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Trump Impeachment; Boeing to Temporarily Suspend Production of 737 MAX; USMCA Trade Deal; India Citizenship Law; U.S. Envoy Urges Pyongyang to Resume Nuclear Talks; Extreme Heat Continues to Stoke Fires in Australia. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired December 17, 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world, thanks for joining us, I'm John Vause.

Coming up this hour on CNN NEWSROOM. A rush of wavering Democrats fall in line declaring support for impeachment, but even before a Senate trial begins senior Republican brag, the fix is in. The president's acquittal is guaranteed.

Boeing bites the bullet, stopping production of the 737 MAX after two fatal crashes.

And welcome to India, unless you're a Muslim. After Prime Minister Modi's controversial citizenship law sparks outrage, he is calling for calm and, without a hint of irony, brotherhood.

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VAUSE: The coming days could be the most consequential so far for the Trump presidency. It all goes to plan on Wednesday, for the third time in U.S. history, a sitting president will be impeached by Congress. That means the focus will shift from a Democrat controlled lower house to a trial in the Senate, where Republicans hold the majority.

There is no reason to expect an end to the bitter partisan fight between Republicans and Democrats, which has defined this impeachment from beginning. CNN's Alex Marquardt begins our coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Conducting an impeachment trial in the Senate is an enormously weighty and solemn responsibility.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The tables are turning, as the Senate trial looms. While Republicans will run things, Democrats today trying to push their proposal for what the trial would look like.

SCHUMER: To engage a trial without the facts coming out is to engage in a cover-up.

MARQUARDT: Which Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hopes will gain Republican support.

SCHUMER: Do they want a fair, honest trial that examines all the facts, or they do they want a trial that doesn't let the facts come out? Trials have witnesses. That's what trials are all about.

MARQUARDT: In a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Schumer called for subpoenas to be issued for four witnesses who have direct knowledge of the Ukraine affair, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, his deputy, Rob Blair, Budget Office official Michael Duffey and former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who allegedly called what the president's envoys were doing in Ukraine a drug deal.

SCHUMER: Each of them will have information to share about the charges made by the House, information that no one has heard at this point.

MARQUARDT: Sources say McConnell does not want witnesses. He's been working in lockstep with the White House counsel on the trial's format.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president's position and our position.

MARQUARDT: Enraging Democrats like Schumer, who told CNN there's a difference between discussion and working on the president's behalf.

SCHUMER: For him to talk to the president is one thing. For him to say, I'm going to do just what the president wants, is totally out of line.

MARQUARDT: Schumer hopes to model the trial on Bill Clinton's in 1999.

To get his way and have more control on what happens during the trial, Schumer needs at least for Republicans to join Democrats to give them a majority. Seven moderate or retiring Republicans are being targeted, including Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a vocal critic of the president's.

All this ahead of the full House impeachment vote expected on Wednesday. The Judiciary Committee, which approved the articles of impeachment, issuing their final report overnight, blasting the president for betraying the nation through abuse of power, which Democrats claim includes multiple federal crimes.

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: This is a crime in progress against the Constitution and against American democracy.

MARQUARDT: For the trial, Chuck Schumer also told Mitch McConnell he would be open to Republicans calling their own witnesses who can also testify about Ukraine. That, however, does not include Hunter Biden, Schumer said.

He told CNN that the younger Biden would be a distraction. Now, the two Senate leaders have not yet met face to face. A spokesperson for McConnell says that will happen soon -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I'm joined now by political analyst Michael Genovese, he is the president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University.

Michael, thanks for starting us off. I want to begin with this request from Democrats to call witnesses during the Senate trial. Even though the Senate leader, Mitch McConnell has ruled that out, it never hurts to go back and ask one more time.

Senator McConnell, here's the question should witnesses be called during an impeachment trial?

Here's the answer.

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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: There been 15 impeachments in the history of this country. Two of them were cut short by resignations. In the other 13 impeachments, there were witnesses. It's not unusual to have a witness in a trial. It's certainly not unusual have a witness in an impeachment trial.

The House managers have only asked for three witnesses.

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MCCONNELL: I think that's pretty modest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, that was back in 1998, a Democrat was being impeached. A Democratic president. For the record, the three witnesses were allowed to appear, they were called. On this impeachment, Republicans have reached a level of hypocrisy rarely seen in politics.

Are there long-term consequences here?

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: In politics as in life, where you stand depends on where you sit and the Republicans have simply changed seats. This affliction is an equal opportunity affliction, Democrats and Republicans both suffer from it, it becomes more obvious when the Republicans are in charge of the trial and are making all of the decisions, they are contrary to what they've been saying in the past. It

looks worse. This is something that both the Democrats and Republicans are engaged in at this point. I think it's baked into the human capacity and maybe even the human need to occasionally be a hypocrite. It's part of the DNA that we all have.

And having said that, I think Mitch McConnell has gone way over the top. He is the errand boy for the White House and he makes no bones about it. That's kind of outrageous. His thumb is not going to be on the scale, his whole body will be on it.

I think Mitch McConnell is incapable of humiliation. I think it's all about the power and he is playing a game.

VAUSE: It's not just McConnell that has made no secret that he is working with the White House on Trump's defense. Lindsey Graham is also on the record, saying he already decided what the verdict would be in any impeachment trial. Listen to this.

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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind -- I'm not going to pretend to be a fair juror here.

I want to end it. I don't want to legitimize it, I hate what they are doing.

MCCONNELL: Everything I do I'm coordinating with the White House counsel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: With that in mind, there is an oath of affirmation for senators. Here is part of the Earth from the impeachment of President Clinton in 1998.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God.

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VAUSE: Senators don't take an oath for any other major vote, only impeachment. And they had the leader of the Senate and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee intent on violating that oath.

GENOVESE: What's a little oath among friends?

And this is what -- people find so disturbing about politics, that it is so superficially hypocritical and so easy to see. They're transparently hypocritical and again, this is true for both sides, it just happens to be that Lindsey Graham is out in the front as is McConnell.

But I wish this were surprising but it is not in politics. It's also not that surprising in life. We are not consistent or pure. But in politics it becomes so blatantly obvious and so pathetic, in the FOX- Trump ecosystem, politics -- this is politics as usual. That's a sad commentary. VAUSE: With House Democrats, they are firming up their base, there's been a rush of Democrats in these moderate districts that are publicly declaring their support for the two articles of impeachment. On the flip side, the Republican presidential candidate has come out supporting impeachment as well. Here she is.

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CARLY FIORINA (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it is vital that he be impeached, whether removed this close to an election, I don't know. But I think the conduct is impeachable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Here's the question, what about the core group of Republican senators?

Will they stand together? Will the others follow if one breaks ranks?

GENOVESE: Will, the Republicans defect?

Well, will I win a Miss America contest?

GENOVESE: I think the answer is no. We'd love to say yes. In a perfect world, it would be yes, there would be eight, 10, 15 Republicans to turn on Trump because the evidence is so overwhelming and what he did is so clearly wrong. But we are not in that world. We're in the world of politics and power and parties are about winning elections.

As long as Trump convinces Republicans that siding with him wins them elections, they will side with him. It is not the Republican Party, it is the Trump party. It is the cult of Trump and their loyalty to Trump is based on their belief, and I think it's an accurate one, that the base will follow Trump.

As long as that is the case, Republicans will not falter, they will be right behind President Trump.

VAUSE: Rudy Giuliani has been incredibly loyal to President Trump, he's still looking for evidence of a crime that never happened.

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VAUSE: And the president explained Rudy's motivation. Here he is.

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TRUMP: He's a great person who loves our country and he does this out of love. Well, I mean, he does it out of love. He sees what goes on. He sees what's happening. He sees all of the hoax that happens when they talk about impeachment hoax or the Russian collusion delusion. And he sees it and he's a great gentleman and he was again the greatest mayor in the history of New York and probably the greatest crime fighter in the last 50 years. He knows what he's doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So was it love of country when Giuliani was pushing the ambassador to Ukraine out of her job, admitting in an interview with "The New Yorker," "I believe that I needed Yovanovitch out of the way. She was going to make the investigations difficult for everybody."

Is that love of country or love of Trump?

GENOVESE: It's all about the love. Rudy Giuliani is the poster boy for the Age of Aquarius. It's all about Trump. It's all about Trump. And here's Rudy going overseas, where, to the Ukraine to do what?

Root out corruption?

No, to find dirt on the Bidens. He's doing it for Trump. They're an odd couple and apparently now we know that although Rudy came back saying he's got a barrel full of material, when asked to comment the president said there was not too much there.

And it's -- there's a kind of loyalty but there's a kind of symbiotic relationship between these two old New Yorkers who have been through the mill a few times. A lot of similarities between them.

Rudy identifies with Trump and I think Trump identifies with Rudy. And I don't say that as a compliment.

VAUSE: That's a good point, where we shall leave our discussion. Michael Genovese, we appreciate it very much, thank you.

GENOVESE: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Boeing's beleaguered 737 MAX is set to be grounded well into the new year, much longer than the company had actually expected and as a result, production of the 737 will be suspended from next month.

It was taken out of operation worldwide after two fatal crashes back earlier this year, back in March it was grounded, and there was no indication when it will be recertified.

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STEVE DICKSON, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: How many times have you heard me say that we are not on any timeline?

We will follow every step of the process, however along that takes. There are 10 or 11 milestones to complete. I understand a company, a manufacturer has a project plan with milestones and is devoting resources towards moving things forward.

But again, I made it very clear that Boeing's plan is not the FAA's plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This is not the first time in 20 years Boeing has suspended production and the ramifications will ripple across the airline Industry and beyond. We are joined by David Soucie, a former FAA safety inspector.

It's good to see you.

Even though the 737 was grounded back in March, Boeing has continued production of the plane. There's been flight test paths of this plane -- this is a test plane that has been regularly flown over the Seattle area, which I found surprising in a way. It seemed odd it was going up on a regular basis.

But with its recertification going on, Boeing says we have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft, temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month.

There's nothing in that statement which would indicate they do not expect the 737 to return to service. But if it does not, if this continued to stretch on and drag out like this, we will have a situation with 400 new planes, plus the 400 already in service out of commission, 800 commercial passenger jets doing nothing?

A billion dollars worth of aircraft sitting in a hangar somewhere doing nothing?

Can they absorb that cost?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: They must be able to, because the fact that they pay dividends again to their board members, so there must be some profit somewhere.

When I was up, there at Boeing earlier in the month and you can see that the 777 line and the 787 line are full, they're at capacity and moving forward with the deliveries. The 737-9 has deliveries. So it's just the 737-8 line. Somehow they're able to afford this I don't know. How

VAUSE: Have they quarantined the problems with the 737 MAX and that's not impacted the other operations?

SOUCIE: No, it is just for the 737 MAX 8 and has very specifics thing to do with the MCAS that was tied to the crashes of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines but there is no tie to any of the other manufacturing. Lines

VAUSE: The investigation has focused on the technology, that automated system.

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VAUSE: In the last couple of weeks there was a word about chaos on the factory floor, as a result of Boeing trying to increase production. Here's what he said, here he is.

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ED PERSON, FORMER SENIOR MANAGER, BOEING 737 FACTORY: As far as what I saw, again, was a factory in disarray. We had a lot of things going on, as I mentioned to Congress. Those problems continued to cascade, for many months. That's when I brought my concerns to the attention of the senior management.

I sent emails, eventually I met in person with the general manager, explained my concerns, asked him to consider shutting down the factory, because I felt like it was not worth the risk. And I didn't really get that support.

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VAUSE: Could those production problems be one of the reasons for the FAA delay, they are clearly separate issues but does one fit into the other?

SOUCIE: I think everything has to do with it. What he is talking about, he's talking about the safety culture and safety culture is based on a couple different things.

Basically, as my role as a safety inspector for the FAA, was to assess the safety culture. Go in and interview and find out if that safety culture was to a hazardous condition. I know that Boeing does have a safety management system in place.

That's a system designed to handle those complaints and how they go up the system. It's a systemic process as to how they deal with those things. I'm not familiar exactly with that particular issue. So I'm ill informed to address it specifically.

But I do know, when I was at Boeing earlier this month, I did take that surveillance, as I have for 30 years, looking at manufacturers over the years, and looked at it and try to assess that culture myself. I saw no evidence of that.

It does not mean that he is wrong, I'm certainly not saying that. What I did see, was a culture that was receptive to that, from Dennis Muilenburg on down, from a top-down look, he was there, we spoke with him. He came in and addressed the group that I was with, we got to ride in a simulator.

I didn't really see any sign of that type of culture; not to say that it does not exist but I did not see it at that time.

VAUSE: Officials with Boeing were reporting that they think the MAX will be up in the air mid February. "The Seattle Times" reported the FAA has warned Boeing, the CEO in particular, to back away from making those public statements.

There was a lot of criticism of the regulators and Boeing's relationship, they were too close.

Is this a sign that the FAA is putting some distance?

SOUCIE: I would hope that it is. There needs to be distance there. There's two different perspectives there.

One is obviously of profit, the airline has to make profit and how they do that is by setting schedules and knowing how many people they have to hire and when they have to have plans. So those are plans. As Patton said, plans are only as good until the

battle starts. That's where we are now, the battle is on, we will have to see how long the battle will rage. I believe that -- I am very pleased with the position the administration taking, saying it does not matter what Boeing says. We have the controls on that.

Many other foreign regulatory bodies have control on it. Boeing does not. But Boeing still has to plan. They still have to know what is coming up and what they can do. That is what they're doing. I don't think it'll be in February, I don't think it'll be in March. I think we are looking at an April return to service.

VAUSE: It will be out of commission for over a year, by the time it's back in the air. That's a long time to ground a plane right?

SOUCIE: It certainly is. It's totally unprecedented.

VAUSE: David thanks for joining us. David in Denver, Colorado. Thanks for joining us.

SOUCIE: Thank you.

VAUSE: The NAFTA agreement is being put back on track after a last- minute snag. Mexico raised concerns about labor provisions U.S. lawmakers had included in the bill. Matt Rivers has details now on how everything was resolved.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This has been a confusing couple of days in Mexico, surrounding this USMCA deal. What had looked to be a bit of a crisis, in terms of getting this newly negotiated trade deal passed, now appears to have been resolved.

How did we get here in the first place?

It was just last week members of the Mexican, Canadian and American governments signed this newly agreed deal. As part of that deal, House Democrats in the United States were very concerned that new Mexican labor laws, that had been enacted as a part of this deal, the Democrats wanted to make sure they are being enforced down here.

As a part of the bill, that was introduced in the House last Friday, that would authorize ultimately the approval, the ratification of the USMCA, there was specific language in the bill that called for up to five labor attaches, Americans, to be based in Mexico City, to help monitor and enforce those newly enacted Mexican labor laws.

Mexico's government saw that bill and said, hold on, that's a problem. We did not agree to that.

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RIVERS (voice-over): "We believe, if those five labor attaches, that would be a violation of our sovereignty, that was not in the original deal." As a result, you have the chief negotiator of Mexico for the USMCA fly

to the United States, to Washington to meet with his counterpart in Washington, during the day on Monday, to try to get this ironed out. It appears it has been.

In a letter released Monday afternoon, by the U.S. trade representative, that letter said in part, quote, "These personnel," referring to these labor attaches, "will not be labor inspectors and will be abiding by all relative Mexican laws. As you know, the USMCA's first of its kind facility specific rapid response mechanism allows an independent three person panel chosen by both parties, to request onsite verifications in any of our three countries when there are good faith questions about whether workers at a particular facility are being denied key labor rights but those verifications will be conducted by the independent panelists, not by the labor attaches."

Basically what the USDR is saying, it's just a misunderstanding, we will respect those laws. We will not be violating sovereignty and Mexico's chief negotiator, he said for him that's good enough.

It does appear at this point, that things are back on track. We could see a vote on this deal, which is already ratified by the Mexican Senate. We could see the U.S. House of Representatives vote on this as early as this week. What looked to be a crisis, now looks to be averted -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come, back protests across India, over citizenship law which critics says is anti Muslim. Details in a moment.

Let's talk: that's the message from the top envoy to North Korea, they're trying to restart those nuclear negotiations but is Pyongyang listening?

We'll take a look when we come back.

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VAUSE: India's prime minister is appealing for calm but there is no sign of deadly protests against a controversial citizenship law going up. Leaders from West Bengal marched with protesters condemning the measures which are anti Muslim. Sam Kiley joins us from New Delhi.

Sam, a couple things here, the fierce response by security forces within the government, seems surprising.

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VAUSE: Basically their violence and brutality. But also the response from India's Muslim population, which has kept quiet up until this point.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not just the -- I think you put your finger on something very interesting. It's not just India's Muslim population that is responding to what is now being perceived as a much broader attack on the secular constitution, the secular elements of the Indian constitution that have underpinned the world's biggest democracy since independence.

We are seeing these demonstrations focused mostly around students and universities right across the country. What this is an objection to is a new act that effectively means -- well, absolutely means -- that citizens from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan that arrived before 2015 or individuals before 2015 can apply for citizenship for India, so long as they are not Muslims.

And that is the key element here. Hindus, Christians, they are fine but if you happen to be a Muslim and arrived here perhaps as a refugee from the war in Bangladesh for example, you have no chance under this new legislation of becoming Indian even if you spent your entire life here.

So in that context, it's being seen as much wider effort by Mr. Modi, the prime minister's BJB party, to Hinduize the entire constitution or structures of this country of 0.5 billion people; about 14 percent of people in this country are Muslim -- John.

VAUSE: OK for the Muslims, right?

The situation with the population, 14 percent Muslim, 80 percent Hindu, that 14 percent is still 200 million people. This is a sizable number of people being persecuted blatantly.

KILEY: Well, at the moment, it would be seen more as legislative pressure rather than outright persecution, although people do recall here that, beginning of the 2000-2002 where Mr. Modi was a senior government official there, there were Hindu nationalists pogroms effectively against the local Muslim population.

There is a real sense of fear among many Muslims in this country that they could face a further legislative persecution down the line. There has been a suggestion from the interior minister that they want to apply a nationalization test to the entire country.

Again, this would mean that Muslims could be excluded -- or recently arrived Muslims --- from Indian citizenship or that they would have to prove their Indian-ness. This is a highly explosive issue, that periodically has resulted in violence. For the time being, the effort is in terms of the demonstrations against it to try to remain nonviolent in the face of pressure from the central government.

VAUSE: The law passed both houses of parliament quite easily last week. Sam Kiley for us in New Delhi.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister wants to delay his replacement until Thursday to give Saad Hariri more time to form a government. He resigned in October after anti-government protests began but he is expected to be named prime minister again.

Police firer tear gas at protesters in Beirut on Sunday, blaming the political elite for years of corruption and the country's worst economic crisis in decades.

Still to come, adding more fuel to the flames as if Australia's bushfire season was not bad enough, now firefighters could face a record breaking heat wave in the coming week.

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VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. Welcome back. I'm John Vause with an update of the top news this hour.

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The full U.S. House is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to impeach President Donald Trump. The move is widely expected to pass on party lines, in which case the Senate will then decide if Donald Trump should be removed from office.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell wants a short trial with no witnesses, but Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wants at least four witnesses who have not already testified to appear.

Boeing will suspend production of its 737 Max jet as the process to recertify the plane will likely drag on well into the new year. The plane has been grounded worldwide since March after two fatal crashes. The company did not say when production is expected to resume.

Negotiators from the U.S. and Mexico have worked out a last-minute snag in their trade deal with Canada. Mexico objected to U.S. inspectors monitoring Mexican labor laws. The U.S. trade representative clarified workers will provide technical assistance and will abide by Mexican laws.

'Tis the season for peace talks. At least that's the hope from the U.S. special envoy to North Korea. Just days after the North carried out what it calls another crucial test at a rocket launch site, the U.S. believes it's not too late to revive nuclear negotiations.

CNN's Brian Todd has more now, reporting in from Washington.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim Jong-un's regime is getting an urgent direct message from America's top envoy to North Korea. Stephen Biegun, about 30 miles from Kim's border, making a blunt declaration about the stalled nuclear weapons talks.

STEPHEN BIEGUN, U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NORTH KOREA: Let me speak directly to our counterparts in North Korea. It is time for us to do our jobs. Let's get this done. We are here, and you know how to reach us.

TODD: A key question. While Biegun is nearby, could the North Koreans take him up on his offer and make real progress on nuclear talks that have gone nowhere for almost a year?

SOO KIM, FORMER CIA ANALYST: I don't think they will, because if you look at their negotiating behavior from, you know, even as far as Singapore, even back further, we haven't seen any verbal or any action-based North Korean steps toward denuclearization.

TODD: In recent days, there have been moves and statements from Kim's regime that have been nothing short of hostile and provocative. Within the span of a week, North Korea conducted two important tests at its Sohae satellite launching facility. In addition to launching satellites, this is the place where Kim has also supervised the tests of engines that could long-range missiles.

A top North Korea general says, "Priceless data, technologies and experience gained in the recent tests will be fully applied to the development of another strategic weapon" and that the North Koreans would use it for overpowering the nuclear threat of the U.S.

(on camera): What kind of strategic weapon is he likely referring to?

KIM: Definitely something that's going to bigger and longer range than short-range missiles, given what our missile technology experts have been saying. It's definitely going to be something on the range of ICBM or perhaps even nuclear test.

TODD (voice-over): North Korea's ambassador to the U.N. says nuclear talks with the U.S. are off the table, and Pyongyang has threatened to send a, quote, "Christmas gift" to the U.S., which analysts interpreted as a likely nuclear bomb or long-range missile test. There has also been a return to name calling.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He likes sending rockets up, doesn't he? That's why I call him Rocket Man.

TODD: The North Koreans responding with one of their favorite insults, calling Trump a "dotard," "an old man bereft of innocence."

On Monday, the president seemed to issue a subtle warning to the dictator over the possibility of another weapons test.

TRUMP: I'd be disappointed if something would be in the works, and if it is, we'll take care of it; but we'll see. We're watching it very closely.

TODD: Some experts believe Kim is making a last push before his self- imposed year-end deadline for more progress on nuclear talks arrives. But others say the latest aggression shows the supreme leader may never have been serious about giving up his nuclear weapons.

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN": We've got to remember that nobody has ever enticed the North Koreans into good behavior. Not the Chinese, not the Russians, not the South Koreans. President Trump has tried that for a year and a half. Clearly, it hasn't worked.

TODD (on camera): Analysts say one of President Trump's few good options left to take the momentum back and to pressure Kim Jong-un into really getting serious about nuclear talks, is to tighten sanctions against North Korea more seriously; to put pressure on Chinese banks that do business with Kim; to pressure Russia and South Korea to cut the flow of cash to the dictator. Analysts say at that point, Kim Jong-un may have little choice but to get serious with Trump and really dismantle part of his arsenal.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, it's hot down under and getting hotter. What seems to be a never-ending heat wave in Australia looks set to get worse. Some of the hottest days on record are expected this week. Temperatures are forecast for well above 40 degrees Celsius. It's more bad news for firefighters fighting confronting unprecedented bush fires across the country, and the outlook for the rest of the month is grim. The fire danger only expected to rise.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with us -- joining us now for more on the fire danger and the outlook. And you know, I remember going -- it was always a season for fires, but you know, this year it started earlier, and its finishing later and just gets worse.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, it's been such a long duration event. Of course, you know that when we're talking about this time of the year, this is peak season. But officially summer in the southern hemisphere when it comes to the astronomical summer. That starts on Saturday. So we're still kind of beginning to ramp up towards what typically is peak season.

And I can kind of show you what's happened here in recent days: 113 active fires, just in New South Wales alone. Of course, we know some 23 of which that are uncontained.

The extreme heat is expansive. In fact, we kind of broaden out and look at the entire continent as a whole. All of that heat beginning to expand a little farther towards the east. Keep in mind, the hottest temperature of the continent that is well-known for heat this time of year has ever experienced in recorded history: 50.7 in January of 1960.

Within the next hours, we could top 50 degrees. It kind of gives you a scale of how unusual it is to get to this level and this magnitude of heat.

And of course, you put all that in with a tremendous amount of fire activity in place, and even when you kind of break down the entire continent's average temperature, north to south, west to east, 41 degrees Celsius is what is expected going into Wednesday.

So tremendous heat has been experiences, and unfortunately, this is going to be the trend for at least the next couple of days before conditions begin to improve.

Now I want to take you somewhere else for another big weather story taking places, and that's across portions of the United States. I'll show you what's happened here within the last few hours across the state of Mississippi.

And mind you, we are in the cold season. An incredible tornado here caught on tape and kind of begin to see it enter into the shot here as its captured across the state of Mississippi. Three fatalities with this particular event across the southern United States and some 26 reports of tornados associated with this event, as well.

And again, this is the quiet time of year when it comes to severe weather, but it's not just that. You work your way towards the north, it is all about the wintry weather in place. Just in the past couple of hours, seeing additional reports of tornadoes come in, as well.

But working our way into Tuesday across the United States, another enhanced risk. Again, something that you'd see in, say, April or May. You're beginning to see it in December, even into January, where you have incredible warmth in place along the Gulf Coast. Of course, wintry weather to the north. Put it together, and severe weather is the threat, again, going into Tuesday across the southern U.S. -- John.

VAUSE: Pedram, appreciate it. Thank you. Pedram Javaheri.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five, four, three, two, one, zero. Ignition, liftoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Not just any old liftoff. With that, as many as a million people may soon be able to experience the Internet for the first time. On board that SpaceX rocket was a satellite expected to bring the Internet to thousands of Pacific islanders.

But this is not cheap, because it relies on satellites, rather than the old copper and fiber-optic cables. But the company behind this program says the service is aimed primarily at hospitals, schools, and community centers.

And to Tom Cruise, back in the cockpit. He's in fighter jet again, bringing on a new glimpse of the "Top Gun" sequel. Hasn't changed a bit. More on what's in store for the '80s classic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Today's exercise is dogfighting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two birds and one? He's got to be kidding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC: MARIAH CAREY'S "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Merry Christmas, Mariah Carey. It's only taken 25 years, but finally, "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a No. 1 hit her first No. 1 hit since 2008. It's taken the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 for the first time ever.

That song has that tremendous staying power; gets that heavy rotation every holiday season, and now it will be playing in your head all day long. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays.

It's actually her first hit since 2008.

That's not the only blast from the past making a comeback. Fans of the '80s fighter pilot classic "Top Gun" are getting a glimpse of the upcoming sequel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUISE: Good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking. Today's exercise is dogfighting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two birds with one? He's got to be kidding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A new trailer for "Top Gun: Maverick" dropped on Monday, with the star, Tom Cruise, tweeting, "See you in the sky." The movie is set to open next summer here in the northern hemisphere.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. WORLD SPORT is next.

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