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Inside the U.N. Resolution on Syria; Not All Syrians Want to Leave Their Homeland; Friend of Killer Faces Terrorism Charges; Beijing on Red Alert Due to Pollution; Mother Teresa's Path to Sainthood; What to Know before Visiting Cuba. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired December 19, 2015 - 02:00   ET

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

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A united vote for peace in Syria. A U.N. Security Council agrees on a framework agreement for the country's future. But there are daunting challenges ahead.

In Beijing, a red alert due to smog. How the latest emergency in the Chinese capital is affecting residents. We take you live to Beijing ahead.

And after half a century, Cuba finally opening up to American visitors. We'll tell you what you need to know before you go there.

From CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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HOWELL: Good day to you. We start this hour with the latest on Syria and a glimmer of hope, a new glimmer of hope for peace in that part of the world.

In a unanimous decision, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution on Friday, designed to end that country's civil war. The U.N. envoy to Syria says the plan is complicated but that this plan is possible. The resolution sets formal peace talks to start next month.

The goal there: to make progress toward an agreement on a unity government within six months and then free elections within 18 months, though the question about Syria's current president, Bashar al-Assad, some on the Security Council still disagree about his future.

There are still many issues that need to be resolved, including the question of which specific parties should be involved. CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott has this story.

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ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Desperate to refocus the world's attention on ISIS, world powers, all stakeholders in Syria, inch closer to agreement on a road map for ending the Syrian civil war.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have agreed on a plan of action. And the council's vote today is an important boost on the road to a political settlement.

LABOTT (voice-over): Today, the U.N. Security Council blessed those efforts, beginning with a cease-fire between regime and rebel forces and starting political talks early next year.

But nations can't even agree on which Syrian groups to consider terrorists and which to include in the talks.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We are all united on the front, that terrorists of all stripes have no place in the talks.

LABOTT (voice-over): And still unresolved, the fate of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that Assad is going to have to leave in order for the country to stop the bloodletting.

LABOTT (voice-over): But today, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told "Foreign Policy" magazine, President Obama's decision in 2013 to stand down on strikes in Syria, ignoring his own red line on Assad's use of chemical weapons, dealt a severe blow to U.S. credibility, which many argue has given space for ISIS to grow and for Russia to enter.

As the coalition continues to pound ISIS targets in Syria, including these strikes, which helped thwart a massive ISIS attack, the U.S. has set its sights on the group's branch in Libya, killing the affiliate's leader in an airstrike last month.

Now these photos show U.S. military personnel on the ground in Libya, helping to beef up the Libyan army's defenses against jihadists. On a swing through the region, the Secretary of Defense warned ISIS' global reach is never-ending.

ASH CARTER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We're in Syria in Iraq, which is the home tumor of this movement. We are seeing little nests of ISIL spring up around the world, including here in Afghanistan.

LABOTT: And a U.N. diplomat tells me, these negotiations to be led by the United Nations, are only going to work if the U.S. and Russia stay united. Only they can put pressure on the regime and the opposition groups to stay on track with the political process.

And without them, this diplomat says, the U.N. will only be leading from behind -- Elise Labott, CNN, New York.

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HOWELL: Tens of thousands of Syrians are fleeing their country, seeking safer ground elsewhere. But some say they want to stay there. And you can see that in the Western Syrian city of Latakia. There is

a refugee camp there where thousands of people prefer to be under Bashar al-Assad's control. Our CNN international correspondent Matthew Chance was there.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the game for Syria, Russia's Putin and Bashar al-Assad are on the same side.

"This is thanks to Russia," the poster reads.

We were brought to this, the "Sport City" camp in Latakia to see how the Syrian government and Kremlin backers say they give refuge. One government sanctioned aid worker told me how and why these people are here.

CHANCE: What have these people been through, to drive them to become refugees?

ZEN HASAN (PH), AID WORKER: These people just don't have any homes. They don't have any families. So horrible stuff. Kids here, I hear stuff from kids about killing, about death about -- you know? It's really hard on them. They live horrible, you know. They're just pretty safe here. They don't want to leave the land. And they don't have the money to pay for the trip to Europe, which anybody can do. It's not the other side.

CHANCE: Is that why these refugees are here, being protected essentially by the -- by President Assad?

Because they couldn't afford to go to Europe?

HASAN (PH): No, no; I'm not saying they want to stay here -- there with President Assad, you know, but they just didn't want to leave.

CHANCE: Well, the authorities tell us that housing at least 5,000 or 6,000 people in this one camp, just a fraction, of course, of the millions made refugees by Syria's brutal civil war.

One of the reasons we have been brought here is to illustrate that not every Syrian wants to escape the clutches of the Syrian government and its president, Bashar al-Assad. Some feel much safer under his control.

CHANCE (voice-over): Some like Aisha Adbulraheem and her family, who fled Aleppo earlier this year.

Her husband is in the Syrian army, she told me. Rebels behead family members of Syrian soldiers, she says.

For some, the choice between the evils of Bashar al-Assad and the rebels who oppose him is simple to make -- Matthew Chance, CNN, in Latakia, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOWELL: Now live pictures in the U.S. state of California. The U.S. President Barack Obama is there, his last stop before heading to Hawaii for Christmas. Mr. Obama arrived in San Bernardino a couple of hours ago, meeting privately with the families of the 14 people who were killed in the massacre there earlier this month.

A former friend and neighbor of one of the killers in that attack now faces charges in connection with the massacre. CNN's Jim Sciutto has details on the investigation.

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This busy California highway nearly became the site of a deadly terror attack. Enrique Marquez, long-time friend of San Bernardino shooter, Syed Farook, has told law enforcement the two watched videos of Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, became radical and plotted in 2012 to throw pipe bombs onto the SR-91 freeway and then gun down motorists in the aftermath.

The pair also planned to target Riverside City College by planting pipe bombs in the crowded cafeteria, the deadly plot stopped not by law enforcement but by Marquez himself, who backed out in fear after other terror arrests around the same time. As time passed, Marquez says the two then grew apart.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The Farook and Marquez relationship is something that FBI agents and historians and counterterrorism officials will be studying for years.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Three years later, as gunfire rang out in San Bernardino, Marquez would immediately recognize his friend's handiwork.

Just hours after the shooting, Marquez called 9-1-1, telling the operator, quote, "The (INAUDIBLE) used my gun in the shooting."

Then "Oh, my God."

When the 9-1-1 operator asked Marquez, quote, "How do you know it is your gun?" he responded saying, "They can trace all the guns back to me."

He claims he gave Farook the guns for, quote, "safe storage," but authorities believe he bought them with deadly intentions for the aborted 2012 attack.

Despite his apparent cooperation with authorities following the attack in San Bernardino, Marquez is charged with providing material support to terrorism for his role in purchasing weapons used in the shooting.

KAYYEM: It is a statement by the FBI and by the administration that if you even come close to these cases or to helping them, we will charge you as if you are a terrorist yourself. SCIUTTO: This is now a serious line of inquiry in the investigation.

How could three people with many family connections in the U.S., they had day jobs, Farook in the local government, there was international travel, international communications, how did they evade all surveillance by authorities but also not arouse the suspicions of --

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SCIUTTO: -- any of their friends and family?

The president has said that the lone wolf attacks like this are very hard to detect and prevent. We saw that play out in the San Bernardino shooting -- Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

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HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, Beijing is facing another high-level warning because of smog. Ahead, the weather conditions that led to this red alert.

Plus, air travel bans are being lifted and Cuba is about to open itself to an influx of tourists. And if you plan to go, we have some must-have travel tips for you. You don't want to miss this. CNN NEWSROOM continues after the break.

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HOWELL: It's not the thickest layer of smog Beijing has ever seen but add in some changing weather conditions and it's enough for environmental officials to issue another red alert there. That's the highest level possible and the second time in just a few weeks that we've seen this.

Officials there say this alert, though, is just a precaution. Let's go live to Beijing. Our Matt Rivers is standing by there.

Matt, a smoggy day behind you that we see.

So how does this latest round compare to the past couple of rounds that they've seen there?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, even though there has been this red alert issued in Beijing, the pollution outside is relatively low compared to the last several rounds we saw.

It was late November that we saw the air quality index here in Beijing soar over 500. For some context, today it's mainly remained below 200. Now 200 is not a healthy measure by any means; the World Health Organization would suggest nothing higher than an AQI of 25.

But for people here in Beijing, 200 is a number that most people can deal with. As for this red alert, though, that kicks in, according to the Beijing government, when they forecast three straight days or more with an AQI of 200 or higher.

That's what we're seeing right now, where even though it's not as bad as other times, it is still having an impact on people's lives.

Now what that red alert calls for is several mandatory things, like shutting down construction sites, taking about half of the cars here in the city off the roads as well as shutting down some of the more polluting factories.

And come Monday, employers will have the opportunity to allow their employees to work from home. And schools can also choose to be shut down. This red alert is scheduled to be in place here in Beijing until late Tuesday local time.

HOWELL: So Matt, those measures that you just mentioned, so when that happens, does that make an impact or does it take a more long-term approach to clear the sky there?

RIVERS: Well, I think if you took half the cars off the road and you kept these more polluting --

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RIVERS: -- factories shut down for extended periods of time, it would absolutely make an impact.

But here in China, that is just not a reality in the long term. In the short term, the government says it can help clear out this pollution. In reality, we see a very positive correlation when the wind comes in, when the wind picks back up, the pollution tends to scatter and the skies clear out.

So if you listen to the government here, they will say that the short- term solutions do help. But it would be remiss, we would be remiss if we did not say that the weather has far more of an impact in clearing out this smog.

HOWELL: Matt, I'm feeling for you there. That air just looks really thick with smog. Thank you so much for explaining.

RIVERS: It's not great.

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HOWELL: Matt, thank you so much.

So you heard Matt there. This red alert, it is in place for Beijing. But the question, how long will the hazardous air quality remain? So let's bring in our Karen Maginnis, who is at the International Weather Center.

And Karen, so Matt said that these measures that they have in place, it takes some time. It also takes a little wind to blow it all out.

When will that happen?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks as if this is going to be a multiday event and maybe one of the longer events that we've seen. Now I looked at the air quality index over the last few hours. Some have improved, some have gotten worse. Beijing has remained just about the same. But it's still in that unhealthy zone.

There you see it, that is in red. But we have got areas to the south, you can see one report of 390. That is considered very unhealthy.

Generally speaking, this time of year you start to see these events where high pressure moves in. The weather becomes very quiet and calm and everything kind of settles in the atmosphere. And it's only when you get that mixing in the lower levels do you start to see this blowing out.

What's going to happen?

Well, temperature wise, we're just about average, maybe a little bit above. Not until Wednesday do we start to see a little bit more in the way of mixing in the lower levels of the atmosphere. And then we'll see a temperature that is going to be below normal for the latter half of the week. That's actually going to be conducive to clearing out the atmosphere.

But we have got a ridge of high pressure, essentially, we have settled in to this dome of very quiet weather and that pulls this cooler air towards the surface. But if there's a frontal system that moves through, it will pick up those particulates. They're saying the pollution levels are between 10 and 30 times higher than they should be.

They report that thousands of people a day die from these staggering levels of air pollution. This is the second time ever a red alert has been issued.

What's happening?

Take a look at this quiet area right around Beijing. It's not just in Beijing, but thousands of kilometers have been impacted by the coal burning, also the industrial pollution that comes in from the east and from the south.

So you heard earlier that schools would be closed. They'll close some of the industrial zones and they'll also alter the regulations as far as the automobiles are concerned across this region.

But take a look at the wind, fairly quiet, fairly light. But it looks like, George, they will really be settling down the next several days and we will see very hazardous air conditions, air levels over Beijing -- back to you.

HOWELL: We just certainly hope that that will clear out as soon as possible. Karen, thank you so much.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, the late Mother Teresa: she's set to become a saint and she has many followers. But as you'll hear, there are also criticisms that she faced as well. The story ahead.

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HOWELL: Mother Teresa, she was already known as the Saint of the Gutters and now the Vatican says it plans to declare her an official saint next fall. That's after Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to her.

The Albanian nun cared for the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta, India. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and she died 18 years ago. Earlier, I spoke with Father Edward Beck, he is our CNN religious commentator. And I asked him about the miracles attributed to Mother Teresa. Listen.

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FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you need two miracles to be declared a saint, to be canonized. The first miracle, you're beatified. And John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa. He put her on the fast track actually to beatification so that was done in his lifetime.

And now just yesterday, on his birthday, Pope Francis deemed the second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa and therefore now she will be canonized a saint in September.

HOWELL: So when it comes to the recognition of these miracles, how contentious is it to recognize them?

How do you determine whether they're real?

BECK: Well, there are all kinds of panels doing the investigation. And the medical doctors weigh in. Witnesses weigh in. They have people who try to be contrarian as part of the process and cast any doubt that they can upon it.

But if there's no other explanation, like this miracle, this gentleman in Brazil had a brain infection and tumors. He had been struggling a long time with illness. He was scheduled for surgery. And his wife and priest had been praying for months to Mother Teresa for a cure.

And just before the surgery, the doctors say he sat up, he was awake, tumors were gone, infection was gone and no explanation for it. And by the way, the man was also deemed to be sterile because of all of the medications he had been on. And he now has two children.

And so this is the second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa and is part of her canonization process now. HOWELL: Now you mentioned her commitment to the poor. And you noted some have been critical of Mother Teresa, some have said that she was more focused on the issue of poverty and less on the people, the poor.

What are your thoughts?

BECK: Well, I find that rather remarkable and hard to believe, because if you look at her life and her commitment to the poor, she certainly walked the talk. She got down on her knees and ministered to the poor in India her whole life.

So for anyone to say that simply she talked about it, to me there's no veracity to that statement.

She was critiqued I know for other things, such as the way some of the fund-raising for the order got done, some of the ways in which she opposed contraception and abortion and, in places like India, where there's a lot of poverty, people thought she shouldn't be so vociferous in her opposition of contraception.

However, that is church teaching. She was simply living church teaching. She critiqued for accepting money for some -- accepting money from some dictators like Duvalier. And yet her perspective was, look, if I'm giving money to the poor, to help the poor, I don't really care where it came from. And maybe the one who took it from the poor is now giving it back to the poor.

So, yes, she had her critics but she had enough answers for them and her life is testimony that she definitely walked the talk.

HOWELL: She is known around the world for her tireless work for the poor and with Pope Francis as well. It is a very important message for him. His travels here to the U.S., even his last trip, poverty, the issue of helping the poor, was a very big focus.

Is there a sense that Mother Teresa has a very important place in the mind of Pope Francis?

BECK: Pope Francis' history with Mother Teresa is rather interesting. He said while he greatly admired her, he was also kind of afraid of her.

He said that --

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HOWELL: Afraid of her?

What do you mean by that?

BECK: Well, he visited Albania in 2014. And he said when he met her, he was at a conference in Rome in 1994, bishops' synod. And he happened to be seated near her. So here you have this elderly nun in the synod, where all of these bishops. And he said she held back not one iota.

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BECK: She wasn't intimidated by the bishops. She spoke her mind, she chastised them. And Pope Francis is quoted as saying, I would have been afraid to have her as my superior since she was so tough.

HOWELL: Father Edward Beck, CNN religion contributor, thank you so much for your insight.

BECK: You're welcome, George. Thank you.

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HOWELL: And you'll remember Pope Francis traveled to Cuba earlier this year and now U.S. travelers may soon be able to follow in his footsteps.

A deal that was finalized this week allows for limited commercial air travel between Cuba and the United States, this after more than 50 years. CNN's Will Ripley recently visited the Caribbean island nation and says there are some things that visitors need to know.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After years of isolation, Cuba's crumbling infrastructure isn't exactly ready to handle a surge of tourists. But soon they'll be coming, with more flights expected from places like the U.S. and China and more cruise ships sailing here to Havana's only commercial port.

And already a huge hotel room shortage, finding a last-minute room here in Havana, nearly impossible. Your best bet may be renting a private room in someone's home, known around here as a casa particular. You can even try your luck on Airbnb.

Cubans only have Internet access at a few dozen wi-fi hot spots like this. The lack of wi-fi and mobile data means your smartphone or tablet won't really work here aside from these particular places.

Another thing that may not work: your credit card. Be sure and check with your bank before traveling. And bring euros or Canadian dollars to avoid paying the high taxes slapped on U.S. dollars.

And don't expect to pay in local Cuban pesos; foreigners have to use these convertible pesos, which are valued like the U.S. dollar.

(Speaking Spanish).

RIPLEY: You can usually expect to pay more when you're using this.

If you have a U.S. bank account, don't access it online from Cuba. Your assets might end up frozen.

Also you may want to stick to bottled water and be sure to peel your fruits and veggies or you might end up sick.

Beware of driving here. It's easier and safer to hire a taxi like this. And classic cars can get you around town in style and on the cheap. But make sure you negotiate your price ahead of time.

If you want to take home the legally allowed $400 in souvenirs, Cuba wants just $100 of that to be cigars and rum, so you can make your own mojitos at home.

One more thing: embrace the slower pace of life here. Things do take a while in Cuba but in an oasis like this, that's a good thing -- Will Ripley, CNN, Havana.

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HOWELL: Will Ripley, thank you so much.

And we thank you for joining us. This is CNN NEWSROOM. "OPEN COURT" is coming up next. But first, I'll be back after the break with your world headlines. You're watching CNN.