thanks to my panel and all of you for watching, merry christmas, hope to see you right here next week. president obama and his family kicking off the annual winter vacation in hawaii. they arrived late last night and expected to stay two weeks in the aloha state before returning to washington. welcome to "america's news headquarters". >> the president's holiday vacation coming after the final press conference of 2014 yesterday. guess what? raising some eyebrows and only called on women reporters, first for the white house, calling on eight of them. the white house says it was a way for them to recognize those journalists, questions ranging

from the sony cyber attack to diplomacy with cuba and race relations in america. dan springer, where he is now as you can see by the beach. hi, dan. >> why wouldn't i be by the beach. president obama is looking forward to the 17-day vacation with his family here in hawaii, but will be plenty of work, including what to do about north korea and recent cyber attack on sony. he said yesterday in his final news conference that the u.s. will respond and not discuss any possible options. we've learned one considered putting north korea back on the countries that sponsor terrorism right next to iran and syria and for now cuba. it would be largely symbolic. the president also criticized sony for its decision to cancel the release of "the interview" in response to the threat of

violence. >> we cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the united states. >> north korea has denied any involvement in the hacking of sony and it offered to prove it through a joint conversation with the u.s. the ceo of sony, a political supporter of president obama and the party shot back at the president. >> we have not caved and not given in. we have persevered and not backed down. we have always had every desire to have the american public see this movie. >> michael lynton said sony is looking at other ways to distribute the movie and the white house responded we are pleased to hear they are working act rvely distribute the film. people should decide for themselves whether or not they want to see it.

one they are looking is a prerelease on youtube, sony would lose a ton of money doing that. eric? >> a lot more on this first foreign cyber attack of this sort against our country later in the hour. arthel? >> intense combat in iraq today, kurdish forces fighting isis as they continue to try to rescue refugees on mount sinjar, they have made significant progress in liberating the area from isis control. john huddy is live with more. >> reporter: kurdish forces had to recapture hundreds of quasqu miles from isis, making it a difficult and logistical and military effort. there's been a lot of head way. let me take you up to speed. kurdish forces have reportedly

opened a 44-mile long corridor, basically an escape route between positions in northeastern syria and mount sinjar in iraq. that was essentially allowed for the rescue, thousands that have been trapped on mount sinjar since august with tanks and troops clearing a path allowing food and water and other aid to flow in to help folks out. a big help in the effort has been the ongoing effort in kobani. we talked a lot about kobani, where kurdish fighters captured 16 neighborhoods between yesterday and today pushing isis militants back from their fighting positions with help from u.s.-led coalition air strikes. by the way, there's been dozens of u.s.-led coalition air strikes on isis positions near mount sinjar helping in the effort to get those yasidi

people. >> since august, four months. john huddy, thank you so much. >> there's brand-new details about the horrible attack on the pakistani school earlier this week. the mastermind of the killings is a man known as slim, the pakistan taliban leader. the attack left 130 children dead. described as a lifelong islamic militant and appeared in a video released by taliban where he attempts to justify that attack, arguing it was done in retaliation. the attacks by pakistani army and saying if you attack us, we'll take revenge for the innocence. school is run by the army and many were children are military officers. pakistani prime minister now vowing to bring him to justice. the nypd arresting a fourth suspect who they say played a role in a protest that turned violent on the brooklyn bridge

resulting in injuries to two police officers. brian as more from our new york city newsroom. >> three of those four have come in the last three days. they are facing charges for alleged roles of the assault on two new york city police officers during last saturday's massive millions march protesting police violence and racism. when you look at it, 36-year-old was arrested last night and reportedly released on $1,000 bail this morning. she is charged with resisting arrest and riot and obstructing governal administration. her lawyer says garcia was not at the brooklyn bridge the night of the assault and misidentified. mean while, another protesters, 32-year-old zachary campbell surrendering to police this morning, facing the same charges. the two arrests come after this man, 43-year-old robert murray surrendered on thursday night, faces more serious charges for allegedly punching an officer in

the face. two nypd lieutenants were kicked and punched by a group of 7 protesters who intervened when the two officer were trying to arrest the man for trying to throw a garbage can. both had cuts and bruises. police are still looking for these four suspects in connection with the assault. there's a $25,000 reward for any info leading to an arrest. >> i think the arrests are important because they make clear we won't tolerate any violence in any of these protests. any type of violence, violence against our police officers as i said earlier today is particular front. >> bill de blasio met with protest organizers on friday and discussed nypd policing tactics and organizers denounced the attack. >> thank you so much. meanwhile, hundreds gathering in support of the nypd taking to

the streets. the pro-police rally was organized by facebook group called thank you nypd. and was held as a counterpoint to the recent protest against alleged police brutality. they gathered under the hash tag blue live matter on the other side hundreds of demonstrators gather for a counter protest called no thank you nypd to demonstrate against the pro police rally. >> parents of the suspect in the colorado movie theater shooting, remember that? they are making the desperate plea for his life. some of the survivors of that shooting are saying about the request. >> the country has not released any political prisoners, continues its crackdown on dissidents who demand freedom and president raul castro vows to continue his hard line communist ways. is the administration doing the right thing?

>> we trade with a host of the countries that don't have human rights records and don't trade with cuba. trade might loosen things up and help topple castros.

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a passionate plea for their son's life, the parents of james holmes have written a open record to the denver post writing, we're always praying for everyone in aurora and wish july 20th, 2012 never happened. we have read postings on the internet likened him to a monster. he is not a monster, he is a human being gripped by a severe mental illness. the death penalty is morally wrong especially quh the condemned is mentally ill. keeping him in prison would keep

everyone safe while avoiding trial. >> we haven't forgotten it one day, for them to put a letter two and a half years later before the trial starts, i don't think it's by their design. the public will truly see mr. holmes is completely guilty and no other penalty besides the death penalty. >> his trial had been postponed so attorneys can study his mental evaluation report. >> eric, the cuban parliament backing a decision by raul castro to begin the process of restoring full diplomatic relations with the united states. this as president obama tempered expectations by saying the process may take years. >> i don't anticipate overnight changes. but what i know deep in my bones is that if you've done the same thing for 50 years, and nothing has changed, you should try something different if you want a different outcome.

>> let's bring in cal thomas, a syndicated columnist and fox news contributor and leslie marshall, host of the leslie marshall show and fox news contributor. good to see both of you. >> leslie, you heard the president saying this may take years to open full relations between the u.s. and cuba. so even if castro in the short term is trying to open up and grow the cuban economy, i want to know what you think in terms of when the citizens of cuba might see some -- or will they see immediate economic relief or spek of light at the end of the tunnel to freedom? >> well, first of all, i used to live in south florida and i know a lot of members of the cuban american community taught me a lot about the fidel castro regime. i see a different regime with raul castro. there's a concern many by americans, rightly so, that at first the benefit will come to

the military and the politicians and not trickle down to the people. like the president said, it is a slow process and eventually tricking down to the people. cuba is hanging on. when you have a relationship with venezuela, what it is right now, and in the united states helping them, i think that only helps us in the future to have them -- whether it's decades from now as future allies and perhaps if we lift the embargo in the future trade partners, we have a trade deficit and they don't have things to export and they have a lot they could import from the united states which could create jobs. right now will the people benefit at first? maybe not. this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. it's a marathon that the president was right to embrace after five plus decades of nothing happening. >> let me bring cal in there. leslie referenced the u.s. economic embargo. it's been the law for 18 years and it's going to require

congressional action to end it. here's my question. we're talking about congressional action and the president. how does that temper the president's efforts? and what should congress ask for in return? >> first, this is going to surprise a lot of people but i actually agree with the president on this one. save that sound byte, may not heard that again for the next few years. the rationale when kennedy signed the embargo against cuba. 1962, it was because of cuba's close relationship with the soviet union, which is no more. that is out of the way. as leslie just referenced, venezuela, because of the falling oil prices around the world is in deep as well they can't act as sugar daddy for cuba anymore. i would suggest that the new republican congress make this incremental, we ought to demand something in return for goodies we're talking about giving to them and at a very minimum see

repatriation of the 70 fugitives hidden out in some cases for decades in cuba, including the cop killer of the new jersey state trooper who escaped from prison in 1979 with the help of the black liberation army and weather underground. then i think raul castro promised to he's up on the internet. i think that information trumps propaganda. i think the capitalism trumps communism and freedom trumps tyranee, it's going to be a long term process but in the end, freedom will come out on top. >> a long-term process, let's talk though about the immediate short-term impact on how the global community views the u.s. now. >> honestly, and this is another sound bite. i agree with cal thomas today. i do. i agree with almost everything you just said, that's frightening -- >> you're coming my way.

>> no, no, you've been trying to flip me for years, not happening. when we look at how the world is viewing us, it's very interesting, talking about this today and past week on fox and radio show, the world looks at it as, okay, if we want to build a relationship and improve our economy and have a stronger alliance with a super power like the united states, they are willing to extend and olive branch if we're willing to play. we've seen, even though some people say we've failed doing this in the past, i disagree because it takes a long time. we have a much better working letter with iran and new leadership than in the past. obviously china, china is a country that has terrible human rights abuses, as does cuba. we have a -- some people would say a pretty good economic working relationship and trade relationship with china that the

benefit has come both ways, more so on china. >> and that needs to change. >> let me jump in because i'm out of time. go ahead, cal. >> i don't agree on iran. i think they are still in drive and picking our pocket on the nuclear. the president said if a program hasn't been working for 50 years, we need to try something else. i would like to apply that to a whole lot of domestic programs. >> there's a point and we have to end on that point. thanks to both of you. >> thanks, arthel. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> the most notorious nazi concentration camps and says there are sickening parallels to the past with the rise of islamic terrorism. his vital warning next. often enough, but thank you. thank you mom for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad.

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well, to some the recent shocking terrorist attacks have echoed the darkest histories. some worry that the hatreds have not gone away. >> i lost my freedom, my family. >> leslie schwartz beat all the odds and survived the holocaust. he was 14 when he and his family were rounded up in hungary. >> we were taken from my hometown and we marched to the radio station and while marching, they -- you know, this was a tremendous kick, of beating some of the elderly including a rabbi who was constantly beaten with a bayonet. >> from there, leslie and his family were put in a cattle car and taken away.

condemned to the nazi concentration camps of auschwitz and dhaka and he lost his parents in the holocaust. mengele directed the people for the tests. >> i noticed that dr. mengele was doing the selection i noticed how babies were taken from mothers' arms and there was a tremendous commotion. >> today as the world watches a new horror unfold, he worries the nazi philosophy that led to the killing of 6 million jews to the holocaust is similar to the beliefs of the islamic terrorists of isis who have executed the innocent and killed christians and others for their faith. >> the philosophy of course is very much the same.

you know, assassinating, the guess that poe behavior. they would love to formulate that to send a message, a frightening message. >> you may -- >> schwartz now an 84-year-old new yorker, dedicates his life to telling his story to students. hoping history will not be repeated. >> when these young students see a holocaust survivor, it has a much greater impact than any book they read. >> he has spoken to more than 100 high schools in germany and says his lessons are as relevant today with the threat of the islamic state as with nazi germany 70 years ago. >> one 14-year-old german kid said to me, mr. schwartz, i would love to have you as my grandfather. you cannot get a nicer compliment. and here i said to myself, is this unbelievable?

here we are approaching 70 years ago when the concentration camp was liberated. >> he's gone back to germany next summer to teach a new generation to never forget the lessons of the holocaust. leslie schwartz, a remarkable man with a message we should never forget. >> absolutely. very well done and glad you brought that story to us. >> glad for him. >> yes. we're back with more on the sony hack attack. stick around for that story.

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for the perfect shave at any angle. go to philips.com/new to save up to $40. innovation and you. philips norelco. and good afternoon. i'm eric shawn, welcome to america's news headquarters. >> i'm arthel neville. president obama getting r&r in his home state of hawaii after a busy week of dealing with cuba and north korea. but he'll be coming back to washington next month to a capitol hill commanded by republicans. >> for those planning to go overseas for the holidays the state department says they should keep their eyes and ears open for any possible threats against americans. plus, our legal experts take on the interview and sony's decision to bow down to terror.

>> but first, to the foreign cyber terrorist attack against america. the north koreans now insisting they didn't do it. and they say they're being unfairly smeared by president obama. well, the rogue regime threatening the u.s. if we don't join them in a joint investigation of what happened. the fbi as you know officially has laid the blame on pyongyang's doorstep for the massive computer hack of sony entertainment and for the threats of violence that led the movie company to cancel the release of that movie "the interview." but today sony's chief is defending the move after president obama criticized the company. we have more on all of this from our west coast newsroom. hi, will. >> reporter: hi, eric. sony is defending the move at the same time they came out and said that the only decision that they have made so far is to not release the movie on christmas day. they still hope to plan it

release on quote, a different platform in response to that, the white house actually put out a statement today which reads we are pleased to hear that sony is actively working to distribute the film. people should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they would like to see it. that echos a statement we heard yesterday from sony that says that it is still our hope that anyone who wants to see the movie will get the opportunity to do so. it comes after president obama had strong words for sony saying it's a mistake to not release the movie, and he wishes sony had reached out to him before deciding not to release the movie on christmas. >> we cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the united states. because if somebody is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a satirical movie, imagine what they start doing when they see a documentary that they don't like.

or a news report that they don't like >> reporter: the original hackers which the fbi has come out said without a doubt is north korea they warned sony not to distribute in any form. then north korea in an official statement said it had nothing to do with the massive cyber attack on sony and called for a joint investigation into the attack with the united states, then saying if the investigation does not happen there will be grave consequences. eric? >> thanks for staying on this throughout the hour. and the state department is issuing a warning to americans traveling abroad. the worldwide alert advising people traveling outside the u.s. to be extra cautious over the holidays. the department says u.s. citizens should be mindful that terrorists can pose unpredictable threats in public venues. the alert comes after the attack this week in australia in which a gunman took 17 people hostage at a cafe in sydney. the siege left two hostages and the iranian-born attacker dead.

arthel, the pentagon announced the latest guantanamo bay prisoner release today. four gitmo detainees are being sent back home to afghanistan. the transfer is a sign of confidence they claim in the new afghan president and improving relations with the country. it's the latest in a series of transfers as the president works to closing that detention facility forever. for a deeper look into the prisoner release situation, the executive director for the foundation of defense of democracies will join us later on in this hour. and cuba's parliament backing president raul castro's decision to restore diplomatic relations with the u.s. at the same time, the cuban leader is demanding that the u.s. respect his country's communist rule, as both washington and havana move closer after decades of mutual hostility. meanwhile, some cuban american

groups are planning to hold a protest in miami criticizing president obama's moves. molly henneberg has the latest. hi, molly. >> reporter: hi, arthel. the obama administration is beginning the process of normalizing relations with cuba and reopening a u.s. embassy in havana. but the president says air force one isn't headed there quite yet. >> we're not at a stage here where me visiting cuba or president castro coming to the united states is in the cards. i don't know how this relationship will develop over the next several years. i'm a fairly young man so i imagine that at some point in my life i will have the opportunity to visit cuba. >> reporter: in havana today the three cuban spies just release by the u.s. received a standing ovation in the cuban parliament. they were exchanged for one cuban born u.s. spy who had been

held in cuba for nearly 20 years. president obama's decision to make it easier for americans to travel and do business in cuba has some bipartisan support. including from kentucky republican senator rand paul. who says it's time for a new approach with cuba. and points out that the u.s. trades with other communist nations such as china and vietnam. but then that infuriates the lawmakers who don't want to reopen relations with cuba. >> when rand paul, senator paul said we do business with china, yes, but we do not do business with other terrorist states and organizations like iran. that's what we're dealing with. i was frankly surprised that senator paul is so clueless as to the situation -- that we're dealing with cuba. >> secretary of state john kerry says that the president has asked the state department to review cuba's official designation as a state sponsor of terror.

it is being called another gift to the castro regime. arthel? >> thanks a lot, molly. well, mother nature acting more like scrooge, slamming the northwest today with heavy rain and snow. will she let up in time for christmas travel across the country? janice dean has the latest. >> oh, no, we're going to get coal in our stockings for some of us. let's take a look at it, not that bad. but we're watching a storm moving into the great lakes and the midwest on christmas eve and then perhaps giving some folks a white christmas. let's talk about today's forecast. we have some showers across the southeast. not a big deal here. maybe a little bit of snow flurry activity but the west -- the west is experiencing another major storm system that's going to bring rain as well as feet of snow and extremely windy conditions. you can see that rain stretching

as far south as central california. that's going to push into the rockies and that's going to give us the energy for our next storm system that could possibly delay millions of travelers on christmas eve. so let's take a look at it. there's our forecast radar on saturday. a lot of the moisture pulling inward across the rockies and then we will see a new storm form. we can see severe storms, even isolated tornadoes on tuesday. on the back side of that, the snow. here's your travel forecast. tomorrow, we'll have a better idea of what the storm will do. for now here's what we think. snow across the great lakes. we will see a mixture across the ohio river valley and then rain and windy conditions. that's going to cause some travel delays on wednesday. then we have another storm system pushing into the northern rockies. that's problematic for travel. historically where do we see a white christmas?

well, here are the regions that we look to and look at where we have snow cover right now. almost very closely matched to what we just saw, right? here's your current snow cover. here's what we think for the christmas forecast. a lot of the areas will see a white christmas. along the unfortunately i don't think we'll see a white christmas. one more note is the first day of winter tomorrow. begins on sunday. even though many of us think it's will be winter. >> feels that way. i'm jealous of those folks getting a white christmas. >> yeah, if it's going to be a storm i'd rather snow. >> and no travel problems. >> fingers crossed. well, the death toll from ebola is climbing. the world health organization is saying the ebola outbreak in west africa as now killed upwards of 7,000 people with many of the latest deaths happening in sierra leone.

british and canadian troops are mobilizing to the hard hit african country. joining the efforts to contain the disease. well, you don't think of sweden and terrorism, but two car bombs rocked a neighborhood in southern sweden. the bomb shattered dozens of windows in their third biggest city. good news, no one was hurt, in the blasts that went off after daylight. one exploded in a nearby parking lot. the police aren't sure who is behind the attacks. it seems to be the latest in the series of bombings that have go own on in the city in the past few months. well, sony pictures is refusing to release "the interview" this christmas. what's the legal fallout of the decision? our panel will take a look. and thousands of rape victims waiting years for their evidence to get dna testing. news today of nationwide program that could speed justice along. also, president obama better

rest up now before he faces a republican-led congress. will next year be one of compromise or conflict? >> on most issues, in order for their initiatives to become law, i'm going to have to sign off. and that means they have to take into account the issues that i care about, just as i'm going to take into account the issues that they care about. could protect you from cancer? what if one push up could prevent heart disease? one. wishful thinking, right? but there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease- pneumococcal pneumonia. one dose of the prevnar 13 ® vaccine can help protect you ... from pneumococcal pneumonia, an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. prevnar 13 is used in adults 50 and older to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. you should not receive prevnar 13 if you've had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients.

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across our country, hundreds of thousands of rape kits could be sitting on shelves waiting for dna testing. tests that could identify a suspect or clear someone of wrongdoing. well, now a new program might help cut into the backlog. fox's laura ingle's talked with a rape victim whose kit sat untouched for ten years. >> i went to the building as i always do, except the difference on that evening was there was a man behind me with gun. >> this woman was violently raped in 1993. she has a perfect example of how the system failed after her rape sat untouched in a police storage unit for nearly a

decade. >> to find out you're raped, you went through the grueling process of a rape kit and that the rape kit wasn't tested? every survivor of sexual assault feels like they have been revictimized. >> experts say there are hundreds of thousands of rape kits collecting dust across the u.s. >> many who rape rape again and they rape again elsewhere. >> manhattan's district attorney cyrus vance jr. recently announced a $35 million program to tackle the nationwide problem. the money will give police departments across the u.s. the resources to test backlogged rape kits for genetic evidence that could identify or eliminate a suspect. these new efforts giving rape survivors the sense that justice will finally be served. the dna from natasha's kit was tested in 2003 by led to the capture of her attacker, 14 years later to the day. >> it was $1,000 to test my rape

kit. how much did it cost for the man to create male victims, female victims a hazard to communities? i bet it cost more than $1,000. >> today natasha's project is working with an advocacy group the joyful heart foundation. >> it will take care of the up tested rape kits but you have to make sure that law enforcement are testing kits in new cases as they move forward. >> authorities nationwide say additional funds are crucial to the effort and there's been another huge boost. congress recently allocated $41 million to provide law enforcement resources for the next step. and investigations and convictions. in new york, laura ingle, fox news. >> well, back to politics and what we can expect in the new year. you know president obama was flexing his presidential muscles

during his news conference yesterday and going on the offensive. you know, from executive action on immigration to even bucking leaders in his own party on the spending measure, you wouldn't know that the republicans made big gains in the midterms is this the president's chance to dig in? jamie weinstein joins us now. yesterday, the president said that the fourth quarter is when the interesting stuff happens and it seems like he plans to keep it that way. >> well, it looks like he's not changing for sure -- chastened by sure by the republican's midterm sweeps. immigration, cuba, climate change, all the initiatives he's doing on his own, not reaching out to congress. if you notice he did these after the election occurred. he sees as the fourth quarter, he has no elections in front of him. not for himself or for congress. so, you know, this might be a moment he sees as a possibility of just going it alone and

letting -- in some way letting his flag fly and pursuing all the initiatives on his own to the extent he can and even pushing the line now that he has no elections and voters to face. >> yeah, i mean does he feel emboldened do you think? does he feel free because he doesn't have the midterm and that's passed and there are no more elections left? >> well, he doesn't feel like he needs to reach out to the republican side of congress. you would think that's the natural move, but president obama hasn't been a very good at reaching out to either republicans or democrats. he's not a guy who's developed deep relationships on capitol hill. he's not a guy like bill clinton was who was working the phones late at night, talking to congressmen and senators and hobnobbing and trying to get them on his side on initiatives. so i don't expect -- and it doesn't seem like for the first few months after this midterm election that he is going to change now. he's going to try to do what he

wants to do through executive actions to the greatest extent possible. >> not only executive actions but called president memoranda. most of us never heard of that. >> right. he's issued -- you know, the white house likes to say that the president has done just a number of executive actions as other presidents but they're not including presidential memoranda, which the president has used in several instances. he's looking to use to the greatest extent possible his powers as president and some say he's going beyond the powers as president. so the courts have theed adjudicate that. he was not chastened by the voters in november. >> talking about having the relationships, that's one of the criticisms that we have had. unlike lbj or bill clinton, he doesn't sit down and schmooze with leaders on capitol hill. he did have that golf date with john boehner. let's listen to what he had to say yesterday when it came to dealing with republicans. >> if republicans seek to take

health care away from people who just got it, they will meet stiff resistance from me. if they try to water down consumer protections that we put in place in the aftermath of the financial crisis, i will say no. but on increasing american exports, on simplifying our tax system, on rebuilding our infrastructure, my hope is that we can get some things done. >> when you hear that, do you think they will get things done or not? >> well, oil not so -- i'm not so sure. they should get a comprehensive tax reform done, especially on corporations. there's bipartisan support for that. let's see if the president will go along with that or throw in a poison pill. what worries me, if he goes somewhere with let's say iran using his executive powers and the president does have more latitude on foreign policy to go alone and comes up with a deal that is very weak on iran's

nuclear program, just to get a deal, so he can give a speech saying he solved this problem even if he hasn't, that's a real threat to the united states. allowing iran to get off easy as they pursue nuclear weapons. i'm afraid we'll see something like that in the new year. >> those negotiations have been delayed and pushed forward. we'll see what happens with that. jamie weinstein, thank you for joining us on this saturday. >> thank you. >> arthel? well financial, social and now legal fallout for sony. after the devastating hack attack our legal panel weighs in on the entertainment giant's next moves. plus, after speaking out about sony in his final press conference for the year, president obama's hawaiian holiday is underway. we'll have the latest. get into the spirit. ♪

with the todd stearns all-american special. watch our stream on fox news radio.com. >> if you're listening to the other stations you're on santa's naughty list. >> join al robertson and sarah palin. >> you are a hero of the faith. >> plus, the performances from grammy winner, new gospel artists and be a part of the largest carol sing along. ♪ >> tune in to the todd starns all-american special. watch our stream or listen on fox news radio christmas eve. [ soft holiday music ]♪ can you help me up?

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well, it's the bottom of the hour. now time for the top of the news. president obama and the first family kicking off their annual vacation in hawaii. the obamas are expected to stay for the next two weeks in the aloha state before returning to washington and of course to a new republican-led congress and plenty of hot button issues. dan springer is traveling with the president and reports from honolulu. hi, dan. >> reporter: hey, eric. i think the biggest issue facing the president other than keeping from getting a sun burn is the fact that sony is out there. and he came out really strongly yesterday saying that he was upset with sony for pulling the release of that movie at the heart of this cyber attack. and -- and the head of sony now is firing back. and he defended his actions and he also said it's mr. obama who is mistaken. the family arrived at 11:00 for t the annual christmas vacation,

and they plan to be here for 17 days. there's plenty of work starting to do what to do about north korea and the sony hack attack. president obama said that the u.s. will respond, he would not get specific, but said it would be proportional. the new york times is reporting that mr. obama will be briefed on his options here in hawaii. the president also said sony was wrong to not release the interview as planned on christmas day. >> i wish they had spoken to me first. i would have told them do not get into a pattern in which you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks. >> but sony entertainment ceo michael linton said he is -- he was personally in contact with the white house staff, senior advisers a few days ago about the seriousness of the cyber attacks. the threats and the reality that if the theaters won't show the film that's no -- there's no

point in releasing it. >> a few days ago i did personally reach out and speak to senior folks in the white house and talked to them about the situation, and actually informed them that we needed help. >> reporter: sony could release the movie online. that is being considered. north korea meantime is denying any involvement in this cyber attack and they have even offered to do a joint investigation to get to the bottom of it with the united states. that won't happen as long as the united states is considering putting north korea back on the list of states that sponsor terrorism. one of the options that obama is apparently considering in response to the cyber attack. >> and dan some consider this a foreign cyber attack that we lost. dan springer, thank you. well, we'll keep talking about it now, as the punches keep on coming from sony from the high-profile cyber attack. they're facing the fourth class action lawsuit stemming from the hacks. the plaintiffs claiming sony did

not take sufficient precautions to defend itself against a data breach. here to weigh in on the lawsuit, defense attorney richard st. paul and trial attorney misty maris. good to see both of you. i'm going to start with you, because you're sitting here. how about that, richard? >> we're all in red, i like that too. >> absolutely. so, you know, you're well aware that back in 2011 sony playstation was hacked and these employees -- they're currently suing. said, listen, guys, sony is negligent for not securing the walls of -- the firewalls of the entire sony signer network if you will -- cyber network if you will. and sony conceded there was no known vulnerability. so take it away. >> it doesn't matter that 2011 breach. that's because the issue is what the court will look at, whether or not sony took reasonable precautions to protect the employee data. not meaning go over the top, not meaning the most reasonable and

recent technology. 2011 attack does not say sony that they have to plug in every vulnerability. just requires a reasonable precaution. >> what is reasonable precaution, richard? >> reasonable precaution is saying that they did something, rather than do nothing at all. that's about it. i'll take it one step further. >> go. >> in order for the plaintiff to be successful they have to prove there are damages. at this point in time what's the injury? right, it's duty, breach, causation, injury. the injury, the proximate cause of injury is because they breached the injury. that's one of the reasons why they're not going to be successful. >> but here it is. part of the current suit is on grounds of invasion of privacy. bailment and violations of multiple california laws that requires a corporation to protect the private medical

information of its employees and notifies them of data breaches in a timely fashion. >> right. that's the issue with damages right now. right now, the amount of damages is a tough number to pin down because we're talking about what are the potential damages related to the potential injury that could have occurred? not the damages don't exist, they exist. it's just a hard calculation. but i think more so than the actual monetary damages available in this case is the implication on corporations generally. how far does the corporation have to go to protect the privacy of the individual? and i think this case is going to speak a lot to that. >> what do you think, though? you know, by all accounts the folks who are experts in the cyber warfare field, they're saying, listen, kind of get ready for more of this to come. what should corporations be doing? >> that might be true. right now, what sony systems has, they said that -- most corporations 95% of corporations would have been suspectable to this type of attack.

so they have a system similar to other corporations of their size, but if the field is changing does this have to change with it? >> i think there's a glimmer of hope here. adobe has been sued for breach in the california court in that a judge did not dismiss the case saying that there is an impending threat that the information stolen from adobe will end up on the internet and somebody will use it for bad purposes. now, that's an unusual ruling impending threat, what does that mean? where can we go from there? there's some glimmer at least in the california court that this lawsuit against sony may go to the jury and there will be damages. but i think a higher level court would overrule this. >> i read somewhere and some report that said that sony may settle out of court because they don't need any more bad press. >> that would be any guess. a class action will likely be a class action at the end of the day. sony is not going to want to drag this out for years and years and years. >> like -- >> similar to target, target

basically said we'll give you some gift cards. >> i didn't get any gift cards. >> but they ought to. there was a target lawsuit that was successful. target tried goodwill and sony will try the same thing. >> me trying to get a free target -- but sticking to this, i want to go back to sony and the e-mails that were released on the processes that was hacked. some were bad-mouthing some celebrities. so i ask you if -- they were meant for private consumption, but boy, did they get out on a public stage. is it possible for some of these celebrities to turn around and sue for defamation of character? >> i wouldn't be surprised, but they weren't put out to public by sony. and sony's attorneys have written a letter, hey, if you disseminate in information we'll go after you. >> which is nonsense. they can't do it anyway. in order for there to be defamation it has to be

published by a third party. it would be similar to donald sterling where you know it's out there, for the public to chew on and there's no legal repercussions. >> in the lawsuit the business implications of that information being out there for sony is troubling. >> the moral of the story is, take all that money you make and protect the security of your system. >> it is really difficult to protect the systems do you believe? there's software out there that can help them protect it? >> i think in this case, you know what, there was a forensic study on the software they had according to the ceo of sony that said 95% of corporations would have been susceptible to this type of attack. maybe what they need to do is bring in experts to address those holes -- >> you say cyber terrorism with the little rabbit ears but it's real. >> that's what it is being characterized as. >> corporate espionage. it's a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

>> for sure. all right. merry christmas in your christmas red. >> thank you. happy holidays. >> happy kwanzaa. cover them all. >> i like the way you roll. thank you, guys. eric? >> thanks, arthel. well, a joint undercover investigation have recovered some master works. take a look at these. they were stolen in one of the biggest art heists ever. how investigators managed to track them down. we'll have that for you next. >> also, the obama administration releasing even more detainees from guantanamo bay. why critics are blasting that move as the u.s. steps up the fight against islamic extremists across the middle east.

get a load of this, the police and fbi get a load of art work. the nine recovered pieces of art

are among the dozen that were stolen from a wealthy real estate investor's home. police arrested a 45-year-old man who allegedly tried to sell that art to undercover agents. the suspect has pleaded not guilty and three of the paintings stolen are still missing. three more were sent back to their home country, this as administration tried to close the detention center m. of the detainees released from gitmo have returned to the battlefield. let's look at the potential impact of the president's policy with the executive director of the defense for democracy. >> hi, arthel. >> so let me walk it back and then you go ahead and give me the details on this. you have the gitmo detainees

considered low level. unanimously approved for transfer with security risks as part of the examination. releasing though coming at a time when most u.s. troops are to leave afghanistan, in less than two weeks. the taliban meanwhile looking to regain strength and control and so, mark, here's the question for you. what are americans to make of all of this and also, what will be the assessment of the president's friend and foe? >> americans should be deeply concerned about this. we are in a situation where the tide of water is not receding. despite the president's assuran assurances. the taliban and others are on the offensive in afghanistan. we are cutting our troop presence, it will be down to less than 11,000 at the beginning of the year. it will be down to -- by zero by

the beginning of 2017. so the jihadists are on the march. we are on retreat. i think our friends and allies in the region an around the world are wondering if america has the will to really confront radical islam. >> and how does that play on the president's decisions moving forward, do you think? >> well, again, the president has been pretty clear and up front from the beginning about his belief that we have to extricate ourselves from these wars and extricate ourselves from the middle east and other countries have to step up and fight. it's a good principle in theory, but there's no substitute for american leadership and no substitute for american power. and we have really learned a bad and valuable lesson in iraq when the president pulled out all american troops from iraq. only to create a vacuum that has been filled by the islamic state. it's now on the offensive and the president now has to send essentially boots on the ground back in. >> yeah. and then of course this week, mark, the president touting 15,000 as the number of troops

deployed in iraq and afghanistan. how is this going to impact the fight that's still happening there against isis and we'll talk about those air strikes now. are they enough? u.s. officials saying they are and keeping in mind that as you were mentioning there is u.s. military personnel still there training the locals for the ground fight. so with the air strikes and the personnel that's there, is it enough to fight isis? >> it's too early to tell, but i think that the reality is that we can't win a war with air strikes or with drones. we need intelligence. we need to know where the bad guys are. and without our guys on the ground calling in these strikes, with actionable intelligence, it will be very, very difficult. i think we'll be in a holding pattern, both in iraq, certainly in syria. and in afgha and if the jihadists are winning, then they are the strong horse, they're perceived on the strong horse and that'll help them recruit more and more fighters for their cause.

>> so in the meantime, you're saying they're recruiting the jihadists and recruiting more and more for their cause. you're saying that america fields nor intel -- needs more intell on the ground and how will that play out? >> again, we're depending on the afghan security forces and depending on the iraqi military. we don't have reliable partners on the ground despite years and years of training and billions of dollars invested in these militaries. the reality is the only military in the world we can depend on is the united states military. it's the greatest fighting force in human history and the only one that will keep us safe. we again, we learned a valuable lesson and the painful lesson on 9/11 that eventually these threats would hit american soil. i'm deeply concerned that may be another painful decade ahead of us. >> all right, mark, i have to go. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. and i wanted to remind our viewers not to miss fox news sunday tomorrow. chris wallace going to sit down

with mike rogers the house committee intelligence chairman weighing in. and plus the ron johnson and then ben cardin discussing the new policy with cuba. check out for the times for fox news sunday. arthel, turns out the military is taking every step possible to protect one very special dignitary this holiday season. of course we're talking about santa claus. coming up the steps that the pentagon is ensuring that all of the presidents are delivered on time. >> canadian norad region are ready to escort santa through our coordination with canada, it's safe for sleigh travel. there you go.

hey what are you doing? i was thinking about taking this speed test from comcast business. oh yeah? if they can't give us faster internet or save us money, they'll give us 150 bucks. sounds like a win win. guys! faster internet? i have never been on the internet and i am doing pretty well. does he even work here? don't listen to the naysayer. take the comcast business speed test. get faster speeds or more savings, or we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. christmas and islamic terrorists. a look for the headlines here's liz trotter. >> reporter: the enemies of christmas and christianity itself work hard this time of year. somehow in the land of the free, we've buckled under the weight

of a very public campaign to erase any semblance of religious faith. the uneasy call it political correctness, realists know it's the line with censorship. we can wonder about what happened to merry christmas or a nativity scene in the town's square and yet it is pale in justice next to the ruthless attacks on christianity and its symbols associated with the life of jesus christ. the invasion of isis, the so-called islamic state in northern syria in iraq is still under way. the american bombing seems ineffective and general charge of the advisory mission say it will take at least three years until the iraqi army can defend it. as we wait isis binges on destruction. the tomb of jonah, cruseder castles, churches, convents and

traces of st. thomas the apostle who it is believed brought christianity to these lands. isis is financed by black market oil sales, kidnappings and in large part by the looting and exporting of ancient and irreplaceable artifacts. it's burgeoning with museums, private collectors and archeologists trying to determine and locate white house what's missing. satellite photos reveal historical sites caught in rubble caught in the crossfire of war and the historical greed of isis. some in the art world are calling for a military unit to protect the major sites. others fear this will only direct the terrorists to new targets. the syrian and iraqi governments are too weak and busy with war to provide any real help.

so, isis parades by distributing videos of its handiwork. some communities seem doomed. these people still speak the language of christ. kill people as easily they can take a sledge hammer to a mask. erasing of peoples' history strengthens their grip. it's a point eloquently made by a noble laureate and survival of the nazi death camps. without memory, he said, there is no culture. without memory, there would be no civilization. no society. no future. merry christmas. well, the pentagon letting everyone know that the u.s. military is ready to protect santa this christmas revealing that it's taking every

precaution to shore up norad and ensure the world 1.9 billion children get their presents. >> cyberdomain, they tell me that their anti-grinch firewall is up and monitoring for threats and they are confident that the agfw, antigrinch firewall can defeat any malicious attacks. they tell me they verify load bearing capacity for rooftops the reindeer will land on. calibrated to track santa and ships are standing by to conduct any lost present operations if necessary. >> norad are counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds. got to make sure santa is protected. >> christmas night, go on noradsanta.org and you can track where santa is. you can see where he goes before he gets to your house. >> he is not going to your house. >> i wasn't naughty.

inro roanoke, virginia, getting adorable new residents. red pandas known as cat bears. brother and sister born to a mother who has lived at the zoo for a while and joined by sampson a new york city transplant moving down there from central park. they're consider vulnerable because their native habitats in asia are being destroyed. "a," they're adorable. but another new york city resident going down south for the weather. all right. it's been a nice winter so far, although tomorrow is the official start of winter. well, that's going to do it for us. "a healthy you" and carol alt is up next. >> arthel is back at 4:30 eastern.

welcome to "a healthy you." i'm carol alt. we all love our tea time but are there even toxins lurking in that soothing cup of tea. the author of "life by the cup" is here to explain the benefits of tea and share the risks with one of our oldest and favorite beverages. the sugar impact diet. shares some facts about sugar that you may not find so sweet. but, first, slipping into a comfortable pair of jeans after a long day of work is heven for most women, but these days there are so many different fits that it can be confusing to figure out which pa