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Tornado Had Touched Down in Texas; High Winds Fueling A Fast- Moving Wildfire In Southern California; Brand New Terror Warning About Possible Attacks Before New Year's Eve; Iranian Hostages Will Get $4.4 Million Each; Ugly Sweaters Becoming The Style Statement Of The Season; Exclusive Interview with Jamie Dimon; Fortune Magazine: Only 21 female CEOs Running Fortune 500 Companies in the New Year. Aired 6- 7p ET

Aired December 26, 2015 - 18:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Literally across the hall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 18 years ago when I was a heroin addict. It was actually during 9/11 and my apartment was full of syringes. And it's interesting now living the life I do because it's like you make that one decision that changed your life. When I walk down the hall I take a right and not a left.

GUPTA: That was the old Joe. This is the new Joe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GUPTA: And his first obsession, his first love really, is still very much a part of his life.

Is this a sanctuary for you now, a gym?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. This is pretty much where I've done my recovery, not just from surgery but also where I come to -- when I have a lot of emotion and sobriety.

GUPTA: The gym is now a refuge, a sort of place of safety. Far, far away from his addiction to heroin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Addiction is the only cell where the key is on the inside. And I don't live -- I don't live in that cell anymore.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:01:11] POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: Top of the hour. 6:00 p.m. eastern, 3:00 pacific. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

We begin with severe weather across the nation right now. About 15 million people under the threat of severe possibly deadly weather today large parts of the Deep South recovering from tornado damage and now more heavy flooding could also be coming. Also, for people in the southern Rockies and the southern plains, winter about to hit there in a major way.

Our Karen Maginnis is monitoring it all in the CNN severe weather center. She joins me now.

We started out today talking about that tornado that had touched down in Texas. You have got this dangerous weather across the country. Where is the most danger right now?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right now the most imminent threat is across the south central United States -- Texas, Oklahoma. We are seeing what are referred to as discrete cells. These little isolated super cells that pop up. And in those you can get some rotation because we have seen very warm, moist, unstable air. It is coming up from the south. We have this tornado watch that goes until 8:00 p.m. local time, central time. This means we are looking at the potential for severe weather across this region. As it looks like, as we go into the afternoon and evening hours, about 10 million people all the way from right around Little Rock and into Oklahoma City towards Dallas and Austin, you are looking at the threat, the potential for some isolated tornadoes and some very gusty winds.

Now, because this is a very stagnant or somewhat stagnant system, it's only going to shift a little bit as we go into Sunday. So all of the way around that Arklatex (ph) region to Houston. Another 7, 8 million people looking at the potential for severe weather. Damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.

What is triggering this event? Deep area of low pressure will move into the central plains. That jet stream across the west takes a deep dive. But out ahead of it, temperatures have been running 10 to 20 degrees above where they should be this time of year. On the back side of this, blizzard conditions.

El Paso, Albuquerque, into the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. Poppy, it is going to be very dangerous for people who are trying to get back home after their long holiday and it is going to be very dangerous.

HARLOW: Give yourself time and take all precautions. That is for sure.

Karen Maginnis, thank you for that.

Now I want to take you to southern California where incredibly high winds are fuelling a fast-moving wildfire there. This is new video showing a family driving home as the plains whip the edge of the road. Just listen.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)\

HARLOW: That is what they drove through today. Officials have ordered mandatory evacuations. The flames already charring 1200 acres of California. Our Sara Sidner has the latest.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, this brush fire isn't something that firefighters think they can knock down in a few hours. They actually think it could take a few days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (voice-over): The holiday interrupted by a sudden ferocious brush fire. Within hours it turned into an inferno Saturday in the hills of Ventura County, California. Hundreds of firefighters jumping into the action from the sky and land to deal with terrible combination, drought-stricken land, strong winds, and brittle, burning brush. The fire so intense it closed down a section of one of the most picturesque highway in the state, the pacific coast highway. It also closed down a portion of U.S. 101, a workhorse of a highway.

CAPT. MIKE LINDBERRY, VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: These homes are right along the seashore. I mean, if you step out the backyard, your feet are wet. But this fire just happened to blow down right at the Salamar (ph) area, in almost an alignment with the wind. There was a fuel bed long enough to carry it toward those homes. We were fortunate. We recognized the threat immediately and deployed engines into that area successfully defended those structures.

[18:05:17] SIDNER: The fires burning hundreds of acres in Ventura County which lies between Santa Barbara to the north and Malibu to the south. Population, nearly 850,000. Evacuations have been ordered as the fire burns closer and closer to homes and structures. And an even worse scenario looms. Ventura County is home to an oil field. It's conceivable the fire could make its way there.

CHIEF NORM PLOT, VENTURA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: This is a very dynamic, if you look up on the hillside you can see a lot of smoke. Whether we open something up is still a dynamic situation. And it could change or could even if we do open up the roadways, is that it's still not a contained fire. So I just want to caution you that any openings that do happen is at a subject to being closed again if the fire changes direction.

SIDNER: Firefighters are working to head off disaster. Unfortunately, after the worse drought in 100 years, this is a scene that is sure to be repeated far too many times in 2016.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: The big push now is try to create a fire line, try to stop the fire, try to contain the fire. That is the first thing, and try to get 101 and the pacific coast highway reopened because those are very important thorough fairs as people start getting ready to go back to work - Poppy.

HARLOW: Sara, thank you very much for that.

Also, a brand new terror warning about possible attacks before New Year's Eve. It has Europe on edge. That's for sure. Police in Vienna today telling CNN an unnamed friendly intelligence service warned several European cities of possible attacks involving explosives or guns. The warnings listed the names of several of the possible attackers. So far though the investigation into those names has not turned up anything concrete.

Also, important to note this warning does not specify which European cities might be the target. Right now you know security is ramping up across Europe. Police this Vienna, other key cities watching public venues and high traffic areas. They are on the lookout for any possible big bags or suitcases.

Let's talk more about this threat. Former CIA operative Bob Baer is with me.

This is a vague, vague warning and there is not even a specific city mentioned in it. Can you talk about to me about the value of issuing a warning like this to the public? You know, you don't want a fear monger so why put this out there with not a lot of details?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Poppy, I think it's the threat hanging over Europe. It's clearly there. The Paris attack was not the last of them. Somebody's going to try something. So with the intelligence communities across Europe and United States do even when a vague threat comes up, they have a duty to warn citizens, whether it is Americans traveling to Europe or Europeans. And because of that duty to warn they cannot keep this intelligence, you know, within the services. They have got to get it out there. And intelligence officers are very reluctant to take something that isn't particularly well sourced or specific but none the less they do have that duty and I think that's probably what we're seeing here.

HARLOW: At the same time today, Bob, just a few hours ago we learned of this new audio recording purportedly from al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. And what's interesting about it, I think, is that it doesn't have any specifics in it. It threatens the west to not sending ground troops. It threatens Israel. But it doesn't even mention the Paris attack or what happened in San Bernardino. You've got ISIS that is so acutely aware of its PR, has such a strong propaganda machine. Do you read this audio message, the first one we have heard from him in six months as more of an effort internally to sort of reassure ISIS supporters rather than to talk to the outside?

BAER: Well, I think there's two things. One is to say he is still there in command of Baghdadi and, number two is he is appealing to potential lone wolves to launch attacks. I think the Islamic state has misgoverned its areas under its control. I think it's probably losing influence, at least in Syria and Iraq. And what the taking of Ramadi it's going to be a symbolic setback. So I think al-Baghdadi is making an appeal to believers. And it's hard to tell whether he will get a San Bernardino response or not at all. But I think, as you know, we have talked about the Islamic state is not long for this world. It's so irrational, so violent, it cannot govern 20 million people for very long. And I think it's a message of desperation.

HARLOW: And yet it has now risen to the biggest concern for U.S. law enforcement in a pace of federal investigations unseen in this country since 9/11.

All right. We will see what 2016 brings.

Bob Baer, thank you.

[18:10:05] BAER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Coming up next, their story riveted the nation for 444 days, now, a group of Americans once held hostage in Iran finally being compensated for their ordeal. How much will they received and what made it possible after 36 long years next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:13:04] HARLOW: A hostage crisis that lasted 444 days. Now a multimillion dollar payout for each of the Americans held hostage in Iran in 1979.

Our Deborah Feyerick has more on who is paying for it and why this is happening after 36 years.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Iranian hostages will get $4.4 million each. That's about $10,000 a day for each of the 444 days that they were held in captivity when those Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. embassy back in 1979.

But this doesn't only impact these hostages. It also impacts other victims of terror. That includes those victims of the U.S. embassy bombings in Darussalam (ph) and Kenya back in 19989. It also includes those marines who were killed in Beirut in the bombing of barracks there back in 1983.

So this is really wide reaching and goes back many decades to give the victims but to give the families also some sort of compensation because they haven't been able to get anything up to this point. So it's really crucial to these people to in some ways be made whole.

HARLOW: Debra Feyerick, thank you very much for that.

Coming up next, from Donald Trump's controversial remarks to Hillary Clinton's marathon hearing on Benghazi. We will bring you the top ten campaign moments of 2015, next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SONYA ROMERO, KINDERGARTEN TEACHER: It is important to me to give back because this is my purpose if I'm going to be a good teacher. And it doesn't just mean walking into my classroom and leaving at the end of the day. It means really caring about these kids.

I am a kindergarten teacher at (INAUDIBLE) Elementary in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have a 75 percent free and reduced lunch rates.

In the mornings when the kids come I ask if they have eaten or I do a quick assessment of needs and see if there's something that I can do. I keep these clothes, the socks, the shoes, the toothbrushes because I have more and more students that were coming in with less and less. I have children with speech and language needs, behavioral needs. I have kids that are homeless. I have some kids with working families. Just a wide variety of needs but it actually makes the classroom a real environment for us.

Are you ready for your game next week?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She helps everybody. If somebody is in need she's the first one to be there. Like my foster sisters.

ROMERO: I get a phone call that said, we have no placement anywhere in the state for these girls. Can you take them? I had had the girls in my class. They are having a teacher relationship is one thing having them. Live with me was different. So I really eased in to it at their comfort level.

It was really only supposed to be for 48 hours but almost a year later we're still all together. How did I get so lucky? How did I get picked to be a part of their lives? It's the best experience. I wouldn't change it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:18:57] HARLOW: It has been an interesting year in politics, to say the least and it is not over yet. In our top ten of 2015 series, our chief political correspondent Dana Bash takes a look back at the most memorable campaign moments of 2015.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: In politics 2015 was the year of one liners, insult, interruptions, and controversy.

It was the escalator ride that changed the Republican race. Donald Trump kicked his campaign off full-on Trump style, up ending the field and pretty much all traditional political rules.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They are bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people.

BASH: Those comments caused a huge backlash, especially in the Latino community, but rocketed Trump to the top of the GOP field.

And the provocative statements continued on the campaign trail. At an early event in Iowa, Trump sparked another wave of criticism after saying this about former POW John McCain.

[18:20:11] TRUMP: He was not a war hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that were not captured, OK.

BASH: Many though those remarks would be Trump's campaign would finish. But it turns out they were the first of many so-called blunders that failed to knock him from his porch at the top of the polls.

On the Democratic side, questions about emails and the Benghazi attack plagued front-runner Hillary Clinton's early campaign culminating in a contentious 11-hour congressional hearing that backfired on Republicans and gave Clinton a boost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who else was at your home? Were you alone?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was alone, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole night?

CLINTON: Well, yes, the whole night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know why that's funny. I mean, did you have any in-person briefings? I don't find it funny at all.

CLINTON: I'm sorry. A little note of levity at 7:15.

BASH: And after months of fielding questions about her emails, Clinton got an unexpected assist from her opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders at CNN's democratic debate.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.

CLINTON: Thank you. Me, too. Me, too.

BASH: That moment may have hurt Sanders campaign but it was great material for "Saturday Night Live."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American people are sick and tired about hearing about your damn emails.

BASH: The Black Lives Matter movement was an important campaign story line. Shaping the national conversation and even shutting down a Sanders campaign event in Seattle.

The most defining moment on the Democratic side may be one that never happened. After months of speculation, vice president Joe Biden decided not to run for president, solidifying Clinton's spot as the expected Democratic nominee.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent. I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully.

BASH: In the Republican race, friends turned rifle rivals on display as Jeb Bush looking to find some campaign mojo took on his former protege Marco Rubio. JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Marco, when you signed up for

this this was a six-year term. And you should be shown up to work. I mean, literally, the Senate, was is it? Like a French workweek?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are running for the same position. And someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.

BASH: Rubio vested his old mentor and Bush is ending the year with poll numbers stuck in the single digits.

While some GOP candidates shied away from taking on Trump, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina called him out during CNN's Reagan Library debate for controversial comments he made about her face.

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.

BASH: From Fiorina to Trump to neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 2015 was the year of the outsider candidate.

Carson who has no political experience briefly topped the Republican polls this fall, but his inspiring personal narrative of a violent past and spiritual redemption was called into question by a CNN investigation.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know when I was 14 another youngster angered me and I had a large camping knife and I tried to stab him in the abdomen with it. Fortunately he had a large metal belt buckle on his clothing and knife I struck with such force that it broke.

BASH: Making great campaign material for Donald Trump.

TRUMP: Somebody hits me with a belt is going in because the belt moves this way. It moves this way.

BASH: And the year ends back at the beginning with a Donald Trump shocker. After terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Trump gave this policy prescription.

TRUMP: Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

BASH: Once again, those controversial comments did nothing to stop Trump's rise. But the real test for Trump is going to be on February 1st, in 2016, when voters first go to the polls.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: It absolutely will be. Dana, thank you very much for that.

Presidential campaigns took Christmas off from campaigning for the most part.

Coming up next, we're going to play a little game of naughty and nice in 2016 with Marc and Ben. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:27:37] HARLOW: All right. Let's have a little fun tonight with politics. It was the night after Christmas and all through our show political pundits are stirring, the zingers they will throw. After this wild political year our pundits now join us with holiday jeers.

Let's bring them in. Our dynamic duo, Marc and Ben. You like that, guys?

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I like it.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I LIKE IT. Well done.

HARLOW: I didn't write it. Our writers are very smart and they wrote it, but I like it, too.

Let's begin with a game of who is naughty and who is nice in 2015.

And Marc, I want to start with you. Which politician, which candidate gets a lump of coal in their stocking from you this year?

HILL: Without a question, Donald Trump. He was so mean to everybody.

HARLOW: That's so unoriginal.

HILL: I mean, come on. You gave me the easiest job on earth. To give a lump of coal to somebody, I mean, Donald Trump. Even Republicans would give a lump of coal to Donald Trump. He was terrible person.

FERGUSON: You did steal who I was going to say, so now right now I'm racking my brain of who should come in second.

HARLOW: OK. So we are moving on then. Ben, we are moving on. Ben, to you. Who is like a holiday ornament? Eye catching on the tree but too fragile to make it all the way through?

FERGUSON: Too fragile to make it all of the way through. I got to say it's probably, God, I'm going to get in trouble for this one. Mike Huckabee. Really nice guy. I really think he is fun. If people around him, they always enjoy his company. He doesn't really throw bombs at people, I mean. He's not going to make it to the end unfortunately.

HARLOW: Marc, what do you think? Who is too fragile?

HILL: Totally Jeb Bush. Every time he gets on the debate stage next to Donald Trump I think Trump is -- I think Trump is going to give him a noogie (ph). I mean, he completely humiliates Jeb Bush every time. He is totally the guy too fragile to make it to the end.

HARLOW: All right. You guys are going to have to start naming Democrats here because there are, you know, two parties we are talking about here. HILL: Two Democrats. Two Democrats.

HARLOW: Marc, who is like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer? Unappreciated now but could save the day for their party ahead?

HILL: I wish I could pick a Democrat for this but I think it is Marco Rubio. I think Marco Rubio is a guy that right now is under appreciated. He is not Ted Cruz. He is not Donald Trump. He is not even Ben Carson. But he is somebody who is moving up in the polls. At the end of the day when people want a serious candidate who can win a general election they may just find him at the top of the ticket or they may find him as a great VP person.

[18:30:02] HARLOW: Ben, who is your Rudolph?

FERGUSON: Chris Christie no doubt. I think if you would have run four years ago he would have been an amazing competitor against Obama. Some people think this may be he missed his shot at it just with timing. But I think the more people look at him sand how tough he is and how he understands the issues, I think he could be that guy that people are going, man, maybe I should have voted for him.

HARLOW: Alright, Marc, who is like frosty the snowman, strong in December but will melt away in the spring? And by December, I do not mean December on the east coast where it is 60 degrees outside.

HILL: Fair enough. I will go with my man Bernie Sanders. I love Bernie Sanders. I think he is smart. I think he is capable. I think he is the closest person to the political vision of me and many other progressives. But just like Ron Paul for like the last three election cycles, the people who love him, the college students who swarm for him, when it comes down to pull that lever in the booth, I'm not so sure they will want to do it. I think Bernie may melt.

HARLOW: Ben, who is frosty?

FERGUSON: There is no doubt, it is Bernie Sanders. The best second place candidate eve ever seen. He had multiple opportunities to go after Hillary. Never did it. He is like literally your favorite wing man because he's not going to challenge you and he is going to melt away and it's going to be this guy that we just talk about one day going, remember that Bernie Sanders, it's going to be like Dr. Rand Paul.

HARLOW: I don't know. He trounces. This new Quinnipiac poll on Tuesday came out. He trounces Trump like 50 percent, more than 50 percent at 38 percent. So I don't know if you can count your chickens yet on that one. We'll see.

Marc to you. One year from now, one year from now who is going to celebrate Christmas while planning their first 100 days in the White House?

HILL: It will be Hillary Rodham Clinton. Not because I want her to be because I frankly don't. But I just can't see anyone else winning the Democratic nomination and I don't see anyone on the Republican side of the aisle beating Hillary in a general election right now unless something extraordinary happens.

HARLOW: Ben?

FERGUSON: I'm going to say a guy by the name of Ted Cruz. I think everyone has underestimated him. I think he is going to come back strong. I think he would absolutely whip up on Hillary during the debates if they go head to head. And I think he could easily be the shocker of the year that everyone is paying attention to Donald Trump when in reality he is getting things done.

HARLOW: Marc laughs but, wait, Marc laughs but Ted Cruz, his favorability ratings are up like 22 points since September. He is resonating. That's for sure.

FERGUSON: In the words of Donald Trump, they are huge.

HILL: You think Ted Cruz is going to be president of America?

HARLOW: Why are you laughing, Marc?

HILL: Because it's absurd.

FERGUSON: I'm glad we have this on tape. A year from now we are going to play this on and we are going to see who is right and who is wrong.

HILL: You can play it every week for the next four years. Ben, you're like the kid who wanted a pony for Christmas. Every Christmas you were ticked off that you just got some socks. Wanting Ted Cruz is like wanting a pony for Christmas. It isn't going to happen.

HARLOW: Do you what I wish we had right now, guys? I wish we had Marc in, I think it was August, saying on this show that we wouldn't be talking about Donald Trump 90 days from now.

HILL: Fine.

HARLOW: We have that on tape. And we will play that for you soon.

Before I let you go, let's turn from, you know, all of this to political football, the big game tonight.

Marc, you are in Philadelphia tonight. No one is a fan of Washington there tonight. Your Philadelphia Eagles taking on Washington in a huge game. Prediction from both of you. Marc first.

HILL: This is easy. The Philadelphia Eagles have struggled all year. But at the end of the year the Redskins were always Redskin. And by that I mean they are going to lose big when they are supposed to.

FERGUSON: I am solely picking the Redskins just to give my good friend Marc Lamont Hill a little bit of crap.

HILL: You're a terrible person.

FERGUSON: All he does is torment me all year long since Tony Romo has been out and the cowboys have been losing. So all I'm saying is I'm literally the nation's biggest fair weather Redskins fan tonight for about three-and-a-half hours.

HARLOW: My team -- guys, my Minnesota Vikings are having a decent year as well. Let's not forget about them, right?

HILL: They got a shot.

FERGUSON: They're around. They're still around.

HILL: They got a better shot than Ted Cruz.

FERGUSON: At least you've got your main quarterback still playing. That for me is just like amazing right now.

HILL: That helps.

HARLOW: All right, Ben and Marc, thank you both. Merry Christmas. Happy new year to you both.

FERGUSON: Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

HARLOW: All right. Let's continue the fun a little bit. Ugly sweaters becoming the style statement of the season. Now one group has organized an ugly sweater run, seriously, in multiple cities across the country, proceeds go to benefit children. Atlanta's piedmont park is where this race took place. Thousands turned out in support in their ugly sweaters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[18:35:01] CROWD: Five, four, three, two, one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ugly sweaters, it's trending right now. I think just the whole concept and idea of it has just really taken off in the last couple of years. And it's fun. We'll have a party just themed around ugly sweaters. And so we're taking that to a whole new level.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We get together and decorate as what we can. Then we come and do this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It started with an employee who went to a lot of ugly sweater parties and thought, my God, we should make a run out of this. People would really, really enjoy it during the holidays. We have over 20 cities that participant across the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really fun. It's something that, you know, you don't realize you're exercises. Mile one and two were done before you knew it because you are having so much fun. So it's a good way to get some exercise and have fun, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I dug through all of my old Christmas ornaments. Went to the dollar store and just had a good time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're trying to make it a family tradition for the holidays. Anywhere from little kids to people in their 60s, 70s, older. It's all over the place. It's just a lot of fun for everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like kids and dogs and people and old people and young people. They are in crazy sweaters. It does make Christmas merry. It's really fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody's outfits were fun. You could tell everybody had a lot of fun making them and enjoying their day. It's awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've seen wrapping paper suit, jingle bells. You name it. People just go crazy and craft away making their ugly sweaters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got the ugliest sweater, yes. We're very confident we've got the ugliest sweater.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the sweater is ugly as is so I just wanted to add a little bit of extra. I've got my (INAUDIBLE) in here and the lights and have some other stuffed animals and just put it together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a homemade sweater. I literally put it together last night. Picked up a little bird. Santa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flower in the back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Makes everyone smile. It's awesome. You get to see everyone dressed up and kind of brings Christmas a little early.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little holiday cheer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merry Christmas, everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:20] HARLOW: For many mere in the United States, the holiday season is a time to rejoice. But in parts of the Middle East, that are targeted by militants celebrating Jesus' birth is an act of courage. Simply being Christian can mean death.

My colleague Carol Costello spoke with an Iraqi Christian nun who is helping those most in need.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What's happening to Christians in Pope Francis' words is genocide. Thousands displaced by ISIS, their lives forever changed. You can see it in this child's face in a refugee camp under Kurdish control. See it in a play put on by refugee Christian actors who share a community's grief on stage.

I talked with Sister Ben over the internet.

Can you still hear me? A Dominican nun caring for Christian children at this refugee camp. The connection was tenuous but we managed.

Sister, how do you explain is to the children?

SISTER BEN SAAED, DOMINICAN SISTERS OF ST. CATHERINE OF SENA: They understand that ISIS is very, very dangerous. So they say we would like to be as a soldier to fight ISIS and we can't go back to our home.

COSTELLO: So even the smallest children want to fight ISIS as soldiers?

SAAED: Yes. I'm talking about the first to five years children.

COSTELLO: Millions of people of various religions from fled. Among them hundreds of thousands of Christians from Syria and Iraq. Sister Donna Markham is president of Catholic Charities USA.

SISTER DONNA MARKHAM, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA: August of 2014, August 6th, to be precise, ISIS came in and all of the Christians were essentially evicted from their homes. So their convent, their school, their hospitals, everything, their mother house, everything was lost. So they left with the clothes on their back and ran for their lives.

COSTELLO: They ran from happy lives, from their middle class homes. The nuns ran from their convent to this, a refugee camp. They now live in shipping containers. Electricity goes in and out. Food is scarce. But they have no choice.

So did ISIS use the usual tactic, you know, you either convert --

MARKHAM: Convert, pay a tax, yes.

COSTELLO: So what did the nuns tell them?

MARKHAM: They left with the Christian community because the sisters wouldn't -- certainly never convert and they didn't have money to be paying taxes. So -- but they fled with the Christians. And their desire which is really courageous from my vantage point is that they will not abandon - their people.

COSTELLO: Do you want to leave the country or do you want to go back home?

SAAED: Of course we would like to go back home because every single day our first half hour with the children we start with a prayer. So we ask the children, what would you like to share with God in your prayer? And first off all they say we would like to go back home.

COSTELLO: People in the United States want to know how they can help. How can they help the Christians in Syria, in Iraq, and other places?

SAAED: First we are asking for your prayer because your prayer supports us. We would like to live our life normally, like others in this world. We would like to live our life as -- in peace because we haven't seen peace since we born. And we would like to live in dignity because we lost our dignity.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:47:27] HARLOW: All right. The national weather service just issuing a tornado warning for Dallas, Texas. Our Karen Maginnis monitoring it all in the CNN severe weather center.

Karen, what do we know about this hour?

MAGINNIS: It is a very dangerous situation. Tornado warning right around the Dallas Metroplex area. Not Ft. Worth but in Dallas right along that interstate 30 corridor. Over a million people at risk for a possible tornado. There are indications there is rotation with these thunderstorms. But not just here, in the Metroplex area further to the south. We have these discrete cells that have been popping up. They are much more prone to producing tornadoes. You can see there are tornado warnings out that go for about the next 30 minutes or so. This will be occurring over the next few hours. A very dynamic system that, in fact, on the back side of this for Dallas you could see a rain/snow mix tomorrow night. Very different - Poppy.

HARLOW: All right. We'll be watching very closely. Karen, thank you for that.

The CEO of America's biggest bank Jamie Dimon sat down for a rare one- on-one interview with my colleague Cristina Alesci. He is bullish on the state of the U.S. economy and you will also hear him give his take on the income inequality debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: In the short term, OK, U.S. economy is broad based, going two and two-and-a-half percent. Consumers are in better shape. The debt service -- how much income goes to service debt is back where it was in 1985. Household formation is going up as prices are going up, 401(k)s are going up. Small business middle market, large companies are in very good shape.

If you look at America in the long term, we have exceptional universities. We have the best military in the planet. We will for a long period of time. We have the best businesses. Medium, large, and small. We have unbelievable innovation from the Steve Jobs to the factory floor. We have a great work ethic. Very low corruption. We have the greatest military barriers ever built called the Atlantic and the pacific. All the food, water, and energy we ever want. We are in pretty good shape.

You know, it converse and says out of respect, China doesn't have enough energy. And they are, you know, they are surrounded by Russia, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, China, North Korea, Philippines. It's a tough part of the world. And even since World War II, they had squish issues with four or five of those nations. They don't have enough food, water, and energy. They don't have a lot things going right. So we have it. We're in really good shape.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Now, you said you don't see weakness. You don't see a dark spot in the American economy? Some people will point to income in equality. Do you think that is a real issue? Do you think income inequality is a real issue?

[18:50:01] DIMON: Yes, I do. Early in recovery, often income goes to, you know, the one percent is, you know, asset prices go up. But I would like to talk to what are the solutions to it? What should we do about it? I have three very basic ones, OK. Grow the economy more. Focus on growing the economy. Get wage pressure. And then we will all be obviously be complaining about too much wage pressure.

Second, skills train and education so both the education, MSE schools and the proper training. So as kid graduate school, they have a certificate that leads to a job and/or college down the road. And I love the idea. And I heard from both Republicans and Democrats of a better income tax credit. So being paid to work. So it is an incentive, you know. I think people are proud of their work. So that working is a good thing to do. It is supposed to be paid for if not to work, so.

And there are a bunch of other ideas. But I would love to sit down around the table what will fix this. You know, it is not going to fix if the point to people and yell at them and think that they are to blame.

ALESCI: When you started in the business in the 1980s, about 60 percent of Americans had a favorable view of the finance industry. Today that number is 37 percent. Why so low?

DIMON: Which is it for media?

ALESCI: I have no idea. But I know that we are not near the bottom.

DIMON: My guess, it is not that much different. The disaster happened in 2009, OK. The American public was hurt. And, you know, I think in general they would look at the culprits on of being some combination of Washington in Wall Street. In general, that is true. There is not that every bank was that bad. Everyone made some kind of mistake. And I think it hurt everyone. But you know, one of the things that happened in society today is we do this to everybody. So if you go way back when, we thought doctors, lawyers, police, stock brokers were all up here. Now they are all down here.

Somehow, media. Somehow, we kind -- we have all lost trust in each other, which I don't think it is a good thing. And you know, more than I can do is to bank each other. Earn it back. And so, our customers at (INAUDIBLE). Large corporations like us. The countries that we do business with like us. My most important is to satisfy my customer and try to be a great corporates where every do business and hopefully we will earn back some of that trust and respect we lost.

ALESCI: As the leader of the biggest bank in the U.S., do you feel personally responsible to revive the perception of bankers in this country, to make it better, to make sure that people like bankers more?

DIMON: I can only do my part to earn our trust and respect every day, both with our client and the communities we do business. And with our regulators and the governments, we try to have, you know, we have a lot that demands us whom will make more happy. I can't single handed and make America (INAUDIBLE).

ALESCI: You can't. But that was my question.

DIMON: Yes, I feel respond to do my part as best as I can as long as I am here, yes.

ALESCI: You stress test for everything. You said that. The Greek exit.

DIMON: Hundred a week. Everything, yes. All the time. And you reinvent new ones sometime just to scare yourself in.

ALESCI: How about if Bernie Sanders wins? Have you stressed test for that?

DIMON: I don't think Bernie is going to win. But -- I'm not that worried about that even if he became president.

ALESCI: Why? Do you think you can talk to him out of breaking up same things?

DIMON: Well, I think that is a far more complicated subject. You know, company JPMorgan, you know, I'm really proud of this company. You know, I travel around the world -- Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, and Mumbai, and Hong Kong. And you know, we help their countries, their people, their companies. They want us. They want more of our capital, our brain power. And you know, we help some of these big American multinationals in 30 or 40 countries. We raised almost $2 trillion a cap for year for big business, small business, hospitals, governments. We just did a bond for crew (ph). That's what we do. And you know, you need to be a big bank to do some of that stuff.

ALESCI: So you think that you can convince him --

DIMON: I would hope so, yes.

ALESCI: There is more benefit in being a big bank than breaking a law.

DIMON: You need them. If you break them up, someone else are going to do it. And they will be the Chinese. And if you think that is good for the future of America, I beg to defer.

ALESCI: Speaking of politics for a second. You supported - you contributed to Hillary in 2006 and 2007. Why not recently?

DIMON: I am not getting involved in politics right now.

ALESCI: At all?

DIMON: At all.

ALESCI: Well, you brought --

DIMON: I (INAUDIBLE) to do it later. But I'm not doing now.

ALESCI: After the results come through?

DIMON: No. If and when I feel like it, I'll do it.

ALESCI: Why? Are you going to run for office?

DIMON: No. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about support a candidate. But the public should know JPMorgan and its pact does not support anyone nor has it ever. But when we tell our people here, by the way, listen to both candidates. If you're a Democrat, listen to some of the really smart Republicans. If you're Republican, listen to some of the smart Democrats. Don't just have a knee-jerk reaction.

ALESCI: You brought up policy, right. And so the tax policy has been something that's been debated. And you've admitted that it needs to be addressed, right?

DIMON: Yes.

ALESCI: Trump was one of the candidates. Actually, he was the first Republican candidate to bring up the fact that Wall Street should pay higher taxes. Do you agree?

[18:55:04] DIMON: Look. When you say that, we pay -- I was actually in Hong Kong, and the chief executive in Hong Kong was talking to a bunch of our clients. JPMorgan, thank you for the taxes you pay. We pay a lot of taxes. We pay about 30 percent in cash every year, OK. So we pay a lot of taxes. We also pay the FDIC --

ALESCI: Is that your effective tax rate?

DIMON: Yes. Cash. It is our gap and our cash is about the same, around 30 percent. It changes year by year. So we actually pay that much in cash taxes. So forget banks. The issues with corporations is our tax rate is the highest of all developed nations. We are driving capital overseas at the margin. I have already told people in Washington, by the time you figure it out, the only question is how much damage has been done? You can't forget the right or wrong but you can't have taxes 10 percent higher that is about everybody else and think it is good for the country. It can't be good for the country. Those who have a choice who are leaving their capital overseas, they believe plans overseas, they have been argue overseas. And you know, here, people say, listen, you're not patriotic. It has nothing to do with patriotism. Those are the choices individuals make when they move, when they do things. So we should fix that. It doesn't mean that I don't think we shouldn't fix personal taxes too. I want to eliminate a whole bunch of deductions. I get rid that carried interest tax. I do a whole bunch of things too.

ALESCI: So you would be willing to pay more, you personally?

DIMON: Yes. But here is the issue about that. I would. But you know, the American public, and one that people says, put their faith (INAUDIBLE), if you give more money, they just suck it down the viaduct. (INAUDIBLE) owes it to the people and say if we spend your money, we are going to spend it wisely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Fascinating interview from our Cristina Alesci with Jamie Dimon. Thank you for that.

Coming up next, tonight's number.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:14] HARLOW: And finally tonight, the number. It is 21. As we kick off the New Year Fortune magazine reports there will only be 21 female CEOs running Fortune 500 companies in the New Year. That is down from 2014 when there were 24 female CEOs in the Fortune 500. But when you look at the S&P 500, Fortune notes just one new female CEO is added every two years. Also, they have a shorter tenure overall, holding the top spot in their corporations an average of just four years, two years less than their male CEO counterparts. Something to think about as we head in to the New Year, 500 top companies in the United States and just 21 female CEOs.

Up next here in CNN, a Sixties marathon at 7:00 p.m., television comes of age. Then at 8:00 sex, drugs and rock and roll. At 9:00, the British invasion. The Sixties marathon is next.

I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. I will see you back here tomorrow night.