Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Anger, Mourning in Turkey; Five Democratic Hopefuls for U.S. President Will Soon Face Off in Las Vegas; New Reports Call Shooting of Tamir Rice 'Reasonable.' Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 12, 2015 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Thousands more must lost in the worst terror attack in Turkey's modern history as accusations fly of who is responsible.

And, Vladimir Putin defense Russia's military actions in Syria saying he's fighting to support the authority of Syrian President Bashar al- Assad.

Plus, the five democratic hopefuls for U.S. president will soon face- off in Las Vegas, who is leading the polls and more on the campaign strategy.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United and all around the world. Thanks for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church, and this is CNN Newsroom.

Our top story this hour. Anger and mourning in Turkey. Families are burying their loved ones victims of Saturday's bombings in the capital Ankara, two blasts ripped through a peace rally killing at least 97 people and wounding almost 250 others.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul, Sunday marching against the attack. In the capital scuffles broke out of the offices blocked a group trying to reach the scene of the plot to lay flowers.

Our Arwa Damon was there as police fired teargas into the air.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is exactly what no one wanted to see happen here. All they wanted to do was lay flowers down at the scene where the attack took place. And now, they are being fired on and we're also being pushed back at the stage as well.

CHURCH: Two Turkish security sources tell Reuters ISIS may have been responsible for the attack on Saturday.

And we turn now to CNN's Phil Black. He joins us live from Ankara. So, Phil, this is the third attack in recent months, and the government is again blaming ISIS, even though no responsibility has been claimed just yet. People are angry. What are they saying about the government's response to this?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Angry, certainly, Rosemary. Here at the side of settle is attack you almost wouldn't have known what happened here by this time. The damage have been repaired, the station reopen, the trains running again, the crowd, the traffic have all returned.

There is a row of flowers, red carnations that have been laid out to honor those who have been killed. But in the surrounding area there is a very strong police presence, largely police officers in full riot gear. We've also seen trucks with water cannons, doing regular patrols.

This is not part of the investigation, this is crowd control. It is a sign of the tension that existed here, following this attack. Because those who are caught up in it believe very strongly that the government must share responsibility for it because they didn't stop it from happening.

They were unable to stop two suicide bombers wandering into a huge crowd of the pre-print -- preplanned rally here in the capital of the country with very significant security and intelligence infrastructure.

They are angry, as you touched on because it's not the first time. The third bombing in about four months, one in the southern City of Suruc, killed dozens in July. Before that two killed in another incident and many more injured.

So, for all of these reasons there is this very strong feeling that the government must share in the responsibility of this. The government view, well, it angrily denies having any played any active role certainly, says that issuing all it can. It says that this is an attack on the state as a whole an attempt to tear down its unity and stability, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And, Phil, around what, 14,000 also people gathered at this rally. Given that large number of protesters, what was the level of security at the rally?

BLACK: Well, the people who were there, so it was obviously thoroughly inadequate 14,000. You're right, a huge crowd really. People who traveled from across Turkey to be here for this rally, a peace rally protesting the resumes violence and conflict between the Turkish government and the Kurdish separatist militants known as the PKK or the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

They say there was no obvious sign of security. Nothing, given the size of the crowd, certainly not enough given the location, Ankara the city government, the infrastructure and the buildings that exist here.

And also, and this is a point that they make by point of comparison, they say that other rallies particularly those organized by groups which support the government, the government party, the government policies, and so forth, they believe you see much significant to security and policing deployed at those sort of events.

So, for that reason really a great deal of unhappiness and anger about what was allowed to transpire here, Rosemary.

[02:05:04] CHURCH: Yes. Understood, too. And Phil Black reporting live from Ankara there. Many thanks to you.

It has been a weekend of deadly violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Four Israelis was stabbed Sunday in a northern city. Police say they captured an Arab attacker at the scene. And at least 10 Palestinians were killed, including a 13-year-old boy hit by a rubber coated bullets during clashes with Israeli forces near Ramallah.

Israel's Prime Minister has ordered police reinforcements in onset to the ramped up violence.

And Erin McLaughlin is in Jerusalem right now. She joins us live with. So, Erin, the details of this violence just horrifying. Talk to us about what exactly is motivating this escalating violence.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Of course, Rosemary. I just want let you know we are getting reports of another stabbing attack. According to Israeli police and the attack happened this morning near the Lions Gate of the old city. The stabber, the attacker, they say has been killed.

We'll get you more information as we get it. But in terms of what's motivating this kind of violence, well, it very much depends on who you ask. Both Israelis and Palestinians are blaming each other for the latest wave of violence.

Out of his cabinet meeting yesterday, as really Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement blaming a Palestinian authority, Hamas as well as the Islamic movement, and Israel for inciting violence, for spreading rumors. He said about the status quo of the holy site known to Muslims as the Noble sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Yesterday evening, the PLO putting out its own statement blaming Israel for inciting the violence as a cover for exerting more control they said, over the holy site.

Now over the weekend, U.S, Secretary of State, John Kerry made two separate phone calls, one to the Israeli Prime Minister, the other to President of the Palestinian authority. And both calls, he emphasized the importance of combating incitement and as well as condemning violence. He also emphasized the importance of maintaining the status quo of the holy site.

CHURCH: Yes. And Erin, we are also seeing this war of words between the Palestinian leadership and Israel's government. What are they saying and what are both sides going to do about trying to rein in this violence?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, at this point, Rosemary, it's very much unclear what more can be done to rein in this violence. Yesterday, out of the cabinet meeting the Israeli Prime Minister announcing that he's increasing security forces, some 1600 additional border police officers have been called up from reserve. It's an addition to an already heightened security situation in cities across Israel and Jerusalem as well as in the West Bank. But the fact to the matter is Israeli authorities concede that the kind of lone wolf attacks that have been taken place are very difficult to prevent. And they're very difficult to address considering that it doesn't appear that many of these attacks are being organized and there being carried out by individuals who'd seem to be self-motivating.

So, the question is what you do to combat that. And at this point there are no clear answers.

CHURCH: Yes, of course. Erin McLaughlin bringing us up-to-date on the escalating violence there, reporting from Jerusalem. Many thanks to you.

Well, the Iraqi military says an airstrike hit a convoy carrying shadowy ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Iraq says he was struck while traveling through western Anbar Province to a meeting with other senior ISIS members. Baghdadi's fate is unknown at this time. But the Iraqi military claims it also hit that meeting killing or wounding several leaders.

The U.S. Pentagon says it can't confirm the report similar claims in the past have turned out to be false. We'll continue to watch that story.

Well, meanwhile, there are signs the Syrian army and its allies are advancing in Western Syria. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Bashar al-Assad's military and its Lebanese Hezbollah militia allies have taken control of several areas including parts of Hama, Idlib Province.

The Russian Air Force says it has hit Idlib with heavy airstrikes which may have cleared the way for government forces. Syrian rebels currently hold several positions near the government advances.

Well, during an interview with Russian TV, President Vladimir Putin was asked, what were the ultimate goals of Russia's military action in Syria. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:10:01] VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): Even without our active action in Syria and in case we wouldn't let them, pardon my bad manners, to squirrel away to Syria all these thousands of people were running there now Kalashnikov rifles they would end up on our territory.

And now, we are least helping President Assad to fight them over. By no means, do we want to get involved in any interreligious conflict in Syria. We have only one goal which is to support the lawful authorities into preconditions for political settlement.

This is what we have based our actions on from the very beginning and this is what we are guided by now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: And in recent days, Russia has dramatically stepped up its bombing campaign. The Defense Ministry said Sunday, its Air Force carried out 64 missions in just 24 hours, targeting more than 60 ISIS positions.

Well, Putin meet with Saudi Arabia's defense minister Sunday to discuss political solutions in Syria. It's Moscow's biggest attempt so far to reach out the enemies of Bashar al-Assad. Saudi Arabia, one of the Syrian leader's fiercest opponents has previously expressed concerns of a Russia's presence in the region.

The meeting ended with both parties agreeing to advance their cooperation.

And for the latest on Russia's campaign we are joined by Ian Lee live from Cairo. Ian, I do want to start, though, with this meeting because it is fairly extraordinary, isn't it?

You've got Vladimir Putin on one side and the defense minister of Saudi Arabia on the other polar opposites, in fact. But somehow they have come to an agreement. Explained to us what came out of that meeting exactly?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, Rosemary, they came to an agreement but it will be interesting to see how far this agreement goes. They said they will work on common goals that fighting terrorism and pushing for national reconciliation saying that, you know, one of their major goals going back is fighting ISIS.

But that's about as far as this really can go. Just last week, you had dozens of Saudi clerics, well, they're not affiliated with the government there come out and condemned Russia's actions very strongly calling it an Orthodox crusade, they called for Jihad for fighters to go to Syria to fight the Bashar al-Assad's regime, their fighters there Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia.

So, it will be very difficult for Saudi Arabia to really move beyond these words as back home. They have a lot of strong resistance to Russia's involvement in Syria. But they do have -- they said they will continue this conversation.

But Saudi Arabia also has questioned Russia's involvement in Syria saying that the lobby strikes aren't going after ISIS as Russia has claimed in the past but a lot of them going after anti-regime fighters.

CHURCH: So, Ian, let's talk about what exactly is happening on the ground. I mean, it is tough to confirm that some of these advances and whether these targets are in fact, ISIS target, how much of them are ISIS targets. Talk to us about what you've been out to gather on the Russian campaign there and how it's helping President Bashar al-Assad.

LEE: A lot of elements to this. First of all, it is. A lot of this as the war of words between the Russians and the United States. Russia saying they're targeting ISIS, the United States saying a lot of those airstrikes are targeting other rebel fighters, some of them backed by the United States.

But Russia has very much stepped up their air campaign inside Syria. There is recently dozens of airstrikes hitting roughly 55 targets. Russia saying they are ISIS' command and communication centers, ammunition depots, and training facilities.

But one thing we have seen is Hezbollah and Assad's fighters capitalizing on these airstrikes to make a ground. And really a lot of these anti-regime fighters have -- are the ones that are really threatening the regime. Russia has made -- has made no disillusions that they support Assad and they're going to will -- they're willing to stick to it through the end.

CHURCH: All right. Ian Lee, joining us there and updating us on the situation in the ground in Syria, talking to us from Cairo. Many thanks to you.

And U.S. President Barack Obama is speaking out on Russia's role in Syria in an interview with 60 Minutes. So, Obama pushed back on claims that Putin's military action is challenging American leadership in the region. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:15:01] BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: Mr. Putin now is devoting his own troops, his own military just to barely hold together by a thread his sole ally.

STEVE KROFT, 60 MINUTES SHOW HOST: He's challenging your leadership, Mr. President.

OBAMA: No, no.

KROFT: He's challenging your leadership.

OBAMA: Steve, I got to tell you, if you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in, in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then we've got a different definition of leadership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Obama also made clear that there would be no strategy regarding the war in Syria that would result in a significantly larger American commitment.

Let's take a very short break here. But still to come on CNN Newsroom, despite lots of controversy, democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, manages to remain the front runner in her party's big for the white House. The latest on the U.S. presidential race, coming up.

Plus, a verdict is reached and the controversial trial of U.S. journalist, Jason Rezaian -- Rezaian jailed in Iran but his fate is still unknown. And, later this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONITA ALIZADEH, AFGHAN RAPPER ESCAPED TEEN MARRIAGE: A few years ago, my mother she said, there is a man and he is waiting to get married with you. They didn't have money and they had -- they were force to sell me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Forced into marriage as a teenager. We will hear more from this young Afghan woman who use rap to escape and advocates for girl's rights. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLISON CHINCAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello. I'm meteorologist Allison Chinchar and you are watching CNN weather watch.

Finally, some calmer weather in at least a few areas including around Roman and parts of Greece getting through some rough thunderstorms the last couple of days. Some reported tornadoes around Sicily on Saturday. Also getting a report of the tornado in Greece on Sunday.

But thankfully, the weather should start to change over the next couple of days. Now around Madrid in Lisbon, we will be picking up at least a few isolated showers from that storm that will be pushing through, but temperatures should be right around 21 degrees.

Again, notice some pretty heavy rainfall. Again, near Madrid stretching all the way down towards Gibraltar and Lisbon but it won't last the whole shouldn't necessarily be a washout. Again, notice around Rome and Greece they'll finally things beginning to drive back out after some very heavy showers and also some thunderstorms across the area.

Very sunny in Tehran about 28 degrees, Abu Dhabi next in warmth about 36 degrees there as we begin to push a little further. And notice the remnants of that tropical depression now just a remnant low really not having much of an impact on the Arabian and Peninsula anymore.

So, again, everything should remain relatively dry and sunny. As we push a little bit further off to the West, again, a few thunderstorms around Monrovia, also near Lago, temperatures around 30 degrees there, and on Djibouti temperature right around 35 degrees.

[02:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Hillary Clinton is on top of the democratic race for the White House. According to a brand new CBS poll, she is 19 points ahead of Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders.

Vice President Joe Biden is in third place, even though he hasn't entered the race. There has been no word from the Vice President who has been meeting all weekend with friends and family to discuss a potential run.

On Tuesday, all the democratic candidates running for the White House will face-off against each other. They will take part in the campaign season's first democratic debate and it's hosted by CNN.

Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has a preview.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Here were inside the Wynn Hotel on the Las Vegas strip, two days and counting before the democratic debate on CNN, the first democratic debate. And you can see the podiums behind me, this podium in the middle that's where Hillary Clinton will stand. She's obviously the democratic front runner right now, and on either side of her will be her democratic opponents.

One of those opponents is obviously independent Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, he is been the big story of this race so far, he's been filling auditoriums and arenas, sometimes 10, 20,000 people that's the liberal base of the Democratic Party showing up to support Bernie Sanders. He's really giving Hillary Clinton a run for her money. And some potential flash points for this debate on Tuesday night will be the Iraq war.

Bernie Sanders is been saying in the last couple of days he oppose the Iraq war. Hillary Clinton voted in favor of the Iraq war, also the TransPacific partnership, that big trade deal President Obama's trying to get through Congress. Bernie Sanders is opposed to that.

Hillary Clinton used to be in favor of it, now she's against it, so that's another potential flashpoint for this race. And then, the other candidates on the stage. So, with Martin O'Malley, the former Governor of Maryland, Lincoln Chafee, the former Governor of Rhode Island, and Jim Webb, the former Senator from Virginia.

But I have to tell you there is enough space on the stage if Vice President Joe Biden wants to join in, he can come in. Because of the way the rules are written for this debate almost at the last minute, if he wants to join this debate, he is in Delaware this weekend trying to decide whether or not he wants to run for president.

But clearly, there's enough space on the stage if Vice President Biden wants to pull one of those last-minute audible, he would really shake up this debate, and at this point we don't have that final word as to whether he will do that, but certainly a lot of political drama building up for Tuesday night, the first democratic debate right here on CNN.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Las Vegas.

CHURCH: And Tuesday's debate is the first real opportunity for the candidates challenging Hillary Clinton to present themselves on a national stage. And political observers are excited to see Clinton and Bernie Sanders face-off.

CNN's Martin Savidge has a profile now on the Senator from Vermont.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE SANDERS, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This campaign is sending a message to the billionaire class. Yes, we have the guts to take you on.

(APPLAUSE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the surface the 73-year-old may not look like a political fire brand. But he has a history of standing out and standing up for what he believes in. He calls himself a democratic socialist and is the longest-serving independent member of Congress in U.S. history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bernie Sanders is really one of the most interesting characters in the Senate because he's one of only two independents. Historically, he's called himself a socialist, and yet, he has been able to work across the aisle in recent years with republicans to solve some really major problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents, he went to James Madison High School; he became a socialist and active in the Civil Rights movement. In Vermont, he lost his first run as a political office. Then was elected Mayor of Burlington by 10 votes.

Next came the U.S. Congress, but it was in the Senate where he became nationally known especially for his filibuster against extending the Bush era tax cuts.

In April, Sanders decided what's been good for Vermont would be good for the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: I am proud to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The same issues that motivated him in the past they're now campaign themes of the present. The gap between rich and poor, education, immigration, and racial inequality in the justice system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie has not tailoring his speeches to the agenda; the agenda has caught up with Bernie Sanders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The Senator from Vermont may be a long shot to win it all. But fan say he brings something to the democratic ticket, Hillary Clinton so far has not. The excitement.

Martin Savidge, CNN.

CHURCH: And don't miss the debate happening right here on CNN. Anderson Cooper will moderate with Don Lemon posing questions submitted via Facebook, our coverage is live from Las Vegas starting at 8.30 a.m. this Wednesday in Hong Kong. There is also a later showing of the debate in its entirety, 7 p.m. in Hong Kong, 8 p.m. in Tokyo, only here on CNN.

Well, as Clinton continues her quest for the White House there are explosive new allegations about the how select committee investigating the U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi. A former investigator is accusing the panel of targeting Clinton.

Here is what Major Bradley Podliska said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, THE LEAD SHOW HOST: What do you say to any viewers out there who think that you might have an axe to grind, but you're only talking because you were fired.

BRADLEY PODLISKA, STAFFER FIRED FROM BENGHAZI COMMITTEE: They say early I have a conscience. I -- there's wrongdoing here and I think it needs to stop. And I do not want the investigation and I want the investigation to be refocused back to its original purpose. The victim's families are all the truth.

Hillary Clinton has a lot of explaining to do. We, however, do not need to shift resources to hyper focus on Hillary Clinton. We didn't need to deemphasize, in some cases drop the investigation on different agency, different organizations, and different individuals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Republican reaction to those claims came fast and furious. Raul Labrador one of the house's most conservative members came out swinging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAUL LABRADOR, IDAHO REPRESENTATIVE: The only reason there's any politics or we even have an investigation is because the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton decided a few months before an election that they were going to lie about what happened in Benghazi.

Let's be clear about that. If they hadn't told different stories about what happened in Benghazi we would even have an investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, Clinton's camp meanwhile, released this statement and I'm quoting directly here "These are explosive allegations. This republican whistleblower's account from inside the Benghazi committee may provide the most definitive proof to date that this taxpayer- funded investigation has been a partisan sham from the start," end of quote.

We'll take another short break. But still to come, an Iranian court reaches a verdict in the case of a Washington Post correspondent jailed for more than a year. We're back with that and more in just a moment. Stay with us.

[02:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and of course all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

I want to update you on the main stories we are following this hour. Families are mourning in Turkey as they burry the victims of Saturday's bombings at a peace rally in the capital. At least 97 people were killed and almost 250 others wounded.

Thousands of demonstrators marched in Ankara Sunday. Some say the government should have done more to prevent the attack.

Iran says it successfully testified a new long-range missile that could be a threat to Israel. The surface-to-surface missile can be precision guided to its target. And Iran says it can carry a 750 kilogram payload and has a range of 1700 kilometers. Meaning, it would be capable of reaching Tel Aviv.

Alexander Lukashenko has won a fifth term as President of Belarus. The Central Election Commission says he won more than 83 percent of the vote in Sunday's landslide victory. The West has been critical of Lukashenko calling Belarus Europe's last dictatorship over its clampdown on political dissent.

There are reports that a verdict has been reached in the case of Jason Rezaian, a U.S. journalist jailed in Iran for more than a year. The case is generated international outrage and demands or his release.

As CNN's John Defterios reports the Iranian court has yet to reveal its verdict or any sentence that might come with it.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, after nearly 450 days behind bars, on Sunday, Iran's judiciary confirmed a verdict has been reached in the trial of American journalist, Jason Rezaian. But in the process has been shrouded in secrecy from the start, even the verdict is not clear. The judiciary says Rezaian and his attorney have 20 days to appeal what has been handed down.

U.S. State Department says they are monitoring the situation and continue to call for all charges against Jason to be dropped. Rezaian began working for the Washington Post in Tehran in 2012.

In the spring of 2014, he and his Iranian wife, Yeganeh Salehi, talked with CNN's Anthony Bourdain about the challenges of reporting from Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON REZAIAN, THE WASHINGTON POST JOURNALIST: The difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we're telling you we're seeing in front of our eyes is actually there.

When you walk down the street you see a different side of things. The people are proud, the culture is vibrant, people have a lot to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: Six weeks later, Rezaian and his wife were detained. Their home ransacked. Yeganeh was released on bail but he remained in prison. Nearly five months later, he was charged with espionage. He was put on trial in May of this year facing a 20-year sentence if convicted.

The last court proceeding was held in August. And the Washington Post again appealed for his release. Iran's judiciary news service has said his arrest has nothing to do with his being a journalist. With one Iranian officials saying last week that Rezaian was linked to quote "A faction in the U.S. Senate who plan to bring about regime change in Iran."

Recently, hopes for his release were raised when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested that Rezaian and other Americans in Iranian jails could be part of an exchange for Iranians convicted in U.S. on charges related to nuclear technology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:34:57] HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT: If the Americans take their appropriate steps and set them free, certainly the right environment will be open and the right circumstances will be created for us to do everything within our power and our purview to bring about the swiftest freedom for the Americans held in Iran as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: For now, those aspirations have been dashed as a secretive legal process plays out in Tehran.

CHURCH: And officials at the Washington Post are reacting with skepticism about Iran's motives in this latest development surrounding Jason Rezaian. They are calling his arrest and trial a sham. Take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're seeing unfolding here is a sham for Iran to say that there's been a verdict but that it's not final, simply suggests again that this is not a matter for the courts, it's a matter that's being decided in the political spheres in Iran.

We've been pleased with the efforts the U.S. government is made to raise attention to Jason's case throughout. On the other hand, we do believe there is much, much more the U.S. government could be doing at the very highest levels to work with Jason's family and opposed to bring Jason home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And there is speculation that Rezaian's verdict might be announced some time Monday in Iran. We will be watching for that.

Well, now to a deadly shooting in the United States that got attention around the world. New reports say the police shooting, death of 12- year-old Tamir Rice in the State of Ohio was quote "reasonable." A Cleveland police officer shot Rice last November within two seconds of getting out of his squad car.

The child had a pellet gun that looked like a handgun. Experts concluded the officer believed he posed a serious threat.

CNN's Nick Valencia has the details.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The reports were among several commissioned by the Cuyahoga County prosecutor as they prepare to bring their findings towards the grand jury. The two reports that are making news from Saturday night, one was done by former FBI agent another done by a current prosecutor in the Denver area.

What both concluded was at the shooting, death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, on the afternoon of November 22nd was a reasonable one. Writing in their report asked Lamar Sims said of Officer Loehmann that officer that fired the fatal shot saying Officer Loehmann's belief that Rice posed a threat of serious physical harm or death was objectively reasonable, as was his response to that perceived threat.

Let's take you back to the afternoon of November 22nd there in Cleveland when police received a call of a guy in a recreation center that was pointing a pistol at people. That caller also telling 911 dispatches that they believe it was probably a juvenile and then the gun was probably fake.

When officers arrived within two seconds of arriving, they open fire on Tamir Rice killing him. Now it is reported, has been reported that the officers did not know that second part of the call, that the individual who called the police said that he was probably a juvenile and that the gun was probably fake. As Tamir Rice reached towards the right waistband he was shot and eventually died from his injuries.

According to these reports that was enough of a perceived threat to justify the shootings. One of those reports done by the FBI agent said that the weapon in question was an airsoft gun is not relevant to a constitutional review of Officer Loehmann's actions.

Tamir Rice's family has responded in a statement from their attorney they are livid, part of that statement reading "To get so-called experts to assist in the whitewash when the world has the video of what happened is all the more alarming. He's hired guns all pro police dodge the simple fact that the officers rushed Tamir and shot him immediately without assessing the situation in the least. Ultimately, it will be up to a grand jury to decide whether or not to bring criminal charges against the officers involved in the shooting."

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

CHURCH: We'll take a short break here, but up next, meet the young woman who escaped the Taliban and uses rap as a weapon against subjugation. Back in a moment.

[00:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's deputy estimates more than a million refugees will make their way to Germany before the end of the year, that's a problem for school German towns. Friedland, Germany is home to just 1100 residents. It now has almost 4000 refugees prompting its mayor to declare a state of emergency.

Atika Shubert reports.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Seventy years ago, the tiny village of Friedland opened its doors to thousands without homes at the end of the Second World War. It had more than a 100 emergency barracks to house those streaming back in. It was known as the gates of liberty.

Today, Friedland is still welcoming refugees nearly 4000 at its peak, about four times the capacity that has store a countless designed a hold at anyone time. Most are from Syria and Iraq but also Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Eritrea.

Camp manager Heinrich Heschmeyer (ph) has worked here for nearly a quarter of a century, long enough to see waves of refugees come and go. More than four million have passed through from the Vietnamese in the '70s to the Syrians that arrived today.

It's open 24 hours, 365 days a year, rain or shine. But even in this idyllic setting nestled in the German countryside there is now a problem. Too many refugees. You see people everywhere, he says, whether it is in the registration offices or during meal time, sometimes up to two hours or when refugees get their clothing vouchers, it's a problem.

Privacy is almost nonexistent, there are no private places and the infrastructure of the camp is maxed out, he says. A festival tent has been pitched on the kid's sports field now home to 200 refugees who hang their laundry on the goalposts. Mattresses line the office hallways of the camp every spare meter devoted to sheltering refugees.

Ideally, refugees are here for two weeks before moving on. But the recent surge of refugees at a backlog of asylum request has turned weeks into months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATED): In the last two weeks, he says, new arrivals in Friedland are brought to alternative housing facilities within 24 hours. We are seeking to reduce the number of the migrants in Friedland by half which would still be more than double of what our capacity truly is, he explained.

[02:45:03] SHUBERT: Refugees now outnumber Friedland's residence three to one. Friedland's mayor says the village gone above and beyond for refugees they can't take anymore.

"We do not have a problem with Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans," says the mayor, they have received a big welcoming in Friedland and the residence want to help. That said, there is a fine line between but it wanting to help people and being stretch to there. Just as it was 70 years ago, Friedland still welcomes those that needs shelter but it warrants even the gates of liberty has its limits.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Friedland, Northwestern Germany.

CHURCH: And now to an inspiring story from a brave young woman made 18-year-old Sonita Alizadeh, she is an activist, a musician, and a force to be reckoned with. An artist who is using her music to fight the practice of forced marriage. Here's her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALIZADEH: I'm Sonita, I'm from Afghanistan and want to change the world with my music. I was born in a poor family. We have to hide because of Taliban, because of war, and then my family decided to go to Iran.

In Iran you can't sing, it's hard especially for woman. A few years ago, my mother she said there is a man and he is waiting to get married to get with you. They didn't have money and they have -- they were force to sell me. After that I wrote a song called "Daughters for Sale."

My mother she got mad at me but now she is very good and she is waiting for my new song. She don't want any more to sell me. Selling girls in Afghanistan it's a tradition. Everyone as the right to choose their own husband. If I want to get married I will choose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Powerful message extraordinary young woman. And from in-depth look at Sonita's life and the powerful message to young women around the world you can have at cnn.com.

And next here on CNN Newsroom, a hard enough moment for the man who was able to walk away from this. His story, next.

[02:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with your CNN World Sport headlines. It's been a pivotal day in Euro 2016 qualifying with more teams progressing to the finals in France. Germany knew that victory over Georgia will see them through. They made heavy weather of it, though, needing a late winners to end up topping the group.

That meant the victory over Poland, or Ireland, would see them through. And it was that man, Robert Lewandowski with his 15th goal, in his last 447 minutes. He got the game winner and sent the Poles through.

Ireland must make do with the playoffs. But congrats to Romania and Albania as the Albanians qualified for their first-ever major tournament by beating Armenia 3 to 0.

In the Rugby World Cup, the quarter final lineup is now set on the day that Japan bowed out even though they won their third game. This time around, the U.S.A. And a spirited Ireland overcame France 24 to 9. Now the Irish do have some major injury doubts including Paul O'Connell, whose tournament may be over.

And Lewis Hamilton is on the verge of winning another Formula One title after winning the Russian Grand Prix. Hamilton's ninth win this season means he needs nine more points than Sebastian Vettel and two more than Nikko Rosberg at the next race in the U.S.A. to clinch the title.

And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A water spout or tornado that forms over water gave drivers in Tampa, Florida a terrible scare. The Sunday morning twister ripped into a U.S. mail truck on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Reporter Holly Bounds picks up the story.

HOLLY BOUNDS, WFLA TV REPORTER: Eighty-six-year-old Randall Leaver is inside this U.S. postal service mail truck as the water spout turns into a tornado sweeping his truck up in the chaos. Mails drives away and the truck is damaged but Liver eventually walks away uninjured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDAL LEAVER, U.S. MAIL TRUCK DRIVER: I didn't even think it was anything except a bunch of birds at first until I saw it get and kind of get bigger and get closer.

BOUNDS: Kent Davis was one of the couple dozen drivers who suddenly stuck when they saw the commotion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENT DAVIS, DRIVER: Then we were able to kind of spin around and turn around the opposite direction that kind of drive back the wrong way until we were able to pull off into the rest area and then we can ran up and to the rest area in case it got closer.

BOUNDS: He says the whole thing lasted a matter of seconds, but it's been on his mind all day.

DAVIS: That truck was probably no more than 50 yards in front of me when I finally figured out what was going on and then I stop. I've never been associated with a tornado or anything that close, but I feel bad for the guy in the truck because I've been that had to be just really, really scary.

Because I know I got nervous. I tried to film it on my phone but my brother kind of gave me a hard time because I panicked. Then I dropped my phone when I saw that it was getting closer to me. I was worried about just getting out of there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Holly Bounds reporting for NBC affiliate WFLA TV in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Well, the U.S. Geological Survey is teaming up with Twitter to help report earthquakes.

So, let's bring in meteorologist Allison Chinchar for more on this. And, Allison, what a great idea.

CHINCHAR: It is. It's actually a wonder that they didn't do it a little bit earlier, but that's OK, better late than never. Take example of this, remember the big earthquake that happened in Nepal earlier this year back in April, it would have been fantastic to have early warning seemed or early warning for a lot of the folks here.

But again, it happened in such a rural area, they don't have much lieu time. Even after the earthquake has already happened many of these folks are not able to get a lot of heads up.

Now here's what we do know about earthquakes not just the one in Nepal. But we do average about 50 to 70 earthquakes daily. Yearly, we pick up around 20,000 of those per year.

[02:54:58] Now what the USGS does is when they get those, the notification that the earthquake is actually happening they will send out the alerts, now where they can get rescue crews out there, folks are alerted to how strong the earthquake was, how deep was it.

Things and then that way if it's especially if it's along the coast you have time to whether or not to decide if you need to issue any tsunami warnings. It normally can take up to 20 minutes for the U.S. Geological Survey to confirm some of these earthquakes especially the ones in more remote and rural areas.

However, this an earthquake that happened in Napa, California back in August of 2014, back when the U.S. Geological Survey started working with Twitter that was in 2009. So, by this point, it only took them 29 seconds to be able to get the issue out alert.

Now what they've done is they're working with Twitter to try to filter words, they're picking up different tweets they'll use specific warning, for example, "terremoto," which in Spanish for Spanish speaking countries means major earthquake. If they can filter out those tweets they can find out when these earthquakes are happening, Rosemary, a little bit faster and a little bit quicker and get more accurate readings on a lot of those sensors as well.

CHURCH: It is fascinating and we'll keep a very close eye on this. Allison, many thanks to you.

And thanks for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church. We'll have another hour of CNN Newsroom, coming up. Don't go anywhere.

[02:59:39] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)