i will see you back here tomorrow night. really proosh you joappreciate joining us. an honor to be with mr. dan rather. awe thank you f thank you for joining us. ac 360 begins now. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. a lot to report on. president obama opening the door on cuba. we begin with breaking news and the sony hacks who threatened to commit an act of tear railroad to stop a movie about north korea's dictator. sony pictures pulled the movie, on dvd and on demand according to variety. federal authorities are ready to point for the finger all at the north korean regime. pamela brown? >> we are learning it could

happen as early tomorrow. the u.s. is expected to point the finger at north korea in this. my sources tell me that an early december there was a growing sense of confidence within the government and within sony that north korea was responsible for this. sources say that the tactics, techniques, the procedures used as well as motivation behind this was right out of the north korean playbook. we know some of the coding used was written in korean. and part of the hack mimic of the same type of hack against south korean banks last year. there was a growing sense that north korea was responsible. as this investigation was continuing. there were these closed door, meetings here in washington, with high level government officials about thisser t eissu. they were trying to decide. strong suspicion it was north korea. if we out them and point the finger of what are we going to do next? we will find out what the decision is we do believe, according to sources the government will call out north korea. we are not quite sure in what

form. we know, the last time, similar case was with the five chinese military hackers and they filed charges against them. right now we don't know, what we are going to see from, from the department of justice. when they make this announcement anderson. >> all right, pamela, more on this shortly. thank you very much. cuba at the center of a crisis. could have ended the world as we know it. no hyping that. 52 years ago. the united states and soviet union, came close to nuclear war. since then, both parties tried to isolate the country. one, john f. kennedy tried to kill off the leader, fidel castro. after secret negotiations and oval office phone call yesterday to work out details with raul castro, president obama announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with havana. speaking with abc's david muir, mr. obama talked about that call.

>> we would promote democracy and human rights and speak out forcefully. >> fidel castro is he aware of what happened? does he approve? >> i am not sure the i don't know what fidel castro's health status is. that's not anner eissue raised. >> it revolved around prisoner swap. sending back three cuban spies. cuba sending back an american agent after 20 years of prison there. separately in a humanitarian gesture, cuba released an american aide contractor, allen gross sentenced in 2009 to 15 years in prison for plotting to destroy the revolution. new photos of his departure. at a briefing he singled out the cuban people for praise. >> in no way are they responsible for the ordeal to which my family and i have been subjected. to me, cubanos or at least most of them, are incredibly kind,

generous, and talented. it pains me to see them treated so unjustly as a consequence of two governments mutually belligerent policies. >> to be clear some policies will not be changing. and many people fled the castro regime are no people suffered under it do not want them to change. they think this is a bad idea. they're speaking up and promising president obama will pay steep political price for making this deal. talk about that shortly. first, very latest from washington and havana. cnn the network with a full time operation. patrick is there. jim acaucosta at the white hous. why did the deal come together now? >> this is not a lifting of the embargo. cold war between cuba and the u.s. starting to thaw. the result of talks going on with the communist nation.

they started 18 months ago. june of last year. senior officials say most discussions took place in canada led by national security adviser, deputy national security adviser. ben rhoads. the wheels were in motion, when the president and raul castro shook hand at nelson mandela's memorial. i was there in south africa. but all along. one key sticking point. you mention remained. alan gross. pope francis stepped in. sent letters to president obama and raul castro, urging beth to resolve gross' status. and push talks forward. the vatican welcomed officials to rome last october. all happening with nobody really knowing about this except for the parties involved. then as you said, mr. obama, and raul castro hammered this out. rest of the deal in the phone conversation last night. >> to what extent can congress stall this if not stop it altogether. >> congress is not as divided as it once was. republicans are in charge of the

house and senate. not clear if votes are there to everride a veto. if they try to pass legislation. forcing the president's hand. he would veto it. probably not enough votes to everride that. marco rubio would block any ambassador to cuba. so interesting to watch that process play out. the president is determined to put one there. wants to starve the administration of funding to open an embassy. what the administration said. and white house press secretary said today, andersen. there is already a u.s. intrasection in havana. people are there. the building is there. call an embassy. >> ambassador's residence the u.s. has maintained all this time still there in havana. what happens next? most americans can't book a trip and travel to cuba freely. >> that's right. embargo in place. travel ban in place. you need congress to overturn that. americans won't go to orbitz or travelocity and book a trip. still third party travel agents authorized by the federal

government to arrange trips. they expanded, the administration expanded the reasons why you could go to cuba. before, journalist ix, religious, cultural reasons. now just about any reason. you will see more and more americans go. if they can afford the price. same time, we asked, will americans buy a cuban cigar? at a store in the united states? no. you will have off to bring cigars out of cuba if you travel there up to $100 worth of tobacco and rum. so there are still sort of quirky, goofy, restrictions still in place. americans can travel about anywhere around the world, andersen. book trips on their own. they will not be able to do it. 100% freely to cuba. have to go through travel agents authorized by the federal governments. a step forward. but it is not a lifting of, of embar go and travel ban. >> they will be able to use credit card from some banks. a big step. jim, thank you very much. next, patrick, otman with reaction in cuban capital. in havana.

what have people been saying today? >> little surreal this morning. >> there have been celebrations. tears, a little surreal this morning when the news broke, andersen. still was over two hours until cubans heard about it. through the tightly controlled state media. wasn't until noon. castro took to the airwaves. in a speech to the nation. he talked about the respect he felt to president obama. towards, towards, the necessity of a better relationship moving forward. these are word that his brother, fidel castro never used. cubans were taken aback by that. taken aback by the prisoner swap. raul castro talking about 53 political prisoners released here. in cuba. at the request of the u.s. and a closer relationship moving forward.

during the speech, we heard bells tolling. you really got the sense that we were experiencing something quite historic, anderson. what happens now, there will be ripple effects for months, if not years after today's events. and in a lot of ways, it will put the cuban government more in the hot seat. for 50 something years, they've blamed every economic this island has experienced on the u.s. embargo. it's still in place but lose some of the teeth and will the cuban economy pick up? will people's lives improve? they certainly expect that it will and now it's up to the cuban government more than ever to deliver that. >> also part of this deal, a loosening of rules on the internet usage in cuba, tightly controlled by this very tough regime. any word, we heard president obama saying he's not clear on the status of fidel castro, his health status, any updates on his whereabouts? >> reporter: no, no reaction from fidel castro.

we have not seen any pictures of him since late august. it's just another sign that raul castro is running the show here. fidel castro is a figurehead but no indications that he was involved and may not even have been aware of the deal. >> patrick from havana, thank you. political reaction is divided, not exclusively among party lines. new jersey senator robert menendez condemned the deal. senator nelson, a florida democrat called it a hallelujah day and hopefully a rebirth of economic ties between florida and cuba. but marco rubio strongly disagrees. >> this entire policy shift announced today is based on an illusion, on a lie. the lie and the illusion that more commerce and access to money and goods will translate to political freedom for the

cuban people. all of this is going to do is give the castro regime which controls every aspect of cuban life the opportunity to manipulate these changes. to perpetuate itself in power. >> this debate has been going on for decades. it's deeply personal. political commentator and gop strategist navarro and senior western security affairs on the counsel. ana, you're critical of the agreement. to rubio's point, there's relationships with china and vietnam, why not with cuba? >> well, first of all, china and vietnam are not in the state-sponsored terrorism list as cuba has been. instructing secretary kerry to take them off. you know, anderson, part of it, yes, is internal politics. the bottom line is that there are a lot of cuban american

victims who live in the united states and they have developed and flexed their political muscle. there are three cuban american senators serving in the u.s. senate. there are also u.s. congress people in the u.s. congress on both parties and they stick together when it comes to this because it is so important to the first hand victims that they represent. >> dan, what do you say? you serve in the obama white house. what do you say to the charges this is essentially rewarding bad behavior, an oppressive regime? >> a failure in reaching goals isn't a reward to anybody. continuing the policy would have been a reward to those who it benefits. this is the u.s. being more relevant in the future of cuba and the people more relevant in

the future of cuba. one thing i agree with marco rubio who deeply disagree is we need to see a free and democratic cuba. president obama said we haven't been successfully getting there with the policy we've been following for the last 55 plus years. let's try something different and let's try something that's been consistent with what marco rubio calls an illusion and a lie is the basis of democrat and republican since the end of world war ii. the greater commerce, greater economic interaction is part of the path to opening societies that clearly don't want to be open. i'm under no illusions cuban authorities don't want to open up but playing the same game for 55 years isn't a way to achieve that. >> what do you say to that, 55 years has attempted to change the direction of the regime and failed to do that. >> if toppling the castro regime is the objective, that wasn't achieved but they've been on the ropes.

a lot of the survival depends on venezuelan oil money is drying up and economy is in shambles. we've held it in place for 50 plus years. the cuban regime, two castro brothers since january 1st, 1959. over half a century. we are a lot closer to the end than we are to the beginning and so now when we are so close to the end of the castros, the end of that regime, when you haven't seen fidel castro react because if he's alive, he's too weak or too senile to know this just happened and react. now that we are so close to the end of those two dictators who have oppressed these people for over half a century, now we're going to change and do it unilaterally without them lifting the oppression? >> ana, what sign do you see

though, obviously fidel son his last legs but raul castro is in charge. it doesn't seem the transfer there was any weakening of the state, the central power. what makes you think even if raul castro was to go, the policies wouldn't continue? >> you know, i think, anderson, that the cuba regime, the castro regime is very fidel-centric. very castro-centric. when it disappears, i think it will weaken the government tremendously because so many people, it's the cult of fidel. the same way it was the cult of chavez and we have seen maduro is nowhere near as capable of keeping that government under control in venezuela and let's face it. raul castro is pretty elderly himself. they're both in their 80s. >> dan, how hard is it for president obama to move forward this? i mean, you have marco rubio saying he'll block funding for cuban embassy and hold up an ambassador role. >> i think it's important to disassociate those two things.

the u.s. intersection is the largest diplomatic gathering in the country. it's housed in the building that was the u.s. embassy before we broke off diplomatic relations, so the notion you're going to shut that operation down when, really, what you're doing is changing the sign on the door is one that doesn't square up with reality that much. marco rubio can make a ambassador confirmed but the united states has incredibly ranked career foreign services officer, when we normalize, he'll become sergeant of the affairs. when you don't have a confirmtive ambassador to run the operation, and it's important to those who visit the island on a regular basis. 300,000 visiting cuba since the president changed his policy in 2009. they should be afforded the same diplomatic. >> thank you, i appreciate it. you can watch 360 at 8:00 p.m. eastern and whenever you like. set your dvr and you're good to go. up next, former president jimmy carter with his take on what

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♪ as we said, opening diplomatic relations reverses the policy of nine presidents going back to 1961. cuba and the united states have a whole lot of history between them. >> reporter: january, 1959. the world meets fidel castro when the young revolutionary leads an armed revolt against fulgencio batista.

he met u.s. vice president richard nixon. but relations that started with this handshake quickly soured when in 1960, all u.s. businesses in cuba were nationalized without compensation. in response, the u.s. blocked off relations and a trade embargo. went downhill from there. >> i, john fitzgerald kennedy, solemnly swear. >> reporter: john f. kennedy. attempted to overthrow castro in the bay of pigs invasion. president kennedy moved forward with attempts to destabilize the cuban government with attempts

to assassination castro with a poison pen. in october 1962, the missile crisis. fearing an invasion from the u.s., allowed soviet missiles on the soil causing panic. u2 spy plane spotted built by the soviet union. the showdown of the united nations, u.s. demanded their removal. >> it will be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile, launch from cuba or against any nation in the western hemisphere as an attack. >> reporter: the soviet union blinked and the missiles were removed. almost two decades later in 1980, the cuban government allowed people to leave the country without a permit. nearly 125,000 cubans fled the island and arrived by boat 90 miles away in florida. at first, the u.s. welcomed the refugees but the sheer numbers overwhelmed facilities and stopped giving them asylum. boiled again around a 6-year-old boy named elian gonzalez rescued

off the coast of florida with his family fleeing cuba. in 2000, armed federal agents seized gonzalez from his family in miami returning him to cuba to be with his father. he arrived back home a national hero. tensions began to thaw with the election of president barack obama in 2008. the new president lifted travel restrictions for family members to cuba and the nelson mandela memorial, leader of cuba leader shook hands. by phone, jimmy carter tried to ties with havana. what do you say to the critics who say this is basically rewarding a repressive dictatorship and giving up leverage the united states might have had with cuba? >> well, the agreement is not supposed to help the cuban dictators and it doesn't. it helps the cuban people and

the american people in the long-term. when i was a president, as you just mentioned, we started the diplomatic relations process and we established major intersections in both havana and also washington. in cuba two or three years ago, we had diplomats serves in the intersection of havana. i think that will continue no matter what happens. the normal diplomatic relations will continue and i hope congress goes ahead to remove the embargo and the sanctions because that doesn't hurt the castro brothers. it hurts the people of cuba who had to suffer because of our own imposed economic sanctions. i think this is a good move for both cubans and americans and a major step forward for more freedom and more democracy and respect for human rights in cuba as well. >> critics of this say, as you know, if it alleviates the

economic pressure against the regime though, that, effect, helps the cuban people and does help the dictatorship because it allows, i mean, if it improves their economy, that does benefit the regime, no? >> well, in a country where we impose sanctions, it's almost impossible to imagine that the dictators themselves or immediate staff or their top friends will be suffering economically. they've got all they want. i've been to the home of raul castro and also fidel castro in the last few years and they're not suffering at all. but 11 million people of cuba suffer. we have a lot of farmers in georgia who have been going down to cuba under tight restrictions to sell corn and chickens and other things to the cuban

people. this will help american farmers. it will help the average cuban and also lead towards better respect for human rights, in my opinion, as we have a flood of american citizens and letting cuban people what democracy really means. >> senator marco rubio today made the point that this is basically sending a message to any dictatorship that they can illegally arrest, inappropriately arrest an american, hold them prisoner and ultimately get some sort of concessions from the u.s. government. >> i watched it on television. what he said was absolutely ridiculous.

there's no logic to criticize what president obama did. this is a wise and courageous thing for president obama to do and in my opinion, long overdue. in my time in the white house, we would have had diplomatic relationships there and maintained since 1979 in havana and in washington. >> do you see, i mean, it's interesting. obviously, you know fidel and raul castro. raul, how does he compare? is he hard lined as fidel castro, do you see any efforts or willingness of this regime by raul castro to really effect change towards democracy? >> people in cuba still really respect and revere almost fidel castro but there's no doubt under raul's presidency, there have been a lot of openness and reforms implemented in cuba, particularly, economic in nature. a lot of things are permitted in cuba now that were not permitted as long as fidel was in office. so i think with raul, this is what he told me personally and all the visitors is he's looking for an opportunity to open up cuba step by step. i think that's what we have to expect. >> as you said, most of the changes under raul castro have been economic. i think they can sell cars to each other, they can sell even property to each other, though not necessarily i think to

foreigners, not 100% on that, but in terms of loosening the binds under which the cuban people live, internet use has obviously been restricted though under this apparently it's lifted somewhat. do you believe that they will be willing to move towards a greater openness? >> well, i wouldn't expect anything right away. raul already announced he's going to step down in a few years. i don't know exactly how long, but there's no doubt the cuban people will be much more inclined towards openness in government as they have this greatly increased contact with visiting americans and others around the world. as a matter of fact, american citizens right this moment, deprived of the right, a human

right to travel where we want to go. we're the only ones who can't go to cuba. anywhere else in the world, you can go to cuba. this has been a restraint on americans as well as it has been on the cubans. >> former president jimmy carter, thank you very much for your time. i appreciate you being with us. >> thank you. pope francis will tell you how he was involved ahead. the high performance gti. looks like we're gonna need a bigger podium. the volkswagen golf family. motor trend's 2015 "cars" of the year. i was out for a bike ride. i didn't think i'd have a heart attack. but i did. i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

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we're covering the historic decision to reestablish diplomatic ties with cuba. the secret talks that led up to it and the role behind the scenes pope francis played a role revealed today. >> those who supported our efforts, thank you. in particular i want to thank his holiness pope francis, whose moral example shows the importance of pursuing the world as it should be rather than settling the world as it is.

awe thought got everyone's attention. the president called him "the real deal." here to talk is father thomas reese, senior analyst. pope francis wrote letters to president obama and raul castro, there was a diplomatic meeting in october. do you know how this played out behind the scenes? >> well, it all began last january when john kerry visited the vatican and personally asked the vatican for its help in getting alan gross free. and then president obama, when he came to the vatican in march followed up on that. and eventually the pope wrote a letter to both presidents, president of cuba and president of the united states encouraging them to resolve this issue. >> and hearing not only president obama but also raul

castro today thanking pope francis in their speeches, it underscores the significance of this and the influence of this pope. >> this pope wants to be a bridge builder. that's what the name pontiff means. he wants to build bridges between the u.s. and cuba, between israelis and palestinians. he wants to work for peace. which is, of course, an obligation of every christian to work for justice and peace in the world. that's what we're called by the gospel to do and the pope has a very unique position and opportunity to do this and this pope is going to do this. >> it's interesting when you look at the history of involvement with popes in cuba. pope john paul ii, 1988. pope benedict in 2012. do you think the fact that pope francis is the first latin american pope played a role in all of this? >> certainly, he was familiar with the issues coming from latin america. and i am sure his concern for

what's happening in the western hemisphere is a priority for him. he was more than happy to work on this. pope john paul ii called for cuba to be open to the world and the world to be open to cuba. and that was a very clear signal to both cuba and the united states to work on this. and, you know, the pope is really responding to the concerns of the bishops in cuba who would like to see diplomatic relations restored and especially to see the embargo ended. >> father thomas, thank you very much for being on. >> you're welcome. coming up on breaking news tonight, u.s. investigators telling cnn that north korea is responsible for the hacking attack on sony. this is after the company cancelled the release of the movie that started it all, new details next. surface pro 3. mac: hey what's that, is it a kickstand? surface: touchscreen too, it's pretty slick, man. mac: it comes apart i see. surface: it's got a usb.

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more now tonight on breaking news. sources say federal authorities are preparing to announce north korea is behind the sony hacking attacks and those threats against u.s. movie theaters. now, today, sony pictures pulled the upcoming movie the interview saying it has no plans for its release in the future. the comedy about the plot to kill kim jong-un was set for release on christmas day and the largest theater chain earlier decided not to show the movie because of the threats. president obama tonight said for now, the recommendation is to go to the movies. back with us is pamela brown. we learned the u.s. might make a

formal announcement basically accusing north korea tomorrow? >> reporter: it could come early as tomorrow we hear from sources but talking to folks in the government tonight, the sense i get is that they're trying to figure out how to make this announcement. it's very difficult to make attribution but sources say they're very confident that north korea was behind the sony hack. they say in the techniques used, the tools, the procedures, the motivation here. all clues pointing towards north korea. early december, i was told that's when u.s. investigators really felt it was north korea. but again, it's not necessarily what you know, it's what you can prove. right now, i think u.s. officials under this mounting pressure to make an announcement are trying to figure out how they can lay out the case, a credible case, to prove this is why we think it's north korea. that's what they're working on right now. this has been an extraordinary case.

the fact they've done this just in a few weeks sun heard of. look at the chinese hacking case, that took years. this is just a few weeks. >> is it clear if north korea did this alone or outsourced the job? >> reporter: well, there's a lot of speculation that they outsourced it to perhaps another group, a criminal gang or whether or not this was emanating from what's called bureau 121. a group in north korea where the country poured resources into it and they're believed to be behind the side or attack against south korean banks last year. at this point, we don't have clarity on exactly who the u.s. government has pinpointed to be behind this. whether this is coming from hackers within north korea under the direction of the north korean government or whether this was outsourced to another group in perhaps another country, anderson. >> remarkable developments today.

pamela brown, thank you very much. cyber security expert jim lewis for technologies program. thank you for being with us. i want to ask about the breaking news cnn learned, prepared to name as a sony hacker. a, does it surprise you and how savvy are they? >> it's not a big surprise. the north koreans are the one who stood most to benefit and they've been investing in these kind of cyber capabilities for about 20 years. it's been a concern for their leadership. they've had a few thousand people who can do it and four or five big attacks against south korea. they've done something against the u.s. it's always been the case that this is what they wanted to do. >> these hackers threatening a 9/11 type attack if the movie was actually released in theaters, are they actually capable of anything like that? how serious do you believe that threat of violence really is? >> north korea loves bombastic

threats and if you look at their propaganda videos online, it will show you them nuking washington and sinking aircraft carriers. they love threats. they hardly ever carry them out. in this case, they do not have the capability to carry out a cyber 9/11. they've improved remarkably. four years ago, they could not do what they could today but no country is at a point of a cyber 9/11. >> what does a cyber 9/11 entail? shutting down or attacking the energy facilities? >> that's why i don't like the term because what you're talking about is blackouts or interfering with pipelines, maybe interfering with financial systems. we've seen that people can't use their atms and it's a disconnect. turning out the lights, that would make people unhappy.

but it's hard to do much more than that. koreans have gotten better in the last few years but not the point they could do real damage. >> and how capable are other countries or other actors of doing that kind of thing, turning out the lights or atm machines at this point? >> we have four countries that are principal opponents in cyberspace. russia, iran, china and north korea. the russians could do whatever they wanted. they won't do it until they have cause to. the chinese are also good but unlikely to attack us outside of the military conflict. iran has been the most worrisome until the korean incident because they have probed infrastructure, they have looked at energy companies. they thought about turning off the lights and of course, they were responsible for this ramco attack last year. north korea has come up fast in the rankings but not top of the league.

>> would north korea have to outsource a job like this in some way? >> probably not because to outsource, you'd have to go to the russians or maybe iranians and those keeps tight control over their hacker groups. only if they decided they were willing to risk a fight with the u.s. would they let someone support north korea, so probably not. >> it's interesting a country like north korea which limits the internet and restricts it so much would have armies of hackers even if it's a few hundred people capable of such a sophisticated attack. >> i used to kid we didn't have to worry about north korea because it's hard to be a hacker power when you don't have electricity, but they've poured resources into this field. they probably have a few thousand potential hackers. it's interesting. i.t. has been a growth goal for the north koreans. they even allow a few private north korean companies to subcontract for european firms. this is a place they've done a lot of work. >> that's fascinating. jim louis, thank you very much for your work. >> thank you. ahead, a look at the crime scene of a pakistan school where 132 children were massacred before help finally arrived.

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wanted to get you update on the terror attack in pakistan. difficult pictures to look at today. for the first time, we see inside the school in peshawar at the scene. left heart ache and a scene of carnage we warn you is hard to watch. nic robertson reports. >> reporter: tumbled chairs. concrete chewed apart by a fuselage of bullets, few children in the classrooms could dodge. evidence of the taliban's craven attack is everywhere. floors still soaked in the blood of the innocents. this town is drenched in grief. funeral after funeral. most between 12 and 16 years old, many buried in the uniforms. smaller they are, the heavier to carry one official said. education in this impoverish town of 3 million is everything. no one saw this coming. survivors wonder how they made it through.

>> translator: in the locker room, they believed we were dead but two students caught their attention so they shot them in the head to make sure they were dead. >> translator: six entered the hall. some died on the spot and others were injured. >> reporter: vigils are lighting up across the country. sympathy is strong and so is condemnation of the taliban. it is rarely this universal and rarely this visceral. these men, some of them seemingly young as their victims are attackers according to taliban saying they planned and coordinated every murderous step the gunman took classroom to classroom. brutality becoming clear.

inside the school, a burnt office. a 28-year-old woman, an office assistant, not just shot but set alight here too. too horrific for words. >> nic, this is just such a sickening attack. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, the army is saying that it's continuing the defense against the taliban. the death penalty has been reinstated by the prime minister today against terrorists. in peshawar today, the city, as we saw there, still in absolute shock. the schools have been closed. but the recriminations are growing. today, you had the army chief of staff going to afghanistan to say, hey, we've got to work together better on the taliban against the taliban and at the same time, the prime minister saying this was planned from bases inside afghanistan. taliban themselves saying, not so. that everything was done,

planned, and prepared here inside pakistan. so this is what's happening at the moment. >> nic robertson, thank you very much. well, ending on a lighter note, something to make you smile. we've got the ridiculist coming up. we'll be right back. en. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on select new volkswagen models.

i was out for a bike ride. i didn't think i'd have a heart attack. but i did. i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

>> 'twas the week before christmas and ridiculist and not stirring except for two little boys determined to get a hold of santa. >> try to call santa. >> what did you actually dial? >> 9-1-1. >> when what to their mom's wondering eyes should appear but a police officer because the kids just called 9-1-1. >> is this a life-threatening emergency? and i said no, the kids trying to call santa. >> the kids did not get santa on

the phone they did get however a tour of the police station and a lesson about when to call the police. now here is a good way to remember it this time of year -- if it's stalking related, yes. christmas stocking related, no. >> never have i heard of a 9-1-1 call in an attempt to reach santa claus. the unfortunate thing is the north pole is out of our jurisdiction. >> meanwhile, in pennsylvania, it was a tree emergency got a town called redding in an up roar. the city put up a scragly yuletide specimen. some thought it was neat. and others thought, let's maybe not deck the halls with boughs of fugly this year. >> it's nasty, it's pathetic and shouldn't have it. >> this is incredible. i'm glad they're paying a homage to charlie brown. >> if it was a squirrel looking for a place in the winter, it wouldn't go into the tree. >> yeah, it does look a little pitiful. very sad. >> i'm far as i'm concerned, you couldn't get a better tree. >> ugly looking. >> david wouldn't hang on the

tree. >> there was a fair amount of criticism around the christmas tree, and the city was going to take it down, but went full charlie brown and decorated it with one ornament. >> three, two, one. >> yea! >> oh. i like the tree. i like the charlie brown christmas tree. in charlie brown didn't it droop. anyway, but didn't it like, droop? i've only seen one other tree this year better than that one. look at this, for 27 years now, sherry in california has bolted her christmas tree to the ceiling. as you can see, she's the only one we know whose presents are over the tree. she says it takes six hours to du this and sends the picture to cnn because, quote, anderson cooper is so hot. that doesn't really make any sense. let's cool things off a little bit, shall we? with a trip to wisconsin where every day around this year, a woman dresses up as the

abominable snow monster and walks her poodle. of course. why wouldn't she do that? the site brings joy to children and adults alike. oh, yeah. i'm sure that's the reaction of every child. joy, not freak out screaming. that would have been my reaction as a child. wow. it's like some nightmare christmas. also, apparently, some words of christmas wisdom are brought out. >> love all, care about all, beyond holidays. >> okay. that is the most frightening thing i have seen all year. can we play that again? because that's like, i mean, that's like from the horror movie. >> love all, care about all, beyond holidays. >> okay, i will! i will love all. i will care about all beyond holidays. monster christmas monster!

just go away with your poodle. i feel bad for the poodle. sweet little dog. well, with that, i say merry ridiculist to all and to all a good night. a reminder to vote for favorite ridiculist at ac360.com and we'll count down the top five on air. that does it for us. our coverage continues next with cnn international.