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China Ends Single Child Policy; Nations Meet to Attempt to End Syria Crisis; US Senate Passes Two-Year Budget Plan. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 30, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:25]

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWSROOM HOST: And in a little more than an hour, the international effort to end the war in Syria will resume in Vienna.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWSROOM HOST: The end of the biggest population control experiment of our time. What's next after China ends its one-child policy?

ALLEN: And terrifying moments on the tarmac, the engine of a commercial jet catches fire. Emergency chutes deploy, dozens of passengers get out and fast.

HOWELL: Just look at all that smoke coming out of the plane. We'll have details. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. We're glad you're with us. This is CNN Newsroom.

And we begin with the war in Syria and what's being called the most important meeting to date to try to end this conflict, this war, that's killed hundreds of thousands of people, some 18 nations, plus the European Union were invited to the meeting in Vienna, it's set to resume in a little over an hour, and for the first time Iran is at the table.

HOWELL: It is hard to say though just how much real progress will be made during these very tough talks. Everyone wants something different. These arctic just some of the players involved, the conflict in Syria is pitting the United States and Russia against one another, their bombing campaigns and weapons are helping opposing sides.

ALLEN: And regionally, there are religious considerations with as you can see, Shiite, Iran on one side, and Sunni and Saudi Arabia on the other.

HOWELL: Let's talk more about that and go live to Moscow, CNN's Nic Robertson standing by live for us, Nic, good to see you this hour. So western powers as we just showed our viewers, they insist that Bashar Al Assad must go for a deal to be reached, but we know where Russia, we know where Iran stands on this. Is there any talk about these nations finding a way to strike a deal given that they are so clearly divided?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (Inaudible) sectarian divisions sheer Iran, the Sunni/Saudi Arabia, perhaps what we're going to see at these talks is the real exposure one of the most significant fault lines of the conflict and it its sectarian nature. It didn't start out that that way, but it certainly has become that way. Iran sees Assad as a vital ally and pivot and geopolitical connection between the Shiites, Hezbollah, and Lebanon, so for them as the Iranian leaders have said, they see Syria's national security intertwine with that of Syria. And Bashar Al Assad they see as the man to play that role, they backed his and his father's leadership in that country for decades now, so perhaps for Iran it's going to be toughest to back away from supporting President Bashar Al Assad.

The Russians from their point of view, continue to support Assad, their military campaign on the ground backs them. They don't mind, they're not particularly backing them they're fighting terrorists. That's not the way it's perceived outside of Russia. But that's the Russian position. The Russians do think they got some agreement understanding at least western powers and regional powers, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, included here. Assad could become a transitional figure in the political transition. But Russia's position that ISIS has to be defeated first, and perhaps that's the one thing that all of these parties agree on is that ISIS a terrorist organization that is a threat to Syria and a threat to the region.

That agreement alone and building out from that doesn't make a solution in itself, but we're told that these talks are a starting point, perhaps that's going be the place where they begin, certainly what Russia has been pushing recently, George.

HOWELL: Yes, that would be a starting point for these countries that are divided on the Assad issue. I do want to talk about Iran which has been invited to the table, a dramatic shift in U.S. policy or is it a bit of a Russian influence that's at play here?

ROBERTSON: There's an absolutely broad understanding, and the United States has been saying this that Iran is playing an increasing role militarily, economically inside Syria.

[03:05:01]

And the understanding that grows out of that, if there's going to be a political solution, which is one of the fundamental international understandings here that Iran must be around the table. But what we have seen over the past month since Russia began its military campaign in Syria and it began a month ago today, is that they have followed on with this diplomatic, political push, which is really what has spurred these talks in Vienna to get under way, this change in the facts on the ground, this push by Russia and perhaps as much for domestic consumption -- as international consumption. It needs to move from its narrative of a successful military campaign in Syria to a political movement ahead, otherwise it's going to look domestically here that's going get bogged down in Syria.

So it has been saying, Russia has been saying all along that Iran needs to be a part of these talks. So Russia's role right now in Syria has played an element getting Iran to the table, George?

HOWELL: Reporting in context, Nic Robertson, live for us there in Moscow, Nic, thank you so much for the reporting.

ALLEN: The top spy in the U.S. says Russian President Vladimir Putin is "winging it" in Syria. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper spoke exclusively with CNN's Jim Sciutto.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CLAPPER, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: We're expected to know that a decision has been made by a Foreign Head of State before he makes it, Putin's case in point. I think he's very impulsive, very opportunistic, it's a debate. But I personally question whether he has some long-term strategy or whether he's, you know, being very opportunistic on a day-to-day basis and I think his intervention into Syria is another manifestation of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Director Clapper also told Jim the U.S. Intelligence Community was not surprised when Russia started to launched air strikes in Syria one month ago.

HOWELL: Meanwhile, the Pentagon says that U.S. troops are in combat with ISIS forces on the ground in Iraq. Until now, the United States has characterized the American role as an advised and assist mission.

ALLEN: CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr has the latest on that from Washington for us.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Helicopter forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad pounding a Damascus suburb. Bodies retrieved from mountains of rubble. In the north, near flash point city of Aleppo, Syrian army units repelled an ISIS attack according to Iranian state media. Russia has focused many of its attacks here across western Syria, part of its campaign to boost Assad's forces. But the CIA Director insists that the Russians know there is no military solution.

JOHN BRENNAN, CIA DIRECTOR: I do believe paradoxically they felt had to strengthen Assad before he could be moved out, and despite what they say, they don't see them in Assad's future.

STARR: Just as the Pentagon is detailing, new U.S. military options for Defense Secretary Ash Carter to send to the White House, it could eventually mean more U.S. boots on the ground closer to the front lines.

ASH CARTER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We won't hold back from sporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL, or conducting such missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or by direct action on the ground.

STARR: From the U.S. military and admission that U.S. troops are already involved in more than just advising and assisting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, it's -- aviators are our connecting combat air patrol is the name of the mission -- so of course, it's combat.

STARR: The Pentagon is expected to increase more intelligence sharing, and communications support especially for Kurds in both Northern Iraq and northern Syria. A key U.S. goal, help the Kurds in Northern Syria isolate crucial areas around Raqqa, ISIS' self-declared capital. One option being discussed is to put U.S. advisers out in the field with smaller, more front line groups of both Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish fighters, and of course that puts U.S. troops closer to a potential front line, closer to combat, Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The former Berlin rapper turned ISIS recruit has been killed by a U.S. air strike. A U.S. official tells CNN, Dennis Cuspert, who once went by the name Deso Dogg was killed month. Cuspert traveled to Syria after converting to Islam, and was deemed a global terrorist by the United States. He specialized in recruiting German Speakers to join ISIS.

ALLEN: An American army veteran is back on the battlefield, joining Kurdish forces to fight ISIS.

[03:10:01]

HOWELL: He spoke to Clarissa Ward about why he's willing to risk his life on the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randy Roberts has spent much of the last seven months on the front lines. The former U.S. Army Specialist who deployed twice to Iraq was studying graphic design in the U.S. when he decided to join the fight against ISIS.

RANDY ROBERTS, AMERICAN VOLUNTEER: I felt like I could -- given my past military experience and that I've been to this region before, that I could contribute and I could actually help the cause.

WARD: How did you get guidance as to how to get here, who to link up with?

ROBERTS: Well, Google.

WARD: Google? That's how you planned your trip to come and fight ISIS.

ROBERTS: Believe it or not, yes. I simply looked up westerners who had come over here before me.

WARD: Roberts is one of more than 100 westerners who have come to Syria and Iraq to fight with Kurdish forces. The internet is full of slickly-produced YPG propaganda videos featuring American volunteers. There's even a website selling ISIS hunting kits and offering packing lists on what to bring. At a small training camp in Northern Syria, we watched some new recruits, among them, two Americans, most did not want to show their faces. Unlike Roberts, few had any military experience.

ROBERTS: You meet a lot of people who think this is going to be you know, the gaming experience, the Call of Duty because they understand how to pull the trigger on a controller they know how to do it in real life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Always elbows in and tight to your body.

WARD: Roberts believes the most valuable gift he can offer Kurdish fighters and his fellow volunteers is training. While some Kurdish fighter's welcome western volunteers as a morale boost, others have dismissed their presence as a nuisance. Do you think you have helped?

ROBERTS: I believe yes, I have.

WARD: But some people would say this isn't your war or this isn't your business.

ROBERTS: It's better to stand up and do something if you think you can help than sit back and watch because hey, it's on the other side of world, not my problem.

WARD: Certainly the risks are real, one American, Keith Brumfield died fighting alongside Kurdish fighters this past summer in Syria. And Roberts has seen for himself how tenacious an enemy ISIS can be.

ROBERTS: Outside of the mines that they place all in the field there to keep us from advancing on these villages, they also have little trenches that they hide in.

WARD: Has it ever crossed your mind that you could get killed?

ROBERTS: Yeah. Yeah.

WARD: That's a price you would be willing to pay?

ROBERTS: Yes, if I got to end of my life and I looked back on this and I had chose not to come out, then it would have bothered me for the rest of my life.

WARD: For Randy Roberts being here is a moral duty, Clarissa Ward, CNN, Northern Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Just after 3:00 a.m. here on the east coast and in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Senate has just passed a two-year budget plan after breaking a filibuster on the deal. This new plan extends the country's debt limit through March 2017. You're looking at live images here as this is happening. And you see Mitch McConnell speaking at this hour, it increases federal spending on defense and domestic programs. Many Senators oppose the budget, saying it does nothing but "explode the debt," it now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Now to take you back five months, remember that deadly shootout between biker clubs in Waco, Texas.

ALLEN: CNN has exclusively obtained surveillance video, this surveillance video from inside the restaurant where this shootout took place, shows people running for their lives, shooting and taking cover. When it was all over, 9 were dead, almost 200 arrested.

HOWELL: CNN's Ed Lavendera shows us more of this video that you won't see anywhere else, but we do warn you, many of these images are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:15:01]

ED LAVENDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was the scene inside the Twin Peaks Restaurant in May, just before the violent shootout that killed 9 people and ended up in the mass arrest of 177 bikers. A fight and shootout erupts just off camera, between a group of motorcycle clubs called the Bandidos and the Cossacks. The reaction tells the story of the chaos and horrific scene that unfolds as the gun shots start exploding. Members of the Cossacks Club are sitting on this patio, they duck for cover, some grab fire arms and other weapons, one biker is seen on the surveillance video running through the patio and firing a shot toward the parking lot.

Dozens of bikers rush inside the building, hide in bathrooms and the restaurant kitchen. John Wilson is the President of the Waco, Texas area chapter of the Cossacks Motorcycle Club. He was on the Twin Peaks patio that day.

JOHN WILSON, MOTORCYCLE CLUB MEMBER: The whole incident probably didn't last more than 90 seconds. It seemed like an hour when you're laying there and people getting shot around you.

LAVENDERA: In dozens of police interviews, Cossacks and Bandidos Bike Club Members blame their rivals for starting the deadly melee. After it was all over, crime scene photos capture the nightmarish scene. Bodies left in the parking lot by toppled motorcycles, hundreds of weapons all over the place, handguns even left hidden in the restaurant toilets. CNN has obtained more than 2,000 pages of documents, crime scene photos, many too graphic to show, and surveillance video giving us the most detailed accounts of what unfolded last May. Waco Police and prosecutors have consistently defended the mass arrest of the 177 bikers that day all charged with organized criminal activity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you can see by the number of weapons that we have recovered from here today, they didn't come here to eat and have a good time with their family. They came here for a reason. We think part of that reason was criminal activity. LAVENDERA: But many of the bikers and their attorneys say,

investigators and prosecutors overreacted by carrying out mass arrests. Some say these videos show the vast majority are innocent of the criminal charges.

SUSAN ANDERSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They just stood around up and arrested everybody before they determined who was involved.

LAVENDERA: These are just some of the videos investigators are using to piece together what happened that day five months ago, a shootout that once witness said looked like the gunfight at the Ok Corral, Ed Lavendera, CNN, Waco, Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: And next here on CNN, fireball on the runway, the engine of a Boeing 767, bursts into flame. We look at what may have gone wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back. I want to talk about some terrifying, scary moments for passengers onboard this commercial jet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The plane caught fire just before it was to take off for Venezuela.

[03:22:01]

ALLEN: You could say at least they weren't in the air and they got off, 17 people including a child were injured as they scrambled out of the emergency exits of this Dynamic International Airways plane, Thursday. And while investigation of course is underway, CNN's Mary Maloney has more on what may have caused it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY MALONEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A mindful pilot potentially prevented a disaster, just as he was about to take off, he spotted fuel leaking from the plane in front of him. Within minutes, smoke fills the sky as fire erupts on a passenger plane with 100 people onboard.

GREG MEYER, AVIATION DEPARTMENT: The emergency left engine was on fire. The plane was loaded with passengers.

MALONEY: The doors opened and slides deployed, getting the passengers and the crew off the plane.

MEYER: Everything worked as it's supposed to work.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The goal is you've got to get everybody off the plane within 90 seconds, that's what the regulations require, 90 seconds with half the doors being unusable.

MALONEY: Some lucky enough to walk away, others were taken on stretchers, more than 12 went to the hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The injuries themselves seem to be minor, most of our patients are walking wounded.

MALONEY: Crews put out the flames, covering the red and white plane with flame retardant. The fire happened just before flight 405 was scheduled to take off for Venezuela. Dynamic Airways started five years ago in Greensboro, North Carolina, and flies to a handful of international destinations between Venezuela and Guyana. Its fleet consists only of Boeing 767's. The plane that caught fire was 29 years old. Now, investigators with Boeing and the NTSB will work to determine why this plane went up in flames. I'm Mary Maloney reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: We turn to Washington now, and the U.S. House of Representatives formally elected its new Speaker, Representative Paul Ryan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, U.S. HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: This is the people's house, this is the people's gavel in the people's name, and it is my privilege to hand this gavel to the Speaker of the House, Congressman and honorable Paul Ryan.

ALLEN: Yes, we finally have a new Speaker. The 45-year-old Republican from Wisconsin says he'll try to unite a divided house. He has a tough job ahead. Ryan added he'll, "wipe the slate clean."

HOWELL: Ryan is replacing John Boehner who has become known for publicly crying, he came prepared this time with a box of tissues. Mr. Boehner left the new Speaker with a parting gift. On Wednesday, the House approved a budget deal which eliminates the possibility of default. And if you're wondering, John Boehner did cry at that event.

ALLEN: Apropos exit by Mr. Boehner. We wish him well.

HOWELL: In the race for the U.S. White House, Republican Candidate Donald Trump was back on the campaign trail on Thursday after the third Republican debate.

ALLEN: Yes, and during that debate, we didn't hear as much as we usually do from the very outspoken Trump. He says he was Wednesday night's winner, however.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, who saw the debate last night -- and great book -- who won the debate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did!

TRUMP: Yeah, we did well. I mean, everybody, I think a few people did really well last night. We were given good credit. It's hard to get credit from the press. When you get credit from the press you know you really did well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: There's Trump being Trump. Along with several other Republican candidates, they have slammed the debate hosts, CNBC and its moderators for the questions they asked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Maybe every moderator should show that they vote Republican, because why should we have these people that hate everything we stand for, and I won't mention his name, but the questions were so nasty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Several Republican candidates now plan to meet Sunday in Washington, D.C., to try to take more control over debates from the Republican National Committee. The RNC has not been invited to that meeting.

ALLEN: There was some standout moments in the third debate for a couple of candidates who have lagged in the pool.

HOWELL: Our Sunlen Serfaty takes a look at who shined on stage and who played it safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New momentum from Marco Rubio, his strong debate performance could be a breakout moment for his campaign, but Rubio today trying to temper the hype.

MARCO RUBIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We felt good about it as we did with the other two debates. The election wasn't decided last night. We're going to have another debate in 14 days and that'll replace in people's memory this one.

SERFATY: Some damage control today from the Bush campaign after Rubio had the debate their candidate needed.

TIM MILLER, JEB BUSH'S COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Marco is obviously a very talented debater. Marco had some good zingers. In the broader debate over -- who do voters trust to do the job, Marco has been in the Senate for six years and he hasn't done anything.

SERFATY: The other struggling candidates did what they could to break through.

JOHN KASICH, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My great concern is we're on the verge of perhaps of picking someone who cannot do this job.

CHRIS CHRISTIE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have $19 trillion in debt, we have people out of work, we have ISIS and Al Qaeda attacking us, and we're talking about fantasy football.

SERFATY: And despite being center stage, the spotlight mostly avoided the front-runners, Donald Trump and Ben Carson seemed to play it safe.

TRUMP: Such a nasty question, but thank you, Governor.

SERFATY: Both fading into the background at times, providing an opening for another insurgent candidate, Ted Cruz to stand out by taking on the moderators.

TED CRUZ, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How about talking about the substantive issues.

[03:27:01]

SERFATY: Ben Carson today, also taking aim at CNBC.

BEN CARSON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What it's turned into is a gotcha. That's silly.

SERFATY: And is trying to organize the other Republican candidates to push for changes to their next big encounter in less than two weeks.

CARSON: Debates are supposed to be established to help the people get to know the candidates, and get to know what's behind them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: That was CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reporting.

Coming up here on Newsroom, a historic announcement in China, an end to one of the world's biggest attempts at social engineering, details as this broadcast continues around the world this hour of CNN International and CNN USA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. You're watching CNN Newsroom live from Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, the headlines this hour, new talks aimed at ending the civil war in Syria resumes in Vienna in just about an hour. Iran is attending these crisis meetings for the first time, joining diplomats from the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other nations. The Syrian government and the Syrian opposition though will not be at the table.

ALLEN: CNN has exclusively obtained this surveillance video of a deadly biker brawl from last May in Texas, nine people were killed when violence broke out between two rival motorcycle clubs at a restaurant. You can see the waitresses running for their lives. It's been more than five months, so far, no one has been charged in the deaths.

HOWELL: Big change for the world's most populous nation. It's ending its controversial, decade-long, one-child policy. China's rule of communist party says due to an aging population, couples are now allowed to have two children. China's current population is roughly 1.3 billion people.

[03:34:01]

Wind and rain are helping disburse some of the thick haze which has blanketed Southeast Asia for weeks now.

ALLEN: And it has been just a hazard on so many levels. The haze is the result of illegal and intentional wildfires set mostly on Indonesian islands to clear the land for the production of pulp, paper, and palm oil.

HOWELL: That's right. And Indonesia's fires and haze are also a major threat to animals there.

ALLEN: CNN's Christy Lou Stout shows us the efforts to protect the endangered orangutan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTY LOU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The race is on to save endangered orangutans from the burning forests of Borneo. This nine- year-old male orangutan tries to evade capture in the wild, but rescuers have to sedate him with a dart and scale the treetops to catch him to get him out of the worst affected areas in Central Kalimantan. The team also tracks another orangutan, successful sedated, and then catches it in a net before it hits the ground, before it's back to the safety of a rescue center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we got there, the orangutan was very weak, very weak. But naturally, wild orangutans avoid humans. That's why we have to use sedatives to evacuate them.

STOUT: The apes are choking on the dangerous haze caused by fires lit deliberately in an illegal slash and burn process in Indonesia to clear the land for new plantations. The annual burning turns out thick smoke across parts of Southeast Asia. This summer's haze is the worst it's been for nearly 20 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fires this year are very different than usual, the forests in this region has become very dangerous for the orangutans and their habitat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orangutans are very important for the life of the forest and for the lungs of the world. Orangutans naturally reforest their habitat.

STOUT: This precious species is still only found in the wild on two islands in the world, Borneo and Sumatra, both of which have been shrouded under haze for two months. The government says it's pulling out all the stops to solve the problem. But at these sanctuaries, time is running out as an already shrinking population is now even under threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Christy Lou Stout reporting on one of the very important offshoots of the threat going on in Indonesia.

We want to turn back now to one of our top stories as well.

For decades, China's communist government has restricted most families to just one child. But now couples will be allowed two. Officials say it's because of the aging population. In the next 15 years, they estimates China will have more than 400 million people over the age of 60.

HOWELL: This is a big change. The one-child policy that began in the 1907s to control population growth, it did just that but it came at a very heavy price. Government data shows since 1971, doctors performed at least 336 million legally-mandated abortions, sterilized 196 million men and women, and inserted 403 million intra uteri devices. Another impact it's had, an estimated 13 million so-called ghosts in China. Those are people who are born without any official documentation.

ALLEN: Let's talk about the ramifications of this huge change for China. Stephen Jiang is joining me now live from Beijing, and Stephen, you were telling us you grew up in Shanghai shortly after the restriction began, so you were one of the first to experience this tremendous change.

STEPHEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Natalie, I was a member of the first generation of that policy. Now when I was growing up in Shanghai in the 1980s, we just accepted this policy as a matter of fact. We were taught about it in school and we bought the government's line that it helped China grow its economy and improved people's living standards. It was not until years later that I found out more the sinister, the darker side of this policy, including as you mentioned the so-called ghost children, those are the children born without official permission, they tend to be the second child in their families.

Now I talked one young woman who falls into that category earlier today, and she told me her plight as an undocumented citizen in her own country. Here's what she said.

[03:39:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LI XUE, CHINESE GHOST CHILD: As soon as I was born, I became ineligible for house check ups or immunization shots, because I couldn't be registered or receive an I.D. card. When I reached school age, I couldn't go to school. I haven't gone to school for a single day. I couldn't find a job without an I.D. or diploma. I still can't go to the hospital when I'm sick or take a train, or even buy medicines at pharmacies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIANG: So her struggles are really on a daily basis, now she of course has heard about the news of this policy change, but she feels ambivalent, because she has heard about tweaks and relaxation of the policy before. Those changes really haven't changed her situation. So she's now seeing a glimmer of hope, but she's certainly not holding her breath, Natalie.

ALLEN: Lot of ramifications for this change, whether people will change just because China says ok, you can have another child, will they now? And the gender imbalance, more people wanted boys that live in the rural areas, and many more men now in China and so American people adopt Chinese girls, just a fascinating story on many levels and what changes this will bring.

JIANG: That's right, the gender imbalance is becoming increasingly in the countryside because of cultural traditions. They want to have boys because those going -- when they grow up will be able to handle heavier farm work, but also they'll stay home to take care of their parents when the parents become older, so the countryside is where you see more of these negative effects of this one-child policy. So this new policy the two-child policy will hopefully address those issues as well. You know I talked to human rights activists who have fought for years to get this policy abolished. They're not seeing this latest change as a victory. They say one kid or two kids, the party is still telling people how many to have. They find that unacceptable, Natalie.

ALLEN: I can understand. All right, Stephen Jiang for us there, live in Beijing, thanks so much, Stephen.

HOWELL: To Iraq now, where heavy rains have left parts of Baghdad flooded and forced residents to leave their homes. Many of the 1,000 displaced Iraqis living in this camp have seen their dirt floors turn to mud, and they're in jeopardy of losing basic services like clean water. Some don't even have a patch of dry land to sleep on at night either.

ALLEN: All of this rain is hitting Baghdad in a normally dry time of the year.

HOWELL: That's right. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is here to talk more about it.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Typically, Baghdad only receives about five to eight millimeters of rainfall in the month of October. They have far exceeded their totals in October. If the displaced Iraqis don't have enough to contend with we add flooding, some of the visuals coming out of this area. You can see the flooded streets, the things that people have had to deal with, just impacting their day-to- day livelihoods, having to push vehicles, including trucks and just having to get from point a to point b, very difficult. This is also a health concern for individuals living in these cities. Here's a look at the satellite, storms that fired off western Iraq and Iran.

We have actually what is a NASA estimate of the accumulated rainfall during this 24-hour period, and that shading of green there indicates about 50 millimeters of rainfall, and that's unprecedented for Baghdad considering that October is one of the drier months of the year. All thanks to a slow-moving storm system that continues to move away from Baghdad. You'll start to dry out, if you're watching us from that part of the world, but the chance of flooding, guess what, it shifts eastern, Tehran, the eastern sections of Iran exacting a good chance of rainfall in the next 48 hours.

We have the possibility between 50 to 75 millimeters of rainfall across that region which is very unusual. I want to take you to the Arabian Sea, where we have another unusual phenomenon taking place, this could turn out to be one of the strongest cyclones ever. Here's Yemen and Oman, currently this is 175 kilometers sustained winds a strong category 2 Atlantic hurricane. Guess what, it's set to strengthen even further as it goes west ward, taking it to the coast very well defined eye with this storm system.

Something that we don't typically see, this could go on the record books as one of the strongest storms ever in this part of the world.

ALLEN: Derek, thank you.

And next here on CNN Newsroom, Arwa Damon takes a close-up look on a look to arctic Norway. She talks to the locals about what's different there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Two degrees Celsius is arguably the most critical number when it comes to climate change. Experts say that if average global temperatures -- if they rise above it, we're at risk for global catastrophes.

ALLEN: But that's what the countries are coming together to talk about in just a few weeks. In just one month, thousands from nearly 200 countries will meet in Paris to discuss and debate this very issue at the U.N.'s Conference of Parties on Climate Change, also COP 21 is what it's called.

HOWELL: And ahead of that meeting, a very critical meeting, we sent CNN's Arwa Damon to the arctic Norway to see how changes in the climate have impacted that area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's late October in the arctic, freezing cold and snow-covered, as one would expect. But so much just isn't the way it used to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning!

DAMON: Jim Johannsen is a guide here, taking visitors on a tour, which includes a glacier. For him compared to last year, the changes on the shoreline are obvious. One just needs to look at the size of the rock beneath the icy blue of the glacier.

JIM JOHANNSEN, GUIDE: Last year, you can hardly see the rock formation. You can hardly see that as a gray, brown line underneath the glacier. It is shedding a lot of ice this summer. Obviously, it's -- something is happening for sure.

[03:47:01]

DAMON: That something is climate change. And this, the arctic, is ground zero. Scientists say temperatures here have increased at twice the rate than anywhere else on earth in the last several decades. Normally, by March, these waters would be frozen over. The last time these waters froze was a decade ago. But the last time these waters froze was a decade ago. We are out with a former fisherman turned marine biologist and Managing Director of the University Center. A good catch, but this cod species is not supposed to be here. They appeared three years ago. And that, he says, is because the temperature of the water where the cod were pulled out, is four to five degrees warmer than it used to be, and now the cod can swim here.

How do you know that temperature rises because of climate change?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that temperatures in this water in the western side are very, very, because of the variations in the northeast Atlantic current. That's all. But now we see it on the line, being more and more evident that it's due to a general rise in the sea temperature of the world oceans.

DAMON: Earth's climate is changing, scientists still trying to unravel its mystery and determine how it will alter our future. Arwa Damon, CNN, Norway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: You're watching CNN Newsroom. We'll be right back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: School prayer is a controversial subject in the U.S., and in the state of Washington, a high school coach has been placed on paid leave for continuing to pray on the field after the games when he was asked not to.

HOWELL: That's right. The school district says his actions could be perceived as the school endorsing religion. But Coach Joe Kennedy argues that his civil rights are being violated, Steve Higgins with CNN affiliate KCPQ has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE KENNEDY, HIGH SCHOOL COACH: This is the land of opportunity, and I'm seeing it all stripped away because I'm an employee.

STEVE HIGGINS, CNN AFFILIATE KCPQ: School officials say this is the problem, Joe Kennedy praying on the field in front of students after a high school football game. They Conservative Liberty Institute asked the district for a religious accommodation, but that was denied. Now Kennedy's lawyers are prepared to sue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The balls in their court. They have the opportunity to make this right, to do the right thing, to follow the law. HIGGINS: But the district says the law is clear, officials believe

Kennedy's public prayers could violate federal law that separates church and state. Some officials worry it leaves the district open to lawsuits. The superintendent told Kennedy in a three-page letter that his prayers "must not interfere with the performance of his job, and must leave to a perception of district endorsement of religion." And "any further violations will be grounds for discipline up to and includes discharge from district employment." The superintendent's letter also said Kennedy could pray at a private location on campus, as long as the prayers didn't interfere with his job.

But Kennedy and his attorneys believe that rule violates the coach's rights.

KENNEDY: They're telling me that, you know, we'll give you a closet to go hide in and it's like, I'm an American citizen, I'm a taxpayer and this is my community, my kids go to this school, and you're telling me I can't do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And that story is from CNN affiliate KCPQ, thanks for Reporter Steve Higgins for that.

ALLEN: And we'll continue to follow developments in that story.

So now this, what started with some U.S. police officers going to break up a fight, we have been seeing some ugly instances in the U.S. This wasn't one of them. This ended with a dance battle. Take a look at this from Washington, D.C., a female officer challenged a 17-year- old girl to a dance-off, and then they broke into the nae-nae dance

HOWELL: Look at those moves. The girl in the video says the officer's moves took her by surprise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was an argument here, that's why the police were called.

AALIYAH TAYLOR, DANCED WITH OFFICER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, what, did they stop -- I guess they stopped arguing to watch this, right?

TAYLOR: Everybody stopped arguing. They started watching it. They put out their camera, the whole neighborhood was watching.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's amazing. So, how did this end? How long did this go on?

TAYLOR: For two minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really? Was she saying anything during this?

TAYLOR: No. When I turned around I was like, I won. She was like, it's not over. At first, I didn't know it was all -- I didn't some good cops out here, I thought it was all bad cops. When I met her, there were actually some cool cops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:54:01]

We'll end on that one. Thanks for watching. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. Early Start coming up for viewers in the United States and for other viewers around the world, CNN Newsroom continues after the break.

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