>> hello, everyone. it's 1:00 in the morning here in atlanta. i'm zain asher. >> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world. our top stories this hour, an american and a cuban president announcing their countries will work together. an historic moment that's drawing praise and criticism. >> 50 years is long enough. >> the white house has conceded everything and gained little. >> sony gives in. hackers foring the movie studio to make an unprecedented decision about a film release.

today there is new hope that cuba and the united states might just begin mending a prone relationship. >> it all began with the release of an aid worker, alan gross. a officially he was released often humanitarian grounds but it was part of a bigger prisoner exchange between the u.s. and cuba. >> to me, cubanos, or at least most of them, are incredibly kind, generous and talented. it mains me to see them treated so unjustly as a consequence of two governments mutually belligerent policies. >> the deal had been in the works for months but it wasn't

finalized until tuesday when barack obama spoke on the phone with cuba president difell castro. >> this decision deserves respect from our people pl i would like to recognize the support of the vat an and especially that of proep francis. >> the u.s. released three cubans, part of the group known as the cuban five. they were arrested in anaheim in 1998. and convicted of espionage for gathering intelligence for cuba. an unnamed intelligence aid was also freed by havana. >> president obama say iing he

easing sanctions and is pushing for more normalized relations spp. >> nothing says a saw in u.s.-cuban relations more than this, a phone call between president obama and raul castro. >> the first presidential level of engagement the white house said since the cuban revolution more than 50 years ago. >> we will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interest and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. >> the sket u.s. cuban talks started in 2015 and led by ben roads. one kay staking point remained.

>> a major obstacle stood our way, the wrongful imprisonlement of the u.s. citizen and a.i.d. subcontractor alan groosz for five years. >> last march, president obama found poeb frap sis. >> what were his concerns? >> in terms of the meeting with his holiness. >> in october, the vat caican welcomed talks. the pope who celebrated his 78th birthday today is also the fist latin american leader of the catholic church. so it should be no surprise he got the ball going.

yet he says it's always better to be talking than not talking. that's really what this was about. >> fidel castro was not involved in the negotiations. >> congressional reaction has been mixed. it hasn't exactly broken down on party lines either. a number of cuban-american lawmakers are unhappy and that includes florida senator marco rubio. >> this policy contribution is absurd. and it's disgraceful for a president who claims to treasure human rights and human freedom. this president is the single worst negotiator we've had in the wous in my lifetime. who has basically given the

cuban government everything it's asked for and received no assurances of any advances of democracy and freedom in return. >> i think our policy has done more to keep the castros in power than anything. 50 years is long enough. we ought to do this and do whatever we can so ordinary cuba cubans might benefit. allow more americans to travel, more commerce, more contact. this is a good thing. >> so opponents of the president's plan like marco rubio say they will do everything to block the policy. they could refuse funding for the u.s. embassy in havana or block the nomination for the u.s. ambassador to cuba. >> a spokesman for the national

security council says, and i'm quoting here, the u.s. government is working tirelessly to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice and we are considering a range of options in weighing a potential response. >> sony pictures has pulled the movie "the interview" from release after receiving a threat against any theatre which was planning to show it. and president barack obama spoke about that to abc news. >> well, the cyber attack is very serious. we're supressing it. we're taking it seriously. we'll be vigilant. if we think something that we think is serious and credible then we'll alert the public. but for my, my recommendation that people go to the movies. >> this is a company that had a plot where there was a assassination of the north korean leader and that angered pyongyang. >> now the damage from the cyber attack is spreading. take a listen. capitulation. that's one word for what

happened wednesday. sony, caving under pressure, cancelling next week's release of "the interview" in light of the decision by many of the country's biggest theatre chains to yank the film from their schedule, citing uncertainties and security fears. this coming after a warning by anonymous hackers, threatening a 9/1 1 style attack at theerts where the film is playing. the state department says they have no evidence of a specific credible threat but -- >> we, of course, take seriously all threats gwen the homeland including recent threat against movie theatres. pack backing away, sin plex calling it an unprecedented and complex situation. the chains are keeping their options open with regal saying it's just delaying the opening. but this is another blow for sony, coming three weeks after more than 100 terabytes of data were stolen. and the hits keep coming. on tuesday, actors seth roe gan and james franco canceled many

of their upcoming press events including seth meyers, "the tonight show" starring jimny fallon and "live with kelly and michael." >> james franco was supposed to be here with morning but they're going through a lot. he had to cancel. but, you know, hope everything over there et ging worked out. >> even the new york premier set for tomorrow has been scrapped. this is a movie with a $44 million budget. so if theerts won't play it, what should sony do? >> i think sony should fight fire with fire, that is if these people are using information they've hacked on the internet, wide open on pirate sites and all kinds of other places. that's where sony should take the fight. rather than trying to get the movie, the information into movie theatre, i think it should be posted all over the web. let the whole world see it for free in hd. and really show these hackers that two can play at this game. >> no word from sony on a digital release yet. lots of companies could help sony stream the movie.

the question now, will any of them risk a hack attack to do it. cnn, new york. one estimate says sony looks like they could lose at least $50 million by pulling this. expensive. >> it cost $44 million to make. but it's all about freedom of speech. it's not necessarily about the movie. can we really let terrorists dictate what we see in the movie theatres? i think they're right. stand up to them. >> yeah. there we go. now, coming up next, some new steps to repair the battered economy in russia. how everyday russians are coping with the economic turmoil. >> plus, columbian colombian re calling for a holiday truce. sheila! you see this ball control? you see this right? it's 80% confidence and 64% knee brace. that's more... shh... i know that's more than 100%. but that's what winners give.

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>> wednesday was a big day for u.s. stocks. 288 points. the s&p 500 jumped 200% as well. stocks rallied a little bit after the u.s. reserve are eleased a statement saying it will take its time raising interest rates. so a lot of people very happy about that. >> yeah, they are. they've been on a very big fall over the last couple of days. lost about 800 points. rebounded somewhat. the ruble has also stabilize. that happened on wednesday after

russia unveiled a package to support the country's banks. >> the currency has still lost more than half of its value against the dollar so far this year. richard quest looks at moscow's plans to stop russia's economy in free fall. 6. >> reporter: the crisis is on their doorstep. the finance ministry sen central banks are deciding what to do. the finance industry says the ruble is extremely undervalued. and to try to put things right is planning to sell up to 7 billion in foreign currency reserves. the object is to buy the ruble and hopefully prop up its value. the russian prime minister insists russia has the resources to overcome the crisis in this extremely undervalued currency. >> the if ig you'res we have seen during the last few days do

not reflect the real picture and have unreasonably left a zone confidentable for the people and the economy. and emotions have also played a role here. >> so the finance ministry is doing what it can, as has the government. the central getting involved. having said a year ago the situation was unthinkable. and now the central bank having raised interest rates dramatically is going to take more desperate measures. the tripling of interest rates so far this year to 70% has done very little. its move to free float the ruble. and in doing so, it spent 1/5 of the currency reserves. put all this together and russia's currency crisis seems set to continue for some time to come. richard quest, cnn, new york. >> so as our resident business expert, richard quest just

explained. thor noo-term outlook does not look good for russia's economy. russians are now feeling the pinch of inflation and lower wages as we. >> this economic clash is just too much. we get the details from senior international correspondent. reesht russia's ruble crisis has claimed its first desperate victim. these are the last moment of one businessman's life, caught on a hotel surveillance camera. russia state media said he suffered from psychological stress from the ruble's dramatic fall and left a suicide note and shot himself. on the streets of moscow, russians are starting to feel the economic pain. like 52-year-old tatiana. my salary used to be $1,000 or even higher, she tells us. now it's hardly even $200.

it's difficult for people my age, she says. but this curb side currency exchange, people are still buying dollars, despite the skyrocketing rates. >> an hour ago, it was 60. now it's like 85. i'm afraid because we got our wages in rubles and they don't pay in dollars. it's scary. >> and this is just the start of russia's crisis. some moscow stores have already suspended sales to recalibrate prices. in this holiday season, travel agents say clients are cancelling trips abroad because of the devaluing ruble. luxuries to which many russians have grown fond are suddenly out of reach. matthew chance, cnn moscow. >> okay, we're going to be taking a closer look at what's happening. russia a little bit later on in this hour. but for now, let's take a closer look at some of the other stories we are following. colombia's rebels have declared an indefinite cease-fire

beginning saturday. the group said it will not attack unless government forces do so first. the rebels have declared cease-fires during the christmas holidays before, but those were only temporary. the colombian governments have resisted requests for a truce since the two sides began peace talks two years ago. >> a nigerian court has sentenced 54 soldiers to death for mutiny. a human rights attorney says five other soldiers were acquitted. the sentence is subject to aprooifl fr approval from top military officials. >> a mass grove holding more than 230 bodies has been discovered in eastern syria. isis is believed to be behind the deaths. activists say the victims were members of a tribe that fought isis earlier this year to protect their oil-rich land. okay, well this programming note is for our international viewers. the syrian town of ckobani has

been an important place of the fighting in isis. our cnn correspondent spoke with the families caught in the middle. nic brings us a rare and remarkable look at the impact of isis inside kobani that airs at 8:00 p.m. saturday in london, 9:00 p.m. in berlin. only on cnn. >> time for a short break. washington points the finger at pyongyang for the sony hack, experts say the isolated country could become even more oppressive. a closer look when we come back. ♪ ah, push it. ♪ ♪ push it. ♪ p...push it real good! ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it. ♪ push it real good.

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no matter which list you're on. [ho, ho, ho, ho] lease the 2015 c 300 4matic for $419 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. >> jordan submitted a palestinian draft resolution to the u.n. security council wednesday calling for israel to withdraw from the palestinian territories by the end of 2017. >> it also calls for negotiations leading to a palestinian state. they drafted language to avoid a veto from the united states and a vote could happen sometime on thursday. it came on the same day israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu condemned two moves by the european union. in france, the yaur peen parliament adopted a resolution on wednesday to support palestinian state hood in princip principle. and the general court in the eu in luxembourg removed hamas from its list of terrorist groups.

benjamin netanyahu had a strong reaction to that. >> today we witnessed staggering dpafrms of european hypocrisy. in geneva they called for the investigation of israel for war crime while in lex bourg, the european court removed hamas from the list of terrorist organizations. hamas that has committed countless war crimes and terrorist acts. it seems too many in europe where 6 million jews were slaughter slaughtered, learning nothing. >> benjamin netanyahu clearly not happy about that. he's demanding that the eu place hamas back on the terrorist list immediately. >> with u.s. investigators blaming north korea for the sony hacking, there are growing concerns pyongyang might become even more aggressive. north korea is coming out of its official mourning period for the dead leader, kim jong il.

and many are concerned the new young leader kim jong un might lash out. >>' he's now unshackled, free to be more aggressive as he comes out of the traditional three-year period of morning for his late father. kim jong un was supposed to observe that period by being less aggressive, lying low. many argued he never waited. >> in addition to executing his uncle, he has purged anyone who can question his leadership or his authority. >> he braisingly killed his powerful uncle, threatened south korea. what could he do now that's more aggressive? >> he could likely have a fourth nuclear test. in the meantime, cyberattack, asimilymmetric attacks across t northern limit line at sea or with assassinations or terrorism

even. >> kim's regime did make some peaceful overtures recently, releasing three americans from north korean custody, sending top officials to visit south korea. but those moves are now seen as a charm offensive, aimed at stafing off a u.n. vote to recommend prosecuting leaders for human rights abuses. the charm offensive didn't work. now un could be even more dangerous. >> north korean leaders are furious over the new movie "the interview" a movie about the assassination attempt on kim. hackers working for north korea were behind the attack according to some. analysts say kim jong un'ses for hating the movie go beyond being embarrassed by it. >> cds are going to be pouring

in across the boarder from china. they will slip into the bags of elites and they will be seen. regardless of where this movie is shown. and that will sew a potential movement, underground movement in the elite against kim jong un. this is the paranoia that is driving this regime. >> if the public sees this, kim jong un is considered god. >> now that seenny has decided not to release "the interview" at least for now, they're watching what the hackers will do next. experts say north koreaens have a growing and improving team of government hackers and they also outsource hacking to others. hiring freelancers to operate out of places like china and thailand.

>> the u.s. government is still look into ways to retaliate against the perpetrators of that attack. >> well, the u.s. and cuba announced plans for closer relations. but as you might imagine, certainly not everybody is happy about it. this is obviously controversial. a lot of people are divided. more on why some say the deal gives cuba the upper hand. >> also, how will russia's president address his nation's economic crisis at his national news conference. we'll go live to moscow for a preview. often enough, but thank you. 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.

>> welcome to our viewers in the

united states and all around the world. >> oous aide worker alan gross is back in the u.s. after spending the past five years in a cuban prison. he was jailed for allegedly trying to bring the internet to cuban dissidents. his release is part of a plan by the u.s. and cuba to slowly begin to normalize relations after 50 years of cold war tensions. >> the u.s. released three cubans, part of a group originally known as the cuban five. they were arrested in miami in 1998. convicted in 2001 for spying for cuba, an unnamed u.s. intelligence agent was also freed by havana. >> and the u.s. is now pointing the finger at north korea for hacking attacks on sony pick kmurps -- pictures. a group called guardians of peace is accused of leaking e-mails. most recently, the lacquers threatened anyone who goes to see sony's new movie "the interview" and that prompted sony to cancel the film's christmas day release.

>> the russian president vladimir putin holds his news conference 2 1/2 hours from now. it comes as russia's economy struggles under the weight offaling energy prices. and also western sanctions. the ruble has been in free fall but stabilize after moscow released a package to help the country's banks. >> we do want to get back to our top story. this is what everyone is talking about. now looking to change their long hostile 50-year tense relationship. >> barack obama and raul castro has agreed to establish diplomatic relations. >> this historic moment comes with strong but mixed reactions as, of course, you can imagine. the u.s. senator john kerry is among those who believe that this is a positive move. >> i was a 17-year-old kid when i first heard an american president talk about cuba as an

imprisoned island. s our policy has remained frozen and has done little to promote a pros poroer prous cuba. president obama has taken steps toward to change our relationship and improve the lives of the people of cuba by easing restrictions own remittances and on family travel. the president has committed the united states to begin to chart an even more ambitious cows forward. >> of course, a lot of people are talking about this. earlier, i spoke about the diplomatic move between the united states and cuba. he is a professor of history and religious studies at yale university. he has a much different take than the u.s. secretary john

kerry than you saw there and warns that cuba has the upper hand in this deal. take a listen. >> i think there will be an effort made to block this. whether the effort can gather enough steam in the time that remains before the new congress opens in january. that remains to be seen. that's what complicates everything. this has been shoehorned in at the last minute while the democrats still have a majority. you know, so no one knows. i haven't seen anyone write about this or talk about the time line for implementing these changes. that will make a lot of difference. but there's definitely opposition to this in the u.s. house of representatives and in the senate. >> so do you think that this deal should have been done more gradually, is that your opinion here?

>> i don't think it should have been done more gradually. i don't think the conditions set on changing the government in cuba should have been clearer and, in fact, the change should have been required to be immediate. elections, free speech, free assembly, labor union, everything that cubans are forbidden to have right now. that should have been a precondition for any change in relations. >> and what about ordinary cuban citizens? surely this deal with cuba is going to be a massive benefit with them. do you think the trickle down effect and the economic benefit for ordinary cubans, how long do you think it will all take? >> i don't think it will ever happen. it hasn't happened in the last 56 years. >> canada, all of europe, the

rest of the world has been dealing with cuba directly for 56 years. and nothing really has changed. the fact that the united states has suddenly decided to open an embassy and perhaps lift some sanctions is not going to trickle down to the cuban people as long as the castro dynasty is ruling the island. >> i do want to talk a little bit more broadly as well. and given the history between cuba and the former soviet union, how much of the slap in the face this is to russia and vladimir putin. >> oh, i don't think it matters to putin at all. i don't see why it should. >> the united states is not going to gain any advantage or privileged position with cuba through this deal. it's the other way around. cuba has the absolute upper hand in this deal. and i can't understand why anyone would think it's

different. >> clearly, you're extremely skeptical. i do want to talk about raul castro. you've seen a few economic reforms. you've seen a lifting in travel bands. is it right for a lot of people in the united states to be so skeptical of raul given that he seems to be making gradual concessions? >> the so-called reforms are all k cosmetic and phony. and all of the leading dissidents in cuba have made it very clear that no real reforms have taken place. they've made it clear that lifting sanctions will only strengthen their grip on the nation. so yes, i'm skeptical but so are all the major dissidents and so

are all the cubans that i know who are recently arrived or who are still in the island and are able to communicate with me. >> okay, more now on russian president vladimir putin's upcoming news conference. the co-author of the book called putin. thanks for being with us. do you think there will be any apologies coming from president putin to the russian people after he tanked the economy? why would putin have to apologize? >> because he's the guy who invaded crimea, he brought on the western sanctions that brought on economic misery. he probably didn't factor on the possibility that oil headed south and now revenues have collapsed, facing a deep recession next year and possibly even massive inflation. >> right. respectfully, can i change the narrative a little? >> sure. >> you're saying putin invaded

ukraine. number one, putin or russia did not invade the ukraine. had we invaded ukraine, there would be a russian flag kiev in a couple of days. obviously if there was a referendum in crimea and furtherer to that, following that up to the overwhelming support of the people of crimea, they have rejoined russia. >> so no apologies is what you're saying from the russian president in this news conference coming up in the next couple of hours? >> well, i'm sure that there will be an explanation, certainly, but it's not that the russian people are expecting an apology from putin over something he has no control of. because he is not in charge of the world's economy. and as mr. obama, the russian people would expect to apologize. and i would explain to you why if you would allow me.

>> please do. but if you could condense it, that would be great. why is president obama responsible for the russian economy. >> when the civil war began russia in the united states, russia was the only superpower which supported the north against the slave-holding south. and in 1867, it was mark twain who handed the letter from the american people to alexander 2 and the letter said, america owes so much to russia and is indebted to him for so many ways that to forfeit that friendship would be an unjust act and would be a treason. so i believe in the current what weks peerns in the media as well, president obama and a certain part of the politic are

committing treason to that spirit of friendship. >> i think you lost me with the civil war. >> i think i get the point that you're making. but what i'm wondering about, if this dmik turmoil continues for much longer in russia, and it looks like it will do, you don't believe it will be the president that gets blamed for it, you believe it will be the west? >> i'm not talking about the conspiracy, i'm talking about the geopolitics. no conspiracy here. there is no turmoil. look at the streets, yes, there was a certain discomfort among the people who brought bags of cash, et cetera, and so on. and i wouldn't call it turmoil. i would compare it to people queuing up for an iphone. certain parts of the population gets panicky. look at how people live in moscow, the savings that they have.

i don't see any turmoil at all, and i think the resolve of people is what we have in russia. i don't think we'll give any pleasure of showing any kinds of turmoil. >> okay. alexander, interesting points of view there. we appreciate you being with us. i'm sorry to end the time for the history lesson back to the civil war, but thank you for giving us the other side of the equation. thank you, sir. >> no problem, thank you, bye-bye. >> interesting interview there, john. you always get the good ones. >> no, we thank alexander for being with us. >> disturbing images of the carnage inside the school attacked by the taliban and survivors are speaking out. also the siege in sidney earlier this week caught the attention of world leaders this week. we talked to the news presenters who kept australians informed as this tragedy was happening. ♪

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>> this is a somber candle light vigil ereally in remembrance of the 148 people killed in this week's school massacre in pakistan.

>> the country's prime minister has lifted a moratorium. >> students aspired to follow in their father's footsteps and target militants. it was the deadliest attack to hit pakistan in seven years. ni look at the scene where so many innocent lives were taken and the warning before his report, the images are extremely graphic. >> concrete walls torn apart by a fuselage of bullets few in these classrooms could dodge. evidence of the ferocity of the craven attack is everywhere. floors still soaked in the flood of the innocents. this town is frenched in grief. funeral after funeral. most between 12 and 16 years old.

many buried in their school uniforms. the smaller they are, the heavier they are to carry, one official said. no one saw this coming. survivors now wondering how they made it through. >> i pretended to be dead. they kind of believed us. but two students and a teacher caught their attention and they shot them in the head to make sure they were dead. >> six men entered the hall and joined the fight on the students. >> 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. and these men are the attackers

according to the taliban who say they planned and coordinated every murderous step the gunmen to took, loom to loom, brutality now becoming a clear. inside the school, a burnt office. a 28-year-old woman, an office assistant, not just shot, but set alight here, too. two horrific for words. -- too horrific for words. nic robertson, islamabad, pakistan. >> the memorial in the heart of sydney continues to grow. thousands of people paying their respects four days now after the deadly siege which left two hostages dead. many are being drawn here because of the shared experiences. millions watched on television and online from the moment a self-described cleric walked into that downtown coffee shop armed with a shotgun and threatened to kill 17 people inside. from the very beginning what was to be a 16-hour long standoff

was broadcast live at and ate you would started on a normally light and breezy morning television show broadcast from the building just opposite. and this is how it began with the hosts. >> key behind us, now the police just starting to move in. and move all the shoppers away from the area. >> and out of our window, we're seeing police run, plain clothed and uniformed officers running from every single corner of the city as we speak. >> the two hosts from the morning show, guys, thank you for speaking with us. >> it's been a few days now since the siege ended. have you had to chance to process what happened. >> we're remined of this every minute of every day. we find ourselves from the same studio. we're looking out the window now and people still laying flowers.

still very much a part of our day to day lives. it still seems surreal. >> and still very much a crime scene. there are still police crawling all over the site. >> it's been an absolute emotional roller coaster for everybody. >> we've been over there plenty of times for a cup of coffee. it's very much a part of our lives. like everybody else, we're still trying to work it out. >> and it seemed like this was a kind of garden variety criminal act at the very beginning. just someone with a shotgun in a coffee shop. how soon did you realize this was actually a lone wolf terrorist attack? >> there were police everywhere. word had gone out, we thought it was a robbery at first.

when we saw the hostages hands go up in the window, i thought still maybe perhaps a movie, but then it became clear it was not hollywood, it was the work of someone very disturbed. >> we were looking out our window and we could see the hostages faces and sere they eyes and see the pain and the terror. and that was not through the mon tors. that was eye to eye. and there were police coming from everywhere. it did look like a hollywood movie at one point. and then i suppose once we saw that flag. what we didn't want to -- we didn't want to flick that switch on air. we understood the implications of calling that early and suggesting what that flag might be. so we were mindful of that. but you could clearly see it. >> what about you? the lasting image in all of this for you? >> apart from the host annals faces at the window, i think the mess annals from the people of

sydney, the messages they've written on cards and on the floral tributes that they've left, those messages would break your heart. they're being left from children and other families and people who did not know the victims. they're being left by police officers. i've seen police left letterhead from people who serve and protect us. they've also lift flowers and written messages of hope and of love. and after reading those message, i think it's the messages of the people of sydney to the victims that will remain with me. >> thanks for being with us. we really appreciate it. great work on monday, thanks. just heart breaking. >> with that, we'll take a short break. a lot more on the other side.

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some of that moisture from the sea of japan and creating snow. and also creating the sea-effect snow. we're getting that lift to create some impressive snowfall totals. it's a beautiful sight for the children to have some fun. but unfortunately for the adults, they have to navigate the roadways and get owl the shovels. we're measuring snow upwards of a meter of total since wednesday. this is the 14th snowiest day on record for some locations. just shy of a meter. and at the moment, we have 11 out of 47 prefectures out of the blizzard warning. it's not only the heavy snowfall, but we also factor in the stock winds.

we are looking at hurricane strength or typhoon strength winds just from a low pressure system that continues to churn just north of akido. there's another storm waiting to develop by the end of the weekend. so more snow and more travel delays possible across central japan. let's take a look at some of the foot anl coming out of the region. because unfortunately snow can be fun sometimes, but not when you have to do that. not a good time. and backbreaking stuff there. and of course, well, i mean, it can make for a nice sight, i guess. >> the only reason i moved to atlanta is to avoid days like that. >> okay. i'm looking at some of the long-range models and i want to see we're in snow for christmas. it's a little too early to say but it's -- >> if you're watching in japan, stay home. you're allowed. we'll let you know.

>> okay, everyone. thank you so much for joining us. i'm zain asher. >> errol barnett will be up next with all the news around the world at the top of the hour. you're watching cnn. happy. in love. and saving so much money on their car insurance by switching to geico... well, just look at this setting. do you have the ring? oh, helzberg diamonds. another beautiful setting. i'm not crying. i've just got a bit of sand in my eyes, that's all. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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hey there, everyone, i'm errol barnett. this is cnn, a big welcome to those watching in the states and all around the world. i'll be with you here for the next two hours. coming up this hour president obama takes historic steps towards a new beginning with cuba. >> to the cuban people, america extends a hand of friendship. some of you have looked to us as a source of hope and we will continue to shine a light of freedom. >> we'll have reaction from both countries and a look at the potential ocl