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North Korean Film; "The Interview" Has Been Released Online; FBI Warns Theaters Of Potential Threats; Easing Tensions with Police; Coalition Pilot Captured; Dow Hits New High; Fatal Shooting Near Ferguson; ISIS Captures Pilot

Aired December 24, 2014 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


Blitzer. It is 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem and 9:00 p.m. in Moscow. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thank you for joining us.

Happening now, the film North Korea wanted no one to ever lay eyes on is about to be seen by a whole lot of people starting this hour. After days of negotiations, Sony has reached a deal now to release the movie "The Interview" online.

I want to bring in our Pamela Brown in New York. Tell us how this is happening. I know this is -- this is the hour in which it is going to happen where people will actually be able to watch this film.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. People can actually now watch the film from home starting today, Suzanne. Really a dramatic turn of events just in the 24 hours -- the past 24 hours. We've learned that YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and a Web site called SeeTheInterview.com will now be able to stream this movie today. And so, therefore, people can rent it online. So, they're going to have to pay for it but they can now watch it from their home. This is on top of the news that we've learned that well over 200 theaters across the country are now saying that they will show the movie on Christmas day.

So, remember, Suzanne, just last week, Sony announced that the movie will no longer be shown on Christmas day as originally planned. Now, we know these independent theaters have come forward and said that they don't want free speech rights repressed, that they want to come forward and show this movie.

And as far as the online streaming goes, Google did release a statement today about this and basically said that Sony and Google had been discussing all the issues and agreed that we could not sit on the sidelines and allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country. But, Suzanne, no doubt about it, this really is an act of defiance by Sony because, remember, the hackers said that they would continue to leak information, that there would be a, quote, "present on Christmas Day if the movie was shown."

MALVEAUX: Yes, I mean, it is really kind of amazing when you look at this. We were seeing -- and I want our viewers to know we were watching -- that was Google Play where you can actually go ahead and watch this film. It really is a historic debut, when you think about it, online and in theaters. Hundreds of those independent theaters are going to start showing this movie tomorrow on Christmas day. And as you mentioned, can buy it or you can rent it. Is there any concern about -- from Sony or some of these other theaters that there would be some sort of danger, that there'd be some retribution here? They're -- I mean, they're clearly being defiant.

BROWN: Absolutely. And there is a concern, Suzanne. You may remember last week, the hackers released this ominous message basically saying that it would launch a 911-style attack if the movie was shown in theaters. And so, we have learned from law enforcement sources that the FBI actually sent a notice to cyber task forces out in the field. This was last night, basically saying they need to reach out to the theaters either by going there in person or over the phone and tell them -- educate them on the threat they may face and how they can protect themselves.

I think the most realistic scenario here, Suzanne, is that the hackers could launch some type of cyber-attack, another type of cyber-attack, whether it's against Google or on the theater owners, that kind of thing. So, I think the precaution that needs to be taken here is, of course, to protect their data and so forth. But I wouldn't be surprised, Suzanne, if we see security officers at some of these theaters where the movie is showing, even metal detectors. I think they want to do everything they can to ensure that moviegoers are protected -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Pam.

I want to bring in Brian Stelter who's on the phone, I believe. And, Brian, all things media, this is an amazing turnaround when you think about the events here. What does this mean for Sony and give us the backstory here? Because this is unprecedented.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It really is. And I don't think anybody, including Sony executives, thought we would be at this place one week ago because it was a week ago today that this movie was canceled. Canceled not postponed, not delayed but canceled by Sony. But that was a very embarrassing decision by Sony. The backlash to it (ph) was immediate even from President Obama.

And now, what we're seeing is an act of defiance by Sony and by Google and Microsoft, all of these companies that are helping Sony do this are essentially standing up for freedom of expression even though, I admit, it's just a silly comedy. By the way, I'm looking at YouTube, the movie is streaming now. It's one hour, 52 minutes long. It's up and running. You can watch it right now for $5.99.

MALVEAUX: All right. Watch that and watch us at the same time though, Brian. We don't want people to turn away here.

STELTER: That's right. (INAUDIBLE.)

MALVEAUX: Give us a sense of what this -- what does this mean for Sony business-wise, for the industry? Because it was 10s of millions of dollars to make this movie. It looked like they were going to lose a lot of it. Is it possible that they gain that and then some?

STELTER: I think they can gain back a lot of it but maybe not all of it. You know, if you're imagining a $6.00 movie rental. If you get a million people watch that, that's a pretty easy $6 million. The question is whether there's going to be many millions of people that are willing to pay for this movie, are willing to watch it. That, I'm not so sure about.

MALVEAUX: Brian, is there any way to track this? I mean, could we actually follow and get a sense of how many people are logging in, how many people are buying or renting this movie right now?

STELTER: Unfortunately, not a good way to do it. You know, YouTube is not going to show the number of people that are renting it. But I can tell you the Web site that Sony created in order to stream this movie themselves is called SeeTheInterview.com. And that actually is not online right now. It seems to be crashing under the weight of too many people trying to visit it.

You know, you've got to imagine, Suzanne, this is, very briefly, a social T.V. event where lots of -- lots of people and lots of young men, in particular, want to watch this movie because, you know, it's got Seth Rogen and James Franco in it, and it's become a big story all of a sudden. Maybe by tomorrow, there won't be much attention around it. But at least, at the moment, there's going to be a lot of people that suddenly want to rent it.

MALVEAUX: A lot of people, Brian. I want to bring in Tom Fuentes, our CNN Law Enforcement Analyst to talk about this. And I guess maybe I'm one of those people that maybe wouldn't have watched this movie but will go home in my pajamas and, you know, put it on and see what it's all about because of the controversy and because it is an act of defiance in some way. I mean, there's so much hype around this, the threat, the 911-type threat, does it defuse the danger, defuse the threat in some way, if you have lots of people at home watching this movie?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it certainly does. And I don't think the FBI and the other authorities really thought that North Korea was going to be able to attack our theaters. There was some concern I think that some nut wanting his 15 minutes of fame might do something at a theater since everybody's paying such attention to it. But I don't think that's a real realistic threat. The other threat was, from Sony's point of view, could it get worse? Has the worst that could be done to them been done? Probably all of the gossipy-type e-mails are out. There could be more. Big deal. You know, but could there system be crashed? Could there -- more data be destroyed, stolen, --

MALVEAUX: Sure.

FUENTES: -- you know, their business really, really severely harmed financially? And, you know, for the last month or more, the FBI has been living with them. Their FBI techs and other computer tech companies as well have been in Sony's system working together with them. And I think they're pretty confident that they've at least plugged the holes that were there in the first place and made it safer for them. So, not worrying about an actual bombing --

MALVEAUX: Right.

FUENTES: -- and, theoretically, not worrying about an additional intrusion into Sony's system. I think that's where the confidence came to go forward. And you're right, it went from being a stupid movie most people didn't care about to now it's your patriotic duty, you have to go watch this movie or, you know, what's the matter with you?

MALVEAUX: Yes. And I understand, too, that the FBI is working with those theaters to make sure that there are --

FUENTES: Right.

MALVEAUX: -- some safeguards in place, extra security, just in case.

FUENTES: Right.

MALVEAUX: But this is really an incredible turnaround. Tom, thank you so much. We appreciate your analysis as always.

FUENTES: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Just ahead, police and protesters scuffle after word of a shooting in Berkeley, Missouri. We're going to talk about what it is going to take to ease the tensions between the community and law enforcement.

This is the face of fear. That's right. A Jordanian pilot captured by ISIS. Will this change the course of U.S.-led coalition air strikes? We're going to ask those experts. Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It's been a very happy holiday week for millions of Americans who just watched their 401Ks grow even larger. That's right, the Dow Jones industrial average has crossed into record high territory for a second straight day. Look at that. Markets closed early for Christmas Eve, ending six points up at 18,030. There, you're looking at that. On Tuesday, stocks crossing the 18,000 mark for the first time ever. And it is the sixth straight day of gains for the Dow.

This year, the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 have all surged. Investors encouraged by recent reports showing the economy improving.

We now turn to the day's other top story. We are learning more about the fatal shooting not far from Ferguson, Missouri, but it involves a much different scenario. Authorities in Berkeley, Missouri, say that a police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old after the teen pointed a gun at him. Now, this is difficult to see. But the upper left-hand corner of the surveillance video, you see that there, it shows a man with his arm extended, in that little circle there. Berkeley is just two miles from Ferguson. That is where a police officer shot the unarmed teen, Michael Brown, in August. As word about this shooting in Berkeley spread, this was the aftermath here, a crowd gathering, protesters scuffling with police. At one point, someone threw what looked like a large firecracker or some other explosive into this crowd.

I want to bring in George Howell who's joining us live from Berkeley. And we understand that you're on your way to talk with the family of the teen who was killed, Antonio Martin. Do we know how they are coping right now? Do they have a message for the community? What are they saying?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, you know, we spoke with them earlier when we first got on the ground here in Berkeley. We did go to chat with them just a few minutes ago but, in fact, they are doing some other things. We'll chat with them again later. But what we took from them this morning, and they were gracious to offer -- you know, allow us into their home. They're obviously grieving. It is a loss for them. But they're trying to wait for the facts. They want to understand what happened. They're looking at that video. The video tells the story here, from what we can see. Police put it out and it shows two people near a police officer. And just before the video freezes, you can see one of the figures pointing what looks to be a weapon at the officer. That's where the video freezes. After that, the shot -- the shots are fired. We're still waiting, though, to learn more from police.

They're, obviously, conducting a very thorough investigation on this case. But, look, this is really the epicenter of all of this. You've seen the unrest in Ferguson and the protests. We've seen the marches in New York and also a case in Milwaukee that has been garnering attention as well. This is, really, where the protest movement started. So, you can understand, Suzanne, that tensions are high here as people just want to understand --

MALVEAUX: Sure.

HOWELL: -- what are the facts of the case? And, you know, we're trying to put that out as quickly as we get that information.

MALVEAUX: Sure. I mean, there is still a lot of unknowns here. But, George, tell us about what the mayor said because we heard from the mayor a short time ago. And he said, this is different than Ferguson because, as the mayor, he is black. The police chief is black. The majority of the police force is black, in a community that is 85 percent black. He says that they are more sensitive, that this is a different situation. The people in the community there, when you talk to them, are they accepting that explanation, that this is not a parallel in any way?

HOWELL: You know, not necessarily speaking to that, but talking about the video that's out there that shows what happened, certainly that -- people are paying close attention to that. And the mayor also making the point that, yes, it will be a thorough investigation. His officers, he says, you know, the majority of his force, these are people who will put their lives on the line to protect the public. He believes that is what happened, from what it seems at this point, he believes that's what happened, according to the mayor. This officer responding to a report of shoplifting and then this incident happened. I want you to take a listen to what he said just about an hour and a half ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR THEODORE HOSKINS (D), BERKELEY, MISSOURI: The call came through the dispatcher's office in reference to this young man was shoplifting. When the officer came there, the video shows that the deceased pointed a gun, that has been recovered, at the officer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: You know, I think one thing that I can draw from that news conference that may go to the question you asked, Suzanne, you know, are people accepting of the fact that it's a predominantly African- American, you know, leadership in the city. Well, there was one person in the news conference who asked very pointed questions and did not seem to be accepting of this. And you can understand that there are some people who will hear about this and there is a frustration that was really sparked here about the loss of African-American lives at the hands of police officers. That frustration, we've seen it play out in New York. We've seen it play out in Milwaukee. We've seen it here. So, you know, the thing right now is just to get the facts out. And the facts are what we hear from the police department.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

HOWELL: And from what we see in that video, a person, you know, pointing a weapon at the police officer.

MALVEAUX: OK. George, thank you so much. We appreciate it. And, obviously, get back to us when you are able to talk with the parents a little bit more about the loss of their son.

The mayor of Berkeley, Missouri, is urging people not to jump to conclusions about a fatal shooting by the police officer. Authorities are saying that the officer acted in self-defense after the teen pointed a gun at him. Want to get a perspective on the latest shooting and the recent tension between the police and the community.

Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, she's joining us from Berkeley. And with me here in Washington, D.C., of course, again, CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes, a former FBI assistant director.

Senator, I want to start with you here. Give us a sense of what you are communicating with the people on the ground, the people in your community. I mean do they believe that this is something that they need to be out on the streets protesting over?

MARIA CHAPPELLE-NADAL, MISSOURI STATE SENATOR (via telephone): Well, I think they're trying to figure it out right now. And what we are trying to communicate are the facts. This is quite a different situation than the Mike Brown killing. This is a situation where a police officer indeed did not wear a body camera and so we don't have that data. However, from the facts that we've seen so far -- and let me just backtrack and say I had a very productive meeting with the mayor, as well as others this morning about the case and the facts of the case. And so while people are trying to figure out what the facts are, it is important to note that there is a lot of evidence that is available. It is important to note that what is being said on Twitter and other social media, much of it is incorrect.

For example, many people believed that there wasn't an EMS that attended to verify that the young man was killed and he was dead. That is untrue. The mayor ended up showing up in just a few minutes after the encounter between the police officer and the victim here. And so what we are trying to do is communicate the facts of the case. This is, by far, as the mayor has stated, as well as others, it is different from Ferguson.

MALVEAUX: Could you address the racial component that the mayor was talking about? Can you explain that for us, the fact that he said that because he was African-American, as well as the police chief and the police force, that that made a difference to the black community? Is there a sensitivity that he's addressing here, an understanding within the community, or is he trying to make a point about race?

CHAPPELLE-NADAL: Absolutely. Let me tell you something about Mayor Hoskins. He is one of the most pro-black elected officials that I've ever known. He shops black, he eats black, he does everything African- American. And so he is by far different than what you have seen in Ferguson, which is a push-off, a brushoff. He is very on hand in this situation. When we were in a meeting earlier, the entire table was filled with African-Americans, not one Caucasian. And I have to tell you that people are very sensitive to this situation, not only is the police force sensitive to this, but also employees of Berkeley and the mayor and people who are in the Berkeley community.

And so, again, I have to tell you, this approach is very different. And the way you see this investigation handled, it's going to be cleaner, it's going to be more transparent and I think that people just need some time to breathe in all that is going on and look at the facts. That is what is most important.

MALVEAUX: OK, senator, thank you. I appreciate that.

I want to bring in Tom here.

And, Tom, I'm trying to, in some ways, look at this and look at it in a way where you can take race out of it. And I - and the mayor -- the senator was talking about being pro-black. But we also know that there are police officers throughout the country, black, white, brown, who are there to protect the citizens here. Why do you suppose there was such tension and a visceral response from that community there in Berkeley once they found out that that teen had been shot? And this is - and you're talking about a predominantly black police force.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think as much as we want to take race out of it, now we can't. You know, you have a situation here, imagine if there was no video. Imagine if it was the police officer's word that the gun was pointed at him and all that. It probably wouldn't be accepted in any event because of the situation of a black victim and a - you know, and we don't know if the police officer was white or black that shot him. But just the idea of that.

I mean if you want to oversimplify this to the lowest basal level, the moral of the story would be, do not point a gun at a police officer, you will probably get shot. That's pretty simple. And, you know, what people are forgetting here is that there's 300 million guns at large in our country. So the police officers that are on the street, the thousands of patrol officers that are out there every day, go up against those guns. All 300 million are not in storage cabinets or not on people's walls in their family room. They're on the street, unfortunately, all over this country. And that's the dilemma that a uniformed police officer or a detective doing an investigation, when they encounter somebody or they answer a call that started out as shoplifting, we could have had a dead police officer. And then, you know, and that -- but anything that comes from this is, it's just shoplifting, what's the big deal?

MALVEAUX: And, Tom, how do you repair the damage, the mistrust? Because clearly you have people reacting very quickly, right, without knowing all the facts, but assuming the worst. I mean it was very much an emotional response, and a violent response from some. How do you repair the damage?

FUENTES: Well, I think it goes a long way on the way to repairing if you have, in this case, black leaders in that town, a black police force, black chiefs of police who, you know, are telling the people that in their opinion, this police shooting is in self-defense and it is justified and trying -- they're trying to take some of the race out of it and just say, someone pointed a gun at a police officer, he felt compelled to defend himself and shot back.

MALVEAUX: All right, Tom Fuentes, thank you so much. We appreciate that.

FUENTES: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Still ahead, strikes against ISIS take a terrifying turn. Militants claim they shot down a coalition aircraft. They have captured a coalition pilot. What this means for the fight in Syria moving forward, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Turning now to news out of Syria. For the first time, ISIS has captured a coalition pilot after his plane was brought down. In shocking images released by ISIS, we see the terrified Jordanian pilot being dragged away. Jordan is part of a U.S.-led coalition carrying out air strikes on Syria to defeat ISIS. This extremist group is known for its terrorist tactics, including beheading hostages. Now, the question remains, what will happen to this pilot and will this change the game for the United States. We're going to explain that in a moment.

But first, we want to bring in Hala Gorani. She talks about and brings us up-to-date on the Syria situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A captured pilot, terrified. His mouth, bloodied. Around him, fighters from the terror group ISIS celebrate their latest victory, the downing of a Jordanian F-16 fighter jet, part of the U.S.-led coalition.

It's unclear whether the plane suffered a mechanical failure. But ISIS says its heat-seeking missiles were responsible and published these images on social media to prove it. A retired Jordanian air force commander identified this hostage as his nephew, Lieutenant Moaz al- Kasasbeh. In a statement e-mailed to CNN, Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani called Kasasbeh, "a model of heroism," adding, "all Jordanians stand united with the Arab army's brave soldiers in their quest to keep purity and the honor of the nation. The war on terrorism and the ongoing battle is in order to defend the Islamic religion."

The plane came down near Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate. In this city, along the Euphrates River, the U.N. says civilians suffer under a brutal regime characterized by public executions and enslavement. Coalition warplanes have made it one of their prime targets. But this downing, whether intentional or not, presents a new challenge to President Obama's all-aerial campaign in Syria and Iraq.

Hala Gorani, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: While the State Department lists more than 60 coalition partners having committed themselves to eliminating the threat posed by ISIS, the U.S. is carrying out the majority of those air strikes in Syria. The chance of a pilot being shot down and captured has been a major concern of U.S. war planners. Well, the topic was brought up at a Senate Armed Services Committee in September with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JIM INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: Are the pilots dropping bombs in Iraq, as they're now doing, a direct combat mission? And, secondly, will U.S. forces be prepared to provide combat search and rescue if a pilot gets shot down and will they put boots on the ground to make that rescue successful?

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF CHAIRMAN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Want to bring in Barbara Starr from the Pentagon and our CNN national security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer.

Barbara, I want to start off with you. We heard from the Jordanian spokesman who told CNN it appears that the F-16 fighter jet was shot at from the ground. What are you sources telling you and why does it make a difference how this jet went down? BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, those were

some very initial reports. Now our sources are telling us they think at this point it is unlikely it was shot down. They don't see the evidence yet. Everyone is continuing to investigate what did bring the plane down. There's no final conclusion. But for now, it doesn't look like a shoot down.