♪ the outgoing defense secretary forced to depart two months early. the president frustrated by the critical resignation letter from jim mattis. >> it is possible the shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new congress. it is day three of the christmas government shutdown. the sides remain far apart on the president's demand to fund the border wall. and this, the treasury secretary trying to reassure investors after the worst week for stocks in a decade. what steve mnuchin told the world about his conversation with the heads of big banks.

and did the president cross the line venting to the acting attorney general about implicating him in the michael cohen case? welcome to "early start." i'm joe johns. happy christmas eve. i'm christine romans. it is monday, december 24th. we begin with the defense secretary james mattis forced out of his job two months earlier than planned. he an announnounced his resigna thursday. the departure triggered by the president's decision to withdrawal troops from syria. mick mulvaney defended the decision to pull the troops out of syria. in the next breath, mulvaney admits the supporters don't understand the consequences. >> he went against the recommendations of mattis, mcgurk, dunford and pompeo and

bolton. who is he listening to? >> a bunch of people. >> that is his national security team. >> we recognize the fact this is unpopular within the beltway. we recognize it is unpopular with the defense department. >> do they know what the stakes are of pulling u.s. troops out and leaving the syrian defense force to the turkish slaughter and the issues for iran? >> ordinary americans have no idea. they elect the president so he does. >> the one thing the president did not immediately recognize was that mattis was resigning in protest. once that became clear, aides say the president remarked that mattis was portrayed as the smartest guy in the world because he was leaving the trump administration. now sources tell us, senior military officials are worried about the uncertainty that the upheaval is causing with mattis

on the way out. who is in charge for now? here is correspondent barbara starr. >> reporter: patrick shanahan has been named by the president to become acting secretary of defense. there was a feeling inside the white house officially that they needed to get a new person in that they didn't want mattis in a lame duck position. administration officials will tell you that behind the scenes, the president was not happy with the extensive news coverage of mattis' departure and resignation letter saying he was resigning in protest over the president's decision to withdrawal troops from syria. shanahan now has the leading role here at the pentagon. he has been involved in acquisition reform and innovation. now with no foreign policy experience, he will take on a

national security role on the international stage dealing with america's military allies and america's military adversaries. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. thank you. the decision to pull the forces out of syria is leading to another resignation. brett mcgurk. he has decided to step down. the president's decision has been turned into a formal directive. the executive order for syria has been signed by james mattis. cnn has learned that days before the president decided to withdrawal, he made a phone call to turkish phone call to recep tayyip erdogan. we have more from istanbul. what do we know? >> reporter: before that decision by trump was announced, we know there was a phone call between trump and his turkish counterpart recep tayyip

erdogan. in that phone call, trump asked the turkish president can you handle isis. erdogan responded yes, as long as we have support from you. he said okay, we are done. turkey is going to be taking care of the isis presence in syria. this leaves the u.s. allies on the ground in syria in a lurch. turkey views that fighting force an extension of a territory group. the u.s. is leaving the troops on the ground in a tough place. mattis's resignation came after they said they would bury the members of the kurdish fighting force in the trenches and tunnels and holes they are

digging now. we are seeing how complicated this is all getting and effectively we are seeing the u.s. pulling out of the very vital mission to fight isis in syria and leaving it up to their turkish allies who clearly have more pressing priorities on the ground in syria. >> fascinating. thank you for that report. >> that's the beginning of the upheaval in washington. the third government shutdown of the year. now entering the third day. right now, no end in sight. >> we apologize, but due to the lapse in federal funding, we are unable to take your call. once funding has been restored, o our operations will resume. >> you call the white house and that is the recording. the shutdown forcing 400,000 workers to work without pay. that is not all. another 400,000 are sitting at home unpaid. a number of national parks and

monuments shuttered for the long holiday weekend. one thing which is working is norad thanks to the military personnel and volunteers. >> mick mulvaney says it is possible the shutdown is something the new congress tackles. lawmakers are seated in january. mulvaney suggested that nancy pelosi may delay a deal until she reclaims the role as speaker. >> i think she is now in that unfortunate position to be behold ev beholdened to the left wing until she is speaker. >> it was house republicans who held up the deal to keep the government open. house democrats were ready to approve a deal through february. cnn's sarah westwood has the state of play at the white house. >> reporter: christine and joe,

president trump is bracing for a lengthy shutdown that stretches beyond the holidays as he continues his demand for money for his promised border wall and the democrats refuse to fund it. we learned that president trump initially demanded $5 billion for the border wall funding and he said it had to be for the physical construction of the southern border. not just security. vice president mike pence offered support for a package worth $2.5 billion if it included funding for the wall. that came during a meeting on saturday with chuck schumer. sources say schumer rejected the offer. the talks still appear to be deadlo deadlocked. trump has been all over the map with the shutdown. he said he would be proud to accept responsibility for it if it was in pursuit of money for the border wall before shifting to blame democrats. it is unclear how less than $5 billion the president would be

willing to accept and unclear what, if anything, democrats would approve. democrats have little to leverage with negotiations. christine and joe. >> thank you. cnn has learned that president trump has vented to matt whitaker twice in the last few weeks over the revelations in the michael cohen case. the sources say the president is frustrated that prosecutors of the district in new york filed charges that made mr. trump look bad. cohen pleaded guilty to crimes at the president's direction. none of our sources say the president ordered whitaker to stop the mueller probe, but this highlights how convinced the president feels the attorney general should serve as his personal protector.

this is not president trump venting about looking bad. this is the president of the united states confronting the top law enforcement officer about a case he, himself, the president, has been implicated. the president's attorney rudy giuliani could not confirm the conversations with whitaker, but the president views the federal prosecutors in new york as out of control. to the markets. treasury secretary steve mnuchin spent sunday on the phone with the ceos of six largest banks to convince them it is not a financial crisis. the septembworst week since aug 2001. nasdaq is now officially in a bear market. in the remarkable statement after he spoke on the phone with the bank executives, mnuchin

said none of the financial institutions experienced any clearance or margin issues and markets continue to function properly. he added we continue to see strong economic growth and the u.s. economy with the activity from consumers and businesses. all averages are down 12% in december. on pace for the worse december since the great depression. here is the thing. one, no one ever suggested there was a problem with the banking system with liquidity or funding loans. he actually raised an issue saying there is no problem with the banking system that is not there. some are questioning what the motive was there and whether that was a rookie mistake? that is something not done in the economy. economists don't see an eminent down turn. the blockbuster growth of 2018 is likely to fade. risks like the trade war loom. still market veterans say a panicky wall street is premature

over a recession which may not hit until 2020. a source says president trump is asking advisers if he had the authority to fire jerome powell. this is how the president is messaging his stewardship of the economy. he blames powell for the market declines. interest rates have gone up seven times since trump tooks offic took office. >> why bring up the issue of jay powell and firing him? the question of pure stability. you don't create an issue if there is nothing there. >> the treasury secretary releasing a statement while he is in cabo san lucas and the government is partially shutdown. to say there is not a problem with liquidity with the banks. no one thought there was. i have seen a lot of analogies,

but one democratic congress member said that is like being the water safety people and saying our water is not poisoned. why bring that up? >> does it really go back to what you said? rookie mistake? >> i don't know. i think the president needs scapegoats for the market. he put his own success behind the benchmark and trying to find somebody to blame. all right. now in other news, nearly 300 people, including beach side concert goers wiped away by a tsunami that hit indonesia without warning. a live report coming up next. what do harvard uates know about cognitive performance? as you'd probably guess, a lot. that's why a new brain health supplement called forebrain from the harvard-educated experts at force factor is flying off the shelves at gnc. forebrain's key ingredients have been clinically shown to help enhance sharpness and clarity, improve memory, and promote learning ability.

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authorities now warning more deadly tsunamis could strike the indonesian coastline in the coming days. volcano which triggered the devastating wave continues to erupt. at least 281 people have died.

more than 1,000 injured and 11,000 people displaced. tsunami struck without warning saturday night. look at the frightening scene. massive wave crashing down on the crowd at the pop concert. cnn's ivan watson is live in hong kong with the latest. ivan. >> reporter: good morning, joe. i might add that the lead singer of that band says that at least two members of the band were killed and at least two more and his wife whose birthday it was on sunday are still missing. just one heartbreaking story from this natural disaster. it is supposed to be a christmas holiday in indonesia and instead, parts of the country are trying to pick up the pieces after the deadly tsunami. the indonesian president toured the disaster area and has called for the purchase of additional measures to help detect tsunamis. the experts in indonesia are

saying it was caused by volcanic eruption. a massive one called child of krakatoa. in the eruption on saturday, about 64 square hecatres, the island sloped and collapsed into the sea and helped drive the deadly wave. it was exacerbated by a full moon and high tide. the question of tsunami detection, if you have ever visited indonesia, there are signs around the area telling you to go for shelter in the event of a tsunami. we are learned the buoy system that is supposed to detect tsunamis has been defunct since 2012. there was another deadly tsunami last september, but that hasn't

forced the authorities to make the priority safe for the region. >> now they are rushing to try to get caught up with the technology. thank you for that. ivan watson. >> a sad story. 20 minutes past the hour. don't expect a white christmas this year, but what wishould yo expect for the holidaholiday? the forecast is next. (voice) you know what you're doing right now?

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a little bit of good holiday news. quiet and cold christmas eve ahead in the east.

a new storm brewing in the pacific northwest could complicate holiday travel. we have meteorologist pedram javaheri with the latest. >> joe and christine, good morning to you both. a chilly start here, but quiet for now. things get interesting later in the week thanks to the western united states. we will watch for lake-effect snowshowers across the favorable areas in the great lakes. snowshowers in the interior portion of new england. that is about it. as far as travel is concerned on the east coast, this is as good as christmas eve gets with the weather pattern with the cold air bottled up to the north. notice what happens mid to late week as we set the stage for wet weather that will be 10 to 15 degrees above seasonal values. christmas eve, 44 degrees, which is in line for seasonal averages. by christmas day, right in line for average and then staying

there as well later in the week. back to the west, the storm system brings in the wintry weather later into the week for the east coast. we will see snowshowers in the higher elevations and wet weather to seattle to portland. that is the most impacted area for that. highs today in new york of 44 degrees. guys. >> p.j., thank you. james mattis will not be allowed to leave on his terms. the defense secretary forced to legal two months early. his critique of the president, apparent apparently, too much to bear. selection of audiobooks on audible. and now, get more. for just $14.95 a month, you'll get a credit a month good for any audiobook, plus two audible originals exclusive titles you can't find anywhere else. if you don't like a book, you can exchange it any time, no questions asked. automatically roll your credits

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the outgoing defense secretary forced to depart two months early.

the president frustrated by the critical resignation letter from jim mattis. >> it is possible the shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new congress. it is day three of the christmas government shutdown. the sides remain far apart on the president's demand to fund the border wall. the treasury secretary trying to reassure investors after the worst week for stocks in a decade. and did the president cross the line venting to the acting attorney general about implicating him in the michael cohen case? welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm joe johns. it is monday, december 24th. we begin with the defense secretary james mattis forced out of his job two months earlier than planned. he announced his resignation on thursday. saying his views were not aligned with trump. the departure triggered by the

president's decision to withdrawal troops from syria. mick mulvaney defended the decision to pull the troops out of syria. it is aimed at pleasing his supporters. in the next breath, mulvaney admits the supporters don't understand the consequences. >> he went against the recommendations of mattis, mcgurk, dunford and pompeo and bolton. who is he listening to? >> a bunch of people. including the people -- >> that's his national security team. >> -- including the people that live here. we recognize the fact this is unpopular within the beltway. we recognize it is unpopular with the defense department. >> do they know what the stakes are of pulling u.s. troops out and leaving the syrian defense force to the turkish slaughter and the impact on iran?

really? >> ordinary americans have no idea about those things. they elect the president so he does. >> the one thing the president did not immediately recognize was that mattis was resigning in protest. he didn't get that right away. once that became clear, aides say the president remarked that mattis was portrayed as the smartest guy in the world because he was leaving the trump administration. now sources tell us, senior military officials are worried about the uncertainty that the upheaval is causing with mattis on the way out. who is in charge for now? here is correspondent barbara starr. >> reporter: deputy secretary of defense patrick shanahan has been named by the president to become acting secretary of defense. there was a feeling inside the white house officially that they needed to get a new person in that they didn't want mattis in a lame duck position. administration officials will tell you that behind the scenes, the president was not happy with the extensive news coverage of mattis' departure and

resignation letter saying he was resigning in protest over the president's decision to withdrawal troops from syria. shanahan now has the leading role here at the pentagon. he has been involved in acquisition reform and innovation. now with no foreign policy experience, he will take on a national security role on the international stage dealing with america's military allies and america's military adversaries. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> a lot of moving parts two years into the presidency and administration. the decision to pull the forces out of syria is leading to another resignation. brett mcgurk. the presidential envoy for the global coalition against isis has decided to step down early. cnn has learned days before the

president decided to withdrawal, he made a crucial phone call to turkish president erdogan. we have tul gaziz with more live from istanbul. >> reporter: before the decision was made to pull u.s. troops out of syria, the turkish president and president trump had a phone call. in that phone call, trump asked the turkish president can you handle isis. erdogan responded yes, as long as we have support from you. he said okay, we are done. it's all yours. that of course opens up a can of worms in syria. that really leaves the u.s. allies on the ground in syria in the fight against isis in a lurch. turkey views that fighting force an extension of a terrorist group here at home. mattis' regulsignation came aft

hearing the words from the turkish president after they said they would bury the members of the kurdish fighting forces in the trenches and tunnels and holes they are digging now. we are seeing how complicated this is all getting and effectively we are seeing the u.s. pulling out of the very vital mission to fight isis in syria and leaving it up to their turkish allies who clearly have more pressing priorities on the ground in syria. joe. >> chilling details. thank you. the third government shutdown of the year now entering the third day. right now, no end in sight. >> we apologize, but due to the lapse in federal funding, we are unable to take your call. once funding has been restored, our operations will resume. please call back at that time. >> that's the recording you will get if you phone the white house. 400,000 workers to work without pay. that is not all.

another 400,000 are sitting at home unpaid. a number of national parks and monuments shuttered for the long holiday weekend. i went to bunker hill the other day with my kids. you could see the monument, but not go inside. >> we have not seen something like this in 20 years around christmas time. one thing that is working? norad santa tracking thanks to military members and volunteers. mick mulvaney said this shutdown is something the new congress tackles. duh! lawmakers will be seated in january. sarah westwood has the state of play at the white house. >> reporter: christine and joe, president trump is bracing for a lengthy shutdown that stretches beyond the holidays as he continues his demand for money for his promised border wall and the democrats refuse to fund it. we recall that the president initially demanded $5 billion for the border wall funding and he said it had to be for the

physical construction of the southern border. not just security. sources say that vice president mike pence offered support for a package worth $2.5 billion if it included funding for the wall. that came during a meeting on saturday with chuck schumer. sources say schumer rejected the offer. the talks still appear to be deadlocked. trump has been all over the map with the shutdown. he said he would be proud to accept responsibility for it if it was in pursuit of money for the border wall before shifting to blame democrats. it is unclear how less than $5 billion the president would be willing to accept and unclear what, if anything, democrats would approve. democrats have little to leverage with negotiations. they will be in majority in just about two weeks in the house. christine and joe. >> thank you.

republican lawmaker and the frequent critic said this sunday about the government shutdown. >> this is a made up fight so that the president can look like he's fighting. even if he wins, our borders will be insecure. >> the president immediately went after corker on twitter saying the tennessee republican wanted to run again, but poll numbers tanked after i would not endorse him. corker asked for his endorsement and the president said no. >> corker pushed back and saying yes, just like mexico is paying for the wall. #alertdaycarestaff. a quick fact check, cnn reported that the president offered to endorse corker. and steve mnuchin spent sunday calling banks to assure investors over the worst week.

the dow fell 6.9%. worst weekly drop since october of 2008. the s&p last week lost 7%. nasdaq with the worst week since november of 2008. a really bad week. nasdaq is officially in a bear market. here is mnuchin's attempt at damage control. in a statement after that call with the six ceos. he said they confirmed they have ample liquidity. steve mnuchin is telling the world that everything is fine when no one said it wasn't. bank no one has said that is not true.

all three major averages are down 12% for december. on pace for the worst december since the great depression. the markets are acting like a recession is around the corner. yes, the blockbuster growth of this year is likely to fade and risks like the u.s. and china trade war is still out there. some market veterans arguing that the panicky market is prematu premature. messaging from the white house is not helping. the president's attacks on the fed chief is raising concerns. the president has been asking advisers in he has the legal authority to fire his hand picked fed chair jerome powell. he attacked powell for the interest rates which have gone up seven times since president took office. >> don't start anything and there won't be anything. cnn has learned that president trump has vented to acting attorney general matt

whitaker twice in the last few weeks about the explosive revelations in the michael cohen case. sources say the president is frustrated that prosecutors overseen by whitaker filed charges that made the president look bad. cohen said he was directed by the president. >> this convinced the president that the attorney general should serve as his personal protector. this is not just trump venting about looking bad. the president of the united states confronting the top law enforcement officer in a case he has been implicated. rudy giuliani could not confirm the con vkoconversations with w. the supreme court appears to be getting involved in robert mueller's investigation for the first time. chief justice john roberts

issued a pause on the judge's order holding a hmystery compan in contempt of court. we don't know the name of the company. most of the case is under seal. we do know the company is owned by a foreign government and received a grand jury subpoena which requires it to turnover information about the commercial activity. the company asked the supreme court to get involved. roberts' order will give justices time to decide if they want to intervene. nearly 300 people, including some beach side concert goers wiped away hit by a tsunami which hit overnight without warning. a live report is next. sinex. my conges gone. i can breathe again! ahhhh! i can breathe again! ughh! vicks sinex. breathe on.

know about cognitive performance? as you'd probably guess, a lot. that's why a new brain health supplement called forebrain from the harvard-educated experts at force factor is flying off the shelves at gnc. forebrain's key ingredients have been clinically shown to help enhance sharpness and clarity, improve memory, and promote learning ability. and now every man and woman in america can claim a complimentary bottle. just use your smartphone to text the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20. scientific research on cognigrape, a sicilian red wine extract in forebrain's memorysafe blend, suggests not only sharper recall, but also improved executive function and faster information processing. your opportunity to get into harvard may be gone, but it's not too late to experience a brain boost formulated by some of their brightest minds. just text the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20

with your smartphone to claim your complimentary bottle of forebrain. do it now - before you forget. that's the keyword on the screen to 20-20-20.

get stronger... get closer. start listening today to the world's largest selection of audiobooks on audible. and now, get more. for just $14.95 a month, you'll get a credit a month good for any audiobook, plus two audible originals exclusive titles you can't find anywhere else. if you don't like a book, you can exchange it any time, no questions asked. automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you don't use them. with the free audible app,

you can listen anytime, and anywhere. plus for the first time ever, you'll get access to exclusive fitness programs a $95 value free with membership. start a 30-day trial today and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime and your books are yours to keep forever. audible. the most inspiring minds. the most compelling stories. text "listen5" to 500500 to start your free trial today. a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! authorities now warning more deadly tsunamis could strike the indonesian coastline in the coming days. volcano which triggered the devastating wave continues to

erupt. at least 281 people have died. more than 1,000 injured and 11,000 people displaced. tsunami struck without warning saturday night. caught on camera. the massive wave crashing down on the pop concert. cnn's ivan watson is live in hong kong with the latest. a tragic situation there. >> reporter: not only two band members dead and wife missing, but three other band members missing. among the dozens that authorities are looking for after the disaster which is supposed to be a long christmas holiday weekend in indonesia. there are a lot of questions asked about the threat of a second possible tsunami in the area because the volcano that the experts in indonesia believe triggered this tsunami is still very active. it has been active for months.

it is called krakatau. what surprised everybody on saturday night were no tsunami warnings. that is, in fact, because volcanic activity doesn't trigger the early warning systems that an earthquake would in other cases. there is a bigger problem here. christine, last september there was an earthquake and tsunami that killed about 2,000 people in another part of indonesia and the authorities then were saying, hey, our tsunami early warning system is not working. we've got these buoys out in the ocean attached to the ocean floor and most are not functioning due to theft and vandalism. they are not being kept up to date. here we are some four months later and another deadly tsunami rips through. there are some major challenges here. indonesia is made up of 17,000

islands. that is a tremendous amount of coastline to protect and it is also in the ring of fire. we have more than 120 active volcanos and it is in an earthquake zone, too. it requires a tremendous amount of infrastructure. unfortunately though, as the deadly evidence has shown, something needs to be done to protect people from the deadly walls of water. christine. >> it is a fact of life and they have to figure that early warning system out. ivan watson, thank you. british officials say al qaeda is resurgent and could target passenger jets. security minister ben wallace telling "the sunday times" al qaeda sat in the corner and tried to work out the 21st century and isis became the latest terrorist bad boy band. al qaeda has not gone away. the remarks have followed disruption last week caused by

rogue drones at gatwick airport. >> it did tie up a lot of travel. the king of atlantis beat out a transformer and magical nanny. emily blunt was terrific in "mary poppins." cnn business is next. so this christmas,

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absolute miracle days before christmas. rescued two fishermen thursday. royal caribbean officials say strong winds pushed the men off course as sthey slept. they were surviving off what fish they managed to catch. the cruise ship spotted them between grand cayman and jamaica. the fishermen were brought on board and given water and medical attention and $300 to buy clothes and food. >> you have to wonder the odds of that. christmas is the time to remember the dedication of the u.s. service members around the world. a lucky few get to come home for the holidays. grab the kleenex. here is polo sandoval.

>> reporter: a visit from santa claus turned into a special delivery for these two minnesota sisters. >> daddy. >> reporter: their father, a soldier in kuwait, surprised his daughters in time for christmas. it is among the many reunions caught on camera with military members and families this holiday season. a wisconsin boy's older brother serving in the army. >> there's your brother. >> what's up? >> reporter: surprised him at school with a big hug after five months apart. the soldier then marched down the hall to his other sister and brother. >> it made me feel warm inside. >> reporter: in this video, a little boy opens a large christmas gift. >> p whwhat do you think it is? >> i don't know. >> reporter: inside the box is a loved one in military fatigues. the person who posted this video

captioned my nephew got to open the christmas present early. this family kept this airman from getting through the door in sacramento. >> surprise. >> reporter: and finally, a christmas choir concert in indianapolis. an unexpected interruption. it led to a mother serving in the navy embracing her daughter in time for christmas. >> it has been a really long year. so many things have happened. i just missed her so much. it makes this christmas extra special for surprising me. >> reporter: for the service members, another deployment could be next. for now, the orders are being home for the holidays. polo sandoval. >> family is special. a check of cnn business.

markets are lower. in asia, markets are lower. you see tokyo and hong kong down. shanghai up. the european markets opened mixed as well. on wall street, futures look like they are down. is that the right number? futures are down here. we will watch for that. a rough week for stocks. the worst decade for the dow. the dow fell 6.9%. the s&p lost 7%. the worst week since 2011. nasdaq fell 8%. those are terrible comparisons. the u.s. markets close at 1:00 p.m. today and closed tomorrow for christmas. retailer preparing for the final sprint as warning signs are flashing for 2019. data from the national retail federation show a strong holiday stretch so far. investors are nervous of the

trade war and slowdown in overseas markets. americans are buying tvs to toys and clothes. retail sales increased 4% last month. wages are ticking up. shoppers are spending. the question is how long will it last? the king of atlantis beat out a transformer and magical nanny. "aquaman" got $67.3 million in north america. "mary poppins returns" took the box office second place with $22.2 million. really good movie. and number three is "bumblebee" with $21 million. hollywood will end the year on a high note with the box office up 7.5% over last year. "early start" continues right now.