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Violent Mall Fights Captured on Social Media; North Korea Planning Nuke Push; Japan's Abe Makes Historic Pearl Harbor Visit. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 27, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You see the fights are happening both on the top and on the bottom. And then, in Ohio, another mall, another fight in another food court. Then go ahead and move on. You see people running there. In Colorado, the Aurora Town Mall closed and evacuated after not one but several fights broke out inside that mall. And here's what police say prompted what happened there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. CHRIS AMSLER, AURORA POLICE: Our investigation revealed how this all started was actually from social media. There was something that was going around on social media about a fight that was going to take place here at the Town Center of Aurora, which is what drew all of these people who were up to no good to our mall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And then, let's move on to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where police say teenagers actually set off fireworks. So there wasn't a fight there, but they thought, people in the mall, that the fireworks were gunshots. And you know how these days with, you know, soft targets and people worried about terrorism. So it really frightened families inside that mall. And it turned out that several shoppers ended up being injured as they tried to escape that mall, worried it was gunshots. Indeed it was not gunshots. Police saying that it was fireworks set off in a mall.

But this is just a lot of chaos for the day after Christmas when there are a lot of families that go into the mall for entertainment. The kids go in there too because there's not a lot of places to go for them right after the holidays. And a lot of times they're just in there to have fun. The question is, was this something that was planned out? And that's what police are trying to figure out. You heard that officer talking about social media.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

SIDNER: Was there something that, in a lot of different cities, teens got together on SnapChat or something and decided, hey, let's go to the mall and fight (ph) there (ph).

MALVEAUX: Yes. I mean, Sara, in light of the fact that perhaps it was announced ahead of time on social media, do the police feel, authorities feel like maybe they can, next time around, and the holiday get on top of this and perhaps start checking social media to see, are there - is there chatter, is there buzz about something that's about to go down at the mall so they can, you know, really jump this and get ahead of it?

SIDNER: I'm sure there's discussions and a lot of departments now have tech teams that look into things like that. The problem, though, is, Suzanne, and as you know this, teenagers are way ahead of all of us when it comes to knowing new social media and new things to communicate on. SnapChat's one of those where they can send messages and then those messages disappear, so very hard to track and trace. But this is one of the things that law enforcement will certainly be looking at.

And we still want to find out if this was really a concerted effort that sort of went out across America somehow as opposed to just being isolated incidents, because we're talking about more than a dozen malls. We just showed you a few there, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes, I mean, it looks absolutely crazy that - when that happened.

SIDNER: Yes.

MALVEAUX: I guess folks got to go back to school.

Sara, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

Good morning. I'm Suzanne Malveaux, in for Carol Costello. Thanks for joining me.

A former North Korean diplomat said Kim Jong-un is racing to develop nuclear weapons by the end of 2017. And plans to accomplish that goal at any costs. Our CNN's Saima Mohsin has more from Seoul.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, this information is coming from one of the highest ranking diplomatic defectors from North to South Korea in history. Tayon Ho (ph) was Pyongyang's deputy ambassador to London. And, crucially, that means he is a man in the know. He has information that many analysts suspected but few could actually confirm.

Now, he was speaking to South Korean media here in Seoul for the first time since he made his escape, saying what you just said about North Korea's nuclear development. And I want to read you this quote. He says that "as long as Kim Jong-un is in power, North Korea will never, ever give up its nuclear weapons." And he goes on, "the North will not give them up, even if the country's offered $1 trillion or $10 trillion in return." It's not a matter of economic incentives which a lot of analysts have said before, offer them money and maybe they'll change their mind.

Now, 2017. Why 2017? Well, crucially, Suzanne, according to this defector, Kim Jong-un has carefully calculated that that's when President-elect Trump should be in the White House and there should be a new president here in Seoul and he believes the new administrations' hands will be tried to take any kind of military actions to stop North Korea's development of its nuclear weapons. He's really calculating this now. And apparently he wants to be a nuclear state before Pyongyang approaches Washington, D.C., and Seoul to open up some kind of dialogue.

Now, until then, this defector also says it will carry on with its nuclear tests, its military drills that we've been seeing recently and that is an intention to try and reverse the U.N. sanctions. That kind of policy that's towards North Korea, he will continue until he is a nuclear state and then he'll come to the table.

[09:35:07] Now, this defector is currently under South Korean government protection with his family. He defected in the summer and he says he's determined to dismantle Kim Jong-un's regime and save his people from approaching nuclear disaster.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Saima, thank you so much. Just another challenge that the new president will face. Thank you so much.

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, he is, today, making an historic trip to Pearl Harbor. This is 75 years after the Japanese launched an attack on U.S. soil. Abe will meet with President Obama and lay a wreath at the USS Arizona Memorial. That is where nearly 2,000 Americans died on December 7th in 1941. Abe is the fourth Japanese prime minister to go to Pearl Harbor, but the first to actually visit the USS Arizona Memorial.

Our CNN's Athena Jones, she is traveling with the president and she is joining us from Honolulu.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This visit is coming seven months after President Obama made a similar trip to Hiroshima to pay his respects to the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives there. Now, Prime Minister Abe will do the same here.

These are two historic visits the White House says highlight the power of reconciliation. The ability of two former adversaries to now have become the closest of allies. Today kicks off with a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, followed by a wreath laying ceremony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial. Later, the two will deliver remarks.

Before making the trip, Abe said that this visit would be, "a visit to soothe the souls of the victims. We should never repeat the ravages of war." Those are two things we expect he could touch on today.

The prime minister will offer prayers for those who lost their lives in the attack, but don't expect an apology. His will be a forward looking speech.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Athena Jones reporting from Hawaii. Thank you very much. Still to come, filling the bench. Donald Trump might get to pick more

than 100 federal judges, and his picks could help shape everything from gun control to abortion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:32] MALVEAUX: In just 24 days, President-elect Donald Trump takes office, inheriting a lengthy to-do list. That includes appointing federal judges, 107 in all. That is more than double the number of judge vacancies President Obama had when he took office back in 2009. George W. Bush had 80 open.

And here's why this is important. Federal judges commonly hear cases concerning state gun control laws, abortion restrictions, voter laws, anti-discrimination measures and immigration issues.

With me now is Jeffrey Toobin, senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor.

Jeff, good to see you. Happy holiday.

Let's talk about this here. Let's unpack it. This is a monumental opportunity for Trump to reshape the judiciary with these lifetime - lifetime appointments. And what we often think of a Supreme Court impacting our lives, they hear about, what, 75 cases a year, but the circuit courts decide tens of thousands of the cases for all those people who live in the states within the circuits. So, tell us, what kind of impact could these appointments have on all of us?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's really an enormous opportunity because it's not just the individual litigants, the people whose cases are heard, but these cases establish precedents that we all have to live by. You gave a good list of the kind of cases that are heard.

And another, you know, point that's worth making is that the political polarization that we are so familiar with, the really big differences between the Democratic and Republican Party today, are reflected in the kind of judges who are appointed to the bench. Barack Obama appointed 326 judges over the course of eight years. Many of them are liberal. Many of them reflect the diversity of his coalition. You know, many more African-Americans than President George W. Bush. Many more women. The first significant group of gay and lesbian judges.

Donald Trump may have some diversity in his appointments, but certainly they will all be quite conservative. And as you point out, they will all serve for life. So however long Donald Trump is president, four years or eight years, his judges will serve long after he's gone.

MALVEAUX: We've already learned through Trump, he says he's going to pick judges in the mold of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. So what does that tell us about the type of appointees that he is going to select?

TOOBIN: Well, one point that he has made repeatedly, and certainly his supporters expect, is that he will appoint judges, and especially justices on the Supreme Court, he has only one opportunity at the moment, who are against the rights guaranteed to women under Roe versus Wade. He will - he will appoint, as he said, pro-life judges.

Now, at the moment, there are five justices on the Supreme Court who support abortion rights. So his first appointment, the one that will replace Justice Scalia, will not necessarily change the balance on abortion. But the real question looking forward is, will he get more appointments? Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83 years old. Anthony Kennedy, 80 years old. Stephen Breyer, 78 years old. All three are supporters of abortion rights and, you know, they may not serve for the full four years of Donald Trump's tenure. If he has the chance to replace them, then abortion rights - the calculus will very likely change in the United States.

MALVEAUX: We did see the successful blocking of President Obama's pick, Garland. Is there a possibility here that Democrats could use the same type of measures despite the fact that they're not in power to try to block some of these possible appointments?

TOOBIN: It's much, much harder without a majority. It's easy with a majority. One of the things that comes with controlling the majority of the Senate is control of the agenda. So when Mitch McConnell said, I will not bring Merrick Garland up for a vote, that was the end of the story. Now, the problem for the Democrats is, they don't have a majority. Now, they have 48 seats, which is a lot of seats. Certainly they can use a lot of delaying tactics. The filibuster still exists for Supreme Court appointments. But, ultimately, it will be very hard to stop a Donald Trump Supreme Court appointment with only 48 votes. Now, it is possible that they could bring three votes over to their side.

[09:45:08] MALVEAUX: Right.

TOOBIN: As you see on the screen there, the two independents, Bernie Sanders and Angus King, are basically Democrats when it comes to these sorts of issues.

MALVEAUX: Right.

TOOBIN: But to stop a Donald Trump Supreme Court appointment, it's going to take some Republican votes. And if you look at the Republicans in the Senate, it's very hard to think of where those votes would come from.

MALVEAUX: All right. And, of course, it was one of their top priorities, the conservatives, in electing Donald Trump to get that seat in place.

Jeffrey Toobin, good to see you, as always. Thank you.

TOOBIN: OK.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

Still to come, there was a call to bring back our girls, and now some of the young women snatched from a school by a terror group are returning home. This is a CNN exclusive, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Twenty-one girls kidnapped by the terror group Boko Haram, finally returned home. They were taken from their boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria. This was more than two years ago. This was the proof of life video that was released at the time. And their captivity started a movement on social media with the hash tag #bringbackourgirls. Well, nearly 200 schoolgirls from Chibok remain with the militants, but CNN was there as the girls who were released reunited with their families. Isha Sesay has this exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After almost two and a half years in Boko Haram captivity, at last it's time to go home. Having covered the Chibok girls' abduction from the very beginning, I'm going to make the long journey from Abuja to Chibok with them.

SESAY (on camera): You're going home. How are you feeling? Somebody tell me, how - what is the feeling in your heart right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy.

SESAY: Yes, happy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

SESAY (voice-over): For all the talk of excitement, some of these girls are also nervous.

[09:50:04] SESAY (on camera): Don't be nervous. Don't be afraid, OK? Behold your faith. You hold on to your faith, OK? OK? The same faith that kept you all those months.

SESAY (voice-over): With the girls on the move, there are more smiles as they chat and giggle freely amongst themselves.

Once we land in Yola (ph), the girls are welcomed by some of the Chibok community leaders, as well as the governor of Adamawa (ph) state.

The road to Chibok, too dangerous to travel after dark. The girls spend the night at a local hotel. Outside, a large security cordon is put in place. Inside, with their journey delayed, they gather in one room to do what they were unable to do while in Boko Haram captivity. I learned from Rebecca Malum (ph) and Glory Damer (ph) they were singing local Christian hymns. While in captivity, their Christianity was not tolerated by the Boko Haram terrorists.

SESAY (on camera): What have you been doing since you were at Abuja?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Abuja we are - we been very grateful. We are - we are grateful for them because they are good people. They have done good for us. And then when we are in Abuja, we are play football, we have English class that we are - that we are learning how to speak in English and writing very well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye.

SESAY: You guys look so different since I saw you in October. How are you feeling now, from that time till now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are feeling beautiful because - since we came. We -

SESAY: You can tell me. You can tell me. Because you are beautiful.

SESAY (voice-over): The next morning, a military convoy escorts the girls to Chibok, a place that holds the promise of long-awaited family reunions and memories of a fateful night.

SESAY (on camera): So the convoy has stopped in a town called Madamamubi (ph), which is about an hour away from Chibok. The movement through these parts, such a well-armed convoy, is drawing attention from passersby.

SESAY (voice-over): As we enter Chibok town, locals wave excitedly, welcoming their girls home.

The moment of reunion eventually arrives. The room, almost vibrating with the sound of unbridled joy. But for some waiting parents, heartbreak. These women have come looking for their daughters who are still being held by Boko Haram. They've thought their children were among the group who were coming home for Christmas.

SESAY (on camera): There has been such an outpouring of grief amid the joy. The piercing screams of mothers realizing that, indeed, they are not to be reunited with their daughters on this day, which has turned what should have been an overwhelmingly happy moment into a bitter sweet one.

SESAY (voice-over): For Rebecca and her father, the nightmare is over and her father is overcome with feelings of gratitude. Given all they have endured, the mental and physical abuse at the hands of their captors, the years of painful separation from their loved ones, this reunion here in Chibok moves these fractured families and the community a step closer to wholeness.

Isha Sesay, CNN, Chibok, Nigeria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Yes, so tragic.

Coming up, six inmates escape through a hole they found behind a jail toilet and one is still on the loose. The latest on the manhunt. That up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:57:25] MALVEAUX: The numbers are shocking and tragic. Chicago police say there have been 753 homicides in Chicago this year. Twelve of those deaths just this past Christmas weekend. Police calling them deliberate and planned.

Our CNN's Ryan Young is in Chicago with more.

And just explain to us what is going on.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really a tough story. This city's gripped in a gang war, mostly on the south and west sides. And, in fact, the Chicago Police Department said there was 27 shootings just over the holiday period. But to give you an idea of just the differences in number, "The Chicago Tribune," which is the paper here, is saying 61 people were shot in total over the holiday weekend. So there's a big jump between those numbers.

But to put this in perspective, when you think about the fact that overnight a 13 and 14-year-old girl were shot. There are people here in the city who are obviously calling for help. This has been an long going problem. If you just look at the numbers overall, from this year to last year, you can see the jump in homicides. And a lot of people think the numbers will reach 800 homicides for the year. So far, we're sitting at 753 with over 3,400 shootings this year. And, in fact, you look at last year's numbers where there was over 450 shootings. So you can see the real big issue here. The superintendent came out strong yesterday, talking about what he feels like needs to change to be able to make the streets safer here in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDIE JOHNSON, CHICAGO POLICE DEPT.: I just don't believe that we hold repeat gun offenders accountable for their actions. I just don't. You know, they think that the justice system in Cook County is a joke, you know. And until we change the mental narrative of individuals to make them not want to pick up a gun, we're going to continue to see this cycle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Look, he talked to people in the communities. They say they need economic help from the other side of town to get kids out of the way of these gangs. This has been a long, simmering problem. Of course, reporters have been doing stories about this for quite some time. But I can tell you, people in the neighborhood, they're asking for help. Of course they want things to change for the new year. But right now, the solutions can't be just from the police department.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes, we have so much to work on there. Ryan, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

YOUNG: Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: The manhunt continues in Tennessee now for one last remaining prisoner after a Christmas Day jailbreak. According to CNN affiliate WATE, David Frazier and five other inmates escaped from the Cocke County Jail. Frazier is still on the loose and considered dangerous. The other five are back in custody. Now, the six men got out through a hole they found behind a toilet.

They were able to move the toilet back to cover the hole and conceal their escape.

[10:00:04] The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

Good morning. I'm Suzanne Malveaux, in for Carol Costello.