not my thing. Is it h it has been a week since the president went on vacation and he has been taking swings at democrats on twitter. And today the president talking about the senate trial but that is unknown anyonesince nancy pe has not turned over tarticles o impeachment. And members could vote on 350e7 impeachment and begin a trial on wednesday skran 8. And lauren fox is joining me. And even if nancy pelosi handed over the articles tomorrow, right now the Party Leaders are at an impasse on just how the trial should be run. So it appears that january 8 is probably going to be a far reach, but are some house staffers preparing just in case . Reporter i think that there is a campaign behind the scenes for those house members who want to be managers and the democrats would made the case on the senate floor. And ive been told that it has to be a specific skilg set oig. They ha so nancy pelosi has not tipped her hat about where those managers would be. But that is part of xwoesh yane behind the scenes. But when we get to the senate trial, there are few ideas of how it will go. But there are some basic rules. Essentially there is 1986 senate rules on impeachment, that is likely the path that mcconnell will have to take especially if to an agreement. Mcconnell says he will start until he gets the articles of impeachment. And you ask expect that the house managers will make their case, white House Counsel will make their case and then it is unclear where things go from there, anything that they want to do, whether it be witnesses or voting on the actual articles of impeachment would require re votes. And he has 53, so some could bob problematic. And have you heard anything from s from cipollone . He is somebody who has been meeting with majority leader mitch mcconnell. And he was up on capitol hill just last week essentially touring what the senate trial chambers will look like, both the floor of the senate and the office space. So no surprise that he would be leading the president s defense. And i will tell you that there might be some relief from some senators especially those in leadership who want to make sure that the president picks pick who are very level headed like cipollone, somebody who does most of his work behind a desk, not somebody on skanl nkaibl ca. There are questions about whether Rudy Giuliani would be part of his defense. And giuliani making that clear in the new York Magazine interview that he is good at crossexamini crossexamining. That would be problematic for a lot of republicans. And they feel more comfortable with someone like sin lo cipollo cipollone. So sounds like preparations are still going ahead there on which i will. Thanks so much for joining us. And now the reported campaign inside the Trump Administration for a job that is not even vacant yet. It is now currently held by secretary of state mike pompeo. The Washington Post reporting while pompeo is leaning against running for u. S. Senate in kansas, there is jockeying going on to be his replacement. And the favorite reportedly is robert obrien. Others include Steve Mnuchin and richard agr richard grenenn and steve beacon. And the post reports that pompeo posting on a separate twitter account with a xans is setti kansas setting. And so many angry about the president s new policies. What the judges are saying about why they had no other choice but to walk away. If your glasses arent perfect, well fix them. So will we. No we wont. Dont forget to use your vision benefits before theyre gone. Now innetwork with vsp. Visionworks. See the difference. Robinwithout the Commission Fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. Cnn has learned a number of Immigration Judges have resigned or changed jobs because of the ever changing immigration policies. Double the number have left or moved in to new roles compared to the last two fiscal years. And our politics reporter has the report. Police sell police se. Reporter and one theme was frustration with the series policy changes that were chipping away at their spo authority. And one judge tolcold me that i was intolerable, another says that she couldnt be part of it anymore. Told me that it was intolerable, another says that she couldnt be part of it anymore. So the changes just wore them down. And change is not unusual for m Immigration Judges. They are employees of the Justice Department and so they are charged with executing the administrations policies. But one judge said that he has never seen anything like this, and that is because many of the policy changes that have come out under the Trump Administration have dictated how they handled their docket and it was, quote, sugge insults in sos and compelled them to leave. All right. Thanks so much. And when we come back, well talk about the top sports stories of the year. Darrells family uses gain flings now so their laundry smells more amazing than ever. [woman] isnt that the dogs towel . Hey, me towel su towel. More gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. Up here at the dewars distillery, all our whiskies are aged, blended and aged again. Its the reason our whisky is so extraordinarily smooth. Dewars. Double aged for extra smoothness. [fa mers bell] burke a rock and wreck. Seen it. Covered it. At farmers insurance, we know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum there was no shortage of historic sporting events. Andy scholes has a look back. From dominant performances to controversy to comebacks, this past year had it all. And here is a look at our top nine moments in 2019 and we start with the single tweet that rocked the nba. The nba is standing up for free speech and behind daryl morey. The fallout has been huge. Chinese businesses are cutting ties. And it will not broadcast any of the nba games being held china. And daryl morey tweeting sport and it causeded a firest. And what were you doing when you were 15 . Cocoa golf is capture the fans with an incredit cred inkretc. She beat vee glnus williams and advanced to the fourth round before losing. And number seven, controversy on the track. The horse did not win. And the winner was disqualified. Max mumg security winning the race, but upon review was seen veering out of his lane. Odds 65 1, country house. Did that really just happen . And number six, on january 3, 2019, the blues had the worst record in the nhl and they tu turned it around. Their season culminating with them beatings bruins in game seven of the stanley cup finals to win their first ever charge shin and the super fan leyla anderson, an 11yearold, was an inspiration for the team all season and she got to celebrate with the team after they hoisted the stanley cup. And number five, 2019 was a year of more controversy for the nfl. They blew the call. Easy call for sure. Tough to swallow. Saints were robbed of a chance to play in the super bowl when the refs failed to call pass interference. The guy has to be blind. The nfl responded by making pass interference reviewable for the next season. Doesnt help us. Too late. And the patriots meanwhile beat the rams in the super bowl making tomorrow brady first player in nfl history to win six rings. Number four, finally something everyone in washington, d. C. Could agree on. That is cheering on the nationals. The team taking their fans on a run in the post season and the road team winning every game in the world series and they won their first ever title. Hope they are ready for a party. And number three, it was an emotional year for simone biles as she opened up about being a victim of dr. Nassar. Weve done everything even when we didnt want to and they couldnt do one damn job. You literally have one jjob and couldnt protect us. And she is the most decorated gymnast ever. And number two, the National Team capturing the hearts and mint minds of everyone. And they are rewriting the record books. And they were battling the u. S. Soccer federation in their fight to be compensated the same as their male beat nerts the netherlands with the fans chants equal pay. And now it will look like it is a trial in 2020. And the number one sports story on our list, tiger woods was back on top of the sports world winling tning the masters. Tiger woods donning the green jacket once again. An extra ordinary comeback. Greatest ever. Tiger woods is back. His first win in a major since the 2008 u. S. Open. After multiple knee and back surgeries. Many didnt know if stiger woul ever win, but he won the masters in dramatic fashion. And he shared the moment with his 10yearold son charlie. Great stuff. And lebron james helped deliver a Christmas Wish for a teen with cancer. The 17yearold is a life long lakers fan and he traveled to los angeles with dreams of meeting his idol. And he got to pose with lebron james and shake his hand. And candidates are back on the campaign trail after the holiday break he. Comi comine up, why the bernie sande team says he is underestimated in iowa. He. Come up, why the Bernie Sanders team says he is underestimated in iowa. E. Come up, why the Bernie Sanders team says he is underestimated in iowa. Come up, why the Bernie Sanders team says he is underestimated in iowa. Robinhood believes now is the time to do money. Without the Commission Fees and account minimums. So, you can start investing wherever you are even on the bus. Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. They got him. [ panting ] need a change of scenery . Kayak searches hundreds of travel sites and lets you filter by takeoff time, layovers and more, so you can be confident youre getting the right flight at the best price. Kayak. Search one and done. And you know what they isay about curiosity. Itll ruin your house. So get allstate and be better protected from mayhem, like meow. Linda ronstadt is a musical legend in her own time. With ten grammys, 11 platinum albums an the first artist to top the pop, country and r b charts. Now the new film Linda Ronstadt the sound of my slois, tells the story of the rise to fame and Brooke Baldwin talked with a friend of Linda Ronstadt, jackson brown. Ten grammys, 11 platinum albums and the first artist to simultaneously top the pop, country and r b charts. Now a new cnn film Linda Ronstadt the sound of my voice, tells the story of her rise to fame and rock and opera and a following of millions of fans. Here is a preview. Linda was able to be really feminine and sexy in this world of man. And somehow hold on to herself and do that. And use that in the best possible way. It was a lot of dudes running around the stages then. But we were on the road with linda and killing it. She was killing it. I know they liked my singing and proud of what they were doing, but still in rock and roll and the idea that youre working for a chick singer, in their way, they sort of saw it not as cool as if they were their own rock and roll band and they were the guys. Joining me now, singer and musician and song writer and friend of Linda Ronstadt, jackson brown. Jackson, a pleasure and honor to talk to you. You say in this film that when you toured with linda, that you would alternate who opened each night because you didnt want to have to follow her every night. Talk to me about that and why was she such a powerful performer . Well, she was just just was. She was a force of nature. She was beautiful and powerful in a very relaxed way. The agreement was to open alternately. It was just every time i had to follow, it was hard to do. I felt much more comfortable opening for her. But that irons itself out with the audience eventually. Your people are there too. But it is just a physical challenge to follow somebody as powerful and as graceful as linda and as magnetic, you know. What was her special sauce . Her powerful singing, but also her charm, her i would watch her in the sound checks and she didnt like the sound check and just be wearing jeans and a hoodie or something and look staring at the rug. But when she came out to sing, she gave this wonderful exuberant, this very sexy and relaxed as feminine charm. It is very funny to hear her use the term chick singer. I think she might have been ironic even at time. Why . That is a parlance of the day. That is what people said in those days. Not only we were all disabused of the term chick but as a generational thing. And outside of the musical realm, she, like you, so outspoken and activist on social issues. You, jackson, traveled to the u. S. mexico border together and can can you tell me why you went and what you make of the situation down there . It was to a small town in sonora that her father was born in no, her grandfather was born in and been sort of a family it has been a maybe theyve made many trips to a beautiful pristine little town in sonora and shes made many trips there and the thing is linda is, shes from a mexicanamerican family. She was born in tucson and her father was mexican. Her family, shes mexican. So she doesnt need to go to the border to know what is going on. I believe she has traveled to and to the border itself, the situation there. We had to cross the border to go on this trip and we saw this chino wire this sort of affront to the communities on both sides of the border. This theatrical gimmicky portrayal of the border as a war zone. When, in fact, the border at nogales has been peaceful and orderly crossing point for people for generations. And people cross the border every day to come to work or to sell goods or to there is commerce with with mexico. So so what is going on, i could talk about what i think is going on and i havent spoken to linda about the border situation recently, but i think that her desire to make that trip and to take her friends and to visit the town that her grandfather was born in was it was really heartfelt desire to illuminate the discussion about immigration in our country and portray immigrants with the respect that they deserve. I just were thrilled to honor her and to help tell her story here at cnn. I just want to tell everyone, it is Linda Ronstadt the sound of my voice. Premieres new years day only here on cnn. Jackson browne, you have been phenomenal, thank you. And dont forget to ring in the new year with Anderson Cooper and andy cohen, new years eve live right here kron. Thank you so much for joining me this afternoon. Erica hill is filling in for jake tapper on the lead. It starts right now. President trump removed from a christmas classic. The lead starts right now. The president is fuming and furiously retweeting as Congress Remains locked in a battle over his impeachment trial. How long this fight could drag into 2020. Edited for tv. President trump annoyed and the right triggered, the canadian cut from his appearance in home alone 2. And a helicopter that disappeared along the cliffs of hawaii. Welcome to the lead. Im erica hill in today for jake. We begin with the politics lead. President