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Nimr al-Nimr and 46 Others Executed for Terror-Related Crimes; Massive Manhunt for Gunman in Israel; North Korea Defectors Flee to South Korea; Americans Can Now Legally Travel to Cuba. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired January 03, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:18] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The Arab world pressures over Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric. Ahead, the fiery embassy protests and why some are describing the kingdom as another ISIS.

Plus, still at large. Tel Aviv police intensify their search for this man suspected in Friday's shooting rampage. And, the struggles of a defector. North Koreans risk their lives to head South but many find it hard to realize their dreams even after the escape.

From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, I'm George Howell, CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

And a good day to you. We begin this hour in the Middle East. The reaction to Saudi Arabia's mass execution of convicted terrorists including the death of this man, the Shiite cleric. There are fears that his execution could further fuel sectarian violence in the region.

The Saudi kingdom executed sheik Nimr al-Nimr and 46 other people all in one day accused of terror-related crimes. al-Nimr was a vocal critic of the Saudi monarchy. Crowds protested at the Saudi Embassy in Iran.

You see some demonstrators here after they broke in to the embassy in Tehran. At least 40 people were arrested there. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, posted this photo here comparing Saudi Arabia to ISIS, saying both execute those who oppose them. And in Iraq, Vice- President Nouri al-maliki says the execution of al-Nimr will topple this Saudi regime.

Following at all, our Becky Anderson joins us this hour live in Abu Dhabi.

Becky, good to have you with us. So, what more are you hearing about reaction to the execution of al-Nimr and the other 46 who shared his fate?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, you've just been expressing there or certainly reporting on some of the expression from the region. George, this is a multilayered story with wide ranging ramifications as you mentioned. Sheikh Nimr was an outspoken critic of the ruling monarchy with a sizable support base in the kingdom's Shia- dominated eastern region.

Now, while he was known for fiery sermons, there is very little evidence to suggest that he was active and actually taking up arms or encouraging that against the Saudi's sake. So, I didn't find grouping (ph) him with convicted terrorists belonging to groups like Al-Qaeda in these executions, Saudi Arabia very much sending a message. It will not tolerate any form of -- this can beat a radical Sunni Jihadists associated with Al-Qaeda for example or Shia activists.

But it is on the regional level that this story will have the most impact. And you're reporting on that already. It has intensified the bloody rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran's supreme leader says Saudi's leaders will, "Face divine justice for the death of al- Nimr" as protesters in Tehran ransacked the Saudi embassy on Saturday and more protests are expected today.

In turn, George, (inaudible) the Iranian ambassador to leave the country. And when you get a little bit wider into the Gulf, it's divide playing out around the region here and the Arab world. The UAE and Bahraini government is coming out in support of the Saudi monarchy while the Shia leaders in Lebanon and Iraq perhaps understandably denouncing the move and saying it will worsen sectarian tensions and the impact, definitely to be felt in places like Yemen and Syria where, again, as you are well aware, Iran and Saudi Arabia locked in what is a proxy competition for power and influence.

Only recently did Iran and Saudi finally agree to sit across the table, the same table in Geneva to talk about the possibility of peace in Syria and we're looking to the end of January for those peace talks to reconvene. But they will be -- will they be able to agree on anything now that the atmosphere is clearly heightened?

In Yemen, there were signs, there might have been a ceasefire but Saudi in coalition supporting it also announcing on Saturday that is going Sudan leave -- ceasefire between them in Iran. The Iranian back to the rebels is no longer holding raising the state for more violence there.

So, George, I think the execution in and of itself, very controversial in Saudi. But this is an execution that ended the life of one man but has the potential to impact the future of many, many more to come in the weeks to come.

George?

[05:05:07] HOWELL: Live reporting and a great deal of context there.

Our Becky Anderson live for us in Abu Dhabi. Becky, we appreciate the insight on the situation.

Countries are reacting to the al-Nimr execution especially as Becky mentioned, Iran. Earlier, I spoke with Christopher Dickey, the World News Editor for The Daily Beast. Here are some of what he had to say about what may happen next.

CHRISTOPHER DICKEY, WORLD NEWS EDITOR, THE DAILY BEAST: So we're really looking at not only two religious rivals, but two theocracies. Iran theocratic republic, Saudi Arabia, a theocratic monarchy, both of whom say god is on their side.

Is that something that the United States should get in the middle of and in fact it is something the United States is in the middle of right now? Then you add to that, the problem of the so-called Islamic state saying no, god is on our side and all of them executing people, beheading people, the Iranians don't behead them, they hang them. But basically, it is a bloody theocratic mess in the Middle East. And it's only going to get worse as these different factions try to fight it out.

HOWELL: I want to talk about Saudi Arabia claiming that those who were executed were involved in, as they describe it, terror acts and critics will point out they say instead that they believe the people who were executed instead paid the ultimate price for speaking out against the monarchy. What are your thoughts?

DICKEY: Well, look, a lot of the people who were executed, a lot of the 47 people beheaded on the 2nd were people who were involved with Al-Qaeda and with attacks in Saudi Arabia almost ten years ago or more who have been rotting in Saudi jails and basically just waiting for this to happen.

In the case of Nimr al-Nimr, the Shiite Sheikh or Ayatollah some say, you know, he was not involved in that kind of violence or subversion and this is an absolute affront to Iran, which clearly the Saudis knew it would be. You know, the problem here, too, is that the person who is most responsible for this is the crowned prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad Nayef, who is very close to the Americans. He was running counter-terrorism operations for Saudi Arabia and deeply in bed with the Americans in those efforts.

HOWELL: Christopher, I want to talk also about proxy war. So, you know, we understand as you mentioned, you know, the 40 -- many of the 47 involved according to Saudi Arabia in terror acts, but when it came to the death of Nimr al-Nimr, this is something that has caused a great deal of reaction and when it comes to the proxy wars, to what we see in Yemen, what we see in Syria, how does this affect any efforts to find stability almost for us?

DICKEY: Sort of makes it infinitely more difficult. And basically, if we are going to extricate Syria from the mess it's in or try to, we have to have much better coordination among a whole array of different countries and interests. You've got the Russians and the Iranians on one side, the Americans sort of all the same side as the Saudis on the other. You've got the Turks playing a complicated game there, the (inaudible) as well, there's a wild proxy conflict of shifting sides in Syria trying to calm that down, trying to get everybody working in the same direction of establishing peace there and ending slaughter that's killed more than 200,000 people and driven millions of refugees out of the country and a lot of them into Europe. All of that takes cooperation. This kind of thing absolutely militaries against cooperation and in fact create more reasons for these very -- these various proxy forces to continue using the Syrian battleground who try and kill their rivals' proxies.

HOWELL: Meanwhile, a ceasefire between Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels in Yemen, it has ended, the ceasefire begun in December along side peace talks that were sponsored by the United Nations. Saudi Arabia's state news agency said the rebels violated the troops several times. The Houthi-run news agency blamed what it called Saudi aggression for the reason to violence. Almost 6,000 people have been killed in fighting them since March.

And in Israel, a massive manhunt is under way for a gunman suspected of killing two people outside of a pub in Tel Aviv. The suspect has been identified as a 31-year-old Arab Israeli. And authorities raid his home on Saturday. A candlelight vigil was held for the victims in Friday's attack. Police say that suspect is still on the run, considered armed and dangerous.

For more on this situation, let's go to our Ian Lee live in Jerusalem covering the investigation.

Ian, so, what can you tell us about the suspect and more about his background?

[05:10:04] IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, we are getting a picture, a profile of this man that committed -- police say committed this attack. Even his family said he committed this attack.

The suspect and more about his background?

We are getting a picture, a profile of this man that committed -- police say committed this attack. Even his family said he committed this attack.

Nasha'at Melhem, he is a 31-year-old man from the northern part of Israel and Israeli Arab. His father was actually the one who spotted him on security footage and then turned him in to the police -- or told the police about him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My son, I heard he was in Tel Aviv and did what he did. I did not raise him in this manner and I am sorry for what he did. When I found out of the incidence, I personally, on my own, arrived to the police station and assisted all security bodies with all directions.

First of all, I thank you and secondly, I wish all wounded to get well and I send my condolences to everyone, whether a Jew or an Arab.

LEE: George, I was just up there in his hometown talking to some family members. His uncle told me that their biggest fear right now is that he won't be captured alive. That he will be killed or that he could also commit suicide. They're urging him to turn himself in, to stop this manhunt. And they hope that, you know, really this thing can end peacefully, George.

HOWELL: Ian, at the same time, what are officials telling people, given the fact that they are saying outright that he is considered armed, he is considered dangerous, there is a manhunt for him. What are officials telling people in that general area?

LEE: We just heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his weekly cabinet meeting saying that really all resources that can be available are available, are being thrown at this manhunt. Intelligence services are being called in to help look for him. And this is really unusual for someone to go this long, 48 hours almost without being captured. Israel is a country, it's a small country with a lot of security, a lot of cameras and police still struggling to find him. They are still going house to house. But in Tel Aviv, there are a lot of people scared right now, families are keeping their children away from the schools, people are staying home, afraid of going out with a man who is considered armed and dangerous on the loose, although police are telling residents that it is safe to go about, but if you do see something suspicious, alert authorities. But despite all of that, this manhunt continues and Israeli authorities say they will keep up this pressure until he's caught.

HOWELL: Ian Lee, live for us in Jerusalem. Ian, thank you so much for your reporting there.

Several dozen Syrian refugees have been rescued after their boat ran aground on a remote island in the Aegean Sea.

Some of the refugees were injured and one passenger, a baby boy, drowned. He is the first known migrant death of this year. The shipwrecked refugees were rescued by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station known as MOAS. They are privately owned organization that's raised in Malta that helps migrants that are stranded at sea. Earlier, I spoke with the director of MOAS, Martin Xuereb, about the growing refugee crisis.

Listen.

MARTIN XUEREB: DIRECTOR, MOAS: The migrants, the refugee keep doing this because they truly feel that this is the only option that they have. So we need to look at this situation or make ourselves even for a few minutes, make ourselves look at the situation and consider the situation from their perspective, not from the perspective of someone who has just enjoyed cracking bottles of champagne over the new ER (ph).

I mean this is a reality. People tell us when we take people on board, they tell us that they'd rather be living their life in their homeland, but this is a situation that they have to leave and where then we need to somehow (inaudible) realize that this is a global issue that requires global solution.

HOWELL: MOAS has saved more than 12,000 migrants stranded at sea since 2014.

Now, to a story that we are following in the U.S of Oregon, that is where a group of armed protesters have taken over a building at a federal wildlife refuge. They are upset over what they say is government mistreatment of two ranchers facing prison time for arson.

The protesters say the men are being persecuted for refusing to sell part of their land to the federal government. Prosecutors accuse the ranchers of torching public land to cover up poaching. The protesters took over and unoccupied building on Saturday and have refused to leave. The group spokesman warned that they will defend themselves with force if necessary.

[05:15:01] You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still to come, the weather is a bit drier in the United States this weekend. But more flooding is coming down river. Plus, presidential candidate Donald Trump vows to undo an upcoming executive action by current President Barack Obama. What that's all about, as NEWSROOM rolls on.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm George Howell.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister David Cameron is promising to work to bolster flood defenses there. Communities across the United Kingdom are struggling to recover from unprecedented flooding. Both Scotland and Wales saw their wettest December on record. The rainfall will continue through the weekend. But by Monday, that country will finally see some relief.

There is very little rain in sight for America's Midwest but the flooding is far from over. That's because swollen waterways that pour into the Mississippi River could mean more floods for at least six states. The cleanup up has begun for some families returning to their homes, but for many, there is nothing left.

CNN's Dan Simon has this report.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what you call a giant debris field. You can see the magnitude of destruction in this community, all this household items that people had collected and brought over to this community center. Ultimately, this will be taken to a landfill but in the meantime, you need a place to put all this stuff. I can tell you that Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri has asked the Obama White House for a federal emergency declaration to speed up the removal process.

He says in order really to get Missouri back out at speed, you have to have all of the debris removed and to try to get the cleanup accelerated. So he's hoping that the White House will honor that request.

In the meantime, we're going to walk around a little bit. You can see all of the stuff that people have dropped off. You can see mattresses and other household items and you see a whole bunch of sandbags in the back. Those cannot be reuse at all.

I want you to listen now to what the governor said just a short time ago. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY NIXON, GOVERNOR, MISSOURI: I'm from this part of the state. I mean -- and quite frankly it's almost hard to believe. When you see the levels of where water was, when you're coming over historic highs, I mean from the beginning of time, we kept records by 4 and 5 feet, I mean where you're seeing 55 clause (ph), when you're seeing a house that's floated -- a full house that's floated into the highway 30 bridge and blowing up, I mean that's -- it's almost as if you're living on some other planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:20:00] SIMON: Fortunately, the floodwaters receded so now what you're left with is just the debris. And in reality, this is just a fraction of what you're seeing throughout the state. Hundreds of businesses and homes have taken on significant damage.

HOWELL: That was our Dan Simon reporting.

And now, let's turn to Karen Maginnis at the World Weather Center. Karen, you know, just to see the destruction there and the concern about more flooding.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it is going to the south of the Mississippi River. But not just along the Mississippi. Some of the tributaries that kind of feed into this Mississippi Basin. It remains dry right around St. Louis, I'm going to point that out because that seemed to be the area where we saw 10 inches of rainfall and Merrimack River that spilled out of its banks and devastated a number of communities there.

But as we go from Thursday to next Sunday, we start to see a little bit more in the way of rainfall. I want to emphasize a little bit. Because the computer models are suggesting you're only going to see fractional amounts of precipitation. But nonetheless, it lost your home, your business, your car, your livelihood because of all of this, you're still trying to recover and recuperate, it is going to be a kind of insult to injury. 255 rivers out of their banks at or above flood stage. Most of them from Illinois and Indiana down towards the Gulf Coast and then towards the Carolinas. But we are looking not just the Mississippi as I've mentioned, but also the Arkansas, the Ohio, the Missouri Rivers that have really exploded from that December 26th to 28th event. Cape Girardeau, it looks as if the threat of 50-foot river gauge coming up just has not materialized. But nonetheless, these walls around the city, about 95 percent of the city is protected by these walls. Still at record setting levels, but not nearly the approach that we were looking at just a couple of days ago.

And look at this levee. This on the Illinois side, this levee presented farmland and private property from being flooded but now about 60,000 acres at the potential for flooding. Those towns of Olive Branch, Unity and Hodges Park? Well, they had to be evacuated earlier. They sent the people who were sandbagging this region away because they said yesterday, George, it was just too dangerous.

Now, we see why.

HOWELL: Really get a sense there, Karen, of just how strong Mother Nature is

Karen Maginnis, thank you so much.

U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump continued with his feud with Hillary Clinton while speaking at a rally in the state of Mississippi.

He has ramped up his rhetoric a bit suggesting for the first time since that rather she and President Obama, that they are directly responsible for the rise of ISIS. He further asserted that Clinton should be behind bars.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it's really sad. It's so sad says the corrupt system. Everybody knows she should be in jail. What she did with the e-mails is a disgrace. People that did five percent of what she did, their lives have been destroyed, their lives have been ruined. Their lives have been ruined.

You look at General Petraeus, nice guy. Had some bad moments, right? Nice guy. What happened? They destroyed him. They destroyed other people for doing far less than Hillary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: He also touched on President Obama's proposed executive actions on gun control in the United States saying that he would "veto them so quickly."

While Mr. Trump and other Republicans are critical of Obama's proposed gun reforms, the President insists the changes are necessary after countless deadly shootings across the U.S. last year.

Our Jim Acosta explains what the executive action might entail.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: For President Obama, the final round is about to begin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In 2016, I'm going to leave it out all on the field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Up (inaudible) on the President's eighth and last year in office, Mr. Obama's long promised response to mass shootings in the U.S. Sources familiar with the plan say it will be a package of executive actions on gun control.

Expected before the January 12th State Of the Union, and aimed at the "gun show loophole" which allows some firearms sellers to avoid conducting background checks on their customers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: In all across American, survivors of gun violence and those who lost a child or a parent or a spouse to gun violence are forced to mark such awful anniversaries every single day. And yet, congress still hasn't done anything to prevent what happened to them from happening to other families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:24:59] ACOSTA: The President will review the slate of administrative changes with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday. The White House argues the President's actions will be within his executive authority and in line with polls that show broad support for tightening background checks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Change, as always is going to take all of us. The gun lobby is loud and well-organized and its defense of effortlessly available guns for anyone. The rest of us are going to have to be just as passionate and well-organized in our defense of our kids. That's the work of citizenship. To stand up and fight for the change that we seek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Vowing the fight to move, the nation's biggest gun lobby, the NRA says the President is doing what he always does when he doesn't get his way. To find the will of the people and using executive action.

Another controversial proposal coming in the new year, the President will ask congress to shut down the terror detention center at Guantanamo, a facility Mr. Obama may close on his own if lawmakers block at the White House plan.

OBAMA: It will be an uphill battle.

ACOSTA: The president also hopes to travel to Cuba and perhaps more than a dozen other countries in what's shaping up to be a global farewell tour.

But the President's agenda could be upended by setbacks in the war on ISIS.

A foreign policy crisis that could complicate White House plans to have the president campaign heavily with the 2016 democratic nominee, a prospect that may well put him and Hillary Clinton on the trail together again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

I think we will have a strong Democratic nominee. I think that Democratic nominee will win and I think I will have a democratic successor. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: But first, the President will lay out his plans for his final year on office at the fast approaching State Of The Union address which is less than two weeks away.

White House officials say don't expect a long laundry list of proposals in part because the President is almost out of time.

Jim Acosta, CNN, traveling with the President in Honolulu.

HOWELL: For some North Koreans, defecting to South Korea seems like the only way to a better life. But they say the challenges they face are far from over when they get there.

We'll have that story ahead as this broadcast continues live from Atlanta and around the globe this hour.

You are watching CNN Worldwide.

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[05:30:38] HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

The headlines we're following this day. More protests are planned on Sunday in the wake of the Saudi Arabian execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. On Saturday, protesters threw fire bombs at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was an outspoken critic of the Saudi monarchy. There are fears that his execution could fuel tensions in the region.

In Israel, authorities are on the hunt for this man. A fugitive gunman suspected of killing two people and wounding eight others outside a Tel Aviv pub on Friday. The suspect has been identified as a 31-year- old Arab-Israeli. His family says he has a psychological disorder.

And in Mexico, the newly elected mayor in Mexico is dead one day after taking office. Gisela Mota Ocampo was sworn in on Friday. On Saturday morning, attackers entered her home and killed her in the doorway in front of her family. Two of the attackers were killed. Two others were arrested and will face charges.

As Iraq works to purge its country of ISIS, a retired U.S. army general says getting militants out of Mosul by 2016 may be overly ambitious. Iraqi forces are still freeing families in Ramadi and clearing out pockets of ISIS fighters there. A suicide attack by ISIS on Friday killed three Iraqi soldiers.

North Korean defectors risk their lives to get to South Korea with hopes of a better future there. After they make it, though, things are still very difficult. Some even saying they consider suicide.

Kathy Novak talked to some defectors about the struggles they face. KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're the South Korean T.V dramas that Kim Jong-un doesn't want his citizens to see, was smuggled into the country painting a picture of the South Korean dream.

Just months ago, Jeju Yang (ph) was living in North Korea and loved to watch her favorite programs in secret.

"I sort of had a fantasy about South Korea, especially about capitalism," she says. But often after risking their lives to escape, defectors arrive in the South to discover reality is nothing like that fantasy, starting over in a hugely competitive society, lagging behind in education, struggling financially.

"That's why some commit suicide," explains Timothy Kang (ph). South Korean media take (inaudible) and defectors think, "Am I not happy if I don't live like that? If that's the case, I just want to die."

In a country that already has the highest suicide rate in the developed world, defectors are particularly at risk. The Hana Foundation which supports North Koreans in the South found one in five contemplated suicides.

For Timothy Kang, the worst part was feeling like a stranger among people who were supposed to be his fellow Koreans. That's why he's making these online videos with other defectors. He wants to change what he thinks is the perception among locals that North Koreans are losers or even informants.

When they first arrive in South Korea, defectors are screened to make sure they're not spies. Then they come here to Hanawon to attend reeducation programs designed to help them adjust to their new lives. A big part of that adjustment is psychological.

"North Korean defectors experience trauma in the process of escape says Baek Sang yu (ph), so the center does screening to identify high risk people. As well as counseling, there are cultural programs like this designed to make them feel welcome.

Timothy Kang's message to new arrivals, it does get easier. And anything is better than life under Kim Jong- un.

Kathy Novak, CNN, Seoul.

HOWELL: In North Korea, the leader there Kim Jong -un unveiled a new technology complex in Pyongyang -- according to the state run agency there. Kim said the complex will be a center for disseminating the latest science and technology. He cut the ribbon at the opening of the complex on Friday. Kim said the new center will turn the country into a technology powerhouse and a "Talented Nation."

[05:35:11] On to Russia now, a country that has become increasing bold over the past year, from the standoff with Turkey over a downed fighter plane to the hot and cold relationship with the United States. Russia has factored in heavily in many of 2015's biggest stories. Five of our Senior International Correspondents sat down to discuss Russia's role in the last 12 months at going forward. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russia literally acts with impunity on a global stage and that people wagging there fingers at them. I mean, there is nothing that's stopping any other and either, you know, the west, the U.S. actually needs to step it up or say, you know what, we're getting out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're done.

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of potential challenges that could come with not only Russia intervening in Syria right now and continuing to ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flex his muscles.

WATSON: Flex his muscle but also repeat the anti kind of western anti- NATO, anti-American rhetoric. So what is, you know, the Ukraine conflict could flare up at any moment.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But it's sort of also the response to an extraordinary weak aging regime. It's sad because you are seeing a population's demographics aren't doing particularly well. This economy isn't doing particularly well, who's reaching out into foreign military adventures to try and retain a sense of relevance. That's -- They're going to give you, but anyway Frank, you just buy its fears.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But it's worked. Well look at them. I mean, it's really worked, I mean Putin has, for better or for worse, you can make that argument. But he has commanded the world's attention. There is no question...

WALSH: He does not make it easier...

WARD: That he has kind of filled a void that America has pulled back from. And with a pretty negative impact, I think, from what we've seen in Ukraine and now in Syria and elsewhere.

WALSHE: Putin operates without transparency. He doesn't have congress to worry about. He doesn't the media asking him uncomfortable questions every time

WARD: There are no checks and balances.

PATON: He does what he wants the next day. Which is when you look at Obama with all the problems he faces, they can't operate in similar (inaudible). It's just a different set of colors (ph).

WARD: There's no shared language almost in a way that...

PATON: I mean, what one day he will no longer be the President of Russia.

WALSH: But for the time being, there's a guy with surely -- with apparently limitless power who likes to throw his banner in the works for short term political gain.

WARD: Right.

DAMON: But it's works. It has worked, they made themselves relevant. Yeah, again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it will also ultimately lead to unexpected consequence.

DAMON: Yeah. I mean there is nothing stopping it any of it. And either you know, the west, the U.S. actually needs to step it up or say you know what, we're getting out.

NIMA ELBAGIR: We're done.

DAMON: You can't do this in between thing anymore.

ELBAGIR: Well then, as someone would have formed colony, I -- always that kind of narrative very worrying. Because the expectations that a super power should be the police officers of the world. Comes with a lot of exploitation, a lot of expectation of what the return is going to be. I mean the reality is...

DAMON: Should have been -- that America is not going to be the police of the world, then don't be the police of the world.

ELBAGIR: Right.

DAMON: Stop promising -- or inadvertently promising people.

ELBAGIR: I think Obama's made very clear he doesn't want to be the police officer of the world. I don't think -- I don't think -- I don't think he's ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But maybe can't...

DAMON: Then you got to sit back and watch what happens.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

DAMON: And you're no longer able to wag your finger about it, and then...

PATON: It's as if massive would [inaudible]

DAMON: Then I demand it none.

PATON: Middle Eastern dream of non-American interventions, the research is finally happened. And maybe you're not particularly happy about it frankly.

[END VIDEO CLIP]

HOWELL: Our international correspondents, they are giving their thoughts about Russia's role last year and looking forward. All this week, we are hearing from leading figures in the fight against modern-day slavery. We'll tell you how Harvard professor is using the power of media to bring his research on human trafficking to light. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:42:54] HOWELL: Now to a development from CNN's freedom project and the fight to end modern day slavery. Siddharth Kara is a researcher who traveled the world documenting cases of human trafficking .He now uses the power of media to inspire change.

CNN's Stephanie Elam has an exclusive look on the set of trafficking.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inside the secluded California ranch...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN MALE: I'm not -- I'm not.

UNKNOWN MALE: And If I can get back, we'll be fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: A film crew is busy shining the bright lights of Hollywood on a crime traditionally hidden in the shadows.

SIDDHARTH KARA, HUMAN TRAFFICKING EXPERT: 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 the cases around the world. Those cases provide the inspiration for this film.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any idea how many girls I see on the streets?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: The Traffic stars 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once again, I think they put my money again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PATRCK DUFFY, ACTOR: It's an important subject matter. But I think more important is to unencumber (ph) the minds and hearts of people just in general to allow them that even if they're involved in thinking about a subject matter, it's better than ignoring it.

ELAM: One of the film's most riveting performances belongs to Charlie Kanter. The high schooler plays a young woman fooled by a fake modeling offer and made to work in a brothel against her will. Kanter says, she learned of the issue and Siddharth Kara long before ever landing the role.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE KANTER, ACTRESS: I did a research paper about human trafficking in freshman year and I got Siddhart's book and maybe I just learned an abundance of all these things that are going on that nobody at least in my environment knew about.

END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: For Kara, reaching a broader audience while seeing the script comes to life, still calls up a range of emotion.

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 a voice. And her story is being told.

ELAM: With hopes that by telling it, the story will prevent others from going through it themselves.

Stephanie Elam CNN , Los Angeles.

[05:45:01] HOWELL: Bill Cosby's wife, Camille, is being forced to break her silence on the charges against her husband. A judge ordered Miss Cosby to testify this coming Wednesday in a defamation suit against the comedian. In the civil suit, seven women say Bill Cosby portrayed them as liars and they accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them. Miss Cosby's attorney argued the couples says the private conversations are privileged but the plaintiff says she was subpoenaed because she was her husband's business manager.

Earlier, CNN's Brianna Keilar spoke with Criminal Defense attorney Darren Kavinoky about Cosby's superstardom and how it may impact the case against him.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Tell us how much more difficult Cosby's celebrity makes this case both for the prosecution and for the defense.

DARREN KAVINOKY, AMERICAN CIVIL: Oh, It's a great question and a huge issue in this case. We've seen examples where being a celebrity has been very helpful to a criminal defendant and others where celebrities were punished, I think more harshly because of their status as a celebrity. What's especially tricky for Cosby in this case, though, is that at its very core, this case is about the misuse of his celebrity status. And so that gives the prosecutor a very powerful argument.

Essentially to be arguing, hey, ladies and gentlemen, don't let him get away with this again. Send this celebrity a message or don't allow celebrity justice to happen and that means, impliedly that you better return a conviction. The other thing, I think, that's very interesting about all of this is that because of Bill's celebrity status, there's a 24-hour global news cycle that's very interested in him and that means that we're going to hear everything there is to know about Bill.

This tends to make it very, very cloudy when for the Defense, they want to keep things very, very siloed. Can the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that certain things happened on a certain day? And the cloudier and muddier this gets with constant focus on everything Cosby, the more difficult that makes it for the defense.

KEILAR: There are a couple of things that are very damning for Bill Cosby. And I wonder what you think the chances of them getting into this case, being something that the jury gets to look out. One that deposition, where he says -- I mean, he agrees with Andrea Constand about what happened pretty much, that there were pills, then there were sexual acts. He just says it was consensual.

But clearly, she said that it's not. And then the other thing is, the prosecution's going to want to bring in just to what will be a parade of alleged victims of Cosby's to prove he has an M.O. What are the chances that both of those things come into this -- into the courtroom?

KAVINOKY: Yeah, I think that what this foreshadows is that we're going to spend a considerable amount of time and energy on pretrial motions fighting about exactly these things. I mean look, let's make no secret about it. If you are the defense, you want to keep this very narrowly focused and if you're the prosecution, you'd love to bring in the parade of horribles (ph) because it invites the possibility of really outraging the passions of the jurors.

And so we get into these really tactical decisions that both sides are going to be engaged in and both of them are going to be making arguments to the judge about why theirs is the best reasoned view. Ultimately, I think you have a decent shot that it could play out either way. That some of this material that you've referenced may make it in and others is going to be kept out because it's more prejudicial than it is probative on a particular issue. But either way, you can be absolutely certain there are going to be compelling hard-fought arguments on both sides of that issue.

KEILAR: Real quick before I'll let you go, Darren. What do you think the chances are that that -- and when you said it could happen either way but what do you think the chances are that deposition gets in?

KAVINOCKY: Well, with depositions, as long as she had all the same motivations to testify truthfully and that there was opportunities for him to answer questions, to cross-examine as well, it's more likely that that's going to come in. That anything that Cosby said, especially if it's under oath, generally speaking admissions of a party are admissible against them. So I think that's likely to get in front of those jurors.

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, on the island nation of Cuba, hotels are quickly filling up and many more Americans are expected to visit. All thanks to eased travel restrictions to Cuba. We'll tell what you visitors can expect.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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[05:53:36] HOWELL: For the first time in more than 50 years, more Americans now can legally travel to Cuba. Many are eager to visit the island nation before it becomes too commercialized. And if you get a chance to go, CNN's Will Ripley has some tips on what to expect while you're there.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After years of isolation, Cuba's crumbling infrastructure isn't exactly ready to handle a surge of tourists. But soon they'll be coming with more flights expected from places like the U.S. and China and more cruise ships sailing here, the Havana's only commercial port. And already a huge hotel room shortage. Finding a last minute room here in Havana, nearly impossible, your best bet may be renting a private room in someone's home, known around here as a Casa Particular. You can even try your luck on Airbnb. Cubans only have internet access and a few dozen wi-fo hotspots like this.

The lack of wi-fi and mobile data means your smartphone or tablet won't really work here aside from these particular places. Another thing that may not work, your credit card, make sure you check with your bank before traveling and bring euros or Canadian dollars to avoid paying the high taxes vat on U.S. dollars.

And don't expect to pay local Cuban pesos. Foreigners have to use these convertible pesos which were valued like the U. S dollar,

"Es calivro por favor." Singko?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Singko.

RIPLEY: You can usually expect to pay more when you're using this. If you have a U.S. bank account, don't access it online from Cuba, your assets might end up frozen.

[05:55:02] Also, you may want to stick to bottled water and be sure to peel your fruits and veggies or you might end up sick.

Beware of driving here, it's easier and safer to hire a taxi like this and classic cars can get you around town in style and on the cheap. But make sure you negotiate your price ahead of time.

You want to take home the legally allowed $400 in souvenirs, Cuba wants just $100 of that to be cigars and rum so you can make your own mojitos at home.

One more thing, embrace the slower pace of life here, things do take a while in Cuba. But in an oasis like this, that's a good thing. Will Ripley, CNN, Havana.

HOWELL: Good stop, Will. And now Star Wars, The Force Awakens. That movie is starting the New Year pretty much the same way it ended the old year, by breaking records.

The latest installment of The Star Wars franchise is now the top earning movie of 2015 jumping past Jurassic World. Walt Disney studios says, "The Force Awakens has ranked in almost -- raked in, I should say, almost $680 million around the world." It is now second to Avatar as the highest grossing film ever in the U.S., a record that could fall by Monday.

With that, we end this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

For our viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" is ahead, and for other viewers around the world, the "Best of Quest" starts next.

You're watching CNN, the world's news leader.

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