Deadly attack at an istanbul nightclub. Show you Surveillance Video that theyre looking at very closely. Theyre going to highlight the focus here. The gunman there, they believe, entering the club after 1 00 p. M. And a flash as he shoots. He actually killed a Police Officer who was on guard at that club before he went in firing indiscriminately at new years revellers who were still partying at the club. Very popular with foreigners. Cnns sara sidner is following the story in istanbul. Were going to hear from her in a moment but lets hear first from ian lee. I got shot in the [ bleep ] leg. I dont know, i saw one person. Theyre shooting. Im hiding. Reporter more than 3 dozen killed, many more wounded. The assailant opened fire during a new years celebration. The governor saying the gunman entered the club and attacked innocent people calling it a cruel, cold blooded act. Turkey is still recovering from a recent wave of terrorist attacks that left many citizens weary. This attack is, of course, a horrible development but not shocking to many turks who chose to stay inside this new years eve. Reporter an attacker shot and killed a Police Officer guarding a gate. They captured the moment a gunman dressed in dark clothing dashed into the nightclub as bullets rick quo shayed in the street. More than a dozen of the dead are foreign nationals. No claim of responsibility. The fate of the attacker also unclear. Turkey faces numerous battles across different fronts. Not only has the syrian conflict and refugee crisis spilled over, but theyre battling kurdish militants. Theyre reeling from a bloody and failed military coup in july. Sara sidner is live from istanbul this hour. Sara, what do you know about the investigation and their search for this suspect at this point . Reporter we heard from the deputy Prime Minister who talked about the fact that they will not let this suspect breathe in the new year giving the indication that they are in a serious manhunt to try to find what he said was just one attacker. But we have heard other witnesses who said they thought they saw more than one attacker. So far officially its just one attacker. Theyre not sure if its a him or a her. This video makes it a little bit more clear. That Surveillance Video, 39 people dead, 69 people injured. There are families at the hospital waiting on their loved ones. Some of those people are critical. And so far those people have been able to be identified, 16 of them, many of them are foreigners. Theyre not from here. So were trying to get information as to what the nationalities are. This club is a place that was kind of an upscale place to be especially for the tourists. Its a beautiful club. A lot of people going there for the view and the fun. It ended so tragically. I want to give you a quick idea of whats happened this second. Theyve opened this roadway that has been closed, the club about 300 feet up the street. In just a moment were going to go up and see how close we can get. The authorities allowing the media to get up towards the club where all of this happened, but this city devastated by this. Time and again they have dealt with attacks, especially in 2016, and to have this happen on the first day of 2017 has been really, really tough here. Sara, the reports we are hearing is that and the video that weve seen is that he the suspect shot a Police Officer who was standing guard outside that club. Do we know if that was the only security presence there last night . Reporter yeah, they said that security presence and the whole citys security presence has been heightened just in general for fear of more attacks because there have been so many. Were not sure the number of Security Officers that may have been outside or even inside of this club. Some of those details will be coming out but, of course, you know, a lot of times these clubs and these different areas dont want to tell you what they do for security. The other thing they, of course, had was Surveillance Video which is helping police figure out who this person is but this has been an absolutely devastating first day of 2016. Guys. Sara sidner, we appreciate it so much. Thank you. Lets bring in Cnn National Security analyst juliet kayyem. We know that kurdish separatist groups have claimed responsibility in the past six months for at least one, the twin suicide blasts at the istanbul stadium. Isis is there as well. Does the fact that no one has claimed responsibility yet tell you who may be behind this . Reporter it doesnt say a lot but it does give some suggestion that this might be an isisinspired attack. The reason why is isis often does not take credit for attacks in turkey. If you just look at what happened, a friday night, a soft target, a club, people partying, young people, an international group, those are targets that have always been ones that isis favors as weve seen in paris and brussels and elsewhere. And so i think the leading theory for the turks at this stage would have to be that this was at least an isisinspired attack. I think some people listening to you might have caught something by surprise. Help us understand why isis would not claim responsibility for attacks in turkey when they so often claim responsibility elsewhere. Well, for one, look, isis is not some centralized organization anymore. Theyre trying to inspire people all around the world to do certain things. Often as weve seen in these cases there is a delay between what they know, isis, some centralized group and what occurs. Also, given the politics of turkey and given the fact that turkey also has an internal terrorist threat, the curds, isis is sometimes in the case of turkey more than willing to allow there to be some speculation as to who caused the terrorist attack in turkey knowing that turkeys leadership response is going to be as weve seen in the past, greater centralization of power, greater yuntd mi undermining of dissent, focus on journalists and those opposing erdogan and others. The u. S. Has said this is an atrocity. Is there anything the u. S. Can do to help turkey . Reporter this is an interesting time in u. S. turkish relations. Turkey has looked elsewhere, in particular to russia for some of its alliances. We saw that earlier this week with the turkish russian ceasefire brokered over syria. We dont know if it will hold, and also even just last week with the death of the killing of the russian diplomat in turkey, it did not cause a major friction. In fact, one could argue the two countries were closer aligned. The u. S. Is a strong supporter of turkey. It is in between. It is the east and the west. We continue to support turkey in many ways, not just money but in security. Thank you for the insight. Appreciate you being here. When we come back president elect donald trump casting doubt about allegations russia was behind hackers medaling in the u. S. Elections. Well have his comments next. Nu. And it works on my symptoms, too. Now moments lost to migraines are moments gained with excedrin. [heartbeat] dtry align junior probiotic. Th digestive balance . So she can have a fraction dominating. Status updating. Helloyellowbelt kind of day. Get 24 7 digestive support with align junior. The 1 doctor recommended probiotic brand, now for kids. At clorox 2 weve turned removing stains into a science. Now pretreat with clorox 2 watch stains disappear right before your eyes. Remove 4 times more stains than detergent alone. Fixodent plus adhesives. Theres a denture adhesive that holds strong until evening. Just one application gives you superior hold even at the end of the day fixodent. Strong more like natural teeth. For patients like lynn, advanced Genomic Testing may lead to other Treatment Options that can work. Learn how Genomic Testing is changing the way we fight cancer at cancercenter. Com genomics my advice for looking get your beauty sleep. And use aveeno® absolutely ageless® night cream with active naturals® blackberry complex. Younger looking skin can start today. Absolutely ageless® from aveeno®. Happy 2017. If you are out and about celebrating, you might have missed what was happening in cities across the u. S. As they rang in 2017. Well, here you go. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy new year, everybody now you know where that is. Uhhuh. One new york city, of course. Times square. Uhhuh. Picture kissing in times square. Thats why you go, right . Exactly. I hope theyre taping it so they can see they made it on the National News not just in somebodys camera. Lets hope they make it in 2018. Thats the hope. Will you be kissing the same person next year . That will make for a whole other picture. Lets look at dallas. 3, 2, 1, 0. The version of auld an auld ang syne. All of the music out of dallas. The west coast, lets go to seattle. This is the space needle. That is beautiful. Happy new year, everybody. No doubt about it. Happy new year to you. Do you know what, the pope is talking about happy new year delivering his new years day mass, and his message, peace. The vatican is marking today as the world day of peace in case you didnt know, and the pope also took a couple of moments there to pray for those who have been killed in the istanbul nightclub overnight. Back here state side, we know the malware found on the computer of a Vermont Utility company is the same code that was allegedly used by russians to hack the Democratic National committee. That information is now confirmed by the department of Homeland Security. It was found after the dhs sent out an alert to utilities nationwide. They say the hack may not have been intended to shut down power. The company says there was never any danger of their grid being compromised. Heres the manager of Burlington Electric in vermont. We found an i. P. Address that is tied back to some of the recent malicious cyber activity that was communicating with one of our computers. Let me be very clear, that computer was not connected to our grid control systems. Our grid was not penetrated. It was not breached. And we have no indication of compromise with any of our systems or any of our customer data. But what we did is when we saw that traffic we immediately isolated the machine, pulled it off the network, alerted federal authorities and began to work with them so we can help trace that back to further their investigation. Well, donald trump is still casting doubt on the idea that russia may be behind those election hacks. This time from his annual new years event in maralago, his resort in florida. As he does every year, trump said goodbye to one year, hello to the next at his estate this year with 800 paid attendees. This year the president elect took questions, his transition and the doubts about russia being behind the recent hacks. I just want them to be sure because its a pretty serious charge. I want them to be sure. If you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster and they were wrong. And so i want them to be sure. I think its unfair if they dont know, and i know a lot about hacking and hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. Joining us now to talk about the latest information on the alleged russian malware and the president elects response, jeff beaty. Hes a former cia Counter Terrorism officer and is now a professor of National Security studies at the university of new haven. Jeff, good morning to you. Good morning, victor. Happy new year to you. Happy new year to you. What do you make of the president elect saying i also know things that other people dont know so they cant be sure of the situation . Well, its kind of funny. It sounds a little bit like things that Donald Rumsfeld might have said. The known knowns, the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. I dont know what the president elect knows. I do think that its wise when weve seen in the past intelligence failures like the one he referred to about claiming there are weapons of mass destruction as a justification to go into iraq in 2003, i think its wise to be sure. Im sure hell be kept abreast of developments and will be able to refine any level of certainty regarding the perpetrators for this act. You know, after the announcement of sanctions against russia this week, i know you spoke with one of our producers and suggested that its time now possibly for an antimeddling deal governing Cyber Operations between several nations. Give us an idea, what would that look like . You know, we have the geneva conventions that have been right behind things that happened in real world. Put in place by signatory countries. The most recent one, 196 countries. They deal with things that arise in the international arena, mostly around armed conflict. But there appears to be a concern as the cyber threat has evolved faster than nations ability to cope with it or to manage it. There seems to be a concern that there should be some things like with other weapons, chemical weapons and theres an agreement and a balance not to use the weapons. Theres probably a time right now ford United States for the United States to take a lead. This is an opportunity to maybe get out in front and lead an International Effort to put together a treaty. U. S. Has had some discussions with china bilaterally, for example, that do talk to infrastructure but there obviously now is a need to do more. So i think the time is right for that. But theres one caveat to that, victor, and if i may, that caveat is, you know, the United States has tremendous capability and your users and i know cnn reported on this in the past. Yes. A virus called stucks net, another one called flame, information is gathered that benefit countries like the United States. Theyre probably state sponsored. So with we do a treaty we want to make sure that we dont negate our capabilities to conduct this type of cyber reconnaissance of foes in the future. You dont want to tie the hands of the Intelligence Community. Very quickly before i let you go, what you mentioned may be what the terror advisor may go after. Let me put up his quote taking the position that we must work towards a cyber doctrine that reflects the free market, the benefits of free and fair trade and the fundamental principles of liberty. Hes worked on this bill for some time. Vladimir putin is already pulling out of agreements with the u. S. , namely one on nuclear security. So how confident are you that he would enter another one . You know, time will tell is the answer to that. But you mentioned Vladimir Putin, and youve got to be careful in this realm. He made great claims in 2011 that his own election was attacked as less than fully legitimate and he pointed the finger at hillary clinton. You know, Vladimir Putin is not somebody like Moammar Gadhafi that you could destabilize with impunity because he has tools. He has tools to strike back. So itll be interesting. The pick for Homeland Security is a great one and it needs to be a priority so that what we have in place amongst nations is caught up to with what the reality on the ground is out there. All right. Former cia Counter Terrorism officer jeff beaty, thank you for being with us. Happy new year to you. Happy new years to you. With a show down on the gridiron, andy scholes has news. Alabama and clemson heading for a rematch. Were going to hear from both teams after the break. Uh, you asked to see me, coffee . Yeah, listen, sugar, were, uh. Lettin you go. Wait, what . People love sweet taste. Thats true, but sweet aint enough anymore. Its that splenda naturals gal, isnt it . Yeah. I knew it look, not only is she sweet, shes got natural stevia, no bitter aftertaste, and of course, zero calories. Ohh, not the calories again. Sugar, youre full of calories. I know ugh so all the partners agree . Even iced tea . Especially iced tea. Goodbye, sugar. Hello, new splenda naturals. Second verse same as the first. Alabama versus clemson for College Footballs national championship. Andy scholes had the tough task of watching football. I dont know how he did it. I was at the peach bowl in atlanta. The game was close early on. Threepoint game in the Second Quarter but it felt like alabama was up by 30. The huskies offense couldnt get anything going against alabamas defense. The play of the game came from linebacker ryan anderson. Hes going to pick off jake browning. He tosses him right to the ground on the way to the end zone. Check out the stat, alabama scored 11 touchdowns on defense this year, only allowed 15. Unbelievable. That score there made it 177 at the half. Bo starbow put this away. 247. I caught up with some of the players after the game asking them how to feels to be heading back to the national title. Its feeling great, you know what im saying . We trust in the process. This alabama football, man, we stand away, baby. After a performance like this, how confident are you heading to tampa . Confident but not cocky. It will be a Fourth Quarter battle. Can have doesnt. Youve got to be confident in your work. Feels good. This is what you work for. To have it pay off is satisfying. Were not finished. Number two clemson and number three ohio state, not much of a game. Tigers absolutely dominating the buckeyes. Shawn watson threw for 259 yards and a touchdown adding 57 yards and two scores on the ground. Clemson shutting out ohio state 310. The buckeyes dont even show up. Its the first time theyve been shut out in a bowl game since the 1920 rose bowl. Coy wire was there and spoke with the bins winners after the game nkts we are one of the best teams in the country. We want another opportunity to go play for the nati. We just came out and played clemson football. Clemson is back. Another year, back in the nati, back for revenge, back for redemption. Were coming for alabama. Look for this game in the past year. Are you going to be dancing on new years eve . Lit me tell you, they call this the fiesta bowl, right . Thats right. I think that means party, celebration. Theres going to be a fiesta in arizona tonight, i promise you that. Alabama versus clemson next monday night in tampa. Top ranked alabama, they open up as a touchdown favorite in los vegas. I learned something, national championship, you can say nati. Ill use that next week. Dont overdo it. Nati. That gets old really quickly. Thank you. Bye. Thank you so much, andy. We have to take a serious turn here because there is a Nuclear Threat from north korea this morning. The countrys leader says they are close to developing new weapons and has tough words for the United States. Looking for balance in your digestive system . Try align probiotic. For a nonstop, sweet treat goodness, hold on to your tiara kind of day. Get 24 7 digestive support, with align. The 1 doctor recommended probiotic brand. Now in kids chewables. Good to see you on this first day of 2017. Im christi paul. Im victor blackwell. Good morning to you. Ive been shot in the [ bleep ] leg, man. These crazy people came in shooting it up. I dont know. I saw one person. Theyre shooting. Im hiding. Yeah, he has no idea whats going on there. Just a bit of the mele outside of this nightclub massacre in turkey. Officials looking for the shooter who shot and killed at least 39 people, wounded 69. This was at a nightclub in istanbul. Theres an important piece in this investigation we want to show you here. Take a look at this Surveillance Video as theyre going to highlight the focus. That they believe is the gunman entering the club. This happened after 1 00 a. M. And then a flash youre going to see there. Thats as he shoots a Police Officer. That Police Officer died. He did so before firing indiscriminately at new years revellers who were still partying at the club. This is a club popular with foreigners. The u. S. Did release a statement condemning the atrocity. North koreas leader is close to test launching a missile capable of carrying warheads. Kim jongun said the nation needs to protect itself against threats from the u. S. Translator we have successfully conducted our First Hydrogen bomb test, tests for various striking means and the test for Nuclear Warhead to cope against vicious threads for nuclear war by the imperialists. U. S. Says korea tested two times in 2016. Kim jongun is determined to develop Nuclear Weapons by the end of the year. President elect donald trump continues his new years tradition by bringing in one year and saying goodbye to the last at maralago estate. He was joined by 800 paying attendees. On the sold out guest list, sill vest steer st Sylvester Stallone and fabio. He talked about his doubts of russian hacking and whether he feels president obama is trying to undermine him with recent political moves. Well, i spoke to him yesterday. Hes been very nice on the phone. We have a very good relationship. Look, we have to protect israel. Israel to me is very, very important. We have to protect israel. And i disagree with what hes done on israel. I listened to secretary kerrys speech. I think its very unfair to israel what happened. All right. Maybe a little tough to hear there. Joining me to talk about the transition and the president elects response to those allegations of russian hacking, errol lewis, political anchor for Spectrum News and lynn sweet, with the Chicago Sun Times errol, what do you make of Donald Trumps characterization of his relationship with president obama. Hes not going as far as Kellyanne Conway did of saying trying to box him in. When he said very nice, personal relationship. Do they speak well on the phone, get along. Make no mistake about t the transition while going smoothly really is kind of a hostile takeover of a federal buy bureaucracy that theyre trying to make sure legacy items are protected so there are a number of appointments that are being rushed through, there are a number of accelerated hiring, not at the senior level but the midlevel and downward in the Civil Service to make sure that some of what he wanted to see go forward is going to be in place. Donald trump will have to go to some effort to dismantle it. Yes, they will be personally friendly. Hell be two of six people in the world who have ever been president of the United States, but beyond that we should keep an eye of whats going on at the mid levels. Its not quite so friendsly down at that level. Lynn, the president elect made some news last night, maybe he didnt want to. The bigger headline is when he talked about the sanctions against russia and the continued allegations that they were involved or tried to interfere in the u. S. Election. Heres what the president elect said. And i know a lot about hacking and hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And i also know things that other people dont know and so they cannot be sure of this situation. What do you know that other people dont know . Youll find out on tuesday or wednesday. Youll find out on tuesday or wednesday what the president elect says that he knows that other people dont know. When you heard that, when you read it, what went through your mind . Well, a few things. At first i thought, well, maybe he heard in some briefing something thats so classified he cant tell people, but then were going to find out about it in a few days. So it cant be cant be top secret. The call of a president is one of the toughest parts of the job. You have to be able to assess the information to make the call. Somebody hacked. If you dont believe it was russia, then looking to the future, how will you know, figure out how will you develop the faith in intelligence to say who did . The failure of the Intelligence Community and the weapons of mass destruction fiasco i think is something that you cant always use to be forever skeptical. The department of Homeland Security and the fbi did put out a joint report that is hovering. It has some Technical Information in there way beyond my understanding with codes of i. P. Addresses, et cetera, that they say shows a unique russian fingerprint. Presumably theres deeper information underneath that, so the call of the of the president to figure out what you believe is right to determine your course of action is what i want to see unfold in the early days of the Trump Administration to see how he and a half have i gates in an imperfect world what might not always be perfect information. Errol, during the campaign then candidate trump said that there would be a News Conference about melania trumps immigration status and that never happened. There was supposed to be a News Conference about his business dealings. Thats been postponed to later this month. Will he have to come out after this high profile conflict over russia within the party and between republican and democrats, have to come out and Say Something new on tuesday or wednesday . I wouldnt be surprised if we heard nothing at all on tuesday or wednesday, or if the can was kicked down the road a little bit more. We can add revelations about his taxes that have been promised for over a year now that we are probably never going to see. By the way, those things are linked because we dont know what kind of political or financial ties this president elect has to the russian government or to russian business interests. Weve got to, i think, sort of be careful not to just kind of play along with this sort of ambiguity that he plays along. To reemphasize what lynn says, the job of commander in chief, you know, is to make hard, hard choices based on imperfect information. And for the president elect to say, well, nobodys really sure. Yeah, okay, we understand you cant be 100 sure. Were not going to get a videotape of russians hacking into u. S. Electoral systems, but the reality is we expect and the job requires that hard decisions be made based on whatever information is available which, in turn, raises this question of why not go to the briefings. Its really important that we get this stuff right and i think thats going to be sort of a push and pull in a conversation that we have going on right up to the inauguration. Errol, i want to pull a phrase out of what you said and what lynn said, this cloud of ambiguity and go to an exchange over the president of taiwan. Reporter asked if the president elect would meet with her, and i want you to listen to this exchange back and forth. The president of taiwan stops by here, will you meet with her. Stops by here . I have not heard theres some discussion. In the United States or in palm beach . In the United States later nobody has ever mentioned it. First ive heard im not meeting anybody until after january 20th because its not protocol. Not protocol. Well see. Well see. All right. So in this exchange there are a few things where the reporter asked would you meet with her . He then says, if he stops by here will the president of taiwan president is a woman. And then he says im not meeting with anybody until after january 20th because its a little inappropriate from a protocol standpoint but hes already met with the Prime Minister of japan as president elect. Put those things aside, lynn. What does this mean for china potentially when the president elect leaves potentially a meeting of the president of taiwan to a well see . Well, i think china already knows about the phone call that trump had and if one of trumps m. O. Is to leave everybody guessing, he is marvelously achieved that. And we will be saying well see a lot i think in the coming early days of the Trump Administration because not only dont we know, we dont know who the ambassador to china is going to be from the u. S. That will tell us Something Else about the intentions of trump. So there is just so many parts of this when it comes to big, complicated relationship with china, not only regional interests like the relationship with taiwan, but perhaps well see if trump puts on the front burner trade deals that impact china. Lynn sweet, errol louis, happy new year. Happy new year. Queen elizabeth is missing another key public event today because of her health. Buckingham palace says shes skipping church today because shes still recovering from a, quote, heavy cold. Remember, that also prompted her to miss Christmas Services for the first time in decades. Phil black is live for us in london. Phil, happy new year to you for one. Secondly, do we have any indication just how ill she really is . Reporter christi, its obviously serious. Shes a 90yearold woman and shes been out of public view for something close to two weeks now. The words that are constantly used to describe it are heavy and lingering, this particular cold. But at the same time her advisors at Buckingham Palace today are going out of their way to tell journalists that she is doing okay. Its something of a concerted effort, i think, to ensure that there isnt an information vacuum when it comes to the Queens Health at the moment, trying to head off any speculation that this can be more serious than it is. She is up and about and she is working as they say. They talk about her taking and receiving boxes. These are boxes of official government documents, briefing papers and so forth that she goes through and reads in her official capacity as brittains head of state. Shes still on top of all of that. Today she didnt go to church as she would normally do. That is not a decision she would take very lightly. She is the head of the church of england. The decision is taken because its pretty chilly out there, just above freezing. If this is a lingering cold as we are repeatedly told, they want her to get over it as quickly as possible. But shes doing okay. Thats the message thats coming through. And Buckingham Palace seems to want to be very sure that people are not overly worried about the 90yearold monarchs health at the moment. She hasnt been sent to the hospital so that tells us that its controllable, whatever it is. Do we know when her next public event is, when shes expected to be seen . Reporter no, not at the moment. The time at the estate over christmas and new years, personal time, family time. The family does make these appearances at the local chapel on christmas and new year day. Youre right. This is another point that Buckingham Palace is making, shes still in residence. She hasnt been taken anywhere else for more serious medical treatment. The priority now is rest but she is, as i say, doing okay and doing other official duties. Phil, happy new year to you. Happy 2017. You, too, christi. Thank you very much. I want to show you some live pictures right now out of london. That little guy and girl. Probably girl. Pink hat gives it away. These are more than 8,000 performers around the world and taking part in londons new years day parade as you see. Folks look different than what we see here. Little bit. Just a little bit. The theme is blockbuster movie. Jurassic park theyre featuring. There are some dinosaurs there. Thats wizard of oz there as you can tell. Theres a ghostbusters float. It is a little rose bowly. Okay. Little rose bowly. Thats a good characterization. I made that up. Thats all right. My 7yearold does the same thing. Making up words. Its all good. Comparing me to a 7yearold. Happy new year to you, too. All right. Parents of missing journal list austin tyce. Theyre holding on to hope their son is still alive. How they believe president elect trump might help bring him home. We have their story next. I tried hard to quit smoking. But when we brought our daughter home, that was it. Now i have nicoderm cq. The nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release Technology Helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. Its the best thing that ever happened to me. Every great why needs a great how. Well, austin tice is believed to be the only american journalist still missing in syria. He disappeared four years ago while he was reporting there. Austins parents have not talked with him since his kidnapping, and they have not had any contact with the captors. New information from the u. S. Government has given them hope their son is still alive. Cnns Brian Stelter asks them about the information and how they think the Incoming Administration might help them get their son back. Reporter hey, victor. The coming new year brings new hope for the family of austin tice. He is the only american journalist believed to be missing in syria. Hes been missing for more than four years. Recently the United States government came out and said it has high confidence that tice is still alive even though he disappeared back in august of 2012 and theres been no known communication from anyone who may have captured him or may be holding him. This case has been a mystery and agonizing ordeal for mark and deborah tice. Those are austins parents who live in texas who have been working behind the scenes trying to figure out where their son is, what happened to him, and who could be holding him in syria. At first they say the Obama Administration was not supportive enough, was not communicative enough, but in the past couple of years they say that has improved and they now have hopes the Trump Administration will be equally supportive of their efforts to figure out what happened to austin and where he is now. Heres part of what they told me about their experience. Weve had credible report ever since austin was taken that he is alive and so weve hung on to those messages without doubt without any doubt. His captors have not reached out to us. You know, we dont have any way of, you know, completing this solution to bring him home because only only half of the equation is working here, and that half is, you know, the efforts that weve done, the efforts of the United States government and all those people and organizations that have been supporting us. But, yeah, it was extremely comforting and uplifting. Uplifting to hear and for the office of the special president ial envoy and the United States government to say that their assessment is hes alive. We have every reason to believe hes reasonably well and so, you know, we continue to, you know, press that theres every reason to do Everything Possible keep doing Everything Possible to bring him home. Reporter on a personal level an almost unimaginable ordeal for these parents. On a political level, one of many examples of the challenges that one administration is handing off to the next president ial administration. These parents hopeful and confident that the incoming Trump Administration will work hard behind the scenes trying to return their son to the United States. Victor, back to you. Brian, thank you so much for that update. President elect donald trump finding an unlikely following in iraq. Some people there admire him and his vision so much, look at this, one mans named his restaurant after him. Another now has a baby trump. Well share their stories next. For a nonstop, sweet treat goodness, hold on to your tiara kind of day. Get 24 7 digestive support, with align. The 1 doctor recommended probiotic brand. Now in kids chewables. Thats why i use excedrin. N hold because of a headache. It has two pain fighters plus a booster and for some, headache relief starts in just 15 minutes. Now moments lost to headaches are moments gained with excedrin. [heartbeat]. The rhetoric about mums from donald trump so he may not be an obvious hero to a lot of iraqis. In the kurdistan region the president elect has an unlikely fan base. Ben wedeman explains for us. Reporter at 3 weeks old little trump isnt bothered by his pesky brother. Yes, you heard right, this is baby trump. Born in iraqi kurdistan. His father explains whats in a name. Translator i called him trump he says because trump is charismatic and has clear policies. Thats why he won the election. Reporter he heard trump say he was a big fan of Kurdish Forces calling the u. S. To arm them in their fight against isis. In his honor he named his recently opened fish restaurant after the donald. And even designed the catchy logo. In iraqs murky waters trump inspired some here to hope hell also make kurdistan great again. This fish is your standard carp, the way its cooked is popular and this is a catch. Fit for a president. Theres no flip flopping here. It takes just 45 minutes for the carp, a bottom feeder to go from the tank to cutting board to grill to plate. No time wasted. Translator what i admire about trumps personality is that hes decisive, hes tough and hopefully with that toughness well finish off isis. Reporter he shrugs off as Main Campaign rhetoric trumps pledge to cast a wide net banning all muslims from entering the United States. Even he wants to open a branch of his restaurant near the white house if trump will invite him in, that is. Heres one man ready to serve the Incoming Administration. Ben wedeman, cnn, northern iraq. When we come back in case you missed it, best moments from our new years eve coverage. Anderson . Kathy. Britain is the only place you really need go. Expedia. Everything you need to travel britain better. Whats the best way to get v8 or a fancy juice store . S . Ready, go hi, juice universe . One large rutabaga, with eggplant. Done thats not fair. Glad i had a v8. The original way to fuel your day. Fixodent plus adhesives. Theres a denture adhesive that holds strong until evening. Just one application gives you superior hold even at the end of the day fixodent. Strong more like natural teeth. We dont want you to wake up and miss something. So we have some of the most memorable moments from cnns coverage last night. Anderson. Anderson. Kathy . Happy new year. Hey, anderson, this is megan and nick here. We just want to wish you a happy new year and wanted to extend an invitation to you to join us in our bed. Bring it. See you soon. Hello, kathy. We love you. Dont get blood on the jacket. It goes back to brooks brothers. Ow okay. Wow. Wow. I want to hear you sing. There you have it. I wonder how i wonder how hes feeling this morning with that ear, one mdoomr. Don lemon. Something else we will not miss christies birthday. Do i see victor doing the birthday dance . Its your birthday. But do you it. Thank you. I love this team. Thank to you my team. We cant do it without any of you and thank you for watching. Thank you for remembering youre welcome. Were wishing you big blessings in 2017, people. Thanks for hanging with us. Ill double down. Thanks for starting our morning with us. Inside politics with john king starts right now. Lets hold on the this music if we can until the show starts. 2016 goes out with a bang. The president makes a controversial claim that sets off his successor. I am confident in this vision because im confident that if i had run again and articulated it, i think i could have mobilized a majority of the American People to rally behind it. Could obama have taken down trump . Trump says that question will stay unanswered. He called me. We had a very, very good talk generally about things. We talked about it. Smiled about it