Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom 20141215

Who have been killed as terrorists, but there are as many as 400 or so who are civilians who have been killed. In other words, ten times as many civilians killed in pakistan, according to reports, as the number of people who were harshly interrogated by the cia. Yeah. Its going to become an increasing conversation and also what legal sort of guidelines there are going to be, david. Right. What the president , the Administration May be legally held responsible for down the road. Thank you for coming on this evening. We appreciate it. Thank you. Good to see you again. All right. Breaking news into cnn. We are receiving word of a possible hostage situation in sydney. Take a look at this video. This is video from just moments ago outside after the Lindt Chocolate shop in martin place, a pedestrian mall in sydneys central district. Looks normal, like nothing is going on. What authorities are concerned about is what may be going on inside that shop. Very Little Information at this time including how many hostages there may be or how many people they may be holding if this is, indeed, a hostage situation. What i can tell you is we have spoken with the New South Wales police media unit. Heres what they tell us. All we can confirm at this time is that there is a Police Operation taking place. We are recommending that no one goes near the area. We are trying to establish exactly what is happening. I can also tell you our affiliate there, news 7 in sydney, says there are two gunmen on the scene. We have not independently confirmed that yet. Obviously were working our sources on the ground there and will bring you the latest as soon as we have it out of sydney, australia. Also this, Sony Pictures is starring in its own nightmare right now. The celebrated studio is in full damage control mode after hackers exposed embarrassing emails, salaries, secrets. And now they are threatening, the hackers, this 8 billion company with a socalled Christmas Gift that promises to put sony, in its worst state. Joining me with insight on all of this, Cnn National Security analyst, bob baer, jamie detmer, a contributor for the daily beast. Thank you for being here. Bob, let me begin with you. Theres been so much talk about who the group is, the gop group of hackers, whether theyre directly in cahoots, if you will, with the north korean government or independent of it. A lot of people tieing it to north korea. Whats your take. First up, ive got to say i have an interest with this because i have two contracts with sony related to movies. Once were through that. This sounds like its very sophisticated. It looks like its revenge for this movie coming out. This it was done it was launched from multiple locations. Sony has a very good Cyber Security. They saw this coming four, five months ago and they tried to improve their security and these guys are good, whoever they are. Interesting we got this letter this afternoon, or the New York Times received a letter, cnn has not yet, from sony from the attorney for sony warning Media Outlets telling them, jamie, they should not report on some of this private information that has been leaked saying it is stolen information. Again, cnn has not received that letter yet. Are you surprised by that . No, not really. I mean, although i think its an impossible request. Once this information is out, even if mainstream organizations at the beginning of the report, it goes out on twitter, it goes out on facebook pages, then some of the new internet startups start reporting it and eventually the rest of the media have to follow. So i think sony should have been better guarding their secrets rather than making requests now for information not to be shared. Bob, when you talk about information such as celebrity phone numbers, emails, et cetera, exposed, private embarrassing emails, this breach forces change, but this is it is a fact, a security fact, it seems, that every Single Company is vulnerable to this now, no matter how good or how poor their walls are. Anybody who goes on the internet, with a computer, is hack hackable. The only computers that are not are standalones. Intelligence communities have figured out this long ago. They have to be separated physically. They in no way could ever access the internet because every computer is vulnerable. Theyre vulnerable in other ways, too. They send off emanations, tempest. If you have a secret to keep, dont put it on a computer, dont put it on a smartphone. Write it on a piece of paper, whisper it in anybodys ear. Nobody is safe. Any big company is vulnerable to this. If you insert any Big Company Name in its place, it would spell trouble for the companies, credibility, their stock. Online Security Experts say it is a guarantee hackers will hit the corporate world again and again. Deborah feyerick did a fascin e fascinating piece on this. Lets watch her piece and come back on the other side. Reporter Cyber Attacks against sony, target, home depot, jpmorgan chase, google, ebay, and every business sector, criminals stealing americans personal data, credit card numbers, as well as corporate secrets. Now imagine if similar Cyber Attacks made your lights go out or cut off your water supply. Imagine if the Critical Infrastructure we rely on every single day simply shut down . The threat is not only very real, its inevitable. It is only a matter of the when, not the if, that we are going to see something traumatic. Reporter admiral Michael Rogers heads the nsa and cyber command. We have seen individuals, groups, inside critical u. S. Infrastructure. Reporter thats right. Power plants, banking systems, air traffic control, subways. All are vulnerable. Years ago, what could have only been accomplished eed thra kinetic attack using missiles and bombs can be done with a few key strokes to wipe out a whole sector of our nations electric grid not for days or weeks but potentially for months. Reporter according to the department of homeland security, adversaries from china, russia, and elsewhere are inside hundreds if not thousands of u. S. Critical infrastructure computers. Its not just about getting infrastructure, it seems, but its also the ability to control those sectors. This is something that we worry a lot about. Reporter cnn was given rare access to the dhs heavily protected Cyber Security center. Its run by the dhs undersecretary Suzanne Spaulding who oversees private infrastructure experts scrutinizing realtime cyber breaches. The thing that keeps me awake at night is knowing that there is the potential there for adversaries to get into those control systems. Those systems that really run machinery, whether its gates on dams or parts of the electric grid. Reporter isnt this an act of war . Well, thats the milliondollar question. What the chinese are doing is really preparing the battlefield, if that day were to arrive, then they would have significant advantage. Reporter Cyber Security expert todd parker showed us just how easy it is to shut down Something Like a power grid. Here we have the hackers computer and the hacker has already broken into the electric utility and we have access to the electric utilitys network. We reverse engineered the codes which are running, the operation system running on this device which is controlling the electric grid in this scenario. Reporter once inside the system, the attacker waits to strike and then watch as the lights go off in less than a second. More than three quarters of the nations Critical Infrastructure is privately owned. Critics say those companies are not doing enough to safeguard their own systems. They dont want it coming out after their bottom line. Reporter this congressman says the threat is akin to knowing about the hijackers pre9 11 and still doing nothing. We know that theres a glaring vulnerability and not ruling with all urgency to close it. Reporter deborah feyerick, cnn, washington. All right. Let me bring back in my guest, bob, youre a National Security expert. So its more than clear that Big Companies from target, to home depot, to sony, are vulnerable these hacks, but realistically, how vulnerable are our power grids, our Financial Networks . Poppy, absolutely the bank weve seen them hit banks before and they can. Jp morgan. You can hack into a car and control the speed of the car. Its sort of whatever you can imagine, they can do. And the russian mafia is very good at this. The North Koreans as we now know. And we simply dont have the defenses in place to stop this sort of thing. So, jamie, given what bob ill also add there, its not just state actors. We know that al qaeda and isis have been looking at this for years. Al qaeda chiefs have been talking about this being a potential other pearl harbor if they can get inside Critical Infrastructure computers in the United States and the systems. Theyve talked about trying to bring banks down. Theyd like to do another 9 11, a financial crash, if you want. Isis has a whole generation of new young computer programmers working with them. Weve seen evidence on this on Online Activity and conversations going on. So its not purely moscow and beijing we have to be concerned about, but other nonstate actors as well. Jamie is absolutely right. Go ahead, bob. They are very sophisticated. They beat nsa at their game and theyve been very sophisticated in the fight for mosul. Using mobile wifi, defeating the National Security agency. They can easily take this sort of technology and hit our banks and i think its just a matter of time. Jamie is absolutely right. Yeah, and it begs the question, how are we going to fight this new war on that front . And how are we going to beef up our skills on that front to defeat it . Guys, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Wish we had more time. We have breaking news into cnn. Jamie, bob, thank you. This breaking news into cnn, we have nnew video of a possibl hostage situation all unfolding in sydney, australia. Youre looking at video shot moments ago from the Lindt Chocolate shop in martin place, a big pedestrian mall downtown in sydneys Central Business district. Its a possible spot for tourists and also people going to work. You think, you know, monday morning there. There is very Little Information at this time. What we dont know, how many possible hostages are there . How many people could be holding them at this point in time . The New South Wales police tell us this. Let me read you this quote. All we can confirm at this time is that there is a Police Operation taking place. We are recommending that no one goes near that area. Were trying to establish exactly what is happening. We also have an affiliate, news 7 on the ground in sydney, they say there are two gunmen involved. And cnn cannot independently confirm that. Were getting new information coming from our affiliate. Our affiliate on the ground telling us that around 9 44 a. M. Local time, remember, its monday morning there, a woman right there in sydneys Central Business district saw a man with a blue sports bag. She thought it was a gun. She called the police at that point in time. She said a man entered the Lindt Chocolate shop there, this is what the eyewitness is saying, and says this then turned into a hostage situation. What we also know at this point in time, according to seven networks, cnns affiliate on the ground in sydney, is that Civil Aviation is shut in terms of the airspace above sydney. Shut down right now. And our bureau, the bureau for the affiliate, news 7 in sydney, is located right near that area. Let me recap this for you. What youre looking at is video shot just moments ago in sydney, australia, where it is monday morning. This is from the Central Business district there. Concerns about a possible hostage situation in the Lindt Chocolate shop there in a pedestrian mall that is heavily traveled. Heres what we from our affiliate on the ground. Around 9 44 a. M. Local time, a woman say a man with a blue sports bag. She thought it might be a gun. She called the police. The man then entered that Lindt Chocolate shop. That is when we are told that it possibly turned into a hostage situation. Also as a precautionary method, were told that the airspace above sydney has been temporarily closed. We are obviously monitoring this incredibly closely, working with our sources on the ground. As soon as we have more information, we will bring it to you right here. Quick break. Well be right back. What does an apron have to do with Car Insurance . An apron is hard work. An apron is pride in what you do. An apron is not quitting until youve made something a little better. What does an apron have to do with Car Insurance . For us, everything. The getaway vehicle for all the confidence you need. Td ameritrade. You got this. Why not your eye color . New air optix® colors prescription contact lenses enhance your eye color for a naturally beautiful look with consistent comfort. Find your perfect color and get a free trial offer at airoptixcolors. Com. Its more than the car. Er. Find your perfect color and get a free trial offer for lotus f1 team, the Competitive Edge is the cloud. Powered by microsoft dynamics, azure, and office 365, the team can gain Real Time Insights and instantly share information around the globe. When every millisecond counts, staying competitive begins with the cloud. This is the microsoft cloud. All right. This breaking news into cnn. We have limited information. Theres a possible hostage situation under way right now in sydney, in the Central Business district in sydney. What youre looking at is video shot just moments ago of a chocolate shop, outside a chocolate shop. The Lindt Chocolate shop at martin place. That is a mall, very busy mall, in sydneys Central Business district. Again, not a lot of information. Heres what we know at this point in time. According to our affiliate in sydney, australias 7 network, theyre saying around 9 44 a. M. Local time, remember, it is monday morning there, a woman saw a man with a blue sports bag. She thought it could possibly be a gun. She then told the police. Were also told from our affiliate that that man with the bag entered the Lindt Chocolate shop. That is when our affiliate is reporting that this turned into a possible hostage situation. We also can tell you that reuters at this hour is reporting the sydney operahouse has been evacuated as a precautionary measure and that the airspace, according to 7 network, the airspace above sydney has been temporarily shut due to this situation. Were working our sources on the ground. As soon as we have more information, we will bring it to you. Again, a possible hostage situation taking place monday morning in a very businey part downtown sydney at a heavily trafficked pedestrian mall. Those are shots up close of the windows. You cannot see much at all. As soon as we have more information, of course, well bring it to you on cnn. Also this, its a country that offers public support to the u. S. Led efforts to fight terrorism, to fight isis. It also is linked to fundraising for terrorist networks around the world. Were talking about qatar. Tiny but very wealthy nation. And critics have said this is the most twofaced nation in the world. Let me bring in our guests to talk about this, Jamie Dettmer who wrote a fascinating article about qatar for the daily beast and bob baer. The u. S. Relies on qatar in a lot of ways, sort of a midpoint, a negotiator who helps us with situatio situations, an ally in the region. But you wrote an article with a lot of points that shows that qatar is trying to please all sin sides here. We have several allies in the gulf that play both sides. Saudi arabia and kuwait, naming another two. The difference at the moment has been the Saudi Arabians seem to have made an effort to try to cut down on some of the terrorist funding thats coming from that country or at least the administration has been making more progress. Whereas qatar, theyre still having major problems. For example, they set up a crime a Financial Crime unit several years ago, but they havent mounted one prosecution. A number of the people who have been sanctioned by the u. N. , the u. S. , and the europeans, because theres evidence suggesting they have been channeling millions of dollars to al qaeda and other jihadist groups, are still free in qatar, have not been imprisoned. Theres been a lot of pressure in recent weeks from the administration on the qataris. Now were beginning to get a ground swell in congress. Last week about 24 lawmakers sent a letter to the treasury secretary asking for an update on whats happening to these figures that we know living in qatar, and we have allegations that theyve been funding money. Whats been happening to them and what further steps are the qataris going to make in order to try to cut down the funding to jihadist groups . So, bob, this is a fine line that the u. S. Has to make. It has to make the decision, whats most important, how critical do you believe, bob, qatars support for the u. S. , for fighting isis, et cetera, is . Well, poppy, the problem is weve turned a blind eye to qatar. Right from the beginning. Khalid sheikh muhammad. The kataris hit him. They continue to fund all sides. They fund al jazeera, they fund incorrectly, at very least, issy. Al qaeda groups all through the middle east and theyre funding libya right now. The jihadi groups right there. Theres not much we can do about it. They simply say theyll look into it. This is done privately. Theres nothing they can do about it. Theyre all playing all sides. Like theyre on a roulette wheel, putting a coin on every number. Its quite amazing and they are a serious problem and one day were going to have to face it. Well jamie, go ahead, jamie. There are things we can do. One of the arguments is we make it more politically painful for them, we change the entire political calculous that the elite in qatar have to make about this. A lot of this is reflecting divisions within the royal family. There are about 3,000 members of the royal family and theyre split really between three groups. The modernizers around the former mayor and the current mayor, his son. What one could call machiavellians, pothe people wh go either way and strong conservative base to the family as well. What were seeing them playing with seeing the religious conservatives carrying on, encouraging the funding of jihadist groups. Bob, do you think the u. S. Policy is going to change toward qatar . Do you think were going to see any dramatic change right now, especially given, being in the midst of this war on terror and fighting isis . No, were going to see the gulf arabs play a difficult game. What theyre really worried about is iran, in particularly related to iraq. They see the iranians taking over iraq. Theyre going to counter it to fund isisconnected groups, tribal groups in Anbar Province or even al qaeda. Theres no way to trace this money. Its just it goes through channels, we dont even begin to understand. Wow. Were not willing to really put pressure on riyadh and riyadh still funds the fundamentalist groups and doha. The money behind it critically important. An article in the daily beast. Check it out on daily beast. Thank you, both. Appreciate it. Were going to take a quick break anyone wethen well dock the latest on the breaking news out of sydney, australia. Were also going to bring you a cnn investigation into Armed Security guards. Youre going to not want to miss this. Back after a quick break. Ive never seen swanything so soft tness. Charmin take a closer look at charmin ultra soft and youll love what you see. Not only can you use less, but you can actually see the softness in our comfort cushions. 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Learn more about the role damaging inflammation may be playing in your symptoms with the expert advice tool at crohnsandcolitis. Com. And then speak with your gastroenterologist. This breaking news just into cnn. This is all unfolding in sydney, australia. New details on a possible hostage situation at a mall in the Central Business district in sydney. What we can tell you is that the government has closed the airspace above sydney. That is coming from our affiliate, channel 7 network. Theyve done this out of precaution to be very cautious. Heres what we know at this hour. The Lindt Chocolate shop right now is where the focus is. That is the shop in the mall here. And according to our affiliate, 7 network there on the ground in sydney, around 9 44 a. M. Local time, a woman there saw a man with a blue bag carrying it. She thought there might be a gun inside. She told the police. Thats when our affiliate says the man entered the Lindt Chocolate shop and turned into a possible hostage situation. As i said, the airspace above sydney is closed. I can also tell you that reuters is reporting at this hour the Sydney Opera House has been evacuated. To give you a sense of where that is, the Sydney Opera House is a fourminute walk, about 1. 3 kilometers from this mall. Martin place. So its not far. They have evacuated the Sydney Opera House. That iconic structure. According to reuters. I can tell you our affiliate on the ground, news 7, is tweeting this. Police ordered everyone at the 7 news sydney newsroom to evacuate as a siege situation unfolds in martin place. We know that newsroom is also very close to the mall where this is all happening. Again, let me bring up that video for you to show you, shot just moments ago there outside the mall. This all unfolding on a busy monday morning in the Central Business district of sydney. Were keeping a very close eye on this. The statement from the New South Wales police, what theyre saying at this time all we can confirm is theres a Police Operation taking place. We recommend that no one goes near the area as were trying to establish exactly what happened. As soon as we have more information into cnn, we will bring it you. Now lets move on to this. Were talking a lot about private Armed Security guards. Theyre everywhere. See them everywhere. Shopping malls, sporting events, patrolling neighborshoods. Unlike police officers, the training they government, government oversight, its spotty at best. This leads sometimes to strategy as our drew griffin found out in this exclusive report he did with the center for investigative reporting. Reporter this is former Security Guard joshua kosatschenko taking a smoking break outside the private Security Company where he works in suburban phoenix. Hes not carrying a gun now, but 5 1 2 years ago, he was armed and licensed to carry by arizonas department of Public Safety. That turned out to be a dangerous breakdown in the system. An investigation by cnn and center for investigative reporting found licensing requirements so varied and in some states so lax it can become harder to become a manicurist than an Armed Security guard. I woke up and i had tubes running down my throat. Reporter Daniel Tarango today is in a wheelchair, paralyzed after being shot through his car window over stolen food. The person who shot and nearly killed him was a then 19yearold Security Guard, joshua kosatschenko who should have never been allowed to carry a gun. Hey, joshua. Drew griffin with cnn. How are you . Weve been trying to get in touch with you. Were doing a story on Security Guards. How how did you become an Armed Security guard . How was that possible . Id rather not comment, sir. Reporter do you think that you should be placed in a position where i believe youre training Security Guards now . No comment. Reporter it was shortly before 2 00 in the morning on june 3rd, 2009. At this Convenience Store in tucson. Tarango was 18 years old. Kosatschenko was hired as a Security Guard watching for shoplifters. We just going do get some food and leave and wasnt going to be that big of a deal. Reporter tarango says he waits outside in his car as his friends went in to steal food and in the next few moments, kosatschenko and a second Security Guard gave chase, a scuffle broke out. They ran. Tarango threw the car in reverse. Kosatschenko opened fire. I just heard when i heared gunfire, i looked back and felt the glass shatter and felt a slight push like somebody had pushed me over. Reporter tarango admits he should have never been there. It turns out kosatschenko should not have been working as an arounded guard there, either. He had a criminal record as a juvenile. In fact, he had several runins with the juvenile system. When he was 13 he pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault. He was deemed a felon and a juvenile delinquent. The court placed him on probation and made him a prohibited possessor. Meaning he lost his right to bear arms at least until he turned 30. But even with all that information, we discovered the Arizona Department of Public Safety never checked his record. Captain steve entemen oversees licensing for armed guards. This guys juvenile records apparently werent checked, so where was the breakdown . Because arizona does not require juvenile records to be reported, in this particular instance it was an adjudicated record as opposed to a conviction. It does not show he had any record whatsoever. Certainly the check could have gone beyond that, you could look at his juvenile records. We could look at his juvenile records had he disclosed he had that in his background. So as long as he lies on his application, he basically hides his entire juvenile record . In this particular case, yes. Reporter the state didnt even need his juvenile record. Since kosakschenko is pribted from carrying a gun, that would have shown up in a federal Law Enforcement database, but arizona didnt check it. The state of arizona may be a poster child for whats wrong with the nations lack of regulation for the Armed Security guard industry. Kosakschenkos armed guard training consisted of 16 hours, only 4 of which took place at a gun range. Arizona is 1 of 27 states that doesnt check if someone applying to become an armed guard is prohibited from possessing a gun. The company that hired joshua kosatschenko refused to talk to cnn as did kosatschenko, himself. Drew griffin with cnn. Please leave the building. We dont want to be on film. Reporter okay. In a Court Deposition he claims he was fully justified in shooting the fleeing shoplifters because his job was to stop them. Did you think it was smart to chase after him into the parking lot . Wouldnt necessarily say it was smart or not smart. I would say that its a danger associated with the job. Reporter and the job was to arrest snack food shoplifters . Shoplifters for anything, period. Reporter steve is a lobbyist and general counsel for the National Association of security companies. We met up with him at the industrys annual Convention Earlier this year where he continues to push for fbi background checks for anyone who wants to be an armed guard. In nine states, even an fbi background check is not required. The public, they look to Security Officers in emergency situations. We want to make sure that this guy is properly vetted and is not going to be a problem, himself. Reporter thats not going to be easy. In the last four years, there have been no fewer than a dozen bills introduced in state legislatures and in congress trying to control, license, or regulate who can become a Security Guard. Of those, most have failed. Get down on the ground. Reporter even after the shooting of Daniel Tarango, arizona did little to change its licensing requirements. There is this additional box which relies on applicants to disclose or check if they are a prohibited possessor. Legally barred from owning a gun. But arizona still doesnt check that federal database when someone applies to be an armed guard. If theyre not truthful with us, we cant control if the person is untruthful for us. Reporter as for kosatschenko, after the shooting he was arrested for attempted murder but only indicted and convicted for violating the law that banned him from possessing a gun. He served probation. He now works, according to his linkedin page, as a corporate trainer and hiring manager with the very same Security Company he worked for the night he shot and nearly killed Daniel Tarango. Do you think that the state of arizona should have given you a license to be an armed guard when you got no comment, sir. Reporter no comment at all . No comment. All right. Thanks to drew griffin for that. Now the breaking news out of sydney, australia. Theres a possible hos saj situation unfolding in a very busy Central Business district in sydney at a mall there. Called martin place. This is all happening inside the Lindt Chocolate shop. You obviously have authorities there fully armed outside monitoring this situation. We are being told that at least 13 hostages may be inside. How did this unfold . According to our affiliate, 7 network in sydney, they say around 9 44 a. M. Local time, remember, it is a busy monday morning there in sydney, a woman saw a man with a blue sports bag. She thought it might be a gun so she told blispolice. The man entered the Lindt Chocolate shop and turned into a possible hostage situation. Cnn is working our sources to confirm this as well. As a precaution, a few things has happened. Roite e reuters is reporting the Sydney Opera House has been evacuated. The Sydney Opera House is a fourminute walk from this busy mall. About 1. 3 kilometers. Nearby. Also, the 7 news sydney news network, our affiliate on the ground, is located very close to this mall. They have tweeted that the police have ordered all of them to evacuate. They tweet, police have ordered everyone in the 7 news sydney newsroom to evacuate as a seize situation unfolds in martin place. Those are closeup shots from moments ago of the windows there, but really you cant make out anything. Were going to take a quick break. Were going to bring back on the other side with a live report from a reporter on the ground there in sydney. Stay with us. vo nourished. Rescued. Protected. Given new hope. During the subaru share the love event, subaru owners feel it, too. Because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. Well have given 50 Million Dollars over seven years. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Why do i cook for the to share with family to carry on traditions to come together, even when were apart in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and more, swanson® makes holiday dishes delicious all right. As we continue to follow the breaking news out of sydney, austral australia, about a possible hostage situation in sydneys downtown Central Business district at a mall there with at least 13 hos stages inside, i wt to join our affiliate 7 network, their live coverage on the ground there. Listen in. Theyre responding to somebody approached them, befriended them, oneonone, may have happened online, but it happens offline. Frankly theyve been groomed like a pedophile grooms their victim. That means you have older si ee individuals who have some degree of charisma, influence of the young. Its really a peer network. Its also, of course, once they get into it, this narrative of fighting a cosmic battle. This battle, Islamic State fighting, portrayed as a great armageddon conflict of the end of time. So the last jihad. The great jihad. And the coalition against them including presented as being crusader forces. Its an about imagery. It starts with the social network, with the peer pressure. Were seeing some amateur footage now of the events immediately after this siege took place. Obviously some mobile phone footage. If youre just joining us, at 9 44 a. M. , a gunman was seen with a blue sports bag walking into, with a gun inside of it, walking into the Lindt Chocolate shop in martin place in sydney. All right. It looks like we lost our feed there. Well try to get it back. That was the live broadcast of our affiliate on the ground there, 7 network in sydney, australia. Let me recap for you. It is monday morning in sydney, australia, and youre looking at images of Police Standing outside of martin place. That is a very busy heavily trafficked mall in the middle of sydneys Central Business district. What we know is that there is a possible hostage situation there. Were being told that there are at least 13 possible hostages inside. The other details that we have, as we try to confirm all of this for you, coming from our affiliate 7 network, is that this morning around 9 44 a. M. Local time, there was a woman, saw a man with a blue sports bag, thought a gun may be inside, called the police. This man then enters that chocolate shop. Youre looking at the exterior shot a little while ago before all the police arrived. Entered it. This is when it turned into a possible hostage situation. As a precautionary method, we know that they have evacuated the Sydney Opera House. That is about a fourminute walk. So, very close to this mall. That has been evacuated. The airspace above sydney has been closed temporarily as a precaution. We also know that 7 news network, that is our affiliate on the ground, their newsroom has been evacuated by police as this all unfolds. Guys, are we able to dip back into that live coverage from 7 network . All right. We cant get that at this point in time. We are trying. Were also working to get you a live report from the ground there in sydney. As soon as we have it. Obviously, there are a lot of concerns but we want to take this very slowly, as we have not yet confirmed at cnn that this is, indeed, a hostage situation. What we can tell you, though, is what the New South Wales police media wruunit is saying. All we can confirm at this time is there is a Police Operation taking place at martin place in sydneys Central Business district. We are recommending that no one goes near the area. Were trying to establish exactly what has happened. Those immamgimages, not live im images from moments ago there outside of that busy mall in the middle of sydneys business district. This and unfolding on a monday morning there, again, we are being told by our affiliate there are at least 13 potential hostages inside. Were going to take a quick break. Well be back with more breaking news right after that. Ah, h it. Push it. P. Push it real good ow oooh baby baby. Baby baby. If youre saltnpepa, you tell people to push it. Push it real good. Its what you do. Ah. Push it. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Ah. Push it. Im pushing. Im pushing it real good were for an opens you internet for all. Sing. Were for creating more innovation and competition. Were for Net Neutrality protection. Now, heres some news you may find even more surprising. Were comcast. The only isp legally bound by full Net Neutrality rules. We are continuing to monitor a possible hostage situation unfolding at this moment in sydney, australia, in the Central Business district at a heavily trafficked mall called martin place. What we know at this hour, there are 13 potential hostages inside. That is coming from our affiliate on the ground there, 7 network. Cnn has not yet independently confirmed that. What i can read you now just in to cnn is a statement from australian Prime Minister tony abbott. It reads in full the police are currently responding to a reported hostagetaking incident in martin place in sydney. I have spoken with mike baird and have offered him support. This is obviously a deeply concerning incident but all australians should be reassured that our Law Enforcement and security agencies are welltrained and equipped and responding in a thorough and professional manner. We will provide regular updates as further information becomes available. That coming from australian Prime Minister tony abbott, saying that they are monitoring the situation, that they are prepared to deal with it. Again, our affiliate on the ground there in sydney saying at least 13 hostages are potentially inside. We will bring you the latest on this as soon as we have it. I want to turn to other news as we continue to gather our resources on the ground there in sydney. If you missed the premier of an extraordinary film, dinosaur 13, its at 9 00 eastern right here on cnn. It follows the unbelievable tale of sue, the trex and her discovery and how it led to a serious federal charge against many who found her as youll see from this clip in the film. Once you start to understand the indictments, this is what they said. Pretend were in wyoming and were standing in the middle of the prairie and lets assume that the fence is in the right place. Youre standing on this side of the fence. The government says, right over here, there is a fabulous fossil and they are saying that pete and neil and bob and whoever was out there would go, step over the fence, wrongly knowingly pick up the fossil that they are not supposed to pick up, carry it back over the fence and put it in their car. When they drive from wyoming to south dakota, they have conducted an illegal act, transportation of stolen property. They get back to the institute, they would make a phone call, send a fax maybe to japan and say, we found the thing that you were looking for. Do you want to buy it . Well, thats wire fraud. And then if the Japanese Museum were to purchase that fossil and the guys would put that money in the bank, thats money laundering. So basically the guys were called conspirators to intentionally steal things and sell them illegally. Joining me is the director of the movie. Its a fascinating movie. I enjoyed it so, so much. Let me again with the controversy of who pete larson ultimately went to jail and why those that found sue were jailed for this. Because some groups have come out since it aired and blasted the film and said it doesnt uncover the whole truth. You have a group of paleontologists saying this is biased and onesided. Whats your response to that . We stand behind the facts. Everything was vetted and triple checked. We had the lead prosecutor who cooperated with us as well as the National Park service, other elements and the government that participated in the events in the film. But i would say one group in particular has issued a press release. Right. We have it right here. And this is the same group that, you know, they sent two letters during the custody battle and this was a very it was only two key figures within the organization that sent that and it was a very vocal minority and a response back then, almost 20 years ago, you had the president of the organization quit and we also have four members of that society that are in our film that, you know, are very much in line with, you know, the facts that are played out in the film. And being look, even more of a reason to watch this film because it is so there is so much passion on both sides about this, about where i got to spend thursday at the chicago field museum. We might have a photo of it with a lot of school kids visiting sue. Ultimately, you know, they lose this battle for sue to the federal government. Pete larson, the lead paleontogist goes to jail and spent a little bit of time in jail for this. They would like to have sue in south dakota where she was found but at least the science gets to be done on the field museum. Its a great resource. Its an amazing institution. Theyve been doing a fantastic job with sue there. I think the way in which they dealt with the black Hills Institute over the years has been questionable, in my personal opinion. But i think thats going to change and i think its great that shes in a place that shes loved, taken care of, and millions of people get to see her. Why did you decide to tell this story . I didnt know the backstory of sue, the largest trex ever found in the history of the world. I wanted there to be a better audience there. Had been so little written in the media about it and i wanted people to enjoy the appeal that i had. Tonight at 9 00 p. M. Eastern right here on cnn. Great work. We have a lot of breaking news for you out of sydney, australia. This possible hostage situation unfolding there. Were going to take a quick break and well be back with that at the top of the hour. The Holiday Season is here, which means its time for the volkswagen signthendrive event. For practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a germanengineered volkswagen. Like the sporty, advanced new jetta. And the 2015 motor trend car of the year allnew golf. If youre wishing for a new volkswagen this season. Just about all you need is a finely tuned. Pen. Get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first months payment on select new volkswagen models. Just in time for the holidays. Tmobile introduces americas only unlimited 4g lte family plan. Get two lines of unlimited 4g lte data for just 100 bucks a month. With any smart phone. Including the Samsung Galaxy note 4, for 0 down. Add more family members for just 40 bucks a pop. Think the other guys have a family plan like this . Think again. Only tmobile has an unlimited 4g lte plan for the whole family. Thatll get your holiday bell ringing. All right. Breaking news out of sydney, australia, where theres a possible hostage situation unfolding. I have a statement from australias Prime Minister on the situation thats taking place at the chocolate shop in martin place. New South Wales Police and the Australia Police are responding to a current hostagetaking incident in martin mall in sydney. That is coming from the Prime Minister as they keep an eye on this. 7 news network indicates that there are 13 hostages being held inside. Let me show you video from moments ago outside of that chocolate shop where the authorities are there monitoring the situation. Were told around 9 44 a. M. , this is