9 days from presidency: Trump on Russia, fake news, business, Obamacare

NEW YORK (WTXF/AP) - President-elect Donald Trump held his first news conference in six months, just nine days from his inauguration as the nation's 45th president.

HIGHLIGHTS, followed by details:

-- President-elect Trump spokesman condemns publication of dossier on Trump and Russia as `outrageous and irresponsible.' He called the unverified dossier on ties to Russia `fake news' and `phony stuff' crafted by `sick people.' Trump said the report never should've been released and thanked news organizations that showed restraint.

BuzzFeed News published a summary of those allegations, despite its editor noting there was reason to doubt the truth of them. Most news organizations, including The Associated Press, held back on the specific allegations because they had not been substantiated. Tuesday evening, CNN first published a report on Trump and Russia.

Wednesday, Trump refused to answer a question from CNN's Senior White House Correspondent, Jim Acosta. WATCH HERE.

-- To suggestions U.S. intelligence agencies leaked unsubstantiated reports to the media about his relationship with Russia, it would be a "tremendous blot on their record if they did that." At end, Trump again accuses intel agencies of leaking unverified dossier on Russia ties, likens it to actions of Nazi Germany.

"I think it's a disgrace that information would be let out. I saw the information, I read the information outside of that meeting," he said, a reference to a classified briefing he received from intelligence leaders. "It's all fake news, it's phony stuff, it didn't happen. It was gotten by opponents of ours," Trump declared.

Also, the Democratic National Committee was "totally open to be hacked" and if Russian hackers had gotten anything on him they "would have released it."

-- Trump says Russia will `respect our country more' when he is leading the nation.

-- President-elect Donald Trump says he picks VA undersecretary David Shulkin to lead Department of Veterans Affairs.

-- Lawyer says Trump to put business assets in trust, but his company will still pursue deals in US while he's president, just not new foreign ones. Trump will hand control of his company to his two adult sons and a longtime business executive to allay concerns about conflicts of interest. Lawyer says Trump is planning to make the change by Inauguration Day. Trump's lawyer says he `should not be expected to destroy the company he built.'

The plan falls short of what some government ethics experts have been urging: Trump sell his assets and put the cash in a blind trust overseen by an independent managers, as many recent presidents have done. Others have said that is impractical given selling real estate takes time and the sprawling nature of his business. Trump has stakes in 500 companies in about 20 countries.

-- Trump says more factories open in the industrial Midwest highlight his direct outreach to companies. He repeated his campaign pledge to be "the greatest jobs producer that God created."

THE DETAILS: