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Typhoon Headed for Philippines; Asian-Pacific Region Stocks Down; 2 Terror Suspects Arrested in Geneva; Director J.J. Abrams Talks "Star Wars" Launch. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 14, 2015 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:10] ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, a powerful storm is about to strike the Philippines forcing hundreds of thousands to find higher ground.
And Pope Francis and the U.S. President Obama praise the landmark climate change deal. But how much will really change in the fight against global warming?
And less than 24 hours before it premieres here in Los Angeles, you will see my interview with the director of the new "Star Wars" film.
Hello, and thank you for joining us. I am Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
We are following a potentially dangerous storm heading straight for the Central Philippines. Typhoon Melor is on track to make landfall in the coming hours at the southeastern tip of the main island of Luzon. The winds are equivalent to a category 3 hurricane, 205 kilometers or 125 miles per hour. And those winds could last up to 18 hours. All emergency personnel are on standby right now. More than 700,000 people have evacuated.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with the very latest.
Pedram, how is the storm looking right now?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Isha, it's maintaining its intensity. And you know that's the concern, and what it touched on there when it comes to how quickly this storm system strengthened. Just 24 hours ago, folks were going to bed looking at a tropical storm. They've seen hundreds of them in recent years over this region. This quickly intensified to a nearly supertyphoon storm but it is category 3 equivalent. It is riding the northern fringe of the south province of Samar right now.
Very close proximity to the town of Catamaran. The town has a population that is about 100,000 people. And I want to talk about that because it is the most populated town in that particular province that it's nearing. And we're looking at winds of 205 kilometers per hour. Gusting well over 250 kilometers per hour. And you take a look, westward progression of this storm quite rapidly as well. But the area of interest right here, the Philippines archipelago, well known for the islands scattered about here, 7,100 of these islands scattered about.
So plenty of water in between this storm system, a lot of water to be displaced causing storm surges and of course plenty of rainfall to tell you about in the next coming couple of days as well. But just take a look at this. In the past 11 1/2 months alone, we've had nine storms that have made landfall over this region. One of them, (INAUDIBLE), actually northern fringe of Samar, same exact area that it brushed before it moved on in towards portions of Luzon.
But typically speaking, we're looking at eight to nine storms per year. However, right there as far as what is normal, 19 is the most we've seen. Four of the fewest we've seen. The concern with this, and now I can say, about 90 percent of fatalities with storms are not related to the winds but the water. Whether it'd be the water it displaces or the water it drops. And this particular storm has both of them in store as far as intensity of those things.
And you take a look, the areas indicated in pink and purple, 250 to maybe 500 millimeters of rainfall across parts of Luzon over the next 24 to 36 hours. And December storms we often have storms in this region. Of course as we touched on. But December typically the quietest time of the year. But we've seen major fatalities. Washi back in December 2011 took 1200 lives. Bopha, December 2012 took 1100 lives and then we have mass evacuations ahead of a December 2014 Hagupit storm there. And that one only led to 21 fatalities.
So this is something we're following. We know evacuations are put in place in earnest. But again, Isha, it is a very, very hard area to evacuate from just because of the nature of the land. You've got to get people on boats, you've got to get them out of the way, and the storm intensified very, very quickly. So we'll follow this over the next several hours as the storm system moves over this region.
SESAY: All right. Pedram, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
SESAY: Well, let's get the latest on conditions on the ground. Gerg Cahiles joins me now on the phone. He's a CNN Philippines correspondent who is in Legaspi right now.
Gerg, describe conditions you're experiencing right now.
GERG CAHILES, CNN PHILIPPINES CORRESPONDENT: Isha, I'm in Legaspi, Albay, it's a port city about 300 kilometers south of the Philippines capital Manila. And right now wind and rain are getting stronger by the hour. It's already 2:00 in the afternoon here. And here in the downtown area, establishments have started to close around lunchtime to allow their personnel to go home early and secure their families before the typhoon that batters the province.
Typhoon Melor is expected to directly hit some portions of this province this evening or as early as 5:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time. And the provincial government here has declared a state of imminent danger as preparations are under way for possible storm surges, flooding and lahar flow from the active Mayon volcano. Now officials have been urging residents in coastal areas and
communities around the volcano to move to safer ground as soon as possible. And they're also preparing to distribute food and other emergency supplies to those people.
[01:05:07] And there are about a million residents here in Albay, and officials estimate that some half a million people will be affected by this typhoon -- Isha.
SESAY: And Gerg, I know that Legaspi is a coastal area. It's a tourist destination. How is this impacting travelers?
CAHILES: OK, so far, we have seen, based on the Philippine Coastal Guard record, there are around 660 stranded passengers in this part of the country now. But the nationwide -- here in the Philippines, the latest count is almost 8,000 stranded passengers. Also, only minimal flights have been cancelled so far and we'll monitor that very closely and bring you the latest as information becomes available -- Isha.
SESAY: Gerg Cahiles, joining us there on the phone from Legaspi. Gerg, thank you for the update. Stay safe.
And we will of course continue to track Typhoon Melor for you so stay with CNN for the latest on that.
Turning to Europe now, France's far-right National Front Party couldn't follow through on their big lead after the first round of regional voting. Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration party led in six of 13 regions last weekend but failed to win a single one on Sunday.
Despite those results, the party is still calling the outcome a victory. Our Jim Bittermann explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kind of a strange election result because no one appears to have lost this election. Everybody was claiming victory in the aftermath.
The two mainstream parties, the Socialists and Republicans, were happy that they had stopped the National Front. Just a week ago it looked like the National Front could win perhaps as many as six of the 13 regions in France. In fact, tonight they won none of those regions.
But while they were claiming victory because of that, the National Front, the extreme right-wing party was, in fact, claiming victory as well, because Marie Le Pen, the leader of that party, said, look, we have tripled our representation in municipal and regional governments over the last five years.
And she's right about that. In these regional elections there are still National Front people who have won seats. Even though they haven't won the region they still won -- they've won seats and are representing their opposition in many of the regions.
So everybody was saying they were victorious tonight. The Socialist Party leaders said it's a victory without joy, however. And one of the reasons he said that is because the Socialist Party told its candidates in regions where it looked like they might lose that they should withdraw in order to form a front against the National Front. And, in fact, that seemed to have worked. In both the northern region and in the southern region where Marine Le Pen was running, and her niece, Marion Marechal Le Pen, was running in the south both were defeated in the elections tonight.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Pope Francis is praising another development out of France. Representatives from almost 200 countries have agreed to work toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In his Sunday address, the Pope urged countries to follow through on the deal reached at the COP21 climate change summit.
CNN digital columnist John Sutter has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN SUTTER, CNN DIGITAL COLUMNIST: Here in Paris on Saturday we really saw history made. 196 countries came together at the U.N. Climate Change Conference to say that we're going to tackle global warming all together, 196 countries, and try to get off of fossil fuels.
This is seen as a real turning point. It's being heralded by many scientists, NGO leaders, as well as heads of state from around the world, as a turning point in our fight against global warming.
What it means to actually attain the ambitious goals set in these targets is that we'll have to get off the fossil fuels shortly after mid-century, basically between 2050 and about 2080. The "Paris Agreement," as it's being called, sets the target of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or even 1.5 degrees. Those are seen as hugely ambitious goals.
The second one, 1.5, would never have been on the table before these talks. And I think there's a lot of momentum coming out of this process that, you know, could carry through boardrooms and heads of state around the world to try to implement these sorts of changes.
I think what remains to be seen is whether this international agreement can come to the national level and will seed policies in the United States, in China, in India, some of the high polluting countries, whether we'll actually see those change enough to meet these ambitious targets.
What the countries have put forward on the table to date would end up increasing warming to about 3 degrees Celsius over industrial levels. So, you know, we're not quite there yet, but I think many people have a lot of hope that after this agreement we're seeing a new era in the fight against climate change and for renewable energy.
John Sutter, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Steven Hearst is senior attorney with the Sierra Club International Climate Program. He joins us on Skype from Oakland, California.
Steven, thank you so much for joining us. What's your view of this agreement? Is it a good deal?
STEVEN HEARST, ATTORNEY, SIERRA CLUB INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE PROGRAM: It is a good deal. I think it's actually a historic transformation deal.
[01:10:04] What we've seen is that countries of the world have unanimously approved the most ambitious climate agreement ever. And I think it's ambitious in two really important ways. First, it's ambitious in terms of its breadth. It includes all countries and all countries have committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. And it's also really ambitious in terms of its scope.
So the countries have agreed on a target that will require the world to get to zero net greenhouse gas emissions sometime in the second half of this century. So in practice what that means is sometime after 2050 the world is going to get off fossil fuels entirely and we're going to have to start that really quickly. So those countries have --
(CROSSTALK)
SESAY: And Steven --
HEARST: Sorry.
SESAY: Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but I did want to say, as you're well aware there is some criticism that, though the countries are signing on to reduce emissions that the caps on emissions are rather loose and the point has been made that not all of the agreement is legally binding. So some people are still asking how much will this really change.
HEARST: It changes a lot because it sets a really strong long-term vision. Now it is true that countries will have to come forward with plans to tell the world what they're going to do, and that the first round of plans are not enough to put us on the trajectory towards that long-term outcome, but one of the other key parts of the deal is that they've created a process in which countries will come back every five years and strengthen their national plans and targets.
So they've created a mechanism by which, over time, countries can reach the strong target that they set in the agreement.
SESAY: What does this deal mean for businesses and investors?
HEARST: It sends a really powerful signal to the private sector, and particularly to the investment community, because whereas before long- term investments in high carbon infrastructure may have seemed like a good deal, now it's going to seem increasingly risky, because countries have agreed that they will put in the policies in place that will make those investments less profitable and will phase them out over time. So it's going to really cause a sea change in the way long-term investors think about what is risky and what is safe.
We're going to see -- we're going to see this agreement and the policies it drives create a strong shift towards renewable energy and less emitting investments in all sectors of the economy.
SESAY: Steven, many scientists are saying, you know, those that support the deal say it's a good deal; it's a historic deal, and turning point, as you said, but it is not enough to solve the issue of climate change. So what else needs to be done, in addition to this deal?
HEARST: Yes, no international treaty by itself is going to be enough. What really matters is what takes place in countries, in cities, in states. We need policy makers at all levels of government to put the proper policies in place that will allow emission reductions to come down so that we can achieve the targets in the agreement.
We also have to see the kinds of shifts from the private sector that I was talking about, in terms of business decisions and investments. And like I said, I think this is a great start. It's a huge first step, but we're going to actually have to see the policies and the decisions that are necessary to meet those targets come into play.
SESAY: Steven Hearst, senior attorney with the Sierra Club's International Climate Program, thank you so much for sharing your insight and perspective. Much appreciated.
HEARST: Thanks for having me. Thank you.
SESAY: Next on CNN NEWSROOM, a new report indicates important information was missed during the background check of one of the San Bernardino shooters.
Plus, U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is leading the White House race in the key nominating state. The details are just ahead.
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[01:16:26]
(SPORTS HEADLINES)
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SESAY: Hello, everyone. There are new reports about what U.S. immigration officials may have missed when they did background checks on the woman who had become one of the San Bernardino shooters. Meanwhile, the FBI and California authorities are continuing to track the digital footprint of Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik.
Ana Cabrera has all the development.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a makeshift memorial that's been set up near the shooting scene, honoring the 14 people who lost their lives. Many of them have been laid to rest, with funerals continuing throughout the weekend.
And as the community moves forward and tries to heal the investigation also continues. Over the weekend, investigators wrapped up a search of a nearby murky lake, and we've now learned that their search yielded no evidence that was connected to this case. But investigators have not given up on finding that missing hard drive, that could have more of the couple's digital footprint and now they'll work on trying to access some of the data that's on that missing hard drive by working with Internet providers who have kept records of Internet activity that could be linked to the IP address connected to those killers.
That online communication could be key in this investigation. And the "New York Times" now reporting that Tashfeen Malik, the female killer, was talking openly about violent jihad on social media prior to even coming into the United States. They're citing law enforcement sources here in the U.S. who say that the social media posts she made talked about supporting violent jihad, that she supported it and wanted to participate in it, and yet she made it through three background checks, prior to getting her fiancee visa, without social media even being looked at. It just was not part of the background screening process, we've learned from U.S. officials.
Now since that time, in the past few months, officials have begun looking at social media communication when it comes to visa applicants from particular countries but that was not the case with Tashfeen Malik when she came to the U.S. in July 2014.
[01:20:13] President Obama, since this shooting, has ordered a thorough review of that fiancee visa application process.
Ana Cabrera, CNN, San Bernardino, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: About 100 kilometers away in Hawthorne, California, two mosques were vandalized Saturday night. Police found the word "Jesus" written on white spray paint on a fence outside one of them as you can see here, as well as crosses drawn on the windows.
Meanwhile police arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with an arson attack at a mosque in Coachella, California, on Friday. The FBI and local police are working together to investigate each of these incidents as hate crimes.
Let's talk politics. A new top contender is emerging in the Republican race for the White House. Two new polls show Ted Cruz leading Donald Trump in Iowa. A FOX News survey released Sunday shows Cruz with 28 percent support to Trump's 26 percent. It comes one day after a "Des Moines Register"-Bloomberg Politics poll showed Cruz with 31 percent backing from likely Republican voters, 10 points ahead of Trump.
Well, Cruz and Trump will face off in less than 48 hours at the last Republican debate this year. CNN is hosting the event at the Venetian Theater in Las Vegas.
CNN's Athena Jones tells us about the other players in this behind- the-scenes look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm coming to you from the Venetian Theater right here on the Las Vegas Strip. This is where it will all go down on Tuesday night. And we're in the middle of rehearsals right now but you can see here the main stage has been set. We now know the nine candidates who made the cut for the primetime debate. They are, in order, John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Rand Paul.
Trump is center stage once again. He is still the frontrunner nationally but his frontrunner status is being challenged by Cruz in the state of Iowa. Three new polls now showing the Texas senator leading there.
Now CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash, along with Salem Radio's Hugh Hewitt, are spending a lot of time over the next several days in the cone of silence, finalizing debate questions for this huge production. There will be 17 cameras and an invite-only audience of about 1400 people filling this theater on Tuesday night. Of course this will be the last debate of the year. The last chance for these candidates to make a strong impression with voters heading into the holiday season.
Millions will be watching. So the big question, will Donald Trump attack Ted Cruz? Will Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz get into it? Will Ben Carson and Jeb Bush and others have breakout performances that can boost their poll numbers? We'll be watching to see what happens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: There could be fireworks.
Now that the competition is heating up, Donald Trump is wasting no time in going after Ted Cruz. Trump talked to CNN's Jake Tapper about the growing rivalry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Why should voters go for you over Ted Cruz?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because I'm more capable. Because I have a much better temperament. Because I actually get along with people much better than he does. You know, people don't know that about me. I actually have a great relationship with people. In fact, I was criticized at the beginning because I get along with Democrats and liberals and Republicans and conservatives. I get along with everybody.
TAPPER: And he doesn't?
TRUMP: Because as a world class businessman, that's what you have to do. No, I don't think he does. And I like him. He's been so nice to me. I mean, I could say anything and he says, I agree, I agree. But I think the time will come to an end pretty soon, it sounds like.
TAPPER: Let's talk about the reason why a lot of Republican leaders are -- say they're expressing such anxiousness these days, and that is your call on Monday for a, quote, "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S." There is now some polling information. And you cite polls all the time. You say what can you go by if not the polls. And a majority of Americans, 58 percent, reject this call, reject this proposal, to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.
Now I know your supporters agree with you, but this is a poll of the American people at large.
TRUMP: Jake, I didn't do it for polls, so I don't even care what the polls say. I didn't do it for polls. Now my polls happen to have gone up a lot since this announcement. A lot of people thought it would go down. I didn't do it for that reason but with that being understood, when you're getting a phone call from a polling agency, and they're saying, well, you support, you know, the banning of Muslims, et cetera, do you think they're going to say -- who's going to say yes? I don't think the polls are accurate.
At the same time I have many friends that are Muslims and I will tell you they are so happy that I did this because they know they have a problem. There is a problem.
(CROSSTALK)
[01:25:00] TAPPER: Your Muslim friends are happy?
TRUMP: Radicalized -- I have many friends at the highest level, and they're great -- I have partners that are Muslim. I have unbelievable relationships --
TAPPER: And they support a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.?
TRUMP: They said -- no. They said it's about time that somebody spoke up, as to radicalism. You have radicalism in this country. It's here, and it's trying to come through. I just read where ISIS has gotten a hold of a passport printing machine for the migrants to get them into the United States. Now maybe that's true, maybe it's not, it's an early report, but how crazy are we allowing ourselves to be subject to this kind of terror?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, CNN's coverage of the Republican debate starts Tuesday night at 11:00 in London. That's 12:00 midnight Central European Time or watch the replay at 8:00 Wednesday night in London, 9:00 p.m. CET right here on CNN. Time for a quick break. A staggering number of people have fled their
homes with a powerful typhoon heading for the Central Philippines. We'll look at why the storm is so concerning. Just ahead.
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SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I am Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour.
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[01:30:16] SESAY: A typhoon is heading straight for the central Philippines right now. The storm is expected to make landfall in the coming hours at the southeastern tip of the main island of Luzon. The winds are equivalent to a category 3 hurricane, 205 kilometers per hour. More than 700,000 people have evacuated.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us with more.
Pedram, bring us up to speed with the latest.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Isha, this storm system continuing to track a populated region. A very populated region across northern Samar. Wanted to sketch out the province right across this region. There's the center of circulation on the northern fringe. Catamaran, about 90,000 people call it home, that area, the eastern Philippines University across this region as well. A lot of the evacuations associated with what's happening across this region have got to be across this area. Here we go. A signal three issued. Areas indicated in red. It's home to 1.7 million people. Winds have to be 120 kilometers per hour and continue for at least 18 hours. That's what the forecast has across this region. What's concerning with the storm system is just about 36 hours ago, people were going to bed. This storm was only a tropical storm. Not expected to intensify. Incredible pool of warm water. We saw rapid intensification. Within 18 hours from a tropical storm to category 3 equivalent. Eventually southern Luzon will get in on some of the incredible rains. You measure the storm across. Talking about a storm only 600 kilometers for its cloud field. That's equivalent to putting it over Europe only covering France. We've seen storms as large as the entire continent of Europe. That doesn't mean it's not going to pack a punch. Half a meter of rainfall expected inside the next two days leading to devastating flash flooding. You look at the eastern side of the Philippines indicated in purple. There's no dry season across this region. Wet from December to February. Precisely what will happen the next couple of days as it pushes off. The archipelago with over 7,000 islands. We know at least three, maybe four landfalls associated with this storm before it enters the South China Sea and exits the region. Something we're watching here as this pushes over the region. We touch on the population density as well. You look at the area here indicated in the light to moderate oranges. That's an area the population density, ranges from 100 people to 500 people per square kilometer of land. Even some of those remote islands across this region are going to have a lot of people. That's why this is a concerning storm. Evacuations for these islands involve -- have to involve boats and the waters very rough over this region right now.
SESAY: This has the potential to be very serious. We'll continue to follow it closely.
Pedram Javaheri.
Pedram, thank you.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
SESAY: Let's take a look at stocks in the Asia-Pacific region. It's been a rough start to the week. I want to show you how they are faring. The ASX, the Nikkei and Hang Seng are all down. The only bright spot, the Shenghai Composite.
"CNN Money's" Sophia Yan joins us live from Hong Kong with more.
Sophia, break down the numbers for us, what are we looking at now and the standing of markets in Asia.
SOPHIA YAN, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Markets in Asia are largely a wash in the red. AS you said, Australia and Japan, the ASX and Nikkei, are leading the way on the fall down. This is on the back of a dismal week. On Friday, in the U.S., the Dow closed down 310 points setting u up for a lower open. Global energy stocks are also falling. Oil prices are now at about $35 a barrel. Just a year ago we were seeing that at $100 a barrel. That's quite a drop. And the industry, Isha, it's starting to feel the pain, the pinch. A lot of major oil companies have cut back on jobs and oil exploration.
SESAY: And all eyes on the Fed, an expected announcement to raise interest rates. What's our sense of the global impact of that?
YAN: Global markets so far this year have been quite volatile. We've seen a lot of swings up and down, most notably over the summer. China led a global stocks route. The Fed has not raised interest rates for nearly 10 years. If the announcement comes as expected on Wednesday, to do so would be seen as a vote of confidence in the global economy. And as such, investors could push a relief rally. Literally giving a sigh of relief that things have been -- that things are moving perhaps forward for the first time since the financial crisis. In 2008, 2009, the Fed was cutting back on interest rates in order to boost spending, a way to prop up the economy. Going forward, any sort of up trend we might see in the short run is probably not going to last for very long. Investors are noting there are many signs still of trouble in the global economy.
[01:35:37] SESAY: Turbulent times.
Sophia Yan joining us from Hong Kong. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Geneva is on high alert after the arrest of two men found with traces of explosive materials in their car. Details still to come on CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
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[01:40:46] SESAY: Swiss authorities arrested two men after finding evidence of explosive materials in their car. Geneva officials say the two men held Syrian passports but are still trying to determine if there's a link between the suspects and explosive material.
CNN International diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, reports from Switzerland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Despite those arrests and concerns it may be an ISIS terror plot aimed at the people here in Geneva, the celebrations here commemorating the last time Geneva was at war 400 years ago. Police have allowed celebrations to commemorating it here. You see people marching around town beating their drums, playing their fifes, traditional weapons back then.
The police so far say the two men arrested have what appear to be authentic Syrian passports. They won't say whether they had Schengen visas in those passports which would allow them to legally move around Europe. They say they're investigating whether the two men were associated with any terrorist organization. They're not saying which organization, but the implications are it would be ISIS, and concerns as well these men had traces of explosives in their vehicles. A security expert in Europe, a security source in Europe tells us those traces were traces of precursor chemicals for ingredients you might use to make a homemade bomb.
But the celebrations here bringing lots of tourists on to the streets here, lots of people dressed in the traditions, the clothing of 1602 when the citizens of Geneva defended themselves against a French- attempted invasion of the city. Those commemorations going ahead. Just across the road, at the back there, there's a police station and additional policemen, plainclothes-police circulating about. Festivities going on throughout Sunday. There will be moments like this where they'll fire their weapons. The man is telling everybody in the crowd to cover their ears. You can see that. But this is what's caused concern for authorities here, that this event, this celebration could be a potential target for ISIS and all the fun and ceremony on the street that there could be an attempt to attack these people.
(GUNFIRE)
ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, Geneva, Switzerland.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: A group of high-level diplomats say warring factions in Libya will sign a unity agreement by this coming Wednesday. The deal is a combination of talks by representatives from 17 countries led by Italy and the United States. It calls for an immediate ceasefire and threatens to cut off factions with authorities that don't sign on. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the unified government is important for fighting the growing threat of ISIS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We cannot allow the status quo in Libya to continue. It is dangerous for the viability of Libya. It is dangerous for Libyans. And now because of the increased presence of Daesh purposely migrating there, it is dangerous for everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Libya dissolved into civil war in the 2011 Arab Spring after the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.
For the first time, women have been elected to public office in Saudi Arabia. State media say at least six women won seats this weekend on local councils that oversee planning decisions. Official results are due later Monday. The election is being viewed as a landmark in the conservative kingdom. Saudi Arabia was the world's last country to give its women the right to vote.
Time for a quick break. Fans are camped out for the premier of the new "Star Wars" movie here in L.A. in less than 24 hours. I sat down with Director J.J. Abrams ahead of the big launch.
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[01:44:46] SESAY: You've said that you were inheriting the "Star Wars" legacy. You also are one of the legion of super fans of the films. I'm wondering how, with that, you even begin the process of imaging a new chapter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: There were stories about what happened.
HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: It's true. All of it.
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SESAY: All of it, including what may seem too good to be true for "Star Wars" fans everywhere. "The Force Awakens" premieres tonight here in L.A., now less than 24 hours away. Excitement is building the closer we get to the much-anticipated new chapter.
I sat down with Director J.J. Abrams, who told me what it was like to be entrusted with continuing the storied franchise. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.J. ABRAMS, DIRECTOR: We are here on day one, the "Star Wars," Episode 7.
(SHOUTING)
ABRAMS: How incredible is that?
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: You have said you were inheriting the "Star Wars" legacy. You are one of the legion of super fans. I wonder how with that, that pressure, that love of the films themselves, how you even begin the process of imagining a new chapter.
[01:50:02] J.J. ABRAMS, DIRECTOR: First of all, I had to put my being a fan aside somewhat because that wasn't the job. I couldn't just be a cheerleader for this thing. It had to be storytelling and working with Lawrence Kasdan in writing the script we didn't just talk about where things may have gone and what may have happened to some of the characters people know but why do we want to tell the story now? What's the point? In talking about it from the most basic point of view, not just as a "Star Wars" movie but this is a story about a young woman who, a young man who, talking about the story was the thing we needed to do to tell a story worth telling.
SESAY: An incredibly diverse cast. Something you deliberately set out to do?
ABRAMS: I knew when we were writing it that I wanted this movie to look more the way the world looks than not. We didn't write any of the characters with that in mind. We just wrote the story. We didn't know when we were crafted it, who would look like what. We just started to cast the movie.
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SESAY: But then you have the added dimension of blending the old with the new.
ABRAMS: Yes.
SESAY: And seeing how that chemistry works.
ABRAMS: Which if it didn't work well would have been a disaster. You have these actors like Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, people who are obviously just wonderful and established in this iconic way. And then these absolute unknowns who are stepping in. And it wasn't clear what that alchemy would result in. And what was so lucky was to a person, they were supportive of each other. There was no weird resentment or kind of trying to edge out someone. They were all there to raise each other up. And that was sort of a beautiful thing to watch.
SESAY: Are you worried about the numbers, the box office numbers? Is it something you are concerned with? All the projections are this is going to blow box office takes totals out of the water. Is that something you care about?
ABRAMS: The success for me is going to be if people go and like the film. If kids go and see themselves in the movie and people feel better when they leave the theater than when they got there, and the numbers are the numbers.
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GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE ACTRESS: -- her due to her character rather than as we conventionally do, as has been the case in our societies. The way a woman is made flesh.
SESAY: Talk to me about preparing to play a villain like this.
ADAM DRIVER, ACTOR: In that I didn't think of him as a villain. I didn't think of him as doing things bad necessarily. I thought more of him being right, you know. Very much like playing someone in real life. You take the things that open your imagination maybe and disregard the things that are limiting you.
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DRIVER: There's been an awakening.
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SESAY: What was it like making this film?
CHRISTIE: I didn't get that eureka moment of the phone call of, you've got it because we were filming at the same time as "Game of Thrones."
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CHRISTIE: Blessings.
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CHRISTIE: And both the production of "Star Wars" and "Game of Thrones" are very generous in how they worked it out. I sort of prepared myself that this might not be able to happen. That being made reality of actually being in that film was very meaningful to me. I'm very, very, very excited.
SESAY: You are getting emotional.
CHRISTIE: It's a wonderful thing. It's a wonderful thing because when dreams are made into actuality that is a wonderful thing. And it ties into what the movie is about, which is about hope.
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[01:55:15] DRIVER: It is useless.
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SESAY: How much was Darth Vader, how much was that, the old-school villain of the "Star Wars" movies, if you will, how much was that on your mind as you took on this role?
DRIVER: It was until it wasn't seeming to be limiting. Those characters live in a world where those characters are real and existed.
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DRIVER: As you can probably imagine it's all very surreal to be in this world with these people. It's a unique thing that is all good.
SESAY: The journey just beginning.
DRIVER: Yeah.
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DRIVER: I will finish what you've started.
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SESAY: I can hardly contain my excitement. "Star Wars," Episode 7 premieres tomorrow in L.A., less than 24 hour away.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. Do tune in tomorrow. We'll be there on the red carpet for you.
I'm Isha Sesay.
The news continues after this with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett right after this.
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[02:00:10] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Bracing for impact.
