what are you doing? the dishes are clean. i just gotta scrape the rest of the food off them. ew. dish issues? cascade platinum powers through your toughest messes better than the competition the first time. cascade. now that's clean.

this was an isolated incident. it is an isolated incident. do not let this sort of incident bring about any loss of confidence about working or visiting in our city. >> hello, i'm joy reid and this is "the reid report." we begin on this monday with breaking news. officials in sydney, australia, have wrapped up a news conference following the dramatic end to a 16-hour standoff. officials confirmed there were 17 hostages, 2 were killed, as a result of, quote, actions inside a cafe. officials confirmed the gunman was shot and killed when he stormed the lindt chocolate cafe in downtown sid sni. a number of hostages were taken out on stretches and transported to ambulances to a range of sydney hospitals. earlier as we watched the tense standoff play out on tv, several hostages were able to escape on foot. let's bring in qutd daily bea"t"

contributor courtney who lives in sydney. >> yes, i'm here. >> after how long did police finally go into that cafe which i understand is in the downtown financial district of sydney. >> it was located in sydney's central -- as to the situation, it escalated fairly quickly just after 2:00 in the morning when

everyone had gone home. it's still unclear if this is something that was an operation or if they were responding to something that happened inside, but it certainly was the right time to go in considering the rest of the district was completely dead. >> do we know how many -- do we know how many hostages were initially taken? >> they still have not confirmed how many hostages were initially taken. five did escape yesterday. there are reports of up to at least six that were able to escape just before the police stormed the cafe. >> we're now learning -- >> but we're still unsure. >> tell us a little about the raid and sort of how it played out. >> sure. again, it escalated very quickly. the media was reporting images of a man running out of the cafe

followed by a few other people. as i said, at least six people. and the police shortly after went in. there was gunfire or some sort of explosives. you could see pops of light coming out of the front window of the cafe. and probably transpired for probably another 15 to 20 seconds. there was a second wave, again, with gunfire. and, again, at that point ambulances rushed to the scene and paramedics began taking out some of the hostages on gurneys. >> thank you very much to courtney from "the daily beast." for more on the gunman we're joined by nbc's jim massceda.

>> we understand that there were regular phone calls into british intelligence agencies in london and other western capitals to try to find out what more could be gleaned about this individual and whether this could be part of an international plot. now that it's over, all signs are pointing to a man acting really on his own and not as part of any jihadist or terrorist organization. joy, he is somebody with a very long police record. australian police sources saying that he was approximately 50 years old, an iranian immigrant, with a very troubled and criminal past. his name man haron monis, but on his website he went by the name of sheikh haron, sheikh in this sense meaning cleric or spiritual leader. haron was apparently out on bail facing charges in australia on at least a dozen sexual assault cases. he was also found guilty back in

2012 for rioting and mailing hate letters, i suppose you would call them, to families of at least eight australian soldiers killed in action in afghanistan. and he was also charged or faced charges in connection with the murder of his ex-wife. he was in court, joy, only three days ago, on friday, where he reportedly failed in what was seemed to be his last legal challenge to lift some of those charges. he apparently turned increasingly angry and frustrated against the police -- or if he was a so-called lone wolf carrying out, you know, a vague order to attack australians. and, perhaps, motivated by extremist groups like isis. but for now, police are calling it a one-off isolated incident. joy, back to you. >> nbc's jim maceda, thanks very

much. now to the white house and nbc senior correspondent jchris jansing. how has the president been monitoring the siege in australia? >> reporter: lisa monaco has been getting regular updates to him. she's been the point person here with australian authorities. no word on whether she's been talking to other allies. as you know, when these things begin, and before it's known who the perpetrator is, how widespread the plot might be, even if it is a plot or lone gunman, certain standard operating procedures go into place. first of which is protecting americans on the ground and the u.s. consulate was evacuated there, although some members were taken to a secure location so they could continue to work. conversations with the australians. what kind of help, what kind of aid might they want from the united states? that was offered by lisa monaco in a phone call overnight. and finally, what are the implications here at home?

of course, now that it's over, there is no heightened security concern, but, again, certain procedures go into play. homeland security procedures, that if there was a concern, that this could be part of something larger, protections would go into place. there are people at homeland security who would be in touch not just with other countries and not just with federal officials but, of course, state and federal officials here. >> chris jansing at the white house, thanks. jim cavanaugh is a former hostage negotiator for the atf and also an msnbc analyst. we are learning more about the status of the potential victims. we're also learning that the gunman apparently is dead, jim. in a situation like this, is the threat assessment being made whether or not this person is acting alone? that's more important, i would assume, than trying to figure out what his ideology is. >> exactly. just building on what chris said, the intelligence community and law enforcement across the world is looking at all those issues. is he connected, did he have any

contacts in the jihadi world of syria or lebanon, pakistan, but it doesn't seem to be that right now. all terrorists are criminals and many criminals become terrorists. can you look at zarqawi, the leader of al qaeda in iraq, who was really a criminal all his life and then he gravitated into the terrorist world. motives can be mixed. it's not just, you're only a terrorist or only a criminal. the motives flow in and out of a human complicated range. most can be mixed. this guy looks like he's a criminal but he's also an extremist, writing letters to the families of australian military. so, he's motivated by political issues. so, by definition, he is a terrorist. and he is, from what we know, joy, in the reporting is he's acting alone so far. >> so, let's talk now about that raid to end this siege, this many hours long standoff.

when you look back, and we've watched several times the video of police storming into that building and ending this hostage situation. just looking at it from a tactical point of view, was that the right way to go? >> you know, i think absolutely the right decision. i think the dynamics changed inside. we don't know the reason they changed. could the hostage taker have heard police movement somewhere and started to change something? could he have on his own started to separate the hostages, maybe planning to kill some? could some have tried to escape or overpower him? at some point the dynamics inside changed and those five or six ran out and then the on-scene commander had to make a decision. he made a decision to launch the emergency assault plan. he sent the team in. you hear flash bangs, deployed, multiflash bangs are dispersed and then gunfire. we know they engaged the gunman

because he's dead and one or more australian police officers was hit. we knew they exchanged gunfire. they did their flash bangs. they did the best they can do. nobody can do better than what they do right there. that's the best that can be done. >> jim, we saw over the course of this standoff that there are people running out, people actually running out of building. when people are in a situation like this, the old fashioned advice was to comply. is the new advice to try to free yourself, to try to run? >> whenever you can escape, you have a very large individual decision to make. it's not to say you should always run because you could get shot in the back. but you have an individual decision to make. can i get out? flight, can i flee? you know, should i fight? it's hard to tell people you should always do something because it's never always right. so, you have to assess the situation, always keep your wits about you. if there's a chance to get away,

you might to want take it. you want to be careful, too, because you could be shot in the back. authorities are there, they're watching, listening and they'll be ready to move at the first opportunity they get. >> jim cavanaugh, thanks very much. >> thanks, joy. >> we're also following breaking developments in this hour outside philadelphia where at least five people have been killed in a shooting spree and the suspected killer is still at large. police discovered the victims all shot at close range in three separate locations this morning. s.w.a.t. teams have now surrounded a home where the suspect, described has a military veteran, has barricaded himself. some homes in the area have been evacuated and residents are being told to stay inside. and our coverage out of sydney continues as we'll look at lone wolf attacks. how do counterterrorism officials respond to similar situations here at home? what does today's standoff mean in the fight against the coalition of isis?

kinda: we're new to the pacific northwest. the rain, the mud-babam!

it's there. the outside comes in. (doorbell) it's a swiffer wetjet! oh, i love this! i could do this everyday. ewww. sunshine is overrated, now we can get messy. ring ring!... progresso! it's ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. it's our slow simmered vegetables and tender white meat chicken. apology accepted. i'm watching you soup people. make it progresso or make it yourself health can change in a minute. so cvs health is changing healthcare. making it more accessible and affordable, with over 900 locations for walk-in medical care. and more on the way. minuteclinic. another innovation from cvs health. because health is everything.

he is an iran yan cleric bit name of man haron monis. he's currently for a string of violent offenses, including being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. >> that's live coverage from the life and death standoff that played out in the financial district of australia's largest city today. while the siege in sydney is over, the suspected actions of the man who calls himself sheikh haron have refocused the spotlight on lone attacks, a constant threat around the world, including here in our own backyard. michael kay is a former senior british senior and laith

alkhouri is a senior analyst at flashpoint global partners. we're hearing more about this person who calls himself a sheikh, man haron monis. i want to talk about this convergence who someone who might be motivated to criminal behavior or someone who has greater motivations and tie themselves to jihadism. >> sure. there's been a number of cases where lone wolf or potential lone wolf attacks. some of them have failed. they were carried out by, you know, former felons. people who broke the law over and over again. i'm not labeling this as specifically a lone wolf operation, but having a criminal record does not really surprise me. he seems to have been prone to violence, prone to cheating, prone to lying, so on, so forth. >> you know, michael, there's a piece today that talks about the fact that western governments are sort of prime to think about

the people who want to participate in jihad, where they fly off to syria, participate, and then come back. what people are not necessarily paying attention to is those who maybe can't afford the ticket but are at home. they say there's a clear connection, not organizational, but inspiration between men such as hassan, the man who shot 13 people dead in ft. hood, the brothers in boston, et cetera, there are people who may not be actualized but may still act in these ways. >> look, the american defense budget announced last week that it was spending $585 billion on defense. $67.5 billion on military operations abroad. what i would really like to see is the answer to this problem is not bullets, mortars, bombs and rockets. the answer is understanding the ideology on what turns people.

did someone is a lone wolf, part of a terror network, very sophisticated of al qaeda or appear rative, it doesn't matter. the end result is the same. what this guy has done is manage to tie up news cable channels for 24 hours, which is the biggest propaganda took isis could ask for. and he didn't actually kill a hostage himself. >> there did seem to be a very strategic selection of a place downtown, in sydney, in the financial district, in sort of a square where there are lots and lots of cameras, where he'll get lots and lots of attention. even if this person might not have been motivated by sort of a greater jihadi message, would his attack then be usable by these groups regardless -- >> whether his attack was successful or failed, it will be used by whether jihadists or official propaganda of terrorist groups. but i think the point here

choosing that specific location, is intended to influence public opinion. specifically australia's engagement. this goes on to, you know, studying the tweets he put out to his official twitter account, indicating he's in favor of the islamic state, acknowledges the leader of the islamic state as cleric, oman, and accuses australian authorities of torture in prisons. so, he seemed to have a few political grievances that probably he failed to express early on and this is probably his only way of expressing them after details of doing that before. >> in that case, michael, we're talking about a 50-year-old man who moved to australia several years ago. let's talk about in the bigger picture because what you all see in some of these cases are people who are first, maybe second generation, whether in britain, whether in australia,

programs even the united states, whose ideology might be attached to the country they live in and its involvement in fighting isis. sort of that kind of motivation. so, is there any way that western governments can root that kind of a person out, to locate them before they act? >> i think so. what you're talking about is -- there's a spectrum here. you're talking about how someone becomes disenfranchised in the u.s., in the uk n europe. what is it about a muslim within the city, in the eastern london subur suburbs, that makes them unhappy? what's been preached by the imams in the mosques? the uk has a strategy that goes in, trying to prevent that. coming back to this guy, he's from iran. an iran yeian shia. what i think is a little unusual about this is you've got someone from iran, which is historically tied to the shia sect which has the proxy force hezbollah, which has been fighting in syria

against jihad and militants yet someone from aus eye ran has come to australia and is a sympathizers so kind of a minority from iran. that's what i find fascinating. the only group i'm aware of that operates in iran is jindulah. so this is what i find intriguing. >> you have iran being very vocal gent isis, anti-isis. this makes it almost impossible. >> you know, he did indicate on his twitter account that he is not a shiite. that he likely has converted. so, he's a sunni in his own eyes and in the eyes of those he supported. he did condemn syrian regime. so, in a way he did express that he does stand against the syrian

regime and that he is pretty much a sunni muslim, pro-suna grievances. in that aspect, i would differentiate him from the sunni groups that are operating in iran. in this sense, it appears he has been just radicalized by the foreign policy in the middle east. >> australia is very much obviously involved in the west. michael kay, welcome to the program. hope to have you back soon. laith alkhouri, one of our perennial favorites. looking at how the hostage situation in australia played out on social media. jooishgsz ...the getaway vehicle!

for all the confidence you need. td ameritrade. you got this. wow! [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbell's chunky soup. it's new chunky beer-n-cheese with beef and bacon soup. i love it. and mama loves you. ♪ and i quit smoking with chantix. people who know me, they say 'i never thought you would quit.' but chantix helped me do it. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it gave me the power to overcome the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some people had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. don' take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it.

if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i'm a non-smoker, that feels amazing. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. which means it's timeson for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. if you're wishing for a new volkswagen this season... just about all you need is a finely tuned... pen. get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on select new volkswagen models. because it helps me skip the bad stuff.

i'm good. that's what i like to call, the meta effect. 4-in-1 multi-health metamucil now clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. experience the meta effect with our new multi-health wellness line. . social media is still focused on news of the sydney siege, that's the hashtag you're using the most to discuss the 17-hour standoff between man haron monis and police in

australia. you're still sharing pics and video of the standoff and discussing how the suspect used social media for his demands. you're recounting the lowest lows by sydney getting slapped by a surge in pricing by uber. after tweeting your outrage, uber sydney backtracked, making all of the rides out of the central business district free. goth gotta love it. while some were evacuating, some bystanders took selfies and you were disgusted. sending tweets like this, been whining a lot recently about the vanity of selfies but the hostage situation selfie is really the world gone mad. no respect. you have respect for the creator of #iwillride with you. sir tessa tweeted, if you regularly take the 373 bus and where religious attire and don't

feel safe alone, i'll ride with you. app me for a schedule. soon thousands joined the hsh tag, offering to ride on public transportation with muslims who might worry the sydney siege would lead to attacks on them. many of you saluted thesis sentiments saying it's so beautiful. nice to see light and kindness in between all this horror. in the aftermath, mosques, synagogues and churches across australia are inviting people to pray for peace. you're already doing so on social media and sending tweets like this. praying for comfort and strength for the victims and all those involved. including the police and aides. god bless. ♪ earlyfit ♪ latefit ♪ risefit ♪ fallfit ♪ ballfit ♪ wallfit ♪ pingfit ♪ pongfit ♪ pingfit ♪ pongfit ♪ rowfit ♪ throwfit ♪ slowfit ♪ olliefit ♪ oopsfit ♪ otisfit ♪ thiswayfit ♪ thatwayfit ♪ daddyfit ♪ pappyfit ♪ datefit ♪ weightfit ♪ goalfit ♪ gooooooalfit ♪ stepfit ♪ stairfit ♪ smartfit ♪ heartfit ♪ spinfit ♪ bikefit ♪ hikefit

♪ yikesfit ♪ wheeeeefit ♪ wowfit ♪ whoafit ♪ findyourfit ♪ it's all fitbit

thanks. ♪ [ male announcer ] fedex® has solutions to enable global commerce that can help your company grow steadily and quickly. great job. (mandarin) ♪ cut it out. >>see you tomorrow. ♪ our thoughts and prayers this morning are with the innocent victims of this horrendous, vicious incident. i want to say to their family

and friends, stands with them. they stand beside me today. i will stand beside you tomorrow. i will stand beside you forever. >> that was new south wales premier mike baird moments ago with details about the deadly standoff in sydney. here's what we know right now. all 17 hostages that were being held inside sydney's downtown lin lindt cafe have been accounted for, two are dead and the others are uninjured. the lone gunman identified as iranian man haron monis was shot and killed in the raid. the man who called himself a cleric was well known to police. police say they stormed the premises after a number of gunshots were heard inside the building. one officer suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. police did not find any explosive devices.

let's turn to politics and elizabeth warren was asked again today if she's running for president. the massachusetts democrat told npr, quote, i am not. the question comes, as it often does, as warren bucked her party in the cromnibus bill. while she lost that battle over the weekend, warren's aggressive stance has energized the progressive wing of the democratic party. so much so that the question about her may be less whether she runs and more about how far she can steer policy and-n a party still reeling from midterm losses. perry bacon is msnbc senior political reporter. you wrote an interesting piece about elizabeth warren. you said some have compared warren to texas republican ted cruz, another freshman senator, who also implored his party that not all compromises are of the right party. warren is unlikely to lead a government shutdown over the weakening of dodd/frank to block

the implementation of obamacare. unlike cruz, warren pro ren pro won't run in 2016. the person that delayed the vote on the floor was none other than ted cruz. why did warren not go to the point of filibustering the bill? >> she talked about that in an interview with npr today. first she said, a not running for president. we should be clear, she's not running for president. she's been open about that. the second thing is she talked about the fact that she was concerned about this part of the bill that weakened dodd/frank but she was not going to shut down the government over it. they shout it was important to make the cause, to criticize it, to criticize the white house for signing a bill that includes it but she didn't to want go to the next layer. in her view, the goal is to elevate the issue and make sure people are concerned about it. not necessarily to weaken the democratic party and a shutdown would have been problematic. >> it's interesting you did mention all the people she criticized. that does include the white house. i want to play a bite of senator

warren on friday night and this is an interesting bite. take a listen. >> enough is enough. enough is enough with wall street insiders getting key position after key position and the kind of cronyism that we have seen in the executive branch. enough is enough. with citigroup passing 11th hour regulatory provisions that nobody takes ownership over but everybody will come to regret. enough is enough. >> perry, the two people that got called out by name there were citigroup that wrote that bill, at least 85% of it, and the executive branch, cronyism. is this elizabeth warren staking out a position in which not just wall street is on the other side, but so is president obama? >> it is. she never directly criticizes president obama or hillary clinton, using their names in the way -- using their names. she all the time talks about how

the executive branch is full of employees who worked on wall street and who support wall street. who runs the executive branch? of course, president obama does. the other fight she's in, there's a guy nominated by the president to be the number three person in the treasury department, antonio wise, work at a firm called lazar and she's trying to stop him from being confirmed. the white house is actually fighting with her pretty hard on this. it goes to the fact that warren is looking to move the party to the left and even take on obama if needed to do that. >> really quickly, i want to put up quickly the lift of democrats who lost in this last election. blue dogs all, begich, udall, kay hagan, landrieu. does elizabeth warren end up being more influential in a smaller, more liberal democratic caucus in the senate? >> absolutely. they're not going to look to

push too much to the center. the democrats left are more liberal and looking for warren's advice more. we saw on the wise nomination i was talking about, dick durban, one of president obama's nominees is on warren's side of this fight and not obama's. >> fascinate. we'll come back to you often. perry bacon, nbc, thank you. three things to know on this monday. the families of nine victims and a tenth person who was wounded in the sandy hook school massacre filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the companies that manufacture, distribute and sell the gun used in the shooting. in a complaint filed today, the families argue the bushmaster ar-15 rifle used by adam lanza to kill 20 children and 6 staffers is a military assault weapon that never should have been on the general market. more fallout for bill cosby. sellman college in atlanta has indefinitely suspended the prestigious professorship funded by and named after bill cosby.

the position was created in 1988 when cosby and his wife, camille, made a $20 million donation to the historically black women's college. cosby has denied the allegations and has never been charged. and the cleveland browns are standing behind wide receiver andrew hawkins who wore a t-shirt on sunday supporting tamir rice and john crawford iii, boast recently killed in encounters with ohio law enforcement as they held toy guns. the browns said they respect the police and their players' right to protest. but the president of cleveland's police union calls hawkins' behavior disrespectful and he's demanding an apology.

take a deeeeep breath in... and... exhale... aflac! and a gentle wavelike motion... ahhh-ahhhhhh. liberate your spine... ahhh-ahhhhhh...aflac! and reach, toes blossoming... not that great at yoga. yeah, but when i slipped a disk he paid my claim in just four days. ahh! four days? yep. see why speed matters, at aflac.com.

if yand you're talking toevere rheumyour rheumatologiste me, about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira giving me new perspective. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores.

don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work (vo)rescued.ed. protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. a reid alert out of california. dozens of protesters locked hands and surrounded the police headquarters today.

on saturday police arrested at least 45 people at a protest that attracteded hundreds in oakland. and now to the federal investigation of the death of a black north carolina teen. the fbi announced it will investigate the case of lennon lacey to determine whether the 17-year-old's death was a suicide or actually the result of a lynching. lacey was found hanging from a swingset in a trailer park on august 29th. the state medical examiner ruled lacy's death a suicide but his family and friends question the ruling and pushing for the investigation. the county coroner now says he questions whether it was a suicide because of all the unanswered questions in the case. ed pilkington is the chief reporter for "the guardian." what does the family of this young man say they believe happened? >> they're quite honest about it in that they don't know what happened. that's the story here.

we don't know what happened to lennon lacy on the morning of august 29th but they're not happy with the way the police conducted the investigation. within a matter of hours police say he committed suicide. his mother, claudia, saw the police wrap up the crime scene tape as she was being taken to see the body of her son. even before she identified his body, they were kind of shipping out. so, they don't know what has happened. they're quite honest about that. but they suspect the worst. they want a thorough investigation to find out exactly what happened to lennon. >> you spoke at length with the family for your piece in "the guardian." what did they tell you about the town they live in, the racial climate? >> it's a tiny town, about 1700 people. primarily white. over the road from their house lived -- she's now in hiding, apparently daisht white woman that lennon lacy was apparently going out with and apparently

that caused quite a bit of tension in the area. was there a racial motive behind what happened to him? and i think it is -- it's fair to say. i visited the house just next door where only recently there had been signs up saying black people should leave the area. the police had been forced to take those signs down. so, definitely signs of racial tension in the area. and they also say that lennon lacy was not the kind of son, not the kind of brother, not the kind of guy who would kill himself. >> i want to read a little bit from -- from your piece and this is claudia lacy, the mother of lennon. the police didn't once come to my house. they didn't look inside lennon's room. they still haven't to this day. they didn't ask to see his cell phone so they could track his calls. they didn't ask me what clothes he was wearing the night before he died. they didn't even inquire about the fact that lennon was found with a pair of white sneak others his feet that he didn't own and that were too sizes too small for him. there were things locally that also made me anxious.

lennon was in the relationship with a white woman over the road, as you just discussed. did you talk to any of the police officials about what does seem to be a very cursory investigation? >> well, it's a tiny town with a tiny police force, about three officers. they're not really speaking. as i say, within a matter of five hours, they kind of reached their conclusion. it seems what happened is one police officer, the chief police officer, told the local medical examiner it was suicide. the local medical examiner told the chief medical examiner it was a suicide and, hence, the chief medical examiner came out with pretty much a suicide verdict from the autopsy. but since then, the family have presented more than 20 reasons why they're concerned the investigation has not been fully done. anything ranging from the fact that the belts lennon used -- that lennon was strung up with weren't his. no one knows where they came from. the shoes were not his. they were two sizes too small for him.

the swingset is not how he could have strung himself up. there are so many different reasons why a suicide verdict is unsatisfactory at this stage. >> and yet this is john david, the district attorney, who gave a news conference on friday about his views on the initial police investigation. let's listen to john david, the da. >> i will tell you in my humble opinion the response that occurred in this case and the investigation which has followed has been nothing short of professional and i'm proud to be a part of this effort. >> nothing short of professional. that is a view of the local da. where does this case stand in the case of the federal official? >> the federal agencies have been saying nothing but we do know certain things. we know that the family backed up by the naacp went to see the u.s. attorney and asked for federal involvement in this case. it took about two weeks. they also presented, as i said, more than 20 reasons why they thought there were difficulties here. and after about two weeks, the

federal agencies decided they would put an fbi agent onto the case. since friday, we know an agent's been involved. we don't know what they're doing. we don't know what they're going to be doing but we know it's official that the federal government will be involved in investigating what happened to lennon lacy. the family is delighted. they say it was a major step forward. as for the comment by the local authorities that they did a professional job, the family certainly don't think so. have i to say, having been down there and having spent quite a bit of time on this story, it doesn't look very professional to me. >> indeed. we hope you'll come back as you continue to look at this story. thank you so much for being here. a reid alert out of new jersey. where president obama is set to speak to troops and their families at joint base mcguire lakehurst.

health can change in a minute. so cvs health is changing healthcare. making it more accessible and affordable, with over 900 locations for walk-in medical care. and more on the way. minuteclinic. another innovation from cvs health. because health is everything. emma, it's simple,

when you are in a place like this, the best way to capture the moment is to feel it, even if you can't see it. the start of sneeze season.. and the wind-blown watery eyes. that's why puffs plus lotion is gentle on sensitive skin. so you can always put your best face forward. a face in need deserves puffs indeed. and try puffs softpack today. which means it's timeson for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a german-engineered volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta... and the 2015 motor trend car of the year all-new golf. father -- >> president obama has taken the podium. let's listen. >> your incredible senior ncos.

this is one of our nation's premiere joint military bases. everybody's here. we've got army. we've got navy. we've got air force. we've got marines. and we got some coast guard. who was that one coast guard? there you go. that was loud right there. all of you come together as one great american team. and i know that we also have some spouses and families here today. your wives, your husbands, your partners, your sons, your daughters, they serve as well. they make their own sacrifices, especially when you're deployed. our military families are the heroes on the home front. give it up for our remarkable military families.

we've got some outstanding elected officials who support the mission of this facility each and every day. i want to thank governor christie for joining us today. we've got some outstanding members of congress who are here. bob menendez, cory booker, congressman jon runyan, congressman donald norcross and incoming congressman tom mcarthur. and they were already lobbying about the base on the way in, so they're doing a good job. it is great to be back. i was here last year and visited with some of on you my way to the jersey shore. christie and i went down to the park and spent some time on the boardwalk, christie's kids

taught me how to hit the hammer to get the frogs into the bucket. it was hard. and then christie beat me at football toss, which really aggravated me. and he bragged about it afterwards, which is okay. butly get a rematch at some point. but we went in there just on have fun. we came because after hurricane sandy, people across this state, including those of you here at this base, you had to pick yourselves up, rebuild, show that here in new jersey, here in america, we are stronger than any storm. like a friend of mine from new jersey likes to say, wherever this flag is flown, we take care of our own. that's what we do here in new jersey. that's what we do all across america. and this facility exemplifies that spirit. for nearly a century our flag has flown right here. millions of americans pass

through the old ft. dix. this is where they shipped out. this is where they were welcomed home. one of them was don drysdale, hall of fame dodgers pitcher, and he had the same thought as a lot of new recruits at basic training. what the hell am i doing here? another recruit remembered, i cleaned a lot of latrines with toothbrushes. among those who were demobilized here was a soldier from tennessee, serial number 53310761. a guy named sergeant elvis presl presley. he was all shook up. his homecoming was a little different, though. apparently the king drove off in a limo. now, if it were up to me, i would give all you all limos when you come home. because part of the message i'm

here to deliver on behalf of the american people is very simple. it's just to say thank you. thank you for your extraordinary service. i thank you as your president because you inspire me and of all the privileges i have, in serving in this office, nothing comes close to the honor of serving as your commander in chief. and i also thank you on behalf of more than 300 million americans. we americans may disagree and debate and argue sometimes. that is part of our democracy. it is messy sometimes. sometimes it results in gridlock in washington. but whether liberal, conservative, democrat or republican, white, black, brown, rich, poor, no matter how we pray, when it comes to our troops, when it comes to you and your families as americans, we stand united. we are proud of you.

we support you. we can never thank you enough. and that's especially true now during the holidays. we can gather with family and friends because you're willing to hug yours good-bye and step forward to serve. after a long day we can come home because you're willing to leave your home and deploy. we get to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and holidays, go to soccer games, go to dance recitals because you're willing to miss those in your family. we're free and safe and secure over here because you're willing to serve over there. that's the noble spirit of your sacrifice. that's the selfless character of our military.

those are the precious gifts you give america, not just for this time of year, but all year. every year up. never stop serving. you never stop giving. you guys are like santa in fatiguings. although i'll bet one of those c-130s is a little more efficient than santa's sleigh. i figured i'd get something out of our guys on that. i also wanted to be here because after more than a decade of war, our nation is marking an important milestone. ever since our country was attacked, that awful september morning, 9/11, our nation's been at war in afghanistan. many people here have deployed there or to iraq. and you've deployed multiple times in some cases.

this are people here who have lost really good friends. patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice, including 54 fallen heroes from this base, who we will honor forever. for more than a year, afghan forces have been in the lead to secure their country. and that means more of our troops have been coming home, including right here to this joint base. so let me just say to all of you who have returned from afghanistan in recent weeks, on behalf of the grateful nation, i want to say, welcome home. welcome home for the holidays. and we're glad to have you back. this month, the transition that we're making in afghanistan will be complete. afghans will take full responsibility for their security. this month after more than 13 years, our combat mission in afghanistan will be over.

this month america's war in afghanistan will come to a responsible end. now, that doesn't mean everything's great in afghanistan. afghanistan's still a very dangerous place. but i want you and every american who has served in afghanistan to be proud of what you've accomplished there. because your generation, the 9/11 generation, has met every mission that's been given to you. you helped decimate the core al qaeda leadership and deliver justice to osama bin laden. he will not be attacking here anymore. you helped prevent terrorist attacks against this country. you helped push back the taliban. you helped train afghan forces to take the lead. you are helped make possible an historic election this year and the first democratic transfer of power in afghanistan's history.

and despite all their challenges, afghans are now looking to the future. that's all because of you. that makes us safer and it gives them a chance for a better future. even as our combat mission ends, our commitment to afghan endures. we'll continue to have a limited military presence there because weave got to keep training and equipping afghan forces and we've good to conduct counterterrorism missions because there's still remnants of al qaeda there. after all the sacrifices you made, we want to preserve the gam gains you've made. we want a stable and secure afghanistan. breaking news in "the cycle." president obama addressing troops in new jersey. not mentioning the 16-hour hostage situation that happened in australia. we do know the president is being briefed throughout the day. i'm toure. two hostages there in sydney are dead, nine hurt, the rest are

safe. the lone wolf gunman is dead. >> i, too, would like to commend the work of our police. while everyone might secondguess as to what has occurred in the last hours, well, they're the ones who had to make the decision. our police had to actually deal with this incident. it was tough, exacting work. many hours whether on point or whether part of a team that had to make that entry and deal with the situation. i want to point out, they have saved lives. >> all this played out in a coffee shop in the heart of sydney, australia's financial district. the police did know the man they were dealing with. a self-proclaimed cleric from iran with a long rap sheet. this year australia passed anti-terror laws. they've been carrying out terror raids ever since. the country has been tracking 200 people who have traveled to syria and iraq, many of whom have since returned to australia. so far, no concrete evidence this attack was designed by isis. but isis has proclaimed if wants chaos, no matter the cost. the big concern no