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Details of Ramadi Situation; Authorities on Alert for Terror Attacks on New Years Eve; Numerous US States Prepare for Post-Storm Flooding; Latest from the Campaign Trail; Ethan Couch Expected Back in Texas Soon. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 30, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Battle for control, the Iraqi government says Ramadi is liberated, but local leaders say ISIS still controls parts of the city. Millions of people are under flood warnings in the U.S., and in parts of Missouri, the water could reach historic levels. And a top North Korean official said to be one of Kim Jong Un's closest comrades, has died. We will look at the circumstances surrounding what happened.
Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN Newsroom.
A big win for Iraq, a major blow to ISIS. Iraqi prime minister Haider Al-Abadi raised his nation's flag in Ramadi Tuesday. The city is still about 25 percent under ISIS control, but as Elisa Labott reports, Iraq's military is calling it a victory, and setting its sights on other areas that ISIS still holds.
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ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL CORRESPONDENT: As Iraqi forces evacuated civilians from Ramadi's city center and swept for explosives left behind by the militants, pockets of resistance remain. Tribal leaders charged with holding Ramadi, tell CNN ISIS still controls a quarter of the city, now mostly in ruins. Still, the U.S.-led coalition said it was confident the Iraqis would hold the area.
COL. STEVE WARREN, SPOKESMAN, ANTI-ISIS COALITION: We don't think the remaining enemy has the -- has the oomph to push the Iraqi security forces off of their positions.
LABOTT: Iraq's prime minister arrived in Ramadi under heavy guard the day after the army declared the city liberated. Today, he saluted the troops, promising to take the fight to Mosul, and push ISIS out of Iraq entirely by the end of next year.
Today, the coalition boasted 10 ISIS leaders have been killed in recent air strikes, including Sharaf Al-Mudan (ph), who had direct contacts with the suspected ringleaders of the Paris attacks days before the siege, and was believed to be planning more attacks against the West.
WARREN: Without leaders to be able to facilitate the activities, your ability to conduct activities goes down. We haven't severed the head of the snake yet, and it's still got fangs. We have to be clear about that. There is much more fighting to do.
LABOTT: In Syria, the coalition has now helped secure a hydroelectric dam from ISIS grip for the first time since 2012. Located near the eastern city of Manbij, it chokes off a key supply route from ISIS headquarters in Raqqa. But despite the battlefield losses, one retired general warns ISIS is growing as a worldwide threat.
MARK KIMMITT, FORMER US ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: While they may not be doing ground military offenses, they are still controlling the social media, they're still attracting a significant number of recruits, and I think their new strategy for inspiring attacks worldwide is proven very effective for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Elise Labott reporting there. Well New Year's Eve is just hours away in some parts of the world, and police are looking out for any possible end of the year terrorist threats. Jim Sciutto shows us why authorities are on alert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With New Year's fast approaching, authorities across the world on alert for terror, from Belgium, to Bangladesh, to New York City.
JAMES O'NEILL, NYPD CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT: People should feel safe this New Year's Eve because we're there. You're going to have one of the most well-policed, best protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world.
SCIUTTO: Police in Belgium arrested two men Tuesday in connection with a plot they say to attack historic sites in the Belgian capital on or around New Year's Eve. A senior Belgian security official tells CNN the target was Brussels Central Square, the Grand Palace, the plot inspired, though not directed by ISIS.
Police conducted several terror raids Sunday and Monday, seizing military uniforms and ISIS propaganda, the Belgian government raising the threat level to 3 out of a possible 4, meaning an attack is likely.
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, the U.S. Embassy warned U.S. citizens of possible attacks on New Year's Eve. New York says there is no credible threat to the New Year's celebrations, but it is dispatching 6,000 officers to Times Square, where more than 1 million people are expected on Thursday night. The secretary of Homeland Security encouraging New York Police Academy graduates to be vigilant on their new beats.
JEH JOHNSON, US HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: In the face of this current threat to your country, to our country, I encourage you to build bridges to the communities in this city that the Islamic State is attempting to target for recruitment. SCIUTTO: Underscoring the homegrown dangers, a British couple were both convicted today of preparing for acts of terrorism, after investigators seized stockpiles of chemicals and bomb-making materials at one of their homes, and this video, showing them testing an explosive device.
LAURA NICHOLSON, SOUTH EAST COUNTER TERRORISM UNIT: It is clear that a radical and violent Islamic extremist ideology was the motivator for these offenses.
SCIUTTO: On the battlefield in Syria, the coalition announced that air strikes killed ISIS leader Sharaf Al-Mudan (ph), who officials say had direct links to the mastermind of the Paris attacks, and was actively plotting more terror. Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: The storm has passed, but the governor of Missouri says the threat is far from over. Parts of the state will likely see historic river flooding through early next week. It's one of 13 states currently under flood warnings across the U.S. Missouri's governor has activated the National Guard to help first responders in evacuated areas. Alina Machado reports.
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: High water is already covering several roads in and around West Alton, Missouri. And just 70 miles from here, the situation is much worse. There are several homes and businesses already underwater in Union, Missouri.
Authorities there telling CNN they had to rescue at least two people who were caught up in rising floodwaters. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is asking people to please avoid driving through roads that are covered with water. Listen to this.
JAY NIXON, MISSOURI GOVERNOR: Just this morning, we were informed of an additional three flood-related deaths. This brings the total number of fatalities in the storm to 13, 12 of which were caused by vehicles being swept from flooded roadways. Now that the rain has moved out, the threat has changed, but it is not by any means over.
MACHADO: And that is why the mayor of West Alton, Missouri, has asked residents to leave. He has issued a voluntary evacuation order, and so far most people have left their homes. Alina Machado, CNN, West Alton, Missouri.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And earlier, CNN spoke with Linda Horn about how the floodwater is affecting the roads in Missouri. She's a spokeswoman with the Missouri Department of Transportation.
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LINDA HORN, SPOKESWOMAN, MISSOURI DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION: We're dealing with rising rivers all across the state of Missouri. We currently have over 225 roads that are closed in the state, and our worst situation is that Interstate 44 is closed in the middle of the state, cutting near Rolla, Missouri, and we are expecting a spot on Interstate 44 to close in St. Louis before morning.
And those two closures on Interstate 44 are making it not only very difficult to get around Missouri, but also very difficult for travelers trying to get through our state and travel in the Midwest, the ability to get, say, from Illinois to Oklahoma. And so we're having a tough time dealing with truck traffic and through travelers trying to get through the state of Missouri.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And in some areas, these floods could be unprecedented. Let's turn to our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, to learn more about this, and to get an idea of just how extensive this flooding is.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, it is incredible. You know, this is something that you typically don't see take place to this nature, to this extent when it comes to the time of year that it is. Typically the first week of winter no one is talking about this historic level of flooding. That happens in association with incredible snows, the spring melt, and of course the summer rains across this region.
And you take a look, think about the 18 million people that are dealing with the flood watches and warnings that are in place over this region. In fact, when you talk about river flooding, officials even say Ban Ki-Moon in the past has made references to river flooding as a slow motion tsunami almost in progress, because you have the water just traverse downstream over a several-week period.
And if you take a look, the moisture very limited over this region, so everything that has come down pretty much all transpired. But I want to show you what has occurred in the past several days, when you bring back in the Mississippi River Basin, its tributaries, tremendous tributaries across this region that funnel in a lot of water.
And you go in, in the past three to seven days, we've seen somewhere between 15 to 30 centimeters, or 6 to 12 inches of rainfall. This was all amid all the tornados, the severe weather, about 70 Tornados respond across this region.
The moisture associated with those storms was incredible, and again, all coming down in the form of rain, typically in the cold season you bring this down in the form of snow, and snow does a great job, actually, of absorbing the moisture. So the runoff typically in the winter season is limited, the water levels typically want to drop.
This time around it certainly hasn't felt like winter. And if you take a look at the gauges, and of course the levees that are in place over this region, here's what it looks like. We think the flooding will continue downstream over the next several days.
By the time you get down to the Arkansas River, southern portion of the Mississippi River, we're talking January 2nd, January 3rd before all of the water is funneled downstream. And, of course, with a lot of tremendous stress placed on these levees we know a lot of them are beginning to really overtop, and that's the issue. The good news with this, for some people, is that once you have an overtopping occur, you're releasing some stress associated with the flooding. But, of course, if there's too much stress on this, levees fail and you have widespread damage.
And this is something that's happened back in 1993 it was, where a significant flooding occurred over this region. And we know of $15 billion in losses that happened because of the flooding of 1993. There about 100 plus levees were overtopped, as well.
So a very serious situation beginning to take place across this region. If you take a look, over 400 river gauges that are reporting flooding across portions of the Midwestern, the central, the southern United States, and this pattern continues over the next several weeks.
And unfortunate too, when it comes to weather-related fatalities in the United States in the past 30 years, flooding is number one. About 81 people every single year lose their lives due to flooding. Tornados come in second there, at number two, with the hurricanes and lightning strikes being very close.
And I want to kind of point out something here, too, because when it talks about flooding, in 2014 alone, and you go back several years, Rosemary, and look at flooding, the vast majority of flooding fatalities, about 66 percent of them, occur when people are driving. You have about 12 percent of the people falling in, about 3 percent fishing, walking accounts for about 7 percent of flood-related fatalities.
But you can see what happens when you're displacing people, because of the water coming down, you're potentially telling people they need to evacuate, and if people do not heed caution or go down roadways that you've heard are closed, on the order of hundreds of roadways, now people are placed in danger, as well, so it's something to take very seriously as early as possible with these waters beginning to rise.
CHURCH: Yeah, that is a wake-up call, just looking at that breakdown there, Pedram. Of course we've heard from authorities saying do not go out in your cars, particularly at night, because of all the water. It doesn't take much water, does it, to cause problems for people in vehicles particularly.
JAVAHERI: Absolutely, yeah. Just about ankle-high water, if it's moving at about 3 to 5 miles per hour, that will begin moving your vehicle. You bring that up to your knee height, and you're talking about this vehicle having no chance at all, yeah.
CHURCH: Absolutely right. Many thanks to you, Pedram. We'll talk again soon.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
CHURCH: Want to turn to eastern China now, where the state-run Xinhua news agency is reporting rescuers have found eight workers in a collapsed mine. The miners have been trapped for five days. Rescue crews can now talk to them using an intercom system, and they're delivering food and other provisions to them as well.
The mine in Shandong Province collapsed on Christmas Day, killing one worker. Nine people are still missing. The rescuers have not been able to reach the miners as yet. Investigators are working to find out what caused that collapse.
Donald Trump calls Bill Clinton's marital indiscretions fair game, and now the billionaire is inviting the media and his rivals to investigate his own personal life. Plus, the new charges the so- called affluenza teen and his mother will face as they're brought back to the United States. We'll have that for you next. Do stay with us.
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DON RIDELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Riddell with your CNN world sport headlines. The premiere league season is now almost halfway done, and we have the most unlikely team sharing the lead at the top of the table. At the King Power Stadium on Tuesday, Leicester City played out a goalless draw with Manchester City, a result moves the Foxes on to 39 points. They are second only to Arsenal on goal difference. Last year at this point, Leicester were (inaudible) off of the table.
Are Russian track and field athletes likely to miss Rio next summer? Well that is the view of the European Athletics president, Svein Arne Hansen. The Russians were suspended last month by the IAAF for what was described as a state-sponsored doping program.
Now Hansen has told Athletics Briefly Magazine that Russia, quote, must have a cultural change. They must get rid of all those people from before. For the moment, they have to fulfill the conditions, but I cannot really see them competing in Rio.
And as the world heavyweight boxing champion for many years, Mike Tyson wasn't put down on the canvas too much. He only lost 6 out of 58 fights, but when he falls, he falls really hard. This is the ex- champ on his kid's hover board, and Tyson seems to be controlled and enjoying himself, until it goes horribly wrong.
He was completely horizontal when he hit the deck, and that must have hurt. I'm guessing not too much, though, since it was Iron Mike who posted the video. And that is a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.
CHURCH: Welcome back. Well the pool of U.S. Republican presidential candidates just got a little smaller. Former New York governor George Pataki announced Tuesday he's bowing out of the race.
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GEORGE PATAKI, FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR: While tonight is the end of my journey for the White House, as I suspend my campaign -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Maryland Emergency Management Agency with a coordinated test of the emergency alert system. Broadcasters are testing equipment used to warn you during an emergency. This concludes the test of the emergency alert system. CHURCH: -- media want to (inaudible) personal Life, they can go right ahead. His remarks come as he's called Bill Clinton's marital indiscretions a fair topic on the campaign trail. Here is CNN's Dana bash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was able to get along with Clinton, I was able to get along With virtually every politician you can imagine.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONENT: Donald trump getting along with the Clintons? That seems like ancient history.
TRUMP: She says, oh, we would love to run against Trump. It's her worst nightmare.
BASH: Now, Trump seems determined to relive a nightmare in Hillary Clinton's life, her husband's philandering, even invoking the names Monica Lewinski and Paula Jones.
TRUMP: Certainly if they played the woman's card with respect to me, that would be fair game.
BASH: A total 180 from Trump's defense of Bill Clinton in 2008. He told Wolf Blitzer that the former President's dalliances should be a non-issue.
TRUMP: Look at the trouble Bill Clinton got into with something that was totally unimportant, and they tried to impeach him, which was nonsense.
BASH: The reality is Trump and the Clintons were really friends.
TRUMP: I always respected him, I've actually like him over the years.
BASH: The two men golf together, and Trump even famously invited the Clintons to his most recent wedding.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER US PRESIDENT: It was perfectly nice. I'm glad we did. But he also told me on more than one occasion what a good job she did in the senate for New York after 9/11.
BASH: The way Trump tells it now, they were both just playing you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours political game, one the billionaire argues he won't have to play if he's president.
TRUMP: With Hillary Clinton, I said be at my wedding, and she came to my wedding. You know why? She had no choice, because I gave. I gave to a foundation that, frankly, that foundation is supposed to do good.
BASH: Regardless of the senior Clinton and Trump relationship, their daughters, Ivanka and Chelsea, are genuinely close, Chelsea saying this about Ivanka to Vogue earlier this year. She's always aware of everyone around her and ensuring that everyone is enjoying the moment. For Ivanka, the feeling is mutual about Chelsea. IVANKA TRUMP, EXECUTIVE VP, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: We -- it has not been an issue for us. I have great respect for her. She's been a great friend to me. I've been a great friend to her. So, you know, the politics of our parents is not relevant to our friendship.
BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The music streaming service Spotify is facing a $150 million lawsuit. The singer of alternative rock band Cracker alleges the company reproduces copyrighted music without permission. If the court rules against Spotify, it could face fines of between $750 to $150,000 for each infringement. The company says it plans to pay every penny it owes to songwriters and publishers, but copyright data is often missing or wrong.
Ethan Couch, known as the affluenza teen, is expected to be back in the United States Wednesday. He and his mother were found in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Monday. Couch is wanted for allegedly violating his probation in a drunk driving crash which killed four people. CNN's Ed Lavendera has more on what's next for the teen.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Ethan Couch was captured on the streets of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with dark hair and a dark goatee, Texas authorities say the 18-year-old had the look of someone on the run, trying to change his appearance. Earlier this month, the teen was seen with blond hair, in a video that appeared to show him at a party with alcohol, a violation of his probation.
Authorities say Ethan and his mother, Tonya Couch, had what was essentially a going-away party the night before, driving from Ft. Worth to the Mexican resort town on the Pacific Ocean. A Mexican immigration official says the pair crossed into Mexico through Tijuana. Sheriff Dee Anderson says Tonya Couch will be charged with hindering the apprehension of a fugitive, and faces up to 10 years in prison.
DEE ANDERSON, TARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF: Her entire focus has been on making sure he didn't see any justice done, making sure he was not accountable, so for her to assist him, I felt like was just a natural next occurrence. I'm not surprised that she helped him.
LAVANDERA: Not surprising to those who have seen the Couch family up close since the teen was only sentenced to probation for a drunk driving crash that killed four people in 2013. His attorneys argued he suffered from affluenza, saying he lived a privileged and wealthy lifestyle, where there were no consequences for bad behavior. The victims' families filed civil lawsuits against the Couch family. ABC news obtained these deposition tapes from that case. In those tapes, Ethan Couch openly talked about his drug use.
ETHAN COUCH: Taking valium, hydrocodone, marijuana, cocaine, Xanax, Vyvanse, I think I tried ecstasy once. LAVANDERA: And his mother talked about how she let her son drive Illegally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You understood that if he was -- at any time he was under 16, he was never to be driving by himself.
TONYA COUCH, MOTHER OF ETHAN COUCH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nevertheless, you allowed that behavior to happen, correct? TONYA COUCH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When is the last time you recall disciplining Ethan for anything?
TONYA COUCH: I don't remember.
LAVANDERA: Mexican officials say Ethan Couch and his mother are being voluntarily deported back to the United States. Prosecutors are fighting to get Couch's case moved out of the juvenile system, and into adult courts. For now, prosecutors say Couch isn't likely to face significant jail time for violating the terms of his probation.
SHAREN WILSON, TARRANT COUNTY CRIMINAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY: If he stays in the juvenile court, the maximum sentence he could receive is incarceration in a juvenile facility until he turns 19, which is April the 11th of 2016. That is not enough.
LAVANDERA: When Tonya Couch returns to the United States, she will face that felony charge of interfering with the apprehension of a fugitive. She faces up to 10 years in prison. And meanwhile, prosecutors are still trying to figure out just exactly what to do with Ethan Couch. The hearing to determine whether or not his case and his custody will be transferred from a juvenile system to the adult system isn't scheduled to be heard until January of next year. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Ft. Worth, Texas.
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[02:30:38] ROSEMARY CHURCH: And warm welcome back to all our viewers here in the United States and of course all around the world.
I'm Rosemary Church, let's update you on the main stories we are watching at this hour.
Iraqi Prime Minister says he expects to push ISIS out of his country in 2016. The safer (ph) comes after the Iraqi army declared its liberation of the city of Ramadi.
A military spokesman says troops will likely spend another two to three weeks lashing the final puppets of ISIS fighters from the city.
The family of an Ohio boy shot and killed by police says the persecutors deliberately sabotage the case. A grand jury decided not to indict the officers involved in the death of Tamir Rice last year. Police say video shows Rice reaching for a pellet gun, when an officer in training shot him.
Mexican authorities have the detained the so-called Affluenza teen, Ethan Couch and his mother near Puerto Vallarta. They disappeared earlier this month after police say Couch missed an appointment with his probation officer. He was sentenced to probation for a 2013 drunk driving crash that killed four people.
Well, severe weather has killed at least 43 people in the U.S. in the past week and its not over yet, flash floods in Missouri have blamed for several of those death. The state governor has declared has declared a state of emergency. The National Weather Service says flooding and other dangerous trouble conditions could linger well into the weeks for many areas. Parts of West Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma are suffering on the blizzard conditions.
So, let's get the latest on this very rough condition's now and our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now.
And Pedram, it is disturbing when you look at this extreme weather across the country, when is there some sort of sign that things will improve?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: In the next couple of days, we still have what is left of the storms Rosemary and then we get beyond the severe pattern. I think we've gotten mostly behind the severe pattern of the storms system.
You take a look at what is transpired, just in the past several or so a days, over 69 tornadoes now reported across this region of the country and keep in mind that December average brings you summer about 24, we have six consecutive days with tornadoes that have occurred in the month of December. And that is tieing and old time record 1953 and also 1982. The last such events where we had six straight days in December with tornadoes and yes these were both El Nino's seasons and of course we know multiple EF-4 report of tornadoes, one tornado track, 145 miles on the ground, that is considered to be the longest the December track with tornado and has become the deadliest months of tornadoes for December as well in about a 60 year period.
And of course the pattern is not just in the United States, you go towards the U.K. significant flooding being report across that region as well with the military personnel on the ground helping out with the evacuation procedures there. And rainfall continues to come in towards this region over the next couple of days and then you shift your cast in towards this Southern Hemisphere and go out towards Dubai, Paraguai and also on its Argentina.
And the flooding, it looks something similar these parts, some of these towns that are completely submerged with about a quarter of million people being now a displaced out of their homes from the rainfall that has occurred over that region.
So, I want to give you a global perspective because of course we know weather patterns are tide globally. And the sphere in (inaudible) I'm not sure if it really been disrupted and this all has something to do with El Nino, the weather pattern that warm, the water temperatures along equatorial pacific, you'll look at what transpired from the North Western United States for example in the city of Portland and Seattle all 28 days so far in the month of December. They've reported rainfall among their wettest month of December on record. The Southeast United States severe storms of course among the most for the month of December in about 60 year period when it comes to tornadoes.
And then of course, all towards part of the U.K. with severe flooding across Southern portion of our planets on the South America also reporting the significant flooding and this is a great way to show you satellite imagery of some of the rivers that really been impact. I've visit the Parana River which is actually the second longest river in South America behind the Amazon, of course the river as (inaudible) south of Mediterranean Sea and also out toward Santa Fe, on its parts of Buenos Aires into Argentina.
But before and after perspective shows you the water literally shrinking and extending dramatically and this is what has displayed so many people over at this portion of the world.
So this is again, the global pattern that we're going to be dealing with over the next several months potentially into the middle portion of 2016.
[02:35:06] And the seas where temperatures right here around the equatorial pacific Rosemary, had a lot to do with distracting that weather pattern that we see.
The last time we had an El Nino that was a bit impressive Rosemary was back in the '97, '98 year and globally when it comes to the financial impact, when it comes to food chain supply been impacted of course, the energy supply being impacted that led to about $30 billion to $45 billion in losses on a global scale. So this weather pattern shift for everyone is a costly one as well.
CHURCH: Yeah, the ramifications are indeed a huge aren't they? Many thanks to Pedram more chat very soon.
JAVAHERI: Thank you
CHURCH: An unrelenting banned of unusually heavy rain is causing a lot of misery in parts of the United Kingdom. British troops are helping to evacuate hundreds of people from flooded areas in Northern England and Southern Scotland. Cumbria and near by counties are among the hardest hit ITN's Damon Green reports.
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DAMON GREEN, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The river maybe subsiding, but many parts of the City of York are still flooded, the extents of the water visible from the air.
As today the engineers struggling to repair the cities failed flood defenses had to call on the aerial to deliver the cables, the generators, and the motors to get the pumps working once more.
The river waters behind me a several meters above where they would normally be and the pumping station is completely surrounded by the waters on the River Foss and the River Ouse. It's only accessible by air and the only way to bring in the heavy equipment to see this, is were the Chinook helicopter.
It's not just the environment agency relying on the arm forces to bail them outs, 500 soldiers are now deployed in the North of England. Today David Cameron visited them at their work in York preparing sandbags. He also visited some of the flooded streets of the city, but not everyone was pleased to see him.
His started to defend his government spending on flood defenses and denied growing accusations when there's money to be spent, it's the North the loses out.
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We're here in Yorkshire for instance we spent 100 million pounds on flood defenses since I became Prime Minister, but planning to spent another 280 millions so almost three times as much. But, you know, that's of no comfort obviously to the people who been flooded here in York.
GREEN: Hundreds of family that have to leave their homes over the last two days, it still not certainly when they'll be able to return with more heavy rain forecast to Wednesday, no one wants to stay with the risk of more flooding is past. For those whose property has been damage by the rising water river constellation (ph) that river levels have finally starts to fall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think their frustrating because they don't know any real information, why had to happened? And as you can see affected it all the houses of the road and, you know, we will hoping OK that it wasn't the river, wasn't really flooded but when they lift flood barrier, everything came in.
GREEN: The people of York continue to endure the cold, the wet, the dignity of these floods, but those who care about the city say things must change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The city of York is a wonderful Brit City, and what you're seeing is a casting of our will and I want to say, having living in Yorkshire for 10 years, they resilient people, but we shouldn't take them for granted. Work hard just to make sure this doesn't happen again.
GREEN: Everyone wants to believe that this will never happen again, but that is a promise that nobody is prepared to make, Damon Green ITV News in York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: All the falling price of oil strike of the economic heart of one of the world's top producers. Saudi Arabia is preparing for a year of dramatic comebacks of announcing the biggest deficit in it history. It has revealed the 2016 budget 14 percent smaller than it was in 2015, it's finances are getting slam by low oil prices, oil revenue which makes up three quarters of the countries total revenue has fallen 23 percent that's lead to a record $98 billion deficit to help get their physical house in order. The Saudi government is considering some bold measures. It plans to privatize some sectors and it's cutting the large subsidy on domestic fuel rising local prices by 50 percent.
An emotional reunion in Canada for a Syrian family starting over after a half breaking loss, the details still to come.
Plus we will hear from a Harvard professor who is combining his research on human trafficking with the power of media, to help and to fight against modern day slavery, will back in a second.
[02:40:07] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METROLOGIST: Thanks for watching CNN here I'm just Pedram Javaheri here with you on Ski Watch across Europe, and here comes the next storm system from the West. It has some signs that we like to see. We see some stratocumulus clouds indicate of cooler temperature about to come in so at least you get one element needed here, to produce snow shower, we need a moisture of course and that's really have been not existing across this region.
Notice, still seems some mild weather across much of the center portion of the continent to the east we bring in some cooler temperature over the next couple of days, but some of the best areas to get skiing if you have that idea. Chance to get up to this region, around Bahamas (ph), Hemsedal across part of the Scandinavia.
Temperature, just cold enough to support at least some snow and of course in recent there have been plenty of it to go around. That left there's something to 50 to as high as 170 plus centimeter that's on the ground across Bahamas (ph) resorts.
So here's the current forecast for the next 24 so hours and nothing in way of new additional snow coming down but still a good days in about 90 to 80 percent of these trails are open across that region of Northway and to the south we go around that portions of the elsewhere Matt and Davalos (ph). One of these areas that is really struggle to tackle into much moistures so we keep it dry, we keep it sunny (inaudible) about 70 percent of trails from under map is a matter open with over 200 centimeter of snow, they've come down. One of the areas we we're looking forward to see more snow would be around Davalos (ph). At this point looks pretty quite and take you on to the French (inaudible) looking at three with the sunny skies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Hundred of Syrian fighters and civilians have been evacuated from the siege areas under U.N. broker a deal about 330 Syrian Shi'ite fighters and civilians will taken to Beirut from two pro-government towns in the northwest. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters set there arrival.
Another plane carried mostly Sunni Muslim rebel who'd been trapped near the Lebanese border, taking them to southern Turkey.
The deal allows President Bashar al-Assad government to re-take control of the rebel held areas. Well, the family of a Syrian boy who drowned of the coast of Turkey is starting a new life in Canada. Aylan Kurdi died with his mother and brother as they're trying to cross from Turkey to Greece in September.
The picture of his body on the beach brought worldwide attention to the migrant desperation.
Paula Newton reports on the appointment (ph) reunion for the Kurdi family.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, understandable they were emotional scene there at Vancouver airport, Aunt Tima Kurdi couldn't wait to get her hand around her family that it just come in from Germany. They were coming from Turkey originally and obviously, still really struggling to make a new life for them selves outside of Syria.
She wanted to bring them to Canada long ago and the back story there was that there was as too much paper work. She told her brother Mohammad that it was impossible, she had told her brother Abdulah that it was impossible and that it is why she says her brother Abdulah took his family on that boat and that's where her nephew Aylan Kurdi died in September. You know, she said she want people to remember that picture. She wanted to stand for something, for a time in the world, family said enough is enough. And here is what she had say at Vancouver airport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMA KURDI, ALAN KURDI AUNT: We almost lost hope but thank you to the - Canadian Government and to Canadian people who make it happen, and group of five and to our family who -- the rest, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:45:20] NEWTON: Now her brother Abdullah who is Alan's father, he lost his entire family, his two little boys, his wife. He was invited to apply also for asylum in Canada and he chose not to. He said he's still grieving and really want to try and figure his life out. And right now, he's doing a lot of volunteer work for refugees.
And what the Kurdi family says, that they want people to keep in mind that while they'd had a happy reunion for today, that what they really want is for some peace to come in the next few month to Syria.
Only in CNN, (inaudible).
CHURCH: Central American Governments have reached an agreement to allow thousands of Cuban migrants to continue their journey to the United States. They've been stuck in Costa Rica in mid November.
Officials meeting in Guatemala City, decided to provide flights for the Cuban's to El Salvador. Then they'll travel to Mexico by bus. There's been an increase in migrations, since the U.S. and Cuba, announced renewed diplomatic ties.
Now to a development from CNN's Freedom Project and the fight to end modern-day slavery.
Siddharth Kara is a researcher, who has traveled the world, documenting cases of human trafficking. Now he's using the power of media to inspire change.
CNN's Stephanie Elam gives us an exclusive look on the set of trafficked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inside the secluded California ranch.
UNKNOWN MALE: I'm not, I'm not and if I just get back to we'll be fine.
ELAM: A film crew is busy shining the bright lights of Hollywood on a crime. Traditionally hidden in the shadows.
PROF. SIDDHARTH KARA, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVT.: Every character in this film, every scenario, everything that's happening is drawn from something real that I documented.
ELAM: Siddharth Kara is a noted Harvard professor and human trafficking expert. He spent the past 15 years, documenting trafficking cases around the world. Those cases provide the inspiration for this film.
ASHLEY JUDD, ACTRESS: Do you have any idea how many girls I see on the streets?
ELAM: Traffic star Ashley Judd as a social worker and Patrick Duffy, best known for his role in Dallas, plays a corrupt Texas Congressman who uses his power and connections to operate a lucrative international trafficking operation.
PATRICK DUFFY, ACTOR: Since you get her, I think I put my money again.
It's an important in such a matter, but I think more important is to an encumber the minds and hearts of people just in general. To allow them that even if they're involved in thinking about a subject matter, its better than ignoring it.
Would you grab and you put it down to try and get it.
ELAM: One of the films most riveting performances, belongs to Charlie Kanter. The high schooler plays a young woman, fooled by a fake modeling offer, and then made to work on brothel against her will.
Canter says, she learned of the issue in Siddharth Kara long before ever landing the role.
CHARLIE KANTER, ACTRESS: I did a research paper about Human Trafficking in my freshmen year, and I red Siddharth book. And I just learned an abundance of all these things that are going on, that nobody at least in my environment knew about. ELAM: For Kara, reaching a broader audience while seeing the script comes alive, still calls up a range of emotions.
KARA: There's a fair bit of pain, as I think back to those true people, and I wonder what happened to them. But there's also some hope in that, as I see this young girl, saying what she said to me. I'm realizing she's got the voice. And her story is being told.
ELAM: With hopes that by telling it the story will prevent other's from going through it themselves.
Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The Israeli Supreme Court, has partially over turned a bribe vary conviction against former Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.
Olmert, was originally sentenced last March to six years behind bars, but will now serve just 18 months. He was Prime Minister as recently as 2009. And will be the country's first former official to served jail time.
Well CNN Newsroom continues after this very short break. We'll back in a moment.
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JAVAHERI: It's time for Ski Watch Meteologist Pedram Javaheri with you starting you of across the cascades of the Western United States for the snow amounts. The snow depth pretty impressive if you ask me, with 110 to 150 inches of depth for the snow there and notice the next disturb is they comes in and comes in on a quite dry size has certainly nothing compare to what we've seen in recent days, a place like Portland that have few rainfall each of the last 28 days so far in the month of December, it might going break here in the coming couple of days.
But higher elevation will cause for sunny skies. But minus 8 Crystal Mountain and Mount Baker may sit down to minus 4 certainly good day if you have a week day plan to be out across at some of this mountain ranges and notice the conditions across parts of Colorado.
About 99 percent of the trail is open packed powder but nothing in the way of recent accumulations but still a good -- base depth at about 30 to 40 inches, that's on the ground across that region. And across California, also looking at a drier pattern with some of the trails specially in Mammoth Mountain 100 percent now opened, packed powder to go around Mecosta (ph) also looking at roughly 70 percent of the trail been opened with about 54 inches.
And also following what's happening on the Eastern side of the areas of North America. Also in Canada, Southern Canada, Montreal's towards Quebec disturbance coming in so the higher elevations in this region, you'll look this able take any snow they can get. And we get it across some of this area about 18 to 26 inches have fallen so far and a couple of more in the forecast in this region.
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CHURCH: Here's a question for you, who do Americans admired the most?
Gallup release the results of its annual poll asking that very question and it finds President Barack Obama far at top the list of most admired man. Pope Francis and Donald Trump are tied for number two, Bernie Sanders and Bill Gates round out the top five.
As for women, Hillary Clinton is the most admired followed by Pakistani teenager a Noble laureate Malala Yousafzai, and then Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama. Clinton has been the most admired woman each of the last 14 years and 20 times overall.
Well, Donald coloring books have become quite a praise even topping some best seller list. So, it's only fitting there's now one for the most popular Republican presidential candidate, Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump is used to being parodied. But now the parody is interactive.
You can color him Donald.
Donald as the Statue of Liberty, on Mount Rushmore, on the million dollar bill. Donald with his wife, Melania, Donald arm wrestling Hillary.
Donald as a Beatle?
[02:55:03] I' never thought I'd be coloring Donald Trump's fig leaf.
Even Donald on the Sistine Chapel.
I colored my way through the entire interview with the creator and publisher of "The Trump Coloring Book." I
Do you think Donald Trump would be flattered or insulted by his coloring book?
ANTHONY ZICCARDI, PUBLISHER POST HILL PRESS: I'm not so sure if he'll sell this at his gift shops at his casinos but I think he would enjoy this.
MOOS: It turns out adult coloring books are the hottest category in publishing right now, so cashing in on Trump made sense. There's also the off-color coloring book, featuring notable Trump quotes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you Batman?
TRUMP: I am Batman.
MOOS: Go ahead and color that quote but who needs a whole box of crayons?
ZICCARDI: Which is the beauty of this coloring book. You really only need one or two colors.
MOOS: You only need orange and yellow?
ZICCARDI: That's pretty much it. You're good to go.
MOOS: But weren't good to go almost from the get-go. Oops, Oh know, that's trouble. I just broke the yellow.
But just that yellow stub was enough to get to the roots of the Donald's hair on the page he shared with Albert Einstein.
I'm just doing Einstein's tongue.
Twenty five thousand copies will be shipped, so you can color the candidate who's already beyond colorful.
TRUMP: Bing, bing, bing
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN...
ZICCARDI: Well, we're trying to make coloring great again.
MOOS: ... New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Orange and yellow it seems to do it, did it?
I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to stay in touch on social media anytime. We want to hear it from you. And I'll be back in just a moment with more news from all around the world.
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