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A Nightclub In Istanbul Was Massacred And 39 Deaths Were Reported And Almost 70 Injured Yet As Of Now, No Groups Claimed Responsibility; President-Elect Donald Trump To Meet With The Intelligence Leaders This Week For Intel Briefing But His Said He Has Know Something That Nobody Else Does On The Cyber War Issue; Trump Touts Insider Knowledge ON Hack, Doubts CIA Report; Pope Continues To Push For World Peace In New Year's Address; Queen Misses New Year's Service Due To "Heavy Cold". Aired 2:00-2:30p ET

Aired January 1, 2017 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in New York.

We begin this hour with the first terror attack of 2017. What should have been the celebration of the new year turned into a scene of devastation and grief in Istanbul. Now a manhunt is underway for the gunman seen in this surveillance video. He entered a popular nightclub and opened fire inside, at least 39 people are dead; one of them a police officer. Sixty-nine others were injured at the high-end club.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got shot in the [bleep] leg, man. These crazy people came in shooting everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people? How many (inaudible)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I saw one person. They're shooting (inaudible) --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. CNN correspondent Sara Sidner is joining me live now from Istanbul. So Sara, the hunt is underway for the attacker. The prime minister says he believes the gunman will be apprehended soon. What more do you know?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the difficulty as they pretty much kind of kept the rest of that information quiet as through exactly, for example, where they might be looking and who they might be looking for; granted they have seen these surveillance videos of the suspected gunman.

There were a lot of rumors, there were a lot of witnesses that thought they saw more than one gunman but the government says they do believe it is simply one person that they are hunting down as we speak. Now, the question is, how long will that take and will any other

attacks occur before they're able to apprehend this person? This place was an absolute scene of a massacre inside of what you are seeing behind me which is the nightclub -- an upscale nightclub that's right on the Bosporus River. It is an absolutely beautiful and glowing place where people have been coming for many years.

It really is one of the hot spot, the place to be. And especially on New Year's Eve as people were hoping to ring (ph) in the new year. And also hoping that 2016 would not repeat itself in 2017 here in Istanbul; there had been attack after attack after attack. This dashing all hopes that things will change this year, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Sara, in your view, why do investigators believe it was this club that was attacked?

SIDNER: They don't know yet but there are some ideas that this is an area really, Fredricka, that is one, that is filled with clubs. In fact, right across the street from this nightclub, there's another nightclub. You go two streets down and there's another two nightclubs.

So it's kind of a high (ph) happening place here where a lot of people from around the world like to come and enjoy themselves. And this may have been a message about the western lifestyle that people see as being led here.

And this is also Istanbul, a place that divides east and west. It's right in the middle of it. It always has been with Asia on one side and Europe on the other and this may be a message.

We also want to tell you that we heard from a witness who said she is absolutely certain that after all the shooting she heard the suspect say allahu akbar.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Sidner, bring us more when you get it. Thank you so much from Istanbul.

So here in the U.S., President-elect Donald Trump is saying he has insider knowledge about the cyber hack that has led to sanctions against Russia. At a New Year's Eve party last night, at Trump's Mar- a-Lago hotel, he once again cast doubt on U.S. intel operations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I just want them to be sure because it's a pretty serious charge and I want them to be sure. And 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 it's unfair if they don't know. And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. Let's go now to CNN's Ryan Nobles in Washington. So Ryan, did Trump say that -- or did he infer in any way that this is something that will be tackled right away in office?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he continues, Fredricka, for the most part, to kind of step away from the overall intelligence assessment by many of these high-level U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia is directly involved in this hack and that it's the Russian government in particular that is behind it all.

Trump even suggesting that perhaps the U.S. government shouldn't be using computers in certain situations, that they should be physically writing down important pieces of information and delivering it by courier.

And Fredricka, he also suggested that he knows more about this situation than some others. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I also know things that other people don't know. And so, they cannot be sure of this situation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like what do you know that other people don't know?

TRUMP: You will find out on Tuesday or Wednesday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: (00:05:00) Now, what's interesting about what Trump said there is that he didn't say who he knows more about than in this particular situation. Is he talking about just the general public or is he talking about the intelligence agencies themselves? Perhaps, he will clear that up later this week.

And there are some key things happening this week to keep an eye on. Of course, Trump himself is going to meet with intelligence officials in a private briefing. It seems as though he's going to shed some light as to what he learns in that briefing.

And then later this week, on Thursday, Senator John McCain will call together his Senate Armed Services Committee for a public hearing with some of the major heads of these intelligence agencies.

And Fredricka, we expect these members of congress to really press these intelligence officials about specific evidence that links Russia back to this hack. At this point, we don't have a lot of those details. We're just being told over and over again that the intelligence agencies are sure that it is Russia. Perhaps we will get some clarity later this week.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ryan Nobles in Washington, thanks so much.

NOBLES: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right. North Korea's Kim Jong-un sending a chilling New Year's message that the test of an international ballistic missile is imminent. In a New Year's day speech, the North Korean president said his country is making final preparations to conduct its first test of these long-range missiles.

It's a bold move raising fears that North Korea has strengthened its nuclear capabilities right before Donald Trump's inauguration. CNN's Saima Mohsin has details.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim Jong-un chose his New Year's day address to talk of an epoch-making turn in bolstering national defense capacity. Now, he talked yet again of a hydrogen bomb test which we simply can't independently verify. And then he said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM JONG-UN, CHAIRMAN OF THE WORKERS' PARTY OF KOREA (through translator): Research and development of the cutting-edge tech weapons are actively progressing and strengthening our defense capabilities, including last-stage preparation of tests for intercontinental ballistic rocket launch have been continuously succeeding. This will protect the destiny of the motherland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOSHIN: Now, nobody really knows if at all how close North Korea is to test firing an intercontinental ballistic missile. But we do know that in February, 2016, they launched a satellite into the sky which many experts said could be a template for a long-range missile test. And so there was concern about the capacity North Korea had. And, of course, conducting its fifth and largest nuclear test on September 9th, 2016, which resulted in yet more sanctions.

A few days ago, the highest level diplomatic defector from North to South Korea, Thae Yong-ho, told South Korean media that as long as Kim Jong-un is still in power, he will continue with his nuclear ambitions. He is determined to complete his nuclear weapons program by the end of 2017 no matter how much money he is offered.

So, this would seemingly weave into this announcement that Kim Jong-un has made and Kim Jong-un also said in this 30-minute speech that his country had soared as a nuclear and military power in the east and no formidable enemy dare encroach upon them. Saima Mohsin, CNN, Seoul, South Korea.

WHITFIELD: We will discuss Kim Jong-un's defiant tone and aggressive nuclear ambition straight ahead. Plus, the pope goes off-script during his New Year's Eve message to urge world leaders to fight the "Plague of Terror."

Then, singer Mariah Carey with some rather off-key kind of moments during her New Year's Eve performance. How an audio malfunction made have caused what the star calls an amazing end to 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: Happy New Year. We're getting near.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (00:10:00)

WHITFIELD: From Russia's hacking operations to the attack at Istanbul's nightclub to North Korea's imminent ballistic missile preparations, 2017 is already shaping up to be a rather busy year in foreign policy and it's sure to impact Donald Trump's incoming administration. Let's bring in former U.S. assistant secretary of state, Jamie Rubin. Good to see you. Happy New Year.

JAMIE RUBIN, FORMER U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right. So the stage is set for some really serious and potentially unsettling matters. You know, how do you see the incoming president tackling these, even prioritizing them?

RUBIN: Well, I think the idea of Islamic-based terrorism is certainly something that President-elect Trump has made clear, it's going to be his highest priority. That means, essentially, fighting the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria and wherever there is a threat.

I'm not sure there's a lot more that can be done on the ground in Iraq and Syria without putting American ground troops. So you may find there's less new policy to be made there. But where there is likely to be a real challenge to the United States is on the subject of North Korea. Because I don't think the North Korean leader was exaggerated when he said this could be a big breakthrough.

If North Korea developed an intercontinental range missile, meaning one that could go many thousands of miles and strike the United States and had the technology to put a miniaturized nuclear weapon on that missile, that would be a threat to the United States that would be dramatic.

And now, I guess maybe, to when Russia first tested a nuclear weapon back in the 50s, we don't want that particular man with his particular danger and irresponsibility to be able to kill millions of Americans.

WHITFIELD: And are you concerned that this, too, may be an issue in believability for the incoming president. This week Donald Trump is to have his intel briefings. The primary focus was going to be on Russia, on this cyber war, but now clearly North Korea has to be at the top of the list. What are your worries or concerns based on the language Donald Trump has already used casting doubt on intel?

RUBIN: Well, I think it is a good question to put the two together, North Korea and Russia because what you may be hearing is the difference between a businessman who spent a lot of time in court fighting off lawsuits who talks about what you can prove in court.

If the standard is what you can prove in court, well then it's probably true that the United States intelligence agencies aren't 100 percent certain of many things that the president has to make a decision about. Whether it's the North Koreans getting an intercontinental range missile with nuclear weapons, I doubt we're going to be 100 percent sure until they actually launch the missile.

But previous presidents understood if they tested the capability, if we knew that certain technology was being improved, they made judgments and made leaps of logic that a president normally respects. If you want to use the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq standard, meaning a terrible mistake the intelligence community made, because they had nobody on the ground, President Trump is going to have a tough time doing any (00:15:00) business.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's interesting because just last night the weapons of mass destruction, the failed intelligence on that, that was one of the examples that Donald Trump cited when at a New Year's Eve event last night. And he said, you know, I also know things that other people don't know. You will find out Tuesday or Wednesday as it pertains to what kind of information he knows in light of Russia.

How concerning is it about the upcoming or lack thereof cooperation and respect between a new president and the intelligence guidance?

RUBIN: Well, I think it's always important to make sure that the president of the United States being an individual granted an enormous power by our constitution and our system, the president really can launch a war, stop a war, make peace, do incredibly powerful and important things in our world.

And if he's operating on false information, gut instinct based on what he watches on TV or reads in the newspaper but without the confidence to work with our intelligence community, that is troubling.

Now, in the area of computers and hacking, Donald Trump may know some things that most people don't. But it's clear that the people who spend their lives doing this at the National Security Agency are confident that the people involved with the hack of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's closest aides were the same people that have done things around the world that we know to be involved with the Russians.

But they don't know it the way you might know it in the court of law. And again, if Donald Trump holds to that standard, what you can prove, he said, that's going to make life difficult.

All we can hope for is that as the president is inaugurated and the question of how he was elected is less and less important, he will focus on the substance. And the substance is very worrying. Russia poses grave dangers to the west, to our world and we sure hope we have a president who's more interested in responding to those dangers and getting our allies together to work together against Russia than someone who is so interested in the limelight that he would be more inclined to make a deal with a leader like Putin over the heads of our friends and allies in Europe.

WHITFIELD: So on the passing of information, President-elect Trump, again, reiterated he's not big on e-mailing. Of course, we know that he's very handy and likes to lean on Twitter. But he says in order to best pass on information and messages, it needs to be written down and perhaps even couriered.

Is he giving us a window into what potential changes he wants to see once he gets into the White House, how he has conversations with intel heads and chiefs or even his own advisors?

RUBIN: Well, look, the president-elect is stating the obvious. We all know that when Osama Bin Laden wanted to hide from the world, he stopped using the phone and he stopped using electronic communications and couriers were involved in passing messages. Everybody knows that.

And Donald Trump certainly is -- it's good for him to alert the public to the fact that there is an inherent risk of privacy to e-mail when Russia has spent so much time and energy and China spent so much time and energy learning how, you know, to spy on our computer systems. That's useful to remind the American public.

But I just hope that it isn't a way of suggesting that because you never have 100 percent certainty of who's the hacker working for or what number was used that the president-elect will not accept the compelling evidence that has led 15 separate intelligence agencies to come together and declare that Russia did something really unprecedented and risked, you know, a conflict with the United States.

This was an act of provocation. It was an act of sabotage. And I sure hope President-elect Trump confronts Mr. Putin with these facts by getting our allies together. The difference between the United States and China and Russia is that we have friends and allies around the world that are forced multipliers that are crucial to what makes the world safe for our people, for our businesses that allows us to prosper.

Allies are important. And I sure hope the president-elect realizes that and acts accordingly.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jamie Rubin, thanks so much from London. Happy New Year.

RUBIN: Thank you. Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up. New Year's celebrations right here in New York. Let's say they were interesting. Mariah Carey -- well she says, "Let's call it amazing." She drops the ball during her (00:20:00) New Year's Eve performance in Times Square, the embarrassing flap that led to the pop diva walking off the stage in front of millions, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAREY: I would say let the audience sing, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: OK. Perhaps you watched it, perhaps you were there last night. Mariah Carey fans, while they're feeling a range of emotions right now after the star's New Year's eve performance ended in a rather heart-breaker of a moment, thanks to technical difficulties maybe?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAREY: (inaudible). Well, Happy new Year. We're getting near. All right. We didn't have the chips (ph) of this song so will just say, it was a number one and that's what it is, OK. We're missing some of this (inaudible) but it is what it is.

I would say let the audience sing, OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. How did she do all that without those lips moving, that's what people are wondering.

For a second, the dancers were working it but you saw she was kind of searching maybe for an earpiece, maybe there was an audio-track malfunction while Carey attempted to perform some of her biggest hits on stage in front of millions there, the live audience right there in front of her and, of course, the television live audience.

And very frustrated, she pace (ph) on stage, you should see right there, pointing what had gone wrong, occasionally performing moves with her backup dancers, even talking a little bit to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAREY: This is (inaudible) please. (00:25:00) All right. (inaudible) down for the lyrics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Despite the flap, despite the emotions, Carey appears to be shaking it off, get the reference to all her songs, emotion, shaking it off. Well, she posted a tweet shortly after the performance an wished everyone a happy and healthy new year.

So much to talk about. "New York Times" deputy culture editor and CNN political analyst Patrick Healy with me now. Look, I'm a Mariah Carey fan.

PATRICK HEALY, DEPUTY CULTURE EDITOR, NEW YORK TIMES: Me too.

WHITFIELD: I was feeling -- I was fringing. I was like, "Oh, what's happening here?"

HEALY: Yes, it was painful, it was painful.

WHITFIELD: It was.

HEALY: But who doesn't do a vocal check before Time Square in New Year's Eve, you know.

WHITFIELD: But you know what, in that early interview, she did kind of infer that it was tough getting there. So now I have to -- I'm trying to piece together for her, trying to, you know, help her out, figure out what happened here. Did she just get there too late in order to do that --

HEALY: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- and she was hoping everything was in place and I don't know, was she searching for an earpiece? Maybe she didn't have that.

HEALY: Her camp is saying that she was really press her time that -- yes, she didn't have enough time to do the things that all the things that she was being asked to do, to do the interview. But then they're saying when she got up there, basically, it wasn't her fault.

But "The New York Times", we talked to the head of audio for Time Square New Year's Eve just now. And they said that the earpiece was functioning, the monitors were functioning, so there was some none technical issue they say that was going on and they're not --

WHITFIELD: Do we think she had the earpiece in her ear? Really, she was searching there.

HEALY: Right. She was searching --

WHITFIELD: I was wondering if it wasn't there.

HEALY: Right. And look, Mariah Carey is a pro, in addition to being a diva who has incredible crowd work and knows how to get that love from her fans and throw it to the audience.

You know, she also knows when an earpiece is and isn't working. And it seems like, certainly, from her performance, you know, she was going there. She was shouting out saying, "I'm not getting the monitor. The vocals aren't happening. Something is not happening in my ear."

WHITFIELD: Yes. She was thinking out load, you know, even -- yes, instructing her dancers. Help me out. Let's just keep walking. All of that. But knowing she's a confirmit (ph) professional, I'm wondering why she didn't just go ahead and start singing even though there was music overhead. I mean, could she not hear even the music around her, I don't know (inaudible) --

(CROSSTALK)

HEALY: I think that's it. Exactly. Look, performers want to be on cue. They want to be singing to their music. And a lot of performers would rather not give any performance at all rather than deliver a sub-par (ph) performance for the fans.

This was big. She was the last pre-midnight act. She was delivering --

WHITFIELD: And she the first -- historically the first live performer at Time Square New Year.

HEALY: Sure, for Time Square. She very much made it. But I think, in a case, a lot of performers don't want to deliver sub-par (ph) if they're going to be not on cue, if they can't hear where they are in the music. And even when they've sang the song thousands of times, it still very challenging to just pop up in mid song and get the medal (ph) --

WHITFIELD: But then, also the moment of, as she's walking out, she was like, "I don't know how to describe this. Well, this was amazing." And then she tweeted and apparently there was a profanity at first, it was taken down, she revised it. That's not so good.

HEALY: Yes, it's not so good but it's also like, people get it. I mean, it's human.

WHITFIELD: That's not the good (inaudible) thing.

HEALY: I know. It's tough. So it's like frustrated.

WHITFIELD: And people are forgiving, you feel?

HEALY: I think people can be forgiving. But the question though is like, Janet Jackson paid such a price for the Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction. I think a lot of us looked back on that as something that really was not her fault and that she paid too much of a price.

I know people are saying Mariah Carey was the last death of 2016. That's very harsh.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my God, that is harsh.

HEALY: That is harsh. Her career -- I mean, her career.

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm not among that's saying that.

HEALY: And it's very, very tough.

WHITFIELD: Tremendous pressure.

HEALY: Yes, some people are really coming to her defense and say we don't want to see happening at Mariah Carey what happened in Janet Jackson.

WHITFIELD: All right, Patrick. I think her fans were saying, "Come on, girl, rooting for you. There will be another moment in which to hopefully recover." Right?

HEALY: No one is perfect.

WHITFIELD: No one is perfect. All right, Patrick Healy, thanks so much. Happy New Year.

HEALY: Happy New Year, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right. Straight head, a malicious software allegedly from Russia

is found on a Vermont utility company of laptop. Now, we're learning more details of intrusion. A live report coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- had no time was our electric grid breach or penetrated and we have no indication of compromised of our electric grid systems or any customary information. (00:30:00)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thanks again for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A Vermont utility company said there is no indication its information or systems were hacked or compromised after malware linked to Russian hackers was found on a company laptop. Burlington Electric says the malware found in their system was not unique and there is no evidence of an attempt to tamper with the electric grid.

However, the Department of Homeland Security says the malware matches codes found on Democratic Party computers. Utility officials are revealing more details on this intrusion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEALE LUNDERVILLE, GENERAL MANAGER, BURLINGTON ELECTRIC: 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 begin to work with them so we could help trace that back to further their investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, this as President-elect Trump continues to cast doubt about Russia's involvement in hacking the U.S. election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Well, I just want them to be sure because it's pretty serious charge and 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 it's unfair if they don't know, and I know a lot about hacking and hacking is a very hard thing to prove so it could be somebody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Trump went on to say that he has information about the hacking that others don't. Information he will reveal on, quote, "Tuesday or Wednesday." So for more on this, I'm joined now by CNN senior political analyst and senior editor at "The Atlantic," Ron Brownstein in L.A. Happy New Year.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Happy New Year, Fred. Everybody watching?

WHITFIELD: I think so. So, how will Donald Trump be further convinced that the intel that everyone has relied upon so far is intel that he could trust?

BROWNSTEIN: It's not clear that he can be convinced. This is just an extraordinary situation that grows more remarkable by the day where you have an overwhelming consensus of the intelligence community that Russia was behind the hacks.

[14:35:08]A broad consensus in the intelligent community. You have the president-elect time after time, week after week essentially refusing to accept that conclusion and continuing to cast doubt on it. I mean, you can see how this is an inconvenient conclusion for him.

That he views it as a slap of legitimacy of his election and in a forward looking way, it's also a complication for his desire to radically reset relations with Russia.

But what he is doing is creating enormous incentive both for the Obama administration to put out as much information as it can before he leaves office underling its evidence.

But also for the Republicans in Congress like John McCain and Lindsey Graham and others to push forward on an investigation because they have taken a different view of the seriousness of the threat.

WHITFIELD: So then this week Trump will be briefed by intel chiefs, not just intel personnel, but the top of the heap and by his language even just last night saying I'm not so convinced and I know things others don't and he cites WMD that intel is being flawed. Is he setting the stage that there will be an adversarial relationship between him and these intelligence agencies?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, well, look, clearly his comments last night echoed the earlier remarks that he made comparing this to the WMD immediately after the conclusion that Russia not only intervened, but intervened specifically to help him.

Yes, that is the fear in the intelligence community that only facts that support the kind of ideological or policy agenda of the administration will be accepted. I mean, this is clearly a more confrontational start for the relationship.

It doesn't necessarily have to color every aspect of it, but there is no doubt that it is starting in a way that is extremely unusual. But again, also, this sets up potentially the first major conflict with Republicans in Congress who view this, you know, less through the lens of whether it's a smudge on the victory than as a threat both to the U.S.

And it's important to note, Fred, that in 2017 you have elections in France and Germany where Russia could view this as a template for interfering, as well.

WHITFIELD: OK, also very interesting Donald Trump saying last night, reminding people that, you know, he doesn't e-mail. He doesn't necessarily rely on it nor trust it, no one else should. He actually believes things should be written down and then couriered. Is that a realistic transaction of communication once he is in the White House?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, it is -- look, again, no, it is not a model for the country, first of all. Like the idea that the answer to cyber- security is that we should all go back to writing handwritten notes to each other and walking around offices. That's not the way the world works.

The world is linked together electronically. That has created new vulnerabilities that have to be responded to. It will be interesting to see how he proceeds as president. Presidents I think generally are somewhat leery of e-mail and electronic communication and all the security issues that go with that.

But like he kind of went, as you know, more broadly and said this is the model for society. That's not the answer. The answer is that we have serious vulnerabilities whether it's North Korea hacking Sony and whether it was the breaches at Yahoo!, the enormous breaches, and the ones we've seen at other financial institutions.

And that it feels that the challenges and in many ways the bad guys are ahead of the good guys in cyber-security and that is going to be clearly one of the 21st Century national security threats to the country.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ron Brownstein, good to see you. Thanks so much. Happy New Year.

BROWNSTEIN: Happy New Year.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, a manhunt now under way for a gunman who carried out a deadly terror attack at an upscale nightclub in Turkey. We'll have the latest.

Plus, the pope condemning the massacre goes off script during his New Year's message. We'll discuss his impromptu address when NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:55]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A manhunt is under way in Turkey for the suspect seen in this surveillance video. He is believed to be the gunman who opened fire inside an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, that was packed with people celebrating New Year's.

At least 39 people were killed and 69 others injured in the first terror attack of 2017. Pope Francis condemned the massacre in his New Year's Day address and went off message to make a plea to world leaders. CNN's senior Vatican analyst, John Allen, has more from Rome.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: New Year's Day on the Catholic calendar means two things. It is the church's world day of peace. It is also the feast of Mary as the mother of God. And this New Year's Day, the first day of 2017, Pope Francis tackled both of those themes.

On the peace front, the pontiff repeated that he is called for nonviolent solutions to global problems calling on world leaders to find nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts and to achieve empowerment and emancipation for the world's peoples.

He acknowledged, however, that that message often falls on deaf ears, referring specifically to the New Year's Eve attack on a nightclub in Istanbul that left 39 people dead. Expressing his prayers for the dead, the injured, and their families.

Also calling on the world to end what he described as a scourge of terrorism that envelops everything in an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Here is what Pope Francis had to say on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Unfortunately, violence has stricken, even in this night of good wishes and hope. Pained. I express my closeness to the Turkish people. I pray for the many victims and for the wounded and for the entire nation in mourning. I ask the Lord to sustain all men of goodwill to courageously roll up their sleeves to confront the plague of terrorism and the stain of blood that is covering the world with a shadow of fear and a sense of loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Early in the morning on Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated a mass honoring Mary as the mother of God. And in his remarks at that mass, he delivered what amounts to a tribute to mothers everywhere. He said that a society without mothers would be a cold society. A society that has lost its heart.

That has lost the flavor of the family. He said that mothers are the ones who protect us from feeling like spiritual orphans who have no connection to other people, who have no responsibility for others. And succumb to what he called a narcissistic mentality.

That led the pope to reflecting on the importance of youth in today's world arguing that it is important to make sure that there are job opportunities for young people. That they have the chance to build a better future.

[14:45:00]He also talked about how much he has learned from mothers over the years, the mothers of refugees, the mothers of war victims. Mothers whose children are in prison or are addicted to drugs.

He said what they have taught him is that these mothers never give up. They never stop fighting for their children, and he said that's the spirit the world needs in 2017 to try to build a better future. For CNN, John Allen, Rome.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, John.

All right, tonight on CNN, the history of the music group, Chicago. After the break, we'll have a sneak peek of the film documenting one of America's greatest bands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, 2017 will mark the legendary rock group, Chicago's 50th year performing. Never once missing a year of touring. Extraordinary. Well, tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time, CNN traces the band's windy city roots all the way to the top of the charts in the new film "Now More Than Ever the History of Chicago."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost an hour and a half of new music that we perform very well and with enthusiasm and a lot of joy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And material that they themselves created and wrote. They did it with material and they did it combing jazz, pop and rock and, clearly, a very, very special away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is," is the first thing we recorded as a band together. That's the first thing we ever did and it was -- it was sort of frightening because we all got in the same recording studio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in sort of a circle and for myself, personally, and I think maybe we didn't want to look at each other because if we looked at one of the other guys, we would make them make a mistake.

[14:50:07]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once we got into the studio we started saying we might not be ready because we had no idea that when this little microphone gets in front of you, it hears everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me right now from Los Angeles is the director of the film, Peter Pardini. Peter, good to see you.

PETER PARDINI, DIRECTOR, "NOW MORE THAN EVER: THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO": Good to see you. WHITFIELD: So what is the secret behind this band being able to stay together for so long and in a really remarkable way still sound very fresh, yet at the same time, be very nostalgic?

PARDINI: I think the songwriting has been so great over the last 50 years and somebody stepped up in the band and wrote songs that have furthered the career and the fact that they still love playing the music and they're still writing new music and, you know, I think that it all kind of goes together into a lifestyle rather than, oh, we have to do the next hit. We have to do the next thing. It is just something they love doing.

WHITFIELD: You really could see that. I was fortunate to see them, really, for the first time for me in the summer of 2015. And something that I really loved is the way they looked at each other when they were playing music as if it was taking them down memory lane. And, of course, it took me down memory lane, too, being a kid of the '70s. It took me back to places and things that I recall hearing some of that music. So, does that kind of underscore the kind of brotherhood that's on display in that band?

PARDINI: Absolutely. I think that when they perform and they're performing up there with the guys they've been with and they look out into the crowd and they see families that have three separate generations that all discovered them at a different point in their careers it feels like a very large family.

And I've gotten to know a lot of the fans over the years of working on this movie and see how they all feel like they know these people as their friends rather than just a band they follow.

WHITFIELD: What did you find was the biggest challenge of what to include in this documentary?

PARDINI: I just had to focus on what, you know, the main line, the brotherhood was the most important thing for me. So, if it didn't fit into the story telling aspect because I was a screenwriting major in college and that's the one thing they tell you. If it doesn't fit into the story, it doesn't need to be there. And, so, luckily their career had basically all of the major story points that you would need. I was lucky in that sense.

WHITFIELD: And a lot of high points in their career, but they went through life changes, too, just as all the listeners of their music. Even dealing with the, you know, tragic death of one of their own Terry Cap among them. So, how trying has it been for this group with all of those life influences. Good and bad?

PARDINI: Well, it's just like life influences for anybody. We all experienced loss and we all experience things that we would not necessarily want to have happen to anybody else and we just go on with our lives and they are no different.

I think after Terry passed away they were devastated, obviously, because it was their best friend and brother that passed away. But I think they thought there was no better way to honor and writing new music or just basically talking about their lives through their music.

WHITFIELD: This is not outside looking in for you. You have a family member who is part of this band. Your experience here is really, you know, integral and your experience has been very intimate.

PARDINI: Absolutely. My Uncle Lou on the screen right there. He recommended me when I was right out of college to do a behind the scenes video for them and I feel so fortunate that I've been able to follow these guys for six years. Not only make this documentary, but get to know what great people these guys are. And they have given me an opportunity to see what true success looks like that lasts for 50 years.

WHITFIELD: Wow. They've done it well and they continue to do it. Peter Pardini, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Congratulations on this extraordinary documentary.

And of course, you can see now more than ever "The History of Chicago" tonight right here on CNN 8:00 Eastern Time. Isn't that a very memorable riff right there. We'll be right back.

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[14:57:41]

WHITFIELD: Hello, again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in New York.

So Queen Elizabeth sat out another church service this morning because of a bad cold she's been battling leading to more speculation about her health. Just a week ago, the 90-year-old queen was too sick to attend Christmas service, but a royal source says she is up and working this morning, despite not going to the annual New Year's Day service at her country estate.

Here now is CNN international correspondent, Phil Black.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this must be a terrible, nasty, persistent cold but nothing to worry about. That's what we're being told about the queen's health after she missed attending the traditional New Year's Day church service.

Other royals did attend, including her husband, Prince Philip. He was knocked down by a cold around the same time as the queen. He appears to have bounced back. The queen, she's still recovering after several weeks indoors, away from public eyes.

The same cold, of course, forced her to miss the Christmas Day church service, as well, for the first time she hasn't been at that service for almost three decades. These absences are not insignificant because she is the head of the Church of England and that is something she takes very seriously.

We could only assume she has been feeling really terrible. But, her advisors at Buckingham Palace are going out of their way to tell journalists that the 90-year-old monarch is doing OK. She is still in residence and hasn't been moved for medical or any other reasons. And they say she is up and about and she is, they say, working. Still receiving and staying on top of all the documents and briefing papers that she has to stay across in her role as Britain's head of state.

They are clearly going out of their way to ensure that there isn't any unnecessary speculation about the queen's health or perhaps any exaggerated concern about what just sort of conditions she may be in. The word is it is just an awful cold, but the queen is battling through it -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Black, thank you so much from London.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hello, again. Happy New Year. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in New York.

A manhunt is under way after a terror attack in Turkey. Police are looking for the man seen in this surveillance video. He entered an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul and then open fire. At least 39 people are dead and one of them a police officer and 69 others were injured. No group has claimed responsibility for this attack.

CNN correspondent, Sara Sidner, is --