go to hike the appalachian trail? who can say that now? >> they go to show receipts and stuff. >> reporter: that's it for "the lead." i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, protests planned despite an urgent plea for new york mayor after the funerals for two new york police officer's. rising tensions. george ptaki all but blames the mayor, calling the murders the outcome of an anti government rhetoric. and a stunner from sony. the controversial film mocking north korea's leader will open on christmas day despite cyberthreats, a move that president obama is already applauding. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

we're following two breaking stories. new york is on edge as marchers vow to protest despite the plea to wait until funerals take place for the two murdered police officers. vice president biden will attend the funerals. today, may you're de blasio visited the sites where they were gunned down. they continue to investigate threats posted on social media. and a stunning turnabout by sony pictures which will now allow "the interview" to be shown in some theaters on christmas day. the film mocks north korea's dictator kim jong-un and his regime has been blamed for a

massive cyberattack on sony studios. the white house applauds sony's new action. the former new york governor george pataki is standing by along with congressman brad sherman, our correspondents and guests. let's get the latest from miguel marquez who is in new york city. miguel? >> reporter: hello, wolf. this is the area where protests are gathering. there's only about 50 or 60 protests and theis is their target. it's shopping central this time of the year. there's about 50, perhaps 60 or 70 now that have been gathering for the last 30 minutes or so. what they say they want to do is speak power to the administration here in new york. they say they want the police commissioner bratton to step down. they say they will be respectful

but they will be animated and perhaps not as angry and they are going to walk down the sidewalks not obstructing traffic. there are a lot of police officers here at the moment and they are on a wait and see mode. they want to see how the protesters react. they want to see what they do today and they will then react to them. so it is a very, very tense afternoon here, wolf. >> reporter: so they rejected the appeal from new york mayor bill de blasio to at least halt these demonstrations to the funerals of the two police officers, right? >> reporter: they say that the mayor should not be giving in to those sort of calls. they say that the protests and what happened to those two police officers, as unfortunate as it is, are two different situations and should not be lumped together. they said that bratton and that the police unions in using the deaths of those two police

officers this way should stop their rhetoric and should step down from their positions and at this point they are calling for a winter of resistance. wolf? >> we've heard a tiny number of the protesters in recent days have a lot of ugly rhetoric towards police officers. are you seeing any of that right now over on fifth avenue? >> we are not. i've covered a lot of these protests in the recent weeks and there was a lot of hateful angry chanting towards police officers walking right alongside the protesters. at the moment they have the same signs that they've had in others, that they want an end to racist policing, that they want justice. some of this has spread out to economics as well. the one percenters of the occupy wall street are here as well. at the moment, there's none of the chanting or signs that we've seen in previous protests.

wolf? >> we'll get back to you, miguel marquez, in new york city. there was harsh rhetoric surrounding the murders of the two police officers as the mayor visited the memorial site and went to a moment of silence. martin savidge is on the scene for us in brooklyn. what's the latest over there, martin? >> reporter: wolf, this memorial site continues to grow in size and continues to grow in meaning to the people of brooklyn and all of new york. it has been visited today by many, many people. you mentioned the mayor of new york here with his wife. there have been police officers here that have come in large groups and then there have been members of the public that have also been representatives of one of the fallen officers, officer ramos. this continues to be the touchstone. at 2:47 p.m., here and in city hall and new york and a number of other sites, they observed a moment of silence. that was, of course, exactly three days to that moment when the shots were fired that killed

the two officers on this specific site. tonight, the mayor is saying that they are asking for public buildings and also for landmarks to dim their lights at 9:00 again out of the respect of the officers. many are calling for healing and reflection and despite what you've heard from the police and the mayor's office, publicly they are trying, the mayor is trying in many ways to bridge that gap at a time when many on the street fear it could still be very wise in public z what are they saying about joe biden coming to that funeral on saturday and paying his respect obviously on behalf of the obama administration? >> reporter: well, it shows, of course, the tragedy that happened here and why it may have happened goes well beyond new york city and brooklyn. the fact that the vice president is coming, officer ramos' funeral on saturday is expected to be a major event in which many, many people will want to

participate. funeral plans for the other officer, officer liu, have not been announced as of yet. but you can imagine emotions will be very high. wolf? >> martin, thanks very much. new york's former republican governor george pataki has joined police officials in slamming bill de blasio, accusing him of putting officers' lives at risk. the former governor is joining us live. thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> do you remember a time when things were this bad in new york city? >> yes, i do, but it hasn't been in over 40 years. in the fact, the last time that police were assassinated was over 40 years ago. there had been a racial divide between the police and particularly african-american communities. but we haven't seen anything like it in generations, literally. and i don't think this happens in a vacuum. i think it happened because over the last few years there's been

a concerted effort to demonize the new york police department. the best police department in america, the best trained police department anywhere and one that had made enormous strides to making the city the safest largest city in america at tremendous risks to themselves. we should be applauding this great police department and they should not have been democrnizi the it the way that they have. >> you tweeted, "sickened by these barbaric acts, which sadly are a predictable outcome of divisive anti-cop rhetoric." this is right after the killing of the two police officers. do you stand by that statement? >> absolutely, wolf. i'm not going to apologize for having the police's back. i've been to too many police

funerals. i saw their carriage running to the buildings on september 11th. this didn't happen in a vacuum. before the eric garner decision, there had been a tremendous effort to demonize this police department as a racist department. it started a couple of years ago. and it continued particularly through the democratic primary in 2013 when every candidate was trying to get reverend al sharpton on their side. in particular, they went after commissioner ray kelly, who was one of the finest police commissioners that this city ever had. ironically, it's mayor bloomberg and commissioner kelly that turned new york city's police department into a department that is majority/minority and yet despite that, despite the tremendous success and tremendous goodwill in the community for political reasons, they were demonized over the last couple of years and this climate of divisiveness, this climate of this police that you

cannot trust as opposed to they are there to protect us, created this climate where this horrible, horrible act occurred. >> what specifically did eric holder do that created this climate that resulted in the deaths of these two police officers? >> wolf, let me give you one example. back in 2007 or 2008, a lawsuit was brought by the nypd accusing it of racist tactics and profiling in some of it is police tactics. that lawsuit went nowhere but then eric holder, right before a decision was going to be made, entered into that suit, sued the police department on the part of the justice department, the united states government asking for a federal monitor of the new york police department because of their racist tactics and that showed the challenges made against the nypd.

i think that was a horrible move. take a look at chicago where weekend after weekend there were double digit murders in the south side of african-americans and not this police department, which is the finest in america, a majority/minority where it's efforts over the last decades have saved thousands of lives. >> you specifically mention, divisive anti-cop rhetoric. is there a speech or statement that eric holder made that created this climate that resulted in the deaths of these police officers? >> i don't want to say that climate resulted in the death. the death of these police officers was the act of one horrible human being. but it came out of this climate and as commissioner bratton himself said, it was a direct spinoff, that's a quote, of the demonstrators. when you have demonstrators who say, what do we want, dead cops, when do we want them, hundreds

of them, this mayor refers to them as peaceful demonstrations, i think it sends the wrong message. bill de blasio today in visiting for that site and calling for the moment of silence and asking for the demonstrations to halt during this time of mourning has done the right thing. and he should be commended for that. i'm not going to criticize him simply because he's the mayor. i'm going to criticize him when i think he did the wrong thing and i think he did, in meeting with the leaders of demonstrations, calling for the heads of cops and not the head of the police unions. >> this is the former mayor rudy giuliani on cnn. i'm going to play this and then i want to discuss it with you, governor. >> sure. >> when you start doing this stuff that the mayor is doing, that the president is doing, that the attorney general is doing, they are perpetuating a myth that there is systemic police brutality. there is systemic crime, there is occasional police brutality. >> do you agree with the former

mayor? >> i completely agree. by the way, if you look back two years, i don't think there's an institution in america held in greater esteem than the nypd with good reason. >> i just want to be precise because we're getting a lot of reaction. you refer to anti-cop rhetoric of eric holder and mayor de blasio. was there a statement, a speech, a phrase, something they said that created this climate of the anti-cop climate? >> i just mentioned, the lawsuit that eric holder brought accusing the nypd of racial profiling in its tactics and demanding a federal monitor over the nypd. the best-trained, most successful in america. that is an act that occurred. i think it's very unfortunate that mayor de blasio talked about centuries of racism in the nypd. i think we should have heard from both of them and president obama during the course of the

last year some commendation that the police officers make. the fact that in any given year, over 100 are killed in the line of duty. where was that support until today? it should have been there. there should have been a balance in the rhetoric. it didn't exist with the president or attorney general nor with the mayor. >> are you at all concerned that the tweet that you had and, as i said, it's getting a lot of reaction out there, very accusatory, could cause even more division between the nypd and the mayor? >> i don't think so. the nypd clearly is emotionally shocked by this. the splitting occurred before this horrible, horrible attack. but they are professionals. and they are going to do the right thing for this city. commissioner bratton is a great commissioner. they will rally behind the city. i believe the city of new york will rally behind the pd and we're going to see, despite the horrible divisiveness of the

last year or two, new yorkers will come together. >> let me get your reaction to patrick lynch. i'm going to play the clip for you, governor, and then we'll get your reaction. listen to this. >> there's blood on many hands tonight. those that incited violence on the street under the gis of protests that tried to tear down what new york city police officers did every day. that blood on the hands starts on the steps of city hall in the office of the mayor. >> should he have said that? >> i -- in retrospect, i don't think he would have said it but it was a very emotional moment. patrick lynch is the head of the police officer union. he hassons who are police officers. when you see this happen for the first time in over 40 years, you're going to react and i think, in this case, pat reacted emotionally. if he had to take that back, i wouldn't be surprised if he did.

on the other hand, i don't think any of us should apologize for being highly critical of the effort of the last two years, i believe largely for political reasons to demonize the best police department in america. >> should those police officers have turned their backs on a sitting mayor in new york? >> you know, i can't put myself in a position of a police officer who has been under enormous strain. and by the way, i spoke with police officers before this horrible attack who told me that there were credible threats against all of them. threats where they were going to be followed home from their station houses to their homes and attacked there. and then this act owe occurred, this assassination. this reacting and i can say today that i have no doubt that they are going to come together regardless of whether or not they love the mayor or not, they are going to listen to the commissioner, they are going to protect the people of this city

and they are going to do what they have always done, is risked their lives to provide for the safety of every single person in this city. >> governor, i want you to stand by. i've got more questions for you. we'll take a quick break and resume the conversation right after this.

we're taking a look at live pictures on fifth avenue in new york city. it's not a huge protest but there are protesters out there. we heard from miguel marquez who is on the scene. they are ignoring the appeal from the mayor bill de blasio to stop the protests until the funerals of the two police officers, rafael ramos and wenjian liu. we will continue to monitor these protests. in the meantime, let's bring informer republican governor george pataki. he's been very critical of the mayor. >> in asking for a halt to these

demonstrations during the time of mourning is correct. he has obviously grave issues with the police department but they are professional and they will work for this mayor. i think he should apologize to the police. and when you have protesters saying, what do we want, dead cops. i think he should apologize. we're proud of them while we're going to always do everything we can to make sure that they respect the human rights of every single new yorker. we regret the fact that a climate has been created where you hundreds of people have called it we have a great police department and i called them.

>> wolf, this is a terrible time. i will talk about that once this period is over. and i just hope now that we can all look forward, come together, understand that we have so much more in common in this city, in this state, in this country and try to stop this effort to divide and demonize that sadly created this climate against the police here in new york. >> governor pataki, thank you for joining us. we'll continue our conversation and talk about politics a little bit of our viewers will want to know what your plans are. thanks very much for joining us and merry christmas. >> thank you, wolf. merry christmas, happy new year, happy hanukkah. >> thank you so much. a change of mind by sony

pictures. how will north korea react? we're covering all sides of the breaking news.

we're following breaking news. a huge about face by sony. they will release "the interview" in a limited release at independent theaters around the united states. elise labott is watching for reaction from north korea. what are you picking up, elise? >> wolf, president obama has said he welcomes the decision to reverse course and release the film. the question now is, will north korea retaliate after merciless threats against the u.s. if they release the film. kim jong-un portrays himself a man of the people, a revered leader depicted as inspiring such edadoration, the public crs

at the sight of him. >> i think it says something interesting about north korea that they decided to have the state mount an all out assault on a movie studio because of a move. >> reporter: it was a calculated move to cement his grip on power showing his people he will stand up to america. >> they feel that we feel that he's weak, he's not decisive. this is another piece of that puzzle. it's part of a pattern of testing their leader and that strikes at the very core of the system. so they are going to respond in a very harsh way. >> reporter: the film, "the interview," portraying kim's assassination, may be a comedy but it's portrayal of an irrational and dangerous leader is something that north korea

watchers say kim has cultivated with nuclear tests and attacks against south korea. joe has tracked him since his teenage years as a north korea expert at the cia. >> i think that element of unpredictability is part of a psyche. this says, i'm someone you have to deal with and, believe me, i have capabilities that despite the fact that we're a small country, to have capabilities that you have to address. >> reporter: inside north korea, the perception that the country is locked in the state of war with south korea, the u.s. and its allies allows kim jong-un to continue the country's isolation and maintain absolute rule. >> the very attention from some of the economic hardships that people have to live through in north korea, they are saying militarily it was strong and we're independent and nobody is going to mess with us in that regard. so, yes, i do agree, having that element of an external enemy is

important for domestic control. >> and the u.s. says it is still considering its response against north korea for the cyberattack on sony. officials are being very coy about whether the u.s. is responsible for the latest disruption in the north korean internet. whatever the measures are the u.s. takes, officials expect some kind of counterresponse from kim jong-un, an effort to show that he is in control both at home and abroad. >> elise labott, thank you very much. with us now is peter beinart and brian stelter, host of cnn's "reliable sources." why did sony all of a sudden change their mind? i take it they called these independent theaters around 11:00 last night saying if you want to run the film, go ahead? >> and at least one of them thought it was a prank at first but it was very real and they finalized the plans this morning. this is a show of defiance from

sony. days after backing away from the film, postponing plans for its release, they have decided to send a message that this film will not be suppressed. they are working with independent theater owners, not like the big chains like amc and regal but those that have said that they want to show this movie. sony is making a list of which theaters they are going to send the hard drives to. these days, movies don't get delivered on big film reels. they get delivered on hard drives. they will be shown on christmas day. i think when it's all said and done, there will be dozens of states, maybe hundreds of movie theaters, maybe 1 or 200 movie theaters that will show this on christmas day. >> tom, you're a former fbi assistant director. is it safe for people to go to these movies? >> i think it's as safe as it ever is. we've had people go into movie theaters and shooting everybody

in sight having nothing to do with politics, just at the hands of a deranged person. a threat from north korea, i don't buy it. >> i spoke to one of the owners from the independent movie theaters in atlanta earlier today. he didn't want to go into specifics but he said there would be extra security precautions. he said there would be heightened security, which i assume you agree would be smart? >> yes. but i still believe it's safe to go. >> and the fear -- brian, let me bring you back into this conversation. the fear that these -- whoever hacked sony to begin with, they can could go ahead and do more damage to them, are they worried about that? >> that is definitely the concern. last week the hackers sent a threatening message to sony and said you did the right thing by pulling this movie and if you ever decide to release it, the way sony is deciding to do now, we will release more of your classified and confidential information. all of your secrets, e-mails,

budget, that kind of thing, we will leak it on to the internet. the hackers have threatened to do more. there is defiance from sony. the numbers on board are pretty encouraging and they are feeling good about the support that they are getting. >> peter, did the criticism the other day from president obama that sony made a mistake, do you believe that played a role in this new reseversal? >> one has to believe that it did. the first response when the iranian regime said they were going to put the spotlight on his life was the response to distance themselves because people were afraid. the second response was a certain kind of shame about the initial response. you know what, "the new york times" had an editorial which said something like, on second thought, courage. i think that obama has helped that process along. once people have had time to absorb the magnitude and potential ramifications of giving in to north korea's

behavior, i think people began to realize it was actually important not to give in. >> do you agree, brian? >> i do. i think that the notion that these digital hackers could cause a physical threat to movie theaters is so far-fetched and that we have to be able to live with a certain amount of acceptable risk in the same way that we get in the car and go to the movie theater and have a risk to get in a car accident, that's something that we should absorb not just as a country but as individuals. >> where does the prospect stand, brian, that this film will be released online? >> that's the next story that i'm really interested in, wolf, because sony has been trying to are days to sign up a partner to help put the movie online. at the same time that you can watch it in the theater, you can watch it via the internet. apple's itunes store let's you do this, time warner cable and charter and all of the rest of the cable operators let you do this. sony does not have a partner

that they've announced that will let them do that. if they have a partner, they will announce it tonight. if people are sitting home with their family on christmas day, they could rent the movie for 10 bucks and watch it from home. >> peter, a lot of north korea experts say what worries the north korean regime is that this film will be leaked, if you will, dvds will be sent in to north korea, they will show that kim jong-un is being laughed at and it will be a serious problem for the north koreans. i assume that will eventually happen? >> yeah. that's a real concern from their point of view. if you look at the history of the cold war, we know that soviet regimes and regimes in eastern europe tried to clear the information bubble in which they could convince their citizens that things were great in those countries. north korea has more of a bubble than any country on earth. the political ramifications of

north koreans realizing how destitute they are compared to other countries around the world and to realize that the rest of the world sees their leader as not only a barbaric dictator but as a buffoon actually is politically threatening in an environment where you're trying to maintain absolute control and i think that's part of the reason that it's so important to try to penetrate that information bubble. >> peter, thank you very much. tom fuentes, thanks to you and brian stelter, senior media correspondent, host of "reliable sources" here at 11:00 a.m. >> there is sporadic service today. brian todd has been looking into how north koreans, especially the nation's elite, are affected by all of this. what are you finding out? >> the outages have hit the elite harder than anyone in the country. tonight, we have new details on

the internet system, who has access to it and how their young leader uses it. as the u.s. and north korea face off over a devastating cyberattack, most north korean citizens are cut off and isolated. >> if you ask the average north korean citizen about the internet, would he or she know what you are talking about? >> ordinary people in the mountainside far away from pyongyang, they do not have any idea about what that is about. >> reporter: only the elites have access to the internet. there are just over 1,000 i.p. addresses in the entire country. compare that to 1.5 billion i.p. addresses across the u.s. if you're in north korea and on the internet, it doesn't seem any slower or more primitive. >> it looks the same that you or i might be able to access. the north koreans are very good at self-censorship. >> meaning, they know what websites they are not supposed to visit.

for a wider group, there is an internal system that looks the same but isn't. it's called bright light. >> it's a domestic internet which connects to universities and libraries. there are a few websites on there that mostly carry information from the government and then some scientific or technical data. >> reporter: but it doesn't go beyond the bounds of north korea. the only way the global internet gets in and out of the country, experts say, is through a single cable routed to servers in china. so how does north korea's leader use the internet? >> there was an interesting incident, it was on the bwebsit six times. and he said he was the one who used the internet web surfing to see the site. ♪

>> how can kim resist? analysts say even from north korea's elite, having access to the internet is a mixed blessing. often when top north korean officials go online, every point and click is monitored by the security apparatus. wolf? >> given what we know about north korea's internet system, what are you hearing about what caused the blackouts yesterday and partially today? >> one analyst, wolf, who monitors internet traffic, believes there are three possible scenarios. he says the north korean government may have pulled the plug itself, the provider may have turned it off or hackers overloaded the hackers tubes with traffic. those are three plausible scenario g scenarios. up next, new warnings about terror attacks during the holidays. plus, growing concerns with

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we're monitoring protests looking at pictures on fifth avenue in new york city and ignoring a demand request from the new york city mayor bill de blasio for a pause in these kinds of protests, anti-police protests until after the funerals of those two police officers killed over the weekend. rafael ramos and wenjian liu. it looks pretty peaceful right now and we'll continue to watch what is going on, update you as we get more. there's other news that we want to follow. americans are being asked to remain vigilant at home and abroad. barbara starr has been looking into what we have going on. what are you finding out, barbara? >> hundreds of additional troops are being deployed in the wake of several attacks. it's the beginning of concern by

so many countries about this holiday season. since the sydney attack by the gunman claiming isis affiliation, australia very much on edge. >> an attack is likely. we don't know when and how an attack may come but we do know that there are people with the intent and the capability to carry out further attacks. >> reporter: the sydney gunman, the latest in a series of attacks, often by people with violent background and mental illness. >> we have to consider that isis is a magnet for the diluted and mentally ill who associated themselves. as soon as they put the banner of isis behind it, it has greater repercussions in terms of the gravity of their actions that they are taking. >> reporter: security now being increased across france after three attacks in the past three

days. on saturday, a man stabbed three police officers while allegedly shouting "god is great." on sunday, a vehicle rammed into pedestrians. witnesses said the driver also was shouting "god is great" and on monday, a van plowed into shoppers at an outdoor market. the french prime minister warned of a terrorist threat. >> translator: it is, without a doubt, the major challenge of our times. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell cnn there are no specific homeland threats this holiday season. >> i certainly encourage people to do what you would normally do during the holiday season. but we have to be vigilant and vigilance involves public awareness, public participation in our efforts. >> reporter: but the state department reminding americans overseas, terrorists may be targeting hotels, shopping areas, places of worship and schools.

and the chilling reminder of a failed 2009 christmas day attack. for the first time, the underwear bomber and aqap leader together in yemen before the attack. now, this year it is isis that remains a very much worry along with al qaeda, both syria and iraq providing a safe haven for thousands of terrorists in those countries and isis, of course, has pledged to try to attack the west. wolf? >> barbara starr, thanks very much. very disturbing information. we're going to follow up, obviously, on that. but this is just coming in to "the situation room." a brand-new cnn opinion research poll showing a surprising jump in president obama's job approval rating. let's get more on the eye-opening shift. take a look at this. 48% approve of the job he's doing. 50% disapprove. that's four points higher than

it was only a few weeks ago. let's get some analysis of what is going on. 48% is a lot better than the low 40s or high 30s as the president's numbers were going down. cnn's chief congressional correspondent dana bash is here with me in "the situation room." also, once again joining us is our political commentator. dana, president obama will be happy about it. >> if you look at why the numbers are going up and what segments of the population, women, nine points in just one month. his poll numbers have gone from 44% up to 53% with women, which is kind of extraordinary. the other segment of the population, wolf, are the millennials, those 18 to 34, that sector of the population has decided that the president is doing a better job. so do we know exactly why? we don't. but, you know, if you take a step back and take a look at

what the desire is in this country, when they look at washington, it's for leadership and as madeleine albright said back in the clinton years when you used to cover, what president obama has done in the last month or so on cuba, on immigration, and it goes -- the list goes on, whether or not you agree with him, he has shown leadership and perhaps that is what women and the younger people in this country who up 5? they revise it for the third quarter if you will. jobs, 300,000 jobs being created? all of a sudden, the dow jones industrials above 18,000, the first time ever. what, 7,000 when he took office in january 2009. is that beginning to have an impact right now? >> i think it makes sense to think the economy is plalg a role. we've had enough good news that

i think it is conventional wisdom that the u.s. economy is starting to move. i want to underscore what dana was saying. president obama and the democrats have been hurt more politically, i think, by the gridlock in washington than republicans have. democrats the more pro government party. so when they can't do very much, it disproportionately hurts them. by turning on executive action on immigration, on cuba, even though it made many republicans very, very upset, i think president obama has found a way of breaking through that gridlock to some degree and i think americans are responding. >> okay. reaction of the republicans giving to these latest positive economic indicators. >> well, you know, the mantra from republicans for month to month has been house speaker said so much, it has become a running joke. where are the jobs. so they will continue to press the fact that certainly people are not feeling great. if you look at again, within the

poll, the sense of the direction of the country. which does tend to give a send of economic anxiety, is still not great. he is still 48%. so the majority of the country don't, they don't think he is doing the right thing. but for a six-year president, it is pretty good. the one thing i will say about these poll numbers, if you compare between democrats and the republicans who will now run congress, wolf, it is about the same. the country really is evenly split. 49% say they disapprove of the way the president is handling it. 49% said they disapprove of the way congress is. >> the country is evenly divided. let's talk about why the president's job approval number is not higher than 48%. 48% is a lot better than 44% earlier. not that long ago, it was only 41%. thought he was doing a good job. 48%, still not necessarily, this

was way back when it was only 41%. now it is up to 48%. a lot of people say there may be a lot of jobs that were created but they're not feeling the benefit. they're not getting the pay increases that they would have liked. >> right. i think that's exactly right. it probably won't ride that much higher until people stop reading about the improving economy and the numb online and hearing about how well wall street is doing and feeling in it their lives. bill clinton left the presidency pretty popular despite the monica lewinsky affair. in the late 1990s, the job market was so tight that even people, working class people, people near the bottom, were starting to see real wage growth. we haven't seen anything like that in the decade and a half since then. i think the fate of the last year or so of barack obama's presidency will depend in significant measure of whether we start to get at all back to that kind of late '90s environment. >> the other thing i want to

add. certainly the economy tends to be everything. i want to go back to the could not september of leadership and t the concept of people doing things that could hurt them politically. look at what the president did as the year end press conference. he came out very, very strong with sony saying they did the wrong thing. i can't imagine a barack obama on the ballot or who was worried about fellow democrats on the ballot doing that. that kind of thing, standing up and saying something that might not be popular with everybody, resonates. >> it certainly does. thanks very much. we're continuing to follow the breaking news here in the situation room. take a look at this. these are live pictures coming in from new york. protesters gathering there on fifth avenue, despite a plea from the mayor of new york city for a time-out after the murders of those two police officers. and sony's shocking turn about.

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happening now. defiance of the streets. protesters in new york city refuse to follow the mayor's advice as tensions flare. plus screening security. will theatergoers be at risk now that the movie is being released? and an ak-47 on board a plane. studying new details about dozens of guns smuggled on to delta flights as americans travel for the holidays. could this be happening now? we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in the situation room. >> two breaking stories. fears of retaliation by north

korea now that sony pictures has changed course, announcing the limited release of the movie, "the interview" about a plan to assassinate kim jong-un. theaters plan to show it on christmas day despite the crippling cyber attack against sony and the united states. we're also watching a protest against racism and police violence now underway in new york city despite the mayor's plea for a pause in demonstrations. mayor deblasio is trying to diffuse tensions after the killing of two members of the nypd. i visited the memorial today. we learned a short while ago the vice president joe biden had attend the funeral for one of the police officers on saturday. the head of the national urban league standing by live along with our correspondents and our analysts. they're all covering the breaking news. first, let's to go cnn's martin savidge with the very latest.

>> reporter: good evening to you, wolf. yes, this is the crime scene of three days ago that now has become the memorial site for so many people. there's a large crowd here this evening. both the police officers, but also of the general public, they're drawn here simply as a place where they can reflect on what's happened. the city of new york is asking public buildings, as well as landmarks, to dim their lights at 9:00 for five minutes. another tribute to the fallen officers, just one of several today. >> at new york city hall, everything stopped. at 2:47 p.m. >> now bow our heads in memory of officer ramos and officer liu. >> reporter: the moment, saturday, when two new york city police officers were shot to death when they sat in their patrol car in brooklyn. after days of angry words and political finger pointing over who was to blame, today silence said the most.

earlier mayor bill deblasio made an unannounced visit to the street memorial where the officers were shot. like so many new yorkers, deblasio was drawn to an ordinary corner, now turned almost sacred. last night with tears streaming down their faces, the family of officer liu spoke. the most powerful words coming from his wife of just two months. >> this is a difficult time for both of our families. but we will stand together and get through this together. >> reporter: among those offering condolences, the familiar lift gunman, ismaaiyl brinsley who later took his own life. his sister. her brother's actions were not revenge but the result of untreated mental problems. >> i feel so bad for the family. >> we give our condolences. we are grieving. >> this has nothing to do with

police retaliation. this was a troubled emotionally troubled kid. he needed help. he didn't get it. >> also drawn to the street memorial, the daughter of eric garner. the death of her father at the hands of new york police helped spark that you can protests against the nypd which some say triggered brinsley's attack. garner's daughter said she knows what officers' families are going through. >> we're not anti-police. we just want to let everybody know that we support them and we're out here to lay a breath and flight candles and do a moment of silence. >> reporter: and once again, silence became the loudest tribute. and again, those tributes continue to come in here. it seems many people simply either want to look at what has been put down, the candles, the notes, the gifts, or they want to reflect on what's happened and maybe where their city is headed next. >> a somber situation over

there. thank you. now to the scene of the latest protest journal way right now in new york city. miguel is there. tell us where you are and what's going on. >> reporter: we are at fifth avenue headed north. the number of protesters here may be 500. they are staying on the sidewalk. let me give you an idea. let's go all the way up. we can give you an idea of how many protesters are here. they walked down fifth avenue to again with. this is shopping central this time of the year here. so they are sending a message that the system in general, not only the law enforcement and the justice system, the economic system here is also broken. and they want to see change. about 500 protesters, i can say, probably as many police along this route as well. some of them in riot helmets and face shields. they are walking along the

sidewalk, keeping the protesters from going out in the street. the protesters have said they are going to stay off the street. they won't shut down traffic as they have in previous protests. wolf? >> miguel, what are they saying about killer cops over there? i see some of those signs referring to that phrase, killer cops. what is their message? >> reporter: the message tonight is that they are calling the system racist. they want change. they are calling the cops who have killed a black man racist. that the system itself is racist. a sort of institutional racism that they're sick of and they want to see change. so they're chanting that the killer come to jail, the whole damn system is going to hell. you're not seeing them say kill

cops specific by but they are very, very upset at what they say is racially motivated death. officers who have not been indicted in new york, cleveland, ferguson, and now milwaukee. >> what are they saying to mayor deblasio yesterday who appealed to everyone for a pause in these demonstrations until both the police officers are buried. what do they say about that? >> reporter: they want the mayor to stand up for what they believe are their first amendment rights to protest and to send this message to power. to the government that they want change. they want the mayor to understand that they want his police commissioner, bill bratton that they blame for a lot of it. with the broken window policy that he ememployed in the 1990s. they want him to step down. they want the mayor here to stand up for their rights, to what they say is peacefully

protest. and they want to make very clear that they are not against cops, they feel very badly for the two cops who were killed. and they draw a sharp line between the protest that we see going on here and the deaths of those two comes in brook lip. >> all right. on fifth avenue, walking with those protests. he said about 500 or so, ignore the appeal. for a pause in those kinds of protests. joining us, the president and ceo of the national urban league. thank you for joining us. what do you make of these protesters marching even though the mayor appealed to them. don't do it for a few days. let these two police officers be buried in peace. >> let me express my condolences and those of the national urban league to the families of these fallen officers. i think we have to start the conversation by continuing to remember that two sworn

officers, two men who had a mission to protect and serve, had lost their life in the course of duty. i do believe, however, we have to no matter for whom ever it is uncomfortable, reaffirm the first amendment right which is an american value for people to protest and express their opinion. the mayor, i think, however, must stay the course on his support for police reform in new york city. he ran on police reform. he had an overwhelming mandate to make changes to the new york police department. and he has to stay the course on that very specific policy. i think that the people of new york will stay behind him and i really believe that some of the comments of the head of the police union were beyond the line, if you will, wolf. in terms of their criticism of the mayor. they have a first amendment right to speak, too.

and while i think they were across the line, they have a right to express their opinion. and this conversation may be difficult for many at this time. but it has to continue. at the end of the day, relationships between police and communities across the nation do need significant change and improvement. >> we're showing our viewers the live pictures coming in from the demonstrators on fifth avenue. the upper right-hand part of the screen. we're showing the memorial. the candlelight vigil where these two police officers were murdered on saturday, brutally executed, assassinated, whatever term you want to use. i want to be precise. you're saying you disagree the mayor when he says, have a pause. stop the demonstrations until at least both these police officers are buried. you say it is okay for these demonstrators to continue right now. >> reporter: i think from my perspective, i always have to

associate myself with people's first amendment rights. and their right to speak, their right certainly to express their opinion. the mayor from his perspective, may have believed that it was in the best interests of all to ask the protesters to certainly stand down. perhaps if i were mayor, that may have been the call i make. but as a leader of a civil rights organization today, wolf, i believe very strongly that whether it is a pack lynch on one side or the protesters on the other side. they have a right to speak. they have a right to speak forcefully. while i may disagree with pat lynch and some of his characterizatio characterizations, i'm going to always stand up for people's right to speak and their right to speak out. >> earlier, i spoke with the former new york governor, george pataki. i want to you listen to this.

>> i think it is really unfortunate that mayor deblasio talked about centuries of racism. in the nypd. i think we should have heard from both of them, and from president obama. during the course of the last year, some commendation for the sacrifice our police officers make. the fact in any given year, over 100 of them are killed in the line of duty. where was that support until today? it should have been there. there should have been a balance in the rhetoric. it didn't exist with the president. i didn't exist with the attorney general, nor with the mayor. >> you want to respond to the former governor? >> george pataki is trying to change the conversation. and part of the conversation we've been having in this country right now has been a difficult conversation and bits the relationship with, between police and communities. and the overall racial disparities within the criminal justice system. and i think to come out and make it about president obama, to

make it about if you will, people with whom you do not agree with politically is an effort to score cheap political points. what the governor should be doing, the former governor should be doing, saying i want to be part of a conversation about change. not a conversation about whether this is about saying, i'll stand up for police officers and support their mission. which i do and many of us do. that doesn't mean that police officers are beyond criticism. or if as an institution, law enforcement cannot be asked, cannot be forced to change some of its practices. we can have both conversations. it is not one indeed or the other. and i think those that want to score political points by attacking those with whom they may politically have differences is exactly the kind of conversation that ought to stay sometimes in that beltway lack of partisanship arena and not be

a part of what has to be a tough conversation in many local communities to bring about change. >> the president is being criticized by some. he did issue a written statement after the two police officers in he didn't go before the cameras and make a statement in support of the police officers, in support of new york city, the police department. should he have gone before the cameras as he did after ferguson? as he did after the chokehold case? staten island? >> well, i think the president, number one, is on vacation. number two, i think that the statement he put out took place in the late hours of saturday night. and i think this effort to try to create an issue where there is none. he squarely, i believe, made a very forceful statement. whether it was before the cameras or whether it was in writing. it was a statement by the president. so it is an effort to promote,

if you will, a distinction without a difference. >> i'm going to ask you to stand by. i have more questions about what's going on. a very tense situation in new york city. much more with mark, the head of the national urban league, after this.

look at these live pictures. stop the war, you see what's going on over there. these are protests in new york city. a few hundred people are marching down the sidewalk on fifth avenue. they're angry about what they called killer cops. they want justice, they say and they're protesting despite the appeal from the mayor of new york city for a pause. at least until the two police officers who were gunned down on saturday. rafael ramos and wenjian liu are marriplaye buried. did you ever walk, police officers would turn their back on you and refuse to look at you

in the face? >> i had police officers call me names. i don't think that's ever happen. if you look at the history of the pba, they've had tensions and battles with new york city mayors in the past. i do think turning your back on the mayor who ultimately is your commanding officer, went beyond, i think, what was appropriate. again, a first amendment right to do so. and i might add for the pba -- >> the police benevolent association. pat lynch is running for the president. the bargaining agreement is now in arbitration. their changes to the pension system that are as a result of actions of the state government of new york. there are certainly some

underlying issues that may raise the level of tension. i thought that it went beyond the appropriateness. and police officers criticizing the mayor, criticizing their elected officials, taking issue with policy decisions. that hams all across the nation each and every day. but important to remember about mayor deblasio. he won with a commitment to end stop and frisk. he won with an overwhelming vote in excess of 65%, if i recall. and so i think there is a square mandate for him to bring about changes in the department. that's not a universal mandate. i think it is a strong mandate. because you want to change the department doesn't mean that the department, all is wrong. it means now is the time to draw together a stronger relationship with police and communities, particularly communities of color in new york city.

>> the head of the national urban league, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. happy holidays. >> i want to show our viewers what's going. on it looks like the protesters are no longer on the sidewalks simply but they've marched on to the streets. i think this is fifth avenue. they'll be blocking traffic. and police are telling these protesters, don't block traffic. people have to get to where they're going. there could be emergency vehicles taking people to hospitals. get back on the sidewalks. we'll see what happens potentially. this is not necessarily a good situation that we're seeing. we'll continue to watch these live pictures. joining us, law enforcement analyst tom fuentes, the community activist, don lemon, it could get ugly. let's hope it doesn't. they're on the streets now. the police say if you can go ahead and walk on the sidewalks but don't block traffic.

that's against the law. what do you think? >> i don't know what will happen. and i want everyone to hear me. i don't want this to be misinterpreted. i think people have the absolute right to protest peacefully on the streets. that's their constitutional right. but i think that we must be aware of tone no matter which side we're on. we must be aware of optics. i think that there are days to come where people can protest. but i think that the protesters must think about the families at this point. because the families are really going through a lot. whether you like the police department, hate the police department, however you feel about them, they did lose their comrades. so there will be next week and the week after that and the week after that and the month after that where people can protest. i think at a certain point, you must be aware and you have to be sense i have the. so continue to protest. do your thing but think about what i just said.

>> if the protesters go into the streets, block traffic, i assume that's a legal violation. should the police officers let it pass or arrest these people? >> that will be up to the command officer, up to commissioner bratton and the mayor to decide how much latitude they give them. do they let them shut down streets and stores and bridges like they have in the past? and then allow increasing amounts of violence against their police officers being punched in the face and things like that. or do they try to contain it more? i don't know. i don't know what the mayor has decided at this point. >> that's a serious issue. >> i want to play for you a little clip. i interviewed eric garner's daughter, emerald. it will air later tonight on "ac360." i want to discuss it with you. emerald, there are those who point fingers at that tiny number of people who were saying really ugly things during the protests about dead cops and

stuff like that. what do you say to those people? >> i tell people, i want to get the message out there. there are not all bad cops. all comes are not bad. i have fdny and nypd in my family. that doesn't make me think they're bad because they're comes. they are still my family. once you take off that uniform, you're a regular person. just because you have a uniform doesn't define you as a bad cop. >> she is the daughter of eric garner as you know. what do you think about what's going on? these protesters, several hundred of them ignoring an appeal. a very urgent appeal that the mayor made yesterday. at least hold off on the demonstrations until of a these two police officers are buried. >> i think a lot of people agree with don. tone is everything. that the city is really reeling after the murder of these two police officers. but wolf, there are a lot of other people that say, you know what? this is about freedom of speech. about your right to peacefully

protest. and let's remember that while 50,000 people protested on the million march in new york city, only one person was arrested. just because you are protesting against injustices does not mean that you are anti-police. and because this one mentally ill lone wolf shot down two police officers in such a tragedy does not mean the overwhelming amount of people that support the right to protest and support the issues that the protestors are trying to, i guess, put forth in terms of effecting change, it doesn't mean they're anti-cop. so there is a place for protesting. whether or not right now is the time, i think it is up and open to debate. but i fear there will be a chilling effect on our rights as americans to protest if you have people saying, well, now is not

the time. when is the time then? >> i just know -- >> hold on. i want to let john gaskin weigh in. then i'll bring in jeffrey toobin. you're a younger activist out there. what do you think? >> i think she is striking the right tone. as i have spoken with protest leaders today, and i agree with them. as long as the protests remain civil, they remain nonviolent. and i think, i agree with don to some extent. i believement onnics is a major issue here as well as the tone. what is being said. you know, eric garner's daughter is on the right track there. police officers are people as well. so i believe that the vast majority of officers out there are good people. but you have to take a look at why people are protesting. they're protesting these injustices that have been brought from up under the rug. they're asking for reforms. they're asking for accountability. now is the time to protest. no one is saying that those officers that were killed were

bad individuals. from what we understand, they were compassionate individuals that laid down their lives for the city of new york and they were good officers. throws the types of officers that we're calling for within our communities, to police us, we understand that. but now is the time to protest. now is the time to do it in a peaceful way. and in a way that is dignified to continue to shed light on this issue as we continue to openly discuss it. >> thanks very much. thanks to you. don is going to have a lot more coming up later tonight. 10:00 p.m. eastern. cnn. he is working the story. check him out. 10:00 p.m. eastern. just ahead, kim jong-un's next move. will he retaliate now that sony is releasing the film "the interview" on christmas day. and dozens of other weapons smuggled on to commercial airliners. some of them were loaded. authorities just revealed the scope of this crime. .

president obama is praising

sony pictures for allowing some screenings of the film, "the interview." they were hit by a major cyber attack that has been blamed on north korea. the question, will kim jong-un's regime follow through on threats against the united states following attacks if the movie is released? let's go to pamela brown. she got the very latest on what's going on. >> this is really a stunning development. the white house releasing a statement today saying that president obama applauds the decision. sony says it has been trying to find ways to distribute "the interview" all lake and now it has found that with independent theaters. a shocking turn of events in the growing sony saga. tonight, sony announcing it will roll out a limited theatrical release of the interview. a controversial movie about the assassination of north korean leader kim jong-un. the about face coming after a back lash from celebrities like

george clooney and even president obama who criticized the studio's initial decision to delay the movie's release. >> i wish they had spoken to me first. >> reporter: tonight a growing number of independent theaters announcing they will be showing the movie. first to noun the plaza theater in atlanta. >> i think they are seeing that the right thing to do is to be bold. go forward and see what happens. and it is starting on a small level. i think the larger theater chains, which are very corporate and cautious, are going to eventually see that okay, it seems to be working all right and we can make money off this movie and they'll jump on the ban wagon. >> reporter: after major movie threats, the powerhouse attorney hinted on sunday's "meet the press" that the studio was not backing down. >> remember, sony only delayed this. sunni has been fighting to

get -- sony has been fighting to get this out. >> reporter: posting victory, the people and the president have spoken. and seth rogen saying freedom prevailed. and we're excited our movie will be in a theater on christmas day. we hope this is only the first up, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted on suppress free speech. as tensions are heightened between the united states and north korea which the u.s. blames for the hack, reports that the reclusive country's internet went down at least twice in the past 24 hours and remains spotty. according to an internet monitoring company. >> whoever shut it down, and we don't know yet, it doesn't really matter that much. there's only several thousand users in north korea. meantime fbi says it was fully

engaged with sony on the decision to release on it christmas day. apparently sony advised the fbi of its plan and law enforcement sources say there's still no actionable intelligence indicating a threat against moviegoers. we'll to have see what the turnout is like on christmas day. >> i suppose it will be very good at those theaters screening the film. thanks very much. joining us now, democratic congressman brad sherman from california. a key member of the house foreign affairs committee. you've asked sony to allow the "the interview" to be shown on capitol hill. you want a special screening in washington, right? >> yeah. it would be a couple weeks from now when congress reconvenes. we've had a quite a number of movies skreenld for congress when they had a particular human rights or environmental or other issue involved. and everybody is talking about this movie. congress ought to know what we're talking about. we ought to see it. >> there is a screening room at the white house. you would like to see the film played at the white house as

well? >> absolutely. i think that now that north korea has waged an attack on our first amendment, we ought to stand with sony and stand for this film and demonstrate that it will be shown in atlanta. i look forward to it being shown in northridge, hopefully at the white house, and in the united states capitol. in order to stand up for the first amendment, it is not enough to just get this one film out. we need to give kim jong-un a double dose of the first amendment by doubling our radio broadcasting into the people of north korea. that is something that will put this regime on notice. they are very concerned. they've done everything possible to wall their people off from the rest of the outside world. and we've got the broadcasting resources that i think can get the message in. >> what do you say to those who would say, all of these steps, showing the film in congress, showing the film at the white house. stepping up voice of america broadcasts. all the other thing you're recommending are simply

provocative american purchases will only make this bad situation even more dangerous. >> you know, you don't have to do anything to provoke north korea. they'll act on their own. this is a country that uses its diplomatic pouxs to smuggle drugs into various countries. this is a country that is counter fitted united states currency and engage in the countless terrorist acts around the world. they kidnapped ordinary japanese civilians just to have people teach them the cultures and manners of japan. so this is a regime that doesn't need an excuse to act in the most barbaric ways. what we saw at the united nations today in the security council was an expose on the incredible cruelty that they show their own people. so the idea that oh, my god, you better not touch them. that will make them do bad things. they're doing bad things around the world and in north korea every day. are you 100% convinced the

north koreans are responsible for the hacking of sony pictures? >> absolutely. as is the president. >> are you gang to see "the interview" on christmas day? >> you know, i'm not in atlanta. i'm not in austin, texas. i look forward to seeing that movie just as soon as i can. and i look forward to theaters stepping forward and showing it around the country. i think there was a natural fear the first few days when these threats from north korea blowing up multiplexes were first heard. i think that after it shows in a few independent theaters, people will calm down and they'll realize, good movie or bad movie, it is a movie that we as americans need to stand up and see. >> congressman brad sherman from california, thank you for joining us. >> good to be with you, wolf. >> let's get some more. the former deputy special envoy for human rights in north korea. also joining us, our global

affairs analyst, james reese, retired. the reporter, and the host of cnn's reliable sources. you have an update. you're just getting new information on how many theaters across the country are actually going to be showing this film on christmas day? >> some good news for congressman sherman. he can be right in his district to see on it thursday. it will be playing in los feel sxiks a number of other parts of california. i'm told the total number of athlete per have agreed to play it is 190. it will get a little higher in the next few hours. there's a deadline of about 8:00 p.m. eastern. movie theaters have to say they want a copy of the movie in time so it can get to them in time for christmas. i think it will top out 200 athleters that will show it. >> that's pretty impressive. how safe is it for folks to go to the movie theaters and see "the interview"? absolutely safe.

everyone needs to go enjoy christmas and have a good laugh. >> why did sony change their minds? >> i think it became an untenable position to say we're not showing the movie. as much as they were afraid, as much as they have devastated, maybe the hackers have already don their worse. if the president of the united states is calling them out and the theater owners around the country saying it is not true that we're unwilling to show this film. sony had to do something and they did it. you're an expert on north korea. it will anger kim jong-un and his regime. what can they do to retaliate? >> i think they will eventually. what we're seeing is part of a cycle of aggression that north korea enters from time to time because it wants recognition or foreign assistance or something like that. i don't think it will be direct. it won't be another cyber attack. relatively low tech as this one was against a company dependent on intellectual property. this is not a regime that can be ignored. when it is ignored, it tends to

act out the most. >> is sony at risk for more of these cyber attacks? basically destroyed their entire computer system. all their hard drives them wound up with nothing. they couldn't even figure out how to do pay roll because the systems were down. >> they are still struggling to get back online in some cases. i think there's very real threat of more private data being leaked. we know the hackers have not published everything they have. i think pamela brown's reporting was very important a couple minutes ago. she said maybe this is a signal that sony and the fbi do not believe the hackers are still inside the systems. the fact that they are choosing to release this film shows some confidence they are not still inside the systems and able to do new damage. there might be more leaks from the hackers but not actually new intrusions and new attacks inside sony's servers. >> so far the big chains. the big movie distributors, they're not jumping up saying we would like to show them in a thousand theaters or anything.

>> that's right. definitely at a much smaller profit than it would have made. they were going on release on it a found thousand screens, not a few hundred. and there was talk they would release in it on demand format. >> can they make money on it? >> not anything that they would have made. they'll lose money on the film. a lot of people will see it. >> the irony, a lot more people want to see it now than probably would have gone to see it a few week ago. >> i had no interest in this movie and i think i'm in the demo. i think a seth rogen film them won't make as much money online or in theaters but i think they are working on some sort of on demand deal. you can stream it via the internet or buy it through your remote control on your cable box. it hasn't been announced yet. i think by christmas we might hear about a streaming deal.

independent athlete letters screen on it thursday. >> absolutely. and they'll do that. they'll probably have some extra police there. screening, watching for people but i'm 100% confident. >> one final word from you. what's your biggest fear? >> my biggest fear is that we won't liberty to the excellent advice mr. sherman gave in the last segment. that type of cultural warfare. pushing back on north korea with free information. not just radio-free but defectors. people who can speak to those left behind as we did in the cold war. that's our most effective tool to shame it over the long term. >> thanks 57. just ahead. how easy was to it smuggle dozens of guns on delta flights including ak-47s. what's going on? and real life sex scandals relived on stage. you're driving along,

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security breach, dozens of weapons including ak-47s and loaded handguns, smuggled on board passenger planes. our aviation correspondent is here with me. she is working this story. this is shocking stuff. >> it absolutely is. we're talking about a five-man operation according to prosecutors. you said it right off the top. this is a boies. busy airport. the world's busiest airport. they say this operation involved an airline worker abusing their access to the airport and then using commercial planes to smuggle guns. some of them loaded. 153 firearms recovered. smuggled on board nearly 20 commercial passenger planes from atlantic to new york. that according to federal investigators. >> they put gugs on the plane this time them could have easily put a bomb on one of those planes. >> reporter: here's how authorities say it ham.

the delta baggage handler uses his badge to enter the secure area of the atlanta airport, bypassing check points. most airport and employees like baggage handlers undergo security vetting and recurring back ground checks but they do not go through daily tsa screening to gain access to secure and restricted airport areas. the accomplice, the former dealt la employee, mark henry, clears tsa and arrives. the two men communicate by text message and meet in an airport bathroom. once inside out of the camera view, the guns are handed off. >> tsa are there to prevent this type of incident kurgd. >> reporter: according to prosecutors, henry seen here in surveillance video boarded flights from atlanta to new york with handguns, ar-15 it was all part of a

five-man operation. >> this gun can shoot through a car door, can shoot through an apartment door, can shoot through a bullet-proof vest. in november, mr. henry brought this gun on a delta commercial airliner to new york. >> reporter: this kind of breach in security has happened before. in 2010 an american airlines baggage handler helped smuggle 12,000 pounds of marijuana on board a flight to new york. in 2013, an airline employee sentenced after agreeing to smuggle a machine gun and cocaine on to a commercial plane. and a 2009 government audit said workers with access to security airport areas is one of the greatest potential threats to aviation. >> everyone involved in aviation and aviation security knows this is a gap and vulnerability. >> reporter: well, wolf, i spoke

with a spokesperson for the airport in atlanta, hartsfield jackson, at this point they have not changed the security procedures, however they do tell me that they are reviewing the process they have in place and if changes are appropriate, they will make them. they do point out that all of these employees get extensive background checks and they say there is recurring vetting. so they believe they are doing the best they can. but leaving the door open to change some things. >> they have to learn from what happened here and make sure it doesn't happen again. thank you, rene. >> next, some politicians find themselves in a broadway play. and even when they are stock -- shocking. turn the trips you have to take,

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some of the most notorious names in sex scandals are appearing on stage today. gloria borger went behind the scenes. >> reporter: talk about political theater. >> i am not gay.

i never have been gay. >> last friday night i tweeted a photograph of myself. >> as much as i did talk about going on the appalachia trail. is that where i ended up? >> no it wasn't. and now mark sanford and three fellow infamous politicians are the stars of tail spin, an off-broadway comedy about their sexual exploits. >> how is my favorite person. >> and they are verbatim, exactly as how they were spoken, texted or tweeted. >> this thing is ready to do damage. >> it was instant chemistry. >> and standing next to them is rachel drach. you may remember her as saturday night live's debbie downer. and now she is live again. >> come on, i'll show you. >> this is life in the theater.

when you leave tv temporary, you put on your own makeup. >> she played the wronged wives and the other women too. from one of anthony wiener's buddies. >> i'm just a person. >> to mark sanford's argentina cell pate and now his former mystery. >> can you believe all of this stuff was real? >> the thing i was most shocked at was the graphic nature of the talk. like you hear, oh, they were sexy and then you see and what were they sexting. this is beyond my sexting skills. they are pretty dirty dogs. >> it is all about taking care of the little guy. >> little? ouch. would you be surprised how big.

>> reporter: the bigger surprise is the size of their electronic trail of flirtation. >> what makes these guys think they can get away with this? >> power. and really, the show is not about sex, but about power. >> reporter: mario carrara is familiar with the combination. he is a former congressional staffer who wrote the plate. >> a lost us make mistakes in our personal lives. i have. but the reason we don't take crazy, out landish risks is because we can't get away from them. but as a member of congress, of course it won't come back to me. i have a business card that i show to the cop. >> reporter: senator craig was still arrested for solicitation in an airport men's room. >> mrs. craig, we want to tell you and your husband to hang in there. >> reporter: his wife remained loyal, standing by herman. as did most of the others. what on earth do you think they

were thinking? >> i imagine like when the scandal hit, probably just want to error on the side of -- i'm going to believe what he says and keep the family together. blah blah. let's sort it all out later with a skilled therapist. >> which was the most fun to channel? >> the most fun of the show for me is barbara walters. and the mark and jenny stanford interview. they stood next to their husbands. you did not stand next to your husband. how do you -- what do you think of doing that. >> and by that time, the audience is like whoo hoo. and barbara walters is he gave you a bike. and then a diamond ns, which she loved. and then he took it back. >> >> reporter: truth may be strinker than -- stranger than

fiction, it is funny. but mark sanford may not think so. >> in the end, after doing this show, what does hiking the appalachian trail mean? >> i feel bad for people who really do hike the appalachian trail. >> to really go and to show receipts and stuff. that is it for me. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" tonight, breaking news, protesters attempting to shut down a major shopping district in new york in defiance of the mayor's call to wait until the city's fallen police officers are buried. could protesters and police collide tonight? and plus a defiant sony pictures, it is coming to a theater near you on christmas day -- yes, christmas day. what will north korea do about it? and a severe tornado slams mississippi. forecasts are calling for 8 inches of rain along the