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Frightful Weather on Christmas Eve; Record Travel Expected for the Holidays; FBI Reaches Out to Theaters Showing "The Interview"; Interview with California Congressman Ed Royce; ISIS Captures Coalition Pilot; Holiday Travel

Aired December 24, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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


DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Dana Bash, and you're in the NEWSROOM.

Captured by ISIS. Terrorists showed off a bloodied coalition pilot taken prisoner. How did his warplane go down? We're getting new information.

New clashes in Missouri after another shooting by a police officer. An African-American teenager is dead, but local officials say it's not like what happened in Ferguson.

And holiday damper. Christmas Eve travel is wet, it's slow and dangerous right now, with heavy rain, flooding and tornado threats. Stay right here for a new forecast to help you get wherever you need to go.

And we begin this Christmas Eve with the fate of a coalition pilot held hostage by ISIS. A Jordanian jet went down overnight while conducting airstrikes against ISIS targets near the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Photos taken of the F-16's wreckage and the captured airman were posted to the ISIS Twitter account, but U.S. officials say there is no evidence that the plane was shot down.

A Jordanian military spokesman telling CNN -- quote -- "The pilot is a model of heroism and all of us stand with his family and his colleagues in arms."

I want to go right to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, who joins us from the Pentagon with the latest -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Dana, the head of the U.S. Central Command, General Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander for the region, has just issued a statement saying absolutely the plane was not shot down.

He will not say how it was brought down. He also says that the United States military will support any effort to rescue the pilot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): ISIS militants seized the terrified Jordanian pilot, claiming they shot down his F-16 over Raqqa, Syria, an ISIS stronghold. A petrified Moaz al-Kasasbeh is a nephew of a retired Jordanian general, his capture a frightening reminder that even after more than 1,300 airstrikes without incident over Iraq and Syria, troops very much at risk over the combat zone.

Rescuing the pilot may be tough, even for Jordan's highly regarded counterterrorism forces. It's a propaganda coup for the terrorist group.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: These are very motivated people who believe that they are holy warriors and that this is their destiny to create this Islamic State in the heart of the Arab world. And they will fight to the death to protect that.

STARR: ISIS claims their heat-seeking missiles brought down the jet, publishing these images on social media to make their case, but a senior U.S. defense official tells CNN, for now, there are no indications the plane was shot down.

Coalition and Jordanian authorities continue investigating what might have happened.

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: ISIS claimed that this -- it was shot down by a heat-seeking missile, which fits the pattern with what they have, but if the pilots are operating above that, then there must have been some other reason for this aircraft to go down.

STARR: The Jordanian government warned against harming the airman, saying, "Jordan holds the terror organization and those who support it responsible for the safety of the pilot and the preservation of his life."

A senior retired Jordanian commander believes there may be a solution.

MAJ. GEN. ALI SHUKRI, RETIRED JORDANIAN COMMANDER: I'm sure that our government is in touch with whoever could do the mediation with ISIS. And ISIS is known from previous occasions to ask for payments, a lot of money in that case, or an exchange of prisoners, like there is somebody of concern to ISIS in jail in Amman. They might ask for an exchange.

Or they might not accept anything, which would be really the disaster if they decided to do things otherwise.

STARR: But shoot-down or mechanical failure, ISIS now has a coalition pilot as a hostage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And the family of this young Jordanian pilot in Amman, Jordan, now appealing for his release, saying he is simply a soldier who was following orders -- Dana.

BASH: And, Barbara, how hard would it be to actually go in and try to rescue this pilot? STARR: Well, this would be very difficult. It is something -- look,

Jordan has expert counterterrorism forces. The U.S. has commandos. They know how to do this sort of thing, but it's the kind of thing they have to get to very quickly.

Raqqa in Syria, where this is happening, is a stronghold of ISIS. They probably likely now have this man surrounded by security in a very tight location, perhaps in the city or in a compound. So even if they know where he is, it's going to be very difficult to get to him any time soon -- Dana.

BASH: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara.

Representative Ed Royce, Republican from California, is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and joins me live here in the studio.

Congressman, thanks for coming in.

What do you know? What is the latest information that you have about why this plane went down?

REP. ED ROYCE (R), CALIFORNIA: Well, from what we understand, the sophisticated system that would be necessary to take down an F-16 like this is not something that ISIS has its hands on, and so it's a little bit of a mystery whether it's a malfunction or what came to pass here.

BASH: What about what I asked Barbara about the potential for a rescue mission? Do you think that -- this is not a U.S. military officer, but obviously this person was helping the coalition that the U.S. is part of. Should it be a U.S. mission to go in and try to rescue this pilot?

ROYCE: The Jordanians are the best-rained. We hosted the king of Jordan recently here on the Hill.

And Jordan is obviously all in. ISIS has attacked Jordan on the border there with Syria. And they have made a commitment to -- they want to see ISIS driven from the region. I think they have the capability to carry out, if we give them the intelligence.

So I wouldn't be surprised at -- we have very close intelligence- sharing arrangements with Jordan. We could give them the intelligence. They're so highly trained that they could probably carry it out just as effectively as...

BASH: So the U.S. could and maybe should be part of a support of such a mission?

ROYCE: Support for that, yes.

BASH: Let's talk sort of big picture about this.

We have, unfortunately, seen videos of people in captivity in ISIS. So far, we have had journalists, we have had workers. This is the first member of the coalition trying to get rid of ISIS that they appear to have captured, at least that we have seen with the video.

What does that tell you about how this is going and maybe the propaganda war, which this is a big part of?

ROYCE: ISIS will use this for propaganda, but I think it is a steely resolve that the Jordanians have in all of this in terms of taking on ISIS.

And, as you can see, UAE, Saudi Arabia, other states are now coming in and supporting this effort. And one of the things driving it is that what you don't see are the number of killings that ISIS is doing of Arab tribesmen in Western Iraq.

One tribe recently lost over 1,000 people. And it's not just what they do in decapitating the men. It's selling the women into sexual slavery and so forth. This is creating a counterforce in the region against ISIS in this determination to take them on.

The question is, can we do more to get the weapons into the hands of the Kurds, the Free Syrian Army? Can we do more to help the Jordanians as they help train in Western Iraq the Sunni tribes that are taking on ISIS? We need to step up our game.

BASH: Yes. And what's the answer to that? I believe that the U.S. has spent over $1 billion in this effort. And you mentioned the Islamic fighters who have been killed. About 1,100 have been killed.

So are we doing what we need to do, the U.S. and the coalition in general?

ROYCE: You see the Kurds out there fighting with no more than light arms. The Kurdish foreign minister came to speak with us and asked myself and my Democrat counterpart, can't you give us the anti-tank weapons and the artillery? Can't we buy this from you?

BASH: Isn't this what the president said he was going to do, arm them?

ROYCE: But it hasn't happened yet.

BASH: Why is that?

ROYCE: The Free Syrian Army ran out of munitions a few weeks ago in combat.

I don't know why it is. Maybe it's Baghdad that says, no, no, you can't transfer that directly to the Kurds, or maybe it's bureaucracy. For whatever reason, those doing the fighting the ground -- and the Kurds are on a 300-mile front -- 30 percent of their fighters are women; 30 percent of those battalions are female battalions.

And they're fighting with light arms against ISIS that is using heavy armor and artillery. No, we have got to step in and fix this and have our allies on the ground get that support.

BASH: The U.S. is now involved without approval or fresh authorization from you in Congress. When the new Congress comes in, how quickly are you going to work to have a debate about an authorization of force?

ROYCE: In my committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, myself and the ranking member, Eliot Engel of New York, we will host a debate over this issue, and likewise in the Senate. The Senate will also in January bring up the authorization.

The president, of course, asserts that he has the power under the existing authorization.

BASH: He does. Are you going to do it whether he wants it or not?

ROYCE: But he has asked now for an authorization. And I believe that Congress will give him that authorization within the parameters that he calls for.

BASH: I can't let you go before -- without asking you about "The Interview," the movie. Not this interview, the movie "The Interview."

It is going to be in theaters tomorrow, even locally around here. You can now watch it online. Are you going to watch it?

ROYCE: Oh, I certainly am going to watch it.

And one of the reasons I am going to watch it is, when Salman Rushdie put out "The Satanic Verses" and the order that came down, the fatwa was on his life. And the ayatollah said -- basically transmitted the message, if you publish this, you will be killed and so will any publishing house.

And he said, you know, books are life itself. The freedom of speech, the freedom of speech is life itself. I'm going to exercise it.

And the publishing houses, you know, stood with Rushdie on that. Stephen King said, if you don't carry his books, you don't carry mine.

That's the proper reaction to a threat like that that's a threat to freedom of expression, freedom of speech.

BASH: So, not because you're a Seth Rogen fan?

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

ROYCE: Regardless of the comedy.

And, remember, they made a movie maybe a year-and-a-half ago in North Korea about attacking in Washington, D.C., a little video that shows a rocket coming down and hitting Washington, D.C. It's time to get a sense of humor about these things, and, frankly, it's time to push back when somebody threatens freedom of expression here in the United States.

BASH: Chairman Ed Royce, thank you. Merry Christmas. Thank you for coming in. Appreciate it. Have a wonderful holiday.

ROYCE: Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy new year.

BASH: Thank you. Thank you, sir.

And coming up: the South at risk for more deadly tornadoes. We're tracking the storms, the danger and the travel delays on this Christmas Eve.

And now you can watch that controversial movie we were just talking about, "The Interview," at home. Sony Pictures is taking new steps to release the film that North Korea's dictator does not want you to see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Dana Bash.

The same system that spawned deadly tornadoes in Mississippi is now moving east. Yesterday's twisters killed four people. Now communities in Mississippi are spending their Christmas Eve clearing debris, and thousands don't have power.

Aside from that, we have a super soaker here on the East Coast and nasty wintry mix in the Great Lakes and a major snowstorm in the Rockies. This is frightful weather and a mess for millions of you traveling and trying to get to your destination.

And we have meteorologist Karen Maginnis tracking it all in the severe weather center tracking on where exactly the trouble spots are for you, for your travel.

Karen, what's the latest?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is so messy up and down the Eastern Seaboard. And, Dana, I know you were driving in miserable weather conditions with visibility very low. As a matter of fact, I checked out Washington, Baltimore and New York -- visibility about a quarter of a mile to half a mile. It's going to stay that way.

As a lot of this moisture is still being brought up right along this frontal system, we've also seen some severe weather break out right across north central and northeastern Florida where there have been some isolated reports, public reports of possible tornadoes. It looks like they're fairly weak and not like the EF-2 and the EF-3 that we saw in Laurel and also Columbia, Mississippi, yesterday, that claimed the lives of four people.

Well, now, a storm system will eject out of the Rockies and gradually make its way by Friday into the Central Plains and eventually into the Great Lakes. On top of that, you're looking at blustery conditions in the eastern Great Lakes like Buffalo and Rochester. Some of the wind gusts could be as high as 60 miles an hour.

But overall temperatures for New York up to Boston, you're running five to 10 degrees above normal. So you know what that means, you're not going to see a white Christmas, but it's going to be blustery. Storm system across the interior west could bring feet of snow.

Dana, back to you.

BASH: I'm not sure if that's a plus or a minus. It's warm, but no white Christmas. Karen Maginnis, thank you so much.

And airlines are trying to keep planes on schedule in this messy winter weather, and that's no easy task, but it is very critical. With many of you watching us now potentially in the airport trying to see if your flights are going to take off on time.

Our correspondent Rosa Flores has been monitoring flight conditions from New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Now, Rosa, I was there day before yesterday and I didn't have the problems that Brooke Baldwin was telling us about in the last hour. I think I just made it out. How is it today?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, you were lucky and it doesn't have anything to do with being naughty or nice today, Dana, so you and Brooke were probably both nice throughout the year, but you had different luck and that's what we're seeing around the country. Right now, 307 flights have been canceled throughout the nation. That's according to flightaware.com, but it varies and why? Well, it all has to do with the weather. There was rain expected in the Southeast and in the Northeast and snow expected in Chicago.

And you know that when those hubs have issues and those trickle down all around the country, let's take a quick look here in LaGuardia. Now, you can see that there are about ten cancellations total for the day here in LaGuardia, more than 30 delays.

Right now, not so bad because as the day has progressed, of course, some of these flights have caught up. But so, instead of seeing chaos in a lot of these airports, we've actually seen calm. Take a look at what some of the passengers in Indianapolis had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty much. Not a lot of people here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not very busy. It's kind of dead. I've seen a lot more busy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty dead right now, I thought it was for Christmas Eve. I don't think it's that busy compared to previous years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, Dana, there's one person who has had no issues, no issues and that is Santa Claus. He's had it -- he's had a clear view of everything. He's visited all these homes and of course, he still has some to go, but he's the lucky guy today -- Dana. BASH: He is. He doesn't have to look at that red screen of doom,

that red "canceled" that everybody dreads when they walk up to that monitor you just showed there.

Do we expect any of this to trickle into tomorrow, Christmas Day?

FLORES: You know, some of those do. I've been checking that, as well, and on flightaware.com it gives you a preview of the next day and right now, what it's telling me there are eight cancellations tomorrow and these are around the country, granted and zero delays. Of course, we've been seeing that number increase as the day goes by, because, you know, let's face it, some of those cancellations that we are seeing today are going to trickle down until tomorrow.

So, some of these folks will be late for Christmas and hopefully they'll be able to get some of those good leftovers and between you and I, Dana, I prefer the leftovers if you know what I mean.

BASH: Oh, me, too. Cold, standing in front of the refrigerator tastes so much better. I agree.

Rosa Flores, thank you very much, live for us at LaGuardia. Now, the majority of you are actually heading to your holiday destination not by plane, but by car. In fact, AAA predicts more than 89 million people will drive 50 miles or more from home. And whether it's by car or plane, we'll have the highest number of holiday travelers on record.

I want to bring in Heather Hunter. She tracks all of these stats with AAA.

Heather, you define the holiday period as starting yesterday and going through Sunday, January 4th.

When are the actual peak days in that period?

HEATHER HUNTER, AAA PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, we expect that this weekend will be particularly busy because many people will be returning from their Christmas holiday while others are heading out for the New Year's holiday, but as you said this is the highest we have on record for the year-end holidays and we expect the entire season to be busy.

BASH: Now, Heather, some advice for travelers is common sense. Leave early if you're in the car. Get to the airport early if you're flying.

Is there anything that maybe we wouldn't think about that's kind of an insider tip?

HUNTER: Well, also with weather storms happening across the U.S., be sure to check your weather along the route, just not on your destination if you're heading out on the road. Make sure you get plenty of rest before you head out. You could run into traffic delays. And take breaks along the way, so you stay alert while driving. BASH: That's very good advice.

Now, the best time of day to travel on the road, again, common sense, if I'm getting on the road I try to leave early. But is everybody leaving early so maybe that's not the greatest time to leave?

HUNTER: You can expect some traffic delays at any time of day during a busy holiday season. But try to avoid major cities during the peak rush hours.

BASH: And what about that? Are there any cities in particular that are going to see more traffic than others or more traffic than they usually do?

HUNTER: We're expecting it to be busy across the country, but all along the eastern snowboard when you're also experiencing weather storms, Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, those will be busy, as well.

BASH: You know, looking at the gas prices. You drive by gas stations and you go fill up your car and it's a nice thing these days because gas prices are down, I believe, about 46 cents in the last month. Is that part of the reason that the travel is up right now because it's cheaper at least when you're driving?

HUNTER: It is. Motorists have received an early holiday bonus in the way of cheaper gas prices. Today, the average price is $2.35 per gallon and that's 91 cents cheaper than last year. So, that's helping to boost Americans' disposable income and giving them more money to spend on travel.

BASH: And I believe that you came up with a list of expenses that people should keep in mind when planning a trip this time of year. What are they?

HUNTER: Yes. Well, as we mentioned motorists will be receiving less gas prices, but many people are also staying at hotels and renting cars. We expect moderately priced hotels into mid-range to be 4 percent higher than last year, car rentals the same. Holiday travelers that booked in advanced found slightly cheaper airfares for the top 40 U.S. routes, and that's mostly due to low-cost carriers entering those markets.

BASH: I'm having trouble finding the low cost carriers. That's good to know.

On a more serious note, Christmas and New Year are both holidays where people drink and they're merry, which is fine, but unfortunately, some people do drink and then they get on the road. What's your advice for spotting an impaired driver?

HUNTER: Well, you definitely want to make sure that you drive alcohol and drug-free this holiday season. And if you go out to celebrate, pick a designated driver in advance. And stay alert on the road. Be aware of your surroundings and cars around you and drive defensively.

BASH: Heather Hunter, thank you so much for joining us. Have a merry Christmas and a safe one.

HUNTER: Thank you. You, too.

BASH: Thank you.

And as Rosa Flores mentioned, today's weather isn't stopping Santa from making his rounds. No, we checked Santa's web site at NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Check out this map. It shows old St. Nick has delivered more than 3 billion gifts, and the night is still young. NORAD's tradition of tracking Santa actually started in 1955 with a typo. Yes, a typo was printed on a Colorado newspaper instead reaching an advertiser's phone number for Santa, children dialed the Air Defense Command by accident.

In the holiday spirit, the people who answered the phone played along and they gave the caller's radar updates on Santa's progress, and that has turned into what has now become the Santa tracker at NORAD, and it is all about social media, these days, of course and it uses Facebook and Twitter to help little ones track Santa on all of their devices.

And coming up, we are learning about new moves, rather, by the FBI to keep moviegoers safe as some theaters get ready to show controversial film, "The Interview".

And details about a deadly confrontation not far from Ferguson, Missouri, between a police officer and a teenager. What the surveillance shows and doesn't show, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Now available on a computer, tablet or smartphone near you, Sony Pictures' controversial comedy about North Korea, "The Interview". And starting tomorrow, "The Interview" will also be shown at theaters across the U.S.

CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown has new details -- Pam.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, really a dramatic turn of events over the last 24 hours. Sony immediately releasing "The Interview" online for people to rent and hundreds of theaters are planning to show "The Interview" on Christmas Day.

Now, the FBI is gearing up to make sure moviegoers are protected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): The phones are ringing off the hook at West End Theater in Washington, D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Sold out for all shows tomorrow and we're looking to add shows.

BROWN: So many people calling for tickets to see the controversial film "The Interview".

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Someone told me you might have more tickets for "The Interview" tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're working on it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are entering into the most dangerous country on earth.

BROWN: A flood of independent theaters across the country are stepping up to show the comedy about the assassination of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, after major movie chains pulled out fearing retaliation from hackers.

JOSH LEVIN, WEST END CINEMA: Very simply, it's intolerable that somebody can bully or use the threat or intimidation to keep people from expressing themselves artistically.

BROWN: Just a few days ago, hackers sent an ominous message, promising a present on Christmas Day if the movie is shown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want us to kill the leader of North Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

BROWN: Overnight, the FBI sent to cyber task forces across the country, a roster of the more than 200 theaters screening the movie. They're speaking to theater owners about any potential threat from the same North Korean hackers the U.S. says attacked Sony.

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The FBI understands that the North Koreans are unpredictable. They've always been unpredictable. The FBI has to consider the possibility the North Koreans would employ some sort of physical violence against these theaters and the nation's capital this afternoon, West End Theaters' management waited anxiously for the film to be delivered.