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President-elect Donald Trump's Agenda For The First 100 Days In Office; A Powerful Earthquake Strikes Off The Coast Of Japan, Triggering A Tsunami Warning, Aftershocks; Pope Grants Priests Power to Forgive Abortions; New Details on ISIS from Insiders; Trump Continues Beef with "Hamilton"; Kanye West Hospitalized for Exhaustion. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 22, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:00] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, Donald Trump gets specific. The U.S. President-elect unveils his plan for his first month in the White House.

Plus, a powerful earthquake strikes off the coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami warning, aftershocks and a lot of very bad memories.

And Pope Francis makes it easier for women who've had abortions to seek the church's forgiveness.

SESAY: Hello, and thank you for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay. This is NEWSROOM L.A.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is laying out a series of executive actions he plans to take within the first 100 days of his administration. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whether it's producing steel, building cars, or curing disease, I want the next- generation of production and innovation to happen right here on our great homeland, America.

Creating wealth and jobs for American workers, as part of this plan, I've asked my transition team to develop a list of executive actions we can take on day one to restore our laws and bring back our jobs. It's about time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Among those executive actions requiring only Trump's signature serve notice that the U.S. plans to withdraw from the Transpacific Partnership negotiations; investigate abuses of the U.S. Visa program that hurt American workers; and cancel some environmental restrictions affecting the development of U.S. energy, including shale and coal.

Well, joining us now: Democratic Strategist, Dave Jacobson, and Republican Consultant, John Thomas. Gentlemen, round two. John, to start with you, an ambitious agenda

for the first 100 days, with one that comes with a significant number of executive actions. What's that about? Is this about a couple of early wins, easy wins?

JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Yes, it's the quick easy wins that pretty much most folks are not going to disagree with. But you'll notice, really what spoke most to me, was what he didn't include in that first 100 days, repealing and replacing Obamacare. He left that out. The wall, he left that out. These are major things he campaigned upon.

I think it's -- what it's showing us, is a different Trump than we saw in the campaign, a more moderated Trump that understands if you're going to repeal something, you better have the right plan and path to get that plan approved. You can't just repeal things outright.

SESAY: Dave, is that what it's about? A moderated Trump, a realistic Trump, the reality of governing?

DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, perhaps. Right. I mean, I think like it illustrates the fact that like, he understands now that he's president-elect; that like Congress isn't going the pass some of this stuff.

Like, I don't see Paul Ryan building up a wall along the southern border of the United States. Like, he's all about balancing the budgets, dealing with the deficits. Like, I bet you he's saying to Donald Trump, show me the money, baby. And I think like that's -- right?

(CROSSTALK)

Perhaps, like, that's the issue, right? And I think the other thing that he missed out, right, was like this term limit plan that he, like, wanted to institute.

Like, Congress clearly isn't going to pass that, right? Like, the -- all of these members are interested in getting re-elected year after year. And like, the one thing that they're not going to do is, like, limit their careers in Washington, right?

And so, like, I think fundamentally, what we're seeing is Donald Trump understands -- look, perhaps this big and bold agenda or ideas that I've got moving forward, they're not going to pass through legislative bodies. I've got to figure out where I can cut deals.

SESAY: Well, the TPP, the Transpacific Partnership Agreement was something he campaigned hard on. He said it was a bad deal for this country. He is sticking to his guns. He says he's going to kill it, at least the U.S. participation in it. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: On trade, I'm going to issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Transpacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country. Instead, we will negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back on to American shores.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Let's bring in CNN MONEY's Asia-Pacific Editor, Andrew Stevens, who joins us now from Hong Kong, to deal -- to dig a little further into all of this.

I mean, Andrew, if the U.S. does indeed pull out of this deal, I mean, you've already told us this would effectively kill the TPP, what would it mean for the U.S. alliance with Asia? What would it mean for an expansionist China in the region?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN MONEY ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, the TPP was really something that Barack Obama wanted to use to get economic leverage and complete the pivot, if you like, towards Asia by the U.S. And without the TPP, as Obama constantly said, it wouldn't be the U.S. writing rules on trade for the 21st century, it would be China. And influence in Asia for the U.S. would wane.

A lot of Asian countries have expressed a lot of misgivings about the U.S. pulling out of the TPP purely because they had -- they thought it was going to be a done deal. So, they now see the U.S. withdrawing, if you like, and that does leave space for China to move in.

We've already heard Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, saying at the APEC meeting that he wants to open the -- open the communications to get trade deals done, where China would be more in the driving seat than the U.S. So, definitely it would see a diminishing of influence in what is still the engine room of the global economy, Isha.

SESAY: Uh-hmm. And with that being said, what would the impact be on the global economy?

STEVENS: It's a difficult one to answer, really, because the TPP hadn't been actually brought in. So, we don't know what the benefits are and clearly, because there are so many different opinions on the value of the TPP.

If you just Google TPP, what, you know -- good or bad, you get a really, really divided opinion on it. What I think is more important here is not so much killing off the TPP, but if Donald Trump and he -- and noticeably, he didn't do this either in first 100 days, talked about naming China as a currency manipulator, slapping a 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the U.S. If he starts going down that road, that will lead most likely to retaliation by China. These are the two biggest economies in the world, you get a trade war. That is when it gets very, very serious for the global economy.

SESAY: Andrew Stevens, joining us there from Hong Kong with some important perspective. Andrew, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Back to the guys here in the studio. Let me ask you this before we wrap up this conversation about the video on the 100 days. The very fact that he announced his priorities in a video that he

posted on social media as opposed to having a press conference, does that strike you as odd, John?

THOMAS: I think it tells me two things.

First of all, the length of the video was short, and so it's shareable. Part of how Trump got elected in the first place, is he went around the mainstream media, and he went right to the people. He delivered his message.

So, I think this is Trump's style. He wants to deliver his take directly through the media. I think it also shows you that Trump feels that the media is not going to give him a fair shake. That if he did hold a press conference, he might get off-message. And he wants to be clear and concise in what he intends to do. And so, that's what we're seeing.

JACOBSON: I think it raises the alarm bells about, like, whether or not he's going to be restrictive president or whether or not he's going to, like, embrace, like, the first amendment and free press and all these sorts of things.

I think like, you know, one of the things that it's telling me is, like, you know, he hasn't elaborated on whether or not he's going to have like this protected pool of press, like, travel around with him, right?

There was rumors that He left Trump Tower to like go out to dinner and snuck out --

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: Yes, and had a meal --

JACOBSON: That's a major question. Does the press have access to the president?

SESAY: Well, speaking of, his use of social media. Yes, he used it for this video regarding his 100 days. He was also on social media throughout the weekend, unhappy about scenes that played out on Broadway at the "Hamilton" play, which involved his Vice President- elect, Mike Pence.

Let's remind our viewers of what happened, and then go into President- elect Trump's reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at "Hamilton," an American musical. We really do.

We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious, that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our

American values and to work on behalf of all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: John, the President-elect Donald Trump says the cast of Hamilton harassed Mike Pence and they should apologize.

Do you think they should? Did they cross the line for you?

THOMAS: Well, first of all, it's a first amendment right; they can do whatever they want. I just don't think it was the venue for it.

You know, the vice president-elect went there to enjoy a play not to get a political lecture about himself. I think vice president-elect was a class act. He stood there. He -- even though he was exiting the theater, he listened. He didn't boo at them, and he said since, it's their right to do it.

I just don't think that's the place and time to do it. And when you're paying $3,000 a ticket to be there, that's not what the intention of it was to be.

SESAY: Dave, vice president-elect has said it didn't bother him. He actually also said that, when he entered theater and there was some booing, he actually told those he was with, this is the sound of democracy.

Yet, President-elect Trump, it seemed to get under his skin --

JACOBSON: Right. And we know how thin his skin is.

SESAY: Which again brings people -- has people wondering, is this what it's going to be like when he's in the oval office.

How concerned are you? What does this episode demonstrate to you?

JACOBSON: I think Donald Trump's Twitter account is essentially is emblematic of him playing with fire.

I mean, we almost had a diplomatic crisis when he flew to Mexico to meet with the president there. And then they got in a Twitter war, back and forth about whether or not Donald Trump discussed who was going to pay for the wall, right?

The question is like, how active is he going to be on Twitter? How is he going to use it? And, like, you know, is that something that can create another diplomatic disaster perhaps now that he's the sitting president, right?

I think the other issue was like the folks at "Hamilton" like raised some real concerns that haven't been addressed by the president-elect, right?

He had this sort of unifying, calming narrative the night that he won the election, but he's been silent on everything else, whether it's the protests across the country, this, you know, Nazi-like conference with white supremacists over the weekend --

SESAY: And to that, let's show the viewers these images of this gathering in Washington, D.C. at the weekend with the "Alt-rightist" group, defined by bigotry and hatred; basically gathered to celebrate Donald Trump's victory. Let's run the pictures and share them with our viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SPENCER, ALT-RIGHT MOVEMENT LEADER: Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Dave, back to your point, he was so troubled by the "Hamilton" episode, yet we didn't hear him condemn this. People say why not?

JACOBSON: I think it speaks volumes about whether or not he's actually, like, trying to heal the wounds and the gaping divides that have been built throughout the course of this campaign.

I mean, this was a really divisive campaign on both sides, right? It was negative race to the bottom campaign. I get that.

But he's talking about unifying the country, bringing people together and moving the country forward, and his silence on this speaks volumes about whether or not his words, like, he really -- he really is going to act on that.

THOMAS: I think the issue with "Hamilton" was the cast were sneering at Vice President-elect Pence but they weren't critiquing any policies; there was no substance there. So, I think Donald Trump was more upset the disrespect for the office, especially when Mike Pence did nothing to deserve that kind of treatment. Again, it is their right -- first amendment right to say that.

As it relates to those fringe crazies, I think, I can't speak for the president-elect, but I think he's probably watching it closely saying that is such a fringe group, however many, 200 people there were, that he doesn't even want to dignify them with a response that it would elevate them.

Just like if there is a shooter in a town that you don't even want to use his name on camera because you don't want to elevate to what they're doing.

JACOBSON: But I guess the other question, though, is like during the campaign he was essentially endorsed by KKK's official newspaper --

THOMAS: You know --

JACOBSON: But he was also silent on that --

THOMAS: But Hillary Clinton was endorsed by the KKK --

SESAY: You know, we could re-litigate that and go down that rabbit hole but I say we are not doing that. So gentlemen, I'm sorry to say we have to leave it there. But as always, we appreciate it. Thank you.

THOMAS: Thanks, Isha.

JACOBSON: Thank you.

SESAY: All right. Now, people living on the Northeastern coast of Japan are on high alert after 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck early Tuesday.

The quake hit Honshu Island and triggered tsunami waves as high as 1.4 meters. Officials say aftershocks could continue for days.

People as far away as Tokyo felt those tremors as you can see the shaking at the Book and Bed Hostel, right here on your screens.

Let's get the very latest now by Journalist Kaori Enjoji in Tokyo, and Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri at CNN Center.

Kaori, to start with you, what's the latest on the situation there where you are now, in terms of what we're hearing about the impact of this quake when it comes to injuries and damage?

KAORI ENJOJI, JOURNALIST: Well, certainly, Isha, a sense of relief I think through -- for much of the northeastern region and for many people in Japan who are jostled awake this morning by this very powerful quake that there have been no serious reports of injuries despite this quake which registered 7.4 on the Japanese scale according to the meteorological agency here.

It struck at 6:00 a.m. There was a tsunami warning and tsunami advisories all throughout the Pacific north-eastern coastline. But as of two hours ago, all of those advisories have been lifted.

And I think there is a strong sense of relief that there were no casualties particularly because this quake was centered off the coast of Fukushima, which is the site of the worst nuclear disaster in Japanese history, back in 2011; and which is where the nuclear reactor is, that is run by TEPCO.

So, as this tsunami warning was lifted two hours ago, many evacuation centers are telling us that some of the hundreds of people that did evacuate to the centers and to higher ground are starting to leave them.

Having said that, there have been some updates from the utility company that runs Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor. There was a cooling system that was shut off automatically because this quake was so large, and there was some concern about the impact from that. But the authorities have told us that it was reinstated 90 minutes later, and that they have seen no irregularities either inside the plant or at risk for radiation levels outside the facility.

But I think, because the quake was so large and because it was centered off the Fukushima coast, it was a very powerful reminder of this quake back in 2011. Particularly, because there has been no tsunami warning issued in that area for five years. I think the last one was in 2015.

So, as afternoon hits here, we are about 3:00 p.m. local here, about nine hours after this quake, certainly a sense of relief among residents that there was no major casualty.

I was here in Tokyo when the quake hit at 6:00 a.m. And although, I'm very used to feeling earthquakes, it did jostle me up. And I think, as I say, even if you were not in the region directly, you felt it. And I think it was a powerful reminder of that devastation five years ago.

SESAY: Yeah. Kaori, we appreciate it. Thank you so much for the update.

Let's go now to Pedram Javaheri. Pedram, what are we seeing in terms of aftershocks?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, Isha, we've had actually eight aftershocks that have come in at a magnitude 4.0 or greater. And you take a look at some of these ones, several coming in at 5.4 magnitude. Those were the strongest ones.

But you know, when you look at the statistics for an earthquake of this magnitude, the original being 6.9, based on the USGS scale there. That typically gives us one that you would expect be an aftershock in the 5.9 range or greater. We've not had that aftershock yet.

But again, many in the 4.9 are greater scale and you would see historically, see somewhere 100 to 1,000 when it comes to weaker aftershocks some in the next several weeks to several months.

But we know 52 million people felt this quake. A vast majority of them being on the light end of it because this is heard in the previous interview there, Isha, the epicenter being offshore that really kept the shaking energy all confined towards an area away from the population center, at least the strongest shaking.

But when it comes to Japan and their earthquake detection program that's setup, it's fascinating. Because when you think about what they have going, is that the sensors, the seismometers, over 4,000 of them dot this region. And when two seismometers actually pick up any sort of wave detection from an earthquake, within a matter of a couple of seconds they have disseminated SMS messages to millions of mobile carriers across this region -- mobile folks across this region, Isha, where we know train services begin automatically slowing down; we know, of course, if it's large enough in places like the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant, they shut down operations there.

All of these happen within a matter of a few seconds. Nobody else in the world has something this advance. We know, other countries are beginning to get on board with this sort of detections but it just takes a couple of seconds for folks to be notified that a violent shaking is on your way in about 30 or 40 seconds from now which is what -- it really saves a lot of lives when it comes to these violent quakes when we have them across this region.

SESAY: Some very, very important technology, much needed in that earthquake prone region.

Pedram Javaheri, Kaori Enjoji, all thanks to you both. Thanks so much.

Time for a quick break now. Next on NEWSROOM L.A: rubble and smoke fill the streets of Eastern Aleppo as airstrikes land nonstop on rebel-held areas. The devastating toll on children there just ahead.

Plus, CNN talks to three captured ISIS fighters. You'll hear what these men have to say about the terror group in our exclusive report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Activists say another day of intense bombing in Eastern Aleppo killed at least 27 people Monday. Syrian regime forces have been indiscriminately bombing rebel-held areas for past week, and there are reports of chemical attacks on civilians.

Here's a look at the toll the civil war is taking on some of Syria's youngest victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: We're joined now by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, a Senior Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and author of "Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Woman Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield."

Gayle, every time you think it can't get worse, it does. Every time you think that you maybe have developed a kind of numbness to a conflict that's been going on for so long, and then you see that child saying, "Miss, am I going to die? Am I going to die?" And it just speaks to the hopelessness and helplessness of the situation.

GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS SENIOR FELLOW: It is really unbelievable. I think, everybody at the U.N., everybody who -- aid workers I talked to, people have run out of adjectives to describe the carnage and the bloodshed and the tragedy upon heart break, upon loss, that people like these little people are experiencing every single day and night.

I was just talking to a Syrian activist who was telling me that people are just waiting to die inside Aleppo --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMMON: They are besieged on the ground. Their being bombed from the air and there are no hospitals that remain open. So -- and no place else that's willing to take them in.

SESAY: And I that's an important point, I think, that you just made; no place willing to take them in, because I know that we have people watching this conversation saying why don't they leave?

LEMMON: Right. Where would they go? Where would they go?

You now have a conflict that has displaced more than 10 million people, 4 plus million outside of Syria, at least 6 million inside. And in neighboring countries, that Turkey has taken more than 3 million people in, right? I mean, Jordan, Lebanon; one in four people in Lebanon now is a Syrian refugee and everybody is closing the borders. So, they are left in a casket to wait for death to come. Where are they going to go?

SESAY: Death that is coming is brought upon them in the most excruciating ways --

LEMMON: In real-time.

SESAY: -- in real-time that the world can see. And we're talking now about these reports of chlorine attacks which speaks to a sense of impunity in all of this, right? The regime could feel that they can do this with the world watching.

LEMMON: Who is going to check them? There is no force left that is going to check the Russian aggression from the sky, Russian bombing from the sky, and the Syrian regime's military activities, right?

There is no countervailing force that will stop them from doing basically whatever it is that they want. And, I think the reality is they can change facts on the ground between now and toward the end of January when there's a next president in the United States, when President-elect Trump becomes President Trump.

And in the meantime, there's very little that Washington has wanted to do to change the facts on the ground the past four years.

SESAY: Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. Envoy to Syria effectively said that Donald Trump has a very small window, and if he's to form an alliance with Russia and to change the course of this conflict.

What do you see when you see Trump in the -- in the White House? What does that mean for this conflict; more of the same or do you see a departure in something that could improve the condition of, like, the life of that little boy we just saw?

LEMMON: What we're seeing now is something we've never seen, which is this uncertainty surge in American foreign policy, right? No one can tell you. I've been on phone with folks most of the day; no one can tell you what the Trump foreign policy is going to look like. And they've actually touted that unpredictability as a virtue in their foreign policy.

But the reality is that the Iraq war changed everything. And it's very hard to imagine we'd be in this situation, with this little countervailing force. What's happening to civilians on the ground if there had not been the Iraq war, and then there's very little sense from Donald Trump or anybody close to him that there is an appetite for much larger scale intervention on behalf of those who are suffering from the humanitarian crisis.

SESAY: Gayle, thank you so much for bringing home the harsh reality of the situation in Syria. It's important. Thank you.

LEMMON: Thank you.

SESAY: Taking a quick break now. The pope's stand on a controversial issue remains the same but he offers more room for forgiveness. The action he's taken, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:56] SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour --

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Pope Francis is granting Catholic priests the power to forgive abortions. Continuing indefinitely a special dispensation he granted last year in a letter during the Year of Mercy. Pope Francis reiterated that abortion is considered a grave sin but there is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach.

Father Allan Deck is a distinguished scholar in theology at Loyola Marymount University. He joins me here in Los Angeles.

Let me read more of what Pope Francis had to say on this matter. If we can put this on the screen. He said, "I wish to restate that abortion is a grave sin since it puts an end to an innocent life in the same way, however, I can and must state that there is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart looking to be reconciled with the father."

Father, why did the pope take this action? What message is he sending here?

FATHER ALLAN DECK, DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR IN THEOLOGY, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: He did this a year ago, when the Year of Mercy started. And all he's done now is simply made that forever.

SESAY: Ongoing.

DECK: An ongoing, and ongoing power or faculty that all priests would now have.

In the United States, this really wasn't much of an issue because for at least the past 30 years in the United States, most priests have also had that power or faculty to absolve, you know, the sin of abortion, if a person repents of that and so forth and asks for forgiveness. For many of us this is not anything new however it is very consistent with what the pope has been trying to do and that is make mercy the central focus of our understanding of who God is and how we relate to God. He is not trying to diminish the seriousness of abortion. But he is pointing out to those who repent -- and it's not just about the mother, by the way. It's about anyone who is an accomplice or involved in doing an abortion -- how if the -- if these people repent, they can receive absolution. That's very consistent with the idea that our God is a merciful God.

[01:35:14] SESAY: It can also be seen as the pope trying to make the Catholic Church more opening and for people to come back to the Catholic Church.

DECK: That's right.

SESAY: This is something he had set in motion during the Year of Mercy. Did it have the intended impact? Did you see a change and more people coming to the church?

DECK: I think, by all reports, we did. We have -- the number of people that are taking -- going to confession has gone up all year long. And we've had confessions here in Los Angeles, for instance, all night long in some of the parishes. One day was designated for opening the church and keeping it open for those who would like to come, and many, many people did come.

SESAY: How controversial is this within the church? We know that the pope has his critics. How controversial is this -- making this something that goes beyond the Year of Mercy? Making it ongoing, especially to those who are more doctrinally minded?

DECK: I don't think there is hardly any controversy about it because it's very consistent with what we teach and what we believe. And as long as it's not confused with trying to diminish the seriousness of the sin of abortion -- which it isn't -- it's just trying to make accessible the grace that is always there for those who approach the sacrament.

SESAY: Father Deck, we appreciate you coming here and sharing your insight and putting it in context for us. Thank you.

DECK: Thank you.

SESAY: Next on NEWSROOM L.A., these men fought for ISIS and now are behind bars. After the break, what they think about the terror group now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:40:10] SESAY: CNN is learning more about ISIS from former members of the terror group in Iraq. They are now prisoners in a secret facility after being captured during last month's assault on Kirkuk.

CNN's Phil Black spoke to three men about what motivated them to join the fight and he has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A secret jail in northern Iraq. 1,000 men are held here, accused of supporting ISIS. Kurdish authorities allowed this exclusive access. Three agreed to speak to us. They insist freely and about coercion about the important and different roles they played in a recent and large-scale attack.

One was one of the fighters who stormed Kirkuk on October 21st. This security video captured the operation designed to distract the Iraqi forces from their main focus, the battle for Mosul. The video shows the moment he was shot in the leg. He was crawled away to be captured by furious locals.

(SHOUTING)

BLACK: He tells me when ISIS took over his village two years ago, they offered him a salary, so he signed up. On the day of the Kirkuk attack, he says he was driven there and told to fight. Now he says he wants nothing do with ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I made a mistake. I didn't know how to read or write. Everything I did was wrong.

BLACK: This man was responsible for reconnaissance. He is 20, grew up in Kirkuk and worked in a mobile phone repair shot. He liked the religious messages he heard from ISIS, but it seemed distant to him until he was asked to help the group directory.

He says an ISIS member approached him and told him to shoot video of key strategic sites around the city, army and government buildings, a key road and bridge. He did. This is the video and the sites were later attacked.

(on camera): How you to feel about the suffering your actions have caused?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Everything that happened is my fault. I always think about it.

BLACK (voice-over): This man says he was the money man. After pledging allegiance to ISIS, a year ago, he says he was used by a sleeper cell in Kirkuk to make cash delivers to fighters and their families. He also admits driving a gunman to murder someone on the orders of a local ISIS commander. He says he strongly believed in the group, its teachings and its many horrific acts of violence carried out against those considered un-Islamic.

(on camera): What do you believe should happen to nonbelievers like me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I'm speaking in the past. We believe that nonbelievers should be killed.

BLACK: Do you still believe that?

UNIDENTIFID MALE (through translation): Now, no. Someone in prison explained to me that the prophet's neighbor was a nonbeliever and he never attacked or killed him.

BLACK (voice-over): Just weeks ago, these mean secretly worked to spread ISIS's murderous ideology, launching an attack that killed 96 people. They now disavow the group. A Kurdish court will judge their actions and sincerity.

Phil Black, CNN, in northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: And take a quick break. As with any president, Donald Trump has plenty of detractors, but he may be the first to feud with a Broadway show. The latest chapter in that saga is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

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[01:47:53] SESAY: A source close to Kanye West's family says the rapper is in the hospital being treated for exhaustion. He canceled the remainder of his show Sunday after he had a colorful rant about the election on Thursday. One fan recorded West's rant at a show in San Jose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANYE WEST, RAPPER: I said something that was Mr. -- politically incorrect. I didn't vote. But what I didn't tell you, if I would have voted, I would have voted for Trump.

(SHOUTING)

WEST: Black people, stop focusing on racism. This world is racist, OK? Let's stop being distracted to focus on that as much. It's just a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) fact. We are in a racist country. Period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: West then had a similar meltdown Saturday night in Sacramento, stopping the show after two songs.

We'll talk more about West shortly.

Donald Trump is not letting go of his latest feud against members of the hit show "Hamilton."

Brian Stelter reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRANDON DIXON, ACTOR: Conversation is not harassment.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES (voice-over): That is "Hamilton" star, Brandon Dixon, responding to Donald Trump's Twitter fight with the most acclaimed show on Broadway.

(SINGING)

STELTER: Trump lashed out at the cast, tweeting that they "harassed" future V.P, Mike Pence --

(CHEERING)

STELTER: -- after Dixon delivered this message following the performance on Friday night with Pence there in the room.

DIXON: We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us.

STELTER: With the president-elect back in firm control of his Twitter account, he is not letting go of the perceived sleight, saying that. "The cast and producers of "Hamilton," that I hear is overrated, should apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior."

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was very inappropriate.

STELTER: And Trump's ire is not just reserved for "Hamilton."

ALEX BALDWIN, ACTOR: Google, what is ISIS?

(LAUGHTER)

[01:50:07] STELTER: After "SNL" portrayed him as "in over his head," he tweeted, "It is a one-sided biased show. Not funny at all. Equal time for us?"

Alec Baldwin, who plays Trump, responded, "Equal time? Election is over, no more equal time. Now you try to be president and people respond. That's pretty much it."

STELTER: Trump's former campaign manager says his tweeting is a non- issue.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MANGER: Why do you care? In other words, who is to say he can't do that, make a comment, spend five minutes on a tweet. You are assigning malice or wrong doing where it doesn't exist. We should have learned that that doesn't fly with the voters.

STELTER: Some media watchers are worried that Trump's tendency to lash out could hurt free speech.

Others say a thicker skin would just serve him well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is going to be made fun of, as he should be. Any president will be and should be. And he's got such a thin skin he can't shrug it off.

STELTER: Shrug it off is exactly what Mike Pence did after the stars of "Hamilton" spoke up. MIKE PENCE, (R), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wasn't

offended by what was said. I'll leave to others whether it was the appropriate venue to say it.

STELTER: Whether Trump can take a cue from his V.P. and tone done his reactions remains to be seen.

Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Segun Oduolowu is back with us now, an entertainment journalist and pop culture contributor to "Access Hollywood, Live."

Whatever you were doing just now, dropping your cell phone. To pick up on the "Hamilton" line what do you make of Donald Trump's reaction to something his vice president elect shrugged off?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOUNALIST & POP CULTURE CONTRIBUTOR, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD, LIVE: This is why the people who are protesting Trump are doing it so loudly. Are you kidding me? If the vice president wasn't offended and they were talking about him, why is Trump, the president-elect, going on Twitter and castigating actors? This is theater. This is the home of satire, comedy, drama. And they were very respectful. This is the Trump bully. This is why people make fun of Melania and her whole anti-bullying --

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: What about those who say that's not the place to do it?

ODUOLOWU: It is the place to do it. They were respectful. They said -- he actually said -- no disrespect -- and they talked. Here's what bothers me. When Republican Representative Joe Wilson called Obama a liar on the floor of Congress --

(CROSSTALK)

ODUOLOWU: -- in 2009 where were all these people saying that's not the place to do it? This is a man calling our president-elect a liar. These were actors in a politically satirical play asking the vice president, you guys ran on a divisive platform, just represent all of us. That's all we're asking. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

SESAY: President-elect Trump said they should apologize and some are wondering whether this points to a narrowing of freedom of speech down the line. Do you have such concern?

ODUOLOWU: I have every concern with him. This is subterfuge. This is to avoid the fact he paid $25 million for his university. This is him throwing, you know, a bunch of junk and being David Blaine. Look at the magic over here while you forget I just paid people off for fraud. Look at my stuff over here while I bully people on Twitter and calling women these names and making fun of handicapped and disabled people, when I'm calling Mexicans rapists and murderers. Look over here while I'm mad at actors doing their job and actually bringing attention to social injustice. Look at that on Twitter while I do these horrible things over here. Don't pay attention to it. It's subterfuge and it's wrong. And if you come after free speech, are you seriously going to say in theater people don't have the right to speak their mind and ask of the audience. He wants to be an emperor, it's Trump everything. Even in ancient Rome you could go to the theater and they would talk to the audience. How dare he?

SESAY: We'll leave that one alone because I'm sure that's going to rumble on.

ODUOLOWU: We're going to be here for a long time.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: Let's talk about Kanye West hospitalized. Some might say that the rants of the weekend point to something not being quite right and now we're hearing he's in hospital you say?

ODUOLOWU: Everybody that is watching pray for him. Listen, I've done a lot of television work with Dr. Drew. I'm an advocate for mental health. You can see Kanye was in trouble. But please do not believe any of the people that say they are around Kanye, are saying, hospitalized for exhaustion? He was handcuffed. So, if you are tired, they don't -- the police don't handcuff you for your own protection.

SESAY: Let's play some of what he said over the weekend. Here he is talking about Hillary Clinton and her connection to middle America or her lack of connection, for want of a better world. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEST: It's a new world, Hillary Clinton. It's a new world. Feelings matter. Guess what, everybody in middle America fell away and they showed you how they felt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:55:23] SESAY: Don't have a lot of time left in the show. But do you think these comments, you know, him supporting Trump, as he said, and what he said about Hillary Clinton, will they be held against him?

ODUOLOWU: Do you hold the actions of a person who is mentally unfit or mentally diminished against them? I hope we would not to. But a billionaire just convinced poor people he is one of them. Who knows? We pray that Kanye gets better and mental illness is a real thing.

SESAY: It is, indeed.

ODUOLOWU: But when they handcuff you that is not exhaustion. There is something wrong with Mr. West.

SESAY: We hope he recovers. It is a very troubling situation, all of it.

ODUOLOWU: Absolutely.

SESAY: Segun, always a pleasure. Thank you for being so forth right.

ODUOLOWU: Thank you for having me.

SESAY: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

I'll be back with another hour of news right after this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:10:] SESAY: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.