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Leaving Behind the Living Hell; U.S. to Retaliate Russia; Evidence of Aviation Mystery; Justice in Own Hands; Contaminated Water; Putin Trip to Japan; U.S. to Punish Russia; No Way Out; Trump Taking Kids to Work; Duterte Admits Killings; Taking ISIS Out; House Shopping; Taxes Raised; Emotional Trial. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 16, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: Syrians finally evacuate east Aleppo leaving behind the living hell. Their next destination though could prove to be just as harrowing.

NATALI ALLEN, CNN HOST: Barack Obama speaks out about hacking in the U.S. election while promising to retaliate against Russia.

HOWELL: And a new "Star Wars" spin off its theaters and tries to live up "Force" of the original series.

ALLEN: It's all ahead here on CNN Newsroom. Thank you for joining us. We're live in Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell from CNN world headquarters. Newsroom starts right now.

ALLEN: As many as 9,000 people have made it out of Aleppo since evacuation started Thursday. Moments ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the next step is a nationwide ceasefire.

HOWELL: Russian state media says it is up to nine convoys now of buses and ambulances that have taken these evacuees to relatively safer territory. Many of the people have been arriving in neighboring Idlib while others are now in western Aleppo where we saw many emotional reunions.

ALLEN: How about that. Some people who evacuated say they're being kicked out of their homes in a forced displacement and for others their hope turns to horror when a sniper shot at their convoy. The shooter killed at least aid worker.

ITV's Dan Rivers is in Aleppo.

DAN RIVERS, ITV NEWS REPORTER: Even on the last day of besiege of Aleppo the despicable violence against civilians didn't stop. This (Inaudible) hit when this ambulance was attacked.

In the front, a man was being hit in the head. In the back, children who thought they were about to escape. The gunman had other ideas. The ambulance abandoned its rescue and still the sniper tries to kick them off.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

We don't know who was shooting but you can see the effect. A searing portray of the last hours of besiege images which should haunt those responsible. Later, thousands gathered as words spread that the ceasefire was holding and mass evacuation was being organized. They are being targeted for four and a half years, but finally these people were preparing to leave.

And these pictures show while fighters were among them most appeared to be civilians, women, children, the injured, and the vulnerable all caught up in the catastrophe of this conflict.

Outside, the regime buses were lined up and ready. A solitary vehicle carrying a Red Crescent flag emerge from rebel lines terms agreed it was time to end the suffering. The buses threaded their through the debris to stop the evacuation.

For two and a half hours we waited and watched as did the world hoping this would not collapse into more fighting as it did yesterday. That smoke blowing from fires set by rebels hinted at a scorched earth policy to deny the regime the use of anything they were leaving behind. It's hard to imagine there was much left to burn.

The call to prayer kept through the silence as a tenth city held its breath and hope for peace. Then the first sign of flashing lights, a convoy of ambulances and buses emerging onto Aleppo's ring road.

Well, this is the moment the world has been waiting for. The civilians are leaving their enclave and ignominious defeat for the rebels. But finally, the battle for Aleppo is over.

The occupants of the buses came almost face to face with the men who sought to kill them, but they were allowed to leave unhinged. And it didn't take long for President Assad supporters to stop their celebrations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD CHANTING)

[03:04:59] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel very happy. I feel -- I feel that this victory will continue to all Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): It is of great joy, we were waiting for this day minute by minute. We couldn't just believe this day would come. I congratulate all the Syrians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: But after so much bloodshed this shouldn't have been a day of celebration rather a time to reflect on why this took so long.

Dan Rivers, ITV News, Aleppo. HOWELL: Dan Rivers, thank you. Now I bring in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh,

live in Amman, Jordan following this story. Jomana, just looking at that piece just a moment ago, seeing the faces of those children, it is haunting to think about how long this has been going on. What is the very latest, it's been a very delicate situation, is there a concern that it could crumble?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course, that concern is still there. But what we do know from various sources, George, that this process of evacuation is still ongoing. Figures of how many people have been evacuated over the past 24 hours varies depending on the source, we're hearing different figures from the Syrian government, the Turkish government and the Russians.

The figures are anywhere between 6,000 to 9,000 to people. The latest figure we got was about an hour and that was from government official in Turkey who says that 8,000 people have been evacuated in five convoys, and that a 6th convoy was on the move, too.

Now what we're looking at is about 19 to 20 buses that are taking people out this besieged neighborhood so it is expected to be a lengthy process as these buses do these rotations of taking this people out.

The groups include civilians, they include wounded who are in desperate of medical attention, as well as rebel fighters. They're first taken out to the western countryside of Aleppo province, that is under the control of rebels.

Now, there they have the option to either go to neighboring Idlib province that is under the control of various rebel groups including hardline Islamist ones or they can also move to the Turkish border.

That is where Turkey is going to be setting up these camps to host these refuges on its border.

As you mentioned, it is a very delicate situation, very fragile deal and the situation on the ground remains very volatile. There is always the concern that something could happen that could disrupt these evacuations but we have not seen that since that initial convoy left yesterday and we saw that at least one person was killed and four others were wounded according to the activists and medics on the ground.

So far, no incidents have been reported and the convoys are ongoing right now, George.

HOWELL: Jomana, you point out that some are being taken to nearby Idlib, that again is under a rebel control. Very much -- very much a likely target for government forces. So, you've been speaking to people, how do they feel about leaving?

KARADSHEH: You know, George, when you talk to people from eastern Aleppo it really makes the emotion. There is that relief that they are finally going to be leaving. Just a few days ago, the same people were fearing that the situation there was going to end in a bloodbath, in their words, a massacre. So there is that relief that they are going to be getting out.

But at the same time they're absolutely heartbroken. So many people you speak to say they never ever wanted to leave Aleppo but they are face with that tough choice, in their words, to either stay and die or to evacuate, and they had to make that tough decision to leave.

And of course, now what happens next, so many of them fear that they will never ever see Aleppo again. To the world this is an evacuation, in their words, the people of eastern Aleppo believed that this is a forced displacement.

And just a short time ago, we were speaking to an activist, a media activist in eastern Aleppo, someone we have been speaking to for a few months, and no matter how bad the situation in that part of that country was he always remain rally composed, never got really emotional.

And when he asked him how he felt about the situation right now, he broke down in tears, he was so emotional that he said he wanted to be one of the last people to leave and he just doesn't know if he'll ever see his home again. And this is something we heard from so many people there.

HOWELL: People who just called at home, people who did not want to leave again. Now so many thousands of people displaced. Jomana Karadsheh, live for us in Amman, Jordan following the story. Thank you for the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.

Ad of course, if you would like to help out of the many Syrians who've been caught up i this brutal civil war, CNN has a list of aid organizations that are helping families to escape the danger and to receive basic supplies. You just head to cnn.com/impact to find the full list there.

[03:09:58] ALLEN: Well, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Tokyo meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister on many issues, but it was what he did not say during the news conference last hour that is perhaps most noteworthy.

HOWELL: The United States has accused the Russian president point- blank of meddling in the presidential election by launching damaging hacks. President Putin has denied the accusations before. And again, did not addressed during the press conference there in Tokyo.

But on Thursday, the U.S. President, Barack Obama our response to Russia's interference. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: U.S. officials admit there isn't smoking gun proving the Kremlin was behind the hack.

HOWELL: But as CNN's Jim Sciutto explains though, all the evidence still points to the Russian president.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN'S CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The White House demanding that President-elect Trump accept rather than deny. The intelligence community's assessment that Russia was responsible for hacking intended to impact the U.S. presidential race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Mr. Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him and hurting Secretary Clinton's campaign.

It might be time to not attack the intelligence community but actually supportive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: However, Trump himself from sources tell CNN it seem the intelligence behind that assessment in his classified briefings continues to express doubts that Russia is responsible, tweeting quote, "If Russia or some other entity was hacking why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?"

His transition team is now accusing the White House of trying to undermine his presidency.

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

JASON MILLER, DONALD TRUMP'S SPOKESMAN: I'd say the continued efforts to try to delegitimize the election at a certain point got to realize that an election from last month is going to stand or whether it's the recount or continued questions along this line.

(END VOICE CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Analysis of the digital footprint and intelligence including from human sources has led the intelligence community to conclude that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved to the hacking. This, according to intelligence, congressional and other administration sources.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SCHIFF, CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMAN: There is only decision maker and that is Putin, to me, just on the basis of that very circumstantial evidence is pretty clear that something of this magnitude had to be very tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tells CNN he now plans to introduce crippling new economic sanctions aimed at Putin himself. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSEY GRAHAM, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR: We're going to hit you and hit you hard, I'm going to introduce sanctions they be bad person that names Putin as an individual his inner circle for not only hacking into our political systems but trying to destabilize democracy throughout the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: And yet, Trump supporter and former Jack Kingston was in Moscow this week where he told businesses that Trump could reconsider existing sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK KINGSTON, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: Sanctions not something that the administration is going to live with at all. The sanctions have been in placed a while now, the administration can take a look and say other results what we were looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The U.S. intelligence community assessed weeks ago that the hacking can only have occurred with Putin's OK. But their confidence is now growing in part due to the sophisticated hacking tools and methods used in the hacks. Cyber weapons, if in fact, that Russia would not use without its president's approval.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

ALLEN: And Hillary Clinton says Russia during the election was Putin's way of getting back at her for questioning the fairness of Russian elections in 2011.

HOWELL: In the meantime, the president-elect's choice for ambassador for Israel could be up in decades of U.S. policy.

ALLEN: Donald Trump says he wants David Friedman in the post citing his strong relationship in Israel. In a statement, Friedman says, he would move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

HOWELL: During his campaign Trump said that he wants to recognize this city as Israel's capital. The U.S. has not done that in the 60 years because Palestinians also claim that the city is theirs.

Next here on CN Newsroom, new clues about why an Egypt Air flight crashed into the ocean killing everyone on board.

ALLEN: Also, the Philippine president has a busy day of activity from Singapore but when he goes he'll have tough questions to answer. That's coming up here on CNN Newsroom.

[03:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, everyone. I'm CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis. And this is your weather watch.

We've got quite a bit of weather over the next several days with tens of millions of people plunge into some Arctic air that spread in across the north central United States, the interior west. Lower elevations pick up some much needed rainfall like in southern California or California in general, and across the eastern third of the United States.

Well, it's going to be cold here as well the next few days. How about this, Denver, 4 degrees. For San Francisco, windy, partly cloudy and 12 for a high, New York City mostly sunny but it's only going to make it to minus 2 degrees.

How about over the next several days. Washington, D.C., the temperature moderate but just a little bit. But as we head a little bit further towards the south by Monday those triple digits in Atlanta only go into the single digit. So, bundle up, it is one Arctic blast after the other.

For Guatemala City partly cloudy but mostly sunny skies, in 25, and for Havana partly in 29, so that looks pretty comfortable. South America, thunderstorms across the Amazon River basin. Quito is looking at 16 and some thunderstorms, a little bit further towards the south if you're travelling Monet de Dios, sunshine, 31 degrees looks nice.

ALLEN: We are finally getting answers to an aviation mystery. Traces of explosives have been found on bodies from the Egypt airplane that crashed last May killing all 66 on board.

HOWELL: Authorities are still working to piece together what cause that plane to go down.

CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest explains the next steps to answer exactly what went wrong on this plane.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The statement from the Egyptian authorities that explosive debris has been found on the remains now confirms what many had believed on which had been leaked on several occasions by the French authorities.

So, the question becomes when, if indeed, it did, did the device get put on the airbus A320. Was it at Paris Charles de Gaulle when the aircraft was making the return flight back to Cairo, or had the device been all day as it went to Asmara and to Tunis or as returning back to the Egyptian capital?

In either case, security clearance will need to be questioned, and certainly people want to know why the plane wasn't check as regular procedure requiring to be done.

Overall, now, it's up to the Egyptian authorities to confirm once and for all that a bomb had been put on that plane and where they believe it was introduced.

[03:20:03] Until then there can be no certainty as to the security situation either of the airline or indeed of the airports through which the plane traveled. Until we get more details from the Egyptian authorities there are many more questions that need to be answered.

Richard Quest, CNN, New York.

HOWELL: Richard, thank you. The president of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte is in Singapore and he's meeting with the country's president and prime minister as well as business leaders and the Filipino community.

ALLEN: Friday evening he heads back to the Philippines and will meet the press, the news media in Davao City.

Earlier this week, Mr. Duterte claimed he went out and killed criminal suspects when he was mayor of Davao just to show others they could do it, too. His office is downplaying the comments saying, "Duterte's tough talk is meant to instill fear in the hearts of criminals."

Hugely remains hugely popular in the Philippines and in the neighboring countries in the Asian region to the frustration of his critics who continue to fault him for his speech style and his relentless campaign against illegal, corruption, and criminality

HOWELL: But it just does seem, you know, and you know, the optics here, if yu say something is that a reality, or you're not supposed to take that literally. It's just interesting to see these responses after these words are said specifically by these leaders.

Many in the Philippines will have to deal with the reality of Duterte's brutal crackdown for the rest of their lives.

ALLEN: Thousands have been killed in the drug war and families are of course left devastated.

Will Ripley has that story.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Philippines symbol of a family seeking justice for two lives stolen, two chicks sit atop the coffin of Francis Maniosca (Ph), 6-years-old, killed in his sleep, lying in his father, Domingo.

"There was a knock on the door, says Elizabeth Navarro, "My husband said, "who's that?" Then I heard two gunshots." By the time Navarro realized what was happening, her husband and son were dead, the gunman gone.

She says her husband was an occasional drug user trying to get clean in what has become open season for anyone suspected of being tied to drugs.

Married for 11 years, this mother of five now a widow at 29.

You have a baby on the way how do you forward now?

"I have nothing to do," she says, "but try to go on with life." One day after these murders, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte revealed he personally killed drug suspects while serving mayor of his hometown. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: But in Davao I used to do it personally just to show to the guys that if I can do it why can't you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RILEY: Nearly 6,000 people have died in the Philippines in less than six months. Police call more than half of those deaths vigilante style killings, many suspect the police involvement often little or no investigation, all of this openly encourage by President Duterte.

This woman too afraid to show her face. "Their killing left in right," she says, "sometimes they kill 10 or 20 day, I'm scared. These days you don't know whose your enemy."

Public opinion poll show the majority of Filipino support President Duterte's war on drugs. They say it makes their communities feel safer. But here in this neighborhood we can't find a single person who says this number of killings is justified.

Even this woman who supports Duterte is afraid to speak openly. "I hope that the government will give people a chance to change," she says, "a chance for them to stop using illegal drugs."

Aria Mosabea (Ph) insists her son Domingo was not a thug or a dealer. But she admits he's used a shabu or met a $3 high may have have gotten him killed.

Just outside they play cards to raise $900 for the funeral, three times for late son's yearly earnings as a bicycle taxi driver. This is just one Filipino family out of thousands and promises by their president of even more killing to come.

Will Ripley, CNN, Manila.

ALLEN: Another chilling story about the Philippines. Well, a jury in South Carolina has convicted Dylann Roof on all charges related to the massacre he caused at a black church in Charleston. The jury has reached the decision quickly.

HOWELL: As Andrew Spencer reports there, though, is still more to come in this trial.

[03:24:56] ANDREW SPENCER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After only a few hours of deliberation the jury found Dylann Roof guilty of all charges related to the massacre at a black church i Charleston, South Carolina. Roof face 33 federal charges related to the June 2015 shooting deaths of nine people attending a bible study at Emanuel AME Church.

Charges range from murder to violations of the Hate Crime act in an attempts to kill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, your deal -- is it like...

(CROSSTALK)

DYANN ROFF, CONVICTED CRIMINAL: To agitate race relations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To make it worse?

ROOF: Right.

SPENCER: Roof, a self-declared white supremacist admitted to the murders early on. Shortly after deliberations started jurors asked to watch the video of Roof confessing to the FBI, at times even laughing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROOF: I went to that church in Charleston, and I did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did what?

ROOF: Well, I had to do it because somebody had to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER: During the emotional trial the defense did not call any witnesses. And at one point, Roof's attorney even apologized to one of the survivors. Sentencing for Roof will begin January 3rd. Roof has asked to represent himself so the jury could hear from him for the first time. That is also when they will also weigh whether the 22- year-old should spend the rest of his life in prison or be sentence to death.

I'm Andrew Spencer, reporting.

HOWELL: Andrew Spencer, thank you.

People who live in Corpus Christi, Texas are being warned away from their tap water. A chemical used in asphalt may have contaminated the supply there.

ALLEN: Many stores have already ran out of water and the state attorney is concerned about price gouging. Official say if the water is contaminated only bottled water will be OK to use. Boiling, freezing or filtering won't be good enough. So far donors have send about 100,000 cases of water to the city.

Well, Vladimir Putin said the ceasefire is the next step in Syria's long running civil war. But that's among his comments he may well on a trip to japan. We'll have that for you coming up.

HOWELL: Also ahead, what Vladimir Putin might gain with Donald Trump as the U.S. president.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [03:30:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN News Room. It's good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN HOST: And I'm Natalie Allen. Here are our top stories. Up to 9,000 people have fled eastern Aleppo heading to western Aleppo where other provinces evacuations are expected to continue to the coming hours. We have seen some emotional reunions like this one but some of the people evacuating say, they've been forced from their homes.

HOWELL: The Russian President, Vladimir Putin spoke out about the Syrian Civil War during an official trip to Japan. He had a news conference with the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Mr. Putin indicated the ceasefire was needed in the conflict. He said that he hopes to have peace talks in Kazakhstan.

ALLEN: President Barack Obama said the U.S. will punish Russia for computer hacking during the presidential election. U.S. officials point to the sophisticated tools used in those hacks. They say only Russia has those particular tools and using them against the U.S. to only have happened with explicit approval from President Putin. Putin did not address the U.S. allegations at that news conference.

For more on the story and Putin's trip to Japan, CNNs Andrew Steven joins us now from the Prime Minister's Residence there in Tokyo. You were at that news conference. He had things to say about Syria but not so much about hacking, Andrew.

ANDREW STEVENS, ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Yes, that's right Natalie. We were going to press conference so specifically to ask that question about the hacking but it was totally choreographed, very totally controlled. After Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin gave opening speeches there are four questions allowed, two from the Russian media and two from the Japanese media and that was it so we didn't get a chance and the question about hacking was not asked.

So, even though this is turning into an enormous controversy of Vladimir Putin has not been asked to comment on it officially. He did though comment on Aleppo as we heard in that headline. He said that he is working with the Turkish leader, Recep Erdogan, about ceasefire talks with the - between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition. Now, they would be held according to Mr. Putin in Astana which is the capital Kazakhstan.

It's not clear at the moment whether the Western-backed Syrian opposition would even want to go to those talks, so we just don't know at this stage, but Mr. Putin was talking about the nature of ceasefire and also the fact that Aleppo would now be controlled going forward by the Syrian government. He didn't mention a tool about the carnage that has been - that has been the signoff about the humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo.

He did only say that the Syrian armies are taking back control of the city, had about thousands of Syrians to return to their homes, Natalie. ALLEN: What about the trip as far as any breakthrough between Japan and Russia and what they were trying to come together on?

STEVENS: Yes, this is what - this is what this trip was all about the first time in 11 years that Vladimir Putin has been to Japan and it was at the invitation of Shinzo Abe who really does want to get the deal done and this runs very deep with the Japanese leader about returning ownership of four disputed islands to Japan that was seized by Russia just at the end of the second World War and have remained in Russian hands in fact to the islands have been militarized by Russia and has strategic importance as far as the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy is concern.

So, Mr. Abe was hoping to get the ball rolling, to start a dialogue and to say how the two countries could work towards some sort of accommodation of these islands and they've agreed to look at joint economic ventures on the four islands we don't know what they are at the moment, it's all pretty vague at the moment, but as far as Russia giving anything back it looks highly unlikely the Russians are out in the - in the practice of doing something like that.

[03:35:04] STEVENS: Mr. Abe says all I want is an honest conversation with Mr. Putin we spot (ph) head. Now, he showed Mr. Putin letters from former residence of the islands who have been kicked out -- some 17,000 of them had been kicked out back in 1945. Mr. Putin spoke about how moving they were but he didn't say other than the fact that could be joint economic operations and they could also be some of these people may be allowed to return to visit the graves of their relatives, that maybe on the accounts as well but no real movement there. Shinzo Abe says this is going to be a long game but at least now we've got to stop.

ALLEN: Andrew Stevens forecast live in Tokyo. Andrew, thank you and now we've got more on the hacking...

HOWELL: That was right. Speaking of Russia, the United States now convinced that Moscow engaged in destructive hacking during the U.S. Presidential Election with the goal of helping the U.S. President elect, Donald Trump.

ALLEN: But what's in it for the Kremlins, CNNs, Brian Todd explains Russia maybe hoping the new president will ease U.S. sanctions.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNNs intelligence sources say Vladimir Putin was aware. His cyber warriors were hacking into the Democratic Party during the election cycle, one U.S. official saying the sophistication of the hacking tools used in the attack means higher level Russian authority had or have been behind it. The intelligence raises new questions. With the CIAs assessment that Putin wanted Donald Trump to win what was his motivation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first genuinely unconditionally pro Russian president and not just pro-Russian but pro-Putin president in recent memory, in modern American history.

TODD: What has Putin stand to gain from Trump's Presidency? Experts say Putin's first priority dealing with the top economic sanctions on Russia.

FIONA HILL, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Russia has been trying to get this lifted without really doing anything in return and they're very much hoping that Trump will do that.

TODD: Lifting sanctions on Russia is something Trump already said he'll considered.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We'll be looking at that, yes we'll be looking.

TODD: Those sanctions were leveled to punish Putin's regime for illegally taking over Crimea by force. Analyst say Putin is hoping will Trump will back off America's opposition to his land grab in Ukraine and hoping Trump won't oppose his efforts to prop up Syrian dictator, Bashar Al-Ashad. And they say the Russian President is encouraged by Trump's criticism of NATO that place into what Putin wants to do in Eastern Europe.

HILL: To really preempt the possibility of NATO building up its forces and engaging a further deployment in the Baltic Sea region in particular and also to de-sway the Europeans from taking more steps on their own security.

TODD: Some of Putin's motivations for favoring Trump are likely purely personal his belief to have a vendetta against Hillary Clinton for questioning the legitimacy of Russian Parliamentary elections five years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In particular he felt that she encouraged the street protests.

TODD: And Putin analyst say hopes Trump won't get in the way of his broadest ambition for Russia become the dominant world player it once was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he wants a sit at the table. He wants to be consulted every time. He wants Russia to be a great power in the way that 19th Century great powers had to be consulted on every significant international episode of the day. He wants respect.

TODD: To accomplish those goals, experts say Putin will pride himself on keeping other leaders guessing what he'll do next is going to have to become good at figuring out what Trump is going to do next and given Trump's like of predictability that's going to be a huge challenge even for the former KGB officer, Brian Todd, CNN Washington.

ALLEN: Next here just a smallish story but scientist maybe able to turn back time. They may have finally discovered the fountain of youth and we'll talk with one of those scientists next.

HOWELL: Plus, Rogue One, A Star Wars story has landed in a theater near you as a prequel has a lot to live up to when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:04] ALLEN: A team of scientists say they have found a way to reverse the aging process...

(CROSSTALK)

ALLEN: ...they use to form a gene therapy to make it happen in mice but humans may have to wait a little bit longer, just a little bit longer we hope, Pradeep Reddy is a research associate at the Salk Institute of biological study, he also co-author the study and joins us via Skype from San Diego, California. Thanks so much for joining us Pradeep and we really like the news you're bringing, so you're turning back the clock...

PRADEEP REDDY, RESEARCHER, SALK INSTITUTE: Yes.

ALLEN: ...how is this happening?

REDDY: So, you know, like when we age we start to have - we start to accumulate many diseases that's because our cells start to decline their function, they accumulate many DNA damage and many other think that happened during this -- over lifespan. So, in the lab we try to develop a new method where we could express some of these factors, we call them reprogramming factors, which could prevent or slowdown these accumulations so basically we could prevent them from accumulating in our cells and eventually which will help in having healthy lifespan so these three (ph)showed in the mouse model.

ALLEN: Really, amazing. I know that you used mice, right?

REDDY: Yes.

ALLEN: That age prematurely and...

REDDY: Exactly.

ALLEN: ...somehow if you'll explain, their organ health improve and their longevity as well longevity.

REDDY: Exactly, so these mice they can only survive for like 18 weeks so, you know, when we introduce these reprogramming factors right from their very early years from like seven weeks of age we could see we can improve their lifespan by 30 percent and this improvement was because we were able to make their organs function much better and we're that even, again like I said before we were able to prevent accumulation of some of these damage that happens in the cell, so in the end that help their organ to function better and that help the mice to survive longer, so in this case it was a 30 percent...

(CROSSTALK)

REDDY: Yes.

ALLEN: Thirty percent longer and improve their organ health, of course big question...

REDDY: Yes.

ALLEN: ...what are the implications for you and me, for humans? REDDY: Yes. Yes, so basically we cannot use the same factors that we used in the mice because these are some of the factors that are expressed in stem cells so if you try to express them in a normal skin cell, you can work them into a stem cell.

But we don't work as of - we don't want that to happen in our body, it will end up creating cancer or keratomas, so the main finding from CMD (ph) study is now we know what are the changes that we need to reverse them so that will benefit us.

So, the goal in the future is to use some chemical based approach where each will take chemical form as a pill (ph) that might prevent accumulation of this damage in the cell, so eventually that will help us having a better health span.

[03:45:04] ALLEN: So...

REDDY: So, that's help.

ALLEN: So, when might humans see something from this research because this is a huge, huge breakthrough?

REDDY: Yes. It's - I mean, it's a - as you know, like aging is very concern for everyone so we - I mean we don't want to have create a big hope, but they make expect, I mean they expect like it may take around 10 years probably to find the right chemicals and then again when we talk at organism level it's much more complicated because the things that work in mice we have to reprogram everything like how much dose, how much we need to give for humans so it's a very long process but again we -- there is a hope that's around (ph) that's what I want to convey, so we -- there is no -- we can make this changes and reverse or slowdown the age (ph).

ALLEN: Wow, we appreciate your time. We appreciate what you're doing. Good luck with that...

REDDY: No.

ALLEN: ...and look for another breakthrough as well.

REDDY: Sure.

ALLEN: Pradeep Reddy, thank you so much.

REDDY: No, thank you very much for your interest. Thank you.

HOWELL: Pradeep Reddy, that's a guy right there you want to keep in entrusted...

ALLEN: Follow him on Tweeter, shall we?

HOWELL: I was looking for him right now. I'm trying to find and look - one thing that is not good at, you know, fighting back the clock cold weather and Arctic chill is plunging across much of the United States and Karen Maginnis is here to tell us of that, Karen. KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We have the weather mystery factor as a matter of fact I saw one of the local folks around the United States say there's everything but the kitchen sink and now I'm a little bit worried about that kitchen sink because it is a very dynamic weather situation.

We've got Pacific moisture coming from deep within the Pacific, so that's fairly warm air but we've got this Arctic air which is plunging well to the south so what happens in between that's where we're going to pickup that potential for some icy mix across Nebraska and Kansas and into Oklahoma gradually spreading across the Ohio River Valley.

These temperatures are going to be on the order of 10, 20 maybe close to 30 degree below where they should be for this time of year and not to be forgotten into the northeastern New England very frigid, very windy - we've seen some wind gas over 110 kilometers per hour that's out on the cape of Massachusetts but nonetheless very blustery there.

Let's go and show you just what's the implication of this will be. Right now, in Barrow Alaska that's around the Arctic Circle, the temperature is minus 7, minus 7 there but in the United States it is colder than all the other reports I see coming out of Alaska.

Right now, Minneapolis is minus 14 it also happens to be minus 14 degrees Celsius in Boston, so that let you know just how far south that Arctic air has plunged so very interesting scenario that's developing both in the east and in the west we're looking at that icy mixture. California is this moisture, they really need it in mountain.

There is no package (ph) the critical aspect of this but I was taking a look at Hearst Castle, many visitors internationally and nationally they go visit the Hearst Castle because of the rainfall there. They said that there were boulders down on one of the highways that they have to shutdown. Now, for California in major rainy event, is always going to be fairly significant, but this is also going to impact the central U.S., we've got 23 states across the United States are impacted by winter storm warnings, winter storm watches and winter storm advisories.

Southern California could see wind gas up and over 100 kilometers per hour but not just there even extending over into Albuquerque and sections of New Mexico so a tremendous impact and by the way guys I don't know if you watch NFL football but they're saying that in Chicago they play on Sunday could be one of the coldest all time NFL starts...

ALLEN: To be another iceball, they have that years ago, decades ago...

MAGINNIS: Yes.

ALLEN: ...they were playing it on...

MAGINNIS: 1967 that was the iceball...

ALLEN: Yes. MAGINNIS: Yes.

ALLEN: Which is good?

(CROSSTALK)

HOWELL: I'll tell you one thing about Chicago weather, it gets really cold.

(CROSSTALK)

ALLEN: Yes, I felt so guilty. Atlanta seems to be the only place that seem might normal.

MAGINNIS: Now, you've done it Natalie, there you go.

HOWELL: We get cold and out.

ALLEN: I know, cursed (ph) up. Thanks, Karen.

HOWELL: Karen, thank you.

ALLEN: All right.

HOWELL: Still ahead here on News Room, Star Wars fan they line up to see the latest space saga. It's called Rogue One.

ALLEN: We'll tell you how the series other pretty fools (ph) might affect this one, right when we come back here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:00] KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley, with your CNN World Sport Headlines. Luis Suarez has agreed to sign a new contract to stay with Barcelona. The Spanish champions will have him as (Inaudible) as packing frontline until 2021. The 29-year-old Uruguayan is expected to sign a deal on Friday which will include a 200 million euro buy-out clause. Real Madrid defeated Club America 2 (Inaudible) Yokohama, Japan stayed one step closer to lifting their second FIFA Club World Cup Trophy. In addition to their record, 32 lead title and 11 European Cup triumph. Karim Benzema lead the 2014 champion on the map followed by another goal by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 90th minute making that his 500 career goals and this is the downside will now face Kashima Antlers in the final after the Japanese Club upset the American, South American champion (Inaudible) Columbia. They will be the first Japanese Club to reach the final also Club World Cup on Sunday.

And we move on to some very sad news now. Long-time NBA sideline reporter Craig Sager has passed away renowned for his colorful attire and charismatic interaction on the court. He left (ph) his battle against leukemia on Thursday at the age of 65 and that's the latest for Sport Headline, I'm Kate Riley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOWELL: Welcome back to News Room. OK, Star Wars fans are ready to head back to a galaxy far, far away with the latest entry in the series called Rogue One and open in theaters this weekend.

ALLEN: I'm laughing because we'll be talking about Star Wars when we're 18...

HOWELL: Yes, well yes.

ALLEN: Yes. The story takes place before the events in 1977s a new hope and as Frank Pilato (ph) explains it has a lot of live up to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Star Wars is the like by galaxy fans but even one of the most popular sagas in film history has a dark side. Yes, it's time to talk about the Star Wars Prequels. Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith told the story of how the Honorable Jedi and the guy walker went the stuff with this...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the pilot, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...to this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I find your lack of faith too disturbing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prequel seems to have everything Star Wars fan would want Lightsaber duel of course even Yoda and they were huge commercial successes but with critics and fans not so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is bad filming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were just a lot of things wrong.

[03:55:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because unfortunately they also had this and this. Now, there's a new hope for the prequels with Rogue One, A Star Wars story. Rogue One is set before the original 1977 film and is based on a single line from the same as opening crawl (ph) telling the story of the rebel alliances attempts to seal the secret plan of the Death Star. The film will introduce new characters and include some old favorites but can it do a Jar-Jar, Darth Maul and Padme (Inaudible) and make a Star Wars Prequel that fans will actually like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they need to do is - they need to keep it as opposed to the original anthology as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they just stay true to the old story...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And maybe they learned lessons with the other prequel...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No Jar-Jar Binks, I mean that's...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Jar-Jar...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...that's the important...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody likes Jar-Jar Binks.

ALAN TUDYK, ACTOR: No, this movie is different from all the other movies even the new hope and the ones that come after it because it's greedier, you know, it's a bunch if you are going to steal these plans and it's almost like the war movie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rogue One is Disney first Star Wars spin on and it needs to be a success. Disney fought Lucas Film including the franchise for $4 billion in 2012, so it has to expand the galaxy passed the Skywalker family to justify that invest I mean Luke Skywalker ain't getting any younger, not to mention it has another Star Wars prequel on deck to the Hans of origin story in 2018. Rogue One maybe a movie about the past but Disney is depending on its success to give Star Wars a bright future.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May the force by with us.

ALLEN: It will be for a long time. I have so much catching up to do if only thing the first one.

HOWELL: Oh, gosh, it's a question...

ALLEN: And with that, we close CNN News Room. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: And may the force be with you. I'm George Howell. The news continues with our colleague Max Foster live in London, next.