la has experts untrue. >> the u.n. security council set to hold an emergency meeting in just hours. we have this story covered the way only cnn can. let's begin with paula hancocks, live in seoul, south korea with all of the breaking details. paula? >> reporter: well, alisyn, this is almost a carbon copy of what we saw at the last nuclear test back in 2013. we had the seismic activity detected at the same area in the northeastern part of the country. there was then the speculation and then the confirmation from north korea. the difference this tomb, they say it was a hydrogen bomb, although many experts here in south korea and officials are casting doubt on that claim. now, what we know it was the same area, just very close to the chinese border and the force of this seismic activity, actually caused tremors on the chinese side of that border in pictures, you can see the shake

just to show how significant it was. now, this is not the first time north korea has done this. this is number four when it comes to nuclear tests. they did one back in 2013. that also was under kim jong-un, the current leader at a time of heightened tensions. there was juan in 2009 and also 2006 under his father, kim jong-il. back in 2003 was when they first said we have power and the capability. we do understand north korea is blaming the u.s. for this. they used the u.s. as justification for these tests in the past. the state-run media saying, quote, this test is a measure for self-defense. the dprk has taken to firmly protection the sovereignty of the country and vital right of the nation from the ever huff growing nuclear threat and blackmail by the u.s.-led hostile forces and to reliably safeguard the peace on the korean peninsula and regional security. blaming the u.s., they have done

that before. they are likely to do it once again. they also issued a photo of kim jong-un signing the order for this test back on january 3rd. and it was a note on this order believed to have been written by him, it says for the victorious and glorious year of 2016, when the seventh convention of the workers party will be held. make the world look up to a strong nuclear country and labor party by 0ing the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb. so clearly pyongyang very pleased with itself. there are questions, was it actually an h-bomb? back to you, michaela. >> those questions remain. meanwhile, that hydrogen bomb test is drawing, as you can anticipate, strong condemnation and skepticism around the world. our will ripley who has travelled to north korea some five times in the last year an a half, he's live in beijing with that part of the story for us. will? >> reporter: michaela, the impression i got from speaking to officials in pyongyang, they are hoping their nuclear program

and perhaps this latest nuclear test will be some sort of a bargaining chip to force the international community to sit down with the north korean regime led by kim jong-un and have a discussion about lifting economic sarngss and oth s have a discussion about lifting economic sarngss and othanction restrictions on the country that have been in place for years. john kirby blasting the actions, this apparent test, saying while we cannot confirm these claims at this time, we condemn any violation of the unsc resolutions and again call on north korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments. the united states, south korea, japan, china, france, the uk, russia and also the international atomic energy agency blasting the actions of the north korean regime. japanese prime minister shinzo abe coming out with a statement, saying the nuclear threat is a serious threat to our nation's security and absolutely cannot

be tolerated. japan sent planes into the air to test for radioactive activ y activity. the chinese government is testing for radiation along its border. 5.1 magnitude earthquake, schools were evacuated and hours from now, the united nations security council will be holding an emergency closed-door session requested by the u.s. and japan to discuss what action the international community will take next. alisyn? >> will, we'll check back in with you throughout the program. thank you for that. here with us, gordon chang, author of "nuclear showdown: north korea takes on the world." he's also a forbes.com columnist. do you believe north korea's claim that they've tested a hydrogen bomb? >> no, i don't. the initial report is that yield of this was about 6 kilitons, about the same they had in their 2013 detonation. they may have put a hydrogen isotope in this weapon to boost its capability.

nonetheless, i don't think so. i'm more worried. they actually improved a warhead, made it smaller and that means they can put it on their kn-08 missile which can hit the west coast of the united states. this is more of an immediate threat if it indeed was anatomic explosion rather than an h-bomb. >> it doesn't really matter whether they have a hydrogen bomb, we're still at risk here? >> they done the have a delivery vehicle for a thermonuclear device unless you want to put it on a pickup truck. apart from that, they have a vehicle for a smaller weapon. that's the thing that concerns us at this particular moment. >> how will the u.s. confirm whether or not this was a hydrogen bomb? >> we send up sniffer planes to look for radio activity. we did in in 2013 and were unsuccessful because then we wanted to find out whether it was a plutonium core or uranium one. we weren't able to do that because the north koreans dug it really deep into the earth. this one was probably detonated 10 kilometers below the surface of the earth. we may not be able to figure out

what the radio activity is. that's a problem for us. >> did this test come as a surprise to the u.s.? >> i don't think so. because we know the north koreans have to test all the time anyway. they've got -- they're selling this stuff to the iranians. that's an issue, of course. the iranians want to know whether this stuff actually works. the north koreans need to validate their designs. they were going to test at some point. the last test was 2013, a long time ago. >> kim jong-un warned this would be happening three weeks ago. let me tell you the note he put out. for the victorious and glorious year of 2016 when the seventh convention of the workers party will be held, make the world look up to our strong nuclear country and labor party by opening the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb. so do we take these -- when he says things like this, the world community takes it seriously? is we take it seriously. even if they done the have an h-bomb today, they'll have one three or four years down the road. they sometimes accelerate the claims but we also know they are

continually working not only on this but also their long-range missiles. we should take their threats seriously. >> that's why this national security council statement is a little curious. they put this out yesterday. north korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and until today has done so twice since. we have consistently made clear that we will not accept it as a nuclear state. we will continue to protect and defend our al lies in the region including the republic of korea and respond appropriately to any and all north korean provocations. we don't accept it as a nuclear state. that's like me saying i don't accept you're wearing glasses but you're wearing glasses. >> i'm wearing glasses, right. clearly, the united states hasn't had a policy for a very long time on north korea. we need to have one because they sell this stuff around the world. we just had a nuclear deal with iran. the problem is we have iranian tech anythings in north korea. they've been on site for the first three tests. they probably were there for this fourth test. that means the agreement that we have with iran probably isn't

worth very much because while we're inspecting them near tehran, their technicians are in north korea. >> that is complicated. particularly given everything that's happening with saudi arabia and syria and these shifting aligns and iran, you know, partnering with north korea. what is the u.s. to do? >> the first thing we need to did is re-examine the iran deal. we have to stop north korea from selling this stuff in the first instance. we have not taken effective measures to do that because of a number of reasons. we need to have a north korea policy. we haven't had one for a long time. until we do, the north koreans are going to proliferate this around the world. >> north korea is famous for launching these provocative attacks when they want attention of some kind. >> yes. >> kim jong-un's birthday is two days from now. no idea if that's connected. is there a feeling in north korea that syria has been getting all the attention or they've somehow been disrespected on the world stage? >> i think there's a certain amount of that. we saw that in pyongyang's

statement. the most important thing is kim jong-un wants to solidify his position in the regime. he's shaky. he's killed about 120 senior officials since he took over in 2011. that's a sign of continuing instability inside the ruling group. this is very good politics for him to detonate a device. that's why i think they sort of hyped it, because what they're trying to do is say, first of all, the regime, look, kim jong-un is strong, continuing policies of his father and grandfather. they want to bolster the position of the regime with regard to the north koreaen people because the economy right now is not that good. >> gordon chang, always great to have you here and get your expertise. thanks for walking us through that. >> thank you. >> chris? in the category of dangerous, even if false allegations, we have a familiar and frivolous tactic back in presidential politics. remember the birther speculation about president obama that revealed nothing? even donald trump won't talk about his frts there anymore. he is bringing up the same question now about senator ted

cruz, specifically the fact that texas-born senator was actually not born in texas but in canada. trump is now say the fact that cruz was born in canada could hurt the party's chances of winning the white house. cnn's athena jones is live in washington with more. athena, we heard early on when senator cruz was running this question came up, waves of lawyers came out, making what is clear under the constitution and all the case law since then, that this is not an issue but here we are. >> good morning, chris. exactly. this seem like settled law but it hasn't been actually challenged in court. those days when trump was holding his fire against ted cruz are clearly long gone. now that the texas senator is leading the polls in iowa, trump is doing all he can to raise doubts about him. this is one way he's doing so. >> i don't know what it all means. i know other people are talking about it. >> reporter: donald trump deflecting last night in new hampshire. the front-runner saying republican rival ted cruz's natural born citizenship is a

question that only other people are asking. >> people are worried that if he weren't born in this country, which he wasn't, he was born in canada and had a canadian passport along with a u.s. passport. >> reporter: trump said in an earlier interview with the "washington post," that cruz being born in canada could be very precarious for the gop. asking republican voters to think twice, saying, do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years? that would be a big problem. trump hinting democrats could take cruz to court because the constitution requires the president to be a natural-born citizen. the junior senator was grant citizenship by birth since his mother was an american citizen. but what constitutes natural-born for a president has never been tested in court. >> i think i'm going to let my response stick with that tweet. >> reporter: cruz responded with this metaphorical tweet, linking to fonzi from "happy days"

jumping a shark. >> it's the best way to respond to this kind of attack is to laugh it on and move on. >> mockery. >> to the issues that matter rsh meanwhile, trump's campaign rallies continue to be packed with controversy. a supporter shouting president obama's a muslim last night. >> what did you say? i didn't hear it. okay. i didn't say it. >> reporter: the billionaire pretending to be outraged. >> i'm supposed to reprimand the man. who is the man that said that? i have to reprimand. how dare you. okay. have i reprimanded? i'm admonishing you for the press. >> reporter: pretty sarcastic response there from trump. one more thing about the cruz question, it's important to remind the audience that trump has been on both sides of this issue. four months ago he tweeted i here was checked out by every attorney every which way. i understand ted is in fine shape. now, trump also took aim last night at the clintons in his

interview. take a listen. >> for a week you had been talking about bill clinton, his past sexual infidelities. maybe the media made too much of it. there was no mention of it last night. >> i wanted to give it a break. i brought it up. it was something that had to be said. they were saying lots of things about other people, including myself in terms of sexist. i will say there's nobody that has more respect for women than i do. nobody. and nobody's going to do more for women than i do. that includes hillary clinton. and i'm going to do something for everybody. i'm going to make our country great but i'm going to make our country safe. and nobody's going to be able to do that like i will do it and hillary clinton wouldn't know where to start. she gave us isis if you think about it, with her very dumb policies. so, you know, i brought it up. they certainly haven't said anything. i was mentioned nine times during their debate. perhaps what i did served good purpose. >> all right.

obviously we'll have more on this coming up. our thanks to athena for that reporting. strong reaction this morning to president obama's emotional speech outlining his executive action aimed at limiting gun violence. the president will speak more about his plan tomorrow night in an exclusive town hall event right here live on cnn. cnn's white house correspondent michelle kosinski live with the latest for us this morning. >> reporter: this was emotional. the last time we saw something similar was three years ago when the president spoke after the sandy hook massacre in a connecticut elementary school. he walks into this room packed with gun control advocates, victims, their families, former congresswoman gabby giffords was there. the person who introduced the president was a dad whose 7-year-old son was killed at sandy hook. when he started talking about believing in the second amendment and the right to assemble and have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without getting shot, that's when emotions flowed.

>> these families that never imagined their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun. every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> reporter: the white house is seeing the president's words a call to, as they're putting it, more passion, urging people to vote their minds and influence leaders. >> michelle, thanks so much. be sure to tune in tomorrow night as president obama joins anderson cooper for that exclusive live town hall event on guns in america. the president will discuss his executive action on guns and will take live questions from a live studio audience. a town hall on guns in america with president obama moderated by anderson cooper, tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. here on cnn. okay. so the birther debate coming back to the campaign trail as you heard, this time donald

trump targeting ted cruz, not barack obama. we'll take a closer look at this when "new day" continues. stick around. gegiving up all the thingsan she loves to do. it should just mean, well, finding new ways to do them. right at home's professional team thoughtfully selects caregivers to provide help with personal care, housekeeping, and of course, meal preparation. oh, that smells so good. aw, and it tastes good, too. we can provide the right care, right at home. every insurance policy has a number. but not every insurance company understands the life behind it. for those who've served and the families who've supported them,

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digestive core.r so choose ultimate flora by renewlife. it has 30 billion probiotic cultures. feel lighter and more energized. ultimate flora. more power to your gut. all right. yes, yes, here we go again. the so-called birther debate

happened with president obama, where was he born, what's the short form birth certificate thing in hawaii? all put to rest. donald trump won't even address it anymore. now he is bringing up this same issue with republican rival senator ted cruz suggesting that he's not saying it but others are saying that senator cruz being born in canada could be a problem. let's discuss. cnn political analyst and editor in chief of the daily beast, john avalon and cnn political commentator, former reagan white house political director and donald trump supporter, jeffrey lore. take that smile off your face, professor lord, this morning. you know that the -- >> i can resist. >> good to see you, jeffrey, as always. you know it went nowhere with president obama. yes, there was a little bit of this intrigue with the birth certificate, forms early on. but it went nowhere. now we're seeing it again with senator cruz. your man, donald trump is saying it, i'm not saying it but it's out there. doesn't seem to be fair play

going on. do you think this should be dispensed with at once? >> first of all, there are people out there, congressman allen grayson, a democrat from florida just this past november promised that if ted cruz were nominated he personally would file what he called a, quote, unquote, beautiful lawsuit, saying that ted cruz was not qualified to be president. so all trump is saying here is, this is fact. somebody said somebody is going to do this and somebody has already promised, a member of congress and a democrat, he's promised to do it. it's a fact. >> should we be basing policy on grayson and things that he says which are known to be provocative? >> no. this is the first time -- to hear jeffrey lord sort of accept the trolling by allen grayson as an article of faith and to not denounce it on its face feeds the fundamental problem here. let's not forget, this is donald trump returning to his roots, folks. in 2012 when he flirted with running to the presidency, he was basically running on a

birther ticket. that was all he kept stirring up. this was the same role grayson allegedly wants to play with ted cruz that donald trump played the first time around. so let's get real about the insinuation and of course the delicious irony here is that while 51% of republicans at one point doubted whether president obama was born in the united states and was eligible to be president, that's an important reality check. the scenario they fantasized about on the face of it would be what happened with ted cruz who was born in canada, however, given that his parents were american, given case law going back to george romney and others, it's irrelevant, folks. give up the ghost. >> well, all he's doing here is answering a question and saying that somebody would do this. that is a fact. ted cruz is qualified to be president of the united states. >> great. we're on the record there. >> this is ridiculous. >> okay. good. >> why feed this kind of -- you know, why fuel this kind of

thing, jeffrey? that's what it gets into. even at the event the other night, this guy says, obama's a muslim. ordinarily that's something you shut down. donald trump plays with the guy, saying i'm admonishing you for the press. why feed that? why that be your brand of leadership when you have a decent shot at getting the nomination. >> chris, chris, all he's doing here -- this interview he gave to the "washington post" in which he was asked by "the washington post," he said this almost a year ago. on a local fox station. it was recorded by cnn and the cnn reporter, which i read last night, jeremy diamond said back in march that while this was not likely, that trump's legal situation here on this was mistaken, according to him, he did say that this was probably going to happen. there's nothing new here. >> meaning in terms of the challenge. >> this is the media make a big deal of nothing. >> it's also giving ted cruz an opportunity to have a little fun with this.

he tweeted out -- >> right. >> my response to donald trump, calling into question my natural born citizenship and here once again is his response. >> just because -- >> bring on the fonz. >> watch this. >> does the leather get wet? >> hold on. >> we don't have the video. it must cost too much. >> it was jump the shark moment where fonzi is still in his leather jacket. >> given that their candidate is not exactly the most contemporary cat in the world they've played social media very well. >> is it fair for the haters coming out talking about turn about it fair play, how do you like it now, ted cruz? how far in front of the birther thing was senator ted cruz? i remember him shutting it down but that wasn't his baby, was it? >> not that i recall. part of the problem of candidates not denouncing this stuff on the face of it, as we saw john mccain did in 2008 but

too many candidates incubate it, encourage it. why? because it's too much of a percentage of what they conceive as the con stefservative populo base. that's even more reason to denounce it to be consistent. this kind of bile that infects our politics, you have to denounce it on both sides. >> donald trump does go after people when he feels threatened by them or that they're encroaching on his lead. that's what is happening with ted cruz. certainly in iowa. ted cruz is winning right now. what does donald trump think is going to happen in iowa? >> you know, i think he thinks he's going to do well in iowa. look, this is nothing new in terms of presidential candidates going after one another in primary situations. back in 2008, you had bill clinton saying that the obama campaign was playing the race card on it. candidates in primaries do this.

this is what they do. it's like watching grass grow. of course it's going to happen. >> jeffrey lord, i'm happy you said that. mama cuomo helped me out the other night, the man over your shoulder, ronald reagan, i sat next to him when i was a young boy at a dinner. >> me, too. >> you sat next to him. he signed a nice thing for me then. and he told my mother something that she reminded me about. she saw the picture of you. she's like is that ronald reagan's son? i said, no, not exactly. more donald trump's son. that he had said politics should always be about class. that was one of the things he said he liked about my father. the man over your shoulder would not have brought up something like this about senator ted cruz. he would not have let somebody call the president of the united states a muslim and just laugh it off. he wouldn't have done that. >> you know, chris, what we're seeing here is, with all due respect as ted cruz himself said in a clip you showed this morning, the media making a big

deal of this. this isn't donald trump making a big deal of it. >> he brought it up. >> it is the media making a big deal of it. >> he brought it up, jeffrey. we wouldn't have brought it up. we're bringing it up to condemn it, not to feed it. >> this was in response to a question from "the washington post." >> let's stop screwing around here, jeffrey. trying to blame the media, saying he's just answering questions. >> ted cruz said it's the media. >> blaming the media is the single most convenience base approved technique in this campaign that's intentionally trolling. let's be real about that. what donald trump did was -- >> hole on, jeffrey. >> it would be an awful shame if anything happened to his presidency or candidacy. that's exactly what he said. have enough respect for his candidate. he knew exactly what he was doing. >> we have to leave it there. jeffrey, john, thank you for the spirited debate as always. we appreciate it. thanks, guys. >> the man over your shoulder is shaking his head, jeffrey lord. shaking his head. >> in the picture. will trump's birther questions or responses to questions depending on how you

choose to see this, will they matter to senator ted cruz? tweet us, "new day" or post your comment on facebook.com/newday. the divide keeps widening between iran and saudi arabia. the saudis now hitting the iranians where it hurts the most, in the wallet. is a regional war about to break out? can the u.s. do anything to stop it? we'll discuss that, ahead. boy: once upon a time, there was a nice house that lived with a family. one day, it started to rain and rain.

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saudi arabia and iran are moving even further apart this morning amid severed diplomatic relations. a billionaire saudi prince is pulling the plug on a variety of financial projects in tehran.

cnn's senior international correspondent nick paton walsh live in beirut with the latest, hitting them in the wallet. nick? >> reporter: commercial damage certainly, flights being canceled. saudi removing its ambassador and embassy from tehran, other allies following suit, too. they are trying to de-escalate the situation, get some sense of peace back in here. this may be paying off one of the key short-term issues that the u.s. so badly needs saudi arabia and iran to try to cooperate. remember, those two countries have been in proxy wars, posturing against each other for decades, more specifically over syria. the bid by the u.s. to try and get some kind of peace process rolling, well, the u.n. special envoy to that conflict just met the saudi foreign minister and came out suggesting that this recent spat probably wouldn't have a negative impact on the more immediate bid to get the syrian opposition to speak to

the syrian regime. that's a long shot in itself, perhaps harder now, the saudis and iranians are openly at each other's throats like this. the real issue here is, does this spat, this fiery rhetoric, commercial and diplomatic ties being severed do they equate to a more open war in the middle east or are we looking at something that's been hidden under the surface coming to the front now? chris? >> all right. thank you very much, nick, appreciate the reporting. there are an estimated 300 million guns in america. 2015, in fact, was a banner year for the gun industry. in fact, every time there's any talk about gun control, sales soar, production ramps up. who has these guns? what is causing sales to skyrocket exactly? we'll give you the answers, ahead. you may think it's a result of brushing too hard. it's not. it's a sign of early gum disease... listerine(r) can help reverse... early gum disease in just two weeks.

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president obama's announcement on executive actions on gun control has had an unintended consequence. more people buying guns. here to break down those numbers is cnn chief business correspondent christine romans. take us through it, christine. >> we've seen this consumer behavior again and again. gun sales surge when there are mass shootings or when there's talk about addressing gun violence. take a look at this, january 2013. this is the month after sandy hook, also the president was re-elected and people talked about gun control measures. 2 million guns sold according to analysis of background checks. you look in december of this year, again, after san bernardino, another very brisk month. you look at background checks and extrapolate with analysis, what we think happened with gun sales, you can see it was a very big month for gun sales. gun stocks, it's been a very profitable endeavor to make guns, to make weapons and ammunition, fight frankly and invest in them. compare, for example, smith and wesson to apple or nike or goog

since november 2008. you can see that it is big business and every time there is a mass shooting, people run out, they buy handguns, they buy recreational, the ar type guns and the accessories that go with it. this is the president talking about gun violence. you can see the spike in the stock, the company recently said its sales raised its sales outlook for the year. really remarkable. you look over the past five years or so, you can see what kind of a run these gun companies and ammunition companies have had. chris? >> all right, christine, thank you very much. interesting economic angle. of course it all comes back to the law. and now, we have the law at the crosshairs, i guess, once again. the president has taken executive action. that gets people upset right there let alone when it's about guns. let's discuss how the president made his case yesterday and what this will do and whether it is good or bad. cnn political commentator and host of "the ben ferguson show,"

ben ferguson and cnn commentator, mark lamont hill. professor you are in front of me. that may be a disadvantage today. i'll start with you, ben ferguson. let's play this sound of the president from yesterday. i think there's something we can all agree on and move forward. let's play a little bit of the president's emotion. >> sure. >> from every family who never imagined their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun. every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> now, i was surprised at how many people gave him heat about this, but ben, mark, we play arms length on tv but we know each other fairly well. we all own guns, been around these tragedies. can we all just agree, starting

with you, ben, a man getting upset about how many people die in this country is not weakness. it is strength that he's showing by showing the emotion. can we at least agree on that? >> sure. i have no problem. i said this yesterday when people started criticizing him for crying. i think it was genuine, sincere. you're seeing family members coming to the white house hoping and looking for some answers when they had their children murdered, 20 of them, in that school room. the problem i have is the fact that the president yesterday implied that somehow what he was signing could have stopped sandy hook, could have saved one of the 20 children in that classroom. that is the part that frustrates me. because if he would have signed this seven years ago, it would not have affected any of these mass shootings because we know looking at those guns, how they were purchased. they were purchased legally and this law that he is doing or executive action, whatever you want to call it, is giving, i think, false hope to these families that came to the white house, somehow thinking when

they left this would have stopped those shootings. it would not. he should have done more on mental health. >> what the families want, i have had the blessing, the misfortune of spending a lot of time with people in pain. they want something to change. anything to change. >> sure. >> will these executive orders, bill background checks stop the massacres we saw? no is a fair answer if each one of those transactions was fine. but the idea of who gets flagged on a background check. you went through them. you didn't have a criminal record,ed ed adjudication of me health. >> i think they would agree, the families, that background check, closing the gun show loophole may or may not have stopped what happened to their children. i would argue would not have. their eyes are wide open about that. they still want gun reform and change.

as president obama said, not being able to stop all tragedies is not an excuse to try to stop some tragedies. that's what we're going to see here. if you make it more difficult for bad guys to get guns, more importantly, forget about the bad guys. what about people with mental health issues, people who have guns unbeno guns. >> here's the problem, though. ben, speak to this. if you are adjudicated mentally ill, you may get flagged, if the states share the information. there's funding requests in there for that. if the doctor gives the information. if there's a lot of ifs, right? unless you're adjudicated, it doesn't matter how off your game you are, how sick you are, you're not going to get flagged. why isn't that something that brings congress together, at least act on that? at least act on funding, mandatory sentences for gun crime like you had jeb bush do

in florida with the 10, 20, life laws. why isn't there consensus on those issues? >> there should be. this is where people in washington really need to focus. i think the president should lead on this and be clear. >> this is your guys, ben. that's why i'm asking you. >> it's not totally true when it comes to what washington is doing. every time they try to pass legislation, they start putting in the guns they don't like into legislation and so then you have people that go to each side of this issue and stand there and do not work together. if the president would have come out instead of doing executive action saying i'm going solely on the issue and only the issue of mental health to congress and we'll put something together, that would be a starting point i think could do a lot of good for everyone. but when you go to congress, there are people that say, hold on, i want to ban this gun, ban this magazine, this capacity. >> i got you. let mark respond. >> you have to do it by itself. >> i don't think mental health

is the only issue. >> but it is an issue. try to get something done if you can't get everything done. >> which is why the president didn't do all things. he didn't try to limit assault guns or ammunition. he didn't want to step on too many legal toes. >> you could argue he didn't have the ability to do those things with the existing legislation. >> i would disagree. >> the president wanted to do it. he didn't have the abilit to do it. >> of course he wanted to do it. he stayed within the balance of his limitations which is what we wanted him to do. what he wanted to do here is simply define guidelines. i'll redefine the definition of what a gun dealer is, so the guy that inherits his granddaddy's gun collection but it's actually a thousand guns, that's a gun dealer. that's clarifying the law within his power. >> ben, thank you very much for starting off this conversation, but at least making it on a man level making it okay for a man

to show emotion. the atf has different case scenarios of who is a gun seller. it's vague. ben ferguson, thank you. professor hill as always. these are big issues. that's why there's somuchthat can be said about them. you'll get to hear them played out in a way that you probably haven't in a very long time. tomorrow night president obama has taken the invitation to join our man anderson cooper for an exclusive live town hall on this issue. guns in america. he will make his case, the president, to a live audience. he will take questions from them and it will all be done under the moderation of our best, mr. cooper. tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. here only on cnn. mick? we've been watching the situation in oregon. is that occupation of a national wildlife refuge there about to come to a head? a question we've been asking every day. the armed protesters believe a plan by the feds to remove them

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nights ago. paul vercammen is live in burns, oregon with the latest for us. paul? >> reporter: michaela as you look behind me, overnight, one of the demonstrators decided to sort of hold guard or stand guard. in fact, he slept in his rocking chair. he says he has an old cowboy rifle. they moved in equipment behind me. the fbi is denying they issued arrest warrants or plans to be here. the leader of this group says they have fears that the fbi will try to raid the compound there. let's listen. >> if something happens, know it, that it is because of the actions of the fbi and because of their intimidation factors and because of their commitment to protect and defend other agencies rather than human people. rather than americans. >> and that protest leader also saying on social media, likening this group to rosa park, saying

they're doing the same thing she did which was stand up against bad laws. in the meantime, we should call this the hands off standoff continues. we still have not seen any sign of any law enforcement at this compound here in remote, rural eastern oregon. back to you, alisyn. >> the hands off standoff, that is an apt term, paul. thank you so much for the back ground. investigators asking for the public's health to piece together an 18-minute movement of the san bernardino attackers. where do investigators think they were? that's next.

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that friend of the san bernardino terrorist, enrique

marquez is set to be arraigned today. he's facing a slew of charges for allegedly buying some of the military style weapons used in that massacre. this comes as the fbi turns to the public for help. to close an 18-minute gap between the time of the attack and when the terrorists were killed in a shootout with police. here with more is cnn law enforcement analyst and former fbi assistant director tom fuentes. he joins us now. tom, great to see you. the terrorists were on the loose for 3 hours and 42 minutes before they were killed. what are the theories about all of that time is accounted for except those 18 minutes. where do investigators think they were those 18 minutes? >> good morning, alisyn. they don't know exactly where they were. they said they lost track of them near the intersections near the i-10 and i-15 freeways. that's where they need help. did they get on the interstate, did they drive into the desert, maybe that's where they get rid

of the laptop computer, met with somebody else. maybe they went to an area they have no idea they went to and met other people. they don't know. that's what they really want to know. normally in an investigation like this they try to piece together every second of time in their lives, not just on that day but go back in time as well to see who else they may have been involved with, which is still a critical question. >> that's the striking part, just how much the fbi and investigators know about the other 3 1/2 hours. how did they figure out all of those movements? >> that's the painstaking progrepr process of taking video from cameras, red light cameras, cameras in parking lots of shopping malls, mom and pop stores, any place that might have a camera that shows the road or parking lot and literally goes through thousands of pieces, thousands of clips,

piece them together in chronological order and basically, like a jigsaw puzzle, put together where that van went in between the -- actually from the time starting at 8:37 in the morning when they left their residence all the way to this 18-minute gap and then when they resumed coverage of them, until the shootout with the police where it all ends. >> yes. >> very painstaking process. but it's very important. >> one of the striking details that came out about that day is that before the attack, this couple dropped their baby off with the grandmother. what has come out about what the grandmother knew? >> well, they're not saying yet exactly where they're at and whether she'll ever be charged or whether she knew or where they go. that's still a mystery in this. they haven't disclosed, you know, they put out an additional press release last night about midnight eastern time, saying that in the investigation, they had executed 29 search warrants,

550 interviews, collected 500 pieces of evidence. the one thing they will not tell you is that if that resulted in a spinoff case, if they identified other possible suspects, not just in this attack but whether they, anywhere in the last couple of years, may have been planning an attack as such -- as marquez may have indicated, that, you know, they may be off on another direction in the investigation in addition to this one that we just don't know about, may not know for years to kol, untcome, those cases go to fruition. they are not going to announce suspects, such and such and we're on them now. that's not going to come out. if they're on to other people, it will be a secret for a while. >> it's not unimaginable to think there would be somebody else who helped them pull this off or was somehow in the know beyond enrique marquez who we said is set to be in court today. tom fuentes, thanks so much for explaining all of this.

let's hope the public can help fill in that 18-minute gap. we're following a lot of news for you this morning. so let's get right to it. north korea announcing it has conducted a successful test of a hydrogen bomb. >> we don't know enough about his calculations, how he thinks. >> north korea wants to be recognized by the global community as a nuclear power. >> we need to find ways to make sure that program doesn't move forward. >> he was born in canada and he actually had a canadian passport along with a u.s. passport. i hope that wouldn't be what it is. we'll find out, i guess. >> one of the things that the media loves to do is gaze at their -- for hours on end. >> now we're in a different ball game and we need the ability to execute. >> the gun lobby may be holdi holding -- >> they're not going to take your guns away, folks. they're trying. this is cnn breaking news.

good morning, everyone. we have breaking news. welcome back to your "new day." we begin with north korea, claiming it has successful detonated a hydrogen bomb for the very first time. the explosion so powerful it registered with the force of a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. the reclusive nation saying it was an act of self-defense against the u.s. >> there's still a big if here, though. experts are saying that seismic event may not have been an h-bomb. if it were, it does represent a dangerous escalation of north korea's capability. the u.n. security council is convening an emergency meeting this morning to discuss the international response spp we have this story covered the way only cnn can. let's begin with paula hancock, live in seoul. >> reporter: this is almost a carbon copy of what we saw at the previous nuclear test in 2013. that seismic activity was detected in exactly the same spot as previously the

underground test site in the northeast of the country. then of course there was the speculation it was a man-made explosion. then the confirmation from north korea, the difference this time, of course, pyongyang claiming it is a hydrogen bomb but there are many south korean officials casting doubt on that claim. this is very close to the chinese border. we actually saw just how significant that tremor was. people felt it there and you can see from some video we have that it was actually seen just how significant the tremor was. this is number four when it comes to the nuclear tests. there was one back in 2013 in february. that as well was under kim jong-un, the current north korean leader. there was one in 2009 under his father, kim jong-il and again in 2006. the first time north korea claimed they had this capability and they were going for a nuclear program was 2003. now, north korea has, as it always does, blamed the u.s. for this test.

it's effectively said this was self-defense because the u.s. is hostile towards it and as long as the u.s. didn't try and depose the regime, then it wouldn't use nuclear weapons. it's not the first time pyongyang has blamed the u.s. and it is unlikely to be the last time. they also released a photo of the young leader, kim jong-un signing the order back on january 3rd for this test to go ahead. there was a hand written note that went with it, apparently written by kim jong-un himself, that says for the victorious and glorious year of 2016 when the 7th convention of the workers party will be held, make the world look up to our strong nuclear country and labor party by opening the year with it xooing noise of the first hydrogen bomb. so a very triumphant message from north korea. they are very proud of what they say is a hydrogen bomb. michaela, back to you. >> that claim from north korea is drawing global condemnation and skepticism from leaders around the world. will ripley who has traveled to

north korea some five times in the last year and a half is live in beijing with that part of the story for us. will? >> reporter: the biggest concern, michaela, both here and china, also the united states is that north korea has this technology in its hands, what will it do? will it sell this technology to other, perhaps even less stable regimes? and is this going to escalate even further? there's not necessarily a thought that north korea is imminently going to attack another nation with nuclear weapons. but there is the grave concern that this nuclear program will continue to grow aggressively unless the world steps in and does something to stop it. so far, sanctions just haven't worked. the condemnation coming in from all over. john kirby saying while we cannot confirm the claims of an h-bomb at this time, we condemn any violation of the united nations security council resolutions and call on north korea to abide by its international obligations and commitments. the list of countries speaking out, the united states, south korea, japan, china, france, the

united kingdom, russia and even the international atomic energy agency weighing in on this. in japan, they've sent up a plane to test for radioactive in the skies and the prime minister of japan, shinzo abe saying, this is a serious throughout to our naugs ace security and absolutely cannot be tolerated. we strongly denounce it. in the past, north korean missiles have flown over okinawa where many united states troops are stationed. this a regional concern. if these are in fact miniaturized warheads being placed on these missiles, both programs continue to develop. the u.n. security council emergency meeting happening at 11:00 a.m. eastern time, requested by the u.s. and japan to figure out what the world's next move will be. >> let's bring in christiane amanpour. happy new year, good to sou. one of the big issues this raises is that we had an expert on this morning that said, hey, it's no the just north korea

that is involved in this, iranian scientists have been present during this testing. that is an interesting implication of this activity. is this something that's widely known, certainly if this columnist from "forbes" knows, i'm sure the governments involved do. what does that add to the mix and the analysis? >> if that's true, that is an issue. but really what is really an issue is if this claim of a hydrogen bomb test is true, because a hydrogen bomb is the most sophisticated kind of nuclear weapon. it is not used in war yet. it is a fission fusion, a thermonuclear weapon, the kind of nuclear weapon that the big declared nuclear powers have. it is 100 times at least more powerful than anything the north koreans have had in the past. most believe this is about regime survival. what's happening is, a succession of u.s.

administrations, whether democratic or republican, have not fully been able to grabble with this issue. if you remember, back in the early 2000s, president george w. bush decided to confront north korea over their undeclared uranium and centrifuge program. that called north korea to pull out of the ntp, kick out the inspectors and it has been relentlessly moving forward ever since. the obama administration left it mostly to china and china has been warning, at least since april, according to "the wall street journal," that north korea is much further ahead in its uranium path than anybody expected. and this, if it's true, would prove that pap. i was there in north korea in 2008. at the time it destroyed its plutoni plutonium. it's the uranium part that now is the big problem. >> the consensus seems they are on the path toward hydrogen capabilities of fusion even if they're not there yet. you have to get ahead of the threat. that seems to be the consensus

even if this is being puffed up by the regime right now. i'm telling you, if this is true about the iranian scientists being there, what this "forbes" guy said, that adds an entirely different dimension to this. in terms of why this is happening with be two big admissions from the korean side, north korean side we should look at. the first one is, this from the north korea state news agency yesterday in a statement, if there's no invasion on our sovereignty, we will not use nuclear weapons. this h-bomb test brings to us a higher level of nuclear power. obviously that statement is contradictory within itself. do you believe there is a real threat that if they had the capability, they would use it? is that the basis that the response should be on? >> well, look, you know, the whole world hopes and prays that no civilized nation would ever use a nuclear weapon. but there are accidents and right now, we know that top american military officials believe that even though they haven't tested it, north korea

does have the technology to mount a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the west coast of the united states. so their capability is expanding and expanding much, much faster than is publicly talked about and publicly investigated. and that's where the scientists are incredibly nervous, for instance, the great american nuclear scientist siegfried hecker, one of the only americans that gets regular access into its nuclear facilities, into china, sits there with all sorts of officials from around the world and sees firsthand and is able to give the best case assessment of what's going on in that secretive nation. last year he warned very, very clearly that this was on track. >> the chinese have also a great set of eyes on the situation and know as well as any who are going on. how important are they? supposedly they're going to come

out and give a condemnatory statement. >> the chinese are the closest associated not only the closest associates but also close physically to north korea. in the past have had a lot of influence on north korea but since xi jinping became president they've been much tougher on north korea and they've had much less influence and much less connection, particularly with the current leader, kim jong-un. that's a problem there. some believe that maybe their influence is slightly less than it should be and that it was. but most people do not believe that this is an issue that can be solved unless china plus the united states, japan, perhaps even russia, but everybody gets together to really try to make this something that's not just stopped. because right now they are moving ahead. we can't even talk about rolling back. first it has to be stopped and then it has to be rolled back, according to the nuclear

scientists. this is going to take a lot of concentrated effort. as you know, you know, most times we talk about north korea, it's about the sony hack or it's about the film, "the interview" or whatever. this issue is massively, massively important. it comes at a time when the united states and world powers have negotiated this nuclear deal with iran. so, perhaps, if that is somewhat more taken care of, they can focus now on north korea. north korea has nuclear warheads, has nuclear weapons, has tested them. and that's a problem. it's not just maybe they have them. the estimate is they might have 20 by the end of 2015 which they just passed and another 20 by the end of this 2016. that's a huge number of nuclear warheads and nuclear weapons to be sitting in north korea. >> maybe one of the motivations why we see the u.s. and other nation states immediately dismissing the potential and saying this is about his birthday, about the upcoming

political meetings, that he's just trying to look strong is in part giving voice to what you're speaking to which is we haven't found a solution to this yet and a way to deal with north korea. i have to go right now. we'll continue this conversation as we get more information on the developments thank you for the perspective as always. alisyn. back to the campaign trail. he did it with president obama, now donald trump appears to be playing the birther card with republican rival ted cruz. trump says this could be a, quote, big problem for the gop. since cruz was born in canada. cnn's athena jones is live in washington with more. good morning, atheen fla. >> reporter: good morning, alisyn. this seems like a favorite topic for trump. it's more proof that the days of him holding his fire against ted cruz are over now that cruz is leading in polls in iowa. trump is doing everything he can to raise doubts about him.

>> i don't know what it all means. i know other people are talking about it. >> reporter: donald trump deflecting last night in new hampshire. the front-runner saying republican rival ted cruz's natural born citizenship is a question that only other people are asking. >> people are worried that if he weren't born in this country, which he wasn't, he was born in canada and had a canadian passport along with a u.s. passport. until just recently, i mean within the last couple of years. i don't know what it all means. >> reporter: trump said in an earlier interview with the "washington post," that cruz being born in canada could be very precarious for the gop. asking republican voters to think twice, saying, do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years? that would be a big problem. trump hinting democrats could take cruz to court because the constitution requires the president to be a natural-born citizen. the junior senator was granted citizenship by birth since his mother was an american citizen. but what constitutes natural-born for a president has never been tested in court. >> i think i'm going to let my response stick with that tweet. >> reporter: cruz responded with

this metaphorical tweet, linking to fonzi from "happy days" jumping a shark. >> it's the best way to respond to this kind of attack is to laugh it on and move on. >> mockery. >> to the issues that matter. >> reporter: meanwhile, trump's campaign rallies continue to be packed with controversy. a supporter shouting president obama's a muslim last night. >> what did you say? i didn't hear it. okay. i didn't say it. >> reporter: the billionaire pretending to be outraged. >> i'm supposed to reprimand the man. who is the man that said that? i have to reprimand. how dare you. okay. have i reprimanded? okay. i'm admonishing you for the press. >> reporter: a rather sarcastic response from trump to that voter there. there's one more thing about the cruz citizenship question that's important to remind folks. that is that trump has been on both sides of this issue. four months ago he tweeted, i hear it was checked out by every

attorney, every which way. i understand ted is in fine shape. now he's singing a different tune. the big thing that's changed is that trump is no longer leading all the polls in iowa. chris? >> i'll take it here, athena. thanks so much. donald trump and other big name republicans like ted cruz areple salahing president obama's executive action aimed at limiting gun violence. the president shedding tears during his white house address. we'll speak more about it with cnn tomorrow night in an exclusive live town hall event. michelle kosinski live in washington with the latest for us. >> reporter: there was a lot of emotion in that room. the president walked in, packed with gun control advocates, victims of shootings, their families. former congresswoman gabby giffords was there. the person who introduced the president was a dad whose 7-year-old son was killed in the sandy hook massacre in connecticut three years ago. yesterday talking about

believing in the second amendment but also believing in americans' rights to assemble, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without getting shot, that's when his emotion came out, talking about the victims. >> from every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun. every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> reporter: the white house is framing this as a call to action, a call as their putting it, for more passion among people who feel the same way, urging them to vote their minds and hold lawmakers accountable. chris? >> michelle kosinski, thank you very much for the reporting. we also want to tell you about a u.s. soldier being killed in afghanistan. this happened during a joint

special operations mission with afghan forces in the southern town of marza, the helmand province. this was all during the rescue effort of an american medevac chopper that hit a wall and was damaged. still on the ground in marjah. the second of six baltimore police officers charged in the death of freddie gray is about to stand trial. caesar goodson faces second degree murder and other charges. both sides will argue pretrial motions in court today. jury selection is scheduled to begin monday. william porter whose trial ended in a hung jury is fighting a subpoena for him to have to testify against his fellow officers. bill cosby's wife camille will not be deposed today. a judge allowed her emergency motion for a last-minute stay so an appeal could be heard.

she was set to testify in a civil lawsuit involving seven women who accused bill cosby of sexual misconduct and who are now suing him for defamation. they are among cosby's 50 accusers. >> we were anticipating her deposition. it will be fascinating to hear what she knows, what she can offer, if she will actually say anything. >> and how that would affect or if it would affect the ongoing criminal case against him, too. >> she's playing two roles, right? she's the wife, this is a civil case, different rules about that privilege. but she's also the business manager. irreparable harm. what does that mean? only the judge knows. they do this pleading to the judge. this doesn't end it. >> this is not a done deal. you were telling me about that. >> this is about -- >> they'll examine it further. >> right. the point of the judge here is, we don't want to do anything that we don't have to do before we have to do it. let's keep talk about this. why do you say this? what does it mean to you?

what are you looking for from her? this will continue. it's not over. >> we're watching all of that. a big part of what happened last night with president obama was how he was as he outlined his executive orders. he was visibly upset. and anybody who knows what he does about what actually happened at sandy hook should be upset. we'll talk to one senate critic next. what is wrong with how the president was emotional last night, if anything? stay with us. feel a cold sore coming on? only abreva can heal it in as few as two and a half days when used at the first sign. it penetrates deep and starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells.. don't tough it out, knock it out, fast. abreva.

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north korea's apparent test of a hydrogen bomb is drawing strong condemnation and skepticism around the world. if it really was an h-bomb, if this was successful fusion, it represents a significant escalation of the secretive regime's nuclear capability. this is certainly a big headline. we are fortunate to have senator steve danes joining us now, republican from montana to discuss this, guns and also what's going on close to your neck of the woods in oregon. senator, thank you for joining us. what is the immediate reaction to what's going on in north korea, if this is what they say it is, what should the u.s. do? >> well, this represents a direct threat to not only our

national security, really the stability of the entire world. it's interesting that as we look at the failed policies of the obama administration, i think what we're seeing is the world's response to the weakness as projected by our current president. our enemies no longer fear us. our allies no longer trust us. think about 20 years ago, president clinton was touting a peace agreement, a nuclear nonproliferation agreement with north korea. there's a lot of parallel between what's going on in north korea as well as in iran today. think about this, the international atomic agency was to be the organization to ensure that north korea did not get the nuclear bomb, did not get a hydrogen bomb. it's the same organization that this president is putting trust in to stop iran from getting a bomb. iran, a nation that chants death to america and is somebody that we cannot trust. i think there's a lesson to be learned here with iran as well as what's going on in korea. >> we are learning there may be

more of a joint purpose between north korea and iran than previously thought. we had this "forbes" guy on this morning that studies this area. he says he believes iranian scientists are helping north koreans. the main problem you had to deal with that we didn't see any better solutions come up on was, well, your allies didn't want to the do sanctions anymore with iran. they didn't work. they were still developing things. this deal was seen for a long time by many on both sides as the best option. what's the better solution? >> well, this comes back to american leadership and projectioning strength as a country. this is why america needs to be leading in foreign policy around the world than president obama's current approach, which is really leading from behind. look at what's going on in the middle east today. our allies, we look at israel, we look at saudi arabia, this president has cozy up to iran, to iran and alienated our most important ally which is israel as well as saudi arabia. and so this comes back to

projecting strength, projecting strength from the oval office and this president has projected weakness. and the obama/clinton foreign policy and we're starting to see the results of that. >> let's get to the damned if you do, damned if you don't part of our discussion today, guns. he tries to lead from the front on guns, he gets similarly pilloried by people on the right. what is your thought on the executive order president obama put out yesterday. let's put up a full screen of basic high points, expanding background checks for private sales. hire more atf agents to help to that endorsement. increasing funds for mental health care. research and develop gun safety technology. what don't you like and why? >> well, cindy and i are the parents of four children. as any american parent has seen

the horrible tragedies at sandy hook, aurora, colorado, in san bernardino, here's the reality. what the president has proposed would have done nothing, nothing, to prevent these tragedies. instead, he's more focused on undermining the second amendment rights of law-abiding americans. and so, yes, we need to put more resources towards dealing with mental health issues in our nation. we need to put more resources toward dealing with criminals, those who steal guns, steal guns and use them. but to put in place policies -- and i read the 15 pages that were released yesterday from the president's policy that would impose fines of $250,000, five-year prison terms as he's undermining the second amendment rights of law-abiding americans. that's the wrong approach. that's why we're very concerned about what he is trying to do. his heart is in the right place but the policies in place are undermine important fundamental

rights will do nothing to keep our communities safer. >> let's stay with this. it's obviously important right now. why is his hear in the right place? nothing has been done by congress to help on any of this. it doesn't help the mass shootings. probably true. however, legislating or making a move to help on 1% of the shootings isn't unnecessarily the most -- thing to do. justice scalia didn't see that in the heller case. he said there should be reasonable restrictions. what's more reasonable than having you and me checked for criminal background and mental health adjudication? why not do something to help some part of a problem that all of you say you recognize? >> well, let's get to the root cause of the problem, though. the root cause of the problem is the mental health issues. the root cause of terrorism. that's where the focus needs to

be placed. the president had a wonderful opportunity starting off a new year to take charge and lead to ensure that we're making our communities safer. instead, as marco rubio said yesterday, he seems to be obsessed instead with undermining the second amendment rights of law-abiding americans. >> i know you support senator rubio. i know you've endorsed him and he said that and it sounds great but i don't get it. i don't see how a background check that certainly has been tested, certainly has not been found to be constitutionally violative in any way, how that infringes on your second amendment right. it's extending that check to everyone. we both know this is a longer conversation. i very much appreciate your advocacy for the senator on this issue. i welcome you back anytime. thank you for being with us. >> thanks for having me on today. appreciate it. >> happy new year, senator danes, to you and your family. we're having these discussions because it is relevant to what we have on cnn tomorrow night. president obama joining anderson

cooper. this is the issue on hand. we're giving you a full hour to hear the president make his case and be tested by our best, anderson cooper. he'll take questions from a live studio audience, a town hall on guns in america with the president moderated by coop tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m., right here on cnn. mick? reports that north korea successful tested a hydrogen bomb are triggering outrage across the globe. and raising concern about that country's nuclear intentions. what kind of threat does it pose for the u.s. and beyond? we'll take a closer look, ahead. with glade. t all the strength and freshness, now easy to lift! half the weight, smells great. find the litter that works best for you. every home, every cat. there's a tidy cats for that. when a moment spontaneously turns romantic, why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use, is the only daily tablet

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breaking news this morning. north korea says it successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb for the first time. this would be a huge escalation in the capabilities of the reclusive regime. and present huge new challenges for the u.s. downing us to talk about this is cnn global affairs analyst bobby ghosh, also managing editor of quartz. do you believe they have detonated a hydrogen bomb? >> all the early data suggests it is not fight a full-blown hydrogen bomb. it's more likely to be anatomic bomb. we'll find out in the next

couple days. the crucial thing is not whether it's a hydrogen bomb or an atomic bomb. it's a miniaturized hydrogen bomb. that is crucial. that changes everything. >> why? >> if they've successfully miniaturized the bomb, it means they can put it on a warhead, on a missile. that brings different things into play. they have been working very hard on missile technology and expanding their range of their missiles, they've been clamming they can hit american -- the american land mass with their missiles. if they can put that bomb on a missile, that changes a lot. >> let's look at the capabilities and the geography of all of this. the last time they tested a missile. >> yes. >> this is the capability. >> theoretically. >> theoretically. 4,200 miles, this is how far it could go. >> yes. that includes crucial american allies, japan, korea, and then

american land mass, guam which is down there. that's the closest sort of to an actual land mass within range of that missile. >> there are two u.s. military bases on guam here. >> indeed. >> let's look to the east. the last time that pyongyang tested a missile, this is how far it could go, skirting honolulu. >> again, in theory that's the maximum range. they have been claiming they have even more advanced ones. we haven't seen evidence of it yet. they say they've got missiles that can hit the main american land mass. that's the crucial thing to remember. if this bomb is -- if this test successful -- if they've successful produced a bomb that's small enough to put on a nuclear warhead, that makes north korea infinitely more dangerous to the united states and the world at large. >> let's talk about the timing of this why now? >> the one possible indicator on friday jong-un's birthday.

we're not sure if it's 32nd or 33rd birthday. north korea has the tradition of celebrating the birthdays of its leaders with grand gestures. this could be an early happy birthday. it could be kim saying happy burge day to me. later this year in early summer there will be a huge communist party conference that take place, the first time in four decades. it hasn't happened in 38, 39 years. it's his big stage. on that stage, he'd like to make a big announcement. this is just the kind of big announcement. >> he talked about that. he previewed that in i anote three weeks ago that he put out where he says for the victorious and glorious year of 2016 when the 7th convention of the workers party will be held, make the world look up to our strong nuclear country and labor party by opening the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb. he threatened he was going to do this and now he's done something.

>> he has nothing else to show, really. he doesn't have a track record. he's a young man. he's only been in power a couple of years. the economy is still in shambles. north korea has no other achi e achievement. if he's going to go on a big stage and boast about something, a hydrogen bomb real or imagined, is the kind of thing he would need. >> in the past experts say he has done this when he doesn't feel north korea is getting at tension it deserves, when all the world's attention is based on syria or iran. is that the precursor to this? and what is the connection between iran and north korea? >> this test puts north korea into the conversation. just consider the presidential debate. we've been having conversations about iran. well, now that we have a nuclear deal with iran, the nuclear threat of iran at least in theory and at least for now is off the table. that's not something that's going to come up in discussions very much. now north korea has to. now all of the candidates have to confront the question of what are they going to do about north korea. that's kind of exactly what they want. >> okay.

bobby ghosh, thank you for all of the information. we'll be asking rand paul about that very thing. michaela? >> most of us know dr. ben carson from the debates and interviews on television. his wife is giving us a peek at the man she knows away from the glare of the political spotlight. candy carson is here, she joins us live to tell us about her new book about her husband. good morning. e it up. that's today? we'll be with her all day to see how it goes. after the deliveries, i was ok. now the ciabatta is done and the pain is starting again. more pills? seriously? seriously. all these stops to take more pills can be a pain. can i get my aleve back? for my pain, i want my aleve. get all day minor arthritis pain relief with an easy open cap.

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republican presidential candidate dr. ben carson is campaigning in the hawk eye state ahead of next month's iowa caucuses. his wife, candy, wants voters to get to know the real man. she's written a new book "a doctor in the house: my life with ben carson." why did you want to write this book about your life with dr. carson? >> i didn't say i wanted to. >> why did you? >> well, because it's hard getting -- putting your life down on pages and there were challenges and things that i still cry about as a read. >> what do you mean? meaning that it's hard to -- >> the tragedies we had in our

life. when i was doing the audio book, there were times where we just had to stop and i had to try to pull myself together and completely tract lly extract m. >> meaning -- >> we lost twins. there were patients that had stories that were very emotive. when you do all you can and then, you know, surgery goes well and everything else goes well but the patient's body just couldn't take another surgery. and so even though everything went well as far as the surgery was concerned, this child was going to die. it was a tight-knit family. i'm sorry. >> i do see that it is emotional reliving all of this. >> it is. because no one's life is -- i mean, you've had a great life and if you don't -- if you

haven't walked in that person's shoes you've heard that before. you don't know what they're going through. blessings are always there, god is still in control of things. he helps you get through whatever you need to get through. some of those things were kind of tough. but i did want people to get a better perspective of him. actually i got some input from some of his medical family. he spent more time at the hospital than with us, even though he was there as much as he could be with the kids and me, when he was away, he was saving lives. that's a good thing. >> you talk about that, obviously in the book. you say the life of a naur row surgeon is obviously very difficult with long hours, lack of sleep. also the spouse of a neurosurgeon. you write the life of a neurosurgeon's wife isn't much easier. i've had to put up with challenges that most wives don't face. it's all been worth it. together we've been through poverty, tragedy, disappointment, successes and wealth. even when things have been hard, we've had each other's back.

what is the life of a presidential candidate's wife like? >> in some ways it's similar because when the kids were growing up, he would be away at the hospital. now he's trying to heal a country. so he's dedicating a lot of his time to making sure that people understand what the problems are, giving the diagnosis, and then what the prescriptions for that are. >> so he's in the midst of doing that. when i have an opportunity i do as well try to help people understand some of the situations our country is facing that aren't getting to a lot of the people. >> as you say, writing a book is a personal experience. and it also does open people up to scrutiny of your life as what happened with dr. carson when there were questions about his own autobiography and his childhood and past. what was that like for you to hear people scrutinizing that and questioning it? >> not so much scrutinizing in saying that it was false.

this is something that has happened in his life and it's true, i know it's true. >> his violent past. >> yes, that and some of the other things they said about west point and so on. the thing of it is, when the media discovers that it's true and they found the written word that proves it, then they don't say anything. they don't say we made a mistake there. you don't hear that. it's really not fair in the way that they will attack people with untruths without checking, you know, to make sure that it's untrue. >> was it frustrating for you when questions arise not to be able to, you know, i don't know if you were tempted to go out and speak on his behalfintervie. what was it like to sit by and watch that moment? >> it's hurtful. we understand even though the media is the one business that's protected by our constitution, some of the media is unethical.

so it's something that you kind of come to expect now. he's been talking about how, listen to what i say, not what they say i say. if you want to know what ben carson is about, listen to what he actually says and not what people are reporting that he says. and in the book, he did go through some of it. he's been so busy, he hasn't been able to go through most of it. if i had questions, he was there. a lot of this is medical. i tell you, that was eye opening, hearing from the people that he worked with. i challenge all of you to interview your spouse's co-workers and you'll find out that they're better than you thought they were. >> that is enlightening. what is the thing, the one thing that viewers and readers will be surprised about with dr. carson? >> i don't know, he's been an open book for so long. it's hard to say you'd be surprised. he's consistent. he's a problem solver. he's someone who is thinking about others a lot. and in this case, he's always

been helping young people with their quality of life and our future generations. he's all about helping young people and the rest of us in any way that he can. >> how is his campaign doing? we've heard about a shake-up. >> wow. it's so exciting. since the 31st and that when he came out with that announcement, you know how they say the telemarketing, the phone calls to solicit donations, that's a good indicator of how things are going. well, in the first four days, i didn't get the information from yesterday but at least the first four days of this year, up 42%. >> the fund-raising? >> yes. >> the muoney coming in. >> isn't that amazing? i think things are going well. 42% is 42%. the numbers don't lie. >> the book is "a doctor in the house." candy carson, thanks for sharing it with us. >> great being here. >> thank you. during his emotional gun control speech, president obama told the story of 15-year-old

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during obama's emotional speech on cukushincur curbing g he cited a story of a teenager who sacrificed his life last month who saved his friends from gunfire. take a listen.

>> azaevion who was in high school, hadn't even gotten started in life, dove on top of three girls and he was shot in the head. and he gave his laf too save theirs. >> joining us now is zaevion's mother. how are you down doing? how is the family? >> everyone is okay. and i'm okay myself. >> all right. did you know the president was going to talk about zaevion last night? >> no i did not. >> how did you react when you

heard his name? >> wow, i was surprised. i was happy. i shedded tears of joy. >> tell us about the son zaevion was to you? >> he loved to laugh. he loved to smile. he tloufd take selfie's all the tim he wanted to go to college. he loved football. he liked oregon ducks. he liked alabama. he liked ut. and he loved fortune falcons. >> sounds as he loved him some football. we know he was a standout athlete. beloved by students and teachers alike at the school.

it sounds like you raised him rights. and the fact that he chose to sacrifice his own life to save his friends, you did something right zonobia. >> yes. yes i did. you know, i always told zaevion stand up for something you know is right. at that time and that moment my son made a decision to do what was right. >> he sure did and at 15 that is a rare thing. most of us probably would have done the exact opposite. ducked for cover. to find safety. you spoke at the funeral mayor. you spoke eloquently about him at the funeral. this guy was a shining example in the community. a real standout.

>> right. as i said, he was one of our success stories. first of all. first of all because of his wonderful mom and his family as you can tell. she's known in the community and known at the school and she is's a very active parent. he was active in the school, part of the football team. so he is exactly the type of young map that we want to see in our community. and it is such tragedy that he -- what happened to him. >> we also understand he was part of save our sons, stop the violence, these initiatives trying to end the violence. the type of violence that ultimately ended his life.

what did you make of the president's speech last night? did he go far enough for you? >> right well certainly we appreciate that he recognized the sacrifice zaevion made for his friends. i think there are many reasons why this happens in our community. i think the gun issue is one of them. it is a multi faceted strategy really all of our cities and communities have to have. >> zenobia i know you know this. do you think that the message the president laid out last night, do you think it is going to resonate with voters. do you think that there is going to be headway? where do you think we go from here as a nation? >> yes i think that they need to stricken the enhancement of, you know, convicted felons.

and stricken the enhancement of gang members, gang initiations. you know, just look at the bigger picture of everything. and, you know, just stricken the laws. >> zenobia, it is really hard to think that you have -- hopefully more people will hear the pain in your voice as you have lost your is a-year-old and we can make some headway. be sure to tune in tomorrow teen night. president obama is going sit down with anderson cooper are for an exclusive live town hall event in america. the president is going the take questions from a live studio questions from a live studio audience.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we have allowed our government now to operate by executive fiat. the president is just doing whatever he wants. >> every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> under the president's new executive actions a warning to conduct background check. >> i am very proud of president obama's announcement. >> he just changes the rules as he goes along. >> this is cnn breaking news.

>> good morning. welcome to your "new day." we begin with breaking news at this hour. north korea announcing successful testing of a hydrogen bomb for the very first time. if it is true. if it is true the test represents a significant advancement if for rogue nation's military arsenal. >> u.n. security council set to hold an emergency closed door meeting later this morning. how will the international community respond? the latest developments only the way cnn can. paula hancock live in seoul south korea. >> reporter: early in the morning we heard there was seismic activity in the same area of the northeastern part of north korea as these previous underground tests have been carried out. we then heard the speculation that it was man made explosion and not a natural occurrence.

and then the confirmation from north korea. the big crucial difference this time, they claim it was a hydrogen bomb. although many in south korea are questioning whether or not that is the case. now, it is very close to the chinese board where this happen. we see the extent and force of this seismic activity. we can see on camera footage from that area shaking just showing how forceful it was. now as i say, this is number four. there was one back in 2014 also done by the new leader -- north korean leader kim jong-un. there was one back in 2009 and 2006. both carried out by his father kim jong-il. it says it was a self defense mechanism and that as long as the u.s. didn't threaten the sovereignty of north korea it would not use nuclear weapons but felt forced in carrying out this threat.

this is justification it's used before and likely to use again. there was a picture of kim jong-un actually signing the order. a handwritten note which says for the evivictors and glorious year. open the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb. so clearly a very proud moment for kim jong-un. >> curious way to celebrate it however. north korea's detonation of an h-bomb drawing worldwide. >> this is one of the few

bargaining chip this is country has. and after years of being ignored and sanctioned by the international community this could be an attempt to try to get the attention of the united states. the supreme leader would like nothing more than to sit down with a person from the u.s. administration. there hasn't been a high profile visit since back in 2000. there is certainly a lot of criticism from around the world. nato speaking out this morning saying i condemn the continued development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and it's inflammatory rhetoric. i call p on north korea to fully respect international obligations and commitments. and the list of countries condemning them continues to grow. and also organizations such as the atomic energy agency.

japan sending up atmospheric tests. saying this is a serious threat to national security and we strongly denounce it. in the past north korean missiles have flown over okinawa in southern japan which is home to thousands of u.s. troops and their families so this is of grave concern in this region and around the world. there will be a meetings of the u.n. security council to figure out the next move. >> a heavy second to what is done. we know you will follow up the reporting for us on that point. let's bring in former new mexico governor. he was the u.s. ambassador to the united nations and has traveled to north korea several times.

victor cha. gentlemen. thank you for being with us. governor, let me start with you. do we believe north korea? is this credible? or is it consistent with a ramping up of their hydrogen capabilities? >> well i think it is consistent with a ramping up of the technological nuclear capability. i don't believe it is a hydrogen bomb. it was only about six kilo tons. it is usually 20. at the same time they are sending a message. hey, we're still around. maybe you have got iran and saudi arabia and the middle east exploding. but the tinderbox of northeast asia is still there. and so i think what we need to do with the united states, russia, china t six party countries is figure out what too

do. the u.n. security council is meeting. i don't know if more sanctions are going to work. they are sanctioned extensively so i think some new diplomatic policy options need to be put on the table. in my view a deal like iran, similar like we had before in the bush administration, victor would know. in the clnt administration. in exchange for food, fuel, lift of sanctions they curb their nuclear weapons. and i don't think china wants to help or do much. >> and the new leader has been more hands off with north korea. that may have loosened the leverage they had. this is the fourth nuclear test since 2006. the third during the obama administration. the relevance in terms of north korea's attitudes towards the u.s. sanctions? >> i think bill has a point in that they are looking for attention. but when we were doing

negotiations with north korea during the bush administration and when bill was involved with them on his own in track two the north koreans were in a negotiating mode. i think it is fair to say under this new leadership they are not in negotiation mode. i think the obama administration and others have tried in various ways to reach out in terms that are acceptable. trying to build these second generation fusion weapons. it is very concerning for whoever comes into office next time because they are the ones who were going or the confronted with a major problem that's gone beyond the scope of what we've known when we were doing negotiations during the bush administration or in the clnt

dmings.inton dmings. >> there is another issue. i want to know if it is news to you as well. the speculation that there are iranian scientists on location in north korea during this testing. have you ever heard that? and if it is, where is the urgency? . >> the north koreans, they have worked with the bad guy, with the syrians, libyan, pakistannys. and it would pkz pakistan. it has to stop and it is a violation. i don't have that evidence. victor cha and i went to korea during the bush administration and got back the remains of some american soldiers. i think we have to be not just

straight diplomatic on arms issues but other issues like remains from our veterans from the north korean war. like humanitarian missions, like new approaches that involve a new kind of diplomacy that is not the traditional six party talks. >> let's say that you guys understand the state of play. there is a frustration about what will work. there is a question about whether or not there is motivation to deal diplomatically. but what about this extra wrinkle professor. if it is true. and it should be somewhat easy to find out, that iranian scientists are on the ground in north korea during this testing, doesn't that add a another dimension to the threat and political reality? >> i think it does. i don't know about the reports the veracity. but it wouldn't surprise me. in the past there reason rumors of not just iranians pakistani

sines in north korea. the mainstay in both iranian and pakistan missile program are all north korean missiles. and they might be sharing with the north koreans is not something beyond the realm of speculation at all. this is an issue this morning that is about north korea's nuclear program but the ripple effects are much much broader. >> and the inspecting agency, if they can't get what's right in north korea and how are they going to be trusted to do it in iran. the political play is this is more proof of president obama's

weakness. do you see it that way? >> no i don't see it that way. victor outlined the basic part, is that north korea doesn't want to talk to anybody. they are not in an engagement mode. that interview with dennis rodman is the only interview we've seen from the united states. we know little about this new leader. that doesn't mean we put our head in the sand and don't try to figure ways how to engage him. again china, they have leverage over north korea but i don't think china in the past has wanted to help us. but this detonation of this nuclear weapon was very near the chinese border. and so, you know, it is going to effect the chinese security and interests. so maybe this is the time when china steps up and serves as an important mediator or as a deterrent to north korea's

nuclear ambitions. but we clearly need a new diplomacy. bush tried it. clinton's tried it. obama. but let's try something that might work. there is a lot going on. they may have ten nuclear weapons. over 30 thousand american troops. a treaty with south korea. this is an important strategic part of the world. >> i can't believe you brought up that rodman interview. i'd almost forgotten it. thank you very much. ted cruz rising in the policy and tru polls and trump questioning his citizenship. cnn's athena jones is live in washington for us. >> good morning alisyn. seems clear at this point that trump views cruz as more and more of a threat these days. trump is doing everything he can to raise doubts about his faith

and now this. >> i don't know what it all means. i know that other people are talking about it. >> donald trump deflecting last night in new hampshire. the front runner saying republican rival ted cruz's natural born citizenship is a question that only other people are asking. >> people are worried that if he weren't born in this country, which he wasn't, he was born in canada and he actually had a canadian papt with a u.s. papt, until just recently.ssport with passport, until just recently. >> trump said that cruz being born in canada could be very precario precarious, asking republican voters to think twice saying do we want a candidate who could be tied up in court for two years? that could be a big problem. trump hinting democrats could take cruz to court because the constitution requires the president to be a natural born

citizen. the junior senator was granted citizenship by birth since his mother was considered an american citizen. but what constitutes natural born for a president has never been tested in court. cruz responded with a metaphorical tweet. >> it is the best way to respond is to laugh it on and move onto the issues that matter. >> meanwhile trump's campaign rallies continue to be packed with controversy. a supporter shouted president obama is a muslim. >> what did you say? okay. i didn't say it. >> pretending to be outraged. >> oh i'm supposed to reprimand. who is the man? how dare you. >> a pretty sarcastic response to that voter from trump that.

reference by cruz to the fonz jumping the shark the cruz's way of saying that perhaps a increasingly desperate trump is resorting to gimmicks. one more thing about the cruz citizenship questions. it is important to remind folks that trump has been on both sides of this issue. four months ago he tweeted i hear it was checked out by every attorney and every which way. and i understand ted is in fine shape. now he's singing a different tune. the situation in oregon. a local sheriff is saying plans are in the works to end the occupation of a federal compound now interesting its fifth day. how far he's refusing to say exactly what those plans are. >> here is the latest on the hands off standoff behind me. some of the demonstrators moved some heavy equipment from inside the compound to help block the

road. and also standing individualal or guard, we have one of the demonstrators, he has what he calls a cowboy rifle in his laulap. one of the reasons for coming out here. they herd rumors the fbi was going to issue arrest warrants. but here is what protesters say they are concerned about. >> if something happens know it that it is because of the actions of the fbi and because of their intimidation factors and because of their commitment to protect and defend other agencies rather than human people, rather than americans. >> and the sheriff of this county had said to the oregonen that this are being done and these are not things, as in law enforcement actions, for the public to see. and saying they are just like

rosa parks. standing up against bad laws. in the meantime we haven't seen a single law enforcement out here at this compound since this began. >> meanwhile, tonya couch, the so called affluenza mom one step closer to returning the texas this morning. couch waived extradition tuesday. she's accused of helping her son flee the country. ethan couch remains held in a mexican jail. all right you want something that will actually not depress you? here you go. amazing video that show what is makes those who hunt the sea among the bravest yong and women. waters off australia. competitive fishermen reeling in a 200 pound bill fish and look what happens. this is what happens. he's trying to gaffe him. the guy on the right.

nobody heard. did get slimes but look how close it got watch this. ha ya, woo he. >> is that the sound a marlin makes? >> have you been marlin slimed? >> i have not been so lucky. of course i would have grabbed the beast by the bill and brought it into the boat. >> i knew that was coming. >> what if the hydrogen bomb test is true. that is the naturally question after a segment like that. what should other makes the nat? we're going to ask senator rand paul live. good to see you senator.

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we had negotiations with north korea a while back and had sanctions and they secretly began developing nuclear weapons back then. the one thing we have in our favor is socialism is ab abysmal failure at providing food or making much of anything. north korea has been dishonest in the past. and if you want to look another the difference between capitalism and socialism there is a satellite picture of the two koreas. and the south korea is all lit up on the satellite picture and north korea there is like one lightbulb on in pyongyang. so they have a failed economic system. >> the people are certainly suffering but kim jong-un is not

suffering. sounds like what you are saying is -- >> that's not correct. i'm not saying do nothing. i think we have played sanctions before. we essential have some sanctions. we can increase thoses. i think also china with k have some influence as well. north korea in many kways is co-dependent with china. while putin has pluses and minuses, he has a great deal of influence in syria the same -- >> people would say that's not working. the sanctions haven't worked. they have been advancing and china hasn't exerted pressure. >> so what are you proposing? >> what are you proposing? >> what i'm saying is there are no easy solutions. what i'm pointing out is that it is so important that we

understand what went wrong with the negotiations and maybe there was too much leeway in the negotiations. some of the same people who negotiated the north korea agreement are the same people who have recently negotiated the iran agreement and this is one reason i objected to the iran agreement because i don't want to get to a situation where we are with north korea where your options are somewhat limited. when we negotiated with other superpowers like russia or china there was a rationality to the negotiations over limiting nuclear weapons and having mutually reductions. there doesn't appear to be the same rationality in north korea. but i this is it is mischaracterizing my position to say we're going to do nothing. >> let's move on to what happened here. president obama announcing new executive actions on gun control. whether don't you support about trying to expand background checks for online sellers?

>> i'm a big believer in the constitution and a big believer we should follow the intent and the letter of the law. the constitution says that congress passes laws. in fact one of the philosophers that our founding fathers looked to is mont skew. and -- just because the president can't get his way this a republic in a representative democracy like we have you don't just get to do what you want when you are president. he should come to congress and he should ask for legislation. he doesn't get to bypass congress. so i'll do everythingky ki can defund this executive order because it is -- >> so you have an issue with the process. what about the policy? what about the fact that a majority of americans do want expanded background checks to close the gun show loophole? >> let's not discount the constitution. the constitution is an important part of the -- >> but my question is the

substance of the policy. >> let's get to the background checks. we have everything that the president is doing in california. in order to find out whether they are private attractitransa. so in san bernardino, the terrorists got guns through a private transaction even though it was illegal. so we don't have a way of policing private transactions unless you were to register all guns. the main objection for people like us who are pro second amendment is not necessarily background checks but if you want background checks on all private backgrounds and sales you would have to have a registry of all guns. we do object to a national registry of guns. that's been our main objection this. the other thing to understand is that if you look at crimes committed from private transaction, most estimates i think from the bureau of government statistics from the kwovt are less than 1% of crimes

are coming from. so i don't think it is worth throughing the constitution out the window to say we might be able to slow down or stop 1%. the other thing is are people going to die in attack really going to be concerned with a fine or be concerned with breaking the law? i don't think it really stops criminals but it does deter law-abiding people from being able to own and purchase guns. >> let's talk about the campaign. the next debate the fox business debate on the 14. . the top six according to the polling. are you going to be on the main stage? >> we believe so. the last poll you did about a week ago in cnn had me in sixth place. cbs had a poll last week that had me in fifth but only one point behind fourth. in every one of the recent polls we'd qualify. and leading up to the last debate in every one we would

have qualified. we fully expect to be in the debate. if not, will you participate in the undercard? >> with three weeks to go in a campaign i don't think that much power should be given to any media foundation or the rnc. we have over a thousand leaders in iowa. chairman in all the states. we've raised enormous amount of money. 400 college campuses. i don't think it is fear -- i don't think it is fair for those to pre select out who can and cannot complete. many times we've had people exactly where my numbers are until we've won iowa. i think it is too much power to grant any organization. >> nice to have you here in the studio. also a programming note. president obama is going to join anderson cooper. the president will discuss his

executive action as we have been on guns and he'll take questions from the studio audience. so alisyn. donald trump raising questions about ted cruz's citizenship. why is he going after him now? and is this tactic going to work? i've smoked a lot and quit a lot, but ended up nowhere. now i use this. the nicoderm cq patch, with unique extended release technology, helps prevent the urge to smoke all day. i want this time to be my last time. that's why i choose nicoderm cq. what makesheart healthysalad the becalifornia walnuts.r? the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. so simple. get the recipes at walnuts.org.

you want to talk a little or you don't want to talk about it a. >> okay. >> it's not about president bam this time. it's about senator ted cruz but it does involve donald trump. this time donald trump is making obvious suggestions that cruz being born in canada cube problem for the party. here to discuss anna navarro and former reagan white house political director and donald trump defender par excellence jeffrey lord. i would like to put up a tweet that really initiated this whole

kerfuffle. here is the tweet. that is not in response to a question, no. this is ted cruz's response which, alisyn loves because it is fonzie jumping the shark in his leather. >> i'm going to show this a second time. because i liked it so much. >> there ease fonzie. richie. >> legal experts would agree this is not real. donald trump's tweet which preceded -- >> republicans going to have to ask themselves the question, do we want a candidate who can be tied up in court for two years. that would be a big problem. >> not a tweet. this is what he said to the washington post. jeffrey lord, this was not in response to a simple question where he was dismissing it. he was nirinitiating. a few monthing ago he said it was not a issue.

is this a dirty tactic? >> no it is not a dirty tactic. again, chris, when you have an actual sitting member of congress threatening a lawsuit. this is fact. that's all he's saying. donald trump himself did not question his citizenship. donald trump simply said that there will be people out there who will challenge it. and that is a fact. >> donald trump would never have taken grace as any type of source for an opinion unless it also somehow helped him against cruz. fair point? >> yeah. all you have to do chris there was another challenge to ted cruz by liberals to keep him off the new hampshire ballot. it failed but they challenged him on just this basis. that he was not qualified to be president. >> it failed. >> it failed. the point is there was a challenge. there are going to be nuts out there who do this. good lord, people sue as i said before to somebody, they will

sue over what kind of toast you got in the morning. of course there is going to be some crazy who will do this. >> does that mean the candidates should talk about any of these sort of fringe notions? >> oh no. no other presidential candidate should get into the midst of this. four months ago donald trump did not feel threatened by ted cruz. the bottom line is, look i'm not a fan of ted cruz. god knows i'm not a fan of donald trump. but ted cruz is surging in iowa. he's checking off all the boxes. he's got the evangelical support. he's got endorsements. he's on a bus tour of over 30 cities. he's got ground troops. he's doing very well in iowa. and donald trump who's been leading all of these months not only national but in iowa i think is feeling the pressure and thinking this guy might actually beat me in iowa in the caucus which would be the beginning of the debacle for the -- >> but this isn't about the mote -- >> -- we heard him question

whether a cuban could be an evangelic evangelical. >> any candidate who's leading always has to keep an eye over their shoulder to the competition. what goes on here is completely normal. if donald trump didn't exist and somebody else were the front runner, they would be doing the same thing. >> who says? >> this is what happens and let

me add one quick thing here. i think all of this about to be superseded by the big story this morning about north korea and the hydrogen bomb. president clinton of course now out there on the trail for secretary clinton assured this country in 1994 he had things under control and they were not going to get a nuclear weapon and now here we are today with this. and this ties in directly to donald trump and the iran deal etc. so i think this story we're talking about is going to disappear pretty quickly. >> good. >> because of this news from north korea. >> i actually don't. i think we just saw the beginning this week of tremendous friendly fire. cross fire amongst the republican primary kthds. we're seeing it in new hampshire. chris christie and marco rubio and kasich and bush. in iowa between trump and cruz and rubio. so i think it is a beginning. and jeffrey i would like to think you are right. i would like to think that some actual serious foreign policy issue would supersede these

political skirmishes -- >> look, frankly that's why ooze jeffrey and have been banding about this morning. that is why we are bringing this up. not fan the flames. to shut it down. because there legitimate basis for testing cruz. we're doing this to shut it down, not to fan the flames. >> except that donald trump brought it up again on a different morning show to say that there is a possible legal basis. so let's listen to this for a moment. >> i want to beat him on its own merit. i don't want to have a thing like this happen. the democrats if they bring a lout on it will have to get it solved. i would like to see ted do something where he maybe goes in preemptive fashion into court. >> donald trump saying not me. the dmoblgt democrats might hav issue with this. >> the baseball broke it.

it wasn't me. -- [inaudible] >> he's being very subtle but what he's trying to say is hey there is problems with this guy. he's not like us. do you really think he's evangelical. he's cuban. and now canadian. by next week he'll be talking about how texas is going to secede from the union and he's going to be texan. >> thank you very much both of you for being here this morning. so we have breaking news. stock futures sharply down ahead of the market open. is it another rough day for investors? is that situation out of north korea fuelling jitters? live reports next.

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breaking news. stock futures down sharply ahead of the market open. what is fuelling this decline? christine romans, do you have answers? >> north korea adding to the flo gloom. when you anorth korea and h bom in the same sense that is something that gets in the newsb in the same sense that is something that gets in the news. you are going to get most likely

triple distinct declines when the market opens pause of all of this uncertainty. markets like peace, uncertainty and profits and economic growth. and all of those things at the beginning of the year looking a little more uncertain. certainly starting on a grim note. north korea just adding to that. >> thank you for explaining that to us. here is an incredible story. when jake olson lost his eyesight he thought his creams of playing football were sidelined but he refused to give up. >> jake olson doesn't look at football like his teammates. in fact he can't see the game at all. the long snapper for the university of southern california is blind. >> when i was 8 months old i was diagnosed with a rare form of ie

cancer called retinal blastoma. when the doctors found my cancer it was completely taken over my left eye. the greatest fear is the cancer spreading through the optic nerve to the brain. to save his life doctors removed the eye. he endured chemotherapy and laser treatment to save the right but the cancer kept coming back. >> after about eight times doctors pretty much exhausted all treatment options. >> jake was 12 when he found out he would lose his other eye. but former usc coach pete carroll heard his story. he invited him to meet the team. >> that team was there for me in my darkest ours. it is something that i will always be grateful for. >> despite losing his eyesight, jake played football in high school. >> a lot is just feel. >> last year he brought that talent to usc as a walk on player for his team. >> i went in to play football with the mentality that i had

nothing to lose. life is unfair. it's taught me to keep fighting. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. >> how do you not love that story? good for him. we'll keep following him too. >> let's take a break. we want to talk to you about the documentary series. people can't stop talking about it. the creators are here live and they have a hint about a story line you may not have seen coming.

it was a documentary ten years in the making. the new netflix series "making a murdererer has become a true crime phenomena. more on the background of this incredible story. making a murderer follows the case of steven avery a wisconsin man convicted of sexual assaulting a prominent local woman back in 1985. >> the sheriff told the da not to screw up. >> after. >> reports reveal police

tampered with evidence to target avery. he sue forward wrongful conviction. >> they are not even close to being with finished with i told him. >> ten years later avery and his nephew are charged with the murder of 25-year-old theresa hallback. >> at trial his defense claiming law enforcement planted evidence to frame him, which the sheriff denies. but in 2007 both are convicted. today avery remains in prison serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. over 400 thousand signing two online petitions seeks pardons. >> just because a documentary on tv says something doesn't mean that that is actually what the evidence shows. >> the co-writers and directors of making a murderer join me

now. pleasure to have you. first of all petitions calling for justice for steven avery. some 420,000 signatures right now. have you been surprised by all of this attention? >> sure. i mean we made the series to try to start a dialogue about this case. about the justice system. but we had no idea that so many people would watch and be engaged and want to get involved. >> and some are saying i want to get involved by calling for him to get exonerated. governor walker is not planning on intervening he says. >> that is certainly the governor's prerogative. we had just hoped this would start a dialogue and people would feel drawn into the series and want to engage with it. certainly, you know, we are surprised by the action people have taken and how quick this response has come. >> not taking away from the film making at all. but do you think the tone and tenor in the country given the

conversation national about police and police a actions, do you think that is playing into the attention this is grabbing? >> i think that is part of it. what is going on in the world does make audiences primed to the issues in the series. >> you were contacted by one of the jurors, what did that juror tell you? >> actually that juror contacted us prior to the launch of series. >> okay. >> so i believe the juror contacted us in november some time after november after there was a press release that there was going to be a series about the avery case. that's important to note because it wasn't as if this person watched the series and had a change of heart. >> whether did that juror tell you? >> what this person told us was they believe that justice was not done. i think they actually used the

words that zero evidence convinced them that steven had committed this crime. they believed he was framed by police. and when we asked okay so why did you vote guilty, this don doesn't make any sense. what they told us is they feared for their safety. >> will it have an impact on the case? >> my understanding of current case law in wisconsin is it is unlikely. i believe the dynamics in the jury room, it wouldn't necessarily have an impact. >> criticism is coming from sectors. people are raving about it. but there are critic. one of the criticisms is that it's too one sided. glozs over some actions of steven avery it. essentially is a one-sided tool

for the defense. what do you make of that? >> i disagree with that. we never intended to have an impact on the actual events that are depicted in the story. we were there to document what was unfolding and to do our best to document that accurately and fairly. >> and at the end of the day theresa hallback is dead and there is a family still mourning her loss. >> absolutely. >> do you worry this attention will take away from any sort of closure that family may get or that her murder may go unsolved as far as you are concerned? >> i co-believe this may take away in their closure. i'm not sure closure is the best thing. if it is true that her murderer is on the streets, i think it is important that that murder be solved. >> ten years in the making, really amazing. what a pleasure to meet you. thanks for joining us today on

"new day." thanks so much for watching us. newsroom picks up after this quick break. wheat? in purina one true instinct grain free, real chicken is always #1. no corn, wheat or soy. support your active dog's whole body health with purina one.

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