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Dangerous Storms Wreak Havoc Across U.S.; Trump Will Not Participate in Impeachment Hearing; Annual U.N. Conference Kicking Off in Madrid; Rising Sea Levels Putting London At Risk Of Flooding; "Anonymous" Author Pledges To Reveal Identity Soon. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 02, 2019 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Coming up on "CNN Newsroom," refusing to engage Wednesday's hearing on Capitol Hill would've been the White House's first chance to participate in the impeachment inquiry but Trump's lawyers say no.
Blizzard, snow storms and floods -- 50 million Americans under some sort of winter weather alert on the busiest travel day of the year.
Plus, the victims of violence. We are learning about the two lives cut short in Fridays terror attack in London.
Good to have you with us. So, U.S. President Donald Trump and his lawyers are refusing to participate in this week's impeachment hearings. The White House counsel told Democratic lawmakers Sunday that the hearings are unfair.
The proceedings shifted to the House Judiciary Committee this Wednesday which will consider possible charges against the president. Sarah Westwood has the details of the message sent to the committee chairman.
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The White House responded Sunday evening to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler's offer to let the White House have a lawyer present at Wednesday's Judiciary Committee hearing.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone saying the White House will not be sending an attorney to that hearing. Cipollone spent much of the five- page letter he sent to Nadler on Sunday night complaining about the House Democrats impeachment process so far.
For example, complaining that the president and administration witnesses have been denied due process, but specifying that the White House will not be taking this opportunity to have representation at Wednesday's hearing, again, the first in the Judiciary Committee throughout this impeachment process. I want to read you part of the letter that Cipollone sent to Nadler.
He wrote, "As of the hearing scheduled for December 4th, we cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the president a fair process." And he goes on to write, "Accordingly, under the current circumstances, we do not intend to participate in your Wednesday hearing."
This had put the White House in a tough spot because, of course, administration officials and Trump allies have complained throughout this process that they have perceived it as unfair, but sending a lawyer to those hearings on Wednesday could have been lending an air of legitimacy to proceedings that Trump and his allies have decried as a sham throughout this process.
Now, interestingly, Cipollone did leave the door open for the White House participating in future hearings. Cipollone, writing, "We may consider participating in future Judiciary Committee proceedings if you afford the administration the ability to do so meaningfully."
Now, Cipollone had complained for example that not enough information was provided about Wednesday's hearing. Nadler had set an additional deadline of Friday for the White House to specify whether they wanted to mount a public defense for future Judiciary Committee proceedings.
It's in the Judiciary Committee that House Democrats will first vote on articles of impeachment, something that House Democrats have said they want to get done by Christmas Day, so the impeachment inquiry about to accelerate dramatically.
The White House also has a big day on Monday when House Intelligence Committee members will have their first opportunity to look at the findings of weeks of work from House Democrats in a report that will be distributed behind closed doors to members. Sarah Westwood, CNN, the White House.
CHURCH: And Thomas Gift joins us now. He is a lecturer in political science at the University College in London. Thank you so much for being with us.
THOMAS GIFT, POLITICAL SCIENCE LECTURER, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Thank you Rosemary.
CHURCH: So we learned late Sunday that President Trump and his lawyers will not participate in Wednesday's impeachment hearings. They say those hearings are unfair. Do they have a point or is this all about trying to avoid legitimizing the process?
GIFT: Well, I think what the republicans are doing is defaulting to their standard position in this impeachment inquiry, and that is to attack the process and rules rather than to try to defend the president on the facts of the case.
And I think that's because the facts are largely undisputed. It's the same strategy they used when they criticize Democrats for carrying out what they said was a crypto-impeachment process behind closed-doors prior to all the public testimony.
[02:05:03]
In terms of Wednesday's hearings with constitutional scholars, they're essentially arguing first that the balance isn't equitable with three of the four experts being called by the Democrats and only one by the Republicans.
And second, it's unfair to ask the White House to mount a defense when the president doesn't even know who the Democratic witnesses will be, and also the ship (ph) report hasn't even been issued until Wednesday. So this is basically, you know, the case that they're going to try to make to the American people.
CHURCH: Right. And the House Judiciary Committee will consider possible charges or articles of impeachment against the president. How strong is the evidence so far and does it rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors?
GIFT: Well, Democrats are certainly going to make the case that it does. I think that the evidence seems to be overwhelming that Donald Trump did try to engage in a quid pro quo with Ukraine.
I think the real problem for Democrats though is that despite all the dramatic testimony we've seen and the substantial evidence that the president did seek out this quid pro quo, the impeachment inquiry hasn't budge public opinion very much.
And so support for impeachment still stands at about 50 percent of Americans and that is split very cleanly along party lines. Fifty percent is a non-trivial number but Democrats really haven't seen the kind of bipartisan support for an impeachment emerge that Nancy Pelosi was hoping would happen when this entire impeachment process began.
CHURCH: And what is the White House's strategy going forward do you think and can they continue to stonewall as they have so far?
GIFT: Well, they'll certainly going try and Trump has said since the very beginning that the impeachment inquiry is a hoax, that it is a witch hunt. He is much more comfortable standing on the sidelines and criticizing this inquiry as politically motivated.
I think he's going to continue to try to do that. And some Republicans even think that the impeachment inquiry could help Donald Trump in 2020 by mobilizing the base, galvanizing fund-raising and so on. And so I think Donald Trump is basically going to double down on this strategy that he has already taken up until this point.
CHURCH: Is this in the end though, an exercise in futility because once it does get to the Senate it's not going to get through, is it, no matter what?
GIFT: Well, reasonable minds can disagree on this. My own opinion is that at the end of the day it will be largely an academic exercise so to speak simply because I think that the standard prediction going into this impeachment inquiry has really held. And that is Democrats will impeach in the House, Republicans will block in the Senate, and then at the end of the day the president will stay in office and whether Trump gets four more years, will be a function of what the American people think rather than Congress.
So, you know, unless we see some sort of game-changer emerge in the next few weeks which until this point we really haven't seen that, I do think it's likely that Donald Trump is going to survive this process and continue into the 2020 election.
CHURCH: Which means for the Democrats this is going to look like a political exercise and a very costly one at that. So what could be the political consequences when it comes to the vote in 2020?
GIFT: Well, this is something that Nancy Pelosi has really tried to avoid since the very beginning and I think it was one reason why she was so reluctant to engage in this process simply because the American public is relatively split in terms of public opinion over this impeachment.
Democrats basically are going to make the case that, you know, despite what the American public thinks, that they had an obligation to go through this process because they think that the president engaged in a clear act of wrongdoing, abused his oath of office.
And so regardless of the politics of it that Democrats have an obligation to investigate and to get to the bottom of the stack. So, that is basically the case that they are trying to make and we will see if they ultimately do get the game-changer that they're looking for.
CHURCH: Thomas Gift, we appreciate your analysis. Many thanks.
GIFT: Thanks Rosemary.
CHURCH: Well, millions of travelers in the United States are scrambling with powerful winter storms causing headaches from coast to coast, an it comes right after the Thanksgiving holiday with some of the busiest travel days of the year.
In Buffalo, New York the weather caused and plane to slide off the runway. More than 900 flights have been canceled nationwide and nearly 8,000 have been delayed. Places like South Dakota have seen blizzard- like conditions.
Nearly 50 million people across the country are under some kind of weather alert. On the west coast, the California Mountains are getting heavy snow and it is more rain and strong winds for the lower elevation. So let's turn to our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, to get some more detail on this. How many more days of horrendous travel are people looking at here?
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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, Rosemary, it's a very slow-moving system, that's the main problem with this. And of course, it doesn't help that we have the busiest travel day of the year in the past 24 or so hours and of course, the northeastern United States.
Really, seeing the brunt of this very slow-moving system you can easily pick out the center of circulation across the eastern Great Lakes as it shifts on in towards the east and we think through much of Monday and eventually into early Tuesday when we finally see the system exit stage right.
But at this hour, snow showers across the interior portions of New England, eastern areas of Pennsylvania. Some of the major metro cities beginning to see at least the wintery mix in place, but as you noted, about 50 million people dealing with the winter weather alerts and advisories upwards of 20 states dealing with wintery weather across the United States.
And you notice snowfall months coming in ranging in from about to three inches out of Boston to upwards of a foot across portions of New York State. But those three inches, responsible for about 500 flights that were either delayed or canceled out of Boston Logan Airport so really, it doesn't take much.
And notice, again, very slow progression off towards the east and we expect to heavy rainfall mixing in with snow in the early morning hours to say around New York City and then Boston as well.
And really, when you kind of break down what come of this system once it does exit out of here, because it is just a little too warm across the major cities, the snow accumulations will not be as impressive.
It certainly will be windy and that will lead to some travel disruptions but it is that wet snow, that slushy snow that makes the biggest problems across some of the cities. And kind of pick out Boston; look at New York City, even around Philly, generally sits into the white contours which are two to four inches for these cities.
And then once you get into the purples and the pinks, we're talking six, eight or as much as 12 inches of snowfall, again, that's into the interior portion of New England; that is the concern moving forward. But notice disruptions even into the early morning hours of Monday. These are pre-emptive cancellations and delays, 100 across the United States with 500 flights already delayed.
And of course, the day is only about two hours young so we expect more delays in the works. But out towards the west, another impressive storm system coming in. Notice this, get up above 6,500 feet and we're talking two to four feet of snow possible across portions of the (inaudible) and Sierras.
And there is another slow system right there across the southwest. We expect rainfall from San Diego unto Los Angeles. And of course climb up into the mountain passes that all translates into snowfalls. So, it is a wet go. It is also a rough go across the western U.S. but the broad (ph) perspective shows you quite a bit of snow on the forecast there over the next couple of days even out west, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Appreciate it Pedram. Thanks.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, there is now an investigation in South Dakota to determine if the blizzard-like conditions where the cause of a plane crash that killed nine people, CNN's Nick Watt has the latest.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The plane took off from Chamberlain, South Dakota around lunch time on Saturday heading to Idaho Falls but it did not get very far. That plane crashed very soon after takeoff, during what we are told was some horrific weather conditions.
Now, the National Weather Service confirms there was a snowstorm in the area at the time. We are told snowfall was about an inch per hour and visibility was very poor.
Now, a county official claims that weather was a factor in this crash, but we do not know that for sure. And the FAA and the NTSB who are investigating, it will take them sometime before they come up with any determinations.
Nine people dead, three survivors. Now, first responders had to battle through that weather to reach those three survivors. They were then taken to Sioux Falls to the hospital.
The plane itself, a single-engine Swiss-made plane with a pretty good safety record, but nine people perished in this crash. Among them, the pilot, two children, and we're also told two man by the name of Jim and Kirk Hansen, who were both founders of an Idaho Falls based company called Kyani, which is a health and wellness supplements company.
We have no more information yet as to who the other victims were. But what we do know, nine people perishing in this crash of a small plane in South Dakota. Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
CHURCH: In just a few hours, the victims of Friday's London terror attack will be remembered at a vigil. Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were involved in a prisoner rehabilitation program called learning together.
They had been attending an event linked to that program when they were stabbed by a man convicted on terrorism offenses who was out on early release. Three other people were also injured in that attack. CNN's Nina Dos Santos has more.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 25-year-old Jack Merritt and 23-year-old Saskia Jones, both were Cambridge graduates, both passionate about giving even the most serious offenders a second chance.
[02:14:57]
It was this belief that brought them to an event near London Bridge to discuss rehabilitation with former prisoners, and a belief that put them into contact with Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist out on license. (on camera): The fact that he was freed early has been seized upon by
the prime minister already pledging to get tough on law and order with a general election now less than two weeks away and days before a NATO summit in the U.K. which will see the country welcome world leaders including the U.S. president.
BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: I think it is repulsive that individuals as dangerous as this man should be allowed out after serving only eight years, and that is why we are going to change the law.
JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: I think there has to be an examination of how our prison services work and crucially what happens if someone is released from prison.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Over the weekend, authorities have increased their surveillance of 74 criminals out on license like Khan. That led to the arrest of a 34-year-old man on Sunday night. In a statement, Jack Merritt's family described him as a beautiful talented boy who believed in redemption not revenge.
And they urge Johnson not to politicize his passing. "We know Jack would not want this terrible isolated incident to be used as a pretext by the government for introducing even more draconian sentences," they said.
A legacy captured in Jack's own words describing his work in this radio interview earlier this year.
JACK MERRITT, STABBING VICTIM: Our students in prison often have a very first hand, very real, but also very nuanced idea of how the law works. We essentially start talking to our students about ideas of justice and access to justice.
DOS SANTOS (voice-over): Khans's lawyer says longer sentences aren't the answer. The focus instead should be on rehabilitation before release.
VAJAHAT SHARIF, USMAN KHAN'S LAWYER: The point to learn from this is that the system could benefit by reviewing its position on something like this and having offenders interact with de-radicalizes sometime before they are to be released in the community.
DOS SANTOS (on camera): Police is still trying to understand the events leading up to Friday's attack. What they learn may have important consequences for how and when offenders are released in the future, even if that may not necessarily have been the reform that Friday's gathering had been hoping to achieve. Nina Dos Santos, CNN, London.
CHURCH: An Irish woman described as an ISIS bride has been taken into custody. Lisa Smith was deported from Turkey then arrested Sunday at Dublin's airport on suspicion of terrorist offenses.
Smith approached a CNN crew at a refugee camp in Syria back in March carrying her daughter. She told Jomana Karadsheh she went to Syria to be an ISIS bride, but was ready return home to Ireland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SMITH, ISIS BRIDE: I think the people should just realize that all the people here are not terrorists.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This woman declined to give us her name but she has been identified by Irish media as Muslim convert, Lisa Smith, a former member of the Irish military. She says she came to Syria an Isis bride. Now, she's a widow left alone with a two-year old daughter.
But you might be prosecuted when you go home. You might end up in jail. Are you ready for that?
SMITH: Well, I know they had stripped me of my passport and stuff and I wouldn't travel and I'll be watch kind of, but prison, I don't know. I'm already in prison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: That interview prompted the Irish government to repatriate Smith and her daughter. Now, Irish officials are working to ensure that child is placed in a safe environment. We'll take a small break here. When we come back, a small Mexican town is rattled by a fierce gun battle. Details on the bloody clash between security forces and suspected cartel members.
Plus, Leonardo DiCaprio fires back at the president of Brazil who strangely accuses the Hollywood star of contributing to the burning of the Amazon. We're back with that in just a moment.
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CHURCH: A major tourist spot is at the center of a new U.S. mass shooting. Police say a shooter wounded 10 people early Sunday near the French Quarter in New Orleans. The victims are being treated in hospital, two were in critical condition after being shot in the torso.
Authorities have not identified a suspect and say that a person they detained near the scene has been released. A witness told CNN there was a verbal altercation before shots were fired.
In Mexico, 19 people are dead following a gun battle between security forces and suspected cartel members.
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CHURCH: The sound of gunshots alarmed a family nearby forcing them to take cover in their home. Officials say four police officers and two civilians were among those killed in the fighting. The battle broke out Saturday in northeastern Mexico. The governor of
the state says criminal groups have long sought to enter the region but he vowed to keep them out. CNN's Rafael Romo has more.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a brazen attack that happened in plain daylight in Mexico just south of the U.S. border. It all started when a group of armed men arrived and more than a dozen trucks had opened fire against a local municipal building in northern Mexico.
This was the beginning of several shootouts in the town of Villa Union located about 40 miles south of the U.S. border town of Eagle Pass, Texas. By the time the shootouts were over about an hour and a half later at least 19 people had died including 13 suspected cartel members, four police officers and two civilians.
According Coahuila's state governor, Miguel Angel Riquelme, authorities confiscated 14 vehicles with powerful weaponry that were used by the criminals in the attack. According to Riquelme, the attackers belong to the cartel of the northeast.
[02:25:01]
A criminal group that has long sought to enter his state and that tried once again Saturday with a force that is not like anything they had seen in a long time. The shootouts happened only days after President Trump said he would designate Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Trump also offered to go in and clean it out but the Mexican government rejected the offer. Also in northern Mexico less than a month ago, three mothers and six of their children with dual Mexican and American citizenship and members of a Mormon community were massacred.
This latest incident of violence happened the day before the Mexican president was to celebrate his first year in office. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won the presidency in part because he promised to improve security across Mexico. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
CHURCH: Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio is refuting surprising claims linking him to the fires that have ravaged the Amazon rain forest. Without providing any proof, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro twice claimed that non-governmental organizations started the fires to get donations from activists like DiCaprio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARI BOLSONARO, PRESDIENT OF BRAZIL (through translation): An NGO hired, paid for a photo of the fires. So what did they do? What was the easiest? Set the woods on fire. Take a photo, film it and NGO spreads it, launches a campaign against Brazil, then gets in touch with Leonardo DiCaprio, and then DiCaprio donates $500,000 to this NGO.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: DiCaprio has denied Mr. Bolsonaro's claim posting on
Instagram, "The future of these irreplaceable ecosystems is at stake and I am proud to stand with the groups protecting them. While worthy of support, we did not fund the organizations targeted." Environmental groups have accused Bolsonaro of relaxing policies that led to this year's massive fires in the Amazon.
Coming up next, why swing state Democrats are keeping their distance from having the impeachment conversation with their constituents. And as world leaders are set to gather at the U.N. climate conference, so is one U.S. teen looking to make her voice heard. We will hear from the young actress just ahead.
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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church, want to check the main stories we've been following this hour.
Across the United States, powerful winter storms are causing a nightmare for travelers. More than 900 flights have been canceled and nearly 8,000 have been delayed. Blizzard-like conditions are being blamed for a deadly plane crash in South Dakota, and heavy fog for a 25-car pileup in Maryland.
U.S. President Donald Trump will not participate in the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearing this Wednesday. The President's attorney wrote to the committee, saying it wasn't a fair process. He said they will respond separately to a Friday deadline about participating in future hearings.
If the House impeaches the President, the case goes to the Senate for trial. A Republican senator is raising a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 election on behalf of Hillary Clinton. John Kennedy told NBC's Chuck Todd that Russia and Ukraine meddled in the election. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): But the fact that Russia was so aggressive, does not exclude the fact that President Poroshenko --
CHUCK TODD, POLITICAL DIRECTOR, NBC NEWS: Yes.
KENNEDY: -- actively worked for Secretary Clinton. Now, if I'm wrong and --
TODD: Actively work for Secretary -- I mean, my goodness. Wait a minute, Senator Kennedy, you now have the president of Ukraine saying he actively worked for the Democratic nominee for president. I mean, now come on, I mean, I got to put up -- you realize the only other person selling this argument outside the United States is this man, Vladimir Putin.
This is what he said on November 20th, thank God nobody is accusing us anymore of interfering in U.S. elections. Now they're accusing Ukraine. Well, let them sort this out among themselves. You just accused a former president of Ukraine. You've done exactly what the Russian operation is trying to get American politicians to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Only one lawmaker has worked on all three of the United States impeachment probes, and she says President Trump's conduct involving Ukraine, is more serious than Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal.
Zoe Lofgren is a democratic House member from California, as a congressional staffer. She helped draft an article of impeachment against Nixon and she served on the Judiciary Commission during Bill Clinton's impeachment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): President Nixon's misconduct related to trying use the leverage of government to hide the Watergate burglary to -- you know, his conduct had to do with trying to throw the election. But, at least, it didn't involve -- involving other foreign nations.
If you take a look at what the Founding Fathers were concerned about, it was the interference by foreign governments in our political system that was one of their gravest concerns. Nixon's behavior didn't fall into that range.
So, in that way, this conduct is more serious. I want to let the process play out. We're going to have our hearing, then we will have debate that includes all the members of the committee, including the Republican members. We've invited the President or his counsel to appear, to provide information and let's see this process play out.
You know, if we've got it wrong, it doesn't look like we do, but I would welcome an opportunity to reach a different conclusion about the President's misconduct. This is not a great time for the country to have a president revealed as doing something so counterproductive to the national interest.
It would be wonderful if there was some benign explanation. I'm struggling to think what it would be at this point. But we have to, at least, allow for that possibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Although Democrats in Washington are gearing up for impeachment, democratic lawmakers in swing states are steering clear of that conversation, fearing a backlash from voters.
[02:35:09] CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): Thank you so much everyone for joining us.
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger has a complicated relationship with impeachment. In September, she joined six fellow first-term Democrats with National Security backgrounds and writing an op-ed, pushing to open an inquiry. But now, Spanberger's keeping her distance from the processing Congress.
Have you decided how you're going to vote? You're going to vote to impeach?
SPANBERGER: I mean, I'm going to cast my vote depending fully on what articles are put forth. Spanberger's approach could be a reflection of the politics she has to navigate between now and next November. The district she won by fewer than 7,000 votes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The majority of the district is rural, and it's very conservative.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Pertaining the seventh congressional district, is a wildly unpredictable place, politically. It was home to one of (INAUDIBLE) party's biggest wins, when one of the faces of the Republican establishment defeated him at 2014 primary. President Trump went up by six points in 2016.
What's going on the seventh district?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a highly densely populated area and unfortunately, they come out and they vote for non-Conservative values.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: As the House prepares for another round of televised hearings next week, Spanberger conducted a two-day tour through her district, focused on health care. She didn't mention impeachment at all.
So, I figured when I went to go hang out with a Democrat, the week after last week --
SPANBERGER: Yes.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: -- the topic would be the President, but I'm looking at your schedule, doesn't seem to be the topic. Why is that?
SPANBERGER: It's health care, because that's -- I mean, it's a top issue for people in my district.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: While she's out in the district talking about kitchen table issues, he Republican opponents are throwing the impeachment kitchen sink at her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their partisan impeachment is a politically- motivated charade.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: A GOP-allied group is putting T.V. ads like this one, in 18 districts like Spanberger's, hoping that impeachment will trigger a red wave in 2020. Can that theory work here? Junior Republicans have had a bad month.
In statewide elections, Democrats gained total control the state government for the first time in nearly three decades. The GOP faithful here, see impeachment as a political winner.
What would you lead off with to flip this district back to the GOP?
MARCIA SUGUMELE, MEMBER, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE: I talk about how Abigail Spanberger has not met up, has not made good on her promises to be a moderate and to -- she said she would not vote black step with Nancy Pelosi.
SPANBERGER: Hi.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: On Tuesday afternoon, Spanberger talked to constituents in Henrico County, at a forum about prescription drug prices. No one talked about the President.
Your opponents think that the more we're talking about impeachment, the better it is for them and the worse it is for you.
SPANBERGER: Yes.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Are they right?
SPANBERGER: I don't know.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: You sound like you don't know how things are going to go with this.
SPANBERGER: Yes, the thing --
(CROSSTALK)
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Risky waters.
SPANBERGER: I mean, I've been in risky waters before.
MCMORRIS-SANTORO: We had a big impeachment week last week. We have a big impeachment week next week. And the problem for Democrats who don't want to talk about impeachment, is that it's dominating the news.
But the fact is, I've been out with voters a lot during impeachment, and it's not top of their minds, which is no surprise. Opinion on this is already basically locked in, according to our own polling. So, the question for Democrats going forward is, can they talk about impeachment and also talk about what they want to talk about. Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, Richmond, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And we'll take a short break here. Still to come, climate change is causing sea levels to rise and scientists warn many cities around the world are under threat. Coming up, the technology London is using to keep the River Thames at bay, back with that in just a moment.
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CHURCH: World leaders are gathering in Madrid to tackle climate change at the U.N. Conference COP 25. For years, lawmakers have taken part in the annual summit. And this year, scientists say it's urgent countries take action. Writing in the journal nature, researchers say the earth is heading toward a global tipping point, meaning climate change is pushing environmental systems to the point of no return.
The Paris agreement will likely be a key focus at the conference, despite the United States formalizing its withdraw from the accord. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be in attendance with other democratic lawmakers.
Team climate activist, Alexandria Villasenor will be attending that conference and joins me now from Davis, California, good to have you with us.
ALEXANDRIA VILLASENOR, FOUNDER OF EARTH UPRISING (via Skype): Thank you for having me today.
CHURCH: Now, you are 14 years old and you say COP 24 failed us all, so what are your expectations for COP 25, how might it be different this time, do you think?
VILLASENOR: At COP 25, I think it's so important because there is going to be all the youth in the world is watching this. And so, really, what we want to see is world leaders make a radical binding and global emissions reduction commitment right now. So, we have seen a lot of dire science reports come out over the past weeks. And it's really scary what is happening and what our planet is facing.
So, there's no time to wait, myself and other Friday's future activists will be at COP 25 along with (INAUDIBLE) to make sure that we hold our world leaders accountable.
CHURCH: And do you think they will do that?
VILLASENOR: I think --
CHURCH: As world leaders?
VILLASENOR: I think our world leaders will to -- and take action just because of how much youth are going to be at this conference. And really, COP 25, it's the anniversary of so much youth engagements. And so, COP 24, the failure that happened there, really sparked so much youth to getting involved. And so, COP 25 is one of these moments where it has everyone watching it.
CHURCH: So, you feel the pressure has increased on these leaders to do something at last. So, what are your overall goals for planet earth and how achievable are they?
VILLASENOR: My overall goals for planet earth is to see our world leaders make a global reduction of greenhouse gas emission. So, they stay in line with the United Nations' IPCC report that came out last October. And so, one of the ways that we are going to be really hold our world leaders accountable, is the United Nations petition, the Children Risk Climate Crisis, one that I'm a part of.
And so, that petition is -- was (INAUDIBLE) to the committee on the rights of the child, stating that five countries, Argentina, Germany, Turkey and Brazil are violating our rights, either inaction on the climate crisis.
[02:44:57]
And so, on November 20th, our petition was accepted by the United Nations committee on the rights of the child. And so, those five respondent countries have two months to respond on the admissibility of our case, and six months to respond to the merits of our case.
And so, then we hope the committee agrees our human rights are being violated and rules in our favor. And so, that is just one way that you see youth are really stepping up and taking new ways of action.
CHURCH: So, how optimistic are you about the future of our world?
VILLASENOR: I am optimistic about the future just because of the huge climate movements. And the youth climate movement is only just beginning. There are -- there will be more strikes, but you're going to see a lot of new kinds of actions that will be taken by the youth. We are going to show up in decision-makers offices, in our classrooms, and institutions, and in front of corporations. And, of course, you are going to see us on the streets.
And so, with more youth getting engaged it makes me optimistic because we are really showing our world leaders that we're demanding that they take action.
CHURCH: And we salute your hard work and your passion on this issue. Alexandria Villasenor, thank you so much for joining us.
VILLASENOR: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: Well, as a result of climate change, scientists say hundreds of millions of people around the world are at risk of rising sea levels. A study released in October, predicts entire cities could be submerged in the coming decades. And that includes London as CNN's Phil Black reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: London has long respected the power of the sea. Straddling the city's famous river, you'll find this, the Thames Barrier. Finished in the early 80s, it's a mighty mechanized fortification. This sped up video of a recent test shows how it works. Fully extended, the gates stand five stories high. It's designed to hold back the North Sea on its angriest days to protect lives and the vast riches of one of the world's wealthiest cities.
IVAN HAIGH, OCEANOGRAPHER, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON: If there was flooding, it would be absolutely catastrophic. You know, particularly, if it happened at night. If something was to go wrong, the city would absolutely grind to a halt, you know. Flooding of subway stations, flooding the tubes.
BLACK: We meet oceanographer Ivan Haigh, on a day the Thames is swollen by a big tide and the storm surge.
Have you ever seen the Thames looked like this before?
HAIGH: I've never seen it this high.
BLACK: It's a close call that expert monitoring the river have decided not to close the barrier. The Thames looking bloated and full gives a powerful sense of London's vulnerability to what scientists now consider inevitable sea-level rise caused by climate change.
HAIGH: At the moment, we're on track to it, reach, at least, a meter.
BLACK: And that's, that's factored in. But -- that we expect that regardless of sort of policy decisions from here forth.
HAIGH: So, that's very much dependent on whether we follow the Paris Agreement or not.
BLACK: The Paris Agreement's goal is to sufficiently cut carbon emissions to keep the average global temperature increase below two degrees. That's to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
Scientists say achieving that goal will limit rising sea levels from expanding water and melting ice sheets. But it's already too late to prevent it. Scientists say, even if some of the best-case forecasts prove accurate, this big, impressive piece of infrastructure still has a limited shelf life.
Sea level rise means long before the end of this century, it will have to be replaced by a new, bigger, hugely expensive barrier further downstream.
These 10 yearly forecasts show what will happen to London if it doesn't have a barrier and the world doesn't act quickly to cut emissions.
By 2100, wide areas of land along the Thames turn blue. Within another 200 years, the river swallows much of central London.
For this advanced, inland city with vast money and resources, managing rising sea levels will be an extraordinary challenge. While around the world, small islands, coastal cities, and river delta communities will be making do without those advantages. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: We'll take a short break here. Still to come, like Donald Trump, the world wants to know who is anonymous. The author of the scathing book on the U.S. president. Here how soon here's all her identity could be revealed. Back with that in a moment.
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[02:53:36]
CHURCH: it is the big mystery that has captivated Washington. Who is the anonymous op-ed writer turned author who claimed to be a member of the resistance in the Trump administration? It turns out we will likely find out before Election Day.
CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is more to come. Those words from the person identifying themselves as anonymous, who wrote the new White House insider book titled, A Warning.
The book publisher confirming to CNN that the anonymous author answered questions on Reddit. Defending their decision to remain anonymous and suggesting that President Trump will know his or her identity by the 2020 election.
"I will not keep my identity shrouded in secrecy forever," anonymous writes. "I am not afraid to use my own name to express concerns about the current occupant of the Oval Office. Donald Trump has not heard the last of me."
Anonymous claims to be a senior official in the Trump administration. And last September, a person identified as the same official captivated the nation's attention after writing an op-ed in The New York Times titled, I am Part of the Resistance, vowing to thwart parts of President Trump's agenda and his worst inclinations.
But in the Q & A, anonymous says that was, "dead wrong", writing, "No one can thwart his attraction to wrongdoing."
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The latest active resistance is the op-ed published in the failing New York Times by an anonymous, really an anonymous, gutless, coward -- you just look. He was -- nobody knows who the hell he is.
[02:55:16]
HOLMES: The newly released book portrays a White House in crisis, with anonymous claiming that senior administration officials threatening to quit en masse to call attention to the president's alleged mismanagement and erratic behavior. And anonymous also says there are fears within Trump's inner circle that he does doing Putin's bidding.
The author teasing on Reddit that more bombshells could be released before next November. Claiming to one questioner, "Other people who are currently serving and who have left, are also considering adding their voices before votes are cast in 2020."
REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Nobody really knows whether these quotes or these accusations are true. Because we don't know who it is. There's no way to judge the veracity of what this person is saying.
HOLMES: The White House, earlier this month, calling anonymous, "a gutless coward who doesn't have the spine to put his or her name on their shameful lies."
On impeachment, anonymous telling Reddit users bluntly that President Trump demanded a quid pro quo from Ukraine to disrupt the 2020 election. Adding, "Everyone in the White House knows this even the president himself.
But warning how impeachment could further divide the country, and saying he believes the country must defeat President Trump at the ballot box in 2020 by a convincing margin.
In West Palm Beach, Florida, Kristen Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church, I'll be back with more news in just a moment.
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