>> every monday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera, only on al jazeera america >> sna pa pass . >>. >> they caused a lot of damage. and we will respond. putting north korea on notice. president obama pointing the finger at pyongyang for the massive cyber attack on sony lying on the witness stand, a stunning admission which the prosecutor in the michael brown case. he said he now some witnesses gave false testimony.

[ singing ] from concern to celebration - new diplomacy between the united states and havana getting mixed reviews in miami plus, preserving a piece of hollywood history good morning, welcome to al jazeera america thank you for joining us this saturday morning. i'm morgan radford live in new york city. north korea is denying that it had anything to do with the attack on sony pictures, and pyongyang is calling for a violent investigation with the united states. president obama is holding them accountable, vowing that the u.s. will respond to the breach. it led sony to cancel the christmas release of "the interview", a movie the president called a mistake. they are firing back. >> reporter: president obama put north korea on notice. the u.s. will strike back for the cyber attack on sony pictures. >> they caused a lot of damage.

and we will respond. we will respond proportionally, and we'll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose. it's not something that i will announce here today at a press conference. >> reporter: the fbi said it consulted with several u.s. government agencies and departments to determine that north korea launched the cyber attack on sony. the fbi cited several factors - links to other malware north korea developed, including similarities in code and encryption algorithms, several ip addresses associated with known north korean infrastructure, and found similarities to a cyber attack launched by north korea in march 2013 against seen banks and media outlets >> movie reel: hello north

korea. >> reporter: it was implemented because of a plot about the assassination of north korea's leader. after threats of violence, sony decided to cancel the movie. president obama, in his end. year news conference, criticized that decision. >> yes, i think they made a mistake. we cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship in the united states while all this is happening, the c.e.o. of sony said the president has it all long. >> i don't know exactly whether he understands the sequence of events that led up to the movies not shown in the movie theatres, and therefore i would disagree with the notion that it was a

mistake. >> linton said the company is considering other options o contribute the film. mike viqueira joins us from washington d.c. good morning to you. we understand this morning, north korea said it's open to a joint investigation into the sony hacking. how likely is that to actually happen. >> i think this was is one of those unpredictable things that north korea does. they are known to manipulate the west in the united states, acting bellagerently, firing on fairy boats and war shops in south korea. the two nations at war, 30,000 troops stationed between them. the united states government is never sure what the motivations

are for north korea. it is famous for manipulating the united states and other western allies to get what it wants. that proposal will not be taken seriously. >> you say it's not a sincere option. what are the options available to the president right now? >> there are few. the president said it would be a proportional response and the united states will react in the time, place and manner of its choosing. it will not be revealed what the u.s. response may be. it may have something to do with response in time, a cyber attack or retaliation by the united states but there are few option, sanctions have been in place for some time. their ally is china, it's a delegate situation. few good options on the table

for the president as he considers a course of retaliation. >> it's delicate in terms of diplomacy. you mentioned the president's address yesterday. this is not all that he talked about. what else did he say? >> it was dominated, if you look at the overview, the president's relations with a new republican congress mu congress . the old congress ended last week, the new one coming in with conversation off the bat. the key stone pipeline has been languishing. delayed time and time again. mitch mcconnell, the new senate leader says it will be one of first votes. yesterday the president downplayed economic benefit that the keystone pipeline may have for the american concern in relation to gas and oil prices. energy prices. he stopped short of saying he'd

veto anything coming out of the promise. there's the question of immigration and health care. the president struck a firm tomb. here are a couple of issues, talking about the cuban embargo and health care. >> ultimately we need to pull down the embargo, which i think has been self-defeating in advancing the aims that we are interested in. if republicans seek to take health care away from people who just got it, they'll meet stiff resonance from me. >> on the embargo, you heard what the president said. >> mike viqueira, joining us from washington. thank you another hacking incident making news this morning.

the "new york times" said a panel would advise no punishment for the search of staff computers. senator dianne fienstein said the c.i.a. was tampering with senate intelligence work by going through the computers. the panel is finalising that issue new revelations in the michael brown case much the prosecutor admitting that some witnesses lied under oath, yet he let them test any. ross shimabuku joins us with the latest. how do lies slip through the cracks on the stand? >> that's what everyone wants to know. the prosecutor says all he wanted was witnesses to testify, each those that did not seem credible. this is his first time speaking out to a grand jury, speaking about about not to indict darren

wilson. including one saying michael brown was in the football position. then she said brown began to charge at the office. she told the radio that the story had holes. >> this was a lady who clearly was not present when this occurred, and she recounted a statement out of the newspaper. she was nowhere near the pleas. >> the prosecutor let her testify, saying it's up to the grand jury to decide if the witnesses were telling the truth. jurors listened to investigators pick apart her story. she is standing by it. missouri lawyer mickers looking for an investigation amccullough, manipulating the jury. his father killed by a black

man. he said he was to represent the of, rather than himself, to keep the face fair. >> a lot of questions there. ross shimabuku, thank you for joining us. another police shooting is provoking mass protests in milwaukee. protesters shot down the m43 in both directions. residents were angry over the shooting of dante hamilton, shot 14 times by former milwaukee police officer. protesters are pushing the district attorney to indate the officer the mastermind of an attack on a school in peshawar may have been killed in a website. pakistan stepped up the operations of the taliban since the deadly raid in peshawar. >> reporter: there are conflicting reports. al jazeera has this information from one of the security sources

as security source close to the government telling us that omar has been taken out, killed in a raid overnight by the pakistani military. it's an air raid near the border of afghanistan. he is an important target. only just a day - one day ago, two days ago he issued a statement claiming that he's the master mind of the bloody attack on the peshmerga military public school in which more than 130 people, mostly children, were killed, and he warned or threatened more attacks on the children of the pakistani military saying if you don't care about our children earlier, where the government is waging a campaign against the taliban, we have no concerns about your children. he spread the warning in a video that he showed, causing a lot of alarm and the government to

heighten security around the schools, and other public areas. if, really, he has been killed, the government could show - have something to show to the pakistani public, especially those on the side of the military, that it has enough resolve to act. >> pakistan executed two men convicted of terror offenses. these are the first executions since the prime minister lifted a mora torium. israeli forces carried out an attack, hitting hamas utilities. it's the first action tins tel aviv and hamas agreed to a truce in august. the truce ended 7 weeks of fighting, which killed more than 2,000 people. most palestinians mourners in australia laid flowers and teddy bears outside

a scope where eight children were found dead. resident kept a vigil as officials conducted autopsies. the mother of the victims has been charged with murder u.s. imposes new sanctions on russia, they are banning the export of the good to crimea. canada is putting a ban on technology to russia's gas and oil industry. ukrainians are making the best of the season. while the east is at war, groups gathered in kiev for the colourful celebration to mark st. nicholas day let's get a check on the forecast. >> a lot of people trying to get a jumpstart on travel. this is what we are watching closely. a lot of people will be travelling and it's looking like we'll have a potent storm in the

east, dealing with rain up the coastline, snow up the back and high wind. you may want to figure that into holiday plans. storm in the west, another area of heavy rain moving through the south, into places like georgia, louisiana, mississippi, this or will be unsettled. watch for more of the moisture. into the day tomorrow, more than that, and more on the system in a few minutes. >> thank you so much fishermen in sri lanka at odds with the counter part in india. why they say the neighbouring country's boats are leaving them high and dry. scientists say what they are really doing is worse. >> can they speak, have their open lives. >> an issue dividing long-time friend and families.

in the next hour - a young woman na got capital hill lawmakers to agree on something - changing the future for thousand of disabled americans. may have very dangerous interactions. are you one of them? find out on "the stream". >> "the stream". today at 5:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> a crisis on the border... >> thery're vulnarable... these are refugees... >> migrent kids flooding into

the u.s. >> we're gonna go and see josue who's just been deported... >> why are so many children fleeing? >> your children will be a part of my group or killed... >> fault lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... emmy award winning investigative series... fault lines no refuge: children at the border only on al jazeera america same-sex marriage will soon be legal in florida. the supreme court struck down a request to block gay marriage. a federal judge declared a ban on same-sex weddings unconstitutional. couples can be married on january 6th, and there are more than 30 states, including washington d.c. that recognises same-sex marriages. cuban americans opposed president obama's decision to open ties with cuba plan to

protest. much is divided along generational lines. andy gallagher with more on the divide from miami's little havana. [ singing ] >> reporter: in miami's vibrant cuban neighbourhood it's business as usual. eighth street, havana, is still busy with tourist. eric moved from miami from cuba when he was 3 years old. much of his family, sister and grandparents, remain on the island. he'll be able to travel to cuba more often and send four times as much money to his relatives as before, but is concerned with bigger issues. >> increased travel. that's fine. what else? can they speak freely? can they have their open culture

and life? >> no. you can't say what you think or aspire to own your own home, unless you have an american family to buy it for you. >> reporter: across town the monumental changes are the subject of debate. this man, who owns a cuban cafe, says customers have such opposing views on the u.s. approach that he's seen old friend fall out. >> people that have eaten breakfast and lunch for 20 years, time by side, all of a sudden have been a little heated and not talking by the time breakfast or lunch is over. >> reporter: among the cuban americans, the changes are felt differentry. many felt for closer ties, and the majority welcome a new approach. >> by and large the changes in our policy so we can increase the flow of contacts and

resources is seen as something favourable. >> reporter: normalizing relations with cuba was never going to be easy, especially for the older generation. uncertainty remains. demographic changes leads to now pps, and the acceptance that it may be words a chance much. >> this is the biggest shift in policy. it's a deeply divisive issue. many do not want to accept change. others wait and hope to see what the future will bring. >> reporter: more than two dozen groups are expected to take part in the protest an oklahoma judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by media outlets asking to greater access to executions. the judge said the state death penalty protocols do not oppose the first amendment. media organizations have been

given two weeks to amend the lawsuit to support their came. india and sri lanka - a diplomatic sea scuff. dozens of fisher many are arrested for entering the other's territorial waters. as the dispute goes on and on, the marine life is suffering the most. >> reporter: a hard night's work, little to show. fishermen in point pedro in northern sri lanka say their catch has fallen drastically, blaming the indian fishermen. >> translation: we used to paying a lot of money in the past, but can't cover the fuel cost. the indian trawlers destroy everything in their way. >> reporter: the government must do more to protect its territory and resources. indian trawlers use heavy planks to scrape the ocean floor, scooping up everything into nets that follow. sri lankan fishermen say indian

trawlers are carrying away their livelihoods, especially in conflict areas where people are struggling to recover from war. scientists have bigger concerns. experts say the protest nets shrimp. >> once they are refused, there's nowhere were them to lay eggs. that's where the problem starts. that's what they are doing. the whole root systems, the base there. the base collapses, the system col ass. dugongs or on the endangered list. >> we cannot calculate the environment destruction. it is not a long or short term, it's a long-term insect and it's a chain rehabilitation.

not only the particular area, but the whole environment through food chains. india says the waters are historic. signed in the 1970s, clear finding the international maritime boundary. the scientists say stopping indian trawlers crossing the line is vital to protecting the ecosystem and those that depend on it in our next hour we cross to india to take a closer look at that country's side of the debate ahead - trying to save a dying art. how some in hollywood are pushing for more old-school film reels to be shown in theatres. stay tuned.

welcome back to al jazeera america, thank you for joining us. i'm morgan radford. a look at the forecast with meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> the big weather for the weekend is over the gulf of alaska, a disturbance of moisture funnelling in. widespread cloud cover all the way to central california, and widespread rain. western portions, some places - today, tomorrow - eight to 10

inches of rain. it tips to progress and move interior. same high elevation, one, two, thrive - a little hard if you are trying to get around for the holiday. it's starting to taper off by monday. widespread areas under winter advisories, and that does not include - there's too many things on the legend, some areas under flood concern. the one thing we'll see, warm temperatures, like 54 in seattle razing some. snow elevation, even though the places getting the snow will get higher mountains much if you were watching president obama's year-end press conference. he only called on female reporters for questions. josh ernst said obama did it on purpose, to highlight the work of female reporters that cover the white house.

a white house historian does not remember seeing that happen as 2014 comes to an end, so goes the era of a silver screen. hollywood is expected to stop delivering films on film reels, replacing it with digital releases. some are trying to save the old-fashioned technology. >> reporter: it's old-fashioned technology in a digital age. ladies and gentlemened reels of 35 -- handling reels of 35mm fascinates this woman. jobs like hers are rare. >> i've been doing this for 10 years. it's more interesting in that particular time frame because film production is basically obsolete. >> until recently, this is how all movies are seen. 95% of u.s. theatres cop verted to -- converted to digital

presenters, cutting down on shipping and labour. >> if something is changed at the last minute. it can get into the theatre quicker, than getting a reel, having a professional in-house, spooling it through a projector, run it, dismantle it and send to the studios. >> reporter: this is the film "interstellar." the movie was released early to theatres that showed it on film, at the insistness of the director, christopher nolan. he and others insist analogue is the superior form at. watching a movie on film is a rare the treat, reserved for museums like this one, and art house theatres.

digital formats have their place. the criterion company specialises in those films. >> if you release a film digitally and you lose your hard drive and it doesn't work. it happens a lot. how many times do you have a drive that does not works, because of technology changes. film works. >> it's the responsibility of institutions to put pressure on fix studios to make the print. if it's important. it's what the audiences want to see without that, it risks being left on the cutting room floor coming up in the next hour. e-cigarette use among teams topping the numbers of those spoking. how social media may be helping

kids pick up the hab ot. as the saying goes, everything old is new again, including board games. why they are popular again. keep it here, i'm morgan radford, and i'm back with you for the 8 o'clock hour of al jazeera america >> can effect and surprise us...

denial for neaaar -- north korea - pyongyang says it's not responsible for the cyber attack on sony they say he's not a monster. an appeal from the parents for the man behind the colorado movie theatre massacre. a statement that angered many shooting victims. >> we are at the end of our strength. we are cold.

we can't endure the cold, snow and rain. what are the authorities doing righting a wrong from a bygone era with catastrophic consequences. why tens of thousands are being kicked out of the their homes as a soviet satellite tries to erase communism. >> this is when i learnt if i do it for myself, i can do it for other people a woman with down's syndromement syndrome, the inspiration for the able act welcome to al jazeera america, i'm morgan radford. north korea is warning of consequences if washington follows through on threats to retaliate over the sony cyber attack. pyongyang said it had nothing to do with the breach and is calling for a joint investigation with the u.s. into that attack. it comes as the federal bureau of investigation querms that

north korea was behind the attack. it caused sony to pull the christmas release of "the interview." patty culhane has more. >> movie reel: the c.i.a. would love it if you two could take him out. >> take him out, like for drinks. >> reporter: it's a comedy, a movie turning into an international drama. sony pictures making a provocative film about the attempted assassination of kim jong un. north korea retaliated, says the u.s., by hacking sony's computers, threatening to attack movie theatres that showed the film. president obama said north korea will pay for that. >> they caused a lot of damage. and we will respond. we will respond proportionally, and respond in a place and time and manner that we choose. it's not something i will

announce in a press conference. the response could be a counter computer attack, or the u.s. could go as far as to put north korea on the list of the state sponsors. >> that's a message to every country, and the financial institutions within the nation states. you are dealing with a country that's involved in terrorism. international terrorism. so it really will tighten things up significantly for north korea and its leadership. the president assess he has not decided what to do, but made up his mind on a decision not to release a movie. calling it a mistake. we don't have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship in the united states. >> reporter: the president talking about changing relationships with cuba, maintaining the u.s. economy is involving ahead. it's unusual comments on sony

that will make the headlines. sony's chairman says it was not a make. will the movie be made public. the ending to this story is likely more suspenseful than the movie that started it. >> he does talk to them. mike viqueira is in washington d.c. with us. mike, the head of sony pictures is firing back at the president saying he got it all wrong. what is he saying? >> well, it's interesting to see this tit for tat between the president of a major entertainment company and the president of the united states who said yesterday that i wish he had called me, michael linton, the head of sony pictures entertainment. the explanation from sony is it wasn't their call to pull the movies, the theatres. they refused to show the film because they feared for the safety of movie goers and their customers. here is more of what the c.e.o.

of sony said. >> i don't know exactly whether he understands the sequence of event that led up to the movies not shown in the movie theatres, and, therefore, i would disagree with the notion that it was a mistake and the question of how to respond on the part of the u.s. government of the the president, as patty reported, said is will be proportional, and we will not necessarily know how the united states responds, but they will do so in a time and manner of the american public's choosing. >> it was interesting saying "i called the white house, i didn't speak to the president himself." we mentioned the other tough topics, tell us more of what he said in the press catholic church. >> it was interestingful the president, as we know, was off on an almost three week vacation and had the air and demeanour of someone ready to do that. it was a breezy and casual president obama who took to the

podium yesterday afternoon for the year-end press conference. he was emphasising the positive. there were a host of other questions that the president tackled, including relations with congress that would be dominated by republicans when he returned in january despite his lame duck status, president obama says he's energized. >> my presidency an entering the fourth quarter. interesting stuff happens. i'm looking forward to it. >> reporter: president obama faces strengthened opposition, a republican-dominated congress much g.o.p. leaders vowing to fight on a host of issues, including president obama's opening to cuba. friday the president lowered hope to a quick deal to lift the economic embargo. >> ultimately we need to go ahead and pull down the embargo which is self-defeating, advancing the aims that we are

interested in i don't anticipated that will happen. >> reporter: they'll try to block immigration and all or part of theable care abbing. president obama care. >> if republicans seek to take health care from people who just got it, it will meet stiff resistance from me. >> reporter: in the wake of ferguson, staten island and cleveland, president obama sees a shift in public awareness when it comes to african-americans and the law. >> in part because people have been able to film what had been in the past stories passed on around the kitchen table allows people to make their open assessments and evaluations. you will not self-a problem if it's not talked about. now i'll go on vacation. >> the president and his family will have have been extended

holiday in hawaii, a rest before returning to washington and a new reality. >> part of the now reality is over the keystone pipe line. republicans want it approved. it languished for six years. it was interesting. the president took a question on that and downplayed the economic benefit. yet if republicans succeed passing something through congress, the president did not promise a veto, he did not say what he will do. when he gets back from hawaii. thank you so much for being with us. now to the spat between the c.i.a. and the senate intelligence committeement former and current government officials told the "new york times" that a disciplinary panel will advise no punishment for five c.i.a. employees singled out for searching computers.

the pentagon says it's making gains against i.s.i.l. a spokesperson's coalition air strikes in iraq and syria topped a billion. [ gunfire ] new video on friday appeared to show i.s.i.l. fighters targetting sites in the northern region of aleppo. parading a man, reportedly executed shortly after pakistan said the man behind the deadly attack on a school may have been killed. you mar took responsibility. more attacks would tart military families, he said. >> reporter: the pakistani military said it killed a number of taliban fighters, including a local commander. anger grows in pakistan, days after an attack by the children in pakistan. thousands of supporters by a

political party protested in karachi against the taliban. >> we want to unite all the parties against the taliban. we know that as long as taliban is here. pakistan can't go further. >> reporter: security is tight outside the army-run school. they killed more than 130 children and injured men others. people fear more attacks. >> translation: children ask me whether they are safe. the same thing could happen to them. the government should have a permanent solution. the taliban has public support. the critics gather outside the city. it's a case of being registered against a cleric. who justified the attack.

>> one of the things the government has done is to lift a 6-year moratorium. two men found guilty were executed on friday. >> it was a great tragedy. in the past, at our schools, never targeted them. like 9/11 changed the united states forever. in fact, the world forever. this is the kind of our mini-9/11. >> reporter: from anger against the taliban to grief for the young victims. it's clear that tuesday's attack included other pakistan's army has been engaged in a major offensive for the taliban for the past six months. israeli forces carried out attacks in the gaza strip. more planes hit a hamas facility in response to rocket fire on

friday. this is the first action since a truce was agreed to in august, ending seven weeks of fighting killing 2,200 people, most palestinians another police shooting is provoking mass protests in milwaukee. fighters shut down interstate 43. in both directions where more than 73 were directed. residents marching offer the shooting of dante. he was shot 14 teems. protesters are pushing the distribute attorney to indict the officer disturbing details about witnesses testifying before the grand jury, investigating the death of michael brown. the prosecutor said some lied. ross shimabuku joins us with more. my question is why were the witnesses allowed to testify in the first place? >> the st louis county prosecutor said it was important to present the picture.

bob mccullough said he has no regrets even though he knew some witnesses lied under oath. >> i thought it was important to present everybody and anybody including some not telling the truth. >> including number 40, who defended officer darren wilson, telling the grand jury michael brown was in the football position: mccullough, in his first interview since the grand jury decision, said her story had serious holes. >> this was a lady clearly not present when this occurred and recounted a statement that was, you know, out of the neighbourhood muck cullo let -- mccullough let her and others testify. >> my determination was to put everyone on, and let the grand jurors assess their credibility. which they did. >> people mcilroy stands by the

story tell the the "st louis post dispatch" saying: eventually the grand jury would decide not to indict officer darren wilson. igniting protests. now this revelation throws more suspicion on the proceedings, and the prosecutor. >> now, missouri lawmakers pushing for an investigation of mccullough. representatives say he may have manipulated the grand jury. >> a lot of uncomfortable questions and facts. all right. ross shimabuku, thank you so much the parents of the man accused of a shooting rampage at a colorado movie theatre pleading for his life. james holmes faces the death penalty for the shooting leaving 12 dead and others injured. his parents say he's not a monster, but is mentally ill and

asks that he be institutionalized same-sex marriage will soon be legal in florida, where friday the supreme court struck down a request to block down gay marriage. a judge banned same-sex weddings. calls can get married starring january 6th, joining 30 states, and washington d.c. recognising same-sex marriage. >> snow in the mountains, raining in the south. a lot of wet weather. nicole mitchell looks at the weather foreaft. >> a couple of big systems. the one moving through the south caused a little flash flooding in places like houston. as you understand, houston is the example of a concrete jungle with not a lot of paper for drainage. underpasses - easy to get it built up. for the day the area of moisture has moved along, you can see it more to the south-east.

places like georgia, south carolina, higher elevations. speaking of snow, 42% across the country now if you look at the white christmas possibility yip. through the south, more of this spread as the low pressure stays off the coast line. more pressure, once the main batch moves off, a little less. some of that into the day. other places that for sunday, a lot get the jumpstart. we see moisture to the mid west. we have a widespread system in the west coast, including heavy snow, higher elevation, one, two, three feet possible as we get through the next couple of days. more on that and the christmas forecast in a little bit. >> looking forward to that. president obama called it a mistake. >> if someone is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a satirical movie. imagine what they start doing

when they see a documentary he don't like, or news reports that they don't like. that's the commander in chief criticizing sony for caving into pressure. he thinks it was a mistake. after the break ditch the silver screen for a blast from the past. what was once old new again. it helps to bring the board game back from the hind of distinction. >> if you worry about maritime borders, my industry will die and my business destroyed. >> talk about trawling for trouble. a deep sea dispute decades in the making and scientists say mother nature is suffering the most. all that and more after the break. interactions. are you one of them? find out on "the stream". >> "the stream". today at 5:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. ♪

make the best entertainment part of your holidays. catch all the hottest handpicked titles on the winter watchlist, only with xfinity from comcast. >> we cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the united states president obama schooleded sony -- schooleded sony for pulling the movie saying the

company was wrong to fou hackers. the president warn itted could be a slippery slope. the white house is blaming north korea for the attack. and pyongyang denies any involvement. gordon chang, author, joins us, and contributor for forbes. thank you for joining us much the president said it was a bad idea to fou the pressure. was it a mistake much? >> it was a speak for the president to blame sony. no one likes what the studio did. it's not up to sony to defend the liberties of american people. the person that had that job is hama, and he and his predecessors made a string of horrible positions that put sony into a horrible choice. if we are going to sign blame, i'd blame the president of the united states - this one and the

previous one? how sincere is north korea's of to look into this violent investigation, is that politics? >> that is not sin ear. if i was -- sincere. if i was the president of the united states i'd say, "yes, let's make it a joint investigation - united states, north korea and china." china helped them, they knew about them, were complicit. >> you say china knew, even though the president didn't name china. >> he didn't name china, the fbi didn't name china. it is inescapable. they were routed through china's ip addresses, because of their fire wall they know what is going on. most suspect unit 121 of north korea's cyber people. >> unit 121. >> they are mostly in china, not north korea. they were about 3 hours drive from the north korean border.

you have guys hacking the world, including sony, and at this point the chinese had to know the guys were there. they were holed up in a luxury hotel. there were probably hundreds in china, it's not a good story for beijing, if i was president obama i'd assure, bring it on. >> if china is involved, what about russia. >> they are involved tan gently. the best warriors are trained in china and russia. the russians know what is going on. there's no indication that they were involved in the sony hack. have you a trio of countries attacking the world through cyber means. >> what about michael lyndon, and what he said what e told the president that he had it wrong.

did everyone go through the proper channels, are there proper channels? >> it's an interesting argument that even if president obama is correct, and we don't know, because we don't know what went on in the discussions between sony and the white house. it's an argument that the president can't win, from a political point of view. it's extraordinary for linton to say to the president, "no, we talked to your officials." >> i didn't get to you, but i spoke to the people at the white house. >> president obama was on a role before the press conference. he sloshed in there and made all sorts of mistakes. this is not going to help him go into a hawaii vacation. he'll have to think about the mistakes. >> and a lot to handle. >> thank you for being was. >> thank you the u.s. and canada impose sanctions on russia, days after a similar move by the e.u., the

u.s. is banning the export of goods to crimea. canada is putting a ban on technology to the gas and oil industry. ukrainians are making the best of the holiday season and the eastern part of the country is at war. crowds gather in kiev for a celebration to mark st. nicholas day in romania, 50,000 have been made homeless, the result of a forced eviction policy bit the government. as jacob brennan shows us, one group is taking a stand. >> winter is almost here. and the only heat available is a small campfire, kept alight by burning whatever debris comes to hand. for five years the family paid rent and lived inside the two townhouses which they camp outside of. on september 15th. despite having nowhere else to go. they were thrown out.

i agree with giving back the house to the owner. what are we supposed to do, stay in the street with our children. >> we are at the end of our strength. we are cold. what are the authorities doing. these have become victims. private properties snabed by the state. no homes can be retained until authorities and owners provide alternative housing. they practice as many as 50,000 people have been homeless. >> the roma are living on vulture street, finding themselves at the center of a perfect storm. the gentrification of areas of the city. the property boom, which is taking place in bucharest, and the inability of the city authorities to find alternatives, social housing. for the first time the people are fighting back.

it seems with effect. >> instead of despersing the families chose to stay and demand their rights, that the council tackle the issue. >> the authorities have to admit there's a problem and start organising a meeting to discuss the problem. >> reporter: bukkarest city council declined to be interviewed but said in a statement. . in other words the families of this street are some among anyway. the rights of the openers and tenants is tilted in favour of the owners much as winter arrives, the pressure grows for the balance to be shifted

many religious and political figures across europe are calling on the romanian government to end the forced eviction of roma people. meteorologist is here with a look at a rare sight caught on camera in greece. >> a little less rare when it's over the water. lovely nonetheless. but because water spouts are over water, they tend to be less intense, and that allows sometimes multiple, but you see one on either side of the screen. none of that severe weather. that is good. there are other problems. we'll say that this is christmas eve. a lot of people travel. a big rain storm for the east coast. colder air, a snow storm paying some places a white christmas. high winds as well. we'll want to watch this. for the rest of day, temperatures - anything from the 30s or 40s along the east coast to the '60s.

we'll have more coming up in a little bit. >> thank you so much president obama makes diplomatic history, announcing plans to restart relations with cuba. after the break we talk to a professor, who studies hispanic studies, and talks about why there's passionate debate deadly apples, and warning from the feds. c the c.d.c. is still scratching its head. all that and more.

good morning to you, welcome back to al jazeera america. thank you for spending your saturday with us. i'm morgan radford and these are the top stories - north korea is proposing a joint investigation into the cyber attacks. it comes as the head of sony

pictures took issue with president obama over comment on friday saying they made a mistake by pulling the movie. michael linton said the company did not cave when it pulled the release of "the interview." sources tell al jazeera that the master mind of the peshawar school attack may have been killed in an air attack. the country has been stepping up attacks on the taliban sense it raided the school killing 144 people, most children. >> a diplomatic push with cuba will not bring fast changes to havana, but the president believes it will lead to more freedoms in the communist-ruled island. we have a report on the exact of that relationship on cuban-american families. >> reporter: in many ways this is the engine of cuba's economy. cuban americans sending home money, representing a $2.6 billion industry. an increasingly important source

of revenue as falling oil prices put a squeeze on how much aid venezuela can send to cuba. it's not just cash sent home. alan and liam bring back tvs, clothes, and car tyres. >> they are for our family in cuba. all of this targets. gifts. >> this is the day they have seen. cuban american families have brought back tyres, plants, toys for children. they are not available in havana, with the policy shift the expectation is that this will happen more often. under the policy. those send home more money. company possess that process remittances will no longer need special licences.

u.s. companies. infrastructure for telemungss with an untapped markets. scenes like these will get bigger, as orders open to old core enemies. >> join us us to discuss this matter. the changing policy landscape. the president said more free somes should come to the cuban people. what is expected. the changing policy landscape, the book is focussing on raul. we see president obama and his changes. how does it affect people in oouba. it will stop focussing on the

government of the president obama said trying to reduce the government to rubble, or put it out of business has not worked and we need a new approach. the idea, as i understand it is to figure out a way to reach effectively the people through telekom business and products. he said in a speech "it oint easy. cubans have struggled it helps to isolate the people. >> why now. we are talking 56 years since of

revolution. >> i think president barack obama would have tonne this a long time ago. alan gross couldn't justify to the world, the american people and the family. making a deal with havana. in some ways that was the cuban government ace and a hole to get the pies in the u.s. prison back to oouba. he requested another spy. that was opened up. then, fble, you have president obama's failure or the democratic party's failure to eliminate the things with cuba. >> i want to the talk about the players. i was in cuba in gech, living there for a while. there was a lot of hope and?

a. coming in. back in the 50s. he'd come and stay in harlem. there was a feeling among the people if it would happen among any president. it would happen among an underdog. a racially limited context. do you think it will change if another president comes into office. >> it's two years from now that that would happen. i think too much water will two under the bridge. i expect slow, steady, positive results. american companies will start to in vest. people will start travelling and the cuban people will benefit. and any new president will be hard pressed to role it back.

renewed pressure on the congress to lift the embargo, and not do everything the executive branch can do. i department expect is to be rolled back they are not sufficient, but there's no going back. >> thank you for joining us. >> diplomatic relations between india and sri lanka have been strained for years. one of the issues is that water running between them both claiming ownership to the parts on the other side. in the second part of of the series we look at the people involved. freedom to fish, they claim, is a matter of survival. >> for 15 years. with fish hard to come by. the trawler ranch works op enters the sri lankanside.

>> two years ago he spend a month in a sri lankan jill. every week i spend many nights out at sea. once we put the nets in the water, we drag them. that's how we catch the fish. india's side of the strait is overfished because of this trawlers have been forced to operate in badly defined waters. indian fishermen that use what environmentalists describe as destructive trawling practices to bring home matters like this are not only securing their own livelihood but supporting a multibillion industry. >> these are good time for

traders. fishing for brawns nets him more than $200,000 a year. >> if we worry about maritime borders, the industry will die. my business destroyed. we have been fishing for generatio generations. india and sri lanka are trying to untang the a dispute. >> the indian government needs to fined alternative ways. many of us are suffering because of a lack of action. >> despite the risks that come with fishing, raj remains defiant. for him it's not about ownership. but feeding the family. >> india and sri lanka arrested over 1600 fishermen combined for

entering into their territorial waters five are dead after an outbrick of listeria in the u.s. the outbreak has been linked to carmel apples, commercially produced and prepackaged. the c.d.c. do not know what brands are affected with listeria. it impacted 10 states and 21 have been hospitalized. >> electronic cigarettes are on the rise. >> according to a government study e-cigarettes sparked smoking. it is sparking a debate about public health. >> victoria randolph picked up her first secret at the age of 16. randolph is smoking an electronic cigarette. >> they have instagram and

facebook and youtube teaching you how to build them and all the stuff. it's a culture. >> it's a battery powered nicotine infused price growing in popularity. randolph says he was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. >> do you feel different, like... >> i feel healthier. i don't have a car. i don't have the cough. >> reporter: teen tobacco use is down. a report released found that egret use has surpassed the use of traditional cigarettes. more than 40,000 students were surveyed. 17% of high school students report using e-cigarettes compared to 7%. dr nora says presents should be

alarmed. >> the message is we don't know much about the cigarettes, the extend they act as a way for kids to transition to other drugs. >> egrets are not measured by the food and drug organizations and it's unclear if there are short or long-term effects. the uncertainty ignited debate. >> there are concerns that electronic devices are marketed towards children. 10 states including the district of columbia do not have laws. barring children buying e-cigarettes. randall is ready to kick the

habit. >> i was using it to quit. i still am. e-cigarettes is a $2 million industry. shrouded in controversy. the f.d.a. is expected to ban sales to anyone under 18. >> according to the c.d. v cigarette use, it's tripled. >> how a woman's testimony secures the future of thousands. >> a presidential foe pea. when the commander-in-chief may have been thinking about a football roster during his speech. stay tuned.

[ ♪ music ] n.a.s.a. released a video of

the orion spacecraft breaking through the earth's atmosphere before making a splash landing in the pacific o. -- ocean. n.a.s.a. showed off the burn marks and scars. n.a.s.a. hopes the $350 million unmanned ship will one day take us to mars. >> an historic day in washington d.c. president obama signing the achieving a better life experience, known as the able act into law. it provides financial stability for countless disabled americans as they get older. mike viqueira caught up with a woman who hoped to get the groundbreaking law past. >> from an early age sara wolf defied expectations. she was born with down's syndrome. what do you want people to know about you? >> i'm a good person.

i like to help people. >> reporter: sara has college credits, works at a law firm, on several boards of directors and is a gifted public speaker. >> we treat sara like everywhere else in the family. we weather the storm. >> the family decided from the start not to let sara's decision define her. >> do you have to advocate in you have to advocate for any child. if you do not get involved in the beginning t will not work for anybody. my wife made that commitment. she did. she worked hard, very hard. she got it done. >> reporter: her mother's persistence paid off. at the age of 18 sara became an advocate. >> as a senior in high school, her and a girlfriend of her's basically started the first buddy walk. >> reporter: what is a buddy

walk? >> that is set up through the national down's syndrome society to promote awareness for down's syndrome and people with disabilities. >> mum gave me the idea, and we thought people should come and show up for support. we had over 800 people that came. it was great. >> reporter: wow. >> i was an advocate for myself. and i learnt, you know, if i can do it for myself, i can do it for other people. >> reporter: sara travelled the country to raise awareness about the realities of living with down's syndrome. she started a change.org petition to change the able act. it went viral and has over 250,000 supporters. how many people do you think will benefit. >> millions of people with disabilities will benefit. the able act allows them to create a tool where they can fund their own dreams,

aspirations and goals, and make sure that they have and contribute to society in the ways that they wish. >> i want people to know that i'm like you. i can do whatever i put my mind and heart to sara who you were introduced to is president of the national down's syndrome society and joins us from washington d.c. thank you so much for being with us. your organization has been working on getting the able act passed for 8 years. what specifically was your role during the eight years, and did you lose hope? >> we never lost hope. we knew that would be a piece of legislation that we would get across the finish line. we did that yesterday when the president signed the achieving a better life experience act into law. we put time, resources, we hoped our grass route.

folks like sara wolf tell their stories on capitol hill and that made the difference in terms of getting it across the finish line. >> you talked about sharing stories. in a divided congress, what was it that struck an accord in congressional members? >> because the legislation puts a stake in the round, that people with disabilities can work. this resonated with democrats. it protects eligibility for the entitlement programs, safety net programs that we care deeply about, and it resonated with republicans on capitol hill, because it's a private sector solution and allowing families to save money helps. >> help me understand the

restrictions, a disabled person cannot save more than 2,000, else they'll lose federal benefits. what are families doing now to make sure loved ones with dabilityies have money, palings once parents pass. >> lawmakers, families tell you from the day a child with down syndrome or another is born, they say don't put assets in their name, you'll disqualify them for benefits they need in the further. people are limited in terms of the hours and amount they work in a week or a month. so families are really, you know, cut off at the knees when it comes to i'veing. the able act will change that for the future. >> this is the first step.

the bill has its own limits. the disability has to occur before a person reaches 26. it leaves a significant portion of the population out. who is looking out for them? sna that was a concession we made. we see it as the first step. it's the beginning. we hope to expand the age limitation in the near future. as we go through any reform process, we have to make tweaks and modifications to the legislation. that's serving the purpose that it was intended to do for our family. >> thank you so much. >> can we pull up video of sara, who was a star of sheila's piece, and tucked at our heart strings. when does it tick in. how soon can people like sar re with disabilities take advantage

of this act? when does it start? >> that's a great question. we have to go through the treasury regulation process, which will start immediately. that will take about six months. meanwhile, because in is modelled, the popular 5:29 college and university savings programme. we have to have states adopt legislation. we were contacted within the last 48 hours by 10 different states eager to get started, and make sure we have the able act legislation adopted in the next session. >> a lot of changes, quickly. sara, president of the national downs sipped roam society, thank you for joining us. with christmas days away. you may wonder what to give your loved ones. for some, a board game about the financial crisis is the rage. we have more on what led to the unexpected growth in board game sales. >> talk about coming full

circle, the board game is back, the fun, for example, a christmas tradition. it appeared under threat. you can't cheat the numbers, sales are up 40% year on year. board games staiped presence. they lost their way. those electronics appear to be helping. video games are the big sellers. there's no getting away interest that. lots of titles have been brought to the screen and graduated to tablets and smart phones, it is these that bring the cure yourks the nostalgic and a breed of came are back to the board. they had to fill up the shelves at this shop, where it's the busiest week of the year. all kinds of people are coming in. >> years ago it was people hobby games players that came in. now we are getting families

asking about recommendations. >> on the other side of london how about this - coffee with cluedo, bill with boulder dash. from a to z. 1980s, to 1770s, there are hundreds of games. the place is packed. the boss think it's a winner. >> a lot of games twist how they work or take inspiration from video gaming and creating games that are more complicated and more deep. and where you do things you wouldn't have considered even part of a board game 20 years ago but sometimes it's the simple ideas that endure. lesley invented jenga, and it has been driving people crazy 230r years. this is a woman that knows how to build a game that lasts. >> it's a simple concept. it's a social gathering where there's a lot of laughter and

fun. jenga provide a focus for it. >> they say the old ones are the best. so to end this, a little game of our own. can you guess which are the most popular board games of all time. we won't leave you guessing. in third scrab , monopoly in second, and in the lead one would say the oldest and the best. the king of them all. it needs no introduction. can't believe scrabble got third place, that's my favourite board game rain and snow sweeping across the west coast. meteorologist nicole mitchell is here with a look. >> a potent system through the weekend. you see the poisture moving in. an area in the gulf of alaska. funnelling the moisture. widespread cloud cover. heavy rain washington, oregon. the western hazards, closer to the clothesline. closer to 8-0 inches of rain

between today and tomorrow. it's a lot of rain and snow. it's a warm system. snow levels will rise. where you get the snow, one, two, three feet, it tapers off a little more as we get into the day on monday. back to you president obama had a major foe par during the news conference. the president said he loed the interview actors seth rojan and james blacko. the president had football on his mind. he was referencing actor james franco, but used the last name of baltimore ravens quarterback james blacko. the role of the vatican in opening up relations between the u.s. and cuba. pope francis getting credit, but the involvement of the church goes back decades. that will do it for us in new york. i'm morgan radford, coming up in

2 minutes, the latest on sony's response to the devastating cyber attack. see you here tomorrow at 7:30am eastern. thank you for spending your seat with us. hope you have a great rest of your morning.

>> anti-taliban sentiment bring thousands on the treats of pakistan while the government sets up strikes against the group. hello, welcome to al jazeera. live from our headquarters in doha. iraq take more ground from isil, but say they can only do so much alone. also to come: >> the cia would love it if you two could take him out. >> north korea said it wasn't behind a