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15 Million People Facing Severe Weather Threats; Video of Fierce Battle to Retake Ramadi; NBA Features Public Service Announcements Aimed at Ending Gun Violence; Fire at Former President Bill Clinton's Childhood Home Being Investigated as Arson. Aired 11a- 12pa ET

Aired December 26, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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


[11:00:10] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Congratulations to that whole family again, and thank you so much for sharing your morning with us to make some good memories today.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, I'll be back with Christi tomorrow. Deb Feyerick picks things up in New York.

DEB FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: It is so incredible to watch that mom with that little baby. It's like she's been holding -- that grandmother, it's like she's been holding that baby for her entire life. That's what was so heartwarming about the whole thing. Thanks so much, you guys. Really appreciate it. We'll take it from here. It is now 11.00 on the East Coast. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for Fredricka Whitfield. Newsroom starts now.

Fifteen million people are facing severe weather threats across the nation today. The South still reeling from tornadoes and widespread flooding. The death toll now rising to at least 15 people across three states. In Alabama, a day the epic rainfall has residents bracing for the worst as a river swells just inches away from topping a levy protecting the town of Elba.

In western U.S., fire and ice with blizzard conditions bearing down on the southern Rockies and Plain states. This fresh blanket of snow that you're seeing right there covering parts of northern California. And in the southern part of the states, a raging wildfire fueled by fierce winds.

That fire is forcing mandatory evacuations and scorching roughly 8,000 acres so far. Look at the intensity there. Officials shutting down parts of two major highways, the 101 and the Pacific Coast highway. More than 500 firefighters are battling the flames, and joining me now on the phone is Captain Mike Lindbery, with the Ventura County Fire Department. Look, a lot of people travel on the roads. When do you think they are going to open and how do you think this fire is going to be contained?

MIKE LINDBERY, VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DPT CAPTAIN (via telephone): Well I think we're going to be working on this fire for at least the next few days. I think that's what it's going to take. It's grown significantly large in a very short amount of time. And that's just indicative of the conditions what we've been seeing here in California for the last several years with this drought. So it's going to be a while.

We have a lot of back country area that we need to get into and assess, and make sure that we can safely get the lines in there. And then we need to bring our resources in that were ordered last night. So even if this fire ignited last night, we were ordering resources from other agencies. And they're en route and have arrived, many of them have arrived, and we're going to be getting on the site, get out there, and get as much work done as we can today.

FEYERICK: And Captain, as we look at those fires burning, what about people? They're having evacuations. How many homes are in that area? Who is at risk?

LINDBERY: Well there's some that are beach area that is the primary evacuation area. That's a mandatory evacuation, it's an area of 30-35 homes. We also have a second area called Faria beach that is under a voluntary evacuation. Now oddly enough, these homes are right along the seashore. I mean if you step out the backyard, your feet are wet.

But this fire just happened to blow down right at the Solimar area, you know, it's an alignment with the wind. There was a fuel bed long enough to carry it toward those homes. We were fortunate, we recognized the threat immediately and deployed engines into that area, successfully defended those structures. But we now have to turn to the task of getting a line around this fire, and that's going to be a pretty significant task, and I -- like I said, I see it taking over the next couple of days.

FEYERICK: Yes, and we saw that parts of the -- certain parts of the highways are closed. Are there ways for people to make their way home without using these main highways or is that sort of equally dangerous given the nature of this fire?

LINDBERY: There are ways and they vary depending on how far out the traveler is once they find out about this closure on 101. I-5 is a major highway that runs north and south here in California, and so does the 101. So if they're far enough where they can catch i-5 and take that up, I would highly recommend that.

If they live along the coast where they need to take highway 101, there is a two-lane, windy mountain road, highway 150, that will take them around this fire. But unfortunately, that road, I drove it early this morning, had a lot of traffic, including 18-wheeler traffic on it, and I expect it to get busier as the day goes on, and the holiday travel increases.

FEYERICK: And Captain, you are there on the ground. You are seeing all of this. Can you describe just physically the conditions, and what your men and women are up against in terms of trying to contain this?

LINDBERY: You know, our firefighters have their work cut out for them, and we've known that all season. We have known that, you know, until we get at least two to three inches of rain this year, we will not have an end or at least a lessening of our brush season.

These fields that you're watching burn on your feed here are incredibly dry. The wind was 40 to 50 mile an hour gusts. You put those two things together along with some pretty steep topography, and you end up with the fire like we had had last night that grows to 1,000 acres within a few hours.

FEYERICK: Incredible, and just the way you described it, saying that the beach is really out the back door, it's just sort of a fluke of nature. Captain Mike Lindbery, we really thank you. We will let you get back to the job at hand. We know it is going to be a big one and we thank you.

LINDBERY: Thank you.

FEYERICK: And now -- thank you. And now to the severe weather that's refusing to let up in the South. The region there has a different problem, soaked with heavy rain, causing terrible flooding in some spots. Today 15 million people are facing new severe weather threats. More than 22 million could be facing those threats tomorrow.

Overnight the death toll from this week's tornado disaster did go up, at least 15 people now sadly confirmed dead. CNN's Nick Valencia is following this latest weather system, and all the damage that it's done, and Nick, in those images, very hard to watch.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN REPORTER: They are. It looks more like something you would see during the springtime, that kind of damage from tornadoes, but this is what we are getting in December. A quick note, we have been reporting all morning long, in Alabama according to the National Weather Service, that there was double-digit inches of rain.

Well now they are making a correction, they attribute that to a malfunction in their machine, in their reporting system, it's more like three inches of rain, so not as bad as we initially thought in portions of Alabama. Nevertheless that state is still under a state of emergency, and the concern across the South is that more severe weather is still to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Severe weather batters several southern states. Heavy rains hammer parts of Alabama. The water made some roads impassable. Rescue crews helping residents trapped in their homes. The National Weather Service said a potential tornado touched down in Birmingham, causing damage to several blocks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The damage was done that was confined to approximately one square mile. We have three structures, three houses that collapsed. We transported one patient from the scene. There were two others that was removed from the structure, but we reported no injuries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alabama's governor declared a state of emergency because of widespread flooding. At least 117 homes overcome by water. In Georgia, the rain damaged roads, and made driving treacherous. And in Mississippi, flood warnings and relentless rain add more misery to areas already devastated by tornadoes.

They killed at least eight people in the state. Many roads are flooded and some people are dealing with rising water in their homes. In Wren, Mississippi, Victor and Tamika Hail (ph) watched as their home of 10 years was overtaken by water.

TAMIKA HAIL (ph): He's right (ph), the lawnmower, the trailer, it just floated away, the garbage can, everything gone.

VICTOR HAIL (ph): It happened so fast, we had to get up and get out of there. The rain was coming so fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The couple and their 9-year-old son now homeless, and staying with relatives.

TAMIKA HAIL (ph): It's discouraging, we lost everything, my child he didn't get nothing for Christmas, items.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: That's difficult to think about, there was children there that were waiting for gifts from Santa Claus, I'm sure had a tough Christmas. A lot of people are going to remember this Christmas most definitely for all the wrong reasons in those states affected by this severe weather system. Deb, 15 lives taken, the youngest victim just 7 years old, the 7-year- old boy in Mississippi. And worse news for the states in the south, further south, bracing for heavy snow and blizzard-like conditions. Deb?

FEYERICK: All right. Nick Valencia, thank you. And Mother Nature is not done yet. The central plains could see more severe weather, and there could be snow and ice causing a travel nightmare in another part of the country. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us, and Allison, what are we looking at both today and tomorrow?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLGIST: Well we are going to be getting a bunch of different things. We've got blizzard warnings on one end of the scale, severe storms on the other, and massive flooding on one section. So here is an outlook of the entire map, again the eastern half of the country going to be dealing with rain and the potential for flooding.

The central U.S., again, dealing with the potential for some severe weather, including tornadoes. And just behind that system, we have our blizzard watches and warnings as we prepare for heavy snow and also very heavy ice coming down as well.

Here is a look at what we deal with in terms of the threat. This is the winter, so you see the winter storm watches and warnings in states like Minnesota, South Dakota, also into Nebraska. But we also have blizzard watches and warnings for Kansas, Oklahoma, also into Texas and New Mexico.

Here is the system as a whole. Notice as it begins to push its way east it brings even more rain to areas that certainly don't need to see it, like Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. And then we have the snow and ice out behind it, stretching from Texas all the way up towards Chicago by the time we get to Monday.

But the big threat for today is going to be the severe weather. We have an enhanced threat from tornadoes in cities like Dallas, Texas. So anybody traveling to, from, or around Dallas needs to be prepared, and be a little bit patient when it comes to some travel delays.

But the threat as a whole stretches from San Antonio all the way up towards Cincinnati. Tomorrow, the system pushes a little farther east, now incorporating Memphis, Little Rock, and also into New Orleans. Same threats though, isolated tornadoes, also the threat for some damaging winds. But again, the flooding is also going to be on the minds of many.

Look at this, rainfall estimates about 8 to 10 inches for states like Oklahoma, and then for Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, an additional 4 to 6 inches, Deb. Again, they don't need to see it. A lot of those areas have already had 8 to 10 inches and now they are going to get even more.

FEYERICK: It's just amazing to see what the weather is doing this December, this winter. All right, Allison Chinchar, we thank you so much. Appreciate it. And coming up, Iraqi soldiers are trying to take back the city of Ramadi from ISIS militants. We'll hear why this site is so important and how U.S. forces are involved, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And happening today, there's new video of the fierce battle to retake Ramadi's center from ISIS fighters, and the constant bombing that has left the city in ruins. Iraqi officials say that progress is slow because ISIS fighters have left behind (inaudible) and IED's, improvised explosive devices, but they predict that Iraqi troops are very close to retaking the city completely. CNN's Robyn Kriel has more.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This push to reclaim Ramadi city center began in earnest on Tuesday. Iraqi security forces now claim to be within blocks of the main government compound that is ISIS' stronghold. Defense officials claim they control about three-quarters of the city, and that they have ISIS surrounded.

There are around 300 to 500 ISIS fighters remaining inside the city. Iraqi officials say they're mostly foreign fighters. The extremist militants have rigged up thousands of improvised explosive devices in cars, in the ground, and in homes, to counter the Iraqi government forces assaults.

Civilians who were not able to flee the city ahead of the operation are being asked to wave white flags. The Iraqi government says they will be granted safe passage. The recapture of Ramadi would be both a strategic victory for the Iraqi forces, and a morale boost for the troops. Strategic because of its location from the Baghdad highway, and its proximity to the capital, Baghdad, and a boost for the Iraqi troops who were humiliated by the ease at which Ramadi fell to the terror group back in May. Robyn Kriel, CNN, London.

FEYERICK: Thank you, Robyn. How crucial is the fight for Ramadi? Well I want to bring in Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, he's a CNN military analyst and a former U.S. army commanding general. Also CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, he's also a former defense intelligence officer.

And gentlemen, this is critical, because this area, Ramadi, and Anbar Province, is really the heartland of Sunni tribes. They have now joined the fight. It's about 100 kilometers from Baghdad. So this is really important. General, let me start with you. Why do you think that the Iraqi forces now feel they have to go in and do this?

LIEUTENANT GENERAL MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Many more reasons than Robyn just stated, Deb. I think what you are also talking about is a resurgence of the Iraqi security forces. It has shed itself of some very poor leaders it had had during the final days of the Maliki regime. And it is also showing that the Baghdad government is supporting those other than the Shia militias. So that's very important in Ramadi. So it is somewhat of an operational victory, as it will be once they finish going through this particular town.

FEYERICK: And also interesting is sort of the makeup of this, because you do have the Iraqi forces, you also have the Sunni tribesmen who are going to maintain control of the land that they get. But the Shia militias are nowhere. And that's important, because that's a fundamental shift to allow the Sunnis to feel OK, we are back in the game. How do you see it, Lieutenant Colonel?

LIEUTENANT COLONEL RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, that's exactly right. It is important that the Sunnis are seen as involved in this. And this is very reminiscent of the Anbar awakening back in 2007, where the tide of battle was turned by those Sunnis joining forces with the Americans at the time, and now, you see the Sunnis joining with the Iraqi forces.

This is critical. And this is going to -- this will spell a really good omen for the future. Once they take Ramadi, they have got to hold Ramadi, and you have to have the Sunnis to do that. The Shia can't do this. What we're seeing now is, I think, a dress rehearsal for what's going to happen in Mosul.

FEYERICK: Which is where they're going to move to next. A very interesting thing, also, is there are a lot of citizens that are in Ramadi, and those citizens are really being used by ISIS as fodder. And that's one of the reasons that, I guess, the troops have been sort of slow to move. How did they play a role in all of this, General?

HERTLING: This is very tough, Deb. I saw this when I was in Iraq in 2008, where Al Qaeda would come in and actually repress the local populous, use them as shields, kill them off, use them to bargain. And this is exactly the same thing ISIS is doing.

The new soldiers -- you've got to remember too, these -- the majority of the forces going into Ramadi right now are relatively green troops. These are folks who have just come together in those new brigades. Even though they do have the golden division with them, most of the forces have recently been trained by the coalition.

So these are green troops going against an enemy that is using their fellow citizens as shields. That's extremely difficult to face as a soldier, when you see perhaps neighbors and friends and fellow tribesmen being held hostage or being put up in front of you as shields. A tough decision call for some of those soldiers.

FEYERICK: Yes, and ironically, ISIS using the very citizens that technically they are trying to recruit to their caliphate. Colonel, the coalition and Iraqi forces have been working to disrupt ISIS supply lines. Today we're hearing that one of the major roots into Raqqa, Syria, is being disrupted. How effective do you think that will happen -- will be effectively, this strategy?

FRANCONA: Well that is effective, and we are seeing this. This is a long-term strategy, and this goes for the retaking of Mosul which we know is the key to Iraq getting rid of ISIS. So they are trying to isolate Mosul. They are going to cut those supply lines.

The fighting at Sinjar earlier, Tal Afar, just a few weeks ago, and now cutting the supply line between Raqqa and Mosul, that is critical to isolating that, because once you isolate Mosul, then you can surround it and go in and take it.

Very much (inaudible) -- let's remember, Mosul is a huge city, a scale of magnitude much larger than Ramadi and we've got long supply lines. So this isn't going to happen in the next few weeks but we are starting the process, and cutting the supply lines is crucial to that.

FEYERICK: Do you think, just very quickly, gentlemen, that this sort of chokes ISIS in a way, at least here in Ramadi, and then perhaps even in Mosul, or do those who leave Ramadi go to Mosul to defend it there? I'll start with you, General.

HERTLING: Yes, it certainly does, Deb. And this has been the strategy all along. When many people were saying there wasn't a strategy, this was part of it, to cut the supply lines, cut the logistics, take out and destroy the leadership, make the population -- give the population a chance to rise, and at the same time, provide time for the Iraqi security forces to build up.

Mosul is key, as Rick just said, but there are going to be a lot of other fights before Mosul. They have to take -- the Iraqi security forces have to take a city called Shirkat, another one called Hawija on the way to Mosul, all to establish the base for resupply. So I agree completely with what Rick said. This is not going to take days or weeks. This is probably going to continue to take months before Iraqi security forces can get to the north and take this final city.

FEYERICK: All right, well hopefully, this is a -- this is a success that Iraq desperately needs. General Hertling, Colonel Rick Francona, we thank you both very much for your insights.

HERTLING: Thank you, Deb.

FRANCONA: Good to be with you.

FEYERICK: And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And the NBA featured some of its biggest stars in a series of Christmas Day public service announcements aimed at ending gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN CURRY, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS POINT GUARD: I'm doing this because hey, I think it can be changed, and it's heartbreaking, and it's disappointing. I know how it brings (ph) those families --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And that was Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. He joined Carmelo Anthony, Joakim Noah, and Chris Paul in a series of PSA's released yesterday. The NBA collaborated with filmmaker Spike Lee and the, quote, Every Town for Gun Safety Support Fund to produce these videos, and hopefully make an impact.

And this comes just three years -- this comes just after the three- year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Families will tell you time doesn't always heal, especially when other mass shootings just keep on happening. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield talked exclusively to one Sandy Hook mom, dedicated to making schools around the country safer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: When you walk down a school hallway, what does this feel like?

NICOLE HOCKLEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SANDY HOOK PROMISE: Especially at this time of year, seeing, you know, some of the winter decorations and classroom doors, and it just -- schools always have a very similar feel, look and feel, wherever you go.

WHITFIELD: That's because Nicole Hockley's 6-year-old son, Dylan, was among 26 killed in an unspeakable massacre at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School.

HOCKLEY: You know, I can picture Dylan running through the halls. And that's hard, seeing kids, especially the age that he should be now.

WHITFIELD: He would be nine now, in the fourth grade. Hockley says her memory of what happened on December 14, 2012, is still incredibly vivid, as is the last time she was in Sandy Hook School. HOCKLEY: My husband and I went back, and we walked the halls, and I

was able to spend some time where his body was found. And I left behind two purple butterflies, one for him and one for Ann Marie, his special education teacher, to just try to connect with them in some way.

WHITFIELD: Today --

HOCKLEY: That's where you guys are going to make a difference.

WHITFIELD: -- Hockley digs deep, connecting with lots of children at dozens of schools across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What could we do to help our school?

WHITFIELD: Hockley and other Sandy Hook families founded the group Sandy Hook Promise to help each other heal and provide training for both adults and young people on how to detect and help prevent gun violence.

HOCKLEY: Teaching kids how to learn the signs of someone who might be at risk, such as drastic changes in behavior, drastic changes in actions.

WHITFIELD: Sandy Hook Promise issued a challenge to schools nationwide to come up with their own approach. Students at this Oklahoma high school were so moved, they launched their own Say Something campaign with signs, bracelets, and this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say something to me, I promise I won't judge.

WHITFIELD: The video made a big impact.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have officers here, and you know, staff members that will protect us. We have lockdown procedures. But you know, seeing the video and being in the video, it kind of made me realize, especially the statistics of how many people can cause school violence based on you know, home life, personal life, it just really got to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just simple things like smiling in the hallways instead of just going through with a stony face, making an effort to talk to people and sit with them if they are not with anybody else, and actually actively making friends.

WHITFIELD: What do you say to that person who is by themselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't even have to say anything, really. It's just the presence, just sit down with them. How are you today? Do you want to eat with me? Simple things like that.

WHITFIELD: And so Hockley's group awarded Moore high school $10,000 to take it even further.

HOCKLEY: So thank you.

WHITFIELD: Everyone has a process. Now what about your husband and Jake?

HOCKLEY: Jake is doing well. This is the first year we are going to put up a Christmas tree. So tomorrow we are going to go find a tree. And we are making ornaments with our friends on Sunday, because all of our old ornaments were very personal, and every ornament has a memory. So we are trying to create new memories now.

WHITFIELD: New memories and a new outlook this mother admits --

HOCKLEY: You guys continue to just take my breath away.

WHITFIELD: -- have come in the hardest way.

HOCKLEY: If you can think about every single time why you want to prevent violence, why you want to save a friend, why you want to have a safer school and a safer community, that inspiration and motivation is going to keep you going.

This is one of my why's. This is my son, Dylan, who was six when he was killed. My other son, Jake, was eight when he lost his little brother, and he was also in the school at the time of the shooting. He is also my why.

WHITFIELD: And why, she says, everyone plays a role.

HOCKLEY: Dylan was autistic, and he had some developmental delays. But one of the things that he did to show his happiness and energy was to flap. Dylan was a flapper. And I asked him once, why do you flap? And he said, because I am a beautiful butterfly.

And it's been said that a butterfly on one side of the world flapping its wings can cause a hurricane on the other side. At Dylan's funeral, I said if that's true, then 26 butterflies flapping their wings can do more than cause a hurricane. They can change our country.

Well you know what, I look out here, there is a heck of a lot more than 26 butterflies in this room. You are all butterflies. You are the ones who are flapping your wings and you are the ones who are going to make the change happen.

WHITFIELD: Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Moore, Oklahoma.

FEYERICK: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And another Clinton is about to hit the 2016 presidential campaign trail. Former president Bill Clinton is going to be joining his wife in January, just weeks ahead of the first caucus and primary elections, giving her a little bit of support.

Joining me is CNN political commentator Tara Setmayer, conservative, and CNN contributor Bakari Sellers, a former Democratic state representative in the South Carolina State House. Good to see both of you. Bakari, you first, how do you think Bill Clinton's presence will change the dynamics of the race, the kind of images this is likely to sort of resonate?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well this is a secret weapon that no one else in the campaign trail on either side has. And Bill Clinton actually talks to specific voters. One, he speaks to white male voters, who, for all practical purposes, are becoming the minority in this country, and who are becoming relatively hesitant to come back to the Democratic party.

And he can actually go out and target those voters, especially through the role (ph) south. But Bill Clinton also has extremely high popularity in the African-American community. So I think, and I am excited actually to get a chance to see the president again out on the campaign trail, and we can't wait for him to come back to South Carolina after he visits New Hampshire and Iowa.

FEYERICK: So Tara, do you think this could make a dent in any of the GOP candidates?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well here's the -- Bakari had the operative word there in his description. He says he is excited to see Bill Clinton. How many people are excited to see Hillary Clinton? The lack of excitement for her candidacy has been a problem for her for the last year, which is partially why they have been kind of holding on to the Bill Clinton trump card, if you will, because they know that Bill Clinton will bring people out. They want to see him

How many times have we heard that a Hillary Clinton candidacy -- presidency would be another Bill -- they think they are getting two for one, they're getting Bill and Hillary. And so she knows that she is nowhere near the politician that Bill Clinton is.

I don't agree with him politically, but he is the consummate politician. He is charismatic and extremely popular, despite being impeached, despite having an affair with an intern, it didn't matter. People love him, and they know this, the Hillary campaign knows this.

But this also tells me something as well, that means that they have been trying really hard to separate her from him. She wants to be her own woman, her own candidacy -- her own candidate, and they don't want to necessarily be, oh, it's, you know, Bill and Hillary. But I think that means they are at the point where they have no choice because of the fact that she is, guess what, losing in New Hampshire, by some polls, to Bernie sanders still.

FEYERICK: So this will certainly be one way to start the new year. Well let's switch gears just a little bit and talk about the Washington Post report. It says that the Department of Homeland Security is getting ready to carry out raids on hundreds of families living in the U.S. illegally.

These raids could begin as early as January. They're said to be aimed at Central American immigrants who advocates say fled violence in their home countries. Bakar, if the White House is demanding the U.S. take in Syrian refugees fleeing the violence, why go after other refugees who may also be claiming some form of political asylum?

SELLERS: Well I think that we are looking at vastly different scenarios here. From what I understand, what homeland security is doing, is actually going and rounding up these individuals, or deporting these individuals who were already given their deportation papers, who were already told that they should leave.

Now politically speaking, this couldn't happen at a worse time, and I am not necessarily sure I agree with this quote-unquote roundup that's occurring today. But this is what homeland security is setting out to do.

There is no doubt what's going on in Syria, there is no doubt the disruption that's going on and the harm that's being caused, and the lives that are being just -- the bloodshed that's happening and the lives that are being murdered over there. And those Syrian refugees, I mean we need to welcome them with open arms. I think that's vastly different than what homeland security is talking about today.

FEYERICK: So this plan is being heralded by Donald Trump. Could it be put Hillary Clinton in a difficult position between Trump's anti- immigration policies and those of the Obama administration, Tara?

SETMAYER: Well I think that -- well, the Obama administration's immigration policies have been an absolute disaster, and the fact that the president has skirted Congress, and he ruled by executive fiat after he said dozens of times that he cannot do exactly what he ended up doing, because the Constitution doesn't permit it.

You still have a crisis along our southern border. You have tens of thousands of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children coming across -- coming across our southern border. You have families coming over here. It is not secure.

The Obama administration has continued to misrepresent what is happening at the southern border. They try and tell the American people oh, the border's secure, we've got it, it's under control. They think the American people are stupid. They see what's going on down there.

So this whole thing about rounding up families, and this is supposed to be some kind of tough border security thing, I think it is all for show, because it's continuing, the stories are starting to come out more, starting to report more about the disaster that's continuing to go on down at the southern border, similar to what happened last year when we saw this, it was a crisis.

No excuse for this. We've got illegal immigrant criminals that are being let out by ICE (ph), over 67,000 criminals. There are other people, I don't know about targeting families, I think this is for show. There are other criminals, violent criminals, illegal immigrants in this country that should be targeted and ICE (ph) should be able to do their job. But this administration does selective enforcement, deciding when they feel like it. And this time -- you know, why are they doing it now? I'm not quite sure. But the issue of illegal immigration and border security is a winning issue for Republicans. It is a not -- it's a tough issue for Hillary, but you see them bending over backwards so those --

FEYERICK: Well I quickly see -- I see Bakari sort of shaking his head, and you have obviously said a lot of interesting things, Tara. But Bakari, you have the final word on this. You think this is where immigration stands?

SELLERS: Well I definitely don't think immigration is a winning issue for Republicans. The fact of the matter is that the world, and the United States for that matter, is becoming a browner place. And one thing that Democrats look at this issue with, is one that Republicans look at this issue with, is fear. And as long as they keep trying to make the public more afraid and more fearful, we are the party of ideas and we believe that's going to win in November.

FEYERICK: Well it's going to be interesting to see with respect to immigration, one side will do national security, the other sort of human rights, and what should be done. Tara Setmayer and Bakari Sellers, we thank you so much, and we will be right back.

SELLERS: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: And in 2015, we saw too many mass shootings, policing under scrutiny, and terror hit our homeland. Our Jean Casarez has a look at some of the most unforgettable crime and justice stories of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A biker shootout caught on video surveillance. Nine people killed, 18 wounded May 17th at the Twin Peaks Restaurant in Waco, Texas. 177 bikers were arrested, police recovered 480 weapons.

In this video, finally released, an officer fired his weapon after police say the suspect was carrying a knife and acting erratically. An African-American teen, Laquan McDonald, was shot 16 times. Chicago Police Chief Gary McCarthy fired after dashboard video of a suspect killed was kept under wraps for over a year.

RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR OF CHICAGO: Public trust in the leadership of the department has been shaken.

CASAREZ: the officer, Jason Van Dyke, has been charged with first- degree murder, while many in the community continue to rally, calling for the major to resign. The scene, heartbreaking and too familiar.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are just getting word here of a school shooting. CASAREZ: A shooting on a school campus, this time at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Gunman Christopher Harper Mercer shoots and kills nine people. He dies after a gun battle with police at the college.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation and the aftermath of it, we've become numb to this.

CASAREZ: As Bill Cosby maintained his silence, more women came forward saying the television star had sexually assaulted them in the past.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He made me kneel down, and I am not -- I am not going to repeat what happened next. All I know is that it was the most horrifying thing that could happen to any young woman.

CASAREZ: And Cosby turned the tables on some of his accusers in December, filing suit against them for defamation of his character. Mr. Cosby states plainly that he neither drugged nor sexually assaulted the defendants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is my very, very sad duty to report Alison and Adam died this morning shortly after 6.45 when the shots rang out.

CASAREZ: WDBJ television journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward shot to death by a disgruntled former colleague during a live broadcast for their morning news, heinous acts recorded by the killer himself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just horrifying and shocking. These were young people. Alison Parker was what, 24 years old? Adam Ward was 27 years old. It's just unbelievably sad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been gut-wrenching for me to try and get through anything without breaking down in tears.

CASAREZ: The killer, Bryce Williams, shot himself as police closed in. The scene read like a movie, an escape tunnel chiseled away by inmates leading to a manhole on the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have new developments for you about the manhunt for two convicts that has crippled part of upstate New York.

CASAREZ: David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Plattsburg, New York.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Richard Matt not only didn't surrender, he picked up that shotgun, he aimed it at the agent, who then shot three times.

CASAREZ: Matt was killed. David Sweat is back behind bars. They were on the run for more than three weeks. Prison worker Joyce Mitchell who helped with their escape but got cold feet for the plan getaway is now serving up to seven years behind bars. JOYCE MITCHELL: I did wrong. I deserve to be punished. But you

know, people need to know that I was only trying to save my family.

CASAREZ: In 2015, a jury sentenced bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The convicted Boston bomber, Dzokhar Tsarnaev, will meet his end by lethal injection for his crimes, actions that killed four people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even in the wake of horror and tragedy, we are not intimidated by acts of terror or radical ideals.

CASAREZ: Nine people died inside the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina, when Dylan Roof opened fire at a Bible study. Roof was arrested the following day. According to police, he confessed and told investigators he wanted to start a race war. Roof faced families of the victims, who spoke directly to the killer from court.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have killed some of the most beautiful people that I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been to a lot of these hearings, this was the most emotional, the most powerful I have ever listened to.

CASAREZ: The state is seeking the death penalty. An arrest caught on tape, Freddie Gray died in police custody, leading to riots in Baltimore that devastated the city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then as soon as the firefighters walked away or turned their backs, somebody walked up with a knife and cut holes, two holes, into that fire hose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to be really careful over there, because it looks like the police are moving closer and closer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police again are moving in --

CASAREZ: Gray was placed in a police van and sometime during the journey suffered an injury that ended his life one week later. The officers involved, charged for numerous crimes including not calling medics, and not buckling Gray inside the van. In the first of six trials, a hung jury. Law enforcement calls this the worst terrorist attack since 9/11.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, new answers in the act of terror here that took 14 lives. That is how it is now being investigated, an act of terror.

CASAREZ: Fourteen people shot dead by a co-worker and his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is now a federal terrorism investigation, led by the FBI.

CASAREZ: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik pledged their support to the terror group. This incident, law enforcement's worst fear, lone wolf terrorists.

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FEYERICK: And we'll be right back.

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FEYERICK: And here's a look at our top stories. A fire at former president Bill Clinton's childhood home in Hope, Arkansas, is being investigated as arson. Police say the fire started in the back of the home. The home's walkway and door were vandalized with graffiti. The home is a national historic site. Clinton lived there for the first four years of his life.

A Texas judge shot last month in Austin is now home from the hospital. Julie Kocurek was shot and wounded in her driveway November 6th. The person of interest in the attack remains in jail on an unrelated murder charge. Police believe the judge was targeted.

Some people are waking up furious at FedEx because their packages did not get delivered in time for the holiday. That's because FedEx's main hub is in Memphis, Tennessee, and that area was affected by severe weather, so to make up for the delays, FedEx said that some of its employees volunteered to work extra shifts on Christmas to help get packages to customers.

A 4-year-old Florida girl spent her Christmas fighting for her life. Her family spent theirs at her bedside after the flu nearly took her life. Here's CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Deb, the flu season is upon us, and a family in Florida spent Christmas day here at the intensive care unit at this hospital. Their 4-year-old was perfectly healthy, until the flu attacked her heart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gemma Botelho was a completely healthy 4-year- old little girl. And now she's fighting for her life in this intensive care unit because of the flu.

ALEX BOTELHO, GEMMA'S FATHER: I really thought it was the end.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You thought she was not going to make it?

BOTELHO: No.

LEJLA SZABO, GEMMA'S MOTHER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On Sunday, December 13th, Gemma had a slight fever.

SZABO: She wasn't extremely sick, at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On Monday, Gemma felt better. She even danced in her school's Christmas play. But then three days later -- SZABO: She was pale, she had cold hands, cold feet.

BOTELHO: The way she spoke to us, how she was trying to say something's wrong, I could tell that she never spoke with me with that tone before, like asking for help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her parents, Lejla Szabo and Alex Botelho, took Gemma to the emergency room just in the nick of time. She arrived and went into cardiac arrest.

SZABO: The feeling of losing your child right in front of you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You thought you were going to lose her?

SZABO: Yes.

BOTELHO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her heart wasn't doing anything?

SZABO: No.

BOTELHO: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctors performed CPR on Gemma for 45 minutes.

SZABO: He told me then, you know, we just have to look back, we just have to appreciate these four-and-a-half years that we had with her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctors couldn't get Jemma's heart working again. They put her on life support and sent her in a helicopter to a transplant center, thinking she'd need a new heart.

SZABO: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, her heart wasn't doing anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing, no (inaudible) --

SZABO: Nothing. Absolutely no activity, no pulse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Sunday before Christmas, her parents asked friends around the world to say prayers for their daughter at mass.

BOTELHO: One in Argentina, Brazil, in Italy, and one in Miami, 11.00.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone did a mass at the same time?

BOTELHO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that's when Lejla and Alex say they got their Christmas miracle.

BOTELHO: She started bouncing back on Sunday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden on Sunday, Gemma's heart started to beat again. Can you explain it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes we don't understand everything that happens in medicine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's Gemma's prognosis? How's she going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she's going to make a great recovery. A month from now, this is going to be just a little bump in the road for her life and she should be back to doing the things she's always done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one can explain why some healthy children, like Jemma, get so desperately ill from the flu. Did Gemma ever get a flu shot?

SZABO: Never.

BOTELHO: Never.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because?

SZABO: I -- I didn't think of the flu as a serious illness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But now they do, and the parents of this little girl, who dreams of being a doctor when she grows up, have a message to other parents. Get your child vaccinated for the flu.

COHEN: Gemma is doing better, but she's still not out of the woods yet. Now, unfortunately, children do die of the flu every year. It's not too late to get a flu shot for this season. Deb?

FEYERICK: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. And the next hour of the CNN Newsroom begins after a short break.

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