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Francis Celebrates Mass for the Martyrs of Uganda; Investigators Trying to Identify Colorado Shooter's Motive; Paris Attacker's Sister Speaks; Climate Change Summit Begins Monday; The Trip That Changed My Life. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired November 28, 2015 - 02:00   ET

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

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The pope captivating Uganda. You're watching live video of Francis' landmark mass in the country. Hundreds of thousands of people are in attendance.

Deadly shootout: a police officer is among three people killed at a women's health clinic in the U.S.

And speaking out: two weeks on from the Paris attacks, the sister of one of the Bataclan terrorists tells of her disbelief.

It's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. We are live from Atlanta. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.

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ALLEN: It is 10:00 in the morning in Kampala, Uganda, where Pope Francis is celebrating holy mass at a shrine dedicated to Ugandan martyrs. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected at this event, including the president of neighboring South Sudan.

The mass is considered the highlight of the pope's trip to Uganda. CNN's Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher has more on the pope's activities; she joins us via telephone.

Delia, how prevalent is Catholicism in Uganda?

He's certainly getting a huge crowd for this mass.

And what might his message be?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, I hope you saw some of the live pictures just before right now they're doing a reading. But the dancing has been fabulous here. The moment we stepped off the plane, have to say, now (INAUDIBLE) Uganda is about 80 percent Christian, and that's kind of divided between Catholics and Anglicans. Those are the Church of England. And it has an important history here in Uganda because there were missionaries. The church came over to help the Ugandan people to set up schools and hospitals. And so they do a lot of work in terms of the infrastructure, not just (INAUDIBLE) in many African countries.

And so one of the things that the pope (INAUDIBLE) is for that Catholic community. (INAUDIBLE) increase (INAUDIBLE) and so on, really mostly to give encouragement to those priests and nuns, who are working in these really difficult conditions, in all parts of (INAUDIBLE) in rural areas, where they don't have clean drinking water, where they don't have sanitary facilities. And the priests and nuns are there with them.

So I think the pope comes also for that reason.

Now he's at this shrine (INAUDIBLE) mention it only because this is a (INAUDIBLE) pilgrimage for all Ugandans. They come every year on (INAUDIBLE). They walked miles to get here. And the pope said that he's coming as a pilgrim because this is where 45 Christians were massacred about 100 years ago (INAUDIBLE) because they were Christian.

And the corollary to that story, which is an interesting sidebar, is that some of them were young pages of the king and it is said that he killed them because they refused his sexual advances.

So this is what the pope has really come to do here in Uganda, to be at this shrine with the Ugandan people to celebrate these national heroes, as he called them -- Natalie.

ALLEN: And we know that Uganda has made gays outcasts in that society. It is taboo to be gay.

Is he expected to speak out about that?

GALLAGHER: Well, it has obviously been a topic here. (INAUDIBLE) Uganda, (INAUDIBLE) journalists and a kind of a political nature. But I think that the pope has only one day here. I think it's mainly a religious focus for him here. So I don't think he's going to talk about it, because it's also an issue (INAUDIBLE) would be (INAUDIBLE).

(INAUDIBLE) part of that is that they don't like the fact that Western governments threaten to cut off funding (INAUDIBLE) because of that anti-gay bill, which, by the way, we understand is being looked at again by President Museveni possibly because of the fact that (INAUDIBLE) start to cut off funding.

But the Vatican would be against that. They said last month that they don't like the idea of Western governments threatening to cut off funding in order to achieve some kind of a political purpose within the country.

And so that would be an important part of the Vatican stance on that. I don't think the pope is going to address it directly; he's got a lot of things to get through today. But that would be the Vatican's position, let's say --

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GALLAGHER: -- on the question of the anti-gay legislation here in Uganda. ALLEN: All right. Well, we thank you, Delia Gallagher. We'll be coverage the pope's remarks for us and we'll catch up with you later.

We turn now to the United States, where police in Colorado say the suspect who opened fire inside a women's clinic was a 59-year-old man. He gave himself up to authorities Friday evening after a nearly 6-hour standoff and shooting, which left three people dead.

One of those killed was 44-year-old Garrett Swasey, a six-year veteran of the University of Colorado police force. Nine others were wounded, five of them police officers. All are in good condition, according to police. CNN's Pamela Brown has more.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a very chaotic scene in Colorado Springs on Friday; for at least five hours, there was a gunman who barricaded himself inside the Planned Parenthood building there.

There were several people inside; hostages were being evacuated and SWAT teams communicated. And they said that they were looking at video feeds from security cameras inside that building to track the gunman's movements, able to see where he was going.

He was walking through the hallways. At times, the video feeds show that he was very close to victims who were hiding in safe rooms and elsewhere. And they describe this gunman in this scanner traffic that we listened to as a white male; he was wearing a long coat, that he was bulky and had a beard.

The safe room, there were some victims, some people that were hiding in there. Apparently they were given some indication that there was a crisis happening. So they went into the safe room to hide from that gunman.

Apparently you have to have a certain key card in order to be able to get into that room.

We have learned tragically that at least three people were killed, an officer as well as two civilians, several injured.

The question now is motive. You can't ignore the fact that this took place at a facility that does provide abortion services but it's unclear at this stage whether that had anything to do with the gunman going into that building and opening fire.

We learned from officers that he did surrender peacefully after several hours. The question now is whether he will talk to investigators -- Pamela Brown, CNN, Atlanta.

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ALLEN: One woman was working at a chiropractic office near the clinic when all of this began. She told CNN what she saw. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TESSA SMART, CHIROPRACTIC ASSISTANT: I was sitting at my front desk in the chiropractor's office. It is right by the front door, of course. I was watching a patient that was standing by our front door. Our whole front entrance is all glass.

And (INAUDIBLE) something and then I heard what I thought for a split second was maybe gunfire but then I quickly went into denial, especially since I was watching that patient and she never backed up.

But then as I continued to hear it, her face started to get a little concerned, a little confused. Then I got up just to check things out. And before I even made it to the door, I heard a very distinct bullet go right by the door and hit something.

And that's when I ran back to my desk and grabbed a bunch of keys and fumbled at the door, trying to find one to lock. Never did.

Obviously as I was doing that, I was seeing all the police commotion outside, police running everywhere, ducking behind cars with guns.

So I (INAUDIBLE) background check to yell at the doctor and the gun -- I'm sorry; not the gun, the key and he came to the front and locked the door. I turned off the lights, hit the closed sign and ran to the back.

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ALLEN: Joining me now is Steve Moore, a former supervisory special agent for the FBI. He's live via Skype from L.A.

Steve, we just heard our reporter talk about they were watching a video feed of this gunman. You heard that woman there, not even in the building, hearing gunfire, coming close to her; for many hours this went on and three people are dead, other officers are shot.

What do you make of what you're hearing on how this one gunman was able to carry this out for so long?

STEVE MOORE, FORMER SUPERVISORY FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, first of all, he had a high-powered rifle, because it was going through several walls at a time, going quite a distance. So he had a high-powered rifle that would hold people off on one hand.

On the other hand, he was allowed to continue. Again, I don't want to second-guess these officers. Obviously there was thought put into this. There was -- there were very experienced people running this.

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MOORE: But from where I stand, it's confusing because usually protocol with an active shooter is to interdict as soon as possible.

If they knew where he was, as a former SWAT operator, if I had camera views of where he was in the building, it would greatly simplify any kind of assault or interdiction. So I don't understand why one wasn't attempted but they had more information than I do.

ALLEN: And one of our earlier guests said, yes, it's Columbine and other mass shootings in the U.S., that police have learned time is of the essence. You can't take the time to organize the response; you have to respond more quickly.

MOORE: Yes. Those are called rapid action tactics. I've taught rapid action tactics. I still teach rapid action tactics and the tactic specifically is move quickly and expeditiously to the source of the gunfire and engage the shooter.

They may have made a determination somewhere along here that that was not going to be the best course of action. I'm going to be curious, because, as you said, Columbine was what taught us as law enforcement that we couldn't wait for the shooter to give themselves up, because people died.

ALLEN: Right. Well, this gunman finally did give himself up hours after it began. Planned Parenthood has certainly been the target of violence numerous times before.

Has the FBI worked with these clinics across the country to help provide any guidance on security?

MOORE: Generally, the FBI is not going to help any private organization -- well, provide instructions on how to secure themselves. They may provide threat information.

I've done investigations of Planned Parenthood and abortion clinic attacks. I think it is -- you have to work with these people to let them know that there is a domestic terror threat out of there.

If it turns out that this was an attack against Planned Parenthood because it's an abortion clinic, then it was an act of domestic terror. And so the FBI will be involved in this. And it sounds like with safe rooms and things like this, Planned Parenthood is getting some traction there.

But with millions of Americans believing that abortion is killing a human life, they're going to have to deal with threats down the line.

ALLEN: Well, we appreciate your analysis for us. Steve Moore, thanks for joining us.

MOORE: Thank you.

ALLEN: I want to reiterate once again that one police officer was killed and two other citizens. We don't know where they were or how they were killed. They have not been identified.

Coming up here, the sister of one of the Paris attackers speaks exclusively with CNN. You'll hear why she says she can't believe her brother did it.

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ALLEN: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

On Friday, France paid tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks.

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ALLEN (voice-over): The 130 people killed two weeks ago were remembered in a solemn ceremony. Their names and ages were read aloud. As French president Francois Hollande put it, quote, he said, "They were shot dead because they were freedom." Mr. Hollande also reiterated his promise to destroy ISIS.

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ALLEN: The sister of one of the Paris attackers is speaking out exclusively to CNN. Our Hala Gorani spoke with her in French. The woman asked us not to show her face or use her real voice.

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HALA GORANI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): He was one of the terrorists responsible for the worst terrorist attack in France in half a century. One of three shooters at the Bataclan concert hall on November 13th, his name revealed days later, Samy Amimour. For the first time on international television, his sister is speaking out.

GORANI: At what point did you learn that your younger brother was one of the attackers?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): At first I was shocked. I was screaming in despair and sadness. And when I gathered my thoughts, I thought this information was wrong, that there was a mistake, that it was impossible.

GORANI (voice-over): A man who grew up to be a mass murderer but whose life, according to his sister, started very differently. She shared personal pictures of her brother with us.

GORANI: The Samy you knew, you're saying was a nice guy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Exactly. He was a nice person, a sensitive person, a bit shy, somebody you can rely on, a generous person, someone nice who loved to laugh and joke.

GORANI (voice-over): But then that man disappeared, she says, literally, traveling to Syria to join ISIS.

His father reportedly went after his son to try to convince him to come home, to no avail. Amimour's family actually stayed in touch with him while he was in Syria. The last message from him was sent in August of this year.

GORANI: In your last contact with him, was it just an ordinary conversation?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes.

GORANI: With absolutely no sign that anything like this could happen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): No. No sign. Totally normal conversation. I asked him how he was. And he told me, listen, I am very well, I have a lot of things to deal with at the moment. So I will call you very soon. Send kisses to everyone and to my cat.

GORANI: How do you reconcile the -- your brother, who says, kiss the parents, kiss the cat, you know, I'll call you soon, the little boy you grew up with, with the man who so coldly murdered dozens of helpless people in a concert hall?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): To me, there's no link. It's almost like it's not him. There's no chance. I know it's real but...

GORANI (voice-over): So what happened to a man who worked as a bus driver, led a seemingly normal life in the northern Paris suburb of Drancy, that turned him into a mass killer and suicide bomber?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It started with the Internet. He visited websites that were sort of controversial. Then it continued with videos and then it stayed that way. Then beyond the world of the Internet, there was also the real world. People came to talk to him.

GORANI: Where?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): In the area, here, below the house. They came to talk to him more and more and told him that he should attend the sermon at the mosque more regularly, that he should be more devoted to his practice of Islam. Then they led him towards mosques that were more radical.

GORANI (voice-over): These are some of the pictures of Amimour's victims, some of the 89 people ruthlessly killed that night.

Does his family feel any responsibility for Amimour's actions?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Of course, there's part of us that says maybe it's our fault. Maybe we should have done something different. Maybe, just maybe.

GORANI: If you had an opportunity to speak to the family of one of the victims, what would you say to them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Sorry for your loss. We're sorry, because we didn't want all of this. We understand the pain they feel and we know that nothing will bring their families back, whatever we may say. So we just hope that they can -- [02:20:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): -- mourn their dead.

GORANI (voice-over): Hala Gorani, CNN, Paris.

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ALLEN: France is now set to host a huge conference. It's gearing up for the COP 21, which begins Monday. COP stands for Conference of Parties. It's an annual meeting initiated by the U.N. to address climate change.

This year's meeting is the 21st. Representatives from almost 200 countries and the European Union will attend. The goal is to reach the first legally binding universal agreement on climate change, specifically to prevent the global temperature from rising two degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution a couple of centuries ago. We learn more from CNN's Jim Bittermann in Paris.

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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A wind turbine has sprouted in the middle of the Avenue Champs-Elysee. A planetary globe has appeared in the middle of the environmental ministry.

Paris seems as if it's being paved over with solar panels and the city is awash in displays and innovations.

Gerard d'Aboville (ph) has singlehandedly rowed boats across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, sail up the River Seine with what is said to be the world's largest solar-powered oceangoing vessel.

GERARD D'ABOUVILLE (PH), SAILOR AND ENGINEER: I think the key of the climate is mostly into the oceans. So I'm very pleased to bring here in Paris a little bit of the sea.

BITTERMANN (voice-over): For the tens of thousands of others like d'Aboville (ph), drawn to Paris for the coming two weeks, this is make-or-break time for climate change. "Later will be too late," say the signs atop the French foreign ministry, as the foreign minister himself knows, trying to get the nations of the world to agree on anything is a tall order.

And never before in France or perhaps anywhere have there been negotiations quite like these. Starting Monday, 195 countries will gather at a purpose-built conference center at Le Bourget Airport north of Paris to try to find agreement on worldwide limitations on greenhouse gases.

But the complex negotiations were nearly overshadowed by the vicious terrorist attacks in Paris two weeks ago, which, at first, seemed as if they might endanger the meetings here. In fact, some people felt that the climate talks should be called off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm not convinced about the necessity at this moment to organize this event. I think we have other priorities today, even if the environment is very important.

BITTERMANN (voice-over): But for most, those worldwide issues trump even terrorist concerns.

BITTERMANN: In a way, the Paris conference is just too big to call off. Everyone from the pope on down has emphasized how important it is for the planet to concentrate on the climate issue. President Hollande said just a few days ago that the best response to the terrorist attacks is to carry on with the climate summit.

BITTERMANN (voice-over): But protecting the nearly 150 heads of state and 40,000 delegates who are expected will be a real challenge for French security forces; 2,800 police and army will patrol the site itself; 8,000 more will reinforce French borders; in all, 120,000 security personnel will be mobilized across the country.

The leaders will only attend for the first two days of the conference but miles of roads will have to be closed off to get them to and from the conference site, something that is expected to throw normally impossible French traffic into chaos.

But with popular demonstrations and serious negotiations, the climate conference will go on. It's something the world's leaders feel simply cannot be postponed any longer -- Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

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ALLEN: And CNN will, of course, be covering the COP 21 meeting. We'll be right back with more CNN NEWSROOM.

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ALLEN: A simple gesture for a young boy in India has grown into a worldwide charity. And it was all thanks to travel. Here's how Adam Braun describes the trip that changed his life.

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ADAM BRAUN, FOUNDER, PENCILS OF PROMISE (voice-over): Travel gives me a tremendous sense of freedom and also it gives me a set of experiences that remind me how small I am in the world and, at the same time, I think oftentimes embolden me to dream really big.

I'm Adam Braun, founder of Pencils of Promise and a "New York Times" best-selling author.

That picture reminds me of my trip to India as a 21-year-old college student and it was undoubtedly the most transformative trip of my life.

I watched a film called "Baraka." They showed a scene that was shot on the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India, and I was so motivated by that scene that I decided I had to get to India.

It was a profoundly spiritual moment, in all honesty. It was one of those times where you feel like you are coming into the person that you are destined to be.

One young boy, asked me on the streets of India, who is a street beggar, if he could have anything in the world, the thing that he would want most was a pencil.

And so off of that experience, I decided to start carrying many pens and pencils. And I gave them out to a group of children, which was something that I eventually did with hundreds and hundreds and probably thousands of children (INAUDIBLE) in the countries in the years since.

What started with just one school and one simple idea has now led to more than 300 schools around the world.

The power in the idea of a pencil is that it can unlock so much for any one individual. I recently learned the average pencil holds 40,000 words, which I think is just such a powerful statement on the sense of the imagination and curiosity and potential, that these tools of self-empowerment can provide to any one person.

The thing that pulls at my heartstrings the most is seeing children in communities of tremendous, tremendous poverty, where their parents are really committed to their educational well-being but they don't have the school support to pursue that aspirational dream.

If I hadn't gone to India, I don't think that Pencils of Promise, honestly, would have been created.

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ALLEN: Our top stories are next.