adjustments based on facial expressions. >> i think that's the biggest dynamic. i don't want to seem like i'm just reading and saying something. >> right. >> you've got to be more person nabl. >> thank you for joining us. we'll see you in the next session. >> a cnn film documenting the booming business of college "ivory tower" premiers this evening at 9:00 eastern. i'll turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." wolf? >> happening now, breaking news, executive order, president obama about to announce action on immigration and issues sparking passions across the court and a political battle here at home. fighting isis at home. while british authorities say they've foiled an alleged plot, does the cia need to reinvent itself to handle the rapidly growing terror threat? north korea and humiliating defeat. the communist regime with a

dangerous saber. making extraordinary effort to save lives. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." let's get right to the breaking news. president obama goes before the nation to announce that he's going in alone on immigration reform. just three hours from now, he'll unveil an executive order which could allow millions of people to remain in the united states legally. republicans are vowing to fight the president at every turn saying he's overstepping his authority. but democrats say presidents from both parties have been doing this for generations. we have full coverage of all of this and the other major stories of the day. the senior adviser to the president, dan pfeiffer, is standing by at the white house along with our correspondents, our analysts and newsmakers. let's begin with jim acosta. he's got the very latest.

jim? >> reporter: sources familiar with the executive action that the president will announce tonight will not go as far as immigration activists wanted but sweeping changes to the immigration system are coming and they are setting off a new showdown with congress. huddled in the oval office with speechwriters, and at a white house event earlier today, president obama honing and welcoming knew new corners and we have the same spirit we're not defined by tribe or blood lines. after years of pressure from immigration reform advocates, the president is poised at taking executive action, offering leniency for roughly 5 million undocumented immigrants. the plan, children who are legal residents and have lived in the

country for five years will not be deported and children brought to the country illegally. so-called dreamers. a new enforcement on high priority gang members like terror suspects instead of breaking apart undocumented families. >> they have been living in the shadows for many of them with split families with the fear of deportation, with the fear that mothers will be separated from our babies. that babies will be ripped from the arms of their mothers. >> reporter: one setback for latinos, parents of baby dreamers are not covered. >> i think this president goes beyond immigration. i think he looked at the fact that the american people alluded to soundly rejected the policies of this president and he desperately, and his political team, wants to get the topic changed from the issues that we get elected on. >> reporter: the white house insists the president's actions are legal. >> what you're going to hear

tonight are very limited actions fully within his existing authority similar to those types of actions that have been taken by every single president, democrat and republican since dwight eisenhower despite the fact that the president has said repeatedly in the past dramatically decreasing deportation was not within his authority. >> the problem is that i'm the president of the united states. i'm not the emperor of the united states. my job is to execute laws that are passed. >> reporter: now, after his address to the american people tonight, the president will take his speech on the road. the president welcomes action on immigration but after tonight, aides can see that's not any time soon. wolf? >> republican lawmakers will fight tooth and nail against the executive order on immigration but will they dare force another government shutdown? let's turn to our chief

congressional correspondent dana bash. dana? >> wolf, even republicans who want legal status for most undocumented immigrants agree with the president that the house is not likely to do it are thinking and saying that the president is making a terrible mistake here and are wondering if the president forgot there was an election two weeks ago that rejected hits party and many believe to a larger extent, the president himself. the republican who will soon run the senate ahead of the immigration address. >> i think the president will come to regret the chapter history writes if he does move forward. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell promised a swift response when republicans take over in january. >> make no mistake, when the newly elected representatives of the people take their seats, they will act. >> reporter: how republicans will act is unclear. sense since gop sources admit that there's no action allowing some

5 million undocumented immigrants to stay legally. congress' best tool is the power of the purse, funding the government. but most gop lawmakers want to avoid a government shutdown. >> i don't think we should engage in a government shutdown. >> reporter: still, lawmakers tell cnn they are considering cutting off immigration funding without shutting down the government. the problem is, immigration agencies get their money from custom fees, not congress. other ideas, suing the president in court for executive overreach and centering him in congress. >> he will tear article one of the constitution out of this document. could probably fold it one time, tuck it into his shirt pocket and say, i'm also the legislative branch of

government. >> when president obama do you mean to cease abuse paying. >> and another hopeful tweeting that a president thinks he's king starter pack, sarcasm aside, tom coburn, warned about violence. >>. >> they are going to go nuts because they will see it as a move outside of the authority of the president. >> hopefully not, but you can see instances of anarchy. >> reporter: i've talked to other republican lawmakers who are concerned about the same thing, backlash like the kind we saw this summer around the border crisis and communities like marietta, california. wolf, separately, you know, we've talked about the various options for republicans. one thing we're not hearing about is the word "impeachment." that seems to be very much off the table. >> dana, thank you for that

report. the battle lines are being drawn but the president is pushing forward. joining us now is dan pfeiffer. dan, thanks very much for joining us. i know the president when he was a senator. since he became president he was sort of friendly with senator coburn of oklahoma. you heard in dana's report warning of anarchy and violence if the president goes forward with this executive order. what's your reaction to that? >> wolf, this is not a theoretical issue here. we know that those things didn't happen when presidents reagan and bush and presidents from both parties for years have taken similar actions and they are clearly within their established legal authority. it's an important step that the president is taking. he's going to make our immigration system more accountable. it's going to allow us to refocus. and streamlines of our legal immigration processes so we can

boost the economy and make a more commonsense system. our president says this is just the first step and then congress can come in and finish the job. that's what we need. >> you heard in jim acosta's report that the president himself repeatedly said he can't take these kinds of measures unilaterally because he's the president of the united states, he's not the emperor of the united states. why has he changed his mind? >> wolf, he hasn't changed his mind. what he did was ask the attorney general to figure out what authorities that he had that he can do and they came back with a recommendation that came from the secretary of homeland security and that's what we'll put in place. this is well-established presidential authority. it is something that presidents reagan and bush and other presidents have done for many, many years. >> what about that remark, though, about saying he's not an emperor? >> well, he cannot just by fiat

put this into law and that's what he is doing now. >> we have more questions to ask what is going on. we want to continue to preview what the president is saying later tonight. much more at the white house right after this.

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as president obama gets ready to talk about his immigration executive order, dan pfeiffer is joining me. the president will offer 5 million immigrants to have at least a temporary legal status. is that right? >> i don't want to get too far ahead of the details of the president's speech. that's never good for him when you're a white house staffer. the plan that the president is going to put before us is going to have three major elements. one is refocusing our efforts on securing the border. the second is going to make it so we're prioritizing the felons, not families and do most to boost our economy and have a more rational system. >> we're talking millions of

people, maybe 3, 4, 5 million, right? >> there have been a lot of guesstimates and i don't want to get ahead of it but i think you'll be surprised what you're going to hear tonight. >> these millions, will they be eligible for federal benefits, welfare, for example, will they be eligible for federal benefits? >> i think as we look back to the program set up a few years ago for the children who were brought here through no fault of their own, any program that the president announces tonight will be similar to that. in that program, no federal benefits were available. >> so no welfare reform or anything like that? >> no, sir. >> what about the parents of the 6,000 or so dreamers, as you pointed out, signed an executive order allowing them to stay temporarily with some sort of legal status in the united states? will their parents be eligible to stay with them or will they be ripped apart, these families? >> wolf, like i said, i'm not going to get too far ahead of

the president's remarks tonight but a goal, one of the focuses is to take the limited resources that we have and direct them that deportation is not directed on felons, on families and so they pay taxes and come out of the shadows and are held accountable. that's the outline of the plan. there will be a process to go through where people will apply and pass a background check and pay their fair share of taxes to be able to stay here temporarily without fear of deportation. >> the parents of these dreamers, as they are called, will they be allowed to come out of the shadows? >> we're going to roll out sooner rather than later the details of the plan. i know i'm on your show before that happens, which is the price of doing business. we'll put those details out and certainly there will be groups of folks who, like the ones you

are talking about, some of whom will be able to meet the criteria set out tonight. >> you don't have to tell me right now, but will you be releasing an estimate of how much this will cost taxpayers? >> not tonight but, as you recognize, we will be having people who are in this country and working and not currently paying taxes being put in a position where they can pay taxes. that's a benefit to the economy. >> because as you know, some republicans already suggesting if you go ahead with this, they are not going to fund whatever it cost. you've heard that suggestion from a lot of republicans up on capitol hill. >> i have, wolf. and, look, the -- they will -- we're going to have to make a decision on whether they want to repeat the mistakes of last year and shut down the government over this issue. i think that would be a mistake for the country. what we should do is come together and try to work on a path forward so we can finish the job that the president is starting tonight.

>> the president is elected to do this by executive order knowing that a new president, let's say two years from now there's a republican president. that president on day one can sign another executive order reversing all of this and now you're hearing some concern, some republicans saying a lot of hispanics, for example, are not going to want to come out of the shadows, give their names and addresses and everything, go public, if you will, fearing two years from now the decision could be reversed and these people could be kicked out. >> wolf, you're certainly correct. the president's strong preference here is to reform our immigration system through legislative action. that's the right way to do it. that option is not available right now because after the senate passed a bill with 68 votes, bipartisan bill, speaker, although promising he would do immigration reform, he did not do so for two years. he's doing this by executive action and it will be up to the next president to continue that. i think we did see, with the

doka program before the 2012 election, that people came out and were willing to participate in that program without knowing what the results of the next election would be. >> so all of those people, hispanics and others, who may not have documentation to come out, to go public, give their names, their addresses and everything in the aftermath of this executive order and not worry about what could happen two years from now? >> right. as we did the previous program is come forward, apply, pass a background check, pay taxes and you will be held accountable for the act of having come here illegally originally. >> a lot of republicans said look what happened two weeks ago in the elections. the republicans did very well. they expanded the majority in the house and got the majority in the senate and said why couldn't the president have waited to deal with the new congress and deal in a

bipartisan way on this sensitive issue? >> we've been trying to work with the republicans for a very long time and the president has shown tremendous patience and they did not take a single step, over two years, to try to fix even a small part of our immigration system. and frankly, wolf, this is about people. this president gets letters every week. he sees people as he travels the country who are members of our community who -- who are part of the fabric of the community living under the fear of deportation, families being split up. every day the president waits to act is those days when they are not able to give relief and solve the problem. we can't wait forever for republicans but they cannot use this as an excuse to pass immigration reform. >> remind us why the president didn't do immigration reform in the first two years of his administration when there was a decisive democratic majority in the house and senate? >> well, we did not have, at the

time, the sufficient support because immigration reform is not something that -- over the years it's been a unanimous issue within the democratic party. we needed 60 votes to do it. that was not available to us. the president promised to do it as soon as he was re-elected, put a bipartisan in the senate, to get it passed and then the house, even though there was a bipartisan majority, if speaker boehner brought the bill up refused to activi essentially vetoing it in essentially to keep that from happening. >> but the first two years of his administration, nancy pelosi was the speaker. she would have allowed a roll call to take zplace. >> absolutely. that action was not available to us in the first two years. >> a lot of people are looking back and saying you would have had votes if you had a plan,

there would have been enough comprehensive immigration reform if you would have had the likes of john mccain and some others and comprehensive immigration reform. let me get your thoughts on what seems to be a snub by the four broadcast networks, not fox news but fox broadcast not to air the president's primetime address to the nation tonight. is that a slap? what do you think about that? >> no. we're very pleased to have good, conscientious networks covering us tonight. this is important. it's 2014. you have to take a different approach to communications. we picked the time and place of this address knowing that it was unlikely the networks would break away from the dramas and comedies they were showing in sweeps week because this is a time when important cable networks like yours but when people will most likely be watching on their smartphones and laptops and tablets. when will people gather and

watch something not just on television but on their phones. >> so you don't care that the four networks are not broadcasting it? >> every event we did would be better if they all broadcasted it. it's not expected but it would be wonderful. we have a preview video that the president taped for facebook was viewed by 3.5 million people in the last year. this is 2014. >> the grammys is very, very popular. was that a factor in your decision? >> i don't know if it's a factor or a coincidence but we're happy that univision and cnn is broadcasting it. >> 8:00 p.m. eastern. quick question before i let you go. a totally unrelated matter.

we've learned that a major mistake was involved in the obama enrollment numbers. you originally reported 7.5 million enrolled when, in fact, 6.7 enrolled. 400,000 people did not enroll. what happened here? >> well, secretary burwell, who is a great, very professional public servant addressed this earlier today said it was a mistake and she was taking steps to make sure it didn't happen again. >> what was the mistake? >> numbers that were counted that shouldn't have been counted. it was unintentional. secretary burwell took responsibility for it and as someone who has worked closely with sylvia over the years, that mistake will never happen again. >> sylvia burwell is secretary of health and human services. we'll look forward to the president of the united states speak tonight, a major address on immigration reform. we, of course, will have live coverage on cnn. thanks for joining us.

>> thank you, wolf. coming up, an alleged plot against isis. is the u.s. up to the task of preventing a plot like that in this country. and north korea and a humiliating setback at the united nations. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." often enough, but thank you. s thank you mom for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad. military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them. if you're a current or former military member or their family, get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. (receptionist) gunderman group is growing. getting in a groove. growth is gratifying. goal is to grow. gotta get greater growth. i just talked to ups. they got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies.

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a shocking plot to behead a member of the public prosecutor

told a london court today that that was the alleged plan of three british men said to have been inspired by a speech from isis. it comes as global intelligence agencies are scrambling to stay ahead of a rapidly growing terror threat. here in the united states, the cia, which has seen successes and failures face serious challenges on a number of fronts and is now looking into reorganizing itself. my chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is joining me now. first of all, what do we know about this alleged beheading plot? >> this really was a horrific plot. british prosecutors say that the three men, all british citizens, planned to decapitate someone, shows them randomly in public using knives. this attack in time for veterans day in the uk and saying it was imminent when the men were arrested earlier this month and this plot highlights the

homegrown lone wolf-style of attacks which is a real concern, attacks inspired by isis here in the u.s. homeland as well. >> with threats like these from isis growing, the cia, i understand, now considering what is being described as a sweeping reorganization to handle all of the current national crises. what have you learned? >> isis is just one of numerous threats that the cia is following now or at any one time that intelligent officers can recall. a cyberthreat from russia and china, concern about nuclear weapons in north korea, the familiar terror threat in afghanistan and pakistan, al qaeda, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and yemen dedicated to attacking americans on u.s. soil and russia's threats in ukraine. all of this together, in effect, overwhelming to some degree the cia's ability here. here's what came from an

internal communication from john brennan to all cia employees. it read, "world events have highlighted the every growing number security challenges facing our nation." here you have director of the cia saying that he's convinced that the cia needs to make changes to take care of the many challenges that it is facing. today, traditionally, you have this separation. the intelligence director analyzes the intelligence separated from the clinton services and to bring them together, the analysts and spies on a regional basis, those studying north korea, ukraine, iraq and syria so they are in the same place. that, of course, has its own dangers because a lot of those threats, if you're talking about the cyberthreat, for instance,

that transcends and none of this is formal at this point but it's something that they are taking very seriously. >> they certainly are. stand by for a moment because we're covering another major international order. secretary of state john kerry has just arrived in vienna, austria, for the final negotiations with iran. five world powers have just -- they only have four more days to try to reach an agreement. our senior international correspondent nic robertson is joining us now from vienna. what's the sense over there, nic? what are you hearing? >> reporter: wolf, tough is the word that we're hearing. you have the deputy russian foreign ministry saying that the talks are being held in a tense situation. the russians have had the british foreign ministry saying he's not sure a deal can be done by monday, that there might have to be a sort of extension made

to the deadline of the 24th. so the atmosphere here is -- and the mood behind the scenes is, if there's a willingness but the question is, is iran able to make the compromises on the key issues, the one that it feels with the banking sanctions facing the country, can it make key compromises there? that's a very open question and that's a tough atmosphere, wolf. >> as you know, the secretary of state said he's hopeful that iran and the six world powers including the u.s. can be reached but also made it clear what iran needs to bring to the table. listen to the secretary. >> yes, we do want to get an agreement but it's not just any agreement. it has to be an agreement that works, that achieves the goal of guaranteeing that the path ways to a bomb will not and cannot be used. >> all right. so you're there.

are there real concerns that this deal might not get hammered out in the next four days? maybe vote for another extension, a three, four-month extension? is that what you're hearing? >> reporter: weeks or months possibly on the extension. but, you know, to be clear here, from the state department, we are not hearing them. they are not talking about an extension. they are talking right now that they want to get this deal done. it's other nations that are talking about the possibility of an enxtension. the russians indicating that there needs to be some sort of compromise that is going to happen and, of course, iran is the country that everyone is looking to for compromise. what secretary of state john kerry said before he left paris today on his way to vienna was that he was noting that all of those six major powers, including russia, that sometimes are out of step on other issues, very much in step on this issue and that's what we're hearing, wolf.

tough negotiations. >> jim sciutto, you're getting breaking news. what are you learning? >> this is really alarming. we were just speaking about the cyber threat that the cia is concerned about. you had alarming comments from the head of the national security council today saying china and probably one or two other countries, in his words, has the capacity to shut down the nation's power grid and other political systems. said it enables you to shut down very segmented and tailored parts of our infrastructure. you know, this is a remarkable public comment from the head of the nsa. he wouldn't make this comment publicly unless they were truly concerned about it and it gets at that array of intelligence challenges that are now facing not just the cia but the nsa and all of the 15 intelligence agencies that we have and it's the kind of thing that it's not a new threat but i'll tell you, when i speak to intelligence officials, they put this at the top of their list.

>> and did the head of nsa cite china? >> he cited china. >> he didn't say what other countries? >> he didn't. if one were to guess, russia might very well be in there. they have been the perpetrator on u.s.-sensitive systems in the past. this is something that we know happens not just against u.s. government critical infrastructure but stealing for business gain. >> that was a really, really alarming report over there. that would clearly be an act of war and the u.s. would retaliate. >> an act of cyber war. >> it certainly would. deeply concerned about this, as you and i know. stand by for more reporting on that. nic robertson in vienna, we'll get back to you as well. north korea lashing out after a major defeat at the united states. kim jong-un's regime is promising nuclear potential retaliation. and the breaking news, two

more killed because of the massive snowstorm in new york and there's more snow on the way. it's time to get to work are finally over, fixing our long-term national debt to help build a stronger economy. with a solid fiscal foundation, we can create more jobs, invest more in innovation and infrastructure, and make america more competitive, giving our kids a better future. a bipartisan solution to our long-term debt means more growth today, more opportunity tomorrow.

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north korea's preparing to fire back after the united nations slammed the country's human rights record. king jong-un's regime is threatening to conduct for tests. what are you learning, elise? >> it's more frightening because the u.s. believes north korea is making dangerous nuclear advances in its program. the regime of kim jong-un

threatening to conduct more nuclear tests and hauling the regime before the international criminal court for crimes against humanity. north korea's ambassador blasted a vote as political provocation. >> the outrageous and unreasonable human rights campaign staged by the united states is compelling us not to refrain any further from conducting nuclear tests. >> reporter: today, north korea's state media said pyongyang's military deterrence would be beefed up limitlessly. >> this is only going to further isolate them from the international community. >> reporter: kim jong-un's regime stunned after allegations of murder, slavery, sexual violation and mass starvation. not the outcome north korea wanted after releasing three american detainees.

and a month's long charm offensive to sway local opinion. >> we support that final report and especially support its calls for accountability. >> reporter: new satellite images of the main nuclear facility suggest the regime is taking steps towards testing. the u.s. military believes north korea is advancing its nuclear program but the skills to miniaturize a launcher to deliver it. the brinkmanship, perhaps a way to force them to talk. pyongyang is ready to jump-start negotiations. >> they want to sit or stand toe to toe with the united states and be treated as a nuclear weapons state and they can have arms negotiation with the united states. they see talks as a way of their de-facto accept advance by the world that they are now a nuclear weapons state. >> reporter: and the director of national intelligence james

clapper who freed kenneth bae and matthew todd miller got the impression that north korea may want to restart dialogue. u.s. officials are clear they do not want to talk for the sake of talking. north korea would have to take steps to curb its nuclear program. clearly a nuclear test would be a step in the wrong direction. wolf? >> elise labott, thank you. coming up, we have breaking news on that massive snowstorm with two more now confirmed dead. plus, we're about to get the details of president obama's immigration plan as he prepares for tonight's address. we'll bring you the first look at the speech. it's more than the driver. it's more than the car. for lotus f1 team, the competitive edge is the cloud. powered by microsoft dynamics, azure, and office 365, the team can gain real time insights and instantly share information around the globe. when every millisecond counts, staying competitive begins with the cloud.

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we're following the breaking news here in "the situation room." two more people are dead after that massive winter storm clobbered the buffalo, new york area, bringing the total to ten. much of the rest of the country is suffering under freezing temperatures with more snow on the way. cnn's brian todd is joining us with the latest. it looks like it's pretty cold out there, brian. >> reporter: it is, wolf. we'll give you an idea of the treacherous conditions. this 18-wheeler just got stuck on this unplowed road. this driver has moved down here. there's a large tow truck that's just arrived on scene. you mentioned the death toll. it stands at ten from this snowstorm. if it hadn't been for the heroism of first responders, some of whom we moved around with, it could have been a lot worse. >> one, two, three --

>> reporter: a dramatic rescue by stretcher. >> we'll get you. >> reporter: an elderly woman was pulled out of her home by firefighters. >> these guys are miracle workers. they are. >> reporter: a scene repeated throughout the buffalo area. volunteers from the bellevue fire department, working with firefighters from other towns, are rescuing people by stretcher. snowmobi snowmobile. any means necessary. they're volunteers, leaving their own homes, not sleeping for days, to save stranded, terr terrified precedents. what is your biggest challenge? >> getting to the doors is the hardest part. >> reporter: it took this team of 30 minutes of digging to get to this woman's door. sometimes they have to plow roads to get to people. the fire unit is trying to get

into this trailer park area, but you have plows trying to clear ut for it and stranded vehicles blocking the road. they evacuate nearly 200 people out of a nursing home out of a possible roof collapse. firefighters have staged hundreds of rescues since early tuesday. but it can be frustrating. >> it wears and tears on you when people don't listen to you. i don't know why they call if they don't want to leave. >> reporter: through it all, the firefighters persist. this fire chief's team came from about 200 miles away to help. >> it means a lot to come out and help these guys. we do it in our own community, and, you know, the brotherhood of the fire department goes a long ways. >> reporter: it's a brotherhood that will have to remain strong throughout this area. when this snowstorm is over, in the next couple of days, the

temperatures are expected to warm up all of this snow is going to start melting. then rain is in the forecast. that means likely flooding and more rescues. wolf? >> what about the strange snow patterns? we're seeing huge disparities, it's almost like a tale of two cities. what's going on? >> reporter: it really is, wolf. in the northern areas, today they just got a dusting of snow, maybe an inch or two. town here in the south towns, they got two or three feet. and it's still coming down in some areas not far from here. these areas are fairly close together. >> we just found out that the buffalo bills' game this sunday, supposed to be in buffalo, that's been postponed. lit be rescheduled by the nfl to another date. we're just getting that word in from the buffalo bills and the nfl. brian, thank you very much. be careful over there. it's cold and snowy.

coming up, details about what president obama will say just about two hours or so from now when he takes the controversial step of ordering action on immigration reform. and with pressure in ferguson, missouri and a grand jury decision expected any time now, the potential for violence has authorities on alert now around the country. ♪ limits are there to be shattered. ♪ barriers are meant to be broken. ♪ lines are drawn to be crossed. ♪ introducing the first ever 467 horsepower rcf coupe from lexus. once driven, there's no going back. ♪

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happening now, action on

immigration. after months of protest and gridlock, president obama is about to announce his plan to make changes on his own. we're getting new details on his address to the nation tonight. plus, new ferguson arrests with a bombshell grand jury decision possibly only hours away, police across the nation are on alert for violence. explosive testimony. the makers of defective airbags are grilled about a series of deaths and why they're resisting a recall. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking news. >> let's get right to the breaking news. new information about what president obama will say in his address to the nation just two hours from now. stand by for details about his controversial plan to change rules without approval from congress. millions of undocumented immigrants who might be allowed to stay in the country are

awaiting details. so are republican critics. they say he's overstepping his authority and coming up with ways to hit him where it hurts. we have our correspondents, analysts and newsmakers standing by to cover all the stories breaking right now. let's go to jim acosta, he's getting new information. jim? >> reporter: administration officials say president obama made his decision on this immigration plan after returning from his trip to asia. the white house stresses this is not amnesty. there is no path to citizenship in the executive action. instead, it rests on the idea of prosecutorial discretion. here's the plan the president will lay out tonight. undocuments parents get what's called deferred action. also covered under the plan, an expanded number of children brought to the country

illegally. the so-called dreamers. and the department of homeland security is targeting undocumented felons in what the administration called, recent border crossers as in people who crossed since january, 2014. also other undocumented immigrants take lower priority status for deportations. essentially, authorities will not be coming for them. the white house says the president's executive action is legal. >> we welcome people from all around the world who have that same striving spirit. we're not defined by tribe or blood lines. we're defined by a creed, an idea. and we want that tradition to continue. >> reporter: now, one disappointment for immigration reform advocates, the parents of dreamers are not covered under the president's plan. but as one official put it, they're essentially off the

priority list. one other interesting tidbit, the president will not be signing an executive order. instead, this will rest on presidential memos to his administration. wolf? >> what about the threats coming from several republicans that they will try to defund the president's executive action. they won't allow congress to pay for it. >> that's right. aides to the president says the white house is confident the gop does not have many options on that front. officials believe they can defund the processing of these applications for deferred action, but one white house official said, let the republicans sell that to the american people. >> jim acosta, thank you very much. top republicans say the president will regret the moves he's announcing tonight. let's bring in dana bash, who is monitoring the reaction. what are they most angry about, the republicans? >> they're equally angry about the fact that the president is going it alone using his executive power to do something

that the republicans and even some democrats in congress believe should be done legislatively. but also the substance of what he's doing. you know, the reason that the white house and the president is doing this is because he has not been able to get it through ledgislative legislatively. that's what he's arguing and he's right. so there are a lot of republicans that are furious about the fact that it's unfair, they believe, to prioritize the people who came to the united states legally. one republican said, okay, you're talking about fairness and treating people humanely. what about the fairness of the people who have been following the rules and are not yet here because of that? >> the house speaker john boehner released a youtube video in advance of the president's address to the nation tonight. >> instead of working together to fix our broken immigration system, the president says he's acting on his own. that's just not how our

democracy works. the president said he's not king or an emperor, but he's sure acting like one, and doing it at a time when the american people want nothing more than for us to work together. >> pretty strong words from the speaker. it looks like this relationship is being poisoned right now. >> right. let's get real. they didn't have the greatest relationship to begin with in the first place. i'm told the speaker said, maybe not with the words king and emperor, but the gist of that to the president when they had lunch last week with the broader bipartisan members. the president said, i hear you, i understand, maybe it is going to be harder for you to do legislatively. but i've been waiting too long. even republicans who agree with the concept of doing a broad bipartisan immigration reform bill, will admit that it's very

hard to do. >> the senator from oklahoma worked closely with the president when the president was a senator from illinois. he's warning of anarchy if this goes forward. >> anarchy, violence. he's not alone, wolf. i talked to other members privately, republican members, two are worried about it. certainly there is going to be joy in a lot of communities because of the uncertainty, at least for the next few years. it is now gone and the fear is now gone in immigrant communities. but the flip side, you have communities like in marietta, california, over the sum we are the border crisis. and the concern among some republicans, tom coburn was voicing this, is that this could be some protests. >> we'll see what happens. dana, thank you very much. president obama also getting some pushback from a community that's been at the center of this battle over immigration.

our national correspondent is joining us. she went to those angry protests over the summer. >> reporter: chanting, screaming go home. buss with undocumented immigrants tried to enter the border patrol station in marietta, california. the federal government flew and bussed a massive influx of illegal migrants to towns for processing. this did not go as the feds planned. murrieta said, not in my backyard. >> that was our line in the sand and we were going to be there every day. >> reporter: patrice was there in the crowd as they built a human barrier between the buses and border patrol station. so was william. >> usa! >> much to my surprise, the

buses started backing up. that was a huge victory for us. our intent was to send a message to the federal government that we are not going to take this. >> reporter: case of confrontation followed. pro-immigration forces faced off with the murrieta residents, mirroring the national debate. both sides dug in, often becoming heat filled. after a week of those heated protests, the federal government announced it would no longer transfer bus loads of undocumented immigrants here. the protesters essentially got what they wanted. everything but immigration reform. as president obama now tackles immigration reform, the leaders of the murrieta protest says any executive order that creates a path to citizenship is not what they want. they want washington to draw a tough barrier to illegal immigration, like they did last summer. >> we elect these people to be in office to represent us.

they need to listen to us. >> reporter: but listening isn't exactly what washington seems to be doing these days. >> i believe the republicans have said they're going to fight it. now you have the contest between the president and congress, mostly republicans in congress. it's just showmanship. >> reporter: you could argue that this was also just a show, with no lasting solution. but murrieta says, unlike washington, at least their show got their town somewhere. kyung lah, cnn, murrieta, california. >> we're joining by a leading conservative voice in washington, jim demint, now the president of the heritage foundation here in washington. senator, thank you very much for joining us. >> good to be back. >> realistically, what can the republicans do to counter what the president is about to announce? >> it's important to understand what the president is doing. once they get past the border,

there's little risk of deportation. the president is going to issue work permits to 5 million americans. i don't think americans are going to respond well, because it's unfair to those who have come here the legal way. and it will cost our country a lot of money. >> what can you do about that, you and your fellow republicans up on capitol hill? >> the president is going to continue to bully republicans until they take a stand. that's basically what he's doing. whether it's this or more epa regulations, more fcc regulations on the internet, he's going to keep putting. so republicans have a hard decision to make and the only tool is whether they fund this action that they consider illegal. so i know there will be a lot of debate about that. they have to understand first what the president is doing. but i'm sure he's going to make us think about these people who live in fear of deportation.

that's not it. it's work permits, social security numbers for people who came here illegally. >> you know the senate passed legislation that goes further than what the president is going to do. it did pass in the senate with bipartisan support. >> the house has said we want reform, which is not what the president is doing. it does need to be step by step and we need to secure the boarders. if we can't control the boarders, the rest doesn't matter. then we need to work through a process of a workforce identification system. we need to right now just empower our border patrol, our border enforcement to do what the laws say. i think that's what americans want, enforce the laws first. then we can deal with those -- >> is shutting down the government an option right now? should the republicans go that far? >> if it's shut down, lit be the president, because i know the congress is not going to shut it down. they may send the president a

bill that funds all government operations except for his amnesty. in that case, he would have to decide he wants to shut the government down. >> do you recommend that they do that? >> i'm not making any recommend decisi -- recommendations. >> unlawful is a strong word. some of your republicans have raised the specter of impeachment. >> i don't think that's something we should talk about. we should keep the focus on the fact that the president is doing something against his oath of office to faithfully execute the laws. his talk of amnesty has created a wave of illegal immigrants. what he's going to do tonight is not fix immigration but make it worse. >> he will point out that every president since eisenhower has signed executive orders changing the immigration rules, including ronald reagan, including george

h.w. bush. >> congress passed a bill that reagan accepted because of the promise of border security. he regretted that. we know because ed meese works with us and he was the attorney general. >> after that became the law of the land, he went further and made further changes. >> he did, but he was helping -- he was executing a law past by congress. the president is not doing that. >> he says he has the legal opinion from the justice department, the department of homeland security, and he will announce tonight what he is doing is fully legal. he has the legal authority to implement that action. >> normally a president would share those documenting. >> they presumably will share that. >> he said two years ago on air, that this would be illegal for him to do, that he had to wait on congress. i know his opinions evolve a

lot, but this is a big evolution from something he said was illegal to something he is going to do. >> what they're now saying, and he did say, i'm the president of the united states, i'm not the emper emperor. their explanation now is what he was suggesting, and he said it several times, it's all on videotape, he was saying he couldn't unilaterally implement what the senate passed but he could implement nuances. that's what they're saying. >> when americans figure out in a time of economic downtime, that he's giving work permits to 4 million americans while those who came here legally, naturalized american citizens are going to have a harder time finding jobs. this is not fair to people who do it the legal way. >> here's the question i've been asking all day. it past the united states senate. went to the house of representatives, and you were a lawmaker for a long time.

why didn't the house come up with its own legislation, then send it to a joint house-senate conference committee, come up with some compromise and send it to the president to sign go law or veto it? why wasn't there that kind of cooperation? >> well, the house speaker talked about what needed to be done and so did a number of people in the house. we need a step by step approach. we don't need an amnesty first approach to immigration. the senate was not willing to consider that. the president was not willing to consider that. >> he didn't even allow it to come up. he debated to come up with your own version, then have a joint house conference committee to come up with a compromise. >> they could not trust the president to do what he said. >> why not challenge the president with something that passes the senate and house, come up with a bipartisan compromise and send it to the president? >> we've got a proposal that the president can do on his own to

enforce our system and control our boarders so that we can move toward a system that we can reform. you can't reform it if he's not willing to enforce the border right now. >> here's a question a lot of people are asking. say the president does go ahead, 5 million people here in the united states, they come out of the shadows and register. if that's a republican president in two years, would you recommend to that republican president that on day one or two that president signs an executive order reversing all this and forcing those 5 million people who are now working and paying taxes, to then go back into the shadows? >> wolf, the people who just took the majority in the house and the senate ran their campaigns against an executive amnesty. we need to deal with it now. hopefully republicans who were just elected in january and february will get a chance to deal with this. i don't think the lame duck

congress should. they certainly should not fund it before they leave town. >> what happens if that results in a government shutdown? the republicans will be blamed for that. they paid a price, even though it wasn't reflected in the midterm elections. >> it wasn't, because americans want the congress to stand up for what they said they would do. this congress can fund it until the new congress comes in. then they can handle it. but they shouldn't do a funding fill that takes us through the end of the year. >> would you, as head of the heritage foundation, would you recommend that republican presidential c iaial candidatesn between now and 2016 to undo what the presidenttonight? >> this congress needs to deal with it, the congress that will be sworn in, in late january.

>> how can they deal with this? >> they need to figure that out, because the president is going around congress on epa regulations, they're threatening the regulate the internet without congressional approval. they're enforcing common core standards on the states. it's not just immigration. the president is out of control on almost every area and he's going to continue to do it until republican leadership says no more. we're not going to provide you the funding. that is the only tool that they have other than stopping nominations or other things that have been talked about. >> are you worried that ms. panic voters will be upset at republicans if you do what you're threatening to do now? >> i'm not going to speak for republicans, but if i'm speaking for naturalized citizens of any race that they do not believe it's fair to allow others to circumvent the law that they spent a long time and ultimately paid a lot of money to come here the legal way. what we're fighting for is

opportunity for every american, and it's not fair to put others in front of the line who have not followed the law. >> jim demint, thank you very much. still ahead, we're digging deeper into president obama's immigration decision. and a new warning that china could launch a crippling attack on america's power grid. and in ferguson, missouri, a message from the father of michael brown. you'll hear what he's saying about his son's death and the explosive grand jury decision that could come soon. ♪ they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ho, ho, ho, ho] lease the 2015 ml350 for $579

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breaking news. a disturbing new warning from

the head of the u.s. cyber command, telling hackers in china could take down the power grid. jim sciutto is working this story for us. it's very alarming they're saying this publicly. >> reporter: no question. alarming testimony just before the house intelligence committee by admiral mike rogers who says not only china but probably one or two other countries have the capacity to shut down the nation's power grid and other critical infrastructure. he said in his testimony, we see them attempting to steal information on how our systems are configured. the very schematics of our control systems down to the engineering level. they can see our vulnerabilities and also how they can get in and defeat them. it's not only multiple nation states to do this, this is a tactic russia has used, criminal gangs that do the hacking under

the direction of moscow. a new report predicts there's a -- as i talk to u.s. intelligence officials, this is at the top of their list. while we spend most of our attention looking at the threat of terror attacks which are bloodier, more visual, these cyber attacks have the potential to be much more expansive in the damage they can cause. >> the head of the nsa is acknowledging the u.s. does not have the defensive measures to protect the power grid from such hackers? >> he said there are defensive measures but they're not certain they can head off this kind of an attack. they say with that knowledge, you have multiple nation states looking for the vulnerabilities to find a way in. >> that would be cyber warfare, an act of war, and i'm sure the u.s. would retaliate if that

were to happen. it is very, very alarming. jim sciutto, thank you very much. let's get back to our top story right now. new details about the president's decision to take executive action to delay the deportation of about 5 million undocumented immigrants here in the united states. he's going to address that issue about an hour and a half or so from now. let's bring in gloria borger, ron brownstein and in los angeles, jeffrey toobin. explain, gloria, why the president has decided to do this now. >> well, because he can or he thinks he can, wolf. in talking to senior administration officials they say look, we have about 26 months left. we handed the house of representatives a bill just over a year ago. they did absolutely nothing with it, even though it was a bill that passed the united states senate. and they decided this is a legacy item for this president. it goes beyond this president,

though, wolf. it's also about the future of the democratic party. you cannot put together a presidential coalition with a lukewarm support of latinos. they believe that if they can get latinos supporting democrats, that they can take that into becoming another presidential majority again in 2016. >> the exit polls, you've been studying those exit polls from two weeks ago. voters were asked, should most illegal immigrants working in the united states, should they be deported? among whites, 43% said yes, 24% among blacks, 21% among hispanics. >> this is a hugely consequential decision in terms of substance and politically. it really crystallizes the fundamental choice obama has made on a series of issues in his second term. this is going to alienate the culturally conservative whites.

if you look at the poll that came out today, 60% of whites without a college education said they would oppose him moving unilaterally. but he's willing to take the risk on this carbon, gay marriage, because he believes it will motivate this new democratic coalition of minorities and socially upscale whites and could help in 2016. >> we're just getting in some excerpts from the president's address tonight. i want to read a line here and get jeffrey toobin to assess. among the things the president will say tonight in his address, the actions are not only lawful, but the kinds of actions taken by every single republican president and every democratic president for the past half century. and to those members of congress who question my authority or question the wisdom of me acting where congress has failed, i

have one answer -- pass a bill. jeffrey, you've been studying the you law. you heard jim demint the president is about to act unlawfully. what is your analysis? >> well, let's put aside the issue whether it's a good policy or not. i'll leave that to others. this is not about a path to citizenship. the president could not change the laws of citizenship on his own. but what he can do is decide who is going to be deported and in what order. and what the president is doing in this policy -- in this executive order, he's saying we're going to deport certain groups but not others. and that seems clearly to be within his discretion as president. he's not saying they can stay here as citizens but simply saying that we are simply not

going to deport people who have children, who are american citizens, and that seems to me is a legal thing for the president to do. whether it's wise or not, that's a separate question. but legally, i think the president is on very secure ground. >> i want all of you to stand by. we're waiting to hear from the president an hour and a half from now the president will address the nation. there's other breaking news we're monitoring. police in several cities across the united states are being warned to prepare for violence as the grand jury decision nears in ferguson, missouri. but michael brown's father is appealing for calm. >> by hurting others or destroying property is not the answer. no matter what the grand jury decides, i do not want my son's death to be in vain. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we know in the cyber world, threats are always evolving. at first, we were protecting networks. then, we were protecting the transfer of data. and today it's evolved to infrastructure...

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we're following breaking news. police in several cities around the united states are now being warned to prepare for possible demonstrations over the weekend tied to a grand jury decision on the michael brown shooting which could come as soon as tomorrow. sources tell our justice reporter evan perez that federal and state law enforcement agencies are taking the very unusual step out of an abundance of precaution. evan is standing by. he's in ferguson and will join us in a few moments. let's get more now with democratic congressman lacey

clay. he represents missouri's first district, which including ferguson, and st. louis. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> how worried should we be that demonstrations could get violent? >> tensions are running really high, and from the start of this case, i've had no confidence in the state grand jury proceeding, with the number of leaks that have come out of it. with just the way the head prosecutor has handled the case by dumping the evidence on the grand jury, and not really prosecuting it. and so i am telling the community that this process is not over, that we still have a federal investigation that's proceeding and in talking with attorney general holder, he's not on the same timeline as the federal -- as the state grand jury. >> that could take years based on past history.

>> he has indicated to me that it will be a very thorough investigation, and the evidence will lead us to where it may. >> so you're basically bracing for no indictment of this police officer, is that right? >> all of the signs point to no indictment. there's been a history by this prosecutor of not indicting police officers when cases similar to this have come up. >> you've called on this prosecutor to recuse himself. >> oh, for sure. >> you never trusted him to begin with. >> no, i did not. not when it comes to excessive force by police officers. >> let's say they reach a decision tomorrow. they've said they're going to give local authorities 48 hours before they make it public. but there could be a leak, right? >> there certainly could be a leak. and my message to the community is that this is not over. let us calm down.

let us be calm on the ground, and realize that they are all pushing towards serving justice. >> you heard michael brown's parents, among so many others say, you can demonstrate but do it peacefully and don't let it get violent in the tradition of dr. martin luther king jr. >> sure. and what people need to understand in st. louis and around the country is that michael brown, jr.'s life does matter. it matters to people like me and to that st. louis community, and it matters to his parents. i have made a commitment to his family that we will seek justice wherever that takes us. >> you've also suggested, and i want you to be precise, that you want an expanded investigation into the release of that surveillance video which we saw michael brown allegedly stealing

cig cigars. you see it, intimidating the owner of that store. basically he was a big guy, walking out. you didn't think that should be released. tell us why. >> absolutely not. this was certainly a character assassination on the part of ferguson police. >> but he was stealing those cigars. >> i'm not sure what he was doing in the store, but i don't think it was related to him losing his life. and here is another issue for the st. louis community, and for the country as a whole. we also need to -- and hopefully governor nixon's ferguson commission will deal with the elephant in the room, which is the racial divide in the st. louis community. and that is why you have this tension. >> do you have confidence in the governor? >> do i have confidence in the governor? i hope his commission will address the issue of race. in the st. louis community, and how we repair that racial divide

in that community and how we make progress by bringing the two races together. >> congressman, i want you to stand by. we have a lot more to discuss. i want to bring in our justice reporter evan perez, who is on the ground for us in ferguson. and joining us is john gaskin and jeffrey toobin. evan, you have new information about federal and local law enforcement being on increased alert right now, ahead of the grand jury decision being released. what can you tell us? >> wolf, the concern extends from coast to coast. but first i'll start with new information we just got from authorities here. st. louis county has sent a message to employees who apparently have been raising concerns about their safety when this grand jury decision is announced. and the message says they're planning to increase security at county buildings, including using the national guard to help boost security and protect employees. they are warning that some

employees may not be able to get to their workplaces and they say that they're trying to make sure that employees are kept aware of events as they come on. now, as you said, the concern is on a national level. we know that the federal protective service, which does security for federal buildings around the country, is preparing for demonstrations that might take place in front of federal buildings. so they've warned their officers to be on alert for that possibility. and local authorities in several cities are expecting demonstrations. we know that groups are planning to bring marches around the country in major cities. law enforcement says that they expect most of these demonstrations to be peaceful. however, they are aware that some people are planning to cause confrontations with authorities and there could be the potential for violence. >> what about the report, evan, from the st. louis police

officer's association that says darren wilson doesn't expect to face criminal charges, what are you hearing from that? >> we've been trying to reach out to the police union to see what they're hearing. we suspect this is based on information already out there. there's a great deal of feeling out here that it's very difficult for this grand jury to reach a level of bringing an indictment against this officer. we'll see what the grand jury decides again tomorrow. >> i want everybody to stand by. we have much more on what's going on in ferguson and around the nation. more of the breaking news with all of our reporters, analysts and guests, including the congressman right after this. what does an apron have to do with car insurance? an apron is hard work. an apron is pride in what you do.

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call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. we're following the breaking news. police are on alert in several cities around the united states for possible demonstrations tied to a grand jury decision in the michael brown shooting, which could come as soon as tomorrow. we're back with democratic congressman lacy clay of missouri. our justice report evan perez in ferguson, john gaskin and jeffrey toobin. john, what's the mood there? >> well, people are walking on egg shells. many people, things are fairly

calm right now, but people are waiting. this thing has loomed for several months now and people are anticipating a decision potentially this weekend. so as we wait, people are wondering what the outcome of this will be. protesters are continuing to organize peacefully. and i believe that the vast majority of protests, if not all, will be peaceful and will be done in good taste and in good order. but in terms of outsiders, the protesters have made it very clear that if you are an outsider and you are going against the requests of michael brown, senior and leslie mcfadden, the parents of michael brown, they are letting you know you are not part of our cause and you're not a part of our mission and what it is we want out of this. >> jeffrey, how extraordinary is the preparation under way right now, the decision reached tomorrow, then 48 hours to alert local law enforcement, schools,

everybody else. pretty unusual, isn't it? >> it is. everything about this case has been unusual. frankly, that's a cause for suspicion. the criminal justice has certain ways of doing things. what the prosecutor has done here in simply giving every piece of evidence to the grand jury is not how prosecutors usually operate. and it does suggest a prosecutor who is not trying to take responsibility for his own decision, but simply passing the buck to the grand jury. i didn't know what the grand jury is going to do, but this is certainly a very unusual investigation. >> and your advice to the folks on the ground over there, congressman, is what? >> for both sides, the law enforcement as well as the demonstrators, to tone it down and to not let tensions rise to the point of violence. and i don't want to see violence. i don't think the good people of st. louis want to see violence. >> but are local and state law

enforcement there in st. louis and the area, are they ready for this, are they trained? >> yes, they have been trained. i have been reassured by the leaders of law enforcement that it will not be an aggressive stance on their part. >> we know the national guard has been ak i hactivated as wel right? >> yes, they have. and people have a right to demonstrate. >> this is the united states of america. congressman, thank you very much. everyone else, we'll stay on top of this story. we'll take a quick break. much more news right after this.

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a leading democratic center is promising to keep fighting for legislature of student debt in this country. as we study the costs of a education. and senator is joining us from capitol hill. thank you for joining us. you worked passionately and tried to get a refinancing bill to lower interest rates for college graduates stuck with huge student loan burdens. you failed. there wasn't enough support in the senate. the next senate will have more republicans. where do you go from here? >> this has got to be the fight. we have to have that. this is crazy. you can refinance your home and your car and you can refinance your business loans, but you can't refinance student loan debt. and as a result, we've got kids stuck at high interest rates and the government making tens of

millions of dollars, billions of dollars in profit off their backs. so my view on this is we don't give up. we just keep fighting harder and harder. this touches families across america and i believe they are part of the fight. >> and the problem is the republicans didn't like the fact that to pay for lowering the student interest rates, you wanted to raise taxes on wealthy american and they say that is a nonstarter, to which you say? >> to which i say, wait a minute. we have billions of dollars in tax loopholes for millionaires or billionaires or invest the money in young people who are trying to get a start in life. you know, this is one of those cases where it's pretty clear what the choices are that are available to america. and i think that we ought to ask millionaires and billionaires to pay taxes at least at the same

rate that middle class families do. you know, as a country, we need to be investing in the future. we need to be making sure that all of our kids have a fighting chance to build something for themselves. and that is what this is about. >> aren't there other ways to pay for this, to help the students who got these enorm usaly high student loan debt, there are other ways. as you know, there is a lot of waste in the federal government, a lot of expenditure and fellow democrats would like to see the billions spent on defense cut down and use some of that money to pay for this instead of raising taxes. your reaction? >> i'm open to any way to pay for this. because what matters most to me is getting that interest rate down for our kids. that is where we really need to be focused. and i kept saying throughout the debate on the senate floor, if the republicans had in other idea for how to pay for it, come on down and let as ta-- let's tk

about it. put it on the table. but instead they just filibustered. >> and we have coming up tonight, ivory tower. is a college degree for everyone? >> the opportunity to get a college degree should be out there for everyone, not just there for kids that are rich. it should be there for kids who work hard and play by the rules. this one is really personal for me. i grew up in a family that had a lot of economic ups an downs and there was no money for me to go to college. i graduated from a commuter college that cost $50 a semester. i'm the daughter of a janitor and a mom who worked a minimum wage job at sears and i ended up here in the united states senate because i grew up in an america that was investing in opportunities for kids like me. that is the america that helps us build a real future. that is the america i'm committed too. >> i know it is a passionate issue for you and you will

continue to struggle on this front. quickly, while i have you, the president is about to address the american people on immigration reform and will take executive, unilateral action and he's deeply irritating a lot of republicans. here is the question to you. does he have the legal authority to change the rules in effect tonight? >> i was proud to vote for comprehensive immigration reform a year and a half ago and the republicans haven't done anything since then. they keep blocking bringing this to a vote. so i support the president in taking what actions he can within the law to help families, to help businesses and try to patch up this broken immigration system. >> senator warren, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> and the all new cnn film ivory tower airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. you want to see it. 8 p.m. eastern i'll be back with end cooper -- anderson's cooper,

seeing it all live here on this station. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >> breaking news, law enforcement officers around the nation on high alert on the wake of a ferguson decision. a decision could be just hours away. tonight my exclusive interview with the ferguson's embattled police chief. and one of bill cosby's accusers speaks with us as to why they thought her life was in danger. and tonight republicans vowing a major fight, calling it constitutional war. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm erin burnett. and "outfront" we begin with breaking news. a new war f