honor those we lost and we give thanks for all that our two nations have won, together, as friends. >> thank you so much for joining us tonight. ac 360 starts now. good evening everyone. jim sciutto here tonight. the memory that launched a franchise, remembering carrie fisher. that's just ahead. we begin with a cnn exclusive interview. a pair of leading republican senator, john mccain and lindsay graham butting heads. today they confirmed the pacific partnership. another is containing russia. and senators graham and mccain

seem the president elect could be jeopardizing. namely resistance to a rival power that the intelligence community believes committed ab act of sign ore war against this country. they are traveling in europe right now and spoke with me from estonia earlier today. >> they hacked into my campaign account. reince priebus said the president elect would accept the results if all of the intelligence communities on the same sheet of music. and the fbi and the cia and director of national intelligence all are saying the same things, that the russians tries to influence our elections. >> do you have any information for why the president elect still refuses to accept that assessment? particularly now that he's being

briefed presumably on the classified intelligence that led to that assessment? >> well jim, i think he'll be presented with the overwhelming evidence, change his view and he has said some things like he wants to spend more money on defense. he's said some favorable things about nato. but on the issue of the russians, there is no doubt about it. and we have to act and we have to have a policy, which this administration does not have, and address this threat to our national security. if they are able to undermine an election, they are able then to undermine democracy. >> let me ask you this -- >> jim if i may auddd. >> i do want you do answer to both before and after election assess that assessment and yet he's doubled and tripled down on talking about the relationship with putin. what are you going to do if he doesn't change his tune in effect on russia?

>> there are a hundred united %-pp with us. a democrat from minnesota. i would say that 99 of this believe the russians did this. and we're going to do something about it. this after senator mccain, after this trip is over. we're going put sanctions together that hit putin as an individual in his inner circle for interfering in our election. and they are doing it all over the world. >> senator graham an r on an issue of noouke, you during the campaign have been critical of donald trump and many of iz his positions. do you worry that trump's communication style using twitter could lead to potentially misunderstands, conflicts over the most sensitive issues involving nuclear weapons or a north korea or russia or platform or some

other stuff about policy. >> when it comes to the nuclear issue, president elect trump said we need to modernize our nuclear force and we do is some of it following is state of disrepair. but i'll be honest with you. i'm not so sure this is the best way to communicate. it is up to him. he beat me. he's president of the united states. all i can say that one thing putin's done, he's brought democrats and republicans together, to go after him. i think most of us, democrats and republicans really believe that russia is up to no god all over the world. they are trying to break the back of democracies. and if we don't push back against putin, iran and china. they could hack into our systems. today it is democrats. tomorrow it could be republicans, with the iranians and the chinese. trump says he's going to be tough with iran and china. he needs to be. well, we need to show any nation what happens to them if they try to interfere in our democratic

process. to my republican colleagues, it is the democrats today, it could be us tomorrow. >> plenty to talk about out of those interviews there. joining us now our panel. fm i could begin with you karl. you heard senator mccain and graham saying they are holding out hope that having being presented with further i would imagine overwhelming evidence because i this to think he's seen some of this intelligence already, that donald trump will accept russia's involvement in the dnc hacking? is that plausible? >> we all need to see this evidence. before we have a full scale cold war it is important we all know what happened and if this happened then there is appropriate action that ought to be taken but there are two components starting to come together. the other is donald trump's history in russia. we need a select committee of the senate, as we had in

watergate to look into the campaign activities not just of the russians but the concomitant story that is coming together perhaps has do with donald trump's holdings, his businesses, his trips to russia. those of his sons. whether the rushes try to play donald trump, they are not two separate stories. and i would hope that senator graham and mccain called for a select committee and do both strands of this investigation. >> david gergen, is that something that you find to be expected with a republican-led congress? that there would be an investigation on donald trump's ties to russia beyond russian hacking of the u.s. election? >> based on everything we know right now i would say the answer is no. i do believe mccain and graham have issued the first direct challenge to donald trump over the future conduct of his presidency and his policies starting with putin. they are threatening to sanction

p putin at the very same time there are people high on the trump command considering lifting sanctions against russia. so we have a direct conflict shaping up. and if that leads somewhere, in there are more threats that carl suggests down road you might see calls for that but i this i it is way too premature to think this congress is going to open by investigating the new president of the united states. i don't think that's this t cards. what i do think is we have conflicts now shaping up and i don't think this is going to be the first. there will be another over china if donald trump tries to get rid of the one china policy, i think he'll face a challenge. even could be threats over israel. have to see how that plays out. but i think right now the major story tonight is you have two leading voices from congress, you know, which which is a co-equal branch of government, we should never forget that, directly challenging the new president elect from their own

party. >> kayleigh mcenany. i've asked of many trump supporters. i asked of mccain and graham earlier today and chris collins, a trump supporter earlier. why? and i can't get a answer to the question. why is donald trump fighting back so much against the judgment of the u.s. intelligence agencies and senators graham and mccain republican senators said a hundred members of the senate many have been briefed on the intelligence. why is he fighting them on this assessment that russia is behind the hacking? >> well i think it is important that we give this some context. there were some unusual happenings in the intelligence community. namely the fact that you had certain members of the intelligence community convertly leaking parts of this investigation to the "new york times," leaking the motive of what russia was after saying russia was after electing donald trump. it ended up being that that was the conclusion of the entirety of the intelligence community. on december 16th the fbi came

out and said we agree. now there is complete coalescence of the intelligence community, everyone is on board with that. also another abnormality is the fact that the head of the house intel community requested a briefing. it was canceled they were siting the -- >> -- everybody with a security clearance in congress, democrat and republican have gotten repeated briefings on the intelligence between the assessment. the intelligence agencies are not hiding this intelligence from the legislative branch. so i just wonder what -- you know, what is the reason to dismiss that assessment? is donald trump in effect saying that the entire u.s. intelligence community is shilling for the democrats? >> no i don't think he's saying that. but there were those few days where there were some unusual happenings in the intelligence community where the briefing was canceled. there was that briefing as you remember on capitol hill where there was a division between the fbi and cia, the cia was willing

to say this was the motive of russia. >> -- >> it has changed. also as of december 16th donald trump has not made public statements about this. on the first few days of the donald trump's presidency press secretary sean 1350irs will be asked about this and i do think it is important the not pivotal that the new administration says, look, a attack on the dnc is attack on the rnc and attack on everyone under one flag. i think it is important to acknowledge that but yornt blame them for taking this time to let everything quiet down. >> matt, do you agree that you need that kind of unifying statement from the incoming president? >> no. everybody knows this is russia. and i think what cale was jur kh was talking about was recent events. where it did appear that

democrats were trying to maybe delegitimatize the election by blaming hillary clinton's loss on russia's involvement. but the that is a totally different issue for the fact that we've known for six months at least, anywthat russians wer involved here and were hacking. and donald trump -- maybe the only thing he's been consistent of. might be a couple but i would say at least, maybe the only thing he's been consistent about this entire election is the fact that he refuses to say anything bad about vladimir putin or russia. and i'm really curious as to why. he's good when it comes to dealing with china and standing up to them. we saw that after he was elected. he's good when it comes to standing up to iran? why not russia? i just county know. >> one other consistency here with trump and that is his disdain for fact and his contempt for fact and not listening to fact or being open to fact. now maybe he finally will be when shown this evidence.

but we all need to see the evidence. what we are seeing consistently in the tweets, in the campaign, in the transition is a fact-free universe in which donald trump floats with weightlessness. and what we need now is to know the facts but i keep coming back to this, it is impossible to look at this to not look at this without looking at russia. however we bring donald trump into this it is part of the story. >> the fbi was look -- but carl, the fbi was looking at donald trump's connections with russia. we do know that. and we know there were no developments in that investigation. it happened at the urge of the the democrats actually is why that investigation was opened -- >> i'm not talking about a criminal act. i'm talking about we need to know about his trips to russia, what businesses he has in russia. we need his tax returns as to how they might reflect on what he does in russia. we've heard donald trump jr.

talk about what a huge percentage of the trump's assets are in russia. we need to look at this and how it might factor into this. >> jim -- >> there is david i'll give you one more thought. just before we go to break, daddy, what david what do you want to add. >> with all due respect to carl bernstein. this vgs of russia undermining our democracy can be done separately and independently from donald trump's tax returns. i think putting sanctions on the russians for just trying to undermine our democracy, that is a question that the senate, the house and the white house ought to resolve together and get moving on it because it is important. >> i'll buy that part absolutely. >> two other of donald trump's cabinet appointments released their tax returns today. more to discuss, including the president elect's latest hire and the notion that he's building a team of rivals in a trump administration. is that really it? or is it more like a basket of

irreconcilables? more on that next. and later a wave of violence that's turning a trip to the mall into a potentially dangerous encounter. >> again! so i can lift even the most demanding weight. take care of all your most important parts with centrum. now verified non gmo and gluten free. it has long been called storm of tiny bubbles, the champagne of beers. ♪ if you've got the time welcome to the high life. ♪ we've got the beer ♪ miller beer

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welcome back. we were talking about the ways donald trump could if he wishes upturn decades of the bipartisan policy, particularly where russia and china are confirmed. or refirm it. threshold signs of each. today was no exception. as cnn's dana bash reports. >> reporter: thomas bossered. a new name added today. one with a crucial portfolio.

>> there is nobody out there that can't be penetrated. if there is. i'd like to know about them. >> reporter: speaking about cyberterrorism was a a deputy homeland security advisor under bush and was highly regarded among those in washington. >> he's a smart, diligent person who knows the issues about as int i matly as anyoneky think of. and these are kind of hires trump makes that is very reassuring. >> skpp his position will be --. with michael flynn, and bossard. the government in the united states at a federal level needs to do something to address the threat. >> and flynn on international issues. >> we must regain our ability to truly crush our enemies. because all of those security

issues intersect so often. obama officials tell cnn they think it could lead to confusion. >> lock her up. >> reporter: but declaring that bossard will be on equal footing to flynn is also intended to be reassuring. >> islam is a political ideology. it definitely hides behind this notion of it being a religion. >> what won't change from the obama white house is people in both positions will have direct access to the president and seats at the principle's table at the president's national security meetings. here is how the current homeland security and counterterror monitor described the job earlier this month. >> when i go upstairs, about fifty paces from my cave office in the west wing up to the oval

office, the president knows it is because something bad has happened quite frankly. domestically usually or to u.s. persons abroad. that is my focus. and he knows it. >> got to be one of the highest pressure jobs in washington. what are the transition team officials telling you about their concerns about turf battles inside the administration? once the trump takes over the presidency. >> well some of the people in the current administration, obama administration snst that part of the reason they combined these two roles is because not just personnel turf but also more importantly -- and you know this very well jim in the beat you cover, national security -- for very hard to separate cyber security from homeland security from international security many many times depending on the issue. so the concern is that that is what they could run into.

i'm told however that's been discussed. there is a lot of debate about whether to elevate this post and the decision was do done so because of things i addressed in the piece that the man whose the national security advisor, michael flynn and some others who are working for him don't have probably the most diplomatic way to say it, the most confidence, people in washington and around the country frankly don't have a whole lot of confidence in them, in their experience and in some cases temperament. so having somebody like bossard in there with experience and credentials and maybe even the temperament and the understanding of how washington

works from the white house to capitol hill is something that is making people breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief. >> back now with the panel and joining the conversation as well. cnn political analyst jackie kucinich. david, what do you make of this appointments. you have a lot of establishment figures like a bossard. but then you have flynn who makes a lot of people diplomatically uncomfortable. what do you make of this competition in effect in this administration? >> well we know that several members of the administration oppose each other on issues such as trade for example a big issue. but i do think what's shaping up, jim in this particular case and bringing bossard in as not only somebody from the establishment. and yes i do think as an offset to flynn. but i don't think that is the reason they separated him out. i think it is a big portfolio. i think the cabinet is going to

have a larger voice than what you have seen in the obama administration and the bush administration in making policy. the homeland security is going to be in the hands of the general kelly. very respected in washington. he's a heavyweight. and i think his very presence is going to emerge as the critical player in shaping homeland security. just like tillerson at state is going to be -- you know, he's sort of a four star sitting there with flynn as the one star in the white house. tillerson will have a big voice. >> what do you make of the fact that bossard's supposition now elevated to be equal with general flynn? >> do you see that as a way to temper flynn's fluence is this. >> it could be. but we've seen this in other parts of the administration.

with steve bannon and reince priebus. in other places but it is going either two ways. either both cases presented to the president or it is going to be like street fighter. we'll have to see if they can work it out. but particularly on the issue of si cybersecurity we have to see where trump ends up landing. we have an incoming president who doesn't really have a foundation, didn't come into this with a foundation on a lot of these different issues. it would be up to these advisors to make their case and pretty big policy decisions in the process. >> carl, it seems like the team of rivals is almost the cliche of presidential administrations now. everybody wants a team of rivals in the administration. a lot of talk about it with obama. but over time the center of power shrank to a very small group around the president. do you see efds thvidence this e

a true team of rivals in the way it operate sths. >> some of them about to fly off the ledge. and others more mainstream. the other thing is we have a terrible cyberproblem as you are earlier segment indicated. t no just the electoral process. free elections in the united states according to a consensus of ours intelligence community vb undermined by the russians. not only that, private cybersecurity in this country is a disaster. it is known by everybody in washington in important positions that we are woefully behind. the white house has been hacked. the state department has been hacked. and this has been -- going to be an area where we have got to play catch up. so this is enormously important. and then there is the element that, look. general flynn has turned out to shake lot of people around trump.

they think he's a flake. and this is a problem and he's being downgraded here at least for some to see and he's going to have to agree to let this guy come along and have some equal status in their deliberations. remember hillary clinton and the national security advisors to president obama did not get along very well. >> and a lot of those cabinet positions they were kind of kpald -- >> but healthy debate is a good thing. -- health debate on issues and assessments is a good thing. >> but matt and david tee this up. there are some fundamental differences among several of these voices now in the cabinet. general mattis. who more in line in someone supports the two state solution on israel. and a cyber guy in bossard for homeland security but a president who's denying a massive cyberattack on the u.s.

election system. these are not minor differences in points of view we're talk about here? >> right. and i think jackie was right. it will either work or it will fail miserably. any time you assemble a team. think about sports. you could go out there and get an all-star team and sometimes the chemistry doesn't mesh. and then sometimes magic happens. and obviously the stakes are a lot higher here. but again it is not unusual for people to have differences of opinion. say like georgetown herbert walker bush game pro life. people change. i think the way it needs to work is, they go in. they argue their case behind closed doors. president trump then makes his decision. and i take solis in this. i was afraid that we were going to have a cabinet full of the steve bannons and mike flynns. we've got balance. i think we should take solis in

the fact that there is this balance and people whispering in different ears at different times. >> thanks all of you. and just ahead tonight a sad duty, but also perhaps a happy opportunity. remembering the unforgettable carrie fisher. it's hours before kickoff, not a single player is dressed, the officiating crew haven't even left their homes, but this man is here. wooooo! and like mr. punctual here, courtyard is all about the game. wooooo! wait, actually. this is a bye week. [and her new business: i do, to jeanetgo. jeanette was excellent at marrying people. but had trouble getting paid. not a good time, jeanette. even worse. now i'm uncomfortable. but here's the good news, jeanette got quickbooks. send that invoice, jeanette. looks like they viewed it. and, ta-da! paid twice as fast. oh, she's an efficient officiant. way to grow, jeanette. get paid twice as fast. visit quickbooks-dot-com.

a year marked by the death of prince and so many other stellar talents ends with the passing of a princess. carrie fisher, "star wars'" princess leia died today after suffering a heart attack on friday, this on a flight home

from london. she was an actor, gifted writer. she was both iconoclast and icon. as you might imagine the tributes are pouring in from those she worked and those who loved her work. paul pubuchanan from hollywood. you can see the energy around you. i imagine you are hearing some powerful emotional reactions there. >> reporter: extremely powerful, jim. in fact you were talking about those who loved her work. what they all point is yes she's carrie fisher. she's princess leia. but she's so much more in hollywood. she's also the writer of postcard interests t postcards from the edge. a star in when harry met sal. so they reflakt. and are sad and then all of a sudden they perk up and really smile when they think about what carrie fisher meant to all of

them. >> what are they saying. >> her "star wars" family just deeply saddened. in a way, think of it this way. they all grew up together. and let's start by reading from ford's statement. he just adored carrie fisher. and he said carrie was one of a kind, funny and emotionally fearless. she lived her life bravely. he's eluding to the fact she was so open about varying addictions." . george lucas "she was an extremely smart, talented actress writer and comedian with a colorful personality that everyone loved. and then j.j. abrams, the director who's taken on the "star wars" franchise for a lot of the new movies. and he said basically in a

hand-written post. you didn't need to meet carrie fisher to understand her power. and by that, he was eluding to just how immensely talented she was, jim. as we said both on and off the screen. >> no question. paul verken. thanks very much. as paul vercammen just recounted she lived those years as times to the utmost. stephanie elam has a look back. >> i should expect to find you holding vader's leash? >> arguably the most beloved movie franchise ever, "star wars." princess on screen. hollywood royalty off it. with a sharp wit and sharper pen. fisher wi fisher was born in beverly hills. mother debby reynolds.

father --. fisher wove her experience as the kid who struggled with addiction into a best selling comedic novel postcards from the edge. >> i think of that as sort of the edge. the obsession. and i thought of it in the car one day. >> and fisher turned the book into a movie starring meryl streep. >> remember my 17th birthday party when you lifted your skirt up in front of all those people, including that guy michael. >> i did -- it twirled up. >> reporter: pokes fun at the absurdities of the showbiz life and all manner of the medication. >> any mood stabilizer is a weight gainer. so you feel better but you are fat. so what you kban is a loss. it is not a good situation. >> she spoke about being bipolar

and turning pain into humor. elizabeth taylor game her step mother when eddie fisher remarried. carrie fisher was briefly married in the eighties and gave birth to a daughter. in between the "star wars" movie, fisher landed a mishmash of movie roles. some stinkers. "under the rainbow." hollywood vice squad. received praise for "soap dish" and mega ryan's wisecracking friend in when harry met sally. but nothing could loom larger than fish ner "star wars." >> transported you. it was extraordinary entertainment film making.

>> do you like the princess? >> i have her over sometimes. she's a little bitchy. >> more than 40 years after the original "star wars" she revealed her affair with harrison ford. fisher spent a lifetime trying to separate the princess from the person. one wisecrack at a time. >> i always felt like i was restricted. because i was bigger than life and twice as unpleasant. to help us remember carrie fisher tonight, matthew, carrie fisher most recognized as princess leia through the years but certainly much more than just that role. a gifted actress and extraordinary writer as well. >> absolutely. most people know her as princess leia.

but after she rose to fame in that role she had a very successful career as an actress in other movies like when harry met sally and blues brothers. but mostly was a writer. an author. postcards from the edge. and the she was also a screen writer as well. she adapted postcards from the edge for the film version and she was a very noted hollywood script doctor. she would work behind the scenes on movies like "wedding singer" and skt sister act" to bunch them before they started filming. she was very well known and well paid for that. >> off screen her candor was something she was known for. brutal honesty. open about her personal life and struggles with addiction. difficult thing to do. >> yeah. i mean she was talking about her struggles at a time in the iekts and nineties when not a lot of people went public with their personal demons like alcoholism, drug abuseeighties and ninetiesa

lot of people went public with their personal demons like alcoholism, drug abuse. she was bipolar and had struggles with depression. and she talked about them freely and incoordinated them into her art. she wrote about them. performed standup about them. this is at a time when not a lot of people were being so open about these things. >> i want to quote something from her book "wishful drinking" and 43 years ago george lucas ruined my life. and added quote. in the nicest possible way. she did not like the exposure from that film. but she did acknowledge that it gave her tremendous success careerwise. >> absolutely. she had a very love/hate relationship with fame. and it was something she was prime to accept because she grew up in a showbiz family, with her mother being an actress and her father a singer. so she sknew what she was going

into. but she achieved fame well beyond both of them. so i think the notoriety she got was acknowledged by her but she also noted the downside and all of the problems that came from it especially because she became famous at such young age. >> no question. also an author and had a book out just recently. and one of the big revelations from that book was that 40 years ago during the filming of the first "star wars" smov she had an asfar with her co-star, harrison ford. can you tell us about her decision to go public about that just this year so many years later? >> this is her most recent memoir, which is based on the diaries she kept when she was shooting "star wars" and after that. so these are things that she kept personal for many, many years. ultimately decided in the new book to go public with them. i don't know why she decided now was the time. but it was perfectly in character with her. she has lived her life and she's had a public persona that is based on candor and her

willingness to say anything and to really speak her mind. and she decided it was time to reveal is that. >> candor and honesty. matthew bellamy. thanks very much. and coming up an in-depth look at the michigan middle school incident that went viral. the day after crump is elected. seventh graders chant "build a wall" at latino students. we'll hear from the students who were targeted. after this.

tonight we have an in-depth look at one michigan community still grappling with a heart-breaking postelection incident that was seen around the world. middle school students shouting "build a wall" at latino students the very day after donald trump won. for the first time the targets of that cruelty are speaking out. kelly wallace reports. >> reporter: in a winter wonderland of lights and music, royal oak michigan is a community trying to heal itself. this video of seventh graders chanting "build a wall" catapulted the middle school into the national spotlight the day after donald trump won the election. best friends isabel and josie

were in the lunchroom that day along with a few other hispanic students. this is the first time the girls have told their story publicly. >> all of a sudden you hear some kids chanting something and then it gets louder and then you hear what they are saying. and then they are banging their hands against the tables. >> isabel fled to the bathroom in tears, leaving a frightened josie behind. >> it was so hard. because these are my friends. and i see them just saying these awful things. and it was so hard to look and just watch. and not be able do anything because i was afraid. >> the girls say this is not the first time they have witnessed racism at the prominently white middle school. so josie took out her phone and recorded what she saw, texting the video to her mom. >> nobody had really listened to me, and i needed evidence so they could show my mom and my

dad so it wouldn't be my word against theirs. >> a lot of voices. >> yeah. it wasn't just a couple of kids. >> right. >> reporter: shocked and concerned alisia ramone send the video privately to a few parents. one of the parents shared it on facebook. within hours the video went viral generating millions of views and a backlash against the school. >> the attention that helps us grow and all that is welcomed. condemnations, threats against the school and community are on an unwelcome level of attention that was very disruptive. >> royal oak superintendent said police were brought in to patrol the campus to ease parents' concerns. but fearful families wanted more. >> they said i should have been

suspended or even expelled. >> they are saying that it is josie's fault for taking the video. this never would have happened if she didn't take it. >> just a week after the build the wall chant went viral, the middle school was rocked again. this time when a noose was found in a boy's bathroom. >> your reaction to that? >> profoundly troubling. immediately was over at the middle school making sure that the investigation was fully engaged. that the police were on site because an incident of that magnitude goes beyond just school discipline. >> the student was quickly identified and has since been expelled but isabel and josie remember the fear they felt when they heard what was found. >> i was terrified. i was so scared. i was i afraid they were going hurt me or isabel. >> making progress, or moving forward. the back-to-back incidents have sparked action among mothers in this community who along with

alisia ramone want the pain to bring positive change. >> it is important we make it very clear that this isn't who royaloic is. that we're better than this. oa. that we're better than this. unfortunately josie felt so o ostraciz ostracized at royal oak she is now at a different school. >> i couldn't take it anymore. people would see in the hallways and turn around and walk the other way. >> no, i feel like an animal. >> just one week after starting the new school, josie's family already sees a difference. >> she was joking, she was fun yib she was back to her usual self. a kid i hadn't seen since this happened.

it was like seeing a weight that was lifted off of her shoulders. >> and while josie feels badly leaving her best friend behind at royal oak middle, she is looking forward to the future and has no regrets. >> i think if i had to go through this again, to help everybody else who's mexican american, i would do it a thousand, million, bajillon more times. >> powerful story. coming up, going to a mall on the day after christmas can be stressful enough. then this happens. and as you'll see, it was far from the only such incident. that's right after this. ♪

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it was post-christmas chaos at shopping centers across the country, as people decked the malls with brawls of fury. in one mall after another yesterday, fights broke out that led to injuries, arrests, lockdowns, even evacuations. sara sidner reports. >> reporter: mayhem in more than a dozen shopping malls across the u.s., from colorado to new york, teenage brawls broke out in malls across the country, including garden city, new york, where terrified shoppers is were caught up in a stampede, kicked off by reports of a shooting there. at least one person left on a stretcher. >> i was with my son and my wife and i fell down and was almost ran over. it was pretty intense. >> reporter: many manchester, connecticut, a brawl broke out inside the shops at buckland hills. and in aurora, illinois, several fights there led to several arrests, including a

14-year-old. the mall shut down for the rest of the day. >> everyone shut off their phones. i see the police, i see kids eaching other, kids trampling each other, it was just madness. >> reporter: in ft. worth, texas, a mall was put on lockdown. police say more than a hundred middle and high school students were caught up in a fight. and in ohio, another mall, another fight in the food court. in colorado, police believe the fight at the aurora town mall was actually planned. >> there was something that was going around on social media about a fight that was going to take place here at the town center of aurora, which is what drew all of these people who were up to no good to our mall. >> reporter: despite the similarities in all the incidents, law enforcement isn't clear on whether they were coordinated in any way. >> sarah, so are law enforcement officials wired about more of these kinds of incidents happening, going forward? >> they certainly are. they hope that this is not a

trend that is being started. but they still can't pinpoint whether or not there was one specific incident that created all of the rest. in other words, is there something in social media that they can find that they are certainly scouring through it. we should mention this last bit here. you know, with all the things happening with soft targets, terrorism or mass shootings, really, people are reacting in a very big way to some of those things. they see people running and screaming, they automatically think it has something to do with either terrorism or there's a shooter. and that's what caused some people to end up the getting hurt in a stampede. >> no question. i can see how that could scare them. sar sara sidner, thank you very much. and we'll be right back.

that does it for us. thanks for watching. i'm jim sciutto. all the best, all the worst, 2016, hosted by tom foreman starts right now. 2016 was all wild west, all the time, filled with events that fought like a bronco. strut like a snake. and roared like a barroom brawl. so saddle up for a look back at our rough riders, nfl hall of fame nominee and sports analyst,