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Trump Breaks Protocol with Taiwan Call; Remains of Crash Victims Returned to Brazil; Votes in Italy and Austria Could Redefine Europe; Crushing Regime Offensive Continues in Aleppo; Vote Set on Impeaching South Korean President; Puppy Takes House Training to New Level. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired December 03, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): One phone call: the U.S. president-elect Donald Trump takes a congratulatory call from Taiwan's president and the diplomatic jaws drop.

Two countries, two big votes: how Italy and Austria could alter Europe's future.

And a sad return home: the remains of those killed on Monday's plane crash in Colombia return to Brazil.

Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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HOWELL: 5:00 am on the U.S. East Coast.

President-Elect Donald Trump broke nearly 40 years of protocol by taking time to talk with the leader of Taiwan Friday. And now China is reacting. China is not pleased with what happened. Trump said that Taiwan's president called him.

Now we're hearing from China's foreign minister, calling the 10-minute chat, quote, "a shenanigan," by Taiwan. Important to bear in mind here that China considers Taiwan to be a renegade province and it opposes official contact. CNN's Elise Labott has more now on that phone call and its possible fallout.

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ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIR CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a stunning breach of protocol and break with decades of U.S. foreign policy, the Trump transition team releasing a statement announcing the call with the Taiwanese president saying during the discussion Trump and the Taiwanese president "noted the close economic, political and security ties that exist between Taiwan and the United States." President-Elect Trump also congratulating the president, Tsai Ing-wen, on becoming the president of Taiwan earlier this year. The Taiwanese had said that the conversation also talked about strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Now we understand an adviser to the Trump transition, Stephen Yates, is in Taiwan. He helped facilitate that call. Yates is a former advisor of Vice President Dick Cheney. He's known to be very pro- Taiwan. We're told the Obama administration was not told of the call until after it happened.

And already the Chinese are chiming in, speaking to a Taiwanese leader is something no American president or president-elect has done for nearly 40 years because the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan since 1979 respecting the One China policy.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory. Chinese state media already calling the exchange unprecedented break in the policy and that Beijing opposes any contact between Washington and Taipei.

So this is sure to cause an initial diplomatic uproar with China even before President-Elect Trump takes office. But former diplomats note that many incoming Republican administration have sought to elevate Taiwan over China.

President Reagan invited the Taiwanese delegation too, his inaugural ball. President George W. Bush also increased arms sales to Taiwan.

So while there could be some gestures of early on to show some more respect to Taiwan, long-time former diplomats don't predict this will be an end to the One China policy because the relationship with China is just too important -- Elise Labott, CNN, Washington.

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HOWELL: The office of Taiwan's president issued a statement on the phone call saying this, in part, "President Tsai and President-Elect Trump, besides having an intimate and relaxed conversation, also shared their views and concepts on future important policy points; in particular, to promote the domestic economy and to strengthen national defense.

"The president also expressed to President-Elect Trump the desire that America would support Taiwan to have the opportunity to participate in and contribute more in international issues."

A lot to talk about here. CNN has team coverage this hour on China's reaction and the possible political fallout from that phone call. CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott live with us in New York.

But first let's get reaction from Beijing, and our correspondent there, Steven Jiang.

Talk to us about the situation. So we're hearing somewhat of a measured reaction there from China. STEVEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, George. The term

"shenanigan" you mentioned came from the foreign minister earlier on Saturday in response to a question over this controversial phone call. He basically placed the blame on Taiwan for this very sharp breach of diplomatic practice.

But now we have heard from his ministry in a more strongly worded statement. It says --

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JIANG: -- China has lodged a protest with the relevant site in the U.S., presumably meaning the Trump team.

It also goes on to say -- and I quote here -- "We urge the relevant site in the U.S. to adhere to the One China policy, abide by the pledges in the three joint China-U.S. communiques and handle issues related to Taiwan carefully and properly to avoid causing unnecessary interference to the overall China-U.S. relationship."

So that was the latest foreign ministry statement issued just a few moments ago here. Bug still, this so far seems like the Chinese government is giving the Trump team the benefit of the doubt because, like many others, they are probably trying to figure out the true meaning of this phone call.

Was it just a blunder due to the Trump team's inexperience in foreign policy?

Or was this something more significant, signaling a major policy shift by the incoming White House?

And I think it may take them some time to reach a more definitive conclusion -- George.

HOWELL: Steven, I want to read two tweets. So we are hearing this newest response that you just pointed out from China. But I want to go back and read these responses from Donald Trump over Twitter.

The first is a tweet, where he says, "The president of Taiwan called me today to congratulate" -- "to wish me congratulations," rather, "on winning the presidency. Thank you," he says.

Then in another tweet, he says, "Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars in military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call."

In that second tweet it does seem that Donald Trump is somehow suggesting that there should be more communication between the United States and Taiwan. So you point out the question, China trying to understand if this is a shift in policy.

JIANG: That's right. But also Taiwan has a so-called red line that China simply does not want any government to cross without bearing consequences. This is their core interest. That's why they have been very insistent over the past four decades that no official contact maintained between Washington and Taipei.

And Mr. Trump has crossed that line. That's why many foreign policy experts have warned of potential consequences, saying it was a very risky and reckless move.

But also these tweets you just read, that really put the Chinese government in a sort of very delicate situation as well because it's a steep learning curve for them as well, trying to learn how to deal with a U.S. president-elect who likes to conduct foreign policy or diplomacy on Twitter. So it is a new territory for them.

That's why they are trying to walk a very fine line here, making their displeasure, dissatisfaction known without plunging the whole very important relationship into chaos before Mr. Trump even takes office -- George.

HOWELL: So China giving two responses, one that seems very measured and the other more specific, as the statement says, to the relevant side. Steven Jiang bringing us that information. Thank you so much, stay with us. I want to bring in now CNN Politics reporter, Eugene Scott.

Eugene, the question, is this a shift in policy or was this a blunder?

That's the question that many world leaders, specifically China, is trying to figure out.

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I certainly think it could signal a shift in policy. An advisor on the Trump transition team for China said that Trump would like a warmer relationship with Taiwan. He doesn't believe that that has to compromise the country's relationship with China.

And so we could see some movement in that direction. But I think we also saw Trump become a bit defensive on Twitter, which is where he conducts a lot of his policy ideas, regarding the trade policy between the U.S. and Taiwan when it comes to military spending. And so there could be some change. We don't know yet.

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HOWELL: You know, president after president after president, before Donald Trump, they've all followed this protocol, where they work with the State Department, where they follow the briefings that they've been given, to explain the relationship, the many relationships that the United States has with the many different countries around the world.

It's interesting; there was a conversation between our own Anderson Cooper and Kellyanne Conway, who is with the Trump transition team, about whether Donald Trump is, in fact, taking advantage of the resources of decades of knowledge with the U.S. government and these other countries or whether Donald Trump is, as the statement has been made, whether he was winging it. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISOR: I can't discuss anything beyond what has been publicly said. And I won't do that. This is the president-elect. This will be his administration. He'll be commander of chief and he'll be president of the United States imminently.

Now and he either will disclose or not disclose the full contents of that conversation. But he's well aware of what --

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CONWAY: -- U.S. policy has been.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: There have been questions about the briefings materials that president-elect Trump has used in phone calls with world leaders, whether or not he's used state department briefing booklets and information and, you know, the expertise of people in the state department that is available to him.

Can you confirm if he did consult that before this phone call?

CONWAY: I can confirm that he has access to these materials and he has access to daily briefings. He had access to other information that comes to him from official government agencies and out there.

COOPER: Does he use it though?

CONWAY: Of course he uses it. He reads everything. And the guy is the busiest guy on the planet and pretty much has been for a while now. But as president-elect is fully engaged, where it put's in just pours the time in and has talked to.

He and Vice President-Elect Pence have talked to probably about 45 or 50 leaders now or meet them and talked to 80 people or so as advisers, spokes who are offering their counsel, their experiences, their vision, whether or not they are an official part of his administration.

Aside, there are just people who want to offer their expertise as captains of industry or folks who have been opinion leaders or have been active in government and policy making.

And so, as that will continue and he takes information that is given to him and provided to him, he avails himself of any number, different information sources including those that come from the state department and including those that come from intelligence briefings.

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HOWELL: So Eugene, thanks for standing by with us. I wanted to use the longer version of that sound bite just to show that this is Kellyanne Conway, who, you know, spends a great deal of time with the President-Elect Trump, saying that Donald Trump does use this information, saying that Donald Trump is fully aware of the very delicate relationship here when it comes to cross-strait relations.

So what would world leaders be left to make of this, is the question now.

SCOTT: Well, world leaders would be left to make and conclude from that statement that Donald Trump is far more knowledgeable about international affairs than perhaps some have suggested.

But that statement that Kellyanne just made seems to contradict information that has been pretty public regarding how often Donald Trump reads security briefings from national security advisors. There have been reports that, while they've been made available daily, he's only read two.

To her point, though, I mean, he probably is definitely in communication with people who are far more knowledgeable on these issues.

And so whether he was winging it or not might be uncharitable to say. But it definitely is a very sensitive situation to engage, his interaction with the president of Taiwan, and seems to be a continuation of some concerns that we've seen raised earlier this week, regarding his interaction with world leaders from countries that the U.S. does not have the best relationship with, as now including like Pakistan and the Philippines.

HOWELL: This was certainly a surprise move that, again, many world leaders are scratching their heads on. But again, we'll see how this plays out. CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott, live for us in New York, and Steven Jiang, also live for us in Beijing. Thank you so much, gentlemen, for the reporting, and we'll stay in touch with you.

Donald Trump also spoke with another Asian leader on Friday. This time it was the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte has been called the Trump of the East and he has threat threatened to sever ties with the United States. But after his talk with Trump, Mr. Duterte said this.

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RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT, THE PHILIPPINES: He was quite sensitive to our war on drugs and he wishes me well in my campaign and said that we are doing, as he so put it, the right way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Saying that Trump says that he is doing it the right way, keeping in mind, though, that Duterte has been criticized for extrajudicial killings. Human Rights Watch has called the Philippines' war on drugs abusive and says that it has resulted in the deaths of 5,000 Filipinos since July.

This is CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, days after the deadly crash of a charter flight in Colombia, the victims are on one last journey back home to Brazil. We take you there -- next.

Plus, Austria and Italy are having crucial votes this weekend and the results could bring in a new political reality across Europe. Stay with us. (MUSIC PLAYING)

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

The remains of victims of Monday's tragic plane crash in Colombia will soon arrive home in Brazil. A total of three planes carrying the bodies are scheduled to land in Chapeco in the coming hours; 71 people were killed, many of them football players for the Brazilian Chapecoense club.

Their coffins will be taken to the Conda Arena, as the team stadium, where thousands of family and friends and fans will bid their final farewells. CNN "WORLD SPORT's" Don Riddell is live this hour in Chapeco.

Don, if you could give us a sense, we see the crowd there behind you, just to get a sense of the atmosphere there.

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, the atmosphere is quite extraordinary, frankly, as it has been here all week. You can hear the chanting and the clapping. And it sounds as though the fans are celebrating as they normally would be with this team.

At this point, we are awaiting the bodies to return; those three military transport planes haven't actually landed in Chapeco yet. When they do, it's going to take several hours to bring what we have understood at some point this week to be around 50 caskets here to the stadium. It could actually be more than that.

And they're going to be laid out at this end of the stadium underneath this canopy here.

And it's just impossible to imagine what this scene is going to be like and the grief that this town and this club is experiencing. I mean, this is a town of just 200,000 people. It's very small. There's only one shopping mall here.

So it means that everybody knew this football team, everybody knew the players. They were massive celebrities here. This football club is the heart and soul of this town, Chapeco.

And it has just ripped the heart right out of it this week. It has been very emotional here all week and I think today is going to be incredibly difficult; I think I used the word extraordinary; I would say unprecedented.

I can't remember a time we've seen anything like this. And you can probably tell that it's raining. It's absolutely pouring here. Most of this stadium is uncovered. Everybody's going to get soaked here. They're going to be here hours and hours and hours before the ceremony even begins.

And the club are actually pretty philosophical about that. We asked them yesterday, when we heard it was going to rain, and one of the trainers said it's God's will. Everybody knew that Chapecoense played better in the rain.

HOWELL: Don, I hear the chanting --

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HOWELL: -- behind you as you give us a sense of the mood there. But the energy, the plane already -- it's a little late there but the energy in that crowd, the people there, this is very personal for people.

RIDDELL: It is very personal. You know, a lot of football clubs these days are very commercialized and they're these big sort of corporate entities. That's not the case here. It is no exaggeration to say that the fans and the players felt very, very close to each other.

We've spoken to some of the players who didn't make the trip, who weren't on the plane and they've said exactly that. They knew they were signing for a good team when they joined. But what they had no idea about was this special relationship, this special bond.

And I think that's -- I mean, it's so tragic and awful anyway. But I think that's one of the reasons that makes this really, really hurt. These people really feel as though they've lost their friends, their loved ones, certainly their heroes.

And, of course, it's just impossible to know where this team goes from here. Of all the people that died in Colombia, 18 of them were players. Six of them were coaches and managers; five, medical staff and physiotherapists and eight directors. It's pretty much most of the club.

And those who remain here, really, they've just spent this week trying to coordinate bringing the bodies back and putting on this ceremony. But of course within the next few days, they're going to have to figure out how they can continue, how this club can survive and recover. And the town clearly wants it.

I think that's one of the reasons why you can hear these fans, they're so emotional and so passionate, they do not want this football club to die. And I suspect that they're going to drive this recovery almost through sheer force of will.

HOWELL: Indeed. You even get a sense, just from this live report. I hear the words that you're saying, all the background you're giving us but, again, that energy behind you.

You do understand that this means a great deal to the people who are staying there through the rain to wait for this to happen, this ceremony. CNN "WORLD SPORT'" Don Riddell, live in Chapeco, Brazil. Thank you so much for your report, sir. And we'll stay in touch with you.

Moving on now to Europe and two separate votes on Sunday that could bring a new political reality across. That is one that is more populist and leans more to the right. People in Italy will vote in a constitutional referendum. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says that he will quit if the proposed reforms are rejected.

In Austria also, it has a presidential election. Voters there could elect the man you see here, Norbert Hofer. He'll be the first far right head of state in Western Europe since the end of World War II.

Let's talk more about the political ramifications of the votes in Italy and Austria. CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson now joins us live.

Nic, so we have seen these shifts. We saw a shift that happened in the United Kingdom with Brexit. There was a shift that happened in the United States with the vote for President-Elect Donald Trump. And now we're seeing things happen in Europe that could indicate a similar shift.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and I think if you look at Matteo Renzi's campaign in Italy, to try to get the country to accept political reforms that are only linked to Italy, that are not linked to its position in Europe, that are trying to sort of improve the economy of Italy, this perhaps gives us a very big clue for why this is happening at this particular time.

Since the economic crash of 2008, a lot of people have felt that the economy has been hurting; there's been sort of stagnation in Italy, really economically, for about 30 years now. These political reforms are needed, Renzi says, to help address this issue.

A lot of economists would certainly agree with him. So you have this underlying, not-full recovery from the 2008 economic crash. Then you have in the past couple years, waves of migrants coming into Europe, from Syria, predominantly, but from across the Mediterranean from North Africa into Italy.

So when we hear Matteo Renzi campaigning to try to win support for this, one of the things he said that's quite significant is that he would turn down the European Union's budget for next year because he would demand that there would be more money for Italy to help it out economically with the migrants.

So you get a sense here that these are the key issues, the economy and the migrants. And this is what we're seeing replicated in Austria as well with Norbert Hofer, playing on the issue of a large number of migrants coming into the country and the populist campaigns that Hofer is sort of at the front at in a nationalist way --

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ROBERTSON: -- in Austria.

And what Renzi faces in Italy, a populist movement that think that the leadership, the current leadership is tone-deaf to people's concerns and that there's also a turn away from the European Union. You hear that.

That's one of the issues Matteo Renzi is trying to address there, trying to win back support for his campaign by saying, yes, we'll fix this problem with the European Union. Well, we heard that in Britain this summer.

So when you look at the change that may come, it's certainly going to be one that makes it a much weaker European Union. And that's before you get the economic fallout that could happen in Italy as well and have a direct impact on the European Union.

HOWELL: On that point, Nic, let's talk just a bit more about the situation in Austria and Norbert Hofer, again, could be the first far right candidate since World War II. This is a person who favors warmer relations with Russia. And I'd like to get a sense from you on his position with the E.U.

ROBERTSON: His position is -- on the E.U. is not in favor of the E.U. He is opposed to immigrants coming into the country. He is opposed to the free flow of people across European borders, the Schengen agreement. Austria is a country of about 8 million people.

Again, the economy has been hurting there. That's an underlying factor. Last year, 2015, they accepted 90,000 asylum applications. Close to 1 million refugees and migrants passed through Austria on their way to Germany and other parts of Europe.

So this, they feel -- Austria feels right at the front door of the migrant issue. So couple that with the economy, Norbert Hofer has got a very strong nationalist message to sell and one that would shake up what we see in Europe at the moment. And certainly call into question Austria's position in the European Union.

HOWELL: CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, live for us in London with insight and perspective. Nic, thank you so much. And we'll stay in touch with you on this.

Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, in South Korea, an impeachment process is set to begin Friday to remove that nation's president. But hundreds of thousands of protesters are in Seoul and they have another idea.

CNN is live from Atlanta, broadcasting across the United States and around the world this hour. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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HOWELL (voice-over): Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. It is good to have you with us. I'm George Howell with the headlines we're following for you this hour.

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HOWELL: China is responding to Donald Trump's controversial phone call with Taiwan saying that the island pulled a little trick, "a shenanigan," as they call it. Taiwan's president called the U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Friday.

Trump broke diplomatic protocol that goes back nearly 40 years. China considers Taiwan a renegade province. The United States acknowledged China's rule over Taiwan in 1979 and has not had official contact since that year.

Donald Trump tweeted the following, "Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept the congratulatory call."

The office of Taiwan's president issued a statement, saying she and Trump had a 10-minute relaxed and intimate conversation. That conversation, though, could have global impact.

To talk more about this, we bring in now Gillian Wong, she is the news director for the Associated Press in Beijing, live via Skype for us this hour.

Gillian, first of all, let's talk about whether this could be a shift in policy or whether it's a blunder and the implications if it is, indeed, a shift.

GILLIAN WONG, AP: Well, it's actually (INAUDIBLE) and actually the number one question on many people's minds right now. I think, you know, it's -- China would probably hope that this was, you know, something of a blunder rather than signaling an actual shift in policy but, you know, it's definitely raising concerns. One of the most well-known international relations scholars in Beijing (INAUDIBLE) --

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HOWELL: Gillian, I apologize. We're going to have to come back to you. We're having sort of an audio issue. Just want to make sure that we hear you very clearly. So our teams will chat with you and will hopefully bring you back in more to talk more about this.

But, Gillian, thank you so much and we'll hopefully be back.

Outgunned and surrounded: that is the situation for rebels in Aleppo, Syria. And they say they have a new alliance to take on regime forces. It appears to be a last-ditch effort, though, aimed at repelling and crushing government assaults there. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more for us now from Damascus.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another day, more violence in Aleppo. The youngest suffering the most, this video from the Syrian civil defense showing rescuers saving a child after a suspected airstrike, the fighting claiming at least 45 lives on Wednesday alone, according to monitoring groups.

Over 30,000 people mostly children have been displaced since government forces launched a large scale offensive making sweeping gains in the east of Aleppo, the U.N. says.

In Rome, efforts continue to try and broker some sort of truce and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged area, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meeting Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: And so hopefully, if the humanitarian situation can be dealt with in Aleppo more --

[05:35:00]

KERRY: -- effectively. And if indeed we could create a framework for the passage of people out of Aleppo so that Aleppo itself might be able to be relieved from this agony.

That could open up the space to perhaps be able to start some kind of conversation in Geneva.

PLEITGEN: Even as its air force pounds rebel positions, Russia said it's still committed to a political solution in Syria.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER, (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There's no military solution to the Syrian conflict. We support this position within the framework of the International Syria Support Group.

Unfortunately, not all of its members were ready to support this common position that there is no military solution. But I'm sure it is absolutely clear any way, even without formal acceptance of this point of view.

PLEITGEN: In a desperate effort to fend off Syrian government troops, rebel factions in the besiege areas of Aleppo have announced a new alliance named the Army of Aleppo. But their fight remains desperate in the face of an offensive that is already cost the opposition much of the territory it held in Aleppo for years -- Frederik Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.

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HOWELL: Fred, thank you.

Video shows a police officer fatally shooting a man in the back as he ran away. And now that former police officer is on trial for murder .

But can jurors reach a verdict?

Plus, how a dentist in the United States may have exposed hundreds of his patients to a potentially deadly disease. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell.

Friday was a day of tears and remembrance in San Bernardino, California. Crowds gathered to mark the first anniversary of the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center. That's where 14 people were killed at a holiday party. They were shot dead by a married couple.

The attackers were killed in a shootout then with police. Authorities say that the couple was inspired by extremism and that they had ISIS ties, sympathies to ISIS.

Here's what one survivor said at a memorial service honoring the victims.

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JULIE SWANN-PAEZ, SAN BERNARDINO SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I think I speak on behalf of all of my co-workers and families to extend my sincerest appreciation for the communities and for everyone's support. Thank you.

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HOWELL: A survivor of the San Bernardino mass shooting, speaking there on the anniversary of this tragedy.

A dentist in the state of Wisconsin is set to face a review board come Monday after nearly 600 of his patients have been exposed to HIV or hepatitis. This happened at a Veterans Affairs medical center.

Officials say that the dentist, who has not been named, reused his own equipment. V.A. rules require the use of sterilized and disposable tools. Patients are being offered free tests to find out if they are, indeed, infected and the dentist is no longer seeing patients there.

In South Carolina, jury deliberations will resume come Monday in the murder trial of a former police officer. Michael Slager is accused of fatally shooting an unarmed African American man, Walter Scott, during a traffic stop last year. You see this video of that incident. Video shows Slager shooting Scott in the back as Scott was running away.

Slager claims that he acted in self-defense. Friday, jurors told the judge that they were deadlocked, with one of the 12 members saying that he could not vote to convict Slager. CNN's Don Lemon spoke with CNN legal analyst Laura Coates about the situation.

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LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This is such a clear-cut case of somebody using excessive force. But even the local police union refused to pay Michael Slager's legal fees in this case because it was so egregious to them.

This is an example of most people don't realize that when you have a jury and there's an officer even testifying, let alone an officer being the defendant in the case, that most prosecutors and defense counsel will require the judge to ask the jurors, "Listen, will you give more credibility, more credence to what an officer may testify just because they're an officer than the average person?"

And you'd be shocked, Don, to know how many people indeed say, "Well, yes."

There is such an inherent level of trust that we give to officers in this country that has become really a sword and a shield for officers around the world and around the country.

And when people talk about the preface, we talk about it over and over again, that most officers are great, that's the preface we all give, considering that this is example of, you know, one bad apple does not ruin the bunch. Well, we have this case of Officer Michael Slager or former officer Michael Slager being that bad apple.

What the video shows is not an example of somebody who has an immediate threat of lethal force being applied to them. What you have instead is a man who's 18 feet away when he's actually shot.

And, yes, I do believe that the justice system is supposed to work in a way we require unanimity from our jurors because nothing less would be constitutional.

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HOWELL: After being on the verge of a mistrial, the jury decided to keep deliberating Monday.

Now to the death toll in Tennessee. It has risen to 13 people killed after a major wildfire swept through Gatlinburg, Tennessee, earlier this week. To talk more about it, our meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, is here.

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[05:30:00] HOWELL: Move on now to South Korea. Even with impeachment proceedings set to begin next week, protesters against the president of that nation, Park Geun-hye, are not slowing down in South Korea. You see the large crowds here, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating, marching in Seoul right now.

They're demanding, as they have for weeks, that President Park resign immediately. That hasn't satisfied many people there, who want her out sooner rather than later. CNN international correspondent Saima Mohsin is following these protests, live by phone in Seoul, South Korea.

Saima, so we saw some of these images, we've seen them now for weeks on end. These crowds are not letting up. SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're not letting up, George. And

just as you come to me now, they are on the move. It's an incredible scene of what the protest movement estimates 1.5 million people now down the main boulevard in Seoul, marching towards the Blue House, well, as close as they can to Blue House.

That, of course, is the presidential house, where we are told by a President Park spokesman that she is inside, probably watching these pictures unfold as she continues to be embattled by the protesters.

As I describe the scene to you, you can see the pictures that we have sent in as well of people holding these candles aloft. And as they march, there's a wave and you can probably hear them for the moment. It's just incredible to see the will of the people as it's playing out on the streets of Seoul here.

And this is -- you know, we can't repeat these adjectives enough -- unprecedented, incredible. And all we've heard all night is repeated chants of "step down, step down immediately."

They want her to go, George, but they don't want her to go on the timeline that she proposes or others propose. They want her to go immediately. And they are frustrated, both with the opposition parties as well as her own party -- George.

HOWELL: You point out that these crowds -- we are seeing the voice of the people and the question, will lawmakers uphold the will of the people?

Saima, there is now a new timeline, dare I say deadline, that is being offered by the ruling party for President Park to resign.

What more can you tell us about that?

MOHSIN: Yes, this is nothing short of a thinly veiled ultimatum, if I may put it that way. Her party, the Saenuri party, has a small group within them that are wanting her to step down as well and not continue to damage the party.

Now what they have said, George, is that they are giving her until December 7th at 7:00 pm, they have given her a deadline, to set out a timeline for resignation. You'll remember when she made that third national address just three days ago midweek here --

[05:50:00]

MOHSIN: -- that she said that she would leave her fate to parliament and she will resign if they say so. She didn't resign as everyone thought she might, she didn't even give a timeline for it. They are saying give a timeline or else.

What is that "or else"?

Well, on December 9th, two days later, there is going to be an impeachment vote in parliament. Now crucially, the opposition parties need votes from the Saenuri party to make up enough, two-thirds of votes of parliament, to impeach her. So effectively it's a thinly veiled ultimatum and a thinly veiled threat (INAUDIBLE) timeline to go by April or we will vote against you -- George.

HOWELL: CNN international correspondent Saima Mohsin, in the middle of it all here, by phone with us in Seoul, South Korea. Saima, thank you for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.

But again, you see these images from earlier, these large, large crowds that are on the streets of Seoul, South Korea.

Stay with us, we'll be right back after the break.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to NEWSROOM.

For anyone that's house trained a puppy, you know that this is a messy, thankless job. But a pit bull in Texas has taken --

[05:55:00]

HOWELL: -- his training to a whole new level, as CNN's Jeanne Moos shows us.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wished your pet would clean up its own mess?

Meet Pablo, a 3-month-old pit bull. Pablo belongs to a 21-year-old Texas rapper, who calls himself Billy Bands (ph). When he went out of town, Billy left Pablo at a friend's and Pablo had an accident on the bathroom floor.

This is what his caretaker came home to, a toilet paper-covered puddle.

Billy, whose real name is Aislan (ph) Hampton, posted the photo, tweeting, "My dog, Pablo, (INAUDIBLE) on the floor and tried to clean it up. Really can't even whoop his (INAUDIBLE) for this one."

Actually, Billy says he never whoops his butt. That's just an expression.

MOOS: You think Pablo went over to the toilet paper and unrolled it himself?

BILLY: Yes, probably because he's pretty smart.

MOOS (voice-over): The Internet swooned over the ever-so-clean canine. Pablo had apparently had absorbed a lesson, watching Billy use paper towels to clean up after his pup.

MOOS: But he's a star now. BILLY: Yes, yes, he is, girls messaging him, trying to match him up

with their little puppies on little dates and girls talking about hopefully they can meet him one day and stuff like that. And I'm just like, uh-huh.

MOOS (voice-over): The overshadowed rapper tweeted, "Pablo about to blow up before me."

Now the pit bull has his own Twitter account, thanks to Billy. We'll never know if Pablo was trying to clean up his puddle or conceal it but, as one commenter noted, "I know humans who don't even do that." -- Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: How about that?

Thank you for being with us. I'm George Howell. The news continues here on CNN right after the break.

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