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Bystanders Confront Suspect With Whale Tusk & Fire Extinguisher; Police: Suspect Previously Convicted Of Terrorism Offenses In 2012; Slain Suspected Terrorist Accused Of Killing Two Has Been Identified; Tomorrow's Deadline: WH Must Decide If It Will Take Part In Judiciary Committee's First Impeachment Hearing On Wednesday; "Blob" Over White House Airspace Triggers Lockdown; Iraqi Prime Minister Promises To Resign; Man Fixes Up Old RVs For Families Who Lost Their Homes In Wildfire. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired November 30, 2019 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're following new developments in the London terror attack and the heroic acts of bystanders who likely prevented further carnage.

This is video of the surreal moment, brave witnesses confronted the armed suspect who had already stabbed two people to death. One man sprang the suspect with a fire extinguisher and another is armed with a Narwhal whale tusk that witnesses say was grabbed off the wall of the historic fishmonger hall, a popular market and meeting spot.

Moments after tackling the man to the ground, police arrived on the scene, shot the suspect in death. Meanwhile, we're learning more about that suspect, 28 year old Usman Khan. According to investigators, Khan was previously convicted on terror charges and released from prison last year after serving less than half his sentence.

Phil Black is joining us now from London with more on what you're learning about these heroic bystanders who confronted this terror suspect.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Fredericka, in addition to the great anger and sorrow that this attack has inspired, there is tremendous admiration, respect and gratitude to the brave few who rushed in very quickly to stop this man from doing more harm.

You mentioned there in particular a couple of people who improvised, it's a great effect. These are people who grabbed what they could, to hand - someone grabbed a fire extinguisher, blasted that in his face to confuse him and slow him down.

While unusually you'd have to say, someone else was able to grab that Narwhal tusk. A Narwhal is a small while with a distinctive long tusk that was used in this case too quite literally stop and ongoing terror attack. It was used to drive the attacker into or up against the wall if you like to corner him effectively, which then provided the opportunity for other people, other brave bystanders to rush in, pin him down, disarm him and hold him while - until I should say, the police arrived.

Now we know that when the police did get there, they found him wearing what seems to be described as a pretty convincing explosive vest or a simulation of one, I should say. We know it was a fake of course in the moment.

The police couldn't be sure of that and they took the decision to neutralize that potential threat. He was shot dead. Police have recently updated their progress on the investigation to determine precisely what motivated this man and crucially, whether or not he acted alone. Here's what they said a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time we found no evidence, no evidence to suggest anybody else was involved in this attack. However, we're still making extensive enquiries to ensure that no one else was involved. Our investigative priority at this time is to ensure that there is no one related as an outstanding threat to the public.

We now know this attack began inside Fishmonger's Hall just before 2:00 PM, yesterday. The attacker who's identity we confirmed last night stabbed a number of people inside the building and as a result 5 people have suffered injuries. Three people, a man and two women were injured have remained in hospital.

Their families have been contacted, our specialist officers are supporting them. Tragically, two people, a man and a woman were killed during the attack and of course I'm fully aware that the media and social media have named one of those victims.

You must understand that I have to wait for formal identification from the coroner but I will provide you an update as soon as I can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: So Fredricka, two key points there. They do not believe that anyone else was involved. They do not believe, there is an ongoing threat as a direct result of this man's actions. That will come as a relief to many but as I say this is a city that is once again angry and distressed at having being targeted by terrorism.

But also feeling some pride that Londoners themselves were responsible for bringing it to a stop. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Black in London, thank you so much. All right, the White House has only a few hours left now to make a big decision for the impeachment inquiry. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are giving the administration until tomorrow to determine if it wants to have attorneys take part in the first hearing on Wednesday.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler also set a new deadline giving the White House until Friday to decide if it will participate in any of the committee hearings. President Trump weighing his options this holiday weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach. So Kristen, has the White House given any indication of whether or if or how it will participate.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, so here's what we're hearing from sources that essentially they're using this holiday weekend, we know President is at his resort. Of course he went to Afghanistan but he's also been relaxing, having his top aides here with him.

[12:05:00]

This is the time they were taking to review this proposal. Sources tell us that while they have made not made any kind of final decision, they are leaning towards not participating in any of these hearings. So let's talk about first that Wednesday hearing. That is not super surprising that they wouldn't participate.

This is more a constitutional discussions during this hearing. It is the call - they're calling it the constitutional grounds for Presidential impeachment. They're going to have legal scholars and they're going to basically making the case looking at past impeachment trials.

So it's not surprising, they might not participate in that but looking forward, this would be an opportunity for the White House counsel essentially in this letter from Chairman laid out what exactly they'd be able to do.

They would be able to cross examine witnesses, they'd be able to suggest witnesses as well as compile evidence and submit it. They might even be able to give closing remarks and President him - President Trump himself I might also be able to cross examine some of these witnesses.

And it's surprising that the White House might not submit an attorney here and might not have representation only given because the President has said over and over again that it was unfair the last several weeks in both the closed door hearings and the public hearings that he did not have any sort of representation, that he was not allowed to ask any of these questions.

And now of course Chairman Nadler is giving that opportunity. However allies say that it is not in the President's best interest to have White House counsel there but that just validates the entire process as they continue to call it a sham.

WHITFIELD: All right Kristen Holmes, thanks so much. All right, let's talk more about all this Laura Barron-Lopez's with me, a national political reporter for Politico and CNN political analyst. Julian Zelizer is Princeton University historian and professor and also a CNN political analyst. Good to have you both this holiday weekend.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so Laura, you first thing you know, so we have these deadlines for the White House to get involved in the impeachment inquiry. You know to some extent it has been complaining that it hasn't been involved but now the time is here. Will the White House engage or is it as Kristen says they just may not because it would now legitimize a process that they have said is you know unfair or incorrect.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think Kristen is right. So far there's no indication that the President or his legal team will participate in these hearings. All along they've been calling this a sham process and so they haven't said that they plan to participate either in Wednesday's hearing or the hearing that would come the following week.

So I think that we can very well see an impeachment proceeding without any involvement from the White House.

WHITFIELD: All right, so just as a reminder, this has been you know President Trump's repeated mantra that this process has not been fair. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was no due process. You can't have lawyers. We couldn't have any witnesses.

They're not allowed to even ask a question. Because it's the minority. We have no lawyers. We can't question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Julie, what happens to that argument?

ZELIZER: Well, he goes back and forth on every argument. The hearings were closed. He complained they weren't open. When they were open, he said they weren't fair and I don't think this stage is any different. The strategy of the White House is to just question the legitimacy of the entire process rather than focusing on the evidence and witnesses which have been pretty damaging for the administration.

So I think he doesn't mind if he's inconsistent. What he cares about is that he's able to question the entire process to his supporters.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's turn our attention to the campaign trail. Today former Vice President Joe Biden launching his first bus tour in Iowa nationally. You know he's seen his lead decrease but in Iowa, the latest CNN poll puts him behind Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

So Laura you know, we're only about two months away now from the Iowa caucuses. Is Biden's bus tour a mad dash to recover?

BARRON-LOPEZ: Biden has been behind in Iowa for a good amount of this race either to Warren and now to Buttigieg and so we're seeing his team pay much more attention to that first in the caucus, first in the nation caucus and so it's a crucial state for everyone.

I mean, if you come out on top out of - out of Iowa and then you have momentum going into New Hampshire but again, even though Buttigieg is on top now, that can change in a matter of weeks or in the time that is left between now and Iowa.

WHITFIELD: So Peter, Pete Buttigieg is you know, support has flourished you know Julian. But you wrote you know piece on CNN.com yesterday about a new ad running in Iowa and Buttigieg's warning against free college tuition, something both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have made key to their campaign.

So why is Buttigieg making this stand now?

ZELIZER: Well, he's trying to claim the center and to be the moderate in case former Vice President Biden loses his support and so he's really going after what's seen as the progressive or the liberal wing of the party.

[12:10:00]

He went after the idea of free college education with a pretty traditional Republican argument that this will also benefit wealthier people but there's a risk in what he's doing. He might end up providing fodder and bipartisan legitimacy for the kinds of attacks that President Trump down the line is going to go after any Democrat with.

WHITFIELD: And Laura, you also wrote about Mayor Pete Buttigieg this week. You know, he has struggled to gain support particularly in the African-American community but you say that he's also not connecting to another key block and that would be Latino Americans.

What have been your observations? What have you been reporting on?

BARRON-LOPEZ: Right, so similar to the fact that Buttigieg pulled about zero percent with African-Americans across the country, he pulls one percent or in the low to mid-single digits with Latinos and in Nevada which is a key early state, a lot of Latino grassroots organizers there say that they have had no communication with the Buttigieg campaign which has been a big frustration for them.

And that's surprising because other front runners have been in constant contact with organizers there, trying to really connect with the community and the campaign admitted to us that they need to expand quickly and they say that they are going to be putting out a plan in the coming months that will address key Latino issues.

WHITFIELD: Isn't that a little late Laura, I mean to try now to connect with you know, black and brown people when there's been this deficit all this time. How does a candidate recover?

BARRON-LOPEZ: Right, well, it is a bit late in the game and that's why a lot of activists and organizers and Democratic operatives are frustrated and they feel as though they're not sure that he can make up that ground in states like Nevada or California in time. WHITFIELD: Julian Mayor Pete could win Iowa if - if you're you know,

paying attention to all the polling but you know, how is his campaign cornice sustain itself, connect with people of color?

ZELIZER: It's very difficult. I mean, you can win without Iowa but Iowa in itself is not enough for victory and I think it is very late. His campaign has not done great work on this and that's what a lot of the other candidates are hoping that that leads to his collapse.

You know, the Obama coalition included all these constituencies that we're talking about. It wasn't the voters who flipped to Trump back in 2016 so he needs to figure this out. His best bet is that the Biden campaign collapses and this thirst for electability leads voters, African-Americans, Latinos and others to him.

But that's a big bet to make at this stage in the campaign.

WHITFIELD: All right, Julian Zelizer, Laura Barron-Lopez, thanks so much to both of you, appreciate it. Happy holiday weekend.

ZELIZER: Happy holidays.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, a desperate search to find three children who are missing after their vehicle was caught in fast moving floodwaters in Arizona. Details next.

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WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. The search is on for three children who were swept away during a flash flood in central Arizona. The kids were in a vehicle that was trying to cross the creek and was caught in the flood waters. Several other people that were in the vehicle have been rescued.

Helicopters are scouring the area in search of the kids and officials warned that flash flooding can turn streams and rivers into "raging killer currents" in a matter of minutes. We'll keep you posted on any updates on that development.

And the storm causing the floods is part of a larger system where there's as many as 40 million people in its path. These winter storms could delay flights and stall traffic for people returning home from the holidays, this weekend. Take a look at this in Colorado. Powerful wind gust of 65 miles per hour did this.

It knocked over SEMI. That was last night. Amazing. And blizzard conditions in the Grand Canyon National Park have caused power outages and road closures and now the northeast is bracing to get hammered with up to 2 feet of snow in some areas.

Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera joining me right now so it is widespread. This is a very fierce, very dangerous and lethal, lethal conditions. IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, no question about it. Fred, good to see you and I'm showing you here, this snow cover. This is what the storm has already done, right? This thing started out in California a few days ago and moved to Southwest as you mentioned, showing those incredible pictures that coming out of the southwest.

Places like Colorado, snow packs significant now. Albuquerque, snowiest Thanksgiving ever you've ever seen and that was only up to 3 inches but that was significant enough. Now the storm is out of the way for the four corners.

This is where the center of circulation. There's snow on the northern side of it but it is accompanied by significant wind and that combination, even if you get one to three inches with howling winds of 40 to 60 miles an hour, that's going to cause white out conditions which is why we have the blizzard warnings that's setup.

And even where it is not snowing, we still have wind warnings and wind advisories because of those winds that are going to continue to be quite treacherous through tonight and into early tomorrow.

These are the areas that will be impacted by the heaviest snow where you see the orange, that's where we add the wind as well, not just the snow. By the way Minneapolis looking at the potential for well over a foot here. But that is going to be confined.

That is the snow fall across the northern upper Midwest, right? The rest of the system still for now is going to be more wet than white. Severe storms on the tail end of that front extending out of that low. It's going to be with us across the evening tonight with the potential for even some strong storms and tornadoes.

And then there's this. This is the mess that you have to contend with here on Sunday, right Fredricka? This is the wintry mix, the snow on the north side of it and you add the wind and it is just going to be a mess here.

Even if it was sunny, it would be a bad day because of volume, you add a winter storm and it is going to be just treacherous here. Once you do get where you need to get to, be careful on the roads because those are also going to be treacherous with ice, snow and the gusty winds as well. Happy Thanksgiving.

WHITFIELD: Oh yes.

CABRERA: Really?

WHITFIELD: I know, really?

CABRERA: Looks better next week.

WHITFIELD: All right, at least, thanks for the warning. People have to stay off the roads and you know take advantage of those waivers from the airlines since they're rerouting things, canceling, thanks so much Ivan. All right, it's a crucial week ahead for the impeachment inquiry.

Next, we'll break down the key legal questions for the first week of December.

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WHITFIELD: All right, right now lawmakers are gearing up to return to Capitol Hill and to their impeachment battle and on Wednesday, members of the House Judiciary Committee will get its turn to grill witnesses before a full House vote on impeachment.

CNN's Senior National Correspondent, Alex Marquardt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Judiciary committee Chairman Jerry Nadler telling President Trump in a letter, he has now until next Friday to determine whether or not he'll participate in the next round of impeachment proceedings.

That's in addition to a Sunday deadline the White House was given to say if it will take part in Judiciary's first impeachment hearing set for next Wednesday. Press secretary Stephanie Grisham had first responded to the invitation saying, Nadler's offer is being reviewed but the President has done nothing wrong and the Democrats know it.

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): When you complain and complain and complain and then you have an opportunity to put your story to the American public and you don't want to do it and you don't want to be subject to cross examination yourself, it shows you don't have a very good story and a very good defense.

MARQUARDT: This coming week, the House Intelligence Committee is expected to submit to the Judiciary Committee, its report detailing the findings of its 8-week long investigation, which included historic public witness testimony with current and former officials with roles related to Ukraine scandal.

[12:25:00]

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): I think there's a mountain range of evidence that has come to light through public testimony, through the private depositions that I've had an opportunity to listen to.

MARQUARDT: Nadler will use the Intelligence Committee's report as a guide to help, write the articles of impeachment on those Ukraine related charges. The allegation being that the President traded a White House meeting with Ukraine and military aid in exchange for dirt on the Bidens.

Democrats are also considering additional articles including obstruction of justice based on the Mueller probe. All this as most Republicans continue to bash the process and stand by the President. SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): This will be the first partisan impeachment

in the history of our country. I think Chairmanship Schiff and Speaker Pelosi knew from the very beginning, how they would vote and what they're going to try to prove.

MARQUARDT: Amid all this, Ukrainian officials are now trying to figure out how to improve the tattered relations with the White House. Two sources telling CNN that Ukraine could still announce new investigations. What kind, is unclear.

Ukraine of course, got that security aid money in the end but they are still very reliant on the U.S. for political and financial support as they fight Russia. They're very much in need of the Trump administration's help going forward. Alex Marquardt, CNN Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, for more on what to expect, I want to bring in CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Michael Zeldin. Michael, good to see so these next few weeks will be consequential leading up to the House vote.

How many articles of impeachment do you see here?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, if the Senate Intel - House Intelligence Committee sticks to its core mandate which is Ukraine then I expect that we'd see an article of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Those are the two most easily understood articles of impeachment. They can easily go to the Judiciary Committee with a narrative that says the President stonewalled the investigation and also abused his power in asking for this quid pro quo with the Zelensky government in Ukraine.

So I think those would be the neatest package for them to send over.

WHITFIELD: So those would be obstructions of justice and abuse of power but if it's expanded beyond Ukraine, what other violations do you expect to see?

ZELDIN: Well, we could see something that pulls up the Mueller report, which would be the obstruction of the Mueller investigation and we could - also could see something based on the emoluments clause which is that which prohibits the President from receiving gifts for services and that is another possibility.

So you could have obstruction of justice Mueller, emoluments sort of slash bribery, obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

WHITFIELD: And then a possible vote on impeachment could come before Christmas. I mean, maybe even by mid-month and then what would happen in your view?

ZELDIN: So once there was an impeachment vote, the way the structure works is that the House has to draft and vote on articles of impeachment. If the house passes an article of impeachment, they vote it on one by one. If they pass it by a majority vote, then that article been beach would then go to the floor of the full House of representatives where it would be debated anew and if it again passes by a majority vote in the full House, it's sent over to the Senate for trial.

So if you will, impeachment article by impeachment article goes in the House Judiciary Committee and we've seen in the past impeachments where articles of impeachment were debated in the committee and debated on the House floor but did not muster the 50 percent that were needed to send it over to the Senate.

WHITFIELD: So if it does make it all the way to the Senate and there is a trial, will they be reviewing the same evidence, documents or call even the same witnesses or new?

ZELDIN: So everything depends on the rules of the Senate. If they use the rules that were in place during the Clinton period, live witnesses really weren't testifying in the well of the Senate.

There were depositions and video tapes that were excerpted and played there. Mostly it was argument by the lawyers for the President and those for the House managers which essentially is the prosecutors team.

Then it was followed by closing arguments and then a vote by the Senate where if 67 vote for conviction, then the President is convicted and they can be removed from office. If it doesn't muster the 67 votes in the Senate, then the President stays on and that's exactly what happened in Clinton.

[12:30:00]

There were two articles of impeachment. Neither of managed to reach the 67 percent - 67 threshold.

WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Zeldin, thank you so much. We appreciate all of that.

ZELDIN: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And have a great rest of your Thanksgiving weekend.

All right, a key player in the House Impeachment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She'll be taking questions on impeachment, the 2020 election and more in a live CNN Town Hall moderated by Jake Tapper. That's Thursday night 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

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WHITFIELD: All right, this week the White House went on lockdown after a quote, "slow moving blob" entered its highly restricted airspace and it turns out, it may have been just a flock of birds, but military jets were scrambled and it triggered a response across multiple national security agencies. Meanwhile, on Thanksgiving, the Secret Service managed to sneak

President Trump out of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and sent him on a 16-hour trip to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to visit U.S. troops there with only a very small handful of people being in the loop.

[12:35:07]

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent under President Obama and a CNN law enforcement analyst. Good to see you and Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Happy thanksgiving to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so let's talk about first this blob, you know, as they investigated what this thing was, you know, the White House on lockdown. Is that the kind of response that you're expecting?

WACKROW: Yes, listen, Fred, the Secret Service and law enforcement partners reacted very quickly. This was a textbook response that the White House trains for every single day.

You know, hindsight is 2020. We're kind of -- it is a little tongue in cheek now that we're calling it a slow moving blob or, you know, a flock of birds.

But in the moment, you have to understand that the Secret Service and people who are looking at the restricted airspace around the White House and the National Capital Region, all they saw was a blip on a radar screen of something that was in that restricted airspace that became a threat.

And let me just contextualize this and give a little bit of color. Ground-based threats are easier to contextualize because the Secret Service can see somebody either climbing over the fence. They can see if they have a weapon, they can understand -- greater -- the greater impact that that ground-based threat may have.

Here when you're talking about airborne threats, it's much harder. All we have is a radar picture. All we know is that something is where it's not supposed to be, and the speed in the direction of travel will indicate the likelihood that this is a threat.

And in this case, even though it was a slow moving object, it was still deemed a threat and everybody reacted appropriately. The Airspace Security Program around the White House has become very important since 9/11.

And in today's age, with modern technology such as drones, a drone can easily be, you know thought of as a direct threat to the White House as we've seen in the past. So in that moment, we didn't know if it was a flock of birds or a drone that could be launching an over-the- horizon attack at the White House.

WHITFIELD: Right. And while we know about the response, the White House, I mean, when you have that kind of, you know, mystery in the airspace. I mean, Washington is pretty tight and consolidated. You've got other important, you know, locations as well. It causes the kind of ripple effect? I mean, you know, does it not?

WACKROW: Oh, no, absolutely. So once something in the airspace is identified as a threat, there are a lot of things that have to happen instantaneously.

And again, these are the things that the military and the Secret Service train on constantly. So what happens is from the ground at the White House, first and foremost, we have to make sure that the President and the other occupants of the White House are safe, and if they need to be relocated to a different area, that's done immediately.

If you think about how fast of an airborne threat could come into the White House. There's a big difference between a drone threat and a commercial airliner coming in to, you know, potentially attack the White House.

So, again, first and foremost, make sure that the occupants of the White House are safe. Evacuate the area as necessary. And we saw some of that happening earlier this week.

The second part of that is the airborne response. The military has protocols to go ahead and intercept that type of threat based upon what they're seeing. The altitude of that threat and the speed at which it is traveling.

You don't mitigate a drone threat with a fighter jet. So the military has split seconds to decide what type of mitigation they're going to put forth to just stop that threat from coming inbound.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jonathan Wackrow. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

WACKROW: Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: All right, two bilingual best friends couldn't find the books they wanted for their friends, and when no book companies would listen to them, they Googled how to start a publishing company. Their success story is today's Start Small Think Big.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY RODRIGUEZ, COFOUNDER, LIL' LIBROS: Lil' Libros started when I was pregnant with my first son, Alexander. I wanted to fill his nursery up with many books.

Hi, I'm Patty Rodriguez.

ARIANA STEIN, COFOUNDER, LIL' LIBROS: And I'm Ariana Stein and we're the co-founders of Lil' Libros.

RODRIGUEZ: Publisher of bilingual children's books. I was looking specifically for bilingual board books, and I couldn't find anything. I said, you know what? Maybe I should write the idea down. So I

started looking at independent publishers, and I got a call back from one of them. And he tells me, you're wasting your time. Latinos don't really buy children's books.

And that was just like, you've got to be kidding me. And I realized right there that there was more to what I was trying to do. It wasn't just me trying to create books. It was me trying to change the way we're seeing our own country. And I called my best friend, Ariana. And she's like, yes, let's do it. What do we need?

STEIN: That same day, the moment we had the conversation, we just started working on it. We had no idea what we were doing, by the way, but what we did have was passion.

They say five percent of women-owned businesses that are startups ever reach this goal. And the fact that we reached over a million dollars this past year is a true dream for us.

[12:40:10]

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Start Small Think Big, brought to you by Verizon, America's most reliable network.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: After almost two months of violent anti-corruption protests that have killed hundreds, Iraq's Prime Minister says he is prepared to step down.

The announcement comes after Iraq's top Shiite cleric criticized the government's response to the violence and it follows another day of deadly violence between protesters and authorities.

CNN's Arwa Damon is on the ground in Baghdad. So, Arwa, what triggered this resignation?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to what he was saying, it was the simple fact that the government was unable to resolve the protesters' grievances and bring about an end to these demonstrations. In fact, not even his resignation has at this stage.

You can see over my shoulder fires burning. That is exactly where protesters are clashing with security forces tonight because these are people who are determined to keep going no matter what.

[12:45:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON (voice over): Demonstrators dance and shot off tiny fireworks in Baghdad's Tahrir Square as the news spread -- Iraqi Prime Minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi would resign. It's a celebration that came at an unbearable, unnecessary price.

"Wake up. Wake up," a mother shrieks over her son's body. He, one of more than 40 gunned down in 48 hours and the southern Shia city of Nasiriyah where eyewitnesses describe streets being turned into rivers of blood.

This young male also killed there wears a t-shirt that says, "We want a nation."

This is the scene at the morgue in Najaf, home to some of Shia Islam's holiest sites heavily influenced by Iran. And a heartbreaking post asks, "Does anyone know this young man?" "He is my son Mehti," is the first comment.

The square at the epicenter of demonstrations in Baghdad is lined with shrines for those who died - nearly 400 countrywide. Visitors pray for the souls of people they never met.

For Sadeep, it's her way of thanking them for the future she can now dream up for her two children, who she brought here for the first time.

"Yes, they are too young to really understand," she says, "But I want them to come and experience this."

There is a sense and a determination that this will be the chapter in Iraq's bloody history that finally alters the status quo that has governed the populations' lives since the U.S.-led invasion. One that traded Saddam Hussein's dictatorship for another form of captivity, defined by chaos and violence, rampant corruption, rising unemployment, divisive sectarian politics and Tehran's looming shadow.

"Iran wants to make us a part of Khomeini's Islamic Republic," this man says, "Just like ISIS wanted to make us a part of their state." Rare to hear such harsh words expressed publicly against Iraq's neighbor, whose militias and political influence wield ultimate power here.

But the barrier of fear is breaking. Iraqis want to control their own destiny and are willing to risk it all. The Prime Minister's anticipated resignation is just a first step.

For those who have taken to the streets, it is about reclaiming their country and upending the political system that has brought more destruction than democratic rights.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: And Fredricka, that's why we still keep seeing these protesters holding their ground trying to push forward in Baghdad, what they're trying to do is take over areas along the embankment of the Tigris River effectively control the bridges, because that would severely impede movement within the city and put a significant level of pressure on the government.

For them, it is about changing out all of this country's political elite.

WHITFIELD: Wow, powerful. All right, Arwa Damon, thank you so much for bringing us that reporting from Baghdad. Thank you.

All right now, this week's CNN Hero. As Californians brace themselves for more possible wildfires this season, thousands of people in Paradise, California are still reeling from last year's historic and deadly Camp Fire.

Like many of us, Woody Faircloth, one of this year's top 10 CNN Heroes saw news of the fire unfold on his television, but he was inspired to do something to help. Take a look.

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WOODY FAIRCLOTH, ONE OF THIS YEAR'S TOP 10 CNN HEROES: As news of the fires broke and some more of what happened to people in the fire and how many people were impacted, that's when it really kind of hit home that, wow, this is a really big deal.

Tens of thousands lost their homes, entire families were sleeping in their cars in parking lots. It was total chaos.

Today, the majority are still displaced. When we actually hand over the title and the keys of an RV to someone who doesn't have a home any longer, it's such a powerful thing to provide to basic human needs. How can we not help if we are in a position to help?

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WHITFIELD: Incredible. Well, Woody has donated more than 65 refurbished RVs to people whose homes were lost to that fire. Go to cnnheroes.com to vote for him or for the CNN Hero of the Year of your choice. We will be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back, a teenager in Indiana has died after she was shot in the back while driving her car. Police say a backseat passenger is responsible for firing an AR-15 style rifle and killing 19-year-old, Annalysa McMillan. This happened in Marion, Indiana on Tuesday.

The backseat passenger, 22-year-old Austin Smith has been charged with reckless homicide and criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon.

McMillan's pastor described her as a bubbly person with a bright future.

Officials say tens of thousands of people who were evacuated in Port Neches, Texas can now return home after that chemical plant explosion, but officials are warning residents to be on the lookout for any debris that may contain asbestos. The plant exploded Wednesday, injuring eight people and damaging homes.

It may be months before the cause of the explosion is known. Officials are also monitoring the air quality because of a hazardous chemical burning in the fire.

And finally, 190 soldiers from Wisconsin got to come home Friday after nearly a year away.

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PAMELA ROBOLD, MOTHER OF U.S. SOLDIER: Oh gosh, I'm so happy. My heart is just overfilled. I need nothing for Christmas.

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ROBOLD: I have my Christmas present.

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WHITFIELD: All right, this was the first deployment to Afghanistan for the Red Arrow soldiers of the Second Battalion 127th infantry. Their families say at times, they had no idea where they were or what they were doing.

The unit's commander thanked their families for staying strong at home while they were away. The other half of that unit will be home next month, hopefully just in time for Christmas.

And we'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back, everyone. Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right, the White House now facing a critical decision in the Impeachment Inquiry.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jerry Nadler has set a new deadline in the case. The White House now has until Friday to determine if it will have its own attorneys participate in the committee's hearings.

That's on top of another deadline happening tomorrow the White House still has to decide if it will take part in the first hearing on Wednesday. With the clock ticking on a decision, President Trump is spending this holiday weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. CNN's Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach.

So Kristen, has the White House given any indication as to how or whether it might participate in the proceedings --

HOLMES: Well, Fred, according to sources, the White House was using this time to kind of mull over and review this invitation.

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