i'm fredricka whitfield. very likely el chapo will be extradited to the u.s. that's according to a senior mexican law enforcement source, who also tells cnn the extradition will not likely happen right away. joaquin gusz man back behind bars, same prison in mexico city he broke out of last july. he was transported there under very heavy security, after his dramatic capture on friday. nick valencia at the federal prison where el chapo is back in custody. they're not saying where in the prison he's being held for obvious reasons, they can't reveal too much about him, but nick, back with us over the phone. what are you learning about how significant his recapture is? >> sure. according to law enforcement source here in mexico, we're told that el chapo is back in the same prison that he escaped from last summer in july. and we're told from the official that are not taking any chances. they can't suffer the embarrassment again. it was just such a stain of a legacy of the president, after he was captured, only to allow him to escape. el chapo back in the same prison

i'm fredricka whitfield. vacation over. president obama arriving back in washington. he'll begin his 2016 agenda tackling quote, unfinished business of his presidency, the epidemic of gun violence. monday he plans to meet with loretta lynch to discuss options and expanding background checks for gun sales. sources tell cnn he's preparing a new executive action on the issue. thursday, the president will join cnn's anderson cooper for an exclusive live town hall on guns in america. cnn

i'm fredricka whitfield. "newsroom" starts right now. >>> we begin with is this breaking news. relatives have identified the gunman who killed two people near a pub in tel-aviv friday. an uncle of the suspect tells cnn that the person in this surveillance video is his nephew. relatives say he is a 29-year-old abe rab israeli man. he fired more than 15 frounds an automatic weapon killing two and injuring seven. the manhunt is still underway. we should note that cnn is observing a gag order requested by israeli police. we are not naming the suspect or his family members. >> ian, what more are you learning about this manhunt? >> fredricka, police units from all over are joining in this including the shimbet, the israeli version of the fbi. they have called this unique, complex and radical, this shooting, also, recently releasing a statement saying that the police wanted to expose all aspects of the event including the possibility of a victim in an additional area, the motive, and other elements including the que

i'm fredricka whitfield. the east coast is dealing with the aftermath of that record-breaking snowfall from tennessee to new york for people trying to fly out, a travel nightmare at major airports throughout the northeast. new york and d.c. area airports are at an absolute standstill. many runways still closed as you see there. earlier images, dulles international airport trying to clear out the tarmac there. some airlines are already canceling flights for tomorrow. and in both washington and new york, dangerous icy roads are beginning to reopen, though driving is being highly discouraged in many cities hardest hit. in new york, utility workers and snowplows are attempting to clear the roads for monday's commute. the death toll from this storm has risen to 14. and in new jersey, massive snow melt is putting parts of the coast under flood warnings. this overnighttime lapse video from a viewer in maryland showing the rapid snow accumulation right there. baltimore, in fact, broke its snowfall record after gettin

i'm fredricka whitfield. president barack obama arriving back in washington a few hours ago. he will begin his 2016 agenda by tackling the, quote, unfinished business of his presidency. the epidemic of gun violence. sources tell cnn that he is preparing a new executive action on the issue. this thursday the president will join cnn's anderson cooper for an exclusive live town hall on guns in america. cnn investigations correspondent chris frates is joining us now. chris, the timing of this town hall should be noted and we also are talking about the president meeting tomorrow with the attorney general. >> reporter: exactly right, fred. the president is kicking off the new year with an aggressive push for tighter gun control. sources say expanding background checks will be a keystone of the president's actions. >> a few months ago i directed my team at the white house to look into any new actions i can take to help reduce gun violence. and on monday i'll meet with our attorney general, loretta lynch, to discuss

i'm fredricka whitfield. poppy is back next week.e a great week. ♪ [ bells tolling ] [ gunfire ] >>> bodies lying on the floor. >> paris, november 13th. >> horrified screams coming from inside t

. >> i'm fredricka whitfield. bewe begin with the stunning new details in the cam chur of the world's most wanted man, el chapo guzman, and a secret meeting with a hollywood celebrity that may have led to the drug lord's arrest. after years of planning, actor sean penn secured a confidential meeting with the drug kingpin at an undisclosed location in mexico to write a feature-length article for rolli"rolling stone magazi magazine. the meeting between these two men happened last october. "rolling stone" also obtained a two-minute video believed to be guzman's first recorded interview in decades. >> penn's meeting was made possible by a mutual connection, this woman, mexican actress kate dell castillo. now mexican authorities want to question both actors. it is unclear if there will be any legal fallout with their meeting with a known fugitive. in penn's piece for "rolling stone," he write, "i take no pride in secrets that may be perceived as protecting criminals. as an american citizen, i'm drawn to explore what ma

i'm fredricka whitfield. the east coast is dealing with record breaking snowfall from tennessee to new york. the people trying to fly out, it's a travel nightmare. and airlines are already canceling flights for tomorrow. in washington some areas reported 28.3 inches of snow in the last 48 hours. and airports are at an absolute standstill there. still many of the runways closed. the mayor of d.c. will be holding a briefing in the next hour and some folks are out making the most of it all as best they can in the nation's capital. you see right there that's dupont circle, kind of a tradition whenever there's a big snowfall, a big public kind of snowball fight, friendly, though. d.c. public schools a much more serious matter for monday, will be closed. the nation's capitol, government offices including congress will not be convening tomorrow. and we're still awaiting word on whether federal workers as a whole will be able to go to work. the metro rail system will open at 7:00 a.m. with limited underground service

thanks for joining me, i am fredricka whitfield. this hour, the candidates are fanned out across iowa in a last minute push to get voters to caucuses. many people are rallying, bernie sanders among them. that rally about to get under way in iowa at any moment now. hillary clinton also hosting an event this hour with former congresswoman gabby giffords and mark kelly. clinton got an endorsement from "the new york times" editorial board as did republican john kasich. you saw the podium for one of the live events about to get under way at any moment. we have complete team coverage. cnn john berman is in des moines, senior correspondent for self zell i can, and jim acosta covering donald trump. let's begin with john berman. candidates are in the 11th hour. they need to make themselves more appealing than ever. >> that or make the other guy less appealing than ever, which seems to be one of the big stories in the race now. we're going to go to ames, iowa, for dana bash with ted cruz. ted cruz made a strategic shift in the campaign in the

i'm fredricka whitfield. you're in the "newsroom." the east coast is digging out of record-breaking snowfall from tennessee to new york and many major airports are bracing for a travel nightmare in its aftermath. airlines in new jersey and new york are already cancelling some monday flights, and d.c.-area airports are at a standstill. runways still buried and operations are shut down. it will be a series of messy days to follow. backups and delays after widespread cancellations left thousands of passengers stranded throughout the region. dangerous icy roads are beginning to reopen. in some places driving is being highly discouraged in the cities hardest hit. the death toll from this storm rose to 14 overnight. and massive snow melt is putting parts of coastal new jersey under flood warnings now. one resident sent us this video of waist-deep water overtaking his business. the cleanup is just beginning. and this overnighttime lapse video from a viewer in maryland showing the rapid snow accumulation there. balti

i'm fredricka whitfield. 2016, many celebrations including the big one in new york city. [ cheers ] more than a million people packing into times square to celebrate. security was tight. more than 6,000 nypd officers on hand after new york, los angeles and washington were targeted by a terror threat. intense security also greeting the thousands who jammed into central london for a spectacular fireworks display there. >>> and federal agents spoiling an alleged new year's eve terror plot in upstate new york. the suspect, 25 yard emanuel ledgeman now in custody. authorities say he planned to target revelers at a rochester bar and restaurant in the name of isis. officials say he wanted to sneak a bomb into the restaurant then kidnap and kill some of the customers. following the arrest, the city cancelled the new year's fireworks show. >>> an intense and frightening new year's eve in dubai. a spectacular fire at a luxury high-rise hotel keeping firefighters busy deep into the night while just three blocks away rev

hello, i'm fredricka whitfield. we continue our coverage of this blizzard that is sweeping throughout the mid-atlantic and northeast. at any moment now we are expecting an update from the mayors of both new york city and baltimore along with the new jersey governor, chris christie, as a powerful blizzard clobbers the northeast right now. already the impact is quite substantial. at least eight deaths blamed on this storm. eleven states overall now under a state of emergency. 160,000 homes are currently without power. and dire conditions on many roads. these are new pictures from a five mile stretch right there of the pennsylvania turnpike where drivers have been stranded now for hours. and further south in kentucky parts of interstate 75 are iced over creating a backup of 35 miles. some drivers were forced to spend the night in their own cars and their trucks without food, without water. it is gridlock. let's get more on some of the worst hard-hit areas. cnn meteorologist allyson chinchar joining me in the cnn weathe

i'm fredricka whitfield at the cnn center in today for poppy harlow. breaking news right now out of saudi arabia. the kingdom severing all ties with iran after this week's attack on its embassy in tehran. a source familiar with the situation calling it a last resort for the saudis. it all stems from the execution of 47 prisoners, but more specifically, a prominent shia muslim cleric. cnn's senior international correspondent, frederik pleitgen, has the latest. >> reporter: yeah, fredri

i'm fredricka whitfield. breaking news, iran has freed an additional prisoner. soon fly home to be reyunited with families here in the united states. several reacting to the prisoner swap. some republicans wasting no time to slam the democratic administration. >> now i have to see what the deal is for the four people. because somebody said we're getting -- they're getting seven people back. so essentially, they get 150 billion plus seven, and we get four. it doesn't sound too good. but we have to see, because this, i just heard about this an hour ago. but, i'm happy they' are coming back, but it's a disgrace they've been there so long. a total disgrace. >> we've just gotten the news that pastor saeed abedini and three other americanss are coming home from iran. i simply say praise god. we don't know the details of the deal that is bringing them home and that it may be some very problematic aspects to this deal. but at least this morning, i am giving thanks that pastor saeed is coming home. far later than it should have been, but we'll be glad to welcome home. >>

i'm fredricka whitfield. it's crunch time in iowa, two days until the very first caucuses the election, and the very first time actual ballots will be cast in this truly unprecedented presidential ways. the candidates are crisscross g i the state today. front-runner donald trump has three events today while hess closest rival ted cruz continues his bus tour. you see them dotting the map there. hillary clinton is holding three events ending the day at a rally with her husband and daughter, and bernie sanders has five appearances, including a concert with some well-san antonio rock bands there in iowa. we will bring you many of these events as it happens live this afternoon. my colleague john berman is already there in des moines. he is getting ready just two days away. everyone is kind of -- you know, they have their hands together, because it's cold and they can't wait for this day to happen. >> reporter: i have to say fredricka, you can feel the energy and the urgency here. these candidates, they have almost

i'm fredricka whitfield. "newsroom" starts right now. >>> we begin with is this breaking news.elatives have identified the gunman who killed two people near a pub in tel-aviv friday. an uncle of the suspect tells cnn that the person in this surveillance video is his nephew. relatives say he is a 29-year-old abe rab israeli man. he fired more than 15 frounds an automatic weapon killing two and injuring seven. the manhunt is still underway. we should note that cnn is observing a gag order requested by israeli police. we are not naming the suspect or his family members. >> ian, what more are you learning about this manhunt? >> fredricka, police units from all over are joining in this including the

i'm fredricka whitfield. vacation over. president obama arriving back in washington. he'll begin his 2016 agenda tackling quote, unfinished business of his presidency, the epidemic of gun violence. monday he plans to meet with loretta lynch to discuss options and expanding background checks for gun sales. sources tell cnn he's preparing a new executive action on the issue. thursday, the president will join cnn's anderson cooper for an exclusive live town hall on guns in america. cnn investigations correspondent chris frates joins us now. the timing of the town hall should be noted, quite significant. >> the president is kinging off the new year with an impressive push for gun control. sources say expanding background checks will be a keystone of the president's actions. >> a few months ago i directed my team at white house to look at any new actions i could take to help reduce gun violence. monday i'll meet with our attorney general loretta lynch to discuss our options, because i get too many lernts from parents and teachers and kids to sit around and do nothing. >> r

i am fredricka whitfield.gan isn't the only community having serious concerns about the safety of their drinking water. people in a new york town are worried their water could be causing an aggressive form of cancer. joining me now with more on the developing story, cnn christina alesh ee with more on this frightening situation. >> reporter: yeah, the residents are on edge. they're worried about the safety of their water supply. here's what we know so far. a local resident raised questions about the water supply back in august, 2014. by november, the village had three wells tested, one of them exceeded epa health advisory levels for a specific industrial chemical known as pfoa. this is used in fire fighting foams, cleaning products. as a result, officials shut down that one well, started to test others throughout the year. around the same time, authorities also questioned a local company that manufacturers industrial films and tapes. the company hasn't said whether it is responsible for contamination, but they

i'm fredricka whitfield. while some residents are beginning to clean up from that catastrophic flooding in illinois and missouri, others are bracing for the worst. in southern illinois, officials are anxiously monitoring a second levee after one levee was already overtopped. overtopped levees can lead to erosion, or worse, breaches. this hour, missouri governor jay nixon is touring the flood-damaged areas. cities like eureka and cape girardeau were completely evacuated. this as residents are returning to their homes today, to survey the damage and begin the cleanup. cnn's dan simon is life for us now in eureka. dan, i know you spoke with a father earlier who was, you know, pretty upset. what else are you finding in residents there who are trying to salvage what they can. >> reporter: well, hi, fredricka. it's just a real mess out here. and we're trying to get folks sort of the lay of the land and how things look. we're in the backyard of one home. and you can see where the water crept up. it actually came ove

i'm fredricka whitfield. ramstein air base in germany where very soon three of the american prisoners released from iran will arrive in u.s. custody. this is likely the plane right there that carried them from tehran iran. they stopped off in geneva switzerland earlier today and this morning president obama from the white house applauding their safe return. he said by holding talks with iran on the nuclear deal, the u.s. was better able to negotiate their freedom. >> jason rezaian is coming home. the courageous journalist for "the washington post" who wrote about the daily lives and hopes of the iranian people. he's been held for a year and a half. he embodies the brave spirit that gives life to the freedom of the press. jason has already been reunited with his wife and mom. pastor saeed abedini is coming home, held for 3 1/2 years. his unyielding faith has inspired people around the world in the global fight to uphold freedom of religion. now he'll return to his church and community in idaho. amir hekmati is

i'm fredricka whitfield. well, some residents are beginning to clean up from their catastrophic flooding in illinois, missouri. others are bracing for the worst. the southern illinois officials are anxiously monitoring a second levee after one levee has already overtopped. overtopped levees can lead to erosion or worse, breaches. last hour, missouri governor jay nixon is touring the flood-damaged areas. cities like eureka and cape girardeau were completely evacuated. this as residents are returning to their homes today, to survey the damage and begin the cleanup. cnn's dan simon is live for us now in eureka. dan, how are they doing there? >> well, hi, fredricka. dozens of homes in this st. louis suburb have significant damage. and you can see, today it's really all about the aftermath and homeowners have been putting all of the damaged goods and belongings in front of their garages, hoping that it gets picked up. you can see, all along this street, there have been sort of this community response. you can see

i'm fredricka whitfield. we'll have full coverage of the americans release.ty official in baghdad tells cnn that three american contractors went missing in iraq two days ago. few

i am fredricka whitfield. welcome. we are following breaking news out of germany. thousands of demonstrators filling the streets of cologne. police at one point firing tear gas and using water canyons to break up the rally after protesters threw beer bottles at police. protesters are furious over the new year's eve sex assaults that have rocked that country. authorities saying out of the mob of 31 people, identified in the attack, 18 of them are refugees. cnn's correspondent, atika shubert is live in cologne. cedrick alexander here in atlanta. for you, set the scene for us. a lot of people there at dusk now in cologne. explain what is at issue and what is taking place ever since. >> at issue is how germany should react to these massive assaults that police say now appear to have been carried out at least in part or in large part by those coming in from outside of the country, particularly asylum seekers. month are than half of the suspects identified so far were asylum seekers or refugees. so you have competing groups out on the streets today, angry, protesters fro

i am fredricka whitfield. welcome. we are following breaking news out of germany.ators filling the streets of cologne. police at one point firing tear gas and using water canyons to break up the rally after protesters threw beer bottles at police. protesters are furious over the new year's eve sex assaults that have rocked that country. authorities saying out of the mob of 31 people, identified in the attack, 18 of them are refugees. cnn's correspondent, atika shubert is live in

i'm fredricka whitfield. welcome. we'll have more news on the u.s. prisoners freed from iran in a moment. but first, new details now are emerging in the terror attack in the capital of burrkhino faso. a terror group is now claiming responsibility for that deadly siege at a luxury hotel in africa. gunman opened fire at the splendid hotel last night after setting fire to a cafe across the street. at least 23 people were killed. the dead are from 18 different countries. let's go to cnn correspondent, robin krooel, live for us now in nairobi, kenya. robin, what more do we know about these attackers and the motives? >> reporter: well, at the moment, we understand there are four attackers, two of those were female and all of them, we understand, have been killed. as you said, the death toll now at about 23. we're not entirely sure if that is going to go up. but good news for rescuers, 126 people freeded from hotel. and because this was such a large venue takeover, fred, because this was -- there were so many people in this hotel and in this very busy cafe,

. >>> hello, everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield.get back to the blizzard of 2016 and the northeast, but snow is a beautiful backdrop if you're in park city, utah. the sun dance film festival underway, and stephanie elam is there. stephanie. >> reporter: hi, fredricka, yeah, we have a lot less snow it seems like you do on the east coast there. but we're here talking to a lot of different filmmakers, seeing what the experience is like for them. one of the people we spoke to is kevin smith, "yoga hosers," johnny dep's daughter, lily roast, they star as good friends, the big senior party, but some evil lurking near them they have to beat down, one odd yoga pose at a time. this is what kevin had to say about the process. >> the weirdest thing is it's a kid's movie. it's a kid's movie. i'm kind of waiting for a bunch of people, like, after the screening to be like this is for children. be like, yes, it is. i thought that would be weird. this is the movie i wanted to see when i was a 12-year-old girl. so i finally made it as a 45-year-old

i'm fredricka whitfield. much more continues in 30 minutes. i'll see you tomorrow. vital signs with dr. gupta starts right now. >>> hard to believe that 2015 is coming to a close. the holidays are a time for family and friends, and also for a lot of people, a time for stress. this is vital signs. i'm dr. son jay gupta. you know the feeling, your heart starts to pound, you might start to sweat. the fight or flight response is kicking in. it's a safety mechanism for our bodies when we feel threatened or in danger. john thurmond felt that way on september 11th, 2001. he survived the terror attack, but the trauma stayed with him. john found a way to manage his posttraumatic stress disorder. he's helping others do the same. >> i exhale pull forward, inhale, reach your arms, and gaze up to the ceiling. exhale, stand. inhaling, arms up. >> this looks like your typical yoga class. students focusing on their practice. the teacher, providing instruction. >> then release, counter twist to the right. >> but this isn't just any class. john thurmond isn't just any instructor. wel

>>> hello everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield. you're looking at columbus circle in manhattan. travel ban underway. you heard from the governor the last hour. no one is to be on the streets, bridges or even in the tunnels. that gets underway at 2:30, so 30 minutes away from the travel ban taking effect. upwards of 20, maybe even 25 or possibly even 30 inches of snow fall expected in new york. it's a bad situation, only about to get worst. our poppy harlow is in new york, in manhattan. pop poppy, look at those conditions, it's beautiful but dangerous. >> it is. it is absolutely dangerous. you see people out here behind me. they should not be and they should go home soon. that's what the mayor of new york city, bill de blasio is saying. what is turning out to be an epic storm here in new york city. looking it will be worst than what was predicted. estimates 1 to 3 inches an hour, up to 30 inches hitting new york in the next five to eight hours. all of the roads will be closed at 2:30 p.m. eastern time, half an hour. at that time, the george washington bridge, the lincoln tunnel,

i'm fredricka whitfield. poppy is back next week. have a great week. ♪ [ bells tolling ] [ gunfire ] >>> bodies lying on the floor. >> paris, november 13th. >> horrified screams coming from inside the theater. >> each time we meet the face of evil, we ask how? why? young men, boys turned into butchers. maiming and murdering hundreds of innocents. striking at the heart of one of the world's great cities. blowing a plane out of the sky, entire families turned to dust. all of it done with the reach and precision we have not imagined isis capable of. as the world cries out for vengeance, perhaps the most important question is this. how could we not have known? ♪ hallelujah >> the answer is we did. this is the story of what we knew about isis and when we knew it. it is a story that has not been told before, not in its entirety, told by the people who have made the journey into the mind and heart of isis. we begin with an extraordinary chance to look into the islamic state. not a single reporter has dared to venture there since the gruesom

i'm fredricka whitfield.ddie gray case, officers charged now trying to get a look at his medical reports. gray died in april after driving in a baltimore police van. one of the officers said gray told him he had a bad back. weeks before his death. he here's miguel mar quez. >> filed documents asking for gray's medical and incarceration records. in one of these documents, baltimore police officer wrote gray said a couple of weeks before he was critically injured in the back of that police van, that he had, quote, hurt my back or, quote, had a bad back. the defense arguing here that there could be other cases for gray's traumatic injury. the timing of this document is worth noting, though. the officer, john herzog, unsolicited basis after he was critically injured. her zog wrote this memo and sent it to his superiors on may 1st. he died on april 19th. the original conversation happened on march 31st. herzog said in the memo that his memory was jogged after the riots. >> defense attorneys asked for gray's detent

i'm fredricka whitfield. president barack obama arriving back in washington a few hours ago. he will begin his 2016 agenda by tackling the, quote, unfinished business of his presidency. the epidemic of gun violence. sources tell cnn that he is preparing a new executive action on the issue. this thursday the president will join cnn's anderson cooper for an exclusive live town hall on guns in america. cnn investigations correspondent chris frates is joining us now. chris, the timing of this town hall should be noted and we also are talking about the president meeting tomorrow with

i'm fredricka whitfield.ys until the very first caucuses the election, and the very first time actual ballots will be cast in this truly unprecedented presidential ways. the candidates are crisscross g i the state today.

i'm fredricka whitfield. much more straight ahead with poppy harlow in "newsroom." 5:00 eastern.t in the dramatic capture of drug king pen el chapo. secret meeting between the cartel leader and actor sean penn may have led to his capture. details from inside the meeting and how the famous mexican actress you're looking at now, how she helped set all of this up. >>> first, politics this hour in the race for the white house. donald trump rallying a large crowd in nevada right now. he's spent the entire weekend on the campaign trail.

. >> i'm fredricka whitfield.ning new details in the cam chur of the world's most

i'm fredricka whitfield. you're in the "newsroom."ord-breaking snowfall from tennessee to new york and many major airports are bracing for a travel nightmare in its aftermath. airlines in new jersey and new york are already cancelling some monday flights, and d.c.-area airports are at a standstill. runways still buried and operations are shut down. it will be a series of messy days to follow. backups and delays after widespread cancellations left thousands of passengers stranded throughout the region. dangerous icy roads are

. >>> hello, everybody, i'm fredricka whitfield.isoners, including washington post journalist, jason rezaian and christian pastor, saeed abedini. let's get to wolf blitzer in washington for more. wolf?

i'm fredricka whitfield. ramstein air base in germany where very soon three of the american

i'm fredricka whitfield. very likely el chapo will be extradited to the u.s.ng to a senior mexican law enforcement source, who also tells cnn the extradition will not likely happen right away. joaquin gusz man back behind bars, same prison in mexico city he broke out of last july. he was transported there under very heavy security, after his dramatic capture on friday. nick valencia at the federal prison where el chapo is back in custody. they're not saying where in the prison he's being

i'm fredricka whitfield. much more straight ahead with poppy harlow in "newsroom." 5:00 eastern. poppy harlow. shocking twist in the dramatic capture of drug king pen el chapo. secret meeting between the cartel leader and actor sean penn may have led to his capture. details from inside the meeting and how the famous mexican actress you're looking at now, how she helped set all of this up. >>> first, politics this hour in the race for the white house. donald trump rallying a large crowd in nevada right now. he's spent the entire weekend on the campaign trail. another new poll shows he's trailing senator ted cruz in the crucial early voting state of iowa. cruz leading trump 28-24%, according to the latest numbers today from the nbc/"wall street journal"/marist poll. that the same poll buts trump in a better position, well ahead of the competition with 30%. closest competitor, senator marco rubio stands at 14%. maeve reston joins us from trump's rally in reno. he went hard after cruz. and hard after this point of his questioning whether or not cruz is eligible to be president since

i'm fredricka whitfield. we'll have full coverage of the americans release. but first, this breaking news out of iraq. a senior security official in baghdad tells cnn that three american contractors went missing in iraq two days ago. few details are available right now. the official says the company filed a report sunday about its missing staff. the u.s. state department is working with iraqi officials to locate the missing americans. our nick paton walsh is on the phone from beirut. i'm joined by jim sciutto. let me go to you first closer to the region there. what more can you tell us about the circumstances of these american contractors going missing? >> as you say, we know very little at this stage. we know that the company they're working for filed a report on sunday about their staff going missing two days ago. that's according to a senior iraqi security official in baghdad. initial reports suggest that they may hold what are said to be contractors. that's information that could mean a variety of tasks anything from security to assisting communications c

>>> hello, everybody, i'm fredricka whitfield. iran has just freed four american prisoners, including washington post journalist, jason rezaian and christian pastor, saeed abedini. let's get to wolf blitzer in washington for more. wolf? >> this is a historic moment. major news. "the washington post" now reporting that as of this hour, the tehran bureau chief, jason rezaian, is free and out of iranian air space. in addition to rezaian, iran is reportedly releasing u.s. marine veteran, amir hekmati and the christian pastor, saeed abedini and nosratoliah khoshawi. there is some conflicting reports that the fourth individual may, in fact, not be this individual but may, in fact, be namazi, a u.s. businessman. we are trying to clarify that as well. the information is still murky. all of this being reported by iran, it is part of a major prisoner swap in which the united states in return which free at least six iranians held on charges related to the sanctions against iran. joining us on the phone is the chief correspondent, christiane

. >>> hello everyone, i'm fredricka whitfield. you're looking at columbus circle in manhattan.u heard from the governor the last hour. no one is to be on the streets, bridges or even in the tunnels. that gets underway at 2:30, so 30 minutes away from the travel ban taking effect. upwards of 20, maybe even 25 or possibly even 30 inchesf

hello, i'm fredricka whitfield.his blizzard that is sweeping throughout the mid-atlantic and northeast. at any moment now we are expecting an update from the mayors of both new york city and baltimore along with the new jersey governor, chris christie, as a powerful blizzard clobbers the northeast right now. already the impact is quite substantial. at least eight deaths blamed on this storm. eleven states overall now under a state of emergency. 160,000 homes are currently without power. and dire conditions on many roads. these are new pictures from a five mile stretch right there of the