if mr. obama were to end the embargo and someone challenged him on the basis of helms-burton, it would be possible to say mr. clinton said he never looked at this as what the words really say. and then you have an interesting court case because i don't think there has ever been a challenge to a signing statement that has gone all the way to the supreme court. nobody wants to fight with this president, folks. fighting with him is a really losing proposition right now. but he all by himself has said i am going to keep the embargo until cuba becomes a democracy. >> i enjoyed your talk by the way. you might touch on the cuban missile crisis. how influential do you think that is as far as our reluctance to open arms and be a neighbor trading and that sort of thing? it seems it still hangs over us. >> i think it did. i am not sure that it still does, but unquestionably unquestionably to go through the archives of the kennedy library, the johnson library in austin, texas, is to be astounded by how worrie

i think mrs. obama is the only one -- maybe eisenhower who used the same twice, for both inaugural gowns. >> here we have mrs. obama. i have my biases, i have to say. tracy, you have dressed our current first lady. >> an honor, yeah. >> a number of times. what's your sense of mrs. obama's style? >> you know, i feel like she's just purely an individual who wears what she likes and knows looks good on her. i think she isn't looking so much to the past to see how first ladies have dressed and should dress.she's really a wome moment. i think it's very pure and natural how she presents herself. when you meet her and speak with her, that's what you get. you get this realness. i think for the presidency and for their impact on the world and the country, i think they want to present this realness. >> it's sincere. don't you believe? >> yeah. very much is. >> i think she's had a huge impact on the fashion industry not so much perhaps on the average american woman, though i think the right to bear arms struck a n

when mr. obama was running for president the first time there was a fund-raiser thrown in new york and adam winter was a host and andre and this list of fashion luminaries and it was at a gallery in chelsea and, you know, we get there and it's this all white room and, you know, and you have to shake the hand and it's like, okay. and mrs. obama gave a speech and it was very personal speech and everyone was just getting more and more excited. she was looking at everyone in the crowd. she makes eye contact. and she looked directly at me and looked back and speaking and i'm looking behind me like who's she looking senate. >> looking at you. >> at the end of the speech we had the opportunity to meet her but all of these fancy designers bum rushed the stage. it was hilarious. people shouldering each other out and pushing and shoving and i was like, where am i? who are these people? you know? but that's how everybody was jockeying for position and for some kind of favor and, you know, to touch her arm. and

if mr. obama were to end the embargo and someone challenged him on the basis of the helms -- helms-burton, it would be possible to say mr. clinton said he never looked at this as with the words really say and then you have an interesting court case because i don't think there has ever been a challenge to a signing statement that has gone all the way to the supreme court. nobody wants to fight with this president, folks. fighting with him is a really losing proposition right now. but he all by himself has said i am going to keep the embargo until cuba becomes a democracy. >> i enjoyed your talk by the way. you might touch on the cuban missile crisis, how influential you think that is as far as our reluctance to open arms and neighbor trading and that sort of thing? it seems it still hangs over us. >> i think it did. i am not sure that it still does, but unquestionably, unquestionably to go through the archives of the kennedy library, the johnson library in austin, texas, is to be astounded by how w

mr. obama's pollsters looked at the data from south florida where there are about 833,000 cuban-americans. familyid they want more visits and want to be able to send money to their families and that's what he promised to do in may. and here, shortly after taking office, he fulfilled his promise to the cuban-american community. congress isrue that seizing the initiative on the embargo. i don't know if you saw the black caucus, six of them went down to cuba and they came back talking like senator richard lugar, the ranking senate republican -- set a republican on the foreign relations community -- committee. jeff flake from arizona, member of the house of representatives -- there are several bills in tont of congress right now eliminate travel restrictions entirely and a couple of others to take other steps to weaken the embargo. then there is the problem mr. obama has with the rest of the hemisphere. country that has an embargo with cuba. the rest of the hemisphere is adamantly opposed. they loo

mr. obama had one suggestion for the republican leadership. he thinks it would be democratic and progressive and in harmony if he passes the bills he tells them he's willing to sign. >> if executive actions on areas like minimum wage or equal pay or having a more sensible immigration system are important to republicans and they care about those issues and the executive actions are bothering them there's a very simple solution and that is pass bills and work with me to make sure i'm willing to sign those bills. >> and now president obama off to hawaii for seven days of vacation with his family. joining us the former arkansas governor, presidential candidate, and host of "huckabee," mike huckabee. >> thank you, lou. merry christmas to you. obama is gone for seven days. we won't have to hear anymore more of this stuff. >> did he not look like the dourest figure? >> he did, but it was a disappointing press conference for this reason. here's a president who could have called sony but instead he said, why didn't they call me. we don't let tinfoil ha

mr. obamaan 2014 with a vow to go around congress. >> i have got a pen and i have got a phone, and i can use that pen to sign executive orders, and take actions that move the ball forward. >> reporter: and so he did. on the minimum wage, ordering the federal government to raise it to $10.10 an hour for outside contractors. and on immigration where he reversed course, giving a three-year retrieve to deportation to parents with children in the country legally. >> i think it's the height of arrogance. >> reporter: there have been setbacks, and issues where he struggled to find the right response. ferguson, missouri, as outrage and riots shook the streets. the president calling for a measured response as the community burns. when mr. obama found his footing, he vowed to change attitudes between police and minorities. >> part of the reason this will be different is because the president of the united states is determined to make it different. >> reporter: but it was overseas where mr. obama has stru

in an interview with people magazine, mrs. obama says 's been mistaken for a store em >>> the obamas are sharing their personal experience with racism. in an interview with "people" magazine mrs. obama says she has been mistaken for a store employee at a target. she also shares a story about the president at a gala. she says he was wearing a tuxedo and someone mistaken him for a waiter asked him for coffee. the president says there's no black male my age who is a professional who hasn't come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn't hand them their keys. the obamas discussed racism with their daughters. mrs. obama say, quote, these conversations are not new to us. when you have black kids, you have to talk about these issues because they are real. >>> happening today, a symbol used in protests nationwide will be used on courthouse steps across the bay area today. we are talking about the "hands up, don't shoot!" demonstrations used by protestors to show racial disparities in the criminal justice system. to

mr. obama's white house that then asked google to remove the muhammad video from youtube's video service. insisting he means to stand up to north korea. this time the president said he will give a proportional response aimed at north korea. he didn't elaborate further. reports suffered that the president is considering retaliation. he's actually thinking about putting north korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. that designation would put north korea along syria, cuba, and iran. a designation that so far has done nothing to stop bashar and the president two days ago beginning his attempt to normalize relations with raul castro and cuba. when asked about the long-term effect of his unilateral action, the president had nothing concrete to say. obama: i think it would be unrealistic for me to map out exactly where cuba will be. but change is going to come to cuba. it has to. lou: it has to. the president also asked about working with a new republican congress next year and the loom

last week mr. obama said it was a mistake for sony pictures to cancel the comedy. that upset north korea leaders and inspired a cyber attack on the movie company. before leaving on his vacation president obama promised a proportional response for the cyber attack. many. >>> many people unwrapped a sony playstation or x-box for christmas. if you tried to hook it up online you got a lump of coal. thousands reported problems on the x box live and playstation gaming networks as a band of hackers took credit for being christmas grinches. a group called lizard squad claimed responsibility on twitter, saying that it toppled networks by overwhelming the servers with fake user traffic. this caps off a rough holiday season for sony following the cyber attack over the release of "the interview." >>> a small plane crash claimed the lives of a father and son who lived in santa clara. they flew into gilroy christmas eve. on the way back to the father's home in amador county, the plane crashed 45 miles southeast of sacramento near sutter creek. authorities got a 911 call about the

president and mrs. obamat their personal experience with racism inch an interview with "people" magazine, mrs. obama said she was mistaken for a store employee and mr. obama says he was mistaken for a waiter. there isn't a black man my age who is a professional who has been standing outside of a restaurant waiting for their car and been handed keys. they said, "these conversations aren't new to us. when you're raising black kids, pu have to talk about these issues because they're real." we'll go back to scott pelley in havana in a moment. alhange in a. so cvs health is changing healthcare. making it more accessible and affordable, with over 900 locations for walk-in medical care. and more on the way. minuteclinic. another innovation from cvs health. because health is everything. [ female announcer ] you've tried to forget your hepatitis c. but you shouldn't forget this. hepatitis c is a serious disease. left untreated, it can lead to liver damage and potentially liver cancer. but you haven't been forgotten. t

mr. obama energetically attacked president bush as a unilateralist and mr. a always played the part of a wise multilateralist, when then-senator barack obama was running for office he declared he would not abuse his power like president bush. >> these last few years, we've seen an unacceptable abuse of power at home. we face real threats, any president needs the latitude to confront them swiftly and surely. we paid a heavy price for having a president whose priority is expanding his own power. the constitution is treated like a nuisance. lou: he could have hardly better described himself, a narcissistic petullant president punished his policy is repudiated and vengeance unleashed, a president whose unilateralism is anything far beyond imagined by previous presidents. no one, no government able to keep him in check. amnesty for illegal immigrants and reverse posture by the united states toward communist cuba. all amount to blatant disregard for the constitution, the congress, the laws they've created, and our national traditions. he is now lashing out at the a

so the first thing mr. obama does after the election is to grant legal status to 5 million immigrants. the president is condemned the looting and arson that broke out when a grand jury declined to indict the policeman, but mr. obama has never said one point suggesting that michael brown was in any way responsible for what happened to him. nor has heati shunned the race >> were you surprised how close al sharpton is to this white house and even publicly. >> i really am, bret, because sharpton has a really negative history. at least he tried to make it such. he's attack cheat, he's in the rears by huge sums on his taxes. and i think the guy's politically radioactive and i just don't understand for the life of me why the president would link himself so closely with this guy, because i think in terms of white working class voters for example, i can't imagine that that doesn't hurt the president and his party with such voters. >> with all that we hear got the demographic shift in 2016, going back to your first point,

reagan and mrs. obama. they have moved into the category as a national treasure because of their age and what they represent. that's my story. >> that is quite a story. >> and this is more from the nixons. >> she loved garland. >> where is that tree? >> it was in the grand foyer. there have been years where it was in the grand foyer. >> many years, it was in the blue room. >> last time the principal tree was in the kennedy administration. every year, it has been the principal tree with a theme on it has been in the blue room. there have been trees all over. >> there was a new tradition established under the nixons which is the gingerbread house. here are two of them. >> give you a little bit of background. the traditional gingerbread house is german and an american citizen and was born in germany and came to the white house in the johnson administration and when mrs. nixon came in, he went to her one day and said, the white house ought to have a tradition from around the world and i would like to create a g

and on tuesday, mr. obama travels to nashville to talk about immigration. with last week's grand jury decision in new york not to a white police officer, is posing newspaper this question we want to get your calls. the numbers are on your screen. a u can also join in on conversation, many of you already have on our facebook page. headline this morning -- congressman bill cassidy in what has been called a landslide. is 14 rgin of victory points for cassidy. again, the headline is -- cassidy wins. and headline we want to focus on this morning -- race relations in america. the following -- when the president was elected as the president six years ago, many hoped his presidency new day on the issue of race. in last week's writing and looting, some wonder if the country has made much progress. there are those who seem to take positions based on race. we were get your causing but ent in just a moment, following the news of not to indict the officer that oof a ed in the death black male. the president had this to say. [video clip] >> too many americans feel deep u

mr. obamake on that and other issues, at a year-end news conference. >> all i want for xmas is to take your questions. >> woodruff: it was a year-end review dominated by the events of one week. as the fallout continued from the sony hacking scandal, and the studio's decision to cancel the release of the movie about assassinating north korea's leader, the president weighed in. >> i'm sympathetic that sony as a private company was worried about liabilities and this and that and the other. i wish they had spoken to me first. i would've told them do not get into a pattern in which you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks. >> woodruff: without divulging specifics, he said the u.s. will respond to the attack. mr. obama also discussed his move to reopen diplomatic relations with cuba. he acknowledged the country's regime still oppresses its people, but did find room for optimism: >> what i know deep in my bones is that if you've done the same thing for 50 years and nothing's changed, you

mr. obama's actions. >> in our view president obama's actions are unconstitutional. president obama's actions are unlawful. president obama's actions violate the separation of powers. >> reporter: mr. obama said he'd change the law in response to a protester and while josh earnest suggested the president wasn't speak literally, he conceded -- >> the law has been changed in terms of the way it affects people in the country. >> reporter: some legal experts say provisions that enable the nondeported to qualify for senior citizens benefits go beyond prioritizing deporation. >> the people will now get social security cards, we don't know how social security cards have anything to do with prosecutorial discretion. >> reporter: administration officials say the law allows anyone who pays social security taxes for ten years to draw benefits. as for the white house argument that congress can undo the immigration actions by passing immigration bill. >> i think congress can pass a bill when the american people start gaining trust in the administration to do their job and enforce

. >> mr. obama began 2014 with a vow to go around congress. that's what it took to enact his endi got a pen, i got a phone. i can use that pen to take executive actions that move the ball forward. >> and so he did. on the minimum wage. ordering the federal government to raise it to $10.10 for outside contractors. and on immigration where he reversed course giving a reprieve of deportation away from u.s. children legally. critics called him an emporer and worse. >> i think it's the height of arrogance. >> there have been set backs for president obama. issues where he struggled to find the right response. ferguson, missouri, as riots shook the streets. from the white house, the president in a split screen paradox as a community burned. he vowed to change at understo . >> it was overseas in places that have challenged american presidents for years. where mr. obama has struggled most. in february the crimean parliament is seen by armed men. behind the move, a defiant russia. thousands were killed in a civil war and thousands more were forced to le

. >> but mr. obamaes strengthened opposition, gop leaders are vowing to fight on a host of issues, including mr. obama's opening to cuba. lift the economic embar go. >> i think that ultimately we need to go ahead and pull down the embargo which i think has been self-defeating in advancing the aims that we're interested in. but i don't anticipate that that happens right away. >> republicans will also try and balk the president's executive actions on immigration and repeal all or part of the affordable care act, obamacare. >> if republicans seek to take health care way from people who just got it, they will meet stiff resistance from me. >> hands up don't shoot. >> and in the wake of ferguson staten island and cleveland, mr. obama sees a shift in public awareness when it comes to racial tensions between african americans and law enforcement. >> because people have been able to film what has just been in the past, stories passed on around a kitchen table, allows people to make their own evaluations. you're

then mr. obamahammered out the deal in the phone call yesterday, the first presidential contact since the cuban revolution more than 50 years ago. at the white house at the hanukkah celebration, the president talked about his conversation with alan gross. >> i spoke to him on his flight. he said he was willing to interrupt his corn beef sandwich to talk to me. i told him he had mustard in his mustache. i couldn't actually see him. needless to say, he was thrilled and he landed at andrews in a plane marked the united states of america. he will be getting the medical attention he needs. he is back where he belongs in america with his family. >> reporter: a senior official said cuba's former leader, fidel castro, was not involved with the necessigotiation was the de. >> thanks, jim. a raging political debate over this move. opponents say it throws the castro regime a lifeline instead of trying to squeeze it out of power. two senators, cuban-american, denounced the agreement. >> this policy contradictio

mrs. obama says these conversations are not new to us. when you have black kids, you have to talk about these issues because they are real. and these issues are real and raw. our reporter christin ayers discovered that firsthand. christin has been covering the recent bay area protests against police brutality and tonight, she opens up about something she was shocked to hear from other people of color. >> reporter: it's the night of black friday as the protest builds on the streets of san francisco. >> we are ashamed of you. >> reporter: a tense scene unfolds between a black officer and a group of young minority protesters. >> we are out here for you. >> reporter: moments later, they start chanting ... >> sell out cop! >> reporter: they are saying sell-out cop. it is a scene all too familiar for lieutenant leron armstrong. >> it is surprising to see someone call you an uncle tom. >> reporter: born and raised in oakland. lieutenant armstrong is the president of the back officer's association. he hears those taunts over and over on the skirm

mr. obama says he thinks somebody made a mistake by pulling the comedy "the interview" from theaters. >> we cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can impose sensorship here in the united states because if somebody is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a satirical movie, imagine what they start doing when they see a documentary they don't like or news reports they don't like. >>> well, the hack on sony computers resulted in a leak of confidential employee information and e-mails. but, in south korea, the government there is concerned about cyber attacks on much more than entertainment companies. they are worried about nuclear power plants. we have the report from seoul. >> hello, north korea. >> reporter: the hollywood movie pulled, a mega company exposed. a warning shot of a cyber war from north career ya. they launched crippling attacks in that country, the most brazen coming to life this week. a hack of the power plant system. a security expert that works with south ko

. >> reporter: mr. obama has named philadelphia police commissioner charles ramsey to head a national task force to build public trust in police. and mr. obama wants many more police wearing body cameras. the nfl today did not discipline five st. louis rams who yesterday protested the killing of michael brown with hands up we respect the concerns of all individuals on this tragic situation, said the league that had people protesting again today. this was new york. and downtown washington. nearly four months after ferguson became a symbol. now it's up to congress to decide whether to fund those body cameras, not really expe e expensive. three years, $250 million. experts say those kind of little lapel-mounted cameras can keep police safer, communities safer, and improve police/community relations. because frankly they make it clearer what happened when police pull their weapons. >> some department in the bay area already wearing body cameras. tonight at 5:30 on "nightly news," a closer look at military equipme

she looks very much like mrs. obama all this high brow material we thought we'd balance it out with a few skinnier items. time to see what the kids are up to. let's check out kendall jenner looking festive. santa's little helper for the british "love" magazine hitting stands today. the 19-year-old half-sister to the kardashians is making a name for herself as a model in her own right. >> how about somebody previously linked to kendall. there he is, justin bieber. here sporting a new 'do. a bright new 'do from his instagram page. blond bieber? yeah? works? >> yeah, it kind of reminds me of a blond t.j. holmes. >> i have not done the blond thing yet. i need to grow out a little more hair. i might do it one day. why not? >> surprise us. >> sure. >>> let's do celebrity birthdays. >> celebrating today, legendary singer of the allman brothers band, gregg allman turns 67. >> kim basinger, 61. i cannot believe that. >> former "desperate housewives" star teri hatcher turns 50. >> and rapper, singer, actress, nicky minaj, 32. hap

in his new interview with "people" magazine, mr. obama says quote, there's no black male my age who is a professional who hasn't come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn't hand them their car keys. wow. the president has launched a crusade of ignorance against this country that has given him all that he has today. what he should in my opinion be saying is thank you, lord, thank you, america. is mr. obama grateful in any apparent way? no, not that i can see. he railed about having once been mistaken as a valet and as a waiter when he was wearing a tuxedo at a black tie dinner. is then the president's top advisor also a racist? valerie jarrett mistook four star general peter carelli for a waiter back in 2011. first lady michelle obama went on to give an example of racism in this country of her own. she recalled an incognito trip to a target department store, where a woman asked the first lady for her help. the first lady obliged and the first lady this week joined in the white house's campaign of ignorance, te

mr. obamang sony pictures for pulling a movie from theaters after the company was hit hard by a devastating cyberattack. joining us live now from honolulu with the very latest on the first family's trip to the aloha state. >> president obama was clearly not happy with sony's decision to pull the release of that movie and yesterday the ceo of the entertainment division of sony shot back. he's been a big political supporter of the president. but yesterday he said on cnn that he defended his actions, that the president was mistaken. last night, the president arrived with his family here in hawaii for their annual vacation. around 11:00 last night. they plan to be here for 17 days. about there will be plenty of work. starting to do with what to do about north korea and its hacking attack of sony. president obama said the u.s. will, quote, respond. he would not get more specific. but said it would be, quote, proportional. "the new york times" is reporting mr. obama will be briefed on his options whi

mr. obama's shadow. catching the moments that others are not allowed to see. eruptions of laughter between friends and the first family. this climb against air force one, ins traigs prags for house of cards. and rare glimpses of the obamas as parents. a father a mother and a private moment with honest abe. and capturing the humor too. the most famous ears in washington. or mr. obama getting bunny ears of a different kind. but for all the political battles, a reminder that the president is a human being. a kiss under the mistletoe. a hunger for those moments of peace and quiet. which in 2015 will certainly be a rare find. devin dwyer, abc news traveling with the president in honolulu. >> and there are about a hundred of those photos on the white house website. very nice. >> i'd love to trade jobs with pete souza for a week. just to be a fly on the wall. my pictures would not be that good. >> stay with us for "good morning america." >> and a happy, happy new year >> ♪♪ >> "action news." delaware valley's l

before leaving on his vacation, mr. obama had promised a proportional response for the cyberattack. >>> many people unwrapped a sony consul game for christmas. if you tried to hook it up yopp line, you probably got a lump of coal. thousands of people reported problems. a gang of hackers took credit for being christmas grinchs. a group called lizard squad claimed credit saying they overwhelmed the users with fake user traffic. this caps off a rough holiday season for sony following the cyberattack over the release of "the interview." >>> tonight a search is under way for an escaped inmate from monterey jail. freddie swanson. officials say he escaped a medium security rehab area of the jail by climbing into a ventilation duct, punching through a window and jumping off the roof. he was arrested last week for drugs and weapons charges. he is 5'9", about 160 pounds with brown eyes and hair. he is caucasian. if you see him or have information, call 911. >>> down in los angeles county, strong winds tore through the area this morning

mr. obamaismissed many as too showy or distracting. among the ideas floated-- a town hall on racial divisions, an event highlighting black and white churches building racial reconciliation, trips to memorialize michael brown or eric garner, or an ambitious national speech on race. >> the speech that needs to be had ultimately is the speech about citizenship and democracy. >> reporter: ben jealous led the n.a.a.c.p., from 2008 to 2013. >> this president's greatest power is to call citizens of this country into action to shape the future of their country. er should not give that up. >> reporter: top advisers bristle at accusation the president is awol. ceme describe an intense push for law enforcement reform built around the president's new task amrce due to report in early march. mr. obama spoke to its leader, philadelphia police chief charles ramsey, and new york police commissioner bill bratten, hours after the police murders. in addition, top white house adviser valerie jarret counseled new y

is mr. obama grateful if any apparent way? no.ot that i can see he talks about being mistaken as a waiter at a black-tie dinner and the top adviser is she a racist? bowery jarrett was mistaken peter as a waiter and first lady michelle obama gave an example of racism she recalled the incognito trip where a woman asked the first lady for helping she obliged and joined in the campaign telling "people" magazine '' she did not see me as the first lady she saw me as someone who could helper. those things happen so it is nothing new. the courage and sacrifice that she made. aren't you impress? why is this an issue now? but it wasn't when she first described the incident to david letterman two years ago then it was very different. >> she said excuse me, i just have to ask you something and i thought the cover is blown. she said knu reached down to hand me the detergent. [laughter] i kid you not. the only thing she said she was short she said she didn't have to make it look so easy. that was my interaction. [laughter] lou: she should. help