Its finally friday, december 29th. Well get to both live shortly. Well start with this wow eyebrow raising interview in the New York Times with the president after weeks of watching his allies try to discredit the special counsels investigation, President Trump is actually giving Robert Mueller the benefit of the doubt, sitting down with the New York Times with an interview at his golf club. Stunning comments about the Justice Department, the attorney general and north korea. More on that in a moment. But on russia, the president took a different tone than many have been taking in the last several weeks. Heres the New York Times reporter. He thought bob mueller was going to be fair to him which undercuts an argument many in his party have been making in the last several weeks. Calling the investigation party san. But at the same time, the president repeated a lot of the complaints and criticisms that hes had about the investigation. Among those complaints, the investigation is bad for the country. President trump told the times it makes the country look very bad and it puts the country in a very bad position. So the sooner its worked out, the better it is for the country. President trump also told the newspaper 16 times, in 30 minutes, there was no collusion with russia he also says some congressman have been unbelievable in pointing out what a witch hunt the whole investigation is. The comments coming amidrising tensions between the u. S. And russia, becoming more confrontational because of a series of issues. Frederi frederi frederick is live. Reporter youre absolutely right. The tone has grown a lot more confrontational. We feel like its been throughout this entire past week. One of the reasons was that op ed by Rex Tillerson only a day ago. But it feeds into a general feeling. The russians called that op ed confrontational, even called it fake news, if you can believe that. The russians were saying they believe the u. S. Is trying to drive a wedge between russia and china because the u. S. Believes they are becoming too popular. The russians are saying that isnt going to happen and warning against the u. S. Using what they call language of strength and power against russia. You can feel is become more confrontational but especially as far as the investigation into possible collusion is concerned. Weve also seen the russians sour over the past couple of weeks. For a long time they were thinking relations would get better at least in the first year President Trump was in office. It seems to be dawning on them thats not going to be the case. One of the most recent thing is the u. S. Putting Missile Defense. Russians calling that a provocation. They say they are conducting missile tests. It seems as though the confrontation is heating up a lot. Beif Vladimir Putin hasnt rd over this interview yet im sher he will grab a newspaper soon. Thanks. President trump also taking a not so subtle shot at attorney general Jeff Sessions. Youll remember sessions recused himself from the special counsels investigation months ago after it came to light he met with russias ambassador during the campaign. When asked whether president obama thinks former president obamas was more loyal than his own ag. He said i will say this. Holder protected president obama totally protected him. When you look at the things they did around holder protected the president and i have Great Respect for that. Ill be honest. President trump also spoke about Hillary Clinton, and the email investigation. Asked if he would order the Justice Department to reopen the probe into the emails, he told the times this. I have the absolute right to do what i want with the Justice Department, but for purposes of hopefully thinking im going to be treated fairly, ive stayed uninvolved with this particular matter. Now, in the past he has expressed frustration the department of justice led by attorney general Jeff Sessions hasnt gone after clinton. President trump going on to defend his decision to keep trade active with china. Telling the times quote, china is hurting us bad on trade because i have been soft because the only thing more important is war. Its the first time hes directly admitted being soft on china. President s comments came hours after he accused the chinese of secretly shipping oil to north korea. President tweeted caught redhanded. Very disappointed china is allowing oil to go into north korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the north carolikor problem if this continues to happen. I hate to say, it was reported thursday morning on fox. Cnns alexander fields live in beijing. Presumably not getting the intelligence from fox but the community. What do we know about the Oil Shipments from china to north korea . Reporter well we do know the president gets a hold lot of his information from cable news but we also know that various Government Agencies had been talking about the possibility of these illegal shipping networks sprouting up as a result of the sanctions that are intended to cut off the resources and revenue that flows into north korea fuelling this rogue regime and its elicit programs. It was back in november the department of treasury warned about these. Illegal ship to ship transfers are being made. The they say they involved ships from a few Different Countries but that those do include vessels coming from china. This is something that made news as a result of south korea media reports saying that there were satellite images showing the transfer. That is prohibited under the sanctions weve seen passed. More evidence that this could be happening, well south korean authorities came out today saying that back in november, they actually seized a Hong Kongbased ship leased by a taiwan ease company. Again, illegal under the sanctions, perhaps thats exactly what President Trump has referring to, but that was a bold tweet issued overnight saying china had been caught redhanded. Major allegations suggesting china was breaking the sanctions. The ministry of Foreign Affairs has maintained a position that china is upholding fully the sanctions and if it finds evidence of any companies or ships violating sanctions, they would be dealt with. This all at a time we thought things were coupling in cooling in the region. Days after suggesting more bipartisanship. He didnt make that prospect any easier. He said he would have hammered out a bipartisan tax bill if democrats asked but also attacked a key democratic senator hell need. West virginia senator. We hear bs from the democrats. Joes a nice guy but talks, doesnt do anything. Lets get together. Lets do bipartisan. Then you dont hear from him again. The president said democrats should come to him for deals on infrastructure, health care and a way to help dreamers but made it clear he wont do a deal on the dream act without building that war. President trump doesnt shy away frommive going himself credit. He predicts the tax cut will be far bigger than anyone imagined. The president says not so humbly, i know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest cpa. I know the details of Health Care Better than most. Mr. President trump predicts hell be reelected in 2020. Saying the country is starting to do well again and the media will come to love him. The president tells the times, another reason im going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if it youll not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes. Without me, the New York Times will indeed be not the failing New York Times but the failed New York Times. The president added that the media basically will let him win. We will let him win reelection in 2020. Okay. Yes, that happened. I dont know what to say. Speechless. No. You shouldnt. Interestingly enough, i mean maybe the ratings would be impacted but to put an end to certain Media Outlets bit of a stretch. Quick end, blunt end to roy moores senator hopes. A circuit judge denying the attempt to delay the certification of results after claiming voter fraud. Moore refuses to concede though jones won by more than 21,000 votes. Moorish eued moore issued a statement calling it fraud leaulent. Here in new york city. This is the worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city in at least a quarter century. Devastating. 12 dead including a 1yearold, as a fire rages through a bronx Apartment Building. Hear from the fire commissioner next. Holy night sleep in heavenly peace sleep in heavenly peace vof hundreds of families, hese hmost proud of the one the heads hes kept over his own. Brand vo get paid twice as fast with quickbooks smart invoicing. Quickbooks. Backing you. Breaking news. Five official the in new york are trying to determine what sparked the deadliest fire in the city in h at least the last 25 years, at least 12 People Killed. Officials say the fire started on the first floor of an Apartment Building just before 7 00 last night. Firefighters arrived within three minutes battling flames in frigid temperatures by the fire quickly spread to the top floors. Were here at the scene of an unspeakable tragedy in the middle of the Holiday Season, a time when families are together. Tonight here in the bronx, there are families that have been torn apart. This tragedy is without question historic in its magnitude here, and our hearts go out to every family that lost a loved one here and everyone thats fighting for their lives. Victims raging from 1 to 50 years old. Apple apologizing to customers for how it rolled out and update that could slow down older iphones. To make up for it, the company will offer cheaper battery replacement. On the website apple posting a long explanation saying we know some of you feel we have let you down. We apologize, first and foremost we would never do anything to shorten the life of any apple product. They will temporarily drop the price of replacement batteries in january. It will go back up to 79 in 2019. The software up date deliberately slowed down older phones. Some thought it was a ploy to get you to upgrade to new devices. A number of people have filed lawsuits and seeking class action status. If you read that apology, apples not really apologizing for slowing, theyre apologizing for having communicated it. It makes you feel like theyre not going to stop that process. Speaking to someone whos had no iphone allreset. Final preparations under way for new years eve. Security and weather a factor in new york. Athe athe reporter its an iconic event and massive security challenge, one the nypd is used to undertaking. The Police Commissioner said preparations for this years event began as the last of the confetti was being swept up after last years celebration. There will be an increased Police Presence. This entire area will be sealed off to traffic starting early in the day and the 12 Access Points spectators will be using will be manned by teams of police. There will be police with heavy weapons, dogs capable of detecting radiological material, sanitation trucks and cement blocks will help seal off the area. They all say there is no direct credible threat to times square or new york city, but that everyone should remain vig ji lent. Based on last years numbers, we could be up to 2 Million People celebrating. Although that number might be diminished slightly by the fact this is set to be the coldest new years eve in 55 years. The mayor warned to Pay Attention to the weather. Okay. Thanks very much. It looks cold. The entertainment world mourning the loss of actress rose marie. If hes tall or short hes my cup of tea the 94yearold best known for her role as sally rogers on the Dick Van Dyke show. She also had a run on the game show hollywood squares. Career spanning nine decades beginning as a child star. She earned three emmy nominations and given a star on the walk of fame. In case you missed it, its frigid outside. More Global Warming. We end 2017 the way we spent so much of it, reading bizarre tweets from the president of the united states, in this case, confusing weather with climate. Well explain next. Oh, sorry im late, sir. When you said you were at the doctor, but your shirt says you were at a steakhouse. Thats when you know its halfwashed. Add downy odor protect with 24hour odor protection. Downy and its done. You wont see these folks they have businesses to run. They have passions to pursue. How do they avoid trips to the post office . Stamps. Com mail letters, ship packages, all the services of the post office right on your computer. Get a 4 week trial, plus 100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. Go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again. 4 23 eastern time. In a tweet as bizarre as it is lacking for scientific knowledge the president suggested Climate Change to be a good thing apparently not realizing Climate Change and weather are not exactly the same thing. He fired off this tweet. In the east, it could be the coldest new years eve on record, perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our country was going to pay millions to protect against. President tweets further distancing his Climate Policy from the vast majority of scientists. He has a habit of linking it to Global Warming. A white house official did not respond when asked whether the tweet indicates anything about the administrations policy. Its worth pointing out the president s golf course in ireland got permission to build sea walls to stop erosion. Go figure. Interesting. Just how much colder will it get . Meteorologist derek van dam has our new years forecast. Good friday morning. If you are head the out to watch the ball drop in times square this weekend, bundle up, bring every piece of winter gear you own. 11 degrees is the official midnight forecast. When you factor in h the wind it will feel like a mere 3 below zero. It could top out in the top three ever coldest. The coldest was in 1917 where it was only one lonely degree in times square. Fridgid arctic air. National Weather Service has once again issued wind chill warnings and advisories from upstate new york through maine. That will likely be reissued through the weekend. Well below freezing from boston, new york, portland, 11 in pittsburgh. 26 in d. C. , atlanta, running at least 20 degrees below where they should be. Chances of more lake effect snow this weekend. Better you than me that you will be in times square on new years eve. I think at least 8 hours. Not nearly enough time in this two hour program to discuss everything eyebrow raising in the president s surprise interview with the New York Times. Why hes going easy on china, what he thinks about the special counsel and harsh words for his own attorney general. Is this a phone . Or a little internet machine . It makes you wonder shouldnt we get our phones and internet from the same company . Thats why Xfinity Mobile comes with your internet. You get up to 5 lines of talk and text at no extra cost. So all you pay for is data. See how much you can save. Choose by the gig or unlimited. Xfinity mobile. A new kind of network designed to save you money. Call, visit, or go to xfinitymobile. Com. Revealing new insight from President Trump on key topics for next year. He thinks the Russian Special counsel will be fair to him. What he said about his own attorney general and north korea just might stun you. We have live coverage and reaction to the comments ahead. And a Holiday Season tragedy in the bronx. At least a dozen People Killed in the deadliest Apartment Fire in new york city in a quart he century. Welcome back to early start. It is 4 30 eastern time. After weeks of watching his allies trying to discredit the special counsels investigation, the president giving Robert Mueller the benefit of the doubt. Mr. Trump sitting down with the New York Times for an impromptu interview at his golf club in palm beach. On russia, the president took a different tone. Heres New York Times reporter on cnn last night. He thought bob mueller was going to be fair to him with undercuts and undermines an argument many have been making the past couple of weeks. Calling the investigation party san. At the same time the president repeated a lot of the complaints and criticisms hes had about the investigation. Among those complaints the investigation is bad for the country. President trump told the times it makes the country look bad an puts the country in a bad position so the sooner worked out, the better it is. He also told the newspaper 16 times in just 30 minutes there was no collusion with russia. He also says some congressmen have been kboquote unbelievable pointing out what a witch hunt its been. Comments coming amidrising tensions between u. S. And russian. Growing more confrontational. Cnns International Correspondent is live for us in h moscow. Has he reaengtcted to the inter . Reporter we believe they will be studying it closely. Especially some of the things he said about the mueller investigation. But youre right. The tone does seem to be growing more confrontational. You recall that yesterday we were talking about that op ed from secretary of state Rex Tillerson, which the russians had a very harsh reaction to yesterday afternoon calling it confrontational and even calling it fake news if an op ed can be fake news. They said the u. S. Is trying to drive a wedge between china and russia because they believe they are becoming too strong on the international stage. The spokeswoman for Russias Foreign Ministry saying any language from the u. S. Of power or of any sort of economic pressure is not going to work with the russians. You can see how things are becoming more confrontational, more difficult. The tone is becoming more sour and the russians say they believe a move by the u. S. To put a Missile Defense system in japan which is there to guard against north korea is also provocation n provocational. Certainly the tone quite harsh at this time. Well wait and see if they react to the interview by President Trump. Japan looking to deploy this Missile Defense system after north korea has fired off 23 missiles since february, two of them over japan. Cnns reporter thanks so much. President trump saying a shot at Jeff Sessions. Remember, sessions recused himself from the special counsels Russian Investigation months ago after it came to light he met with russians ambassador during the campaign. When asked whether he thinks he eric holder was more loyal, he says i dont want to get into loyalty but i will say he protected president obama. When you look at the things they did and holder protected the president , i have Great Respect for that. Ill be honest. President trump also spoke about Hillary Clinton and the email investigation. Asked if he would order the Justice Department to reopen the probe into the emails he told the times this. I have the salute right to do what i want, with the Justice Department, but for purposes of hopefully thinking im going to be treated fairly, ive stayed uninvolved with this particular matter. In the past, mr. Trump has expressed frustration the department of Justice Department hasnt gone after clinton. President trump going on the defense to keep trade active with china pointing to the north korea threat telling the times chinas hurting us badly on trade but i have been soft on china because the only thing more important than trade is war. Its the first time mr. Trump has directly admitted being soft on china. He called north korea a nuclear men mass. Hours after he accused them of shipping oil. Tweeting caught redhanded. It will never be a friendly solution to the north korea problem if this continues to happen. Trump was asked by the times how recently the possible transfer happened, and oh said it was very recently. In fact i hate to say it was reported thursday morning on fox. This interview with the times staggering among the things he says, president xi treated us better than in reaction. Reporter this is a complex weve seen unfold. Theres a it doesnt stop the president from putting up these harsh words, bold allegations essentially accusing china are violating the resolutions it has signed on to. Whats the evidence for this . The president is suggesting theres an illegal shipping network that is moving resources into north korea. Thats in direct violation of the u. N. Sanctions. This issue came to light earlier this week when south korean media reported it had obtained satellite images showing chinese ships transferring oil to north korean vessels. This is an issue brought up earlier saying this could be happening. And now ive got even the state department saying these ship to ship transfers are happening and they involve ships from several countries, including china. Then President Trump puts out this very accusatory tweet. So whats the fallout from that . Well china had already come to its own defense earlier this week as a result of those south korean media the ros. They say china is upholding all of the u. N. Security counsel resolutions and they say if they have clear evidence that any of their ships are participating in these transfers or any Chinese Companies are skirting sanctions that they could go after them and deal with them. South korea says there is more evidence that the sanctions are being skirted. In fact they say in november they seized a ship based in hong ko kong with an illegal transfer. We know the goal of the trump station is to cut that oil flow going into north korea. They want to cut that flow because it fuels the military and economy. Its another way of course to isolate this rogue regime with the hope of bringing north korea to negotiating table. Literally fuels that Nuclear Development program. Alex, a busy day for you in store. Thank you. Days after suggesting more bipartisanship was in store or will be in 2018, President Trump didnt make that prospect any easier, he said he would have hammered out a bipartisan tax bill if democrats asked, but he also attacked a key democratic senator hell need in 2018 to get anything done. West virginia senator joe manchin. We hear bs from the democrats, joes a nice guy but he talks and doesnt do anything. Lets get together, lets do bipartisan. I say good, lets go. Then you dont hear from him gec again. Were not ic making that up. He should come to him on health care, but he made it clear he wont do a deal on the dream act without building a wall. In in interview the present doesnt shy away from giving himself credit. He predicts the tax cut will be far bigger than anyone imagined. The president says i know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest cpa. I know the details of Health Care Better than most. Mr. President trump predicts he will be reelected in 2020 for a lot of reasons, saying the country has started to do well again and the media will have to let him win. The president telling the times another reason im going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if im not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes. Without me, the New York Times will indeed be not the failing New York Times, but the failed New York Times. A quick and blunt end to roy moores senate hopes and alabama circuit judge denies the attempt to delay the certification results after claiming voter fraud. The state made democrat doug jon jones victory official. Roy moore refuses to concede. Moorish eued moore issued a statement calling it fraudulent. Apple apologizing to customers for how it rolled out and update that could slow down older iphones. They will offer cheaper battery replacement. They issued an explanation. We apologize. First and foremost, we have never and would never do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any apple product did. To make amends, apple will temporarily drop the price of replacement batteries to 29, starting in late january. The price will go back up to the usual 79 in 2019. Lots of customers werup set with the company with a Software Update that slowed down older phones. Some thought it was a ploy to get you to upgrade to new devices. In fact a number of people have filed lawsuits and seebing class action status. Still waiting. Still waiting for my phone to turn on. Waiting a while. Apple. We love you. Meanwhile, horrific news here in new york city. This is the worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city in at least a quarter century. Just awful news here. 12 dead including a 1yearold as a fire rages through a bronx Apartment Building. Well hear from the fire commissioner next. Hes a nascar champion whos shes a worldclass swimmer whos stared down the best in her sport. But for both of them, the most challenging opponent was. Pe blood clots in my lung. It was really scary. A dvt in my leg. I had to learn all i could to help protect myself. My doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Xarelto® is a latestgeneration blood thinner. Thats proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. In clinical studies, almost 98 of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. Heres how xarelto works. Xarelto® works differently. Warfarin interferes with at least six bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective. 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Fire officials in new york are trying to determine what sparked the deadliest fire in the city in at least the last 25 years. At least 12 People Killed including a 1yearold. Officials say the fire started on the first floor of an Apartment Building just before 7 00 last night. Firefighters arrived within three minutes battling flames in frigid temperatures but it quickly spread to the top floors. Were here at the scene of an unspeakable tragedy. In the middle of the Holiday Season is a time when families are together. Tonight here in the bronx there are families that have been torn apart. This tragedy is without question historic in its magnitude here, and our hearts go out to every family that lost a loved one and everyone thats fighting for their lives. Officials say the victims range from 1 to 50 years old. Well have a live report in the next hour. This is the last trading day of the year. What a year its been in the market. As the dow enters toward that 25,000 mark it has been quite a ride. 25,000 is a psychological milestone thats pretty much marks the explosive growth weve seen in the past year. The blue chips first hit 20,000. Then early august, 22,000. And in october, 23,000, and just 30 trading days after that, 24,000. Thats just the dow, which is only 30 stocks. The s p 500. As for the nasdaq, its had his own head lines. Now if the nasdaq closes higher today, it will have had 11 out of 12 months of gains in 2017. That would be a first. Fine fall preparations under way for new years eve authorities in new york have a close eye on security and the weather. Athena jones braving the bitter cold has more. Reporter the new years eve celebration is an iconic event and a massive security challenge. Its one the nypd is used to undertaking. The Police Commissioner says that preparations for this years event began as the last of the confetti was being swept up after last years celebration. Were told there will be an increased Police Presence this year due in part to the two recent terror attacks right here in new york. This entire area will be sealed off to traffic starting early in the day, and the 12 access point that is will be used to access this area will be manned by teams with heavy weapons, dogs, there will also be sanitation trucks and see meacement blocks. There is no credible threat but everyone should remain vigil lent. We could see up to 2 Million People out here celebrating on sunday night. Although that number could be diminished slightly by the fact this is set to be the coldest new years eve in 55 years. Bundle up and take precautions if youre planning out to celebrate. Freezing out there. The entertainment world mourning the loss of actress rose marie. Rose marie was best known for her role as salary rogely roger Dick Van Dyke show. She earned three emmy nominations and she was given a star on the hollywood walk of fame in 2001. She was 94 years old. Meanwhile at least 14 People Killed after a fire breaks out in a roof top restaurant in mumbai overnight. Police say more than 20 others were injured when the smoke and flames erupted after midnight. It happened in a compound. Not clear what started the fire. The Prime Minister expressed his sympathies. Parting with the president and fabio just got a lot more expensive. How much more . Well get a check on cnn money stream next. Did you say fabio . I did. Frederik pleit in a tweet as bizarre as it was lacking in scientific knowledge, President Trump sarcastically suggested Climate Change to be a good thing apparently not realizing Climate Change and weather are not the same thing. He fired off this tweet. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming. Our country and not other countries was going to pay trill trillions are dollars to protect against. Mr. Trump has a his itry of linking the temperature in any one place to the existence of Global Warming, something climate scientists have said is iaccurate. A white house official did not respond when asked whether the tweet indicates anything about the administrations policy. It is worth pointing out the president s golf course in ireland recently received permission to build sea walls to preve prevent erosion. The company cited Global Warming on its application for the wall. Is he acknowledging Global Warming . The important distinction is not whether you believe Climate Change is man made or not. But just acknowledging the differs between local weather and Climate Change is an important distinction for all of us. Just how much colder will it get in meteorologist derek van dam has the forecast. Good morning. Much of the eastern two thirds of the country under the grips of an arctic climate. We do have light snow today from chicago to michigan. The big weather story is the cold arctic air settling in from the great lakes to the new england coast line. 11 dearing f 11 degrees for the forecast in the big apple. It will feel like negative 3 factoring in the wind. By the way, this puts it at the coldest new years eve celebration in new york city since 1962. Elsewhere, it will be equally as cold from atlanta to d. C. And new york city of course relatively speaking. Were talking temperatures running 20 to 30 degrees farren height where they should be. By the way, we also have the potential for more lake effect snow setting up down wind from lakes. Thanks very much. Lets get a check on cnn money stream this morning. The dow picked up 60 points. Set to end the year with six straight weeks of gains. Thats a first since 1954 and with the Holiday Shopping season wrapping up, trading was light all week. Yesterday had the second fewest amount of shares traded on any day this week. Uper has reachber has reach a 15 stake. South bank completed a tender offer yesterday to buy shares from uber employees and inves r investo investors. Thats a 30 socalled discount from its most recent valuation at 68 billion. Uber and south bank confirmed the offer yesterday. The transaction expected to close in january. Arguing with the president doesnt come cheap. Maralago raising the prices for the new years eve bash. Tickets up from there 525. Thats money thats going into the club and into the president s pocket. In 2017 revellers not only had the opportunity to meet the president but also celebrities like Sylvester Stallone and fabio. This year the president is expected to attended ball again. No word on fabio but this brings up the conversation about buying access to the president and the president possibly profiting off of his position. Go back in time to when the president was first inaugurated. He doubled the initiation fee. Early start continues right now with an eyebrow raising interview with the president in the New York Times. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com revealing new insight. President trump on key topics for next year. He thinks the Russian Special counsel will be fair. But what he said about the attorney general and north korea will stun you. A Holiday Season tragedy in the bronx. At least a dozen People Killed in a deadly Apartment Fire. Good morning. Welcome to early start. Im alison kosik sitting in for christine romans. Happy friday december 29th. 6 00 p. M. In beijing, well check in live in those locations shortly. We start with the eyebrow raising interview with the president and the New York Times. After weeks of watching his allies try to discredit the special counsels investigation the president is giving Robert Mueller the benefit of the doubt. Mr. Trump sitting down with the New York Times for this interview at his golf club in palm beach. On russia, the president took a different tone than many in the Republican Party weve seen lately. Listen to New York Times reporter on cnn last night. He thought bob mueller was going to be fair