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Pope Francis Wraps Up Visit to Central African Republic; Nearly 150 World Leaders in Paris for Summit on Climate Change; Protesters Clash with Police at COP21; Which Countries Most Affected by Climate Change? Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 30, 2015 - 00:00   ET

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


[00:00:12] ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, police and demonstrators clashed on the streets of Paris as the city already on edge gets set to host dozens of world leaders.

Plus, for the first time Pope Francis visits an active war zone.

And police may be closer to knowing a motive for a deadly shooting at a women's clinic in the United States.

Hello, and thank you for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

Leaders from around the world are in Paris for an environmental summit called COP21. French president Francois Hollande was meeting with several heads of state before the conference, which is taking place just two weeks after the deadly terror attacks there.

A few hours ago he accompanied U.S. president Barack Obama to a memorial for victims of the rampage. Mr. Hollande also met with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Almost 150 world leaders plan to attend the summit. Their goal is to create a legally binding agreement to keep the world's temperature from rising beyond 2 degrees Celsius.

Across the world people concerned about climate change raise their voices on the eve of the summit.

This was the scene in Lima, Peru. Protesters called on leaders gathering for the summit to not just talk but take action. And this was the scene in Hong Kong. And we saw similar demonstrations from Australia to Japan to Katmandu.

In Paris there, well, there were protests as well. Demonstrators there were agitated by a government crackdown on rallies in the aftermath of the terror attacks. Protesters threw bottles, shoes, and officers say even candles taken from memorials. Police responded with tear gas.

The mood is far more peaceful elsewhere in Paris and very busy. As CNN's Jim Bittermann reports, the city of light is getting covered in solar panels. And expectations for the COP21 conference are extremely high.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR 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 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, SAILOR: 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: For the tens of thousands of others like d'Aboville, 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: But for most, those worldwide issues Trump even terrorist concerns.

(On camera): 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.

(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. 2800 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. [00:05:02] 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM PATZERT, CLIMATOLOGIST, JET PROPULSION LABORATORY: Oh, shucks, huh?

SESAY: Well, for more on the talks let's bring in William Patzert. He is a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory here in California.

William, wonderful to have you here with us.

PATZERT: Really a pleasure.

SESAY: So listen, I don't want to be a negative Nelly or anything like that, but ahead of these Paris talks set to officially get under way tomorrow there seems to be a great amount of optimism that there will be a deal. But from all the reading that I am doing it doesn't seem as if any deal is actually going to set us on the path to keeping global warming below that critical threshold of 2 degrees Celsius. So I guess my question is, what qualifies a success here?

PATZERT: Well, I guess I'm a little more positive than you are, Isha. You know, since COP1 we've really come a long way. The science is really solid about global warming. Many politicians across the planet, business leaders see this as a new opportunity, and not only that, many spiritual leaders, which are very, very important to all this, have come on board. So I'm a little more optimistic that we will reach some sort of an agreement here and we will --

SESAY: Will it be a good agreement? I agree that by all accounts from looking at the pledges that have already been made by the countries, there will be an agreement. But my question to you is, will it be a good enough agreement?

PATZERT: Well, it will be a positive agreement and will be on the path I believe over the next few decades to weaning ourselves off fossil fuels and being on the path for renewable energy, which will be fantastic for the health of the planet.

SESAY: Why are you so confident that the plans to reduce emissions will involve significant take-up of renewable energy?

PATZERT: Well, we already see it. Half the new energy going online across the planet today is renewable energy. So we're really already on a path for renewable energy across the planet. And with these new agreements that I believe will be signed this week, that will be accelerated. And so as we look out into the future, rather than three, four, five degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures we can minimize that to between two and three degrees Celsius, which is livable. SESAY: Livable but even the two degrees Celsius we were hearing of

what sounded like dire, you know, ramifications, consequences, what would it be like at three?

PATZERT: Well, you know, I think of it this way. If we do nothing, it'll be like being hit in the head with a shot-put. But if we make small steps each year it will be more like getting hit in the head with a ping-pong ball. All right? And so I'm very optimistic. You know, I'm a little older than you are. So I've been at this at a while. And I remember COP1. And I was very pessimistic after COP1. But at COP21 here, I am very optimistic that we will reach an agreement and we will be on a path from non-renewable energy to renewable energy.

SESAY: What about developing nations? As you talk with optimism about the take-up of renewable energies. What about these developing nations that say they need richer countries, developed nations to effectively subsidize the transition? How confident are you that they'll get the money they seek and therefore make the change?

PATZERT: Well, of course it's very important that the highly developed nations, Europe, the United States, China, India, definitely have to subsidize the developing nations. There is no doubt about that. That is the responsibility especially of the wealthiest nations. And that should really be part of the agreement.

SESAY: William, a great pleasure. I'm so pleased to have you on with your positive take on things. We shall see how it turns out.

PATZERT: Well, you know, this is a great leap forward. If we don't do this, the consequences for the planet are seriously dire. And so let's try to be optimistic here, Isha.

SESAY: So I guess what you're saying is any deal is better than no deal.

PATZERT: No, I think this deal will be a great deal, a great start. You know, my mother once told me, inch by inch it's a cinch. Yard by yard it's hard.

(LAUGHTER)

SESAY: William Patzert, we're going to leave it there and we're going to get you back when we see what the deal actually is, so we can go through the details. Thank you.

PATZERT: Nice talking to you.

SESAY: Nice talking to you, too.

[00:10:02] Now Pope Francis is spending his second and final day in the Central African Republic. He'll visit a mosque in just a couple of hours, sending a powerful message of religious tolerance in the war-torn country. On Sunday the Pope celebrated mass and toured a refugee camp.

CNN's Delia Gallagher tells us more about his day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: On the first day of Pope Francis' trip to the Central African Republic, he visited those most affected by the decade's long civil war and armed conflict in this country. The children of the Saint Sauveur refugee camp. They are only some of the one million people who have been displaced or fled, creating one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world.

"My wish for you and for all Central Africans is peace," the Pope told them. It was a message he took to the leaders, too, meeting the imam of Bangui, the capital city, along with Protestant and Catholic leaders.

Security has been very tight here with U.N. and French peacekeeping troops and reinforced Vatican Secret Service but it hasn't stopped the Pope from riding in an open Pope-mobile and mixing with the crowds.

And in a symbolic gesture, the Pope opened the doors to the Bangui's Catholic Cathedral. This gesture is connected to the Pope's call for a special jubilee year. And he made an appeal that all people waging war here and around the world put down their instruments of death.

Delia Gallagher, CNN, Bangui, Central African Republic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, CNN's senior Vatican analyst John Allen joins us now on Skype from Denver, Colorado, to discuss the Pope's trip.

John Allan, always good to have you with us. To have the Pope in a country still grappling with an active conflict is remarkable in itself. I've got to ask you what you've made of the trip to the Central African Republic so far.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Well, Isha, as you say, in many ways this is one of those trips where the mere fact of going there is almost the most important storyline, quite apart from anything specific the Pope has said or done.

Let's bear in mind this is the first time in the modern era a Pope has ever set foot in an active conflict zone, and Francis was obviously determined to do this. In fact, on his Alitalia flight on the way to Africa a few days ago he went up to the cockpit to chat with the pilot and jokingly told him, look, if you can't get me to the Central African Republic, just give me a parachute because that's how determined he was to be there.

I was struck by some of the reporting done by one of my colleagues, who was on the ground with the Pope today who was at that refugee camp that the Pope visited. She interviewed an 80-year-old Italian missionary nun who has been serving in the Central African Republic most of her life and who has lived through the conflict since the very beginning in 2013. Who said for the people at that refugee camp that she served as far as they were concerned the war ended today with the Pope's presence. So that's how convinced they are that it's going to be a game changer. Obviously, that remains to be seen, but that's clearly Francis' desire, Isha.

SESAY: John, let me ask you this. Why is the Pope so determined to go to the Central African Republic? There are numerous other conflicts, sadly, going on right now on the African continent with sadly generating a lot of refugee camps that he could visit. I guess I'm just intrigued as to what it was specifically about CAR that made him so determined to go.

ALLEN: Well, I think fundamentally, Isha, because he could get in. I mean, let's remember, when Francis went to Turkey last year he very much wanted to visit Iraq and Syria in order to make a statement about that conflict but was persuaded by all of the parties involved that the security situation just wouldn't make it possible. In this case he was able to override those objections.

I think the other issue, Isha, is that, although the Central African Republic is a small country, fewer than five million people, it's a place where the conflict basically breaks Christian-Muslim and where Christians are the majority. They're about 80 percent of the population. So I think Francis' calculation was this is a place where if he called upon Christians either to lay down their arms or at least to stand back and allow peaceful elections to take place later this month it could make a real difference.

In other words, I think it was a combination of opportunity and also his assessment that this was a place uniquely where a Christian spiritual leader could perhaps move the ball in the direction of peace, Isha.

SESAY: This is his last day of his African tour. As you look at his time in Kenya, Uganda, and finally in the Central African Republic, is the Vatican going to deem this trip a success?

ALLEN: Well, the Vatican will always deem every papal trip a success. You know, its long-term success remains to be seen. We'll see what happens in the Central African Republic. We'll see what happens in terms of corruption in African nations which Francis repeatedly denounced. I mean, for that matter we'll see what happens in Paris.

[00:15:02] You were talking earlier about the U.N. climate change summit opening today. You know, Francis used his visit to the headquarters of the U.N. Environment Program in Nairobi to issue a strong call for new limits on fossil fuel consumption at that Paris meeting. But I will say this. I think this trip in many ways has captured all of the core themes of Francis' papacy in miniature from war and peace to interreligious dialogue to the environment, to his passion for the poor.

I mean, we've seen it all over these last six days. So how much success we're going to have -- the Pope is going to have, you know, the jury is still out. But in terms of insight into Francis' heart and mind I think this journey has been remarkable, Isha.

SESAY: John Allen, it's always a pleasure to have you on. You always provide such great -- excuse me -- such great perspective. Thank you so much.

ALLEN: You bet.

SESAY: Now, though a main suspect in the Paris terror attacks still hasn't been captured, we're learning more details about his actions. We'll have an update just ahead.

Plus, Turkey makes a conciliatory gesture to Russia. What it's doing to smooth over relations over shooting down a Russian jet. Next.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

[00:20:14] SESAY: Hello, everyone. Just a few hours ago U.S. president Barack Obama made an unannounced late-night visit to the memorial for victims of the Paris terror attacks. Mr. Obama added a rose to the overflowing bouquets outside the Bataclan theater.

CNN's Alexandra Field has new details on the attack suspect who is still at large.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For more than two weeks, Salah Abdeslam has been the most wanted man in connection with the Paris terror attacks. Authorities have already identified his brother as one of the suicide bombers. And they say that together both brothers rented the cars that were used in the attacks. But now a source is telling CNN that it was Salah Abdeslam who also purchased detonators prior to those Paris attacks.

A French newspaper is reporting that the detonators were bought at a store north of Paris and that the owner or manager of that store contacted authorities when he saw Abdeslam's photos as part of this international manhunt.

Abdeslam was able to leave France entering Belgium in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. That's before police knew exactly who they're looking for. But one U.S. lawmaker now speculates that investigators could be closer to finding the man they've been searching for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I do think they are closing in on him. And that's the good news. There are many involved with this plot. It's a very sophisticated plot, an external operation that we've seen from ISIS. You mentioned the bombing of the Russian airliner. This is a new ISIS, a new chapter for them to be able to conduct three external operations in just recent times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: The search for Salah Abdeslam has prompted raids and arrests across Belgium. Already authorities have arrested six people in connection with to the Paris terror attacks. They have arrested two men who are believed to have driven Abdeslam from France to Belgium, along with another man who's believed to have picked him up once he arrived from Belgium and driven him to another location.

And while they continue their hunt for Salah Abdeslam, they're also looking for one more man, Mohamed Abrini, who has seen with Abdeslam just two days before the terror attacks.

Alexandra Field, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Now the body of the Russian fighter pilot who was shot down near the Syrian-Turkish border will be returned to Russia. Turkish authorities flew the body to Ankara, where it will be transferred to Russia at a later date. The Turkish military downed the jet on Tuesday, saying it was flying in Turkish air space and was repeatedly warned to leave. Russia denies those claims, and President Vladimir Putin calls the incident a stab in the back.

Well, the incident has only widened the rift between Turkey and Russia, who already had significant differences over their policies in Syria. For more let's send it to our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, who is live in Moscow for us.

Matthew, good to have you with us. Russia initiating economic sanctions against Turkey but important to note that the gas pipeline expansion project and Russia's construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey are not included on the list. So give us some perspective on how Russia is targeting Turkey.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're not included on the list yet, is what I'd say. There's certainly plenty of room on the Russian side at least for escalation in this if relations deteriorate even further with Turkey. But already they're at a pretty low ebb.

I mean, you're right. There has been -- there have been tensions over -- in recent years between Russia and Turkey over the war in Syria. They're both on different sides of the divide as it were, Moscow backing President Assad and the Turks backing the opposition forces trying to topple him. But they've always managed to keep that relationship compartmentalized and they still got a very -- they still had a very strong economic relationship and also a sort of close personal relationship between the two leaders, President Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia.

It was just last month that President Erdogan was here in Moscow attending the opening of the city's biggest mosque, standing right next to Vladimir Putin. And so despite their differences they've managed to maintain a good relationship, I'd say. But that now is in the past completely because the sanctions that Russia has imposed against Turkey are pretty significant. Essentially stopping all charter planes going between the two countries, banning visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to Russia, which is -- will have a significant impact, putting restrictions on Turkish companies in projects here. Restrictions on Turkish nationals as well who are employed in Russia.

And so yes, there are some areas which they've left out. Absolutely. But there are significant areas that are now subject to economic sanctions. And that's a major blow I think for relations between the two countries, Isha.

[00:24:03] SESAY: Yes. Important perspective there, Matthew Chance, joining us there from Moscow. Thank you, Matthew.

We turn now to the U.S. state of Colorado where officials have identified both civilians killed in Friday's shooting spree at a Planned Parenthood clinic. They are Jennifer Markovsky and Ke'Arre Stewart. University Police Officer Garrett Swasey also died in the attack.

The accused shooter, Robert Dear, is also set -- is set to appear in court Monday. According to law enforcement officials Dear spoke about baby parts after his surrender and expressed anti-abortion and anti- government views. But police have not released a motive for the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER, COLORADO: I think we have to come back and look at all aspects of why these shootings have continued to occur. Oregon or South Carolina and Colorado. The frequency is unacceptable. And I don't -- you know, I'm not willing to say, well, we just have to sit back and accept this as a cost of freedom.

MAYOR JOHN SUTHERS, COLORADO SPRINGS: The First Amendment is not going to go away. We're going to see inflammatory rhetoric. And the question is, what can we do constitutionally to deal with these situations? I know that in the past as attorney general I was head of a committee looking at violent incidents like this in the past and looking for common scenarios. And one of the things that we came to the conclusion is we don't do a very good job of identifying people with potential mental health issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, CNN affiliate WLOS obtained this video of a small isolated mountain cabin where the suspected gunman reportedly lived in North Carolina. Excuse me.

Now to new comments from Ben Carson on the refugee crisis. The U.S. Republican presidential candidate says most Syrian refugees would rather not resettle in the United States. Carson visited refugee camps in Jordan over the weekend and says the focus should be on increased funding for the camps. The U.N. says there are more than 630,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Carson spoke with CNN's Brianna Keilar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Their desire, their true desire is to be resettled in Syria, but, you know, they're satisfied to be in the refugee camps if the refugee camps are adequately funded. Recognize that in these camps they have schools, they have recreational facilities that are really quite nice, and they're putting in all kinds of things that make life more tolerable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Carson said this was a fact-finding trip to get a firsthand understanding of the refugee crisis. Carson's foreign policy experience has been challenged in the campaign.

Next on NEWSROOM L.A. as Paris welcomes world leaders police there are clashing with protesters. We'll take you inside the demonstrations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:00]

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay with the headlines this hour.

Pope Francis will wrap up a two-day visit to the Central African Republic Monday. He spent his first day in the war-torn country celebrating Sunday mass and touring a refugee center in the capital. He's also scheduled to visit a mosque before he returns to Rome.

A source says a key suspect in the Paris terror attacks bought detonators in France. The French newspaper "La Parisienne" reports Salah Abdeslam made the purchase at a fireworks store just north of Paris. Abdeslam remains at large.

Nearly 150 world leaders are in Paris for the COP21 Summit on global warming. U.S. President Barack Obama arrived a few hours ago and visited a memorial for victims of the Paris terror attacks. And, French President, Francois Hollande, greeted China's leader Xi Jinping ahead of the summit.

Elsewhere in Paris environmental protesters clashed with police; officers fired tear gas to break up the demonstrations. The protesters threw bottles, shoes, and police say even candles taken from memorials.

Well, those climate activists defied new restrictions on mass demonstrations in Paris. CNN's John Sutter has more now on the message they want to send to world leaders at the COP21 Summit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN SUTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of shoes fill Paris's Place de la Republique in silent protest. On many of them, messages about climate change: "Stop pollution"; "Protect future generations"; you see all these shoes here, demanding a stop to pollution and action on climate change. The Place de la Republique, very close to where the terror attacks happened. Paris is still in a state of emergency, after the November 13th terror attacks and mass demonstrations have been banned by authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we showed, with all those shoes, that we wanted to take part to this march and that we wanted world leaders to take action on climate change.

SUTTER: But ahead of a major U.N. Climate Change Summit in the city, climate change activists have found creative ways to make their message heard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll have to apologize for taking this Earth for granted, always taking and never giving; telling them stories about animals we used to have.

SUTTER: Activist angels from Australia passed through the display. Others formed a human chain, but the mood got tense. Somber demonstrations gave way to conflict as other protesters defied the ban on marches and challenged the police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To change the mind of the people and of course of the leaders of the world.

SUTTER: The climate summit, called COP21, may be the world's best chance to figure out how to avoid disastrous levels of global warming. Many activists say they're sick of the talk. They're eager to see the world take bold steps toward a cleaner future.

John Sutter, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: So which countries are most impacted by climate change? Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us with more on that. Pedram, break this down for us.

[00:35:00] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, Isha, this is information we've seen in recent days come from the United Nations, that, if broken down, nations across the world from 1995 through 2015 as far as weather events, weather disasters, whether it be flooding, say, hurricane, landslides, or even droughts across the planet, the United States, out of 422 specific events relating to weather disasters as it was known, and you work your way to China, a close second at 441. You see India, the Philippines, many of them, of course there from tropical cyclone and landfalls. Indonesia on the list.

When it comes to fatalities across the world, Myanmar and India make the list as far as highest fatalities in the last decade or so, when it comes to weather-related decades in the last two decades. Of course populations impact it. Look at this, 56-percent of the population impacted from the mid-1990s, from the severe weather events, have been relating to floods. Number two it is droughts, well over a billion people. Then you work your way into areas where tropical cyclones are prevalent and you're talking over 600 million people that have been impacted by this as well.

Think about climate change and exactly how we get to getting extreme weather events, we know the burning of fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, greenhouse gases that trap the heat in our atmosphere are one of the primary reasons for that. You take a look

at China, the energy consumption across China, coal, 2/3 of their energy consumption comes from burning coal, largest importer, largest consumer in the world and largest distributor of coal is all across areas of China. I want to show you something here, as far as images and recent days around areas of Beijing because tremendous smog across this region; certainly not uncommon, but what was uncommon the highest level alert for the year issued. An orange alert issued across portions of Beijing over the past 24 to 48 hours.

Take a look at the topography over this region. We've also talked about the mountains to the west, the west hills as its known, the pollutants. You see the smog lock in place. Look at the bottom portion of your screen. There you go; 487, that is near the top of the charts in the air quality issue and the air quality index. If you look at the ebbs and the flows in recent days, the pollutants dropped down to around 200, which is already unhealthy, that would be in the early morning hours. By the afternoon they peak around 400, they drop back in the overnight hours the industry wakes up and then you see it rise again; over 487.

A statistic we've talked about from the World Health Organization that is really fascinating, Isha, we know 7 million people every single year die prematurely because of air quality issues; that equates to almost 20,000 people per day. Another way to look at it, it would be equivalent to having literally airplanes filled with passengers, to capacity, fall out of the sky every single hour all year that is how many people are passing away from air quality issues and of course China on top of that list right now. Isha?

SESAY: Those are very, very troubling statistics. Pedram, appreciate the breakdown. Thank you.

JAVAHERI: thank you.

SESAY: Well make sure to head to our website to learn more about the fight against climate change, including how just a small rise in the Earth's future can make such impact. That's at cnn.com/twodegress

Well, the U.S. National Security Agency has ended its bulk collection of telephone metadata. The government will now need a targeted warrant or court order to collect records on Americans' phone calls. Former NSA Contractor Edward Snowden leaked details about the intelligence program two years ago, forcing the government to confirm its existence. An intelligence court is weighing an NSA request for limited access to historical metadata until February 29th, 2016.

Well, one of the greatest NBA players is retiring from the game. Next on "Newsroom L.A." you'll hear the unique way Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant made his announcement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:00]

SESAY: Hello, everyone. Los Angeles basketball star Kobe Bryant announced Sunday he is retiring after this year's NBA season. The five-time champion has been plagued with injuries the last two years. The Lakers guard made his announcement by writing a poem, which goes in part "this season is all I have left to give, my heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it is time to say good-bye." Hmm, all right.

Well, British singer Adele is having the best week ever. Her new album "25" sold nearly 3.4 million copies in the U.S. in the first week. That beat the previous record holder *nsync by nearly a million copies. Adele's latest release is already the top-selling album of 2015 and the singer just announced a European tour kicking off in Belfast in February.

Okay, well, from pop royalty to actual royalty. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge released two new photos of daughter Princess Charlotte. The photos were taken by the duchess earlier this month at their home in Norfolk. A statement from Kensington Palace states the couple still receives messages from around the world about their daughter and they hope that everyone gets as much enjoyment from the photos as they do. Princess Charlotte is 6 months old. She is very, very cute.

And you are watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay. I'll be back at the top of the hour with a look at the day's top stories; but first "World Sport" starts after the break.

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