[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] An historic new beginning for the United States and Cuba. President Obama announces a breakthrough agreement to restore ties to the island, ties severed more than 50 years ago. But this maybe easier said than done. The big fight from both sides of the aisle that the president now faces. Movie release canceled. Sony indefinitely pulls the plug on the controversial film "The Interview" following cyber attacks and terror threats from hackers. This morning, all eyes are on North Korea. Is Kim Jong-un behind these attacks? We have live coverage ahead. Russia's economy in crisis. As we speak, Russian president Vladimir Putin on the defensive, fielding questions of all kinds from reporters. He'll be doing for hours. We are live in Moscow with this freewheeling event. That's coming up. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. A lot going on this morning. I'm John Berman. It's Thursday, December 18th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. Christine Romans is off this morning. And developing right now: monumental change in the contentious and complicated relationship between the United States and Cuba. President Obama has announced plans to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba. This comes after months of closely guarded secret negotiations. The president ordered the opening of an embassy, a U.S. embassy, in Havana for the first time in more than 50 years. There'll be a Cuban embassy in Washington. One key part of the deal: the release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross. He's been in a Cuban prison for five years. He was immediately flown back to the United States.
[Alan Gross, Freed By Cuba:] God bless you and thank you. It was crucial to my survival knowing that I was not forgotten.
[Berman:] There was also a spy swap. Three Cubans convicted of espionage were released from prisons. A U.S. intelligence asset imprisoned in Cuba for 20 years, he was set free. Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has the latest on these historic developments Jim.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] John, it's not the lifting of the embargo, but the cold war between the U.S. and Cuba has started to thaw. This diplomatic deal with Cuba is the culmination of secret talks with the communist nation that begun nearly 18 months ago, in June of last year. Senior administration officials say most of the discussions took place in Canada led by deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes. And those wheels were in motion when the president and Raul Castro shook hands at Nelson Mandela's memorial service last December in South Africa. But key sticking point remained in all of this, and that is the imprisonment of Alan Gross in Cuba. Earlier this year, the pope stepped in, sending letters to President Obama and Raul Castro, urging both sides to resolve this issue of Gross' status. And then to push the talks forward, the Vatican welcomed officials from the U.S. and Cuba back to Rome just last October. Then, Mr. Obama and Raul Castro hammered out the rest of this deal in the phone call yesterday, the first presidential level contact the White House says since the Cuban revolution more than 50 years ago. And then, at the White House, at the Hanukkah celebration, the president talked about his phone call with Alan Gross.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I spoke to him on his flight. He said he was willing to interrupt his corn beef sandwich to talk to me. I told him he has mustard in his mustache. I couldn't actually see it. But needless to say, he was thrilled. And he landed at Andrews in a plane marked the United States of America. He's going to get the medical attention he needs. He is back where he belongs, in America, with his family, home for Hanukkah.
[Acosta:] A senior administration official said Cuba's former leader, Fidel Castro, was not involved in the negotiations for this deal. As for a presidential trip to Cuba, the White House is not ruling one out, nothing Mr. Obama was in China last month, and China, they say, still has its own human rights issues and issues when it comes to democratic freedoms John.
[Berman:] All right. Thanks, Jim. This morning, there was a raging debate over this move. Opponents say it throws the Castro regime a lifeline, instead of letting the sanctions continue to squeeze it out of power. Two Republican senators, you're looking at them both right there on the screen, both Cuban-Americans, both possible presidential candidates, they denounced this agreement.
[Sen. Marco Rubio , Florida:] This policy contradiction is absurd. And it is disgraceful for a president who claims to treasure human rights and human freedom.
[Sen. Ted Cruz , Texas:] We've seen for six years under this situation is that we have been consistently alienating and abandoning our friends and allies, and at the same time, appeasing and coddling our enemies.
[Berman:] Senator Marco Rubio, you heard him there, first. He has vowed to disrupt this plan and block any possible nominee for ambassador to Cuba. Among the reasons that some critics give for not normalizing relations, they say Cuba admits to harboring fugitives wanted by the United States, including some accused of terrorism. Now, one of the most contentious part of this agreement is the release of three Cubans convicted of espionage in the United States. These are pictures of them right now landing in Cuba after their release. They're the final members of the so-called Cuban Five. That's a 1990s spy ring that infiltrated Cuban exile groups in military installations in South Florida. One of the men, Gerardo Hernandez, was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the downing of the planes flown by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Family members of pilots killed in that 1996 incident are furious. Listen.
[Maggie Alejandre-khuly, Brother Killed:] In no way, in no way it was, in no way in this, in no way equivalent to Gerardo Hernandez who has blood on his hands.
[Berman:] The reaction in South Florida among Cuban-Americans is torn. On all sides, there is shock and surprise at this agreement. Many older Cuban-Americans are furious, calling the president as much as a traitor. Some younger Cuban-Americans seem pleased.
[Unidentified Male:] The last six years, this administration has been negotiating with Cuba, everything in exchange for nothing. Unfortunately, unlike many in my community, I believe and I believe that many in my community believe that Cuba's best days have not yet been seen.
[Berman:] We have another major story developing this morning. Sony Pictures has out and out canceled release of the film "The Interview." They may never release this controversial comedy in any form, including home video. This news comes as U.S. officials prepared to announce that they have determined is behind the huge cyberattack on Sony and the threat of violence that led most theater chains to drop this film. Now, that announcement from U.S. officials could come as soon as today. We are also learning this morning that the federal law enforcement agencies received internal warnings about the threat to theaters, but the FBI did not issue a bulletin because it did not believe that the hackers posed a real threat. President Obama seemed to back that view in an interview. Let's listen.
[Obama:] The cyberattack is very serious. We're investigating it. We're taking it seriously. You know, we'll be vigilant. If we see something we think is serious and credible, then we will alert the public. But for now, my recommendation would be that people go to the movies.
[Berman:] Huge developments in this ongoing story. Let's go to Tokyo. CNN's Will Ripley is there. And, of course, Tokyo, home of the headquarters of the Sony Corporation.
[Will Ripley, Cnn International Correspondent:] And, you know, John, what we've learned in the past few days is that while Sony here in Tokyo has kept a hands off approach when it comes to Sony Pictures, in the United States, certainly regarding this film, "The Interview", they did get involved. It is unprecedented that the CEO of Sony Corporation was reaching out, talking about editing scenes in this film that now perhaps won't be shown at all publicly as a result of this hacking crisis. But one Sony spokesperson did tell me that the Sony CEO was also instrumental in the decision, the tough decision for Sony, to not release this picture on Christmas Day. They put out a statement which sums of the emotion that many people in the corporation are feeling. I want to read it to you. It says, quote, "We are deeply saddened at that brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie and in process do damage to our company, our employees and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and right to expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome." And while Sony does stand by those filmmakers, there are questions here in Tokyo why Sony would have green lighted this project in the first place given the potential for a geopolitical mess that has exploded as a result of this. There are now questions about North Korea launching cyberattacks on other corporations that may be perceived to do them wrong. And there are also questions about how the U.S. government may respond. Now that they are prepared to name North Korea as the prime suspect in this hack, what recourse do they have to send the message that steps will be taken to stop this, or is this going to be new chapter where countries like North Korea and smaller entities that may not have a lot of money and through the power of the Internet, they can inflict millions of dollars of damage, cause a lot of fear for relatively little effort on the part of a few hundred people launching a coordinated attack, John.
[Berman:] These are great questions, Will, important questions. And, you know, the United States government has different interests than the corporations. These corporations that have apparently caved to the pressure from these hackers back by apparently the North Koreans. Will Ripley in Tokyo, thank you so much. "The Interview" this film, this comedy from Seth Rogen and James Franco has turned into a very expensive mess for Sony. Cristina Alesci has more on this.
[Cristina Alesci, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Yes, this is a big hit for Sony. First off, "The Interview" costs $40 million to make. Sony is losing out on ticket sales to the tune of $100 million according to one analyst. Plus, you've got to factor in the cost of new software and security. Sony stock is down about 6 percent since the attack. The movie business, just keep this in mind, is just one of Sony's problems. The company is really falling behind in electronics market where it used to dominate. It's television unit is struggling. It's smartphones make up just 3 percent of the market. And Sony just flat- out waved the white flag and dropped personal computers all together this year. PlayStation, of course, is still a highlight, but the company lost $1.2 billion last year. This fiasco could not be worse for them. But, you know, I think will brings up a great point, does this set a bad precedent the fact that movie theaters are pulling this movie and caving to the hackers? But do they have a choice? They face massive legal liability if something does happen.
[Berman:] And I think they also think face the question, is this movie worth it? Was this a $200 million breakout blockbuster?
[Alesci:] That's true.
[Berman:] So, I think there's a lot of considerations here. But it does seem like they are backing down in the face of threats. Cristina Alesci, great to have you with us. I appreciate it. Eleven minutes after the hour. Happening right now: Russia's economy in crisis, the ruble in free-fall, and Russian president Vladimir Putin is answering questions about all of it right now. We are live in Moscow, next.