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 obstacles to

normalizing relations after more than 50 years of a standoff. plus, russian president vladimir putin prepares to address his nation very soon in the midst of an economic meltdown. we'll take you live to moscow for a preview. and coming up later, sony cancels the release of the controversial movie "the interview," but will the movie only encourage the hackers who've targeted the entertainment studio? we'll explore that question this hour. we do want to begin with major developments in u.s./cuban relations. these places are so close geographically but for half a century they've been so far apart over a political ideology and human rights. well, now what we're seeing is a change in direction as the two countries are announcing plans to normalize relations and it all began with a prisoner exchange. global affairs correspondent elise labott reports. >> reporter: u.s. contractor alan gross on american soil with his release a historic opening of u.s. relations with cuba

after five decades of confrontation. seeing the american flag for the first time in five years, a frail gross was overcome. his toothless smile offered the untold story of the toll his captivity took on his body. >> what a blessing it is to be a citizen of this country and thank you, president obama, for everything that you have done today and leading up to today. >> reporter: before dawn a team of u.s. officials and lawmakers boarded a u.s. government plane for havana to pick up gross. >> on the airplane back as we finally crossed into u.s. airspace, you saw him give a big hurrah, put his arms up. he was clearly glad to be home. >> some tweeted photos of gross on his joyful reunion. from john kerry a hug on arrival. his humanitarian release was accompanied by a spy swap.

on another site out of cameras a u.s. intelligence source held by cuba for 20 years was flown to the u.s. his identity is secret for the information he provided to the u.s. on a shadowy network that spied on cuban-american exiles in u.s. military bases. three of those held for more than a decade were released by the u.s. today and sent back to cuba, part of the so-called cuban five. the nation's top spy agency called the deal, quote, a fitting closure to the cold war tensions between the two countries. >> these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. it's time for a new approach. >> reporter: as part of the deal the u.s. will restore diplomatic ties with cuba with embassies in washington and havana, increased travel between the u.s. and cuba, allow business between u.s. and cuban banks including the use of credit cards by american travelers. permit more exports to cuba to support business and allow

americans to import some cuban goods including cuban alcohol and cigars. in a rare address that aired at the same time president obama spoke, raul castro welcomed the landmark deal. >> translator: this expression by president obama deserves respect and recognition by our people. >> reporter: administration officials insist the measures are not a reward for the castro regime, merely a recognition that the decades long embargo is not working and that if the u.s. wants to encourage further reforms in cuba it must not engage just the cuban people but the government as well and officials insist they will not let up on trying to improve cuba's human rights. elise labott, cnn, the state department. now, congressional reaction to the u.s./cuba announcement has been mixed with cuban-american lawmakers particularly unhappy. but florida senator bill nelson says the time is right to mend relations. >> cuba is in economic shambles.

they used to be propped up by venezuela. now venezuela's in economic shambles. they used to be propped up by russia. now russia is in shambles. and so this is a moment in time where they need help in their economy and it may just be the incentive as old school as the castros are, as brutal as their regime has been, this might be the moment in time that they recognize they've got to unleash their shackles from their people and let freedom come out. >> this is a regime that has killed u.s. citizens that has killed u.s. residents who jailed alan gross unjustly and now to get alan gross' release we have to negotiate and give away everything that we could share with a free and democratic cuba. i think that we gave away too

much and i feel bad for all the human rights dissidents that are suffering today and will be suffering tomorrow and still have no freedom. we did not help the cuban people get freer today by this deal. >> now, opponents of the president's plan say they'll do everything they can to block this new policy and they do have a few options. we want to show you some of them. first they could move to defund a new u.s. embassy in cuba. they could block the nomination of a u.s. ambassador to the country and since president obama doesn't have the authority to lift the current embargo on cuba congressional opponents could keep it in place limiting the effectiveness of the president's new plan. now, meantime, reaction on the streets of havana was much more upbeat. take a look at this. people marched through the cuban capital chanting pro-government slogans when they heard of the news. now relaxed travel restrictions won't allow for u.s. tourism but will let cuban-americans send more money home back each year.

demonstrators believe the moves are definitely a step in the right direction. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: let's see if the embargo can be lifted for better relations so our quality of life can improve so we can get more food, more things from other countries. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: they're very constructive. very good steps. i i think it's the beginning of a path toward a relationship that benefits the cuban people and the people of the united states. >> meantime, in miami's little havana neighborhood there were some angry debates that broke out. reaction here was mixed. you see the cuban exile communities long opposed any change in u.s. policy toward cuba. some in fact call president obama a coward and accuse him of conspiring with the terrorist regime. but many younger residents say they actually support the prisoner exchange and favor restoring diplomatic relations with cuba. eugene ramirez from wsvn

reports. >> reporter: cuban olympic boxer opened workout at versailles restaurant and took a political turn. as rumors swirled of loosening restrictions and diplomatic relations between the u.s. and cuba. [ speaking a foreign language ] "i'm not political" says the featherweight champ who defected in 200saying however he came to this country looking for better opportunities. so did many others calling president obama's announcement a betrayal. [ speaking a foreign language ] "if i stayed i was headed to prison. i would have been shot by now" says alberto who came from cuba 48 years ago. he says young people don't know what his generation went through but this first generation cuban-american says at least he knows this. >> things haven't happened in a while, like 50 years. >> reporter: which is why he and some older cuban-americans support the change. >> not having negotiations with cuba have only hurt the cuban people, no the castro brother,

not the castro government. >> reporter: with opposing views not tied to age or other demographic. >> i tend to agree with the older generation. >> reporter: they gathered outside saying they're not surprised. >> last six years this administration has been negative and with cuba. everything in exchange for nothing. >> reporter: calling this a one-sided deal. >> we should have required cuba to actually conduct actual changes. >> reporter: an insult to history "we who live this from the start will never forget" says albert to. >> unfortunately like many in my community i believe that many in my community believe cuba's best days have not yet been seen. >> so outside of the people we spoke to, what about the cuban-americans in miami? what are their opinions on this? a june poll found that more than half of cuban-americans surveyed there in miami do support an end

to the u.s. embargo against cuba but still certainly split. all right. it is just past 10:00 in the morning in moscow and we're less than two hours away now from vladimir putin's annual news conference. the russian president will face questions, of course, about an economy reeling from falling energy prices and western sanctions. but what's getting everyone's attention beforehand is a promotional video released by the kremlin. take a look. we want you to see this. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> those are less bizarre parts of it. our correspondent matthew chance joins us from moscow. it's a short clip. uses arresting images. we didn't see in that clip but there was some global unrest. an isis beheading clip video

used. what is the purpose exactly? what kind of a preview is that? >> well, it's been -- it's been a very arresting year for russia and for vladimir putin in particular. remember, it started off with the olympic games, the winter olympics in sochi, then there was the annexation of crimea and all thele troubles that have taken place in ukraine. the situation in eastern ukraine as well in which russia was accused of involvement, the downing of the malaysian airliner, of course, moving on to the slip in the standoff rather with the west and the nato russia relationship deteriorating culminating in the crisis that we've got right now, which is the economic crisis. we've seen the ruble slip more than 50% of its value causing, you know, this is going to be one of the main focuses in this press conference. causing enormous economic pain. >> russia's ruble crisis has claimed its first desperate

victim. these are the last moments of businessman ivan's life caught on a hotel surveillance camera. russian state media says he suffered from psychological stress from the ruble's dramatic fall. he 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. [ speaking a foreign language ] "my salary used to be a thousand dollars or even higher" she tells us. "now it's hardly even 200. it's difficult for people my age," she says. but this curbside currency exchange people are still buying dollars despite the skyrocketing rates. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: an hour ago it was 60. now it's like 85. i'm afraid because we got our wages in rubles and don't pay in dollars it's scary.

>> reporter: this is just the start of russia's crisis. some moscow stores have already suspended sales to recalibrate prices n this holiday season travel agents say clients are canceling trip as broad because of the devaluing ruble. luxuries to which many russians have grown fond. suddenly out of reach. errol, this isn't the first economic crisis russians have endured but it's the first one which they've endured while vladimir putin has been in the role of the president and so they're going to be looking to him at this press conference for what steps he's going to be taking to try and dig them out of this mess. >> yeah, i mean if yyou listen o that woman and gone from making thousands every week and only a few hundred surely you want to hear from president obama what his plan will be. if history is any example he will blame the west, sanctions

for the current economic conditions but considering russia is likely going to go into recession next year what new policies might he announce? is that even expected? >> reporter: you know, it's going -- it's a very difficult question to answer. i mean that's why we're watching this so closely because it's difficult to see what options vladimir putin has. it's unlikely as you mentioned he's going to do a u-turn on policy and issues like ukraine in order to get the sanctions lifted as quickly as possible. but i think that even if they were lifted today, which they're not going to be but if they were i think that would have an impact significantly on the economic crisis. it's largely a crisis that's driven by the oil price, the crude oil price has been sinking. crude oil is linked to the russian ruble and it's been dragging down the russian currency with it so part -- the problem for russia is that it hasn't diversified its economy. it's dependent on oil exports for much of its income and it's

therefore vulnerable to the fluctuating price of global oil and as i say there's very little that vice president respect can do about that. >> yeah, it just leaves us asking that same question we've asked so many times what does president putin have up his sleeve. this time we shall soon find out. matthew chance joining us in moscow. president putin's news conference is scheduled to begin in less than two hours from now, 9:00 am f.m. for those in londo and highlights on cnn. after an ominous threat to theaters sony decides to pull its movie and investigators say they know exactly who is to blame. details on this big story after the break. alright, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. so why am i still thinking about this? how are ya? good. aleve. proven better on pain.

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sleep train's interest free for 3 event ends sunday. ...guaranteed! ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ cnn has learned that the united states is ready to blame north korea for the hack and follows the decision to remove "the interview" "the interview" from release. it's about the assassination of north korea's leader and angered pyongyang. the danger from the cyberattack is still growing. >> reporter: capitulation. that's one word for what happened wednesday. sony caving under pressure canceled release of "the interview" "the interview" in light of many of the biggest theater changes to yank the film

from their schedules citing uncertainties and security fears. this coming after a warning by anonymous hackers threatening a 9/11-style attack at theaters where the film is played. the state department has no evidence of a specific credible threat in but, we of course, take seriously all reported threats against the homeland including recent threats made against movie theaters. >> reporter: there were real worries americans might fear a holiday trip to the movies. sin bleks now calling it an unprecedented and complex situation. regal entertainment citing the ambiguous nature of any real or perceived security threats. regal is delaying the opening, it says but another blow for sony coming three weeks after more than 100 terabytes of data were stolen. james franco and seth rogen canceled many of their press events including appearances on "seth myers," and "live with

kelly and michael." >> they're going through a lot over there so he had to cancel. but, you know, hopefully everything over there gets worked out. >> reporter: even the new york premiere set for tomorrow has now been scrapped. this as a movie with a $44 million budget so if theaters won't play it what should sony do. >> they shut fight fire with fight. that is, if these people are using information they've hacked on the internet, why don't then on pirate sites and all kinds of other -- that's where sony should take the fight rather than trying to get the movie, the information into movie theaters, 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. >> reporter: 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? brian stelter, cnn, new york. >> now to other big stories we're tracking for you.

kurdish forces backed by u.s. firepower have launched a major offensive against isis. they're trying to retake the town of sinjar in northwestern iraq. strikes hit positions around mt. sinjar earlier this year, you may remember, to protect members of the ha minority community th. the fight against isis continues to take a heavy toll on civilians. the u.n. is now asking member states to donate more to help those displaced by the violence in syria and will launch new appeals for funding meetings thursday in berlin. u.n. officials say the need for aid grows more desperate the longer the conflict drags on. listen to this. >> i remember when i first went to syria. we were talking about a million people in need then. now it's over 12 million inside the country. people facing horrific violence

and brutality. over 3 million people sheltering in neighboring countries that are burying the bankrupt -- bearing the brunt of millions of people coming into their countries. it is heartbreaking when you see that, you know, over half of those in need are children. we are fearful of syria's future and without a political solution, we are not going to have the stability and security that families so desperately need. >> now many of those fleeing the violence are from kobani. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh was recently there. our international viewers can catch his exclusive special "inside kobani" airing at 8:00 p.m. in london. now major announcement from the man heading fifa's ethics

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>> you said it, errol. in fact it is a severe drought one of the worst is over a millennia. there's been rainfall. we've been discussing the intense amount of rain we've received from several different waves of moisture coming off the pacific but it's still not enough. remember, it took us years to get into this severe drought and it's going to take us years of constant storms to bring us out of this drought so just because we've received rain doesn't mean that this is cured just yet. just to put it in perspective, 99.7% of california still under drought conditions. we need 11 trillion gallons of water to end this drought. satisfactory at least. this is equivalent to 17 million olympic sized pools, unbelievable, what we do have is rainfall in the forecast which is good news. only going to help and the other part of this story is also the

snowpack which is also something we have to consider. especially across the syria nevada mountain range. they're only at 47% of their normal snowpack at the moment and it is so crucial because once summertime comes along we like to see that melt and bring us back fresh water into the reservoirs across california. let's also put this into perspective comparing this year to last year. now we've already received just shy of 10 inches of rainfall in san francisco bay this month. the average is around 4 and a half inches but look at december 2013. just under a half an inch of rainfall for the month of december up until this stage so you can see the severity of the drought that has occurred and this is the storm system actually moving in at the moment. you can see the rain inundating seattle all the way to san francisco by friday, saturday and sunday. we're also monitoring a storm system across the midwest cold enough for snow, winter weather

advisory from kansas city through parts of missouri waking up to nasty weather across the midwest. errol. >> if you have to wake up to nasty weather you have erderek n dam to say it nicely. you look like mr. roger. >> with the sweater. >> dressing appropriately for winter. now get this, the head of fifa's ethics investigation has quit. michael garcia was in charge of looking into whether there was any wrongdoing in awarding world cup bids to qatar and russia. we explain what's going on. >> reporter: this is a major blow to the president who set up the independent ethics committee to answer criticism that fifa was corrupt and not transparent. and then in an e-mail explaining his resignation garcia said it started well. for the first two years after my july 2012 appointment as independent chairman of the fifa ethics committee's investigatory

chamber i felt it was making real progress. in recent months that changed. garcia goes on to explain the detail of a well publicize d ro with the other head. in other words, garcia was the prosecutor and eckerd the judge. after a year-long process for the 2018 and 2022 cups awarded to russia and qatar, eckerd published a summary and exonerated russia and qatar of any wrongdoing and did nothing to apiece fifa's ethics. a day after that appeal was ruled inadmissible garcia has quit. in his e-mail he wrote "no independent governance committee, investigator or ash station panel can change the culture of an organization. it's the lack of leadership on

this issues within fifa to lead me to conclude my role is at an end." words that hang over the committee meeting this weekend and next year's fifa presidential elections. alex thomas, cnn, london. >> stunning stuff there. now, former u.s. president jimmy carter tried to lift the economic embargo against cuba in the 1970s, coming up we'll hear what he thinks of the latest efforts to normalize relations between the two countries. stay with us on cnn. get ready for some german engineered holiday excitement. at the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. right now, for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a new volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta

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ordering chinese food is a very predictable experience. i order b14. i get b14. no surprises. buying business internet, on the other hand, can be a roller coaster white knuckle thrill ride. you're promised one speed. but do you consistently get it? you do with comcast business. and often even more. it's reliable. just like kung pao fish. thank you, ping. reliably fast internet starts at $89.95 a month. comcast business. built for business. rigby. theresa riggi. thanks for staying with us. i'm errol barnett. here are the big headlines. after 50 years of cold war animosity, the u.s. and cuba are

taking steps to normalize relations. they plan to open embassies in one another's capitals. barack obama says he'll leez long-standing trade restricts and both exchanging prisoners. 90 minutes from now vladimir putin will hold his annual news conference. we'll cover it live on cnn international. he's expected to face questions on their struggling economy. the ruble has been in free fall but stabilized wednesday after moscow unveiled a package to help banks. the u.s. is pointing the finger at north korea for hacking attacks at sony pictures. a group called guardians of peace is accused of leaking personal information. more recently they threatened anyone who goes to see "the interview" that prompted sony to cancel the film's christmas day release. back now to our stop story. it took everyone by surprise but

as jim acosta explains it started long ago and even involved the pope. >> reporter: nothing says a thaw like this. >> the buildup on cuba. >> reporter: the first one since the cuban revolution more than 50 years ago. >> we will end an outdated approach that failed to increase our interests and instead begin to normalize relations between the two. >> reporter: senior administration officials say the secret u.s./cuba talks started in june of 2013 with most happening in canada and led by ben rhodes. those wheels were in motion when the president and raul castro shook hands at nelson mandela's funeral last year. but one key sticking point remained. the imprisonment of alan gross

in cuba. >> a major obstacle stood in our way, the wrongful imprisonment of a u.s. subcontractor for five years. >> reporter: last march he found a pivotal player to help broker the deal, pope francis. they discussed cuba at the vatican, something mr. obama did not disclose when asked by cnn. >> in terms of the meeting with his holiness pope francis, we had a wide-ranging discussion. >> reporter: earlier the pope kept the conversation going sending letters to president obama and raul castro and in october they welcomed officials to push the talks forward. >> translator: i want to thank and support the support of the vat ran. >> reporter: chris holland flew to cuba to bring him home. they're fiercely opposed to the

deal. from bob menendez to senator marco rubio. >> this policy contradiction is absurd and it is disgraceful for a president who claims to treasure human rights and human freedom. this president is the singing worst negotiator we've had in the white house in my lifetime. >> reporter: he changed his position on the embargo over the years from his days as a state senator. >> i think it's time to end it. >> reporter: to a candidate for president. >> i will maintain the embargo. >> reporter: but in his final years in office the president wants to turn the page. >> today we are making these changes because it is the right thing to do. >> now former u.s. president jimmy carter called decision to restore ties with cuba wise and courageous. carter, of course, tried during his administration to normalize relations with havana and worked to free alan gross. the former president poke to

cnn's anderson cooper about u.s./cuban relations over the phone. >> i hope that congress will go ahead and remove the embargo or the sanctions because that doesn't hurt the castro brothers. it just hurts the people, about 11 million of them. it is a good move and i think it will be a major step forward to bring about more freedom and more democracy and more respect for human rights. >> critics says awe know that if it alleviates the economic pressure against the regime, though, that in effect helps the cuban people, that does help the dictatorship. it would benefit the regime, no? >> in a country where we impose sanctions it's almost impossible to imagine the dictators or

their immediate staff or top will suffer economically. they've got all they want. i've been to the home of raul castro and fidel castro the last few years and they're not suffering at all but the 11 million people of cuba suffer and a lot of former residents have been going to cuba on tight restricts to sell corn and chickens and other things to the cuban people and will help american farmers and the average cuban and lead toward better respect for human rights in my opinion as we have a flood of american citizens going in and letting the cuban people know what democracy means. >> one other aspect of this big story, five men are now tasting freedom for the first time in years as a result of a u.s./cuba deal. they include american alan gross, subcontractor, held for five years for allegedly trying to set up an internet network for cuban dissidents. he was released on humanitarian grounds but another unidentified

u.s. intelligence agent was exchanged for three convicted cuban spies. they were part of a larger group called the cuban five who were convicted of espionage back in 2001 for gathering intelligence in miami. two other members had previously been released. the group's leader, hernandez seen on the right of your screen was found guilty of providing info that helped them shoot down two planes. the daughter of an american who died in that attack called hernandez's release a slap in the face. now, just a few hours ago the three released cuban spy as rived in havana. take a look at footage into cnn greeted by president raul castro and cheered by the people in their hometowns. >> we spent 16 years dreaming of this day and believe me no matter how hard you prepare for it, it is a big surprise. >> the men also went to a

cemetery to visit graves of loved ones who died while they were in prison and went back to their homes. want to get you more information on that expected announcement from the u.s. blaming north korea for the computer hack of sony pictures. we do expect it at any hour this morning. the national security council says the white house is category its options now to a potential response and even though sony pulled its movie "the interview" following a threat against theaters, president obama is suggesting that threat is not credible. >> the cyberattack is very serious. we're investigating it. we're taking it seriously. you know, we'll be vigilant. if we see something we think is serious and credible then we'll alert the public but for now my recommendation would be that people go to the movies. >> when you think the president has had to respond, this is really escalated. you kind of wonder why did sony even decide to make this controversial film in the first

place? well, cnn's will ripley has more on that and reports that some sony execs were uncomfortable with certain scenes in the film. >> reporter: as the sony crisis escalates most japanese moviegoers are oblivious. have you heard of "the interview"? >> no. >> no. >> reporter: less than two miles from sony's tokyo headquarters not a single person we asked knows about the controversial comedy. behind these walls, nobody is laughing. >> this is costing sony hundreds of millions of dollar, destroying relationships in hollywood. >> reporter: hollywood reporter editor at large kim masters says the attack is paralyzing sony pictures entertainment and could force a leadership shake-up. >> there is no movie in the world that could be worth this but certainly not this movie. ♪ >> hello, north korea. >> reporter: hacked e-mails reveal executives grow uncomfortable with certain scenes in "the interview" which joke about the assassination of north korean leader kim jong-un.

rand corporation confirms to cnn sony entertainment's ceo michael linton talked to the think tank. lynton is on the board and asked how audiences might appreciate the movie. >> it's not seen as particularly funny. >> reporter: keith henry thinks that may be the reason sony's not releasing "the interview" in japan or south korea and says dark comedy often gets lost in translation. henry says it threatens to rattle shaky relations between japan and north korea. henry says sony executives should have known better. >> the whole idea they would allow this to go into production is a mystery to me. >> reporter: he says the heads of sony will likely face tough questions from the japanese government, which is struggling to normalize relations with north korea. >> when you have hollywood hitting up the reality of politics and diplomacy, g

geopolitics and diplomacy should win. >> it isn't that good and "variety" says it's as funny as a communist food shortage and just as protracteprotracted. appreciation to will for that report. still to come, gruesome images of the school that the taliban massacred more than 140 people. the survivors relive the horror. there's an updated death toll as well. new information for you after the break.

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mara schiavocampo in its second day of national morning for -- pakistan is in its second day of national mourning. mr. sharif lifted a moratorium for terrorism cases and taliban militants overran an army run school in peshmerga tuesday. most of those killed were students. new images from inside the school show the true brutality of the militants attack. we have to give you a warning here that the upcoming report contains those graphic images. our senior international correspondent nic robertson has more. they say in the techniques used,

>> reporter: 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. education in this improverished town of 3 million is everything. no one saw this coming. survivors now wondering how they made it through. >> here in the locker room i pretended to be dead. they kind of believed us but two students and a teacher caught their attention so they shot them in the head to make sure they were dead. >> six men entered the hall and joined the fight on the students. some died on the spot. >> 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. and these men, some of them as young as their attackers, are the attackers according to the taliban who say they planned and coordinated every murderous step the gunmen took, classroom to classroom, brutality now 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 robertson, cnn, islamabad, pakistan. and next door in india schools there observed two minutes of silence for the victims of this peshmerga massacre, india and pakistan are often at odds with each other but not on this issue, not today. the indian prime minister asked

for this show of solidarity and expanded online to twitter with indians expressing those sadness with #indiawithpakistan. an indefinite cease-fire beginning saturday. the group says it will not attack unless government forces do so far. the rebels declared cease-fires before the christmas holiday before but were only temporary. the colombian declines peace talks. new push for peace in the middle east. jordan drafted a resolution to the security council on wednesday that calls for israel to withdraw from the palestinian territories by the end of 2017 and calls for negotiations leading to a palestinian state. a vote could happen sometime thursday. now, the move came on the same day the european parliament adopted a resolution to support

palestinian statehood in principal and the general court of the eu removed hamas from its list of terrorist groups and benjamin netanyahu had a strong reaction to that. >> the day we witnessed staggering examples of european hypocrisy. in geneva they call for the investigation of israel for war crimes while in luxembourg the european court removed hamas from the list of terrorist organizations. hamas that is committed countless war crimes and countless terror acts. it seems that too many in europe on whose soil 6 million jews were slaughtered have learned nothing. >> the prime minister demanding hamas is put back on the terrorist list immediately. next here on cnn, two men are accused of faking a medical emergency so they could steal christmas presents.

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snowmen. and it's all thanks to, well, we'll relate it to what we get in the united states, an arctic blast of air but it's a siberian blast of cold air and temperatures at the moment across the korean peninsula running ten degrees lower than they should be and will continue for pyongyang and seoul, korea, into the next three days so very, very cold air and creating an effect that was similar to the weather pattern that occurred in buffalo, new york, about two to three weeks ago. that was lake-effect snow. this is called sea-effect snow. same principle. basically getting that cold blast of siberian air in this particular case, riding over relatively warm water. this is the japanese sea or the sea of japan and what it's doing is it's encounter land and

depositing snow across the islands across central japan and created this scene for children, it's nice for them to play in but it's more of a nuisance for the adults. take a look at some of the footage. snowplows out in full force and snow employers as they measured snow in excess of 80 centimeters in some locations. yeah, back-breaking work, the reality of living in an area that gets this type of snow. of course, it's not this common. we typically don't see record snowfall. in fact, the most snow in a 24-hour period for this region, take a look at my graphics, you can see just under a meter of snowfall into the central parts of japan. now, we do have more snow in the forecast as another storm system starts to move in aend usher in more cold air. with the present storm we have 11 of the 47 prefectures across

japan under blizzard warns. it's also experiencing reduced visibilities because of wind gusts upwards of hurricane and typhoon force. you can see the snowfall totals going forward. another couple of centimeters possible out of this current storm with more to come by the weekend. errol. >> and some snowcapped mountains to cap off that report. >> perfect sight in japan. >> see you later. now, a florida man is accused of faking a heart attack in an effort to steal christmas presents in walmart. he had help from his friend, as well. jeanne moos has more. >> reporter: in the red hat and vest he enters a walmart with his buddy in a light sweatshirt. >> with grand plans for christmas. >> reporter: the two start loading stuff in a cart. >> they were going to steal christmas presents and one of them was a barbie car. ♪ >> reporter: as well as a barbie

glam vacation house. well, they go towards the door. separately and that's where dupre gently gets down on the floor. >> he didn't even do a really good job of faking the heart attack. >> reporter: he clutches his chest, eventually the shopper in the white jacket notices and starts to look for help. meanwhile, scott with the loaded cart slips out the door and as soon as the cart clears the store dupree recovers. >> miracles occur around christmas. his heart was all better and he strolled out. >> reporter: the two meet in the parking lot and take off. their getaway car was not the pink barbie car. >> it was not. i mean that was not very manly-manly. >> reporter: the fake heart attacked had them examine their video and discovered the theft and the sheriff's department had no trouble identifying them. both had long arrest records. scott had recently been released

from prison after serving ten years for armed robbery. >> guess what, we wish them a merry christmas from our county jail. ♪ shop shop shop till we drop drop drop ♪ >> reporter: but dropping from fake cardiac arrest ended up getting them arrested. >> this is the big one. i'm dying. >> reporter: new york. >> shame. you are watching cnn. i'm errol barnett. we are all new next hour. zain asher joins me. we will talk about the fallout from that hack of sony pictures and speak live to an expert on north korea about what the country has to gain from this cyberattack and she actually believes this could benefit north korea. stay with us on cnn. i have a cold with terrible chest congestion. i better take something. theraflu severe cold doesn't treat chest congestion.

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welcome back, everyone. you're watching cnn. glad to be with you. it's almost 3:00 in the morning in atlanta. i'm zain asher. >> how early. good to have you here. i'm errol barnett. our top stories this hour, an american president and castro announcing their country also work together. an historic moment drawing praise and criticism. >> it's high time for a change. 00 years is long enough. >> the white house has conceded everything. and gained little. >> now, the story we're following closely, sony gives in. hackers force the movie studio to make an unprecedented decision about a film release. also coming up, vladimir putin preparing to address the nation, russia