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Stocks Trade Lower Across Asia-Pacific Region; Saudi Arabia Cuts Ties with Iran after Embassy Attack; India Hit by 6.7 Magnitude Earthquake; President Obama to Unveil Executive Actions on Gun Control; Saudi Arabia Severs Ties with Iran; Danger Looms in Liberated Ramadi; Mexico Mayor Killed Just After Taking Office; Armed Protesters Take over Federal Wildlife Refuge Building in Oregon. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 04, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:11] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, Saudi Arabia is kicking Iran's diplomats out of the country just hours after demonstrators attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Buildings destroyed and lives lost after a strong earthquake shakes northeast India.

And even before U.S. President Barack Obama takes executive action on gun control, his critics blast the move, whatever it might be.

Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. NEWSROOM L.A. starts now.

Those stories in a moment, but we will begin with the plummeting stock markets across Asia, especially in China where shares have been suspended, the trade any way. This on the first trading day of the New Year.

Let's take a look at the numbers, the Sidney S&P ASX 200 down by almost half of 1 percent but trading is closed for the day. Tokyo down by more than 3 percent. Hong Kong also falling even further down by 2.25 of a percent. But the big story of course, the Shanghai Composite. It's down by almost 7 percent there, but the more up to date numbers we have is down by about 7 percent.

Paula Hancocks joins us in just a moment from Seoul. But first let's go to Beijing, to Matt Rivers.

So, Matt, what is driving the selloff here of mainland stocks?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, most analysts that we've spoken to are suggesting that it would be the manufacturing industry here in China that is driving the selloff in the Chinese stock market. This will be the fifth straight month that a key index here in China has shown that manufacturing here in China has slowed, that would be for the month of December, and obviously, the markets here have reacted very, very negatively to that news. It comes on the heels of what was not a great year for China

economically speaking in 2015 with a dramatic slowdown in the Chinese economy. And so kicking off here 2016 with yet another bad report about manufacturing clearly has made its impact felt on the Chinese stock markets.

VAUSE: And Matt, explain how these new roles work for the mainland stock exchange there because they now have new circuit breaker rules which suspend trade for a time.

RIVERS: That's right. Well, these rules came into effect late last year that were going to be implemented on January 1st of this year. So this will be the first day that these new rules have taken effect. These new rules state that when trading falls more than 5 percent or when the stock market falls more than 5 percent, that there is a 15- minute cease in trading, a suspension of trading after a 5 percent drop, after a 7 percent drop the -- excuse me, trading is suspended for the remainder of the day.

Those rules were put into place after the volatility that we saw in 2015 here in China and so what these rules are really meant to do is kind of give investors a time to relax, to calm down and to try and get the markets to get away from some of the volatility that we saw in 2015.

VAUSE: Matt, thank you from Beijing. We'll go to Seoul and Paula Hancocks.

So, Paula, the rest of the region seems to be following China's lead here to negative territory. What's going on?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly this is going to damper investor sentiments when you see this kind of figures in China. And the fact that trading has been suspended at this point so you can see the other markets -- the major markets are down certainly not as much as in China, but they are starting the year in a very negative mood.

We did see fairly flat trading at the beginning of the year, but, you can see that throughout the day those markets have gone low. It is not just this week manufacturing data as well. We have other factors that are playing on investor sentiments. You've got the tensions in the Middle East. The diplomatic ties being severed between Saudi Arabia and Iran. That's obviously going to spook investors to a certain extent.

But of course it is also helping oil. As we can see oil stocks up about 2 percent this point, certainly both of those countries are very large oil producing nations and any tension between the two is going to boost that boil price, which you've seen really plummeting last year.

Crude was down about 30 percent, more than 30 percent last year, but that's up again today. So we can see volatility in these markets and certainly not a good start to 2016 -- John. VAUSE: And with that in mind, Paula, many had, in fact, hoping that

maybe 2016 would be better than 2015. Because I think apart from Tokyo Index, the markets in the region had a pretty ordinary 2015. They were hoping that maybe they turn some kind of corner.

[01:05:06] If this is the start or this is the indication of what is in store, this is not exactly what many were looking for.

HANCOCKS: No, it's certainly not. I mean, it's day one of 2016. Certainly we could make assumptions, but at this point we don't know what the rest of the year has in store. But, certainly, it's not a good start.

One interesting point, though, is that the Shanghai Composite which of course had such a rollercoaster of a summer last year, some devastating figures coming from that index, actually did pretty well for the whole year. It was up about 9.5 percent for 2015 which is remarkable when you consider the market crash that we saw last summer and it certainly outperformed many of the other main indices like the Dow in the U.S. It outperformed London's FTSE. Both of those were down for the year.

So even though these Chinese stocks we're seeing suffering today and being punished today, certainly, over the year for 2015 they didn't too badly at all.

VAUSE: Paula Hancocks in Seoul, and before you, Matt Rivers in Beijing, thanks to you both.

And let's look at these numbers just very quickly again because the information we're getting is that Shanghai trade -- the Composite was down 5 percent and that's when trading was suspended for 15 minutes. The Composite continued to fall hitting that 7 percent mark, and so trading in the Shanghai Composite has been halted for the rest of the day there in mainland China.

Moving on, it has been a weekend of turmoil in the Middle East. The deepening concern at the stability of the entire region may be at stake. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran after Iranian demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran. They ransacked some offices, threw Molotov cocktails which started a fire. They're protesting the Saudi execution of dissident Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. A Saudi court had convicted him of inciting sectarian strife, sedition, and breaking allegiance with the Saudi ruler.

CNN producer Shirzad Bozorgmehr joins us now with the very latest on the line from Tehran.

So, Shirzad, we are waiting to find out exactly what the official reaction has been from the Tehran to this decision by the Saudis to cut diplomatic ties.

SHIRZAD BOZORGMEHR, CNN PRODUCER: The reaction so far is that Iran has condemned Saudi Arabia because of the execution of Sheikh Nimr and seeing that this is obligation for human rights of Shiites in Saudi Arabia. Mister (INAUDIBLE) who will be in charge of Foreign Ministry's policy in Saudi Arabia had said that Saudi Arabia with the cutting of relations with Iran is trying to cover up its own mistakes.

The politicians and the people of Iran at the moment are up in arms against Saudi policies and Saudi actions. There doesn't seem to be any room at this part of the world, in Iraq. There could be any population. This is kind of dangerous for the region as a whole and for the whole world because it could affect the oil prices going to be to the West that could contain negative outcomes.

VAUSE: Shirzad Bozorgmehr on the line from Tehran. Shirzad, thank you.

Many Shiite Iran and Saudi Arabia's Sunni monarchy have been rivals for years. But observers say this escalation is especially worrisome given the existing conflicts across the region.

Becky Anderson has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A measure of the fury that erupted in parts of the Middle East after the execution of Sheikh Nimr. The Saudi embassy ablaze in Iran. That violent reaction was criticized by the country's president, Hassan Rouhani, who blamed it on extremists. But he also condemned the killing of the Shiite cleric, saying it violated human rights and Islamic values, and labeled it another example of, quote, "sectarian policies" that he said are destabilizing the region. It's a view echoed by Shiite leaders in Iraq, in Lebanon, and in other parts of the Middle East.

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE: I fear that execution of Sheikh Nimr would most likely pour gasoline on raging fires in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen, in Lebanon, in Bahrain, and in Saudi Arabia itself.

ANDERSON: From Bahrain to Iraq to Lebanon, Shiites protested the killing of one of their most revered holy men. Even Saudi Arabia's own Shiite minority protested. A rare act.

[01:10:03] GERGES: The decision to execute Sheikh Nimr could really have major repercussions on political and social stability in the kingdom itself. It will polarize relations between the dominant Sunni community and the Shiite community, a community that feels marginalized and it feels that basically it's not fully integrated into Saudi Arabia.

ANDERSON: Sunni-led Gulf States like UAE and Bahrain were quick to come out in support of the Saudi monarchy, already racked by rumors of a power struggle at the top. The wider region is starting the New Year with a collapsing cease-fire in an already devastated Yemen and the prospect of a long and bitter road ahead to any perspective peace in Syria.

(On camera): An escalation in Saudi-Iranian tensions has the potential to impact so many key issues in this region. So the execution that ended the life of one man could affect the lives of many others in the weeks to come.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Let's go to our CNN intelligence and security analyst, Bob Baer, for more on this.

Bob, I heard four Iranians have been arrested for storming the Saudi embassy. The Iranian president condemned the attack. Here we go. This is now the de-escalation, but it said the Saudis cut diplomatic ties, they raised it big time. So what's going on here?

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, John, I've never seen relations this bad since late '80s during the Gulf War when that was a hot war. I mean, it's not just, you know, the burning of the Saudi embassy, it's the war in Syria, Iran's ally Russia is attacking Daraa as we speak. The Saudi proxies there are losing. It's bad news for the Saudis in Iraq as well as Yemen.

I've never seen these countries so close to war, really, since 1988. This is -- I think this is a serious conflict. It's a further wedge between the Sunni and Shia. And there is genuine fury in Iran and the rest of the Shia countries or Shia majorities where they're furious about the execution of the sheikh who was considered nonviolent and there's no evidence, good evidence that he was involved in terrorism.

VAUSE: OK, Bob, so what we're saying is that this time it's different. This time the Saudis feel like they're being I guess encircled by Iranian influence, there's new leadership there in Saudi Arabia but -- and you say it hasn't been this bad since the '80s. But these two countries aren't going to go at each other any kind of direct confrontation. So what happens next then? How do they go through their proxies?

BAER: I don't think there -- it's no one's intention to start a war. But this escalation that continues to get worse and worse and looks like it's going to get worse this year, and I'm worried about some sort of accidental confrontation in the Gulf even -- or in Yemen. This doesn't matter, because Saudi Arabia is feeling very vulnerable these days. It's losing on all fronts. It's got a -- the second crowned prince is young, he's very powerful he's almost supplanted his father in so many ways. And this -- and the leadership is worried. And this is why they executed this Shia sheikh. I think it was a mistake but they did it for reasons they believe were legitimate.

VAUSE: What are the chances now the Saudis and the Iranians will turn up for the Syrian peace talks later this month?

BAER: I think it's zilch. I don't think they will. I think there's -- you know, the undercurrents, the hate between these two countries is so deep. And if they did show up, if we forced them to -- in some manner they're not going to arrive at a solution. The war in Syria is going to continue to rage on with the Iranian supporting one side and the Saudis the other.

VAUSE: And that is the consequences of this conflict between the Saudis and the Iranians.

Bob, good to speak with you, thank you.

Parts of northeast in India have been jolted by a powerful earthquake. At least five people were killed. We will have more on the aftermath and the damage just ahead.

Also U.S. President Barack Obama is taking on gun control in his final year in office. We'll tell you how that's playing into the race for the next president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:18:21] VAUSE: At least five people have been killed in a powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake which struck northeastern India near the border with Myanmar. 33 others were hurt and Indian officials says several homes and government billings have been damaged and rescue efforts are underway. A second most powerful tremor was recorded five hours later.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now from the International Weather Center with more details on the quake.

So, Pedram, I guess what people would like to know is, you know, is this the early reports coming in or do we think this is how the death toll will stand at a relatively low number?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, the USGS is estimating the death toll could be considerably higher than that, that's unfortunate, of course, because they've analyzed the historical data, when it comes to quakes in this region typically every five or so years, John. You're seeing a quake here at magnitude 6.0 or greater in this general vicinity.

So you take a look at the numbers. They've issued a yellow alert when it comes to the fatalities. The area they're highlighting right here, 33 percent or the highest probability for fatalities, it's somewhere between 100 to 1,000 fatalities, again, sitting at 33 percent. You do the math together you're talking 64 percent, that is at least 10 to 100 fatalities and beyond that.

And economic losses, too. They've estimated economic losses on the order of 100 million U.S. dollars to potentially even higher than that. But significant damage likely with this quake, disaster, potentially widespread, they're saying in past events at this level have required national or regional support. So again it is a serious event taking place across this region and we know this part of the world, one of the most seismically hazardous areas on our planet.

We have the Indian plate right underneath the Eurasian plate. This movement that is typically about 48 to 50 millimeters per year as one plate dives beneath another is equivalent to the rate that your fingernail grows every single year.

[01:20:02] This is why the Himalayans are the rooftop of our planet, the mountains continue to grow and rise every single year. But with the 6.7, we're talking about a magnitude 5.7 aftershock remaining, hundreds potentially thousands of aftershocks on a smaller scale. And show you where this all occurred. Going in for a closer look, we're talking about 350 or so kilometers to the north and east of Dhaka. There's the epicenter, and notice the mountain ranges that surround the epicenter back to the west, the valley across that region felt significant shaking to the east there, also feeling significant shaking.

And when you take a look at this again, very mountainous areas beyond where this occurred when it comes to the epicenter, but this particular valley, when you look at these valleys, and you know oftentimes, we're looking at a very fertile soil, a very fertile land, the mountains do a great job of absorbing a lot of the shaking. But when the shaking is close to a valley area where you have fertile lands, it certainly picks up the intensity yet again, and this is an area where about 2.5 million people live in this particular state so that's why we think a lot of impact could be expected in this region, John.

VAUSE: OK. One to watch. Pedram, thank you.

JAVAHERI: Thanks.

VAUSE: U.S. President Barack Obama is making a final year push to do something about gun violence. Even before he has announced any proposals Republicans and Democrats alike have made it a major issue in their campaigns for the White House.

Chris Frates has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A few months ago I directed by team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence. And on Monday I'll meet with our attorney general, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options because I get too many letters from parents and teachers and kids to sit around and do nothing.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sources say President Obama is expected to announce new executive action soon, expanding background checks on gun sales, aimed at closing the so- called gun show loophole, which allows some gun sellers to avoid conducting a background check.

Gun control advocates have also pushed the White House to tighten regulations on the reporting of lost and stolen guns and want the president to prevent more alleged domestic abusers and passengers on the no-fly list from buying guns.

But before the president has even announced the details of his actions, Republicans running to replace him were seemingly competing on who would undo them faster.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So he's going to sign another executive order, having to do with the Second Amendment, having to do with guns. I will veto that. I will unsign that so fast, so fast.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All these executive orders he's going to come out with tomorrow that are going to undermine our Second Amendment rights, on my first day in office, they're gone.

FRATES: And Jeb Bush argued that there was no need to expand background checks because --

JEB BUSH (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The so-called gun show loophole, which is I think what he's talking about, doesn't exist. People that want to sell -- you know, occasionally sell guns ought to have the right to do so without being impaired by the federal government.

FRATES: Democrats have applauded Obama's efforts. On Sunday, Bernie Sanders, whose Democratic rivals have called him weak on gun control, endorsed increased background checks.

BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But hat I think most gun owners in this country understand that people who should not own guns should not be able to buy them. And we do need to expand the instant background check. I don't think that's an onerous burden on anybody.

Chris Frates, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Larry Pratt is the executive director of Gun Owners of America and he joins us now from Washington.

Mr. Pratt, let's just start with the big picture here, do you think America has a gun problem?

LARRY PRATT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA: No, I think America has a politician problem. Politicians that have tried to establish areas where people can't defend themselves, the so-called gun-free zones where almost all of our mass murders have occurred in the last 60 years.

VAUSE: Well, if you look at the numbers, though, I understand that, you know, what the president is proposing especially when it comes to background checks and closing the -- you know, the so-called gun show loopholes, would not stop the mass casualty events but there are some alarming numbers out there. The "Atlantic" magazine compared firearm murder rates around the world with U.S. cities and the results are pretty interesting with more than 60 killings per 100,000 people.

And New Orleans comes close, the Honduras, El Salvador matches up to Detroit, even Atlanta and South Africa have comparable numbers. Do you think that's a problem? PRATT: Well, I think the problem is more of the politics of those

jurisdictions that have tended to be very hostile to individual gun ownership. You don't have that problem, say, in the whole state of Virginia, right? In northern Virginia where Gun Owners of America is headquartered. We're in a county that's very urban. It's well over a million people and our murder rate on any given year is at or below that of England.

VAUSE: Let me give you some more numbers here. Let's see what your take is on this, in Connecticut, tougher gun laws were introduced about 10 years ago including gun buyers had to get a gun permit before they were allowed to own a firearm and then the number of gun related murders went down 40 percent, compared that to Missouri, which repealed the need for background checks and permits, the murder rate went up to 18 percent. Does that say anything to you?

[01:25:04] PRATT: Not particularly because if you look at our data nationally, as more and more Americans over the last 20 years have owned more and more firearms, each one of us, the violent crime rate with firearms has been going down. So you can find places where some other reason perhaps, there was a counter to that trend. But basically we are finding that the more guns Americans have, the more guns that we have available to defend ourselves, the better the violent crime rates are in that particular jurisdiction or nationally.

VAUSE: You've seen the polls, though. You've seen what people are saying when asked, I guess, it's all in the question, though, because you can ask questions different ways. But there does seem to be overwhelming number of Americans who are in favor of background checks at gun shows as well as for those who buy weapons at private sales. They also want laws to prevent mentality ill people from buying guns.

Is that something which you might even support -- preventing a mentally ill person from buying a gun?

PRATT: Well, Gun Owners of America will certainly support a tighter control over what the mentally ill can obtain if they had been through a complete process -- due process, if they have had their day in court. To simply say, I accuse, and poof, your gun rights are gone, that's not acceptable in America. So if somebody has a problem with another individual having a firearm, make a complaint, take them to court. And if your case is a good one and you prevailed then there will be actions taken to keep that person from getting firearms.

VAUSE: Let me finish this by saying, is there anything that I can say to you right now that might convince you that there is a need out there for tougher gun restrictions?

PRATT: All of the data we've seen over the last decades is that the easier we have made it for people to be able to protect themselves, the lower the violent crime rate has been, so there's no amount of persuasion that's going to argue against what the facts are telling us, that an armed people is a safer people. And that's something which government has no constitutional business trying to get in the way of either.

VAUSE: Mr. Pratt, thank you for speaking with us, we appreciate it.

PRATT: Thanks for having me. Good to be with you.

VAUSE: Please join CNN for a special look at "Guns in America" with U.S. President Barack Obama. Anderson Cooper hosts an exclusive one- hour live town hall event. It's Friday morning at 9:00 in Hong Kong. That's 1:00 a.m. in London.

You will see that only here on CNN.

Well, still to come, one man's death could have a far reaching impact on an entire reason. Coming up, we'll have a closer look at cleric Nimr al-Nimr and the uproar over his execution.

Also an exclusive look inside the tunnels and battle stations that ISIS left behind in the city of Ramadi.

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[01:31:32] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

The headlines this hour.

(HEADLINES)

VAUSE: Saudi Arabia is severing diplomatic ties with Iran after an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran. The Saudi foreign minister says Iranian diplomats had 48 hours to leave. The embassy attack was in protest of Saudi Arabia's execution of a dissident cleric, Nimr al Nimr, on Saturday. Sheikh al Nimr was deeply respected in Iran and in other parts of the Shia world. He was an outspoken critic of the Saudi government.

CNN's John Jensen takes a closer look at his background.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN JENSEN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): His fiery criticism of the ruling family in Saudi Arabia was extremely rare.

(SHOUTING)

JENSEN: It was this type of political descent from Nimr al Nimr that in part led to the Shiite cleric's execution on Saturday. Now his death is sparking outrage across the region.

(SHOUTING)

JENSEN: Al Nimr was a prominent religious leader from Saudi Arabia's oil-rich eastern region, home to the country's minority Shia.

(SHOUTING)

JENSEN: In 2011, protests inspired by the Arab Spring erupted on the streets there. Al Nimr was a vocal leader as thousands of Saudi Shia demanded political reform and greater economic opportunity. He was arrested in 2012, seen here, wounded in the back of a police car.

The cleric's brother, Mohammed, speaking to CNN last year, warned that tension would escalate if his execution order was signed.

MOHAMMED AL NIMR, BROTHER OF NIMR AL NIMR: This decision would have consequences, consequences that could be dangerous on a regional level.

JENSEN (voice-over): And we're seeing just that. A tense sectarian divide further inflamed and it could possibly get worse because Nimr al Nimr wasn't the only member of his family on Saudi Arabia's death row. His nephew, Ali, just 17 years old, when he was arrested, is still there, awaiting an execution that could come at any moment.

John Jensen, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: ISIS has released a new propaganda video threatening the United Kingdom. They chose five men in orange jumpsuits who were accused of spying from the U.K. A masked English-speaking man points a gun at the camera and threatened British Prime Minister David Cameron. The five men are then shown being killed.

Iraqi troops are painstakingly combing through the newly liberated city of Ramadi carefully avoiding booby traps and bombs ISIS left behind.

Nima Elbagir is there and filed this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[01:35:00] NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ramadi, after months of ISIS rule, this is what remains. ISIS's occupation of the city leaving its mark both above and below ground.

(on camera): These are the houses that the militants were hiding inside of. You can see what they were doing is they were digging up tunnels so that they were able to move from house to house without being seen by the coalition planes. And so that this wasn't spotted from the air, they were hiding the dirt that they were digging up and keeping it inside the houses themselves.

You come through here, we can show you one of the tunnels leading through. Some of these tunnels, we're told, went as far as a kilometer.

We're going to go have a look inside. They're not actually that wide, but it does give you a sense of them moving in the dark, under the ground, out of sight.

(voice-over): The city fell to ISIS in May last year. Since then, Iraqi forces have been battling to reclaim their territorial integrity and their ravaged morale.

The head of Iraq's counterterror force told us the liberation of Ramadi should be celebrated around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED HEAD OF IRAQ COUNTERTERROR FORCE (through translation): Defeating ISIS in this victory has impacted on ISIS plans and its very existence, including weakness and desperation. The road to Mosel is now open and clear.

ELBAGIR: Blindfolded and bound, captured ISIS fighters face the wall. They were, we're told, attempting to blend in to what remains of the local population. A reminder ISIS fighters could be hiding in plain sight.

Even as the road to Mosel is in the Iraqi armed force's sight, a week on from the announcement of the liberation here in Ramadi, counterterror forces battle to purge the city of the remaining militants' presence.

(GUNFIRE)

ELBAGIR (on camera): We're hearing some pops of gunfire there. They're a little further across the other side of the river. The fighting is ongoing. The clean up operation is still going on and that's why the helicopter is circling overhead.

(GUNFIRE)

ELBAGIR (voice-over): In spite of the threat of IEDs and roadside bombs, the troops continue their painstaking push. Under every inch of reclaimed territory, a possible death. Everyone here knows so much is at stake in this claimed liberation and not just for Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED HEAD OF IRAQI COUNTERTERRORISM FORCE (through translation): This victory is a victory for humanity because ISIS is against Iraq and against all of humanity.

ELBAGIR: It is also, finally, some palpable momentum in the battle.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Ramadi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Tuesday, we'll have more on Nima's exclusive reporting from Ramadi. We'll hear from civilians who were caught up in the fighting and facing even more danger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELBAGIR (on camera): This is what remains of Ramadi and people's lives and people's homes, absolute desolation. And even as the operation to push back those remaining ISIS militants within this city continues, they're also attempting to rescue the hundreds of families trapped, the other side of the river here in Ramadi, trapped within areas where ISIS militants still exert control.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: It's a struggle for survival which seems to have no end in sight. That is tomorrow right here on CNN.

Armed protesters take over a rural federal building in the United States and they say they're willing to use force to defend themselves. More on that when we come back.

Also ahead, the assassination of a Mexican mayor just one day after she took office. Details after the break.

You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:42:04] VAUSE: In Mexico, the state of Morelos is in a three-day period of mourning for a mayor who was murdered one day after taking office. Gisela Mota was shot dead by an armed man in the doorway of her home on Saturday. It happened in the town of Temixco just south of the capitol.

CNN spoke with Tim Johnson, the Mexico City bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers about why the mayor may have been targeted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM JOHNSON, MEXICO CITY BUREAU CHIEF, MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS: The most likely hypothesis is that the killing of the mayor was either a settling of scores between these gangs because perhaps she was perceived of being in cahoots with one of them, or it could have been she was ready to fight these drug gangs and she was killed in retaliation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Journalist Deborah Bonello joins us now from Mexico City, Mexico.

Deborah, do you think the Mota killing was a warning to others by the organized crime gangs?

DEBORAH BONELLO, MEXICAN JOURNALIST: It's hard to tell. I mean, her killing is one of hundreds that happened here in the 10 years as a result of drug-related violence. It's difficult to know what the motive is behind these sorts of killings. There was a massive security operation underway in the state of Morelos. It started a couple of days ago and launched by the federal government. But, other than that, there's been no information released about, you know, what the possibly motivations behind her killing could have been.

VAUSE: Three people have been arrested over the shooting, including a minor, I think. What more do you know about these suspects?

BONELLO: Apparently, they told some of the local press that they were paid about $500,000 -- pesos, sorry, which is equivalent to about $29,000, to carry out the killing. They've given no information as to why. The gang accused of the killing has been involved in quite a bloody territorial war in the neighboring state, which is one of the most violent states in the country. So it could be some spill-over violence, something to do with the proximity of two states, who knows. But very little has -- very little has come out in terms of why she was targeted, in particular. She wouldn't have been the first mayor to swear to clean up the town from organized crime and I doubt she'll be the last. So killing her is a warning, it would seem, like an old tactic in an old war.

VAUSE: You mention the numbers of elected officials who have been killed. The Association of Local Mexican Authorities say almost 100 elected officials have been killed in the last decade. They say more than a thousand public servants also been killed. Is the federal government there or the authorities there actually doing anything to try to protect these officials?

[01:45:08] BONELLO: Well, as you may or may not know, former Mexican President Calderon launched a crack down on organized crime around 10 years ago in 2006, and the existing President Pena Nieto has pretty much carried on the same strategy. The federal police and army are involved in this crackdown. So it would argue that it is doing something to battle organized crime. But we must remember that corruption is rife within Mexico's security forces, abuse of power, disappearances, torture, all of those strategies have been attached to state agents. So it's rather difficult to perform heart surgery with a blunt spoon. You know, the human cost of the drug war has been huge. Yet, you know, the federal government insists it's having a positive effect. So, you know, the local officials aren't the only group that has been target. You know, priests, doctors --

VAUSE: Absolutely.

BONELLO: -- lawyers, journalists.

VAUSE: People have been paying a very high price --

BONELLO: Absolutely.

VAUSE: -- for the drug war, which the authorities have been carrying out.

Deborah, we'll leave it there. But thanks for being with us.

Deborah Bonello, a journalist there in Mexico City. Thank you so much.

BONELLO: Thank you.

VAUSE: A short break here. When we come back, we'll change gears. Prince Williams will talk about how fatherhood has changed his view on life.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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[01:50:28] VAUSE: Welcome back. More than 140,000 people have signed an online petition to try and free a convicted killer profiled in a popular documentary series. Steven Avery is the main subject in the Netflix series "Making a Murder." The series chronicles Avery's life after he's convicted of rape and then exonerated through DNA evidence. Avery was then convicted of murder and is now serving a life sentence. The change.org petition is asking for a presidential pardon for Avery.

A remote federal wildlife refuge is now the center of an armed protest in the U.S. state of Oregon. An anti-government group has seized control of the building there saying they're taking a stand against the way the federal government has used the land and abused their rights.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These armed members consider themselves, quote, "patriots and Constitutionalists," and they're looking out for the rights of land owners as rangers as well. But then you hear from law enforcement even some civilians who disagree, saying this group is simply seizing an opportunity to further what is a misguided cause.

(voice-over): They are armed and staying put. A group of protesters broke into an unoccupied building at an Oregon federal wildlife refuge Saturday. They claim to be taking a stand against the federal government's control and use of the land. The armed occupation broke off from a peaceful rally earlier in the day to support Dwight and Steven Hammond, a father/son ranching duo expected to report to prison Monday.

DWIGHT HAMMOND, SENTENCED TO PRISON: It isn't my decision. It is a sentence.

SANDOVAL: Hammond and his son were convicted of arson, setting at least 130 acres of federal land on fire. The Hammonds maintain it was a controlled blaze that accidentally got out of hand. Prosecutors however argue the flames were meant to cover up poaching.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sort of frightening when there's people making threats and people touting guns.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are afraid.

SANDOVAL: Among the armed protesters, the son of Nevada rancher, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of a similar standoff with the federal government last year over grazing fees.

CLIVEN BUNDY, RANCHER: This is not a time to stand down. It is time to stand up.

SANDOVAL: The younger Bundy called on militia groups to descend on Harney County and demand the government restore, quote, "the people's constitutional rights," part of a vague and vocal anti-government message. AMMON BUNDY, RANCHER: The people have been abused long enough. Their

lands and their resources have been taken to the point where it is putting them, literally, in poverty.

SANDOVAL: The Hammonds however are distancing themselves from this latest faceoff. Their attorney communicating in a short but clear statement to the county sheriff's office says, "Neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within this group or organization speak for the Hammond family."

The protesters say however their demonstration is peaceful but, if provoked, they will defend themselves.

(on camera): Law enforcement watching this evolving situation very closely. The FBI responsible for investigating it as that refuge facility is, in fact, a federal building.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: To the race of the White House now. Hillary Clinton facing more questions about her husband's past sex scandals. The Democratic frontrunner was heckled by a Republican state lawmaker at a town hall in New Hampshire on Sunday. But Mrs. Clinton quickly shot the heckler down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Let's start with the questions and I'll try to get as many in, just -- well, I'm going to call on people. Wait a minute. I'm not going to take your question because other people have been -- yes, go right there and we'll bring you a microphone. Here you come. OK. Let me see. Right back there, this man right there in -- the -- here we go. Right there.

(SHOUTING)

CLINTON: You are very rude and I'm not going to ever call on you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ouch.

Bill Clinton will be campaigning for his wife in New Hampshire on Monday.

Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, says the former president's sexual history is fair game in this campaign.

CNN revealing an admission from Prince William explaining how he now sees the world differently as a dad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has fatherhood changed you now that you have the two children?

PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: I'm a lot more emotional than I used to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you?

PRINCE WILLIAM: Yeah, really. I never use to really sort of get too wound up or worried about things, but I now, more or so things, I can feel -- you whell up a little bit more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

PRINCE WILLIAMS: And you get affected by some things that are happening around the world or whatever I think as a father just because you realize how precious life is --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, yeah.

PRINCE WILLIAMS: -- and it puts it into a little perspective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:55:21] VAUSE: The Duke of Cambridge is the father of two-year- old Prince George and eight-month-old Princess Charlotte. Prince William sat down for an interview with his brother and his own father, Prince Charles, who says it's very nice having a granddaughter, and admitted he has not been asked to change any nappies and he would not be much help any way. Not much of a revealing admission there.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

The news continues with Rosemary Church and Errol Barnett after a short break. Thanks for watching.

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