the name could notes a home away from home. this is a very complex it's more than the car.er. for lotus f1 team, the competitive edge is the cloud. generational and intense issue. we'll take you through it from here, alisyn. powered by microsoft dynamics, azure, and office 365, >> we're so happy to have you on the ground there taking the pulse of the people in miami, the team can gain real time insights and i'm alisyn camerota along with michaela pereira in new york. instantly share information around the globe. we're tracking other big stories. u.s. officials pointing a finger when every millisecond counts, at north korea in the hack of staying competitive begins with the cloud. sony studios. and sony outright canceling the planned release of the this is the microsoft cloud. controversial movie "the interview." >> and we're monitoring russian i just received a text from ddiscover hq?. president vladimir putin. yep. we check every purchase, every day this is a live press conference, and alert you if anything looks suspicious. he's speaking to his country amid the growing economic crisis nice. i'm looking into some suspicious activity myself. in russia. madame that is not a changing table. michaela and i will have more on at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. that in a moment. get the it card at discover.com but chris, we want to get to you on what's happening in miami. >> things will change between the u.s. and cuba. the president changing 50 plus years of isolation. that means easing travel, trade

and economic restrictions on the island nation. the surprise move has set off a major political fight on capitol hill. but it extends far beyond. what will it mean and for whom is very much in doubt. except for one thing, it means alan gross is coming home to the sony pictures announcing it united states, a government will not release its new movie, contractor, freed by the castro regime after five years in "the interview," following prison. threats at theaters and now sony this moving image, did you see officials preparing to announce this? it's gross celebrating his that north korea is behind the freedom on a u.s. government threats and cyberattack on sony. plane after taking 0 off from this as a defector who once cuba. watching the news, where else, worked as a computer expert for on cnn, on "new day." so we've got this developing north korea tells cnn that pyongyang is running a vast story covered from every angle. network of hackers who let's begin with the white house, michelle kosinski, this is a big day, this is all about cyberattack perceived enemies, the narrative now, what this here to discuss is brian means and how, michelle. stelter, host of "reliable >> after 1840 days, more than five years, alan gross was sources." released from a cuban prison and and cnn correspondent kyung lah live for us in seoul, south flew back to america to hugs, korea. newt gingrich called this america's first cyberwar. popcorn and corned beef sandwich and if that's the case, has the and the biggest, most stunning u.s. just admitted defeat

change in u.s./cuba relations in somehow? >> well sony pictures and the five decades. not exactly welcomed by theater owners, if so led that. everyone. some members of congress to you know because these theater owners, one by one yesterday vowing to aggressively thwart it. backed away from the movie. were under tremendous pressure >> how does it feel to be a free not to show it and then sony had man. >> the release of alan gross, little choice but to cancel. >> shawn, you were with the fbi more than a happy reunion, now the sudden reestablishment of for 24 years. diplomatic relations with cuba. what do you make of the u.s. in fidel castro's brother still at the helm has erupted into some form or at least sony, another political firestorm. caving to this outside threat. >> this policy contradiction is does it set a precedent for future cyberattacks? absurd. and it's disgraceful for a >> i see this no different than president who claims to treasure any other type of terrorist human rights and human freedom. >> especially from hispanic attack. i think it's important for the u.s. government and the private lawmakers, who felt left out of sector to work together in terms the discussion. some possibly running for of how we respond to this. president next round. >> we've been consistently but from a terrorist perspective, when you're using violence to enforce actions and alienating and abandoning our influence people, we can't cave to those types of demands. >> we can't cave, but we did friends and allies and appeasing cave. that's why so many in hollywood are outraged by this. and coddling our enemies. >> sony is not the u.s. government. can we equate what's happening first russia, then iran, now here with the u.s. caving? cuba. or sony, which is just a big >> not only republicans.

>> it's a fallacy to believe corporation, watching its bottom line, doesn't want to have a that cuba will reform because an threat on its hands. american president opens his what would you, would you have hands and the castro brothers recommended that they pull the will suddenly unclench their plug on this? >> i don't want to criticize sewny. i'm not saying that they caved. fists. >> president obama spent a day i'm saying that as, as a explaining. >> we want to see greater freedom. citizenry, this type of attack greater prosperity. has been going on for a long time. greater opportunity for ordinary we're hearing about this one at cubans. >> this, the first time an sony now. it is not the first time we've seen attacks by nation states we american president has reached out to cuba since the revolution have to come up with a strong policy as a nation. in the 1950s will mean an >> maybe the point here is that sony was afraid that we as embassy in havana, rue moving americans would be afraid to go to the movies and that's why the cuba from the list of state sponsors of terror, and opening company caved. maybe as a country we had to some commerce. stand up more strongly with a the steps lauded by u.s. backbone and say, we're not business and agriculture. >> it is the right thing to do. going to let us diswade us from today america chooses to cut going to the movies on loose the shackles of the past. to reach for a better future. christmas. >> i think brian's got a point >> cuba has agreed to release there. i think this calls for very dozens of political prisoners strong u.s. policy and a very and open the internet and strong u.s. response. connectivity to its people. i think we need to talk softly critics say, not nearly enough. and care ray big stick. u.s. has some capabilities, plus, a spy swap including a we've got to have discussions cuban convicted of conspiracy to about this. i see this as the next nuclear murder rankled many, for whom

issue. we've got to sit down nation to this subject is still raw. nation and have strong discussions. because all of our infrastructure is at risk. the president knew it was coming, addressing that reaction, before it even >> kyung lah, what's the started. >> let me say that i respect reaction in south korea particularly to the announcement your passion. and share your commitment to from the u.s. that north korea liberty and democracy. is behind this? the question is, how we uphold >> well, there isn't necessarily that commitment. i do not believe we can keep surprise. because as we're just hearing here in this discussion, this is doing the same thing for over something that has been ongoing. five decades and expect a this is something that south different result. korea was rudely awoke ton last >> the white house says you know, we have relations with year when there was a hack china, vietnam, other countries attack of the bank systems. that don't exactly have a banks were frozen, people stellar human rights record and couldn't get access to their they see this as a path towards money out of atms nationally for meeting those human rights goals days, because the government eventually. but some members of congress are said it came directly from north korea. there are threatening not to this is a shot across the ocean to the united states. fund a new embassy in cuba, not that's the interpretation here. to confirm a new u.s. ambassador it is a widening of a cyberwar to cuba. that has been seen. even saying those words, u.s. and alisyn, we're learning more. ambassador to cuba, pretty were you talking about bureau amazing, chris. 121, we're learning more about >> you know, it's a good point, the shadow agency out of north michelle. it does remain to be seen how korea, the government is much of this can get done by confirming here in south korea just the president alone. that it does exist.

and we're hearing from experts it was very interesting to see who allude to something of 1,000 president obama and the cuban leader, raul castro now to 1800 secret agents around the world, that it may be a much delivering their contemporaneous speeches almost about this more organized attempt by north coordinated effort. and it reminds us of what korea to try to move into this happened with their handshake at parallel war of cyberwar. nelson mandala's funeral. >> that's chilling. everybody said the shake may brian, would the answer here have been about more. have been for sony just to it may have been about the talks release it online, take away the and other things. threat from the theaters, but let's get to patrick oppman. still mott be perceived as caving so much? >> one of the answers would have he's in a place where there's been to make this about a joe over this situation. fictional dictator, not kim he's in havana. patrick? >> yes, joy, disbelief, tears. jong- jong-un. on the other hand, that would cubans had no sense of have been self-censorship. and we've got to stand up for negotiations were going on. they had no sense that an easing freedom of expression. of tensions between the u.s. and one good answer would be to put it online. sony said they didn't have any cuba were in the works. plans to put it online. and you took a couple hours for i was told by a source, don't say never. raul castro to address the cuban maybe someday we'll still see the movie. i wouldn't, i wouldn't assume it people. so for a couple of hours, it was won't leak. it could still leak. the foreign media telling people >> part of it has leaked. that this had happened yesterday some of sony's other movies morning. and they looked at us like we leaked online. maybe this one will leak, too. were crazy.

>> what should the u.s. response and then raoul castro came on tv. be? cheering people had tears in go ahead, kyung lah? their eyes, there was stunned >> alisyn, i have to say, it is disbelief. and what really this opens the way for now, of course, the an important propaganda point here. the dvd, there are actual activists here in south korea embargo isn't going anywhere. who are trying to get their hands on the dvd. and yesterday for the first time somehow because they want to try in the three years that i've to launch it across the border lived here, chris, i heard into north korea. they actually want to get a copy cubans talk about how they expect things to get better, of it. that in their minds at least, because they see it as being critical in trying to crumble the excuse the cuban government the regime. that's how potent this movie is always falls back on, it's the being seen here in the peninsula. embargo's fault that the economy so it has a significant amount never improves, that's somewhat of power. so there are a lot of people lessened and now the onus is on here hoping to get bootleg the cuban government to improve copies. >> who knew this comedy would lives of its citizens. become such a hot-button issue. chris? >> patrick, there's no question there's hope now, hope is an appetite. we have to see if it's satisfied kaung, brian stelter, shawn, thanks so much. should sony have pulled the plug by the regime. in the u.s., the response is very strong and divided, largely on the movie, "the interview"? along generational lines. i want to bring in elena tweet us or response on sfas

book. pakistan is mourning, the machado. nation reeling from a >> any time there's anything that comes out of cuba, this is schoolhouse slaughter at the where cubans comes. hands of the taliban, 150 people they gather, they have very killed. we are now getting a look, our heated discussions as you saw last night. first look inside the very and in this particular instance, we saw generational divides as school where so many innocent victims lost their lives. you mentioned. we'll give you a live report we tend to see the younger ahead. i have the worst cold with this runny nose. cuban, to be a little more open about change on the island and also in terms of relations between the u.s. and cuba. those older generations, the people who came here in the '50s and '60s, the people who went through so much when they left the island, left everything behind, suffered tremendous hardship, they're very much opposed to any sort of change without seeing a political change on the island. >> with good reason. it's personal. their pain and it's pragmatic. because what has been the indication that if you do something good for this regime, they'll do something good for anybody else, there's not a lot i better take something. of proof there. dayquill cold and flu doesn't treat your runny nose. >> they point out the fact that other countries have been going seriously? to cuba for decades and nothing alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms has changed. that's the big issue they have. plus your runny nose. they tell me they feel betrayed oh, what a relief it is.

by the u.s. government. they're angered by it and you i've had moderate to severe plaque psoriasis most my life. saw that here yesterday, chris. >> it wasn't as angry as i've but that hasn't stopped me from modeling. seen it in the past. my doctor told me about stelara®. this has been going on for a long time, you have two more it helps keep my skin clearer. generations of people here who with only 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses... have a very different view about their connection back there and ... stelara® helps me be in season. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections maybe a yearning that can and increase your risk of infections. somehow be facilitated by this. some serious infections require hospitalization. >> and you have younger cubans before starting stelara®... ...your doctor should test for tuberculosis. who have been here for five, ten stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. years who have family in cuba and are concerned about them. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, have had cancer, they may be more open to change. >> and the machados, you got to or if you develop any new skin growths. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara® be indifferent, you have to be or any of its ingredients. unbiased, but you have your alert your doctor of new or worsening problems brother's generation, your including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems- generation and then your parents. different ideas in the same house. >> and different experiences these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. which kind of shape those ideas. serious allergic reactions can occur. >> one thing for sure, alina tell your doctor if you or anyone in your house needs knows this better than i do. or has recently received a vaccine. this matters more than anything in a medical study, most stelara® patients else to people of cuban descent saw at least 75% clearer skin... here, what happens with policy, ...and the majority were rated as vis-a-vis that country. cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. let's bring in senator tom udall, a democrat from new stelara® helps keep my skin clearer. mexico. he was certainly working hard to ask your doctor about stelara®. secure the release of alan

gross, he met with him in cuba a little over a month ago. senator thank you very much for joining us. what was it like when you went back and saw alan gross there? what did you make of his situation? >> well he wasn't in a great situation, there's no doubt about it, he had lost some teeth, his health wasn't great. and he had said he wasn't going to spend another year there. so we knew that we had to work very hard to try to get him out and we maintained a lot of ties with the administration. and talked with others and it was such a joyous day, so see i won this 55 inch tv for less him reunited with judy, his than $30 on dealdash.com. visit wife, and the rest of his family. it's a big thing in the life of dealdash.com for great deals. alan gross, but it's also a big, and start bidding today! bold step forward in the right direction. we're turning our back on a failed policy and moving forward with engagement. that's the way i think the united states works best. is engaging countries like cuba and supporting the cuban people.

under this policy all that i have seen from my several trips to cuba and have stud died is tt the leaders do better with this kind of policy, not the cuban people. this engagement is going to empower them. >> how do you have confidence in that proposition because of what you just said before, senator, every time something good happens to cuba it seems to only happen for the regime, and not the people, who are living in conditions and a lack of freedoms that many americans are still not aware of. it's very bad in cuba, economically and from a freedom perspective, where does your confidence come from? >> there's no doubt about that. that there's a problem in terms of the economics. that's why opening up travel and other restrictions, alilowing u

to trade with cuba. allowing our business people to consult with them. put aside this failed policy. and let's move forward. i think the key here is supporting what has been happening in cuba. over the last at years or so we tush to the hunt for the there are 500,000 entrepreneurs taliban commanders behind the massacre of 148 people at the in cuba. we ought to be supporting them and supporting the school in pakistan. private-sector efforts, you can pakistani military and now own land in cuba. intelligence officials have that's something that's very travelled to afghanistan. important to a democracy. so we need to be encouraging looking for elements of the pakistani taliban they believe those kinds of things with carried out the attack. this as journalists are given a engagement, rather than an look inside the school for the isolation policy, which hasn't done any good for the cuban first time, including our nic people or for the american people. and i'm just tremendously encouraged to see the business robertson, joining us from outside the school at peshawar. some of the images we're about community, the farm bureau, to show viewers are really ranchers and farmers in the upsetting and shocking scenes united states, enthusiastic inside that school. about this and moving forward with engagement with cuba. >> michaela, it is, it's haunting, you know i've seen >> you got two obstacles to things in there today that i entry here, could you argue you think are going to stay with me have little control over either. for some time. one of the rooms we went into,

one is the one we're discussing we were taken to by the army now, the oversight over this officers who showed us around was a computer lab, a small room regi regime, they've getting squeezed and there are computers down by venezuela, squeezed by either side of the walls on the russia. they've been looking for a deep side. and there are chairs by those pocket. could you argue you just gave computers. and underneath the computers on them one. the floor, there are just big but you're going to have to see pools of blood. how that plays out. it's so clear what happened, the other obstacles is your brothers taliban just went in there and and sisters in washington, d.c., where the children were sitting they're saying they won't fund at their computers, typing away, any type of diplomatic mission having a computing class, they in cuba. and you as a democrat are now were just gunned down mercilessly. the auditorium is, is almost as losing leverage when the new congress comes in. how do you think you get this bad, or worse, it's hard to done? >> well first of all, we have a figure it out. but the carnage is awful. top-notch person there on the the army officer showed us the kids in the auditorium were ground, jeffrey delaurentis is a having a big class there. there was a lot of them. they were on chairs, stacked up first-class diplomat and he's going to move forward with this in the auditorium. policy. he's going to continue to engage the gun man came in there guns with the cuban government and blazing and the kids tried to continue to try to open up hide out. some tried to get out through things down there. the doors and the army officer showed us, by the doors on both we have cuban intersection, so sides where the children are crowded around trying to get out, the taliban just simply we're going to have that debate. walked up to them and gunned i think it's very close in the

them down. foreign relations committee. 100 children died in that one we have many people that want to see this kind of engagement, hall alone he told us, the full diplomatic relations, carpet there is literally an senator jeff lake who travelled absolutely soaked with blood. from arizona, republican, we went to the administrative traveled with me to cuba. area where the taliban sort of made their last stand, they he's for dropping some of these killed the principal at the restrictions. school. the deputy principal only so we have bipartisan support escaped by hiding in a toilet. for lessening the hostile even though they threw hand grenades at her. it's a devastating scene. relations and trying to engage you know what we've learned something in the last few and trying to put this failed minutes, there's a small policy behind us. christian community in the city peshawar, of three million >> senator, thank you very much people. the christian community here has for your perspective on this. said that they are canceling and certainly having alan gross home is something that needs to their christmas celebrations, in be celebrated, we'll see how the sympathy and support of all the rest plays out. families who lost children here appreciate you being on "new day." >> thank you very much. real pleasure. michaela. >> hard to believe that this all right i'll send it back kind of humanity or lack of to you in new york, the humanity can exist in our world, we also understand there was president mentioned a phrase some teachers that were trying that the cuban culture called no to shield the students only to be assassinated in their efforts. nic robertson, hard to say thank you for that but we appreciate es facile. you showing us what you saw nothing is easy. there. in other news, top

>> there's other news to talk republicans back at home are about. i'm conveniently located vowing to thwart president next to you. obama's plan to normalize >> i like that. let's look at the headlines, relations with cuba. breaking this morning, sad to ease trade and travel report another massacre and restrictions imposed on the massive abduction by boko haram. communityist country. the policy shift is triggering militants have kidnapped 185 celebrations in cuba. women, killed 32 in a raid on a at home reaction has been mixed. the president plans to open an village in nigeria sunday. embassy in havana. gunmen and pickup trucks stormed he's not ruling out a possible visit before he leaves office. the village from two directions, hundreds of protesters back overcoming the vigilantes that on the streets in new york city in response to the grand jury were standing to fight against decisions in the michael brown them. death and the eric garner case. they burned homes and shot men dozens of protesters are staging before herding the women and a week-long die-in at the staten children into trucks. island mall. it happened not far from a all of this as new york officials say they're trying to village where over 200 girls negotiate a settlement with eric were abducted in april. garner's family. one person killed, several they filed a $75 million civil more, as many as a dozen according to the l.a. times rights claim over his death. injured after a car slammed into this morning, boston marathon bombing suspect, several pedestrians outside a southern california church. dzokhar tsarnaev will make his the group was exiting a church first appearance in a year. in redondo beach where a christmas pageant had just ended. the driver ran a red light, tsarnaev's lawyers have filed a

slammed into another car, the driver of that original vehicle motion to delay the start date. was arrested on suspicion of the judge could rule on the request today. felony d.u.i. and vehicular tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty manslaughter. overnight the u.s. is set to to a 30-count indictment. a little sports here, the announce north korean leadership is indeed behind the cyberattack san francisco 49ers have had enough of ray mcdonald. that's crippled sony. the team released the defensive forcing that company to pull the lineman after police said they christmas release of its film, were investigating mcdonald on "the interview." suspicion of sexual assault. sony decided not to row lease the movie, even on demand after the team says mcdonald's release is about a pattern of poor major theater chains said they would not show it because of behavior, there's also hackers' threats to another investigated months ago for project with a focus on north alleged domestic violence, even korea. that other project, a steve though charges were never filed. carrell thriller, pyongyang, has been dropped. at this hour, right now let's get to meteorologist jennifer gray, keeping track of the latest forecast for all of ongoing russian president us. vladimir putin is delivering his hi, jennifer. >> yeah, we're watching a lot of snow in northern new england. end-of-the-year news conference, we have seen about a foot of he addressed russia's deep snow up there over the past economic crisis, saying growth couple of days. this is going to push out. is inevitable. making it clear that russia will but you can see having a little bit of an impact on the boston diversify its economy. and said that moscow is aiming area this morning. to restore political unity in so morning commute could be a little rough there. ukraine and called russians we're also looking at rain in killed during fighting in the south. a bit of a mixture around the ukraine volunteers, no the part nashville area. and also seeing snow across of the military. want to point out something that

kansas city and pushing into we know well -- when he talks, he talks, last year's news omaha. the cold spots this morning well conference went on for four-plus to the north. 29 degrees in chicago, this hours, it is ongoing as we speak. we'll continue to monitor that morning. 24 in minneapolis, 26 in and find out what else he has to marquette. we're seeing temperatures in the say. we also want to show you 40s across much of the this incredible picture. northeast. chris, as you know, there was a what we're going to be watching as we go through the weekend, a picture taken on the plane when lot of rain to the south. the gulf coast getting several alan gross realizes that he is inches of rain. in u.s. air space and he of the good news is this system is course is listening there in the going to take a southerly route. it is not going to climb up the background to cnn reporting the northeast coast and cause a lot coverage of his release. of snow. and it was just an incredible for a big travel weekend, we're mainly just going to see rain moment. that's actually from a video out of this. that jeff lake, the congressman we could see three to five inches in southern louisiana. one to two across portions of shot. he says u.s. air space and alan northern mississippi, alabama, gross takes a huge inhale of his into georgia. the other big story we're freedom at that moment. watching? >> chris, what an image to be over on the west coast, another system is going to push into the west. and that is going to bring more able to see, capture the joy in rain, anywhere from seattle down this man experiencing freedom for the first time yesterday. the california coast. >> it's a huge, probably the biggest moment of his life and chris? all right jennifer, thank it's also historic. a big reason we do the job, you very much. down here, there is a 50-year right? is to have a voice in these big chill thawing. moments like this one. the question is, will it make

i'm sure we've never looked as problems heat up? good to anybody as we did to president obama announcing plans alan gross when the words coming to normalize ties with cuba. out of our mouths were about his the cuban people are celebrating freedom. that's for sure. >> it is so true, chris and it's there, but here, cuban exiles, poignant for us to have been along on that ride. immigrants are of two minds, even via satellite. we're going to take a closer you know, that's a great moment. look for you, when we come back. ♪ turn around so we'll show you more of that and tell you more of what happened after his release. moving on to another story, as you've just heard, sony is in crisis mode. they've pulled the release of the film "the interview." ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ what does that mean for the ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ future of hollywood? >> plus we're getting our first ♪ turn around, barry look inside the school in pakistan where taliban fighters ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ slaughtered more than 130 students this morning. [ female announcer ] fiber one. the death toll rises. our correspondent son the ground, we're going to take you and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. live to the scene of that brutal so my buddy here is going to help me find it. attacks they search for the masterminds behind it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's

go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal.

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definitely cream. [ male announcer ] never made with hydrogenated oil. always made with real cream. the sound of reddi wip is the sound of joy. not only are we in little havana, but we're in the place where cubans and people of cuban descent come to discuss what's happening in their country. show them the rock, the sign on it says this is to remember the people who had their freedom stripped, who had to leave their country and they come here and they often commiserate about the regime and that's what happened. that's what was going on here yesterday and last night. what all around that, you had people here last night. they're still screaming from cars about the situation in cuba. and there is mistrust that goes

back generations about what's going on. so when the president said yesterday, it's time to try something new. there was an immediate push-back from the community here, because they were saying what's new on that side? what's new with this oppressive regime. but then you have a split among generations baurecause young pee are saying maybe we should try something new. our next guest, republican-elect carlos corbello. he'll represent florida's southernmost district. congressman-elect, thank you very much for joining us, congratulations on the election. good luck to you when you serve. please tell me why you feel that the president is making a mistake. >> chris, good morning, look my generation wants the same thing that all generations of cuban americans want. number one, we want a strong united states that leads, we did not see that yesterday, the united states in exchange for

alan gross, who we're very happy is back home, gave away three criminal spies, one convicted of murdering american citizens. and gave cube everything with regards to diplomatic relations, that's bad for u.s. national security and we also want freedom for the cuban people. you know, for over 50 years, the occupant in the white house, no matter the party, has had a policy of solidarity, with the cuban people, with the political prisoners, with the widows of those who have been executed by the cuban government over the last 56 years. that has now changed. and you can understand why so many people in miami feel abandoned, disappointed and hurt. >> but it's not, it's a complex situation, though, right congressman? let's put up the poll for a second. this is "the new york times" poll, october 1st 2014, do you approve or disapprove of

reestablishing diplomatic trade relations with cuba? 56/26. that's a little deceptive, if you were to poll people of cuban descent, it would be a different number, it would be closer, but isn't there something to be said about what hasn't worked and the need for trying something different. why is that something you're not receptive to? >> this idea that if we give the castro regime everything it wants, because we know the castro regime has been lobbying for these changes for a long time, that all of a sudden something is going to change in cuba? that's just completely false. every other country in the world has commercial and diplomatic relations with cuba, yet nothing has changed. on the island. this is very simple -- does the united states want to be on the side of the victims, the people who have had to come to these welcoming shores, over 56 years because they've had their property confiscated, because they've had their relatives

imprisoned? or do we want to be on the side of the same men that have perpetrated all of these crimes throughout the years? as an american, because i'm an american citizen, born in this country, i want to be on the right side of history. and what the president did yesterday for the first time in 56 years, put an american president at the table with the castro brothers and no longer in solidarity with the victims of all of these crimes. and by the way, something that gets lost in all of this conversation -- the cuban government is an enemy of the united states. this is a government who only last year was caught trafficking arms illegally to north korea. this is a government that's been complicit in the murdering of young men and women on the streets of caracas in venezuela, this is not a good neighbor, this is not a country that we should be welcoming and accepting of. however, we shouldn't be surprised -- >> congressman --

>> yeah? >> i understand the perspective you're offering, we had people coming up to us last night and said cuomo, i know your name, your people came here for opportunity. my people came here because they had to. they were chased out of their country, they lost everything and now you're rewarding the same men who did that to them. and that has always been true. i don't think the president or anybody else is trying to take away from that. what do you say to the cuban people who are so desperate, who are without so many you know really just freedoms that we take for granted here. and that they see this as hope. they see this as a chance of better things for them. what do you say to them? >> chris, i don't know which cubans on the island you've talked to. but the opposition leaders, the heroes that are fighting on the streets of havana and other cities in cuba, for freedom so that they can enjoy the same freedoms in cuba that we do in the united states. they feel abandoned. they feel very disappointed. they feel like they no longer have that ally, that over the last 56 years, even when every

other country in the world has abandoned them, the united states has been there. the american president has been there. and yesterday, a lot of those people feel like the american president sold out, the same way by the way that the american president is selling out on iran and sitting at the table with the mullahs, the same way the american president drew red lines in syria. and ignored them and hundreds of thousands of people have now died. this is a, a u.s. foreign policy under this president, that is diminishing american national security and is abandoning so many victims of tyranny and oppression throughout the world like the cuban people. >> congressman-elect carlos curbelo, thank you very much for offering your perspective. very strong opinions down here. it's one of the cliches in politics, you're going to wait and see whether or not the opportunity being offered to the regime is taken the right way. good luck going forward, sir.

>> enjoy miami. >> all right. mick, back to you in new york. >> don't enjoy miami too much without us, okay, chris? we're going to turn now to russia, what is next for vladimir putin? as russia's economy is on the brink of collapse. putin is right now at this hour in the middle of a press conference, entering its third hour. remember, he started at 4:00 a.m. eastern. we're going to tell you what he's saying. but there's a new card in town. introducing the citi® double cash card. it lets you earn cash back when you buy and again as you pay. that's cash back twice. it's cash back with a side of cash back. the citi double cash card. the only card that lets you earn cash back twice on every purchase with 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay . with two ways to earn, it makes a lot of other cards seem one-sided.

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right now president vladimir putin is holding a news conference. addressing the country's urgent economic crisis, promising the financial markets will rebound. putin also tackeni ining the situation in eastern ukraine. suggesting the u.s. is sparking a new cold war. let's get to matthew chance live on the ground in moscow with more of what putin had to say. >> well michaela, the president putin focusing this annual press conference on the economic crisis. that is affecting russia so

badly. the currency having lost more than 60% against the u.s. dollar saying to russians, we're going to be able to overcome this economic crisis. saying they'll spend some of the billions of dollar, hundreds of billions of dollars they've got in foreign currency reserves. supporting the russian economy if necessary. he was asked to really interesting question, one of the journalists in the audience said look, is this economic crisis the price that we have to pay for annexing crimea? that area of ukrainian territory which was absorbed into russia in march. and he categorically rejected that, saying no, it's nothing to do with that. we have to annex crimia it's to do with our national sovereignty. he said look, our national bear, we don't want it to become just a stuffed animal. he was also asked about the allegation that russia is behind a new cold war between east and west. between russia and the united

states and others and he denied that, too, saying look, we only have for instance two military bases overseas, one in tajikistan and kyrgyzstan. we spend $50 billion a year in our defense budget. the united states spends more than ten times that amount. he was categorically denying that russia is the aggressor, categorically denying all of the allegations against him. if you're looking at this saying vladimir putin would be cowed, do a u-turn on his policies because of this economic crisis, michaela, you'd be very disappointed. >> matthew thanks for the background. let's bring in a former adviser to the russian president boris yeltsin. as you know, vladimir putin is in the middle of a press conference, he's speaking live as we speak. what can president putin say to

the russian people today to convince them that he knows how to fix this economic crisis? >> well, i think it was important for president put ton actu putin to appear in front of the national audience and international audience and to assure that the russian government knows what it's doing and that the russian government is aware of the situation. that it accepts that this is a difficult situation. and he gave the reasons why it is happening. now i think this is very timely appearance, although it was obviously planned. >> but what, but mr. nekrassov, what are the answers? what can vladimir putin do to increase oil prices and to help the soaring cost of food go down? what can he do for the russian people? well, first of all, you can't really give all the answers, because the crisis has started not that long ago.

and the dramatic interference of the central bank has happened only several days ago. so you have to wait for results, for example, after the basic interest rate has been raised dramatically, the ruble has gained more ground. and things have started to improve. so to say now that he has to give the remedies now to reveal everything now, it is impossible. what i find amazing myself, watching the coverage by western media of the crisis in russia, is the gloating. is the strange feeling that the journalists are actually enjoying talking about the hardships and the ruble in free-flow and this strikes me as odd, because for russia, to go down, you know, we live in a global economy. and if russia goes down, be rest

assured europe and america will go down with it. so that is what i absolutely don't understand. and don't even accept as proper. >> mr. nekrassov you yourself said and let me quote to you from a column you wrote for cnn.com, if the oil prices fall below $60 a barrel as some experts are predicting, that would be tough to stomach for russia. even with its substantial hard currency reserves totaling $450 billion. this week the price per barrel has fallen below $60, it's now $55 a bafrl. the lowest in five years, you yourself have predicted what dire straits russia is in where will putin go for help with this? >> well first of all, you must accept one thing -- russia has the muscle financially to hold on for quite some time. yes, it is a problem and i'm not going to say to you that falling oil prices are going to help

russia. but russia has a surplus trade balance, unlike america for example and britain. russia has all the currency and gold reserves. so of course it's going to be tough. but there is a way out of it. to diversify the economy as president putin promised at the press conference, this will take time. i don't think that this is a solution, a quick fix. but on the whole, russia has the ability and the resources to last for at least a year or two. so during that time, the russian government has the opportunity to change things. and also, i would strongly, strongly advise countries that are pushing the oil prices down. to think very carefully that they might damage themselves in the long run as well. >> alexander nekrassov, thank you for joining us on "new day" with your perspective. >> thank you. we're following a lot of news this morning, let's get right to it.

it was crucial to my survival, knowing that i was not forgotten. >> what will happen when things are relaxed on the cuban government? >> cuba's best days have not yet been seen. >> 50 years have shown isolation has not worked. >> it is disgraceful for a president who claims to treasure human rights and human freedom. sony should fight fire with fire. >> all major movie chains are giving into fears. >> well certainly the studio has bowed to the enemy. >> i cannot think of another moment like this in modern movie history. his approval ratings are still sky high, 85%. >> russia's budgets is squeezed and hurting. >> the ruble losing almost half of its value to the u.s. dollar. good morning, and welcome back to "new day." i'm chris cuomo, we are in little havana, miami, florida. this is the home to thousands of cuban exiles and immigrants literally generations of people who had to flee their homeland and now this is home.

and there's powerful and mixed reaction to what president obama just did. it is certainly history. the announcement that the u.s. and cuba will be normalizing ties and restoring diplomatic relations. the question is what will that mean for the cuban people. and for this regime, alisyn? >> chris, we'll get back to you in a second. there are a couple of other stories we're following this morning. i'm alisyn camerota with michaela pereira here in new york city. we're tracking some other big headlines. u.s. officials seem certain now that the north koreans are behind the crippling cyberattack on sony as the embattled movie constitute stooud yoe pulls the release of the new film "the interview." and we're watching russia president, vladimir putin, as he addresses his nation amid a growing economic crisis. but first, back to chris in miami. >> so we know that it's been since 1961, okay, that things broke off between cuba and the united states. and it's all been about isolation, trying to squeeze out that regime. and president obama said yesterday it has not worked.

he wants to try a different way. he wants to set up an embassy in havana. president obama even considering a visit to the island nation before leaving office. it has brought a lot of mixed opinion here. people feeling that he's conceding to an oppressive regime. the good news without any dispute is that american alan gross was able to come home after five years. he was a humanitarian release. by the cuban government. you can see here, his emotional ride home, he's on a u.s. government plane there he was with his wife. he was with some congressmen and he was watching cnn. he heard the news of his own freedom on our show yesterday. but not everybody on capitol hill wanted to be on that plane. they're not on board with this new approach to cuba. some top republicans are vowing to overturn the president's actions, saying they will not fund an embassy there, they will not fund any diplomats there when they get back together, especially in january. so let's get our coverage of this extraordinary, certainly historic announcement. let's begin at the white house where it happened with michelle

ka zins ski, michelle? >> we're hearing the tlits now from some in congress not to fund a new u.s. embassy in cuba, not to confirm ambassador there. it's not clear how much success this would be. but it sure sounds like the start of another political firestorm. a lot of the criticism coming from hispanic lawmaker who is felt left out of the discussion. some of whom may be running for president next round. but it's not all coming from republicans. one senator said we can't expect cuba to change just because the u.s. is making this evident. another charged that we keep alienating our allies and coddling our enemies and one called it be a sushd and disgraceful for a president who claims to treasure freedoms. and another in the white house saying we can't keep doing the same thing for five decades, have it not work, but expect a different result. and they call this plan a path that's more efficient and will benefit americans and cubans.

chris? >> michelle, thank you very much. that's the big question -- who will this benefit. how real will the change be? for the people who matter most, which are the oppressed people in cuba. so let's go there right now. we have patrick oppmann in havana. patrick, it was impressive, you had the leader of cuba, the leader of the united states, giving the same message at the same time about restoring negotiation. reaction here which is going on right now. there was a lot of bitterness, but where you were, there was joy, true? >> there was joy, there was disbelief. and there was wonderment about what it means for the cuban in the street. we have to point out has to subsist most of them on less than $20 a month. a very tough life, chris, as you can imagine. but you know when cubans did see raoul castro appear on their television screens and talk about the united states in a way that fidel castro, his brother, never did. he talked about his admiration, respect for president obama.

talked about the necessity of a path forward. very important for cuba, since the closest ally, venezuela, their economy is tanking, oil prices drop. so you know a lot of people said this is a necessary pivot for the cuban economy. it also raised a lot of questions about what is fidel castro's opinion of this? we haven't heard from him in months, haven't seen any new pictures of him. will he weigh in as he sometimes does on this historic agreement? you know our understanding is that he played no part in it. but fidel castro usually likes to wait a few days and write an editorial, weigh in, almost always very supportive of his brother. but perhaps one more sign that it's raoul castro, and not fidel castro who these days is running cuba. chris? >> well patrick, i know you've been digging down. with a have you found out about fidel, it may be raoul castro, but it's only the last name that matters and that's what engenders the anger certainly

here and what have you learned about alan gross and what his plans are? >> well i'll start with the second question, because over the last few months, i've spent a lot of time with judy gross and alan's attorney. and one thing they told me on condition that i wouldn't divulge it until he was released, that unbelievably enough, alan gross over the last months has talked about his desire, one day, not right away, he wants to spend time with his family. and recover his health. but one day we're told he would like to return to cuba. he fell in love with the cuban people, the cuban culture, certainly not the cuban government. he spent five years in prison. so one day alan gross has told his family and his attorney he would like to return to cuba, see some of the people who became life-long friends, see places in cuba he was never able to visit and one cuban official i spoke to said alan gross would be welcome, as long as he came as a friend.

chris? >> patrick, thank you very much. we'll be back with you in a little bit. as you hear behind me right now. this is where people come in little havana to debate what's going on in their homeland. you know this is home now obviously. but there were so many forced to leave cuba and you're hearing it going on right now. people are angry here about what's happened. let's bring in somebody who represents the side of change, though, and believes this is a good idea. congressman jim mcgovern, a democrat from massachusetts, he's been involved in the ongoing discussions to open relations between the u.s. and cuba. so congressman, as i'm saying behind me right now, there are men and women who would disagree with you very, very heartily that what you've just done has rewarded an oppressive regime. and that the castros will help no one but themselves. how do you respond? >> well, you know, the way i would respond to that is i think what the president did yesterday was in the best interests of the cuban people. and in the best interests of the american people. the one thing we know for certain, chris, is for the last 50-plus years, this policy ha we

have had toward cuba has been a miserable failure. it's a relic from the cold war. you know, i'm glad the president did what he did yesterday. i wish it happened decades ago, and i think for those who are concerned about human rights, i think the more engagement between the united states and cuba, the more difficult it will be for the cuban government to be repressive. there are changes already going on in cuba. in spite of the u.s. policy. and that's because of the involvement of the europeans and canadians and everybody else around the world. the only people that have this policy of eye lating the island is the united states. and that has changed, and i think it's a good thing. >> right. but you have the theoretical and the practical. the theoretical, you have dialogue, you introduce them to democracy, to capitalism, to commerce and the people will respond. the problem is that hasn't happened. the u.s. has isolated them, but many other countries have not. there have been a lot of corporate interests that have gone in and out of there. a lot of chances for the regime to loosen their grip, but they've only tightened it. they still give no freedoms to

their people. >> right, look i'm not here to defend the cuban government human rights record. but to say there have been no changes in cuba is just wrong. there's more political space there today than there was in the 1970s and the 1960s, that has nothing to do with us, it has more to do with the fact that the soviet union collapsed and other countries became engaged. there's more free enterprise going on in cuba. out of necessity. because the economy there is in shambles. so there are things that are going on. positive things going on. yes, we need to focus on the human rights record. but we have no say in that right now because we have isolated that country. we've had an economic embargo that the cardinal of in cuba has said has hurt the average cuban citizen. we haven't hurt the government. we've hurt regular people and that's not the policy of the united states. our policy quite frankly, i think has been petty. and we've been isolated from the rest of the world, i think what the president did yesterday, i think has raised our image.

especially in latin america, and i think it's going to result in more and more change. he did the right thing and i'm, i praise him for his courage and for his guts. and i know you know he's taken some heat. but he did the right thing. >> well, i want to get your take on two different aspects of this dynamic. one was a force for making it happen. the vatican, and what role the vatican played. and the poem pope in your understanding and on the opposite side. with a are you going to do with your brothers and sisters in d.c. when the ruling majority that's coming in says they won't fund an embassy there, they won't fund a diplomatic mission there, so comment on those two aspects. please. >> i praise the vatican. i praise pope francis for his involvement in trying to encourage both countries to, to move toward the announce thamt was made yesterday. i think the vatican by the way has long been pushing for better relations between our two countries. as you remember, pope john paul

ii delivered a mass in cuba which i happened to have the privilege to be at. in terms of my colleagues who are saying they're not going to fund an embassy and going to tri to disrupt all this. how silly. we're the greatest country in the world and if for some reason they're afraid to engage a country like cuba? the bottom line is, we need to go forward, we need to behave like a grown-up. and try to influence cuba in a positive way. having an embassy, having the ability to talk directly to the cuban government, why would that be a bad thing? i mean, all these years we've had no access to the cuban government. what the president is saying, we ought to be at the table and talk to them directly. i think that can only have positive implications and look, you know, marco rubio who is running for president and others are going to do what they're going to do. but quite frankly, i think they look petty. and i think what they're doing is counterproductive and not in the best interests of the cuban people on the island. the cuban people. the average cuban citizen on the

island is welcoming what happened yesterday. >> you also had, look, this is a complex issue, you have a lot of people on the ground fighting for reform and change and it's literally a life-and-death fight for them who feel this was the wrong move. but there's a lot who feel there's a hope to it as well. the problem is you're going to have to see how it plays out. congressman, i appreciate you joining us this is a big fight going forward. it's certainly not done just because the president said it should be so. so that fight we'll be watching very carefully. thank you for joining us on "new day." >> i appreciate it, thank you. alisyn, back to you in new york. maybe i'll bring you back a cuban coffee if i can get it to travel. we'll see. >> i want some garlic chicken from versailles behind you, i love the restaurant where you are. it's so great. >> it's breakfast time, we're having those guava pastillitos. i'm off the coffee, but not off

the cuban coffee. let's talk about the timing of all this. it may seem like it happened suddenly. there were signs over the last year and a half of improving relations with cuba and the release of alan gross could be in the works. most of the behind-the-scenes work was facilitated by the canadians and the pope. it culminated with the first presidential conversation between the u.s. and cuba since the eisenhower administration. chief white house correspondent jim schutto has more for us from washington, give us back story, jim. >>. this is a remarkable piece of diplomacy conducted in secret over more than year and a half in multiple countries, principally as you say canada and in the vatican. and it had everything, including a cold war spy swap until it was revealed to the world yesterday, and lane gross finally came home. >> so far it's the best hanukkah that i'll be celebrating for a long time. >> alan gross's emotional return

to the u.s. became a reality after 18 months of secret contacts and shuttle diplomacy. >> to president obama and the nsc staff, thank you. >> the president first authorized high-level contacts in the spripg of last year. first meeting between u.s. and cuban officials followed in june in canada. which would host the majority of meetings between the two sides to follow. also playing a key role -- the vatican. >> i want to thank his holiness, pope francis. >> pope francis, the first head of the catholic church from latin america -- pressed obama in a face-to-face meeting in march to renew talks with cuba. and raised the issue again in a letter this fall. it was at the vatican in october where details of gross's release and the new u.s. trade policy with cuba were hashed out between the u.s. and cuban delegations. culmination coming on tuesday, president obama spoke to cuban

president, raoul castro in a call that lasted about an hour. the first communication that at the presidential level since the cuban revolution more than 50 years ago. on wednesday, a year and a half after negotiations first began, gross was able to embrace his wife, judy, who flew to havana to take him home. >> how was the trip back? >> judy gross was joined by a team of congressmen. >> on the airplane back as we crossed into u.s. air space, you saw him give a big hurrah. >> we were flying there and watching the news on the airplane and i said, you know, alan, you're free. and he got up and he threw his arms around me and hugged me. >> a phone call from the president to congratulate him on his freedom. >> i spoke to him on his flight. he said, he was willing to interrupt his corned beef sandwich to talk to me. needless to say, he was thrilled. >> officials say it will move relatively quickly. they want to open, reopen the

embassy in cuba as quickly as possible. and some trade is going to be able to start right away. things dealing with home construction, particularly telecom equipment do get the internet up and running in cuba. i went to cuba in 2011 in one of the early exchange trips under the obama administration. and under those early relaxation of the embargo, some food trade was already allowed. i went to an exposition there, you had all of these american food companies in there ready to sell their wares, that was three, more, almost four years ago. can you imagine the influx of american companies as these trade restrictions are relaxed even more. >> jim, it's so fascinating to hear how the whole deal came together. thanks so much. a car slammed into several pedestrians outside a california church. a group of people was exiting a church in redondo beach where a christmas performance had just

ended. officials say the suspect ran a red light, drove through the crowd of people before hitting another drive head-on. the driver was arrested on suspicion of felony d.u.i. and vehicular manslaughter. the manhunt intensifies for the leaders responsible for the horrifying school attack in pakistan. pakistani military intelligence officials traveling to afghanistan wednesday, looking for afghan-based elements of the pakistani taliban. that they believe carried out that heinous attack. pakistani officials also reaching out to the afghan government for assistance in tracking down those militants. at least 148 people were killed in a siege. among them, 132 children. also here at home, a manhunt in texas for a gunman who shot a television meteorologist. police say patrick crawford, a meteorologist for kcen, in waco, was in his car, in his station's parking lot when the suspect approached them. we're told the two got into some sort of an argument, and crawford was shot multiple times. he was taken to the hospital

where he underwent emergency surgery. he is said to be in stable condition this morning. well it's almost time to say good night to the "colbert report" taping the final show tonight after ten seasons. he had pretty memorable moments on the air when he announced his bid for the white house, even becoming the focus of a senate campaign. he begins his new gig as the host of "late night" on cbs in september. letterman's last show coming up in the spring. >> won't miss being made fun of by him. but we'll miss him. that's great. well you can strike the movie called "the interview" off your holiday movie list. sony canceling the christmas release after hackers threatened to attack theaters. what could be the wider ramifications of all of this? we'll ask our legal panel. chris? >> and look, a big issue between the u.s. and cuba that still needs to be addressed, is a trade embargo, the president has

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release of the new movie called "the interview" after hackers

threatened movie theaters that were planning to screen it. for more on all of these developments let's bring back chief national correspondent, jim sciutto from washington, cnn analyst jeffrey toobin and former presidential candidate newt gingrich. thanks so much for being here. tell us your new reporting. >> well, it's incredible. only a few weeks ago, we had the release of all the american detainees in north korea, you'll remember that moment. reporting it here on "new day." thoughts what does this mean, new outreach from north korea. a calmer period in u.s./north korean relations. now you have this unprecedented north korean hacking attack on a major u.s. company. the u.s. about to identify north korea today as behind the attack and announce measures it's going to take in response. so the concern is that that restarts this cycle of provocation between the u.s. and north korea. it is so familiar and the u.s. officials have been on pin and needles about a missile test.

at a possibility of a nuclear test. thought they had bought some time. with the north korean leader, kim jong-un invited to moscow by russia in may of next year, giving north korea the international attention it likes, makes it feel like its a world power, gets respect, et cetera, now you're back in this tit for tat situation here and concerns are very high. >> newt, what should the u.s. response? >> i think we have to take steps that cost the north koreans a substantial amount in money or prestige or something else. you can't allow the precedent of a foreign hacking operation to blackmail an american company, to cripple it, to cost it enormous amounts of loss of prestige and loss of money. that stands as a precedent, then next year do the iranians get to do it? the following year the russians and putin get to do it. this is the first time we've

seen hacking for the purpose of intimidating and forcing change and i think we have to develop a policy response that's very strong and dissuades anyone else from thinking this is doable. >> newt, let me read the tweet you sent out when sony announced yesterday it was pulling the plug on the movie. you said no one should kid themselves with the sony collapse america has lost its first cyberwar. this is a very, very dangerous precedent. that's dramatic. >> well it's true. and i think people need to understand that. here you have a foreign, dictatorship. make a decision to intervene on american soil. to punish an american company to raise threats of physical violence. remember what finally stopped the movie was movie theaters were afraid that they were going to be bombs or other threats. and the threats were being made. now are we prepared to relax and allow foreign dictator ships to intimidate us in our own country and force us to change behavior? unless we have a very strong response, we have lost this war, and that should be a serious

concern for the congress and the president and require us to really rethink what sour policy on these kinds this is not a cyberstealing of something. this is a deliberate coercive effort to change behavior by the threat of both of cyberinvolvement and the threat of physical violence in theaters. >> jim, i want to bring in jeffrey dourks s, do you see th as a cyber war we just lost? >> not as many people took it as seriously in the beginning because it was a seth rogen movie, it was kind of a joke. think about the implications, here we is have a foreign dictator saying we don't like a movie and the movie disappears, what happen when is they don't like a newspaper or a book that's being published? what happens if they don't like what's on cable news? this is a real disaster. you know, i don't know that the movie theaters made the wrong decision, but there was a cost to their cowardice, there was a cost. because now the message has been sent that the united states can

be intimidated by these sorts of threats. and that only encourages more of them. >> jim, what did you want to add? i would say there's a political diplomatic cost and there's an immediate business cost. here you have north korea that has cost a major american movie studio tens of millions of dollars. we talk about cyber attacks, they come from china every day, multiple times a day. and oftentimes, the business cost of these attacks are theoretical, down the line, hard to quantify. here you have it very directly. one cyber attack from north korea shuts down a move that i that costs a few tens of millions of dollars, setting a precedent that north korea can exact a financial cost, a dollar cost very directly on the u.s. economy. in addition, to striking fear in americans. talking about going to a movie on christmas day. with your kids. you know, the fact that they could do both those things? pretty remarkable. >> well i just want to make the point also, let's also talk about the cowardice of the

american entertainment companies, who are not standing by sewny. where is disney? where is warner brothers? >> you think they should have spoken out? >> when there was a death threat against salman rushdie for "the satanic verses" all the publishers came to his support. the cowardice of these american companies is appalling. >> do all roads lead back to china here? is china involved? >> no. they may be involved, but it's irrelevant. this is a north korean effort done by the north koreans, they have a very robust cyber program. individual companies cannot stand up against a foreign dictatorship. i agree that they might have shown more courage. but the truth is for the last couple weeks, this has been coming. the u.s. government has done nothing to protect them. it has done nothing to communicate to north korea and it's pretty shameful that it took the collapse yesterday of

the will of american theaters to run the risk frankly of their people being killed. which is what was happening and the u.s. government finally today may be about to name north korea this is a pathetic failure by the u.s. government and require as much more robust policy. this is a war, this is an act of war and we should be clear about what's involved here. >> newt gingrich. jim sciutto, jeffrey toobin, thank you so much for all of your perspective. back to michaela. ahead, u.s. businesses eager to move in. now that cuba and the u.s. are talking again, but when will travel and trade resume to cuba? good questions for commerce secretary penny pritzer and russia president vladimir putin trying to put his people at ease after a lively and long press conference. made some surprising comments about the future of his presidency, we'll take a look, ahead.

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in light of new diplomatic relationship between the u.s. and cuba we're hearing from marriott international, carnival cruise lines, they're saying they love the idea of opening hotels in cuba, expanding the kind of relationship, the corporate relationship and let's be honest, they see a lot of opportunities to make money there. so what could this mean and for whom? because remember, the goal of this according to president obama, was to help the people who need it most. those who are oppressed.

by a repressive regime in cuba. what's going to happen? let's bring in u.s. secretary of commerce, penny pritzger. the situation has a potential plus-minus, make the case for why there will be good for the people who matter most and not just for american corporate pockets. >> you know, first of all let's think about this. this is the most profound policy change as it relates to cuba in my lifetime. and what the president is saying openness and engagement is a better approach than isolation. and we know that commercial engagement has the opportunity to change lives. if you think about what's, the president's actions will allow in terms of travel, there will be 12 different groups that will have the opportunity to travel. families, religious groups, education groups, academics. journalists. so this is about more openness.

also, telecommunications, i don't know if you're aware, but only 5% of the cuban people have access to the internet. and only two million of the 11.4 million cuban people have a cell phone. so there's going to be greater opportunity through telecommunications. the opening of the telecommunication sector, encouraged by the cuban government for greater connectivity. really, really important. and for the agriculture sector, there's going to be an opportunity for greater sales. >> the question is, who gets the opportunity? secretary, because there's no question it's an historic move by the president. but is it a good historic move or a bad historic move? that's where you get the tension. especially where we are right now. the feeling is you are rewarding the same regime that kicked out a generation of people and stole everything that was theirs. so the question is how do you insure that these moves wind up

creating opportunity, telecommunications, ability to communicate with the outside world and to have more freedoms for the right people? >> you know, what we have to remember is first of all, yes, this is a good decision, and it's, what the president is allowing here is to empower the cuban people. to give them more opportunity. for connectivity, more opportunity to be entrepreneurs. and his view is and the administration's view and i wholly endorse this, is that engagement is what matters and what can be helpful. i talked to many business leaders yesterday who are very enthusiastic about this. but they recognize right now, we still have an embargo. and they're saying what can we do on the humanitarian side. to be supportive? and to help the cuban people? >> so secretary, one of the things that you'll be looking at very carefully is how you secure capital there. right? and i know it sounds like it's

in the weeds, but it isn't. it's easy for carnival cruise lines, they go there, they get a port of entry, they're in, they're out. it's okay. but if people want to do business with cuba, what guarantee do you have that their money is safe there? there's an infrastructure that respects commerce, that respects property rights? because there isn't one right now. >> well i think you have to recognize this is the beginning of a process. we're not, we're not, we're not able under our current laws to just open business with cuba. what we're able to do is in specific sectors. have greater engagement. what the president is encouraging more openness and his feeling is i totally agree with this. which is, by giving greater telecommunications opportunities to the individuals, in cuba, that will begin to evolve change. and what's exciting about that is the cuban government is supportive of that.

and so this is a process, this is not just opening up. banking laws and things like that, those will have to change over time. but that's not where we're at in the process. we're still subject to an embargo. >> the good headline from the day, alan gross is home, political prisoners are freed and hope is a good place to start. agreed on that let's go from a situation where some are arguing you've done too much, to one where you could argue you haven't done enough in the u.s. government. and that's with the sony situation. where's the u.s. government on this? you have a huge corporate interest, that's being bullied by hackers. and a complete capitulation to demands that compromises the first amendment. where were you guys in defending the company, finding out what's happening and keeping them safe for their own enter prize? >> you know, obviously the national security team has been engaged in this let's just think

about what's happened. we've had a cyber security breach. this is an area where the commerce department has been involved historically by helping to develop the cyber security framework. let's remember what's happened here. someone has broken the law and stolen property from sony. what i think the government has been doing is working with sony to insure people's safety and make sure there isn't some sort of threat to individuals. on the flip side, where the government has been active is to engage with companies writ large in terms of developing the types of cyber security protections that are necessary to protect their intellectual property to protect their assets. so the government has been active in two very different ways and very important ways. >> well secretary, i'm just pointing it out because it seems like there's certainly more that needs to be done when you have a major hollywood organization say it's not going to release a movie because of a fear of reprisal. something that's very new to the american people and they're

expecting government to step up. secretary pritzker, thank you very much for explaining two situations to us this morning. >> thank you. great corage there, the search is on right now for the leaders responsible for the pakistani school massacre. pakistani military and intelligence officials have travelled to afghanistan, wednesday, looking for afghan-based elements of the pakistani taliban who they believe carried out that deadly attack. at least 148 people were killed in the siege, among them, 132 children. back at home, hundreds of protesters back on the streets of new york, in response to grand jury decisions in the deaths of michael brown and eric garner. dozens of protesters also staging a week-long die-in. at the staten island mall. all of this as new york officials say they're trying to negotiate a settlement with eric garner's family. they filed a $75 million civil rights claim over his death. federal officials have filed

murder charges in connection with that deadly meningitis outbreak in 2012. the justice department said 14 people have been arrested, including two people who have been charged with 25 acts of second-degree murder. 64 people died in the outbreak. which was linked to steroid injections from a massachusetts pharmacy. officials say the steroids weren't sterilized and expired ingredients were used. meanwhile, russian president vladimir putin tries to ease fears about his economic's freefall. we'll talk to a member of the russian stayed stait douma. in this accident...

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comment. saying his decision whether to run for re-election will depend on the country's economic situation. right now the economy is in a downward spiral. but he assured russians it will bounce back. let's bring in ilya pomororev, a russian opposition leader, nice to see you again. >> good morning. just to give viewers a context of who you are, you have never been in lockstep with putin. nor have you been in lockstep with the douma, the legislative body on which you sit. you were the only state douma member in march to vote against the annexation of crimea. since that time your bank accounts have been frozen and you have been virtually exiled, what is it like to watch what's happening in russia and the economic crisis now for you? >> i really feel sorry for my country and especially that a lot of people whom i am working with and who we're working with

during reset policies that were implemented by russia and the united states and the reorganization of the economy that was introduced by medvedev. all of those people right now see here in silicon valley or in boston or new york. they virtually all of them left russia and that's really feels me sorry. >> president putin just wrapped up a three-plus hour press conference. he made some headlines, talking about the economy. he said russian growth is inevitable. so people don't need to worry so much. he finished on a very cheery note. he said we'll get through this period, it's not easy of course, but we'll strengthen our position in the world economy. the most important thing is to insure social prosperity of people despite the cuts in the budget and we can do that. we absolutely can. what do you think of his optimism? >> i totally share his optimism. for sure we will do all of that. but i am afraid we will be doing this without him. >> what do you mean?

>> i mean with the current policy that has been implemented, the economy would not bounce back under his leadership. and people were very much hoping that he would give at least some answers how he would overcome the economic crisis of today. who is responsible for the downfall of the ruble. does he feel sorry for what was done and for the policies that actually led to this economic crisis. because it's all artificial. it was not supposed to happen just beginning of this year. and he felt like no, i am okay. i'm not at fault. none of my people are at fault. central bank and the government is doing okay. all my people, you know, are doing the right things. and it would have happened even without crimea. even without invasion in ukraine. that's just a general logic of confrontation of the west. with russia. >> and yet, putin's public opinion poll numbers continue to be remarkably high. here is a poll taken by the

"associated press," this was just earlier this month. so already when the economy was slipping, 81% of russians believe in putin. and that is compared to 2012 when it was just 58%, how do you explain his tremendous poll numbers, despite this crisis? >> people do not believe in putin. people believe in certain policies that are being implemented right now. people believe that we indeed as at war with the west. that america is trying to crush russia, that america is trying to crush ukraine and that we are protecting our brother ukrainians from america's aggression. that's what our tv is telling russians. and that's why they support putin, who is the commander-in-chief and who is leading the resistance. to the western aggression. but time will pass and it will be not so long time and then people will say okay, so maybe we were mistaken, maybe it was the wrong message, maybe the guy

propagating the message is actually trying to cheat us. >> very quickly, do you think putin survives this? >> of course not. it's just will take him a year and a half, two years and then he would be gone. >> ilya pomomarev, nice to see you again, thank you for sharing your personal thoughts on this. >> thanks for having me. let's go back to chris in miami. >> what an interesting discussion you just had, alisyn. thank you very much for that. so the situation here you have a stalemate that lasted 50 years, right now the sudden and certainly historic thaw between the u.s. and cuba. a big player here, we're all talking about president obama. what about pope francis? he and the vatican played a very big part, much of what just happened in cuba and the u.s. started in rome, we'll tell but it. people with type 2 diabetes

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reliably fast internet starts at $89.95 a month. comcast business. built for business. . i want to thank his holiness pope francis who shows us the importance of pursing the world as it should be rather be that settling for the world as it is. >> president obama's eloquent words, thinking pope francis for the pivotal role he and the vatican played in brokering this h historic new agreement between the u.s. and cuba. the pope is an advocate between tieing together the u.s. and cuba. it's important to say that the vatican -- explain to us what the vatican has been doing long

before pope francis to bring about the day that we have today. >> reporter: yeah, it's an important point, chris. pope francis credits his role in this but it wouldn't have been possible without a long and patient history of vatican diplomacy. the vatican has not broken ties in cuba in more than 70 years. it was pope john paul ii who really made history by being the first pope to go to talk to if i had castro. he subsequently wrote a book about those dialogues. obviously his interests and study of the problem began some time ago. chris, i want to mention to you that the pope, just a few hours ago, was speaking to a small group of ambassadors here at the vatican. he did reference the events of yesterday and, in fact, pointed out to just what we were talking about, about the role of diplomacy. and he said, and today we are

all happy because yesterday we saw two nations who were estranged for so many years, take a step to bring them together. this was achieved by ambassadors by diplomacy. chris? >> right. you do have, d ecelia, what is historic and then the pope's statement about reality, he wishes to express his warm congratulations taken by the united states and cuba. the difficulties which have marked their recent history. here's the problem. yes, you want freedom, peace, understanding but you have a regime in place that is repressive. and it will be interesting, what is the vatican's perspective on what the government should be doing. yes, it's good to be open to

cuba but what does the vatican and pope say about what the cuba regime should change for its own people? >> reporter: well, the vatican line has always been, we are not here to decide one political regime over another. what we are here to say is that the dialogue must always be maintained. that's pope francis' line but it's been the diplomatic line. they believe it's better to keep the line of communications open. the chances of a regime change are better than if you were not talking at all. they said this is what we wanted to achieve. the line of communications are open. they are sovereign nations to decide for themselves and their own political story. chris? >> well, delia, i'll tell you it is fitting that that is the perspective of the vatican and the pope. obviously fueled so much by

faith because there are many who don't trust the proposition that the regime will change there no matter what it is offered in exchange. thank you for the perspective from rome. the united states and cuba and the vatican all moving together. we'll give you more on this story. stay with us. shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. start shopping online from a list of top-rated providers. visit angieslist.com today.

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and anger. >> this president is the single worst negotiator that we've had in the white house in my lifetime. >> it was crucial to my survivor knowing that i was not forgotten. >> sony should fight fire with fire. i cannot think of another moment like this in modern movie history. >> certainly the studio is about to be the enemy. >> the rubel losing half of its value to the u.s. dollar. >> his approval rating is still sky high. about 85%. good morning. welcome back to "knew day." i'm chris cuomo coming to you from miami's little havana district. we have seen so many people here coming with such different perspectives on the historic

announcement that president obama just made. largely it's along generational lines. old-school cubans forced to leave everything and everyone behind thinking how can you reward this regime and a younger generation saying, is. >> a better way forward? nothing seems to change there. we're going to give you the reaction from havana to here to washington. back to you. >> we are tracking today's other big stories, including the fallout from the cyberattack on sony. north korea is being pointed at as the release of the new film "the interview". and vladimir putin is addressing its growing crisis and the future of his presidency. first, let's head back to miami

and chris. >> mic, thank you very much. little havana is a huge population center for people of cuban descent, whether they were more there or generations that have followed here to the united states. with president obama's optimism and the vatican, there's a lot of feelings of betrayal but it's good to know that alan gross is going home, freed by the castro regime. they say it's a humanitarian release. many dispute why he was held for in the first place. alan gross put three cuban intelligent agents part of the wasp network that was convicted in the united states, one of them was serving two life sentences, released. that's alan gross. he's on the u.s. government plane. he had his wife and congressman

with him. he was watching "new day." the story is just beginning and we've got coverage from every angle. let's start at the white house. michelle kosinski is there. >> reporter: released from a cuban prison after more than five years, u.s. officials had popcorn, corn beef sandwich waiting for him and the biggest changing to u.s./cuban policy in five decades. a bold move that many are not on board with. many vowing to aggressively try to stop it. the release of alan gross, much more than a happy reunion. now the sudden re-establishment of diplomatic relations with cuba. fidel castro's brother still at the helm has erupted into another political firestorm. >> this policy contradiction is absurd. and it is disgraceful for a

president who claims to treasure human rights and human freedom. >> reporter: especially from hispanic lawmakers who felt left out of the discussion, some possibly running for president next round. >> we have been consistently alienating and abandoning our friends and allies and at the same time appeasing and cod delling our enemies. first it was russia, then iran, today it's cuba. >> reporter: not only republicans. >> it's a fallacy to believe that cuba will reform because an american president opens his hands and the castro brothers will suddenly unclench their fists. >> reporter: president obama spent a day explaining. >> we want to see greater freedom, greater prosperity, greater opportunity for ordinary cubans. >> reporter: this, the first time an american president has reached out since the revolution in the 1950s will mean an embassy in havana, opening some commerce, though not tourism for

now. first steps, lotted by u.s. business and agriculture. >> it is the right thing to do. today america chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past, chooses to reach for a better future. >> reporter: cuba has agreed to release dozens of political prisoners and open up its connectivity to its people. critics say, not nearly enough. plus, a spy swap, including a cuban convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. the president knew it was coming, addressing that reaction before it even started. >> let me say that i respect your passion and share your commitment to liberty and democracy. the question is how we uphold that commitment. i do not believe that we can keep doing the same thing for over five decades and expect a different result. >> reporter: the white house says we have relations with old rivals and new ones.

vietnam, china, plenty of countries that have less than stellar human rights policies. some may try not to fund a new embassy there or not confirm a new ambassador. chris? >> all right. so complicated, the politics in this situation, both in what matters and all the trappings of politics around it. a lot of it is people feeling like they got surprised. you'll remember, recaaul castrod president obama at mandela's funeral. we know that that handshake meant more. there have been negotiations going on since june, involving the president, the vatican, the pope. that plays into who knew, who didn't and from all of the feelings here from politicians

and from regular people, what is the feeling in cuba? we have patrick there and he's been covering it from when we really began what was happening with alan gross months ago. he's in havana for us this morning. patrick, tell us about -- paint us a picture of the reaction there from the cuban people we hope are benefited from this and also what you've learned about fidel castro and alan gross and their plans going forward. >> reporter: certainly. and for the cuban people, they are hoping that this will benefit them at long last. you know, the reality for the average cuban citizen is pretty dire. they subsist on less than $20 a month. there was hope and disbelief and absolute shock. you saw people laughing and crying. despite politics, whether people are pro or ambivalent or against the revolution, there is hope among most people that i spoke to that this means that the

cuban people within cuba -- outside of cuba will be brought closer together, this will improve the average cuban's well-being. but, you know, obviously the cuban people these decisions are out of their hands. the negotiations were kept secret from them until the last moment until raul castro made this very unusual announcement. no sign of fidel castro. they say he had nothing to do with the negotiations which certainly would be significant from a leader who ran every small detail of this country. we'll have to see if fidel castro will weigh in. it may be more telling if he ends up not opining about this historic landmark deal. if you ask alan gross, he's just starting the rest of his life. it's interesting, his attorney and wife told me months ago but

asked me not to address, he will one day return to cuba. he fell in love with its country and its people, certainly not its government but dreamed of getting outside of the cell walls that constrained him for five years and seeing more of cuba. so we heard -- and really it's almost unbelievable that alan gross intends, one day his health is well enough, to come back and meet more cubans and see more of cuba. i asked an official what they think about that and as long as he came as a friend. chris? >> that's amazing patrick. we talk about the history but just the simple humanity, of this wife that she thought she'd never see him again. we're getting the reaction from there and what it means for alan gross and for the people. back here, people were taken to this street also but for different reasons. they were not celebrating. to put it at best, they are divided.

you have a generation here forced to leave cuba, to leave everything and everyone. this is their adopted home and they love it now but they have no trust. and then you have a younger generation here who looks at the past 50 years and says, has this really worked, this strategy? elena machado is joining me. >> people have heated discussions about what is going on and, you're right, this debate is along a generational lines. you have the younger cubans and then the people who came in the '50s and '60s. they went through incredible hardship. when they left the island, they left everything they knew. many left family members, many lost family members and that generation is very much opposed to any change on the island without any political change. so their biggest issue is, you know, how can you do this without actually bringing about

change on the island, chris? >> and you can understand that perspective. you're still dealing with the same two men who caused all of this hardship and yet you have to look at it from the perspective of, but has it worked. right? >> right. and that's what the younger generation says. a lot of the younger cubans have only been here for five, ten years. they have family members there and they say, we've been trying this for decades. none of it has worked. why don't we try it from a different approach and everyone is going to be looking at what goes on here, see what happens, any changes on the island, any changes here. we'll have to wait and see. >> usually it's very definitive to say that people are here to commensurate and see what is going on. you hear some "viva obama." we'll have to see. thank you for giving us a perspective from here. nobody know it is better than

you do. all right. so this debate going back and forth, is it a good move or not? is america getting duped or is it the way forward? let's bring in a democrat and one of his constituents is alan gross. he's from maryland and one of the three lawmakers who traveled to cuba yesterday to bring alan gross home. thank you very much, congressman, for being with us and thanks for having cnn on the plane. so this was a big moment certainly for one family. tell us about that about how his wife felt because she used that word, endure, she won't endure another year. we all know what she was fearing. >> you're right, chris. this has been five years in the making. people have been trying very hard to secure his freedom from the jail and nobody has been more relentless or tireless than his wife judy gross and there have been lots of ups and downs

along the way, where people thought there might be a breakthrough. it was incredibly heartwarming when we walked into the building at the airport in havana. judy gross, of course, leading the way to see her husband alan who has lost a lot of weight but has a huge spirit. big smile on his face. of course, he gave judy a big hug and then hugged everybody else and, you know, he thanked people for sticking with him, keeping the faith and we thank alan for his resilience and his incredible spirit. you saw him at the press conference just yesterday. >> all right. now, let me play proxy on the other side of the situation. you have alan gross back. that's good. you gave up too much more him. you gave up three bad guys, one serving two life sentences and you also got duped and you are now supporting a repressive regime that has never shown an instinct for change which is a

betrayal to american who is had to free their oppression. >> first on the prisoner exchange. the exchange was for a u.s. intelligent asset, a cuban national who would spent 25 to 30 years already in cuban prison who was going to rot away the rest of his life in cuban prison who had provided the united states intelligence community with lots of important national security information. it's very important to send a signal to those who are going to help us around the world that we will remember them. and so he has been freed as part of this. with respect to the larger policy, look, it's very clear that 54 years of a policy of isolation has failed to accomplish its own goal. the goal was to squeeze the castro brothers to force them to step aside to create more democratic space on the island. in fact, it's only isolated the cuban people. it's actually helped to sustain the castro regime.

they have now survived eight presidents and so when something's not working, you try something else. and the policy of engagement with the cuban people will open up communication, trade, travel and begin to open up cuba. not overnight but clearly the last 54 years have not -- and that strategy has not had its intended result. in fact, quite the opposite. >> right. right. but that's the promise versus the pragmatism. on one level this could be seen as negotiating, not with terrorists. let's put definitions aside. but you are basically giving something to someone who has been not held to account for doing very bad things to a big portion of your population. and that's why when you poll this question, if you do all americans, you get like about 50-plus percent say this is the right thing to do. not among cubans. they feel like you are rewarding people who have hurt them. that doesn't mean you give the bad guys what they want.

>> chris, as you've said, there's a generational split within the cuban-american community. this is not giving the -- their people have been punished but they are still there and there's no sign that another five or ten years of trying to isolate cuba will result in any kind of regime change. and so the reason you're seeing the cuban people celebrate this is they believe that more engagement, more trade will actually empower them, not the regime. and i should point, as you mention, alan gross who spent five years in a cuban jail, the last thing he wants to do is reward the people who put him in prison, the regime. >> right. >> but he firmly believes that the president's policy will help empower the cuban people over time. >> right. look, alan gross and his whole

family have to be held harm unless this situation. he needed to get home no matter what it took, from his spe perspective, but there are big questions going forward and i really appreciate you coming on the show and taking the time to explain the perspective of why you believe what the president is doing is not just historic but historic in a good way. thank you, sir. >> i do. thank you, chris. mic, let me come back to you in new york. the policies are going to play out. we don't know what is going to happen going forward. you have to have a lot of faith in the outcome here to keep the optimism going. i'll tell you, it was a moment, no matter how you look at it yesterday, put up that picture of the plane, u.s. government plane bringing alan gross back. many people thought he'd never get out of there, including himself. there we are on television. it's not gratuitous. it's nice to be part of history, especially when it's good news for someone. >> oh, we were truly flies on

the wall for this historic moment. but just to tell you the backstory more of what was happening at this moment, that was the moment after alan gross had just looked out the window, he raised his hands in that sort of victory salute and a voice off camera. there's a video at this moment that i've tweeted out, a voice off camera. maybe congressman jeff flake says, u.s. air space, how does that feel? and alan gross takes a big inhale and smiles. and it's just so nice that this is the moment that so symbolizes his freedom. >> powerful. the image says it all. chris, we'll get back to you in miami in a bit. we want to take a look at some of your headlines now and we start with russian president vladimir putin addressing a three-hour news conference saying whether he runs for re-election depends on the state of his country. putin speculated the u.s. and

saudi arabia were conspireing to lower oil prices to punish russia. he addressed the crisis in ukraine, suggesting that the u.s. is sparking a new cold war. pakistani intelligent officials say they believe afghan-based elements of the taliban carried out that deadly massacre. at least 148 people were killed in the siege. among them, 132 children. more evidence is showing a possible link between autism and air pollution. this is according to a new harvard stud dent. pregnant women may double their risk of giving birth to an autistic child by breathing in pollution. if they breathe in elevated levels of airborne particles emitted by power plants and

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sony pictures announcing it will not release the controversial movie "the interview" following threats against theaters. the u.s. is prepared to announce that north korea is behind the attacks and cyberattack on sony. a defector tells cnn that pyongyang is running a group of hackers against perceived

enemies. great to see both of you. right or wrong, sony to pull this movie? >> it's an unprecedented move. it takes years. it cost $44 million to make this movie and doesn't include the cost of advertising and buying ads on tv and the fact that they are not releasing it at all in theaters, dvd, you can't get this movie anywhere and everybody is talking about it, that's pretty big. >> maybe it was the wrong move? >> a lot of people feel like this is censorship and that they should have released the movie. a lot of people were outraged yesterday. >> is north korea stronger and more dangerous than we knew? >> okay, look, north korea has a capability and an agreement with the iranians on sort of cyberattacks, sort of working with them, maybe. but this is to your earlier question, this is not the way you deal with the bully. you punch him in the nose as

oppos opposed to cower and gave. why has sony pulled this movie when they've invested so much money? >> what is the answer? >> you could have gone ondemand or premium. what is sony trying to hide? they have been horribly embarrassed by these documents. they clearly want to stop further release of the documents. don't know, right, that if it is north korea, will the not releasing the movie do that? you know, this is a thug regime you're talking about. >> because the hackers promised a christmas day surprise. sony does bear some responsibility in this whole thing. >> in 2007, for example, the cio at sony said it was a business decision that it might be more expensive to prevent the cyberattack than to endure it. that's a legitimate business decision. don't imagine that sony feels that way today. >> exactly. so they should now -- that seems

completely fool-hearted, that they did not invest the amount of money that they should have, and they admitted it, in order to prevent this. >> we don't know that this is over. we don't know who the hackers are or what their motives are or that they are going to make good on their word. they could continue to terrorize sony. the fact that they pulled it doesn't necessarily make sense because you're negotiating with a known terrorist. >> unless they know something that we don't. >> right. >> but the amount of data that these hackers were able to get, fran, compare it to something. >> it was 100 terabytes of information, ten times the size of the entire library of congress. that doesn't happen in days or weeks. that happens over the course of months, which means the hacker was very sophisticated, got inside the system. there was an insider who helped them or remotely got inside the system and stole administrative privileges so they could download. but somebody is asleep at the switch at sony because they

don't catch what is going on here. >> ten times the size of the library of congress? that's mind blowing. what should the u.s. do in response? >> it's not clear that the u.s. government is going to do anything. they say this is a commercial dispute. remember, when they were dedicated denial service attacks against the service industry, the government didn't do anything there either. the government seems to be taking the approach, look, you have to build this into your business model and endure these costs. it's not clear that they will do anything at all. if sony failed to take the appropriate response, it's like when an individual leaves the keys in the car. it's like blaming the victim but sony may have some real legal liability here. they made a business decision not to release this movie. they decided taking the financial hit is cheaper, frankly, than enduring the lawsuits from the stars and whose other private information is going to get release. >> of course we now all feel at risk because of sony's decision.

ramin, fran, thank you. michaela? maybe you are watching us here on "new day" on the elliptical. you're cutting your risk of something quite serious. we're going to discuss it with our senior medical correspondent, ahead. what does an apron have to do with car insurance?

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in today's "new day" new you, we all know that exercise is good for us. a new study shows that if you are in better shape, not only is your body slimmer, so is your risk of high blood pressure. joining us is medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. >> michaela, this was a huge study. more than 50,000 people. what they found was when they put them on the treadmill, those who could work out the longest and the hardest, if you looked at them over the next 18 years, they were less likely to get high blood pressure which means they were less likely to get heart attacks and strokes. >> so there are folks right now watching us from the treadmill

or elliptical. they are wondering how much exercise do i need to get to start to see that blood pressure start to dip. >> experts tell us about 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week. so it's not huge. i mean, that's not a huge investment. it's not every single day. so hopefully people can manage to get that? >> and it's stuff that gets the heart pumping, cardiovascular-type exercise, right? >> yes. that's what you want to aim for. so elliptical, treadmill, getting your heart rate up. i always want to add this note. some people who don't exercise a lot, the thought of doing exercise strenuous to get their heart rate really going, it seems intimidating. >> right. >> or they try to do too much and say this is too much. i can't do it. >> sure. >> do what you can. if what you can do is a ten-minute walk around the block, that's great. start with that. >> behind your picture, there's a picture of people walking in new york central park. get out and get some fresh air. it's not lost on me that this

study is coming out as people are likely planning those new year's resolutions. and maybe they can start small. >> elizabeth, have a great day. >> you, too. >> alisyn? we'll breakdown the president's bold and controversial moves with our political experts. hello... i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign.

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welcome back. we're coming to you from little havana in miami. now, this is a real focus for the community here, specifically the cuban community. this is where they have come to commensurate about what things have gone wrong in cuba and to celebrate. we had a little bit of both last night. president obama has made history, whether you like the move or not, this is something. thawing relationships with cuban in establishment since 1961 and now the president wants to change course. it's also an example of what seems to be a new strategy that deserves discussion. let's bring in ana navarro and

mark lamont hill. now, here's my point, ana, and you start with it. the president gets a beat-down in the midterm elections. his party but also him. and since then, this flurry of activity by him. take a look at what he's done with the deal with china, about immigration as executive action and now this, making history in cuba. is this strategy working with him going it alone? >> i think he tried for a while unsuccessfully, failed at it, frankly, to get legislation done. he came in trying to be the uniter. instead he's been the divider. probably the country is more antagonized, more divided and polarized than when he came in and he decided, well, i can't do it through legislation so i'm going to do what i can through executive order, which is limited. as you said, this is a lot of thawing out but not the lifting of the embargo. that he cannot do by executive order. immigration, yes, he saw certain nations and addressed the

problems of certain people but it's not a permanent legislative solution. so i think we've seen this pattern and the timing here is not coincidental. let's remember that we had a very close congressional election going on here that ended up costing the democrat his seat. i don't think they would have done this before that election and we also have a close govern governor's race where i think there was hope so he waited to make sure it wasn't an al gore 2000. come november, we'll remember. >> politics is rarely accidental. there's a lot of intentionality. the president is dealing with a toxic political environment and he can't get things done because of the culture of obstructionism. and he's doing the best he can do but a show of strength, not weakness. your take? >> i would disagree with ana's initial premise, which is that

the president has been a divider rather than a uniter. the president has been trying to respond to a congress that's been stubbornly resistant to any type of legislative move proposed by the president. i think any type of progressive policy has been resisted by the congress and, for that reason, he's been stuck in a difficult place. i don't agree with the president's policies or ideologies but he's made an effort to move the ball forward which has been thwarted at every turn. this is a timing issue. all policy moves are timing issues. all presidential issues are timing issues. post-election immigration makes more sense. post-election thawing or trying to normalize solutions with cuba makes more sense and i think it's a legacy issue. the president doesn't want to go down in history as somebody who doesn't get anything done. it won't lift the embargo but it's a positive step forward. >> and this is not making sense right now. >> why? >> what it does is have less political cost.

>> what's the difference? >> the difference is he's no longer up for election. this is a purple state. there's no longer congressional seats up for grabs here. that he himself is no longer on the ballot. >> that's why the timing makes sense. >> that's the huge difference. you know, what would have made sense is for him to try to do immigration, legislation on these big issues when he had both the house and the senate. and he didn't. and so now -- >> he couldn't. >> no, he chose not to. on immigration he chose not to. >> you're telling me the amount of work -- >> mark -- >> that's a good point. let's break out immigration for a second. the fair point from ana about immigration, he could have done it and did not. >> this is the whied that when the president -- the narrow window in which the president has a supermajority he should have done, health care, cap and

trade, he didn't have the muscle power to do all of those things. he prioritized. do i think he should have done something different? perhaps. and that's up to everyone's decision but i don't think it was easy to say that he could have gotten immigration through and even now it's difficult to get immigration through wholesale. if you remember correctly, congress didn't want to deal with this issue in a substantive way in post-election. >> they don't want to deal with anything, mark. >> but immigration was -- is largely self-funded by fees. a lot of these changes have to go through the congress, things like the confirmation of the ambassador, things like funding for the regulatory changes that he wants to put through and i think he's going to get a very tough fight. >> look, at a minimum, we have seen a little bit of change in perception here for the president. let's put him against putin, okay? putin was like cleaning his cloth all summer long.

we were baffled by how vladimir putin had a new way of doing whatever he want and then putin, in this press conference today, he said it's too early for me to say whether or not i'm going to run again. from vladimir putin. as you hear them saying, i don't know, you've been a little too aggressive with these sanctions and the rubel is crashing. it looks like he's had an event. >> and isn't it ironic, we did sanctions there, we enforced them, strong sanctions and we're bringing putin into a weaker position and at the same time we're appeasing the dictator's 90 miles an hour. >> wait a minute. >> do you think we'll see progress in cuba because of the sanctions? >> do i think we'll see progress because of the sanctions? you know, i think we haven't seen a victory by the dictatorship because of the sanctions. the sarnctions at this point ar

symbol electric at this point but we're closer to the dictators than we were 55 years ago. they are 80-some years old and we have not even seen fidel castro. for all we know, they bring out his corpse every now and then. >> i won't respond to that part of it. >> go ahead. button up quickly. i've got to go. >> i strongly disagree, one, the point about sanctions to me is mind boggling. we've had nearly 60 years of sanctions. no, all we've done it further isolate cuba, undermine humanitarian and economic growth in the country. the point about putin, in the summer when we did the sanctions, people said that it wasn't enough. people ignored that the toughest sanctions had to come from europe because that's where the energy dependency was. now that it's working people are saying, why didn't you do with putin with cuba.

they move the target. it's unreasonable. >> i hear you. mark lamont hill, ana navarro -- >> we're going to have to test your spanish. >> that's good. because i don't know what you said alisyn, back to you in new york. >> it's been great to get a read on how people are feeling. >> you can hear the passion and the noise and conversation. it's fantastic. >> a lot going on there. meanwhile, president vladimir putin, as we've been discussing, what is he saying about the collapses economy and his own political future? we'll speak with the former ambassador of russia. rescued. protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years.

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russian president vladimir putin holding a three-plus hour news conference this morning. his own future, he admits, is uncertain. good morning, mr. ambassador. >> good morning. >> what a turnaround in fortunes for vladimir putin in just the space of the year. he was the king of the hill after the sochi olympics, annexing crimea, showing aggression in ukraine and now today in the press conference, he's having to explain his country's crumbling and economy's future. >> it's very clear that the crumbling economy has been a major and significant impact on the russian people and they are

asking questions now they were not before. they were very happy with the notion that putin was in fact leading them into a brave new world. that's pretty well gone. he's been explaining why, in fact, sanctions are hurting him but he's, interestingly enough, allotting that only 25% of the economic disruption. that's probably right. he himself i think was responsible for causing the initial decline beginning in march with the crimean invasion and that's had a real effect and now, of course, he's been hit with a triple whammy. the oil price decline has hit russia very, very hard. while they have strengthened. ruble overnight, the world will recover at some point and he'll have enough money to ride out the crisis before that happens and keep his people happy. that's a big bet. >> it is a big bet and admitted

in his press conference that his own future is uncertain. he doesn't know if he would seek re-election. do you think that he survives this? >> well, if he survives this, i think certainly he will seek re-election. he's been canny like western politicians. he's in a very difficult situation now, the notion that he should turn to seek re-election at this stage is probably politically unwise. >> and yet, mr. ambassador, the public opinion polls in russia still today, the a.p. just did a poll. it was at the beginning of december. so the economy was already taking a nose-dive and 81% of russia still support vladimir putin. compare that to 2012, before the annexing of crimea and before the olympics in sochi, he was only at 58%. >> that's right. his trumpeting of nationalism, i expect it's still a ways back

and polls taken over the next couple of weeks will show a truer picture and will show, in fact, the reflection of people standing in line with rubles in their hands either to buy foreign exchange or high-valued goods. the ruble went down to 80 but stabilized to around 60 overnight and i think it's still a very problematic situation for putin and russia. >> ambassador thomas pickering, thank you for joining us on "new day." michaela? >> all right. when we come back, we're going to have the good stuff. stay tuned for that. x helped me. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it gave me the power to overcome the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some people had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away.

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through the course of our life, and by using pronamel every day, just simply using it as your toothpaste, you know you will have that peace of mind. all right. a beloved crossing guard from lakewood, texas, for decades he has made sure the kids are safe. however, his wife is sick and the medical bills have been mounting. a couple weeks ago, his car was repossessed. the residents of lakewood were not going to stand for that. you now how you get the attention of a crossguard, you park his car in the middle of a crosswalk.

>> it's your car. >> that's right, baby. >> that's right. the dads got together, bought mr. kent a brand-new car. >> we wouldn't trade mr. kent for the borworld. >> everything is good. >> you're welcome. >> and we love you buddy. >> and we love that community of lakewood for doing that for a tremendous man, a member of their community who needs a little love and support this holiday season. >> you did the good stuff really well. >> did i do okay? >> i need a tissue. >> that's the mark of a good stuff. thanks so much for watching us with all of the breaking news today. we appreciate it. we'll see you tomorrow. time now for "newsroom" with carol costello. >> thank you. have a great day. "newsroom" starts now. good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. we begin with the massive cyber

terror attack on sony officials. the u.s. is getting ready to announce that north korea was indeed behind that b rcrazen attack. also new this morning, a defector who once worked as a computer expert for north korea tells cnn he believes the communist country is running a massive hacker network made up of nearly 2,000 secret cyberwarriors. all of this as sony