in on them. listen. >> i left and went to town. my wife called me, she said, we can see the fire way over there. you need to come and get me. i said i'm on my way. so i just throwed down everything, took off over there. i got on quartz hill and there's two or three or four lanes of traffic coming up, wouldn't let me down in in. so i just dropped everything and i took off running down there and i helped some guy that got burnt and was trying to get out of there. i got him and helped him out of there. and when i got back down there, the fire was just intense. but i still tried to get down in there and they come and stopped me, wouldn't let me down in there. i got my car and took off and passed everybody in the dirt and went all the way around to the other end of quartz hill and come up keswick, and my son was in there. he was up there, but i didn't see him. he was up there and then gary, my son, was on the other side of the house. and gary opened the door to go
what he was trying to do, and hit by the reality of what happened. the story of ed bledsoe and so many stories. bledsoe said that no one told him anything about evacuating. he said that his wife had called 911 and they told her someone would come get her. >> for more now, dan simon has been following this story. he has the latest from one of the worst-hit neighborhoods in california. >> reporter: for the first time we're now beginning to hear fire officials express optimism about the overall effort. they indicated that the containment number is going to go up. that means that the resources that they put into this fire now seem to be working. you have about 3,500 firefighters on the front lines, and obviously a lot of aircraft dumping water on the hot spots. in the meantime we are in the lake redding estates subdivision, and you can see this is one of the homes that has been destroyed. you can see this is a two-car garage. you see the two vehicles right here. and underscoring the random nature of it all, you can see next door, you see this house
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really heard a good answer for that unless they evacuate large swaths of the population days in advance. and that creates chaos as well. so it's tough. >> brianna sacks, i'm sure you heard that story just a few minutes ago of ed bledsoe talking about the fact his wife called 911 and they told her that someone would get her. so certainly the evacuation word getting that out very important. thank you for your time today. we'll keep in touch with you. >> no problem. >> thank you, brianna. brianna and our other reporters, pedram is here now, saying this fire just moved ahead of all the officials and the firefighters and the police. it was taking the lead, and that's where they are. >> yeah. an incredible fire. when you think about the month of july across the western if you're watching us from there you know it's absolutely among the hottest we've ever observed. in place like seattle, washington second hottest july going to be wrapping up here soon on record across that region. but really the northwestern
corner of the u.s. and in particular northern portions of california, you look from space, from regd points southward, the smoke, the haze, all of this really seen from space. many, many miles up into space looking down toward the surface because of the vast nature and how expansive the flames have been over the last several days in this region. in fact, when you do the math it's about 140 square miles of land that have been consumed because of the carr fire. you take, say, the island of manhattan, that's about 22 square miles of land. that's about six times the amount of land of manhattan encompassed there and consumes in a matter of a few days. kind of puts a perspective on the scale of this fire. 5% contained. but again you heard firefighters and officials saying that will be expected to be increased in the next couple of days. of course we have the ferguson fire farther toward the east and the cranston fire farther toward the south. but upwards of nearly 90 large-scale fires, almost every single one of them related to at least some drought that's been in place. we know the carr fire associated with a vehicle that had broken down, pulled to the side of the
road, and ignited the flames on the dry grass across that region of northern california. and unfortunately in this part of the state if you have been here you know the lay of the land. very mountainous, very hilly terrain. and the thermal signature of these fires shows you the landscape they're atop of. when you have a landscape as such, when you have sloped land like this, it often allows the fire to pick up speed and tremendous speed as it travels uphill. i use the analogy frequently of taking a match lighting it and holding it straight out. and you see that burn slowly toward your finger. but if you give it a slope it burns very rapidly toward your hand and that's what's happening on these hillsides and these communities. >> that's an easy way to understand it. pedram, thank you so much. >> thank you, pedram. still ahead here on "cnn newsroom," the u.s. president attacks the russia investigation as an illegal scam as he calls it, and that's just the beginning. why he claims the special counsel, who is a republican, he claims he has numerous conflicts of interest. we'll look into that. also ahead, president trump is threatening to shut down the
government over his border wall. but a shutdown could make the midterm elections even more challenging for republicans. we'll delve into that. you're watching "cnn newsroom." come on dad! higher! higher! parents aren't perfect, but then they make us kraft mac & cheese and everything's good again. i wok(harmonica interrupts)ld... ...and told people about geico... (harmonica interrupts)
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an image of the u.s. president there arriving back to washington after a weekend at his new jersey golf club. mr. trump arrived at the white house with his granddaughter on sunday. >> the president did not make any public comments during his weekend away but he did go on another twitter tirade on sunday. this time he called out special counsel robert mueller by name, alleging he has conflicts of interest, that his investigation is rigged, and that he's leading a team of angry democrats. >> it is worth reiterating, robert mueller is a registered republican and he has the justice department stamp of approval to oversee the russia investigation. our boris sanchez takes a closer look now at the president's twitter rampage. >> reporter: cnn has reached out to the white house to get clarity on specifically what president trump was referencing when he mentioned business conflicts with the special counsel robert mueller. we have yet to hear back. but previous reporting may indicate what the president was
talking about here. earlier this year the "washington post" and the "new york times" separately reported that the president had privately expressed frustration with what he sees as conflicts of interest with robert mueller rooted in what he believes are unpaid dues that robert mueller owed his golf club in virginia. a spokesperson for the special counsel at the time responded to the "washington post" saying that those claims being made by president trump were inaccurate. of course the broader context here is that reporting came out when "the new york times" published that four sources had told them that president trump tried to fire robert mueller last year and that in that process he expressed his frustration to don mcgahn, the white house counsel. don mcgahn refused to carry out that order to fire mueller. in fact, he threatened to resign according to sources. at that point president trump backed off of his decision to try to fire mueller. now he's obviously frustrated again, tweeting out some of his
most direct attacks on the special counsel. the backdrop of that of course is this bombshell reporting. sources close to michael cohen, the president's former attorney, saying he is prepared to testify to the special counsel that president trump approved that june 2016 meeting between his son donald trump jr., other members of his campaign, and russian nationals, promising dirt on hillary clinton. it also comes on the heels of the release of that secret recording made by michael cohen of a conversation that he had with president trump. rudy giuliani, the president's relatively new attorney, talked about those recordings this weekend, suggesting that they had been tampered with or doctored. listen to this. >> he abruptly ended that recording as soon as the president said the word "check." we are now -- what we're investigating is why did -- how did that happen? what actually did happen? what was eliminated? and then he's got to raise that question with every one of these tapes, how many of them did he play around with.
we have determined the fact that he tampered with the fact in the sense that he abruptly mid-conversation turned it off. now, we know he didn't do that for a good reason. >> reporter: the president and his legal team strategy here is clear. they want to question the credibility not only of michael cohen, who just a few months ago they referred to as an honorable man, but also the veracity of the recordings that he made. boris sanchez, cnn, traveling with the president just outside bedminster, new jersey. >> let's bring in freddie gray. he's the deputy editor at "the spectator," a weekly british magazine, to talk more about what's going on here on this side of the pond. freddie, thank you for talking with us. we just heard that story from our reporter about what the white house is trying to do to debunk the mueller investigation, something they've done over and over again. the question is is it working? >> well, i think that every time trump goes on one of these
twitter tirades, i think there were 17 yesterday, which is pretty spectacular even by his standards, everybody assumes that it's a sort of venting of frustration. he has obviously the cohen thing hanging over him. he has paul manafort coming up this week, the paul manafort trial. so he must be very tense and anxious. and everybody assumes that this is an unconscious, unwilling venting of rage and anger. i'm not sure it is. i think perhaps he's trying to hype up the sense of drama to a certain extent. and in fact, often when he goes on these tirades about mueller or about the mueller inquiry, i admit yesterday was spectacular, it's really a diversion tactic because he's preparing to do something more significant on foreign policy. perhaps it will be iran. we'll see. >> that's true. well, the president continues to paint the free press as the enemy of the country every step of the way. yeah. >> as this mueller investigation ticks on. saying don't believe anything
you see or hear. the question is how many of his supporters believe him? apparently a lot. how does he continue to get that support do you think? >> well, i think it saddens me to say it as a journalist but i think unfortunately the media are a lot more hated than we'd like to admit. and while we may all agree, and i think you know, even news channels that are usually very opposed to cnn have been supportive of cnn over trump's war with cnn, but i think that the truth is a lot of people don't trust the media. a lot of people think of the media as bad if not worse than the politicians. so it is quite an effective tactic among the base, although i think the vee mens with which he's now doing it is perhaps alienating rather a lot of people who fundamentally believe in free speech, thank goodness. >> yeah. and you talk about that vehemence. "the new york times" met with him recently to talk about that and they wrote about it. if we have that.
about the meeting. mr. trump expressed pride in popularizing the phrase "fake news" when he met with the "new york times" and said "other countries had begun banning it." so the publisher of the "new york times" responded that those countries were dictatorships that that they were not banning fake news but rather independent scrutiny of their actions. it seems, though, the meeting with the "new york times" nothing to cause mr. trump to back down. sorry. we lost mr. gray -- >> yeah. >> thank you so much for joining us. we lost you there for a moment. can you hear me now? >> i can. sorry. you're back. >> oh, yes. so sorry about that. my point was as we have to go here, though, that this president just will not back down no matter how the media tries to respond to his continuous attacks. >> no. he will not back down in the war on the media because he senses he's going to win it. >> well, thank you so much. we'll wait and see about that, won't we? those of us in the media.
freddie gray, thank you, from "the spectator." thanks for joining us. >> we just keep reporting the news. >> yep. that's all we can do. the u.s. president is now 19 months in office and is returning to a central campaign issue that fired up his base in 2016, a promise to build a border wall. but a change in who's paying for it. let's listen. >> we are going to build a great border wall! >> we will build a great, great wall. >> we're going to build a wall. don't worry about it. oh, we're building it. >> i promise, we will build the wall. >> and who's going to pay for the wall? [ crowd shouts "mexico" ] >> how about no? mexico's not going to pay for that wall. in fact, president trump apparently expects congress to foot the bill for his border wall. >> and he's again threatening a government shutdown if he doesn't get his way, tweeting, "i would be willing to shut down government if the democrats do
not give us the votes for border security which includes the wall." meantime, more than 700 children separated from their parents at the border still have not been reunited with their families after the court-ordered reunification deadline passed on friday. cnn's kaley hartung has more for us from mcallen, texas. >> reporter: as we've reported on the impact of president trump's zero tolerance policy, we've learned no two family stories are the same. but there have been some common threads among them. that of confusion and frustration. at times chaos and incredible challenges in communication. the story that best encapsulates where we are today, though, is that of a woman we'll call alejandra. about a month and a half ago she and her 6-year-old daughter crossed the u.s. border. they had fled their home country of honduras because of the gang violence there. when they crossed the border, they were detained and separated. 11 days ago alejandra was told that she would be reunited with her daughter later that day, given her paperwork for release. but that never happened.
as of today she continues to sit in a detention facility in texas. her daughter remains in new york. and as alejandra asks questions, as she sits in limbo, here's what she says she's told. >> translator: the first thing that i ask is always, do you know when will be, my girl will be brought here so she can be reunified with me? and they tell me, no, i don't know anything, they say to me. >> reporter: alejandra's daughter's attorney has been told a red flag has been raised in the child's case. hhs says they will not comment on specific cases. but a spokesperson tells cnn that any family who hasn't been reunited yet is because of specific concerns they have for that family. as i said no, two stories are alike, but frustration remains for so many. kailee hartung, cnn, mcallen, texas. >> kaylee, thank you. california is not the only region with wildfires ravaging that part of the world. europe also has them. and a devastating heat wave.
we'll hear from a client -- a climate expert, i should say, about rising temperatures ahead. also ahead here, president trump will be campaigning is this week as the countdown to the u.s. midterm elections begin. more about it as we push on. sometimes a day at the ballpark is more than just a day at the ballpark. stadium announcer: all military members stand and be recognized. no matter where or when you served, t-mobile stands ready to serve you. that's why we're providing half off family lines to all military.
does your business internet provider promise a lot? let's see who delivers more. comcast business gives you gig-speed in more places. the others don't. we offer up to 6 hours of 4g wireless network backup. everyone else, no way. we let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. them, not so much. we let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. the others? nope! get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call or go online today. live from coast to coast across the united states and for our viewers around the world this hour you're watching "cnn newsroom." thank you for being with us. i'm george howell. >> i'm natalie allen. let's update you on our top stories. u.s. president donald trump fired off a number of tweets sunday, slamming the special counsel robert mueller.
he claims mueller has a conflict of interest because they once had a contentious business relationship, though the president did not elaborate on what he was talking about there. and mr. trump once again railed against the russia investigation, calling it an illegal scam. the publisher of the "new york times" says he warned president trump that his attacks on the media are divisive and dangerous. the two met earlier this no. in a tweet on sunday mr. trump called that meeting interesting and went on to blast the media. voters in zimbabwe are heading to the polls in their first election since former president robert mugabe was ousted under military threat. mr. mugabe ruled the country for 37 years and now he says he will not vote for his former party. instead he is suggesting he supports the opposition leader. in the u.s. state of california firefighters there making some progress, containing a wildfire that has killed at least six people.
the carr fire, as it's called, is now 17% contained after exploding to 95,000 acres, or about 38,000 hectares on sunday. at least seven people are still missing there. the carr fire is just one of 17 fires burning up and down california. and another deadly fire, the so-called ferguson fire, that's happening in the yosemite national park area. >> a second firefighter died battling those flames on sunday. since starting two weeks ago, it has torched 22,000 hectares, about 54,000 acres. it is 30% contained right now. the u.s. certainly isn't alone in dealing with deadly wildfires. europe has fired of its own. in greece and sweden. and it's in the middle of a heat wave. satellite images from the european space agency show just how bad it is. this is denmark in the center. in less than a month you can see the vegetation has been gutted by extreme temperatures.
>> and it happens so quickly, doesn't it? you just see how quickly it happens. it's not just europe. in the u.s. there's also a deadly heat wave in japan. dozens of people there have been killed and thousands more hospitalized. around the world 2018 is on pace to be the fourth hottest year on record. the heat isn't the only problem. japan also has been hit by deadly flooding in recent weeks, and it's been lashed by another typhoon. at the same time severe flooding is striking india. there too dozens of people have reportedly been killed. >> let's talk more about this with andrew revkinds. he's a strategic, environmental, and science journalist with the national geographic society and the author of "weather: an illustrated history from cloud atlases to climate change." andrew, thank you so much for joining us and talking with us. >> it's a pleasure. >> we just referenced a rundown of the heat-related issues going on around the world right now.
from japan to england, canada, california where there are 17 wildfires raging. is global warming the common thread here? do we know? >> it's a common thread. the problem is we live in a world where so many things are changing. when the houston floods happened, i interviewed a jeeg rafr named steven straiter. i was at pro publica at the time. not national geographic society. for a big story on development of disasters. what's happened is almost a fast forward. actually, faster than climate is changing, which is happening, we are building our way into these blood and fire zones all around the world at a speed that's remarkable. steve straider, this villanova university gee og rafr calls it an expanding bullseye. it's as if we're painting a bullseye in the way of these hot zones. >> building our way in.
explain that. >> if you just look at areas like redding, california where they've had this horrible most recent fire tragedy in northern california, central california, just anyone can go on google earth. they have this google earth engine. you can go back in time. go back 30 years and look at the satellite view of the houses. you can zoom and see all these little areas in the woods just being built into so fast that the exposure to fire is happening -- the risk is being driven just by that at a super fast rate. and i've written about this year after year after year in different parts of the country in different like flood zones on the gulf coast, fire zones in colorado, california. the rate of development of these areas is so fast that when you see a new fire if you take a footprint of that fire you look back 40 years ago you see wow, there were hardly any people there 40 years ago. sought thing that's building exposure to hazard fastest is
us. and that kind of gets lost. and that doesn't mean climate change isn't happening also. it just means we have to pay attention to more than one thing at i atime. >> right. we're putting ourselves into pockets where there are situations, especially california, where fires have become so prevalent. in fact, just this weekend the governor of california said this is the new normal where there's been a fire every month since 2012 where it used to be a fire season would settle down, there wouldn't be any in the fall and winter. so what we're seeing around the world, we've got new normal meets we're not really paying attention, are we, to the new normal? >> well, again, whether it's the news, whether it's us, or whether it's policy makers, the governor, jerry brown has been very quick to focus californians and the rest of the world on climate change. he's been a very powerful spokesman on that. but it's very rare to see him or other california politicians in these areas of rapid growth
saying we need to slow down. we need to change our zoning. we need to have tighter standards on how we build. that kind of cuts against the message in the west of the possibility of everyone being able to do what they want. and that really has to be part of the conversation also, especially because even if the world got serious about global warming, even if china and india and we all kimt igss and greenhouse gases, the climate system doesn't notice that for decades. this is a big system. it's in motion. like a bus that's already rolling down a hill. you can't just sort of magically change that. the vulnerability is building right now. you know, in ways that can be changed even as we work on the bigger issue of cutting emissions of greenhouse gases. >> he why, which we haven't done. is this accurate? the world remains more than 85% reliant on fossil fuels. >> yeah. this is my 30th year writing about global warming. i am getting a gray beard.
and i look back at the story i wrote in 1988. it was a big cover story in "discover" magazine. and it's essentially the same story. we were talking earlier, when you were with the weather channel you were on this beat too in the 2006-ish. and that was shortly after katrina and florida was hammered by a bunch of hurricanes. and then we headed -- like a hurricane drought for ten years. everyone kind of goes to sleep. in my new book one of the chapters is back then actually around 2006 all these climate scientists were arguing about hurricanes in a warming world. some were saying, we don't really know the things about hurricanes is they could get weaker in a warming world, blah, blah, blah. but the one thing they all agreed on, they wrote this one letter that's in this book, where they said you know the thing we're really worried about, all of us, is we're building way too fast in hurricane danger zones. and that's the thing that -- that's the message that gets lost too often. >> right. it's a complex issue and every
time these things pop up we try to visit it and check it. but we appreciate so much you taking the time. andrew revkin, environmentalist and science writer with national geographic society. >> great to be with you. just around the corner, the u.s. midterm elections three months away, and president trump is making a big push for republican candidates this week. he'll attend rallies in the u.s. state of florida and pennsylvania. two states in which he won the presidential election two years ago. >> what is at stake? control of the house and senate. cnn's john king has been analyzing the numbers and explains how the powerful in congress could shift. >> 100 days now to the midterm elections. new cnn rankings, brand new rankings give the democrats even more reason to feel bullish about their odds of retaking the big prize, control of the house of representatives. to the campaign trail in a second. first, though, a reminder of the current state of play. let's look at the house as we speak today.
235 republicans. that's the majority. you see the red seats down here. democrats in the minority with 193. but that's the state of play here in washington. let's take a look at our new rankings out on the campaign trail and you will see 235 republican seats. we rank only 158 of them as solid republican going into the final stretch of the campaign. 29 likely 3718 lean republicans. you see the yellow, the gold. that's 27 tossup seats. strong number for the democrats, 182 solid, 9 likely, 12 leaning democratic seats. how will the democrats get to the majority? here is their dream scenario. wnt likelies, win the leans. if they could sweep these tossups, that's the gold down there, 230. if the democrats essentially run the board. 230. well in excess of what they need to be the majority. again, that's a dream vision but it does show you how this is well within their reach heading into the final stretch. one of the reasons they're so bullish, let's take a closer look at the tossup seats. see the red on top? of the 27 tossup seats 25 are
currently held by republicans. 25 of the 27 tossups are currently republican-held seats. only two held by the democrats. again, with the wind at your back a reason the democrats are optimistic. more republican seats moving from the red into the competitive side of our map here. another reason the democrats are optimistic heading into the final 100 days, their standing today is even better than it was at the beginning of the year. they were optimistic then. look at the republican numbers. 177 solid to begin the year. down to 158 solid now. more seats have moved from dark red, solid republican, this way, toward the democrats. the democratic numbers are up. 182 solid now. up from the beginning of the year. so this map looks good for the democrats now at 100 days ow out. even better than it was in january. a lot can happen between now and then, but heading into this final stretch democrats believe their odds are quite good of retaking the biggest prize this november, kroeflt house. >> john king, thank you. for the first time in 37
years the ousted president of zimbabwe robert mugabe is not running for re-election, but he made a surprise intervention. turning his back on the party he helped to create. we'll explain. i don't keep track of regrets. and i don't add up the years. but what i do count on is boost®. delicious boost® high protein nuritional drink now has 33% more protein, along with 26 essential vitamins and minerals boost® high protein. be up for life. boost® high protein. with tripadvisor, finding your perfect hotel at the lowest price... is as easy as dates, deals, done! simply enter your destination and dates... and see all the hotels for your stay! tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites... to show you the lowest prices...
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people's television screens simply by calling a press conference. now, bear in mind that the last day of campaigning was saturday, this weekend that's gone by. on sunday he called a press conference and he said some astounding things. he basically mainly complained about the lowness of his pension, that the blue roof mansion in which he's living is falling apart and has not been maintained. but the shocker was him then saying that of all the 23 candidates in this historic election never has there been that number of candidates. he cannot support the people that have given him such misery and have denied him all his rights. of course he's referring to the incumbent president mr. emmerman menungawa. he said of the 22 candidates, chemisa perhaps. that is an astounding claim for the founder of zanu-pf. he's the man who has led this
party and this country for 37 years and it sounds like rancor and a great deal of anger. but not many people see him as being that relevant and in fact this morning all the papers are leading with the same story. the state newspaper says hang on a second, is there chemisa in bed with mr. mugabe? and they're using it to score points. meanwhile the independent newspapers are saying things like this. "it's my day," chamisa is telth people of zimbabwe and to try and vote for him. it's been a very interesting last weekend of campaigning. i have to till, everyone is looking forward to see just who is going to win. many people are calling it very close. of course the main candidates are claiming victory. >> it will be a significant changing of the guard. and at the same time mr. mugabe finding a way to claim relevance, as you say, holding a press conference and saying that he will not back the party that he created.
we'll see how this plays out. far yi sechbdso live for us in harare. gun control advocates are sounding the alarm in the united states. they say the blueprints going online this week pose a serious security threat. we'll tell you about that coming up. higher! higher! parents aren't perfect, but then they make us kraft mac & cheese and everything's good again. my digestive system used to make me feel sluggish. but those days are over. now, i take metamucil every day. it naturally traps and removes the waste that weighs me down. so i feel... lighter.
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welcome back to "cnn newsroom." in a couple of days there will be an entirely new angle to the debate over guns in america. and it comes down to ghost guns and 3-d firearms like the one you see here. what it means is anyone with access to the internet, they will be able to make their own guns like this one with a 3-d printer. >> the blueprints for them are set to go online. as cnn's athena jones reports, gun control advocates say it is a threat to public safety and national security. >> reporter: it could be the dawn of a new era in gun manufacturing. starting as soon as wednesday, people will be able to use 3-d printers to make their own weapons and weapon parts. no background check required. this after the government settled a lawsuit last month with a non-profit group defense
distributed that will allow the posting of 3-d printable gun plans online, a move that's triggering a debate about public safety and national security. the group's founder, coe wilson, has built a website where people will be able to download plans for a handgun he dubs the liberator as well as digital files for a complete baretta m-9 handgun and other firearms. wilson's legal battle began after he posted handgun blueprints online in 2013, leading to a demand from the state department to take them down because they could violate a law regulating the export of defense materials, services and technical data like blueprints. wilson explained his goal in a 2013 interview. >> i'm putting guns -- one is just an exercise in, i don't know, experimentalism. can you print a gun? but really for me it's important as like a symbolic political statement. >> reporter: he described a future in which people could access unregulated guns. >> in this future people will be able to make guns for themselves. that was already true but now it's been demonstrated in yet another technology. >> reporter: the june 29th settlement will also allow wilson's site to post online plans for an ar-15 lower
receiver, a key component of the gun. gun control advocates fear these firearms made almost entirely of plastic would be untraceable and impossible to regulate. the co-president of the brady campaign to prevent gun violence says these hard to detect guns would be a national security threat, making it easier for terrorists and people who can't pass criminal background checks to get their hands on dangerous weapons, adding "i think everybody in america ought to be terrified about that." but experts like lawrence keen, senior vice president for the national shooting sports foundation, the firearm industry's trade association, says "3-d printed guns would have to include metal components to function." and because federal law requires it. >> federal law since the mid 1980s under the undetectible fiernlz act requires a certain amount of metals so they are not undetectible and can't go through metal detectors undetected or through x-ray machines. >> reporter: even with those metal components the guns would not work well. >> the truth is that they don't.
many times they fail after a single shot being fired, they break. they're not very durable. and they really don't work. >> reporter: he said the sort of high-end printer that would be needed to make a gun costs as much as a quarter a million dollars and the resulting weapons' unreliability means the country is unlikely to see a rush of people trying to print their own guns. new york senator chuck schumer expressed similar concerns back in 2013. >> a felon, a terrorist can make a gun in the comfort of their own home, not even leaving their home, and do terrible damage with it. and so the question is what we do about it. >> reporter: last week he demanded the state department and the department of justice reverse the decision or postpone finalizing it and said if they don't he would use emergency congressional actions to block ghost gun websites. >> so we're here to sound the ala alarm. we're here to plead with the administration not to allow these types of websites to go
forward with which they're planning to on august 1st, and we're here to say we'll pass legislation, do our best to pass it, if such a website is allowed. >> reporter: athena jones, cnn, new york. thanks for being with us for "cnn newsroom." i'm george howell. >> and i'm natalie allen. we'll be right back with another hour of news for you. please stay with us. sometimes a day at the ballpark is more than just a day at the ballpark. stadium announcer: all military members stand and be recognized. no matter where or when you served, t-mobile stands ready to serve you. that's why we're providing half off family lines to all military. whoooo. you rely on tripadvisor so you don't miss out on the perfect hotel... but did you know you can also use tripadvisor so you don't miss out on the best price? tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites to find the hotel you want for the lowest price. saving you up to 30%! so you can spend less time missing out...
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happening in van. 54 million people in line for severe weather. 30 million people dealing with severe weather. the same line of active weather will migrate off to the east. take a look. 24 reports of tornadoes on sunday. i want to zoom in areas south of dallas. you talked about van with the 26 injuries. a gas leak across the area. the line of storms moved through at 9:45 local time. from turnersville to abbott and van. we have severe thunderstorms. the storm now clearing the area. now the next area of interest is shreveport and little rock. a tornado watch has been issued. in fact incredible to think we had 800 to 1,000 lightning strikes in a one-hour period. some rotation is possible. this will continue until 5:00 a.m. local time. up to little rock. this has had a cold side to it. we will touch on shortly. look at the tremendous rainfall that has come down over dallas and north in the last couple days. gainesville has 10 inches of rainfall. we have south of dallas as well picking up in excess of 10 inches. incredible stuff. now severe flooding is in the forecast in the region. we go to south dakota and pierre we had significant snow accumulation. that shows you the slash of air masses when it comes to severe weather. up to 2 feet across south dakota and the high rockies. not unheard of but impressive to think of the active weather in line. we will look at 50 more million people guys in line for severe weather. the threat on sunday was on a scale of 1 to 5 with 4 for severe weather. it has dropped down to 2. now expanded to 50 plus million. >> pedram thanks. the news we are getting in one of the tornadoes, apparently hit a town called van, texas. 70 miles east of dallas. 26 injured. we are hearing from authorities. as many as 20 structures plus destroyed from completely wiped out to damaged. we also know search and rescue teams on the ground in van. we will get more information throughout the morning and bring it to you. as pedram mentioned, the tornado in van, texas is not the only storm. three systems slamming the country on sunday with heavy rains and flooding and snow. >> and the atlantic hurricane season does not begin until june but tropical storm ana hit myrtle beach on sunday. >> ana causing rough surf that pushed a ban on ocean swimming up to southern north carolina. once ana was onshore, she dropped to a tropical depression. and colorado digging out from a snowstorm. snapping power lines. 40,000 people without power this morning. forecasters now warn of flooding through mid week as the snow melts. and south dakota got snow and a tornado. blizzard like conditions hit the black hills in the western part of the state with more than a foot of heavy, wet snow. the eastern south dakota town of delmonte was effected. and the iowa town of lake city where the roof of the high school was torn off with the tornado. >> there goes the school. there goes the school. that's our school. >> a stunning picture. officials say sirens gave a lot of warning. enough time to evacuate. people in iowa know how to deal with these situations. >> i guess people were running into the locker rooms looking for some shelter there in lake city at the high school. >> no classes today at lake city. let's go to texas. severe storms dumped heavy rain north of dallas. rescue helicopters pulled people from their homes. in crum a swollen week swept away cars but no injuries. >> tornadoes on the ground including in van where 26 people were injured. we are getting information from there. jennifer gray in the region with the latest. . >> reporter: john and christine, a couple of miles south of cisco. this is west of dallas. this is one of the areas hard hit by the storms on saturday. preliminary reports are indicating it was an ef-3 tornado that came through here and caused damage. three quarters of a mile wide. we are up in a little higher elevation and you can see all of the trees that are snapped and clear where the path was. we have been told that three homes were a total loss. we can't get to them. we don't have access because trees are down and power lines are down covering the road. unfortunately, one person died in the storms on saturday. three others injured. at least report one of the people in critical condition. we talked to the public information officer from the area. he said they had tornadoes before but none has really impacted many structures. this is the hardest they have been hit in the area. >> we have breaking news overnight. tornadoes east of dallas as well with many people injured. we will bring you that news throughout the morning. first, other news. this afternoon, two mississippi police officers will be honored at a memorial service. officials say this were shot during a traffic stop. they were killed during a traffic stop. the first officers killed in the line of duty any hattiesburg, mississippi. rosa flores has more. >> reporter: there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop and this is a perfect example. now three suspects are in custody and two police officers are dead. here's what we know from authorities. according to police what happened here is that officer benjamin deen made a traffic stop. this involved a vehicle with three people inside. he called for back up. officer liquori tate responded and then investigators say that the suspects shot and killed those two police officers. now, they also say that these suspects took one of the police cruisers and used it as a run away car. of course, police later apprehended the suspects. marvin banks and jonie calloway. this investigation is in the hands of the mississippi bureau of investigation. we learned from authorities that they are scouring through evidence. making interviews and asking people to figure out what happened here. they have not released a motive. i did talk to officer tate's father and he says that he is broken. he had a very close relationship with his son and the one thing that's helping him at this point in time is knowing that his son was living his dream. his son's dream was to be a police officer. john christine. >> thanks rosa. our hearts go out to the families. his dream was to become a police officer. the mayor's office says the fourth suspect cornelius clark was charged with obstruction of justice. officials ramping up lone wolf terror attacks after the assaults in garland, texas. >> we are in a new environment because of isul's effective use of social media. the internet has the ability to reach into the homeland and possibly inspire others. our government and our state and local law enforcement are doing a number of things to address that which is why fbi director comey and i talk to police chiefs and sheriffs around the country. >> law enforcement officials say the fbi is increasing monitoring of suspected isis supporters in the united states. one official told cnn, quote, we're trying to shake the trees more aggressively. the government tightening military bases from force protection alpha to bravo. >> reporter: tom ridge said it is because of this online campaign by isis he believes the threat is greater than after the days of 9/11. here is what he said on "state of the union." >> the appeal to the lone wolves and we have seen them acting in belgium and france and canada and the united states and the threat natures are complicated are greater today than september 11th. >> reporter: all military bases are on a heightened state of alert increasing the threat level to 3,200 bases across the country. the concern is isis is reaching out and recruiting people in the u.s. the fbi director has warned there are thousands of isis followers in the u.s. the fbi has increased monitoring of the followers influenced by the recruiters. the homeland security secretary jeh johnson called this a new era in the country. the use of the internet by isis, there could be little or no advanced warning of lone wolf terrorists in the u.s. >> sunlen serfaty at the white house. thank you. sunni tribal fietdghters are being trained to fight isis. the effort is backed by the u.s. support from tribal leaders is key to create a sunni force which is needed to battle the sunni terrorists. more than 1,000 recruits joined the fight of isis on friday. a parents snub by the king of saudi arabia. he will skip a u.s. summit. he will explain why he is backing out of meetings scheduled for this week. meetings he said he would attend last week. king salman will send representatives to washington in his place. he says the talks overlap with the cease-fire talks over yemen. some believe he is upset over the u.s. discussions with iran and iran's nuclear future. time for an early start on your money. china's central bank announced a rate cut to boost the economy. the european shares are down. u.s. stock futures are down. the dow climbed 267 points. a big rally on friday thanks to a strong april jobs report. looks like the job market back on track. remember stocks have been going up for six years. what will it take the keep the bull running? watch for corporate earnings. >> i should say you predicted the jobs report. i want to get that out there. >> i doubted you. >> never doubt me. 13 minutes after the hour. there is breaking news this morning out of texas. a tornado believed to have left dozens injured overnight in the town of van. searches and rescue operations under way right now. we will get you there as soon as we can. also happening now, a break through in yemen. a cease-fire taking hold. will it last? we're live after the break. breaking news this morning. a reported tornado in van, texas. that's east of dallas. about 73 miles east of dallas. officials say at least 26 people are injured. there is a large scale search and rescue operation underway right now in that town. the town of 2,600 people. van not the only texas city hit by a tornado. in east land county, a reported tornado killed one person and injured three others. other tornadoes dropped heavy rain all the way from colorado to iowa. >> we are getting more information on the weather events through the morning. a breakthrough in yemen. houthi rebels offered a five-day cease-fire. the cease-fire is scheduled to take effect tuesday which would allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians who need it. our frederik pleitgen monitoring the developments. good morning, fred. >> reporter: good morning, john. before the cease-fire takes hold it seems it is shaky. the saudis have stepped up the air campaign over the weekend. they were they were saying they conducted 140 missions alone. we just a couple of minutes ago got confirmation a moroccan f-16 went down over yemen on sunday. it's unclear what the fate of the crew is. the houthis are saying that they were the ones who downed the plane. at this point, it is unclear if it was a malfunction or technical issue. the saudis were saying they were mostly targeting houthis officials and commanders but also the home of the former president was targeted in an air strike as well. he was not there at the time. he later went on tv to condemn the air strikes. as you said all this comes before the cease-fire is set to last for five days and allow much-needed humanitarian aid in the country. u.n. estimates 300,000 people lost their homes due to the military campaign. >> 300,000 people in the country who need the help. thanks fred. to baltimore with the fallout of the death of freddie gray. calls for the independent prosecutor are growing after the lawyers for the six police officers charged asked a judge to dismiss the case or assign it to someone other than the state's attorney marilyn mosby. they claim mosby has a conflict of interest. meantime the orioles return home to the field. they played a game with no fans. and prince was the headliner on sunday at the rally for peace concert in baltimore. concert goers were asked to wear something gray in honor of freddie gray. the penalty phase in the boston marathon bombing trial coming to a close. the defense for the dzhokhar tsarnaev trial is expected to call the final witness today and rest. jurors will decide on life in prison or a death sentence for dzhokhar tsarnaev. it could being weeks before the power plant is back online after the explosion and fire explosion. the entergy corp is cleaning up the oil that spilled into the hudson river. the fire did not cause the release of radiation and there was no threat to workers or the public. 21 minutes after the hour. the pope meeting with cuba leader raul castro. surprising comments from the cuban leader. that's next. a special meeting at the vatican. cuban leader raul castro offering thanks to pope francis for the key role he played in the u.s. and cuba relations. we have more details with ben wedeman. >> reporter: good morning, christine. that was the purpose of the visit that raul castro was to make to thank the pope for his role with the deadlock in the united states and cuba. the big surprise was when afterwards during the press conference with the italian prime minister raul castro came out and said the following, i told the prime minister the italian prime minister if the pope continues to speak like this sooner or later, i will start praying again and i will return to the catholic church. i'm not saying this jokingly. i'm a communist of the cuban communist party. we know that karl marx described religion. and perhaps raul castro took a few tokes of the opium himself. perhaps this was the most important meeting of his entire life. it is not clear when he returns to cuba he will put words into practice. these remarks returning to praying and going back to the catholic church have not been published in the cuban media, but this are making the rounds in the italian community. >> ben, there have been changes in recent years to cuban communism that people are allowed to practice catholicism in cuba. >> reporter: yes, indeed. this goes back to the late 1990s and 1998 john paul ii visited cuba. the first time a pope went to the island after the cuban revolution. since then christmas has become an official holiday. catholic churches are allowed to operate again. pope francis is going itto cuba. it is expected this is the third visit by a pope to cuba. as time goes on, the visits will be more routine and common and religion and particularly the catholic religion will become more free to operate in cuba. >> maybe raul castro will say his rosary. ben, thank you. >> fascinating. i was in cuba when pope john paul ii arrived in 1998. 27 minutes after the hour. we are following the breaking news in texas where a tornado left dozens injured overnight. severe storms wreaking havoc across the country. there is more to look out for today. all of the breaking news next. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> john berman here with christine romans. we have breaking news this morning. a possible tornado in van, texas. about 70 miles east of dallas. emergency officials call it a mass casualty event. what we know so far, at least 26 people injured, 20 plus structured damaged or destroyed. i want to bring in meteorologist pedram javaheri. pedram pedram. >> the storm system coming into van with a population of 2,600 people. seven reports of tornadoes on sunday. this particular town is 70 miles south and east of dallas. the national weather service said they issued a tornado warning at 8:55 p.m. local time. police reporting the tornado touching down at can the9:00 p.m. a lot of people going to the first baptist church for shelter. pretty incredible scene taking place there. if you are familiar with tyler, texas, east of the region van is just off of the interstate 20 there. a lot of damage right around the interstate. you take a look. the particular storm, of course has had a history of producing tornadoes. tornado watches in effect with the storm producing 1,000 lightning strikes per hour. talk about a night to be challenging to sleep in. the tornado watch in effect until 5:00 a.m. local time. we cannot rule out the rotation. we zoom out the perspective. this weather will migrate off to the east. 54 million people will be in line for more severe weather on monday. here is the national perspective. 24 reports of tornadoes on sunday. i just counted this. we touched on tornadoes in the last couple of days. since last wednesday, 128 tornadoes across the united states. you think that's a lot? in the month of may, it is peak season. we have 100 or so so far in the month of may. south of dallas 7 inches. corsicana with 9 inches. that's van on the edge of 7 to 8 inches of rainfall from saturday into sunday. this storm coming into the evening hours. we know of course getting dark at 8:45 local time. and heavy rain makes a dangerous situation. >> pedram in that part of the country, people may not know that not everyone has a storm shelter or basement. a lot of the housing built without basements in that part of texas. you cannot just go to the basement for other parts of tornado alley in the country, that is why people go to the church or some place else with a shelter. >> good point. i understand the police are going door-to-door checking on everybody. the sun comes up in a couple hours. we will learn more. >> thanks pedram. we have a team on the way. we will bring you the latest developments in van, texas. a lot of weather to tell you about. severe weather bringing heavy rain and flooding and even tornadoes as we just spoke to places other than van and texas as well. atlantic hurricane season doesn't saturday until june 81 8181 1st. the heavy rains causing widespread flooding in some low lying areas. >> and officials had to ban ocean swimming up to southern north carolina. once ana was onshore, she slowed down to a tropical depression. much of colorado digging out from a snow storm. blacked out more than 40,000 homes and businesses. forecasters are warning of flooding through mid week as the snow has to melt. south dakota got snow as well as a tornado. blizzard-like conditions in the black hills. the western part of the state with more than a foot of heavy, wet snow. in the eastern south dakota town of delmonte a tornado damaged 20 buildings. another tornado tore through the iowa city of lake city. it ripped the roof off a high school. >> there goes the school. there goes the school. that's the school. >> officials say tornado sirens gave plenty of time to evacuate. no one injured. no classes today at the high school in lake city. stunning pictures right there. in texas, we have been telling you about the tornado that hit the town of van, but also severe storms that dumped heavy rain in denton. helicopters pulled six people from their homes. in crum swollen creeks swept cars away. we know of 26 injuries in van, texas. a tornado in eastland county, texas caused a fatality there. we have cnn's jennifer gray there with the latest. >> reporter: we are just a couple of miles south of cisco. this is an area hardest hit by the storms on saturday. you see the trees behind snapped in half. preliminary reports are saying it was an ef-3 tornado that came through and caused extensive damage three quarters of a mile wide. we are up at a higher elevation and you can see all of the trees snapped. clear where the path was. just a couple of miles in that direction, we have been told that three homes were a total loss. we cannot get to them. we don't have access because trees are down and power lines are down covering the road. we cannot get to those. one person died in the storms on saturday. three others injured. at last report, one of the people was in critical condition. we talked to the public information officer in the area. he said they had tornadoes before but none impacted many structures. this is the hardest they have been hit in the area. more storms later in the forecast today. >> jennifer gray right there. she was west of dallas right there. east of dallas in the town of van, we have been telling you about a tornado hit. officials say everyone is accounted for. that is wonderful news there. they had said that the tornado touched down at 9:00 last night. at least 26 people have been injured, but now we are just learning that everyone at least has been accounted for. >> that's a long night in van, texas. no question. they are probably trying to sift through the damage and more forward. we have a team on the way there. this afternoon, two mississippi police officers honored at a memorial service. the officers were shot at a traffic stop. rosa flores reports that the suspects are in custody. she has the latest. >> reporter: john and christine, we hear this from law enforcement experts all the time. there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop and this is a perfect example. now three suspects are in custody and two police officers are dead. now here's what we know from authorities. according to police what happened here is officer benjamin deen made a traffic stop and this involved a vehicle with three people inside. he called for back up. officer liquori tate responded. investigators say the suspects shot and killed those two police officers. now, they also say the suspects took one of the police cruisers and used it as a run away car. of course police later apprehended the suspects. here are their names. marvin banks and jonie calloway. you have curtis banks charged with two counts of accessory to capital murder after the fact. this investigation is in the hands of the mississippi bureau of investigation. we learned from authorities that they are scouring through evidence and making interviews and asking people to figure out what happened here. they have not released a motive. i talked to officer tate's father. he says that he is broken. he had a very close relationship with his son and the one thing that's helping him at this point in time is knowing that his son was living his dream. because his son's dream was to become a police officer. john and christine. >> our thoughts are with the families. a fourth suspect cornelius clark was arrested sunday. time for an early start on sunday. asian shares are higher. china's central bank announced an interest rate cut to boost of economy. that is boosting the markets. u.s. stock futures are not moving yet. friday the dow climbed 267 points. top tech companies sitting on stunning cash. according to a new report apple and microsoft and google and oracle have $430 billion in cash. the large majority of the money is overseas as long as tech companies don't bring it home and invest it they don't have to pay the tax on it. some people say if that money were put to use in the u.s. t, it could create more jobs. we have breaking news out of texas. a tornado we believe left dozens injured over need in the town of van, texas. we are getting late reports from that town. we will have the latest coming up. first, happening now a temporary cease-fire in yemen after weeks of intense fighting. will the cease-fire hold? stay with us. wish your skin could bounce back as quickly as it used to? introducing neutrogena hydro boost water gel. instantly quenches skin to keep it supple and hydrated day after day. formulated with hydrating hyaluronic acid which retains up to 1000 times its weight in water. this refreshing water gel plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin that bounces back. new hydro boost. from neutrogena. we do have breaking news out of texas. a tornado that apparently hit overnight in the town of van east of dallas. officials telling us at least 26 people injured. in the last few minutes, we learned that there's been a large scale search and rescue operation ander one has been accounted for. no one is missing at this point. we are trying to get more information about the condition of those injured. we will bring that to you as soon as it comes in. van is not the only texas city that is hit by a tornado. in eastland county a tornado killed one person and are injured three others. elsewhere, the storm system with tornadoes hit and heavy rain from colorado to iowa to the carolinas. a breakthrough in yemen. a cease-fire operation which is scheduled to take effect on tuesday allowing humanitarian aid to reach civilians in need. we have cnn's frederik pleitgen monitoring the latest. fred. >> reporter: the cease-fire is something that is badly needed and humanitarian aid is needed. the u.n. believes up to 300,000 people have been displaced in the military action. they believe 1,400 people have been killed. the majority of them civilians. one of the things that will complicated delivery of aid, the cease-fire is to be in place for five days is the fact the ports have been damaged by the air strikes and the airports have been hit as well. that is one of the things going over the past six weeks. the other thing is the cease-fire before taking hold is already quite shaky. the saudis and their led coalition conducted 130 air strikes against houthi targets. what was hit was the house of the former president. he is allied with the houthi rebels. apparently an f-16 fighter jet from the moroccan royal air force was downed over yemen. morocco is part of the coalition. it is unclear the fate of the pilot. houthis said they shot the pilot down. we are trying to get more information. the cease-fire could be a breakthrough but you still have a lot of fighting until the last minute before the cease-fire on tuesday. >> the people there need the humanitarian said. it has been unbelievable and unrelenting for the population. thanks fred. 48 minutes after the hour. cuba's leader meeting with the pope at the vatican. we will tell you what they discussed and the promises from raul castro. surprising promises. stay with us. special meeting at vatican. raul castro offering his thanks to pope francis for his role in bringing the cuban and american relations better. senior correspondent ben wedeman is live in rome. he offered his thanks, ben but what else he offered that raised eyebrows. >> reporter: this was a visit that was rather something of a surprise to start with. it was only announced last tuesday. when this was over the cuban leader went to a press conference with the italian prime minister where he made a variety of rather surprising statements. he said if the pope continues to speak like this sooner or later, i will start praying again and i will return to the catholic church. and i'm not saying this jokingly. i'm a communist of the cuban communist party. during this press conference he pointed out the fact that he and his brother fidel like pope francis. they went to jesuit school before of course in the case of fidel and raul they became communists. he said i promise i will go to all of his masses and with satisfaction. he said i left the meeting impressed with his wisdom and modesty and virtues. some reported in italian media, he told the pope this was the most important meeting of his life. significantly, these particular comments about perhaps praying again and going back to church have not been reported in the official state media in cuba. it may be simply a case of raul castro doing in rome as the romans do. >> interesting to hear him say those words. ben wedeman, thanks. >> when in rome. you say it every morning. the painting could be the most expensive piece of art ever sold. the most expenseive piece of art. how much are people will to pay for this. it's a picasso, john. >> i know it's a picasso. it's monday. new week. a mixed bag for stocks. asian shares are up. european shares are down. u.s. stock futures are wobbly. u.s. stocks have been climbing for six years. what will it take to keep pushing higher? a strong jobs report was a good start. also looking for strong corporate earnings. we are close to reports for the major averages. a growing trend in real estate. secret listings. a sellers market in many parts of the country. many homeowners are skipping the listing. why would a homeowner sell in secret? trying to gauge interest. others think it can draw higher sales prices. in some zip codes, you are seeing a lot of the private listings. this picasso painting could be the most expensive work of art ever sold. it will be auctioned at christy's today. it is offered for $40 million. that is likely the low end here. the work is in high demand. usually sells for more than anticipated. he painted it in 1955. happy mother's day. >> i'm thinking about getting that for you. >> i got art this weekend. it looked like that. >> my boys are clearly already cubists. "early start" continues right now. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> we have breaking news this morning. a possible tornado in van, texas. emergency officials call this a mass casualty event. what we know so far, at least 26 people injured. 20 plus structured damaged or destroyed. meteorologist pedram javaheri following the storm system for us. pedram we know they were going house to house in van, texas, trying to make sure everyone
flight 8501. >> thanks for your company. an urgent search under way right now off the coast of indonesia for any sign of that missing air asia flight 8501 and the 162 people on board. >> yeah but one indonesian search and rescue official says they believe the jet is at the bottom of the sea. this as families anxiously await any news on the fate of their loved ones. a terrible time. >> unimaginable what those people are going through. here's what we know about this right now. ships, helicopters, and planes from a number of countries are going to be taking part in the search that comes 29 hours after the plane disappeared. >> it was on its way to singapore after taking off in surabaya. we're told the captain asked for a change in altitude because of bad weather. the ceo of airasia, said they're focused on the relatives of those on board. >> we're very devastated by what's happened. it's unbelievable. but we do not know what's happened yet. so we'll wait for the accident investigation to really find out what's happened. our concern right now is for the relatives and for the next of kin. there's nothing more important to us for our crews' family and the passengers' family that we look after them. that's our number one priority at the moment. >> all right, the families of those on board that missing jet gathering at the airport in surabaya to get the latest on the search. our andrew stevens has been there as well and has the latest. >> we're now several hours into the second day of searching for missing flight 8501 and still no sign of where that plane may be. just behind me here at surabaya airport, the first media briefing of the day, and officials here are going through the assets which are currently being deployed from several countries now, several ships and aircraft now involved in that search. and just before this news conference started, the families of the passengers were also briefed by airasia officials. that was close to the media. but being able to see at least the reaction on the faces of some of those families they were grim-faced showing very little emotion to what they were being being toldtold. there was a press conference in jakarta where it was suggested the plane is at the bottom of the sea. that's focusing on the fact of where the plane's last known coordinates were and where it could have gone from there. and also taking into account the weather conditions. however, this is not confirmed. it's still very much a search and rescue mission for flight 8501. andrew stevens, cnn, surabaya indonesia. >> let's take a closer look at this with a pilot's perspective. we're joined by a 777 captain, contributing editor of "flying" magazine. we're talking here about a pilot with 20,000 -- 20,500 hours, very experienced guy. when you're flying into the kind of bl and i know you know what it's like what are you trying to do? >> well, what we're trying to do is primarily avoidance. there gets to be a certain point where we have to kind of pick our way through some of the particular cells, but for the most part we try to find the heaviest portion and avoid it altogether. and we would be using your weather radar and a mode of the auto pilot called heading select so we would deviate off route and try to make a nice smooth ride for our passengers. we never want to intentionally go through directly a thunderstorm. >> it's our understanding that the pilot -- the captain asked for a deviation in the flight route, asked to go higher. how stable is the plane at those altitudes, some 36,000 to 38,000 feet? >> well that's a great part of the question. but before i get to that answer and i'll get to it very quickly. let's not jump ahead of ourselves. the request for higher altitude may have been because they were experiencing choppy ride. it may not have been unbearable. we all want to make our ride comfortable for passengers. as far as going to a higher altitude my understanding of the a-320, about a 49,000 max service altitude. when you get up to the thin air, called coffin corner where the performance of the airplane is such that you are close to the max airspeed that the airplane can attain and very close to the lowest airspeed you can maintain before it stalls. so you do run into that situation. but as long as you're not experiencing a lot of airplane upset in the form of turbulence you're still in an okay situation as long as you're monitoring the power for the airplane and how the systems are operating. >> you raise an interesting point, because i was talking to a friend and colleague who is an aviation expert in australia, and he made that point. said he'd been looking at the radar information that was available and said they were at 36,300 feet and climbing, doing 353 knots and that there were some in the industry who said that was a bit slow. >> it could have been. i don't want to speculate, especially since i'm not an airbus a-320 captain, but that's indeed possible. but i think any of the radar data that we have or any of the data that we have period is just based on ground speed as opposed to airspeed. as we know from reports and some of the experience we have with airplanes, airplanes care about what the wind is doing relative to its flow over the wing and not necessarily what it's doing over the ground. so we have to determine what the actual wind conditions were at the time. so that's an important factor and you know the deviation, going to a higher altitude that's not something that we choose very often. it is an option. but we know even if we can, what we call top the thunderstorm cell, it still may be turbulent above that particular thunderstorm cell. >> and going higher above the thunderstorm again, we don't know what exactly happened to this aircraft, we want to be very transparent with our viewers, but looking at the situation with the request to go higher hearing that there was bad weather in the vicinity in the area what would that do to the instruments of the plane? i mean would they be affected hugely? just give us some perspective of what the pilots would have been seeing there in the cockpit. >> well the instrumentation wouldn't change unless there was some malfunction. this is a normal course of events. i very often request higher altitudes because generally speaking the law of averages has us get a smoother ride at a higher altitude. so i don't find this unusual. as far as your question unusual instrumentation displays absolutely not, unless some malfunction was occurring. >> should be clear too, that unlike mh370, we're not going to be looking for this plane ten months from now are we? it's shallow waters heavily trafficked ocean area? >> that's what i would like to believe. it's a much smaller area. however, it is vast enough that things -- if we you know god forbid have to deal with a wreckage situation, you know, a lot of fragments are hidden by white caps in the swells themselves. but that being said i do give a lot more hope that we'll find this a lot quicker, but let's have patience with this process. >> contributing editor of "flying" magazine appreciate you coming on to give your expertise and perspective. >> my pleasure. >> we're being very transparent with our viewers here that we do not know what has happened to this aircraft just that we're hearing now from the head of the indonesian search and rescue agency that he believes it's his assumption that this aircraft is at the bottom of the sea. so but so many unanswered questions. >> you got to wonder how much triangulation they could get off the various radar in that area. and how they could pinpoint it. this is what we were discussing last hour. how is it that you can look for your iphone, but you can't find a plane? >> and we're seeing the elements no mayday call but you also hear that doesn't always happen anyway. >> if you're trying to fly the plane, that's the last thing you're doing. >> there's another urgent story we're following for you. rescue efforts continue on a passenger fire that caught fire on its way to italy. if you've been in that part of the world, these ferries are everywhere. it's a popular way for tourist to get around but also trucks and all the rest of it. you can see the dramatic video, a fire inside the cabin, absolutely out of control. >> and this accident has of course a fatality. there has been a loss of life. one person has died. italy's coast guard says the victim was a man who attempted to escape the fire by leaping off the ship. >> which is extraordinary given the drama that's unfolding, the freezing conditions that only one person has died so far. scores of people have been rescued rescued. 221 have been taken off. but 257 are still on board the norman atlantic. and again, we have to reiterate this happened over a day ago, 257 people still out there in horrific conditions. the fire i know many of you are wondering, how do we get to this position? the fire is believed to have broken out in the ship's garage area after leaving port in northwestern greece. >> and as efforts continue to get those people to safety joining us now by telephone, with more details on the rescue operation, barbie you've been on this story from the beginning and as we get those last figures of 257 people still on board, what sort of conditions are they facing? >> well you know they're waiting for first light right now. we haven't had any update in the numbers. still 257 onboard the ship 221 that have been taken off. the seas are extremely rough. we're seeing warnings for storms and heavy seas throughout the morning here in italy. so that's going to hinder the rescue operation even more. one of the things they will have when they have first light in an hour or so here is the ability to use larger helicopters. they can only remove people from the ship by airlifting them off. and they're using helicopters that have the ability to function with night vision that can only take one, maybe two people off at a time. once they're able to use these larger aircraft they'll be able to take five or six people off at a time. so we'll assume that will speed up the efforts here. and if the seas do calm enough they might be able to get a ship close enough to do a different kind of transfer to sort of bring them off the top of the ship to another ship but they're nowhere near that right now, with the seas as rough as they are. they're even having a problem once they get these survivors off the ship to even dock in an italian port. at the closest port they were unable to get a vessel in in the early hours of this morning, because the seas are simply so rough. the adriatic it's not uncommon for rough seas in that part of italy, on that side of italy. but it really is hampering the rescue operation at this moment. >> tough situation for those still on board. barbie thanks. >> incredible to hear that the nightmare doesn't end when they get you off the ship. but getting you onto land is still a problem. >> unbelievable. i think it was 60-odd people they were trying to get in there and could not and they had to go elsewhere. >> our thoughts are with those on that ship and their families who are going through a horrific time watching these pictures. >> can you imagine, you're sitting at home watching on television and your family is on board? >> just a nightmare. searchers are back out looking for airasia flight 8501 coming up paula hancocks will have details on the massive search under way for the plane and survivors. just in time for the holidays. t-mobile introduces america's only unlimited 4g lte family plan. get two lines of unlimited 4g lte data for just 100 bucks a month. with any smart phone. including the samsung galaxy note 4, for $0 down. add more family members for just 40 bucks a pop. think the other guys have a family plan like this? think again. only t-mobile has an unlimited 4g lte plan for the whole family. that'll get your holiday bell ringing. i've smoked a lot and quit a lot but ended up nowhere. now...i use this. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent the urge to smoke all day. i want this time to be my last time. that's why i choose nicoderm cq. ♪ >> welcome back, everyone from the air and in the sea, crews are now searching for any sign of missing airasia flight 8501, this as indonesia's top official says the jet is likely at the bottom of the sea. >> the last known coordinates. you got ships, helicopters, aircraft from a number of different nations that are taking part in this search. 29 hours after it disappeared. it was on route to singapore after taking off from surabaya in indonesia. on board that craft, 162 people. 155 were indonesians. shortly before communication was lost the captain of the plane asked for a change in altitude because of bad weather. >> let's go now to paula hancocks who joins us from bella tong in indonesia where some of the searches are being launched. i know we got a signal up now. just tell us what's going on where you are. we see a rescue helicopter behind you? >> that's right, yes. we know that at least two military aircraft here also a search and rescue aircraft it's a civilian airplane as well. those planes coming in but three helicopters here that have already been out this morning. they've been on one sortie trying to find this aircraft. they've come back here to refuel. one of the pilots was saying they went inside for a briefing before coming out, and that i going up in the air quite soon once again. and basically this is becoming a staging point. this is the jumping-off point for the search and rescue operation. we're seeing these helicopters here. we're also seeing on the east of the island some ambulances that have been assembled and also a make-shift morgue so that authorities are basically preparing for the worst and the best-case scenario depending on what they find. but it's not just the indonesian planes involved. some hercules took off from jakarta. there are seven ships on the water as well just from indonesia. malaysia has assets involved in this. so does australia. india has offered support. singapore where this plane was supposed to touch down is also offering assets. so there's a number of ships and planes and helicopters that are involved in the search and rescue operation. but we heard from the transport minister ministery that it was a very broad search location. so they have warned everybody it's not going to be an easy task to find this plane. >> and my understanding, the way this area is being combed is using a grid system. tell us about that. >> well the way we understand it is that they have cordoned it off into four sections to make it easier, to make sure really that they don't miss any areas. of course the flight path that this plane was taking on sunday was mainly over water, pretty much all over water, but there are islands along this area of the java sea. this is one of those islands. this is believed to be one of the closest islands to the location where the plane lost contact with air patrol centers. and so certainly they're making sure that they're trying to organize it well because it's a broad location they say. and of course they're trying to narrow down exactly where this plane might have gone down. but the most important thing for them at this point is to have eyes on the surface of the sea. it's known to be fairly shallow water. weather of course has been a concern over the past day or two. now today it doesn't appear to be too stormy at this point, but of course there's a lot of cloud cover which affects visibility. back to you. >> paula, thanks so much. paula hancocks there on the spot for us. we'll check in with you later, paula, thanks. >> they're set up to get as many aircraft out, as soon as possible. the one thing that i'm interested to know and we'll see if we can get paula back is how long they're able to stay out there. we know time is of the essence. >> it is. and even though it's nowhere near the search area of mh370, it's still a lot of area to cover and having seen that search up close personally. it's so difficult, you're scanning just endless, endless ocean, to see any little speck of something. it's very hard on the eyes. requires a lot of concentration. as you reported in our coverage of mh 370, people in the aircraft are in for long hours of just staring and there's so much floating on the surface of the sea that you never think about. >> including white caps which brings us to weather. we know it could have played a role in this incident perhaps. we're joined by pedram for that. tell us about what this plane was facing on the flight and also what the searchers are facing now. >> absolutely. kind of want to start off with what you were saying the search area with mh370, of course at one point it was like trying to find a plane in an area the size of the united states. the java sea, 167,000 square miles, a little over 400,000 square kilometers. if you're wafeping on the west coast, that's the equivalent of trying to find a plane in the entire state of california. across europe, sweden. in the middle east iraq. that's the surface area. so something worth noting. this is a thunderstorm. you see how organized it was. look how quickly it collapses. that high symmetry of this storm was of concern to us. you look at the formation, the plane went right through this route. that thunderstorm collapsed within a couple of hours. that's akin to taking a balloon until it expands and burst. that is what the thunderstorm did in the vicinity of this aircraft. that tells us significant downdrafts were in the vicinity of this craft. notice the thunderstorm that we're talking about, a little bit of clearing and that typically indicates cool air coming down to the surface and causing the clearing there. so a downdraft could play a role in a storm of this magnitude. average one 20, to 30,000 in height. this one up to 53,000 among the highest on our planet. and again, it's not a storm that you can climb up and over. we have a lot of conditions when it comes to freezing and icing. so you go around it but around it you can run into downdrafts which is what the weather scenario may have been 24 hours ago across this region. >> and pedram as we look at the conditions now, with the search and rescue operation, talk to us about currents there in the java sea and what that could mean for any debris if indeed this plane did come down? >> that's a fantastic question. i was just thinking about the currents across this region because the currents this time of year are a westerly current. so debris across this region, about 70 miles from the last known location or about 110 kilometers to bornio right on the eastern side of the plane track and another 150 miles back to the west of it about 250 kilometers across that region. so the currents will travel to the west and any sort of debris on the surface there would want to travel back to the west as well. note if there's a lot more water to the west than to the east. that's something worth noting. could take several weeks to run into the shores if it doesn't run across islands in this region. >> pedram thanks for that. the size of california but hopefully with the radar information they do have they're not going to be looking in that big an area but that's the size of the sea. >> that's the size of the sea. and they themselves said it's still a broad area and that's an admission of how difficult it is. but this is a story we'll stay on top of for you. coming up airasia flight 8501 is the second large aircraft to disappear within a year. hard to believe we're talking about another one. >> exactly. in the same year families in both flights wait in anguish. we'll take a look at the differences between the incidents and what lessons might have been learned from mh370. i live in a luxury penthouse overlooking central park. when the guests arrive, they're greeted by my butler, larry. my helipad is being re-surfaced so tonight we travel by more humble means. at my country club we play parlor games with members of the royal family. yes i am rich. that's why i drink the champagne of beers. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪ make the best entertainment part of your holidays. catch all the hottest handpicked titles on the winter watchlist, only with xfinity from comcast. >> welcome back everyone. as the search resumes for air asia flight 8501 mystery clouds its disappearance. earlier this year, malaysian airlines flight 370 that vanished without a trace. we take a look at some similarities in the disappearances and what lessons have been learned. >> there are disconcerting similarities between mh370 and 8501. 370 vanished less than an hour after taking off. 8501 disappeared less than a hour after surabaya. neither plane sent a distress call. in the case of the malaise jet liner, it was a moonless nights. the passengers of 8501 were experiencing very bad weather. >> breaking news here on cnn is the mystery of flight 370 -- >> cnn broke the news barely 48 hours after the plane had gone missing that malaysia's own military radar showed it was gone from that area within an hour of takeoff. the government had hesitated. critical information was withheld. malaysia airlines didn't tell families flight 370 was even missing until the time it was supposed to be arriving in beijing. many hours after it vanished. >> families felt deceived. many accused malaysian authorities of a cover-up. conspiracy theories exploded on the internet even as officials were belatedly trying to set the record straight. because weather couldn't be a factor for mh370, many of those theories centered on terrorism. although no link to terrorism was ever uncovered, it was too late. and whatever information was released by malaysian authorities seemed contradictory and meaningless. >> most passengers were chinese nationals and china took the unusual step of allowing their families to take to the streets in protest. air asia appears to have learned lessons from the mh 3 sencht tragedy and moved quickly to inform families. they responded with passenger manifest and load list online within hours. critical questions remain. in the hours ahead, radar searches may yield answers for the families of passengers on 8501. neither plane had the gps expert so many advocated after the disappearance of mh370. nearly ten months later, that may be the lesson we haven't learned. jim clancy cnn. >> the question now, when will that lesson be learned? when will we see the changes in how these aircraft are outfitted? >> absolutely. so much technology out there that could help find planes in this situation. and just financial reasons, but meanwhile, hundreds of people -- >> i think as we talk about the financial reasons, which are holding the progress let's call it progress back it's going to take one country, it's going to take someone to champion this as it always the case when it comes to change. >> it's got to be a worldwide thing. we're going to continue our live coverage of the missing flight qz 8501. we'll also have details on another travel disaster we're following. >> rescuers pulling people off a burning ferry in the adriatic sea. we'll tell you what's being looked at as a possible cause of the disaster. stay with cnn.com. dad. military families are uniquely thankful for many th. . . the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them. if you're a current or former military member or their family, get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. >> welcome back everyone to cnn's special coverage of the search for missing air asia flight 8501, i'm isha sesay. >> and mike michael holmes. more than a day after that flight disappeared, the search for the flight has resumed and it's daylight. >> the australian defense force is deploying to assist the search seven ships and two helicopters are joining the planes already hovering over the water. relatives are anxious for information. >> so far, of course no sign of that aircraft. >> it's an agonizing wait for answers for the families of the 162 people on board airasia flight qz 8501. >> my fiancee and his family was on that plane. it was supposed to be their last vacation before us got married. >> the monitors at the airport, not showing the status of the flight from indonesia to singapore. instead reading, go to info counter. >> families learned more from twitter with airasia's ceo saying airasia indonesia regrets to confirm that qz 8501 from surabaya to singapore has lost contact at 7:24 hours this morning. before communication was lost the pilot asked for permission to climb to a higher altitude and deviate from the planned route. >> it's possible that the plane was in distress. the pilot's reaction to a problem with the plane in bad weather will be looked at and will be a significant factor. >> authorities say there were clouds in the region, but did not want to speculate if severe weather played a role in the plane's disappearance. airasia's iconic logo going from red to gray. changing more than a color, but the mood. >> as rescue teams are activated, and family members rush to take a glance at a flight manifest posted at the airport, perhaps hoping their loved one somehow missed the ill-fated flight. >> thoughts and prayers have been circulating on social media all day long for those family members. the other thing that people are asking how is it possible that we can trace a cell phone down to the block, yet a plane can be lost? rosea flores cnn, new york. >> it is indeed the question many many people are pondering, how is it possible in this day and age that a plane can seemingly just disappear? many questions also about the airline itself. let's tell you a little bit about it. airasia has been a popular budget carriers since operations began in 2002 with a good reputation for safety. >> it's carried millions of passengers. joining us jeffrey thomas editor in chief and managing director at airline ratings.com. jeff last time i saw you, we were in perth covering mh370 together and here we are again. i'm curious, when you look at this with your expertise, what comes to mind for you? >> look what comes to mind michael, is this appears as though it's going to be a weather-related upset. you know we do know some concrete facts here, whereas in the case of mh370, we were flying blind, if you like. we know that the captain requested a climb in altitude from 32 to 38,000 feet. we than he asked for a deviation from his track, to go left of track, or his planned flight route to avoid thunderstorms. and we know that there were severe thunderstorms in the area. we've seen the radar, printouts of those. so that is absolutely crystal clear. they were severe and there were many of them. so we do know that. we know exactly where we lost contact with him as well. so it's a fairly defined box for the searchers to look whereas mh370, we had virtually no idea where it went. so -- and then what we've also been able to obtain from some pilots is a radar print-out of the aircraft. and what it shows is this particular flight, at an altitude of 36,000 feet and climbing but traveling at approximately 105 miles per hour too slow to sustain flight. so it looks like on this radar evidence that we have that he was involved in some upset, high altitude aerodynamic upset, possibly caused by the thunderstorm. >> what does that mean? >> what that means, there was not sufficient speed for this airplane to sustain flight. so the wings stalled. this is a very rare occurrence. it did happen with air france 447 in 2009. there are some similarities between the two. on the evidence we have so far, and of course nothing is confirmed as far as this is concerned. but the radar plot does show him climbing through 36,300 feet and traveling approximately 100 miles an hour an hour too slow to sustain flight. >> let me ask you this. we have the head of the indonesian national search and rescue agency now saying, it's his conconjecture that based on early data this plane is now at the bottom of the sea. how much confidence can we put in that early data? >> well the early data that i'm presuming he's working on is the fact that we have the radar plot for the last location, and we have no call for a mayday. therefore, we assume there was a catastrophic failure. of course if a plane gets into a serious upset, which has happened before the first priority of the pilot is to fly the plane to get it out of trouble and not to make a mayday call. so again, all of these factors together point to a catastrophic upset at high altitude and a loss of control of the airplane. and if that's the case if that turns out to be the case then it's highly likely that the plane will be in the sea. and whether it's on the surface, where there are survivors, it's too early to tell at this stage. >> and just very quickly, going back to this -- and again we have to say we don't know what happened but it's interesting what you've been able to dedeuce and other pilots have been able to dedeuce from this radar information. what happens if there's a stall? how equipped is the aircraft to restart? >> well it's a wind stall, not an engine stall. we have to clarify that. when you talk about a stall, they think about your car stalling on the freeway. this is an aerodynamic stall of the wingd, so it can no longer sustain flight. the air across the top of the wing is disturbed and broken up and no longer giving lift. if it's a controlled scenario the pilot would simply push the nose down the plane would gain speed, it would start flying again. however, if it's uncontrolled event where he's completely lost control of the airplane then the scenarios that unfold are not very pleasant and possibly you can't get out of them. >> wow. and of course just to restate that, you know it's a theory. it's conjecture. but you're working off some data that you've seen? >> we are working off data absolutely. and it's confirmed by several captains that we've spoken to. but it appears to fit a picture of this airplane entering into a severe thunderstorm area asking for deviation, and we've seen the paint, the radar paint of these thunderstorms. very severe and then suddenly we lose contact with the airplane. this -- [ inaudible ] the pieces we've put together it appears to be absolutely weather-related. >> and one last question for you. and again, it's not confirmed, we're working on a theory just want to stress that to our viewers, it's unclear what happened to this aircraft. but going off that theory the one you're sharing with us here if that is indeed what happened the stall, would the plane come apart at that altitude, or would it come down as a whole? trying to get an idea what searchers would be looking for. >> it should -- again, it's conjecture here. it should stay intact. the a-320 is a robust airplane as our modern airplanes today, very robust. however, there could be scenarios, if the pilot had blundered right into the middle of a severe thunderstorm those sorts of things have torn airplanes to pieces. this happened a number of times in the united states in the early 1960s. when we didn't understand the dynamics of thunderstorms the way we do today. and also we didn't have radar like we have today. and unfortunately, tragically lives were lost. >> jeff, great to get your expertise in on that. do appreciate it. we'll be speaking with you again. jeff thomas managing director airline ratings.com. >> thank you. >> it's a fascinating theory. it's a theory but working off data as well. what happens once you've got that data flying too slow, according to some pilots for the ascent ascent but we don't know what happened after that. >> and then it comes down again, to the choices the pilot made. >> and the weather. >> and the weather, of course. again, many unanswered questions. but we will continue to ask the questions and stay on top of the story of the missing airasia flight. but also another big story we're following for you here at cnn. a dramatic rescue in the adriatic sea. when we come back we'll get the latest on a burning passenger ferry off the coast of greece. we'll be right back. i've smoked a lot and quit a lot but ended up nowhere. now...i use this. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent the urge to smoke all day. i want this time to be my last time. that's why i choose nicoderm cq. welcome back, everyone. we're following two big stories for you at cnn. the search for the missing flight but also a situation from the coast of greece where rescuers are trying to get people off a ferry that's on fire. >> all kinds of things going on. it's dark and there's horrible weather as well. have a look at this video, that was shot by somebody on board the ship and they managed to get it off. you can see that fire just raging out of control inside the vessel. so everybody's outside. we do know one person has died. >> we do indeed. we understand that this person died basically leaping off the ship. the victim was a man who was attempting to escape. terrifying conditions. 221 people have been rescued since the accident occurred. but 257 still remain on board in freezing conditions. >> after all this time too, they are all outside, obviously on the decks. they can't go down below because of the fires. officials say once the sun is up and that shouldn't be too long. they'll be able to use larger helicopters to rescue passengers in larger numbers. the problem is they've had to overnight use helicopters with night vision and they're limited to picking up one or two people at a time. it's been painfully slow. >> very painfully slow. and the question everyone has right now, how did this all happen? how did it all start? at this stage, we're hearing oil rigs packed tightly together in the ferry's garage area are being looked at as a possible cause of the fire. officials are saying now that the fire is contained, but say the ship well that is still too unstable to be moved significantly. >> one suggestion was some of those vehicles or machinery was packed so close together they were rub against each other and perhaps cause a spark which ignited something down there. obviously an investigation is coming. let's have a look at the weather in the region. pedram pedram tell us what they're up against there. obviously it was a horrible night in terms of rescue conditions. >> worst case scenario as far as the timing with a storm system coming in. of course it's the fourth shortest day of the year across the northern hemisphere. very cold temperatures across this portion of the world as well. the ferry track was right through this region between albania and also the southern portion of italy as it entered the adriatic. the front comes in wave heights well over ten feet. winds also about 25 to 30 kilometers per hour. beginning to die down a little bit. that's the good news for your forecast on monday. i see some clouds parting and winds lighter, and another storm enters on tuesday. that's the pattern this time of year. you don't get much in the way of clear skies. so you do get a break on monday and it picks back up tuesday, winds as high as third to 40 miles per hour. 50 to 60 kph as far as metrics are concerned. generally speaking across this region into the upper 50s fahrenheit 15 degrees celsius. a very dangerous water temperature. if you're on a ferry across this region the last thing you want to do is being on the deck. folks are forced to be on the deck. if you were to be in the water, you're looking at one to two hours survival time depending on your age, health level, fitness level, you could extend that up to six hours. so certainly not long-term as far as being able to survive with air temperatures down to 39 to 40 degrees. so about 3 to 4 degrees celsius. tuesday into wednesday, another strong storm system parks south of the area of interest strong thunderstorms there, some snow showers right on the immediate coast there. the pink indicating some sleet on the beaches of eastern italy. so it kind of shows you how cold the air mass is across this region when it comes to the search and rescue efforts and the sooner the better with this next storm system coming in on tuesday. >> and as you talk about the snow showers and the cold water temperatures, we know the helicopters are being employed for this rescue effort. what about winds? >> on monday the winds will be calmer than sunday. on tuesday they go back to the situation that we saw during the first -- the news breaking here of this ferry catching fire. so it looks like only one day break. >> hopefully they can get everyone off once day breaks. pedram thank you very much. once they get the bigger helicopters in they can get more people off at a time. you can imagine being up on that deck it's cold there's boats spraying water to control the fire everybody's wet, and it's freezing. >> i imagine that there are going to be a lot of questions asked about this about the way this search and recovery -- search and rescue i should say, was conducted. and people will be asked questions about this helicopter situation. >> remarkable only one person has died. >> a story we'll stay on top of for you here on cnn. we'll also continue our coverage of flight qz 8501. >> and we'll have here on the safety record of the a-320 that was involved. stay with us. why do i cook for the holidays? to share with family to carry on traditions to come together, even when we're apart in stuffing, mashed potatoes gravy, and more, swanson® makes holiday dishes delicious! ♪ (holiday music is playing) hey! i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales 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[ laughs ] -i'm flo! -i know! i'm going to get you your rental car. this is so ridiculous. we're going to manage your entire repair process from paperwork to pickup, okay little tiny baby? your car is ready, and your repairs are guaranteed for as long as you own it. the progressive service center -- a real place, where we really manage your claim from start to finish. really. ♪ easy as easy can be ♪ bye! why do i take metamucil everyday? because it helps me skip the bad stuff. i'm good. that's what i like to call the meta effect. 4-in-1 multi-health metamucil now clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. experience the meta effect with our new multi-health wellness line. >> it is hard to believe, michael that that flight lost contact with air traffic control over 28 hours ago. >> yeah i think it's nearly 30 now. which is crazy. and no sign no nothing of flight 8501. airline airport officials, they have been meeting privately with dozens of passengers relatives in indonesia. >> we'll tell you about the search and rescue efforts. planes helicopters and ships resumed their search. they lost contact with the plane traveling from surabaya to singapore. >> one everof the pilots asked to fly at a higher altitude because of the weather. the chief of indonesia's national search and rescue agency says based on the information so far, point of last contact, radar and the like the assumption is that the plane, and these are his words, is at the bottom of the sea. >> very, very painful words to hear for the relatives who are waiting at various airports in the region waiting for more information. let's tell you more about the airline we're talking about. it's a malaysia-based airline, trafrl traveling to about 100 destinations. cnn's rene marsh takes a close look at this particular plane and the safety record of the fleet. >> we know this is a newer aircraft. roughly six years old, the delivery date october 2008. now, as far as flight time, we're told by airbus it has about 23,000 flight hours. it's what you would call a work horse for commercial aviation. it is a well traveled aircraft. the safety record for the a-320 is pretty good when you consider the millions of flights this family of aircraft has made. now, at this point, airbus is very careful with the language it is using. it is not dipping into the arena of speculation. they say they're waiting and they are collecting information. they're making it very clear that they are ready and willing to work with investigators once it moves on to the investigative stage. we also know that here in the united states the national transportation safety board, they have opened up the lines of communication. they've been in contact with airbus the manufacturer of the aircraft. they've also been in touch with the french equivalent of the ntsb. and we're also told they've been in touch with the indonesians. and the indonesians will likely lead the investigation. at this point, the ntsb says they are monitoring the situation, ready to provide some technical assistance if they are asked for it. back to you. >> renee marsh there. we'll take a short break. our live coverage of the loss of that airline and we'll continue in a moment. i'm michael holmes. >> and i'm isha sesay. stay with cnn. hello, everyone. and welcome to cnn's special coverage for the search of the missing asia air flight. we have a grim message in the last hour or two. assuming and this is not confirmed, that the airasia airliner is quote, at the bottom of the sea. now well into
great to have you with us. we'd like to welcome our viewers around the world and in the united states, i'm john vause. the first hour of "cnn newsroom" starts from l.a. starts now. we begin in iraq where the country's prime minister is vowing to force isis out of his country in the coming year. his announcement follows the iraqi army celebrating what it calls the liberation of ramadi from isis. today's brutal house-to-house fighting, forces have mostly retaken the city. there are still pockets of isis fighters throughout ramadi. a spokesman says it will take two to three weeks to root them out. iraq's military has gained new confidence after this latest victory, and the country's leaders are vowing to push on to other cities under the control of isis. the fall of ramadi is seen as a blow to the terror group. it comes as the leader of isis releases a new message to real his followers. details from jim sciutto. >> reporter: from the isis chief, abu bakr al baghdadh, a new audio recording seemingly attempting to boost fighters' morale with "the world united against them." in the 24-minute tape, al baghdadi says the u.s.-led coalition against isis does not dare send ground troops to fight isis. he threatens israel and praises isis fighters engaged in combat. >> this message is intended to reassure them that he is still there, he is still the leader. that isis is still in business. >> reporter: baghdadi makes no mention of recent terror attacks claimed by isis including armed assaults in paris and san bernardino, and the downing of a russian passenger jet. >> he doesn't really make any references to the current condition of the so-called islamic state either in syria or in iraq. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the message comes amid a rough week for isis on the battlefield as iraqi ground forces backed by coalition air strikes reclaimed much of the city of ramadi from isis fighters who have held it since may. iraqi forces claiming victory after taking full control of a key central compound. u.s. military officials, however, are more cautious. >> inside the city center, there remain some neighborhoods that have not yet been cleared. there's a threat for unexploded ordnance, minefields, boobytrapped houses. there's a lot of still danger inside of ramadi. >> reporter: with the gains in ramadi, we hear from the iraqi prime minister today saying that mosul will be next. you speak to u.s. officials, former u.s. commanders, they say there's a lot of isis-controlled territory between iraqi forces and iraq's second-largest city. it's much farther from the stronghold of baghdad. it's also five times the size of ramadi. no u.s. officials i speak with have a timeline for iraqi forces taking back mosul. jm sciutto, cnn, washington. former navy s.e.a.l. and veteran of the fighting in iraq joins us. he was also a co-star and adviser for the film "american sniper." he joins us from pensacola, in florida. thank you for being with us. i'm curious, is the backslapping premature? one analyst said only 14 of 43 neighborhoods in ramadi are under government control. there are hundreds of booby trap, unexploded devices. you were there in 2006. you know what it's like to go street to street. explain the challenges still ahead for iraqi troops. >> well, the fall of ramadi in may of this year of a symbolic loss for coalition forces and iraqi troops. the gaining of ground in iraq today in ramadi is a symbolic loss for isis. ramadi's been under a constant battle for the past ten years. a patchwork of streets, alleyways, they stuck a flag in government center. it doesn't mean they control all of ramadi now. rom ramadi is a stronghold for the insurgency. we have cautious optimism with the taking of ramadi, of government center. there's still a lot of work to be done to fully secure ramadi. back in the day in 2006, 2007, around the surge time, it was clear hold build. they're at the clear section. they need to clear the city. root out insurgents, prepare to move on and press toward mosul. >> there is positive news here. let's start with that because this was the local iraqi military, many sunni forces with the help of u.s. advisers and coalition air power. according to some, this might be the start of a revival of moderate sunni forces in iraq. is that how you see it? >> it has to be sunni forces. what worked well in 2006 and 2007 was using the tribal engagement model. use the locals to help root out insurgents. as we know, ramadi is a sunni stronghold. if we're using shia-based iraqi forces, you're going to get ethnic tensions that we had back then in 2006, 2007. by using tribal engagement models, using what's worked in the past, we will have success in ramadi. the advisers bring that experience having served that time frame with me in the city and pressing on the western front of iraq. so using the tribal engagement model, what's worked in the past, will help defeat isis and secure and build from ramadi and push toward mosul. >> do you agree some who believe that this is the model which should be used to move forward to mosul? maybe even moving on to syria? but the flip side is that it's going to be a slow road ahead if that's the case, isn't it? >> it's a very slow road. the winning of tikrit took a couple of months to get the amenities of power and water and supply. sticking a flag in government center doesn't mean the city's won. it's an uphill fight, but a positive fight. you know, we spent $25 billion propping up the iraqi military and promptly left in 2011. having a couple thousand ground troops as advisers and having the iraqis win against isis is a symbolic victory and a positive sign. it's cautious optimism. isis wants the caliphate. they want to own that territory and lure in mesh american forces on the ground to fight us in the ground, on the battlefield. to show isis they're not afraid, they will press on. with the help of advisers and air power, we can stymie the satellite line and the western front that isis partially controls. >> it's very difficult, though, to pin isis down. they are very good at changing tactics and melting away, at hitting back and hitting back hard. what do you expect to happen next? >> i expect the same thing that got the job done for us which insured success which was going thousands house, door to door, rooting them out. showing that we are advanced with tactics, and we're there for the long run to win that fight. the iraqi army has to prove themselves day in and day out. if we don't press isis, they're going to continue to proliferate and get bigger and stronger. people have always asked, well, what happens to al qaeda when you were out there? we were constantly hunting them down. that suppressed them and put them into hiding. when they're in the open, they inspire home-grown terrorism in fran and other countries. the fight has to continue day in and day out be relentless because the enemy is relentless. the iraqi army showed they are willing to take that fight to the enemy each and every day and secure western iraq. >> kevin, we'll at least there. thank you very much for being with us. valuable insight from your time which you spent there. >> thank you. >> take care. a recent cnn/orc poll taken shortly before the iraqi success in ramadi shows most americans are not pleased with the u.s. fight against terrorism. here are the numbers -- 74% say they are either not very satisfied or not at all satisfied. u.s. republican presidential candidate donald trump back on the campaign trail monday night. he's been leading the republican field for about six months now. joining a campaign event in new hampshire, he boasted about divided the pundits and confounding opponents. >> tonight somebody reported that they are absolutely going crazy, and they are devastated over what trump is saying. now we're getting back to the basics, okay. look at what's happened with the republicans -- every single person that's gone after may is gone. they're gone. [ cheers ] >> they're gone. when i say gone, they've either left the race or are down in the very, very low portion. they're low! >> themr. trump has been embroi with democratic rival hillary clinton, even taking shots at her husband, the former president bill clinton. here's dana bash. she's playing the woman's card. it's like, give me a break. >> reporter: the way donald trump sees it, to be a winner, you have to act like one. so he's ending 2015 as if he's already won the 2016 gop nomination -- attacking hillary clinton. >> i've had so many women come up and say, you've got to keep her out -- she is just terrible. >> reporter: trump's anti-hillary rants have been nonstop since before christmas when she returned fire. >> not the first time he's demonstrated a penchant for sexism. >> reporter: now trump is bringing bill clinton into. it the latest on iowa radio this morning. >> with all of her past and her past dealings and, frankly, she's been involved in it with her husband as much as anybody, for her to be discussing that i think is out of bounds. and i've let them know that. >> reporter: trump is doing well with republican women. in the last cnn/orc poll, a whopping 69% of female gop voters said they have a favorable view of trump. it's almost the opposite when all female voters are included. 61% view trump unfavorably. the only republican woman running for president is trying to capitalize on the trump/clinton war of words. >> how about an honest woman? how about a competent woman? how about a qualified woman? i'm never going to ask for people's support because i'm a woman. i'll going ask for their support because i'm the most qualified candidate to beat hillary clinton. >> reporter: as for trump, his campaign insists he'll win by bringing new voters into the gop fold which is why he's lashing out at virginia republicans for a new requirement -- to participate in its gop primary voters must sign a party loyalty pledge. one of trump's many tweets said, "straighten out the republican party of virginia before it's too late. stupid, rnc." in new hampshire, the conservative union leader, which endorsed chris christie, unloaded on trump today for "bathroom humor and verbal bullying." >> you got my homework finished -- >> reporter: comparing trump to the bill -- bullied biff in "back to the future." the editorial saying, "we trust new hampshire republicans will send biff trump back to somewhere, anywhere, but on the road to the most valued elected office in the united states." despite harsh critics, donald trump has admirers, too. on the most admired men of the year list, trump tied pope francis as the second-most admired man in america. both behind president barack obama. the most admired women -- hillary clinton. in fact, this is the 14th straight year she's topped physic gallup's list. 20 overall. more than any man or woman, hillary clinton has been the most admired since it started this in 1948. dana bash, cnn, washington. >> senior reporter for media and politics with us now for more on the trump versus hillary battle. if anyone was going to link bill clinton's infidelity to hillary clinton's run for the white house, it was most likely going to be donald trump because i guess for almost anyone else, this would backfire. but this is donald trump. and the rules don't apply. >> the rules don't apply to donald trump. and you have to imagine if he brought this out back whether he was launching his presidential campaign, we might looking at this a little differently. we've gone through six months of seeing donald trump say incendiary thing that would have tanked any other presidential candidate. so donald trump can really say whatever he wants. it's a totally different bar. the rules don't apply to him. look, he's doing two things here. he's going after bill clinton because he knows bill clinton is going to be the attack dog. he was hillary clinton's attack dog in 2008, and he's trying to get under hillary clinton's skin and run a general election campaign. >> in is a two-pronged attack. he is directly trying to hurt bill clinton, who's about to hit the campaign trail. and also, indirectly, discredit hillary clinton. but again, going back to the regular rules here, we say they don't apply. but in the past, it's backfired because people are sympathetic toward hillary clinton on this issue. >> this is absolutely true. it's also true that when he brings up issues like sexism, a majority of american women disapprove of donald trump generally speaking. but that's not true of the republican base. what donald trump is doing, even though he appears to be running a general election campaign, he's throwing the red meat out there for that conservative base which actually includes a lot of women who don't like hillary clinton, who don't like the clintons at all, and certainly don't like bill clinton. >> look, republicans don't like the clintons. criticizing hillary clinton and bill clinton isn't going do you any harm in the nomination. if you look at the poll numbers, he's doing well with women. when he attacks hillary clinton. overall, not so great. i mean, this comes back to the thing that -- i think he's trying to win the nomination and not the presidency because these seem to be counter to what's going on. if hillary clinton does win the nomination, and she probably will, and donald trump probably takes on the republican nomination, is this the kind of presidential election campaign we're in for? that all of the political scandals, all of the baggage that the clintons had during the '90s, all of that is going to be relitigated again? >> yes, but a lot of that depends on how hillary clinton handles this during the primary season. so if she goes and taxels this issue head-on and is willing to turn the tables on trump and present at as unfair territory, that he's gone too far, you could get to a general election scenario where that's no longer on the table. if she can't meet it head-on now, we could be going through an election psych wrel we're reliving all of those names that were familiar in the late '90s. >> he's running a general election campaign. she doesn't have a primary to run. she's the presumptive nominee. the question, does she use this as a way to brand republicans, to go after republican generally, to cast trump as he was likened to in a recent editorial, biff from "back to the future," the foul-mouthed bull? if she can sort of quarantine that issue and make it a divisive and unfair issue, then she can preclude it from taking the spotlight in the general election. >> taking on trump on anything, especially this trash talk, it's not easy if you're someone like hillary clinton who's a skill campaigner. thanks for being with us. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. coming up, no indictment for two police officers in the shooting death of 12-year-old tamir rice. now his family is accusing prosecutors of sabotaging the case. also, tracked down, the affluenza teen independent the u.s. for allegedly violating his probation. and a japanese team plans to strike a chord against bullying. you won't find the brand pharmacists recommend most for cold and flu relief at the shelf. advil cold & sinus is only behind the pharmacy counter. ask your pharmacist for fast, powerful advil cold & sinus. relief doesn't get any better than this. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? 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[ chuckling ] women don't have jobs. is this guy for real? modernizing car insurance with -- that's enough out of you! the name your price tool, only from progressive. where is your husband? welcome back. in mexico, authorities have detained a texas teenager known as the affluenza teen wanted in the united states for allegedly violating his probation. ethan couch and his mother were taken to custody near the resort town of puerto vallarta. he was sentenced to probation in a drunk driving crash that left four people dead. his attorneys argued couch suffered from what they called affluenza because his wealthy parents never taught him right from wrong. couch missed an appointment with his probation officer earlier this month. shortly after that, he disappeared with his mother. couch and his mom are expected to be turned over to u.s. marshals. let's bring in civil rights attorney and commentator ariva martin. leaving the country, missing the appointment with a probation officer, clearly a violation of probation. is ethan couch now facing jail time? >> that's what lots of people hope. it's not just missing the probation meeting. there's also this video apparently of a teenager drinking that they say looks very much like ethan couch. we know one of the important terms of his probation was that he not drink, do drugs. so if that video can be authenticated and that is ethan couch, he faces of possibility of up to ten years in jail. for the victims' families, they say that's not enough time. >> does this affect the sentence in any way? prosecutors wanted at least 20 years in jail. >> yes. >> what happens in the last couple of days and the video with the beer bong doesn't affect the judge's decision? >> well, it doesn't affect it right now because we haven't been able to confirm that he is actually the teen in this video. but once there's an investigation and it is completed and it's determined that he's drinking and violated his probation, he could face up to ten years in jail. so that's -- >> not 20 years. that ten years probation stands. he violates it, he goes to jail for 10 -- >> the requests by the prosecutors, not followed by the judge. what was ten years violation of probation could mean facing ten years in jail. >> what about the mother? >> oh, my god. this is a mother who -- >> horrible parent -- >> what we know about her, coddled her son, made excuses, led to this conduct that he's engaged in. breaking and entering, stealing, drinking, driving, killing four people, injuring many more. and yet, helps him, at least what we've been told, violate his probation, leaves the country. so she also could be face something serious charge. >> mother of the year. there's another big story. this is sad -- a grand jury in ohio has decided not to indict two police officers. this is a sad story. a young, 12-year-old boy shot to death. everyone agrees this was a tragedy. the details are, an officer in training shot tamir rice last year as he held a pellet gun outside of a recreation center outside of cleveland. it of the unknown that rice of a juvenile and that the gun of a fake. the death was called a tragedy but said it's not clear the officers acted criminally. >> on close examination, critical evidence, a recent enhancement of the surveillance video by an expert laboratory often relied upon by the fbi, it is indisputable that tamir is withdrawing his gun from his waist as police neared him and officer loehmann exeited the ca. >> the criticism some are making, particularly of the fame of tamir rice, is the way that the prosecutor directed the grand jury. prosecutors usually want a grand jury, don't they? >> this san appalling case. when you think about it, this prosecutor began the process of preparing this community for no indictments some month ago. he started releasing reports that he went out and sought from expert to -- experts to support that. it's highly unusual to find exculpatory evidence for the police officer. his job it to take evidence into the grand jury that would lead to an indictment. he is to present the evidence that would allow for a probable cause determination to be made. and he did just the opposite in this case. he put himself in the position of the defense attorney. and he found these experts to issue these reports. >> for a couple things -- was it wrong or unusual for mcdidn'ty to recommend to the grand jury that no decision filed -- >> the grand jury sprosz there to -- process is there to allow jurors to look at the evidence and make this low-threshold of probable cause, ton find guilt or innocence, but is there enough evidence to proceed to a trial to determine whether a crime was committed. clearly, there was enough evidence. >> unusual to be -- the two officers involved not to go on to cross-examination? >> not cross-examined. he went into the grand jury -- although it's a secretive process, from what we're learning, he provided that information, that evidence. >> wrong. >> absolutely wrong. you think about the grand jury's job and what a prosecutor's job is -- >> grill? >> not necessarily illegal, but let me tell you this -- the state of california has a new law just signed by the governor in 2015 which will prevent the use of grand juries in cases of police excecessive force cases d hopefully will eliminate thing like we're seeing with tamir rice, michael brown, and eric gardner. >> the people across the country, police officer-involved shooting incidents, that the prosecutor should not be involved in a grand jury? >> the relationships are too close. we've seen too many incidents where the prosecutors aren't willing to step up and charge and hold police officers accountable. i think this is the most egregious case that we've seen in the tamir rice case. >> thanks for coming in. there's a lot going on. we appreciate your thoughts. >> thank you. when we come back, we're tracking severe weather across the united states including texas. deadly tornadoes and snow. we'll hear from one man who -- [ inaudible ] nexium 24hr is the new #1 selling frequent heartburn brand in america. i hope you like it spicy! get complete protection with the purple pill. the new leader in frequent heartburn. that's nexium level protection. say they'll save youfor every by switching,surance companies you'd have like a ton of dollars. but how are they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um..." or "no comment". then there's esurance - born online, raised by technology and majors in efficiency. so whatever they save, you save: hassle, time, paper work, hair tearing out and, yes, especially dollars. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance. backed by allstate. click or call. welcome back, everybody. watching "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. just about 9:30 on a monday night. i'm john vause. the headlines this hour -- iraqi forces say they've liberated ramadi from isis. they spent days going house to house to flush out the terrorists. iraqi troops say it will take two or three more weeks to clear the remaining pockets of isis fighters. mexico it expected to turn -- mexico is expected to turn over the so-called affluenza teen to u.s. authorities. ethan couch and his mother were found in puerto vallarta after he allegedly violated his probation from a 2013 drunk driving crash that killed four people. the family of a ohio boy shot and killed by police say the prosecutors deliberately sabotaged the case. a grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved in the death of tamir rice last year. police say video shows rice reaching for a pellet gun when he was shot by an officer in training. governments in central america have a new agreement to allow thousands of cuban migrants to continue their journey to the u.s. they've been stuck in costa rica since mid-november. there's been an increase in migration since the u.s. and cuba announced renewed diplomatic ties. at least 43 people have been killed in severe weather across the united states in the past week. it's not over yet. flash floods in missouri are blamed for several of those deaths. the state's governor has declared a state of emergency. further to the west, blizzard warnings are in effect. near dallas, texas, many have try -- many are trying to recover from deadly tornadoes. i thought i was dead, you know. i was waiting for the tornado to suck me out, but it didn't. life gave me a second chance. >> reporter: for josh white, the chance to walk away from a deadly e4 tornado in garland, texas, almost didn't come. >> i was running toward my closet. the doors and everything started caving in. stuff started flying through the windows. stuff was hitting us, bricks, everything. >> reporter: he hid with his wife and 5-year-old son to protect them with mattresses, winds up to 200 miles per hour. >> made me realize how fragile life is. >> reporter: 11 people killed in texas alone this weekend whether tornadoes ripped through the state, tearing apart buildings, leaving skeleton structures, and shattered wood behind. the destructive winds are a part of a massive storm system wreaking havoc across the nation with a deadly mix of tornadoes, ice, blizzards, and flooding stretching from new mexico to maine. at least two dozen people have died, and more than 100 million more could be affected by severe storms. flooding and snow from the same system. white gathers his belongings and just a sweatshirt while others in the lone star state are digging out of fridged blizzard conditions. just part of the bizarre and brutal weather here. texas is among the hardest hit states along with illinois and missouri. each reporting multiple deaths. at least four international soldier stationed at ft. leonard wood perished in missouri when their car was overtaken by rising water. >> they did find two individuals in the car. we found two other men that were actually outside of the vehicle that were in the creek. >> reporter: now with hundred of american beginning to see the destruction left in the storm's path, millions more are bracing for what's next. josh white says, he am be there to help anyone who needs it. >> everybody never expects this. i mean -- once you go through it, it change your life forever. you want to help people now, you know? >> reporter: the recovery efforts in garland, texas, continue. residents at this apartment complex have slowly started to trickle back to see if they can salvage any of their belongings. the structural damage is so severe that many of them have yet to be let back inside. nick valencia, cnn, garland, texas. gary taco was caught in the tornadoes, in his truck that was lifted off the ground by the winds. he was inside along with his girlfriend. he lived to talk about it and join you now live from garland, texas. gary, you've had a little time to piece together exactly what happened during the storm. can you walk us through what some of the worst moments were, what you were thinking at the time? >> yes. so you know, i was thinking we'd -- we get lots of warnings around here, and what i have to say first is we've got to heed those warnings. a thousand false alarms is better than what -- than one time of what we went through. we were lucky. we were in a large toyota truck, and it saved us. a lot of people weren't so lucky. heed the warning. that's my first thing that i am thinking. but we got in the automobile, the truck, despite the warnings, and we were headed home. and i could see just a big mass wall -- we were little real driving through the apartment complex that you just mentioned was swirling around. like you said, at 200 miles per hour. and that started banging into the truck. and we could just -- you know, i could see it ahead of me, and i could see debris, two by fours, pieces of guardrail, just as far as my vision could see swirling around. and so i put the truck in park, and i started screaming, "get do down! stay down, stay down!" we could hear the debris hitting the truck and breaking out the windows. started shaking, and literally at one point, the truck started lifting off the ground. i could feel it. i remember thinking just as plain as day that his died. and i had the feeling that i had passed away. and if i can give anyone comfort in saying that at that moment, i -- i totally blacked out. i believe when we pass away, the body has a mechanism that shuts off and we don't feel pain. and i literally thought from what was hitting the truck and all of the thing that were breaking that -- that i had died, and the truck lifted up off the ground. and i don't remember anything after this. but what we know is the truck was thrown into the field, you know, 20, 30 feet, and rolled some seven to ten times. and it wasn't until we stopped rolling and the truck office its side, on the driver's side, that someone was yelling at us, "are you okay? are you okay?" and we were thankfully -- we were able to climb out the window. >> so did you have any idea of how far off the ground the truck was at the highest point? and so many people were killed in this storm. why do you think -- how do you think you managed to survive alongside with your girlfriend? clearly you were in a dangerous situation. >> i don't know how high. you look at the truck. it's a solid truck. took a beating. a lot of the beating came from just the sheer stuff of hitting it. i suspect, you know, it was some -- rolling off the street, it had to be fairly high. i have no idea. i believe god has a bigger plan that we know nothing about. in addition to that, being in the large toyota truck, it had to be a combination of those two things. i don't know why. [ all talking at once ] why us, right, go ahead. >> i was asked how much damage is around you? how much destruction has been left behind by the storms? >> well, that was really -- when we got out, we were, of course, in shock from what we went through. it was like being in a war zone. there were cars all around. the he next to us, cars had flown off of the highway and were all around us, frankly. there literally was debris and trees, and there was a riding lawnmower some 10, 15 feet away from the truck. so when we got out, it literally was like being in a war zone. it was pretty amazing. >> we're glad you survived. trouble tell a pretty incredible tale there. we appreciate you being with us. thanks a lot for filling us in. >> all right. thank you. let's get to more on the terrible weather. pedr pedram, twisters, flooding, snow -- incredible pattern. >> i've never seen a pattern persist so far into the year. if you look at the past seven days other nearly 70 tornadoes. we plotted every one across this portion of the eastern and southern u.s. of course, the number is just -- tells the tale. six consecutive days of tornadoes in the month of december. that's only happened two other times. guess what, that was 1953, el nino year. 1982, another el nino year. and of course, you know what's happening now in 2015. the pattern falls in line with what you would expect. 145-mile track, longest december track. multiple ef-4s, and we had multiple in the past week, becoming the deadliest month on record for the month of december. the pattern is a global pattern when it comes to weather anomalies and how el nino displaces the steering currents in the atmosphere and essentially displaces storm tracks and weather patterns. this is what's happened across south america. want to give a floor perspective. this is the piranha river. it's the second longest river behind the amazon. comes out to paraguay and argentina. about 400 miles up. the after perspective -- you see the river balloon. that has forced nearly 200,000 people to be evacuated, and the continued conditions are for heavy rainfall for the next several days. and similar scenes out of parts of england. working your way into york, this is what it looks like with evacuations the military personnel on the scene across the region. the flood warnings ease the just a little as we head in toward wednesday. median risk returns. this is something we expect for a lot of places around the world. last time, we had a severe el nino, back in 1997 into 19 8, it impacted globally. this is something a lot of people are looking at going into 2016. >> you pray for the rain, got to deal with the mud. thanks. a long-awaited reunion in canada for one family. three police officers in puerto rico shot and killed inside their headquarters by a fellow officer. those stories and more straight ahead. ♪ (vo) some call it giving back. we call it share the love. during our share the love event, get a new subaru, and we'll donate $250 to those in need. bringing our total donations to over sixty-five million dollars. and bringing love where it's needed most. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. okay! fun's over. aw. aw. ♪ thirsty? they said it would make me cool. they don't sound cool to me. guess not. you got to stick up for yourself, like with the name your price tool. people tell us their budget, not the other way around. aren't you lactose intolerant? this isn't lactose. it's milk. ♪ three police officers in puerto rico are dead, and the suspect is a fellow officer. a 50-year-old officer is accused of shooting and killing a police commander, lieutenant, and officer after an argument in the police headquarters building on monday morning. what exactly caused the killings of the officers is still not known. puerto rico's governor has declared three days of mourning. the family of a syrian boy who drawn drowned -- who drowned off the coast of turkey has started a new life. they met with family. the drowning received worldwide attention and put a face on the migrant crisis. the boy's brother and mother also died as their boats capsized as they tried to cross from turkey into greece. a report on the poignant reunion for the kurdy family. understandably, there were emotional scenes at vancouver airport as tima kurdy couldn't wait to get her hands around her family that had just come from germany. they were coming from turkey originally. obviously struggling to make a new life for themselves outside of syria. she wanted to bring them long ago. the back story is there was too much paperwork. they had told her brother muhammad it wasn't possible. she had told her brother, abd abdull abdullah, it wasn't possible. that's why she said her brother, abdullah, took his family on the boat. that's where herrer nev-- why h nephew died. she want this to stand for something when the world finally said enough is enough. here is what she had to say at vancouver airport. >> we almost lost hope, but thank you to the canadian government and the canadian people who make it happen, and to our family who -- [ inaudible ] >> reporter: her brother, abdul aalan's father, he lost his entire family, his two little boys, his wiemp fe. he was also invited to apply in canada and chose not to. he said he's grieving and wants to figure his life out. he's volunteering for refugees. and what the kurdy family says is that they want people to keep in mind that while they've had a happy reunion for today, what they really want is for peace to come in the next few months to syria. an al jazeera reporter standing by her story regarding peyton manning, while he calls the stories against him complete trash. an update on that controversy after the break. a tragic loss for heavy metal music as a legend suddenly passes. we'll remember motor head lemmy. and how a japanese teenager inspired an indy pop group with resilience in the face of bullying. we found her on twitter in a small town in japan. contacted her, asked if she wanted to come over. we did a song together. we don't speak the same language. and i thought it was so cool to show that the world can be more gracious than the walls of a high school. the flu virus. it's a really big deal. and with fever, aches, and chills, mom knows it needs a big solution: an antiviral. don't kid around with the flu, call your doctor within the first 48 hours of symptoms and ask about prescription tamiflu. attack the flu virus at its source with tamiflu, an antiviral that helps stop it from spreading in the body. tamiflu in liquid form is fda approved to treat the flu in people two weeks of age and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. anti-flu? go antiviral with tamiflu. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? enter sleep number, and the lowest prices of the season. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store, find the lowest prices of the season. save $600 on the #1 rated i8 bed, plus no interest until january 2018. know better sleep with sleep number. soccer midfielder sergei gardella signed to a deal. fans were made aware of tweets from 2013 where he was critical of the team and the region of catalonia. the team released a statement saying the contract was terminated because of the offensive tweets. an al jazeera reporter says she stands behind her story that peyton manning once used human growth hormones. the nfl superstar calls the story completely fabricated, garbage. the al jazeera documentary alleges that manning was one of several athletes who were given hdh by an indiana doctor. human growth hormones are not illegal but have been banned by the nfl since 2011. the doctor, manning's teams, and even the source who made the original claims that to al jazeera have all denied the report. lemmy, the legendary front man and bassist for the british band motorhead, died monday after a short illness with cancer. here he is in all his almost. ♪ motorhead was formed in 1975, and lemmy was the sole constant member of the band. his music was influential then and now and helped to shape hard his bandmates encouraged people on facebook to celebrate the life this lovely, wonderful man celebrated vibrantly himself. japan has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world. it's something a teenager thought b. we featured her in september as she revealed her struggles with bullying at school. her story resonated with members of the indy pop group foster the people. now how the two are striking a chord against bullying. ♪ >> reporter: the story of how a teenaged girl from japan wound up in california recording with indy pop's foster the people begins on a darker note. a disturbing cnn piece about bullying. ♪ >> reporter: she explained starting in second grade, she was slapped, beaten with broomsticks. she later contemplated suicide. >> translator: the big problem in japan is that when you are seen as somebody who's a little different or strange and devyates from mainstream society, that's when bullying happens. >> when i read the story, it took me right back to the place when i was her age in school and right when i discovered music. music for me at that moment was my outlet. really i guess it gave me hope. ♪ >> reporter: foster the people, known for social consciousness, created a fund drive to fly her to the u.s. to collaborate on a stirring song. >> translator: this song is very autobiographical. it's about me losing hope in my life at some point, but i decided to keep going. and i decided to live. even when thinking of suicidal thoughts. it's about a miracle that happens if you keep living. >> reporter: the young singer is also receiving support from molly thompson and lauren paul, the wife of breaking bad's aaron paul. the friends founded kind campaign and now speak at schools about girl-on-girl bullying. >> to be able to stand in front of girls and to let them know that that's never the solution to anything. and how i wish so badly that i would have reached out to a counselor or talked to my parents more about what i was going through. but we love, you know, being here today a part of this story and this amazing experience. and creating awareness all identifier the world and specifically in japan. >> reporter: this is no junior varsity performer. >> he walked into the situation like, okay, what are we going to do now. after the first day, i was like, wow, this girl is something special. >> reporter: cnn, burbank, california. >> great stuff. thank you for watching "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. i'm john vause. i'll be back with another hour of news from around the world after a short break. stay with us. automated voice: to file a claim, please state your name. carnie wilson. thank you. can you hold on? ♪ hold on for one more day really? hey, i know there's pain. why do you lock yourself up in these chains? ♪ this would be so easy if you had progressive. our mobile app would let you file a claim and help you find one of our service centers where we manage the entire repair process. things will go your way if you hold on. [ sighs ] someday somebody's gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye. ♪ say goodbye no, you just made it weird. this is "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. ahead this hour, iraqi troops raising their flag and claiming victory in ramadi. does it give them any momentum against isis? former u.s. president bill clinton set to hit the campaign trail. could it hurt more than help his wife's run for the white house? the deadly monster storm that swept across texas as millions more deal with extreme weather all over the country. hello, everybody. great to have you with us. we'd like to welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm john vause. another hour of "newsroom l.a." begins right now. a major blow against isis. iraqi forces say they've captured ramadi. isis had controlled the strategic city west of baghdad for almost seven month. it was a scene of brutal fighting in the last few days. now iraqi troops have raised their flag in the city center and declared victory. some pockets of isis fighters remain. a spokesman says it may take up to three weeks to push them out. as troops celebrate their first major win against isis, the country's leaders are voiing to fight on to other -- vowing to fight on to other terrorist strongholds. now a look at the capture of ramadi. >> reporter: declaring victory in ramadi. video broadcast by iraqi state tv shows soldiers raising their national flag over the city's government compound, celebrating the iraqi military's first major victory over the so-called islamic state. >> translator: ramadi has been freed, and the armed forces and group -- all the government in al anbar. >> reporter: in may, isis fighters seized ramadi capital of the mainly sunni anbar province after government troops fled in defeat. the u.s.-trained iraqi forces returned, launching an assaults on the city last week and making their final push to seize the centrally located government. it showed iraqi troops advancing to ramadi. [ explosion ] even amid the celebrations, iraqi official say government troops still need to clear some remaining pockets of insurgents in the city. once secured, ramadi will be handed over to local police, and a sunni tribal force, a measure aimed at winning support from the local community. after that, iraq's government has said their next target will be the northern city of mosul with an estimated prewar population of two million, mosul is by far the largest population center controlled by isis in either iraq or syria. and a crucial source of tax revenue. if it's retaken, it will take down much of the infrastructure underpinning isis' plan to state here. cnn, baghdad. we spoke with former navy s.e.a.l. kevin lace about what's next in iraq. he said while ramadi is no longer under isis control, there's still a tough fight ahead. >> it's a slow road. the winning of tikrit took several months to get the power of water and supply and -- sticking a flag in the city of ramadi doesn't mean it's won. it's an uphill fight but a positive fight. we spent $25 billion propping up the iraqi military and promptly left in 2011. having a couple thousand ground troops as advisers and having iraqis win the fight against isis is a symbolic victory and positive sign. it's cautious optimism. as we know, isis wants a caliphate. they want to own territory and to lure in american forces on the ground to fight us in the open. what we have is boots on the ground. it takes the iraqi military to win the fight on the battlefield and show they're not deterred and will press on. and with the help of advisers and air power, we can help sometimy that supply line that leads -- stymie that supply line that leads to syria syria and the front that isis partially controls. >> and the retaking of ramadi is a rare bright spot for the obama administration in the battle against isis. ads jim acosta reports, many americans are losing faith in the president's strategy. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: with the u.s.-led coalition at war with isis half a world away, president obama just got a fresh reminder during his vacation in hawaii, americans are worried the terrorists are winning the fight. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: a new cnn/orc poll shows americans have lost confidence in the obama administration's ability to defeat isis and prevent another terrorist attack. 64% disapprove of the president's handling of isis. and 51% of americans believe the government can protect against a terrorist attack. down sharply from 65% in 2010. that deep pessimism has frustrated the president. >> i'm confident that we're going to prevail. >> reporter: mr. obama wants americans to feel that confidence. cnn has learned the white house has asked top officials across the government to do a better job of selling the isis plan. >> i think that there is a legitimate criticism of what i've been doing and our administration has been doing in the sense that we haven't on a regular basis described all the work that we've done doing for more than a year to defeat isil. >> reporter: now the president may be able to point to progress after iraqi security forces combined with the support of coalition air strikes apparently defeated in -- succeeded in driving isis out of ramadi. even republicans in congress are optimistic. >> it seems like a victory. we should proceed with caution. if we hold ramadi, this is a good thing for our strategy in that region and against isis. >> reporter: it could be a vindication of the president's cautious approach of relying on iraqi and syrian forces instead of u.s. troops on the ground. the latest cnn/orc poll shows americans are split down the moitsds whether to send ground troops to fight isis. which explains in part why the the special resistant to such a move, as he said last month defending his isis strategy. >> why can't we take out these bastards? >> jim, i just spent the last three questions answering that very question. we can retake territory, and as long as we leave troops there, we can hold it. but that does not solve the underlying problem of eliminating the dynamic that are producing these kinds of violent extremist groups. >> president barack obama finishing that report. we have another set of numbers from our recent poll taken shortly before the iraqi success in ramadi. shows most americans are not at all pleased with the u.s. fight against terrorism. 74% said they are either not very satisfied or not at all satisfied. u.s. republican presidential candidate donald trump on the campaign trail in new hampshire. he's sticking to that formula that's managed to get him so far, that is going after all of those around him. more than usual, his main target recently has been democratic rival hillary clinton. they are the current front-runners of their respective parties which could make for an interesting showdown next year. trump downplayed the idea that mrs. clinton would have the upper hand in any match-up. >> you know, she says, oh, we'd love to run against trump. it's her worst nightmare. these people -- [ cheers ] >> these people back here said, well, the hillary campaign said they'd love to run. yeah, she wants to run against me instead of somebody else. i guarantee -- and i tried to explain to chuck todd and all these guys, you don't understand, chuck, when they say they want to run against trump, that means they don't want to run against trump. they don't understand. >> and donald trump is going beyond hillary clinton, attacking former president bill clinton. hillary recently announced that her husband, bill, would be joining her on the campaign trail. randi kaye looks at the pros and cons of bringing him on board. i have no confidence in my political field anymore. i'm been out of it a long time. >> reporter: former president bill clinton downplaying his skills as a surrogate for his wife, hillary. >> he was cool, calm, collected. he was kind of calibrating himself, and then he'd drop a bomb. i don't know anything about politics, i'm out of it, and then he'd drop another bomb. that kind of bit will be a tremendous asset to hillary clinton. >> reporter: cnn political commentary van jones considers bill clinton one of the greatest defenders of his wife. listen to him with fareed zakaria. >> i have never seen so much expended on so little. the other party doesn't want to run against her. if they do, they'd like her as mangled up as possible. >> he is a beloved figure, period. he's one of the most popular politicians or political leaders on planet earth. you don't put somebody like that in a jar and hope they don't say anything. will he make mistakes? sure. >> reporter: like mistakes he made in 2008? early that year, he said this about then senator barack obama's campaign -- >> give me a break. this whole thing is the biggest fairytale i've ever seen. >> reporter: only to explain later he was talking about obama's stance on the iraq war. not obama's quest to become the first black president. bill clinton also compared obama's south carolina primary win to jesse jackson's successful campaign in the state years earlier. a comment that angered black voters who thought he was marginalizing obama. clinton tried to explain. >> i think that they played the race card on me. this was used out of context and twisted for political purposes by the bicycle campaign to try to breed resent -- the obama campaign to try to breed resentment elsewhere. >> reporter: then when he thought his mike was off, went on to say this -- [ inaudible ] >> reporter: when a reporter asked about the comments. the former president was the one pointing fingers. >> you always follow me around and play these little games. i'm not going to play your games today. you have mischaracterized it to get another cheap story to divert the american people. >> the reality is, the black communities forgave him 20 seconds later as soon as obama won. since then, he hasn't made those mistakes. >> reporter: a march cnn/orc poll shows bill clinton with 65% favorability. why not put him on the trail sooner? supporters say he takes all the oxygen out of a room and could steal the spotlight from his wife. he tends to connect better with voters than she does, and is tremendously popular. all advantages that even outweigh the possibility of him going rogue. cnn, new york. >> senior reporter for media and politics joins us for more on bill clinton, hillary clinton, bill bill-ary, donald trump. he remains popular with democrats and american voters in general. does that translate into support directly for hillary clinton? it didn't get her over the line last time in 2008 when she was up against barack obama. >> no, it didn't work in 2008 because bill clinton was playing the attack dog for the clinton campaign. and they were seen as running -- obama was running on hope and change. he was trying to elevate the conversation. the clintons were seen as bringing it down into the typical mud slinging we're used to in presidential campaign season. it's a different calculus now because all of the mudslinging is taking place on the republican side, and there's no mud to be slung on the democratic side. the stage is set for the clintons to take the high rode, especially in light of ever -- high road, especially in light of everything going on with the republicans and donald trump. >> with that mind n mind, are you saying that bill clinton is a better campaigner or more effective campaigner, especially because he's older, a bit more liked, he's this elder statesman? >> he's certainly an elder statesman. it would be foolish to underestimate his added value to the campaign despite what happened in 2008. look at the 2012 democratic convention. by most account, he saved that convention for barack obama with a really sort of award-winning speech of that -- right, of the four-day period. you know, look, he's been through the ringer many times. the question is, can he work within the framework that the clinton campaign wants? can he be effective and not go too far out on his own, because he's willing to say whatever he want to say, whatever comes to mind. he's that sort of politician. if he can work within his wife's framework, he can be an effective campaigner. >> high-risk calculation in ways. you talked about he's been through the ringer, and donald trump essentially saying, bill clinton's history of infidelity is fair game. is this something that could end up hurting bill clinton but helping hillary clinton indirectly? >> yes. it's complicated and would be -- use want to be careful in terms of trying to point out how this works out. it's never going to have dirty laundry aired. special especially by someone like donald trump who has no limits to what he'll say and has an enormous following and influences media coverage. by the same token, it could help hillary clinton. by going after the issue where she was the victim of her husband's infidelity, you could reinforce the image of her as this strong individual, strong wife who stood by her husband in a hard time and persevered and went on to have this truly historic sort of political career. >> in the polls, donald trump doing well with republican women. doing awful with women voters in general. i mean, this is yet another of those example that we always talk about with trump that, you know, he's doing whatever he has to to win the nomination, but that could lose him the election. >> right. this is the important point. by going after the clintons, donald trump is saying i've moved on -- it's 2015, moving into 2016, we're turning over a new leaf. i'm entering the general election, never mind that no votes have been cast, no caucus vs. been held. -- no caucuses have been held. this is red meat for the conservative base. he's very much running a primary campaign. and you look at the numbers of women who oppose him, and the attack lines that work for conservatives could work for a general election audience. >> okay. we'll wait and see. the universe, the donald trump universe doesn't play by regular rules. >> quite true. >> good to speak with you. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. still to come, a grand jury in ohio decides ton file charges in the deadly -- not to file charges in the deadly shooting of a 12-year-old boy. the family of tom issue rice has harsh words for the prosecutor ahead. police track down the so-called affluenza teen weeks after they say he skipped out on a probation after. we'll tell you where they caught him. also, the family of a young man shot dead by police in chicago, taking legal action against the city. we'll have those details next. we live in a pick and choose world. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? 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"credit karma. give yourself some credit." welcome back. we're in make where authorities have detained a texas teenager known as the affluenza teen, wanted in the united states for allegedly violating his probation. ethan couch and his mother were take postpone custody near the resort town of puerto vallarta. couch was sentenced two years ago to probation in a drunk driving crash which killed four people. his attorneys at the time argued couch suffered from what they named affluenza because his wealthy parents never taught him right from wrong. police say couch missed an appointment with his probation officer earlier this month. and along with his mother, disappeared. couch and his mother are expected to be turned over to u.s. marshals. i spoke last hour with civil rights attorney ariva martin and asked what sort of punishment could touching facing. >> there's also this video apparently of a teenager drinking that they say looks very much like ethan couch. we know one of the terms, important terms. his probation that -- was that he not drink, do drugs. if that video can be awe then dated, he -- authenticated, he faces up to ten years in jail. for the victims' families, they say this is not enough time. >> this does not affect the sentence in any way. prosecutors wanted at least 20 years in jail. >> yes. >> what happened in the last couple of days and the video with the beer pong doesn't affect the judge's decision? >> not now because we haven't confirmed he's the teen in the video. once the investigation is completed, and it's determined that he's drinking and violated probation, he could face up to ten years in jail. the grand jury in ohio has decided not to indict two police officers involved in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy. an officer in training shot tamir rice last year as he held a pellet gun outside a recreation scene in cleveland. police were dispatched without knowing the boy was a juvenile and the gun may have been fake. the death was called a tragedy, but it's not clear if the officers acted criminally. >> on close examination especially of what is perhaps the most critical piece of evidence, a very recent enhancement of surveillance video by an expert laboratory often relied upon by the fbi, 'tis indisputable that -- that is isdisputable, that tamir raised the gun as the officers approached. >> and the prosecutor described the shooting as a perfect storm of human error, but not a crime. what is reaction in cleveland both from the family of rice, as well as the activists who wanted the police officer charged? >> reporter: the family couldn't disagree more. they see it as a crime. they see it as, in fact, using the words of the mother of tamir rice, as the murder of her son. she believes that there was a great injustice done. she also made it quite clear that she believe the case was mishandled -- beyond mishandled by the prosecutor. she says that it was sabotaged, implying there was deliberate effort on the part of the cuyahoga county prosecutor to prevent any charges being filed against these officers, the grand jury agreed with the prosecutor, that's not to say that they agreed in any way with what the mother is depicting as to how things happened. we are at the gazebo, this is the recreational center where this all tragically happened in november of 2014. publicly, there have been small protests, not large numbers as yet. but this caught a lot of people surprised. not because they knew eventually there would be a ruling but the week between christmas and new year's is not a time that many thought would come down. perhaps that could be part of the planning, if there was any planning. >> also the family call figure there are to be demonstrations to keep them peaceful and lawful may also be contributing to a quieter reaction or more muted reaction on the streets of cleveland. one interesting point that the prosecutor made, and for me, it involved the radio dispatcher saying the dispatcher was partly to blame for not passing on vital information to the officers. exactly what was that information? and will there be repercussions for that. >> reporter: right, the person who called in initially said that he believed that the person with the gun, in other words tamir rice, was a juvenile. and that the gun -- he didn't believe -- was real. that critical information was never apparently passed along to the responding officers. instead, they were given what was called a priority one call. doesn't get any higher than that when it comes to alarm. being told that there was a person with a gun at a recreation center threatening people. that's why police say they responded as they d. there are actually two radio operators, you could say. one person takes the call, types it up, and transmits it, extends to the radio dispatcher who then transmits that information to the officers responding. somewhere in between, there was a breakdown. and that's what the prosecutor is pointing to as a substantial error in this whole case. there hasn't been an investigation of that as yet because the city of waiting until the grand jury ruled or didn't rule in this case. so now that investigation -- >> and what is next for the two police officers who are at the center of the shooting? >> reporter: well, you can imagine -- according to their attorney, who i've spoken to, they are relieved. nobody is celebrating. and it should never be construed that way. the police union put out a note to say there is no celebration. this is a horrific tragedy. but you could bet for them it must be a relief. there's still a civil suit that will be filed, has been, handled by the city. these men have to live with what happened. some saying they should leave the force. we have no idea where it will progress regarding that. it's too early, john. >> martin, always good to speak with you. thank you, we appreciate it. >> thank you, john. we turn to chicago where a father is suing the city after his son was killed by police over the weekend. an officer shot 18-year-old quintania lagrier. they said he held a metal bat. bettie jones, a neighbor, was accidentally shot and killed according to the wrongful death suit. the officer shot without justification and used excessive force. the incident is putting increasing pressure on mayor rahm emanuel, who has ordered changes in how the police are trained. the mayor is also cutting his family vacation short to return to chicago. still to come, a big storm system bringing severe weather across the united states. up next, the sad return of many to what is left of their homes destroyed by tornadoes. details. that's why i run on quickbooks. i use the payments app to accept credit cards... ...and everything autosyncs. those sales prove my sustainable designs are better for the environment and my bottom line. that's how i own it. 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[ chuckles ] wait. uh-oh. welcome back, everybody. you're watching "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. 10:30 on a monday night. i'm john vause, time to check the headlines. an iraqi general says it will take a few more weeks to clear out remaining pockets of isis sfierts from the city of ramadi. iraq's military declared the city liberated on monday after a number of days of intense fighting. the government's leaders are vowing to retake other cities from isis. mexican authorities have detained the so-called affluenza teen, ethan couch, and his mother near portia vart a. they disappeared this month after couch missed an appointment with his probation officer. he was sentenced to probation for a 2013 drunk driving crash that killed four people. the family of an ohio boy shot and killed by police say the prosecutors deliberately sabotaged the case. a grand jury decided ton downtown the officers involved in the death of tamir rice last year. police say video shows rice reaching for a pellet gun when he was shot by an officer in training. at least 43 people have been killed by swier weather across the united states in the past week. it's not over yet. texas is one of the hardest hit states, and now after the deadly tornadoes, there's snow. here's cnn with more. >> reporter: the path of destruction carved by this deadly december tornado -- >> oh, it's massive. oh! my gosh, it's big. >> reporter: is growing clearer by the day. the twister, part of a massive storm system that swept through texas and parts of the midwest over the weekend killing 24 people. in texas, 11 people died, eight of them in dallas county. on monday, less than 48 hours after the storm, survivors were allowed back in to some of the hardest hit areas for the first time. carol barnes of among them. her house, barely standing. several cars piled up in front of the home. >> i think i'm in shock. i don't believe that happened. >> reporter: barnes and her family rode out the storm inside a bathroom. her husband and her children held on as the twister tore through the home. >> the walls shattered shaking, and the house was rocking. we kept hearing notices, hold on, hold on. and then it was nothing. >> reporter: they survived but lost everything in the storm. so did david ruiz and his family. >> you don't know what's coming next. you don't know how to recover yet. >> reporter: the family's two cats are still missing, the wintry mix that followed the tornado left little hope of salvaging much of what was left behind. but ruiz says he's glad they have insurance. grateful they have the supportive family and friends, and most of all, thankful his wife and two children survived. >> thankfully, a lot of families -- they've spent a lot of money so that we could recover, and we're able to eat and, you know, stay somewhere warm with a friend. >> reporter: in illinois and missouri, more than a dozen people died after driving on to flooded roads. the victims include four foreign soldiers who were temporarily stationed at ft. leonard wood for training. people bracing for what could be record flooding in the coming days. officials here in dallas county have released the names of the eight people who lost their lives here. the youngest was just a year ago. the oldest was 77. cnn, garland, texas. okay, more what the weather holds in the coming days, the coming weeks. meteorologist pedram jevaheri. this is crazy weather. we've been saying there's a lot left in the system. >> reporter: i think so. the flooding aspect, too, is what's concerning. people get caught up in tornadoes and tornado fatalities, which we've had a large number of in recent days. flooding on a given year on average takes more lives in the united states than does tornadoes. take a look at this. over 400 related reports of flooding as far as river gauges reporting flooding. some 300 more near flood stage across the midwestern and southern united states and, of course, roughly 70 tornadoes spawned in a seven-day period that have caused substantial damage across the region. typically you see 24 for the entire month of december. and now we're talking almost 70 in seven days. across parts of the u.k., also seeing significant flooding taking place. we have officials in place, rescue operations, water rescues, as well. this pattern continues with additional rainfall. and unfortunately, a lot of the regions in the u.k. dealing with flooding here on the western periphery. additional rainfall in the forecast across that region and then you work toward south america. some of the worst floods in five decades education place. i want to lay down how it globally connects. when we talk about an el nino pattern, we're talking about water temperatures across the pacific warming up. as they do, they display the jet stream with a steering current in the atmosphere. you work toward the western united states. and now we're seeing an area like portland and seattle that have been rainfall all 28 days in the month of december. in the southeast, of course, tornadoes, six context sieve days of tornadoes occurring in the month of december. last time that happened was an el nino year in 1982. seeing significant flooding across portions of the u.k., working toward another, seeing massive floods taking place across the region, as well. globally speaking, this is something that typically has somewhere on the order of 30 to $45 billion of damage, at least occurred the last go round in 1997 into 1998 for the major el nino year. this is something we're watching carefully in the coming couple of month. >> yeah. the bigger picture certainly is that there's crazy weather still to come. >> thanks. back to the main story. a major blow to isis. iraqi forces say they have won back control of ramadi. the capture of the strategic city has reinvigorated morale for iraqi forces. we have more on what this means for the overall fight against isis. >> reporter: claiming an epic victory, the iraqi army announced the liberation of ramadi, 60 miles west of baghdad. drone surveillance footage shows the moment iraqi troops raised the national flag over the government complex. >> translator: the city of ramadi has been liberated. >> reporter: u.s.-led coalition air strikes aided newly trained iraqi forces who called in isis targets. today, the coalition, though not ready to declare the city liberated, called the success a "proud moment for iraq." >> the iraqi forces is made great progress over the last week or so. >> reporter: the celebrations could be short-lived. pockets of resistance remain along with hundreds of explosives planted by the terror group. still unclear whether iraqi forces can hold the city and stop shia militias who were not included in the operation from reigniting sectarian tensions. >> needs to be an inclusive governmental approach. iraqi forces need to show that they're committed to the process. >> reporter: retaking the capital and largest population center of the predominantly sunni anbar province, a strategic and symbolic victory for the iraqi army. the city's fall to isis in may, an embarrassing defeat that had defense secretary carter questioning their resolve. >> they failed to fight. they withdrew from the site. >> reporter: week ago, carter urged iraq's prime minister to move north toward mosul. iraq's second-largest city where isis leader abu bakr al baghdadh proclaimed the caliphate more than a year ago. >> we do want to help you build on your success in ramadi, to move toward mosul. >> reporter: after a recent string of defeats, north of baghdad, and sinjar mountain, al baghdadi warned in a new recording that despite the setbacks, isis remains strong, promising an epic final battle. [ explosions ] >> reporter: on monday, iraqi prime minister al badhi tweeted with confidence that the iraqis are going to liberate mosul. a spokesman for the coalition says first the iraqis have a lot of work to do to retake and secure all of anbar province including fallujah. the coalition also needs to finish training the remainder of the iraqi army and resupply forces after these last few months of fighting. mosul is considered the big prize in freeing iraq from isis, and the coalition says it is determined to help the iraqis make that happen. cnn, washington. we have the founder of the counter terror school that specializes in tactical training for law enforcement as well as special operations forces. thanks for being with us. if this is the model for retaking mosul, training up the sunni forces and have the iraqi military do the heavy lifting on the ground, it's going to be a long time before they actually are in any position to take mosul. it's seven month before they're in position to take ramadi. smofl bigger, there's a -- mosul is bigger, there's more territory between ramadi and mosul. >> yeah. just the training itself requires thousands of rounds of ammunition, multiple, dozens, hundreds of instructors whoa i have noticed snippets of. the iraqis are not on their own in this operation. they are heavily backed by u.s. special operations from what i can see by looking at the footage which is -- goes against what we've been told as far as putting boots on the ground. that is a reality. having said that, at the end of the day, this is a monster project which is going to not see immediate results. the reason why is because isis will not fight face to face. terror groups don't do that. so i don't know how much resistance we were looking at here. i wouldn't be surprised given the fact this is guerrilla warfare, that these guys ended up dispersing quickly and blending to the crowd. >> this is not your traditional warfare where you take hill 91, declare a victory, and move on. it is an important victory for reasons especially isis in iraq. but the terror group is still making territorial gains in places like afghanistan. it's holding ground in syria and libya. so we have to keep this in context. >> we do. i don't think this is any real significant victory. i think it's important as far as the term context. what does that mean? this terror group immediately disper dispersed. i think there may have been contact. i think thanded up disappearing. what they're capable of doing as an international terror organization is continue to use that propaganda and continue to recruit and incite by building up their fighting forces. so i think afghanistan, pakistan, like you said, we are nowhere close to putting isis into any kind of done group. >> there are audio recordings rallying troops and followers. what does isis do now? >> isis will continue to get on youtube, they'll continue to get on twitter. they'll continue to use social media in order to -- in order to continue to just propagate and show the world that they are strong. >> how do they show the world? i guess in terms of attacks, what do they hit? >> well, exactly what they've been doing which is ton incite and propagate and use that as their primary weapon which is we can tap into a vast number of potentially millions of -- of wannabes who ought to be or want to become or are affiliated with isis, tapping into that 21-year-old suffering from low self-esteem, often who knows what country, and then get him to want to pick up a rifle or get a weapon, and open fire into a crowd. we saw this in san bernardino. they're treating that as terrorism. isis continues to do what they do, which is the main weapon is let's tap into any potential sympathizer that we can recruit to create acts of terror. >> in other words quickly, it's impossible to know exactly whether they're going to hit which target, what's next, but you expect something? >> that is theuality -- unfortunately, that is the biggest problem with terrorism. when you're dealing with guerrilla warfare, you're dealing with an enemy -- this is worse because these guys can use the internet and continue to incite, recruit, attack as they feel it's appropriate. retreat back into the crowd and disappear into the civilian population, and take their time. and that's the problem when you're fighting this type of war, you can't -- the intelligence has to be so spot on that taking large pieces of ramadi means nothing in the big picture of the macro picture of counterterrorism. let's see what happens in mosul. i wouldn't be surprised if isis disappeared after we went after mosul, as well. >> thanks. coming up on "cnn newsroom," how pollution in china's cap stall making a profit with some entrepreneurs. (singing alougetting to know you. getting to know all about you... getting to like you. getting to hope you like me... is someone getting to know your credit? not without your say so. credit lock lets you lock and unlock your transunion credit report with the swipe of a finger. getting to know you. getting to know all about you... get one-touch credit lock, plus your score and report at transunion.com get in the know. in beijing, a city that is quite literally choking on its own air. residents of beijing, shanghai and another region of china are selling face masks. cashing in on pollution with everything from stylish masks to canned fresh air. here's more. >> reporter: there's no doubt that living in pollution like we see in beijing can be harmful to your health. and frankly, the longer the smog lingers, it can get you a bit down. but people always say focus on the positive. and there are positives here. specifically positive profits. there's an entire industry focused on helping people deal with plougz. air purifiers for apartments or homes are some of the first things that ex-pats buy when they arrive in beijing. the chinese public is starting to buy them, too. more aware than ever of the harmful effect s of pollution. if you want to know how effective the purifiers are, there's a product for this, too. the device known as the laser egg is a product built here in beijing that will tell you how good or bad the air quality is inside your home. after the first red alert for pollution earlier this month, the company says it sold out its entire supply in under a day. then, this masks. as ubiquitous on the streets as cars and scooters. they are becoming more and more popular here. never more visible than what the air quality is like it is right now. disposable masks like this one here have been prevalent for some time. masks designed for longer term use are grabbing more and more market share. we recently spoke with one young british entrepreneur who started his own company here in the last few months. and business is good. >> since september we've had about 40% monthly growth since we started. it's been quick. and with the regular issue in beijing in december this year, that focused a lot of attention on the issue and bumped up in sales. we're out of stoke at the moment. >> reporter: this pollution isn't going anywhere any time soon. you would imagine there's a lot of room for growth in this industry. then there's this -- an aerosol can filled with air from the canadian rocky mountains. a company there just started selling this here in china and says that so far they've sold hundreds of bottles. you take a breath of the fresh air, it's a little awkward. but it is definitely fresh. and at $30 a can, apparently you can put a price on fresh air. matt rivers, cnn, beijing. well, still to come on cnn, indy pop foster the people and a japanese teenager teaming up and taking a stand against bullying. do you know the secret to a happy home in these modern times? it's a housewife who's in control of the finances. actually, any wife, husband, or human person can use progressive's name your price tool to take control of their budget. and while the men do the hard work of making money, she can get all the car insurance options her little heart desires. or the women might do the hard work of making money. 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territory. why a grand jury didn't indict a police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old tamir rice. and more tough sledding to come. the storm system that's triggered tornadoes, floods and blizzards isn't done yet. we'll show you who's getting hit with what, next. >> hello and welcome the to our viewer here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church, and this is "cnn newsroom." and we begin in iraq where the country's army is celebrating what it calls the liberation of ramadi from isis. after days of brutal house to house fighting, iraqi forces had mostly retaken the city. there are still pockets of isis fighters throughout ramadi, and a spokesperson says it will take time to root them out. they have new confidence in the country's leadiersleaders. alise lev it has the details. >> reporter: claiming a, quote, epic victory, the iraqi army announced the liberation of ramadi, 60 miles west of baghdad. drone footage shows the moment the iraqis raised the flag over the government complex. >> translator: the city of ramadi has been liberated. >> reporter: u.s. led coalition strikes called in isis targets. today the coalition, though not ready to declare the city liberated, called the success a, quote, proud moment for iraq. >> the iraqi forces have made great progress. >> reporter: the celebrations could be short-lived. pockets of resistance remain along with hundreds of explosives planted by the terror group. also still unclear, whether iraqi forces can hold the city and stop shia militias who are not included in the operation from reigniting sectarian tensions. >> this needs to be an inclusive government taal approach. >> reporter: retaking the capital of the sunni anbar province, a symbolic victory for the army. the city's fall to isis in may, an embarrassing defeat that had defense secretary carter questioning their resolve. but just weeks ago, acarter urgd them to move north toward mosul where the isis leader proclaimed the caliphate more than a year ago. >> we want to help you build on your success in ramadi. to move toward mosul. >> reporter: after a recent string of defeats north of baghdad and sinjar mountain, baghdadi warned in a new audio recording that despite the setbacks, isis remains strong. promising an epic final battle. on monday, the iraqi prime minister tweeted with what he called complete confidence that the iraqis are now going to liberate mosul. but a spokesman for the coalition says first the iraqis have a lot of work to do to retake and secure all of anbar province, including fallujah. the coalition also needs to finish training the remainder of the iraqi army. but mosul is considered the big prize in freeing iraq from isis, and the coalition says it's determined to help the iraqis make that happen. cnn, washington. >> we turn now to chicago where a father is suing the city after his son was killed by police over the weekend. an officer shot 19-year-old quintonio legrier while responding to a domestic disturbance call on monday. police said he had a metal bat. bettie jones, a neighbor was accidentally shot and killed. according to wrongful death suit, the officer shot without justification and used excessive force. they're putting pressure on the mayor. the mayor is cutting his family vacation short to return to chicago. a grand jury in ohio has decided not to indict two police officers involved in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy. the family of tamir rice says he was murdered, and they're accusing the prosecutor of sabotage. we get more now. >> reporter: the prosecutor announcing the grand jury's ruling on the shooting death of 12-year-old, tamir rice. >> the grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the police officers. >> reporter: the prosecutor said newly enhanced video made it induce putable that rice was drawing a gun from his waistband. >> it is likely that tamir whose size made him much older and who had been warned that his pellet gun may get him in trouble either intended to hand it over to the officers or show them it wasn't a real gun. but there was no way for the officers to know that. >> reporter: and tragically, we never had the chance. rice was shot just two seconds after the officers arrived on scene. that was 13 months ago. rice was walking back and forth in a cleveland park, playing with a toy gun. a witness called 9-1-1. >> a guy is pulling it -- it's probably fake, but you know what? it's scaring the [ bleep ] out of me. >> reporter: the witness added the victim was probably a juvenile. dispatchers neglected to relay those important details to the officers. >> a moment later, he drew the replica gun and the officer fired. he had reasonable belief given the high stress circumstances in his police training. >> translator: shortly after the press concerns, the rice family issued a statement slamming the prosecutor. tamir's family is saddened and disappointed by this outcome but not surprised. it has been clear for months now that the prosecutor was abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment. cnn, new york. cnn legal analyst, sonny hos kin joins me now. she's also a former prosecutor. the grand jury decided not to indict the officers who shot and killed tamir rice. what's your view of that legal decision? >> i was shocked, especially as a former prosecutor. i know that a prosecutor controls the grand jury. i know that a prosecutor controls the flow of information to the grand jury, the prosecutor decides which evidence is presented to the grand jury. and quite frankly, in the united states if a prosecutor wants an indictment, they get an indictment. and so in this case, i think it's pretty clear that this prosecutor was not seeking an indictment. he indicated just today during a press conference that he recommended that no charges be filed. and he even questioned this family's motives. he's suggested that tamir rice's mother who i've interviewed, had some sort of economic motive, and we're talking about the death of her 12-year-old son. and so i think that i am surprised that this prosecutor proceeded this way, given what we now know about one of the two officers that was on the scene that day. the officer that shot the 12-year-old had been let go from one police department because they felt that he was immature emotionally. they felt that he had a dangerous loss of composure during firearms training, and one super visor indicated in writing that he did not believe that any training would be able to change or correct the officer's deficiencies. yet the cleveland police department hired this officer without looking at his personnel file, and the suggestion somehow that the officer acted reasonably given the fact that he shot tamir rice just two seconds after leaving his police car is just astounding. it's ludicrous, and i think there's been a real miscarriage of justice. >> and the rice family released a statement after the decision was announced. i want to read a portion of that statement, if i can. it reads, after this investigation, we no longer trust the local criminal justice system which we view as corrupt. the prosecutor deliberately sabotaged the case. never advocating for my son and acting, instead, like the police officer's defense attorney. they are very strong words, and from what you have assessed from this, talk to us about whether you would go as far as using the word sabotage? >> well, again, a prosecutor controls the grand jury process. and the standard, the legal standard for bringing a case for filing charges is very, very low. it's the lowest legal criminal standard that we have. it's probable cause. and so the fact that a seasoned prosecutor could not bear that burden of probable cause in front of a grand jury wreaks, in my view. >> the prosecutor said it was not clear the police officers acted criminally. but some analysts who have watched the video, and you mentioned it yourself, they saw the police officers arrive, and within just a matter of seconds, they shot and killed tamir rice, and they acted very quickly, and that is a lot of people are questioning those circumstances. and the fact that you mentioned one of those officers having some very difficult problems in his background. so what went wrong here as far as ensuring that justice was the outcome? >> i think what went wrong is that in cases involving police officers, there should be a special prosecutor, an independent prosecutor. it really just makes no sense to have a prosecutor's office that deals with these police officers day in and day out. they work together. prosecutors and police officers build cases together. you should not have that office investigate, really, what is one of their own. this is a case, and i believe in all police excessive force cases, screened out for a special prosecutor. had there been an independent prosecutor, i'm not suggesting that the result may have been different. perhaps the result would have been the same, but we would not be in a position where grieving families are questioning the very process, and that, i think, is where this was wrong. from its inception. >> sonny, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> mexican authorities say they have detained a texas teenager known as the affluenza teen wanted in the u.s. for allegedly violating his probation. ethan couch and his mother were taken into custody near the resort town of poert vie ar. his attorneys argued he suffered from affluenza because his wealthy parents never taught him right from wrong. police say couch missed an appointment with a probation officer and he and his mother disappeared. they are expected to be turned over to u.s. marshals. a broad and powerful storm system has killed at least 43 people in the u.s. in the past week. and it's not over yet. people in texas trying to recover from deadly tornadoes are now getting hit with snow. blizzard conditions are in effect in parts of new mexico and oklahoma as well. the national weather service says flooding for many areas could linger well into the week. cnn spoke to several survivors of the texas tornadoes. >> reporter: the path of destruction carved by this deadly december tornado. >> it's massive. oh, my gosh. it's big. >> reporter: it's growing clearer by the day. the twister part of a massive storm system that swept through texas and parts of the midwest killing 24 people. in texas, 11 people died, eight of them in dallas county. on monday, less than 48 hours after the storm, survivors were allowed back into some of the hardest-hit areas for the first time. carol barns was among them. her house barely standing. several cars piled up in front of the home. >> i think i'm in shock right now. i don't believe it happened. >> reporter: she and her family road out the storm inside a bathroom. they held on as the twister tore through the home. >> the walls were shaking and the house was wronging. we kept hearing noises. it was hold on. and this wen it was nothing. >> reporter: they survived but lost everything in the storm. so did david and his family. >> you don't know what's coming next. you don't know how to recover yet. >> reporter: the family's cats are missing. the wintry mix left little hope of salvaging much left behind, but he says he's glad they have insurance, grateful they have the support of family and friends, and most of all, thankful his wife and two children survived. >> thankfully, a lot of family has sent a lot of money, so that we can recover, and we're able to eat and stay somewhere warm with a friend. >> reporter: in illinois and missouri, more than a dozen people died after driving onto flooded roads. the victims include four foreign soldiers who were temporarily stationed at ford leonard wood for training. now people in both states are bracing for what could be record flooding in the coming days. >> reporter: officials in dallas county have released the names of the eight people who cloths hair lives here. the youngest was a year old. the oldest was 77. cnn, garland, texas. and we will have more on the severe weather gripping the u.s. later this hour. plus parts of northern england dealing with major flooding are about to get even more rain. details on a new storm system that's rolling in. plus more harsh words fly between donald trump and the clintons. what the possible 2016 opponents are saying now. and peyton manning calls a new report linking him to performance enhancing drugs complete trash. stay tuned to "cnn newsroom." (singing alougetting to know you. getting to know all about you... getting to like you. getting to hope you like me... is someone getting to know your credit? not without your say so. credit lock lets you lock and unlock your transunion credit report with the swipe of a finger. getting to know you. getting to know all about you... get one-touch credit lock, plus your score and report at transunion.com. get in the know. newsroom." iran has shipped more than 25,000 pounds of low enriched uranium to russia. the u.s. calls it a significant step in iran honoring the nuclear deal reached with major world powers earlier this year. under the deal iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from a number of economic sanctions. tehran committed to making the enriched uranium to below 660 pounds. u.s. presidential candidate, donald trump, has been a vocal critic of his opponent since the campaign began. but recently it seems like he's looking past his republican rivals, straight to his counter part across the aisle, hillary clinton. dana bash breaks down the latest round of trump versus clinton. >> she's playing the woman's card. >> reporter: the way donald trump sees it, to be a winner, you have to act like one. so he's acting like he's won the nomination, attacking hillary clinton. >> i've had so many women come up and say you have to keep her out. she's terrible. >> reporter: trump's anti-hillary rants have been nonstop since before christmas when she returned fire. >> it's not the first time he's demonstrated a pension for sexism. >> reporter: now trump is bringing bill clinton in it, the latest on iowa radio this morning. >> with all of her past and past dealings, and she's been involved in it with her husband. for her to be discussing that is out of bounds, and i've let them know that. >> reporter: trump is doing well with republican women. in a poll, a whopping 69% of gop voters said they have a favorab favorable view of trump. it's the opposite when it's all women. the only republican woman running for president is trying to capitalize on the war of words. >> look, how about an honest woman, a competent and qualified woman? but i'm never going to ask for people's support because i'm a woman. i'll ask for it because i'm the most qualified candidate to beat hillary clinton. >> reporter: as for trump, his campaign insists he'll win by bringing new voters into the gop fold which is why he's lashing out at virginia republicans for a new requirement, to participate in the gop primary, they must sign a party loyalty pledge. one of his tweets said straighten out the republican party of virginia before it's too late. stupid, rnc. meanwhile in new hampshire, the conservative leader unloaded on trump today for bathroom humor and verbal bullying. comparing trump to bif in back to the future. the editorial saying we trust virginia republicans will send bif back to anywhere but the d.c. in the united states. >> trump has never shown himself to be one to back down from a fight. he promptly struck back at the paper in true trump fashion. >> i just have to tell you, it's your paper. it's not a good paper. you know it's dying. i don't think it's going to be in business more than two years. if they endorse christie, that's fine. but you don't try to hurt somebody that's been helping and that has done a good job. you don't do that. you can have it, darling. that's all it's worth. piece a garbage. >> and to keep track of all the latest on the campaign trail, just visit cnn.com/politics. investigators in puerto rico are trying to figure out why a police officer shot and killed three of his colleagues. the shooting happened at a police head quarters on monday. officials say there was an argument shortly before the officer opened fire, but gave no details on a motive. the suspect is in custody. puerto rico's governor has declared a three will have day mourning period. an al jazeera reporter says she stands behind her story that peyton manning once used human growth hormones, but the nfl superstar is blasting the report. andy shuls has the details. >> reporter: peyton manning immediately came out and said this whole story is a complete joke and that he couldn't believe that something like this would be reported, especially after the source of the information said the claims were false. charlee sly is the man who is recanting his story. he was an intern at the anti-aging clinic that manning went to for treatment. in a documentary that aired sunday night on al jazeera america said manning used to get shipments of human growth hormone while he was recovering from neck surgery. he said the shipments would go to manning's wife, but according to the chin, sly was an unpaid intern and he was only there for three months in 2013 which is well after manning was treated after the clinic. now, in speaking with espn, manning called the allegations by sly in the report, complete garbage. >> i can't speak for any other athlete. i know how hard i've worked during any 18 years in the nfl. there are no shortcuts in the nfl. i've done it the long way and hard way. so insinuate anything otherwise is a joke. it's defamation. and it really ticks me off. >> sly recanted the entire story saying al jazeera should not even air the documentary. >> we'll take a short break here. but still to come, we're tracking severe weather in the u.s. and the uk. just as waters are beginning to recede in northern england, another storm system could bring more flooding. we'll have more on the relief efforts next. plus oil prices are forcing saudi arabia to reassess a growing budget deficit. we live in a pick and choose world. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? enter sleep number, and the lowest prices of the season. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store, find the lowest prices of the season. save $600 on the #1 rated i8 bed, plus no interest until january 2018. know better sleep with sleep number. a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and, of course, all around the world. i'm rosemary church. let's update you on the main stories we are watching this hour. iraq's prime minister says he expects to push isis out of his country in 2016. the statement comes after the liberation of the city of ramadi. a military spokesman said troops will spend another two to three weeks flushing the final pockets of isis fighters from the city. the family of an ohio boy shot and killed by police says the prosecutor deliberately sabotaged the case. a grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved in the death of tamir rice last year. police say video shows rice reaching for a pellet gun when an officer in training shot him. mexican authorities have detained the afun za teen and his mother. they disappeared earlier this month after police say couch missed an appointment with his probation officer. he was sentenced to probation for a 2013 drunk driving crash that killed four people. severe weather has killed at least 43 people in the u.s. a state of emergency in missouri. the national weather service says things could linger into the week for many areas. parts of west texas, new mexico, and oklahoma are suffering under blizzard conditions. so let's get the latest on these very rough conditions now from pedram javaheri. pedram, it is disturbing when you look at this extreme weather across the country. when is there some sort of sign that things will improve? >> i think in the next couple of days. we still have what is left of the storm system, and then we get beyond the severe pattern. you take a look at what has transpired in the last seven or so days. over 69 tornadoes reported across this part of the region. summer, about six consecutive days in the month of december. that's tieing an all time record from 1953 and also 1982, the last such events where there were six straight days in december with tornadoes, and these were both el niño seasons. and we know multiple et 4 reports. one tracked 149 miles on the ground. that's the longest december track of a tornado and the deadliest month for tornadoes in december in a 60 year period. you go toward the united kingdom, significant flooding and military personnel on the ground helping out with the evacuation procedures there. rainfall comes in over this region over the next couple of days, and then you shift toward the southern hemisphere to paragu paraguay. the flooding is similar to this. about a quarter of a million people displaced out of their homes from the rainfall. i want to give you a global perspective. weather patterns are tied globally. this has something to do with ill knoel nino. you look at what's transpired around the northwestern united states in the city of portland and seattle, in december, rainfall among the wettest month of december on record. the south eastern united states, severe storms. then, of course, out toward parts of the uk, the severe flooding. south america also reporting significant flooding. this is a great way to show you satellites of where has been impacted. this is the second longest river in south america. it goes toward santa fe into parts of argentina. the before and after shows you the water literally shrinking and expanding dramatically. this is what has displaced so many people over this portion of the world. this is the global pattern that we're going to be dealing with over the next several months, potentially into the middle portion of 2016, and the sea surface temperatures here around the equitorial pacific. when it comes to food change supply being impacted, the energy supply being impacted, that led to a tup of 30 to $45 billion of losses in a global scale. this weather pattern shift is a costly one as well. >> the ramifications are huge, aren't they in thanks, pedram. we'll chat soon. >> thank you. >> a band of heavy rain is causing a lot of misery in parts of the united kingdom. british troops are helping to evacuate hundreds of people from flooded areas in northern england and southern scotland. damon green reports. >> reporter: the river may be subsiding but many parts of the city of york are still flooded. the extent of the water visible from the air. and today they had to call on the raf to deliver the cables, the generators and the motors to get the pumps working once more. the river waters are several meters above where they would normally be, and the pumping station is surrounded by the river. it's only accessible by air, and the only way to bring in the heavy equipment need second down with a helicopter. it's not just the environment agency relying on the armed forces to bail them out. 500 soldiers are deployed in the north of england. today david cameron visited them preparing sandbags and also visited some of the flooded streets of the city, but not everyone was pleased to see him. [ chanting ] >> reporter: he's had to defend his government spending on flood defenses and deny growing accusations that when there's money to be spent, it's the north that loses out. >> we've spent -- we're planning to spend three times as much. but that's of no comfort, obviously, to the people who have been flooded here in york. >> reporter: hundreds of families have had to leave their homes. it's not certain when they'll be able to return. and with more heavy rain forecast for wednesday, they want to say the risk of more flooding is past. for those whose property has been damaged by the rising water, little consolation that water levels have started to fall. >> they're frustrated. they don't know any real information, why it had to happen. it affected all the houses on the road, and we were coping okay. the river wasn't really flooded, but when they lifted the flood barrier, everything came in. >> reporter: the people of york continue to enjoy the cold, the wet of the foods, but those who care about the city say things must change. >> the city ofwo york is a wonderful city. and this is a testing of our will. and i want to say having lived in york shire for ten year, they're resilient people. but work hard to make sure doesn't happen again. >> reporter: everyone wants to believe this will never happen again, but that is a promise that nobody is prepared to make. damon greene, itv news, in york. the falling price of oil, saudi arabia is preparing for a year of dramatic cutbacks after announcing the biggest deficit in its history. it revealed a budget 14% smaller than it was in 2015. the finances are getting slammed by low oil prices, oil rev view which makes up three quarters of the country's revenue has fallen 23%. that's led to a record $98 billion deficit to help get their fiscal house in order, they are considering bold measures. it plans to privatize some sectors and is cutting the large subsidy on domestic fuel, raising local prices by 50%. an emotional reunion in canada for a syrian family starting over after a heart breaking loss. the details still to come. >> plus, we will hear from a harvard professor who is combining his research on human trafficking with the power of media to help in the fight against modern day slavery. 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"credit karma. give yourself some credit." and civilians have been evacuated from besieged areas under a deal. about 300 shiite fighters and civilians were taken from two pro government towns. hundreds of hezbollah supporters cheered. and others were taken to southern turkey. the deal allows the government to retake control of the rebel held areas. the family of a syrian boy who drowned off the coast of turkey is starting a new life in canada. al alan kurdi died with his mother and brother as high tried to flee. the picture of his body brought attention to the desperation. paula newton reports on the reunion for the family. >> reporter: they were emotional scenes as they couldn't wait to get their hands around their family who came in from germany. they were coming from turkey originally, and obviously, still, really struggling to make a new life for themselves outside of syria. she wanted to bring them to canada long ago, and the back story was that there was too much paperwork. she told her brother it wasn't possible. she told her other brother it wasn't possible. she says that's why they went on the boat. and that's where her nephew died in september. she said she wants people to remember that picture. she wants it to stand for something, for a time when the world finally said enough is enough. and here is what she had to say at the vancouver airport. >> we almost lost hope, but thank you to the canadian government and to canadian people who make it happen, and to our family who -- the rest you know. >> reporter: her brother, a abdullah, he was invited to apply also for asylum in canada. he chose not to. he wants to figure his life out, and right now he's doing a lot of volunteer work for refugees. and what the kurdi family says is they want people to realize while they've had a happy reunion for today, what they want is for peace to come in te next few months to syria. >> central american governments have reached an agreement to allow thousands of cuban migrants to continue their journey to the united states. they have been stuck in costa rica. officials meeting decided to provide flights for the cubans to el salvador. then they'll go to mexico by bus. there's been an increase in migration since renewed diplomatic ties. ♪ now to a development from cnn's freedom project and the fight to end modern day slavery. a researcher who has traveled the world documenting cases of human trafficking is using the power of media to inspire change. we have an exclusive look on the set of trafficked. >> reporter: inside this secluded california ranch -- >> i'm not. if i just get that, we're fine. >> reporter: a film crew is busy shining lights on a crime traditionally hidden in the shadows. >> everything that's happening is drawn from something real that i documented. >> reporter: this is a noted harvard professor and human trafficking expert. he's spent the past 15 years documenting trafficking cases around the world. those cases provide the inspiration for this film. >> do you have any idea how many girls i see on the streets? >>. >> reporter: traffic stars ash lee judd as a social worker, and there's a corrupt congressman who operates a lucrative international trafficking operation. >> it's an important subject matter. i think to unencumber the hearts and minds of people, to allow them, even if they're involved in thinking about a subject matter, it's better than ignoring it. >> reporter: one of the film's most riveting performances belongs to charlie canter. she plays a young woman fooled by a fake modelling offer and then made to work in a brothel. she said she learned of this before landing the role. >> i did a paper about human trafficking my freshman year. i learned an abundance of things going on that nobody, at least in my environment, knew about. >> reporter: for her, reaching a broader audience while seeing the stript come to life calls up a range of emotions. >> there's a bit of pain as i think back to the true people, and i wonder what happened to them. but there's also some hope in that as i see this young girl saying what she said to me, i'm realizing she's got a voice, and her story is being told. >> reporter: with hopes that by telling it, the story will prevent others from going through it themselves. cnn, los angeles. these israeli supreme court has partially overturned a bribery conviction against the former prime minister. he was originally sentenced last march to six years behind bars, but will now serve just 18 months. he was prime minister as recently as 2009, and will be the first the -- the country's first former official to serve jail time. we continue after this very short break. back in a moment. whei just put in the namey, of my parents and my grandparents. and as soon as i did that, literally it was like you're getting 7, 9, 10, 15 leaves that are just popping up all over the place. yeah, it was amazing. just with a little bit of information, you can take leaps and bounds. it's an awesome experience. (singing alougetting to know you. getting to know all about you... getting to like you. getting to hope you like me... is someone getting to know your credit? not without your say so. credit lock lets you lock and unlock your transunion credit report with the swipe of a finger. getting to know you. getting to know all about you... get one-touch credit lock, plus your score and report at transunion.com get in the know. here's a question for you. who do americans admire the most? gallop released the results of the annual poll asking that very question. and it finds president barack obama far atop the list of most admired men. pope francis and donald trump are tied for number two. bernie sanders and bill gates round out the top five. hillary clinton is the most admired for women, followed by oprah winfrey and initial obama. clinton has been the most admired woman each of the last 14 years and 20 times overall. adult colors books have become a craze. so it's only fitting there's now one for the most popular republican presidential candidate. ♪ >> reporter: donald trump is used to being parodied. but now the parody is interactive. you can color him donald. >> let's get the eyebrows. >> reporter: donald is the statue of liberty on mt. rush moer. donald as a beatles? i never thought i'd be coloring donald trump's fig leaf. i colored my way through the entire interview with the creator and publisher of the trump coloring book. do you think donald trump would be flattered or insulted by the coloring book? >> i'm not so sure if he'll sell this, but i think he would enjoy this. >> reporter: it turns out adult coloring books are the hottest category in publishing right now. so cashing in on trump made sense. there's also the off color coloring book featuring quotes. >> mr. trump, are you bat man? >> i am bat man. >> reporter: go ahead and color that quote, but who needs a who box of crayons. >> that's the beauty. you only need one or two colors. >> reporter: orange and yellow? >> that's pretty much it. >> reporter: but we weren't good to go almost from the get go. oh, no. that's trouble. i broke the yellow. it was enough to get to the hair. 25,000 copies will be shipped so you can color the candidate who is already beyond colorful. >> we're trying to make coloring great again. >> all right. i'm rosemary church. remember to stay in touch on social media any time. we want to here from you. and i'll be back in just a moment with more news from all around the world. we live in a pick and choose world. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? enter sleep number, and the lowest prices of the season. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store, find the lowest prices of the season. save $600 on the #1 rated i8 bed, plus no interest until january 2018. know better sleep with sleep number. that's why i switched from u-verse to xfinity. now i can download my dvr recordings and take them anywhere. ready or not, here i come! (whispers) now hide-and-seek time can also be catch-up-on-my-shows time. here i come! can't find you anywhere! don't settle for u-verse. x1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. iraqi forces celebrate a big win over isis in ramadi, and they're promising more victories to come. busted after weeks on the land, the so-called affluenza teen is detained on a mexican beach. also ahead, accusations of sabotage after a white police officer is cleared of criminal charges in the shooting death of a 12-year-old african american boy. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. thanks for joining our second hour of "cnn newsroom." and we have this just in to cnn, a belgian federal prosecutor says police have arrested two people suspected of plotting militant attacks in brussels on new year's eve. a news agency reports the arrests came in different parts of the country on sunday and monday. police say they clothe military clothing and isis propaganda, but no weapons. the searches were not linked to last month's paris attacks. iraqi forces are declaring a victory and a major blow against isis. the iraq army says it pushed isis out of ramadi. on monday, iraqi soldiers raised their flag in the city's center. even as they sell pracelebrated of gunfire were heard. there are pockets of isis in ramadi, and a top general says it may take up to three weeks to push them out. we have the details. >> reporter: declaring victory in ramadi. video broadcast by iraqi state tv shows soldiers raising their flag over the city's government compound. celebrating the first marriage victory over the so-called islamic state. >> translator: ramadi has been freed. and the armed forces and the anti-terrorist group and also we've raised our flag on all the government's government in anbar. >> in may, isis fighters seized ramadi after government troops fled in defeat. >> reporter: but u.s.-trained air stri iraqi forces returned making their final push to siege the government located complex on sunday. they advanced streetly street amid piles of rubble and collapsed houses. even amid the celebrations, iraqi officials say government troops still need to clear some remaining pockets of insurgents in the city. once secured, ramadi has been handed over to local police and a sunni tribal force, a measure aimed at winning support from the local community. after this, iraq's government has said their next target is mosul with a population of 2 million, mosul is the largest population controlled by isis in either iraq or syria, and a crucial source of tax revenue. if it's retaken, it will take down much to the infrastructure underpinning isis. >> we are joined on the line from baghdad. how significant is this given there are many challenges ahead in the effort to liberate the whole of ramadi with these pockets of ri disr sesistance t talked about? >> reporter: we all remember the images of iraqis fleeing ramadi, the humiliation, the sense that it was as much about the failures of the u.s.-led strategy as it was about the failures of iraqi government. in a way, it's understandable that the iraqi government is, perhaps, calling this a liberation. because this is as much about what this means for the rest of iraq as it is about ramadi. this is very much a break from the strategy that failed back in may. this will be the first major city taken by the iraqi army. we've supported those, mobilized shia travel forces, and we've seen, really, even though the u.s. has been very cautious in their welcoming of this as a fully liberated city, they've been quick to claim credit for the revitalized city and the role in this, advise and assist, that the training that they've been giving the iraqi forces that have taken the vast majority of this town. those we're speaking to say the similarities here are much like tikrit. they took tikrit. the military campaign ended, and then it was about the security campaign as they're calling it, as the sources are calling it, and that security campaign will take a little bit of time to clear out the remaining pockets of isis. but they are seeing this very much as a good omen going toward the end of the year and going toward what their hopes are for the retaking of cities in the next year. >> and mosul in the north is very much in their sights now. we'll continue to watch this story. mexican authorities say they have detained a texas teenager known as the affluenza teen wanted in the u.s. for allegedly violating his probation. ethan couch and his mother were taken into custody. couch was sentenced two years ago to probation in a drunk driving crash that killed four people. his attorneys argued couch suffered from what they called affluenza, because his wealthy parents never taught him right from wrong. police say couch missed an appointment from his probation officer earlier this month, and he and his mother disappeared. couch and his mother are expected to be turned over to u.s. marshals. at least 43 people have been killed in severe weather across the u.s. in the past week. it's not over yet. flash floods in missouri are blamed for several of the deaths. the state's governor has declared a state of emergency. west blizzard warnings in effect, and near dallas, texas, people are trying to recover from deadly tornadoes. nick valencia reports. >> i thought i was dead. i was waiting for the tornado to suck me out. but it didn't. life gave me a second chance. >> reporter: for josh white, the chance to walk away from this tornado almost didn't come. >> i was running toward my closet, and the doors and everything started caving in and stuff started flying frut windows. things were hitting us. >> reporter: he hid with his five and five-year-old son with just a mattress to protect them from winds up to 200 miles per hour. >> this made me realize how f j fragile life is. >> reporter: 11 people were killed ten tornadoes left skeleton structures. the winds are part of a massive storm system across the nation with a deadly mix of tornadoes, ice, blizzards and flooding stretching from new mexico to me. at least two dozen people have died and more than 100 million more could be affected by the same system. white gathers his belongings in just a sweatshirt. while others are digging out of blizzard conditions. part of the bizarre weather conditions here. texas is one of the hardest hit states. at least four international soldiers perished in missouri this weekend when their car was overtaken by rising water. >> they did find two individuals in the car. we found two other men that were outside of the vehicle that were in the creek. >> reporter: now as hundreds of americans are beginning to see the destruction left in the storm's path, millions more are bracing for what's next. josh white says he'll be there to help anyone who needs it. >> everybody never expects this. i mean, once you go through it, it changes your life forever. you want to help people now. you know? >> reporter: the recovery efforts here in texas continue. residents at this apartment complex started to trickle back to see if they can salvage any of their belongings. but the structural damage is so severe that many of them have yet to be let back inside. northern england is also dealing with severe weather. the region has been rocked by extensive flooding with a month's worth of rain coming in just a day in some areas. the british prime minister toured the flood zones in york on monday, seeing the widespread damage firsthand. he pledge he would help with whatever was needed. >> here in york, we've spent 100 million pounds on flash defenses. we're planning to spend almost three times as much. but that's of no comrt to the people who have been flooded here in york. and all our hearts go out to them. to be flood second down a terrible experience anyway, and it's even more terrible when it happens at christmas or a time when people are meant to be at home with their families and celebrating. the prime minister there, and our meteorologist, pedram javaheri joins us with the latest on conditions there. pedram, talk to us about when people in that region can expect the water to subside and the weather to improve. >> a couple of days before some improvement. the conditions improve and then we go back downhill, and then improve again, and then additional storms. this persistent across the midwestern united states. the most number of tornadoes for the month of december in a long time. when we take a look, six consecutive days of tornado reports in the month of december. the last time this happened was 1982. the only other time in december was in 1953. both of the years el nino years. two ef 4s reported making this the deadliest tornado month in december in about 63 years. there's a flooding concern in the united states. you work your way across the pond in the uk, a high risk of flooding in place on monday. improves tuesday a little bit. in wednesday, nine flood warnings still in place. and the images look like this, and when you tie in this on a global scale, take a look at the floor graphics. the global perspective, we're talking about el niño. we have wet weather pattern across the northwestern u.s. in places like seattle, 28 straight days, they've seen measured rainfall across that region. the south eastern u.s. the severe weather unusual for the number of tornadoes we've seen. work toward the uk, on the order of 350 plus percent above normal when it comes to the amount of rainfall in this region, and unfortunately the forecast continues to bring rainfall the next couple of days. and this is something you expect as we go in over the next couple of weeks potentially into the early portion of 2016 as el niño begins to bring in rainfall in areas we expect to see. >> understood. and i just received a tweet from someone in ireland saying there are problems there in terms of flooding as well. severe flooding is also affecting large parts of south america. more than 160,000 people have been displaced by rains. argentina's tourism industry is suffering, and many people are beginning to worry about lasting damage. cnn reports. >> reporter: the situation in concordia, north eastern argentina is concerning. there are more than 10,000 evak wees in this town that add to the figure of more than 160,000 people evacuating in the region combining other countries. in this town, one in ten residents have lost their homes. but that's probably not the biggest part of the drama here. the biggest part is that many businesses are gone. the water already above roof levels in many businesses. together with that, this is the beginning of the summer season. the beginning of the travel season. in the summer this town depends on tourism. many people are worried they won't make enough cash flow for the year. they depend on a travel season to make enough money to live through the year, through 2016. and that is exactly what most people are concerned with right now. in the meantime, i authorities are mobilizing police, army, and rescue personnel to try to bring shelter, food supplies, to those that have been displaced. but the crisis is expected to last for many, many months to come. cnn, concordia. iran has shipped more than 25,000 pounds of low enriched uranium to russia. the u.s. calls ate a step in iran honoring the nuclear deal reached earlier this year. under the deal iran agreed to curb the nuclear program in exchange for relief from a number of economic sanctions. tehran committed to reducing its supply of low enriched uranium to below 660 pounds. there will be no indictments for two police officers in the shooting death of tamir rice. coming up, why his family is accusing prosecutors of sabotaging the case. also ahead, u.s. presidential candidate, donald trump has more harsh words for the clintons. back in a moment. 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"credit karma. give yourself some credit." a grand jury in ohio has decided not to indict two police officers involved in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy. the family of tamir rice says he was murdered. they've issued a statement saying, and i'm quoting here, prosecutor mcbeginty sabotaged the case and acted like the police officer's defense attorney. and we get more now from cnn. >>. >> reporter: the prosecutor announcing the grand jury's ruling on the shooting death of 12-year-old tamir rice. >> the grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the police officers. >> reporter: the prosecutor said newly enhanced video made it indisputable that rice was drawing a gun from his waist pand as the officers pulled up. >> it is likely that tamir whose size made him look older, either intended to hand it over to the officers or show them it wasn't a real gun. but there was no way for the officers to know that. >> reporter: and tragically, he never had the chance. rice was shot just two seconds after the officers arrived on scene. that was 13 months ago. rice was walking back and forth in a cleveland park playing with a toy gun. a witness called 911. >> it's probably fake, but it's scaring me. >> reporter: in addition to reporting the fun was probably fake, the witness added the black male was probably a juvenile. dispatchers failed to relay those two pieces of critical information to the officers who believed they were responding to an active shooter in a high crime area. >> a moment later, tamir drew the gun and the officer fired. believing he was about to be shot was mistaken. he had reasonable belief. he had reason to fear for his life. >> reporter: shortly after the press conference, the price family issued a statement, slamming the prosecutor. tamir's family is saddened and disappointed by this outcome but not surprised. it has been clear for months now that the county prosecutor was abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment. cnn, new york. i spoke earlier with our legal analyst about her reaction to the grand jury's decision. she told us she was shocked. >> as a former prosecutor, i know that a prosecutor controls the grand jury. i know that a prosecutor controls the flow of information to the grand jury. the prosecutor decides which evidence is presented to the grand jury, and quite frankly, in the united states, if a prosecutor wants an indictment, a prosecutor gets an indictment. in this case, i think it's pretty clear this prosecutor was not seeking an indictment. he indicated just today during a press conference that he recommended that no charges be filed. and he even questioned this family's motives. he suggested that the mother who i've interviewed, had some sort of economic motive. and we're talking about the death of her 12-year-old son. and so i think that i am surprised that this prosecutor proceeded this way, given what we now know about one of the two officers that was on the scene that day. the officer that shot 12-year-old tamir rice had been let go from one police department because they felt that he was immature emotionally. they felt that he had a dangerous loss of composure during firearms training and one supervisor indicated in writing that he did not believe that any training would be able the to change or correct the officer's deficiencies. yet the cleveland police department hired this officer without looking at his personnel file, and the suggestion somehow that the officer acted reasonably given the fact that he shot tamir rice just two seconds after leaving his police car is just astounding. >> cnn lauren analyst, cedric alexander joins me to talk about the decision not to indict the officers. thank you for joining us. what is your first impression when you heard the decision that was made? >> well, you know, it was very sad. a 12-year-old child lost his life in the park that day. police officers who were assuming that something was there that we learned later was just an innocent child with a toy gun. it's a very sad day. it's a sad day in that community, and i imagine it's going to be a sad day across this country, but the unfortunate part of this is there's loss here. a small child loses his life. a community loses faith and trust in this criminal justice system and its law enforcement organization there. >> so what's the answer in a situation like this? how do you make this system work better? you've got the family of tamir rice accusing the prosecutor of sabotaging the case. so when you have -- when they've lost so much faith in the justice system to that degree, how do you make it better? >> well, that's going to be the challenge. that's not just a challenge in cleveland. that's the challenge right now across america. when it comes to building these relationships and legitimacy in our communities. and all of us, right now, in law enforcement, are struggling and working hard to build and maintain those relationships. and when we have any type of shooting that becomes of any question to the community at large, we have to do everything that we can to be as transparent and open with our investigation. it must not be a hurried investigation, but it must be an investigation, of course, that is complete and thorough both to the fairness of everyone that's involved. but we have to go back and look at our training, and we have to look at who we hire and who we maintain inside that organizations as well. and certainly there as some question to this officer from previous history that has been noted in reporting all day and over the course of the last year. so there are a variety of things that we need to look at. >> why did that not appear to play into this, and when you also look at the video, you see the two officers arrive, and within seconds, they've shot and killed this young 12-year-old. and then, of course, we find out, as you've mentioned some questionable problems with one of those officers, the one who actually shot tamir price. >> i think it will. it won't in terms of this being a criminal case, but it will come into play in regards to public opinion, and it's going to need to come into play in regards to that department in terms of how and who it hires and making sure that they do adequate background investigations and do really complete and thorough psychological exams which is going to be critical. >> thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective. appreciate it. >> thank you. a father is suing the city of chicago after his son was killed by police over the weekend. an officer shot 19-year-old quintonio legrier. police say legrier had a metal bat. authorities say 55-year-old bettie jones, a neighbor was accidentally shot and killed. the incident is putting increasing pressure on the mayor who has ordered changes in how the city's police are trained. the mayor is cutting his family vacation short to return to chicago. despite some gains being me a against isis, americans are worried about isis militants launching more attacks at home. how president obama is responding. that still to come. and a heart breaking loss seen the world, a syrian family has an emotional reunion in canada. a warm welcome back the to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i want to update you on the main stories right now. a belgian prosecutor says police have arrested two people suspected of plotting militant attacks in brussels on new year's eve. police say they found military clothing and isis propaganda but no weapons or explosives during their searches. the iraqi military says the it's liberated ramadi. only small pockets of isis fighters remain in the city. an army spokesman says it will take two to three weeks to push the fighters out. mexico is expected to push over the so-called affluenza teen to u.s. authorities. ethan couch and his mother were found near puerto vallarta after they disappeared in december. he was wanted for violating probation from a drunk driving crash that killed four people. a grand jury has decided not to bring charges against two police officers in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy. tamir rice was holding a pellet gun when an officer killed him. rice's family says the prosecutor deliberately season taujed the case. require good news for the obama administration in the battle against isis. >> reporter: with the u.s. led coalition at war with isis, half a world away, president obama just got a fresh reminder during his vacation, americans are worried the terrorists are winning the fight. a new cnn poll shows americans have loft confidence in the obama administration's ability to prevent another terrorist attack. 65% disapprove of the handing of isis, and 51% of americans believe the government can protect against a terrorist attack. that deep pessimism has frustrated the president, but he wants america to feel the confidence. the white house has asked top officials to do a better job of selling the isis plan. >> i think there is a legitimate criticism of what i've been doing, and our administration has been doing in the sense that we haven't, on a regular basis, i think, described all the work that we've been doing for more than a year now to defeat isil. >> reporter: and now the president may be able to point to progress after iraqi security forces succeeded in forcing isis out of ramadi. >> it seemed like a victory. we should proceed with caution. if we hold ramadi, this is a good thing for our strategy in that region and against isis, and these are the types of things that we should be doing more. >> reporter: it could be a vindication of the president's cautious approach of relying on iraqi and syrian forces instead of u.s. troops on the ground. the latest cn n orc poll finds americans are slplit on whether to send ground troops. he said last month defending his strategy. >> i just spent the last three questions answering that very question. we can retake territory, and as long as we leave our troops there, we can hold it. but that does not solve the underlying problem of eliminating the dynamics that are producing these kinds of violent extremist groups. u.s. presidential candidate donald trump is stepping up his attacks on bill clinton. on monday the republican front runner for the white house accused the former u.s. president of having a, coat, terrible record of women abuse. trump has made bill clinton a central element in his attacks on democratic rival, hillary clinton. dana bash has more. >> she's playing the woman's card, and it's like give me a break. >> reporter: the way donald trump sees it, to be a winner, you have to act like one. so he's ending 2015 as if he's won the gop nomination, attacking hillary clinton. >> i've had so many women come up to me and say you've got to keep her out. she's terrible. >> reporter: trump's anti-hillary rants have been nonstop since before christmas when she returned fire. >> the it's not the first time he's demonstrated a pension for sexism. >> reporter: now trump is bringing bill clinton into it, the latest on iowa radio. >> with all of her past and her past dealings and frankly, she's been involved in it with her husband as much as anybody, for her to be discussing that, i think is out of bounds. and i've let them know that. >> reporter: trump is doing well with republican women. in the last cnn poll, a whopping 69% of female gop voters said they have a favorable view of trump. but it's almost the opposite when all female voters are included. 61 % viewed trump unfavorably. the only republican woman running for president is trying to capitalize on it. >> how about a honest, qualified woman. i'm never going to ask for people's support because i'm a woman. i'll ask for support because i'm the most qualified candidate to beat hillary clinton. >> reporter: as for trump, they say they'll win by bringing new voters into the fold. which is why he's lashing out at virginia for a new requirement to participate in the primary, voters must sign a party loyalty pledge. one of trump's tweets said straighten out the republican party of virginia before it's too late. meanwhile in new hampshire, the conservative union leader unloaded on trump for, quote, bathroom humor and verbal bullying. comparing trump to bif from the movie back to the future. the editorial saying he trust new hampshire republicans will send bif trump back to anywhere. despite having harsh critics, trump has admirers. trump is tied with pope francis as the second most admired man in america. both behind the president. and the most admired woman? that's hillary clinton. in fact, this is the 14th straight year she's topped gallop's list. the 20th overall, and more than any man or woman, hillary clinton has been the most admired since it started in 1 8 1948. >> trump has never shown himself to be one to back down from a fight. he struck back at the paper in true trump style. >> i just have to tell you, it's your paper. it's not a good paper. you know it's dying. i don't think it's going to be in business more than two years. if you endorse christie, that's up to him. but you don't try to hurt somebody that's been helping and has done a good job. you don't do that. so you can have it, darling. that's all it's worth. a piece of garbage. >> and to keep track of all the latest on the campaign trail, just visit cnn.com/politics. australia was the hottest place on earth monday reaching just over 41 degrees celsius. that's 105 degrees fahrenheit. rob scott reports on the scorching weather. >> reporter: when this family heard it was going to be 41 degrees, the first thought wasn't to abanden their plans. instead, they thought they'd do it earlier. >> our workout was 41. i said let's go. >> reporter: while they pounded the stairs, most were trying to stay cool. today was the second hottest day this year. only the fifth of january was hotter when it reached 44 degrees. this is how we sweated through the day. at 7:00 a.m., it was already 27 degrees. by 8:00, we passed 30. it was 40 degrees at 11:30. we hit 41.6 around 1:00. today's extreme heat led to -- >> pierce was the hottest suburb at 4 3 degrees. pert airport reported a blitzering 41.7. bickley was a touch cooler. >> reporter: thousands enjoyed the water at adventure world. and firefighters were put to the test again, this time in a valley where the heat meant the blaze started easily and spread quickly. the israeli supreme court has partially overturned a bribery conviction against the former prime minister. olmert was sentenced last march to six months behind bars but will now serve 18 months. we will be the country's first former official to serve jail time. saudi arabia is taking measures brought on my falling oil prices. it will raise the domestic fuel prices by 50% and cut subsidies on water and electricity. the moves are to cope with a growing record budget deficit now at $98 billion. a long awaited reunion in canada for a family's whose loss game to symbolize the migrant's plight in syria. >> the family of a syrian boy who browned off the coast of turkey beginning a new life in canada. the uncle, aunt and cousins of alan can kurdi stepped off a plane to reunite with family. the picture of the boy haunted the world. his uncle translated by his aunt, thanked the people of canada. >> we almost lost hope, but thank you to the canadian government, and to canadian people who make it happen and to our family who -- the rest you know. >> alan's father is now living in curdic stan. his sister says he's trying to help other refugees. >> an agreement between japan and south korea is almost you milluati milluating. the two countries reached a deal for the women. as we report, some say it's just not enough. >> reporter: after 12 recent round of negotiations and decades of tensions between south korea and japan, a resolution over comfort women. if the japanese government carries its end of the deal out for a foundation to support the surviving women, south korea will consider the matter resolved. in order to restore dignity and regain the impaired reputation of the comfort women as well as heal their wounded hearts frut agreement, i think it is most important that the japanese government carry out the measures under the deal. >> translator: i think we did our duty for the current generation by reaching this final and irreversible resolution before the end of the 70th year since the war. >> reporter: the announcement of the deal comes with a message that japan's prime minister again expresses his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who suffered. it also has the government taking responsibility for the military's use of comfort women, but one group represents survivors says the apology is vague and fails to make clear the japanese government's role in perpetuating the crimes against women. this is one of the women forced to leave her korean village at the age of 14. she says she was used for five years as a sex slave. >> i can't put into words the scars it left me with. it still keeps me awake at night. it went on for such a long time. by the time things went down, i couldn't use my lower body at all. in my old age, i couldn't have a single person who can call me mother. i couldn't never have a child. >> kim is one of 46 surviving comfort women. there were estimates that up to 200,000 women were used as comfort women by the japanese military. and still to come, the indie pop group teams up with a japanese teenager to take a stand against bullying. the treatments discovered at st. jude help save kids with cancer in like where?verywhere. like here and here. in those spots. donate now at st. jude dot org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo. ♪ >> lemmy, the hard rocking front man for heavy metal band, motor head died monday after a battle with cancer. the band was formed in 1975 and lemmy had been the only consistent member since then. his music helped shape hard rock and heavy metal over the last 40 years. motor head encouraged fans on facebook to, quote, celebrate the life this lovely, wonderful man celebrated so vibrantly himself. japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. it's something a teenager once considered herself and we featured her back in september. she revealed her struggles with bullying in school. the story resonated with members an indie pop group. we explain how the two are now fighting back against bullying. ♪ >> reporter: the story of how a teenage girl from japan ended up in california recording a story begins on a darker note. a piece about bullying. >> reporter: she explains starting in second grade she was slapped and contemplated suicide. >> when you're seen as somebody that's different or strange and is different from mainstream society, that's when bullying happens. >> it took me bright back to the place when i was her age in school. and right when i really discovered music. and music for me at that moment was my outlet. i guess it gave me hope. >> reporter: foster the people known for social consciousness created a fund drive to fly her to the u.s. to collaborate on a stirring song. >> translator: this song is very auto biographical. it's about me losing hope in my life at some point, but i decided to live. even when thinking of suicidal thoughts, it's about a miracle that happens if you keep living. >> reporter: she's also receiving support from other people. the friends founded kind campaign and now speak at schools about girl on girl bullying. >> to be able to really stand in front of girls and let them know that that's never the solution to anything and how i just wish so badly i would have reached out to a counselor or talked to me parents more about what i was going through, but we love being here today to be a part of this story and this amazing experience and creating awareness all over the world and specifically in japan. >> reporter: as a talent, this is no junior varsity performer. >> she kind of walked into the situation being like okay, what are we going to do now? after the first day i was like wow, this girl is really something special. >> reporter: cnn, burbank, california. >> there's an inspiring story for you. thanks for your company. i'm rosemary church. you can find me any time on social media. early start is coming up for our viewers in the u.s. for everybody else, stay tuned for more from the "cnn newsroom." . . announcer: it's time to make room for the new mattress models! during sleep train's huge year end clearance sale... get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets at low clearance prices! save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory! plus, same-day delivery, set-up and removal of your old set. why wait for the new models? sleep train's year end clearance sale is on now! superior service, best selection, lowest price-- guaranteed! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ the deadly monster storm that wreaked havoc across the east. we are tracking the storm. breaking news. the manhunt is over for the so-called affluenza teen. and no charges in the boy playing in a park. good morning. welcome to "early start." >>m alison kosik.
got it, 300 plus pages, it's just a rehash of stuff we already knew. with durham criticizing the fbi for launching that investigation, but presenting no new evidence that they actually did anything wrong. and so, it is worth keeping an eye on the reaction to this report today on the right. because who knows how they're gonna react. they do seem kind of trapped in this high, pedram, hype, let down cycle. just a few days, ago the chairman of the oversight committee, remember, he led this conference about the bombshell evidence that he had against president biden. how did that go? this was the headline in the new york times about that press conference, quote, house republican report finds no evidence of wrongdoing by president biden. after months of investigation and many public executions of corruption against mr. biden and his family, the first report of the premier house republican inquiry into such matters showed no proof of such
speaker inn january. manu raju, cnn. manu, the calendar says fall. colder than usual temperatures sweeping the country with snow from the great lakes to the northeast. pedram is keeping an eye on all of this for us. hi, pedram. >> good morning, guys. lots of win try weather to tell you about. across the great lakes and on into the portions of the east. the elements are in place to produce a significant bounce including areas scattered about 15 states. could see a couple of feet of fresh snow in the coming days. a lot of this has to do with lake effect snow. we have quite a bit of warm air going across portions of the great lakes. with it of course get energy transfer that translates into snowfall on the eastern shores of the great lakes. this is why we're seeing significant forecasts that bring in as much as 18 to 24 inches. we have higher amounts as much as 24 inches.
to 43. the coldest air we've seen since march 12th. with that dramatic shift from a hurricane about a week ago to having subfreezing temperatures in a few spots is really what's shocked the system. this is the forecast for late this week, early next week. essentially ushering in the biggest travel days of the year next week. we're going to expect colder air continuing into next week. if you're not a fan, hang in another week or so before it warms up. >> pedram, many thanks. authorities in the bahamas are investigating possible criminal misconduct in this week's stunning implosion of the cryptocurrency exchange ftx. the company, headquartered in the bahamas, is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. but ftx saw a massive financial collapse that compelled the ceo to resign earlier this week and
the northern tier of the u.s. not very often blizzard warnings take place. we have significant potential for snowfall accumulations that could exceed 12 plus inches across the northern u.s. even ice secretions. that could be a quarter of an inch to half an inch of ice the same time as a system. power outages and power outages because of the ice that is accumulating. look at the incredible setup. the 80s in south florida. 70s across florida. incredibly cold air, 22, 16 degrees. across parts of the midwestern and northern plains of the united states where the temps are dropping off sharply. unusual setup where you have a mix of summer like conditions and winter like conditions happening at the same time. guys? >> thank you, pedram. now the government's latest figures on inflation will be released in the coming hours.
also, over 50 high temperature records broken or tied today at cities around the northeast of south. but now those are supposed to drop soon. the weather mean for voter turnout. transforms in weather channel. pedram, what should people expect tomorrow at the weather center? >> we got a lot going on at the weather here across the western u.s.. across arizona. look at all these key battleground states across the baton particular. really broad disturbance. we're in quite a bit of wetter across the western u.s.. wet weather in place, or rain showers, snow star, we know certainly getting in on the wet weather. and believe the best piece of advice for the forecast over this region, in the coming 24 hours. as we get up to the polls early as weather kind of goes out. -- you are doing to snow showers. 70% chance of snow related to
extreme wamt if this plays out the weather will be plenty warm across those regions of the u.s. to support this, guys. >> thank you, pedram. >> it's amazing. president joe biden will be hoping for good weather, campaigning in key battleground states ahead of tuesday's vote. we'll have the latest on his movements next. two new ihop lunch and dinner menu items for twice the goodness, twice the flavor, and twice the choice. sirloin salisbury steak and all-l-natural salmon. perfect for lunch or dinner. only at ihop. download the a app and earn free foodod with every purchase.