Stay updated with breaking news from Fits. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
barking dog and that appears to be what alerted the hostage s captors to what was going on. during the firefight that then followed, u.s. forpdss saw a militant go into the shack where the hostages were being held. it is believed that is when he shot both of the hostages, both of them died as a result of those injuries, as u.s. forces were transporting them away. u.s. intelligence did not know the identity of the other hostage being held with somers. he has since been identified as south african teacher pierre korkie. a char that worked with korkie says he was due to be released today. to discuss this and many of the other top stories for the week, joined by our panel, bring in democratic strategist basil smythe, jr., political consultant and former adviser to mitt romney, cater packer gauge and msnbc correspondent, casey packer hunt. obviously on this hostage story, we are learning the details, obviousiously a heartbreaking story, another report i know in the new york times this ....
that we seize it. my presidency is entering the fourth quarter. interesting stuff happens in the fourth quarter. and i m looking forward to it. going into the fourth quarter, you usually get a time-out. i m now looking forward to a quiet time-out. christmas with my family. i want to wish everybody a measure wrimerry christmas, a happy hanukkah, a happy new year. i hope that all of you get time to spend with your families as well because one thing that we share is that we re away too much from them. and now, josh has given me the who s been naughty and who s been nice list and i m going to take some questions. reporter: thank you, mr. president. starting with north korea since that seems to be the biggest topic today, what does a proportional response look like to the sony hack? and did sony make the right decision in pulling the movie or does that set a dangerous precedent? let me address the second question first. sony is a corporation. it suffered significant damage. the ....
. raul castro, the president of cuba will also give a news conference in his country that will happen at noon eastern time. of course cnn will continue to follow this breaking news throughout the day. thank you for joining me today, i m carol kos toll low. @this hour with berman and michaela starts now. hello, everyone. i m john berman. and. and i m michaela pereira. history is being made at this hour after more than a half century of tension and diplomat diplomatic silence between the u.s. it s releasing alan gross from prison after five years. a series of genuinely breathtaking developments. cuba is also releasing a u.s. intelligence asset, a spy, who s been locked up in cuba for more than 20 years. in return washington is freeing three cuban spies convicted in 2001 of espionage. that is big in and of itself. it all seems part now of something much, much bigger. president obama will announce major changes in u.s. policy toward cuba. officials calling them the most sw ....
mike chael flynn s contacts and were there any people in donald trump s universe as a candidate who were in contact with entities in russia, russian agents, that kind of thing. it is significant but it s also the standard way they would begin an investigation. the white house acknowledges it will preserve these types of records. i want to go to the white house. kristen, what do we know about these memos, signed by the secretary of homeland security? reporter: halle, these are draft memos, not etched in stones. the white house saying these are among the choices under consideration but it shows that the white house is looking to get tough on immigration. they include hiring 10,000 agents and officers for custom enforcement, expedite the removal of undocumented immigrants in the u.s. for two years or left. it would call for deputizing local law enforcement and then it would also potentially hold parents who pay smugglers to bring in their children accountable. they could face p ....
he hasn t been charged with anything yet. but it would be standard procedure, and a special counsel investigation, to look into any financial here s what jared kushner s lawyer is saying in a statement tonight. we do not know what this report refers to. it could be standard practice for the special counsel to examine financial records to look for anything related to russia. mr. kushner previously volunteered to share with congress what he knows about russia related matters. he will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry. what s your reaction to that? it may turn up nothing. but this is part and parcel of this long drawn-out investigation that we re in for. the idea that any one of these little new additions of information is going to be the body blow that, you know, unravels this whole mystery or takes down the administration, that s not going to happen. on the other hand, the idea that any one of these stories on its own is going to vindicate ku ....