Transcripts For CNNW The Lead With Jake Tapper 20161222

Hacking the dnc and john podesta. As Vladimir Putin declares himself and his armed forces the strongest on earth. Plus, another ecig. Caught on camera. Hazards you should potentially worry about even if you do not smoke. Good afternoon, welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. Three days since the devastating terror attack rocked berlin. There is still no trace of 24yearold ahnis amri, the man Officials Say drove a tractortrailer through a crowd in a Christmas Market in the heart of germanys capital. 12 people were killed and 48 wounded including two americans. Amri was known to u. S. Intelligence officials and had been placed on a nofly list in this country. German Security Services knew amri had spoken several times about carrying out an attack and at one point had been under government surveillance. Do the German Authorities have any leads on his whereabouts at this point, erin . Reporter its unclear at this hour. German authorities being very careful about what information they share with the public so as not to compromise this ongoing investigation. We know that there were police raids today in the berlin and cologne areas. It seems highly likely that authorities are entertaining the possibility that members of a proisis Recruitment Network are helping him hide. Tonight cnn has Learned Police had been tracking for months the man they suspect of mowing down 12 and injuring scores, impie compiling hundreds of pages of intelligence. Saying he had spoken several times about committing attacks. Raids continue tonight across germany for the most wanted man in europe. Investigators say they found amris fingerprints on the door of the truck used in the deadly attack, adding to their confidence that he carried it out. As more is discovered about amris background and his links to radical islamists. We have additional indication that the suspect is the attacker. In the drivers cab, we found fingerprints. And there are additional indications to support this. Reporter the lengththy investigative file connects amri directly to a terror cell in germany. Other members of the group also talked of carrying out attacks, including driving a truck full of gasoline and loaded with a bomb into a crowd. Five men connected to the cell, including a close friend of amri, were arrested in november and charged with terrorism offenses. Two of amris brothers say, before he left tunisia as a teenager he was a very different person, drank alcohol and didnt pray. They say they believe he changed in prison in italy. He served a fouryear sentence for setting fire to a Refugee Center and other violent oy fins. When released in 2015 authorities tried to send him back to tunisia but officials refused to let him back in citing improper documentation. He moved to german and connected with an isis recruiting network. He was arrested for trying to travel to italy with fake documents. Police were aware of his attempts to obtain a gun. German attempts to deport him also failed and a judge ordered him set free. Tonight german officials fear several people could have been involved in mondays attack, despite all that authorities know about amri, he remains on the run, likely armed and dangerous. The Christmas Market just behind me, the scene of the attack, reopened this morning. It was a somber atmosphere. People stopping by a makeshift memorial to light candles and play flowers, remembering the dead, an incredible seen of resilience despite so much uncertainty. Jake. All right, Erin Mclaughlin for us in berlin. As we mentioned, ahnis amri was known to u. S. Intelligence officials and had been placed on a nofly list in the u. S. How did he get on the radar for u. S. Intelligence . German intelligence agencies provided the information on the suspect to the u. S. And the u. S. Added him to the nofly list. German authorities identified him as a group of jihadist supporters operating in central europe. This was a network helping to recruit fighters to join isis in syria. And intelligence agencies in europe and the United States found some of them were communicating with suspected isis members in syria. These are isis members who the intelligence agencies believe are helping to plot and to direct attacks in europe and turkey. Evan, presumably u. S. Intelligence is offering to help German Authorities and european authorities. What kind of assistance can they provide . Absolutely. The fbi has a legal attache in berlin who is in touch with germany in offering the u. S. Assistance. There is a lot the u. S. Can do to help. We d in belgium and france the u. S. Provided key assists. With the attack and the man hunt thats ongoing, perhaps theyll welcome the help. The fact is that the intelligence agencies here and in europe are very concerned that isis has command and control capabilities in syria, theyre still able to communicate and direct attacks in europe despite the pressure in syria and iraq, jake. And perhaps even because of that pressure, the authorities believe that there are more attacks on the way. Evan perez, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Joining me now democratic congressman adam schiff of california, the ranking memberimember on the house intelligence committee. You were just briefed on this investigation. What can you tell us . Well, this is part of the problem we have seen in france in the past where you have people who are known to the intelligence agencies, known to law enforcement, they dont have the resources to continually surveil the suspects, even when there are very good reasons to do so. And at some point theyre free to launch an attack. That very much appears to be the case here. As evan was reporting, and i have no reason to doubt this, we have been informed by german intelligence of much of what they know. We are sharing information with them as well. Our system appears to be working in terms of the precautions we need against some of these folks coming to the United States. But plainly germany has this surplus of people, some who have returned from the fight, others, as we saw in france, who are radicalized while in prison. It shows the magnitude of what europe has to deal with. The other point i would make is that germany has capable intelligence services. They by and large do a good job. The legal challenges are enormous. As evan pointed out, the devotion to privacy is such that they dont always want some of the assistance we can offer. And that poses some constraints. But we have a very productive working relationship with the germans. Let me drill down on that. What exactly do you mean . Because obviously, if we knew of if the u. S. Knew enough about this person to put him on a nofly list, we would not necessarily have admitted him into the United States, one would think. Was this an intelligence failure by the germans . What do you mean when you say that they have good intelligence but there are legal constraints . I dont know if you could say its an intelligence failure. This suspect was on their radar and knew a lot about him. It was more of a legal problem. They couldnt deport him. They had a problem with the deportation efforts and there was no mechanism to around the clock surveil the person or to have a basis for detention of the person. So germany was stuck in this place where their intel was good, they had someone of concern, and yet, they couldnt either detain the person or deport them. And they were ordered released. It seems weird that tunisia would just deny that this individual was tunisian when you saw in that piece we just ran his family is in tunisia. He is obviously tunisian. You are not an expert on International Law so maybe this isnt a fair question but why are they allowed to say, no, we dont want him when hes obvious obviously tunisian. Tunisia has sent per capita as many or more into the fight in iraq and syria. The fight for isis. To fight for isis. Theyre having trouble with all of those people coming back. I am sure that there is a lack of interest, when they have somebody who is potentially involved in terrorism, to want to say hes one of ours, send him back because theyve got plenty already there. Talk about the concerns that americans watching right now might feel, or canadians. There is an increase risk or security alert going on right now in the United States with hanukah and christmas approaching . There is no specific or credible information that there is a plot, say, in new york or los angeles against a particular target at a particular time. Nonetheless. Were always worried about copycats when Something Like this happens. Will there be truck attacks or attacks around the holidays here . Law enforcement is paying attention and taking additional steps. But there is no specific and credible information. What i encourage people to do, as hard as this is, is to put the threat in context. The most dangerous thing i face every day is to get on the l. A. Freeway. Nothing else comes close. People ought to go about their ordinary business, be mindful but not let it intrude on their appreciation of their family and the holidays. So dont avoid going into a crowd or to a Christmas Market type situation . I wouldnt. My family you wouldnt avoid it. I wouldnt avoid it. We went to the thanksgiving day parade last year when there were the same concerns. I would encourage to not shay away from public events. Be vigilant. If people see something, they should alert authorities if theyre worried about it. Nonetheless, the risks are still relatively small in this country. I know its early but this tunisian suspect had contacts with an isis recruiter, we are being told by German Authorities. Is it possible that this was an attack that was not just isis inspired but maybe even isis directed . It certainly could be. Germany has been an isis target for quite some time. And for a number of reasons, among other things, it would cause real divisions within germany, it would weaken angela merkel, cause a lot of strife with respect to the refugees who are there, it might turn germans against the refugees. And of course, isis wants to prompt this kind of conflict. It wants to put forward this narrative that there is no place in the west for muslims. So germany is a logical target for isis, a strategic target for isis. From that perspective, it makes sense for them to try to organize a plot there. We just dont know enough yet to make that conclusion. Congressman adam schiff. Trump tweeting about nukes and expanding nuclear capabilities. His Transition Team is now trying to clarify what he said. Stay with us. 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. I wont stop until i find what works. Discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75 skin clearance at 3 months. While the majority saw 90 clearance. Do not use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, you should be tested for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms. Such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. See me. See me. See me. On my way. Find clear skin. And a clearer path forward. For a different kind of medicine, ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. Wont replace the full value of your totaled new car. The guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. No, i picked the wrong insurance company. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement™, you wont have to worry about replacing your car because youll get the full value back including depreciation. And if you have more than one Liberty Mutual policy, you qualify for a multipolicy discount, saving you money on your car and home coverage. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Welcome back to the lead. Our politics lead. President elect donald trump flushing out his white house staff this afternoon, announcing who will run the communication shop that black listed Media Outlets over the course of the campaign. Hope hicks to be white house director of strategic communications. And dan scavino social media director. Jim acosta is in washington with us. Huge International Issues going on. Sources telling the donald trump Transition Team is talking about the possibility of imposing tariffs through executive action on foreign goods entering the u. S. They could be as high as 10 . With donald trump this may be just the beginning of the negotiations, not the end. Jake, donald trump has kept busy in maralago. The president elect and his advisers signalling he is about to get much more aggressive on a range of issues from trade to Foreign Policy. He is smacking down one of his biggest supporters for suggesting trump is ready to give up on draining the swamp. Amazing people. Reporter on the shores of maralago, donald trump is generating waves, but the president elects team making it clear a fight is coming on trade. China, which has been ripping us off, the greatest abuser in the history of this country reporter sources tell cnn trump is considering an executive action to impose up to a 10 tariff on imports to strengthen u. S. Companies. Critics warn it could spark a trade war. Peter navarro, the man tapped to lead the trade council warned trump will crack down on countries that engage in unfair trading practices. Donald trump doesnt want to slap tariffs on anybody. Neither did ronald reagan. But if they cheat us, he will do that. Reporter Top Republicans like House Speaker paul ryan have sounded cool to such talk. Ill tell him what ive been saying all along. We can get at what hes trying to get at better through a comprehensive tax. Reporter one day after Newt Gingrich said trump was ready to give up on his Campaign Battle cry drain the swamp drain the swamp of washington. Well have fun doing it. He says it was cute but he doesnt want to use it anymore. Reporter trump putting gingrich in his place stating. Someone incorrectly said that was no longer being used by me. Well always be trying to drain the swamp. I made a big booboo. I talked with president elect donald trump and he reminded me he likes draining the swamp. I mischaracterized it the other day. Reporter other trump loyalists rewarded with Kellyanne Conway named counselor to the president while sean spicer selected as White House Press secretary. One of a slew of new staffing appointments. His children, theyre making moves designed to tamp down on questions about conflicts of interest. Trumps son eric explained to the New York Times why hell stop directly raising funds for his Charitable Foundation saying as unfortunate as it is i understand the quagmire. Conway said its a new posture that will hurt the trump childrens charities. The idea that these folks are trying to help people in need and those people are going to suffer now. Reporter trumps family is under a new microscope as daughter ivanka found out on a jetblue flight when one of the passengers tweeted his husband intended to harass ivanka and her husband jared. The passengers who allegedly made the threat were removed from the plane. He may have one big problem with imposing tariffs. Congress. A source telling me revenue measures come from the house, as in the house of representatives not the white house. Jim acosta. Thank you so much. To the world lead. A trump tweet about Nuclear Weapons has Foreign Policy and nonproliferation experts wondering in trump will soon lead the nation into a nuclear arms race. Barbara starr is at the pentagon. Both trump and russian Vladimir Putin talked within minutes of each other about ramping up nuclear capabilities. Its extraordinary, jake. Both leaders talking about ramping up, but at the end of today, still not really clear what either man was talking about. Did Vladimir Putin and donald trump just have their First Nuclear standoff . Today, russias president vowing more Nuclear Weapons are needed. Translator we need to strengthen the military potential of Strategic Nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective Missile Defense systems. A clear shot at u. S. Defense plants in europe, something russia believes is a threat. Within hours, president elect trump tweeted, quote, the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its Nuclear Capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. The two declarations raising the specter of an arms race renewed. Donald trump briefed just yesterday by Senior Air Force officers on the need to modernize the aging nuclear infrastructure. During the second president ial debate, a hint of his thinking. Russia is new in terms of nuclear, we are old. Were tired, were exhausted in terms of nuclear. A very bad thing. Nuclear weapons are limited by treaty. Today, russia has 7300 warheads. The u. S. , just over 6900. The Obama Administration gave up on the idea of a u. S. Pledge for no first use of Nuclear Weapons, worried the idea could embolden russia and china. U. S. Dismantling of its own Nuclear Arsenal has slowed in recent years. Putins nuclear vow came as he boasted of Russian Military superiority, after a year which saw successful russian hacking of the Democratic National committee by the Russian Military, sustained air strikes in syria and continued occupation of crimea. Translator today we are stronger than any potential aggressor. I repeat, any aggressor. Now, you know, the trump Transition Team issued a statement late today saying that the president elect was referring to modernizing the force, nuclear proliferation, and keeping Nuclear Weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue nations. Still not entirely clear whether mr. Trump may advocate for an increase in the Nuclear Arsenal and on the question of whether russia is in fact the strongest military, i will tell you there are many u. S. Military officials tonight, jake, who disagree with that. Jake . Barbara starr, thank you. Joining me now to talk, republican congressman from california, darrell issa. Thanks for coming on today. We appreciate it. Thank you, jake, you led in with an important issue, our aging Nuclear Weapons fleet. Back in 1971 72 i was going through bomb Disposal School in the army, and the technology that they were showing us then is the technology we have in place today. Let me ask you about a report from crowd strike, which is a Cyber Security firm. They say that fancy bear, a russian hacking group, is likely affiliated with Russian Military intelligence. They cite as evidence a piece of malware used to infiltrate and create information. Its been determined in june that the same fancy bear group had infiltrated the dncs network in april of this year. Does this information make you any more confident about the intelligence communitys conclusion that russia directed the hack of the dnc and the phishing and hack to john podesta . Well, i think where the confidence wanes is, if you look all the way back several years ago when i was still on the select intelligence committee, and we knew that cyber was an active effort by the russians, and here we are these years later and we are not able to intercept it in realtime. We are not able to advise potential attacks in at a time in which they can do something, and we have no countermeasures. I think i have a high confidence that the russians and others, the chinese and others, have successfully hacked a great many both public and private servers in this country, and that we have not prepared the appropriate response, either defensive or offensive, and i think thats the story going into january 20th of next year. As you know, the head of centcom and others have said that russia is the number one geopolitical foe of the United States. A recent statement by the director of the u. S. Counter intel engines and Security Center says russians are estimated to have 100 spies on u. S. Soil. How concerned are you about russia right now . If its 100 russians and we know its thousands chinese, we have to look at both. President obama did a pivot to asia, and that pivot was all about the expandive behavior of china. I think president elect trump is dealing with two fronts, a very activist, small power, russian, for all of its military strength has an economy about the size of italy. And china. Theyre both flexing their muscle after eight years of feeling emboldened by the policies of this administration, and in fairness, the previous eight years in which much of it america was distracted with two wars. The United Nations Security Council could vote on a resolution to demand an immediate halt to israeli settlement activities. Sources are telling us the u. S. Was planning to either abstain or vote yes on the measure. What do you hope the u. S. Does should the resolution come to the floor of the u. N. . I think we have to use this resolution as an opportunity to bring the real resolution in the region. The behavior that is known as settlements, both legal and illegal, if you will, under israeli laws, is the result of not settling this issue, not dividing up the land into a twostate solution. Something that president bill clinton worked very hard on and almost achieved, and then we have had a hiatus of 16 years now. So, no matter what happens in the u. N. , the secretary of state and his team are going to have to work on reestablishing the kind of comprehensive Peace Agreement that allows the israelis to have their land, the palestinians to have their land, and live in peace. What do you make of this new nominee to be u. S. Ambassador to israel, Daniel Friedman . He has said some fairly disparaging things about j street, which is a Progressive Group in the United States that works for a twostate solution, as well as a number of other things about the u. S. State department being full of antisemites. What do you think of him . Well, i think that j street is in fact a group that is very much outside the mainstream of American Jewish policies toward a free and fair relationship between the israelis and the palestinians. How so . Apec would be considered the center or center left. J street was formed because a group of pacifists felt like a group was not represented. You said center left . Apec is center left, i think. There is a Republican Jewish Coalition that was formed, in fact, to counter, if you will, a tendency of apec to look to both sides but to favor one. Having said that, all these three groups and more need to have their concerns heard so that we reinvigorate the peace process, because only through getting that process going are we going to get moved beyond, if you will, a 16year hiatus in any real negotiations by either side. All right. Congressman isa. Thank you so much. Merry christmas to you and your family. Happy hanukah. The hits may keep on coming. Well a talk to the incoming governor who calls the efforts to repeal the bathroom law a failure. The cameras roll when a device in a mans pocket explodes. The device exposing a danger that you might want to know about. Take one. Directv now. Stream all your entertainment anywhere anytime can we lose the all. Theres no cbs and we dont have a ton of sports. Anywhere, any. Lets lose the anywhere, anytime too. You cant download onthego, theres no dvr, yada yada yada. Stream some stuff somewhere sometimes you totally nailed that buddy. Simple. Dont let directv now limit your entertainment. Only xfinity gives you more to stream to any screen. More on the politics lead. Republican legislators in North Carolina have not exactly been rolling out the welcome wagon for the new democratic governor. They returned to the capital in raleigh to repeal the socalled bathroom bill but failed to offer legislation to do so cleanly. The surprise decision sparked outrage from democrats who claimed republicans failed to hold up their end of the bargain and slipped in language that would have made this only a partial repeal. The city of charlotte agreed to repeal its own lgbt protection ordinance which of course had prompted the bathroom bill in the first place with the understanding that the state General Assembly would get rid of the bill requiring individuals to use the bathrooms pertaining to the gender on their birth certificate. Bringing in North Carolinas democratic governor elect roy cooper. First of all, governor elect cooper, congratulations on your victory. Thank you very much. I am looking forward to it. So you brokered the deal between the city of charlotte and the state legislature. You are obviously not happy about what happened. No. Well, the republican legislative leadership broke its word. It said that, if the Charlotte City council would repeal its ordinance, then they would fully repeal house bill 2. But what happened was they refused to put a house bill 2 repeal bill onto the floor of both the house and senate. There were enough republican and democratic votes to get that done. People in North Carolina are tired of house bill 2. Theyre tired of North Carolina being on the latenight comedy shows. Its a stain on our great states reputation, and its got to be wiped out. Im going to work hard, continue to work. This was our best chance to do it. It cannot be our last chance. Weve got to keep working. Governorelect. Why did 16 democratic lawmakers vote against the repeal . Well, no. Thats just not true. What they did was added to repeal of house bill 2 a moratorium on any city or county passing antidiscrimination ordinances. Thats essentially what house bill 2 does. So it was a legislative trick. The democrats saw through it. They knew that, if this moratorium on any local antidiscrimination ordinance passed, that it wouldnt work, that the nba woouldnt come bac, the ncaa wouldnt come back, that businesses would still say no to North Carolina in many cases. They knew this. So they were trying to stop something that wasnt full repeal, and it wasnt their agreement. We had enough republicans and democrats together to get this done, and this was a failure of the republican legislative leadership. They went back on their word. What we have to do now is to find another path. So let me ask you about the outgoing governor pat mccrory. He signed the lastminute legislation to curb your gubernatorial power. Republicans in charge in actual election years. In response you said, quote, theyll see me in court. Are you still planning to sue . Yes, sir. And ill tell you this. They can try to do those kinds of things, but were still going to move this state forward. We still have plenty of authority to help us raise teacher pay, to help us get betterpaying jobs in this state. I am going to fight them on this because it was not just a power grab. It was an attempt by them to be able to change who controls education policy, tax policy, elections. And i am not going to let them do that. We will see them in court, and what were going to do also is, on many issues where we can find agreement, were going to work with them. People want us to work together. And in fact, during this turmoil of this big fight, we were talking i was talking to the House Speaker and the president pro tem about repealing house bill 2. We had a sitdown and an agreement even with this turmoil going on. I think people want us to work together. Im going to do that, but i also need to keep an eye on the fact that i was not able to trust what they were able to say in this piece of legislation, but its time for us to go forward. Its time for us to move North Carolina forward. We are a great state. We just need to show that. Governorelect roy cooper of the great state of North Carolina, thank you so much and good luck to you, sir. Thanks a lot, jake. In todays buried lead. The suicide hotline. A whistle blower sounding the alarm on potential problems after some calls may have been missed. 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Liberty mutual insurance. Welcome back to the lead. Im jake tapper. The buried lead. Thats what we call stories that we think are not getting enough attention. Its estimated that 20 American Veterans kill themselves every day. For many, their only life line is the emergency hotline at the department of veterans affairs. It should be obvious that the bare minimum this country can do to fulfill its commitment to veterans is to pick up the phone. We found out there are still problems. It still may not be happening. Thank you for calling the crisis hotline. 2016 has been a troubled year for the understaffed Veterans Crisis line, which was profiled in an Academy Award winning documentary the year before. I am not going to lose you. Im not going anywhere. Im going to stay with you. In february, the v. A. Inspector general revealed that some calls routed to backup Crisis Centers were answered by voice mail and callers did not always receive immediate assistance. In september Congress Learned the former director of the crisis line said in an internal email that more than a third of calls are not being answered by frontline staffers. Instead, they are being rolled to backup call centers where staff may have less training. The v. A. Tried to fix this problem. This week a new 200 Person Call Center in atlanta was celebrated with much promise from va deputy secretary sloan gibson. I have to tell you, getting stuff done inside the federal government is really hard. The idea that in about 150 days these guys went from a standing start to answering calls down here and hiring more than 200 additional staff, in the federal government, thats like light speed. I urge the committee two years after testifying before congress, scott davis tells cnn that there remained big problems that may not be easily solved. Problems like this. Highlighted in an october complaint to the va Inspector General from a suicidal veteran claiming the person on the line left the call twice, or in november when a troubled veteran called the Atlanta Office and davis colleagues could not patch him through. It is so bad that, when our own office tried to call the crisis line, no one answered the phone. Someone actually had to walk up from the fourth floor to go to the fifth floor to get someone to take a veterans call. If february the general noted not enough is being done to track how effective the centers are when it comes to Patient Outcomes or other quality indicators. Davis says this remains a problem. Currently we dont have a standardization for quality assurance. Thats something basic that you would have for a call center, for a credit card company, for a cable company. In the past, it was difficult for us because we didnt have the Management Information that would allow us to go back. Okay. What responder did they speak to . How much can that responder reconstruct the phone call . Now what we have to do is use the foundation, leverage off of it to deliver better outcomes. An internal memo shows the number of abandoned or unanswered calls did not decrease from april to september of this year. Were not going to be perfect, but we are trying to build as much rigor into the system and process as we can so that we operate more like a high reliability organization. We are within days of being at a point where pretty consistently we are not rolling any calls over. With stakes this high, davis remains concerned about the cost of failure. If this isnt addressed, youre going to have the number of veterans that commit suicide on a daily basis remain at 20 or more a day, which is simply unacceptable. One thing everyone agrees on, we should give the phone number of the hotline for anybody watching right now. 1800273talk. Or 8255veteranschoose option one. Lets turn to breaking news in the world lead. Syrian forces loyal to president assad say they are in complete control of aleppo. All rebel fighters along with tens of thousands of innocent civilians have been evacuated or chased from the city. Syrian war planes and troops on the ground have been relentlessly pounding opposition enclaves of eastern aleppo. Cnns Muhammad Lila joins us from the border. Reporter jake, whenever one side in the conflict makes a statement you have to take it with skepticism. We have confirmation from a leading rebel negotiator all saying the same thing. All of the civilians and the rebel fighters and their families in eastern aleppo have been evacuated. What that means is that the government and syrias president , Bashar Al Assad, now controls the entire city. For many years it was divided ben the rebel part of the city and the Government Forces part of the city. The divide is no longer in place. Its a stunning turn, jake. I remember when the revolution began. We thought Bashar Al Assad would last three, six, or nine months. Its been a dramatic turn. Its now looking like assad will outlast president obama. Something most of us thought was unthinkable just a few years ago. There are obviously still pockets of resistance throughout syria, but the fact that aleppo is in complete control of the government seems to suggest that he will hold on to power. There is no question. You cant underestimate the importance of eastern aleppo. For more than four years since the rebels took hold in the eastern part of the city it was their base of operations. They directed operations out of there, they had communications. They with activists in touch with people across the city and in fact around the world. What happens when you take that base away . What happens to the revolution . We know theyre now in the countryside and a province called idlib. Idlib also has a strong isis presence and a strong al qaeda presence. These are groups that have all been fighting each other in this kind of weird mess of syrias civil war. What happens to the opposition against assad. Will they unite or continue to fight amongst themselves, no one really knows. Next, caught on camera, an ecigarette exploding in a mans pocket. Whats shaping up to be a lackluster inauguration celebration. Just 29 days away. Stay with us. 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. I wont stop until i find what works. Discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75 skin clearance at 3 months. While the majority saw 90 clearance. Do not use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, you should be tested for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms. Such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. See me. See me. See me. On my way. Find clear skin. And a clearer path forward. For a different kind of medicine, ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. Welcome back to the lead. Im jake tapper. The National Lead now. An explosion caught on camera thats raising concerns over ecigarettes. Watch as one burst into flames in fresno, california, on a city bus. This is not the first time this has happened. Thats why Chuck Schumer is not only calling for an investigation but a recall. Rene marsh joins me now. Lithium batteries from the source of other explosions. Is that whats going on here as well . It appears but we dont know for sure because ecigarettes have fallen outside the scope of federal oversight for many years. An increase in explosions is causing concern that regulators are not doing enough to ensure the more than 3 Million People using them are safe. You cant vape on the bus, man. Seconds after this fresno, california, Bus Passenger places his ecigarette in his pocket it explodes. Severely burning him. The battery was likely the cause. They have a wrap on the outside that needs to stay intact. If the battery gets torn and it touches metal, there is some loose change in your pocket, it can short out the battery. Surveillance cameras captured the terrifying moment in november when an ecigarette exploded inside a new york city mans pocket causing third degree burns. Earlier this month a 24yearold was severely burned when a pair of ecigarette batteries exploded in his pocket. Attorney Sanford Rubenstein represents both men. It explodes multiple times over and over, like fireworks. There should be a ban on the possession of ecigarettes and ecigarette batteries until such time as the manufacturers determine whats causing them to explode. Between 2009 and january 2016, there were 134 incidents of overheating, fire or explosion involving ecigarettes in the United States. More than 50 people were injured. Just days before the latest incident, Incoming Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called for more federal oversight. Its time to take a hard look at requiring a recall of certain brands if they are much more likely to explode than others. The concern is, as ecigarettes become even more popular, the number of people injured will grow too. Despite the explosions, there have not been any recalls. The fda just got Regulatory Authority over ecigarettes seven months ago. The agency telling me today its now collecting information about incidents. They will then investigate and take the necessary steps to keep the public safe. We should note that they are banned in checked luggage. And now some people are saying, besides the aircraft, they want to see it banned on maybe mass transit. You saw what happened on board that bus. I dont want to be sitting next to that guy. In our pop culture lead, it remains doubtful that well see musical performances at Donald Trumps president ial inauguration of the caliber that some would consider big league. Elton john already said no to the invitation. Stephanie, is the trump team having any luck getting a listers to perform . Today they said the radio city rockettes will join the lineup. As for the big names, still looking for a lot of them. Beyonce, james taylor, brad paisley, those are just a few of the a list entertainers who sang at president obamas last inauguration. Over the years, president ial inaugurations have become celeb studded celebrations. Less than a month away from the president elects inauguration, and sources tell cnn that Donald Trumps Transition Team is having a hard time booking talent. This was an incredibly divisive campaign. There is a lot of hurt feelings out there. And even if you supported donald trump, you may have some hesitation over what kind of response youre going to get from your fan base that did not vote for him. A vice chair for the inaugural Committee Said in November Elton john was set to perform. His spokes woman said in quote, he will not be performing at the inauguration. Capitalization, hers. It would have been a change for john who performed at the Hillary Clinton campaign. The view among many in the Music Industry is donald trump is not on ordinary republican in his rhetoric, and theyre very put off by that, and they they it follows through with the inauguration that they dont want to touch it, i guess, with a tenfoot pole. Entertainment news website the wrap reports garth brooks will not perform. No doubt he will have performances, but with a lot less pop. I dont doubt that there will be people there at the inauguration. I dont think, though, that theyre going to get people out there who were on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton. I also dont think that theyre going to get the level of celebrity star power that you saw for Barack Obamas first inauguration. Hollywood leans left, and donald trump has to work against that. The trump team is downplaying any difficulties getting a listers. Confirming they booked the mormon tabernacle choir. Also, Jackie Evancho of americas got talent fame. Shell sing the national an them at the swearing in. Musicians who have stumped for trump like ted nugent and kid rock are other possible performance. Weve just learned from the beach boys that they say theyve been asked to participate but havent made a decision yet whether or not theyll show up for trump. As far as whether or not big stars will turn out, the trump camp is downplaying this, saying its not a big deal to them because theyre not putting on summer jam or woodstock, that the Trump Supporters are a different breed and what they really care and who they really care to see, donald j. Trump. Interesting. Stephanie. I heard there is an organization trying to put together a counterperformance on inaugural day of all these leftleaning performers who oppose donald trump. It could become another chapter in these culture wars. Exactly. Who will people tune in to see, the inauguration or will they look to see the event happening in florida at the same time as the inauguration. Yikes. President elect donald trump tweeting about nukes minutes after Vladimir Putin talked about nukes. State Department Spokesman john kirby on that right after this. With my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, the possibility of a flare was almost always on my mind. 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Do you like nuts . Happening now, breaking news, terror on tape. New video for the first time shows the deadly truck attack on a berlin Christmas Market while security files show the suspect was well known to German Authorities and had discussed carrying out an attack. Nuclear showdown. The trump Transition Team rushes to explain a tweet by the president elect saying the u. S. Must expand its Nuclear Capability. This follows a call by Vladimir Putin for russia to boost its nuclear forces, and it comes as experts linked to the Russian Military a cyberattack in the u. S. Teariff