somers' family responded. his brother jordan pleading for his release while insisting luke had no part in the rescue attempt. >> he is not responsible for any actions the u.s. government has taken. please understand that we had no prior knowledge of the rescue attempt for luke, and we mean no harm to anyone. >> reporter: but u.s. officials feared somers' time was running out. at the white house, president obama received frequent updates. and in a statement today said additional intelligence indicated somers's life was in imminent danger. based on this assessment and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an operational plan, i authorized a rescue attempt yesterday. in the dark of night dozens of navy s.e.a.l.s. landed two miles from their target in central yemen with u.s. fighter bombers and armed drones circling in the skies above. the american commandos soon reached an isolated cluster of buildings. u.s. military officials say as the s.e.a.l.s. closed in on the building where somers was held, the gun

the president sent in commandos to find luke somers, coming up empty. somers was not there. there were other hostages, who were released, not u.s. senators, and the explanation that the president gave in a statement was he was in imminent danger, citing the video released by al qaeda, threatening to kill luke somers within 72 hours, and that was a couple of days ago much the u.s. felt the clock was running and was likely to run out on saturday. >> the vice president had strong words today, right. >> it was extraordinary. the predawn nature of the statement from the president of the united states, and from the secretary of defense. they were written statements, and secretary of state john kerry, with chuck hagel turning up on this farewell tour spoke the issue and the tragedy there. vice president joe biden in a previously scheduled appearance talking about the middle east in general had this to say. >> this is a despicable crime. we mean what we say, that we'll be relentless in our efforts to bring to justice those who have caused us this pain. some already have been brought

somers life was in danger. president obama released a statement a short time ago saying not only was this based on the fact that captors in that video you mentioned saying he would be killed within 72 hours if the demands were not met. the president ordered this operation. unfortunately, during the course of it, both of the hostages murdereded by heir captors. remember, this is the second attempt to rescue luke somers. it was only on monday when another operation was conducted. that one, by the time u.s. special forces operations arrived at the locate, somers had been removed. they did rescue other hostages. one week, two attempts, sadly did failed. >> do we know, one what the demands were. and two, we are hearing that some of the terrorists were killed as well in this mission, that is correct? that's right. to the second question, first, a number of actors were killed -- public -- by officials, to be fair -- >> jim -- >> reporter: it's the general principle -- >> i'm sorry, i think we're having a technical pro

. >> our prayers and thoughts go out to the somers' family. there was also another hostage who was also killed in that attempted rescue. and our prayers and thoughts go out to all the families involved. i do think, though, that this is further evidence of america's continued commitment to always find its american hostages, no matter where they are, and make every effort to get those hostages returned. >> reporter: president obama monitored the raid here at the white house last night and said the white house used every tool at its disposal to get somers released. back to you. >> what more do we know about the south african hostage that was killed? >> reporter: yes, the south african man is myier korkie. we know from his employer and a facebook posting, they call it the gift of givers, they were finalizing an agreement for his release on sunday. the u.s. state department, they say they did not know this second hostage was south african. they just said their intelligence shows there were two individuals, so they went ahead with the mission. again

the second attempt to rescue luke somers. but somers had apparently been moved before the operation took place. so now the second attempt -- remember, these operations are not done lightly. they're dangerous. they involve a tremendous amount of resources. it's a dangerous operation for the u.s. special forces that are involved. and two conducted in a short time frame to attempt this rescue. of course the very sad news that it failed and that somers was killed by his captors during the course of it. >> jim, earlier this week we heard an emotional appeal from his family urging the captors to shows mercy. and the captors said we want the u.s. to give us -- they had certain demands but didn't outline the demands. what were they demanding in return for luke somer's release? >> to be fair, any demands or ones that the u.s. would not consider credible, they wouldn't believe that, first of all, the demands wouldn't be ones that the u.s. could meet because it involves leaving the region. but even if they were met, remember, this is a

somers died during the rescue attempt. senior u.s. military officials tell nbc news that two dozen navy s.e.a.l.s in two hecks were involved in this operation. gunfire was exchanged with al qaeda fighters. a handful of militants were killed in the exchange. somers and a south african hostage were evacuated alive but they died of their wounds en route to a u.s. navy ship. defense secretary chuck hagel in afghanistan today addressed the rescue mission's difficulties. >> this mission, which there will be more detail forthcoming, was extremely well-executed. it was a very dangerous and complicated mission. but like always in these efforts, there is risk. >> somers, a photojournalist, was abducted in yemen's capital back in 2013. south african teacher who was also killed was seized in may of 2013. nbc's kristen welker is at the white house for us with the very latest on this. what are you hearing from there at 1600 pennsylvania? >> reporter: alex, i've been talking to senior administration officials and they tell me once that video of luke

there was another hostage that was in the compound with somers. based on great intelligence, incredible work up front, an immensely risky operation with this immense enterprise of support from drones and fighters, a joint operation of s.e.a.l.s. all the services were involved, the navy, the air force, the army, et cetera. everybody gets involved in this thing. i don't know, i feel sensitive about calling it a failed mission. >> and i hear that. and as valiant as the effort was, and again, they had to trek six miles from where they landed to try to get to this spot to rescue them, success would have been safely bringing luke somers home. >> you are correct. >> although the word failed seems a little harsh, they did not accomplish what the mission set out to do. >> you got it. >> so, let's talk about a detail. and for the sake of this conversation, we won't use that word and let people at home decide if it was a failed mission or not. but considering that there was this attempt just a couple of weeks ago and this negotiation with the south africans

yesterday somers mother and brother posted a video of them pleading for his life. stay with us for updates throughout the newscast on this breaking story. >>> good morning. this is. "nbc10 news today." i'm rosemary connors. we're also watching the weather story this weekend. meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the cloudy and wet conditions outside. fair to say today is going to be a washout? >> yes, it will be heavier as we head throughout the nighttime hours. get the umbrellas ready. it's going to be mild. take a look outside. the rain is falling. it's cloudy, gray. that's what we're going to see in place all day long. radar is showing us where that rain is falling. as we widen out here it's a train of rain. it's going to keep coming as we

where somers was snatched how far the street in 2013. officials believed his life was in danger and president obama said because of that he authorised the raid. unfortunately when u.s. forces got to somers, the photo journalist was wounded. they tried to rush to get medical help. another hostage was killed by al qaeda during the operation. secretary of state john kerry said in a statement the murder of luke somers by his captors is a reminder of the brutality of the terrorists in al qaeda and arabian peninsula and said: less than two weeks ago u.s. forces made the first attempt, but somers had been moved from the location before the raid. eight others were freed. >> al qaeda attempted but failed to block a flight to detroit. >> thank you. >> allen schauffler is live for us. al jazeera has been talking to 9 somers family as they made a plea to save his life. did it appear the family had any idea that a rescue attempt would happen this weekend? >> if they did, they didn't share the knowledge with us. when we spoke with them hours before th

officials fear that somers time was running out. in a statement today that additional intelligence indicated that somer's life was in imminent danger. in the dark of night, dozens of navy seals landed two miles from their target. with u.s. fighter bombers and drones circling in the skies above, the american commando reached an isolated cluster of buildings. as the seals closed in on the building where somers was held, a gun battle broke out. somers and a south african hostage were discovered gravely wounded, apparently shot by their captors. they were quickly air lifted to a u.s. navy ship offshore but both died of their wounds. >> luke somers' family has not released a statement but have asked for privacy. >> and the lapd officially launched an investigation into the sexual assault claims against bill cosby. 55 jeerudy huff said that cosby sexual assaulted her at the playboy mansion when she was just 15 years old. huff is the first woman to report it to the lapd. cosby is accused of sexual assault by 19 women. >> skies across the b

american luke somers is killed during a navy seal raid in yemen. david martin is at the pentagon with the details of what went wrong. seth doane reports on the typhoon that just made landfall in the philippines, and it's forecast to slam it relentlessly for three days. >> can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> axelrod: after the chokehold. >> sir, ems, com. >> axelrod: jericka duncan looks at the video raising questions about the emergency response eric garner received. and marble in the middle. charlie d'agata on the ancient greek statue at the center of an international tug-of-war. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod. for the second time in 10 days, u.s. special forces attempted to save an american journalist who was being held by an al qaeda group in yemen. this attempt early this morning ended tragically in the death of 33-year-old luke somers and another hostage, a 56-year-old south african named pierre korkie. the u.s. government says the two men were shot by their captors during t

luke somers has been killed in a failed rescue attempt. president obama just issued a statement on the operation which reads in part the united states strongly condemns the barbaric murder of luke somers in partnership with the yemeny government. summers a. photo journalists was abducted back in september of 2013. let's bring in nbc news white house correspondent, jack jacobs. what do we know about this raid? >> reporter: president obama calling this killing beautiful this morning, alex. he is shedding more light on his decision to authorize that raid. we have more of the statement he released within the past hour, and he says earlier this week a video released by his terrorists captors announced luke would be killed within 72 hours, and other information also indicated that luke's live was in imminent danger, and as soon as there was a reliable intelligence, i authorized the rescue of luke and any other hausages held in the same location as luke. the president saying the killing under scores the need to fight against what the president ca

this is actually the second failed attempt to rescue luke somers. what kind of intelligence did these special operations folks have going in? >> reporter: it's obviously never perfect, dan. the raid in november was the best example of that. somers had been moved nearly a week before the raid took place, but this time they had the intelligence from drones, from communications intercepts and possibility human intelligence as well. but the s.e.a.l.s were on the enemy's time line. they felt they had to go in before the deadline and that put them at a disadvantage, not being able to choose a better moment for the operation, clearly the hostage takers expected a raid which is why they opened fire as soon as the s.e.a.l.s were detected. >> we're talking about al qaeda here not generally known for executing their prisoners. are they now ripping a page out of the isis playbook? >> reporter: it's very unusual for this branch of al qaeda. usually they use hostages for ransom. this does make you worry that they're learning from isis that killing a hostage gets

somers. i'm toure as we come on the air. more questions than answered following a rescue attempt that ended up with a dead american and a dead south african hostage who is possibly hours away from being released. it all started late friday night. three dozen highly skilled american navy s.e.a.l.s stormed a compound in yemen, second high-stakes attempt to free somers. somers was there but something tipped off al qaeda. a shootout erupted. the terrorists shot somers and the other hostage. they were clinging to life when s.e.a.l.s evacuated them to safety but both died of their injuries. somers' body will be returned home for burial tomorrow. also south african teacher pierre korkie. the american ambassador to south africa says washington did not know what the progress of those negotiations. all this happening as american embassies and military bases around the world are on high alert. senate dems are set to release an in-depth report on the cia's use of torture under president obama but there a

intelligence shows american luke somers would be murdered by saturday morning. by mid-morning friday the president authorizes the rescue, giving no hint of the drama about to play out. just a few hours later, according to u.s. officials, two v-22 ospreys under cover of darkness touched down in a remote area of yemen, some six miles from the compound where the hostages are held. about 40 special force co-man dose, mostly navy s.e.a.l.s move undetected over the rough terrain. suddenly everything goes wrong when 300 feet away, they're exposed, maybe by a barking dog. a fire fight breaks out. as a u.s. drone watches overhead, one terrorist runs back inside and shoots both hostages. u.s. forces kill five aqpu terrorists, the rest flee. a combat medical team needs to spend a tense half hour on the ground, trying to stabilize the two gravely wounded men. finally, they are flown back to the uss macon island off yemen's coast. one dies on the way and the other dies on the ship. >> you have to look at this from a very surgeryical point, like a heart surgeon or brain surge

somers, right? >> no, just a little less than two weeks ago when another special operations team also conducted a raid on what they believed to be a site holding hostages, and they did rescue about eight other hostages, including several yemenis, but mr. somers had been moved with three or four other westerners and so this was a follow-up to try to rescue them before a deadline imposed by the al qaeda affiliate in yemen on saturday. >> sreenivasan: were there any members of the u.s. special force injured or civilians on the ground or people who were holding them hostage? >> there have been some media reports of civilian casualties but i have not been able to confirm that. there were no military casualties as part of this team. it's a dangerous part, a remote part of yemen. the al qaeda affiliate there has controlled it for some time now, so this is a very dangerous, high-risk mission. >> sreenivasan: and this is a joint operation between u.s. forces and yemeni forces. how has that been going over th

somers was 33 years old. he was kidnapped last year. on thursday of this week al qaeda posted a video showing somers and threatened to kill him if the u.s. did not meet their demands. president obama just issued a statement on this. it reads in part, the united states strongly condemns the barbaric murder of luke somers at the hands of al qaeda terrorists during a rescue operation conducted by u.s. forces in yemen in partnership with the yemeni government. he offered his condolences to luke's family and loved ones. we will update you on this story throughout the newscast. >>> in our area the search for missing college student shane montgomery is entering the tenth day. family and friends are not giving up hope. the reward in this case is now up to $40,000. they want somebody to come forward. nbc10's monique braxton is live in manayunk where the 21-year-old disappeared. fill us in on what their efforts are this weekend. >> reporter: there is a new focus, rosemary, as the search enters the second weekend since shane disappeared after a ni

those that knew luke somers are sharing his story this morning. his stepmother describes him as a talented photographer with sensitivity for people and people's lives. as the obama administration begins to assess the failed mission, one tells me the entire u.s. government is grieving this morning. >> friends and colleagues say luke somers was a passionate and dedicated journalist. today they're mourning the loss of the 33-year-old. >> it was devastating to hear that. he had a great amount of promise. he was beginning to tap that. >> somers was murdered by al qaeda when u.s. special forces tried to rescue him. >> this time they were unable to save luke. >> late last month the u.s. tried to rescue him. that initial mission failed. then this video appeared, somers pleading for his life. >> i'm certain my life is in danger. as i sit here now, i ask if anything can be done, let pit be done. >> also in the video, somers captors threatened to execute him as early as yesterday. nbc news is told the president a proved the mission knowing the time was short

luke somers was shot by his captors during a u.s. special forces mission to save him. he later died on board an american ship. peter deucy joins us live from washington. >> there is a feeling of urgency driving the mission to rescue luke somers because al qaeda hostage takers threatened thursday to kill him today if their demands were not met. president obama signed off on the order and by 5:00 p.m. eastern last night a team of 40 special operators arrived in yemen via osprey aircraft landing a little more than six miles from the compound where somers and another hostage were being held. the american commanders walked most of the six miles completely undetected but were spotted about a football field away from the compound and that is when, officials believe, the hostages were shot. the u.s. team engaged the al qaeda kidnappers, killing more than five of them, then retrieved the wounded hostages and air lifted them to the "uss macon island" with surgeons treating gunshot wounds while en route. the associated press reports that the american somers survived the flight an

this was the second attempt to rescue somers. in late november navy s.e.a.l.s raided a cave in yemen but he wasn't there. president obama stromtly condemned the killing say those who continue to kill american citizens will feel the long arm of the justice. >> meanwhile the militants were planning to free korki e.on sunday. the aid group paid $200,000 for his relief. u.s. officials were unaware of the talks before ordering the raid. >>> well, this morning marks the formal end of the war in afghanistan. the u.s. and nato held a flag lowering ceremony today to on seven the end of the combat mission. it comes 13 years after the invasion to topple the taliban government. the coalition will keep 13,000 troops in afghanistan. that is down from a peak of 140,000 in 2011. >>> an explosive senate report is due out in the coming days detailing the cia's use of torture on terror suspects in the years after 9/11. this morn there's a debate on capitol hill over whether this information needs to be made public. susan mcginnis is in washington.

this was the second attempt to rescue somers. in late november, navy seals raided a cave in yemen, but he wasn't there. >> this is further evidence of america's continued commitment to always find its american hostages no matter where they are and make every effort to get those hostages returned. >> president obama strongly condemned the killing, saying those who seek to harm u.s. citizens will feel the long arm of american justice. danielle nottingham, cbs news. >> they were alive, but gravely wounded when had u.s. special forces reached them. somers lived in yemen before his capture and his mother said in a statement, her son had a sensitivity for people who wanted to tell the stories of communities in war torn areas. >>> well, a frozen food product is being voluntarily recalled because of possible salmonella contamination. open nature chili cheese or organic dinners distributed by overhill farms in los angeles. the product is sold nationwide by safeway and other stores. routine testing turned up the possible contamination. but

luke somers was kidnapped in september of last year in yemen's capital. al qaeda had planned to kill somers today but u.s. special forces were unable to save him. peter doocy has more details. >> we have brand-new information about the daring raid carried out by american commandos to save luke somers, the president and chuck hagel approved the mission yesterday based on threats thursday from the al qaeda kidnappers that they would kill luke somers today if their demands were not met. at 5:00 p.m. eastern last night, 40 americans took os pray land craft to a site 10 kilometers from where they were being held and started walking towards the hostages but somehow were discovered 100 meters from the target. at that point officials believe the hostages were shot right away but were pulled out and treated by surgeons aboard the osprey aircraft. the associated press reports that luke somers survived the ride to the nearby nachvy ship but died from gunshot wounds soon after. the south african hostage died before landing at the ship. no other americans were injured

somers death. he was murdered an attempt by american forces to rescue him from terrorist groups in yemen. our hearts are full of sorrow tonight. our prayers and thoughts go out to the somers' family. there was also another hostage who was also killed. in that attempted rescue. and our prayers and thoughts go out to all the families involved. >> president obama explained his reasons for ordering the rescue attempt. and a fairly lengthy statement released this morning. what did the president have to say? >> strong words. he said in a statement this morning is that the united states strongly condemns the barbaric murder of luke somers during the resident accuse operation conducted in yemen. on behalf of the american people i offer my deepest condolences to luke's people and to his loved ones. and keep in mind this decision was made personally by the president himself yesterday here at the white house. and it is clear this morning he is feeling the weight of this responsibility. he also says in his sta

luke somers now pleading for help in a new video. and this evening, an urgent new plea from his family, as well. a dramatic message to the terrorists. abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross tonight. >> reporter: the white house today acknowledged that 33-year-old american hostage luke somers was the key objective of a u.s. rescue mission in yemen nine days ago that failed to free him. >> my name is luke somers. >> reporter: somers' hostage plight became public today, after al qaeda posted this video, threatening to kill him three days from now. >> i'm looking for any help that can get me out of this situation. i'm certain that my life is in danger. >> reporter: u.s. officials say somers was moved just two days before the november 25th rescue mission in a remote area of yemen, led by navy s.e.a.l. team six. a number of other hostages being held by al qaeda in a mountain cave were freed. >> this is one of the hardest military operations you can do. this is not the movies. >> reporter: a senior administration official told a

luke somers died overnight in yemen. he was kidnapped last year. on thursday al qaeda posted a video shows somers and threatened to kill him if the united states did not meet their demands. this morning we're waiting to hear from military officials about the deadly rescue attempt. a drone killed nine suspected al qaeda fighters in the search for somers. stay with us. >>> good morning. welcome back to "nbc10 news today." i'm rosemary connors. it's 5:30. we're also watching the weather on this weekend. let's get right to the forecast now with meteorologist michelle grossman. not the best timing of

. >> my name is luke somers. i'm 33 years old. i was born in england but i carry american citizenship and have lived in america most of my life. >> reporter: somers was kidnapped in september 2013. he had been working as a photo journalist capturing yemen's often violent political struggles. in the video, somers pleads for help. >> basically, i'm looking for any help to get me out of this situation. i'm certain that my life is in danger. so as i sit here now, i ask if anything can be done, please let it be done. thank you very much. >> reporter: al qaeda says it's giving the u.s. three days to meet unspecified demand or somers will meet his, quote, inevitable fate. unlike hostage tapes from isis driven mainly by ideology and violence, these militants may now be looking for ransom. >> when you have an organization that sometimes is strapped for cash to conduct operations, they will desire the ransom money more than others like isil. >> reporter: with the al qaeda tape of somers now made public, the administration is acknowledging l

now al qaeda's threatening to kill luke somers. and john blackstone with a family that has turned making money-- >> the gabe and garrett channel. >> pelley: into child's play. >> reporter: what was it like when the checks started coming in? >> it's crazy. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. a second night of protests has begun in new york after a grand jury cleared a white police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man. this is downtown manhattan. demonstrators are calling for reforms in the n.y.p.d., and today the mayor and police commissioner announced 22,000 officers will be retrained in light of the death of eric garner. jim axelrod has what we learned today about the grand jury proceedings and officer daniel pantaleo. >> i can't breathe! i can't breathe! >> reporter: the demonstrations following the grand jury's decision have been largely peaceful so far. the message crystal clear-- >> it's not about black or white. it's about life or death. >> r

al qaeda posted a video of luke somers pleading for his life. we're learning more about somers and a thwarted attempt to rescue him by the u.s. military. cnn is standing by live for us in london with the very latest. >> officials say this attempt, this rescue attempt was carried out after that received intelligence that the hostages were being moved. they saw an opportunity, they got line of sight on hostages being moved with blankets over their head and the special forces moved in. when they arrived, they realized that this perhaps could have been a decoy. that other hostages were being held in another location and now luke somers family is pleading with the hostage takers to not allow luke to bare the brunt for this failed attempt. take a listen to this, christine. >> luk is not responsible for the actions the u.s. government had taken. we had no prior knowledge for the rescue attempt and we mean no harm to anyone. >> we thank you for taking care of him. please show mercy and give us an opportunity to see our luke again. he is all that we have

. >> my name is luke somers. >> reporter: on thursday al qaeda terrorists released a video of somers threatening to kill him within 72 hours. president obama said based on this assessment and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an operational plan, i authorized a rescue attempt yesterday. >> i don't think the government had an option. president obama did the right thing trying to save this poor fellow's life. >>> the troops are staying. the u.s. will keep more troops than originally planned in afghanistan for 2015. that's according to u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel during his visit to that country today. they'll keep an extra 1,000 troops in the country. >>> coming up next, another wind for the surfers in a battle over beach access. >> the argument to keep the gate closed at martin beach. >>> by tomorrow morning, could see some patchy fog setting up. before the end of the day, we could see more rain spilling back into the bay area. how it will impact the rest of your weekend plans as we come right back. looking for one of these? yoplait. smooth, creamy, and craved by t

we knew that they threatened on thursday to kill luke somers by saturday. this was our last chance to go ahead and save him. it was obviously very tragic in the sense that we were not able to save him. but it was not a failed mission in that we flexed our muscles because they were flexing theirs. it was a very challenging mission. as they get closer, obviously they're alerting the terrorists and there is only a few points of entry and their time frame to go in and get the hostages becomes smaller and smaller. so unfortunately, we're not able to save him, but again, why do these terrorist take american hostages when they know we won't pay the ransom? because the main reason for taking hostages is to a, get the money. and b, to flex their muscles to show their might, to show especially to america that al-qaeda is not on hiatus, they're not taking a break, and they're going to be he >> you mentioned paying ransom. european countries do that apparently. some of them deny. should we change our policy? it's always been from the reagan administration, we should no

embassy in yemen after luke somer's death was confirmed. and that sentiment has been expressed by so many other whose say that somers really loved the country and turned it into his second home in the two years he spent there taking photographs. we can see some of them here, they're really quite beautiful. in some cases we see protests, political meetings. but we also see the ordinary lives of people there trying to live their lives amid conflict. earlier today on cnn, one of the other journalists who spent time in yemen spoke about somers, here is what he said. >> was really dedicated to yemen. and he spent over two years there continuously telling the stories and documenting the people that he met. and he really truly seemed to enjoy it. >> along with taking photographs, somers also sometimes worked with the yemen times. it is an english/yemen newspaper in the country. and this week after the al qaeda militants threatened to kill him, the newspaper came out with an editorial calling for his release. they wrote this, luke loves yemen and w

somers, mr. foley, doesn't matter what country you are doing with or country you are doing with. >> s a. ma before we go looking at yemen and the outcome this operation, the kidnapped people were killed, but the kidnappers were killed too. is this a disincentive to do this kind of thing in the future. >> i don't think so. i think it will continue to happen. in the past three years we have seen kidnappingpings go wrong we they tried to take a hostage, the toss ta hostage and was killed. sometimes it's just to create chaos and make pima frayed for irrelevant that lives, i think kidnappings will continue to happen but i think americans can take precautions before they go to yemen, they can read very carefully about the country, they can go there and know who they will be with. nowhere they are going to. i think if foreigners stick with the yemeni families the families feel an obligation to take care of them and they always do that. in these cases it's really rare. i know a bunch of forb eners who ar

our prayers and thoughts go out to the somers family. >> it was the second attempt to rescue somers in less than two weeks. the family has yet to make a public statement. >>> it's referred to as a date which will last in infamy. today marked the 73rd anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. nearly 400 japanese home planes attacked the united states pacific fleet. the results were devastating. five battleships, three destroyers and seven other ships were sunk or severely damaged. more than 200 aircraft were destroyed. about 2400 americans were killed. another 1200 wounded. as a result of attack the united states entered world war ii, a four year effort costing more than 400,000 american lives. there will be two ceremonies today in alameda. one at the coast guard base at 8:30 and another at 11:00 a.m. >>> surfers may have won the court battle to access martin's beach but the silicon valley mogul who owns the gate hasn't unlocked it. this is video where a gate blocking public access to the beach is still blocked. that's despite a judge's order for the property owner to open it. owner is

somers' family said monday they did not sign off on that raid. as pentagon correspondent barbara starr reports, korkii was expected to be released very soon. >> reporter: outrage from the family and friends of the south african hostage pierre korkie. >> there's a lot of anger and a lot of understanding too. so there's mixed comments and mixed thought the on the process. >> reporter: after months of being held by al qaeda in yemen, his family thought he would be free within hours. >> my name is look somers. >> reporter: u.s. officials say after seeing this video of luke some ors late last week the pentagon concluded somers was in imminent danger of being killed. the u.s. scrambled for a last-minute rescue. by thursday they had images of the compound where somers was being held. by mid-morning friday, the mission was a go. it would not suck sooceed in th. >> the president does not at all regret ordering this mission to try to rescue mr. somers. >> i commend the president for acting, because the intelligence showed an urgency to get in, or they were

corky died in flight and somers died on the ship. the family got news about his murder at midnight last night. top elected officials are praising the brave operators involved in last night's rescue attempt as well as a previous attempt where they were unable to save somers because he had been moved. >> special forces engaged in these two rescue missions, did an incredible job. and inflicted serious damage on the cap tors, but -- this time this time they were unable to save luke. >> the speaker of the house added on twitter this morning, quote, saddened by the murder of luke somers in yemen. grateful for our brave soldiers who tried to save him. prayers for all involved. we're told that none of the u.s. special forces on this raid were injured. the yemeni government was aware of the operation but didn't participate at all. the entire mission was monitored in real time here in d.c. >> peter doocy, thank you. >> more on the life of luke somers, he was a photo journalist, 33 years old, born in britain but spent a lot of his life in the u

somers died during the rescue attempt. senior u.s. military officials tell nbc news that two dozen navy s.e.a.l.s in two hecks were involved in this operation. gunfire was exchanged with al qaeda fighters. a handful of militants were killed in the exchange.

tried to rescue luke somers. on november 25th members of seal team six raided a hide out on a yemeni mountainside and discovered luke somers had been moved two days earlier. as a result of that mission, al qaeda threatened to kill luke somers by the weekend and warned the u.s. against another rescue. >> with somers and his family pleading that his life was in danger... ..president obama authorised another mission. >> this time they were unable to save luke. >> pierre corky's family was specting a different out come. he was kidnapped in 2013 with his wife. his wife was released in jan, he was expected to be released the morning after the failed raid. the charity had negotiated a $200,000 ransom. the u.s. and south african government have a policy of not paying ransom. the u.s. did not know about the ransom or the private plan to free pierre corky. 6am saturday pierre corky's wife received a text message saying the wait was over. two hours later she received a call that her husband had died. a message on the websit

journalist luke somers. somers was murdered when u.s. forces raided the area in yemen where he was being held by al qaeda forces. >>> richard engel is here he'll have details. >>> churning closer a massive typhoon setting its sights on the philippines with landfall expected at some point today. millions of people in its path. already 500,000 have fled the area, trying to get out before the monster storm makes landfall. >>> dylan is tracking its path. >>> and cool no more, popular teen clothing store abercrombie & fitch trying to recover from a major sales slump. the company is trying to recover from a damaged image too, but will it be able to do enough to get people back inside? >>> welcome back, everyone, to "today" on a saturday morning. a great crowd out on the plaza this morning. we will step outside and say hello in a bit. i'm lester holt. >> i'm erica hill alongside sheinelle jones and dylan dreyer. >> we want to begin with breaking news. the killing of u.s. journalist luke somers. it happened during a failed mission by u.s. and ye

luke somers' stepmother and sister commented on this to cnn earlier. what they said was, and let me quote in part, "we feel that luke's stance would have been that more discussion should have taken place between the country's concern and that these crises should be solved with more dialogue and less conflict." but, of course, the understanding was, from that videotape that we all saw last week, that luke somers would be murdered by his al qaeda captors within three days and that's what prompted the u.s. to proceed with this mission and always the u.s. position is it does not negotiate with terrorists and does not offer ransom. this is a very difficult situation, the president making the decision they have the best chance that they were ever going to get, they have the best information they were ever going to get in and go in and try and get him. wolf? >> barbara starr, thank you for that information. let's bring back in bob baer. these missions are always incredibly risky. they can sometimes go really wrong. is there another option that doesn't involve

what went wrong to free luke somers and what does this mean? >>> and "rolling stone" magazine is backing down on the sexual assault case on university of virginia campus and says some of the items may not be true. we'll explain. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is monday, december 8th. it is 4:00 a.m. in the east. breaking overnight. a new night of violence and protests in berkeley, california. one of the few places where violence have broken out in the killings of eric garner and michael brown. some hurled rocks and bottles at police and tried to set a patrol car on fire. looting and vandalism broke out. one hit in a hammer. the victim was taken to the hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening. >> elsewhere across the country, the protests were peaceful. that can be seen on so many of the signs. there will be another demonstration at 8:00 a.m. this morning at u.s. capitol building. in new york, 300 arrests. on sunday, people gathered at times square and grand central s

luke somers appears nervous. >> i'm luke somers. i was born in england, but carry an american citizenship. >> last week, both special operations and yemen forces tried to free somers without success. somers will meet his inevitable fate if the group doesn't meet the demands. the demands were not outlined in the video. he is a freelance photographer kidnapped by terrorists last september. >>> an american woman stabbed in the restroom of the mall of the abu dhabi. security footage shows a suspect covered head to toe in women's garb. the authorities are working to identify the suspect and gender. >>> much more on the protests over a grand jury decision not to indict a police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man. what attorney general eric holder is saying about a federal inquiry. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets. and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a f

pierre kokie was executed alongside luke somers. many in korkie's family are wondering why they were not told ahead of the fact the raid was about to happen. >> nima, thanks. >>> defense secretary chuck hagel says he does not expect afghanistan security forces to buckle the way iraq's had. hagel spent the weekend in afghanistan. the final trip as secretary. he says the difference is afghanistan's government wants u.s. troops there to assist and advise and train. >> they welcomed us. they want us to continue to help them support them. that's a big difference between afghanistan today and where we were in iraq. >> cnn's jim sciutto spoke with secretary hagel in afghanistan. he will have that story live on "new day" later this morning. >>> six guantanamo bay prisoners transferred to uruguay. president obama since he was running for office vowed to close the base. >>> a top secret cia report. the explosive report details what the cia did following the 9/11 terror attacks. now there are fears the release of that report could lead to viol

suleman, i would to first extend our condolences to the somers and korkie families. i know ms. korkie went to bed thinking her husband would be on his way home the next day and woke up to hear that her husband had been killed. how is she doing? >> she is doing very well under the circumstances. she's a very strong woman. but she's had 11 torrid months. i've had continuous dialogue with her reassuring her at every phase. but the release last friday was very difficult. for three hours that friday night, i was talking about the apprehension, will he make it, will he come out? how ill will he be -- all those kinds of issues. saturday morning, we spent another hour between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. finally i got her to settle down to be positive and hopeful. she is a very strong woman, very spiritual, very strong christian, strong faith. she said, every time, trust the lord, trust the lord. but my last comment to her at 5:59 a.m. was, the waiting is almost over. i feel so terrible using those words now. because two hours later she got the call that pierre is no more. in spite of that, she'