Different story. A journey through one of Kenyas National parks coming up here this hour. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Im natalie allen. Cnn newsroom starts right now. 5 01 in the morning here in atlanta. We appreciate you joining us. Our top story, now that u. S. President donald trump has been impeached, he is falsely telling his supporters that democrats violated the u. S. Constitution during that process. Of course thats not true. And he offered no explanation. For more on what hes been saying, here is cnns kristen holmes. Reporter well, in there was any doubt that President Trump had impeachment on his mind, there is no longer. When he was speaking to this turning point Student Action summit, he launched almost immediately into impeachment. He slammed democrats. He slammed the process. At one point he even brought up dan crenshaw who voted no on the articles of impeachment. And he put on a little bit of a show. Crenshaw handing over the ticket that he used to vote against the articles of impeachment. I want to note one thing President Trump said. Take a look at this. Crazy nancy. Shes crazy. No, no. So now she says she has no case. She has no case. She has no case. So lets not submit it. Thats good, right . Thats good. But you know what, so unfair. Its so unfair. She has no case. Did they look back . They are violating the constitution. Totally. They are violating the constitution. Now i want to know that is not true. Would you know she is holding onto the articles of impeachment. This is not about the fact that she doesnt believe there is a case. It is over a stalemate over what the senate trial will look like. Nancy pelosi and democrats want a longer trial. They want to bring about white house aides. John bolton, Mick Mulvaney that the administration blocked from coming forward in the first place. Mitch mcconnell, not so much. They believe a shorter trial is better. They want it done and over with. Joining us is scott lucas where he teaches at the university of birmingham. Scott, good morning to you. Happy holidays to you, natalie. And to you as well. We heard mr. Trump calling the impeachment unconstitutional, not true. Again and again, when attacked, he says untruths. It is well documented. What do you make of this . Well, natalie, youre right. You and i can talk about this every week. And we do. There have been almost 100 untruths in the last two weeks. You call out the lies when they are lies. That was a lie about the impeachment process. And you get to the core, get to the facts. Weve got two things happening here. One is weve got an impeachment and a trial, which has not determined that donald trump is guilty but is based on hard evidence, documents on 17 former current and former u. S. Officials. It goes before the senate possibly as early as january. But we have the second side of this, the trump show. Now, the trump show doesnt care about the evidence. He cant confront the evidence. What does it do . It creates the circus, the spectacle and counts on enough people in the media focusing on the spectacle to get away from what is happening with the facts. And if he is the ring master, he has an able assistant of Mitch Mcconnell. Not like crenshaw waving the ticket. B at the end of the day you talk about the trial or talk about what trump said about the trial . Right. Well, i also want to talk about when he said it was unconstitutional. The audience explodes in wild applause. It seems like no matter how many times we say this is untrue and this is untrue, they are hard to keep up with because there are so many. You have to respect what the folks do. You cant simply dismiss what they would say. I would say more than 99 of america was not at that rally. Its our responsibility when were discussing not to simply take that small group that was Donald Trumps rally and say that must be a sign that all of america is going along with the show. The whole trump strategy right now is to actually tell the media there will be a backlash. People will love me. People will love the fact that im the greatest president. They will see the democrats. If they repeat the line maybe more folks think it is true. The rally occurred. But my focus today when i report, when i write, is going to be what is the evidence regarding donald trump, ukraine, joe biden, and the demand for the investigations. And what happens next in the consideration of that evidence. Yeah. Lets talk about what happens next. It will be a strange holiday inn washington as the senate trial parameters are decided or not decided. Who do i believe, nancy pelosi or Mitch Mcconnell, who claimed he will not be impartial in a trial but will work with the democrats. The reason why nancy pelosi did not submit the articles of impeachment to the senate yet for a trial is because Mitch Mcconnell has refused, refused witnesses who have firsthand knowledge of the trumpukraine affair, and it may include mike pompeo, john bolton, Mick Mulvaney. Those witnesses, however, have been blocked by the white house from testifying for months. They have been told not to appear before the hearings. President trump said you defy subpoenas, you do not accept congresss authority, which is why Mitch Mcconnell is supporting one of the charges against the president over impeachment, obstruction of congress. Well, we appreciate your insights, scott. We will be talking with you again likely as this presses on. Thank you. Thank you, natalie. The ongoing impeachment process isnt the only thing hanging over the u. S. President of course. Also of concern the potential threat from north korea as peace talks stall yet again. New satellite images seem to point to growing capabilities in their longrange missile program. They show new work and buildings at a military facility linked with producing Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launchers. David culver is live from hong kong. He is following the story. What more do we know about this site and what it could be doing . Reporter well, natalie, these are images showing construction going on there. It is construction of an automotive plant. You may say, okay, a car factory. Why do we care about that . According to analysts, this is a place where north Korean Military can modify some of the launchers they import from china. It is also a play where they can use domestic vehicles and retrofit them to support under Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program. The last two weeks we know, according to the north themselves. They put this out in statements. They have been conducting significant tests at the satellite launch station. They did not give details what they were had he testing. It is likely they were Going Forward with rocket engine testing. That, again, plays into this icbm concern that they can find something to power the longrange missiles, natalie. Yeah. We know kim jongun has been promising a Christmas Present for the u. S. Is there still a sense there could be a provocative act like a Missile Launch . Lets put it this way. Just a few hours ago, state media in north korea put out a release that kim jongun met with top officials and had a conversation about organizational measures and as well as to bolster their armed forces. It seems, though, there could be some provocation Going Forward as this rhetoric intensified between the u. S. And north korea. The question is, what will that be . Will it be a test launch of an icbm, or will it go further and perhaps be nuclear . Natalie . All right. A story to watch for sure. Thank you, david. The case of the u. S. Diplomats wife killing a british teenager in a motor crash has reached the highest levels of the u. S. And uk governments. U. S. Secretary of state mike pompeo and British Foreign secretary dominic rob discussed the matter by phone saturday. The official added nothing new came out of that conversation. Harry dunn died in august when his motorcycle was struck by a car going the wrong direction. She is now charged with death by dangerous driving. Her Attorney Says she is contrite about what happened but will not return to the uk voluntarily. Mark bolton is covering the story for us in london. Certainly the family of harry has been distraught and wanting justice. Whats the latest . Reporter the legal team said this is a terrible but unintentional accident. But as you say, they refuse to accept that she should voluntarily return to the United Kingdom to face what is now criminal proceedings. This death by dangerous driving charge carries a potential jail sentence of 14 years. And of course with that comes the extradition process which is now under way. That is a threestage process. Two parts judicial, one is more political. They will see if its fit to be submitted to the home office, a government department. If it happens, it is their decision if they make a formal application for sacoolas to be moved from the u. S. To the uk to face charges. It goes to the state department. She is meeting with the family of 19yearold harry dunn. Sacoolas fled the country claiming diplomatic immunity because he was here working at a base in north hamptonshire. The criminal charge is just an extent for them. His mother understandably was in tears as were the families when they got the news yesterday. They said this marks a step forward and is for them significant in following through the promise they made to harry after his death that they would seek tore justice to be done. Battelle said she wants justice as has Boris Johnson who said he will press the u. S. For extradition to take place. He said he has spoken to President Trump about this. Trump expressed his sympathy. But johnson also said hes aware that the u. S. Is very are reluctant to have its citizens tried abroad here under uk jurisdiction. The transition period will expire at the end of 2020. Uk trying to find a Bilateral Agreement with the european union, which is leaving. It wants a Free Trade Agreement with the United States as well. We know in the conversation that you alluded to that mike pompeo and dominic rob did speak about a Free Trade Agreement that will undoubtedly have a bearing with the home office to push for this extradition hearing. Its a complicated case, is it not . Mark bolton, thank you for bringing us the latest. More now on a story were following out of chicago. We heard about the last hour. Police say now at least 11 people have been shot at a home there. It happened after midnight local time. Authorities say it may have happened during a house party. Victims have been transported to hospitals. Officials have not released details on their conditions. Well continue to bring you more on this shooting as we get more information. The death toll is rising in india. The country is in the grip of some of its most turbulent protests in four decades. Tell you more about that. Plus, a heat wave fueling Deadly Wildfires in australia. Coming up, why some are saying the government isnt doing enough to help. Its the reason our whisky is so extraordinarily smooth. Dewars. Double aged for extra smoothness. vo the flock blindly flying south for the winter. They never stray from their predetermined path. But this season, a more thrilling journey is calling. Defy the laws of human nature. At the season of audi sales event. Quitting smoking is freaking hard. St, like quitting every monday hard. Quitting feels so big. So, try making it smaller. And youll be surprised at how easily starting small. Can lead to something big. 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Authorities temporarily shut down the internet and roads were barricaded to curb demonstrations. In australia, firefighters continue to work furiously to contain massive bushfires as the death toll continues to rise. Since september, nine people have been killed as a heat wave continues to amplify fires. Simon cullen has more on whats going on. Reporter the devastation is continuing with confirmation that the death toll has risen to nine, including the two firefighters who died last week while battling the blazes. Authorities say about 800 homes have now been destroyed. Queensland and New South Wales have been most affected by this fire crisis. 3 million hectares of land has been burned out. Heat waves coming across the country and its only getting worse. As it continues to evolve, mounting criticism that the Australian Government is not doing enough to support the thousands of volunteer firefighters who have been battling fires several months. That criticism only increased last week when it was revealed the australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison was on a Family Vacation in hawaii. He brought forward his return date and arrived back in australia saturday night and had this to say sunday morning. I obviously returned from leave. I know that has caused great anxiety in australia. Jeannie and i acknowledge that. You had the benefit of behind set we would have made different decisions. Im sure australians are fair minded and understand that when you make a promise to your kids you try to keep it. As Prime Minister, you have other spaopblresponsibilities. And i accept that. And i accept the criticism. And that is why jeannie and i determined that i should return. He is facing criticism that the government is not doing enough to combat Climate Change. He said the policy is working and doesnt need to be changed. As conditions continue to worsen, firefighters from the usa helped to arrive to bring the fires under control. It is only going to be temporary. More hot weather is expected. Authorities say no significant rain is forecast until at least the end of january. The hot, dry weather is likely to continue and that means the bushfire crisis still has a while to go. Ivan cabrera following the story for us in the studio. They have had 100 fires. What was the high temps they hit, 115 . They have never seen that before in december. By the way, today is the first day of summer in australia. A long way to go. And first day of winter here. Look at the topography and the terrain. This is even more difficult to fight. Smoke is overwhelming. A lot of folks getting sick of 100 plus fires, 50 of which are out of control. All the snow is blowing out to the north. You saw simons hair moving there. That is a southerly wind. For this part of the world, it means cooler temperatures. We have cooled the temperatures off. The winds have kicked up once again. They have had to adjust from winds going to east and now coming basically from the south. A few showers are in the forecast. That is about it. Nothing widespread or steady that would make a big difference here. Winter is under way. That means rain across the west coast. This Pineapple Express will shift it a little bit here. We call it that when we have a plume of moisture from hawaii. Incredible amounts of rain. In the corners of the u. S. , and here in the southeast, this big area of low pressure. The gulf strengthening. 2 to 4 to 3, 7 inches across south carolina. But that is combined with wind as well. 30, 40mileperhour wind gusts. Significant issues with flooding. As some areas could top up over half a foot of rainfall here by the time we get into monday. Finally, things quieting down on tuesday, christmas eve, drying out for christmas day. Oh, thats perfect. Just in time. When everybody is done shopping. Ivan, thanks. You bet. Well, east africa has had a turbulent year of dangerous wet weather. We are talking about all the dry weather. But what was a disaster for humans due to that was quite the opposite for animals. We show you how animals at a National Park in kenya are thriving. Reporter for months now, east africa has had heavy rainfall. Hundreds died across the region in landslides and flash floods. But what did the heavy rains do to the animals . This park, as we are told by the rangers, heavy rains fell here too sending water down from the mountains. This park is looked after by the kenyan wildlife services. Rains have affected this area too. The National Park up near the border with tanzania. These rains have been a huge blessing. You can see the animals grazing. The flamingos are back. And they are coexisting with the animals. Fresh foraging for all the beasts here. Were the animals adversely affected by this . I have seen a lot of elephants. The hippos. When the east african rains first cascade down the mountains in mount kilamanjaro, rumors are that animals are being swept away. But they are very instinctive creatures, these beasts. They know when to move away from earthquakes, and even flash floods. It is lush with green vegetation just before christmas