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14 Dead After Tornadoes Pound Southern U.S.; Democrats Blast Reported Deportation Plan; Taliban Denies Intel Sharing with Russia; Iraqi Slowly Retaking Ramadi from ISIS; U.S. Hostages Held in Iran to Get Compensation. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 25, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:32] DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Dana Bash. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, and wherever you are watching from around the world, thanks for joining us on this Christmas Day.

We begin with the long cleanup just beginning after a powerful storm that brought tornadoes and pounding rain to parts of the South. Fourteen people are now confirmed dead in three states, including Tennessee, where the destruction is in a word breathtaking. Home after home, just wiped out, replaced by piles of splintered wood. And this just in, new video of the moment a monster tornado moved into Holly Springs, Mississippi, killing two people.

Here is another angle. Watch the upper right-hand corner of your screen, you see that giant cloud move in, and then seconds later, immense rain and wind. Emergency crews are now hitting the ground in that state trying to clear the debris and restore power with more rain and thunderstorms in the forecast.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking that part of the story, but we want to begin with Nick Valencia who has more on the survivors who rode out these storms.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Dana.

It has just been a batch of brutal string of storms across the south, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi, all hard hit, and we may not be out of the worst of it just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): This Christmas, scenes of devastation in parts of the South and Midwest, heavy rain causing widespread flooding across North Georgia and tornadoes tearing across several states.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Started here, real loud, roared, started getting louder and louder, and I told her, we need to get in the house now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounded literally like a freight train. Sounding of the horn. It was coming. VALENCIA: In Ashland, Mississippi, all that's left of Teresa

McKay's (ph) home is the porch. She and her husband were inside when they saw the tornado coming. They ran and hid in this truck.

TERESA MCKAY, SURVIVOR: Nothing left of my house. Not one thing. Nothing but all that debris.

VALENCIA: This building may have saved Tony Goodwin's life when a tornado hit Perry County, Tennessee.

TONY GOODWIN, STORM SURVIVOR: I had my grandson in my arm, under my arm, and everybody got in except for my sister-in-law and I'm yelling at her, come on. You know? And she got in. As soon as she did, I shut the door.

VALENCIA: A tornado knocked his house off its foundation, but he and six others survived by taking cover in the storm shelter.

CAPT. BART ROSSON, PERRY COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: You'll never know how important it is to seek shelter immediately however you can because it's a lifesaver.

VALENCIA: Two of those killed in Tennessee were husband and wife, Ann and Antonio Isaguerre (ph). According to the Storm Prediction Center, at least 14 tornadoes hit Mississippi on Wednesday, but a single twister did most of the damage.

DR. PATRICK WASHINGTON, ASHLAND RESIDENT: This is a miracle. There's no way that three individuals were in this house at this time and they were able to walk away.

VALENCIA: Communities coming together, thankful to be alive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went and bought toys for kids because I also have a little girl, and for them not to have Christmas and toys and stuff, there's -- it's not a holiday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: It will no doubt be a difficult Christmas for a lot of the survivor. And we must, of course, remember the victim. The youngest reported at 7 years old there in Mississippi, and that string of tornadoes where there are some accounted for. And as I mentioned, this severe weather threat still is a possibility. Allison I'm sure can tell you about the potential of flooding, and even more severe wind coming through the state in the south -- Dana.

BASH: Absolutely. We'll talk about that. It's just so heartbreaking to have to report this news, any time, but especially on Christmas Day. Thank you for the report.

But we want to go to, as Nick just said, Allison Chinchar, who is going to be telling us about the forecast which actually looks pretty soggy after these storms, and now we are looking for flood advisories?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Dana. Yes, we've got a lot of them out there, because we have a lot of rain still to go through and unfortunately, it's hitting a lot of the same places over and over again. You can see the line of rain stretching all of the way back to Louisiana, up towards Pennsylvania and starting to move in, and it is heavy rain. It's not just light rain.

Now, out in front of it, we're talking temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Some of these temperatures are temperatures they have never yet seen in the month of December in some of the cities. Take a look at New York City, 66 for the high today, the average is 40. By the way, if they make it here, that means they'll top out warmer than Los Angeles today. Again, you don't think of New York being warmer than L.A. this time of the year.

Here is the map. All of these red dots that you see are areas that we are likely to tie or break record highs to today.

[13:05:02] All of that warmth out in front of the front, and the cold air behind it, that the clashing of the two different airs that are causing a lot of the fuel for some of these storms.

Here's a look at where we expect the severe weather with the green being a minor risk, and the yellow being a slight risk, and tupelo and Birmingham will be some of the cities with damaging winds, and possibly a few tornados as well.

But the big threat out of today is the flood. All of the green areas you will be your flood watches, and warnings and advisories, and the red are flash flood warning. That is where we are seeing the roads under water, homes with water up to the first level. Again, that's what we are seeing some of the real intense problems.

And the radar estimated rain fall again, a lot of these places are going to pick up an additional of two to four inches off rain on top of what they have had. And then the next threat are through the weekend, now we're talking winter storm problems, we're talking blizzard watches already in effect for parts of Texas and also into New Mexico.

And this system, Dana, will begin to push a little bit farther east, bringing more rain and more snow as it makes its way through the Atlantic. Certainly, something to watch over the next couple of days.

BASH: OK. So, it is snowing in Texas, and it's short sleeve weather as you can see in the northeast. What's going on?

CHINCHAR: It is going to be interesting, the sun bowl is actually going t obe this weekend.

The sun bowl -- and we are talking about the snow showers as soon as the sun bowl is over. It is not sounding like it should be though.

BASH: It is not. And I appreciate that report. Thank you, Allison.

And if you are looking for ways to help people impacted by the storms, go the CNN.com/impact. There, you can find ways to donate or to volunteer.

And now, we turn to politics and the debate over illegal immigration. Democrats are blasting the President Obama administration because they have a reported plan to deport undocumented immigrants from Central America.

Let's bring in our CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski in Hawaii, where President Obama is spending the holiday.

Michelle, what do we know first of all about this deportation plan?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, OK, so what has been reporting, and you know, the administration is not giving a hot of detail, because it is reported as a plan in the works. But what has been put out there which by the way the Department of Homeland Security is not denying, but they are looking to deport families, and not unaccompanied children who came in droves over the last year, and now, those numbers have ticked up again. But these are families who've already been ruled by a judge to be ready to be deported and they have had the due process.

What DHS is saying about this in a statement is this, "Immigration and Customs Enforcement focuses on the individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. Our border is not open to illegal immigration, and if individuals come here illegally, do not qualify for asylum or other relief and have final orders of removal, they will be sent back consistent with our ideals and our values."

You know, this is consistent with what the administration has said back when this really came to the forefront when all of those unaccompanied minors were coming. They weren't the only immigrants crossing the border, but because they were children without a parent here, then, you know, that really focused the attention on the issue as a whole.

But the administration has said, you know, the majority of people who are coming here illegally are going to be deported, they're going to get their due process, but there's always criticism from both sides. I mean, back then when the children were kept in states and bus around the country, there was criticism from the right on why are you letting them stick around for so long, some of whom won't then return to have their asylum hearings, and then criticism from the left, on why aren't letting more of them stay, because they are facing violence and poverty in their home country?

Well, similar to what's happening now. There's criticism even from Democrats on this, Dana.

BASH: You're absolutely right. In fact, let's look at some of that criticism, two Democratic candidates for president. They've already been blasting this plan. Senator Bernie Sanders who says that the U.S. should protect the refugee families and not kicking them out.

And check out this tweet from Martin O'Malley, also a candidate for the Democratic nomination, "A Christmas Day refugee round-up is something that Donald Trump would concoct. Remember, Jesus was a refugee child who fled death gangs."

So, pretty stark tweet there from Martin O'Malley. But, you know, Michelle, maybe the things that people don't realize with the noise within the Republican presidential primary on immigration is that President Obama has had a lot of criticism from the Democrats calling him the deporter in chief.

KOSINSKI: Of course.

BASH: And so, are they concerned about this?

KOSINSKI: And from Hispanics, right. I mean, this -- depending upon which side you are listening to who is criticizing this, and again, there's criticism on both sides, it's a horrible situation.

[13:10:00] I mean, these Democrats are saying, look, Jesus was an immigrant, and the other side is saying, you know, you can't let these people stay, there are risks. You know, are you really going to deport them now?

You know, you get like a terrible view depending on who you are listening to. But the administration has deported a lot of people, but you have to look at the numbers in perspective, too. I mean, in the last fiscal year, you seeing the numbers of nearly a quarter of a million deported, but when you look back at 2012, it was closer to half a million people deported. So, it's dropped precipitously, but it is still a large number of people being deported.

And I think it raises the question, too, what about the administration saying, that we are going to focus on people who committed crimes. We will not deport families, and they were saying felons and not families.

But when you talk to DHS about that, you know, well, that really applies to people who have been in the country for a long time. For the recent arrivals, which is what we are talking about now, they are fairer game, and they're not subject to as much discretion as the people who have spent a lot of time in America, Dana.

BASH: Michelle, thanks for that.

I should say, as we finish our conversation, no surprise Donald Trump tweeted about this, took credit for it saying that it is about time, basically saying that the Obama administration is listening to him. We can talk about that at another time. We appreciate. Thanks, Michelle. Merry Christmas.

And the Taliban, they are disputing a statement by Russia that it is sharing intelligence on ISIS. What is behind the conflicting claims? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:06] BASH: The Taliban is denying a claim that they have been cooperating with Russia in a fight against ISIS. Earlier this week, the Kremlin said it is exchanging intelligence and information on ISIS with the Taliban.

CNN's Robyn Kriel is following developments from London.

And, Robyn, the Taliban is denying contact with the Russians, but the Taliban seems to be splintered. So how can we or maybe can we tell what's true or what's not true here?

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPNDENT: Well, Dana, there are indeed in indications of infighting and fractures as you say, so it might be in fact that one portion of the Taliban is talking to the Russians, and that another is coming out to deny it. But one thing is certain that ISIS on the ground would not be good for neither the Taliban nor the Russians, and that is why this is so, has become a prominent issue with more than 3,000, according to U.S. commanders ISIS fighters on the ground in Afghanistan at the moment.

So, anything like this could make the situation more volatile and dangerous for everyone.

BASH: It sure could.

But let's just take a step back, why would the Russians and the Taliban beyond what is going on in Afghanistan, why would it be in their interests to get it out in the open, maybe for the Russians in particular, that they are sharing information? Just to be, you know, make Vladimir Putin look like he is fighting the world's fight to try to get rid of ISIS?

KRIEL: I definitely think that the relevance, and the need for Russia to be relevant, and to show that it is a strong nation is part of this reasoning, and definitely we have seen it in Crimea and Ukraine and other places. So, it is -- part of him trying to get on the world stage, but also, ISIS on the ground, and gaining ground, gaining membership in Afghanistan is not good for the Taliban either. They could face defection. Of course, they are aligned to al Qaeda, and as we have seen in other parts of the world, such as Somalia, this could cause an al Qaeda/ISIS dispute as well.

BASH: Talk about strange bedfellows. Thank you very much. Appreciate that report.

And Iraqi forces are saying they are days away from liberating Ramadi from ISIS. It would be a hard-fought battle before it is done, if they can get that far. This is the view from the ground. Iraqi troops are making slow progress inching their way towards neighborhoods rigged with explosives.

And this is the view from the air, Iraq's ministry of defense the released this video showing. As you can see, the airstrikes are hitting various targets.

Joining us now from the Pentagon is our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, CNN contributor and co-author "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror", Michael Weiss, and CNN military analyst and retired Air Force colonel, Cedric Leighton.

Thank you all so much for joining us on this Christmas Day.

Barbara, let's start with you. How optimistic is the Pentagon right now about what Iraqi forces are saying, that they are going to be able to liberate Ramadi and so in the next few days?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't know -- the next few days I think is going to be hard to tell. But certainly, they are on the path to getting Ramadi back. They are encountering -- we have been talking about this, these IEDs, these explosives, but they seem to be making progress.

So, the Pentagon and the Obama administration is optimistic at the moment, and perhaps because it is a very important victory for the Iraqis. They cannot afford to lose, of course, but also for the Obama administration, which has been trying to prove that its strategy of training the Iraqis to take on this battle is going to work.

So, a lot invested all of the way around, Dana.

BASH: Sure is.

And, Michael, the SITE Intelligence Group, they are saying that ISIS is posting statements that it has inflicted major losses in Ramadi. How much of it can we believe, how much of it is propaganda? Because we know that they are very, very good at propaganda

MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, ISIS lies all of the time claiming responsibility for attacks they have nothing to do with, saying, I mean -- if you look at the internal propaganda, the newspapers that they put out in Aleppo for instance, they claim to still be in control of Tikrit and Kobani, towns and cities that have been lost many months ago.

There was a report yesterday I believe that ISIS attempted an attack in west Ramadi on the headquarters of the federal police, what is interesting even though that attack by all accounts was repelled by the Iraqis, federal police is controlled by the interior ministry of Iraqi, which itself controlled by the Bodicor (ph). And Bodicor is an Iranian proxy group, the head of it actually fought on the Iranian side during the Iran-Iraq war, even though he's an Iraqi citizen.

So, my concern with this is not so much that the liberation of Ramadi, which I agree is imminent, may not be a few days, it maybe weeks, but they will retake it. It's what happens after that. And, you know, the U.S. has been putting out commentary saying that, well, the Shia militia guys have been staying out of the fight, yes, but that's almost a distinction without a difference because a lot of these militias are actually within, embedded within the ISF structures and within the federal police and other pro-Baghdad institution.

[13:20:11] So, the fear, of course, Dana, is what happens once the city belongs to the Iraqi government, is there going to be ethnic cleansing? Are there going to be retaliatory attacks against the Sunni inhabitants? I mean, in other instances such as Tikrit and elsewhere, Sunnis are seen as collaborator, and they are speared away to dungeons and tortured and killed. This is the concern that I have.

BASH: Absolutely. A return, a resurgence of the sectarian violence.

Colonel, though, people sitting at home on Christmas Day, they're watching this, kind of the nitty-gritty of the battle to liberate Ramadi, but everyone wants to know how this plays into the larger fight to get rid of ISIS. Do you think that it is a turning point in the war?

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It potentially could be, but it is more of a psychological turning point than anything else, Dana. What we are looking at here is a change in momentum. So, if everything goes as planned, and the Iraqi military does control, and get control of Ramadi, then we've got a momentum, the potential to build on momentum to go after Mosul. That is, of course, the stated goal of the Iraqi government, and they are trying very hard to do that.

The question then remains, can they do that, and will they have the logistical training to do that? Will they have the intelligence feeds to do that? Will they have be able to make it work from the strategic perspective?

The other part of it, is that there is more going on than just Ramadi. There is also an offensive going on in Syria in the Euphrates River Valley against ISIS.

So, with those two major movements occurring, there is a good chance that we would see more action against ISIS, and that's going to be coming up very quickly, I believe.

BASH: And, Barbara, so much discussion on the campaign trail, and you know, everywhere about the U.S. role in this. How really is the U.S. backing up these Iraqi fighters? I know they're conducting airstrikes. But what else?

STARR: Well, majority I would say is airstrikes, in fact, right now, when you are in the thick of the battle what you need is the U.S.-led coalition of airpower to destroy the obstacles that you can't get to, and allow your troops to continue to move forward on the battle. But I think that it is goes a lot to what Michael was saying. The U.S. has trained a number of Sunni tribal fighters hoping they can come into Ramadi as the holding force to back up the government forces, but it is a small number, it is several hundred.

The U.S. has been focusing a lot on training the regular Iraqi force. Plus some Sunnis, but the broader issues that Michael is talking about the long term sectarian divide in Iraq, that is still a big problem to be solved.

BASH: It sure is. Thank you so much to all three of you, and appreciate your time especially on this Christmas Day.

And ahead, we're going to look at the compensation that has been 36 years in the making. The Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days, and they are finally getting their due. Stay tuned for details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:45] BASH: This is just in. A devastating fire at the birthplace of former President Bill Clinton is now being investigated as arson. Fire officials say they found evidence that an accelerant was used outside of the Hope, Arkansas, home. The building is listed on the register of national historic places, and it is going to need some repairs, but it is structurally sound. Federal authorities are planning to assist with the investigation.

And it has taken 36 years, but the Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days will get compensation. The hostages were freed in 1981, but prevented from suing Iran for damages.

CNN national correspondent Deborah Feyerick joins us from New York.

And, Deb, I know that they have been searching and pushing the U.S. Congress to change this so that they can actually sue for compensation. How did that happen, and more importantly, how much did they get?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is interesting, because so many of the families who died or were held hostage have been working with the government to try to get some sort of compensation. One hostage called it nothing short of a Christmas miracle. Another who I was in contact with basically said that it has been a really long journey for so many of the families.

Each family of the Iranian hostages, the former hostages will receive $4.4 million, and that is $10,000 per day for each of the 444 days that the 53 captives were held hostage effectively. Some of them have died, not many will go to the estates. The families will also receive the $600,000 lump sum payment that is compensation, and it is not coming from the Iranian government.

As you mentioned, when they were freed, the hostages were told that they cannot sue the government for any money, the money is coming from banks like BNP Paribas who violated U.S. sanctions against supporting state sponsors of terrorism. So, $1 billion set aside to help those aside to help those who have lost loved ones or who have suffered in these kinds of attacks, that also includes victims of the U.S. embassy bombings, in Kenya, in Darussalam, the marine barracks that were hit in Beirut back in 1983. So this has far reaching consequences, Dana.

BASH: It is. And, you know, you hear $4 million, and you say, wow, but people probably forget -- these hostages who were taken in the Iranian revolution, they went through quite an ordeal. I remember speaking to one about this issue, John Lindbird (ph), a few years ago and he said, you know, what happened in the movie "Argo" when they were put in dungeons and they were told that they were going to be killed in a firing squad, it didn't really happen. But it was a lot of torture physical and psychological. FEYERICK: Yes, this is nothing short of extraordinary mental

torture. They had no idea if they would live or die. You have to remember, this was a defining moment of the U.S. psyche back in 1979 when these Iranian students took the U.S. embassy hostage, the U.S. embassy -- they stormed the embassy, taking the men and women hostages. These people suffered an enormous amount of grief psychologically but also physically being away from their families, not knowing whether they will live or die.

What you are watching is a clip from the movie "Argo", Dana, and that reinstated the whole Iranian hostage taking into the American consciousness. Six Americans were able to get out miraculously from that embassy, but then they had to watch the other 53.