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City of Ramadi Could Be Liberated Within Days; LaGuardia Airport Has Heightened Measures Over Terror Threat; War of Words Between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Continues; Movie "Concussion" To Be Shown; Protesters Gathering in the Busy Streets of Chicago. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 24, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:30:35] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: In the war against ISIS, the key city of Ramadi could be liberated within days. That's according to Iraqi officials. But fierce fighting for that key city continues right now. We're going to show you right now. You are looking at an Iraqi patrol making its way through the devastated streets, the army going door to door clearing booby traps, trying to dislodge militants from the city.

CNN's Robyn Kriel has more on the battle.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, Iraqi security forces told CNN they are making good progress in the recapture of Ramadi city and regain control of 70 percent of the city. Four key districts have fallen to the government troops since the push began on Tuesday. Iraqi forces have encircled the ISIS-controlled city in the past month cutting off key insurgent groups key supply routes.

On Thursday, they continue to back suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices and sniper firearms. The U.S.-led coalition, meanwhile, continued to bomb key ISIS positions from the air. They were also providing intelligence to their Iraqi counterparts from surveillance drones overhead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. STEVE WARREN, SPOKESMAN, OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE: This enemy has set up defensive belts so they use IEDs, the very same IEDs that we faced here in Iraq years ago, but now they use them in clusters as if they were mine fields. They will rig entire houses to explode if you come near them. So the Iraqis have the deliberately probe this area defensive and find a weak spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KRIEL: Three hundred to 500 ISIS fighters according to Iraqi security forces remain inside Ramadi city center willing to fight to the death. The governor of the province told CNN that they are most likely foreign fighters.

Meanwhile, civilians caught in the cross fire remain a huge concern for soldiers. Many were prevented from leaving by the terror groups only to be used as human shields. Iraqi forces are asking families to raise white flags and they will be granted safe passage out of the city.

The successful recapture of Ramadi would be a tremendous strategic victory for the Iraqi forces because of its location on the Baghdad highway and its proximity to the capital. It will also be a tremendous morale boost for Iraqi troops who were humiliated by the ease at which Ramadi fell to the terror group back in May -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Robyn Kriel, thank you so much.

Coming up next for us, Donald Trump has a warning for Hillary Clinton when it comes to talking sexism on the campaign trail. What is behind this escalating war of words between the two front-runners? We will have that ahead.

Plus, devastating storms hit the southeast. Some huge tornadoes caught on tape. We are going to check in at New York LaGuardia airport for the very latest on this storm's impact on holiday travel.

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[15:36:46] BOLDUAN: Bottom of the hour folks. And communities are across the south are dealing with a brutal reality this Christmas eve. A devastating storm system has killed 11 people. The death poll just ticking up this hour. At least 40 people have been injured by this massive storm and we are hearing that at least 14 tornadoes hit Mississippi yesterday. Some also thinking that could have been different sightings of the same massive tornado that ripped through there. Just look at this monster twister that was captured by a storm chaser. Listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go right in front of me. Stay with me. Large tornado, holy mackerel, large tornado. Large tornado coming in across interstate 55. This is south of exit 243. This is going to be a large, destructive tornado south of Batesville. This is a really big tornado. This is a large, large, large tornado. This is a tornado emergency south of Batesville.

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BOLDUAN: You can hear the adrenaline and maybe even the fear in his voice at that storm. So as towns there are recovering, weather is also challenging travelers on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Let's get over to CNN's Sara Sidner who is at LaGuardia airport here in New York.

Not only weather, Sara, I want to get that from you. But also, there are new TSA screening measures that anyone that is heading to the airport they should know about. Give us an update. SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So it is heightened measures because

of the threat of terrorism. And that threat being high this holiday season. The TSA has basically decided that you cannot fully opt out of going through their screening measures, their scanning machine. Before anyone and everyone who would like to opt out from that could have gotten a pat-down. Now, some passengers and just those who are sort of singled out as potential security risks or people who feel they need to check into a bit more will have to go through the scanner regardless of whether they opt out or not. So that's kind of the new fate. It's not everybody that's going to be affected. It is not every single passenger. There will be some who we're told need to go through the scanner. Others will be able to ask for a pat-down and get exactly what they want. But the situation here when you talk to travelers they say we're willing to give that up because we want to be safe when we're traveling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVE BELECEN, MOTHER FROM NEW YORK: We're totally in support of anything they have to do to tighten security because there's too many crazies out there. And so, I don't think of it, you know, as invading my privacy in anyway. Do whatever you have to do to keep everybody safe.

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SIDNER: She and her husband were traveling with their baby for the first time. Their 4-month-old was taking a flight and they just said, you know, look, we feel OK about this. We think that they need to do whatever they need to do to make sure travelers are safe, especially considering what happened in San Bernardino, what happened in Paris. There is a heightened sense among passengers as well of wanting to feel secure while traveling.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Sara Sidner, looking at all for us. Sara, thanks so much.

So turning to politics now. Yes, that beautiful music meaning let's talk politics. It is less than 40 days until the Iowa caucuses, yet the war of words between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump sure feels like a little bit of a general election faceoff already.

Candidates by and large not on the trail as we head into this holiday, but that doesn't stop Donald Trump from tweeting no sir and warning the Democratic front runner. He tweeted this late last night. When you complain about a penchant for sexism, who are you referring to? I have great respect for women. Be careful, he tweets to Hillary.

Join me to discuss is "Daily Caller" senior editor Jamie Weinstein and CNN political commentator Peter Beinart. Peter is also a contributing editor for "Atlantic Media."

Guys, it is great to see. Thanks so much. Look at that shot of Jamie right there. It looks nice and beautiful where he is for the holiday.

Peter, let's talk about in a second before you, Jamie. Peter, let's talk about what the war of words between Donald Trump and

Hillary Clinton. It was hints. It was suggestion. What is he talking about when he's warning Hillary to be careful? I asked last night that, what the warning is about through the Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson, and there was no hint. There were no suggestions. She was very direct. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:41:16] KATRINA PIERSON, TRUMP SPOKESWOMAN: Hillary Clinton has some nerve to talk about the war on women and the bigotry towards women when she has a serious problem in her husband. I can think of quite a few women that have been bullied by Hillary Clinton to hide her husband's misogynist sexist secrets. So we can actually go there, but the thing about Hillary Clinton is she does needs to be very careful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump's campaign bringing Bill Clinton's past into the race now. What do you make of it?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think this is great for Donald Trump and great for Hillary Clinton, right.

BOLDUAN: Great problem.

BEINART: Right. Because Republicans loathe Hillary Clinton. Democrats loathe Donald Trump. They are focusing on one another. They are rallying their bases and pretending like the primary election is already over. They are essentially marginalizing the other candidates by focusing on one another. It's a good motivational tool for both sides.

BOLDUAN: Good motivational tool for both sides.

But Jamie, is this dangerous at all for a Trump campaign if they are looking towards a general and trying to bring up stuff that has been talked about and basically litigated so much of the past decades ago.

JAMIE WEINSTEIN, SENIOR EDITOR, THE DAILY CALLER: I don't think it's a danger for the Trump campaign. Unlike a lot of people, I think if Trump is the nominee, he could actually be more dangerous than Hillary Clinton than a lot of people think. Trump won't play by the marquee of queen's very rules. He will attack Bill Clinton for the way he treated women. He will also probably repeat endlessly that Hillary Clinton is a criminal. She shouldn't be allowed to campaign on stage or debate him. This has the benefit kind of creating a narrative and a kind of trying to paint Hillary Clinton as someone who is unelectable from the get go.

I think it could possibly work if he's the Republican nominee. I don't think he will be. But if he is, I wouldn't be so excited if I was Hillary Clinton.

BOLDUAN: But it is interesting as Trump takes on this tactic because it comes at the same time as warning that the Hillary Clinton campaign is going to be putting Bill Clinton out there more in the New Year. I'm fascinated to see what that looks like when Donald Trump poses this and Bill Clinton is taken to the (INAUDIBLE).

BEINART: Right. Well, Bill Clinton is both a tremendous ally for Hillary Clinton and he is a liability. So far he has been doing fundraising, which is very useful. The danger with him out there is that he overshadows her and also that he is not fully on script.

BOLDUAN: We saw that in 2008.

BEINART: We saw the - actually. But so far, you can give credit to their campaign. They have been much - he has been much more on script so far this time than he was in 2008. And he is very, very good at rallying and motivating the base. And that's going to be very, very important. Republicans may not like Bill Clinton, but among Democrats he is very, very popular. Even on Americans as a whole, the majority of Americans have probably pretty favorable memory of the time in which he was president.

BOLDUAN: So, Jamie, you said that you are not necessarily convinced that Donald Trump will be the nominee. Another candidate vying for that is Ben Carson. Yes, he has been seeing a significant drop in the polls as the focus in the campaign has turned to foreign policy and his past has been brought up.

What do you make of what has been going on in the last 24 hours? There were suggestions from Ben Carson himself that there could be a fact shakeup in his campaign. Then he comes on CNN and speaks to Don Lemon last night and said absolutely not. The media is making all this up. What's going on behind the scenes, do you think?

WEINSTEIN: Well, I think Ben Carson's campaign is all but over. This just kind of epitomizes the dysfunction in the campaign. He gives, you know, interview to a reporter at his house (INAUDIBLE) says he is going to do a major shakeup. Could happen tomorrow. Then turns around and says I never said that. And that's kind of just showing that this campaign is not a really top tier campaign. He kind of had his moment in the sun, but I think that moment has faded.

BOLDUAN: That moment has faded. Ben Carson would obviously disagree with that.

I want to get your take, Peter. You wrote a fascinating column. The head line of it is simply is why America is moving left. I have a feeling that Jamie might disagree with that. But when you look at the state of play in American politics, yes, you have a Democrat in the White House but you have Republicans took over majorities in the house and Senate. You have many Republican governors. Where do you see America moving left then?

[15:45:21] BEINART: If you look at rising demographics, if you look at young Republicans, for instance, what's striking is that young Republicans are significantly more liberal than older Republicans. It's not just a younger Democrats, there is also the left and older Democrats, even inside the Republican Party. BOLDUAN: But isn't that indirect conflict of what we are seeing in

the presidential race right now?

BEINART: What you're seeing in the presidential race for the most part is a revolt against the trends that are taking place in America by a certain group of older white Americans. And yes, it's very potent inside the Republican Party. But if you look at where the growing majorities of Americans are, Latinos, younger Americans, what you see is that it is precisely their movement that Donald Trump supporters are reacting against, but they won't be able to stop it.

Eventually, I'm not saying Republicans won't let the president, they will. But that president will have to be someone who comes to terms with the changes that Donald Trump supporters are rebelling against.

BOLDUAN: And Jamie, isn't that exactly what establishment Republicans say is so dangerous about a Donald Trump?

WEINSTEIN: Well, actually, I'm going to be a little if (INAUDIBLE). If Donald Trump is the nominee, I think that's going to actually barges (ph) Peter's argument. Because Donald Trump's position in a lot of issues, even though he might be kind of masking them now, are actually to the left of center. It's going to show that the conservative movement was never been very strong to begin with if they can actually nominate someone like Donald Trump. And maybe that America is more to the left than center than we actually thought to begin with. So if Donald Trump is the nominee, I think that would be, you know, a strong point to Peter's thesis.

BOLDUAN: Well, all the polling data to date shows only that he is getting stronger, not getting weaker. And we are now 40 days out until the Iowa caucuses. We will see.

Gentlemen, great to see you. Thanks so much.

BEINART: Thank you.

WEINSTEIN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: So enjoy that beautiful weather behind you there, Jamie. Appreciate it.

WEINSTEIN: I will. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, tomorrow as the new movie "Concussion" hits theaters, it sparks a new debate about the possible dangers of playing football. Next, CNN's Sanjay Gupta examines a new device that is designed to prevent concussions by taking fumes from the animal kingdom.

We will be right back.

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[15:50:34] BOLDUAN: A bird you might spot in your own backyard may actually help scientists learn how to prevent concussions. Yes, a bird.

Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The new movie concussion places the NFL and player safety right back in the spotlight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found a disease that no one has ever seen.

GUPTA: Will Smith plays Dr. Bennett Omalu and the disease he is talking about is chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. It is an Alzheimer's disease with symptoms of memory loss and mood swings. Researchers like Kevin (INAUDIBLE) believes it occurs from repeated blows to the head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to withstand an impact, 157G. That's similar to a car accident.

GUPTA: And what happens is our brains slosh around inside our skulls absorbing the force of the hit no matter how strong the helmet. Humans simply didn't evolve to take hits like that. Yes, there are animals that routinely take that kind of force and repeatedly.

Think of the woodpecker. They hit their heads about 85 million times over their lifetime and can endure up to 1500 Gs of force with each hit. That's ten time the force of a car accident. So how do they do that?

Well, for woodpeckers, it's partly due to their tongues which actually wrap around the backs of their skulls, acting like a shock absorber with each hit. And every time their heads hit, the tongue presses down on the jugular vein slowing down blood flow out of the brain creating an additional cushion of blood to reduce brain sloshing.

Consider the big horn sheep. They charge at each other at speeds as high as 40 miles per hour. Big horn sheep are able to raise carbon dioxide levels in their blood which increases the size of their brains. In effect, making a tighter fit inside the skull.

DR. GREG MYER, CINCINNATI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: This is r similar when human altitude when we have reduce oxygen so we can have more blood rush to our head.

GUPTA: Which again creates that tighter fit. In fact, when Myer and his team evaluated a number of concussions among high school and professional football players who played at higher altitudes versus lower altitudes, they found a 30 percent reduction in concussions among those athletes at higher altitudes.

Now, we can't all play football games in Denver. But Myer does believe we can mimic finding their altitude by looking to the big horn sheep and the woodpecker for some guidance.

Let's take a look at this. So this is the device. MYER: And what you see is this device. This is a c-shape device.

GUPTA: Tell me if I'm doing this right. I will put it on like this.

MYER: You should start feeling a little bit more blood sensation in your forehead inside your (INAUDIBLE). It's very similar to described it to what you feel when you pretty hang upside down. You see the blood rush, but it is an athletic stand.

GUPTA: This is pushing on my jugular veins, the veins that take blood away from the brain.

MYER: There is supposed to be a slight pressure, a safe pressure on the neck that will slow the blood coming out of the head. And you will have the blood pushing up and filling up that space. What we're trying to do is replicate the same amount of blood volume you have when you lie down.

GUPTA: It is still experimental. Myer and his team are currently doing studies with high school hockey and football players to test safety and (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE) and others say that ultimate safety isn't going to come from devices but rather from technique and rule changes.

Bennett Omalu is even more stride. He wrote an op-ed for "the New York Times" titled Don't Let Kids play Football. And that is the message millions are going to hear when they watch "Concussion."

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Sanjay, thank you so very much.

Coming up next for us, we are continuing to monitor breaking news out of Chicago. Live pictures right now where protesters are gathering. You see them right there. At times blocking access to stores in the city's very busy shopping district. They are walking down the magnificent mile, folks.

Stay with us. We will get an update.

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[15:57:57] BOLDUAN: Want to take you back to Chicago now where we are monitoring breaking news throughout the hour. This protests that have been going on in Chicago's very busy shopping district, the magnificent mile, we are looking at. This is really has been a good perspective, kind of eye from the sky to look at where the protesters are. Police have been following them all along.

Our Ryan Young has been among the protesters speaking with the protesters, following along with them.

This has been going on for about three hours now almost, Ryan. What are you hearing now? RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it has. At first we thought they

were going home and they decided to stay. We have actually seen another group showed up.

Look. This is they at trying to do. We're going back north now in Michigan and the officers had it pretty much blocked off. But now protesters trying to stop people from driving north on Michigan avenue. So the police are trying to make sure people are safe.

We have seen some slight pushing and shoving between officers and people. They want to take over traffic here. But for the most part, we haven't seen any arrests made at all. We have seen a lot of conversations - you know, one of the things I want to point out and have it talk about this before, a lot of the black officers who are out here who are part of this patrol unit, they have been targeted by some of the protesters out here as well. They have been being yelled at and told why are you standing with them? Why don't you come with us? That is going on the last few minutes.

If you look now, this center of attraction here as officers and everybody have been trying to make sure no one gets into the northbound lanes, you can see the negotiations that kind of happen in the middle of the street.

About two minutes ago, there was a car got very upset when they found an old woman was going to be arrested. That did not happen. And that made tensions here very tight. So, right now, it has been very peaceful but they are still blocking the road on Michigan Avenue. And this doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. And it seems like some of the folks who come out here coming out here now have been watching TV said they want to join in - Kate.

BOLDUAN: And all these protesters, their goals are trying to draw attention. They are trying to disrupt on Christmas Eve to draw attention to what they want. They want to draw attention to some of them want Rahm Emanuel out. They want to draw attention to Black Lives Matter movement. We are seeing it right there. You see the police right behind you. You see folks right behind you there as they continue this negotiations.

Ryan Young has been in the middle of it. We are going to continue to monitor this throughout the day.

Thank you all for joining us. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now. Thanks all.