sydney australia. we'll be right back. the i'm an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. so my buddy here is going to help me find it. here we go. woo who, woah, woah, woah. it's out there somewhere spreading the word about america's favorite potatoes: heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart association's go red for women campaign. if you see it i hope you'll let us know. always look for the grown in idaho seal. heather: fox news alert to bring you right now on the hostage siege that just ended in sydney, australia. hostage teams storm ad cafe where a self-declared islamic sheikh were holding hostages. there are reports that two people died in that standoff. joining me by phone in sydney, australia, is stuart cohen. can you confirm if some of the people inside have died and who they were? >> reporter: well at this point, heather, police are not obviously confirming. these are multiple media outlets reporting that a couple of people have died. reportedly the hostage-taker, man haron

australia was named and targeted. that's why police and intelligence authorities have been working extremely hard to make sure that there are no terror attacks. and they have foiled attacks. they've made numerous raids. they've arrested suspects and are trying to prevent something happening on home soil. so certainly, australia is part of the fight against isis. we have australian troops in that part of the world working with the kurdish forces and the iraqi military to advise and train them up so that they can fight against, you know, these islamic extremists. we also have strategists that are taking part in the aggressive air campaign in iraq and syria. so australia heavily involved and committed to this war against isis. but as we know, they are a small group. and we should stress it is a small group of people who sympathize with the thought process, with the warped value system of the islamic ex-strategy iex strate extremists. >> we don't know how many hostages are being held, but we do know there's now five less

and australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society. nothing should ever change that. >> reporter: the police tactics at the moment seem to be focused on the negotiations with the hostage taker, however long it takes. but still, it's not clear what his demands are. richard galpin, bbc news. >> our correspondent jon donnison -- sorry, phil mercer, in fact, is in sydney for us. phil, just bring us up to date. it is nighttime there in sydney. >> yes. we're hearing from the abc here in australia that the gunman has been identified by the police here in australia, and this is apparently a man who is known to them. we don't know if this man has broader political affiliations in australia or beyond, or if he's simply acting on his own. and that will become clear as this investigation continues. what we do know is for more than 12 hours now, this armed man has held an unknown number of captives hostage in a cafe in the center of sydney. now, much of central sydney remains in lockdown, and we did see a few hours ago three men followed by two wom

he was born in iran and moved to australia inform 1996. he was known to the authorities and objected to the australian forces in afghanistan. the seige is considered a ak of -- act of terrorism. it's worth noting within hours of the seige, his web page with a reported statement of support for isis was taken down. >> it really makes isis in that way much more lethal and dangerous than al qaeda was as far as being able to stop and anticipate these attacks and shows we cannot let our guard down, how this threat is more dangerous and in more ways more complex than it was before. >> counterterrorism sources said investigators are focusing on the suspects motivation, whether he was inspired by isis or whether he was directed by the terror group to act. you'll remember last fall, the terror group specifically gave directions to their sporters in australia and asked them to stay in place and behead an australian citizen. we know 150 americans are along there fighting along isis and terror groups and an equal number have been here under surveillanc

bill: in the meantime we'll go back to australia. the senate working a rare saturday session voting and passing a spending bill. republican senators ted cruz and mike lee surprising many with forcing a vote on the president's executive action on immigration. >> republicans and democrats will have an opportunity to show america whether they stand with the president who is defying if the will of the veerts or the millions of americans who wants a safe and legal immigration system. if you believe the president's amnesty is illegal vote yes. you believe it is consistent with the constitution, vote no. bill: in the end that effort failed. good morning to you. 15-minute you were a partner with senator cruz on this, was it worth it? >> it's always worth it when you stand behind the american people. when we have a president who engages in acts of lawlessless - lawlessness and acts like a government of one. bill: your opposition is based on what? >> it had to do with the fact this was a 1,600-plus page bill that was prepared in secret. it was

and also in australia. so the concern is that this kind of flag in concert with the fact that he appears to be an individual doing it in such a public way. you think that might be his expression of his belief in what isis stands for. but as you pointed out, it could also well be possible that he's somebody with mental issues. >> should we have heard any kind of statement from i.c.e. at tsi point? they're very active on twitter, social media, they love to get their memorandum out. has there been any kind of support support for this guy? claim of responsibility is probably a stretch. but any kind of message that this guy is one of ours? >> you pronl wouldn't expect to see something like that until after the situation is resolved. you would assume if he's done this he's done this off his own bat, so it's not quite a limited degree of professionalism in what he's doing, so you would assume he's doing it off his own bat, and you would assume therefore the media branch of isis is probably playing catch-up on this

the news unfolded out of sydney australia, australia. 56.54. >> thank you so much for joining us on short notice. forgive me for starting with my opinion. i think the terrorist attacks highlight our own vulnerability to a lone wolf attack here in the united states. i do not think the president is ready to add it the level of danger we are in. >> al-jihad us have seen how it was done. this was a unique case. this is not a regular member of isis. this is a g hott who left iran under one name. on his own, and machine that goes from one side to the other side. keeping one thing in mind is that ideology. they have canceled in the capacity. you will get more of these. including in the united states. stuart: i am terribly sorry to cut it short. thank you so much. short commercial break. back with more morning after this. ♪ she's still the one for you. and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, d

in sydney, australia. a dramatic standoff in the heart of the shopping district of australia's biggest city. at least one gunman took over the lindt chocolate cafe, forcing customers and staff to hold up their hands. and this islamic banner. overnight, our time, we saw

australia has been side by side with the u.s. on several combat zones. australia helps in patrolling some waters in southeast asia with the navy. and so certainly they have a robust military presence in some international conflicts we have seen from iraq throughout the 2003 war and beyond. now we're seeing them, they have been over the course of the last several months members of the coalition against isis. there is no doubt there is a close working relationship culturally from a political point of view, and certainly from a security point of view. >> so when we go back to the breaking news, we want to recap for you right now, we're watching and continuing to watch and have been for almost 13 hours now, out of sydney, australia, is this lone gunman, believed to be a lone gunman who entered a chocolate shop there in martin place in downtown sydney, taking at least 30 people hostage, some five have been released over the last 30 minutes to an hour. and we had video of those people rushing out of a side door of the building to the waiting arms of the armed

australia is a key u.s. ally. australia is also a country where the terror threat level was raised this fall from medium to high. want to go to evan perez in washington we understand the fbi was helping australian authorities. what was the fbi role? >> they have a very close relationship, the fbi does. and u.s. intelligence with the australian counterparts. we know that one of the things they were trying to do is help australians get information on the suspects. one thing australians figured out who he was several hours ago, we know that the u.s. was trying to help gather any information that we might have access to that the u.s. might have access to including his social media accounts. he was very active on social media railing against the u.s. air strikes against isis. and we know that they also were concerned about trying to identify any americans who might have been involved there. we haven't gotten full clearance on whether or not there are any but that was a very chaotic end to the situation. they did not wa

australia has flown over. this appears to be retaliation for australia's involvement in the coalition for going after isis. >> is it your sense that you have been involved in these kinds of negotiations, the longer it goes, 16 hours, at some point the hostage-taker is going to get tired, is going to get hungry, more desperate or the opposite, may simply give up. what usually happens in a situation like this? >> in a situation like this, we believe that the longer it takes, the better chances you have of the successful negotiation. why, because as you just said, he may get hungry and he may want food. keep in mind, when they want something, everything is a negotiation. whether it's a match to light a cigarette, whether it's a sandwich, it's all negotiating. and that's the bottom line. you get trust, you have to have that conversation of trust between you and the hostage-taker. the longer it takes, the better it is for a successful outcome. now keep in mind also, there's a lot of intelligence involved in this op

he is an expert in australia. let's talk about the demands why police are dealing with this terrorist incident. the lone wolf is something every police department is concerned about. whether the man is deranged or he believes the isis ideology. is that the core motive? >> i don't want to speculate too much. it appears to be a lone wolf attack. if you think about the location of martin place. i heard it described earlier, it is a busy part of sydney. it is very close to channel 7 news network in sydney. it is close to the united states consulate. there was a couple of months ago, i can't remember the exact date, but there was a plot to behead an innocent bystander in martin place. i think it is coming up in the courts soon. if there is any link, those supporting the islamic state, seem to use martin place to carry out their issues. that is maybe a connection to the islamic state and using martin place as a target. >> in fact, what we have seen around the world and canada, where that man did storm the canadian parce

a siege in australia continues. these are the pictures we have from the scene of the hostage taking. you can see two female hostages managing to escape from the building. we don't know how many hostages are still trapped inside. a second female hostage emerging, she's wearing an apron, perhaps an employee at the cafe where the hostage taking has been unfolding. here we see three hostages emerging from the building. that in total brings the number to five hostages who managed to escape from the building. there is a police presence on the scene. contact with the gunmen has been established. we know that no one has been armed or injured, but we still don't know how many hostages from trapped inside. israel is calling for an end to the occupation of the palestinian territory. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu will meet with secretary of state john kerry on monday. >> israel stands as a solitary island in the wake of the islamic extremism washing over the entire middle east. we stood and against these attacks. >>

also here in australia. the reason being is that australia is very much side-by-side with america and the other allies if fighting isis in iraq and syria, taking part in that aggressive air campaign, so, certainly, australia is a target. >> that is why there are concerns that perhaps this is related. >> also, i think it's because the gunman seems to be making that clear, that that's how he wants this to be perceived, anna, we have video that's coming in of one of the hostages. we will not show you, obviously, you want to walk that line between how much propaganda exposure you give to a situation like this we care about the individual and the threat that he presents, the hostage is making a list of demands the same as we have known, he wants the flag, he wants to talk to the prime minister. he will exchange a hostage if he gets the flack, he also wants it to be known this is about the islamic state and that that's what he wants the media to understand. he is continuing his threats about having bombs. he says

it is now evening in australia. we are heading into the nighttime hours there as this standoff continues. this is very near the u.s. consulate in sydney. a spokesperson there says the consulate personnel have been evacuated. all have been accounted for. president obama and other world leaders briefed on the situation. unknown if any americans are among the hostages. we did see images of five people who were inside managed to get out. we do not know if they managed to escape or were released. five people did manage to get out of the lindt chocolate shop. let's go now to anna coren live near the scene. good morning, anna, or good evening, anna. give us the latest. >> reporter: john, it has gone 9:00 p.m. local time. the siege has gone into the 11th hour. there are a number of hostages still inside the cafe. police refusing to say how many. that has been their line all along. you mentioned five hostages have managed to get away. we don't know if they escaped or if they were released. we know that police negotiators hav

australia is not an accidental target by any means. just look at australia. a strong partner in this anti-isis coalition and has been publicly targeted by isis already. back to you. >> in london jim maceda thank you so much. i'll be checking in with you later in the next hour. here, we have some other break news. this tie, out of the supreme court in the united states. justices have just decided to turn down a request from arizona regarding the state's abortion law. it is yet to go into effect. it would restrict the avail availability of abortion medications. today, the supreme court left that ruling intact. so the law remains blocked and cannot be enforced. three other states have similar laws. ohio texas and north dakota. this breaking news this morning. we will be right back. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your

australia goes back to 9/11 here. there was a major attack in bali that killed hundreds of australians right after 9/11. australia has been front and center in being a strong ally of the united states during this war against al qaeda. there has been a series of incidents recently in australia where australia has rounded up extreme wannabe and those who want to leave australia and go fight for isis. we don't see that all the time. now, with respect to the white house, australia's critical part of that alliance against isis. it's clear whether this individual who engaged in this act of what i would call local terror or the wannabes, the fact australia is serving as one of the pivotal allies of the united states in this war against isis is generating that type of, shall we say, self-radicalized individual in australia. there's plenty of them. we don't see them every day, but can you be certain that australians rounding up a great number of those people. >> ambassador, how are we coordinating with australia has they try t

our top story today is that hostage crisis in sydney, australia. for more on that and how it is being covered worldwide -- what has the international press been saying about this so far? >> it's been getting a lot of reaction online. in this age of 24-hour rolling news coverage we are up-to-date as much as possible, particularly on social networks. this is where the information is being covered. there are live updates under the #sydneysiege #martinplacesiege. this is causing problems for the authorities. it goes live so quickly. there is no control. it is difficult to keep standards up. we are seeing a lot of speculation. you see the top of the head of one of the female hostages fleeing. a lot of people are commonly -- commenting that their identities should be protected. there could be family members nearby watching this. we are seeing a lot of people in the early hours of this crisis tweeting -- the hostages have been speaking to police. one person is pointing out that channel 10 news was one of the first to break the self-imposed embargo. they w

australia is very interested in the latest japanese submarine technology. it has not stated how far it will go in requesting technical assistance but australian media are speculating that the government plans to buy submarines built in japan. if japan were to produce submarines for australia, that will be its first sale of completed weaponry to another country since its guidelines in exporting weaponry were revised. [ chanting ] there is fierce opposition in australia to the idea of buying finished submarines. critics say it would weaken the nation's ship building industry. prime minister abbott is also being accused of breaking his campaign pledge that new submarines would be built in australia. >> we will build ships and submarines in australia, because we love this country. >> reporter: peter briggs is a former australian naval officer who has served on two submarines. he says australia must carefully consider whether japanese submarine technology will be adequate for a country that faces both the pacific and indian oceans. >> but when you look at what a

here in eastern australia. we did have word in the last hour or two that that a group of muslim organizations across australia have released a statement saying how dismayed they are that religious imagery in the shape of that black and white flag that we've referred to has been used in such nefarious circumstances. prayer vigils have been held by other faiths and other denominations across sydney and across australia as an entire country crosses its fingers for the safety and well-being of these hostages. it was a very uneasy day too for other people in martin place. the business and financial hub of sydney. many office workers forced to stay behind their desk because they were so close to the lindt cafe. among those people there was joshua acton, and he spoke to the bbc earlier. >> it was really quite surreal going for my morning coffee and cigarettes, and at that exact moment, police motorcycles turned up and police cars swung by, and policemen were screaming at everybody to get in the building and to clear t

local time in sydney, australia. at roughly 10:45 eastern a swat team storm aid cafe where 17 hostages were taken. this after a lone gunman was killed and two hostages. one police officer was shot and suffered a non-life threatening injury. the center of sydney's shopping district has been on lock down.

sydney, australia is over. here is the latest. dramatic moments in a dramatic end to the siege a little more than an hour ago when police stormed the lindt chocolate cafe in the heart of the downtown area where a gunman had been holding several hostages for more than 17 hours. police decided to move in after a number of hostages ran out of the building just after 10:00 a.m. eastern time. and just moments later several hostages were being seen taken out on stretchers and loaded into ambulance. joining me now by phone from sydney is a contributor to the daily beast who has been on the ground at the scene since almost the very beginning. also jim kavanaugh, former hostage negotiator and msnbc analyst. thank you for being with me. >> courtney, what are you hearing about how this went down? >> caller: you know, obviously the situation has escalated here in the last hour. police entered the building at about 2:30 this morning. most people have gone home. it's stul unclear if it was an operation or something unfolded inside and authoriti

following a story out of australia. we'll be live in sydney for the latest. >>> coming up, south sudan a year on, a report from mallet cows, coming back to life after a conflict leaving thousands dead. former u.s. vice president defends the c.i.a.'s torture techniques. >>> starting in australia where hostages are being held in a sydney cafe, bringing much of the central business district to a standstill. within the last hour two hostages have been seen running from the building. i'll tell you anyway, it's not known if they escaped or were released - two in the last hour. earlier, three others made it out through the fire exit. it is unclear how many are inside. some have been seen with their hands pressed against the windows. the siege began at 9:45 in the morning local time, when a man believed to be armed walked into the lindt cafe. at one point a flag was put in the wind, on it was written the islamic creed which said "there's no god but allah, and mohammed it his messenger" come for islams. >> the information i have

the terrorist siege in sydney, australia. a gunman isis sympathizers and self-proclaimed cleric named man haron monis took people hostage for more than 17 hours at a cafe popular with tourist and locals. australian officials and police stormed the cafe at 2:00 a.m. local time, killing the gunman. at least two hostages were also killed during the rescue attempted, four others wounded. what do australian and american officials know about the hostage-taker? atika shubert has been digging into his background and joins me now live from london. atika? >> reporter: this is a man with a very wrong rap sheet. he was even accused of being somehow involved with the murder of his former wife. and he was released on bail because the judge said he was not a threat to society. and of course that is now being called into question. long before he walked into the sydney chocolate shop with a gun, 50-year-old man haron monis was well-known to australian police. various reports put his age at 49 or 50, originally from iran. he settled in austral

we're going to drill down with voices from within australia and outside of australia. leading experts on the terrorist threats faced by that country and what the rest of the world can learn from it, as well as an interesting take on the social media dimension of this particular crisis and what tech companies were doing to respond faster than we've ever seen before in the midst of this. >>> time for the your business entrepreneur of the week. christmas may come just once a year, but at roger lund's company it happens nearly every day. ''s oxford pennsylvania store the christmas house is closed four days a year. why? because i says it's because of customer demand. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings on msnbc. one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisio. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too smal

it's the area where you've got the reserve bank of australia, central bank in australia, many commercial banks, new south wales parliamentary building up the road, three blocks away, asx, australia stock exchange and a popular tourist destination within walking distance, the sydney opera house. talking about a location that would grab a lot of attention, this would be the one. lindt cafe, very popular with tourists. 9:45 on a monday morning leading up to christmas, imagine, simon, there would have been a lot of people around. when a guy with a gun walks into a cafe, it really certainly does grab national and international headlines, as we're seeing right now. >> okay. mandy, we'll come back to you during the course of the morning, keeping us abreast of what's happening. live pictures. >> details we're learning about who he is. apparently known to police, it's an iranian refugee, he's a self-styled spiritual healer, goes by sheikh as well. he's known to police because not just of his extremist views but he's had a violent past, including sexual assault. and he's even done things such as s

that's a main commercial network in australia. if they were looking at whoever is behind it for publicity, they couldn't have chosen a more central or obvious spot. the national security committee of cabinet convened. do we know of plans or action? >> canberra, the australian capital, is 3 hours drive away from sydney, where the prime minister convened the committee. they began to meet about half an hour ago, other than a bland statement about being concerned about what is going on, we don't know of action they plan to take, no. this comes in the context of heightened tensions in australia. about three months ago australia raised its so-called terror level, the likelihood of a terrorist attack on australian soil to extremely likely, and there have been a number of raids on properties in the western part of sydney in recent months with a number of arrests made. when those investigations are concluded in the past, few people have remained in custody. normally one or two from an initial rate of 30-40 people. some have been saying it

but this will go down as a day when australia felt terror on its home turf. bbc news, sydney. >> we are getting more information about the two hostages who died. they were a 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman. what more is known about the hostage taker or the operation to end the siege? here is our security correspondent. >> the sydney gunmen, none monis,mus -- man haron 50 years old, originally from iran, and operating alone. he was a well-publicized cleric with an anti-western agenda. and thesen is my gun words are my bullets. >> he was born a shia muslim. last year, on his website, he announced his conversion to sunni islam. the police knew all about him. monis was out on bail. he was facing numerous charges for sexual assault and accused of being an accessory to his ex wife's murder. he also had a conviction for sending offensive letters to families of australian servicemen killed in afghanistan. when he was seen holding hostages at gunpoint, some are wondering why snipers did not finish his life. he made his cap is make videos carrying his demands,

and australia. also, they're very open societies, based on immigrant populations, very acceptable to foreigners. as a result of that, they're going to be worried about people possibly returning to those countries and posing a security risk. so i think on both sides you're going to see the double threat approach. >> i warrant to run through wha ace trail area is doing. they've enacted a law to stop its citizens to going do fight with islamist groups. in october the parliament approved a security law naming a new offense advocating terrorism as a criminal charge. just this month australia banned citizens from traveling to raka in syria specifically, an isis stronghold. are those the right moves? >> i think in part they're the right moves. australia with has been an incredible ally stepping up first before all other nations to fight with the united states against isis. they deployed fighters, missiles and aircraft and personnel without batting an eyelash. they said, that fight is our fight, too, and ju

believe they're intending visits to australia. and there may be family members in those countries who they want to visit. they have to prove they're not traveling for maligned reasons they think is very unfair. likes wise, the communication between mobile phones and websites people have visiting, directin,, collecting, again, the muslim community fell that's targeted at their community. community tensions have been high. we don't know what the motivation of this hostage taking is? we don't know, but it's been called a criminal act in the square. the grand mufti in australia has condemned this as well, and positively we're seeing a big campaign on social media right now, hashtag #i will go with you i will walk with you i will rides with you. >> thank you. andrew thomas for us live in sydney. >> i spoke with a lawyer and community advocate, and i asked her about the fears of the backlash within the community. >> the incidents unfolding in sydney today obviously have rattled everybody, and the strained muslim community along side the

let's go back to the situation in australia this attack raising questions about australia's response to home-grown terrorism. there, they have taken the threat seriously. it's even a criminal offense for australians to travel to raqqa province in syria, a hotbed of isis terrorists. nick adams is a columnist for townhall.com, author of the american boomerang and youngest deputy mayor in australian history and my guest today. great to have you on the show, nick. >> pleasure to be here, gretchen, i'm sorry it couldn't be under different circumstances. >> let's talk about the situation from a gun control point of view. it's interesting because australia has different gun laws than america, but what are you already hearing in that country today after this hostage incident? >> well, you know, gretchen, if there was ever a time that australians wanted to have a gun, it would have been yesterday and i think for the first name a long time, australians realized what it is for the bad guys to have guns but the good people not to and there was a sense of despair, a sense of helplessness yesterda

in sydney, australia, a gunman seen in this grainy image is demanding a phone call with australia's prime minister and says he will free one hostage in exchange for a flag representing the terror group isis. now this hostage drama began to unfold more than 15 hours ago at 9:30 a.m. local time. a woman reported a man carrying a bag that she described as suspicious. minutes later, that man entered the cafe and took approximately 20 people hostage. fast forward more than six hours and some captives managed to escape. first three man ran to safety. an hour and a half later, two women managed to escape. earlier we heard from one correspondent that watched every development from a window overlooking the coffee shop. >> he's carrying what appears to be a pump action shotgun. that often coming in the frame of the windows, close to the hostages themselves. let's talk about them. we'v we've counted 15 different faces forced against the windows over eight to nine hours. not the 50 that had been speculated earlier. i think that number is wildly inaccurate. we're talking about that number, 15 people.

sydney is the biggest city in australia. the equivalent of new york city for australia. a middle aged man wearing some kind of bandana holding a shot gun and having a backpack on his back walked in and took the people hostage in that cafe. the numbers have been wildly divergent on how many people were there anywhere from 15 to 40. witnesses are saying it is probably closer to the smaller number. over the ensuing hours hostages have been seen at the windows of the cafe some there as long as two hours holding their hands up against it. apparently the hostage taker telling them to do it only using them as a human shield. a banner has been held up by at least one of the hostages a black banner with an islamic slogan on it. the hosz ttage taker is holding pump action shot guns. there have been claims possibly from him he had bombs inside the cafe and outside as well in the downtown area of sidney. tho -- sydney. police have not been confirming that at all. 6 hours into the crisis three people were seen running from the cafe. another hour later two more came out. apparently th

australia this morning. a gunman takes hostages inside a cafe in the heart of sydney forcing them at gunpoint to hold an islamic flag in the window. >> it is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation. >>> former vice president dick cheney defends the harsh interrogation techniques used by the cia on terrorist suspects following a scathing senate report on torture. >> they didn't talk to anybody who knew anybody who knew about the program, they didn't talk to anybody who was in the program. >>> and it's a case fit for a secret agent. a screenplay of the upcoming james bond film was part of a massive hacking effort at sony entertainment and this morning the hackers are hinting at even more leaks. captioning funded by cbs >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, december 15th, 2014. good morning. i'm lauren lyster in for anne-marie green. police believe a lone gunman is holding a number of hostages in a cafe. his motivation remains unc

such a bizarre day for sydney, australia. let's cross over to andrew stevens who joins us from sydney with the latest. andrew, it is so strange for something like this to happen in sydney but also for an individual like this who's had a number of dustups with the law to still have the freedom to do what he did. but just give us the latest information. what new information are we learning either about the man behind it all or some of the victims or some of those who are fortunate enough to escape? >> reporter: well, we've been learning little bits about the hostage-taker and also the two who tragically died, errol. where we're standing it moment, 150 meters down the road on the corner is the lindt cafe. that's been taken away and the body of the hostage-taker has been in the cafe while forensic team has been in there for most of the day. that's the case we understand. but details coming up. there hasn't been a lot of information yet from the hostages themselves. now, what i can tell you is that katrina lawson was a mother of t

in australia. >> why australia? we are hearing more about people giving trouble in australia. >> there is a large contingency of jihadists in australia. it's not new. a couple generations have been fighting against the australians and attempts a few months ago. >> the threats to people on public streets in australia. thank you. >> thank you. >>> breaking news, a russian military aircraft nearly hitting a commercial passenger jet. congressman adam kissinger is joining us. the russians say the planes weren't even close. do you buy that? >> no, i don't. look, especially when it comes to commercial airliners, flying close to each other is not something that you do. this is obviously the russian's attempt to show power and show that they have the teeth of a bear, to try to bully their neighbors and it's just -- it's ludicrous. i mean, any time you come near -- the russians can basically claim that the u kryo cra they are going to harass these airliners and some day there's going to be something that hap

network in australia. chris reason is one of the correspondents and witnessed the drama as it happened. he's joining us now from sidney. you were an eyewitness to what was going on. chris, explain what you saw. >> reporter: hello to you, wolf. it was a dramatic day in any man's language. we were here yesterday morning about 9:45 when the movements first started happening here at the cafe behind me here. it's only 30 meters away from the studio here in sidney. and our cameras were all set out overlooking martin place and we could see straight into the cafe and see the events from the get-go. the police realized this and moved in quickly and within half an hour decided this was a dangerous area, that we're basically in the line of fire of the gunman should he decide to point his weapon in this direction, so they evacuated the building. fortunately the police allowed me and the cameraman to stay behind and come back in. what we saw through the day was something extraordinary. by our count, about 16 hostages i

specifically australia's engagement. this goes on to, you know, studying the tweets he put out to his official twitter account, indicating he's in favor of the islamic state, acknowledges the leader of the islamic state as cleric, oman, and accuses australian authorities of torture in prisons. so, he seemed to have a few political grievances that probably he failed to express early on and this is probably his only way of expressing them after details of doing that before. >> in that case, michael, we're talking about a 50-year-old man who moved to australia several years ago. let's talk about in the bigger picture because what you all see in some of these cases are people who are first, maybe second generation, whether in britain, whether in australia, programs even the united states, whose ideology might be attached to the country they live in and its involvement in fighting isis. sort of that kind of motivation. so, is there any way that western governments can root that kind of a person out, to locate them before they

i think in australia as well. you're with 2 gb. i understand you had a conversation with the gunman via hostages earlier today? >> caller: good day. we kept going because we made contact with the hostages on my program. obviously, i didn't want to put them to air. so i took their calls off air and at the same time could hear the hostage taker giving the young man as he spoke to me, a 23-year-old, instructions on what he wanted to do. what's revealed by your reporter, he wanted the isis flag, a conversation with the prime minister. i spoke with our police chief in new south wales and spoke to him, spoke with the premier, which is a bit like your governor, and they told me off air that it would be best if we didn't report those matters. i kwept in contact with the young man. he gave me his mobile. whee about four conversation, and i felt troubled. i asked the police to supply me with a negotiator. i didn't feel equipped to negotiate with him. the negotiator arrived here, and i went off air about 20 minutes ago. and the negotiators ar

that street is home to the andrve bank of australia, all of australia's big four banks have headquarters in martin place. there are a lot of financial institutions down there. the police presence is high on a regular day. obviously, it has ramped up significantly. you can see heavily armed police wandering up and down lindt cafe -- up and down castlereagh street. yes, the police presence is strong. the cordon has been pushed back to hunter street. on whichthe corner this building is in that i'm sitting. the police presence is very heavy. here we are in the fourth hour of this siege, and we don't seem any closer to getting to the end of it. people at thee bloomberg offices telling you? have you been kept at your desk? you've not been evacuated obviously, but of course, not able to leave the building. what about the other banks? we have talked about mccoury, the reserve bank of australia, and westpac, too. the u.s. consulate has been evacuated, as well. what is going on with the other banks and indeed there at bloomberg? >> a lot of the banks -- buildings have been evacuated. channel 7, th

and australia came out determined in this first test against india. david warner raced to a century, looking to the heavens as if to say this one's for you, hughesy. the skipper michael clark, who's led this team admirably through a differently few weeks, was also going strongly before having to retire injured on 60. how he too would have loved a chance to get 100 on today of all days. the thoughts of many today will have been with shawn abbott, the 22-year-old who bowled the fatal ball. bravely, he too returned to cricket, playing for his club side new south wales in sydney. in this cricket loving country, people have been profoundly moved by the death of phillip hughes, but today, the players sent a message that the game goes on. jon donnison, bbc news, sydney. >>> a german court has thrown out the case against an 89-year-old former soldier accused of taking part in one of the most notorious massacres of the second world war. he was charged over the massacre of hundreds of men, women, and children in a french village in 1944. ss troops murdered 642

he has been politically active in australia. he's appeared at rallies, he's had controversial statements in the past. he's an individual who was on the scene, so to speak, known to authorities. i think the thing that kind of outshines all that have he had a very disturbing criminal past. some sexual charge, the fact he had been wanted in connection with to the murder of his ex-wife. i think when you put the pieces together in this big picture, you get a better profile who the individual was. he's a disturbing man. probably a little bit falling less on the spectrum of politically motivated terrorist attack and more on the side of a mentally deranged person who has the prime minister said, cloaked himself in this isil cult of death. >> with magnetism of violence and extremism. especially when he tried to set his wife on fire. it's good thing we have you here with the other breaking news we've been following. the breaking news from pakistan where officials say at least 84 people have been killed. this is a school where there are 50

largest cities, sydney, australia. this is a live picture outside of the lind chocolate cafe where negotiations with the hostage taker are ongoing. we are going to continue to follow this story. >> the parents of some children in the sandy hook elementary school massacre filing suit against the gun manufacture. >> these families placing blame on the company itself. >> that's right, stephanie, bush master firearms is the maker of the semiautomatic rifle used to kill 26 people that day. the deadline to file a claim fell on the two year anniversary of the shooting, sunday, so today, the families are announcing their own path to justice. >> families marked the two year anniversary with the hope of accountability. on september 14, 2012, armed with an ar15 rifle, two other handguns and loads of ammunition, shooter adam lanza shot his way into the building, killing six duties and 20 children in less than five minutes. some parents are suing bush master fire articles, the manufacturer of the semiautomatic rifle used in the mas

that's the word from police in sydney, australia in the last hour. they're telling it what went down inside the cafe as terrified hostages lineup the windows holding an islamic flag. we're also finding out more about the gunman himself. police say he had been on their radar for a long time. but first, a lock back on how this unfolded. and the raid that brought an end to 16 agonizing hours. >> something going on. >> it inned in the middle of the night. hostages running out as cops busted in. long before those loud bangs and bright flashes, we first got word at 9:45 in the morning of a possible armed robbery at a cafe. >> this is frightening and chilling stuff. what you're watching is live. happening here in martin place, 30 or 40 meters from where we're standing. we have cameras all over this for you now. >> the cameras showed this was no robbery. >> standing at the windows with their hands up to the window. they're not moving. >> some of them held up a black flag with arabic writing. >> we are being tested today in sydney. the police are being tested

fox news alert on a hostage crisis now over after more than 16 hours sparking fears of terrorism in australia's largest city. this is "outnumbered." today's hashtag one lucky guy, pete and he's outnumbered. glad to have you here today. >> glad to be here. >> your military expertise will be great to have. it's early tuesday morning already in sydney. and that -- and that was the scene just two hours ago. you could hear that gun fire there rapidly, heavily armed police storming a lindt chocolate cafe after a nice of negotiations with a gunman failed to end the or deal. earlier a number of hostages were seen running from the cafe. this actually happened more than once. they've been held since monday morning local time there. the gunman and at least one other person we know were reportedly killed in the siege. the suspect was an iranian refugee with a criminal past but they're not saying whether the incident is related to terrorism exactly. greg is in london with more now. bring us up to speed. >> harris, dramatic ending. police confirming to fox news the seen is over. australian police also confir

when you look at australia. we see a lot more obvious physical attacks against muslims. >> what is that? why is that? why do you think that is? >> i think it's just - is there something in the culture that - is it - are there event that happened. what? you say they are not as tolerant. where does that come from, if that's true? >> i lot of it comes from anti-immigrant refugee sentiment that has been building up for years and years and years. in many ways i think... >> do you feel it when you go there? >> absolutely. >> tell me. >> i go and walk down the streets of sydney. i know people are looking at me. i feel it in ways that i haven't before. you know, i'm superconscious of the fact that there is a violence bubbling under the surface. and it's not very comfortable. >> and how - how do you begin to approach the solution to that? >> you know... >> not that it's your responsibly. plenty of responsibility to go around on this. >> i believe you go down, build the community. i give you two great examples. i was work

the reserve bank for australia, central bank of australia has its headquarters on martin place. all the buildings around this cafe are being evacuated. be the police have the central square in sydney in lock down. >> you touched on this in a little more detail andrew. can you give us a better understanding of the police presence in light of what the prime minister tony abbott said, he encouraged everyone to go about their business but i would imagine it's difficult at this hour. >> if your business has anything to do with being in the center of sydney this monday, then you can't possibly go about your normal business. because the central business district of this big australian city is in lock down. the vehicles you may be able to see just down there the number of ambulances in fact are all obviously on stand by if something goes down turns nasty. one might know that is a police helicopter. places i could get with a car with a vehicle about an hour ago now was well over a kilometer from here and the walk from where i parked the the car to getting to here i saw probably about 200

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. they've done this out of precaution to be very cautious. here's 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. that's 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 four-minute walk, about 1.3