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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Threatens Independent Presidential Run; FBI: San Bernardino Shooters Radicalized Before Meeting; Defense Secretary Defends Obama's ISIS Strategy; 5 in Australians Arrested in Terrorism Conspiracy; Disagreements in COP21 Climate Conference; Group that Saved Tunisia from Collapse Gets Peace Prize; Chicago Mayor Vows to Fix Trust Problem; Colorado Women's Clinic Shooter on Trial; Washington State in State of Emergency Following Floods, Mudslides; Golden Globe Nominees to Be Named Thursday' China "Star Wars" Poster Criticized. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 10, 2015 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[02:00:31] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Errol Barnett. Our two-hour block starts now. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

CHURCH: U.S. Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, says he is getting supportive calls from his Muslim friends. This is after his proposal to ban foreign Muslims from entering the U.S.

BARNETT: Now, Trump told our Don Lemon he's acting in the best interest of the Islamic community.

Meanwhile, fellow Republicans are blasting his proposal, leading Trump to suggest once again that he could run as an Independent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, if they don't treat me with a certain amount of decorum and respect, if they don't treat me as the front-runner, by far, the front-runner, if the playing field is not level, then certainly all options are open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: CNN political analyst, Josh Rogin, joins us now from Washington, D.C. to talk really all things Trump.

Josh, great to have you with us.

Just quickly, Donald Trump is not backing down from these "ban all Muslim" comments. Has that surprised you? And do you think this will be the thing that implodes him? JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's been day three now of

the fire storm surrounding his call for a ban on all Muslim immigration. There's no sign of it stopping anytime soon. That's exactly what Donald Trump wants. He's going to try to keep this publicity at the forefront of the news cycle as long as he can, hopefully, well into next week, when he takes the stage with the other candidates of the GOP debate in Las Vegas.

BARNETT: But this is something he's been skilled at doing, keeping media attention on him, sucking up really media oxygen. What do you think of his flirtation now with this Independent run? Is it all about the same thing, just keeping the spotlight on hi him? Or is it about blackmailing the Republican establishment?

ROGIN: It's a little bit of both. It's a button he can push anytime he feels that the GOP leadership is coming out too strong against him. What he saw this week is really an unprecedented round of statements from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, the chairman of the RNC, all criticizing the front-runner of the GOP presidential campaign that's unheard of. So this is his ace in the hole, if they go too far, he can brush them back, that's what he's doing.

BARNETT: Rand Paul, also running for the GOP nomination, it seems could be taking a page out of the Trump playbook as well. He's now calling for a moratorium on travel to the U.S. from nations that pose a security threat. Coincidentally, and they are mostly Muslim nations. What should we make of that?

ROGIN: Rand Paul and also Ted Cruz have proposed ideas that don't go quite as far as Trump but are along the same lines, making these sort of, what seem to be religious tests for entry into the United States. This is their way of trying to appeal to Trump's base without getting the blowback that comes with going as far as Trump has. It's a cynical game that's meant to pick up the pieces if and when Trump stumbles, but until Trump stumbles, they'll just be seen as second fiddle in his orchestra.

BARNETT: Where does this leave the race for president? I mean, Donald Trump -- Jeb Bush is saying he won't be the nominee. And he's flirting with this Independent run. If he fractures the GOP, who then becomes the GOP nominee and what happens in the general election? Does it hand it to the Democrats?

ROGIN: I can report to you from my sources that the GOP establishment is in panic over there. Paul Ryan spoke to his caucus members and said this could be the doom of the party. Those were his direct words to GOP lawmakers. So they haven't figured this out. All of the other campaigns are thrown off their plans. They've all tried to fundraise. They've tried to criticize. They've tried to go out with their own messages. None of these strategies have worked. Until the entire body politic figures out what to make of this Trump phenomenon, whether that means he become the nominee or goes down in flames, one way or the other, none of the other candidates will get enough oxygen to crowd him out.

BARNETT: This has been scary for many, fascinating for everyone. We'll continue to watch closely.

CNN political commentator, Josh Rogin, thanks for joining us from D.C.

ROGIN: Thank you, Errol.

BARNETT: Reaction to the Trump controversy is pouring in from around the world. Benjamin Netanyahu said this, quote, "Rejects Donald Trump's recent remarks about Muslims." Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet at the end of this month.

[02:05:15] CHURCH: Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, took a more positive approach, not even saying Trump's name. He posted this, quote, "If you're a Muslim in this community, as the leader of Facebook, I want you to know that you are always welcome here and that we will fight to protect your rights and create a peaceful and safe environment for you," end of quote.

BARNETT: And boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, who is a Muslim, released this statement, "I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam, and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people's views on what Islam really is."

CHURCH: The FBI says the husband-wife team behind the San Bernardino attacks were radicalized before they even met. Investigators are now looking into how the couple was inspired by terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, a U.S. State Department official says Tashfeen Malik was not asked about any jihadist leanings when she was interviewed by a U.S. official for her visa application.

BARNETT: That interview took place last year in Pakistan before she came to the U.S. to marry Farook. The topic of their marriage came up during testimony on Capitol Hill as well. FBI Director James Comey was pressed on the issue. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is there any evidence that this marriage was arranged by a terrorist organization, or terrorist operative? Or was it just a meeting on the Internet?

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: I don't know the answer to that yet.

GRAHAM: Do you agree with me that if it was arranged by a terrorist organization, that is a game-changer?

COMEY: It would be a very, very important thing to know. That's why we're working so hard to understand it.

GRAHAM: Well, that's the biggest focus of how I think it would change the game, that they could actually arrange a marriage of two like- minded individuals, use the fiancee visa system to get into the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BARNETT: And the U.S. Defense Secretary is trying to defend the White House strategy to defeat ISIS. Ash Carter told lawmakers Wednesday that President Obama's plan is working, it just needs time.

CHURCH: Carter also laid out new ideas to help Iraqi forces retake Ramadi from ISIS, but some U.S. Senators say it's not enough.

Jim Sciutto has more.

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi forces have been battling to key the free western Iraqi city of Ramadi from ISIS for months without success.

Today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress that U.S. military advisers and attack helicopters may soon join the fight.

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The United States is prepared to assist the Iraqi army with additional unique capabilities to help them finish the job, including attack helicopters and accompanying advisers, if circumstances dictate and if requested by Prime Minister Abadi.

(EXPLOSION)

SCIUTTO: The deployment would place U.S. troops directly in the firing line in Iraq, something the White House has repeatedly vowed would not happen.

(GUNFIRE)

(SHOUTING)

SCIUTTO: But with Paris and San Bernardino fresh on their minds, Senators press the defense secretary on whether even more must be done to keep Americans safe.

UNIDENTIFIED SENATOR: Assuming there's a Paris-like attack, 200 Americans killed and it's directed by ISIS, would you go back to the president and say, keep the same strategy?

CARTER: Well, look, Senator, if I had more to recommend to him to accelerate the defeat of ISIL in Syria and Iraq, I'd be doing it now.

SCIUTTO: Some Senators argued a full-scale ground operation is necessary to dislodge the group from its base in Iraq and Syria.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: There's no plan, no strategy to retake Raqqa. And I think it's pretty obvious to all that as long as they have the caliphate base, then they are able to orchestrate attacks.

(EXPLOSION)

SCIUTTO: Russia claims it launched a major bombardment of Raqqa, firing submarine-launched cruise missiles for the first time. Russian President Vladimir Putin then hinted at something much worse, warning those missiles could be tipped with nuclear warheads, though he added, quote, he "hopes Russia will never need it."

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Five people in Sydney, Australia, are now charged with conspiracy to plan a terrorist attack. Two were arrested Thursday, including a 15-year-old boy. The other three were already in custody.

[02:09:46] CHURCH: There has been a series of counterterrorism raids across Sydney in the past 24 hours. Police say the suspects were part of a radicalized group, planning attacks on government buildings. And we will go live to Sydney when we come back.

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CHURCH: Let's go back to our developing story out of Australia this hour. Five people in Sydney are now charged with conspiring to plan a terrorist attack.

Sky News reporter, Greg Thomson, joins us now with more on this.

So, Greg, this is even more disturbing, because it involves a teenager. What details do you have on these raids and the outcome?

GREG THOMSON, REPORTER, SKY NEWS: That's exactly right. It's quite a significant breakthrough for police who have been investigating this for quite some time now. They addressed the media early this morning, Australian, time and said this investigation, Operation Applebee, has been ongoing for a long time. Good couple of months. In fact, it started off probably December last year. So we're talking nearly 12 months the police have been looking into these links and a lot of evidence has allegedly come forward to their attention, which saw them carry out these raids.

As you mentioned, the ages are also quite disturbing as well. Those who were arrested during a series of raids across western Sydney this morning were from the age of 20, 21, 22, and most concerning as well, a 15-year-old has been arrested and subsequently charged this afternoon. Now, we understand he has been radicalized and is part of a group that's been under the radar of police for quite some time.

And the charges that you mentioned earlier, as well, it's quite wordy. They have been charged with one count of conspiracy to conduct an act in preparation for a terrorist act, contrary to Section 101.6 of the commonwealth criminal code. So it's a very significant development in Australia given what we've seen over the past couple of months. This operation had 11 people arrested on 33 offenses.

[02:15:47] CHURCH: All right, very disturbing, indeed, when you look at the ages there of these young men.

Sky News reporter, Greg Thomson, joining us live there from Sydney. Many thanks to you.

We'll take a very short break here and we'll be back in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back. Negotiators at the COP21 climate conference in Paris are now in the home stretch. They have until Friday to reach a final agreement on how to stop global warming.

CHURCH: And on Wednesday, the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius presented a new draft that resolved many disagreements. But negotiators from 195 countries now have to agree on the bigger issues. And one sticking point is how are major powers going to help poor countries hit by climate change.

Our John Sutter joins us live from Paris now.

John, what are some of the options on the main challenge?

[02:19:52] JOHN SUTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you mentioned, there's this new draft on the table and essentially all of the big sticking points are still out there. It did resolve some minor issues, but this issue of finance, as you mentioned, is a huge one. Developing countries want to see $100 billion per year go towards adapting to the effects of climate change. We're talking about droughts, more severe storms, crop failure, that sort of things.

The developed countries, including the United States, are making pledges. John Kerry was putting on the table, doubling U.S. efforts on that matter. So that issue remains. They're also fighting about the temperature goal for warming, how -- what temperature degree they should try to stop global warming at, whether it should be two degrees or 1.5 degrees Celsius.

But underlining these talks is the issue of real people around the world whose lives already are being changed by global warming. I caught up with some of them at the conference. Take a quick look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my community, we're already seeing increases in climate devastation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the floods, we have the drought, we have the diseases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't know how big the ocean is, until you go to the Marshall Islands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ever since I was born in 1997, we lost roughly about 100 feet of land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The greatest floods harmed thousands of homes in Colorado and displaced a lot of people, and the worst wildfire we ever saw.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before it might be just some water on the shore, but now every single time there's a high tide and a king tide, it causes major damage to the point where seawalls are destroyed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house was washed away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My Uncle Norman went out hunting. The ice wasn't formed where he fell through, and that cost his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm worried for my children, because the life that we are living now is not the life that we had when I was growing up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I refuse to give up. I refuse to have to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each and every one of us has a responsibility to protect the world around us. This is our only home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope that my daughter's granddaughter and her granddaughter can come back home and know where their island is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action needs to be taken today before every community is a front lines community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you think that climate change will happen in the future, it's happening right now. It's affecting my hometown in Alaska.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the end of the day, this doesn't just affect us. It affects the whole world. If we save our island, I believe that we can save the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUTTER: So there's an incredible amount of pressure on these talks. You have voices from people on the front lines of climate change coming here to demonstrate and trying to push for action. These talks with fallen apart in the past many times, so nothing is sure, but I think there's a sense here in Paris that the time is now to act. 2015 is expected to be the hottest year on record. The signs of global warming all around the world are becoming more and more clear.

CHURCH: Some very powerful words there from people and their reactions to the situation. Of course, the decision-makers have until the end of the week. They have until Friday to make up their minds and come up with some solutions.

John Sutter, many thanks joining us live from Paris.

Well, in just a few hours, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet will receive one of the most prestigious awards.

BARNETT: The group was given a Nobel Peace Prize for its major role in saving Tunisia from collapse.

Our Jonathan Mann reports on the conflict and the revolution that led the quartet to help restore democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was unprecedented, never before had an Arab people toppled a tyrant.

(SHOUTING)

MANN: Driven by the memory of that fruit seller, Mohammed Boa Zeezy (ph) and spurred by his anger, Tunisians took to the streets in 2010, and forced Zain El Ebadine bin Ali (ph) from power after 23 years. It was the start of an upheaval that would force out the leaders of four nations and start a war in Syria that would shake the region.

(EXPLOSION)

MANN: At first, it didn't deliver stable democracy to Tunisia. The new election put Islamists at the head of a coalition to run the country and write a constitution. But while the work of the constitution dragged on, weighed down by debate, Islamic terrorists carried out assassinations and attacks, in one incident, ransacking the U.S. embassy.

(SHOUTING)

MANN: Some Tunisians blamed the elected Islamist leaders for being sympathetic or complicit.

Tunisia's stagnant economy suffered even more and protesters took to the streets demanding the young government's resignation. The revolution was unraveling, until the country's largest trade union joined forces with three other associations of employers, attorneys, and human rights activists to push and pull Tunisia down a different path, dialogue.

The National Dialogue Quartet brought the government and the opposition together and eventually worked out an agreement. The Islamists agreed to give up power.

(SHOUTING)

[02:25:10] MANN: The completed constitution is considered a model for the Arab world. Because of the National Dialogue Quartet --

(CHEERING)

MANN: -- Tunisia's Arab Spring delivered.

The Nobel committee summed it up this way.

UNIDENTIFIED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE COMMITTEE MEMBER: The quartet was formed in summer of 2013 when the democracy process was in danger of collapsing as a result of political assassinations and widespread social unrest. It established an alternative peace-filled political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And that was Jonathan Mann reporting.

You can watch his exclusive interview with the Tunisian National Quartet a few hours after they accept their prize. That's Thursday 4:00 p.m. in London, 5:00 p.m. central European time, only here on CNN.

BARNETT: And we'll also cover the Peace Prize ceremony right here on CNN. It gets under way in just a few hours, at noon, London time.

CHURCH: Let's take a very short break. But still to come, Donald Trump says it's highly unlikely he'll leave the Republican Party, however, he has conditions. Up next, more of his CNN interview and what would drive him to an Independent presidential bid.

BARNETT: And a man accused of a deadly shooting at a women's clinic in Colorado interrupts a court hearing, proclaims his guilt. We'll show you the outburst after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:15] CHURC: Hello to those of you joining us from the United States, and a warm welcome back to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Here are the top stories we're following for you right now.

(HEADLINES)

CHURCH: U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump, says he is right in wanting to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, and he insists the public agrees with him.

BARNETT: Now, we want to bring you more of his interview with our Don Lemon where he talks about why his party's criticizing him, even though he says he's good for the Republican brand. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: We need a dialogue in this country, and throughout the world. We have a big problem. And as you know, I have many friends who are Muslims, they're phenomenal people. They are so happy at what I'm doing. I was called by three people today, very big. They said, you are doing a tremendous service, because unless people are going to be talking about it, it's never going to be solved.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: But you know a lot of people are unhappy with you, you're getting a lot of criticism even from your own party, from Reince Priebus.

TRUMP: I'm getting criticism from people that are running against me that have no poll numbers. They're doing very poorly. I see Jeb Bush and this one and that one, they're criticizing me. Although Jeb Bush actually said some very good things about me the other day. Did you hear? He said I'm a great talent.

LEMON: But even Dick Cheney, the former vice president, the new speaker of the House, Reince Priebus, they're all criticizing what you said.

TRUMP: So when I did the whole thing on illegal immigration and Mexico and the border, I get much more criticism than I'm getting right now, and everybody said, that's going to be the end, that's going to be a disaster. And three weeks later everybody agreed with me that I was right. They all came onto my side. The group that is not criticizing me is the public. The public agrees with what I said. They saw those two animals last week go out and shoot people, and the husband and wife, the wife came here on a phony visa, on a visa that frankly, it's disgraceful that she was able to come in. She probably radicalized him.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: She had a fiancee visa. And a disgusting disgraceful thing. So the people that are with me a hundred percent are the people. And that's frankly all that matters.

LEMON: Your critics in the party, because they believe, and I don't know if you do, they say it may be good for your brand, but it's bad for the Republican brand. Are you concerned about that? What do you think of that?

TRUMP: They don't believe anything. They don't care about brand.

LEMON: Do you think it's damaging for the --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No, I think it's going to be an asset ultimately. Just like illegal immigration.

LEMON: Jeb Bush tweeted, "Maybe Donald negotiated a deal with his buddy, Hillary Clinton. Continuing this path will put her in the White House." Then he linked to the tweet of you saying that 68 percent of your supporters would support a third-party bid. Here's the pledge that you signed. You know saw this pledge. You know where I'm going. Are you going to break this pledge?

TRUMP: I think it's highly unlikely, unless they break the pledge to me, because it's a two-way street.

LEMON: What does that mean?

TRUMP: They said they will be honorable. So far, I can't tell you if they are, but the establishment is not exactly being very good to me. I'm leading in every poll by a lot. It looks like I'm going to win. My whole life has been about winning. I'm not like so many the other people that you talk to that are essentially losers. I know how to win. I intend to win. It's the best way of beating the Democrats, if I get the nomination. I want to run as a Republican. I'm a Republican. I'm a conservative. I've had just tremendous bonding. But you saw the poll that came out in "USA Today" that 68 percent of the people would follow me and it's much higher if you say, sort of follow me.

LEMON: That's the question then? Why would you say that if --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I didn't take the poll. Somebody else took the poll.

(CROSSTALK)

[02:35:09] TRUMP: It's a very respected newspaper took the poll. But just so you understand, that's nothing I want to do. I want to do it just the way I'm doing it. I want to win Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, the FEC, Nevada. I want to win the whole group. And potentially, I have the capability, and I think I have the numbers to run the table. You know what running the table is?

LEMON: I know what you mean by running the table.

TRUMP: We'll see.

LEMON: Let's say you had to run as an Independent, do you think you could win?

TRUMP: I think it would be much tougher to win as an Independent. I think I could win, but it would be much tougher to win as an Independent. I'd rather not do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Now, Don also pressed Trump on his ban proposal.

CHURCH: Yeah, the candidate said there are some problems in the U.S. that need to be resolved.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You have been saying that until we figure out what's going on. What exactly does that mean? Figure out what? What is there to figure out?

TRUMP: Why is there such hatred and such viciousness? Why is somebody willing to fly airplanes into the World Trade Center and go after it even prior to that? They failed, although, they did tremendous damage by any normal standard. And then after they failed, they actually took airplanes into the World Trade Center. Where does that hatred come from? Why does it come? We have to figure it out, because we have problems. So when you surveil the mosques -- you know, I took a lot of heat for surveillance of the mosque, now other people are saying, we have to surveil the mosques.

We have to find out, Don, where does this hatred come from. But it seems to be one group. I mean, the people that flew the planes into the World Trade Center -- and many other things, not only in this country, but in many other countries. You look what's going on all over the world. We have find out why and where is it coming from.

LEMON: So how would you do it? How would -- to be practical, how would you put this policy into action? What do you do, ask someone coming over?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No --

LEMON: They would just lie.

TRUMP: No, you have to go through a series of questions. You have to go through a series of -- you need paperwork. You have to find out where these people are coming from. But we can't allow radical killers into this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Donald Trump talking to our Don Lemon there.

And a petition to ban Donald Trump from entering the United Kingdom is picking up steam and fast. It was posted on parliament's website Tuesday and now has more than 380,000 signatures.

BARNETT: Pretty incredible. Any petition with more than 100,000 names is automatically considered by parliament's Petition Committee. The person behind this is surprised that it got so much traction. It will decide on January 5th whether to send that proposal to the House of Commons for debate.

CHURCH: All right, want to turn now to Chicago, where the mayor is apologizing and vowing to fix a trust problem between police and the community.

BARNETT: The protesters say that's just not enough.

CNN's Rosa Flores is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHANTING)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protesters turn up the heat in Chicago, asking for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down following a string of high profile, deadly police shootings, caught on tape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You covered up a videotape, and we want you fired.

FLORES: They hit the streets after the mayor's speech about police accountability and justice at city hall.

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL (D), CHICAGO: Your government's first responsibility is to keep you and your family safe and to make sure that you feel safe in your neighborhoods. And we have clearly fallen short on this issue. And that needs to change.

FLORES: Just a few blocks away, in federal court, city attorneys argued against the release of another police shooting video. This time, of Cedrick Chatman, an unarmed black teen and carjacking suspect, who was shot and killed by police in early 2013. The city's argument in court, the release could taint a jury pool. And among other things, be misused by the media.

But the Chatman family attorney points to the recent release of the Laquan McDonald and Ronald Johnson videos and calls on the mayor to make the Chatman video public.

BRIAN COFFMAN, CHATMAN FAMILY ATTORNEY: If the city of Chicago and Mr. Emanuel wants to come out and lead the charge that he wants transparency and change, well, here's his opportunity.

FLORES: In court, the judge said, "There's a lot of interest in this, and for good reason," but decided not to release the video for now, pending a review of the law by both sides.

In a statement, the city's law department said, "The city of Chicago clearly needs a new policy around releasing videos that accounts for all issues and we're working on it with the help of the recently appointed task force."

The mayor has replaced two city officials in less than two weeks, including the police superintendent.

But as the protesters march, they say the mayor should be next.

(on camera): He said, you know, the buck stops with me. Do you accept that? Would you like for him to stay and try to fix the problem?

[02:40:21] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course not. We already know what he can do behind closed doors. He can hide videos and we're not having that.

FLORES: Rosa Flores, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: The man accused of a fatal shooting at a women's clinic in Colorado appeared in court on Wednesday.

CHURCH: Our Paul Vercammen has the details of Robert Dear's tumultuous hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The tension built slowly in the courtroom. Robert Lewis Dear sat there in his awkward jumpsuit, looked like he was going to speak a couple of times as his lips moved, and suddenly he burst out, "I am guilty. There is no trial. I'm a warrior for the babies." He continued with these outbursts, almost 20 of them. The judge just sat there patiently. Nothing was happening. No one

did anything until a bailiff finally put his hand on his shoulder to quiet him.

He took a shot or two at his public defender, Dan King. King, you may recall, represented James Holmes. He is the movie theater, or "Batman" shooter in Aurora, Colorado.

Here's what Dear said about his attorney.

ROBERT LEWIS DEAR, ON TRIAL FOR MURDER: Do you know who this lawyer is? He's the lawyer for the Batman shooter that drugged him all up. That's what they want to do to me.

VERCAMMEN: King came back out and alluded to what they were dealing with, a possible competency issue. And then another outburst. "You'll never know what I saw in that clinic, atrocities, and that's what they want to seal."

Finally, the prosecutor announced the charges, 179 felony counts, including eight of them for murder. He explained that while there are three deceased victims, they're a different series of murder, and that's why there are more charges.

Reporting from Colorado Springs, I'm Paul Vercammen.

Now back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The governor of the state of Washington has declared a state of emergency after flooding rains and landslides continue to hammer the region.

Our Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now to talk more about this.

It's terrible.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, and the declared a state of emergency is going to allow for resources to be opened up from the Washington National Guard to help with this situation because it's becoming dire in many of the small communities amongst the mountains over this particular state.

Take a look at this footage we have from a river that overspilled its banks, made its way across a roadway, this heavy rain, and then picked up steam and gathered a lot of mud, creating a landslide, or a mudslide, which you're looking at. That ran into a person's house. There was a rescue attempt. There were people inside of this house and, fortunately, the rescuers and the people being rescued, did manage to get out safely without being harmed.

But let me show you what took place here. Why do we get mutt slides? After days of incessant rainfall, eventually that rain soaks into the soil, gravity wins, and we see, well, the slope ultimately failing. But there's another angle to this as well. Often the water can undercut these roads, creating extremely dangerous travel conditions. Can you imagine just traveling on this mountain pass and having the road just give way underneath you? It's all because of this constant barrage of storm systems that continue to impact the Pacific Northwest. We've been talking about it for several days now. There's a brief lull in our heavy precipitation for Seattle, but it's set to come back late on Thursday. Another cold front and low pressure set in to the region.

November is the wettest month of the year. We're starting to work into a quieter period, but we still have our heavy rainfall in this forecast and this time it extends across Oregon into northern California as well. San Francisco to Reno and Reading, you have at least a half inch of rainfall. On top of this, we have coastal flooding because we have a combination of factors taking place. Our low pressure system helping push up massive waves, battering the northwest, but you include the high tides that are taking place now and the high river levels from the recent flooding and the water has nowhere else to go but up. That creates the coastal flood conditions and that's also a concern for the area.

Now there's a flip side to this story and I want to get to it quickly, because the jet stream creating the wet weather across the west is also bringing a ridge to the east coast, allowing our temperatures to remain well above average. Wait until you see these temperatures for Atlanta into Washington and New York City.

Hey, I'm going to leave you with this, Rosemary and Errol. We've been talking about Beijing smog and how polluted it's been. They've cleared out because of a cold front. Blue skies, a rarity in Beijing.

(CROSSTALK)

VAN DAM: I'm glad for them because it's been a rough go for the past several days.

BARNETT: Too bad that doesn't last very long.

VAN DAM: I know, it won't be long until we see the haze settle back in.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: Good to see you.

(CROSSTALK)

BARNETT: Derek, see you next hour.

[02:45:14] CHURCH: Still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, we are just hours away from the start of award season in Los Angeles. A film critic gives us his predictions for the Golden Globe nominations.

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CHURCH: The nominations for the Golden Globes are just hours away from being announced.

Tom O'Neil, from goldderby.com, joins us now from L.A. with his picks.

BARNETT: Hey, there, Tom.

TOM O'NEIL, GOLDDERBY.COM: Good to be here. Thanks.

BARNETT: So the Golden Globes we know are considered an indicator of what the Oscar crowd does and does not like. So it's important that we get your sense of what's a favorite, really. With that in mind, will this be Leonardo DiCaprio's year? He's had so many Oscar snubs in years passed. And his movie is just be adored online.

O'NEIL: It is. And it looks like he's finally got that role that's big and that's transformative, and feels important. He's lost four times at the Oscars, but he has won a Golden Globe. He won for "The Aviator" years ago. But if he's going to win the Oscar, we'll see it here first at the Globes, which is kind of like an Oscar crystal ball. Last year, for example, the Globes correctly predicted all of the acting races and the year before that, they correctly predicted three of the four.

[02:50:22] CHURCH: And, Tom, best film drama, that's the big one everyone's waiting for. What are the movies you think? What are your picks here?

O'NEIL: Well, we have 25 experts at Gold Derby from the Associated Press, "Entertainment Weekly," "USA Today," and they all say it's "Spotlight," the movie about the Boston sex scandal involving the Catholic Church. But I'm not exactly sure that that really is out front. I think that we're going to see "The Martian" be very big in terms of numbers of nominations. The "Refinent" is going to be big and watch out for Trumbo, the movie about the black-listed writer that stars Bryan Cranston. And watch out for "Straight Outta Compton." Both of those showed up today on the list for the Screen Actors Guild. Often that is a telltale of what's ahead.

BARNETT: It's interesting to guess what the surprises may be because we spend a lot of time thinking that a leading movie will get the nod and then sometimes you get surprises like that to happen. What about the movie "Train Wreck"? It's a fan favorite. It's comedian, Amy Schumer, behind it. Could she get a nod in the best actress category? Because that would be a shock, right?

O'NEIL: In a way. They tend to like more cerebral brainy things in the comedy and musical category. But I think she's a shoe-in to get in there. I don't think the film can win. It will probably be nominated. They decided, Hollywood did, that "The Martian" is a comedy, but it will compete there. It's hard to imagine that losing unless it loses to "Joy," starring Jennifer Lawrence, as the entrepreneur inventor of the magic mop who goes on to make a fortune. It's my favorite movie of the year, a great comedy from David O'Russell. So we have a real contest there. I don't think "Train Wreck" would have a chance of winning, but then you'd have to get around Jennifer Lawrence and that's not going to happen.

CHURCH: Tom, every year, there are the people who get snubbed. Who do you think will be in that unfortunate category this year?

O'NEIL: Wow, that's a good question. We're wondering if Jennifer Lawrence herself could be snubbed, because she wasn't nominated this morning by the Screen Actors Guild. Neither was Matt Damon for "The Martian," or Michael Keaton for "Spotlight" and all three of them could conceivably win the Oscars. How could they be snubbed by their own guild? So that's what a crazy year it is this year. It's hard to get your mind around what's going to happen. So the Globes are going to be fascinating when that nomination list comes out.

BARNETT: It's good to hear your picks. Our viewers can head to your website, goldderby.com.

We're speaking with Tom O'Neil from L.A.

Thanks for your time, Tom.

CHURCH: Thanks, Tom.

O'NEIL: Thanks.

BARNETT: And another big movie people are talking about. You can almost feel the force getting closer. On Monday, "Star Wars, The Force Awakens" will premiere in L.A.

CHURCH: But amid all the hype, there's also controversy. Some people say the official Chinese poster of the movie is racist.

Our Matt Rivers has more from Beijing.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The new "Star Wars" film, "The Force Awakens," won't open in Chinese movie theaters like this one until January 9th, but the film is already being marketed here in a big way.

(on camera): Disney even placed 500 storm trooper figurines on to the Great Wall of China to promote the movie trailer's premier. But not all of the attention has been positive. Some "Star Wars" fans were quick to point out some differences between the U.S. version and Chinese version of the official movie poster. In the U.S. version, on the left, black actor, John Boyega, is a featured presence. On the Chinese side, on the right, he is shrunken down towards the bottom of the poster and replaced by Thai fighters. Meanwhile, other characters appear larger. Harrison Ford, for example, who plays Hans Solo, is a bit bigger. By shrinking down Boyega's picture and enlarging others, some fans on Western social media implied there was racism involved.

(on camera): A Disney representative would not comment to CNN, but Chinese state media said that any claims that Chinese audiences were somehow racists are simply untrue.

(voice-over): So we showed the Chinese version of the poster to some people on the street here in Beijing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I think it would be fair to say that Chinese people can be insensitive about race issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): It's nonsense to relate the poster to racism. I don't think it matters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I don't think it will spark widespread discussion here, because people don't pay much attention to race issues here.

[02:55:17] RIVERS: It's worth noting that Western movies released here in China regularly have different movie posters. Take the amazing "Spider-Man II, for example, the U.S. version on the left, and the Chinese version on the right.

(on camera): We can't say what motivated the change in the Chinese version of this new "Star Wars" poster, but safe to say, it's P.R. that the movie could have done without.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we'll have more CNN NEWSROOM after a very quick break. We'll have all the top stories from around the world.

BARNETT: And we'll also look at how some celebrities are now getting involved in a major political issue. So stay tuned for that.

Also, don't forget to connect with us on social media. Tell us from where you are watching. We love to hear that.

See you back here in a moment.

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CHURCH: Donald Trump's plans. What the Republican presidential front runner is saying about an Independent plan.

[03:00:02] BARNETT: While the president says ISIS is contained, his defense secretary says the militants are not. Now more U.S. troops and hardware could be heading to Iraq.