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NEWS STREAM

Attackers Kill Four Israelis In A Synagogue; Ferguson Braces For More Protests; Thai Police Issue Warrants For Two Americans; Leading Women: Alli Webb; UN Draft Resolution On North Korean Human Rights Violations To Be Voted On By Security Council; Japanese Prime Minister To Dissolve Parliament, Calls For Snap Elections

Aired November 18, 2014 - 8:00   ET

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


MANISHA TANK, HOST: Hi, I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. A warm welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Israeli police step up security after four Jewish worshipers are killed at a synagogue in Jerusalem.

Plus, more than 50 days after demonstrations began in Hong Kong, city authorities begin to clear the barricades with some help from the

protesters themselves.

And meet the volunteers caring for young victims of Syria's civil war.

Well, we begin this hour with rising tensions in Jerusalem. Israeli police say two Palestinian men burst into a synagogue earlier on Tuesday,

attacking worshipers with knives and axes. Four Israelis were killed and six more were wounded.

Police later shot and killed the two attackers and have arrested nine people from the suspect's east Jerusalem neighborhood.

Well, senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has more detail now from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deadly terror attack shattering the peace of early morning prayers inside a

Jerusalem synagogue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They used axes and knives to attack the people.

WEDEMAN: Police say two Palestinian men armed with knives, axes and a handgun entered the building in an orthodox neighborhood in West Jerusalem.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is -- simply has no place in human behavior.

WEDEMAN: The assailants, traveling from East Jerusalem, killing four Israeli civilians and injuring six others, including two responding police

officers. This video shows Israeli police trying to enter the synagogue to stop the attackers, who are then shot and killed by police.

Israeli authorities calling this one of the deadliest terror attack in the city in years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you saw today is slaughter of innocent people while they're praying in a synagogue. If the world doesn't unite against

terrorism and give zero excuses for terrorism, this will haunt the world.

WEDEMAN: A spokesman for Hamas quickly praising what happened as justifiable revenge for the death of a Palestinian bus driver found hanged

in his bus Sunday.

But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, as did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Israel

will respond with a heavy hand, his office posting on his official Twitter account.

This attack the latest and most violent amid months of soaring tensions in the holy city, with a wave of attacks and kidnappings in recent

weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Ben Wedeman reporting there.

And we're going to check in with him a little bit later in the show with the latest from Jerusalem.

But before that, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he's dissolving parliament on Friday and sending voters to the polls in December

for snap elections.

Mr. Abe also plans to delay a controversial hike to the sales tax by 18 months.

Well, this decision comes just one day after Japan unexpectedly entered recession. It's the fourth time in recent years that the country

has suffered this economic setback.

Well, our man Will Ripley is watching these developments live in Tokyo.

Will, obviously we had this number out this week, which was very disappointing. And so one would assume that's why we've heard about the

snap election, but is he just trying to guarantee he gets reelected so he can definitely change things in the future?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're hearing that this snap election was being considered even before the grim news on Monday that

Japan slipped into a surprise recession. But, yes, this is a time when frankly there are a lot of questions being raised about Abenomics, Abe's

strategy that got him elected into power where he promised to turn around the Japanese economy.

Part of that strategy was massive corporate stimulus. The stock market has been doing pretty well as of late. The Nikkei was just up 2

percent ahead of this announcement that he's calling this snap election.

But this sales tax increase mandated by law has proved to be a disaster. In April when the sales tax was upped from 5 to 8 percent,

instead of bringing in more revenue and helping Japan pay of its huge debt, well in fact it had the opposite effect, revenue dropped, people stopped

spending and the economy tanked.

So now you might be wondering why would Abe choose this time to basically put his own job on the line and see if his party can maintain

power. And the answer is simple, a lot of insiders believe this may be the best time, Manisha, while Abe still enjoys pretty robust popularity to win

an election, reset the election clock and give he and his key advisers more time to see if Abenomics really does play out as they believe it

successfully will eventually.

TANK: Yeah, Will, I guess if you want to change things you have to have a mandate to do so. Thank you very much. I think you're going to

have a busy week. Will Ripley there live in Tokyo.

Now, for the first time since the pro-democracy protesters set up camp in key areas right here in Hong Kong, part of their barricades have been

taken down by court order. Tuesday's clearance affected just one area, which was outside a high rise office building. There were no signs of

resistance. Some of the protesters even took down barricades themselves.

So let's show you where this is actually happened. Remember, there are three protest sights in Hong Kong. And the clearance today has

happened within the main protest sight in the business district of Admiralty.

The protest camps are sprawling across the areas, which are marked in red. You can see them here. And the clearance today covered just the

yellow part.

Now it's a small but pretty critical area. I've been down there and it's a very important thoroughfare right next to government headquarters,

which are across the street.

So protest leaders say that they will continue to occupy parts of the city for as long as it takes, but nearly two months on protest numbers have

dwindled. And polls are now suggesting that the public in terms of their support are beginning to pull out in terms of support and that's happening

quite significantly.

Saima Mohsin joins us now live from the main site in Admiralty. And Saima, it may have been a small area, but it was still quite important and

remarkable actually that protesters came and even helped remove those barricades.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, small but significant I think we can say, can't we Manisha. As you say, you've been

down here yourself. It is a very small area relatively speaking. And why did they help? Well, perhaps they didn't want to see another confrontation

with the tear gas coming out as we've seen in the past here. Nobody really wants that, neither side.

But, as well as that, if you look right behind me as far as the eye can see, there are many, many more tents here. And they say they are here

to stay.

So, yes, they've conceded a little bit a territory. Each side is trying to get their games in. But many of them are setting up house and

home here. Look at this tent, it's got a number and a name to it, you know, it's drawn windows on the side of it. It's just kind of a reflection

of how they think they're going to stay.

And throughout the day I've been seeing people coming and going, people who have taken time off work over the last few weeks saying now

they're back to work but they're coming to sleep here.

And I don't know if you can hear that in background, that's the open forum that's going on. People are coming down to have their say, that's

what this protest movement is all about. It's not just about democracy, it's not just about change, it's about having their say. And as the one

young lady told me today, her right to protect her right to have that say against the authoritarian rule of Mainland China.

And of course all the while this protest going on under the nose of the local Hong Kong government. The chief executive's office inside this

building as well. And as you're saying a lot of businesses are affected, the (inaudible) invoked this injunction today to remove those people and

those barricades this morning.

Very small area, three more areas they've got to get through, not least this entire highway and then we have the Mongkok area, that is where

we've seen the major clashes over the last few weeks. And that is where a lot of people are concerned clashes may well break out if and when

authorities decide to move in.

We saw this morning a lot of police officials, a lot of bailiffs standing to the side watching, but cooperation, that cooperation may not

come in the Mongkok area in particular because we have seen those confrontations there and there is a lot of frustration both amongst the

protesters, but also amongst the anti-protest movement, if you like, the small-medium sized businesses that are frustrated with these protesters,

stopping them from making their money and getting along with their own lives -- Manisha.

TANK: Yeah, the two sides of the coin.

OK, we'll leave it there. Saima, to you and the rest of the team, thanks very much.

Still ahead here on News Stream, simmering unrest in Ferguson, Missouri as the city awaits word from a grand jury on what will happen to

the officer who shot Michael Brown.

Plus, this man says he can attest to North Korea's human rights abuses. We'll tell you what the UN is doing about it.

And arrest warrants issued in Thailand for two Americans accused of stealing body parts from a medical museum. What police say the suspects

wanted to do with those stolen goods. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: That's our live shot of Victoria Harbor for you.

So, let's return to our top story, the terror attack in Jerusalem. A U.S. law enforcement official says the FBI is launching an investigation,

because three of the victims are American citizens. Let's check in with our Ben Wedeman now. He's been live at the scene for most of the day.

Ben, tell us what's happening right now. And explain to us a bit about the geography of this area and why tensions are particularly high.

WEDEMAN: Well, tensions are high and have been high for quite awhile, but certainly today because this is really the worst attack in six years in

Jerusalem. The last one in 2008 left eight people dead in that instance, but certainly today is one of the darker days we've seen here.

Now what happened, of course, was that 7:00 in the morning when people were praying in the synagogue in Kharnov (ph) which is to the west of the

center of Jerusalem, it's a largely religious neighborhood, when these attackers came in. And of course these attackers have been identified as

two cousins in their 20s from the East Jerusalem -- Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jebar al-Muqabr (ph). And apparently one of them

worked in a store in that area, so he was familiar with the people and sort of the rhythms of the neighborhood as well.

Now at the moment, the Israeli police are in large numbers in many of these East Jerusalem flashpoints that have been going off now for quite

some time. We're told that at least nine people have been arrested by the Israelis not for involvement in this morning's attack, but rather because

of clashes with the Israelis authorities, with the Israeli forces in this area.

So, these are -- the Jebar al-Muqabr (ph) neighborhood is in the far sort of southeast -- southwest of -- southeast, excuse me -- of Jerusalem

whereas the Kharnov (ph) where the attack took place is to the west of here -- Manisha.

TANK: OK, Ben, thank you very much for that update no the situation there.

Let's turn to very different things now, though, in a very different part of the world.

To Ferguson, in fact, to Missouri in the U.S. Tension there is also building as the city awaits a grand jury decision on whether a white police

officer will be indicted in the August shooting to death of an unarmed black teen.

The governor of Missouri has declared a precautionary state of emergency ahead of the decision in the Michael Brown case.

Well, there is fear that if Officer Darren Wilson is not indicted, we could see more violent protests. CNN's Stephanie Elam joins us now live

from Ferguson.

And explain to us just how difficult and how tense the situation is right now.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of people are waiting, Manisha, to find out exactly what this ruling could be. And this action by

Governor Nixon may indicate that we are getting closer to finding out what the grand jury has decided.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: Hands up, don't shoot.

ELAM (voice-over): Protesters in St. Louis braved frigid temperatures, taking to the streets, ahead of Missouri's governor declaring a state of

emergency.

Governor Jay Nixon anticipating expanded unrest if the grand jury decides not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and

killed unarmed teen, Michael Brown, on August 9th.

Governor Nixon activating the National Guard to assist the county police with securing Ferguson, bypassing the Ferguson police department.

The mayor of St. Louis agreed with the decision.

FRANCIS SLAY, MAYOR OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: We don't know what's going to happen or when it's going to happen, or, you know, what the decision is

going to be, or what the reaction is going to be. I think we need to make sure that we are prepared.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL BROWN'S FAMILY: Michael Brown's parents have asked that everybody who supports them do so in a nonviolent,

peaceful constructive way.

ELAM: For more than three months now, this entire area has been on edge.

(on camera): Are you worried about violence becoming an issue again?

MAX PETERSON, DEMONSTRATOR: I'm not really. By civilians or by police?

ELAM: Whatever concerns you.

PETERSON: I mean, the biggest concern is that something very small will happen, like a water bottle and that will lead to teargas or gunfire.

ELAM (voice-over): Last week, a law enforcement source says the FBI issued a bulletin to police across the nation, warning officers to be

vigilant about possible violence related to Ferguson.

Over the past few months, community leaders have complained that outsiders have instigated much of the violence.

(on camera): So when the grand jury comes out with its decision, what do you think is going to happen?

LARRY FELLOWS III, DEMONSTRATOR: I honestly can't say. I can just speak about what we're going to continue to do as protesters until we get

what we deserve, which is justice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (on camera): And with that in mind the protesters I spoke with yesterday at that very rally saying that they are not going to stop no

matter the decision is about Officer Wilson. As for residents in this small town of Ferguson, they're on edge and they're hoping that whatever

happens it's done peacefully and that they can go on with their lives, Manisha.

TANK: Yeah, I'm sure that's a view that's a view that's echoed right across the U.S.as well. Stephanie, thank you so much. Stephanie Elam

there live for us in Ferguson.

Coming up here on News Stream, a look at the children left behind by Syria's bloody civil war. After the break, we go inside one orphanage

that's trying to change the status quo for these little victims caught in the crossfire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: We're focusing on the savagery of ISIS in Syria this week in light of the group's latest beheading of a western captive.

They executed nearly 1,500 people since the caliphate was first announced, that's according to the Syrian Observatory for human rights.

But also keep in mind the insurgency is happening alongside an already bloody civil war that's driven millions from their homes. UNHCR says there

are more than 3 million registered Syrian refugees, more than half of them are children.

Some of the children who fled the war inside Syria have sought refuge in orphanages across the border in Turkey.

Our Arwa Damon has more on that story and she joins us live from Istanbul to talk a bit more about it. It's heart wrenching, gut wrenching

actually when we realize how many innocents, especially children, are being affected Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is. And there aren't any accurate statistics as to how many children have lost one or

both parents due to the ongoing violence in Syria, not just the violence caused by ISIS, but also the ongoing violence created by the regime and by

clashes between rebel fighters and the regime.

We did however visit one orphanage that is at the very least trying to reverse some of the misery that these children have experienced.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With new backpacks almost as big as they are, the children file into the Bato

(ph) orphanage after school. Their faces and behavior betray few of the horrors they have witnessed or their suffering. Their fathers are dead,

lost to illness or war in Syria. Their mothers decided to send them here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your name?

DAMON (on camera): My name is Arwa. What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Maram (ph).

DAMON (voice-over): She's eight. Her father killed by a bullet on his way to work. "Daddy used to take me everywhere with him," Maram tells us.

The orphanage opened in September, offering a safe place. Toys replace those they left behind as they fled Syria. Clean water to wash with and

regular hot, healthy meals. The orphanage was established by a Maram Foundation, named after another little girl who was paralyzed by shrapnel.

YAKZAN SHISHAKLY, CO-FOUNDER, MARAM FOUNDATION: Well, we're trying to raise our children like away from all the (inaudible) happening inside

Syria and also to give them the right to have a normal life away from the war because of the regime.

DAMON: And the impact is already being seen. Mayada Abdi, head of the orphanage, says Maram was very solitary, often lost in the memories of her

father.

"I would see him in my dreams," Maram remembers. "I would see him giving someone something." She seems less haunted by his death, dreaming

instead of going home to Syria and teaching Arabic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: And Manisha, it's not just about giving these children a relatively safe space to exist in. There is something about the regularity

of knowing that they're going to have warm meals, of having a comfortable place to sleep in, that is helping to alleviate some of the suffering that

they've already witnessed. But equally important is this opportunity that is provided for the teachers, the adults at this facility to try to address

some of the children's psychological issues.

A lot of them, especially the little boys come in, incredibly aggressive. They're confused. They don't know how to process their

emotions. And so the staff at this facility, it's helping them cope with that as well. And that's incredibly important at this stage.

TANK: Oh, most definitely. And I -- I was so captivated, Arwa, when the little girl talked about going home to Syria. I hope one day she has a

beautiful, happy home that she may create or go back to. You know, these things resonate with kids, don't they, into the future?

Arwa, thank you so much for going to meet them and bringing us that report. It was really beautiful.

Well, you can find out more about the work of the Maram Foundation on their website. Just head to the MaramFoundation.org. And CNN is also

linked to their page from its website. So CNN.com/impact. And there we also have information on other organizations that are helping Syrian

refugees on the ground.

Now, NATO is warning of a very serious build-up of Russian troops and also military equipment in eastern Ukraine and along the border between the

two countries. And this comes amid new fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces and as workers collect and haul away

what's left of flight MH17.

CNN's Phil Black has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ...in Eastern Ukraine. It is a location where four months ago Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 broke up

in the skies above, crashed to the earth here, over a wide debris field.

And it is only now after that length of time that much of that wreckage is being collected and an operation being overseen by Dutch

investigators. Look behind me, you can see a twisted piece of the fuselage. Wreckage like this is strewn across this incredibly wide area

over the last couple of days.

The Dutch investigators overseeing Ukrainian workers have been using cranes to lift up this wreckage onto trucks and get it out of here to a

local train station where it will eventually find its way back to the Netherlands.

But four months after the crash, it will still be probably a couple of weeks before the experts get to start looking through it.

It is an eternity in terms of an investigation, but important that this is finally happening now. It's getting in just before winter, which

is crucial. The snow will be blanketing this area very, very soon. And of course there is the situation with the ongoing violence here as well.

Back in September, a ceasefire was signed. It saw a drop in the intensity of fighting, which allowed the planning of this operation took

place. But as we know over the last week or so, the Ukrainian assessment, the NATO assessment, the concerns of European observers on the ground has

been that there has been an influx of Russian soldiers, weaponry into this region.

And they fear that that coming winter can also be a deadline for an imminent offensive of some kind, a new land grab if you like by the

separatist by Russian forces. That is what the Ukrainian government fears, that is what the Ukrainian government says it is preparing for. That's why

the Ukrainian president is talking about all-out war, total war, the worst case scenario.

Of course, for the moment Russia, the separatists, they deny the presence of those sorts of forces, but it remains to be seen just what

happens here in a situation that is incredibly tense, where fighting continues only a short distance from here despite the fact that ceasefire

was signed back in September.

(END VIDEOATPE)

TANK: You're watching News Stream. A UN committee is considering a draft resolution on rights abuses in North Korea. We expect a vote in the

coming hours. Find out what's at stake. That's just ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Hi, I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines right now.

Security has been beefed up across Jerusalem, this after a deadly attack on a synagogue.

Police say two Palestinian men armed with knives and axes killed four Israelis and wounded six. The suspects were then shot and killed by

police. The FBI will also investigate, because three of the Israeli victims had dual U.S. citizenship, the fourth had dual British-Israeli

citizenship.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he's dissolving parliament on Friday ahead of snap elections in December. Mr. Abe also plans -- says he

plans to delay an increase in sales tax. The move follows economic data released on Monday that showed Japan is back in recession.

Well, authorities here in Hong Kong have cleared barricades put up by pro-democracy protesters with no signs of resistance. The clearance affect

one part of the protest's main site. And it follows a court order to remove obstructions outside a high-rise office building.

The demonstrations began nearly two months ago over Beijing's insistence that approve candidates for an upcoming election.

In just under two hours, grave human rights abuses in North Korea will be the subject of debate before a UN committee. The European Union and

Japan sponsored the resolution, which could result in North Korea being referred to the International Criminal Court.

But there are several hurdles. Paula Hancocks is following developments from South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Manisha, North Korea has ignored plenty of UN resolutions and condemnation in the past, but this

one really has Pyongyang rattled.

What we've been seeing over recent weeks and months is the regime waging a PR battle to try and mitigate the effects of this UN report, which

effectively accuse it of crimes against humanity.

Lee Yung-guk (ph) shows me the scars from his time in North Korea's infamously brutal Yodok political camp. Beaten so often, he says, by the

time he was released he barely had any teeth left. He's also blind in one eye.

Bodyguard to former leader Kim Jong-il for 10 years, surrounded by opulence and money, then, after trying to defect he was imprisoned and

tortured for six months before being sent to Yodok.

The one man who has truly seen both sides of North Korea and lived to tell the tale.

"When I got to Yodok," he says, People looking like walking skeletons. They had severe malnutrition as did I, because I had been beaten so much my

weight dropped from 94 kilos to 58 kilos in six months.

Watching footage of a labor camp from a North Korean defector group, he says his heart breaks when he thinks back. He talks of scarce food,

beatings, weekly executions prisoners are forced to watch, and the flower garden, a euphemistic term defectors used to describe mass graves.

"Yodok's flower garden has thousands, even tens of thousands of people in it," he says, "lines and lines of dead bodies. I had to carry them,

bodies with fluids still flowing out of them and bury them where the guards told us."

Lee says he met the current leader Kim Jong-un when he was a young boy. Now he's in charge. He wants to see him hauled in front of the

International Criminal Court, a recommendation from the recent United Nations commission of inquiry, which (inaudible) North Korea and its

leadership committed crimes against humanity.

A copy of this report was sent to Kim Jong-un himself.

MARZUKI DARUSMAN, UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON DPRK HUMAN RIGHTS: He is not able to claim ignorance of these massive violations. And therefore he

is now technically already complicit in these crimes.

HANCOCKS: Pyongyang categorically denies any human rights abuses, which infuriates Lee. He says he only managed to survive the mental and

physical torture by Yodok so that he could tell the truth about North Korea.

UN officials tell me that they are very well aware that even though they believe they have overwhelming support for this draft resolution, as

soon as it reaches the security council, if it gets that far, China, one of North Korea's very few allies, is more than likely to veto it -- Manisha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Paula Hancocks in Seoul there.

A Thai court has approved arrest warrants for two Americans accused of stealing body parts from a medical museum. You are hearing right.

Police say the two men try to mail the parts to Las Vegas, Nevada to surprise their friends.

Well, the suspects face up to seven years in prison if they are convicted. But they're now in Cambodia. Thai police are working with

Interpol to try to track them down.

So it's a pretty bizarre case. And it started at a medical museum that is housed in a Bangkok hospital, said to be Bangkok's oldest western

medical facility.

The police say that some of the body parts were taken from the museum's forensics section, which displays specimens from murder cases,

others came from the anatomical area where you'll find jars of human organs, embryos and dissected human bodies.

The museum's website says it's probably one of the most popular in Thailand. In fact, it won a TripAdvisor traveler's choice award this year.

And as you can see, users have actually ranked it number 30 out of 273 attractions in Bangkok, so it's actually a fairly high rating if you think

about it.

But, still coming to grips with why you would mail body parts to your friends.

Anyway, in other odd news, notorious serial killer Charles Manson, that's him there, he may be getting married behind bars.

California says he can tie the knot with a 26-year-old who has been visiting him in prison. Her name is Afton Burton as she goes by the name

of Star. She apparently moved to the town where Manson is incarcerated several years ago and says she talks to him every day and visits him almost

every weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AFTON "STAR" BURTON, CHARLES MANSON'S FIANCEE: The paperwork hasn't gone through yet, but we already consider each other two be husband and

wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you in love?

BURTON: Yes. Why would I marry somebody if I wasn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People get married for all kinds of different reasons.

BURTON; Well, I wouldn't

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TANK: Well, no date has been set, but it will be a different affair. Just 10 guests from outside the prison and two from inside.

Manson is serving a life sentence. he was convicted of orchestrating the murders of nine people more than 40 years ago.

You're watching News Stream. Coming up after the break, how a stay at home mom turned her passion for beautiful hair into a multi-million dollar

business. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Hi, again.

Now our Leading Woman this week transformed her word of mouth side business into a national beauty phenomenon. Alli Webb is the founder of

Drybar, it's a salon chain that offers professional blowouts -- that's blow dries to some of us -- at an affordable price.

Amara Walker talked to her about the importance of taking a risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLI WEBB, FOUNDER, DRYBAR: You've got to go for it, you've got to do something that makes you happy.

I love what I'm doing. And I think that if you aren't doing something that you love, you know, it's a shame.

Well, thank you for your business. I'll let you get back to it.

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alli Webb's passion has turned into a $50 million business in the United States. She's the founder of Drybar,

a chain of blow dry salons with a simple, but unique concept -- no cuts, no color, just blowouts.

WEBB: Drybar isn't a typical salon. We don't look like a salon. We don't feel like a salon. We don't smell like a salon. I had this vision

for having the flat screen TVs playing the chick flicks and it really looking like a bar and this really being an experience.

WALKER; Complete with hairstyles and products named after cocktails, it's an experience that's resonating with customers.

Webb opened her first Drybar location in 2010.

WEBB: Hi, guys.

WALKER: We sat down as she prepared to open the 38th store.

What was your inspiration for this?

WEBB: Well, I've been doing hair for about 17 years off and on since I was in my early 20s. And then I got married and became a stay at home

mom and that's when I started my mobile blow dry business where I was basically just running around town blow drying all my mommy friends.

That's when it kind of hit me that there is this huge hole in the marketplace and there is no place for women to go for a great blowout in a

great space.

You had to go to their salon and overpay for a blowout.

WALKER: So how do you make that jump and tell yourself, OK, this is a risk that's worth taking?

WEBB: I think you can't be afraid, you have to just go for it. But you have to surround yourself with people who really understand things that

you don't and be able to learn from them. My brother lent me the money to open up the first shop. You know, not only did he have the money, but he

had the business acumen that, you know, I didn't really have.

WALKER: Webb's brother also happens to be bald, so he required a bit more convincing in the beginning.

WEBB: It's me. It's been this wild ride.

WALKER: Even Webb admits Drybar has grown way beyond what she'd imagined. And now she has some advice for other entrepreneurs just

starting out.

WEBB: You have to just be willing to be nimble and move and not get stuck up in every little thing. So, I'm always like, you know, it's OK.

It's OK that it doesn't look perfect right now, we've got to just keep moving.

One time the ceiling caved in from the restaurant above and it was like black goo coming in this beautiful white (inaudible). I was like, oh

my god.

If I don't hear something went crazy wrong in a shop it's a good day.

WALKER: I'm afraid to ask you what's next for you.

WEBB: We're, you know, we're looking at international expansion right now, which is -- I was just in London last week.

WALKER: So you're thinking your first international Drybar might be in London.

WEBB: Maybe.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Congrats on your wedding. Good luck.

You just never know what's going to happen, but I think you just have to take risks. We always say life is too short to be somewhere lame. And

I really feel that way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Such a simple idea, but clearly it seems to work.

So be sure to check out our website for more extraordinary women at the top of their fields. We may have just landed a space probe on a comet,

but one NASA scientist is already shooting for the next celestial goal. To read more about that just head to CNN.com/leadingwomen. Do check it out.

And that's it from News Stream. I'm Manisha Tank, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with Amanda Davis is up next.

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