happy christmas eve. see you back here tomorrow on christmas day. suzanne malveaux will pick up our coverage live from washington, d.c. hello. i'm suzanne malveaux in for wolf blitzer. it is 1:00 p.m. here in washington. 6:00 p.m. in london. 8:00 p.m. in jerusalem and 9:00 p.m. in moscow. wherever you're watching from around the world, thank you for joining us. happening now, the film north korea wanted no one to ever lay eyes on is about to be seen by a whole lot of people, starting this hour. after days of negotiations, sony has reached a deal now to release the movie "the interview" online. i want to bring in our pamela brown in new york. tell us how this is happening. i know this is the hour in which it is going to happen where people will be able to watch this film. >> right.

people can actually now watch the film from home starting today. really a dramatic turn of events just in the past 24 hours. we've learned that youtube, google play, xbox video and a website called seetheinterview.com will now be able to stream this movie today. therefore people can rent it online. so they're going to have to pay for it but they can now watch it from their home. this is on top of the news that we've learned that well over 200 theaters across the country are now saying they will show the movie on christmas day. s so remember, just last week sony announced the movie will no longer be shown on christmas day as originally planned. now we know these independent theaters have come forward and said they don't want free speech rights repressed, that they want to show the movie. google did release a statement about this today and basically

said that sony and google had been discussing all the issues and agreed that we could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country. but no doubt about it, this is really an act of defiance by sony. remember, the hackers said that they would continue to leak information, that there would be a, quote, present on christmas day if the movie was shown. >> it is really kind of amazing when you look at this. we were watching -- that was google play where you can go ahead and watch this film. it really is a historic debut when you think about it, online and in theaters. hundreds of those independent theaters are going to start showing this movie tomorrow on christmas day. you can buy it or rent it. is there any concern from sony or some of these other theaters that there would be some sort of danger, some retribution here? they're clearly being defiant. >> absolutely. there is a concern, suzanne. you may remember last week, the

hackers released this ominous message basically saying that it would launch a 9/11-style attack if the movie was shown in theaters. so we have learned from law enforcement sources that the fbi actually sent a notice to cyber task forces out in the field. this was last night, basically saying they need to reach out to the theaters either by going there in person or over the phone and educate them on the threat they may face and how they can protect themselves. i think the most realistic scenario here, suzanne, is that the hackers could launch some type of cyber attack, another type of cyber attack, whether it's against google or on the theater owners. i think the precaution that needs to be taken here is, of course, to protect their data and so forth. but i wouldn't be surprised if we see security officers at some of these theaters where the movie is showing, even metal detectors. i think they would to do everything they can to ensure

that moviegoers are protected. >> thank you, pam. i want to bring in brian stelter who's on the phone, i believe. brian, all things media, this is an amazing turnaround when you think about the events here. what does this mean for sony and give us the backstory here? this is unprecedented. >> it really is. i don't think anybody, including sony executives, thought we would be at this place one week ago. a week ago today, this movie was canceled. not postponed or delayed but canceled by sony. but that was a very embarrassing decision by sony. the backlash was immediate, even from president obama. now we're seeing an act of defiance by sony and by google and microsoft, all these companies helping sony do this a essentially standing up for freedom of expression even though i admit it's just a silly comedy. by the way, i'm looking at youtube, the movie is streaming now. it's one hour, 52 minutes long. it's up and running. you can watch it right now for $5.99.

>> watch us at the same time, brian. >> that's right. >> give us a sense of -- what does this mean for sony business-wise, for the industry. it was tens of millions of dollars to make this movie. is it possible they gain that and then some? >> i think they can gain back a lot of it but maybe not all of it. if you're imagining a $6 movie rental, a million people watch it, that's an easy $6 million. the question is whether many millions of people are willing to pay for this movie and watch it. that, i'm not sure about. >> is there any way to track this? could we follow and get a sense of how many people are buying and renting this movie right now? >> unfortunately, not a good way to do it. the website that sony created in order to stream this movie themselves is called seetheinterview.com. and that actually is not online right now. it seems to be crashing under the weight of too many people

trying to visit it. you have to imagine, this is very briefly a social tv event where lots of people -- lots of young men in particular want to watch this movie because it's got seth rogen and james franco in it and it's become a big story all of a sudden. at least at the moment, there's going to be a lot of people that suddenly want to rent it. >> a lot of people, brian. i want to bring in tom fuentes, our cnn law enforcement analyst to talk about this. i guess maybe i'm one of those people that maybe wouldn't have watched this movie but will go home in my pajamas and put it on and see what it's all about because of the controversy and because it's an act of defiance in some way. there's so much hype around this, the threat, the 9/11-type threat, does it defuse the danger, defuse the threat in some way, if you have lots of people at home watching this movie? >> it certainly does. i don't think the fbi and other authorities really thought north korea was going to be able to attack our theaters. there were concerns that some nut wanting his 15 minutes of

fame might do something at a theater. but i don't think that's a realistic threat. the other threat was from sony's point of view, could it get worse? has the worst tlakd be done to them been done, probably all of the gossipy-type e-mails are out. there could be more. big deal. but could more data be destroyed, stolen, our business severely harmed financially? for the last month or more, the fbi has been living with them. the fbi techs and other computer tech companies as well have been in sony's system working together with them. i think they're pretty confident that they've at least plugged the holes that were there in the first place and made it safer for them. so not worrying about an actual bombing. and theoretically not worrying about an additional intrusion into the sony's system. and it went from being a stupid movie most people didn't care

about to now it's your patriotic duty, you have to watch this movie. >> i understand the fbi is working with these theaters to make sure there are some safeguards in place, extra security, just in case. but this is really an incredible turnaround. tom, thank you so much. we appreciate your analysis. >> thank you. just ahead, police and protesters scuffle after word of a shooting in berkeley, missouri. we'll talk about what it's going to take to ease the tensions between the community and law enforcement. this is the face of fear. that's right. a jordanian pilot captured by isis. will this change the course of u.s.-led coalition air strikes? we'll ask those experts up next.

it's been a very happy holiday week for millions of americans who just watched their 401(k)s grow even larger. the dow jones industrial average has crossed into record high territory for a second straight day. markets closed early for christmas eve, ending six points up at 18,030. on tuesday, stocks crossing the 18,000 mark for the first time ever. and it is the sixth straight day of gains for the dow.

this year, the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 have all surged. investigators encouraged by recent reports showing the economy improving. we now turn to the day's other top story. we are learning more about the fatal shooting not far from ferguson, missouri, but it involves a much different scenario. authorities in berkeley, missouri, say a police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old after the teen pointed a gun at him. this is difficult to see. but the upper left-hand corner of the surveillance video shows a man with his arm extended. that little circle there. berkeley is just two miles from ferguson. that's where a police officer shot the unarmed teen michael brown in august. as word about this shooting in berkeley spread, this was the aftermath here, a crowd gathering, protesters scuffling with police. at one point, someone threw what looked like a large firecracker or other explosive into this crowd. i want to bring in george howell who joins us live from berkeley.

we understand you're on your way to talk with the fachmily of th teen who was killed, antonio martin. do we know how they are coping right now? do they have a message for the community? what are they saying? >> reporter: suzanne, we spoke with them earlier when we first got on the ground here in berkeley. we did go to chat with them just a few minutes ago but in fact they are doing some other things. we'll chat with them again later. but they were gracious to allow us into their home. they're obviously grieving. they want to wait for the facts. the video tells the story from what we can see. police put it out and it shows two people near a police officer and just before the video freezes, you can see one of the figures pointing what looks to be a weapon at the officer. that's where the video freezes.

after that, shots are fired. we're still waiting to learn more from police. they're obviously conducting a very thorough investigation on this case. but this is really the epicenter of all this. you've seen the unrest in ferguson and the protests, we've seen the marches in new york and also a case in milwaukee that has been garnering attention as well. this is where the protest movement started. so you can understand, suzanne, that tensions are high here as people just want to understand what are the facts of the case. and we're trying to put that out as fickly as we get that information. >> sure. there's still a lot of unknowns here. tell us about what the mayor said. we heard from the mayor a short time ago. he said, this is different than ferguson because as the mayor, he is black, the police chief is black, the majority of the police force is black in a community that is 85% black. he says that they are more sensitive, that this is a different situation.

the people in the community there when you talk to them, are they accepting that explanation, that this is not a parallel in any way? >> reporter: not necessarily speaking to that, but talking about the video that's out there that shows what happened, certainly people are paying close attention to that. and the mayor also making the point that, yes, it will be a thorough investigation. his officers he says -- the majority of his force, these are people who will put their lives on the line to protect the public. he believes that is what happened, from what it seems at this point. he believes that's what happened, according to the mayor. this officer responding to a report of shoplifting and then this incident happened. i want you to take a listen to what he said just about an hour and a half ago. >> the call came through the dispatcher's office in reference to this young man was shoplifting. when the officer came there, the

video shows that the deceased pointed a gun that has been recovered. at the officer. >> reporter: i think one thing that i think draw from that news conference that may go to the question you asked, are people accepting of the fact that it's predominantly an african-american leadership in the city. one person in the news conference asked very pointed questions and did not seem to be accepting of this. and you can understand that there are some people who will hear about this and there is a frustration that was really sparked here about the loss of african-american lives at the hands of police officers. that frustration, we've seen it play out in new york. we've seen it play out in milwaukee. we've seen it here. so the thing right now is just to get the facts out. and the facts are what we hear from the police department and from what we see in that video,

a person pointing a weapon at the police officer. >> george, thank you so much. appreciate it. obviously, get back to us when you are able to talk with the parents, a little bit more about the loss of their son. the mayor of berkeley, missouri, is urging people not to jump to conclusions about a fatal shooting by the police officer. authorities are saying that the officer acted in self-defense after the teen pointed the gun at him. want to get a perspective on the latest shooting of recent tension between the police and the community. missouri state senator maria chappelle joins us and with me in washington, cnn law enforcement analyst, tom fuentes. senator, i want to start with you. give us a sense of what you are communicating with the people on the ground, the people in your community. do they believe that this is something that they need to be out on the streets protesting over? >> well, i think they're trying

to figure it out right now. what we are trying to communicate is this is quite a different situation than the mike brown killing. this is a situation where a police officer indeed did not wear a body camera and so we don't have that data. however, from the facts that we've seen so far -- and let me backtrack and say i had a very productive meeting with the mayor as well as others this morning about the case and the facts of the case. so while people are trying to figure out what the facts are, it is important to note that there is a lot of evidence that is available. it is important to note that what is being said on twitter and other social media, much of it is incorrect. for example, many people believed that there wasn't an ems that attended when the young man was killed and was dead. that is untrue. the mayor ended up showing up in

just a few minutes after the encounter between the police officer and the victim here. and so what we are trying to do is communicate the facts of the case. this is by far, as the mayor has stated as well as others, it is different from ferguson. >> could you address the racial component that the mayor was talking about? can you explain that for us, the fact that he said that because he was african-american as well as the police chief and the police force, that that made a difference to the black community? is there a sensitivity that he's addressing here and understanding within the community or is he trying to make a point about race? >> absolutely. let me tell you something about mayor hoskins. he is one of the most pro-black elected officials that i've ever known. he shops black, he eats black, he does everything african-american. so he is by far different than what you have seen in ferguson,

which is a pushoff, a brushoff. he's very on hand in this situation. when we were in a meeting earlier, the entire table was filled with african-americans, not one caucasian. and i have to tell you that people are very sensitive to this situation, not only is the police force but also employees of berkeley and the mayor and people who are in the berkeley community. again, i have to tell you, this approach is very different in the way you see this investigation handled. it's going to be cleaner, more transparent. and i think that people just need some time to breathe in all that is going on and look at the facts. that is what is most important. >> senator, thank you. i appreciate that. i want to bring in tom here. i'm trying to in some ways look at this in a way that you can

take race out of it. the senator was talking about being pro-black. but there are police officers throughout the country, black, white, brown, who are there to protect the citizens here. why do you suppose there was such tension and a visceral response from that community there in berkeley once they found out that that teen had been shots? and you're talking about a predominantly black police force. >> i think as much as we want to take race out of it, now we can't. you have a situation here, imagine if there was no video, imagine if it was the police officer's word that the gun was pointed at him and all that. probably wouldn't be accepted in any event because of the situation of a black victim. we all know if the police officer was white or black that shot him, but just the idea of that. if you want to oversimplify this to the lowest basal level, the thing is, don't point a gun at a

police officer, you will probably get shot. what people are forgetting is there's 300 million guns at large in our country. so the police officers that are on the street, the thousands of patrol officers out there every day go up against those guns. all 300 million are not in storage cabinets or on people's walls in their family room. they're on the street all over this country. that's what a uniformed police officer or detective doing an investigation, when they encounter somebody or answer a call that started out as shoplifting, we could have had a dead police officer. but anything that comes from this is -- >> how do you repair the damage, the mistrust? clearly you have people reacting very quickly without knowing all the facts but assuming the worst. it was very much an emotional response and a violent response from some. how do you repair the damage? >> i think it goes a long way on the way to repairing if you have in this case black leaders in

that town, a black police force, black chiefs of police who are telling the people that in their opinion, this police shooting is in self-defense and it is justified and they're trying to take some of the race out of it and just say, someone pointed a gun at a police officer, he felt compelled to defend himself and shot back. >> tom, thank you so much. >> thank you. still ahead, strikes against isis take a terrifying turn. militants claim they shot down a coalition aircraft. they have captured a coalition pilot. what this means for the fight in syria moving forward up next. ♪ (holiday mhey! is playing) i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time.

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around him fighters from the terror group isis celebrate their latest victory. the downing of a jordanian f-16 fighter jet, part of the u.s.-led coalition. it's unclear whether the plane suffered a mechanical failure. but isis says its heat-seeking missiles were responsible and published these images on social media to prove it. a retired jordanian air force commander identified this hostage as his nephew. in a statement e-mailed to cnn, jordanian government spokesman called the pilot a model of heroism adding, all jordanians stand united with the arab

army's brave soldiers in their quest to keep purity and the honor of the nation. the war on terrorism and the ongoing battle is in order to defend the islamic religion. the plane came down near raqqa, the de facto capital of the islamic state's self-declared caliphate. in this city along the euphrates river, civilians suffer by a cruel regime. coalition wear mraarplanes havet one of their targets. hala gorani, cnn, london. >> the state department lists more than 60 coalition partners having committed themselves to eliminated the threat posed by isis, the u.s. is carrying out the majority of those air strikes in syria. the chance of a pilot being shot down and captured has been a

major concern of u.s. war planners. the topic was brought up at a senate armed services committee in september with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey. >> are the pilots dropping bombs in iraq a direct combat mission and will u.s. forces will prepared to provide combat search and rescue if a pilot gets shot down? are they put boots on the ground to make that rescue successful. >> yes. >> want to bring in barbara starr from the pentagon and our cnn national security analyst bob baer. barbara, we heard from the jordanian spokesman who told cnn it appears that the f-16 fighter jet was shot at from the ground. what are you sources telling you and why does it make a difference how this jet went down? >> su >> reporter: our sources are telling us they think at this point it is unlikely it was shot down.

they don't see the evidence yet. everyone's continuing to investigate what did bring the plane down. there's no final conclusion. but for now, it doesn't look like a shootdown. one of the reasons this is so important is the coalition, u.s. pilots, everybody else, they need to know if isis has some type of weapon that can reach their altitudes where they fly generally well above 15,000 to 20,000 feet. that would be a big concern. they don't look like they're going to have to change operations right now. they want to find out exactly what did bring the plane down and obviously a top priority is whatever they can do to get this man back. >> and, bob, if a u.s. pilot was shot down and captured or if the plane just came down and they were captured, what would be a u.s. search-and-rescue mission -- what would that look like? special ops? >> absolutely. we have special forces in the area for this precise mission.

they're in kurdistan and other parts of the area. they would immediately go in to rescue the pilot, within the moment the plane went down, they would launch. the intelligence would be fairly precise for a while. they'd have to move fast. they've done this enough. they know they could probably get it done. >> barbara, could this change how the coalition actually conducts the air strikes? >> reporter: well, again, i think it will depend on what they find as to a cause. if it looks like there's some vulnerability to isis and isis weapons, that will be a very serious matter and they may have to change the way -- they would have to change the way they fly. if there was a mechanical failure in this f-16, also they want to know exactly what happened and make sure that other aircraft are not subject to that same situation. again, a real priority to not guilty what exactly happened here. >> bob, let's talk about some of

the inroads that isis has made in iraq. a few days ago it was reported they regained control of a city home to the country's largest oil refinery. if they gain control of that refinery, is that a game-changer? >> it's not, but what worries me is baghdad. they haven't put together a good force to retake cities like mosul or beiji or hang onto it. they don't have a cohesive army. the kurds are doing just fine but they have a long tradition of putting troops in the field and they've taken back sinjar mostly. so this is going to be a very, very long struggle. i think it's years and years and years. i don't see isis leaving mosul. i don't see it leaving al anbar province. we're going to be -- like i said, we're going to be in this for the long haul.

>> barbara, so sounds pretty dismal, that prediction. are these air strikes -- do you think that they're really working? are they slowing the progress at least of isis? >> reporter: well, where you stand is where you sit, to use an old perhaps worn-out saying. they work where the bombs land at that moment in time. they will take out an isis target. they'll take out an isis formation. they'll kill isis fighters. but the problem here is essentially the same problem in fighting extremism in this part of the world. if isis can recruit now fighters to the cause, you're never going to kill your way out of this situation. you can't kill everybody. this perhaps is the great lesson of years of operating in iraq and afghanistan. so it's an ideological fight that is not solved by bombs. and from the beginning, i will tell you, the pentagon has made

that point. don't expect military action to solve the problem with isis. they are very clear that they can only have a limited effect. it's a great lesson that the military has learned over the years. >> bob, to that point that barbara is making here, obviously you have to have the diplomatic, you have to have the ideological tactic and strategy, if you will. but do you see in terms of the military that ultimately you might have to see u.s. boots on the ground? >> i think first of all, i'd like to say barbara is absolutely right. you need a diplomatic political situation which we don't have. the way the iraqis look at it right now is the country is effectively partitioned into three parts -- the sunni, the shia and the kurds. and if we intend to destroy this movement, i don't think it's a good idea, by the way. we'd have to put boots on the ground. we'd have to put a lot of force in there. and i don't think the american people are ready for that. and, again, that would take

years and years to put the pieces back together, reunite iraq. and do we want to use american troops to do that? personally i'd say no. >> bob baer, thank you so much. barbara starr as well. we really appreciate your analysis. happy holidays. president obama ending the year actually in an upswing. hear why more americans are giving him high marks on his job performance. that's next. i have the worst cold with this runny nose. i better take something. dayquill cold and flu doesn't treat your runny nose. seriously? alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is.

president obama wrapping up 2014 on a high note. his approval rating has taken a significant jump. take a look at the brand-new cnn/orc poll numbers. 48% of americans now they say approve of the way the president is handling his job. that's the president's best showing since may of 2013 when he had a 53% approval rating. there was a major shift just in the last month. you see his approval numbers jumped four points since november. joining me now, ron brownstein. ron, talk about this bump, if you will. one of the things that i noticed was in the last press conference that he had. and he listed all of his accomplishments, how great the economy was, how things were on the mend. and people have been asking him, his supporters especially, to talk about it. does this have anything to do with the fact that he's pushing this forward? >> the swagger at that press conference is striking for a guy whose other party got to its

best representation in the house since the recession. but there's been a resurgence in activity from the white house since that election. the unilateral action on immigration, the climate deal with china, the normalization with cuba. but the biggest factor -- clearly also in your poll, is you are beginning to see more americans believe that the economy is improving, not only the decline in gas prices, the improving stock market but also the job market. we're now, under the obama presidency, the economy has already created now six times as many jobs as it did during the entire two terms under george w. bush and you have the possibility that by 2016, democrats may have a different economic narrative than they did in 2014. >> 38% of all americans said national economics were very good or somewhat good. that was in october. it's jumps now that the majority of americans have a positive view of the economy.

how does that impact where the republicans, where the gop congress goes in the new year and how much they're able to get done? >> i think a stronger president is in a stronger position to resist them. but they have an enormous amount of institutional leverage, control of both chambers of congress and their biggest majority in the house since before the depression. they are going to be very aggressive on confronting him. this gives him a little more ability to argue against some of the economic alternatives that they want to put forward. but even amidst this, the median income is lower than it was 14 years ago. that's almost unprecedented in american history. most american families are facing a lot of economic squeeze. even a short-term improvement in the employment picture does not automatically or rapidly eliminate that. >> and how does this play out in 2016? some people will still say, i'm not necessarily feeling it the way i should feel it, this economic recovery. or you don't see the gap between the very rich and the very poor coming together. >> the history is the attitudes

of the outgoing president after two-term president retires has a much bigger impact on the race to succeed him than most people think. reagan in '88, clinton in 20 2000 -- his party's nominee succeeded him in '88 and 2000, 88% of the people who disapproved of reagan and clinton, the other party won. so it is imperative, i think, it is a critical factor for democrats in 2016 that he be in a stronger position than he was in 2014 when only 44% of voters on election day said they approved of him last november. if that's the number in 2016, it is a big headwind for the next democrat. they are in a much stronger position to contest that race. >> and just months ago, they never realized they would be in this position. >> yes. >> ron, thank you so much.

>> thank you, happy holidays. >> happy holidays as well. other news we're following, former president george h.w. bush was taken to a houston hospital last night after experiencing shortness of breath. his office says it was a precautionary measure. the 90-year-old was hospitalized a couple of years ago with bronchitis. just ahead, president obama jump-starts diplomatic relations with cuba. it is one of the big global headlines of 2014. we'll count down the other top ten international stories of the year.

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comcast business. built for business. 2014 was dominated by international headlines. the very latest, the restoration of diplomatic ties between cuba and the united states. president obama and cuban leader raul castro shocked the world by announcing that they are putting 50-plus years of mutual animosity behind them. in our series "top ten of 2014," anderson cooper looks back at the other big international headlines of the year. >> reporter: number ten, pro-democracy protests in hong kong. demonstrators occupied the downtown financial district in what became known as the umbrella revolution. in late september, police fired teargas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd prompting thousands more to take to the

streets. after more than two months, police clear away the protest sites. the demonstrators vowing, we will be back. number nine, world cup fever. the eyes of the world on the games in brazil. the host country crashes out in the semifinals. in the final, germany beats argentina 1-0 in a dramatic overtime win. number eight, freedom for two american citizens held in north korea. kenneth bae and matthew todd miller. bae had been held for two years. >> i just want to say thank you all for supporting me and standing by me during this time. >> reporter: freedom for bae and miller came less than a month after the release of american jeffrey fowle. all this follows a bizarre d disappearing act by kim jong-un. he may have had ankle surgery. number seven, tragedy and

heartbreak in south korea. a ferry capsized killing more than 150 people. adding to the family's anguish, images of the captain baabandong ship now serving a prison sentence. number six, a mass kidnapping that started a movement. more than 200 nigerian girls snatched in their boarding school by the terror group boko haram. the twitter hashtag becomes an international rallying cry. but months go by. the leader of boko haram said the girls had converted to islam and had been married off. middle east tensions, a palestinian boy kidnapped and killed. in july, israel launches operation protective edge in

response to hamas rocket attacks. after weeks of clashes and the deaths of more than 2,100 palestinians and about 70 israelis, a cease-fire. but the bloodshed didn't end there. on november 18th, two palestinians with butcher knives and a gun attack a jerusalem synagogue, killing four rabbis and a police officer. number four, cold war animosities heat up. russian president vladimir putin stuns the west by annexing crimea. moscow also accused of sending troops and equipment to help pro-russian separatists. and then malaysia airlines flight 17 shot down over eastern ukraine, all 298 people on board killed. the west and the ukrainian government blame pro-russian fighters. number three, ebola ravages west africa. the cdc announces the first cases in late march in guinea,

sierra leone and liberia. more than 6,000 people have died. thomas eric duncan became the first person diagnosed with ebola in the united states. ten cases have been treated in the u.s. with two deaths. at number two, without a trace, the disappearance of malaysia airlines flight 370. the plane with 239 people on board was heading from kuala lumpur to beijing when it vanished. planes and ships scoured the initial search area but there's no sign of the missing plane. then new satellite data takes the search in a different direction. >> according to this new data, flight mh-370 ended in the southern indian ocean. >> reporter: pings believed to be from the plane's black box raise hopes but don't pan out. underwater searches come up empty and the effort to solve

commercial aviation's biggest mystery goes on. and our number one international story of 2014, the rise of isis which started as isis launches a brutal campaign across iraq and syria. militants take control of key iraqi cities. in august, u.s. fighter jets start bombing isis positions in iraq part of targeted air strikes authorized by president obama. >> we intend to stay vigilant and take action if these terror forces threaten our personnel or facilities anywhere in iraq. >> strikes aimed at protecting minority groups like those left stranded and starving on a mountain top. the extent of the barbarism by isis becomes more apparent showing the beheading of american james foley and decapitation of another.

america's top general has not ruled out the return of ground troops to iraq three years after the last troops pulled out. anderson cooper, cnn, new york. >> we're tracking another international news story right now. santa on radar provided by norad. rudolph at the lead you see there. he's off and just off the coast of east africa over the indian ocean now. he was over the middle east a moment ago. and thanks to our friends at norad we can track his moments where he's dropping off his gifts. we understand 2.5 million this year if you are nice, not naughty. coming up, christmas eve celebrations in bethlehem. we'll take you there live. agen

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security and a marching band. thousands of pilgrims gather at jesus' birth place for the annual celebration but violence is up and attendance is down. our ian lee joins us live from bethlehem. give us a sense of the security situation and what are they seeing on the ground now? >> reporter: suzanne, security is tight every year when we have these celebrations because we have delegates from around the world who come here for midnight mass including palestinian president abbas. the christian community here isn't just another minority but an integral part of the palestinian society. i was down in the square just talking to people. many of them very excited to be here but a lot of thoughts on the situation of christians not just here but also around the middle east. here in the palestinian territories, the number is dwindling. officials say that's because of the ongoing conflict as you

talked about as well as the occupation of the palestinian territories. we also have iraq and syria where isis is telling christians to leave, convert or die. so for a lot of people, a lot of christians around the region, this isn't such a joyous night but here down in manger square, they think about that as well during their celebrations. >> tell us more about the other celebrations, events that are planned for tonight. >> reporter: there's a lot going on tonight. if you're not lucky enough to get one of the coveted midnight mass tickets, you'll be down here in the square but don't worry, they have live music to entertain them. we saw earlier today marching bands. we had people singing christmas carols as well as some clowns and santa to entertain the people. i got a fun factoid that i learned today for you. manger square, when you think of

the nativity where jesus was born, it was actually a large cave is what i was told so it dispels what we traditionally think. >> have a good holiday and a merry christmas to you. that is it for me. for our international viewers, "amanpour" is next. for our u.s. viewers, "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts after this quick break. ♪

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here we go. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for being here with me. we want to begin with this. threats from north korean hackers didn't scare you in the power of free speech compelled you to run out and snatch up christmas day tickets to the year's most controversial movie, well, we have news for you. you won't be the first to catch it. sony decided to release "the interview" today. it's available right now for purchase on youtube. google play, xbox video and at a price cheaper at the independent movie theaters who got the green light to screen the film tomorrow. let's talk about this with cnn's pamela bwn