will be on the agenda or if he will be pushing to get it on. clearly, all officials involved trying to get their ducks in a row before the new school season starts. >> yeah. not easy. really remarkable story. miguel marquez, thank you. our coverage on cnn continues right now. happening now. breaking news. trump in iraq. the president and first lady pay a surprise visit to u.s. troops near baghdad. will their thank yous be enough to erase doubts about the decision to remove u.s. forces from syria. whatever it takes, as the government shutdown stretches into its fifth day, the president says he's willing to wait as long as necessary for congress to approve money for his border wall. is there any room for compromise? record-breaking rally. after enduring the worst christmas eve in history, u.s. stocks rack up their best day of the year as dow industrials

break a record. what's behind the turn-around? and little boy lost. an 8-year-old from guatemala captured at the border dies in u.s. custody. it's the second such death of a child in a month. what went wrong this time, and can more deaths be prevented? we want to welcome our viewers from here in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm jim acosta and you're in "the situation room." this is cnn breaking news. >> we are following major breaking news this day after christmas. president trump and the first lady greeted u.s. troops in iraq today. it's the first commander-in-chief trip to a conflict zone and comes only days after he announced u.s. forces will be pulling out of syri syria. the president also had plenty to say about the government shutdown and his demand for billions of dollars from congress for a border wall. we'll get reaction from

democratic congressman denny heck, a member of the intelligence committee and our correspondents, analysts and specialists. they have full coverage of the day's top stories. first, let's start with cnn white house correspondent, abby phillip. the white house, abby, kept the president's trip under wraps, as expected, until just a couple of hours ago. >> reporter: that's right, jim. president trump here left the white house under the cover of darkness on christmas day, and president trump said that he had been planning this trip for several weeks, but it had been rescheduled numerous times due to security concerns. but in the three hours that they spent on the ground, they met with troops and commanders, greeted them in the mess hall, and the president delivered remarks. jim, we have to remember, this is a conflict in iraq that president trump has repeatedly called a waste of u.s. blood and treasure. but president trump is still, even as he is on the ground in iraq, saying that the u.s. is not going to continue to be the policeman of the world. in a surprise holiday season

visit, president trump and first lady melania trump landed in iraq to visit with troops stationed at al assad air base west of baghdad. >> and i'm here because of you. >> reporter: leaving the white house under the cover of darkness on christmas day, the trip marks trump's first visit to a war zone as president. and it comes less than a week after trump ordered a complete withdrawal of u.s. troops from syria at a partial drawdown in afghanistan. on the ground in iraq where some 5,200 u.s. troops are still stationed, the president defended his decision to leave syria. a call he made without consulting military advisers earlier this month. >> i think that a lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking. it's time for us to start using our head. >> reporter: as trump seeks to boost morale among soldiers and commanders stationed abroad, uncertainty remains about the u.s. strategy in the middle east to combat the terror group, isis. two years after he falsely claimed that president obama was responsible for isis' rise --

>> isis is honoring president obama. he is the founder of isis. he's the founder of isis. okay? he's the founder! he founded isis. and i would say the co founder would be crooked hillary clinton. co founder. >> reporter: trump is now facing criticism that he has abandoned u.s. allies in the region who are still fighting to crush the terror group. even as he insists they have already been defeated, telling reporters -- >> we have knocked them out. we have knocked them silly. >> reporter: all of this unfolding amid an avalanche of problems on the home front, including a partial government shutdown that the president isn't backing down from. trump telling reporters in iraq that the border wall must be funded. >> do whatever it takes. we're going to have a wall. >> reporter: while 800,000 federal workers spend the holidays in uncertainty due to the partial government shutdown,

the president complained he was all alone in the white house after he cancelled plans to travel to florida for christmas. trump's sour mood was fueled by steep losses on wall street this month, caused by his own trade war and his sharp criticism of federal reserve chairman, jerome powell. >> what about the fed chair? >> we'll see. they're raising interest rates too fast. that's my opinion. >> reporter: a source familiar with the matter says trump has blamed treasury secretary steve mnuchin for the decision to recommend powell for the fed job and his failure to calm markets. and despite trump's praise of his treasury secretary yesterday -- >> do you still have confidence in secretary mnuchin? >> yes, i do. very talented guy. very smart. >> reporter: mnuchin is still under the gun and his job may be in serious jeopardy, that source says. now, steve mnuchin might be receiving a little bit of a christmas reprieve after the stock market's massive rally today, over 1,000 points

regained after some steep losses on christmas eve. and president trump is also saying to reporters in iraq that he's planning to go to the border wall sometime in january before the state of the union address. but before he returns back home from that visit to iraq, we are told by the pool reporters traveling with him that he'll make one more unscheduled stop before returning to washington. and also returning to that partial government shutdown. jim? >> we know you'll be watching all of that, abby phillip. thank you very much. and for more on the president's surprise trip, we're joined by pentagon correspondent, barbara starr and retired admiral john kirby, spoekkesman for the pentagon and state department during the obama administration. barbara, this trip comes to iraq just days after the president announced a complete withdrawal of troops from syria. what more are you learning about this decision, and what the president is saying today? what's your response to that? >> well, the president had a very interesting wrinkle on all of this, jim. he suddenly said that, you know, isis is not so dominant any more. didn't say specifically

defeated, as he previously said. not so dominant. and suggested that if isis comes back in syria, the u.s. will be able to conduct operations against them in syria from positions inside iraq. that may be militarily very difficult. if you're going to conduct air strikes, if you're going to do ground operations, you have to have very specific detailed intelligence from the ground, and if u.s. ground troops are not in syria, that may be very tough to come by, just as russian, syrian, iranian-backed militias, isis, are all on the move inside syria. everybody is maneuvering, everybody plans to take ground as the u.s. withdraws, jim. >> and john, the president said today that isis was basically defeated. he said they had been knocked out, knocked silly, and so on. but he also wants to use iraq as a base to launch attacks in syria. how practical is that? what do you make of the president saying that? it sounds as though he's keeping a reserve plan in place in case they hadn't been defeated.

>> right. kind of going against what he said before. and we know they're not defeated, jim. there is no argument about that. he seems to be the only one to think they're completely gone out of syria. but go back to 2014, 2015. that's exactly what we were doing. we were based in iraq and we were launching strikes into syria. barb brings up a good point. that gets harder to do, particularly now that isis has gone more to ground in iraq and syria. the targets are more dynamic. fleeting, more fast. and there's fewer of them. so that's why the boots on the ground and getting the geolocation and the intel on the ground makes the targeting much more effective. it was one thing to go after isis targets in 2014 and 2015 when there were more of them. when they were more overt. when they had infrastructure to hit. that's not the case now. now is the time to press the advantage and it's the worst time to take the troops out. >> and barbara, we saw the president signing a campaign hat, a red hat, make america great again hat. is that unusual, to see the president doing that on base? does this run the risk of the president, you know, facing some

accusations that he's turning some of this into a campaign stop? what do you think? >> well, you know, this is very interesting. the pool reporters traveling said that the troops brought the hats with them, including one hat that said "trump 2020." we will have to see if that actually proves to be the case. the question is if they brought them or if the president brought them. what commander allowed that to really happen? because this is very much against military policy and regulation. troops are not supposed to be involved in political activities. the u.s. military is not a political force. and there's no question, the saying "trump 2020" and "make america great again," those are political slogans of a trump campaign. they are not governmental sayings, to say the least. >> right. and john, i mean, what would the concern be if something like that is going on, do you think? or is this just, you know, a soldier is there, he's got a hat in his locker and he runs over

and says, hey, when am i going to have another chance for the president to sign one of these things? >> it kind of blurs the line, because trump is his slogan, and where is that line? barb is right. it is a campaign slogan, that is a campaign item, and it's completely inappropriate for the troops to do this. >> not supposed to do it. >> not supposed to do this. and i'm sure their boss is seeing that. they're not going to be happy about it. but look, the president has to take some ownership of this, too. every time he's around military audiences, he tends to politicize it, and he brings in complaints and grievances from outside the realm of military policy. this was wrong for him to do it, as well. i'm going to be really interested to see, jim, when we get video of his comments to the troops, his actual speech in al assad, and i hope he didn't politicize those sets of remarks, but we have to wait and see. >> and barbara, the president said today he's not in any rush to fill the job of defense secretary. the position that mattis resigned and i guess he'll be vacating sooner than expected. does the deputy defense secretary, patrick shanahan, have the experience to lead the

military for the foreseeable future, if that's what the president is planning? >> well, if that's what he's planning, you know, that's what it's going to be. shanahan is a long-time boeing executive. he has a lot of experience in large organizations and corporate matters, large budgets, acquisition, innovation, all the issues that he's been dealing with as deputy defense secretary. as he takes on acting secretary, what officials are saying is, he will have to rely more on the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general joe dunford, paul selva. he will have to rely on military advice as he forms any recommendations for the president. mattis had been in the marine corps for decades and had been in the most senior command positions. so secretary mattis had a lot of military operational experience himself. he didn't need to rely on the uniforms quite as much. this will be a much more traditional construct, i think,

where the acting secretary of defense will likely turn to the military to get their views, their advice, as he forms any recommendations for president trump. >> okay, barbara star and john kirby, thank you very much. joining us now is democratic congressman, denny heck of washington. a member of the intelligence committee. congressman, thank you very much for joining us. happy holidays. want to start first with the president's comments that we saw in iraq and we're hearing some of it, some of these clips are going to come in, in dribs and drabs because of technical problems that some of the crews on the ground there in iraq had getting that video out. but on the surprise holiday visit to iraq, the president apparently said about isis, we have knocked them out. we have knocked them silly. have we? >> well, first of all, jim, let's all be glad that the president is no longer alone in the white house. evidently the markets are, as well. i am going to set aside any criticism i might have of him for visiting iraq two years into his administration.

i think it should have come much sooner. in part, because i'm glad he finally did it. and better late than never. i think it's totally appropriate for a president to go to war theater and extend to the troops the heartfelt wishes and prayers, frankly, of the american people. but i think what is deeply disappointing is that when he went to iraq, he used it as an occasion to advance his specific policy objective as new policy to withdraw from syria. and i think that's highly inappropriate use of a visit like this. he ought to be there first, foremost and last and only for the troops that are there. >> so you think engaging in this kind of political debate and trying to tout this decision to move u.s. troops out of syria was a mistake. >> totally. he ought to be there for the troops. jim, i have the unbelievable honor to represent the 45,000 people per day that report to work at joint base lewis-mcchord

outside tacoma, washington. and i've had the privilege to be in afghanistan to visit with some of those people. there was only one purpose for that visit. not just to learn more, but to extend to them our best wishes and to let them know that the american people are as supportive of them as service members as we can be. and on behalf of the american people, that's what the president should have been doing. period. >> and president trump was highly critical of president obama in his decision to remove troops from iraq. you'll recall during the campaign. abby phillip just played it a few moments ago. referred to president obama as the founder of isis and so on. does it appear, in your view, that the president has a plan to avoid a similar outcome this time around? >> the only plan that i've ever observed from president trump, frankly, is that he pull out one of his four tried and true plays. he only has four. he doesn't have three, five, any other number. and in his four plays are deny, attack, play the victim and change the subject or distract. and virtually everything that he

does falls into one of those four categories. now, my concern of late, jim, is that as the mueller investigation appears to be reaching a crescendo, and is greater peril to them, when he plays the distraction card, change the subject card, it has to be more chaotic, more traumatic, in order to change the subject and divert attention from where the mueller investigation has gotten to us at this point. and so i think there is great peril for america, the american government and the american people as we get closer to the conclusion of the mueller investigation that he will do things like this, just to change the subject. >> and meanwhile, as you know, congressman, we're now into the fifth day of a partial government shutdown and president trump said earlier during this trip to iraq he's willing to do whatever it takes to get a wall. let's play some of what he had to say. >> whatever it takes. i mean, we're going to have a wall. we're going to have safety. we need safety for our country. even from this standpoint. we have terrorists coming in through the southern border.

we have the terrorists also coming in through the southern border. >> your response to that, congressman. >> all americans want improved border security. i know i certainly do. but i would say a couple of things about it. first of all, this is not what he said last week through his vice president. who told the senate that he was okay on the clean continuing resolution without his $5 billion demand for a wall. ands a consequence of that communication from the vice president of the united states, the senate passed unanimously that continuing resolution. it was only after he heard from a couple of hosts on brand x alternative network that he decided to change his mind. so it's not clear to me what he says is going to hold for how long. that's the first thing i would say about that. and we just don't know with him. second thing i would say about it, jim, let's remember that we have appropriated money for improved border security. last year it was nearly $1.4 billion. and nowhere near all of it has

been spent. so he's asking for american taxpayer dollars, not for the mexican government to pay for it, as he promised at the beginning of his campaign, when he hasn't even yet spent that which he was given for the last fiscal year. >> okay, congressman denny heck, thank you very much for joining us. and happy holidays. good talking to you, congressman. we appreciate it. >> thank you, jim. stay with us. we'll have more on the president's visit with u.s. troops in iraq, including his latest comments on the government shutdown. plus huge breaking news on wall street. investors follow up a christmas eve bloodbath by setting biggest percentage gains in nearly a decade.

i am not for colds. i am not for just treating my symptoms... (ah-choo) i am for shortening colds when i'm sick. with zicam. zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines... ...zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam. oral or nasal.

has been excellent. they really appreciate the military family and it really shows. with all that usaa offers why go with anybody else? we know their rates are good, we know that they're always going to take care of us. it was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. it was funny because when we would call another insurance company, hey would say "oh we can't beat usaa" we're the webber family. we're the tenney's we're the hayles, and we're usaa members for life. ♪ get your usaa auto insurance quote today.

we're following multiple breaking stories at this hour.

president trump made a surprise visit to iraq today. more on that in a few moments. there is also breaking news on wall street. if you missed it, get this, after suffering through the worst christmas eve in history, u.s. stock markets roared back today, posting record gains. cnn's alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. tell us about this very quick turn-around, alison. >> jim, the bargain hunters in full force for an incredible rebound for the dow, making its biggest single-day point day in history, coming after its wor christmas eve. some have said the selling over the past couple of months was just overdone. you look at it since its october peak, the dow has lost 5,000 points. some people have been questioning why since all the economic data in the u.s. really doesn't point to a looming recession. but what has undercut confidence are the political risks and impact of president trump's tweets and statements attacking fed chairman jay powell. they have actually moved the markets.

it's been a catalyst driving them down. it's undermined confidence and although today was just a massive day for the dow, trump's unpredictable nature that continues to be a threat to the stability of the market. the question now becomes, can this upside momentum continue or is this going to be just a oneoff? it's also going to be interesting to see if president trump's tweet -- if he tweets about the dow's remarkable move higher. keep in mind, he hasn't taken any responsibility, jim, when the market has moved lower. we shall see what happens tomorrow. >> we have certainly noticed that. alison kosik, thank you very much. now to another of the afternoon's breaking stories today. unbelievable. president trump on his way home after a whirlwind visit to u.s. forces in iraq during some three hours on the ground, the president met with u.s. troops and commanders, as well as the u.s. ambassador to iraq. and on the return flight, he and the first lady are stopping at a u.s. air base in germany. let's asks our correspondents, experts, analysts about this. john kirby, i guess better late

than never for the president. what did you make of what he did there on the ground? there was some politicking, it appears. and playing some defense in terms of some of his policies. >> yeah, look. first of all, i'm glad he went. it's good for a commander-in-chief to visit the troops. it's good for their morale and for their families' morale holidays. i'm reserving judgment until i can hear what he said to the troops at al assad. i'm not surprised that iraq was chosen. i know this trip has been weeks in the planning, but certainly comes at a good time for him in terms of being able to articulate why he wanted to bull troops out of syria of the and iraq is more important. >> can articulate it, and he did, more than we have heard, saying that he's going to keep troops in iraq, about 5,200 right now. and that that's how he will deal with syria from iraq. a lot of people don't think that's the way to do it, because you remember president obama -- you remember. you were there. tried that. >> tried that. >> but the other thing that was

really striking is him saying, isis has been annihilated. you know, maybe that's true. but if the u.s. pulls out of syria, and that is not the case any more, you've got a mission accomplished banner over a air craft carrier scenario all over again. >> that's right. and we haven't seen the video yet. we're waiting for that to come in. we have had some technical difficulties on the ground. let's play a little bit of what the president had to say one week ago when he announced the u.s. withdrawal from syria and i'll get april ryan's take on that, on the other side. >> we have won against isis. we have beaten them, and we have beating them badly. we have taken back the land. >> and apparently, this is according to some of the pool reporting coming out of iraq, april. and obviously, we need to wait for the full context of everything said, the full verbatim. but he says isis is very nearly defeated. and that turkey and others will knock out what's left. he said he's spoken with president erdogan, and that president erdogan will jump in

and fill that void, apparently. what do you make of, you know -- sounds as though the president may be slightly walking back, you know, that announcement a week ago when he said isis is defeated. >> yeah. >> he has to walk it back. isis is something that is just not a bottom line. we saw that with al qaeda. you had to work diligently in various countries to be able to beat them back, take their ground. you know, for isis it started in the obama administration, and they're continuing. and the problem is, if the united states pulls out too soon, there's an issue of reconstitution. that they could grow once again. the united states is a large force that puts a lot of pressure on syria for isis and the fight against isis. but here's the issue. our allies. we have to worry about our allies, as well, upset about this pullout, without any conversation with our intelligence community to make sure that this was the right thing to do. and then also, you would have to

remember, isis is this big group, but they also believe in this lone wolf mentality. taking someone and sending them somewhere to do something large. a large-scale. one person. it's not like al qaeda getting people to fly into planes any more. one person can just create mass destruction. so this president is being made aware after he made his knee-jerk reaction as some would say like congressman james clyburn, says it's a distraction what he's done to try to get people off of other things. but he's had this knee-jerk reaction and it sounds like he's trying to listen now to fix what could be a big mess in the long run. >> jeffrey toobin, we'll get to you in a few moments. we're going to come back in a moment and get that hot take on the other side. that will be a big tease. everybody will wait to hear what jeffrey has to say. >> can't wait. >> exactly, all right. we'll be right back. if you have psoriasis, little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream.

it's a pill that treats moderate to severe plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla,75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown

to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

whoooo. with tripadvisor, finding your perfect hotel at the lowest price... is as easy as dates, deals, done! simply enter your destination and dates... and see all the hotels for your stay! tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites... to show you the lowest prices... so you can get the best deal on the right hotel for you. dates, deals, done!

and we're back with our correspondents and analysts and jeffrey toobin, you recall during the campaign when then candidate president trump went off barack obama, called him the founder of isis because he pulled the troops out of iraq. and the vacuum filled with these terrorists. and now he wants to pull troops out of syria. let's go back and listen to what president trump said about barack obama during the campaign. >> isis is honoring president

obama. he is the founder of isis. he's the founder of isis. okay? he's the founder! he founded isis. >> he's the founder of isis. i do. he's the most valuable player. i give him the most valuable player award. i give her too. >> he's not sympathic to them. >> he was the founder. the way he got out of iraq, that was the founding of isis. >> obama! is the founder of isis. the founder. barack obama is the founder of isis. because of his weak policies, and because he failed -- he failed! because he failed to get 'em out. because he failed to do something about it. >> jeffrey toobin, now you have the president today in iraq defending his troop pullout of

syria to the troops, to the u.s. troops in iraq today. that was part of what he had to say. what do you think about all of this? >> well, you know, i think that that campaign talk was just campaign libel and absurd. i think what you actually have to look at is what the president has been saying for a long time about troops in the middle east. this is a very interesting part of bob woodward's book, where he keeps saying to his generals, why are we in afghanistan 17 years later? why do we have all these troops over there? i think a lot of americans are pretty sympathetic to that view. that we send troops in the middle east, and we rarely make things better. i think the aberration was the talk during the campaign was simply -- an idiotic way of attacking barack obama. but the core idea of wanting troops out of the middle east is something i think trump believes, and is something that i think a lot of americans have sympathy for. >> jeffrey is so right. >> but jim -- >> there's no question that the

president lines up with barack obama and democrats like barack obama in the notion of america shouldn't be the world's policeman. and it's why donald trump is completely at odds with everybody except rand paul in his party on capitol hill, and they have been criticizing him like we haven't seen them criticize him about anything. about russia, about spending, about anything. until he announced that he was going to pull troops out of syria. and he did appeal to a new kind of voter, and he did appeal to the changing feeling among republican voters, never mind new republican trump voters. >> and april, i mean, as you know, it's not only the decision to pull out. it's the way the president did it. because had he given a speech and said, you know, we're going to have this plan and we're going to do this and we're not going to be the policeman of the world. by just firing off a tweet and announcing a policy of this magnitude, which apparently triggered the resignation of his defense secretary, that is a

component -- a big component in all of this. >> yeah. and everyone -- jeffrey and dana, they're both right. but the president just talked about this. but it was how it was delivered. you know -- and those reckless statements he made about barack obama being the founder of isis. those were reckless statements. but he has called for withdrawal in syria. but the issue, from what i'm hearing from so many, again, going back to congressman james clyburn, who is the incoming whip of the house and so many others in the intelligence community, they're saying it's not about the fact that he's doing this. it's about how he's doing it, and the timing. specifically the timing. why now and how he did it. that's the issue. there wasn't a conversation with the allies. again, who are upset about how he's doing this. and what does it mean? there's so much on the table that he did not think through. it's like, yes, we're going to do this, but we're going to put it out right now, because all of this is going, and i need to do this. and people are thinking there is a silver bull -- yes, there is

an issue and troops want to come home. but it's how he did it and the timing. that's what's in question. >> and dana, getting back to something else the president talked about today. he was not only talking about syria and isis, he was talking about the shutdown. he was talking about wanting to do whatever it takes as he described it, to get his wall on the border. and i believe in one of the question and answer sessions with reporters, he talked about even wanting to do a groundbreaking at the border for his wall before the state of the union speech. let's play a little bit of what the president had to say. we have some of that video in. >> whatever it takes. i mean, we're going to have a wall. we're going to have safety. we need safety for our country. even from this standpoint. we have terrorists coming in through the southern border. we need a wall. so when you say how long is it going to take? when are they going to say we need border security? when are the democrats going to say? don't forget, the democrats all agreed that you need a wall. until i wanted it. once i wanted it, they didn't agree.

>> dana, that is not true what he said there, but putting that aside, you've covered a congress for so many years. i mean, we're going to have a new house of representatives coming in, led by nancy pelosi, during a government shutdown, it appears, at this point, with no end in sight. >> no. no. and no incentive by the president, if that is his number-one political and policy goal to change it, if he doesn't get what he wants. and you see the wheels churning of a businessman and a marketer. he's going to go and he's going to have a groundbreaking. i mean, it's like he's groundbreaking at a trump tower, a new trump tower, because -- >> a building that might not get completed. >> exactly. he knows how powerful that is. one quick thing i should also add, the incoming congresswoman from el paso where this young boy crossed over illegally and ended up dying in new mexico, she said that where they crossed over illegally, there's a wall.

so it kind of flies in the face of what the president has been saying for so long about the need for a wall. >> and -- >> just -- >> go ahead. >> i just remembered, too, that the main pitch that donald trump made during the 2018 campaign was, i'm going to build a wall, i'm going to be tough on immigration. and he lost 40 seats in the house of representatives. so why are those new legislators afraid of him talking about the wall constantly? it was a failed political effort during the campaign. and i don't see any political pressure on the democrats to concede on this issue. >> and nancy pelosi apparently said today that, you know, she has taken notice of the fact that the president is retreating back from this wall position, talking about the steel slats and so on. i believe incoming speaker pelosi said today that perhaps the president will take a beaded curtain. that he's going back -- >> brady style. >> going back in terms of what

he'll actually hold out for. thank you very much, guys. we appreciate it. during his trip to iraq -- president trump had plenty to say about the shutdown and his demand for billions for a border wall. but there are also disturbing new questions tonight after an 8-year-old boy caught at the border dies in u.s. custody. just a terrible, terrible story. we'll have an update on that, next. hi i'm joan lunden.

today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice. your insurance rates skyrocket you could fix it with a pen. how about using that pen to sign up for new insurance instead? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

if your moderate to severeor crohn's symptoms are holding you back, and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough it may be time for a change.

ask your doctor about entyvio®, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio® works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract, and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both symptom relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio® may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. tell your doctor if you have an infection experience frequent infections or have flu-like symptoms, or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio®. if your uc or crohn's treatment isn't working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio®. entyvio®. relief and remission within reach. and we have more ahead on the breaking news about president trump's visit to iraq. also breaking, the trump administration is asking the courts to delay some immigration

cases due to the government shutdown. today's request comes after an 8-year-old guatemalan boy who was apprehended along the mexican border died late christmas eve while in u.s. custody. cnn's nick valencia in el paso for us this evening. nick, what happened to this boy? >> reporter: jim, i think perhaps the biggest question at this hour is how does an 8-year-old who was diagnosed with a common cold die within 14 hours of being given that diagnosis? but that's exactly what customs and border protection say happened, and their official time line, they say the boy was noticeably sick early christmas eve morning, and he was taken to the hospital where he was given medication. he was given generic antibiotics for his fever, he had a 103-degree fever and ibuprofen but was released anyway. and even while he took medication while back in custody, his condition worsened. and by 10:00 p.m. christmas eve, nauseous, vomiting and lost

consciousness. he never regained consciousness, dying shortly before midnight. the guatemalan government is asking for the child's medical records. they too want to know how this could happen to a child diagnosed with a common cold. an official autopsy is being conducted, as we understand it, in albuquerque, new mexico, and it could take some time for those results to surface. this has led to some changes by cbp, including increased medical screening. they're going to focus on child migrants under the age of 10. all of this, jim, is happening on the backdrop of where we are here at the greyhound bus station. we were told initially by the federal government there would be no release of migrants in their custody. that we shouldn't anticipate what we saw happen earlier this week, hundreds of migrants just dropped off here at the bus station. earlier, though, today our cnn crews saw more than a dozen migrants, half of them children, released. i talked to one adult who said he was not applying for asylum, and was allowed to leave anyway. that draws into question president trump's declaration that catch and release is over. jim? >> and also sounds like the system itself is still

overloaded and they don't have the resources to deal with it all. very obviously demonstrated by the death of this little boy. nick valencia, thank you very much. more to come on the breaking news. we're also keeping our eyes on north korea. how will kim jong-un react to president trump's tweet, claiming the u.s. is making progress and there soon will be another summit meeting? . . .

. . . my experience with usaa has been excellent. they really appreciate the military family and it really shows. with all that usaa offers why go with anybody else? we know their rates are good, we know that they're

always going to take care of us. it was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. it was funny because when we would call another insurance company, hey would say "oh we can't beat usaa" we're the webber family. we're the tenney's we're the hayles, and we're usaa members for life. ♪ get your usaa auto insurance quote today. - with tripadvisor finding the right hotel at the lowest price is as easy as dates, deals, done. going on a work trip? dates, deals, done.

destination wedding? dates, deals, done. because with tripadvisor all you have to do is enter the dates of your stay and we'll take care of the rest: searching over 200 booking sites to find you the best deal it's as easy dates, deals, you know the rest. (owl hoots) read reviews, check hotel prices, book things to do, tripadvisor.

♪ >> and we're following breaking

news. president trump's whirlwind visit to u.s. troops in iraq and just before the holiday the president tweeted an optimistic update touting progress in u.s. relations with north korea. let's go to cnn's will ripley in hong kong. we soon will be hearing from north korea's leader, kim jong-un's vision for the future here very shortly, isn't that right, will? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. next week, jim, kim jong-un will make his most important speech of the year, and it could reveal clues into what he is thinking as there is this potential second summit with president trump. in a matter of days, kim jong-un is expected to make his biggest speech of the year. a new year address that could reveal new clues into the north korean leader's mindset as he prepares for what could be a game-changing second round of diplomacy with president donald trump. on christmas eve, trump tweeted this photo from the oval office, taken during a briefing with his north korea team. looking forward to my next summit with chairman kim, he

said. but more than six months after trump and kim's historic summit in singapore, many observers fear u.s./north korea diplomacy is falling apart. satellite images show work continuing at north korean missile sites, weapons factory and its main nuclear reactor. on monday north korean state media continued its increasingly sharp criticism of the u.s., warning that america must stop provocative and malicious acts. north korea has expressed growing anger with the u.s. for keeping sanctions in place, sanctions over north korea's nuclear program. and u.n. allegations of widespread human rights abuse, an issue pyongyang has repeatedly called non-existent. within hours of trump's tweet, a u.s. federal judge ordered north korea to pay more than half a billion dollars to the family of otto warmbier, the u.s. college student who died last year of severe brain damage just six days after north korea released him. the family says he was tortured,

claims north korea has denied. the warmbiers, unlikely to collect the full amount of damage, they have few assets in the u.s. they could make a claim for. in recent months pyongyang has not ruled out a return to the tensions of a year ago when north korea last test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile. despite rising tensions with the u.s., a new sign of diplomatic progress between north and south korea, a groundbreaking ceremony to modernize railroads in the north and connect them with the south. perhaps more diplomatic maneuvering by kim jong-un's government. north korean media, while criticizing the u.s., has praised president trump, blaming trump's opponents for the breakdown in denuclearization talks, a move experts say could be an attempt to play to the president's ego in hopes of getting a better deal if that second summit ever happens. >> and whether it will happen is

still very much an open question. there is still no location, no date set for it, and there are a lot of questions about whether the two sides will even be able to come together given how far apart they are on this issue of denuclearization. jim. >> and they are far apart. will ripley, thank you very much. >> breaking news next. new video from president trump's surprise visit to u.s. troops in iraq and his comments defending the u.s. pullout from syria. welcome to the place where people go to learn about their medicare options... before they're on medicare. come on in.

you're turning 65 soon? yep. and you're retiring at 67? that's the plan! well, you've come to the right place. it's also a great time to learn about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. here's why... medicare part b doesn't pay for everything. only about 80% of your medical costs. this part is up to you... yeah, everyone's a little surprised to learn that one. a medicare supplement plan helps pay for some of what medicare doesn't. that could help cut down on those out-of-your-pocket medical costs. call unitedhealthcare insurance company now or visit aarpmedicaresupplement.com for your free decision guide about the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. selected for meeting their high standards of quality and service. this type of plan lets you say "yes" to any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. there are no networks or referrals to worry about.

do you accept medicare patients? i sure do! see? you're able to stick with him. like to travel? this kind of plan goes with you anywhere you travel in the country. so go ahead, spend winter somewhere warm. if you're turning 65 soon or over 65 and planning to retire, find out more about the plans that live up to their name. thumbs up to that! remember, the time to prepare is before you go on medicare! don't wait. get started today. to learn more about the range of aarp medicare supplement plans and their rates, call or go online today to request your free decision guide. oh, and happy birthday... or retirement... in advance.

your free decision guide. ♪ there's no place likargh!e ♪ i'm trying... ♪ yippiekiyay. ♪ mom. ♪ ♪ >> happening now, breaking news. surprise visit. the president and first lady travel to iraq, meeting with u.s. troops in a war zone, a first for this commander in chief. after nearly two years in

office, why is mr. trump doing this now? no end in sight as the partial government shutdown drags on for a fifth day. president trump is vowing to hold out for border wall funding regardless of how long it takes. will he eventually blink if he's unable to dodge the blame? 1,000 point surge. after a christmas eve debacle for stock prices, the do you joens industrials make a stunning comeback. given the extreme volatility on wall street, will the bullish outlook last. claiming harassment, the president goes off on a rant concerning the russia probe. the trump team buckling up for a new round of investigations. i'm jim acosta. wolf blitzer is off today and you're in "the situation room". ♪ >> this is "cnn breaking news." >> we are following breaking news on president trump's first trip to a war zone at