Dribbling Information News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Sometimes these things are going to succeed and we as societies are going to have to figure out how to cope. we can't turn every situation into a society stopping crisis. >> we have new information from nbc news correspondent sara james live from sidney, australia. you have some information about contact with the gunman right now? >> reporter: yes. what's basically happening right now -- i'm about 200 yards away from the cafe. although the lights went out a short time ago, the conversation is continuing. and the way in which it's continuing is very much from the hostages reaching out to media ...

They are sitting on that information. is it going to help to have that out? perhaps not. police decided there's no benefit to play that card. they've asked nobody to play that card. as for five escapees they are now being debriefed in terms of the counseling and psychology but also passing on vital intelligence to the cops right now. all five of them will be able to tell the police exactly what state of mind the gunman is in and what elements he may have inside there and what threats he was making and what he was asking them to do and the layout and design of the cafe and of course there's the...

Growing against australia. >> this is more broadly this is the question. tony abbott, australian prime minister's stance on isis is quite clear. "we've made a strong commitment to degrading the isil group and we talk to partners about how this is best achieved." this played out in terms of military activity. 600 troops committed to the war on terror in september and eight hornets were authorized on air strikes in iraq only and my question now is how does this play out in terms of that growing footprint? will tony abbott now consider air strikes in syria and a greater footprint along with what ...

Bombs in the store and two in the banking district according to local media reports. that's coming from international business times. the hostage taker referring to himself as "the brother." mika, it's fascinating. obviously things work differently in australia than they do in the united states where they have the identity of the gunman and have information. chris reason reporting. doing remarkable work for channel 7 there in sidney. saying that when we find out details about the hostage taker, it will be fascinating information. i'm not exactly sure what that means. obviously the police know ...

It's symbolic significance. >> it's a very delicate balance for those giving information to the media. here's more from the press conference just held a short while ago with the police commissioner and the premiere from new south whales. >> i'm proud of how we've responded as a city, a state and a nation. but my thoughts remain with those that are caught in this event and my call goes out to the state to pray for them, to pray for their families. >> ultimately we are doing all we can in these difficult circumstances and we will get through it. >> now our only goal tonight and for as long as th...