i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead, the cia's cruelty dragged out of the shadows by a scathing senate report. today we'll speck to men on both sides of this issue. former prisoner of war and torture survivor, senator john mccain and we'll hear from the former legal adviser to the cia who is mentioned 228 times in the torture report. >>> plus imagine that you board a plane with your family and then a drone slices through a wing. with more and more of these commercial drones dotting the skies, a new report says near collisions are happening much more than you think. the pop culture lead. the fbi says they still do not know who did it, but the sony studios' hacking has produced more drama than their film. so what a-list actress was written off in an internal email as a minimally talented spoiled brat? -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. fallout from the torture report and first we'll go to the money lead and the m

i'm jake tapper. we begin with our national lead. a mother pleading the cleveland police officer who shot and killed her unarmed son at the very least face trial. today, she demanded he be be tried and convicted. he was by himself in a gazebo waving around a toy gun. then two police officers pulled alongside and with scarcely any time for any sort of warnings, officer loehmann shot and killed the sixth-grader, all captured on video. video benjamin crump, the family's attorney, says is enough probable cause to indict right now, he says. but there's little public faith in the grand jury deliberating this case, perhaps because it comes on the heels of two different grand juries refusing to indict police officers who killed or contributed to the death of two unarmed black men. this scene last night in philadelphia, outside of lincoln financial field, tens of thousands of eagles fans trying to get home from the game, met by protesters staging a die-in on broad street and pattison avenue. protests have pers

i'm jake tapper. we begin with breaking news in our national lead. the fbi and the department of homeland security just this afternoon warning all stateside law enforcement to be on guard as the u.s. troops and embassies abroad are also bracing in places like cairo and baghdad and riyadh, scouring message boards that extremists might be planning a plot in response to the release of a report describing in detail the cia's program of enhanced interrogation techniques, commonly referred to as torture. canada and the uk have closed their embassies in cairo over those concerns. u.s. combatant commanders on high alert at u.s. military bases throughout the world. many in the cia and the u.s. state department urged against releasing this report. the charges contained within the 6,800 pages are, well, stomach-churning. the torture was brutal as described. detainees were waterboarded, some deprived of sleep for up to a week. one detainee froze to death. others unnecessarily force fed rectally. and all the while

, i'm jake tapper. it is midnight in indonesia where theories surrounding the fated areas of flight 8501 are still only that. theories. almost 42 hours after the airbus a-320 bound for singapore disappeared from radar. no confirmed debris has turned up though the head of the search team says early conjecture puts the plane and its 162 passenger and crew on the bottom of the java sea. but here is what we know. the surface search will grow from seven zones to 11 between the islands and the list of participating countries is growing. beijing says chinese ships and planes are on the way. the search has been hampered thus far by what may be the factor of the apparent demise of flight 8501. my colleague is at the airport in surabaya. david. what is being done for the passengers and crew? we just lost our satellite feed with david molco. we're going to get it back but let's move on. like many indonesians, the captain goes by only one name, irianto. he's a veteran of the defunct flight. more than 20 hours in th

i'm jake tapper. we begin today with the world lead. it disappeared from the sky, only the people aboard airasia flight 8501 know what happened. and now it's feared all of them perished. that's according to a senior indonesian aviation official who told reporters the airbus carrying 162 souls, 18 of them children is probably at the bottom of the ocean floor. searchers are racing to find traces of wreckage or oil slicks or anything to lead them to the plane's final resting place. the indonesian government has formally asked the united states government to join the hunt. a senior u.s. official confirmed the request came earlier today. it's still being worked out how involved the u.s. will get. when the sun rises over the java sea in a couple of hours and day three of the search begins it's still unclear what happened to this plane or even where it ended up. in fact, there are many questions about the flight's final minutes. here is what we do know. according to indonesian [ snfld investigators, the flig

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead. some are saying it was a cowardly act to yank the movie from theaters. some are saying the u.s. just lost the first cyber war. now that the feds appear to be pointing the finger at hackers tied to north korea, how will the white house respond? they aren't just a few guys in basements who likely broke into sony. the north korea hacking network that may, may be behind all of this lunacy. nearly 2,000 cybersoldiers. they may already be operating throughout the world. >>> and "the money lead." classic cigars and rum and president obama taking steps closer to cuba, when can it become your next vacation destination? >>> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin with the money lead. the market soaring for a second straight day. the dow shot up over 400 points. this, after stocks had been hovering over plunging oil prices. let's go to money correspondent alison kosik. live in the flesh. good to see you. >> good to see you. >

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead, intense gunfire as commandos storm a cafe where an islamic terrorist forced hostages to hold up his black flag. we'll take you inside this terrifying scene. >>> plus, he once called australian service members hitler's soldiers. new details on the alleged gunman's path to terror and why he was not exactly a stranger to police. >>> also, in our national lead, six people are dead and their killer still on the loose. breaking details on a manhunt outside philadelphia for a suspected gunman who apparently went on a house-to-house rampage and may not be finished. >>> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we'll begin with the world lead. a brazen act of terror in the heart of down toitown sydney ha officials on high alert in australia and right here in the u.s. two hostages confirmed dead. a 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman with four others in the hospital. the gunman, an islamic extremist and criminal known to law enforcement was killed at

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead, after the feds officially point the finger at north korea, president obama says, hey, you know what, some dictator someplace cannot dictate free speech to the united states. and he vows the u.s. will respond. >>> plus, the top executive at sony pictures entertainment now talking to cnn. he says sony hasn't caved. he wants america to see this movie. well, maybe he hasn't checked his e-mail recently. but what we told our fareed zakaria just moments ago in the middle of the biggest crisis on his watch. >>> the world lead, most people in north korea don't even have the technology to watch "the interview." but the communists there were able to deploy a cyber army to get revenge for an insulting stoner flick. and it could be a blueprint, frankly, for more dangerous attacks against the u.s. good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin this friday afternoon with some breaking news in our national lead. you're about to hear e

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead. the nypd caught on tape choking eric garner, throwing him to the ground, leaving him unconscious on the sidewalk. so far, the protests over his death and the decision of a grand jury to not indict the police officer who choked him have been peaceful. but will they stay that way? and the grand jury will not charge him but the nypd says it's conducting its own investigation and chokeholds have been banned by new york finest for two decades. will he be stripped from his shield? >>> plus, one of the nation's top law enforcement officials. the secretary of the department of homeland security joining us in the studio this hour. welcome. i'm jake tapper. we begin with the national lead which is the outcry after the death of another unarmed black man 83 people have been arrested since that announcement. they were chanting "i can't breathe, i can't breathe." cell phone video you may not have seen, this from the moments after police wrestled him to the gro

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead. moments after the grand jury's decision was revealed, he stood in the midst of an already emotional crowd and told them to burn the place down. could michael brown's stepfather face charges for inciting a riot? >>> the world lead. one of the wives of isis master mind al baghdadi is now in custody. she could be privy to a treasure trove of secrets. could this track down the terrorist leader? >>> and one of the 2016 emerging front-runners. >>> good afternoon. i'm jake tapper. we begin with the national lead and for new calls in ferguson not against darren wilson for the shooting death of michael brown but for brown's stepfather, lewis head. he was seen on camera last week consoling his wife, brown's mother, in the moments after officer wilson was not going to be indicted. and this is what he said at this huge crowd of protesters. >> burn this [ bleep ] down. burn this [ bleep ] down. police cars if two areas of ferguson were in fact torched and tra

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead the hunt continues and in an odd way the only thing worse than not finding anything is finding something. seven bodies for instance. passengers from airasia flight 8501 reclaimed as families on the shore wait for authorities to help figure out who these particular victims are. plus sonar sweeps pick up something that may be just may be the jet's main cabin, but with powerful storms and waves, descending upon rescue workers will search teams even be able to get to the wreckage any time soon? and our national lead most persons think it will give their kids a cough and keep them in bed for a few day, but this flu has killed 15 children already this season. the cdc says this outbreak is now an epidemic and flu shots are not always enough. ♪ ♪ >>> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper and we begin today with a sonar echo from the ocean floor, something search teams hope is airasia flight 8501 and a sad homecoming of course for s

i'm jake tapper. in national news, can the u.s.regulate what you post on facebook or twitter? today, the u.s. supreme court heard oral arguments in a case that questions your free speech on social media. it centers around a man and his rant on facebook about his now ex-wife. he said he, quote, wanted her dead. he said he was kidding but husband -- wnow he's in prison. pamela brown joins us. this case could impact what we're allowed to write online? >> reporter: it really could. this is a groundbreaking case that could decide the limits of what you post online. we live in a digital age, and this is the first time the high court is taking up this issue of social media and free speech rights, whether an online rant can constitute a crime. this case centers on a man by the name of anthony alonis who posted harrowing messages on his facebook page, seemingly directed at his estranged wife, an fbi agent and even a local kindergarten class. one of his posts, seemingly directed at his estranged wife said, one way to love you 1,000 ways to k

i'm jake tapper. we begin with our national lead. what seems to be a possible tipping point in race relations in this country, might be too soon to call it a movement. but the second night of protests over eric garner's death were bigg bigger, larger crowds, more cities saw demonstrations, more streets and highways were shut down, more and more americans were railing against a justice system that they seem to thing is tipped against minorities. even the last republican president, george w. bush, expressed confusion in an interview with candy crowley over how a grand jury did not indict the police officer who put eric garner in a chokehold. >> the verdict was hard to understand. but i haven't seen all the details. but it's sad that race continues to play such an emotional, divisive part of life. >> you're looking right now at live pictures out of chicago where protesters are already starting to come together for this third night of demonstrations. if you were working late in manhattan last night and looked down the street, chances are

i'm jake tapper. we'll start with breaking news in the national lead. another grand jury has decided not to indict a police officer and this comes just one week after that decision not to charge officer darren wilson in the death of michael brown in ferguson, missouri. today it's no indictment for a white new york police officer in the choking death of an unarmed black man named eric garner. the grand jury had this cell phone video to help them see exactly what happened. eric garner died when officer daniel pentalio put him in a choke hold. the 43-year-old said he could not breathe and his death was caused by physical restraint. we heard from officer pentalia from his facebook page. quote, i became a police officer to help people and to protect those who could not protect themselves. it is never my intention to harm anyone and i feel very bad about the death of mr. garner. my family and i include him and his family in our prayers and i hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.

i'm jake tapper. the heartbreaking discovery of bodies and debris all but confirm that the worst happen to airasia flight 8501. crews are working through the night, though the effort may have turned from search and rescue into search and recovery. indonesian teams pulled debris and bodies from the water today. this is 60 miles from the flight's last known location. now, per airasia, all the search teams are focusing their efforts around that site. divers and sonar combing the ocean floor hoping to ind into the main cabin of the plane. earlier today, the company's ceo, tony fernandes, indicated that the floating debris is from 8501. >> it's probably an airline ceo's worst nightmare after 13 years of flying millions of people it's the worst feeling that one could happen. >> fernandes says their focus will remain on focusing on the remains and the passengers and hopefully closure for loved ones still waiting to find out for sure, for absolute certain, what happened to their family members. >>> now, while

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." some breaking news in our national lead. officials about to give us the latest on the search for that man who they say killed his ex-wife and five of her loved ones, including her 14-year-old niece. schools were closed, people locked their doors. now another body has been found. is this manhunt finally over? >>> also in national news, what started with a goofy stoner movie now takes a serious turn. the hackers who hit sony are now threatening people to stay away from movie theaters that show the movie and they are invoking 9/11. "the world lead." unthinkable horror. more than 100 children slaughtered. some just 12 years old at the hands of terrorists. that same group of butchers who have come real close to hitting the u.s. before. >>> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin with breaking news in the national lead. law enforcement officials have confirmed that the manhunt for the alleged mass murderer that has had communities livin

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead. an american family is whole again after cuba releases an american prifsher. president obama announces a major shift in once frigid cold war era relations. just who is alan gross and did the u.s. hand the castros a murderer in exchange? and should we be lighting a now perfectly legal cigar over a deal with a brutal dictator and a state sponsor of terror? not everyone thinks so. many cuban-americans, presidential hopefuls and others are not celebrating today. >>> the national lead. thousands of movie theaters abandoning sony after hackers threaten to attack moviegoers who just want to check out the new seth rogan flick. now some in hollywood are saying if you skip that matinee you are letting the terrorists win. good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we'll begin this afternoon think, with our world lead. an earthquake in american foreign policy and after 50 years of diplomatic back biting, human rights abuses, espionage and attempted invasion, even a crisis br

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead. after the grand jury's decision was revealed, he stood in the midst of an already emotional crowd and told them to burn the place down. could michael brown's stepfather face charges for inciting a riot? >>> the world lead. one of the wives of isis master mind al baghdadi is now in custody. she could be privy t

i'm jake tapper. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. it is january 1st in indonesia. but for so many people there, this is not a day to celebrate. in the daylight hours, search teams braving terrible weather brought the first two bodies from airasia flight 8501 to shore. two more arrived just moments ago. this is brand-new video. so far, at least seven bodies have been retrieved from the java sea where debris indicates the airbus ash-320 went down on sunday with 162 passengers and crew, 18 children. the plane itself or sizable parts of it may have now been spotted by sonar on the ocean floor. the search officials have yet to confirm that. we do know the bodies are being flown to surabaya in indonesia where flight 8501 originated in numbered caskets. there they will be examined and with help from their already devastated families identified. my cnn colleague andrew stevens is at the surabaya airport right now. andrew, has the new year brought any breaks in the weather for

. >> let me bring in jake tapper.t's been pretty stunning to watch, across the board, especially when it comes to politics, many of these folks united in how they feel from that decision from the grand jury in new york. >> the thing with this tape is it's on videotape. for that reason, you have individuals like charles kra krauthimmer and glenn beck and george w. bush where you don't have to read a newspaper and then there were 20-odd witnesses that have their different versions and it becomes a muddle. we're all witnesses to it. we all see the entire thing. we see what eric garner said and did. we see when people say he was resisting arrest, we see exactly what they mean, how much he was resisting arrest. we see what killed him, which was obviously the actions of those police officers, not just the one charged with the chokehold, although not charged, i should say, but accused of zblsh right. >> and brought before the grand jury cleared. but all the police officers because the medical examiner said it wasn't just the

i'm jake tapper, this is "the lead."l lead, sleep deprivations, near drownings, hypothermia, rectal force feedings, all the things the cia inflicted on detainees in the name of protecting you, according to a u.s. senate report, all reasons why every single police department across the country and every single embassy around the globe is now preparing for a potentially violent reaction. >>> add to this global tinderbox a downright bizarre plot out of the israel. an american man, a

i'm dana bash in for jake tapper. we begin with the national lead. just a day after christmas, family and friends pay their respects to a man who loved ones say didn't just see a steady paycheck in being a cop but as his duty and the streets as his ministry. memorial services began for the two officers as they were shot in their police cars. today, the wake for rafael ramos. vice president joe biden joins 25,000 officers from across the country for ramos' funeral. as they prepare to bury one of their own, officers are fearing for their lives. alexandra field is live for us in glendale, new york. alexandra? >> reporter: dana, there are already thousands of police officers here. it is a powerful symbol of their solidarity and their unity and it's a picture of the enormity of their grief. for two hours, we've watched them file into that church behind me. here to pay respect, here to pay a final tribute. but at the same time, there are concerns about their security and serious steps being taken to keep them safe. we're se

i'm suzanne malveaux in for jake tapper. we just heard for the second time today from new york city's mayor and his city is mourning the murders of two police officers. we want to bring in charles ramsey, philadelphia police commissioner. thank you so much for joining us here. first of all, we saw this press conference with the police commissioner as well as with mayor de blasio. i have so much to ask you. but he did say he respects the peaceful protests. he also respects the men and women in uniform. but he was pressed when asked about these chants from some protesters saying "nypd kkk" or the fact that some protesters were throwing fake blood on police officers. and he blamed it on the media and saying, that's just a different reality than what's going on out on the streets here. what's your reaction to that? is he dealing with a different reality than what's really being portrayed in the media? >> well, i've been involved in dealing with a lot of protests in my time. the morning -- majority of people are peaceful and resp

i'm jake tapper. it took some diggings.unveiled the oldest dinosaur bones in north america. check out the fossils, hooked beak and high cheekbones. scientists found these in montana 20 years ago but just pieced together their origins. this is not a giant figure. it was about 2 feet long and weighed 3 pounds. tonight, in a new cnn film, we will profile another discovery. one man spent his entire career searching for the tyrannosaurus only to have the crown stripped from him by the government. poppy harlow is live at the field museum in chicago in front of sue, as the t-rex is fondly known. what make this is so extraordinary. >> first, the enormity. the bones alone way 4,000 pounds. she's not only the most complete t-rex in history, she's the largest. scientists have learned so much from her. you have 60 million people who have come here to see sue at the field museum. what is also extraordinary is the fact of how she got her. shee she was found here in the hills of south dakota. the feds took her away. she was in storage for

jake tapper is our cnn anchor. there's been a lot of awkwardness, jake, as we look at what's going on right now this transition from chuck hagel to ash carter. >> that's right, in fact, wolf, as you know, though the white house and secretary hagel had agreed to say that it was a mutual decision, secretary hagel insisted the announcement come out when he wanted it to come out not when the white house did, which was going to be later after they settled on a pick. it's also true many of hagel's defenders were upset at the anonymous quotes from senior administration officials insulting secretary hagel saying he was not up to the job and besmirching his reputation. that's something a lot of hagel stalwarts were not happy about. so it's perhaps not surprising that the secretary has chosen not to attend this event in which his replacement will be announced to the public assuming, of course, he is confirmed the the senate, wolf. >> and, barbara starr, it is a little awkward also. ch chuck hagel will remain the defense secre

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead."hunt continues and in an odd way the only thing worse than not finding anything is finding something. seven bodies for instance. passengers from airasia flight 8501 reclaimed as families on the shore wait for authorities to help figure out who these particular victims are. plus sonar sweeps pick up something that may be just may be the jet's main cabin, but with powerful storms and

i'm jake tapper.hey are the pieces of the puzzle that have the most answers, the so-called black boxes. you hear about them every time a plane crashes and for good reason. they record just about everything on a flight. pilot conversations, control tower communications, flight data, basically anything and everything investigators might need in order to figure out why a plane went down. but first of all, you have to find the black boxes. i'm joined again by chad myers, cnn meteorologist, david gallo, cnn aviation analyst and director of special projects at the woods hall oceanographiic institute. chad, let me start with you, walk us through what equipment investigators have to find the black boxes and how that works? >> we call them black boxes. they're orange but they're boxes. two of them, one for data, one for voice and other sounds in the cockpit. the data is very important to know what was the angle of the rutter, what was the angle, what was the depth, what was the altitude? all of those pieces of

i'm jake tapper. you're looking at live pictures from kptv in portland, oregon. we're beginning today with breaking news in our national lead. you're looking right now at live pictures, as i said, about a school shooting in north portland at rosemary anderson high school, where at least three victims have been shot, three people shot according to the fire department. it is unknown if the people shot are dead or alive. portland police say the suspects have fled. they would not say if they were still believed to be armed or if they clashed with police. nearby jefferson high school and portland community college in lockdown, we're told. media have been told to set up at north killingsworth street and kirby avenue. that's the staging area. we'll update more on that story as soon as we know more. but to recap, there has been a school shooting in north portland, oregon, at rosemary anderson high school. as of right now, we know of at least three individuals who were shot. and we are waiting for more informa

jake tapper and "the lead" start jake tapper and "the lead" start right now. -- captions by vitac --.vitac.com >>> welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we'll start with breaking news in the national lead. another grand jury has decided not to indict a police officer and this comes just one week after that decision not to charge officer darren wilson in the death of michael brown in ferguson, missouri. today it's no indictment for a white new york police officer in the choking death of an unarmed black man named eric garner. the grand jury had this cell phone video to help them see exactly what happened. eric garner died when officer daniel pentalio put him in a choke hold. the 43-year-old said he could not breathe and his death was

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead.n family is whole again after cuba releases an american prifsher. president obama announces a major shift in once frigid cold war era relations. just who is alan gross and did the u.s. hand the castros a murderer in exchange? and should we be lighting a

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead.ypd caught on tape choking eric garner, throwing him to the ground, leaving him unconscious on the sidewalk. so far, the protests over his death and the decision of a grand jury to not indict the police officer who choked him have been peaceful. but will they stay that way? and the grand jury will not charge him but the nypd says it's conducting its own investigation and chokeholds have been banned by new york finest for two decades. will he be stripped from his

we'll hand it over to jake tapper with more of this coverage. jake? >>> welcome to "the lead."e looking at live pictures from kptv in portland, oregon. we're beginning today with breaking news in our national lead. you're looking right now at live pictures, as i said, about a school shooting in north portland at rosemary anderson high school, where at least three victims have been shot, three people shot according to the fire department. it is unknown if the people shot are dead or alive. portland police say the suspects have fled. they would not

jake tapper has more in our politics top ten. >> politics grabbed big headlines in 2014 with criticismraise for the president's foreign policy. so stunning congressional dysfuncti dysfunction, and a crushing defeat for democrats in the midterm elections. here are our top ten political stories. number ten, 2014 offered a preview of what the 2016 presidential campaign might look and sound like as hillary clinton hit the road to promote her latest book. the media blitz and book tour looked a lot like a presidential candidate gearing up. number nine, republican incumbents kept feeling the heat from the tea party which showed it isn't going anywhere. the primary runoff created one of the strangest political coalitions of the year, republican cochran courting black democrats in the magnolia state to bail him out in the runoff. >> this is your victory. >> reporter: cochran survived but others were not so lucky. the number two republican in the house did not even make it to election day. house majority leader eric cantor lost to this guy, economics professor david brat has in what may be the p

michael hayden led the cia during the final years of the bush administration he sat down with jake tapperrsday and did not mince words. >> the democrats have used one unwarranted comment in one e-mail to justify the story that you have now bought hook line and sinker that we use this to abuse other human beings. >> you can hear much more of that interview with michael hayden a bit later in this hour. at least two people have died in the u.s. as that brutal storm continues to soak the west coast. powerful winds have knocked out power to more than 180,000 people travel on the roads becoming nearly impossible. with cars getting stuck in the water, and a passenger on a ferryboat says the waters were so rough he was airborne at one point. the rain was a godsend at first. you know about the drought they've been having in california. it has become too much. this ranging storm continues to battle california. derrick van damme has the latest for us now. it was quite a whopper and something they hadn't seen like this in a white. >> leaving highway 101 to a standstill. closing both directions in san

jake tapper. this is "the lead." >>> the world lead. the worst all but confirmed as search teams spot remains from the missing airasia flight. what is the wreckage telling us about how this passenger jet may have gone down? >>> families suffering unthinkable grief for the 162 victims. now hoping for answers that eluded so many when flight 370 vanished. we will hear their stories. parents, children a husband to me and more are likely lost in this tragedy. >>> and in national news, president obama threatened a cyberattack north korea

i'm jake tapper, this is "the lead."ional lead, police shot and killed her 12-year-old son, all caught on video. she spoke about it publicly today for the first time. but with the grand jury convening to decide if they will send tamir rice's shooter to trial, an ex-cop questions whether justice is possible in these kinds of cases. >>> athletes and controversy, michael jordan once explained his refuse saal to endorse a democrat by saying, hey, republicans buy snrs

i'm jake tapper in for ashleigh banfield.in the united states and around the world. almost 66 hours after airasia flight 8501 disappeared from radar over the java sea, there are still plenty of unanswered questions. but this has been a day of answers, hard-rending t

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead, intense gunfire as commandos storm a cafe where an islamic terrorist forced hostages to hold up his black flag. we'll take you inside this terrifying scene. >>> plus, he once called australian service members hitler's soldiers. new details on the alleged gunman's path to terror and why he was not exactly a stranger to police. >>> also, in our national lead, six people are dead and their killer still on the loose.

i'm jake tapper, this is "the lead." the national lead, hands up, walk out.protests across the u.s. disrupting work and school, maybe even your commute in honor of michael brown. one week after the grand jury decision, has this become about something bigger? >>> urgent meetings at the white house as president obama calls together cabinet secretaries, clergies, civil rights leaders to discuss ferguson. new details on what he wants to change. >>> and the world lead, the isis threat at home, the fbi warning members of the military to be careful about what they post online for

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead."nal lead, after the feds officially point the finger at north korea, president obama says, hey, you know what, some dictator someplace cannot dictate free speech to the united states. and he vows the u.s. will respond. >>> plus, the top executive at sony pictures entertainment now talking to cnn. he says sony hasn't caved. he wants america to see this movie. well, maybe he hasn't checked his e-mail recently. but what we told our fareed zakaria just moments ago in the middle of the biggest crisis on his watch. >>> the world lead, most

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead."nal lead, the cia's cruelty dragged out of the shadows by a scathing senate report. today we'll speck to men on both sides of this issue. former prisoner of war and torture survivor, senator john mccain and we'll hear from the former legal adviser to the cia who is mentioned 228 times in the torture report. >>> plus imagine that you board a plane with your family and then a drone slices through a wing. with more and more of these commercial drones dotting the skies, a new report says near collisions are happening much more than you think.

let's go to jake tapper here in new york.arts right now. >>> this is much more about two actors and a stoner flick. this could be the future of warfare. i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead. some are saying it was a cowardly act to yank the movie from theaters. some are saying the u.s. just lost the first cyber war. now that the feds appear to be pointing the finger at hackers tied to north korea, how will the white house respond? they aren't just a few guys in basements who likely broke into sony. the north korea hacking network that may, may be behind all of this lunacy. nearly 2,000 c

i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." some breaking news in our national lead. latest on the search for that man who they say killed his ex-wife and five of her loved ones, including her 14-year-old niece. schools were closed, people locked their doors. now another body has been found. is this manhunt finally over? >>> also in national news, what started with a goofy stoner movie now takes a ser

i'm jake tapper, this is "the lead." the world lead another passenger jet vanishes over stormy waters in southeast asia and it may be at the bottom of the sea though we do not know. even though it's being called a search-and-rescue mission, hope is fading quickly. and instead of the search area shrinking, it's now getting bigger with more nations including the united states joining the effort. will the families get any answers this time or is

i'm jake tapper. in indonesia where theories surrounding the fated areas of flight 8501 are still only that. theories. almost 42 hours after the airbus a-320 bound for singapore disappeared from radar. no confirmed debris has turned up though the head of the search team says early conjecture puts the plane and its 162 passenger and crew on the bottom of the java sea. but here is what we know. the surface search will grow from seven

jake tapper. on this whole thing and tweets, you tweeted about this. we saw newt gingrich saying america just lost its first cyberwar. do you agree? >> first of all, the united states and china have been involved in a rather unpublicized cyber war for many, many years. i don't know about the first. this certainly was a cyber attack. you could call it cyber terrorism especially with the threat made by the hackers not just at sony but at movie theaters across the country. it's a very serious national security issue. i don't know that the u.s. government wants to cast it in those terms as starkly as possible but they don't want people to be upset or people to be fearful. but it is very, very serious and it's just really the first one that we're paying attention to. >> so far though when you look at what the administration has said on this, not much. it's been pretty quiet now that it's been revealed that it's apparently north korea. do you think that their response will change because of that? >> i don't know exactly who they're fingering. we heard from a

jake tapper is here, gloria borger is here. jake, this is something the president clearly wanted to do from early in his administration but couldn't do in part because alan gross was being held a prisoner in cuba. >> that's right. early on in the president's first term, he took steps to -- i wouldn't say normalize relations but to ease restrictions on travel and remittences, cuban americans sending money back to cuba. but this, of course, is a major change. you heard president obama. he didn't give it as the definition of insanity. but the idea that doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result didn't make sense to him was what he invoked. he also did talk about the fact that cuba is still doing arbitrary arrests of human rights activists and the cuban people. and in fact in 2013, the state department's own country report on human rights practices for cuba says most human rights abuses were official acts committed at the direction of the government. the president isn't emphasizing but doesn'

. >> jake tapper in there. oh, my goodness, former governors. he made the cut. my goodness. crew. it was a great sendoff. >>> well, next, talking pizza hut. taking criticism because a new study finds its pies are saltier here in the u.s. than everywhere else. >> that's right, the thin and crispy pizza in the u.s. has the most sodium out of the 500 tested. they are 70% saltier than pizza hut pizza in canada and new zealand. >> the critics are asking the question, if lower salt versions are elsewhere, why not in the u.s.? >> but pepperoni pizza is salty. >> pizza's great, don't touch a thing. >>> up next, a man's clever marriage proposal going viral. >> kevin moran popped the question in a photo booth. here's his unsuspecting girlfriend smiling for the camera. >> and he pulls out the ring, and the shocked expression. >> the third picture, laughing and smiling. >> and the fourth picture with the couple sealed the deal with a kiss. of course, she said yes. he said he was expecting the strip of photos, but this was also shooting video the entire time. >> just right. this is bette

here with me in my studios in washington, chief washington correspondent jake tapper, political analystrger, chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. also joining us from new york, cnn global affairs analyst bobby ghosh, the managing editor of "quartz" and douglas brinkley. the democrats suffered an enormous setback in the house and senate and motivated to move quickly on so many of these issues despite the setback. >> that's right. we had jay carney on earlier and the pundits thinking that president obama was check out, that's not true. i will say, it's not making any impact whatsoever on his job approval numbers. one of the interesting things, if you look at president obama's job approval numbers, they are pretty much immune to the ups and downs that we've covered this past year. the public seems to have, at this point, kind of made up its mind with about 52% disapproving of president obama and early low 40s, 42, 43% approving of president obama. so he goes into 2015 still struggling when it comes to the public's perception. >> gloria, you have a piece on cnn.com that's bein