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Italian PM Renzi to Resign after Referendum; Austrian Voters Reject Far-Right Candidate; 11 Dead, 75 Injured in Pakistan Hotel Fire; 33 Confirmed Dead in Oakland Warehouse Fire; Trump Preparing to Shake Up U.S./China Relations; U.S. Army Blocks Dakota Access Pipeline Route. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 05, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:39] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Cyril Vanier. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

We have a very busy hour ahead. First, in that vote in Italy, the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi losing a constitutional referendum in a landslide.

CHURCH: Supporters of European populism see it as a big win.

But the populist movement was shot down in Austria. Voters there rejecting a far-right candidate in their presidential election.

VANIER: We have reporters in Milan and Vienna covering these big political developments for us. We'll get to both in just a moment.

Let's start in Italy. Matteo Renzi had hoped to narrow the size and power of Italy's Senate in that constitutional referendum. Instead, it was a decisive loss. About 60 percent of voters went against him.

CHURCH: Now, the countries faces an uncertain future. But Mr. Renzi sent well wishes to those who opposed him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTEO RENZI, ITALIAN PRIME MINSITER (through translation): The "no" vote won in a very convincing manner. I sent my congratulations to the leaders of the "no" campaign. I hope they work well in the interest of our country, Italy and Italians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: "CNN Money's" Europe editor, Nina del Santos, joins us live from Milan. Let's look, Nina, at the economic consequences and the political

consequences. Start with the economy. I know the banks are vulnerable. What do you think might be happening over the hours and days to come?

NINA DEL SANTOS, CNN MONEY EUROPE EDITOR: Outside Milan's stock exchange, which is where I'm joining you from, there's about an hour to go before trading gets underway. People are expecting a very torrid session here.

You mentioned the banks. Some of the banks actually have board meetings today to try and assess the situation and where they go from here because the risk profile of the loans that they have on their books can change from here. They may have to pay more for debt to finance the loans they've extended to clients across this country. Some really nervous times for a lot of the heads of the financial institutions. If you take a look at how the economy has fared across Italy -- Matteo Renzi had, by the way, called this referendum on constitutional changed to try and empower any party that got into power in Italy with the tools to try to kick-start the economy and solve the banking crisis this country has. But he hasn't managed to pass that. It was a resounding "no" from the Italian people. The turnout was high, higher, by the way, than in some general elections that I've covered in this country. As such, he has fallen on his sword, much like in the way David Cameron fell on his sword after calling the referendum on Brexit in summer in the United Kingdom. So again, it's a return to political instability across this region that has investors not just across Europe but across the rest of the world worried.

We saw markets fall in the overnight session in Asia. And when it comes to the Euro, that's down to a 20-month low. And later on this week, we have the ECB having a meeting on Thursday. And before that, later today, the Eurozone finance ministers will also get together to discuss the events that have happened in Austria and Italy over the weekend.

VANIER: Tell us about the political landscape and how that's affected, in particular, Grilo (ph), the leadership of the anti- establishment Five Star movement.

DEL SANTOS: Yeah. A lot of people in Italy can't escape the irony that just a few hours before we saw the results of this referendum come clear across this country, across the border in Austria, it seemed as though people had rejected populism, only for it to bounce back in force here across this country.'

And you mentioned Grilo (ph), who is the leader of the Five Star populist movement. He wants another referendum, not on constitutional change. He lobbied very hard and spent a lot of money through his big media machine to try to convince his supporters and the rest of the Italian people to reject Matteo Renzi's proposals. He wants a referendum on the Eurozone. He wants to take to take Italy out of the single currency area. Across this part of northeast Italy, what we also have is separatist movements, like the Northern League, that also advocate similar things. They would like to see Italy -- some of them would like to see Italy cleaved into two, to separate Rome from the north and give more autonomy to this part of Italy, which is richer so it can spend and manage its own budget.

From here, we head into a period of probably political turmoil, a lot more populist voices like Grilo (ph). By the way, I should point out, he has ruled himself out of ever becoming the next prime minister. He has a criminal report and he's gone on the record and talked about that that many times in the past. He said he wants to see fresh elections within a week. That is unlikely to happen. Most political analysts will say we're not likely to see snap elections from here because the next election is set to take place in 2018. What we could see is a caretaker government and, yet again, that could be more uncertainty and more economic inertia for Italy from here.

[02:05:56] VANIER: "CNN Money" Europe editor, Nina del Santos, reporting live from Milan, thank you very much.

CHURCH: As we've mentioned, voters in Austria rejected the wave of European populism, electing left wing candidate, Alexander Van der Bellon as their next president.

CNN international correspondent, Atika Shubert, joins us live from Vienna with more.

Atika, Austrians apparently bucked Europe's move to the right, rejecting populism. Why did we see that happen, do you think?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRSPONDENT: You know, the numbers have come in and the state broadcaster had a really interesting break down in their exit polls, and they showed that while a majority of voters say that Hofer, the far-right candidate, was more relatable as a person, it was Van der Bellon that they felt was better representative of Austria to the rest of the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHUBERT (voice-over): The first time far-right candidate, Norbert- Hofer, ran for Austria's presidency in May, he lost by just 31,000 vote. This time, it was a clear defeat that could not be contested.

Alexander Van der Bellon, a 72-year-old economist, backed by the Green Party, beat him again by a decisive margin. Exit polls showed 53 percent for Van der Bellon and 47 percent for Hofer.

(on camera): Behind me now, you can see both candidates, Norbert Hofer, and Alexander Van der Bellon, giving interviews to state broadcaster, ORF, explaining exactly why they believe voters chose the way they did.

ALEXANDER VAN DER BELLON, AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT: I think it's a historic day for Austria for several reasons. From the first time, a presidential election has to be repeated. And it was not just a repetition. In fact, it was a new election. Because, you know, conditions changed. The world around us has changed. We had the Brexit vote in Great Britain in the United Kingdom. We had the election of Donald Trump in the United States, and so on. In six months, many things happened.

SHUBERT: Voters were worried and anxious, but not just about immigration, which Hofer railed against, but also Austria's place in the E.U. And fears that the so-called Trump bump would bring populist and isolationist parties into power. It seems to have pushed voters the other way.

"My gut tells me to be worried," this woman said. "I fear that my daughter won't have the same opportunities as I did."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Finish.

SHUBERT: This man told us, "I am worried about Austria and I hope it doesn't go the way of the U.S. or the U.K., and that it will be an E.U. for us all, and continues to be that way and not destroyed by some people."

Immediately after the polls, a resigned Hofer insisted that he was working to unify Austria after a divisive and prolonged campaign season.

NORBERT HOFER, AUSTRIAN FAR-RIGHT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIATE: I don't want to divide the country. Now it's to me and Mr. Van der Bellon to tell the people who supported us that it is important to see that we are one country. We are all Austria. And we have to work together.

SHUBERT (on camera): Does this put an end to this sort of populist nationalist surge we've seen in Europe?

HOFER: I can -- always I have to say the same thing. I'm not a populist. I don't want to be a populist. I'm a pretty normal guy, a level-minded man. And I want you to believe me, I'm not really -- I'm right, but not extreme right. I'm middle right. It's important for me to show that I'm not an extreme man.

SHUBERT (voice-over): The Austrian presidency is a ceremonial but highly symbolic role. Hofer's loss has dealt Europe's populist surge a blow. And now, Van der Bellon, a self-described child of refugees, is being hailed as defender of an open liberal Europe, but Austria is just the first of a string of election challenges in the year ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:10:14] SHUBERT: In the polls, in the run up to the election, said it was too close to call, both candidates were neck and neck. But it was a decisive victory. It look like women, in particular, is what pushed the victory to Van der Bellon. More than 62 percent of the women here voted for him.

CHURCH: All right. Our Atika Shubert bringing us that live report from Vienna, Austria, where it is 8:10 in the morning. Many thanks to you.

VANIER: At least 11 people are dead after a hotel fire in Karachi, Pakistan. It happened at the Regent Plaza Hotel. An official said the blaze has now been contained. A doctor at a nearby hospital says the victims were killed by suffocation. 75 people were also injured. Authorities are saying the fire swept through the hotel with very little warning.

A short time ago, we spoke to CNN producer, Sophia Saifi, in Islamabad.

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SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): We know that the mayor was speaking to the press overnight and he said there were absolutely no fire exits. There was no fire alarm to alert the people in the hotel that there was an actual fire going on. A lot of the people who died, all of them actually have died of suffocation. The 75 injured have also suffered from breathing issues. Even though the fire has been contained, it's still unknown as to what the cause of the fire itself was.

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VANIER: At least 33 people are now confirmed dead in Oakland, California, after a fire tore through a warehouse. These images show the building before Friday night's blaze. It was known as the Ghost Ship. It housed artist studios. Authorities say it did not have permits for people to live inside and the building's owners had been notified of hazardous trash and debris violations.

VANIER: As officials comb through what's left of the building, Oakland's fire chief described the blaze as one of the worst in city's history.

Here is what Oakland's mayor is said is being done to recover victim's remains and comfort their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIBBY SCHAAF, OAKLAND MAYOR: But it is with so much grief and so much compassion that we, as your city family, share with you this horrific news. And as this tragedy continues to unfold, I want to again reassure you of what our priorities are as the city of Oakland. Our first priority is the imminent and compassionate removal of the victims of this tragedy. And I want to assure you that we are continuing to operate a 24/7 recovery operation to effectuate that removal. Secondly, we're focusing on supporting the families and the loved ones, some who are coming from very far away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: The mayor of Oakland speaking there.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is on site with more on the tragedy.

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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The officials here saying it is two ugly of what caused the fire. But what they have said is they've gone through the building and broken it up into quadrants. They say they found victims in all four of the quadrants of this building. There was no one place that the victims were found. They're also saying some of the people that lost their lives were juveniles, 17 year olds, some young adults in their early 20s and some 30-plus.

They're also saying that they're in touch with embassies for people who are people who were from other countries that also lost their lives in the fire.

At this point, they had reached out to some of the families, but they're still working to identify some of the people who died here. They say some people, it's evident who they are. If they had their I.D. on them they can match it with fingerprints. But for others, where there is nothing there to identify them, they're having to get some source of DNA. So, they're asking family members, if you think you lost someone here, to preserve a toothbrush or hair brush and put it into a clean paper bag and hold on to it so that they can get to them.

But at this point, they're saying they would not be surprised if they actually do expect that the number of people who died here in this Oakland fire will increase.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Coming up, Chinese leaders are facing a new assault on their policies from Donald Trump on Twitter. We'll go live to Hong Kong and Beijing for the latest.

[02:14:41] CHURCH: Plus, the U.S. Army's new decision on whether a controversial pipeline can be built near a Native American reservation. We'll have more on that on the other side of the break.

Stay with us.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may be preparing to shake up U.S./China relations when he takes office in January. First, he set off a diplomatic earthquake Friday by speaking directly to the Taiwan leader, ignoring nearly 40 years of sensitive diplomacy. Now he's going after Beijing's trade and military policies.

VANIER: On Sunday, this is what he tweeted, "Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency, making it hard for our companies to compete? Heavily tax our products going into their country. The U.S. doesn't tax them. Or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea. I don't think so," end tweet.

CNN's Alexandra Field in in Beijing and Andrew Stevens is in Hong Kong.

Alexandra, let me begin with you.

It's looking more and more like Donald Trump is ready to take his hard stance on China to the White House.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. We heard some tough talk aimed at Beijing from President-elect Donald Trump was Candidate Trump on the campaign trail. Those words played swell to his base. And now he's echoing those same sentiments on Twitter, going after Beijing again for alleged currency manipulation and bringing up the issue of China's interest in the South China Sea. So, these are issues that he has addressed before but he sends out these tweets on the heels of that phone call with Taiwan's president, which had broken some 40 years of protocol. It has sent waves of concern toward Beijing and throughout the rest of the world. And then he follows up with the tweets. So, what position does that leave officials in Beijing in now? That's something they've got to work out. Because this is truly unprecedented territory.

[02:20:30] Candidate Trump promised that his foreign policy would be unpredictable and he certainly seems to be acting that way, in terms of going on Twitter to seemingly espouse his foreign policy views. This is not nothing countries have had to deal with in the past, a U.S. president-elect seemingly sending out signals on his potential foreign policy on Twitter.

So is this just the sort of rhetoric that you're use to from Donald Trump or is it a sign of how he could change the relationship between China and the U.S. once he takes office. That's for everyone to see.

State media had opined before Candidate Trump won the election and became president elect, they said they predicted he would bash China in the initial stages of his presidency, and that would be designed to bolster his authority back at home. They saw him as somebody who is an isolationist facing a divided nation who would have domestic agenda that he would be primarily concerned with. In an op-ed that was published in a state newspaper last night, they write, "China should understand Trump has two faces. On the one and, he's bluffing and unpredictable. On the other hand, he has no plan to overturn international relationships and will focus on U.S. internal affairs to make America great again." That was the take away after the phone call with Taiwan's leader.

Beijing did launch an official complaint with Washington for the breach of protocol. But beyond that, there were messages in state news mostly saying that President-elect Trump needs to respect this long-standing relationship between U.S. and China, the policies that have governed that relationship. And this op-ed went on to advise that officials in Beijing should engage in constructive conversations with the president-elect.

So far, as of today, there has been no official response to the tweets that the president-elect sent out, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is holding a briefing right now. It's something they will be asked about. We'll all be watching to see how seriously they take these tweets and what kind of response they could have at this point -- Cyril? VANIER: Alexandra Field, reporting live from Beijing, thank you very

much.

CHURCH: Donald Trump's tweets made some bold allegations.

Andrew Stevens has been examining them for accuracy.

Andrew, let's fact check what Trump has to say about China. Is it a currency manipulator as he suggested in his tweets?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, broadly, China probably is a currency manipulator, but if you look at how it's manipulating the currency, certainly in the last months, Rosemary, it would be manipulating the currency in the U.S.'s favor, because it's actually trying to keep a lid on the yuan plunging. China is a different position than most foreign currencies. They peg their currency. They don't let the markets decide what the value of that currency should be. But they're trying to introduce more and more sort of market movers for the currency, so it can be more fairly valued.

I've been speaking to economist and they say, broadly, it probably is probably fairly valued. But there's no doubt it has been falling against the U.S. dollar.

Take a look at these numbers here. It shows you what's been happening. The yuan is down 1.8l percent against the U.S. dollar since the election. But if you look at the other big currencies like the E.U. and Japan, the Japanese yen is 9 percent down. That's four times more than the yuan. So, China actually has been making sure the currency doesn't fall as much as it should, because any analysts will tell you, the yuan should fall much more than it actually is falling.

So is it a currency manipulator? Probably, yes, it is. But the real key though is this is something that we've heard from Donald Trump time and time again. It usually follows a threat to impose big sanctions on Chinese exports to balance the playing field, if you would like. If Donald Trump follows through on that, and we're talking about 45 percent taxes on Chinese goods going into the U.S., it doesn't take a big stretch to see China retaliating, a trade war being sparked, and losers on both sides.

CHURCH: That's the worry. But Trump also saying that the devaluation of its currency makes it hard for U.S. companies to compete. He said Beijing heavily taxes U.S. products going into the country, while the U.S. does not tax the Chinese products. True or false?

[02:24:59] STEVENS: This is a little more opaque, this one, because we've been we've been looking at this and trying to find out where China taxes U.S. goods and the U.S. government doesn't apply the same taxes. There is a value-added tax, a VAT tax, that applies to everything that goes into China and everything that is made within China, they are subject to 17 percent value added tax, which includes U.S. goods. Now, the U.S. doesn't have this tax. So, he could be talking about that. He could be talking about tariffs. But if he's talking about tariffs, yes, China does impose average 5 percent taxes on goods going into China. But the U.S. imposes average 3 percent tariffs on goods going into the U.S. So, what he's specifically talking about here, it's unclear at this stage, Rosemary.

But it's all circles back to that central point I was talking about before. If this is President-elect Trump preparing the way for President Trump to act, it is going to be a very, very difficult relationship between the world's two biggest powerhouses, economic powerhouses. And a problematic relationship with those two may well lead to a problematic global economic picture. Because they're just so powerful now, if they do spark a trade war between the two, there's going to be a lot of collateral damage outside those two economies.

CHURCH: Certainly has the international community on edge as we watch what may happen going forward in January.

Andrew Stevens bringing that report from Hong Kong, where it is nearly 3:30 in the afternoon. Many thanks to you.

VANIER: In the U.S., construction is stopping, at least for now, on a controversial pipeline project in the state of North Dakota.

VANIER: The line is finished, except for a segment that was originally planned to run under a lake that sits near tribal land. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and supporters have protested the project for months now.

Sara Sidner reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Celebrations, tears of joy, chanting, and drumming, that's what was the initial reaction when the folks here found out that the Army Corps of Engineer was going to stop this pipeline by asking the Dakota Access Pipeline to be re-routed from the thing that has caused the flash point, rerouted and kept from going underneath the Missouri River.

It is a very big victory for the Standing Rock Sioux and all of the people who have been here for many months trying to stop this pipeline from potentially going under the water and one day leaking.

However, what we have also heard from the tribe is that they are concerned this may not be permanent, depending on which administration is in place, and worried about Donald Trump's role in all of this when he takes the presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today's decision from the Army Corps of Engineers to not allow the pipeline company to drill underneath the river and violate our treaty rights to put our children's health from cancerous waters is a victory. But it's a short-lived victory, one that we need to dissect, one that we need to analyze. We need to make sure that President-elect Trump can't override this decision here today when he takes office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: We're hearing that from other members from the tribe that even though this is truly a victory and people feel relief, there is also worry about what happens next. Right now, this camp is filling up. No one seems to be leaving.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Sara Sidner reporting there.

And the company building the pipeline says it remains committed to seeing the project through to completion without re-routing.

VANIER: A man who says he went to a Washington restaurant with an assault rifle to investigate a conspiracy theory is under arrest. Police took the 28-year-old into custody on Sunday. They say he went to a pizza restaurant at the center of fake news stories involving Hillary Clinton and a child sex ring.

CHURCH: The theories sprang up last month online. The store's owner and employees say they have been receiving threats.

Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, how the leader of France's far- right party is using Italy's referendum vote to empower her supporters.

Plus, rebels in Aleppo, Syria, are withering under a crushing government assault. CNN's Fred Pleitgen goes inside the embattled city. That's all coming up.

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[02:32:34] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A warm welcome back to our viewers all around the world, including here in the United States. I'm Rosemary Church.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Cyril Vanier.

Let's update you on our top stories this hour.

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CHURCH: Let's return to our story on Italy. And the leader of France's far-right party says followers must take a cue from the referendum results. Marine le Pen tweeted, "The Italians have rejected the E.U. and Renzi. We must listen to this thirst for the freedom of nations and for protection."

VANIER: I want to bring in Ryan Heath, senior E.U. reporter at "Politico." He joins us via Skype from Brussels.

I would like for you to give us the European perspective here. There were two elections, Italy, Austria. They were seen as bellwethers for the progress of populist movements across the European continent. RYAN HEATH, SENIOR E.U. REPORTER, POLITICO: Brussels let out a sigh

of relief, but for the center of politics here, that did not last very long. They're trying to keep the Italian result in perspective. They're making clear that the E.U. was not on the ballot. A lot of people think it's a bit of a self-inflicted wound for Matteo Renzi. But people aren't blind. They can see this is part of a pattern that there are populace parties rising across Europe. Not only does it make the prospect of Marine le Pen the more worrying, but it puts Italy up at the top of the list concerning elections that are likely to take place next year.

I will say, the overall mood is worried, but it's not hyper ventilation. People aren't jumping up and down about the fluctuations in the Euro this morning. They're trying to wait and see what the Italian president says. But very clearly, they know there's going to be more trouble ahead.

VANIER: Looking more specifically at Italy, is that where any of the trouble might arise?

HEATH: Yes, you have to look at the polls around where the parties are standing right now. And the Five Star movement, a populist movement, that's up there with the Social Democrats of Matteo Renzi. They took the mentality of Rome and could do very well in any snap election. What you'll see is a probably a caretaker government and then the very strong backing of some kind of change in the electoral law to try and support the Five Start movement winning any elections that take place next year. That's likely to add fuel on to the fire of the anger of all those Five Star supporters, and it can combust very badly next year, I will say.

[02:35:41] VANIER: What are they doing to address the rise of populist movements, the anti-establish figures and parties that are challenging European leadership and the legitimacy of the European political project? Because there has already been a huge wakeup call this year. It was Brexit. You saw the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the French president, Francois Hollande, and numerous others saying we've got to change the way Europe is working. So, what's being done?

HEATH: Well, it's a very scattered response, I have to say. You can't forget the migration crisis that helped fuel Brexit. Really, the warning signals have been coming for well over a year now. Some people respond by aping the tactics of the populist and that includes and others say to we have to loosen the E.U. so they try and withdraw from new regulations or a few new directives. Others are getting very strong. They say, no, the way you fight populism is by sticking it to populists very, very hard, by making more and more of an integrated Europe. And then, of course, you have the people who have their head in the sand.

If you look now at a race that probably doesn't get a lot of attention, certainly outside of Europe, often not outside of Brussels, there's a race to replace the parliament president in Brussels, of the European parliament. And you can see the parties, they're putting up the same sort of candidates. They're crushing the outsider, people who are trying to put their hands up and say, hey, we need change. And so, it's not that that position matters all that much. But what it's telling me and other people in Brussels is that the E.U. system is really struggling to accept that feedback. It's thinking that mostly it can hunker down and see it through rather than really allow some breath of fresh air in from the outside.

VANIER: Ryan Heath, senior E.U. reporter with "Politico," speaking to us live from Brussels. We really appreciate your insights. Thank you very much.

HEATH: Thank you.

CHURCH: We turn to New Zealand where the prime minister says he will not run for a fourth term. In a surprise resignation, John Key says he owes it to his family to step aside and has given everything he can to his job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KEY, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: I honestly don't think on a family basis and other reasons I can commit for much beyond the next election. So, I've got no option but to do it now. Now is the right time to do it rather than -- I'm just -- I've come too far to mislead the public. I'm not going to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: Mr. Key has been in power for eight years and has led the ruling for 10. His resignation will be final on December 10th when the party picks a new leader.

CHURCH: In Syria, regime forces are gaining more ground in their bid to take back rebel-held areas in Aleppo. They've bombarded eastern Aleppo none stop over the weekend as the troops pushed further into the area.

VANIER: Syria's Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, says air strikes in Idlib Province killed at least 67 people on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council is set to vote Monday on a resolution calling for a seven-day truce in Aleppo. Russia, which supports Syria's regime, has signaled it's ready to back the deal.

At the same time, Syria's government is urging that some civilians who fled eastern Aleppo should return. It says that parts of the area are now safely under regime control.

CHURCH: CNN's Fred Pleitgen spoke to some of the Syrians who have been urged to return.

VANIER: And he has this look at the grime devastation that you can expect in a war-ravaged Aleppo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Driving through a destroyed waste land, until recently was one of the main battlegrounds in Syria. This district was rebel hands until last week when government forces moved in with crushing fire power.

(EXPLOSION)

PLEITGEN: This 13-year-old boy shows me where a rocket landed next to his house and describes the fear he felt.

"People were very frightened, he says. "Normally, we would hide in the basement. Luckily, that night, we slept on the first floor. That's when two rockets hit right over here.

His little brother is clearly traumatized by the horrors he's witnessed. He's still weak for living under seize for a week, with almost no food or water available much of the time.

As the rebels lost their grip on this place, many residents fled, trying to escape with their lives and not much more.

Now, they're coming back. Some haven't seen their houses for years.

This man left in 2012 when the rebels took this district. He's trying to salvage any belongings of what's left of his apartment.

"I am very sad because everything is either destroyed or ransacked," he says. "We found these pictures under the rubble. The walls are destroyed, but we will come back here and rebuild."

(EXPLOSION)

PLEITGEN: The battle from Aleppo is far from over. Syrian government forces clearly have the upper hand, taking about half of the territory in the past week alone and continuing to push their offensive with massive firepower.

(EXPLOSION)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Like in so many districts that have been taken back, there is massive destruction in this part of eastern Aleppo. But there's no denying the shift in momentum in favor of the Syrian military and also the boost in morale that many of their soldiers have gotten.

(voice-over): Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad tell us they believe they can capture all of Aleppo, Syria's most important battle ground, very soon.

"The rebel headquarters was right here," he says. "So, the loss of this district was a big blow to them. And you could see how our shelling was pounding them. And that shows their morale is collapsing."

Rebels left behind a makeshift cannon when they fled here last week.

So far, the opposition hasn't found a way to shore up their defenses in the face of the massive and possibly decisive Syrian government offensive.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Aleppo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Still ahead on CNN, Donald Trump responds to a comedy show mocking his frequent use of Twitter by complaining on Twitter.

CHURCH: Plus, heartbreak in Brazil. Dozens of families are now saying good-bye to those killed in last week's plane crash.

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[02:45:38] VANIER: Welcome back. Fidel Castro was laid to rest in Santiago, Cuba, on Sunday. His ashes were placed in a tomb in a somber and private ceremony.

CHURCH: Cubans have been celebrating the revolutionary leader for the last week. But they face an uncertain future now without him for the first time in some 60 years.

VANIER: Days after the plane crash in Columbia that killed nearly an entire football team, dozens of families are laying their loved ones to rest.

CHURCH: "World Sport's" Don Riddell shares some of their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amanda Machado (ph) was planning to be married last Friday. Instead, this is the funeral for the love of her life. Denara san Talbras (ph) was one of the 19 players killed in the Columbian plane crash.

AMANDA MACHADO (ph), LOST FINANCE IN PLANE CRASH (through translation): I wanted to die with him. I wanted to kill myself. I could not imagine my life without him.

RIDDELL: She now wears his wedding ring around her neck.

MACHADO (ph): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(CHEERING)

RIDDELL: After the emotionally draining ceremony on Saturday when dozens of caskets were brought onto the field, individual funerals are being held all over Brazil, a country deep in mourning.

This is one of the last images of Felipe Machado (ph), young vibrant and full of hope.

(SHOUTING)

RIDDELL: Osmon Machado (ph) was expecting a call from his son to wish him a happy birthday. Instead, he received a call to say Felipe was dead.

OSMON MACHADO (ph), FATHER OF PLANE CRASH VICTIM: Suddenly, I woke up, oh, my god, my son is dead.

RIDDELL: Like Filipe, Denara was also in the prime of his life.

(CHEERING)

MACHADO (ph) (through translation): He never wanted to be an idol. He didn't want to be famous. He wanted to be respected. He wanted people to look at him and say he is worth it. He was in a great phase of his career. His last was beautiful.

RIDDELL: Amidst the darkness, however, there is a ray of sunshine. Amanda's two-year-old son is her future.

MACHADO (ph) (through translation): He is the same. He is a little piece of his father that has remained. I will do everything to raise him knowing that his father was the most extraordinary man.

RIDDELL: Don Riddell, CNN, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:52:25] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The apparent feud between Donald Trump and "Saturday Night Live" just keeps growing.

VANIER: And, frankly, getting funnier. The sketch comedy show was back on the attack. This time, Alec Baldwin, playing Trump, poked fun at the he president-elect's fondness for Twitter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC BALDWIN, COMEDIAN & ACTOR: Just re-tweeted the best tweet. I mean, wow, what a great, smart tweet.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Mr. Trump, we are in a security briefing.

BALDWIN: I know but this could not wait. It was from a young man named Seth.

(LAUGHTER)

He is 16 and in high school. I really did retweet him, seriously. This is real

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: He really did do this.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Well, sir, you're the president-elect, so I guess you can do whatever you want, but we would like to fill you in on Syria.

BALDWIN: Seth seems so cool.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Trump responded to that sketch on Twitter and he didn't even wait until the show was over. Trump tweeted during the broadcast, "Just tried watching 'Saturday Night Live,' unwatchable, totally biased, not funny. And the Baldwin impersonation just can't get any worse. Sad."

VANIER: And during the show, Baldwin fired back with a tweet of his own. He promised to stop mocking Donald Trump if and only if Trump releases his tax returns.

CHURCH: Watching to see what happens there, right?

A bitter cold front is sweeping across much of the United States and the season's first snow is on tap for millions in the northwest.

VANIER: Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now with more -- Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Cyril and Rosie. Good seeing you guys.

Big changes ahead of us. Of course, winter still about a couple of weeks away, but starting to feel like it. You take a look at current conditions, temperatures into the upper 30s, not there at freezing yet. Winter weather advisory and warnings already issued for the city of Portland and Seattle. And Alaskan Airlines cancelling 23 flights for Monday morning. Some 1,500 passengers impacted by this as their flights automatically pushed into a later afternoon flight. We have the cold air in place, the moisture is in place, you put it together, the polar plunge of air ahead of us really sets the ingredients here in store for extreme temperatures and also some wintery weather.

Look at this. go to the north around portions of Alaska at this hour from Fairbanks, Alaska, out to Barrow, Alaska, wind chills down to 30 to 40 below zero. The air becomes modified as it moves farther south, not going to warm up as we get into Monday afternoon. and Monday night, going to put a couple of inches around Seattle. A few more inches around Portland. This will be about quarter to half of what we see in an entire year. A big story developing across that region of the western United States.

[02:55:16] I want to show you what's happening across eastern China in the past 24 hours. Remarkable footage coming out of here where thousands more stranded at the airport where flights were halted for 10 hours due to extreme pollution in this particular spot. When you take a look at what's occurring, air quality five to 10 times what is considered fit to breathe. Conditions really exacerbated by the elevation or the landscape out towards the west where all of this smog gets trapped across where tens of millions, hundreds of millions of people, when you put it together, reside across this region.

Guys, when you take a look at the numbers for places like Beijing, since January 2008, the area in red indicates the percentage of which the days were considered unhealthy. every single day going back to the first of January in 2008were unhealthy. incredible to see how little were considered fit to breathe on a large scale there.

CHURCH: Just extraordinary.

Thanks so much, Pedram. Appreciate it.

JAVAHERI: Thanks.

CHURCH: And thanks for your company, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church.

VANIER: I'm Cyril Vanier.

The news continues after the break. Stay tuned.

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