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New Details and Video of El Chapo's Capture; U.N. Official: Starving Syrian Civilians Must Be Evacuated; Is Clinton More Electable Than Sanders?; Rand Paul Will Not Participate in Undercard Debate; Obama Preparing for Final State of the Union Address; North Korea Says It's Arrested an American Citizen; Explosion in Central Istanbul, Turkey. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 12, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:01]

(HEADLINES)

ERROL BARNETT, CNN HOST: A very warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and those of you watching from all around the world. I am Errol Barnett.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: And I am Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us. This is CNN Newsroom.

We have new details and video showing the intense gun fight and its aftermath in the raid to recapture drug leader Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. This was the scene after the kingpin was captured and brought back to the prison where he escaped from last July.

BARNETT: Marked with bullet holes, the wall testify to the extent of the gun battle. This is what it looked like when the raid unfolded. Five of El Chapo's men died. Mexico's President praised their capture in a national address. Take a look.

ENRIQUE PENA NIETO, MEXICAN PRESIDENT: The arrest of the most wanted criminal in the world proves the coordination of our security institutions and our rule of law, with this action, 98 of the 122 of the most dangerous criminals are no longer a threat to the society, and we will find them all. Of course, we still have challenges but we're dealing with them with vision and determination.

BARNETT: CNN's Martin Savidge has more on the raid and El Chapo's last-ditch effort to keep his freedom.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Rosemary, Errol. You know this video that was released by the Mexican military is pretty remarkable, because it's a camera that's clearly giving you the vantage point. You're right there as the team moves in. A ferocious gun battle, a compound where the world's most wanted man, billionaire drug lord El Chapo is holed up. The troops follow the heavy gunfire by lobbing stun grenades throughout the house. Five of El Chapo's guards are killed. But the drug lord escapes through a nearby sewer escape here. A short time later, El Chapo is arrested, one of the world's richest men, led away in an undershirt covered in the filth of the sewer

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAQUIN EL CHAPO GUZMAN: It's a reality that drugs destroy.

SAVIDGE: Ironically, Mexico's attorney general says this interview for Rolling Stone Magazine was essential to El Chapo's capture, stemming from a stated desire to talk to actors about making a movie of his life. Actor Sean Penn working with Mexican actress Kate Del Castillo met with the drug kingpin last October at the heavily-guarded Mexican compound high in the mountains. Now, in what's called the first ever interview, El Chapo speaks openly about his impoverished childhood, working in the marijuana fields.

JOAQUIN EL CHAPO GUZMAN: Where I grew up, there's no other way and there still isn't a way to survive.

SAVIDGE: Amazingly, the man who supplies nearly half of all illegal drugs entering the U.S. tells Penn that he himself hasn't taken drugs in 20 years, and he insists that he's not a violent man.

GUZMAN: All I do is defend myself, nothing more. I do not start looking for trouble.

SAVIDGE: But this meeting was largely the work of Del Castillo, famous in her home country for a career that includes a TV role as a drug lordess. In 2012, she angered many of Mexico when she tweeted "Today I believe more in El Chapo Guzman than in the government's that hide the truth from me." That caught El Chapo's attention. He contacted her and eventually Sean Penn got onboard. Both travelled to Mexico to meet El Chapo, and according to Penn the last leg of their trip was spent in armed convoy of SUVs, their driver, El Chapo's son.

Along the way, Mexican soldiers stopped them but Penn says when the soldiers recognized the drug dealers, they backed off and waved them on through. Now Mexican officials say El Chapo's communication with Penn and Del Castillo provided one of the leads used to locate him. But still, Penn and Rolling Stone have been heavily criticized, both for surrendering editorial approval to the drug lord and by Presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio, who echoed many critics, saying the two should never have even met.

[03:05:01]

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I find it grotesque.

SAVIDGE: In the past, Penn has met with other notorious figures at odds with the U.S., like former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Raul Castro. But now it appears that El Chapo's desire to see his life story on the big screen may well have been his undoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Of course, there is a lot of debate about whether Sean Penn should be blamed or congratulated in leading authorities or helping authorities perhaps capture El Chapo, but the truth is its El Chapo. He was the one who told them to come. He was the one that wanted the interview. Essentially, he was the man responsible for his own downfall, Errol and Rosemary.

CHURCH: Thanks, Martin.

A U.N. official says some 400 starving people must be evacuated immediately from the Syrian city of Medaya or they could die. A U.N. Source says the delivery brought residents to tears.

BARNETT: Yeah, this was the first aid shipment in months for Medaya and two towns in the north. Medaya has been under siege since July.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of the evidence that we have seen in which we can place reliability that has been a very severe malnourishment, severe shortage of food and we have reports of people who are either starving or indeed have starved and died. I can tell you that we have had confirmation of extreme malnourishment of a number of people across all ages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Now activists have circulated shocking images of starving residents. We haven't been able to independently confirm them. We have to give you a warning. They are disturbing.

CHURCH: The Syrian Ambassador to the U.N. denies reports of starvation. He says the pictures are fabrications. A spokesman for the International Red Cross traveled with the convoy and he described what he saw to our Hala Gorani.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we have seen people who are tired, who definitely didn't have enough -- you know food for many, many days. People coming, talking to us, many of them -- you know they just -- they basically explain simply what they have eaten in the past few days. Indeed, grass, water with spices, you know it seems like a luxury here. We just came back from a visit in a very basic makeshift -- you know dispensary. The whole situation here is tragic, Hala, I cannot really describe how bad the conditions of this hospital, of this basic structure are -- I mean it's just -- I don't know, it's just heartbreaking to see, really. We hope that the medicine that we're bringing will make a difference. But they're really severe cases here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Officials say the aid in Medaya could sustain the people there for about a month, they say they need to have regular access across Syria.

We are just three weeks away from the Iowa caucuses, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is gaining ground on the Democratic front- runner Hillary Clinton.

BARNETT: And he's also holding on to his lead in New Hampshire, another key early voting state. CNN's Brianna Keilar has more on that.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton dancing on Ellen, seemingly without a care in the world. But there is some alarm insider her campaign, as Bernie Sanders gains on her Iowa. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll puts Bernie Sanders within striking distance. Just three points shy of Hillary Clinton in Iowa, within the margin of error. You feel that's a real three points that you're that close?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah, I do.

KEILAR: Sanders, meanwhile is holding on to a narrow lead in New Hampshire. Clinton is hoping to persuade Democratic voters that she's more electable than Sanders, even as a new Fox News national poll shows her trailing Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio in hypothetical match-ups.

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HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Think hard about the people who are presenting themselves to you, their experience, their qualifications, their positions, and particularly for those of us who are Democrats, their electability.

KEILAR: And Sanders is trying to counter Clinton's argument by pointing to polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, both battleground states in the general election that show him outperforming his rival against Trump and Cruz.

SANDERS: Face to face with Donald Trump and the other Republican candidates we're doing a lot better than Hillary Clinton does. So I think in terms of electability in the general election, I think Democrats might want to look at Bernie Sanders as the candidate.

KEILAR: But Sanders' moderate stance on gun laws have left him vulnerable in these final weeks before the early contests. Now Clinton is hitting Sanders' record, including a 2005 vote that gave gun manufacturers and gun store owners immunity from prosecution of guns they sold was used in a crime.

CLINTON: I think that the excuses and efforts by Senator Sanders to avoid responsibility for this vote, which the NRA hailed as the most important in 20 years, points up a clear difference.

KEILAR: Facing pressure, Sanders has since signaled he's open to changing his position.

SANDERS: I have cast 10,000 votes in my life. It was a complicated vote. Yes, I certainly am willing to reconsider it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I asked Bernie Sanders if he thought President Barack Obama had put his finger on the scale for Hillary Clinton and the gun issue, he said no. He did question Hillary Clinton's authenticity and her record on guns, Brianna Keilar, CNN Pleasantville, Iowa.

CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN Political Commentator, Peter Beinart. He is also a Contributing Editor for the Atlantic. Thank you so much for being with us. So Hillary Clinton was once the presumptive nominee, now she's struggling in the polls against Bernie Sanders in Iowa and New Hampshire, how worried should the Clinton camp be? And just how alarmed are they at this point?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think they're that alarmed. New Hampshire and Iowa are particularly good states for Bernie Sanders, primarily because they're overwhelmingly white states, and his support is basically confined to white liberals. Even if Hillary Clinton were to lose both of those states, the states that come afterwards, South Carolina heavily African-American population, Nevada, with its heavily Latino population, those are communities that give her a huge advantage. So I still think that Hillary Clinton's in a relatively secure position.

CHURCH: Interesting. Now the polls claim it's Sanders who will likely do that, is that a true reflection of what's going on here, and if it is, what is Clinton doing wrong, why is she hurting so badly?

BEINART: You know I think those polls are meaningless. Polls that project nine months from now are notoriously -- kind of don't really reflect reality. The truth is that Donald Trump will have a very little chance against Hillary Clinton because he would lose chunks of the traditional Republican vote and produce a massive turnout of alienated Latinos and other people of color. So I don't put a lot of sock in those head to head polls at this point.

CHURCH: I did wanted to ask you this, New York City Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg conducted research to see if he should enter the race as a the third party in the 2016 race, what impact might that have if by any chance he would proceed with that?

BEINART: I don't think he'll do it, and part of the reason is there's not really a space for Michael Bloomberg. Michael Bloomberg is much closer to where Hillary Clinton is than where he is to Republicans are. He's culturally liberal. On economic policy there's not a huge difference between him and the Clintons. In reality, people looking to vote are looking for that kind of candidate.

CHURCH: Peter Beinart, always a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you so much.

BEINART: Thank you.

BARNETT: Another interesting point there, also no space for Bloomberg because the Republican field is still quite packed. Fox Business News has announced the lineup for the next Republican Presidential candidate, Thursday in South Carolina. Look at how crowded the stage will be. The main event will feature, John Kasich, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Jeb Bush.

[03:15:01]

CHURCH: Meanwhile, Rand Paul says he will not take part after being relegated to the undercard debate, some calling it the kiddies table. That event will feature Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum.

BARNETT: All right, landmark deal has turned China's richest man into a Hollywood movie mogul, details on this coming up.

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CHURCH: U.S. President Barack Obama is preparing for the final state of the union address of his presidency.

BARNETT: Mr. Obama's speech will likely include issues such as gun control and his plans for fighting ISIS. The White House released this video on Monday to preview his address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want us to be able when we walk out this door to say we couldn't think of anything else that we didn't try to do, that we didn't shy away from a challenge because it was hard. We weren't timid or got tired or somehow we're thinking about the next thing, because there is no next thing. This is it. And never in our lives again will we have the chance to do as much good as we do right now. I want to make sure that we maximize it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:20:01]

BARNETT: CNN Political Analyst Josh Rogen joins me now to help preview Obama's final state of the union address. He is also a Columnist for Bloomberg View, Josh, great to have you back on the program, thanks for coming in today.

JOSH ROGEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me.

BARNETT: We know that gun control, the plan to eliminate ISIS, and the efforts to finally close Guantanamo Bay are likely to be pushed during this final state of the union. What are your sources telling you as far what we can expect?

ROGEN: Sure. The White House staff has been telling reporters today that the President will forego what we typically expect from a state of the union address, namely a list of specific policy proposals and a call on congress to implement them. Rather, the President will present what he considers an optimistic view of the direction the country is going and he'll try to frame progress that he's made over the past seven years in an attempt to solidify a legacy and to set terms for the coming 2016 Presidential election.

BARNETT: And that optimism will be in stark contrast to what we have seen at the Donald Trump rallies let's say for the past six months. That anger on the economic front. Republican voters are very angry, but if we just look at the numbers here, unemployment is down 5 percent, it was 10 percent at one point during the great recession in 2010. Since then, 14 million jobs have been created. Should Obama be touting the successes there knowing that there's a vein of the country that hasn't felt it yet?

ROGEN: It will be a difficult task for Obama to convince people that the American people that the country is on the right track. In fact, the polls also show 68 percent of Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track. When you combine with that rhetoric coming out of the Republican candidates campaigns, it will be a difficult if not impossible mission for the President to present the progress that he's made as an accomplishment. It's his last opportunity to do that. The last time the President really has a pulpit of this size, an audience of this size.

He wants to use that as an opportunity to frame his legacy.

BARNETT: What's interesting is the President will be focusing on the state of the country, but in many ways this serves as a moment to assess Barack Obama's policies now that he's in his final year in office. What type of leader himself to be when you factor in the Iran nuclear deal, the climate change agreement, and even ObamaCare? These are issues that require a lot of consensus.

ROGEN: Sure. I think what any objective observer would say it's a decidedly mixed record. A nuclear deal with Iran, opening of normalization of relations with Cuba, at the same time the fight against the Islamic state and the war on terrorism don't seem to be going as well as the administration would have hoped. So this is why you see the White House focusing on sort of a forward-looking optimism rather than a scorecard. If you look at the scorecard even on the economy, there are a lot of things left on the table, the closure of Guantanamo Bay.

By focusing on progress that's been made and then looking towards the future with that note of optimism, the President can make the case as he'll do tomorrow night that we're on a better path state of affairs.

BARNETT: And who knows, perhaps they'll be a surprise or two. Josh Rogen, a CNN Political Analyst. Thanks for your time -- joining us today from D.C.

ROGEN: Thank you.

CHURCH: And remember to watch CNN for live coverage of President Obama's last state of the union address, that's Tuesday evening, and that's at 9:00 p.m. in Washington, 10:00 a.m. Wednesday in Hong Kong.

BARNETT: The richest man in China just bought a leading Hollywood film studio.

CHURCH: Wang Jianlin of WANDA group acquired Legendary Entertainment, makers of hit films like Jurassic World and Godzilla.

BARNETT: The deal cost about $3.5 billion. It's being billed as China's largest cross-border cultural acquisition to date.

CHURCH: And CNN's Matt Rivers joins me with the details live from Beijing. Hi there, Matt. Of course, the big question here is what impact will have this sale likely have or changes might we see at the Hollywood film studio do you think?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think with a deal like this you're seeing the continuation of the WANDA group to expanding its reach internationally. As you mentioned, Wang Jianlin is the wealthiest man in China and he has made his presence known in many different industries.

[03:25:01]

His Chinese-based film company here is one of the largest producers of Chinese, domestically-produced films, very, very popular here. And so by adding Legendary Entertainment to the company's portfolio, he's really being able to take his company and reach audiences that perhaps he would never have been able to reach before. So moving forward, it's very interesting to see what happens on two fronts. The first front will be the films that Legendary Entertainment helps finance. Will those films be altered to help impact Chinese audiences, to ensure that those films are opened up here in China and bring more Chinese film fans to the box office to see foreign-made films?

But then on the flip side, too, there could be looking into the future the group's desire to get films made here in China seen more prominently by internationally audiences. Wang Jianlin was asked about this earlier today at this announcement event. Here's what he had to say about chances for success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG JIANLIN, WANDA GROUP: If American companies want to tap into China's fast-growing movie market, they have to cater to the interest of Chinese audiences. If not, it won't succeed. The latest Mission Impossible movie, if you want to make money, you need to make people to like your movies. Right now, Chinese made films don't generate enough interest in America to be shown there. For that to happen, Chinese movies will have to find ways to entertain American audiences. That's just how this process works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: So moving forward, it will be very interesting to see whether the Chinese film industry can one day compete with its counterparts in the west. They certainly have a long way to go. This move could signal a willingness to compete in the future.

CHURCH: All right, we'll be watching very closely to any changes there. Matt Rivers joining us live from Beijing, many thanks.

BARNETT: Rising anger in Germany in the wake of hundreds of New Year's Eve sex assaults in Cologne, how the anger is starting to play out after this short break. Stay with us on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:33:01]

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and of course, all around the world. I am Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I am Errol Barnett. It's your last half-hour with us. Let's update you on our top stories.

(HEADLINES)

BARNETT: And North Korea says it's arrested an American citizen on spying charges. The CNN team in Pyongyang was given exclusive access to the man who claims he's stolen nuclear and military secrets.

CHURCH: Now, he's asking the U.S. government for help. Will Ripley has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Days after North Korea's nuclear tests shocked the world, a new diplomatic bombshell. (Inaudible) says he's an American citizen who used to live in Fairfax, Virginia, North Korea calls him a spy accused of stealing nuclear and military secrets. Pyongyang authorities ordered him to speak to us in Korean. He seems aware our conversation is likely being listened to. I committed an act of espionage against North Korea, he said. Kim said North Korean agents arrested him three months ago, seizing a USB drive, camera and documents with details of North Korea's nuclear programs.

CNN cannot determine whether Kim is making his statements under duress. He says he was not spying for the United States. But for South Korean conservative elements with the goal of undermining North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's regime, the South Korean government calls the claims groundless.

How did it work?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I bribed a local resident, an ex-soldier with military access, he said. He handed it over.

RIPLEY: Kim said he drove back and forth to China every day, as President of a company that operates in a special economics zone in Rason. The business helps the cash-strapped regime make money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time for the U.S. government to withdraw its hostile policy against North Korea, Kim said, using the same language often found in Pyongyang propaganda.

RIPLEY: We're allowed to photograph his American passport. So far the State Department has refused to comment or even confirm his U.S. citizenship, telling CNN "Speaking publicly about specific purported cases of detained Americans can complicate our tireless efforts to secure their freedom." I am asking the U.S. or South Korean government to rescue me, Kim says neither country has diplomatic relations with North Korea. For now, this professed U.S. citizen is detained, no trial date, no idea if he'll ever see his family or country again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Will Ripley joins us live now from Beijing to discuss this story, and Will in 2014, North Korea released other Americans it detained, the emergence of Kim seems like a public reminder to the U.S. that the north still has some kind of leverage here?

[03:38:01]

RIPLEY: Yeah, that's right. By December of 2014 all of them were back home. It's a pattern with these Americans that end up somehow detained in North Korea, the regime will put them in front of the world, essentially and the obvious motive that you could read into this here is political leverage. North Korea's nuclear test, yes it was to gain valuable knowledge about their nuclear program which they continue to grow, it was also meant to send a message internationally and specifically to the United States.

They flew that B-52 bomber up to the demilitarized zone. Then after that happened, all of a sudden, this purported American prisoner is presented to us, and so you can see what the North Korean government really wants here, they want some sort of dialogue with the United State. Their ultimate goal is to grow their economy which can only, truly happen if international sanctions are lifted, of course, the State Department keeping their distance at this point, only saying that they're looking into the matter, Errol.

BARNETT: All right, 4:36 there in Beijing. Will Ripley, thanks very much.

CHURCH: Public outrage is turning violent in Germany, as investigators share reports of mob sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year's Eve, after police identified some of the suspects as migrants, two Pakistanis and one Syrian were injured in gang violence.

BARNETT: In (Inaudible), anti-refugee protesters marched through the street. Members of a counterdemonstration, holding candles and signs that read welcome to (Inaudible).

India is trying to curb its pollution problem. Coming up next, the live report on whether driving restrictions are even working, more on that after this.

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[03:43:01]

CHURCH: Delhi's high court has reportedly rejected a legal challenge to driving restrictions in the Indian capital.

BARNETT: The policy is to ban most private cars from the roads on alternate days is aimed at reducing pollution there in the city. Alexandra Field is there to see if it's working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is worse than bad. Not the traffic actually there's less than that than normal. It's the air to help clear it Delhi's government said these steps are necessary, a temporary ban keeping odd-numbered cars off the road and even-numbered cars on odd days. You can taste it in the mouth if you're not used to being here. The city's highest court said living in Delhi was like living in a gas chamber, those are the conditions that some 20 million people face every single day. There are 9 million registered cars on the streets of Delhi, 1,400 cars come on the road each day.

Every driver is being asked to be part of the solution, people out here to remind you. Following the rules, (Inaudible) takes a walk, followed by a ride on a rickshaw, then a 30-minute train ride, then a rush through throngs of commuters and then another ride, all that to get to work. So is this working?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Without taking emergency action, pollution levels would have been much higher. What this has done is play a role to moderate the high pollution levels.

FIELD: Clearly, cars are part of the city's pollution problems because of their numbers, because of congestion, because of toxic emissions. But the odd/even rule doesn't cut the pollution in half. It's just a temporary measure, one of the attempts to fight pollution including a ban on large diesel SUVs and higher taxes on commercial trucks coming into the city. It wouldn't be enough to move the needle?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, absolutely not.

FIELD: There's a consensus that too many other factors contribute to the city's pollution, and the more practical matter on everyone's mind, Delhi's public transport system couldn't handle it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are talking about public transport, and I think that's the pressure that needs to be built on government for the system to change.

FIELD: That would be the giant leap, activists hope it starts with these smaller steps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Alexandra Field join us now live from New Delhi. So Alexandra, these temporary driving restrictions for cars don't appear to be reducing the pollution problem in any significant way, what other solutions might be considered? Are there any out there?

FIELD: Well, yeah, this is a point of fierce debate once this experiment wraps up. On Friday, people will go back and determine was this effective. You may not see the air pollution come down and you might see it as a bust. Proponents of this policy said you got to look at a different set of data. The weather conditions are really ripe for the pollution they're seeing. You'll have two competing arguments as people try to determine whether or not the city should take another stab at this kind of experiment, again, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Alexander Field joins us now -- thank you so much, appreciate that.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BARNETT: We have this information just into CNN. We're getting reports right now of an explosion in Turkey. This has taken place in Istanbul, a major tourist area. This information is just crossing over some of the newswire at the moment. There are reports of some casualties there. Not a lot of information available at the moment. We'll of course try to bring you more on this story as it develops, but that information just in to CNN, an explosion there in Istanbul with casualties reported. We'll get you updates as soon as we can.

[03:48:01]

Now it is pretty cold across parts of the U.S. and parts of Europe even if it is winter. Our Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us with the latest on all of that, Allison, great to see you. What's new with the weather?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's cold. It's winter. We expect it to be cold. But the thing was December was so warm for much of Europe and the United States. I think it came as a shock to most people because it went from well above normal to being well below normal. It's going to stay that way. Both places are going to get a big cold snap coming up, very unsettled weather across Europe. Scotland coming off their wettest December on record, more of that precipitation will slide into parts of central and Western Europe, it's going to meet up with very cold air, it's going to produce some pretty decent amounts of snow as well.

Here is a look at some of those temperatures. Again London, four degrees going into the weekend, some colder temperatures especially as we get later on in the week, look at Moscow, again -- Wednesday, minus-three for the high. Keep in mind, those are slightly above normal. But early next week, our average is minus six, we'll be well below that -- Europe not the only place, the United States also dealing with a second cold snap coming in.

We've got that arctic air coming down from Canada pushing into parts of the Midwest. We also have some lake effect snow. This video comes out of Buffalo, this car parked right along the lake and they had huge waves that came crashing up over top of it and again, what it did was it ended up causing all of those waves to basically freeze right on top of the car. That's not -- I am really happy that's not my car.

(CROSSTALK)

BARNETT: That's incredible. We feel bad for the owner when it thaws out.

CHINCHAR: It might take a little while for that car to completely thaw out.

BARNETT: A couple of weeks, perhaps. All right, Allison Chinchar thanks a lot.

CHURCH: Thanks so much.

All right, well, we were following this breaking news, we brought you some of the details just moments ago, these reports of an explosion in Turkey, a major tourist area in Istanbul. There are some reports of casualties at this point. We want to go to Arwa Damon, she joins us on the phone from Istanbul. Arwa, what information have you been able to pull together on this?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): An explosion has taken place. And it was felt quite some distance away in the city. In fact, I am a few kilometers away from where this explosion happened, and it was sadly a very distinct sound. There are numerous ambulances on the scene, no exact details at this stage of exactly what sort of casualties. There are local media -- is reporting several wounded. We do not know the cause of this explosion at this point just yet. All we do for certain an explosion did happen in the heart, in the heart of Istanbul's tourist district.

This is a heavily guarded area. It is one of the more popular destinations for the numerous visitors that do come here, and it's also an area that's surrounded by many other sites. Also, many of these tourist areas are closed on Monday. From local media -- again, from these images as if the area was extremely, extremely crowded when these explosions did take place, some local media right now showing security forces clearing people out of the area as well as fire trucks on scene and numerous ambulances as well, but Turkey is no stranger to violence, especially not given what's transpired over the last few years with the devastating twin suicide bombings that happened in Ankara, claiming around 100 lives, not to mention the explosion that happened over the summer.

So, most certainly is going to be raising concern, but again we do not know the cause of this explosion at this stage, Rosemary.

[03:53:01]

CHURCH: It's all right. Yeah, we do not know the cause of all of this explosion. We know there are casualties. Talking there with Arwa Damon, she's going to stick around for us. We'll take a very short break here but we'll get more details on this when we come back. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: We're following breaking news for you just into CNN this hour, reports of an explosion in Turkey. We understand it took place in Central Sultan Square in Istanbul. That's a major tourist area. What you're seeing now is some footage shot by our Correspondent Arwa Damon who in fact, joins us on the line and can give us more information. Arwa, this story has just broken. Tell us what you saw as you shot this video and what we know about this explosion right now.

DAMON: Well, that video was short from a few kilometers away where the sound of the explosion was fairly distinct, and people coming out on their balcony immediately. You see the white plume of smoke rising. A bit difficult to see given the distance I was at. This is the area you're looking at. This is the heart of Istanbul's tourist district. These are the key must-see sites in the city. We don't know at this stage what caused this particular explosion.

We don't know exactly what may or may not have been behind it. What we do know is that the explosion did take place, that local media is reporting that there were people who were wounded. We are seeing images on local televisions with ambulances on scene, firefighters on scene, security showing up, very, very quickly -- this is a part given how historic it is and how many tourists do visit, it's fairly well secured. Security forces moving in pretty quickly, moving people away from it -- people on the scene looking very, very distraught, understandably, very, very concerned, we're still trying to get more information as to exactly what took place.

[03:58:01]

But given the sheer sensitivities that exist in Turkey right now, the fact that this is a country on edge, because it's struggling on so many different fronts, whether it's the battle against ISIS, the battle against PKK, the Kurdish separatists, or any of the other organizations. Turkey is currently facing a threat, so this certainly going to be raising a lot of concerns until we're able to determine exactly what it was that caused this explosion.

BEINART: Arwa Damon on the line with us from Istanbul, Turkey with news of this explosion. Stay with CNN throughout the day for more information on that.

CHURCH: All right, and we want to thank you for watching us here on CNN. I am Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: And I am Errol Barnett. The news continues here on CNN.

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