We begin this morning with a look at todays eye opener. Your world in 90 seconds. Donald trump praising Vladimir Putin tweeting this. Great move on delay by v. Putin. I always knew he was very smart. Putin takes a pass on tat expulsions. He says we wont do that. He has a celebration at the kremlin. These are both smart, shrewd guys who are sizing each other up in the ring. Russian hack e beyond the election. They may have access to a power grid in vermont. The first country here to welcome in the new year. The eyes of the world will be on the new years eve ball as it drops in times square. More than a million revelers will be there. Dramatic rescues at knotts berry farm. One rescue after toanother. 21 people. Stuck there since 2 00. New england is covered in deep snow. Lovely to look at but not so nice to shovel. Dont let it run into us. Its a moose on the loose the beast decided to take a jog in montana all that. Closing after 78 years. Some people waited five hours and all that matters. Isaiah. Deep three. Oh 50 points for isiah thomas on cbs this morning saturday. Wow finds hill. And hes in. Touchdown sideline touchdown michigan. Their first lead of the game to the end zone. It is caught. Touchdown seminoles are going for the win. Here is the extra point. It is blocked and its going all the way. Knocked up in the air and intercepted. What a football game. A onepoint thriller won by Florida State welcome to the weekend, everyone. Im Anthony Mason along with reena ninan. Welcome. Alex wagner is off this morning. We have a lineup of guests including Martin Freeman who is taking audiences from the office to middle earth and hear from him as he brings back his most fame role in the hit series sherlock. Chef jose andreas is known for his big culinary empire and. Tight. We will join him for a special new year eves dish. Gallant is going up against beyonce and rihanna next month. A far cry from his early days in music. We will talk to him about his newfound success and he will perform in our saturday session. We begin with our top story. Another cyber attack in the United States with possible ties to russia. The target is an electric utility in vermont. Burlington electric says malware code associated with a russian hacking operation was found in one of its computers. The company said it discovered the possible breach after the department of Homeland Security issued an alert to Utility Companies thursday night. Its not known when the code entered the computer of the Vermont Utility. But the discovery underscores just how vulnerable the nations electric grid is to potential hackers. The Company Issued a statement on friday saying, quote, we detected the malware in a single Burlington Electric laptop and not connected to our organizations grid system and took immediate action to alert the federal authorities fost finding. The same report from the department of Homeland Security talked about russian for Cyber Attacks on the Democratic National committee and Hillary ClintonsCampaign Chairman to upend the election. Jeff pegues has more. Reporter u. S. Intelligence agencies believe russian hacking units often used other peoples Computer Networks to hide their malicious activity. Newly declassified documents show that u. S. Investigators suspect that Russian Intelligence Services have access to compromised computer infrastructure in as many as 60 countries. According to this joint analysis, u. S. Intelligence agencies have been tracking specific russian signatures, or fingerprints, of malicious cyberactivity for years and led them to focus on one culprit in connection with the cyberattack that affected Democratic Party officials. It was very clear from day one that this was russia. Reporter kell ward the executive director of the Congressional CampaignCommittee Said she and other Democratic Party officials were notified of the cyberattack on june 14th but by then, it was too late. The hackers had already stolen valuable Opposition Research for congressional races and the information was about to show up in republican ads. The material that was leaked was weaponized in a way to affect our most important races at the most important time. Reporter it was weaponized. The hackers released the materials and put them on the internet. Reporter cybersecurity experts and u. S. Officials say the tactic is classic russian information war fare and uses in countries around the world including ukraine and turkey. With the blessing of Vladimir Putin rurgs intelligence sources are working to make a playbook which plans for planned cyberattacks to release embarrassing documents or cause other disruptions. President obama has ordered a report on the russian cyberattacks and it is expected to be completed sometime in the next few weeks. U. S. Officials tell cbs news that through a combination of forensic evidence and human intelligence, it will reveal new details about the cyberattacks that have yet to come to light. For cbs this morning, jeff pegues, washington. President elect donald trump praised russian president Vladimir Putin for not immediately retaliating about new sanctions imposed by the obama administration. On friday Russian Diplomats in maryland were seen packing up to leave after their expulsion from the u. S. 35 Russian Diplomats were told they have to leave the u. S. By today. Trump tweeted praise for putins quote, great move for delay on retaliation against american diplomats. He said i always knew he was very smart. The Russian Embassy retweeted what trump paula reed has more. Reporter donald trump will have authority to overturn the new sanctions but will face poopgs fr opposition. It was plainly a mixture of many motivations but no dispute over the underlying fact of russian responsibility for doing this. Reporter democratic congressman adam shift insists there is bipartisan support for sanctions against russia and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle would support further action. If you have a powerful bipartisan consensus in congress that more needs to be done to deter russia that is difficult for the president elect to ignore or to stop. Reporter top aides of mr. Trump calling the sanctions a political move by the obama administration. All we heard all through the election was russia russia russia. Whenever it came to anything donald trump said or did. We agree that Foreign Government shouldnt be hacking american institutions, period. Reporter but Top Republicans say the u. S. Retaliation against russia is justified. In a statement thursday, House Speaker paul ryan said the action by the administration is overdue and serves as a prime example of this administrations ineffective foreign policy. Senate majority leader concurred and writing sanctions against the Russian Intelligence Services are a good initial state but, however, late in coming. I think putin is a kind of guy if you get in a brawl with him he keeps brawling. Reporter Michael Ohanlon says the president elects approach to the kremlin could actually help the u. S. I give trump some credit for recognizing that most problems in the world, we actually need to cooperate with russia or at least minimize our disagreements. Reporter the president elect will meet with intelligence officials next week to learn more details about the hacking investigation. His team says after that briefing, he may have a more formal response to the actions taken by the obama administration. Paula, thank you. We are joined by the Washington Post column icht ca columnist katherine rampel. Do you think this could survive the pressure from the Republican Party . So far the pressure from the Republican Party has not been particularly great, i would add. You have john mccain and lindsey graham, you know, pushing for even tougher sanctions but you have a lot of Congressional Republicans basically saying that what russia did was excusable because it produced truthful information which may or on may not be accurate but, of course, its a very dangerous logic to use to say, well, as long as the information is truthful, we dont care if they hack us, if they engage in essentially cyber war fare. We will have hearings on the hacking do you think that is an attempt to reset relations with russia . Potentially. The options are pretty bad. Trump, during the campaign, was sensitive about being called putins puppet. Wave number of stories that make it look pretty bad, right, if a number of the attacks that russia has attempted on the integrity of our electoral system. Trump seems to have a lot of admiration for putin. We know during the campaign trail donald trump pushed creating jobs and reevaluating the economy. What else do you think hell push through the first 100 days . Early on maybe see a major tax cut come through and republicans in the congress and senate are very much on board with. We may also see some sort of major infrastructure overhaul or investment which would probably be done through the tax system as well. And i would also look for something to happen on obamacare, the Affordable Care act. Exactly what that looks like remains to be seen. There is a lot of talk about repealing obamacare over some kind of time frame. That is murky but any indication when they might make that happen . My best guess they will try to repeal it in name at the very least right away. When it will actually come into effect could be a couple of years from now. Health care is very, very complicated. Its very easy to break and while the Affordable Care act, itself, as a brand, is unpopular, most of the things that the Affordable Care act does are quite popular and americans dont necessarily realize that the one is associated with the other. So if republicans immediately repeal the subsidies or the protections for those with preexisting conditions, et cetera, you know, the republicans, themselves, might receive a lot of blowback as a result. Thank you so much. Today is the last day of 2016. Of course, new years celebrations are taking place all across the world. In some places it is already 2017. In new zealand, the new year was welcomed with fireworks. One of the biggest parties will happen here in new york in times square where security will be very tight. Marlie hall is there. Good morning. Reporter good morning. The first revelers are trickling in and already a sizeable police presence. Officials say they are not acting in reaction to a specific threat but out of an abundance of caution. If you think something is happening that makes you worried, go tell an officer. And there is going to be no lack of officers to find in times square on december 31st. Reporter about 7,000 new York City Police officers will be patrolling the times square crowd tonight, some in uniform, some undercover. A lot you will see and, as per usual, a lot you will not see. And that is that combination that keeps us safe. Reporter the nypds task is keeping safety the estimated 2 Million People that are expected to jam than area one mile long and two blocks wide. In the wake of deadly truck attacks in nice, france, and berlin, germany, police are placing 65 sand trucks weighing 40 tons each in strategic locations around times square and they are doubling the number of blocker vehicles tichlt it creates a hardened perimeter so it wont allow a vehicle to get in there like and replicate the nice attack. 321 happy new year reporter on friday, the final preparations were made for tonights main event. The ball drop signaling the start of the new year. I feel good about it. Reporter nicole and her family are visiting from pennsylvania. She says the extra security makes her feel safer. With all of the presence of Port Authority and around and the cameras, yeah, it does. If we let the terrorists win and stop us from enjoying anything any great event that we have here in our country, then they win. Reporter if you plan to be here to watch that famous ball make its annual descent, youll have to be searched by police and there are no backpacks, large bags, umbrellas or alcohol allowed. Reena, there are no Restroom Facilities thats why i wouldnt be there marlie hall in times square in new york, thank you. The new year is expected to begin with rain or snow across many parts of the nation. Snow is the last thing parts of new england need right now where ground from a late week storm. Thousands of people still have no power after snow and ice brought down power lines. Lets check in with meteorologist ed curran of our chicago station wbbmtv. Good morning. Reporter good morning. We are taking a look at new england right now. We do have wintries up until sunday morning. Future cast shows you the snow that moves in there tonight for new years eve. South in the warmer temperatures, we have rain and down in new orleans, they could have flooding rains down there. 3 to 4 inches possible tonight. In los angeles, the rains are diminishing as we go into the nighttime hours and into tomorrow. The northwest, you see snow as the storm system begins and starts tracking across the country through the week. Behind this, it pulls in colder air and sends the temperatures plummeting around the nation. Todays high 25 in fargo and 39 in kansas city and 70 in dallas. By the time we get to thursday, 44 in dallas, 23 in kansas city, 4 degrees below zero in fargo. So get ready for the cold in the new year fargo is getting hit hard. Meteorologist ed curran of our chicago station wbbm continue tv, thank you. Reporter kennedy cousin Michael Skakel may face a possible return to prison after his murder conviction was reinstated. Connecticut state Supreme Court issued a 43 decision on friday. It rejected a Lower Court Ruling that skakels trial lawyer did not adequately represent him in the killing of Martha Moxley back in 1975. Skakel was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years to life but freed in 2013. It is not clear whether skakel will remain free if he appeals the ruling. 21 adventure seekers back on the ground this morning after they got stuck on an Amusement Park ride in california. Firefighters used ropes and harnesses to rescue the people. They were there six hours on friday at knotts berry farm. The cause of the breakdown has not been determined. Missing fine print on one of the seasons hottest holiday gifts. Since december 21, 2015, the government is commanding to know who is taking to the skies with drones. Reporter 15yearold keelan guard has been practicing with this small drone outside phoenix. Kind of have to stay on your toes. Reporter he got this much bigger one as a gift this holiday season. Part of an estimated 1. 2 million drones given as gifts, up 112 from 2015. But before drones weighing just over half a pound or more take flight, the owner needs to register with the faa or face the potential of huge fines. The faa expects 2. 5 million drones sold this year. So far more than 615,000 hobbyists have registered. That is part of an effort by regulators to get drone users to follow the rules including flying below 400 feet and away from airports. More than 1800 drones have been spotted around airports up about 50 from 2015. Just this month an Inspector General report criticized the faas oversight of drone safety for not being pro active. Do you think the bulk of consumers know they even have to register their drone . Well, the number suggest that no. Reporter Michael Droback is a lawyer. Enforcements and penalties and sounds like the federal government is taking care of us and protecting our skies. The reality they are not allowing for the kind of commercial operations we do want while, at the same time, not providing real guidance how we can be good stewards of this technology. Reporter the faa has koffocd on educating drone users instead of issuing fines. While the ffa can seek civil fines the much more substantial penalties can only be handled by law enforcement. For cbs this morning saturday, kris van cleave, washington. This came as news to me. My son asked for a drone for christmas but i had no idea about the registration. We went on assignment and i learned how to pilot a drone. Its incredible the footage you can get. Im a big believer. Time to show you some of this mornings headlines. A North Carolina is buying the states incoming governor some time. Democrat ray cooper filed a lawsuit on friday aiming to block a republicanbacked law that ends the control governors have over statewide and county election boards. The judge is blocking its implementation for at least a week so the measure can be reviewed more closely. Cooper is scheduled to be sworn in after midnight tonight. The New York Times reports wildlife advocates are applauding chinas announcement it will ban ivory trade by the end of next year. The decision follows years of pressure by conservation groups on china. And fears that the Worlds Largest ivory trade was contributing to