leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i'm about to make a unanimous consent request but i should explain why. it's on the freedom of information acted act, one of or nation's most important laws. for nearly 50 years, foia has given us ways to access government information, showing what the government is doing and the senate is now poised to build on that important legacy with the passage of the bipartisan leahy-cornyn foia improvement act. it's going to require federal agencies to have presumption of openness. make as a priority the people's interest in what the government is doing. reduce the overuse of exemptions to withhold information. make information available for public inspection. it will open the government to the more than 300 million americans that government is supposed to serve. the bill is supported by 70 public-interest groups that advocate for government transparency. sunshine government initiative said the leahy-cornyn b

leahy has been visiting him and -- senator leahy's staff of course had been visiting him. there was a congressional delegation this week. the house members were not as directly involved. so we are frankly agreed not to report this for the last days because it might have interfered with him getting out of prison. and i think that was the decision we had to make here at nbc news. jose the possibility of this prisoner swap has been discussed. the feeling in cuba is, you know vigorously passionately about what they claim is the innocence of these three men. two were paroled. so these are the three remaining in u.s. prisons. more broadly, i think this is the opening of a major breakthrough in relations. raul castrol is expected to speak at noon the president expected to speak at noon we understand, and this could lead to the ending of the terror designation against cuba. when you think of the fact that cuba is the only country that is on that terror list with north korea and iran and, you know, syria, it does lead to arguments by the people in havana that cuba does not belong o

senator leahy, i'll start with you, you're the veteran there.must be pretty thrilled about this decision by the president to normalize relations with cuba. >> i'm very thrilled with it. i've talked with the president many, many times about this over the past few years. like my two colleagues here have gone to cuba numerous times, met with alan gross while he was down there. but what i kept telling the president, obviously we wanted to do everything we could to get mr. gross out. we also have to think, what is in the long-term best interest of the united states? i think normalization with cuba is in our best interest. we look foolish to the rest of the world, the most powerful nation on earth acting as though somehow we're afraid to allow u.s. citizens to go to cuba. they're not going to change overnight. but they certainly aren't going to change if we continue our embargo. >> senator flake, you're a republican. we heard marco rubio, he hates this decision by the president. where do you stand in terms of trying to normalize u.s./cuban relations?

the reason pat leahy stood in the way of allowing more changes to campaign finance laws that mcconnellted to be added to the bill. so a little bit of petty fighting over only about $200,000 at the most, but it didn't happen and leahy loses all the trappings of the office. >> life is the fifth grade, that's what i always say about the congress. julie? >> we got some interesting hints in the spending bill drama this past week about what next year may look like if president obama has to use his veto pen which we anticipate he probably will have to do at least a couple of times with republicans hoping to thwart some key elements of his agenda. nancy pelosi and the house democrats lost in taking out provisions of the spending bill democrats were concerned about, this wall street provision and the campaign finance provision, they were able to keep together enough democrats to show they could sustain a presidential veto if indeed one is needed. and that was a big subtext of what they were doing this past week was to show that next year you're going to need us, so just remember that as you loo

senator leahy's office to reached out to the u.s. to see if he might be able to bricker something to help out the spy and his wife with the pregnancy dill emla. he confirmed that conjugal visits were out of question. the senator's office, though, had a backup plan in mind. senator leahy's office brokered a deal, for the cuban spy's sperm. whole thing happened in secret. we still do not know exactly who transferred goods from husband to wife. at the time neither country was even acknowledging that any type of talks were happening, let alone talks about this spy guy's sperm. but we can do a little bit of basic math. we know that negotiators for the u.s. and cuba spent 18 months making the deal. we know that the just-released spy's wife is eight and a half months pregnant. if you add the months, carry the two, what we can assess is that the handoff of the spy's sperm happened at basically the halfway mark of the negotiations between the u.s. and cuban governments. the halfway mark of the negotiations towards this massive breakthrough on

it was just extremely joyous for his wife and for alan and senator leahy mentioned when we entered u.s. air space, you could see the relief on his face, and he let out a cheer. and it was just a wonderful thing to be there. >> senator flake, jeff flake, you've worked so hard on this, thank you so much. chris van hollen is with you, democratic congressman from maryland. i know from personal experience, you come from a diplomatic family, you've lived this for 50 years. tell me what this means to you. >> well, this is a new chapter for the country, and what it means to me is a recognition that the last 54 years of american policy toward cuba has been a total and miserable failure by our own measure. all right. by our measure of trying to open up cuba to have positive change. we obviously haven't accomplished that. the way to accomplish that is the way the president's outlined here. more engagement, more travel, more trade, more communications, that's the way to help open up cuba, trying to isolate the island obviously has not succeeded in bringing about the reforms we wanted. so alan gros

senator leahy appeared on "today" to discuss what happened. >> ok, we will do this if you do that.n -- as humans. ofto improve the conditions alan gross's prison cell. the major medic improvements. didn't release him, but major medic improvements. letter froma cursing she was pregnant and -- and we got a letter from her sexual pregnant and thanking us. i felt like a godfather or something. the joy on his face, especially the joy on hers, and they're going to have a little girl. >> senator leahy questioned yes longtime aide facilitated this. for more we're joined by martin garbus, who played a key role in this amazing story. he is a member of the cuban five legal team. "time magazine" calls martin garbus one of the best trial lawyers in the country, while the national law journal has named him one of the country's top ten litigators. were you there when the transfer of sperm was made? >> i was not. i think it speaks to the interest of cuban people, the interest of gerardo and his wife. they are an exceptional couple. over the years, we will learn more about them. he was a man who wa

senator patrick leahy of vermont, and i want to thank all the members of congress from all sides of the aisle such as senator flake, van holland and others who spoke up for me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me to regain some of my weight. even in cuba m & m's melt in your mouth and not in your hand. for all those who were trying to visit me but were not able to, thank you for trying. i'm looking forward to new teeth, and i hope they're strong enough to make a difference. to all the executive directors, staff and volunteers participating in jcrcs, schools, and other jewish, christian, and muslim organizations nationwide, god bless you and thank you. it was crucial to my survival knowing that i was not forgotten. your prayers and your actions have been comforting, reassur ing and sustaining. to my extended family, especially my sister bonnie, my cousins and friends, howard, bruce, our shah ba group{^l" ^}, so many others who exemplify the true meaning of friendship, thank you. i do understand that there are many others who actively participated in securing my freedom, of w

a from riefings expected outgoing judiciary chair, patrick leahy. live look here, as reporters gather. get re also looking to comments from raul castro, the president of cuba. back to your go calls. robert in seattle. a cuban-american. what does this mean to you, robert? this is remarkable news, and i believe the president is doing the right thing. it is long overdue. rubio -- it shows how little they understand this topic. host: thank you, robert. there are a lot of comments on from members of congress, so you can check out our page on twitter and look for members of congress. we'll get more of your comments, too. reaction also from the outgoing the senate, robert menendez, who released a statement this morning in response to the president's action. saying, in part -- the trading an extremely dangerous precedent. it invites dictatorial and rogue regimes to use american serving overseas as bargaining chips. that is from robert menendez, of his statement today. let's go back to our calls. massachusetts. leo is in favor of the change in relations. leo

air space, accompanied by senator pat leahy and others who negotiated his freedom, getting a call from the president, enjoying popcorn, potato pancakes and a corned beef on rye with mustard. >> i'm incredibly blessed finally to have the freedom to resume a positive and constructive life. >> reporter: arriving at andrews air force base to a hug from the secretary of state as they watched president obama unveil an historic policy change. >> neither the american nor cuban people are well served by a rigid policy that's rooted in events that took place before most of us were born. >> reporter: simultaneously in havana, president raul castro. >> translator: this decision of president obama is worthy of the respect and recognition of our people. >> reporter: the u.s. and cuban presidents had talked tuesday for 45 minutes, a first for the two run countries in a half-century. today's carefully orchestrated deal -- three cubans convicted of conspiring to spy on the u.s. were released after 15 years in prison. the u.s. got back a top american spy imprisoned for 20 years in havana. the congressio

was it senator pat leahy of vermont, c, senator jeff flake of arizona.tor bob mendez or d, chris van hollan of maryland. >> was not on the plane? >> three of those members were with alan gross, but one of them wasn't. and i should tell you, the one who wasn't really doesn't like what president obama just did about cuba. >> that's what i was thinking. i think leahy was. >> i'm going to go with bob mendez of new jersey or jeff flake of arizona. >> you were leaning towards mendez. weren't you leaning towards mendez? >> i'm going to stick with bob mendez of new jersey. >> steve what's the right answer. >> let's check wednesday's show. >> a bipartisan group of lawmakers who flew to cuba today. you see there chris van hollan, joined by pat leahy, deeply involved in trying to get alan gross freed. but they were also joined by republican senator jeff flake of arizona. >> that leaves bob menendez and krista is 1 for 2. >> i will take the top part of the cocktail shaker if you win with that one. one more question, one more chance. one of the spy stories that ended

senator leahy and his allies will want to be usa freedom act. >> thank you. kurt tell us about some of the cases that you are involved in on both the appeals level and the lower court level. >> we are involved in a number of cases. right now we are the council in three cases that are against the nsa for the warrantless wiretapping program and the phone records program, one of which is that the appeals level. i was just arguing before the ninth ninth circuit earlier this month on december 8 and then we have two cases that are at the district court level, one of which was essentially filed in 2008 long before the snowdon leak but based on the information at that time based on "the new york times" and "usa today" reporting. we have an earlier case before that against at&t for their cooperation in the program but that was shut down by the congresses retroactive immunity and the fisa amendments act. and we have to two cases that are consolidated on appeal dealing with national security letter power. the district court, the federal district court in san francisco r

senator pat leahy shuttling between washington and havana. >> we have frequent flier miles, you see. >> is it great to be back in america? >> great to be back. >> and a new home. >> i'm looking forward to buying a new computer and getting a mobile phone, getting a wristwatch and everything that normal people do. >> reporter: telemundo and anchor jose vilas ballard said americans want to see big reforms in cue kuba. >> the process of calling for free and democratic elections, the release of political prisoners and freedom of the press, of worshipping, of labor uni unions. >> reporter: the u.s. will now be pressing hard for those reforms, but after in the past suggesting cuba's offer of help, after katrina, the bp oil spill, leaders of both countries say they are ready to start a new era. brian? >> reporter: andrea mitchell from the state department tonight. thanks. >>> now to the reaction to all of this in cuba. nbc's mark potter is there for us tonight. mark, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. here on cuban street, the announcement in washington and havana have been met

[laughter] for those of you who don't know, senator leahy and senator collins introduced the runaway homeless youth and trafficking prevention act and it improves the act in a number of ways. it recognizes the needs of all homelessness. ok. it includes the provision that aims to support family reunification and intervention, which is crucial as family conflict is the number one reason. we just said that. most important, a nondiscrimination clause to include lgbt homeless youth to not only have access to crucial services and all those services are safe, welcoming, better tailored to their unique needs which will present unsafe -- prevent unsafe activities they need to do to survive. the senate judiciary committee -- i can't even speak -- it is headed to the senate. we need to roll her sleeves up and make this happen for the kids. it is important. actually, it saves money. instead of punishing them for being homeless, let's bring them back in. i was one of the kids that benefited from a program like this and i think it is important to read i think i gave back he's -- back and i always

senator leahy and others have legislation to require probable cause. it is another surveillance reform effort that has been ongoing. > thank you. in january 2010, google revealed to the world that they had been compromised by the chinese government. it wasn't until the "washington post" article that we learned it was google's electronic surveillance system that was compromised by this foreign government. why do we have to read about it in the newspaper? why didn't google ever tell in that three or four-year period, they didn't they tell world that their surveillance had been compromised? and then separately krks you tell us in the few years since, has their surveillance system been compromised any other types that you know about? thank you. >> the attack back in 2009 was one that we got hit by this ttack. at the time of the attack, back in 2009-2010, you may remember there were not a lot of victim s of computer attacks out there announcing that they had been attacked. within google we had a debate about -- are we just a company that is going to have th

leahy: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i see the distinguished senior senator from texas on the floor seeking recognition. i've been told to come over here at 3:30 but obviously i'll yield to my friend from texas and ask consent that when he completes his remarks that i be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i thank my friend from vermont. all of this got pushed back a little bit with all the laudatory speeches for our retiring colleague from nebraska, so we're backed up a little bit but i won't be long. i do have to say, mr. president, because i came to the floor when the senator from oregon and the senator from colorado were talking about senator feinstein's decision to release this report, i get it that different people see the same subject matter sometimes through a different lens, but i can't think of

enator leahy and his cohorts will want it to be the u.s.a. freedom act. t is hard to know how it will proceed. >> kirk, tell us about some of the cases that you were involved in both the appeals level and lower court level. right now we are counsel in cases that are against the warrantless wire tapping program and gone records program. is at the appeals level. it was just argued before the circuit on december 8. then we have two cases that are level.direct court actually filed was in 2008 long before the snowed the eaks but based on information available at that time from "new york times" and "u.s.a. today" reporting. actually an earlier case efore that against at&t for their cooperation with the warrantless wiretapping program. ut that was shut down by the congress's retroactive immunity amendments act. adds, we have two cases onsolidated on appeal dealing with the national security letter power mentioned the court, federal district court in san francisco ruled that that power was and struck it l down. decisiondge stayed her pending appeal and we just ar

we looked at it and the goal for senator leahy was to try to bring those stakeholders back to the table but he also recognize that it was critically important to maintain the support of the intelligence community for the legislation that we were going to try to have a real shot at getting it done. the president had already announced at this point that he supported illegal -- legal collection so we thought this was something we could accomplish. senator leahy and others he was working within the senate embarked on a really fun negotiation over the course of the summer, involved many hours in various rooms with a whole range of stakeholders including a lot of folks from the intelligence community as well as folks represented in this room today, privacy groups, the technology industry and ultimately at the end of july introduced the usa freedom act of 2014 which took the framework and the structure of the house passed bill that improved upon it in various ways. so i will try to give you a brief over you without totally boring everyone on a friday afternoon of what that bill does and then w

i share senator leahy's view.i think that would be really counter productive to block funding for an embassy. we'll have a lot more americans traveling to cuba. last year it was about 40,000 or so. it's going to be a lot more under the new general licenses for most travel. to tell those meshes to travel there, sorry, you're out of luck if you have a problem if you're looking for a u.s. embassy. u just don't think that's right. and then in terms of the politics, we really haven't had kind of a test vote on cuba for a while. we used to regularly have otes, to litcht the travel ban or -- lift the travel ban. but there have been a lot of new senators come in. so we will see. my sense is that most of my colleagues feel we are long past due. 50 years. and so i think that the politics are good. certainly the policy is right. and good politics usually follow. what's this -- this was coin side to congress leaving town? and why? >> this was decided a number of days ago when it was assumed that the senate would still be in s

. >> last year when senator patrick leahy visited cuba to help check on alan gross, perez tracked theenator and his wife down with an urgent and unusual plea. >> she didn't know if she would see her husband out of prison. she loved him very much. she wanted to have his child. she's now her 40s and she's afraid it may never happen. >> leahy interviewed arranging the delivery of hernandez's sperm to cuba where the captor regime funded the art official insemination procedures. >> it was a human thing. it had nothing to do with the politics of the two countries. it was just a family value. a human thing. >> there is some outrage about the conception. the senior of one of the cub cuban-americans killed in one of the planes called the entire effort absurd. here we are going way overboard so the guy has a child? it doesn't make any sense she told nbc news. >> it's tragic the people were shot down. let's not take it out on a child. years later a child that can be born into a loving family. >> that was nbc kate snow reporting in cuba. hernandez and the cuban five are considered national heros.

the sfa is sponsored by senators durbin, leahy, leahy, treachery and representatives of bobby scott and raul leopard were. the bill also has considerable conservative support. the time is now to pass the smarter sentencing act. it's only a first step in reducing overincarceration. there's another tragic outcome of our nation's incarceration binge. almost 6 million of our citizens have lost the right to vote because of a past criminal conviction, in many instances for very low level crimes. upon release from prison, the citizens work, they pay taxes, they live in our communities and they raise families. but millions cannot vote. one out of every 13 african-americans of voting age has lost the right to vote. that is four times the national average, but millions have no input on our political process. that is unacceptable. we commend senators ben cardin and rand paul for their leadership in this area, and we urge the passage of the democracy restoration act, a bill that would restore voting rights in federal elections to millions of citizens. ending discrimination should be and historicall

as senator leahy said, each of us visited alan gross over the years.as able to see him just a month ago in a prison in havana. at that time, he said "i hope that this ordeal, the five-year ordeal, actually leads to something positive." today, when we got on the plane, i told him, when you look at what the president will announce here soon, you will see it has resulted in something very positive. i just want to say that for those that say that this is a concession, these moves that are being made today, i think that is the wrong way to look at it, simply wrong. the policy we have had in place for the past 50 years has done more in my view to keep castro regimes in power than anything we could have done. so i am pleased that these actions have been taken. i think it will improve the lot of ordinary cubans, and is good for americans as well. some will say a cuban regime may now limit the travel of americans now that we are more able to travel, not freely, but in larger numbers. they may take measures, and they may. i have always said that if somebody is g

patrick leahy arranged for a long distance artificial insemination. he did it thinking it would lead to better conditions for an american man in a cuban prison. the baby girl is due in two weeks. >>> the sky over the bay area may get a lot crowded come christmas day. why's that? there could be a lot of drones under christmas trees. joe? >> reporter: just a couple years ago this would have been an extremely rare sight, a drone just flying in somebody's front yard, but these things are becoming very popular and as such there's a new campaign to make sure everybody knows the rules. ofessional uses isaster scenes >> there's just a lot of magic in flying stuff around. >> reporter: mark harrison of piedmont shows us his colorful glowing drone he made out of swim noodles. he's been making drones and flying them the better part of four years. because easy to fly drones are now sold commercially they are soaring in popularity. the faa and some hoblyist hobbyist groups -- hobbyist groups listed the rules for unmanned vehicles. >> literally christmas afternoon t

leahy: mr. president, i'm looking at the clock, and i ask the senate to be able to continue morning business for up to five minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, the congressional record will show the introduction of and the prayer by our visiting chaplain today from the university of portland, oregon, and a member of the order of holy cross fathers. now, that is as much of a thumbnail as saying any one of us is a united states senator, period. there is a lot more to it. claude pomerleau has been nearly 50 years a priest. i know. he is my brother-in-law and my wife marcel and i, as well as his wonderful parents, phyllis and cecil pomerleau joined him in rome nearly 50 years ago when he was ordained a priest. my family, my parents, my brothers and sisters, also our children have always had such a wonderful relationship with father pomerleau. it is great now to see the young grandchildren come in and give him a hug and "hi, uncle claude." but i'd also look at

senator patrick leahy was one-run of three lawmakers who brought gross back from cuba today. was this mission coinciding with congress leaving town for a year and if so why? >> they have beenworking hard and came together now. >> o'donnell:. >> reporter: some senators are open to lifting the ban. >> i've always said if someone will limit my travel it should be a congress, not my own government here. >> reporter: rubio disagrees. he thinks the votes are not there for lifting the travel ban but many lawmakers have long been pushing to ease restrictions on farms and businesses in their states who want to trade r trade with cuba and many of those lawmakers will welcome the move. >> o'donnell: nancy cordes, thank you so much. miami is home to nearly 1 million cuban americans. vincente arenas has the reaction from there. (shouting) >> reporter: reaction was swift and strong in the streets of little havana in miami. the gathering place place for hundreds of thousands of cuban exiles. osvaldo benitez fled to the u.s. 50 years ago. what went through your mind when you heard the presid

senator patrick leahy was one of three lawmakers who brought gross back from cuba today. was this mission timed to coincide with congress leaving town for the rest of the year, and if so, why? >> they've been working very hard on this. it came together now. >> reporter: republican jeff lake argued newer senators like him, from both sides, are open to lifting the travel ban. >> i've always said, if somebody is going to limit my travel, it should be a communist, not my own government here. >> reporter: rubio insitses the votes to lift a travel ban are not there, but there are many lawmakers who have pushed to make it easier for businesses and farms in their states to sell products to cuba, and, scott, many of those lawmakers are likely to welcome this move. >> pelley: nancy cordes on capitol hill tonight. nancy, thanks. there are one million cuban-americans in miami in a state that very often picks the president of the united states. what's the reaction there? here's vicente arenas. >> reporter: reaction was swift and strong on the streets of little havana in miami. the gat

don't know, you who senator leahy and senator introduced they runaway homeless youth and trafficking act. it recognizes the needs of all lesbian,luding gay, bisexual, transgender youth experiencing homelessness. thatcludes a provision aims to support family reunification and intervention familys crucial as conflicts is the number one just said that. most important, a nondiscrimination clause to include lgbt homeless youth not only to have access to crucial services but also services are safe, welcoming, better tailored unique needs which will prevent unsafe activities to survive. do the legislation has cleared the senate judiciary committee by a strong vote, now headed for the senate. we all need to roll our sleeves up and make this happen for the kids. it's important. money.ually it saves instead of punishing them for being homeless, let's bring them back in. me tell you one thing, it's had worth your money. i was one of the kids that benefited from a program like this and i think that it's important. think that i gave back and i you never knownd who these kids are going to be. i ne

after leahy visited cuba back in 2013. he felt-a humanitarian gesture that might create empathy for u.s. captives held in cuba. the baby girl is due in a couple of weeks. >>> on this tuesday morning, this is the video the feds want everyone to see. they want to stay off the naughty list this christmas. the new rules for drones coming your way. >> and what is cool about your school? you can e-mail your nomination to us at coolschools@kpix.com. and we may come and feature your school on the show. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, new way to get equipment to international space station. >>> a bay area company helps find a new way to get equipment to the international space station, here's a picture of commander butch will more holding the first up link tool printed in space. the socket wrench was designed on earth and it was e-mailed to the international space station. then manufactured using a 3d printer. process took less than a week and the 3d printer is the first to operate in zero gravity. it was built by made in space the company based

i would like to acknowledge as well the commitment of chairman leahy who last year shepherded the violence against women act through this committee and into law. know, it requires colleges to be more transparent about sexual assault and other offenses committed on campus. in my home state, attorney general peter kilmartin and rhode island's universities are working with me on developing best practices and advising me in a legislative efforts. i want to express my appreciation to our very robust higher education community and rhode island into our attorney general. finally, i would like to thank all are witnesses today for joining us. i know you work a in and day out to help survivors who are seeking closure and justice. i look forward to hearing more about your efforts. campus sexual assault is not a new phenomenon. in the last two years -- it has shed light on just how pervasive it has become with some estimates suggesting as many as one and five women may experience sexual violence in college. reports of sex offenses on college campuses rose 50% from 2009 to federal data. offenses,ajorit

senator leahy has been in cuba before.'90s and brought fidel castro famously ben and jerry ice cream. no stranger to diplomacy. >> circle of life. >> he likes batman photography and diplomatic insemination. >> humanitarian insemination. get the hash tag right. >> dan is saying get it right. it won't end up in wikipedia unless you get it right. straight ahead you didn't need to wait until christmas who made santa's naughty and nice list. and the reason why this list is made up. police are taking extra cautions in all five boroughs of new york city after two officers were shot and murdered. we'll talk to the president of the queens borough when "morning joe" comes back. green lights yo? no. it's called grid iq. the 4:51 is leaving at 4:51. ♪ they cut the power. it'll fix itself. power's back on. quick thinking traffic lights and self correcting power grids make the world predictable. thrillingly predictable. ♪ (holiday mhey! is playing) i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are

hopeful leahy will be back. i don't know. i am not paying attention to that. >> we have to play football. all of the other stuff, it will handle itself. we need to focus on what we can control and what we can handle. let everything handle itself. >> stay tuned. the raiders trying to win back to back games are to the first time since 2012. they did that in kansas city. a chance to make it two in a row in kansas city. can't win games when you punt it 11 times. 477 yards and only one taken back. thomas, former duck from oregon. 81 yards. 7-0 chiefs. the raiders trail in the third. three yards for the score. carr fumbles and carr threw 56 times for 222 yards. that fumble lead to a touchdown. haven't thrown a td pass to a wide receiver this year. 24-6 chiefs. smith and davis and he is gone. 18 of 30 and 297 yards and two td's. raiders are 0-7 on the road and 2-12 overall. they fall 31-13. we will take our final timeout before getting to the nba. they continue their franchise setting winning we're for an opens you internet for all.

. >> the president had the bipartisan support of patrick leahy and jeff flake who flew to cuba to bringe. but cuban officials are opposed to the deal. from the white house chairman to senator marco rub bow, two backers to the u.s. bearing. >> this policy contribution is absurd and disgraceful for a president who claims to treasure human rights and human freedom. >> this president is the worst single negotiator we've had in the white house in my lifetime. >>> i think it's time for us to end the embargo on cuba. >> to a candidate for president -- >> i will maintain the embargo. >> but in his final years in office, the president wants to turn the page. >> today, we are making these changes because it is the right thing to do. >> extreme controversial, but as part of this deal, we're seeing five men for the first time in years. they include alan gross, the u.s. american subcontractor, held for five year, allegedly, his crime was trying to set up an internet network for cuban dissidents. the white house said he was released on humanitarian grounds. >> other unidentified intelligence agent wa

senator patrick leahy looking to renew that program.e will go to brad in iowa, independent caller. what are your thoughts on the affordable care act? do you oppose it, support it? caller: i oppose it totally. host: why is that? caller: my insurance premium has more than doubled starting january 1 -- has more than doubled. starting january 1, it goes up again. i forced to pay for it. starting january 1, i am now covered for reconstructive breast surgery if i have to have amos sector me. my son is in a union. his health insurance is gone from $20 a week to $46 a week. my parents' medicare supplement has gone up over $1000 a year. my doctor quit a clinic in which i go to. they choose to have 14 doctors, but it is now down to four doctors. my father's specialist has retired at an age of 48 because of obamacare. host: all right, that was brad in iowa. the ap has an update on that airasia flight. they are reporting that searchers are combing the java sea give recover debris and bodies from the jet that crashed sunday morning with 162 people o

. >> senator pat leahy, thank you both so much. >> best wishes for a happy and healthy season to you. the story of a 7-year-old boy, a refugfugee from the war whose mother is finding it harder and harder to give him what he needs. you are watching andrea mitchell want reports. i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. ring ring! progresso! i can't believe i'm eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sister's wedding well it's only 100 calories, so you'll be ready for that dress uh-huh... you don't love the dress? i love my sister... 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. and for many, it's a struggle to keep your a1c down. so imagine, what if there was a new class of medicine that works differently to lower blood sugar? imagine, loving your numbers. introducing once-daily invokana®. it's the first of a new kind of prescription medicine that's used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. invokana® i

. >> yes officers leahy sat next to me in the police act, we was one of the 23 officers who died at 9 which was tremendous, tremendous burden on the whole country. >> not that you need to have lost someone to feel what these officers are feeling as we roll these pictures in again tell me about these officers, who are coming from all over the country, what are they feeling? >> they're feeling sadness. there is comradely. whenever there is a line of duty funry, when officers are murdered all around the country the nypd sends a contingent and people go in on their own. that's the thing about police and firemen they stick together. >> you know, i can recall other police funerals, and i can remember big numbers. you can help me on this. have we ever seen a funeral in new york or anywhere else that you're familiar with where we're talking about the size of the contingent being amassed here, 25,000 to 30,000 police officers coming from across the country to these funerals. >> you're not going to see one like this. this is because of the recent climate. 9 brown and garner, the cops are feelin

the request was passed on to senator leahy.received a double life sentence for his role in the downing of two planes by the cuban air force that killed four cuban-americans. the u.s. officials helped him conceive a child is sure to add salt to the wounds of cuban exiles already enraged in rekindled u.s./cuban relations. he and his wife say in about two week's time they are due to have a baby girl and thanked the u.s. officials who made this unlikely pregnancy possible. definitive proof of the old saying that politics really do make strange bedfellows. >> and here i was thinking there would be a christmas miracle to talk about. patrick, you've been doing phenomenal reporting as cnn was the only network live when this incredible announcement came down. it's been almost a week, patrick. is it too soon to ask this question or has this news bled through that island and palpable changes can be felt? >> reporter: oh, it's -- in terms of tone and sense and optimism, cubans are very excited. they've got more hope of the future, which is

. >> last year when senator patrick leahy visited cuba to check on alan gross. didn't know if she would see her husband out of prison. she loved him very much. she wanted his child. she's now in her early 40s and she's afraid that may not happen. >> leahy intervened arranging the delivery of hernandez's sperm where the castro regime funded the artificial insemination procedure. it had nothing to do with politics of the two countries. it was just a family value. human thing. >> but there is some outrage about the conception. the sister of one of the cuban-americans killed in the planes called the entire effort absurd. here we are going way over overboard so the guy has a child? it doesn't make any sense she told nbc news. >> it's tragic that the people were shot down, but let's not take it out on a child years later. a child that can be born into a loving family. >> thanks to nbc's kaitd snow there. >>> coming up we'll look at the big names we said goodbye to in 2014 from the world of stage and screen. there are a lot of people who made us laugh. >> i have a radi

with is from washington is retired colonel sedrick leahy, he spent 26 years as a special prognoses officer and was responsible for training thousand oz nsa workers in detecting and preventing cyberthreats and is live with us from washington. >> good to be with you've. >> i read this north korea stuff. i don't know about this groups. what can they do? >> they can do quite a bit and it doesn't take much to do a lot of things in the cyberworld so they can really attack any network they want to. how effective the attack is depend on the network. >> what can we do to stop them from doing what they do? >> well, there are a lot of things. first of all, when you're looking at what a government can do, it can do a lot of things. the white house is obviously considering things like sanctions, things like that, but more concretely, when it comes to the technical side of it, there is a lot one can do to protect one's own data. you can incrept -- encrypt the data and make sure malware has the most updated virus programs but you need to good way beyond that because firewalls and the standard antivirus p

senator patrick leahy has been instrumental in sheparding the arrival of this day. wasn't to thank all of the members of congress from all sides of the aisle such as senator flake, representatives chris van holen and barbara lee and others who spoke up or visited me, subjected themselves to my ranting and helped me regain some of my weight. even in cuba, m & ms melt in your mouth, not in your hands. to all of those who tried to visit but were unable to, thank you for trying. i'm at your service as soon as i get some new teeth, and i hope they will be strong and sharp enough to make a difference. to the washington jewish community, ron halber in particular and his staff at the jewish community relations council, all of the executive directors, staff and volunteers of participating jcrc, federation, synagogue, schools and other jewish, christian and muslim organizations nationwide, god bless you and thank you. it was crucial to me survival knowing that i was not forgotten. your prayers and your actions have been comforting, me assuring and sustaining. and to my extend

senator leahy has said if you had all of this information, jay bybee would not have passed, and john would not have been appointed. they should be suspended and disbarred. prosecution,ve a you have established the faulting is, the horrific faulting us of the legal opinion. it seems to me, at least in this country, before you have a prosecution, there has to be an invalidation. he is a defense lawyer, but i strongly disagree that bush and cheney would have a defense. these memos appeared independently from the justice department. these memos were facilitated by the very people, cheney, etc., we believe should be indicted. it was part of a conspiracy to get away with torture. that is not the subject now. that is clear to me. secondly, whenever we think of the memos, they are useless in europe. europe does not accept the golden shield of a legal defense. either it is torture or it is not. you did it, or you did not. that is one reason we are going to europe to bring these cases. >> the clip that we played a president obama saying it is no use fighting old arguments -- you are, in essenc

the plane this morning from andrews took judy gross, alan's wife, scott gilbert along senators leahy and flake and congressman van holen down to havana. they landed. they found alan there. they were on the ground for about a half hour. when they got back up on the plane there was a big bowl of popcorn waiting for alan because that's one of the things he said he has missed during the last five years that he was in prison. he also got a corner beef sandwich on rye with mustard, and they had apple sauce and sour cream there. that was a nice hanukkah present. the pilot announced they were entering into u.s. air space, and alan stood up on the plane and took a deep breath. he called both of his daughters, and the words he said to them both was, i'm free. president obama called alan while he was on the plane in washington. he congratulated him on his freedom, and alan thanked him for getting him out of prison. it was a frequently conversation, as you can imagine by coincidence they came over from the plane over to the real building where alan was visiting with members of congress and secre

the request was passed along by senator leahy seeking to improve conditions for mr.hile imprisoned in cuba. herrardo received a double life sentence for downing of two planes by cuban air force that killed four cuban americans. the u.s. officials helped him conceived a child is sure to add salt to the wounds of cuban exiles, enraged and rekindled u.s. cuban relations. the couple say in two week's time they're due to have a baby girl. and thanked the u.s. officials who made this unlikely pregnant see possible. definitive proof of the old saying that politics really do make strange bedfellows. >>> well, devil offing out of sydney, australian court has revoked bail for the wife of the sydney siege gunman. the widow of the gunman. she was free on bail after being charged with the murder of the ex-wife. now in custody after the court ordered her to return to jail to await trial. an allege add complice in the murder, was also out on bail. that led to widespread criticism of the storming of a sydney cafe at gun point last monday. sparking a 16-hour hostage standoff that led

we need to pass the voting rights amendments act which was authored by chairman leahy. and republican congressman jim sen sen brunner. this bipartisan legislation is a response the supreme court's 2013 shelby county decision. this will be my last hearing as chairman of the subcommittee as i turn over the gavel to senator cruz, the incoming chairman. clearly there is much work to do. i look forward to working with senator cruz in the 114th congress as we struggle to create a more perfect union. mr. cruz. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i thank witnesses who are here today. there is no more important role for united states senate than to carefully guard and protect the civil rights of every american. we take an oath to uphold the constitution. and that is a promise every american rightly should hold us ccountable to honor. the chairman and i agree on a number of matters. concerning civil rights. as he mentioned, we both co-sponsored the smarter sentencing act, which would reduce mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders and help restore the proper balance f federalism,

it just means senior democrats like pat leahy, dick durbin, who traditionally took out these objectionablents and conference, legislative conference, won't be empowered to do that anymore. it is a misapprehension of think democrats in congress are uniformly in favor of lifting the embargo on cuba. >> it is interesting to also talk about the u.s. relationship with another part of cuba, the u.s. has put cuba on the u.s. terrorist list. what about the u.s. property that is actually cuban property, guantÁnamo? michael, as we begin to wrap up this discussion, what happens with guantÁnamo? >> guantanamo is there on what we call a bilateral lease tween $4000 orand cuba, like 4000 pounds of gold or something, dollars in gold. raul break the lease. -- it takes both parties to break the lease. it is a political and legal outrage. 70 something have been cleared for release. essentially run as a torture chamber. there was a black cytec guantanamo. you are seeing this opening with cuba and yet you're seeing the united states using this as essentially an offshore detentionnterrogation and one time tortu