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Turkish Police Release Suspect's Photo; Trump Responds To Kim Jong-un's Claims; Finger-pointing Follows NYE Debacle; Dozens Killed In Brazil Prison Riot; Chicago's Deadliest Year In Nearly 2 Decades; 56 Dead in Brazil Prison Riot; Mariah Carey Blames Faulty Ear Piece for NYE Performance Mishap. Aired 1:30-2a ET

Aired January 03, 2017 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00] MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, Turkish police say they are hunting this man, the prime suspect in the Istanbul nightclub attack.

Donald Trump sends a warning to Kim Jong-un after North Korea's leader claims he's testing a rocket that could reach the U.S.

And later, plenty of finger-pointing in the aftermath of Mariah Carey's train wreck New Year's Eve performance.

Thanks for being with us, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes and this is NEWSROOM L.A.

Thanks for your company, everyone. Turkey says it has the fingerprints of the shooter who killed 39 people in a popular nightclub in Istanbul. We are told that this is the man the police are hunting.

This video matches the suspect's photos the police gave the Turkish media. It's unclear when the video itself was taken. At least eight people meanwhile have been detained for questioning and ISIS is claiming responsibility for the attack. Turkey believes it was retaliation for it going after the terror group in Syria.

CNN's Ian Lee joins us now from Istanbul. Obviously, the border between Turkey and Syria has always been a porous one. Are there fears that this man has escaped across it? What's the status of the investigation?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Michael. With the hours that are ticking by, there is the risk that he might try to sneak across the border into ISIS territory in Syria although they don't control any territory along the border any more. So, that will be a different journey. But right now, we're over 48 hours since that deadly nightclub shooting. Hundreds of police officers are scouring the country trying to find him.

They do say they have his photo and his fingerprints. They say that's not only going to help them identify who the gunman is but also use that information to try to figure out if he had any help in this attack. And security experts say that that could be likely since instead of staying there and having a shootout with the police, he was able to escape and slip away and again, 48 hours since that attack, and he hasn't been found.

HOLMES: ISIS in the past has refrained from taking responsibility for attacks inside of Turkey. How seriously are authorities taking this claim?

LEE: We could be seeing a shift here, with ISIS claiming responsibility. They mentioned in their statement that it was because of Turkey's involvement in neighboring Syria. Right now, Turkish troops are battling ISIS militants in the City of al-Bab. Turkey has been firing artillery and conducting airstrikes, killing scores of ISIS fighters. ISIS has carried out these attacks in Turkey in the past. Some say to sew some chaos in the country and uncertainty.

But these are very serious because ISIS has been known to carry out these mass-casualty attacks. When they do carry out attacks, dozens of people have been killed. And so, they're showing the Turkish authorities that they are still able to do it. In the meantime, Turkish authorities have been coming under fire from being unable to prevent such attacks.

But the Deputy Prime Minister gave a statement yesterday saying they have prevented 248 attacks which involved car bombs and suicide bombs. But they say at times, they do slip through but when they do, there are a lot of people dead.

HOLMES: All right. Ian Lee there in Istanbul for us this morning. Thanks so much, Ian.

HOLMES: All the victims of that terrible attack began the New Year celebrating the festivities of course, quickly turning to a blood bath. For 39 people, the first hour of 2017 was their last.

CNN's Sara Sidner with more from Istanbul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Video from a party inside the upscale Reina Nightclub the moment Istanbul entered 2017. Just 75 minutes later, mayhem. Flashes from a gun held by a man as he begins his killing spree. First, outside shooting a police officer and security guard, then he opens fire inside.

39 people are killed; 69 injured. The victims, from all over the world including the United States.

WILLIAM JACOB RAAK, ATTACK VICTIM: I got shot in the fucking leg, man. This crazy people came and shoot everything.

SIDNER: William Jacob Raak survived the night of terror. Seven of the nine people who entered the club left with bullet wounds. Raak, now headed home.

RAAK: For me, I wake up in the United States. I eat breakfast. You guys wake up and have to think of this. It's so, so sad and I really wish everybody here the best.

[01:05:07] SIDNER: But the worst was yet to come for the victims' families. 24 hours after the massacre, the funerals began. This one for Fatih Cakmak, another security guard; his mother's moans pierced the silence, his father in shock. His son had survived this car bomb attack three weeks ago at an Istanbul stadium but not the night club massacre.

"He was one in a million. If he wasn't special, hundreds of people would not have bothered to show up here," he says. This sorrow will be multiplied 39 times. This is just one of the families forced to say goodbye to their young loved ones after the Reina Nightclub attack.

27 of the 39 victims were foreign nationals including a film producer and fashion designer from India, a beautiful 19-year-old Israeli citizen with a full life awaiting her.

A massive manhunt is now underway for the man believed to be the lone attacker. Turkish authorities say they have his fingerprints and image but still have not caught him.

The aim of the attack, though, has come into focus as ISIS claimed responsibility using social media saying in part, a soldier of the brave caliphate attacked one of the most popular nightclubs while Christians were celebrating their holiday. But the majority killed were Muslim, many from Saudi Arabia. The killer's ideology against western ideal's failing to change minds but succeeding in solemn sorrow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And we also spoke to some of the survivors who told us people were so frightened that some jumped into the frigid dark waters of the Bosphorus trying to save their own lives. Michael?

HOLMES: Thanks to Sara Sidner there. Now, the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has a strong response to Kim Jong-un, following the North Korean leader's rather threatening New Year announcement. Trump tweeted this, "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen."

CNN's Matt Rivers joins me now from Beijing because Donald Trump also mentioned China. Again, saying that China - it's a one-way trade with China and yet they do nothing to stop North Korea. He went -- what is the status of China's relationship with North Korea?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that kind of line of argument is something we've heard from Donald Trump throughout his entire presidential campaign, and obviously, he is continuing that kind of rhetoric in the run up to his assuming the presidency in just a couple weeks now. And so, that's not really new.

But in terms of what China does for North Korea, China has a unique relationship with North Korea in the sense that China really props up North Korea. It is its biggest trading partner by far. It is really the economic lifeline for the North Korean government, for the Kim Jong-un regime.

But what China has been doing this year is participating in sanctions, in fact, even helping draw up sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime. So, it was earlier this year that there were sanctions put in place aimed at trying to prevent North Korea from getting its hands on more hard currency; taking aim at exports from North Korea, mainly speaking about coal in this situation, and how China really takes a lot of coal, almost all the coal, frankly, from North Korea.

There was another round of sanctions done in November that the Chinese appear to be following at this part -- at this point. But the one criticism of China from the international community you hear quite a bit about, is that they don't enforce the sanctions. In the beginning, they make overtures. They make it seem like the're enforcing the sanctions, that are intended to harm the Kim Jong-un regime, but as time goes on, they're very lax about enforcing those sanctions. Michael?

HOLMES: In some ways, I mean, China is North Korea's only friend if we can call them that. And they control the spigot - they control the tap, if you like, of what goes in and out.

But China's in a difficult position isn't it? Because they have to walk that fine line, they don't want the North Korean economy to collapse, do they? For obvious reasons

RIVERS: Right. I mean, this is strategically, many people argued that China does not want to see the North Korean regime collapse and that's why perhaps, doesn't enforce the sanctions as rigorously as it could or should even. And so, what you're seeing is a couple of things from a strategic standpoint.

On the one hand, China doesn't want the regime to collapse, because an economic collapse in North Korea could set off a refugee crisis; millions of North Koreans flooding the Chinese borders. Something China really isn't prepared to handle or at least said it's not prepared to handle.

[01:09:51] And then, frankly, you also have to look at the United States and geopolitical and military interest in the region. If the North Korean regime were to collapse, does that mean that North Korean - that U.S. troops currently based in South Korea would then move up to the Chinese border? That's something that the Chinese certainly don't want. So they also view North Korea as kind of a buffer against the United States in this part of the world.

So, the Chinese do have a rooting interest in the Kim Jong-un regime continuing, but they are also repeatedly upset and made it clear that they do not want this nuclear weapons program to continue. So, right off the top you mentioned, it is a quite a fine line, Michael, for the Chinese in this particular situation.

HOLMES: Yes, complicated. As always, Matt, thanks so much. Matt Rivers there in Beijing for us. Thanks so much. All right. Well, officials say they have discovered digital

fingerprints indicating Russia orchestrated the U.S. elections cyber- attack, but Donald Trump still skeptical about Russia's role. He says he knows things that other people don't know about the hack. CNN's Pamela Brown has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Donald Trump rang in the New Year still casting doubts on the U.S. Intelligence Community's assessment that Russia was behind the unprecedented attack of the U.S. election system.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know about hacking and hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So, it could be somebody else, and I also know things that other people don't know, and so, they cannot be sure of the situation.

BROWN: Asked to describe what undisclosed information he had access to, Trump promised to reveal it soon.

TRUMP: You'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday.

BROWN: And he said the failed intelligence leading up to the Iraq war makes him skeptical.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I just want them to be sure because it's pretty serious, George, and I want them to be sure. And, if you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster and they were wrong.

BROWN: Today, Trump's incoming Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended the president-elect's stand.

SEAN SPICER, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The idea that we are jumping to conclusions before we have a final report is frankly irresponsible.

BROWN: CNN has learned the Intelligence Community traced the hack back to specific keyboards with a Cyrillic text, an alphabet used by Russians. Adding to U.S. intelligence officials' confidence, Russia carried out the hack.

Last week, the FBI-DHS put out this report naming the Russian hacking operation, "Grizzly Steppe," and calling out two Russian intelligence service groups for "The Intrusion into a U.S. Political Party."

Senator John McCain traveling this week with other senators in the Baltic region where countries are most worried about Russia's aggression, said there is no doubt that Moscow was the culprit.

JOHN MCCAIN, UNITED STATES REPUBLICAN SENATOR: It is clear that Russia has attacked the United States of America. All of our intelligence agencies will affirm that being a case. We will work in the congress to have stronger sanctions in order to prevent further attacks on the United States of America. BROWN: As we await the comprehensive review that President Obama

ordered about the election hacks, officials tell us part of why the intelligence community is so confident in its assessment is because of the high quality intelligence that has on Russia compared to other more secretive regimes like North Korea. Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And joining me now, Kurtis Lee, National Reporter for the "Los Angeles Times." Good to have you back, Kurtis. I mean, this whole Donald Trump tweeting about North Korea before he's even president, "It won't happen," is he backing himself into a corner there? And there's the tweet there, "It won't happen." He's drawing a red line, isn't he?

KURTIS LEE, LOS ANGELES TIMES POLITICAL REPORTER: He certainly is. And, it's one of those things that we've seen Donald Trump do throughout the campaign.

In the Republican Primary, he made a number of, you know, allegations and drew lines with his competitors, from Jeb Bush to Marco Rubio to Ted Cruz. We saw that in the general election against Hillary Clinton.

But now, as we're in this transition period, it's something that a lot of people were wondering will Donald Trump continue the campaign into this transition period, which he has.

He has tweeted a number of things about the hacking that's going on, that intelligence officials have said has gone on during the election. He's pushed back against that on Twitter. He's talked about the U.N. He's now talked about North Korea. So it's really interesting now we're seeing a couple weeks out from January 20th, will this continue on once Donald Trump is in the White House and alone in the Oval Office?

HOLMES: Well, as you say, I mean, people thought that once he won the election, that he would - he would temper his remarks, but here, you have basically, foreign policy being conducted in 140 characters and that's got to be a risky thing. He likes to bypass the media and go straight to the people. But when you're dealing with China, North Korea, the U.N., it's dangerous, isn't it?

LEE: It's something that's interesting because he is getting these intelligence briefings, you know, often, he and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. And, you know, the intelligence feed, this is something that's not normal for a president-elect to be, you know, tweeting things out. There is this - there are probably worries from within the intelligence community of classified information maybe being dispelled. And, Donald Trump has hinted different things in interviews with the president. Well. I know more than you do about this situation. And, I'm right because I know and I've been receiving briefings.

There is this interesting - certain worry will he continue tweeting? Will he say something that, you know, he's not supposed to?

[01:15:13] HOLMES: Well, one of the concerns is he's not getting enough briefings. He's doing it once a week when he should be doing it every day. That's being a concern.

When it comes to Russia hacking, though, he pretty much stands alone in saying, "Well, it might not be the Russians, we don't know." When you got 17, you know, security departments that say it was the Russians, when you got senior republicans, John McCain, Lindsey Graham saying it was the Russians. Why is he standing alone on this? Does anyone know?

LEE: I think - it is essentially because you do see democrats and republicans alike agreeing on this, the intelligence community agreeing that hacking took place.

I think this is, you know, just Donald Trump we've seen throughout the campaign, throughout this effort to win the White House. He is going at it alone and he's always insisting, you know, "I'm smart, so I don't need intelligence briefings." That's what often what he says.

And this is just him going at it alone and really pushing back against this idea that somehow the Russians helped influenced the election to the point of where, you know, he was able to beat Hillary Clinton.

HOLMES: Yes. Which was just interesting, because nobody's really saying that. They're saying that the Russians, you know, got involved, not that they influenced the election. It's fascinating.

I wish we had more time, Kurtis. We got to leave it there. Kurtis Lee, National Reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Appreciate you coming in.

LEE: Thank you so much.

HOLMES: All right. ISIS relentless in targeting victims even as it fights to keep its last major stronghold in Iraq.

Coming up, what's ahead in that battle? Also, Israeli police investigating Benjamin Netanyahu for possible corruption. What the prime minister has to say about those allegations. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Don Riddell with your CNN WORLD SPORT headlines.

The Premier League kicked off the New Year with Chelsea six points clear at the top of the table, but since the Blues aren't in action again until Wednesday, the chasing pack had a chance to close the gap.

Liverpool did not go -- the Reds could only manage a draw at struggling Sunderland, twice they led the game but twice the Black Cats came from behind with penalties from Jermain Defoe. The big winners on Monday were Manchester United who are on their best

streak since the days of Alex Ferguson. 13 games unbeaten in all competitions and against West Ham at the London Stadium, United won 2- 0 to clock up their sixth consecutive Premier League win.

Juan Mata came on as a sub to put United ahead in the second half before Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored yet again.

United's rival, Manchester City were in desperate need of a big win and they got it against Burnley but this came the hard way. Fernandinho just cannot seem to stay on the field these days. He was sent off for the third time in just six games.

It seemed apparent from his simmering post match interviews that manager Pep Guardiola was furious with the referee. But City still found a way and claimed the points with goals from Gael Clichy and Sergio Aguero.

[01:20:04] A 2-1 win that makes up some of the ground they lost in their defeat to Liverpool on New Year's Eve. That is a quick look at your sports headlines, I'm Don Riddell.

(COMEMRCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under investigation for possible corruption. Police questioned him for several hours on Monday and it is not the first time Mr. Netanyahu has been investigated. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is officially a suspect in a criminal investigation in Israel.

Police and the attorney general saying he is suspected of having received gifts and benefits from businessmen, though they won't say too much more about the suspicions, fearing the investigation may become biased one way or another if they reveal too many details.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denounced the allegations and the investigation against him. This is what he posted or part of what he posted on his Facebook page on New Year's Day. He said, "Unfortunately you will have to be disappointed this time as well like you were in previous affairs. As usual, there will not be anything because there is nothing. Try replacing the prime minister at the ballot box as is customary in a democracy."

There Netanyahu is referencing a previous criminal investigation into his affairs that happened back in the late 90s during his first term as Prime Minister. It didn't lead to an indictment and didn't lead to any charges. Netanyahu predicting this current investigation won't lead to any charges as well.

Now, this started about six months ago as an examination as the Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit looked into affairs relating to the prime minister. But the attorney general said it wasn't until a month ago that they had the evidence to believe this could lead to a criminal investigation.

So what happens now? Well, Netanyahu doesn't have to do anything as long as it remains a criminal investigation without an indictment. Under Israeli law, only when it becomes a conviction and that conviction is upheld at the highest levels of Israeli high court, does he have to resign. That being said, if this becomes an indictment with serious charges, he may face tremendous political pressure and public pressure to step down.

But we're not there yet. At the moment, this is the beginning of a criminal investigation, police investigators were at his house for about three hours on Monday night. This is just the first stage, it remains a criminal investigation. That is where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicts it will end. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, the free Syrian army says it is suspending talks leading up to peace negotiations in Kazakhstan.

The rebel groups accuse the Syrian regime of violating the four-day- old ceasefire by trying to recapture a rebel-held area near Damascus. The group though has not said it will withdraw from the peace talks themselves. Russia, Syria, and Turkey negotiated those talks which are scheduled for later this month.

HOLMES: Well, while Iraqi forces fight to retake Mosul, ISIS militants are striking back in other areas. A car bomb killing at least 35 people in Baghdad, southern city district; four other attacks in the capital killed nine more. ISIS also targeting two police stations in Samarra, killing at least six people.

And, the French President Francois Hollande says fighting terrorism in Iraq helps prevent terror attacks on French soil. He visited Iraq on Monday, meeting with the country's president and prime minister. About 500 French troops are training and advising Iraqi forces.

And former Marine and Green Beret, Chase Millsap is here in Los Angeles with me. He is a board member of "No One Left Behind," a group that's doing a great work helping Afghan and Iraqi interpreters and others whose lives are still at risk. After working with the coalition -

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Yeah. Absolutely. And, that is an enormously worthwhile cause. It's not what we're talking about today.

Now, these bombings in Baghdad, Samarra and elsewhere, classic divisionary tactics by ISIS while the battle for Mosul continues?

CHASE MILLSAP, FORMER MARINE AND GREEN BERET: Yes. We've seen this before. When I was there in 2006, 2007, right during the highest sectarian violence, it was not uncommon to see car bombs go off in Shia areas of Baghdad just sort of break the alliance and create that Sunni-Shia conflict. It's exactly what we're seeing here is that the coalition that's in Mosul right now, it's got Kurds, it's got Sunni militias, Shia militias and the Iraqi security forces.

It's fragile, and if you start going after some of the major population centers, you can break that. You can take the political will away from that coalition. And this is a determined enemy trying to strike behind the lines and bring terror.

HOLMES: And create the atmosphere for retribution which of course -

MILLSAP: That's right.

[01:25:00] HOLMES: When you talk about Mosul, it's been a difficult fight. I was there last month for a month and saw it up close. It was slow going for the Iraqi forces. They're now in phase two of the operation. They're not yet even close to the river that divides east and west in Mosul.

What about the pace of this? Urban warfare is a tricky thing.

MILLSAP: Absolutely. It's extremely tricky thing. And what we talk about, you know, in the military is a three to one advantage. You want three attackers for every one defender and what they're look at in Mosul is maintaining that superiority and make sure we have all of the resources that they need. And a big part of that is establishing that cordon and keeping that cordon of the city.

So, when we look at it, we're in month four of an assault here. We can expect this to be a slow moving pace especially in a heavy urban area, we've got a defender that's been there for a year or so that's had time to plan.

HOLMES: Yes. Two years. It's their turf in a way.

MILLSAP: It's their turf.

HOLMES: And you got the Iraqi forces, say, predominantly share who are not from that area having to deal with things they don't know, and an enemy that is prepared to die.

Do you worry about the sectarian nature of the forces that are allied against the ISIS, the common enemy, if you like -- coming together to fight that common enemy. But you've got the Hashd al-Sha'bi, the Shia-led paramilitaries; you've got the Sunni militia as well; you've the tribes. Not all of whom are on the same page and there's already fear of retribution, those who supported ISIS, those who did not, and the Kurds who are not all on the same page either.

A lot of people worry about what happens after ISIS is gone and whether those groups potentially can turn on each other.

MILLSAP: Yeah. Well, you know, right now, ISIS is its own worst enemy. They've created an enemy that can bring a coalition together. And in this fight, I expected that's going to stay together. And this is where you have those advisers.

There's American advisers on the ground that are sort of doing a pulse check to find out is that coalition strong enough to weather the storm, get through the combat operations side of this and get into governance. Really get on the street, provide security, water, power, all those things that you need to be able to live in Mosul. Can that coalition stick together?

Because you're right, if we get in the sectarian violence, which we've seen before in other cities, that's going to put the coalition together, and they're going to come apart. And then, what you're going to see is infighting and really, really difficult for them to be able to maintain control and that's where ISIS can come back from being underground. So, it's very, very fragile at this point. But what we are really going to look at is those advisers on the ground who are sending those reports of every single day and really focusing on trust. What do I need to get from my partners today?

HOLMES: One of the - one of the reasons for ISIS to have been allowed into, not just Mosul, but Ramadi and Fallujah as well was anger at the central government. It was under Nouri al-Maliki was seen as a sectarian pro-Shia government. The importance once Mosul is one of who governs and who is running the place and that it's not seen as central government sort of over loading this predominantly Sunni area.

MILLSAP: Right. That's exactly it. Look at these cities, it's street by street. People want to know that their government is going to able to protect them from the local all the way up and that they're going to have the basic things they need to survive.

We are talking about cities that have been at war for now over a decade. These are survivors in these cities. It's going to be very, very difficult to regain that trust which is why it's so important that this coalition stick together through all phases of this.

And there's a political situation you got to look at here. In the military we talk about this concept of end state. What are those conditions that I need to achieve so that I can complete my mission. And, it's not just military conditions. We're looking at political, economic, social, all of those things that have to come together all at once.

This is going to be difficult and those advisers on the ground are looking at this comprehensive and say, when the fighting stops, what do we got to do next?

HOLMES: Yes. Exactly. Chase, thanks so much. Chase Millsap who is a former marine, former green beret, and also with the group "No One Left Behind", which is a separate discussion. We'll have you back to talk about an important group looking after Iraqi and Afghan translators and other people who work for the coalition whose lives in many cases, are still at risk because they're not being gotten out.

MILLSAP: That's right.

HOLMES: All right, keep up that good work. MILLSAP: Thank you, Mike.

HOLMES: Thank you, Chase. Well, the families of inmates want some answers after a deadly riot at a prison in Brazil. What officials say started it, that's coming up.

HOLMES: Also the City of Chicago marking an alarming milestone with its deadliest year in decades. Now the president-elect weighing in. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:48] HOLMES: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Michael Holmes.

And I have the headlines for you now.

(HEADLINES)

HOLMES: 2016 was Chicago's deadliest year in two decades. Its murder rate tops that of New York and Los Angeles. President-elect Donald Trump tweeting, quote, "Chicago murder rate is record setting. 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If mayor can't do it, he must ask for federal help".

CNN's Rosa Flores tells us what is behind the surge of killings.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, this is a tough and complicated issue. The local police superintendent says that, in part, emboldened criminals and anti-police environment are to blame, but you can't forget about the people caught in the crossfire, and all too often in Chicago those are children.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I knew it was gunshots. When I hear it, I know it wasn't fire crackers, and that's why I know it was gunshots.

FLORES (voice-over): She was sitting on her dad's lap on her grandma's front porch when all hell broke loose this summer. The 10- year-old says her dad used his body to shield her from the flying bullets.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I heard a lot, a lot of boom and stuff and saw all the blood on his shirt. I thought I wouldn't see him again.

[01:35:16] FLORES: Her down-stairs neighbor, Devon Henderson, was playing video games by a window.

DEVON HENDERSON, CHICAGO RESIDENT: When I heard the gunshots, I got on the floor. My mom grabbed me. She put me in the room so to hide me.

FLORES: The two were lucky to survive the hail of bullets, but so many children are not. CNN analyzed the police crime data. One child is killed in Chicago every week on average. That's a figure that's been true for the past quarter century.

Why is Chicago so deadly?

GARRY MCCARTHY, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Officers are under attack.

FLORES: In an interview with "60 Minutes" Garry McCarthy, former Chicago police superintendent, says Chicago cops are not actively policing out of fear of putting themselves and their families in jeopardy.

MCCARTHY: Police are on their heels. They're on their heels for a number of reasons. We see the results, don't we? We are reaching a state of lawlessness.

FLORES: Of the 762 murders in 2016, 65 percent of the killings are happening in five districts on is the south and west sides of the city where 59 rival gangs fight for territory, police say. To curb the violence, more officers are being hired and gunshot detection technology allowing a faster response is being purchased.

But until the killings stop --

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I feel scared in Chicago. I want to move from Chicago.

FLORES: -- children caught in the crosshairs are left dodging bullets since the two most likely places to be shot in Chicago are in the street or even the home.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I feel sad and scared. I don't want to be shot.

FLORES (on camera): About the president-elect's tweet, the city of Chicago did respond with a statement saying, in part, "We are heartened he is taking the issue seriously and look forward to working with the administration on these important efforts" -- Michael?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Our thanks to Rosa Flores.

And Cheryl Dorsey joins me. She's a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, and author of "The Creation of a Manifesto, Black and Blue."

Cheryl, great to have you with us.

I want to start with a graphic. Context is important and we need to say to people, as bad as it is in Chicago on a per capita basis, Chicago is not the murder capital of the country. But what is staggering about this is this 50 percent increase in a year. Why Chicago? Why now?

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED SERGEANT, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT & AUTHOR: Well, you know, the fact that it's not leading per capita brings little comfort to people who lost loved ones, right?

HOLMES: Exactly Absolutely. DORSEY: What is troubling to me is if this were occurring in a more affluent area, this would have stopped yesterday. You don't get to have 42 killings over a weekend and have a police department who officers are taught to act in a moment, assess and overcome obstacles. To not have a game plan or not figure out what is it that you need to do to combat this criminal activity and then to -- I read a report they are going to amp-up the police force in 2017. What were they waiting for? This was going on all year long, right? The police chief should have been getting resources and deployment needs met, people in academies during this whole 2016, so in 2017, they could have hit the ground running.

HOLMES: You know, the other thing too that Rosa pointed out there, it's not citywide. It's pockets. One would think it would make it easier to deal with. It's concentrated in certain distinct areas. What makes it so difficult to combat these rates of killings in these areas? What is not happening here?

DORSEY: Listen, I think Chicago is much like every major metropolitan police department. They comport themselves differently in affluent areas than minority communities. This would not be tolerated in Beverly Hills. I don't know what the affluent areas are there. But we understand it is only in the south and certain parts of the east. How is it that that occurs and what is that the police chief is not doing? Is he engaging the community? Is he having them be involved to see what they think would change their lifestyles? There are bright minds in police departments from other agencies that the police chief could look to about how to change how he uses his resources to deal with these increases. It's unconscionable to think that in 2016 they still don't have a clue about what to do.

[01:40:05] HOLMES: When you look at recent years -- and we have another graphic that shows this -- where you can see this leap in 2016.

You know, when Donald Trump says, you know, the city can't handle it, let the feds help out and Rahm Emanuel says help us out, what is needed? Is it more cops or more training or community outreach?

DORSEY: I don't think there is one quick fix. Officers need to be better trained for sure. We are seeing when officers are using deadly force as a first resort and not a last resort. The officer need to be evaluated to make sure they are good. We are seeing officers that are enacting retribution on people who are not doing what they ask them to do. They are punishing them rather than follow the law. I think community needs to be engaged. I think the recruitment efforts need to include people who look like the community. I think change comes from within the police department and if you want to effect change, then you need to join the police departments, whether in Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and make sure you are a part of the solution.

HOLMES: Going to leave it there.

Cheryl, thanks so much.

Cheryl Dorsey, retired sergeant with the L.A. police and author. Thanks so much for coming in.

DORSEY: Thanks for having me.

HOLMES: We'll talk to you next hour.

Brazilian investigators looking into a prison in the Amazon after a deadly riot. What sparked the uprising? That's next on NEWSROOM L.A.

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HOLMES: Welcome back. Brazilian authorities now investigating a lengthy prison riot that left at least 56 people dead. They say the death toll can rise as they get a better idea of what happened.

CNN's Rafael Romo with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDEENT: Brazilian officials say the riot lasted 17 hours, until Monday morning, when the prison guards were finally able to regain control.

(SHOUTING)

ROMO (voice-over): Family members of inmates desperate to find out about their loved ones rushed the prison gates.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I want to know how my son is. My son is in there. This is a bullet.

(SHOUTING)

ROMO: Anguish is plane to see on their faces.

Violence broke out in the prison complex near the city of Manaus. Officials say the bloody riot was sparked by a battle between rival drug gangs. Prison guards and 74 prisoners were taken hostage during the 17-hour riot. The bodies of some of those killed were thrown over the prison walls, some decapitated.

UNIDENTIFIED PRISON OFFICIAL (through translation): There were deaths, unfortunately. We have some outside the prison who were thrown from the prison by the prisoner themselves. There have been escapes. We don't know how many. We are looking for the escapees.

[01:45:12] ROMO: Brazil has more than 600,000 people behind bars, the fourth largest prison population on earth.

Prisons there have been criticized for being overcrowded, violent and disease ridden.

(on camera): In addition to overcrowding, a Brazilian security official acknowledged that the two gangs were probably fighting each other because they wanted to control drug trafficking inside the prison.

Rafael Romo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, Mariah Carey's team is blaming a faulty ear piece for an awkward New Year's Eve performance, and people on social media are sounding off as well. We'll have that and more when we come back.

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(WEATHER REPORT)

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HOLMES: Welcome back, everybody. Mariah Carey's team blaming Dick Clark Productions argue over a faulty ear piece.

Here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

[01:50:00] JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONALC ORRESPONDENT (voice-over): My, oh, my.

(SINGING)

MOOS: Mariah. They won't be forgetting this New Year's Eve performance any time soon.

(SINGING)

Instead of singing her hit "Emotions" her vocals went missing.

MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: We're missing this.

(SHOUTING)

MOOS: Viewers got very vocal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is going on? Is this how 2017 is going to treat us?

MOOS: Mariah vamped around the stage.

CAREY: We didn't have a sound check for this New Year's, baby.

MOOS: Awkwardly killing air time --

(SINGIG)

MOOS: -- as she called for technical assistance.

CAREY: Get these monitors on, please? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But as the train wreck was happening, a plane

crashed into it.

MOOS: And the tweets flew, "Breaking, Mariah Carey is blaming Russian hacking for her performance."

"The last thing 2016 killed is what is left of Mariah Carey's career."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who did Mariah Carey kiss at midnight? Her career goodbye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ISIS has claimed responsibility for Mariah Carey's New Year's Eve performance.

MOOS: And how did Mariah Carey describe it?

CAREY: That was amazing.

MOOS: So amazing, she later tweeted, "(EXPLETIVE DELETED) happens."

At least the puppet was sympathetic.

PUPPETT: Oh, Mariah, you're bad.

MOOS (on camera): Mariah's people say the singer was giving a malfunctioning ear piece and they complained before the performance.

(voice-over): The producers of "New Year's Rockin' Eve" said they had no involvement in the challenges associated with Mariah's performance.

At one point, you can see a dancer struggling with an audio pack and Mariah repeatedly feeling around for her ear piece.

(MUSIC)

MOOS: An ear piece that had some piecing together evidence frame by frame.

"Your face when you realize you're the first meme of 2017."

At one point, Mariah just let the mic drop --

(SINGING)

MOOS: -- as her pre-recorded voice continued on.

No wonder this guy thinks he lip syncs to Mariah better than Mariah herself.

(SINGING)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --

(SINGING)

MOOS: -- New York. (SINGING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And joining me now, Segun Oduolowu, entertainment journalist and pop culture contributor to "Access Hollywood Live."

Always good to see you.

Oh, my goodness. What damage does this do to her?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST & POP CULTURE CONTRIBUTOR, ACCESS HOLLYWOOD LIVE: I think the tweet that said this is the end of Mariah Carey's career, that 2016, that it was the last victim, it claimed her career.

Regardless of what happened they can't touch her catalog of songs from the '90s and top-selling female artist, et cetera. But what we saw and what was so startling is she can't hit those notes that the songs have. And I think that was the most telling.

HOLMES: That is what was exposed.

ODUOLOWU: That was exposed. She is not the singer she used to be. She's not the vocalist she used to be. I don't see her bouncing back any time soon. Now she is known for scandals, her reality show and who she is dating. Her music career --

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: It's that serious?

ODUOLOWU: Leave that in 2016. 2017, we're not looking any more.

HOLMES: A lot of people wanted to see the back of 2016. This was probably that, summed up the year.

When you look at lip syncing, it's always criticized as faking it. But you think it's a cover up for vocal issues?

ODUOLOWU: They played a song that she has sang a thousand times.

HOLMES: Right.

ODUOLOWU: Why do you need the backup vocals or the monitor? You have sung this song tons of times, sing it. That didn't happen. She needed not only the words but when they were just playing the track all the high notes piped in, that is so she could cover when she couldn't hit those notes any more. That's the most telling.

She is also in a competitive business. You look at her contemporaries that are in the same age group, they can tour and they don't have to sing. They can dance. Mariah is not a dancer. She doesn't put on a great show. The show has always been her voice. And if you don't have the voice any more, Mariah, you become a carnival side show where she is like, let the audience sing, because I sure can't. HOLMES: The blame game has started. She blamed Dick Clark

Productions for the ear piece thing. We have Dick Clark Production's response as well. We should say, they deserve to be heard. To suggest that Dick Clark Productions would intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd. Do you think it --

(CROSSTALK)

ODUOLOWU: Mya Angelou has a quote, "When someone tells us who they are, believe them." Mariah Carey has been telling us she is a diva for years. And this is diva behavior. Instead of taking responsibility for not doing a sound check or not having a better sound engineers and not doing a walk through. Remember, she sang "Auld Lang Syne" before this.

[01:55:29] HOLMES: Yeah.

ODUOLOWU: Were the ear pieces bad for that song, or did she just muddle through that OK?

HOLMES: What is your crisis management advice?

ODUOLOWU: She is going on tour with Lionel Richie. The best damage control would be to put on good concerts. But if you are going to see good vocalization, good luck with that in 2017.

HOLMES: I was surprised when I heard of that duo. That is an unlikely duo.

ODUOLOWU: A Motown legend and a fading star. That sound is the air going out of Mariah's career.

HOLMES: Oh!

ODUOLOWU: Too soon?

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Yes. Too soon.

ODUOLOWU: Too soon? I'll be the bad guy.

HOLMES: Good to see you. Thanks for coming in.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: We got to go.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Michael Holmes. More news after the break.

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