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Full U.S. House Expected To Vote This Week; China Cancels Arsenal Coverage After Player's Tweet; Climate Summit Ends Without New Commitment; Tougher Laws Fail to Deter Sexual Violence in India; "Star Wars" Fans Camp Out for a Good Cause. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired December 16, 2019 - 00:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes.

And coming up here on CNN Newsroom, a big week in Washington, U.S. lawmakers prepare to vote on impeaching the president.

Let's get this done, Americas envoy for North Korea arrives in Seoul amidst stalled talks with Pyongyang, and he has a message for Kim Jong-un.

Plus, arsenal off air in China after sports and politics collide again.

Welcome, everyone, it is shaping to be a historic week in Washington. The full House expected to vote on articles of impeachment against the U.S. president, Donald Trump. Now, sources say that vote could come as soon as Wednesday.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond with more from us from the White House.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the House of Representatives this week is expected to vote on those articles of impeachment that passed in the House Judiciary Committee, making it all but certain that President Trump will become the third American president in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. But at the White House, much of the focus has shifted to the Senate, where the president, of course, will face trial if indeed he is impeached by the House. White House lawyers have been working on the president's legal defense, and there has been coordination already between the White House and Senate Republicans over how that trial would actually take place.

We heard on Sunday from White House Adviser Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of the State of Florida, who is advising the president on impeachment. She said that the president hopes the trial in the Senate with Republicans in the majority will make for a fair trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, TRUMP ADVISER: So we weren't given a fair trial in the House at all. Now, it goes to the Senate and these senators. The president deserves to be heard. We should be working hand in hand with them. The rules of evidence will apply. These are the senators who will decide if our president is impeached, which will not happen. We should and will work hand in hand with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Despite what she said there about the president wanting to be heard in a Senate trial, there is no indication that the president will testify in that trial. In fact, Senate Republicans and the White House have started coalescing around this notion of a shorter trial that would have no witnesses.

But just as that is happening, we've now heard from the Senate minority leader, the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and he is making his pitch for what he would like to see in a Senate trial, and it involves witnesses, it involves subpoenaing documents for key witnesses that Senate Democrats want Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republicans to agree to bring forward and subpoena in a Senate trial. They are the White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, his senior adviser, Robert Blair, the former national security adviser, John Bolton, as well as Michael Duffey, who is the associate director for national security programs. He's one of those officials who actually signed off on several of the documents relating to that aid freeze of nearly $400 million of security aid to Ukraine.

Now, of course, this is a request from the top Democrat in the Senate and that is because Republicans control the majority in the Senate, and therefore anything that actually goes through as far as the rules of this trial will require a 51-senator majority. And unless Democrats are somehow able to peel away four Republican senators to get them to agree to these rules, Mitch McConnell is ultimately going to be the decider here.

And McConnell, well, he has suggested that he will run anything as it relates to the proceedings of that trial by the White House, specifically the White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone. And so far, there is no indication from the White House that they would agree to have any of these witnesses, of course, come forward.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

HOLMES: And for more now, I'm joined from Los Angeles by Ron Brownstein, Senior Political Analyst for CNN and a Senior Editor at The Atlantic. And check out his article on the website.

Ron, let's have a look ahead at the week for us and how do you see the strategies in play? There is a lot of playing.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Excuse me, Michael. So, apologies if I answer with a scratchy throat, but the Democrats, I think, are very much trying to bracket the impeachment vote with substantive votes on both ends of it. You had possibly their biggest policy vote of the year late last week on legislation to reduce prescription drug prices, which all the polls tell us right now near the top of concerns for Americans.

And after impeachment, they want to vote on approving a trade deal that the president has completed with renegotiating NAFTA.

[00:05:07]

And this is critical, I think, for Pelosi's strategy because those Democrats in the marginal districts feel the need to be able to say to their voters, look, I did not just go to Washington to defy the president, I went to work with him when he was working in the interests of the country, and to draw the line when he is not.

And so I think the way to understand the impeachment vote is as a sequence of votes that is designed to kind of expand the comfort level as widely as possible within the party.

HOLMES: The Republicans throughout the process have been screaming for their own witnesses, that it has been unfair. The Democrats do want to call witnesses in the Senate. But if you listen to Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell, it's not sounding like they are very keen anymore when it gets to them. If the Republicans refuse the Democrats can then say the Republicans aren't allowing for a fair trial, surely.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think the paradox here is where the Republicans have been demanding witnesses while they've been defending the president preventing, really, central witnesses from testifying. And, certainly, if Republicans in the Senate open the door to allowing witnesses, the whistleblower, Hunter Biden, although exactly why Hunter Biden is irrelevant to a security decision in 2019 is very much up in question.

But, certainly, if they opened the door to witnesses, it becomes very, very difficult to then argue that the trial should have the Republican witnesses but not people like John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney, or the absolute center of the issues under discussion. So, in the end, that kind of mutual sort of destruction, I think, will leave that they don't want witnesses after all.

HOLMES: Yes. The fundamental question, I thought, at the end of the day is, is it okay for a president to ask a foreign government to investigate a political rival. That is the question. Republicans have just stuck with the line that it didn't happen. It did happen. It's indisputable.

So what precedent is set when and if Republicans in the Senate vote to absolve the president of what he did?

BROWNSTEIN: I think that is a critical point here. I mean, not only are -- Republicans are kind of divided between saying it didn't happen despite the evidence in the call itself. Rand Paul today on CNN is saying, he didn't ask him to investigate a rival. And he meant -- well, he asked him to investigate Joe Biden. Joe Biden wasn't a rival. Verse those like Ted Cruz, who's on -- the senator and former presidential candidate, he was television today, saying it's okay to ask to do this.

And I think in either way, we are seeing here a defaming of the impeachment process. I mean, Republicans -- there is really no evidence in either chamber that they have or even a moment have thought of themselves as an independent force that is assessing the president's conduct, upholding the separation of power and trying to maintain some sort of standards for the rule of law. They view themselves as his defenders from the outset.

And what this really is showing us, as I said to you before, is that one party alone, even in control of the chamber, cannot maintain the norms of democracy, unless both parties are willing to impose some sanctions, a president is going to feel fundamentally unconstrained.

HOLMES: And, I mean, you've got to wonder about the constitutional damage being done if they basically voted to say that's okay.

I want to just quickly, if you can, the tweet today from Donald Trump about Nancy Pelosi's teeth. I think we've got the tweet to show the people if they missed it. But my goodness, Nancy's teeth were falling out of her mouth and she didn't have time to think. I won't even go into the juvenile nature, the bullying nature of that, but the question is what does that say about his state of mind?

Last Thursday he tweeted or re-tweeted 123 times. God knows how many today. What does that tell you about how he is handling this?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, I mean, the personal attacks on Pelosi, what we have seen is a portion of Trump's base who really want to see him degrade the presidency in this way, but there's a larger electorate as well. And there is a reason why, incredibly, something like 20 percent of the people who say they approve of his handling of the economy disapprove of him overall. We've never had a number like that in American politics, and it really is because of a behavior like that.

And it is -- look, the president, whenever he is attacked, moves to delegitimize whoever is threatening him, whether it's the courts, whether it's the press and certainly when it's the Democrats. And this kind of behavior, I think, is kind of indicative probably in the line from Judge Curiel, all the way through to fake news and to Nancy Pelosi.

HOLMES: Or if it's the FBI. Ron Brownstein thank you for that. Honey and lemon and a cup of tea for you.

BROWNSTEIN: I'm trying. Thanks. Thanks, Michael.

HOLMES: I appreciate it, Ron.

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Now, this week, the U.K. will start feeling the major political aftershock following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's huge election win on Thursday. There is speculation in British newspapers he might sack up to a third of his cabinet. His first priority though, as he is said throughout his campaign, is to get Brexit done. First, by bringing his divorce bill before the House of Commons again, perhaps even before Christmas, that might happen, and then he has to forge a new relationship with Europe. That is no easy task.

He also have to keep the United Kingdom united. The rumblings from Scotland just get louder, where voters just spoke out very strongly against Mr. Johnson and strongly against Brexit, backing in huge numbers a party leader who wants an independent Scotland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLA STURGEON, SCOTTISH FIRST MINISTER: You cannot hold Scotland in the union against its will. You cannot just lock us in a cupboard and turn the key and hope that everything goes away. If the United Kingdom it's to continue, then that can only be consent.

And if Boris Johnson is confident in the case for the union, then he should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide, because if it is to continue, it can only be by the will and the consent of the people of Scotland. Scotland cannot be imprisoned within the United Kingdom.

MICHAEL GOVE, BRITISH CABINET OFFICE MINISTER: We had a referendum on whether or not Scotland should be separate from the United Kingdom in 2014. We were told that that referendum would settle the question for a generation.

In this general election, we have just seen what happens when politicians try to overturn a referendum result. And in the same way, we should respect the referendum result of 2014. Scotland is stronger in the United Kingdom. You can be proudly Scottish and proudly British together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party increased the chair of Scottish seats in the Commons to 48 out of 59, a very strong performance there.

Now, the U.S. envoy to North Korea is urging Pyongyang to resume denuclearization talks ahead of a yearend the deadline. Stephen Biegun met with South Korean officials in Seoul on Monday and sent a clear message to North Korea. It is time to return to the negotiating table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN BIEGUN, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO NORTH KOREA: President Trump, President Moon and all of us who served them have worked hard to keep open the door to negotiations with North Korea. It has been a long year, and we have not made it nearly as much progress as we would have hoped, but we will not give up.

I have read closely to many comments from various North Korean officials over the course of the past month. We have heard them all. It is regrettable that the tone of these statements for the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan and our friends in Europe have been so hostile and negative and so unnecessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, this comes just days, of course, after North Korea carried out another what they called crucial test at a rocket launch site, and after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised to deliver a so-called Christmas gift to the U.S.

Well, sports and politics are clashing again in China, this time, Chinese state television pulling Sunday's Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City off the Air. This was after Arsenal's midfielder, Mesut Ozil posted social media messages criticizing China's treatment of Muslim Uyghurs. The club has already began distancing itself from the player's comment and that in of itself is interesting.

CNN's David Culver joins me now from Beijing. Tell us what happened and the reaction to it.

DAVID CULVER CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you pointed out, Michael, this is politics, geopolitics and a major clash with sports once again. And this, perhaps, dealing with what you might consider to be one of the most sensitive issues right here in China, and that is with the weaker detention that's happening in the far western region.

So let me walk you through this tweet and Instagram post. It was put on both social media accounts by Mesut Ozil and it essentially slammed China for what he alleged to be the widespread abuses of the ethnic minorities. And it goes on to say that theological schools have been banned, that religious scholars have been killed one-by-one, the Korans have been burned.

And so, naturally, this sparked an immediate and a furious reaction from Chinese state media. First, they have decided, for now, to hold the broadcast of games. They stopped Sunday's game, Barcelona and Manchester City from being played, the online website that streamed these games also stopping that here in China. That's just the first part of this though.

And as you mentioned, Arsenal has distanced itself a little bit from the player, from Ozil, saying that essentially those are his views, they don't represent the club as a whole.

[00:15:06]

And it is going to be interesting to see how that strategy plays out. Because all of this is reminiscent of what we saw in October with the NBA, the National Basketball Association and China, likewise, having a similar clash, likewise started over a tweet. That tweet was about the Hong Kong protests. This one focused on the Uyghurs.

Now, China has been adamant that the detention of Uyghurs is not what is being characterized to be. The U.S. State Department says 2 million have been detained and that they are undergoing alleged widespread abuse. China says this is about the de-radicalization. This is about counterterrorism. This is national security and that these are vocational training centers. Ultimately though, this is going to be something that's going to play out well beyond today and we're just seeing the beginning of this, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. I mean, the reaction to Ozil's comment, they appear a little more muted when compared to what happened when the Houston Rockets G.M., Daryl Morey, tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters. I mean, it just seems that China's state machinery really went after the NBA there, and not just the man in the club. On this occasion though, it seems to be targeting Ozil and to a limited extent, Arsenal.

CULVER: It was interesting following the NBA situation because they've kind of talked after the fact and then had a debrief with some of the folks who were involved in that on the China side. And you're right, there was kind of a concern that perhaps it went too far immediately.

However, I will point out, this is following a similar timeline. This was a Friday tweet, like Morey's was, over the weekend. You saw, likewise, broadcasters pull away. You saw some distancing from the NBA initially. You've got to remember that. The NBA initially kind of apologized for China being offended, but then they had to come out strong because there was backlash in the U.S. against the NBA for not allowing the freedom of expression to go forward.

So, right now, we can see it as following a similar pattern, not going nearly to the extent that it did with China and the NBA.

But I will also point out some of the social media postings here in China. This has been interesting to me. We have been going through them, one of them saying, supporting terrorists, Ozil's actions much worse than that of Morey, English Premier League worst than NBA. I'm so disappointed. But others pointing out how difficult it is to be a sports fan here in China today. Michael?

HOLMES: Yes, all right. David, keep your line up for us. David Culver there in Beijing, I appreciate.

All right, we'll take a short break here on the program. When we come back, the longest U.N. climate talks on record and in disappointment. Why the marathon in Madrid didn't deliver the goods that the climate activists are hoping for.

Also, still to come, the public outcry growing in India over India's rape culture, seven years after a brutal assault that shocked the nation.

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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Weather Meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, watching what's happening across the Americas, and it is around the Southern and Southeastern United States with some severe weather over the next couple of days as we have, of course, very mild temperatures in place for the middle portion of December with the front skirting by across this region that will prompt in some strong thunderstorms, potentially Tuesday on into Wednesday. And with it, we'll get some cooler air that filters in towards the region as well.

And, of course, it is a wintery mess farther towards the north. Look at Minneapolis, highs of six below, seven below, ten below for an afternoon high, still not even winter yet. Of course, in the northern hemisphere, you'll notice Chicago, just a week before Christmas there on Wednesday, comes in with a high of minus six.

And notice into the northeast, we do eventually get a cooling trend there as well as colder air filters in. But, fortunately, all of this comes in with some dry weather. So we don't expect much in the way of significant snowfall anywhere across the region when it comes to the big holiday travel days at least over the next week or. You'll notice Denver two below and Los Angeles will take the mostly sunny skies, a comfortable afternoon 21 degrees.

And down into the tropics, a few thunderstorms to pop up, at least the city around 28. Kingston, Jamaica climbs up to around 30 degrees. Of course, the quiet tropics are generally quiet this time a year but you can pick out that front that will ignite some of the severe weather to its north. And a little farther to the south we go, La Paz, some morning clouds, afternoon sunshine around 16 degrees.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

A disappointing and to some gridlock talks, the U.N. secretary general calling the latest round of global climate talks a lost opportunity. The COP25 Summit wrapped up on Sunday in Madrid, where negotiators were supposed to hammer out the rules of the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. Instead though they hit a deadlock when a handful of major countries and, let's face it, emitters refused to commit to bolster emissions targets.

Now, these countries include Brazil, China, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, the U.S, as I said, major emitters of carbon. And representatives of less powerful countries and some that are much more affected say they are already feeling the effects of climate change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN FRY, TUVALU REPRESENTATIVE TO COP25: There are millions of people all around the world who are already suffering from the impacts of climate change. Denying this fact could be interpreted by some to be a crime against humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN's Arwa Damon spoke with some of the youngest activists from those smaller countries which bear the brunt of climate change because of local and national economies that simply cannot cope.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILDA NAKABUYE, CLIMATE ACTIVIST, UGANDA: You've been negotiating for the last 25 years, even before I was born.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hilda's generation does not deserve a crisis they did not create.

NAKABUYE: I am the voice of the dying children, displaced women and people suffering at the hands of climate crisis created by rich countries.

DAMON: She's at the forefront of the climate protest in her native Uganda, cleaning plastic filth out of Lake Victoria.

When Hilda was just ten years old, the changing climate dried her family's crops. There was no water for the livestock.

NAKABUYE: We didn't have enough food and then started to sell off our property to survive. Our missed three months without school when other people were at school. So I had to stay home because my parents could not afford it, and it's too much. And when I talked to people who are causing this and then they are not listening, and then it feels like we are wasting time.

DAMON: Words the big polluters don't want to hear or are turning away from. Despite all of the signage declaring otherwise, these climate crisis negotiations feel less like they're about saving the planet and more like a battle between the haves and a have-nots.

Part of it is really driven by the youth, by those populations. The communities are already feeling the effects of climate change. The security is trying to keep control of this situation, trying to break this up.

But they won't give up.

How old are you here?

NKOSINATHI NYATHI, CLIMATE ACTIVIST, ZIMBABWE: Here, I was 12. So this was my group by then (ph) when I showed the clips.

DAMON: And so people were listening to you when you were 12?

[00:25:01]

Like these clips of videos you did, they made a difference.

NYATHI: Yes, they did.

DAMON: Nkosi got a UNICEF grant to get a biogas plant for his school to convert waste into energy. His trip to the conference was his first time on a plane to address halls (ph) of power.

NYATHI: I also know that the magnitude of the danger, which is coming.

DAMON: They heard his words, but he feels like they didn't listen.

NYAHIT: It hurts, it hurts, it actually hurts. I'm not actually seeing like real action on the ground. That's what I feel currently because nothing has been done.

DAMON: Leaders are even getting addressing down from those two small to reach the podium.

LICYPRIYA KANGUJAM, CLIMATE ACTIVIST, INDIA: This is not fair. Our leaders are just blaming each other instead of finding a long-term solution.

DAMON: 13-year-old Mounir dreams of the starts. He wants to be a NASA scientists.

MOUNIR MBOGO, CLIMATE ACTIVIST, CHAD: If they really love us, they should act right now, because the climate change progress should be taken seriously. It's not a joke. It's about future generations and our living on earth.

DAMON: It's the children who are the ones having grown up conversations.

NAKABUYE: I do this with all my heart and with love for the coming generation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, seven years after a young woman was brutally gang raped in India, has anything changed? We will look at what's happened since the horrific crime that shocked the world.

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HOLMES: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Let's check you on the headlines now.

Top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, wants at least four witnesses to testify in an impeachment trial for the U.S. president, Donald Trump. They include acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton. Schumer laying out his requests in a letter to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.

The Democrat-controlled House is expected to vote on impeachment Wednesday.

Reports from the U.K. suggest Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a major reshuffling of his cabinet on Monday. He's expected to axe up to a third of his ministers come February after Brexit is completed. Minister Michael Gove will get Brexit done by January 31 and aims to have a new trade deal with the E.U. by the end of next year. Thousands of anti-government protesters returned to the streets of

Beirut on Sunday night. Police using tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse people who were throwing rocks and firecrackers. Caretaker prime minister Saad al-Hariri is expected to be named Lebanon's prime minister again in the coming hours. He resigned late October as a result of these same protests.

Now, Monday marks seven years since a crime that shocked and horrified the world: the torture, rape and death of a 23-year-old student in India. A protest movement was born in the aftermath, and laws were changed, but the culture that tolerates crimes against women has not.

Anna Coren has our story. And we do want you to know, we asked to interview government officials, but none were made available.

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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A garland of marigolds drape the body of one of the latest victims of rape in India. The 23-year-old was set on fire by a gang of men, including two of her alleged rapists, on her way to court to testify against them. Suffering burns to 90 percent of her body, she pleaded with doctors to save her so her attackers would face justice. She died a day later.

Sexual violence against women and girls is so prevalent in India it's been described as a disease. A disease many thought the government and judicial system would have eradicated, following the horrific case in 2012 involving a woman who had become known as Nirbhaya, that shocked and outraged the nation and the world.

ASHA DEVI, MOTHER OF NIRBHAYA (through translator): I cannot express how painful it is these seven years, how much we have struggled on a mental level, the amount of torture that I have dealt with.

COREN: Asha Devi is the mother of her Nirbhaya, which means fearless. The 23-year-old university student brutally gang raped on a bus in New Delhi. Her attackers used a metal rod, causing such severe internal injuries she was flown to Singapore for specialist surgery but died in hospital. Under Indian law, we cannot name or show a rape victim.

Most of her perpetrators were sentences to death but remain on Death Row as an arduous appeals process goes through the courts.

DEVI (through translator): It is that pain that does not let me sit at home, does not let me sleep, so my daughter's struggle is my strength. These men must hang; they must be punished for their crimes.

COREN: The recent string of brutal rape attacks on girls and women in India have once again sparked protests across the country, where according to the national crime records bureau, around 100 rapes occur, on average, every day.

Citizens are demanding the system protect India's daughters. They want more action by police, who often lack resources and are accused of failing to enforce the law. To the courts that are overloaded, where justice can take many years to arrive, if at all.

KARUNA NUNDY, SUPREME COURT LAWYER: The delay in the justice system, and the fact that there isn't swift, certain punishment means that, if you rape it's highly likely that you will get away with it.

COREN: But for activist Swati Maliwal, her main grievance with India's rape culture lies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who she says has been resoundingly silent on this crisis.

SWATI MALIWAL, DELHI COMMISSION FOR WOMEN: It's the sick mindset of the government which refuses to respond to the pain and the cries and the shrieks of the women of this country. The onus of the rape is put on the girl. The victim becomes the most shamed, and it's really a fact that the entire system starts raping her.

COREN: Some legal experts say India's patriarchal and misogynistic society breed a sense of entitlement and impunity among Indian men. And unless this is addressed, India's rape crisis will continue.

NUNDY: Governance (ph) at the moment happens for a tiny sliver of men. For able-bodied, upper-class, Hindu rich, straight men.

[00:35:08]

COREN: For Asha Devi, whose tragedy has brought her an audience with the country's most powerful man, she refuses to be silenced or ignored, dedicating her life to the girls and women whose country failed them.

DEVI (through translator): My only purpose is to work against these crimes, raise my voice against thee crimes, and above all, that Nirbhaya gets justice.

COREN: Anna Coren, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And now turning to another controversy in India, Reuters reporting more than 100 activists were injured as they clashed with police in New Delhi on Sunday. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Officers using tear gas and battens to disperse demonstrators at a major university. The protesters were rallying against a new Indian citizenship law as fears grow among India's 200 million Muslims that some of them could be declared illegal immigrants.

We'll take a break. When we come back, for "Star Wars" fans, the end of an era. And some are going to great lengths to ensure their spot for the opening of "Rise of Skywalker." Coming up, we'll hear from one fan who is camping out, all for a good cause. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an instinct. A feeling. The force brought us together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The main "Star Wars" saga is coming to a close in less than a week. "The Rise of Skywalker" will wrap up five decades of cinematic history. With high expectations, some dedicated fans hope this ninth film will bring some closure to some unanswered questions.

Now, the movie might not be out for a few more days, but some fans already lining up to see it. My next guest is one of them.

Peter Genovese is the cofounder of LiningUp.net. Check that out. He's joining us from Los Angeles. And thanks for doing so.

Now, from how I understand this, tickets were pre-sold. You don't need to be doing this. So it's really about a good cause you're raising money for. Is that right?

PETER GENOVESE, LININGUP.NET: Yes, that's right. None of us need to be out here in this day and age of reserved seating, but we love coming out here and helping support our charity, which is Starlight Children's Foundation. And you know, we come out here as a group. We're able to get a big bulk of tickets early. And we were able to dictate how people get those tickets, which is waiting in line, which is almost a lost art these days.

HOLMES: Yes, how did the traditions start, because it's a pretty cool one?

[00:40:00]

GENOVESE: Yes, so back in '99, when "Episode One" came out, there was a group of us that decided to line up for six weeks, actually, for "Episode One" outside the Chinese Theater. And I didn't know what I was getting into. I just decided to check it out. I wanted to come for about an hour or two and ended up staying the very first night, entire night, and just basically got sucked into this whole thing.

You know, you really are able to make friendships really quickly, because you're sitting with people that love the same thing you do, you know, and it's something so unique and kind of crazy but yet fun to do. And we -- we always have fun doing it.

HOLMES: Yes. As you say, you don't need to these days, but why not? I mean, it's -- you know, a group of likeminded people.

OK. So the -- the movie itself, I've got to say, I'm not the sort of crazy "Star Wars" person that my producer Bonnie is, but tell us what the expectations are for the fans. What do they want from this movie? GENOVESE: You know, I think people really want closure on a lot of

things. They want to feel the emotion that we've had in previous "Star Wars" movies. You know, there are people who weren't so happy with the last one. You know, a lot of people have different viewpoints. But I think we all want some kind of closure and emotional -- you know, kind of something that brings our emotions out in this last "Episode Nine" movie, last of the Skywalker saga, basically.

HOLMES: Yes, and -- yes, and Bonnie insists I ask this question, and I have no idea what it means. Apparently, the emperor is still alive. How the heck did he survive the destruction of the Death Star? Apparently, that's a burning question.

GENOVESE: Yes, that's a good question. And we're all wondering. I mean, when we all saw that in the trailer, we could hear his laugh, I mean, people actually went nuts. I mean, I'm one of the people that grew up with the original "Star Wars" movies, and to hear that emperor's cackle and his laugh, I think we're all happy to hear him back in the movie again.

HOLMES: Yes. I mean, "The L.A. Times" calls "Star Wars" one of the most critiqued pop-culture franchises of all time.

GENOVESE: Yes.

HOLMES: Everyone has an opinion about it. What do you want to see next? If this is the end of this bit, what does everyone want to see next?

GENOVESE: Yes, it's a good question, and a lot of people are trying to figure out what are they going to do next? I think 2022 is when they're planning on another Skywalker adventure. Or not Skywalker, "Star Wars" adventure; and it's not going to be about the Skywalkers.

So there's a lot of different things they can choose from. So I'm kind of excited to see what it's going to be. And, you know, a big question for us is are we going to be back out here, lining up for, you know, days on end or weeks on end. I still want to, and I know a lot of people behind me still want to. We love hanging out as a group. We love watching the movie together, the first showing. It's what we always do here at the Chinese Theater. And we love raising money for our charity, the Starlight Children's Foundation.

HOLMES: Yes, that's great. And people can go to LiningUp.net and find out more about the charity side of this.

GENOVESE: Absolutely.

HOLMES: So that's great. Peter Genovese, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Well, you're in L.A., so I was going to say stay warm. You'll be fine.

GENOVESE: Yes. It's actually very cold right now. It's very cold right now.

HOLMES: Oh, it is.

GENOVESE: Yes, it is.

HOLMES: Well, enjoy it. Good to see you.

GENOVESE: Thank you very much. Thank you.

HOLMES: Cold for L.A. Really.

Meanwhile, the U.S. box office is getting a much-needed boost. "Jumanji: The Next Level," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart, blew past expectations, taking the No. 1 spot with an estimated $60 million debut. There you go. There's the video. Found it. Fell on the floor.

Despite getting iced out of the top spot, "Frozen 2" is also on a hot streak, breaking the $ billion mark at the global box office on Saturday. This is now Disney's sixth film to make more than a billion dollars this year alone.

All right. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. WORLD SPORT coming up next. I'll see you in about 15 minutes with more news.

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HOLMES: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all --

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