contenders stirred controversy when they announced they won't be attending the conference this year. senior diplomatic correspondent michelle krasinski is with me now. s michelle, why is that meeting with contenders so controversial? >> reporter: this apec conference, which is a normal occurrence here in d.c., it's big, almost 25,000 people will attend. it's a very powerful lobby. but the mood has been contentious throughout, and this conference now is going to highlight divisions in more ways than one. first of all, you have prime minister benjamin netanyahu visiting the u.s. just before his election. remember, president obama would not meet with him when he came to the u.s. because it was too close to his election. this time he'll be going to the white house, he will meet with president trump. president trump has thrown him a number of bones, you might call them large gifts. the golan heights announcement last week was just the latest