Action after lewis said he did not consider trumps presidency legitimate. This as inauguration preparations are moving full speed ahead in d. C. This morning, a dress rehearsal of the swearingin ceremony using standins for president elect trump, his wife melania, and Vice President elect mike pence. This story is still developing. We have a team of reporters covering all angel else. Lets begin angles. Lets begin in washington with suzanne malveaux. Any more being said from the president elect about so many now boycotting his inauguration . Reporter good afternoon, fred. Absolutely. There are strong reactions come both the rnc head, soon to be chief of staff Reince Priebus, as well as the Vice President elect mike pence. Some republicans are clearly trying to give congressman lewis his props here regarding his stature in the Civil Rights Movement. They are coming to trumps defense here because they are vehemently opposed to the notion that trump is not the legitimate winner of the controversial election, despite any role russia might have had in hacking. Listen look, donald trump won this election fair and square. 30 out of 50 states, including georgia. More counties than any republican candidate since ronald reagan. And to hear john lewis, a man that i served with, that i respect, to question the legitimacy of the election and to say that donald trump will not be a legitimate president , was deeply disappointing to me. And also to hear that he was not going to attend the inauguration this friday i hope he reconsiders both statements. Reporter so far there is no indication that congressman lewis would reconsider. In fact, he joins at least 21 others of the democrats who announced they are not going to attend the inauguration. This comes on a day when washington is preparing for the inaugural events. Weve seen the dress rehearsals, the band practice taking place at the capitol. It comes amid more controversy over alist performers refusing to participate in trumps big rollout. We have most recently heard from broadway superstar from dream girls fame, jennifer holiday, announcing that she would no longer be singing at trumps preinaugural concert scheduled on thursday. This is south afriafter many fa complained. She wrote an open letter saying her performance was meant to heal. But shes now reconsidered. Shes backing out of that. Trump for his part, he has chosen not to directly respond to holiday but instead tweeting out saying, Inauguration Day is turning out to be even bigger than expected, fred. And then what about this boycott of being led by congressional members . Historically have we seen so many members of Congress Boycott an inauguration . Reporter an excellent question. Weve seen protests before obviously. And particularly from the congressional black caucus. It was back in 2001 that members of the cbc skipped george w. Bushs first inauguration to protest the Supreme Court ruling on the outcome of the election which they believe delegitimatized bushs presidency. The number of protesters didnt come close to now what we have, nearly two dozen who are going to be sitting out this one. Suzanne malveaux in washington, thank you very much. Meantime, trump has responded to lewis language and even boycotting by attacking his Congressional District in atlanta. And that district includes the famous Ebenezer Baptist church which john lewis is a member. Cnns Paolo Sandoval was at the church. Was the congressman there, and what more was said . Reporter yeah, no lewis sighting there, at least not today. That Church Important for several reasons. Not only is it where dr. Martin luther king was baptized. He helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement there. As you mentioned, congressman lewis is a member of the congregation. No representative lewis today. There were plenty of politics, though, particularly coming from one of the Church Members there. And also from the pastor himself as he addressed the congregation, specifically called out president elect trump, criticizing trump, as well, saying that the president elect shouldnt be tweeting about lawmaker lewis, instead should be trying to work with him. Take a listen rather than sending nasty tweets, he ought to sit at john lewis feet and see what sacrifice, service, and integrity look like. I am prayerful that for the sake of our nation mr. Trump will finally rise to the level of the responsibility he now assumes. The president of the United States cannot afford to be baited by every sense of being challenged in any way. Its the nature of the office. If you dont want to be critiqued, if you dont want to be challenged, you should not seek the presidency of the United States. Reporter and the pastor addressing some of the comments that were made by president elect trump, particularly about, for example, the city of atlanta. Youll hear more about that later. There was interesting reaction from members of the congregation, of course. Many of them, in fact most of them, in support of the pastor. And of course feeling that perhaps president elect trump may owe an apology to congressman lewis. However, there were also others that felt that, well, the congressman not necessarily immune from criticism. They werent necessarily taking issue with the fact that president elect trump tweeted about him. Its more about the way it was done. Obviously being a civil rights icon himself. All right. Thank you very much. Well check back with you, polo. Appreciate it. Meanwhile, trumps senior adviser, kellyanne conway, is saying trump needs the help of people like congressman john lewis. Listen he needs the help of people like congressman john lewis and others. And i would just say we all, everyone agrees, that congressman lewis is a civil rights and Voting Rights leader. And he deserves our praise for that. It is disappointing to hear somebody who has such an important voice and platform to say what he said about the president which, by the way, is just false. He is a legitimate president. He won over 2,700 counties. He flipped 200 president obama counties, now donald trump counties. And in john lewis state of georgia, donald trump won by five points and won 128 counties. Hillary clinton won 31 counties in georgia. So we need to Work Together to help the inner cities and everyone else in america, and we would like his help. All right. Lets talk more about this with aaron johnson, the former south regional director for president obamas 2012 campaign. And pastor darrell scott, he is a part of Trumps National diversity coalition. Good to see both of you. All right. So pastor, you first. After those initial criticisms, trump tweeted a similar sentiment about the congressman saying, congressman john lewis should finally focus on the burning and crimeinfested inner cities of the u. S. I can use all the help i can get. I wonder, pastor, was this a missed opportunity for perhaps a president elect trump to take the moral high ground, and instead of responding in the way he did in that first tweet saying, you know, all talk, talk, talk, no action, perhaps he could have then used that opportunity to say, well, i see we have differences, but hopefully we can Work Together. Would that be the more president ial thing to do . Actually, this contention between president elect trump and congressman lewis is political. It seems as if theres a certain segment that is trying to make it personal rather than political. Its not a black white issue at all. You simply have a democratic congressman trying to delegitimize a republican president. It seems as if the Democratic Party my question is about taking as a pastor, though, and perhaps you have the ear of donald trump unlike others, would this have been an opportunity for him to take the moral high ground . Would that have been your advice to him, or perhaps Going Forward when there is Something Like this, this kind of moment, that perhaps as the president elect, soon to be president , you use this opportunity to say, okay, how do we Work Together so that a unifying message could be sent as opposed to this war of words . Im saying i wanted what youre saying. I understand what youre saying. However, it seems that a response is viewed as an attack. President trump was responding to congressman lewis saying he was an illegitimate president. I dont believe that if someone accuses you of being an illegitimate president you should have a kumbaya president. Lets not keep being stuck here. Americas stagnating, america is stuck on an election that occurred two months ago. We need to move forward past that. No, i dont necessarily disagree with his response. It wasnt harsh. We understand that john lewis is a civil rights icon. We dont minimize that, we dont take away from that. Because youre a civil rights icon, it doesnt immunize you from responses if you go on the attack. He attacked first. So we heard him being the veteran congressman as opposed to the novice politician, lewis should have taken the high road. And he can take the high road, and he still can take a high road in this. You would encourage this point forward, pastor, you think this point moving forward that you we need to move forward past this. Yes. Work together. And you think as president mr. Trump will be able to do that . Oh, yes. Absolutely. He wants to work with the Africanamerican Community. I know that for a fact. I kbhonow what he says in priva. It seems that every black person who tries to work with him or at least shake his hand and listen to him comes under attack from the black community. Were looking at bullying, racial bullying that every black person who endeavors to engage with donald trump is called a coon, uncle tom, and they need to engage and listen to the president. Whats your response to this . Wow, its disappointing for the pastor it really come on this to really come on this show and not answer your question. The issue at hand is not so much what congressman lewis as a member of congress stating his opinion, but it was the response in the president elect to say that this man, this civil rights icon, this world leader, this person that we all love and we so revered, to say that he is all talk and no action, it really just showed that donald trump was not really as versed and educate d on the decades of service that congressman lewis had provided to this country. At a time when we are able to not drink out of white and coloredonly water fountains, it is because of congressman lewis. At a time when were able to see all the progress of this country, its because of people like congressman lewis who basically almost died and bled for civil rights and equality in this country. The other issue is this if donald trump is this easily provoked, to the pastors point earlier, that he sends out a negative and disgraceful tweet that he sent about congressman lewis, its to me more to come. I think what happened is that one of the reasons why you see so many members of congress now deciding theyre not going to attend the inauguration is because you attacked the wrong man. You attacked congressman lewis. This is a person who is the moral didnt attack the congress and a lot of people didnt attack in fact, gentlemen, i mean he didnt attack. He responded. The pastor mentioned in 2001 there was a boycotting of some members of congress for the inauguration of president george w. Bush. This number is much higher with more than 20 now members of congress. And to darins point, while it may have begun as a political argument, it became personal, pastor, would you agree, that it became personal when donald trump then would talk about the legacy of john lewis and he didnt talk about his legacy and criticize that he hasnt done enough. That is what has made this make a turn. And why so many more members of congress joined this boycott. Hes not talking hes not talking about 50 years ago. Hes talking about now. Because youre a civil rights icon from the past doesnt immunize you from criticism Going Forward. Hes talking about whats going on in atlanta right now. But pastor i want to say this no one is disputing that. Pastor, pastor, you you as an he called him an illegitimate president. Go ahead heres my point pastor, hold on. He called him an illegitimate candidate. Pastor, heres my thing you have seen the same reports that ive seen that theres questions that as well been raised by the legitimacy of this election because of russias involvement in this election. Now you as an educated pastor cannot deny that youve seen that. When its confirmed or not confirmed, there was interference by russia. And what the congressman since when does d russia become this threat to American Society thats historically been the case. Were not arguing when it is or isnt because it is. Actually in front of that sound bite from the congressman, he did say in large part because of what intel has concluded. That there was influence by the russians. So lets keep in mind that that is part of what his statement was. If donald trump is an illegitimate president , then Hillary Clinton was an illegitimate candidate, as well, because the dnc was hacked. We revealed how they conspired against Bernie Sanders. Even with the superdelegate system, that it was rigged against sanders from the start youre going to your republican talking points now. The fact of the matter is that i think you and president elect trump youre trying to make something racial thats not not race at all. Its based on facts and not moving the country forward. The diabetemocratic party ke throwing things up pastor, just encourage donald trump to stop now its russia. The fbi, its james comeys fault. You know what, i think the bottom line and the hope for this conversation she lost, thats all it is. She lost. Is that perhaps we be able to look forward at what will happen past january 20th. All right. Pastor gerald scott, darin johnson, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Ahead, the greatest show on earth. Its coming to an end. Why the ringling brothers barnum and bailey circus is ending its century, more than centurylong run. Well talk with someone who used to perform in that circus. Also, tonight cnn explores first Lady Michelle obamas journey from chicago to the world stage. A cnn special report, history made the legacy of michelle obama. Airing tonight, 8 00 eastern. vo maybe it was here, when you hit 300,000 miles. Or here, when you walked away without a scratch. Maybe it was the day your baby came home. Or maybe the day you realized your baby was not a baby anymore. Every subaru is built to earn your trust. Because we know what youre trusting us with. Subaru. Kelley blue books most trusted brand. And best overall brand. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Has been a struggle. I considered all my options with my doctor, who recommended oncedaily toujeo®. Now im on the path to better blood sugar control. Toujeo® is a longacting insulin from the makers of lantus®. It releases slowly, providing consistent insulin levels for a full 24 hours, proven full 24hour blood sugar control, and significant a1c reduction. 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Its the end of the road for the greatest show on earth. In just four months, the Curtain Falls on the one and only ringling brothers barnum and bailey circus. An iconic road show that defined the circus experience for generations of children. In the end, ceo kenneth feld said the circus was simply too expensive to produce. His family has owned the show for the past 50 years. Tickets sales were declining. And the circus fate was likely sealed last year when it retired the popular elephant show. Feld said then it was inevitable. There is a saying and its been around a long time you cant fight city hall. We found that to be the case in this situation. Reporter for years, the elephants and their dance routines were a big draw for circus fans. Not at all popular with Animal Rights groups which deplored their treatment and repeatedly criticized, picketed, and sued the company for its treatment of animals. In 2011, the circus paid a fine of more than a quarter Million Dollars for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare act. And last year, it retired the elephants to a Conservation Center in florida. After the closure was announced, people for the ethical treatment of animals declared victory, while admitting its war against other wild animal exhibitors including marine amusement parks like seaworld is far from over. The last performance of the ringling brothers barnum and bailey circus will be on may 21st in union dale, new york. Joining me now, paul miller. He used to work as a clown for the ringling brothers circus in, what, 1996 and 1997 . Paul, whats the news like for you . Well, its its tough. The clowns have been around for a long time. Even before the circus. Clowns predate theres always been clowns in society. But you know, your segment talking about the elephants, that had something to do with it. But they invested so much money in keeping the animals healthy and happy. You know, its a sad day for the clowns. Cue the smokey robinson, right . You think in large part its a testament to financially just what a hardship it is to keep such a big show, a big production going . I think it was, again, astute businesspeople. Feld entertainment runs, they produce walt disney on ice and big motorsports, and marvel comics, shows that have a lot less expense, a lot less personnel. Certainly no animals to feed. So i think its it was a business decision, unfortunately. So then paul, whats among your fondest memories of being a clown for this historic show . You know, it was great to do blind touch tours that in major markets, they would have kids who were visually impaired come down, and they would feel the skin of the elephants and experience the show. I drove the clown car, so we would pack the blind kids into the clown car and drive around the arena. That was amazing. To live on the circus train, to see this amazing country on the railroad was amazing. And im just a kid from kentucky. I got to meet people from around the world in that show. So it really truly shaped, you know, my business and my world view for sure. So Animal Rights groups have also in large part called it a victory when the elephants were retired. And many are also calling this a victory saying that no more animals will be suffering. In your view, what do you think were the greatest advantages of perhaps having animals in the show given that there had been so much controversy surrounding the use of animals in this kind of entertainment . Well, the felds arent one to quit. They actually won in court a big case against this animal abuse thing. You know, that was i wont get is on that, but they won in court proving that a lot of the videos, et cetera, were wrong. I will say that they treat thence better than the people. That may be the animals better than the people. That may upset the feld group. But they invested so much in the animals. Before google and national geographic, when the circus came to town, thats the first time people would see an elephant or giraffe or the light bulb or a car. The animals certainly were a major part of the circus. The clowns and the elephants, thats really what makes the circus. In a few words, what do you believe or hope the legacy or the memory will be of ringling brothers circus . Its touched so many people. It will go on in many fashions. Circuses taking a foothold in schools and hospitals and all over. Circus is not going away any time soon. And we have the ringling brothers and especially the ringling brothers clown college. I was lucky to go there in 96. An Amazing Group of people went to clown college. Well be forever grateful to the feld family for passing on the clown tradition. Paul miller, thank you very much for sharing your memories. Appreciate it. Thank you. The clown lives forever. Well be right back. vo when i brought jake home, i wanted him to eat healthy. So i feed jake purina cat chow naturals indoor, a nutritious formula with no artificial flavors. Made specifically for indoor cats. Purina cat chow. Nutrition to build better lives. snap achoo snap achoo achoo snap snap achoo achoo feel a cold coming on . Zicam cold remedy nasal swabs shorten colds with a snap, and reduce symptom severity by 45 . Shorten your cold with a snap, with zicam. Senator rand paul has been pushing and tweeting out an image of the cover page of the bill that is ready to replace obamacare. He gave jake tapper a preview of the plan. One of the key reforms that well do is were going to legalize the sale of inexpensive insurance. That means getting rid of the obamacare mandates on what you can buy. Were going to help people save through Health Savings accounts, as well as a tax credit. And then one of the things that we need to talk more about this is the third part of the replacement bill is were going to allow individuals to come together in associations to buy insurance. I understand as a Small Business person, i had a Doctors Office with four employees. If one of my employees got cancer, it was devastating to the bottom line. Not only to them obviously but to the bottom line of insurance. Theres no reason why someone with four employees shouldnt be able to join with hundreds and hundreds of other businesses that are small to become a large entity to get leverage to bring your prices down, but also to get insurance that cant cancel you and guarantees the issue of the insurance even if you get sick. If there is a replacement plan ready to go, are all republicans on board with it . Republican congressman Pete Sessions of texas joining me now. Hes been floating a plan of his owncoauthored with congressman cassidy. Is rand pauls plan similar to yours . How are you going to come to a meeting ground, a Meeting Place . In fact, hearing senator rand paul, there are many parts of that, the same as our plans, senator cassidy and i have, called the worlds greatest Health Care Plan. In fact, it does many of the same things that senator paul talked about. The processes are really important. Senator paul has it correct. We must first replace obamacare with a better plan. Republicans have better ideas. Much of it is through tax credits. It gives everybody in this country an opportunity to have the same tax advantage that everyone else does that works for a large company. We need to increase the number of people in our insurance pools. We need more people to want to pay in and have a lifetime insurance plan. The program says at the core that what were going to do is to do away with the individual and the business mandate and the cadillac tax. What weve got to do is take away the parts that harm our economy and that keep consumers from being consumers. This is where rand pauls plan, worlds greatest Health Care Plan, are very, very close and similar. But the key component here is we must be able to sell the American People on whats better and pass that before we repeal obamacare. And how do you do that . What do you mean . It sounds like youre now trying to you have to first convince the American People this is better, and then you say that effort would be made to repeal and replace with this suggested plan . I think that theres essentially at this point three or four competing plans. One is what might be called a better way that is not yet a bill. We really dont know how it works. Paul ryan is attempting to push that. We have senator rands plan. We have Pete Sessions and bill cassidys worlds greatest Health Care Plan and tom prices plan. Its going to come down to where members of congress, house and senate, need to look and focus their activities on these four bills. And then be engaged in the national i guess dialogue enabling america to understand why we need to change the rules of the game. Im for making Americas Health care better for everybody, not just a new system. Thats why im going to be for my plan. At the beginning of this conversation, it was starting to sound like you were presenting this in a simplified manner. The question would have been, you know, if its so simple, why hasnt this happened before. Now youre talking about a number of choices. The senate and congress would have to come together to discern which is the best one. How far away are we talking . And is it is it your view that it will be packaged in a much more appetizing way to the American Public than what 30 Million People are already enjoying . How do you offer those assurances . Well, what i would say to you is there was a discussion that was coming out of washington saying we would repeal it and then replace it within a couple of years. That quickly became unacceptable to at least members of the house and the senate. And that changed the dialogue from two weeks ago. Now were on a drag that says on a dialogue that says lets have a messaging around one bill that we would pass, and then we will repeal obamacare. These are all positive signs that republicans like senator rand paul, arch conservative, will bring the best ideas to the table. I believe it will be between senator pauls and senator cassidys, my bill, the worlds greatest Health Care Plan. The best ideas reside within that world. Its just a matter of us going to sell these, and the American People recognizing we have to give every Single Person in this country an opportunity to have Better Health care than they have today. As you well understand, as you well understand, it is clear obamacare does not work because it is not attractive to young people who will not buy in. We know that argument is being made. A lot of people who like it and advocate it. Im on obamacare, and i can tell you it does not work. Really quick, were up against a break. I would be remiss if i didnt ask about the potential mood of the inauguration with so many of your colleagues who are going to boycott. How do you suppose that might alter, change, impact the mood of inauguration for the 45th president . Quickly . In fact, it does. Im disappointed. I think that mr. Trump has to come just as far as he expects others to come. Right now it looks like theyre both going to hold their ground. Weve got to get closer together. We can do that as a body. I think our new president , its incumbent upon him to lead the first pass to get us back together. Congressman sessions, thank you very much, from dallas. Appreciate it. Yes, maam. Bishop eddie long, the controversial head of one of the nations largest mega churches, has died. He was 63. New birth missionary Baptist Church in georgia says long died today after a battle with an aggressive form of cancer. Long was known for his energy and passionate preaching style. All the things that god has spoke to you, all of it, you got to declare it im making the official announcement, god has not changed his mind about me. He has not changed his mind about you declare it. Declare it affirm it walk in it long found himself embroiled in controversy after four former congregants accused him of sexual misconduct. Those lawsuits were settled. In a statement his church remembered long as a man who grew their congregation from 300 members to more than 25,000. He leaves behind his wife, four children, and three grandchildren. See me. See me. Dont stare at me. See me. See me. See me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. Im not contagious. See me to know that. 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Mexico is warning there will be retaliation if donald trump takes the first step in a trade war by issuing a border tax. This as china hits back at the president elects comments regarding taiwan. Cnns Victor Blackwell has a story on the looming Global Economic battle. Reporter president elect trump made his reputation as a dealmaker. But china and mexico have made it clear that not everything is up for negotiation. First, china. In an interview with the witnw street journal, mr. Trump said everything is under negotiation including one china. One china is the policy that accepts that taiwan and the mainland are part of the same china. Beijing insists its not a bargaining chip. Chinas government released a statement saying, there is but one china in the world, and taiwan is an inalienable part of china. The one china principle is nonrobinably. The president elect clearly does not see it that way. Here he is last month. I fully understand the one china policy. But i dont know why we have to be bound by a one china policy unless we make a deal with china. Reporter and mexico, cast as an adversary during Trumps Campaign along with u. S. Companies that have sent jobs across the border. There will be a major border tax on these companies that are leaving and getting away with murder. If our politicians had what it takes, they would have done this years ago. Reporter mr. Trump has said a tax on those companies products could be as high as 35 . On friday, mexicos economic minister responded to the threat forcefully saying his nation could be forced to retaliate, and that a tariff will have a wave of impacts that can take us into a global recession. The anxiety over tariff is not limited to the mexican government. The u. S. Chamber of commerce estimates six million u. S. Jobs depend on trade with mexico. American businesses like ford are also concerned. Tariffs in general, you know, in general wouldnt be positive. I think the thing is making sure that as the president elect gets into office and as the administration gets into office, that we can have a factbased discussion. Reporter what that discussion looks like could well determine the fate of the economy here at home and around the world. Victor blackwell, cnn, atlanta. Stay be with politics, democrats are Holding Dozens of rallies across the country with one message today save obamacare. Next. Ever try something so good, you get hungry just thinking about it . At red lobsters big festival of shrimp, get your perfect pair for just 15. 99. Choose 2 of 6 new and classic shrimp creations, like bold new firecracker red shrimp. Exploding with flavor . Yeah they are. Or try new creamy shrimp linguini, and new sweet bourbonbrown sugar grilled shrimp. Flavors like these are big. And for just 15. 99, they cant last. So hurry in. With sleep number, theres an adjustment for that. Tilt your tormentor and put those snores to sleep. 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Organizers estimated there were dozens more around the country, thousands of more people all trying to get their message to the Republican Congress that they should not be repealing obamacare without a suitable replacement. So i did talk with senator sanders, in particular asking him why he came here to michigan when theres actually a similar rally happening out in vermont. Take a listen. You have become the leading voice for democrats, particularly with this issue. You have thousands of people standing outside there. Will this message resonate . Will this get through to the Republican Congress . I think it will. I think the republicans are going to catch on that not only are tens of thousands of people coming out today in rallies from maine to california, but that millions of people think it is insane to repeal the Affordable Care act without having to replace it. You cannot throw 20 Million People out of health insurance, raise the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, do away with very Important Patient protection provisions, you cant do that unless you have another plan in its place. I think more and more republicans are beginning to understand that. Reporter were here in mccomb county. Theres also a rally in your home state of vermont. Why here, and especially the fact that this county did vote for donald trump . They dont usually vote for a republican. You know, mr. Trump when he ran for president promised the people of michigan and the people of america that he was a different type of republican. He was not going to cut social security, medicare, or medicaid. So part of what today is about is reminding mr. Trump that he better keep his promises because were watching. Reporter last question. Have you spoken with Hillary Clinton about all of these issues ill be seeing her i think pretty soon. Okay. Thank you very much, senator. Senator sanders not talking too much about Hillary Clinton. Wanting to stay on message about obamacare. I did ask him about mccomb county. Mccomb county really representing the epicenter of the type of place that democrats need to regain their footing on. This is the home of bluecollar workers. The home of the reagan democrats. They did vote for donald trump. A lot of these working class people, this is exactly the type of people that democrats want to get back into their camp. They want to reshape their message to talk to those people. A lot of people here today getting the message across and hoping to send the message to the republicans in congress. All right. Jessica schneider, thank you very much. Coming up, buzzfeed doubles down on why it published an unconfirmed document about donald trump. The exclusive conversation with the editorinchief after this. E largest Broadband Companies in the country. After expanding our Fiber Network coast to coast. These are the places we call home. We are centurylink. We believe in the power of the digital world. The power to connect. And thats what drives us everyday. So we know how to cover almost almoanything. Hing, even a rodent ridealong. [dad] alright, buddy, dont forget anything [kid] i wont, dad. [captain rod] happy Tuesday Morning captain rod here. Its pretty hairy out on the interstate. Traffic is literally crawling, but there is some movement on the eastside overpass. Getting word of another collision. [burke] it happened. December 14th, 2015. And we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum welcome back. On reliable sources, becausefebecause buzzfeed decided to publish an unconfirmed claim against donald trump. It claims russian operatives have compromising information on the president elect. Were proud we published it. I feel three days later it seems clear that it was the right thing to do. If you look at how much more we know than we knew three days ago. I think in three months it will look even clearer. Host of reliable sources, brian stelzer, joining me. What else did ben smith have to see about the justification . Thats right. This has been one of the biggest media controversies weve seen in a long time. Most numeroewsrooms, cnn includ chose not to publish it. Only alluded to the claims, did not share all the sordid details. Heres whats been said about the reasoning for putting the whole thing on line. Do you regret it a few days later, do you have any regrets about publishing the document . Absolutely not. I feel three days later it seems clear that it was the right thing to do if you look at how much more we know than we knew three days ago. I think in three months it will look even clearer. What is it more that we know now that you believe justifies the decision . We know the saga that dozens of journalists, elected leaders knew of a former british spy creating this document, handing it over to the fbi, john mccain handing it to the fbi, of briefings which jake tapper and others got as far as the u. S. Power but away from the eyes of the American People over this document. And over the claims that as in the headline you showed, the claims that cnn and many outlets reported and repeated. I guess our call was that in the first instance, once you have the document, as we did and many did when did you get hold of it . Im not going to say exactly, but you weeks before we published. We published things we were confident and the reader be honest, you rushed this out. Cnn published, and you published a couple of hours later trying to get this on the internet is as soon as possible. It is both of our jobs to be accurate and fast as we can. Accurate and then fast yes, of course. The rap against buzzfeed is they werent doing reporting. They were publishing. They were sharing a document. They say it was okay because government officials had it. Senators had it. People in the media had it. So everybody should have access to the same document. Thats more of a wikileaks mentality than it is a newsroom mentality. And so ben smith, representing the Digital Media view on this, saying it should all be shared publicly. He also said there should be unity in the press corps. He said the trump team is trying to divide the press corps by stoking this controversy. His view is that the press should be united in this moment while facing Donald Trumps hostile attitude toward the press. And look, brian, already those of us in this business have seen that there are challenges in now covering president elect trump and the anticipation is there will be challenges as President Trump especially when you see even in esquire magazine that white house reporters might get kicked out of the press room. This morning Reince Priebus said kicked out, strong language. Perhaps that room for the press corps in the white house suitable for some 40 something journalists, he says why not they be moved to the executive Office Building where there could be room for some 400 journalists. You know, whats at the core here among the greatest concerns for journalists, particularly those who are used to covering the white house in a traditional sense . Its worked pretty much the same way for decades. Cnn, other news outlets have tiny work spaces there in the west wing. And of course theres that press briefing room. We all know from television, with rows of seats where the daily briefings take place. Esquire magazine reporting theres a plan being discussed among trump aides to shake that up. To maybe move across the street to one of the other Office Buildings. Theyd have more space there. This story is troubling to a lot of white house correspondents. Theres a meeting being planned later today to discuss more of it. The bottom line is the Trump Administration would like to bring in more journalists, maybe more protrump journalists, friendly voices. And that of course is something that would sort of stack the deck unevenly as a lot of journalists at the white house just want to do their jobs fairly, not pro or against trump. And it seems the Trump Administration wants to have more of its own Friendly Faces in the room. All right, brian stelzer, thank you very much. Thanks. And reliable sources airs every sunday, 11 00 a. M. Eastern on cnn. Well be right back. We our noses are similarings that we have in common. And our cheeks. People say we sit the same way. laughter i decided to go on ancestry to get my dna tested so i could find out more about my heritage. And i also found that i had a sister that i didnt know about because im adopted. That was me. It was really exciting to find myself in someone else. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com abdominayou may have ibs. Ask your doctor if nonprescription ibgard is right for you. Ibgard calms the angry gut. Available at cvs, walgreens and riteaid. Singer jennifer holiday is the latest to donald trump out of president elect trumps inauguration celebration ts. Shes best known for dream girls and the broadway show, the color purple. Like a honey bee like a waterfall a part of me in an open letter , she apologized to the Lgbt Community write, i sincerely apologize for my lapse of judgment for being uneducated on the issues that affect every american at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans. Earlier she explained more on her decision and why she was so excited initially to perform. I should have looked at the climate of where we are today. Sure. And so that would be my fault. Everybody kept saying did trump trick no, they did not trick me. I wanted to sing on the mall for america and for the people. I wanted my voice, i thought, to be an instrument of healing and unity. All the tweets i read from the Africanamerican Community were directed directly at me. The Gay Community took the issues and did not call me names. And i see. Also they have been a faithful Community Since dream girls to me. Yeah. And have fed me even when Church People did not feed me. Although holliday will not be there in washington, d. C. , during the inaugural festivities, toby keith, three doors down, and Lee Greenwood are going to perform during trumps inaugural festivities. The next hour of cnn newsroom starts right now. Hello again, everyone. Thank you very much for joining me. Im fredricka whitfield. We can now count the number of days until donald trump will be president on one hand. He will take the oath of office this friday. Just five days away now. A growing number of democrats in congress will not be there. Five more Democratic House members are joi