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Deadly Quake Rocks Indonesia; Trump Holds "Thank You" Rally in North Carolina; Obama Defends U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy; Public Service Ad Looks at Signs of Gun Violence. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired December 07, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:00:09] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN newsroom live from Los Angeles.
Ahead this hour, a deadly quake rattles Indonesia's Aceh Province. Buildings and mosques have collapsed with rescue crews searching now for survivors.
The Trump "thank you" tour 2016 rolls into North Carolina, the President-Elect replays his greatest hits and formally introduced his choice for secretary of Defense.
And almost four years since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, now a powerful new message to try and prevent the next school shooting.
Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause. The first hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
We begin with breaking news from Indonesia. At least 26 people have been killed in an earthquake in Aceh Province. The 6.5 magnitude quake struck Wednesday morning. The Red Cross says many homes and buildings have been damaged and panicked residents ran into the streets. As of now, there are no tsunami warnings.
CNN's Kathy Quiano joins us now on the phone from Jakarta with all the very latest details. What do we know about the extent of the damage and the number of people that have been killed and injured -- Kathy?
KATHY QUIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, John -- as you said, it was just confirmed that 26 people died in this quake. Dozens more were injured. And more people are believed to be still trapped under the rubble. Scores of homes, shops, houses, buildings and mosques were totally or partially damaged by the quake.
We're hearing reports from our affiliate, CNN Indonesia that at least one person was just pulled out of a collapsed building in the district of Pidie. That person did not survive, unfortunately.
The quake hit the districts of Pidie and Bireuen at just 5:00 a.m. as residents were preparing for early morning prayers. As you said they all panicked and fled from their homes.
The quake was very, very shallow. And that's why you didn't see a tsunami warning being issued. It was a depth of only 10 kilometers and it happened inland. So that's why we're seeing a lot of damage to infrastructure.
The areas hit are not highly urbanized. Most of the structures are low-rise homes and shop houses. Buildings are only a few stories high.
The local governments of Aceh and the central government have sent in help teams and heavy equipment for rescue efforts are all going in. The social welfare ministry is also sending basic supplies and medicine. And the President Joko Widodo himself has ordered immediate assistance and provisions to be brought to Aceh -- John.
VAUSE: Ok, Kathy -- thank you very much. Kathy Quiano there in Jakarta, on the line with the very latest on the quake.
A big "Thank you, North Carolina" from President-Elect Donald Trump -- the battleground state was crucial to his election victory. In a celebration rally just a few hours ago he formally introduced his choice for Defense secretary -- retired Marine General James "Mad Dog" Mattis. Trump also talked a lot about the greatness, the sheer greatness of his political movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: We do not know what the page tomorrow will read. But for the first time in a long time, what we do know is that the pages will be authored by each and everyone in this room and in our country by you. They're going to be authored by you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I'm joined now by CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Ron -- during that rally, Trump did say the script has not yet been written.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
VAUSE: And that's what is terrifying.
BROWNSTEIN: No. (inaudible) That's fascinating language. Because really, his election was a restoration of political power, right? I mean we had seen a democratic coalition that was urbanized, diverse, younger, white collar, secular that had won what five out of the six -- the popular vote of five out of the six previous presidential elections was defeated in this election by the portions of America that seemed politically past their peak. You know, blue collar, nonurban, religiously devout evangelical America.
And Trump was, you know, there was something literally true about what he said, that the people in that room have kind of regained control of the steering wheel -- demographic trends still in the long-term problematic. But for the moment, if you look at the unified control in Washington, the people in the room in fact, their agenda is going to be setting the national agenda even though Hillary Clinton may end up close to as big a lead in the popular vote as George W. Bush had in 2004.
VAUSE: Wow. And definitely we're heading into sort of everything old is new again --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
VAUSE: -- n so many ways.
Donald Trump also seemed to be still campaigning. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to do a great job. We're going to create a safe country. We're going to create a prosperous country.
[00:05:00] We're going to have jobs again, great jobs; not bad jobs, real jobs. Together we will raise incomes and create millions and millions of new jobs. That's going to happen. It's already happening. You see what happened today.
We will reestablish the rule of law and defend the Constitution of the United States. We will protect the right of every American to live in safety and peace. We will restore and respect, and we will respect people's right. We will respect constitutional rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And that wasn't the half of it. He knows he won the election.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Right, right.
VAUSE: He knows the time for promises is over and it's now time to deliver. It seems like this is still the campaign.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well look, it is extraordinary what he is doing. But he is kind of speaking to his coalition. As I said, he won this election fair and square. He won in the Electoral College. He beat Hillary Clinton in most of the states that they both fully contested like Ohio and Florida and North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
But he is going to lose the popular vote by more than anyone who has ever become president ever. And you can feel him I think in this period, every time that kind of comes up, he kind of bristles. And you could feel him in this interregnum until he takes power kind of almost touching that electorate as a way of kind of restoring a sense of potency and power and direction.
VAUSE: Reaffirmation that he is the guy.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. He is this guy. He is the man.
VAUSE: Yes. Ok.
He also took credit for the creation of 50,000 new jobs after a big investment from a Japanese telecom company. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And one of the wealthiest men in the world -- you saw it today -- maybe didn't, anybody see it? Massa, right? Massa, great guy of Japan. He's pledged that he is going to put $50 billion into the United States because of our victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
V3: Not entirely true. I mean there is a lot of reporting out there that this deal was long in the works.
BROWNSTEIN: Sure. Hard to imagine it's kind of coming just out of nowhere. On the other hand, I think a big question of the Trump presidency is going to be how much he can affect corporate investment decisions by browbeating companies at home with what we have seen with Carrier and others and also with the threat of tariffs abroad.
In the 1980s, it is true that the push then in the House of Representatives for what was called domestic content legislation which said that a certain share of every car sold in the U.S., the parts had to come from the U.S. -- that did encourage the big surge of Japanese investment that has led to the assembly plants we see all across the South for Honda and Nissan and Toyota.
So Trump is going to be something of a mixed blessing for corporate America on the one hand as we give them a lot of what they want with lower taxes and less regulation. On the other hand, he has shown a lot more willingness to kind of call out by name and pressure individual investment decisions in a way that would be stoking an absolute uproar from congressional Republicans and the Chamber of Commerce if it was a Democratic president.
VAUSE: Yes, if it was Barack Obama or Bernie Sanders.
BROWNSTEIN: Right. Absolutely.
VAUSE: I just -- you know, do people care about the details that this is sort of in the works before he is claiming credit for it or you'll just hear Donald Trump, 50,000 jobs.
BROWNSTEIN: I think the latter. I think look, Trump, you know, look it is going to be very difficult for Trump to reverse decades of decline in the Youngstowns and the Gary, Indianas of America, the midsized manufacturing industrial towns that thrived in the decades after World War II that really, had been losing jobs and incomes since the 1970s. In a systematic way, it's going to be very hard to change that.
On the other hand, he may have some big symbolic wins that he can post on the board. And the question is how much will people look at those versus the underlying trends when the time comes to judge him.
VAUSE: The other thing which was kind of unusual tonight is that, you know, Donald Trump was very disciplined. He was on a prompter. And there was even this moment when the media sort of came under attack from the crowd. Listen to Donald Trump's reaction or non--reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The script to what we're doing is not yet written. Remember this has been a great, great movement the likes of which they've never seen before. The likes of which those folks back there that write the stories --
No, no, no -- I'll tell you. And they're saying it. They've never seen anything like this before. It's one of the great political phenomenons of all time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I don't think we've seen anything like that before with Donald Trump telling the crowd not to.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Wait until tomorrow.
You know, I mean look, I mean he has been back and forth. I mean he has obviously criticized "Saturday Night Live" and he has criticized individual reporters. He attacked Jeff Zeleny of CNN as President- Elect. I mean it's very unclear where it's going.
But I would not bet on a consistent tone of moderation for Donald Trump in dealing with the press. I mean he seems to view a confrontational relationship with the mainstream media as a good way of kind of positioning himself vis-a-vis his base.
[00:09:57] VAUSE: Ok. On to the foreign policy questions here now. One of the big issues facing Donald Trump will be Iran, which actually let off a great big warning today to Donald Trump not to rip up that nuclear deal. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASSAN ROUHANI, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): The U.S., as part of the 5 plus one is one of our enemies and wants to pressure us. There is no doubt about that. We have to resist, be steadfast, and find a way to counter it.
They may break the nuclear agreement. They have already done so by extending the Di Matteau (ph) law. If this measure is actually implemented then it will be a clear breach of the nuclear agreement and will cause us to react very harshly and severely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Hassan Rouhani there, using some very strong language calling America the enemy. This is a very clear shot across the bow.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Look and you have, you know, Donald Trump has sent mixed signals at various points in the campaign. Originally he said he was not going to tear up the agreement on day one. And you have General Mattis who is his choice as Defense secretary who has also been critical of the idea of walking away, partially because of the reality that if we walked away, it's not clear that anybody else would come with us.
And the idea of unilateral sanctions, if Donald Trump felt that the sanctions that we had imposed earlier in a multilateral way were not effective enough, the idea of doing it on our own with everybody else refusing to participate would make it even less.
He has -- though later in the campaign, the indications were yes, I'm going to tear this up. But I think that's a debate yet to entirely unfold.
VAUSE: Just on the issue of foreign policy, we had a dust-up earlier this week with China over Taiwan. It's now being reported by the "New York Times" that Senator Bob Dole, the former presidential nominee, was actually lobbying on behalf of the Taiwanese. He got paid about $140,000 to arrange that phone call.
Is this shaping up to be the first pretty big scandal of the Trump administration?
BROWNSTEIN: It's a big story. I mean first of all, Bob Dole is the only living Republican presidential nominee who endorsed and supported Donald Trump. If this contract with Taiwan began before that embrace that would be something that would really call into question the whole relationship here.
I doubt that this was the only reason why Donald Trump accepted that phone call. But if it is part of it, it is something we are going to be discussing quite a bit in the days ahead.
VAUSE: Ok. Donald Trump introduced his pick tonight for Defense secretary. He also laid out what looks to be like a noninterventionist military policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We build up our military, not as an act of aggression, but as an act of prevention. We pursue and build up arms not in order to seek conflict, but in order to avoid conflict. We want to be strong. In short, we seek peace through strength.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ronald Reagan.
BROWNSTEIN: Echoing Ronald Reagan. I mean look, no one has felt that the U.S. military is a pushover under Barack Obama. You know, Donald Trump is talking about reducing intervention in some ways, you know, as President Obama talked about reducing intervention.
The difference is that President Obama wanted the U.S. to be a less kind of aggressive power within the context of heightened international alliance. And Donald Trump by and large has talked about kind of unwinding some of those international alliances. So it's a real, you know, I think there is a lot of uncertainty around the world about ultimately how he envisions the U.S. operating. For example, you know, on the one hand, very confrontational with China by taking the call from the president of Taiwan. On the other hand, leaving China a big gift-wrapped Christmas present under the tree by walking away from the Transpacific Partnership that was President Obama's principle way of constraining Chinese economic power in Asia and now allowing China to fill that gap. So I think a lot of -- and there are a lot of embassies around the world wondering exactly what they're going to get from the Trump presidency.
VAUSE: You mentioned President Obama especially on the issue of national security. It seems he gave his exit interview on national security on Tuesday. This is some of what the President had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For eight years that I've been in office, there has not been a day when a terrorist organization or some radicalized individual was not plotting to kill Americans. We did not choose this fight. But once it came to us, the world saw the measure of our resolve.
ISIL has lost more than half its territory. ISIL has lost control of major population centers. Its morale is plummeting. Its recruitment is drying up. Its commanders and external plotters are being taken out. And local populations are turning against it.
To say that we made progress is not to say that the job is done. We know that a deadly threat persists. We know that in some form, this violent extremism will be with us for years to come.
The whole objective of these terrorists is to scare us into changing the nature of who we are and our democracy. And the fact is people and nations do not make good decisions when they are driven by fear.
[00:15:03] These terrorists can never directly destroy our way of life. But we can do it for them if we lose track of who we are and the values that this nation was founded upon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWNSTEIN: Classic Obama trying to put the threat within kind of boundaries and arguing that we should not overreact, but also insisting that we will be relentless in pursuing the individuals and institutions that mean us harm.
VAUSE: So laying down marker for his eight years as president and moving on.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
And saying that we don't make good decisions when we're operating under fear -- I think that was a little bit of a shot across the bow to the incoming president.
VAUSE: Yes. He never mentioned Trump by name but certainly a lot of under the tone there.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
VAUSE: Ron -- come back next hour --
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
VAUSE: -- because we have more to get to. Thank you.
And CNN's Van Jones looks back at what happened in the 2016 election in a CNN special "THE MESSY TRUTH". You can watch the town hall with guests Michael Moore, Rick Santorum and Ana Navarro. That's "THE MESSY TRUTH WITH VAN JONES" at 6:00 p.m. in Hong Kong and again 8:00 p.m. in London.
We will take a break.
When we come back, a somber anniversary -- four years since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in the U.S. We'll speak to a mother who lost her child. She is still feeling the pain from her loss. And she is also behind a new public service announcement which has had a profound impact on so many.
[00:16:22] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Ok. So this is something we haven't done here before on NEWSROOM L.A. We're about to play a public service announcement in its entirety -- just over two minutes. Please stay with us. Please watch to the very end. You just have to trust me on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got some news today from the radio man, spoke the words somber and as softly as he can, the world stood still and the sky opened up. I made my way to fill up my coffee cup.
Then it occurred to me as the daylights gone blue, today is the day that Johnny met June. He waited a while, he knew that it would, he was going to hang around here for as long as he could. The days went by, and I was (inaudible). He was never sure just how long he would last. But there's not much love in a lonely room, today is the day that Johnny met June.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have a good summer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, you must be bored.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the guy that I was writing to in the library.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty. So you like to write on desks?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I do.
"While you were watching Evan, another student was showing signs of planning a shooting. But no one noticed."
(inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How I still love to hear you sing.
And everything we ever heard about heaven is true, today's the day that Johnny met June.
"Gun violence is preventable when you know the signs. Learn them now at Sandyhookpromise.org."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Bet you didn't see that coming. And that's the point.
he people behind the ad have seen the horror of gun violence firsthand. They're a nonprofit, nonpartisan group called Sandy Hook Promise named after the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut where a gunman murdered 20 children, aged between six and seven, as well as six staff members.
Nicole Hockley is the founder and managing director of Sand Hook Promise. Her son Dylan was killed on that horrible day four years ago this month. Nicole joins us now from Newtown. Nicole -- thank you so much for being with us. So hard to believe it's been four years.
NICOLE HOCKLEY, SANDY HOOK PROMISE: It feels like only yesterday and yet a whole lifetime ago, to be honest -- John. Thank you.
VAUSE: Yes. Everyone I know who has seen this ad has been left with a knot in their stomach, almost speechless. I assume that's been pretty much the same for everyone out there who has had a chance to watch it.
HOCKLEY: Yes, we've had a very positive response in terms of it has really opened people's eyes to something that they hadn't considered before. And that's exactly the point of doing this PSA.
VAUSE: Gun reform in this country, it's such a divisive issue. But this ad focuses on mental health which I guess is the one -- no matter where you stand, there is an agreement, mental health has to be dealt with.
HOCKLEY: Well, this actually -- this focuses on prevention; what happens in those days, week, months, or sometimes even years before someone picks up a firearm or a weapon to hurt someone else or to hurt themselves. So this is about mental health and wellness. It's also about access to guns. And both of those warning signs come through the PSA. VAUSE: You know, schools, they have lockdown drills. They teach kids
how to deal with an active shooter situation. Police, you know, they receive special training. Why has there not been this focus on prevention, on being able to spot those warning signs before something terrible happens?
HOCKLEY: You know, that's the great question. And that's the question that we wanted to answer. And that's why we created this PSA.
We have a lot of training at the moment. And we've certainly seen an uptick in school shooter trainer, active shooter drills, in terms of how to deal with imminent danger. That's increased a lot since the Sandy Hook tragedy.
[00:24:58] But what we haven't seen is a focus on prevention. How do we stop this violence before it starts in the first place? And all of our education says, why don't we start there? Why don't we start the conversation there? Why don't we start the education there? Because there is so much that we can do so that it never gets to that point.
VAUSE: You know, my 12-year-old daughter, she found this ad. She sent it to me. She said you've got to watch this. She said her friends in Atlanta were actually showing the ad in class. So the message is getting out. Do you think that conversation is now being had?
HOCKLEY: I certainly hope so. I mean I've been reading some of the Facebook comments and some of the comments on people that have embedded the video and shown it on their sites and there is a lot of conversation. A lot of wows, a lot of I didn't see that coming. But then a lot of this is something that I haven't thought about before.
And that's the whole point of this. There is so much that we can do in our own schools, in our families, and our own communities to prevent violence before it happens. And we think about any PSA -- drowning or heart attacks or strokes or domestic violence, they've all taught us how to recognize the signs of someone who needs help. This is doing the exact same thing, just on a completely different issue.
VAUSE: December 14 is the anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook. How are you and everyone else coping? I imagine this time of year is incredibly difficult.
HOCKLEY: From when schools go back to session through to the end of the holiday season, it's kind of a never-ending spiral downwards from me. Everyone deals with grief very differently. So I can only speak to myself and for my family.
We don't want to remember 12/14 as the day Dylan died. We prefer to focus on the days that he lived and celebrate that. But that being said, December 14th is going to be a hard day to know that it's yet another full year since I've been able to hold my boy.
VAUSE: Well, we'll all be thinking of you and wishing you all the very best and congratulations on this commercial. It's powerful. And let's hope it makes something change.
HOCKLEY: Absolutely. Thank you very much for the opportunity. I appreciate it.
VAUSE: Investigators in Oakland, California say there is no evidence the deadly warehouse fire was deliberately set. The blaze killed 36 people during a dance party there over the weekend. All, but one of the victims, have been identified.
The warehouse manager is under scrutiny after past tenants and visitors reported unsafe conditions. It's not clear if he'll face criminal charges.
Still to come, one intense battle in Syria may be nearing an end.
Up next, we'll take a look at what is left of one neighborhood in eastern Aleppo.
[00:27:47] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[0:31:14] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN Newsroom live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause, with the headlines this hour. A 6.5 magnitude earthquake has killed at least 26 people in northwestern Indonesia. The Red Cross says the damaged homes and buildings in Aceh province forcing many residents into the streets and temporary shelters. No tsunami warnings have been issued so far.
The U.S. President-elect Donald Trump took his "Thank you" tours in North Carolina on Tuesday. A key battleground state in Trump's election win. At the rally he formally announced his pick to run the pentagon, General James "Mad Dog" Mattis.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says he won't let Donald Trump destroy his country's nuclear deal with the United States. Trump has called it one of the worst agreements ever, and promised to re negotiate the terms.
And in the coming hours, the U.S. will commemorate the 75th anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Only 2000 Americans were killed and 20 naval vessels were destroyed, including eight battleships. The next day the U.S. declared war on Japan.
The battle for eastern Aleppo may be coming to an end. The Syrian army says it has taken more neighborhoods from rebel control. And this is a firsthand look at the El Assad neighborhood. They are conflicting reports on who is in control. Activists say, it was taken, but rebel officials deny it. The diplomatic picture is unclear as well. Russia's foreign minister says talks with the U.S. on a rebel withdrawal will begin this week in Geneva. There has been no confirmation on that from Washington. The fighting is fierce. An activist says 15 people were killed in two separate air strikes on Tuesday. Fred Pleitgen reports, the Syrian forces are using massive firepower as the rebel stronghold nears collapse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is Aleppo 24/7. Shelling and air strikes raining down mostly on rebel-held areas. Near the front line, it's not just Syrian troops, Russians and Iranians battling on the government's side. We meet these Syrian- Palestinian fighters who show us what they claim, was a former Jabhat al-Nusra field hospital they found when they advanced into this area.
Every injured rebel would be taken here, he says. You see the medicine and blankets. This is one of their instruments they used. Syrian pro- government forces have brought heavy weapons to the front line as they continue to push the opposition back. They showed us these homemade mortars and accused rebels of lacing them with chemicals, the army says it discovered in this room close by.
This alleged weapons facility is inside what used to be an elementary school in this former rebel-held district. And the Syrian army says it found this place when it was sweeping the area as rebels were retreating. The battles show no sign of letting up as Syrian forces continue to pound rebel-held district. Killing 100s in the past days and leaving thousands of civilians trapped and at risk.
In an interview with CNN, a Syrian general says government forces will not stop unless opposition fighters withdraw.
FAWAZ MUSTAFA, SYRIAN ARMY: If he insisted to go on fighting and bombing our people in Aleppo and civilians or the army, we have to continue our mission to get the city back to its people.
PLEITGEN: And what that means is plain for everyone in Aleppo to see and to hear. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Aleppo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Libyan forces are back in control of the coastal city of Sirte. Has based in for the military operations says the last city district has been taken from ISIS and the area is being cleared of mines and IEDs.
Libya began the offensive in May backed by U.S. air strikes.
[00:34:59] Sirte is the hometown of Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi. It was the only major city outside of Iraq and Syria under ISIS control.
Still to come here, she's taken heat for a controversial open door policy towards migrants. But now Angela Merkel wants to pull back the veil son some Muslim women. Quite literally, the reason why. That's next on Newsroom L.A. and in the U.S. most of leaders have a message to the incoming president, Donald Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Europe's most powerful leader wants to ban Burqas in Germany. Angela Merkel says the full-face veils worn by some Muslim women are not appropriate. Germany Chancellor told about his conference on Tuesday, Burqas should be forbidden wherever legally possible. This comes as hate crimes against Muslims have been on the rise. In the U.S., FBI statistic show a 67 percent increase from 2014 to 2015.
And where the Muslim-American leaders wrote an open letter, to President-elect Donald Trump, saying this. "Like other Americans, we love our country and are committed to preserving religious freedom, equal opportunity and equal protection under the law for all. As our president-elect, one of your duties is to ensure our collective safety and security. This includes protecting the first amendment rights of all Americans to freely practice their faith without fear, intimidation or reprisals".
Edina Lekovic is here with me now. She's a communications director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Edina. Thank you, for coming in. Has there been a response to this letter from the Trump transition team?
EDINA LEKOVIC, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: No, we have not received a response just yet. And part of the reason that we decided to release it as an open letter was that, the message is for Donald Trump and the transition team, and it's also for our broader society who needs to hear from American-Muslims at a time when we're being talked about but not talked to.
VAUSE: Yeah, that is a problem. The letter reads in part as American- Muslims committed to the values of our faith and the principles that underpin our country's democracy, we write to express serious concerns about policies proposed during your campaign, as well as announcements regarding appointments to your upcoming administration. Which appointments in particular concern you the most?
LEKOVIC: There a quite honestly, the list is probably too long to talk about on air. But I think starting with Steve Bannon at the top of the list, General Flynn, and a host of others who have the clear track records of not just anti-Muslim sentiment, and even alt-right bigotry. But who have also talked -- who have made their opinions about other vulnerable communities pretty clear as well.
VAUSE: Why did you think you have to highlight the contributions that American-Muslims have made over the years?
LEKOVIC: I think it's critical for us to realize that president-elect Donald Trump doesn't know who we are as American-Muslims. If he did, he would know that we're enriching valuable members of our society, that we are athletes. We're physicians. We're entrepreneurs. We're religious scholars. We're physicians. We are -- we're everyday people who contribute to the overall betterment of our society. And we should be treated that way.
[0:40:04] VAUSE: Yet President Obama talked about the importance of American values, and he rejected the idea of a religious test. This is what the president said
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: The United States of America is not a country that imposes religious tests as a price for freedom. We're a country that was founded so that people could practice their faith as they choose. The United States of America is not a place where some citizens have to withstand greater scrutiny or carry a special I.D. card or prove that they're not an enemy from within. We're a country that has bled and struggled and sacrificed against that kind of discrimination and arbitrary rule. Here in our own country and around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Why are Americans who would hold those ideals so precious to themselves, why are some Americans willing to deny that to Muslims who live in this country?
LEKOVIC: Well, I think that's a more appropriate question for those Americans who would want to deny it. Part of me believes that a big part of that has to do with how few Americans actually know a Muslim. We know from the data that 38 percent of Americans say that they know a Muslim. That means that 62 percent don't. And we also know that meeting somebody of a different background makes all the difference. It's the exposure. It's the factor of coming out of the closet. And so unfortunately right now in the wake of so many hate crimes, hate attacks, the hate speech that is going on, it is making it even more difficult for people who are Muslim to feel safe and comfortable to let other people know that they're Muslims. But that's our ...
VAUSE: To do the reach out in the first place.
LEKOVIC: Exactly. And that's part of the solution that we need to get through this huge divide.
VAUSE: I want to talk quickly about Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel accepted the policy combination for another four-year term. She said (0:01:45) should not replace German justice, full-face veils should be banned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (Through Translator): We have to show our face during personal communication, which is important. And that is why the full veil is not appropriate here. It should be forbidden wherever that is legally possible. It does not belong to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I mean the reality is just maybe a few hundred women actually who cover up in Germany. So what's the reality here? What is the message that is being sent?
LEKOVIC: I think it's really unfortunate when we choose to propose to ban things, because we know that when we ban things, we only make them more popular. So if what the message intended here is that we want to see these Muslim refugees, these immigrants to integrate, then we should create a path for integration that focuses on giving them language skills, giving them education opportunity, giving them job opportunities so that they can live a stable and contributing life among others. That's the best path toward integration. Not telling people who may already feel like they're on the margins of society that they have to change in order to fit.
VAUSE: She made this speech while accepting her party's nomination there is a lot of politics in play here. She's being squeezed by many on the right, many anti-immigrant parties on the right. There's even question, if this ban would be allowed under the German constitution. So this seems more about politics than religion, right?
LEKOVIC: It may very well be more about politics than about religion. And for myself, if Chancellor Merkel has done a tremendous service to humanity through her open door policy, if we call it that towards refugees. Germany has accepted more refugees I think than any other western country in the last year. And that is a tremendous -- should be a tremendous honor to Germany. And now the test is what we do next. So I applaud Chancellor Merkel for that. And I urge her for whatever its worth that she continue to uphold those values, because she is a shining light in that regard.
VAUSE: She has been seen as the defender of liberal values in Europe. So this was a bit of a surprise. Edina, thank you for coming in.
LEKOVIC: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. World Sport is up next. And I will be back with another hour of news from all around the world. You're watching CNN.
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[0:45:34] KATE RILEY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to World Sport. I'm Kate Riley at CNN Center. Let's started with the Champions League this hour. And only one group that really have something to play for. Let's focus on group B when Napoli, Benficia and Besiktas all had a chance of advancing in the champion's league. All head straight to the Europe league, where Benfica are against Napoli, the Italians were top going into this last group B. Game goal is in the first half, it took the visitors until the all amount scored, Dries Mertens with the assist he finds Jose Callejon. It was then be Mertens who would score himself. But I think he got a consolation goal on the ninth 2-1 it ends.
Now, even if they got an equalizer, Napoli would still go top of the group ahead of the Portuguese outfit. But Besiktas, had no chance of qualifying in the end. They conceded six goals on the night away to Dynamo Kiev.
Now, elsewhere in Manchester City were home to Celtic. They would have to be careful of their player striker Patrick Roberts. He's actually out on loan at the Scottish outfit. He came out of the blocks with something to prove. It took the forward just four minutes to score. The F.C. has steady and a 19-year-old put the Scottish champions ahead.
Ciftci (ph) and Janko (ph) would make sure that city were spared the blushes. However, his equalizer now means the EPLT were guaranteed a second-place finish in group C. They'll find who they will play next. When the draw takes place on Monday.
To Barcelona. Finish the group as winners, Man city and second, the youngster course out on lines, stopping them from winning all of their champions league home group games for the very first time.
It's been a while, five years in fact since Arsenals won their champions league group. And they made sure they finished stop in some style over in Switzerland when they faced Basel, Lucas Perez really was the star of the night. It was still a performance within is a hat- trick. It says in the edge of the boat. Top as a great night. Alex Iwobi be made sure it ended 4-1 on the road.
Right then. Arsenal finished top of the champion's league group A, thanks to the impressive hat-trick and the fact that Paris Saint- Germain through with Ludogorets. And finally group D, Atletico and Bayern Munich were both through when they pass face each other on Tuesday. It was Bayern who won one, one nail on the night. Robert Lewandowski the only goal scorer in that one.
OK. We'll, speaking of Bayern and it's actually been three years since they won the tournament it's part of our inside the Bundesliga week. CNN's Alex Thomas has been to visit the club. And speak to some of that biggest name Xabi Alonso has been an integral part of all the famous teams. He played for Spain Liverpool and Real Madrid. Just to name three, but also 35 years of age. He'll have to make a decision about his future before the end of the season. And many hope he stays in football because he talks so intelligently about the game.
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ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's the football fan's footballer, a player who has won it all with club and country. Not a mega star in the Rinaldo or Messi category, but masterful midfielder, universally admired. And at 35 years of age, Xabi Alonso is still first choice with Germany's most famous team.
XABI ALONZO, BAYERN MUNICH MIDFIELDER: Once you get here, you start realizing that this is not a normal one. This is not one more club. It's pretty special. It's pretty special because of the history that it has. The current situation of the club is fantastic as well. But as well the embracement of the fans, the identity they have for the club, not just in Munich, in all of Bavaria is fantastic. And probably it's so very different from the ones I knew in Spain or in England.
THOMAS: You see the Leipzig and Leicester city stories being similar?
ALONZO: At the moment, yes. At the moment they have found a very clear idea how they want to play. They play one game a week. They are so on such a high -- such a good mood, so much confidence.
[0:49:58] Hope not, but at the moment they're on the same run.
THOMAS: What is your big strength as a player, do you think?
ALONZO: Well, I don't really like to talk about myself. But of course it's not going to be my speed. It's not going to be my dribbling. It's not going to be my goals. No, what I have always tried to do is to be a team player. That's where I want to be the link between the defense/attack, the defenders to be protected, have the attackers get the best walls for them to have good positions to dribble. And that's what I want, and to be able to read the game as well as possible. That's my job.
I don't have any plans so far. Ideas, yes, but no plans. So time will tell.
THOMAS: Would Xabi Alonso make a good coach one day?
CARLO ANCELOTTI, ITALIAN FOOTBALL MANAGER: I think so. I think so. He has the knowledge, the experience to be a good coach.
ALONZO: I've been lucky enough to work with great managers. When I came Real Sociedad, I went to live with (inaudible) all of them with Mourinho, with Pellegrini and (inaudible). All of them, they have their own way to work. But I have learned a lot from them. And I'm for sure it has been changing what I thought it has been adapting to each game or to each country. So that has made me more to gain in experience. At the moment I need to be focused. I prefer to be focused on this decision and try to play well. Try to feel well. So far and I'm doing -- and that's what I want.
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RILEY: Xabi there. And we will be continuing to take you inside the Bundesliga on world sport this week. Up next, we examine whether Brussia Dortmund is the best supported club on the planet. And to speak to a fan who has been bouncing in their famous yellow wall.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gives you a feeling, all of them, yeah, of togetherness, of stronghold. It makes your nerve vibrate.
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RILEY: And coming up here on the show, it's been an up and down year for Novak Djokovic. Now he set a brand-new direction. Details on the way.
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RILEY: A very disappointing end to the year in which we saw Andy Murray replaced him as the world's top ranked tennis player. Novak Djokovic is to part ways with his coach Boris Becker since teaming up with Becker back in December 2013. Novak, has won six majors and spent over 100 weeks as world number one. The Serb also completed the career grand slam by winning the french open earlier this year. The 12-time major champ posted on Facebook "After three very successful years, Boris Becker and I have jointly decided to end our cooperation.
[00:55:00] The goals we set when we started working together have been completely fulfilled and I want to thank him for the cooperation, team work, dedication and commitment. On the other hand my professional plans are now directed primarily to maintain a good level of play and also to make a good schedule and new goals for the next season. In this regard, I will make all future decisions".
OK. Elsewhere and here in the United States, and Lebron James was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton ahead of last month's U.S. presidential election. And he is continuing his opposition to her rival and the winner of that election, President-elect Donald Trump by refusing to stay in a hotel bearing his name. The Cleveland Cavaliers are booked into the Trump Soho hotel in Manhattan ahead of their game this week against the New York Knicks. But Lebron and a group of his teammates have opted to stay elsewhere. Councilor Manager David Griffin told a local Cleveland newspaper about half of the 14-man roster won't stay at the hotel. That follows reports of three other NBA teams, the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies on Dallas Maverick steering clear of Trump branded hotels.
OK, Thompson made history and a whole lot of points. The Golden State Warriors on Monday night he scored a great high 60 against the Indiana bases in just 29 minutes. No one had ever scored that many points playing less than 30 minutes in an NBA game. His final tally is also the most in the NBA this season. The amazing part, he had 40 before half-time and didn't even play in the fourth quarter because the game was well in hand. Warriors win, 142 points to 106.
Thomas Bjorn will be the man tasked with reclaiming golf's Ryder cup for Europe at Le Golf National in Paris in just under two year's time. The 45-year-old from Denmark will be the first Scandinavian to hold the captaincy after he was confirmed as Darren Clarke's replacement on Tuesday. Bjorn was an assistant to Clark as Europe lost to the Americans in minnesota a couple of months ago, ending a run of three successive victories for the Europeans. The Dane has an impressive Ryder cup pedigree. He participated in seven as coach and a player. And that brings this edition of world sport to a close. I'm Kate Riley. Thanks for watching. Stay with CNN. The news is next.
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VAUSE: You're watching "CNN Newsroom" live from Loas Angeles. Ahead is hour. (inaudible) great rocks, Indonesia is building ...
