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Republican Senate Showing One Possible Dissent; Fifteen People Died Shortly After Take Off; Bad Weather Kept Travelers Off the Road; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Faces General Election in March; Fifteen People Killed In Plane Crash In Kazakhstan; Israel's Netanyahu Retains Likud Party Leadership; Trump Defense Team In Talks With Dershowitz; Race For 2020; War In Syria; Avalanche Strikes Ski Resort; Typhoon Phanfone; Long Road To Recovery For Hurricane Dorian Victims; Year In Review, Top Health Headlines Of 2019, 9 of 2019. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 27, 2019 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, hello everyone. Welcome to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.

Next here on CNN Newsroom, in between golf swings President Trump is lashing out against his impeachment. But one Republican senator is criticizing how her party is handling the process. We'll tell you about that.

Also, ahead here. Breaking news, a plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Kazakhstan. What we're learning about a possible cause.

And a landslide primary win for Israeli's prime minister, but will the big win be enough to energize Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign in the general election?

Thank you again for joining us and happy holidays.

Our top story here, since Donald Trump's impeachment last week, he has made much of the fact that no House Republicans voted against him, but maybe the U.S. Senate isn't the sure bet he was counting on.

Just a handful of Republican defections there could spell big trouble for the Trump White House, and there are already signs of dissent in the ranks.

Here's the latest from CNN's Boris Sanchez in West Palm Beach, Florida.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As impeachment looms over President Trump's holiday vacation, one key GOP lawmaker is speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI, (R-AK): It means that we have to take that step back from being hand in glove with the defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Senator Lisa Murkowski's openly criticizing the way Republicans are handling the impeachment process, specifically taking aim at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's close coordination with the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURKOWSKI: When I heard that that was disturbed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The moderate Republican senator is now a wild card for McConnell who can't lose more than three Republicans in order to keep control of the impeachment trial and possibly a problem for the president after also admitting she remains undecided on whether she would vote to remove Trump.

The image of a united party that the president frequently brags about --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We had 196 or so Republicans voting 100 percent. We didn't lose one Republican vote in the House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now showing some cracks. Just hours after a Christmas Day call for Americans to exemplify Christ by fostering a culture of deeper understanding and respect, President Trump went on the attack blasting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a barrage of tweets.

Again, calling the speaker crazy and saying her district is one of the worst anywhere in the U.S. when it comes to the homeless and crime. She has lost total control.

As Russia, China and Iran announce joint military exercises in the Indian Ocean and the world awaits if North Korea will make good on a threat of a Christmas gift Trump is also accusing Democrats of hindering his foreign policy.

Tweeting, quote, "Despite all the great success that our country has had over the last three years, it makes it much more difficult to deal with foreign leaders and others when I am having to constantly defend myself against the do-nothing Democrats and their bogus impeachment scam. bad for USA."

back to Senator Murkowski, the president is keenly aware of just how precarious his situation is in the Senate. It would be a surprise to see him lashing out against a Republican senator suggesting that she's being disloyal.

After all President Trump knows that he needs every single vote he can get in the Senate to maintain control over an impeachment trial through Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Of course, the president has been aggressively courting Republicans lately, inviting them for weekly lunches at the White House and writing glowing reviews of their work on Twitter.

Boris Sanchez, CNN, traveling with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida.

ALLEN: CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joins us now from Los Angeles. Ron, good to see you. Thanks for coming on. Hello.

Well, the president there is asking how can he deal with foreign leaders with this, quote, "bogus impeachment scam," when it was his dealings with a foreign leader that led him to impeachment. But bottom line, he is frustrated, it's not moving. There's not a sign this impasse between Republicans and Democrats is going to break anytime soon. Is there?

[03:04:55]

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, you know, this is the one point of leverage Democrats have over the process in the Senate is holding up the delivery of the articles of impeachment, naming of the managers and really pressuring all of us and the country to kind of talk about what Mitch McConnell has been saying and the rules that he envisions in the Senate.

Obviously with 53 votes McConnell can set the rules and let four Republicans break it, and it's hard to see it getting up to quite that many.

The one leverage I think Democrats have is this period where attention is being focused on McConnell's rather remarkable remarks about wanting to essentially prejudge the case. And the question of whether that leaves at least a few of the Republican senators uncomfortable enough about the perception of the trial to pressure him to go in a slightly different direction.

ALLEN: Well, one we know is doing that and that is Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. She is questioning McConnell's cooperation with the White House over the trial. The first Republican to really speak out about that. Is that significant?

BROWNSTEIN: Alone, no, but it's, you know, it is one of several the Democrats need to kind of create momentum for a different approach.

Look, in the end it is highly unlikely any Republican is going to say this rises to the level to justify removing the president from office which is something that we have never done, but that doesn't mean that all of them would be comfortable with what looks to the public a sham trial that is designed to simply sweep this off the table as quickly as possible. It is kind of remarkable that we are talking about something this

consequential with the prospect of so many key witnesses directly involved in the critical events being offstage, that the president has, you know, pressured figures like Mick Mulvaney and John Bolton not to testify.

The idea that we would resolve this one way or the other without hearing from them still seem to me just utterly remarkable.

ALLEN: Yes. And as this impasse goes on, it looks like it's going on, does it favor either side?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, Democrats eventually want this to be tried in the Senate. But as I said, their point of leverage, really their sole point of leverage is the ability to focus attention on the reluctance of the majority to have anything that approaches a trial.

Don't forget even in the Bill Clinton case there were several witnesses deposed in the Senate trial and that came after an independent counsel investigation in which everyone relevant spoke including the president himself.

We are in a very different situation today when so many key figures have essentially been blocked. And any documentary evidence has been blocked by the administration.

The thing that surprises me is there aren't a few more Republicans who while, you know, desiring to support the president don't see the institutional implications of allowing an executive branch to completely stonewall the legislative branch.

There won't be any Democratic presidents someday and precedents are being established that could make a very difficult for a future Republican Congress to conduct oversight on that Democratic president.

ALLEN: Well, President Trump will no doubt continue to his use tweets and name call and say this is unfair and a power play by Nancy Pelosi. In doing so will this help him get support? His approval ratings went up the day he was impeached.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, look, I think what's happening in American politics right now is that you have a very powerful tailwind behind the president which is improving perceptions of the economy. I'm sure Americans would say the economy is excellent or good.

It's up to about three quarters in CNN polling and polling by other organizations. That's a pretty remarkable number. But the president's approval isn't rising nearly as fast as this positive perception of the economy. And that's because of the offsetting headwinds, which are these very endemic doubts about his behavior which is produce a situation where essentially half the country in polling were split 50- 50 on whether he should be removed from office.

You get some perspective on that for Bill Clinton. For Bill Clinton we never rose of about a third of the country saying he should be removed from office. And from Richard Nixon it only reached that high in the very last poll before he resigned in August 1974.

So, the president is unquestionably being void by growing optimism about the economy but there are real doubts about his behavior and his values. All of the issues that have come up in the Ukraine scandal that are preventing him from capitalizing on those improved sentiments about the economy as much as a typical president would.

ALLEN: Can you perceive that he could potentially give the state of the union and there hasn't been an impeachment trial yet?

BROWNSTEIN: I have trouble seeing it going quite that far. I don't how the Democrats extend this all the way through January. As I said, at some point they want the Senate to be considering this.

The Bill Clinton trial went on long enough that that could in fact overlap with the scheduled date on the state of the union. So, we'll have to see how far, you know, 51 senators are willing to go in allowing Mitch McConnell to truncate this process as much as possible.

ALLEN: Ron Brownstein, thank you so much for your insights. Thank you.

[03:10:00]

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you for having me.

ALLEN: At least 15 people have died after a passenger jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Kazakhstan's Almaty International Airport. Just seconds into the flight the aircraft plunged to the ground, broke through a fence and hit a two-story building.

Let's bring in CNN Moscow bureau chief Nathan Hodge with more about it. Nathan, hello.

NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Natalie, yes. We're just seeing images this morning of the -- horrific images actually from the ground in Kazakhstan where a Fokker F -- Fokker 100 aircraft operated by Bek Air, a local airline crashed shortly after takeoff from the airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city. It was on route to Nursultan, the capital.

The aircraft after taking off just seconds after crashed and as you had said hit the ground and went through a concrete barrier and hit a two-story building. Rescue workers have been on the scene. There are 15 dead now reported.

That number has slowly crept up but I think the remarkable thing and as some aviation analysts have pointed out is the things in many ways looked like that it could have been much worse.

There was no -- the plane did not catch fire. The fuel did not catch fire after this crash. Images that we see show parts of the fuselage still intact. Rescue workers were on the scene shortly thereafter pulling the victims out and taking them to hospitals around the region. They've gone to a number of hospitals not very far from Almaty. So, at

this point we're getting more information and the Kazakh officials have said that they've suspended the operations Bek Air, this regional airline as well as the operation of the Fokker 100 aircraft.

And we've also had message of consolation -- condolence message from the Nursultan Nazarbayev. He is first president of Kazakhstan stepped down earlier year but still plays an important role and has a formal title as leader of the nation.

So, certainly, all eyes are on the situation here, and of course watching to see what will happen further and whether or not the death toll will climb, Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes, we hope not. It's unbelievable footage there of the cockpit of that plane plowing right into a building.

Nathan, thank you so much for bringing us the latest. As Nathan mentioned, 98 people on board, 15 have died. Earlier I spoke with Geoffrey Thomas of AirlineRatings.com. I asked why he thinks so many people survived.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEOFFREY THOMAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AIRLINERATINGS.COM: The plane reached an altitude of 40 feet and slammed back down to the ground and then smashed into a building, so it's a big tick for the integrity of the air frame built but Fokker who are well known for building very, very rugged airplanes.

But very fortunate as your bureau chief said that there was no fire. So obviously the fuel tanks remained intact and didn't rupture, so the passengers there are very, very lucky that there was no fire involved in this very tragic crash.

ALLEN: Right. And we don't know how they were evacuated, but you can see the rescue teams right there. And you can clearly see where the front of the airplane ran right into that building.

THOMAS: Yes.

ALLEN: The investigation, of course, will take some time. But what stands out to you when you read about this crash and only being in the air such a short time before coming right back down?

THOMAS: Look, there are two things that strike me very quickly here. Possibly there was a very -- it was a freezing cold morning so there's possibly an icing issue on the wings. Maybe they were not de-iced or the iced was not picked up. That's a possibility. And the plane suffered an aerodynamic stall of the wing, that's where the lift collapses on the top of wing.

And the other possibility is an engine -- major engine problem. Because we know the plane reached a speed of about 175 miles an hour when it lifted off. Within seconds back to speed, decayed back to 140 miles an hour when all the data was lost on flight data (Inaudible) 24.

So, the possibility of a significant engine issue or a stall. But having said that, any twin-engine aircraft is designed to take off with full payload on one engine. So, it can lose an engine on takeoff and still continue to fly satisfactorily, that's the way they're designed.

[03:14:59]

So, there may have been a multiple engine failure for all we know possibly to do with the weather. Icing conditions extremely cold. They may have been factors.

ALLEN: Right, and fog as well. But you were saying that as far as this airplane or the airline they have a good record or were you just referring to the airplane itself?

THOMAS: Well, both, in fact. Bek Air has a good record. Been in business since 2011, has been fatality-free. They've had a couple of incidents but nothing too serious. The Fokker 100 is so excellent airplane.

Certainly a few have been lost, but we have to bear in mind where the airplane is operated in some very remote parts of the world where runways are very short, very mountainous regions, that sort of thing, with limited navigation aids. So therefore, in a more hostile environment, if you like, so a higher casualty rate is to be expected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Jeffrey Thomas for us there.

Well, post-Christmas traveling is turning into a nightmare in Southern California. More ahead on the wild mix of rain, snow and wind that has shut down a major roadway.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Emergency crews in Southern California are trying to clear a major highway that has been shut down due to a fast-moving winter storm. Yes, another one.

They were moving stuck vehicles on I-five, Interstate five while some motorists are helping each other push cars stranded in the snow and ice.

I think that video there tells you how severe this is. A high wind advisory is in effect for the region. It's not clear when the roads will reopen. Motorists are being told to use alternate routes. It makes sense.

Let's go to our meteorologist Derek Van Dam on where the storm might be headed next after this. Hello, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Natalie. Not the place you want to be, stranded on the side of a highway.

ALLEN: No.

VAN DAM: That is particularly dangerous position to be in as well because you get the white out conditions or low visibility because of the heavy snowfall you see behind me and it didn't take long for other cars to pileup behind the cars that are stranded already on the roadways.

I mean, it's very treacherous conditions across Southern California. You can clearly see that in the video. The good news is that the storm system is going to slowly wind down with rain and snow for Southern California.

There's Interstate five that runs from the border of Mexico all the way to Canada. We're going to take this moisture and move it across the great -- the four corners region, and you can see the winter storm advisories and warnings that are in place across this region.

But then the National Weather Service just hoisted winter storm watches across the Great Plains, as well as the northwestern sections of the Great Lakes. That is in anticipation of the system gathering strength and bringing a swath of at least 18 inches of snowfall to that area.

More on that in just a moment. But look at the snowfall totals coming out of Southern California. Impressive to say the least. Over two feet of snow for many locations. There is the storm system. Here it is evolving. And it's going to tap into Gulf of Mexico moisture.

So, in advance of the storm this is going to be a warm storm, so we'll keep it all rainfall for the eastern two-thirds of the country. But on the cold side of the storm we draw on some of that chillier weather from Canada and we'll transition this over to snowfall.

And this is the are we're targeting for some of the hefty snowfall. Northern Minnesota into North and South Dakota. Those three states have the potential to see over 18 inches of snowfall. Yes, that's right, 18 inches plus that is going to bring transportation to a standstill across the area.

You can see the mild weather dominating the forecast for the eastern parts of the country. That will change as we head into the New Year. A lot of people want to know, Natalie, will the big ball drop in New York City be dry or it will be bringing the New Year with rain. Well, at this moment in time it looks like that storm will clear out just in time for a dry New Year's Eve celebration. Bring it on.

ALLEN: That makes it a little more tolerable, right?

VAN DAM: I think so too.

ALLEN: Because sometimes it's pouring rain and the revelers could care less.

VAN DAM: last hour I ended on a bad note. This hour I thought I'd bring you some good news.

ALLEN: Thank you, Derek. We appreciate that is the holidays. Thanks, Derek.

VAN DAM: You're welcome.

ALLEN: All right. Israel's conservatives are not ready to give up on Benjamin Netanyahu. The embattled prime minister has won a challenge to his leadership of the Likud Party with 72.5 percent of the vote by party members.

Now you may recall Mr. Netanyahu faces criminal indictments for fraud, bribery and breach of trust. But he will now lead his party in general elections in March. Israel's third vote in 12 months.

On Thursday he tweeted this, "huge victory, I thank the Likud members for the trust, the support, and the love with God's help and with your help, I will lead the Likud to a great victory in the coming election and will continue leading the state of Israel to unprecedented achievements."

Now Mr. Netanyahu's path to victory in the Likud Party and possibly in the March election has followed an increasingly familiar pattern.

Our Oren Lieberman has that from Jerusalem.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is becoming a familiar image among friends, a black and white picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointing at the camera. The caption says "they're not only after me, they're after us."

It's copied from President Donald Trump who used a similar image with a similar message days earlier. The well-documented political bromance has been a focus of Netanyahu's messaging featuring heavily in election campaigns. On Christmas eve --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Merry Christmas to all our Christian friends.

LIEBERMANN: -- Netanyahu promising another political gift from the Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU (through translator): We are going to bring American recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley. And pay attention in all of the settlements those in the blocs and those that are not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Netanyahu and Trump share much more than style. As Trump faces impeachment, Netanyahu faces criminal indictment, charges of bribery, and fraud and breach of trust in three investigations. [03:24:59]

Netanyahu has insisted he's innocent calling the charges an attempted coup and a media-driven witch hunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I call it the rigged witch hunt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Language we've heard from Trump as well. In messages like this Netanyahu has painted himself as the victim while leaning once again on his relationship with Trump to boost his standing. But Trump borrowed this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want to especially thank a great man and a great leader, the leader of India, Prime Minister Modi, my friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: It was with another populist leader Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we first saw the message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA: Our great American President, Mr. Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Modi's supporters created and spread a meme, a picture of the Hindu leader with the words "in reality they're not after me, they're after you. I'm just in the way." With his India first style of politics Modi has celebrated Trump's America first brand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MODI: It believe in American future and our strong resolve to make America great again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Modi has also shown his love for Netanyahu in 2017 becoming the first sitting Indian prime minister to visit Jerusalem. While Modi isn't facing any personal corruption scandals, his government has been facing massive protests after the passage of a controversial immigration law that critics say discriminates against Muslims.

That's three nationalist leaders united by a love of brash tactics and strong man strategies. For Modi and Trump this style of campaigning worked. It's less clear with Netanyahu who faces a third straight election within 12 months already having failed to form a government twice.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

ALLEN: If you're watching internationally, African Voices Change Makers is next for you. Here in the U.S., more news with me just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Natalie Allen. Let's take a look at our top stories for you. A passenger jet has crashed near Kazakhstan at the airport killing at least 15 people including the captain. Authorities say the beck air flight lost altitude shortly after takeoff and then hit a two story building. It was carrying 93 passengers and five crew members. The cause of the crash of course under investigation.

Benjamin Netanyahu has scored resounding victory in his bid to continue leading Israel's Likud Party. The Prime Minister won 72 percent of Party member's votes. Despite several looming criminal indictments, Mr. Netanyahu now faces a general election in March.

A source tells CNN that legal scholar, Allen Dershowitz is in talks to join President Trump's impeachment defense. Dershowitz and Mr. Trump were seen talking recently at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort. Dershowitz has been a frequent defender of Mr. Trump and has offered his legal advice in dealing with the upcoming impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate.

As President Trump looks to the 2020 election he faces an uphill battle with Hispanics. A recent CNN poll shows only 29 percent of those U.S. voters approve of the job he's doing. But one group of Hispanics in Texas insists he is the candidate most in line with their values, and they're campaigning hard for Mr. Trump's re-election. CNN's Nick Valencia talked with him in El Paso.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Are you a member of border Hispanics yet?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm not.

VALENCIA: Ray Baca has his work cut out for him, as the chair of the Border Hispanics for Trump, living in the Democratic stronghold in El Paso his goal is to get Latinos to help re-elect the president, but the odds are against him.

RAY BACA, CHAIRMAN, BORDER HISPANICS FOR TRUMP: I'm with border Hispanics for Trump. Are you? Have you heard of us?

VALENCIA: As the 65-year-old sees it there are countless Latinos who supports the president but are afraid to admit it. He hopes to convinced them at their values are more in line with the GOP and with Trump.

BACA: I look at President Trump as the one who most closely represents my values.

VALENCIA: People will hear that and say values, you know, what values does the president have? So when you say that, what do you mean?

BACA: I mean supporting things that I support, like, of being against abortion, being for limited government involvement, being for border security.

VALENCIA: Indeed support for Trump in Texas among Latinos has remained steady at 30 percent according to a recent CNN poll. The unwavering support comes in the face of criticism over the president's rhetoric on the Latino community which is critics at best see as offensive and at worse, racist.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Mexico sends its people they're not sending their best.

VALENCIA: How can you still support somebody who they see as saying racist things against the Latino community?

BACA: I disagree. I really don't think he said things that are racist.

VALENCIA: In August, 22 people were killed in a racist attack targeting Latinos in an El Paso Walmart. Baca says, anyone who blames Trump because of his rhetoric and border policies is trying to make political hay of the shooting.

BACA: I just don't think you can hold a president, President Trump in particular responsible for the actions of a single mad man.

VALENCIA: Baca agrees with the president on most things but not everything. Mainly though he supports the idea of a wall, he questions the practicality of building one across the entire U.S.-Mexican border, a signature issue for Trump and his base.

BACA: I see him with his faults, you know, I see him warts and all. I don't want to spend, you know, $200 billion on a wall if you can do it for $50 million and solve the problem.

I'm Ray Baca. Well, good to see you, good to see you.

VALENCIA: Tonight, Baca's pitch for Trump comes at an impromptu gathering of conservatives, but even in a friendly crowd it can be a hard sell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll think about it.

BACA: OK, thank you. Bye-bye.

Can't win them all.

VALENCIA: But there are already some unlikely voters he doesn't have to win over.

President Trump was the first president you voted for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

VALENCIA: Originally from Mexico 29-year-old Blanca Binkley, became a U.S. citizen just five years ago. She plans on voting for Trump again in 2020.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oftentimes when I'm ask, but why, you know, like, I feel like someone's going to throw eggs at me or I'm going to be shunned from the Hispanic community, you know.

VALENCIA: Shunned by some perhaps but that's what Ray Baca and Trump are counting on.

[03:35:04]

BACA: We need to get our Hispanic reverend to quit voting Democrats simply because that's what they've always voted.

VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, El Paso, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Right now we want to turn to Syria, an ongoing fighting there. Yes, still going on. For hundreds of thousands of Syrians, the idea of a home and a warm bed no longer exists. They live their life on the move hoping to outrun air strikes and barrel bombs. Over the last week the fighting in Idlib, Syria's last opposition held territory has intensified and aid groups say they cannot keep up with the growing humanitarian needs. We get our report from Arwa Damon in Istanbul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Abu Osama's (ph) children don't need an explanation anymore. They have done this so many times that a notion of a home, a warm bed to feel safe and snug, that ceased to exist long ago.

We go, we comeback Abu Osama says, we don't know where to go or where we will end up. It's an existence on the move, trying, praying that the bombs won't catch up to them or when they do that they will somehow survive. But this time it feels different. The bombing's more intense, final, deliberate. Entire areas in and around Idlib province are emptying out again.

Upwards of 130,000 people are on the move. The children couldn't sleep through the night, they were crying every hour, Abu Osama says, holding his daughter. So young this is all she knows. It's a cycle they all know well, one that starts with a renewed intense bombings, then the panicked packing up, the overwhelming sense of feeling lost, not knowing where to go but having to flee, finding some sort of makeshift shelter.

I'm taking my family and we're heading to a tent, Ibrahim (Inaudible), says. Whether or not we can have a tent is still unknown. The province Syria's last rebel strong hold has never been able to meet the humanitarian needs of the growing displaced population. One of the few aide organization, the Turkish IHH that operates in Idlib says they don't have the resources.

The first night we came we slept on the ground. We didn't even have blankets this woman says begging for a tent, a stove, anything. Many end up just establishing themselves along the road once they think they have reached safety. But as the regime with the Russian backing closes in, that may not be far enough. Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: A popular ski slope in Switzerland is declared safe from an avalanche, and then the unexpected happens. At least two skiers were buried in an avalanche. We'll have the story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

ALLEN: Look at this close call on a mountain. Video from a ski resort in Switzerland shows the moment a mountain side of snow suddenly gave way. Numerous skiers were on the slope at the time. Some were able to outrun the avalanche, but six people got caught. Avalanches in the Alps are not uncommon, but this was unusual. It was on a well-used ski slope where the avalanche risk was not considered high. We get more about it from Scott Mclean out of London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These skiers in the Swiss Alps are probably lucky to be alive after getting caught in an avalanche that no one saw coming. Video taken by a skier in a nearby gone, captured the avalanche after it started to slide. If you look closely at the video you can see little black dots. Those are people. Some of them are safe off to the side. At least two of them managed to outrun the slide on their skis. And according to local authorities six people were swallowed up.

Amazingly four of them were able to dig themselves out while a search Party involving dogs, three helicopters and about 25 other skiers dug out two other people with minor injuries and flew them to a hospital. Now, the avalanche was triggered late Thursday morning on a mountain about 70 miles south of Zurich. The search for survivors lasted well into the evening. Thankfully officials now believe that everyone has been accounted for.

What makes this unusual is that it didn't happen in the back country where avalanche risk is typically much higher. This happened at a ski resort in bounds on a run that they believed was safe. That part of the mountain will be closed while officials try to sort out what went wrong. Scott Mclean, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ALLEN: A typhoon has left a deadly mark on the Philippines. At least

28 people have died, 12 others are still missing. The storm made landfall Tuesday and has destroyed homes and businesses. Dozens of cities are without power. The storm is now over the South China Sea where it's expected to weaken to a tropical depression before making landfall in northern Vietnam on Sunday.

It has been almost four months since Hurricane Dorian tore through the Bahamas leaving parts of the island chain completely devastated. CNN's Michael Holmes reports on the long road to recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an area still ravaged by disaster, volunteers clear the homes of those forced to leave everything behind.

DANA TAMO-GERKEN, ALL HANDS AND HEARTS ORGANIZATION: We found a wedding dress, and we saw pictures and trophies. We had photo albums, a box of children's toys. And to have it just be completely ruined and completely taken out was a difficult day. And that's the average house here. That's the average house here.

HOLMES: Months after the most powerful hurricane to ever strike the Bahamas, parts of this island nation remain in ruins. Recovery often depends on the kindness of strangers.

TAMO-GERKEN: I was actually one of the first volunteers on the ground, and it was mixed emotions. Very hard to process the amount of devastation that was here. So -- sorry. That's it. It's just these people need a lot and I have the time to get it so --

HOLMES: Dana Tamo-Gerken, felt compelled to help after watching hurricane Dorian throttle the Bahamas on television in September.

TAMO-GERKEN: The waterline hit I guess about here.

[03:45:00]

HOLMES: She and a group of volunteers are now working to rebuild some of the worst hit areas where the situation is still dire.

TAMO-GERKEN: We have no electricity for the most part in this area. The people are trying to make sure that they have a place just to stay that has, you know, no holes in the roof. We've had people come up to us and ask us just for water.

HOLMES: On Great Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands where the storm first made landfall, thousands lost their homes, entire community swept away. Earlier this month the Prime Minister said 70 people had lost their lives and more were still missing. Millions of dollars of aid has poured in, but the storm left billions of dollars in damage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a tremendous amount of work to be done here. That's why we are going to be here for two years. HOLMES: In long-term destruction -- volunteers must prioritize how to

rebuild.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disasters take a very long time to recover from. Years not months. It's a bit of a misconception. And in places like this school what we need is the manpower, the volunteers to come and do the work to work alongside the Bahamians and help recover these communities.

HOLMES: Amidst the devastating loss there are still signs of hope.

TAMO-GERKEN: These people are dealing with a lot of pain. They have very large needs still, but they still laugh, they still smile, they still thank us.

HOLMES: Communities and volunteers banding together on a long road to recovery. Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: The opioid epidemic ravaged communities across the U.S. in 2019. Next here, what's being done to fight it and a look at the years other health headlines. That's next here on CNN Newsroom.

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[03:50:00]

ALLEN: The climate crisis, the measles outbreak and the opioid endemic all made headlines in 2019. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a look at the top health headlines of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Beyond some of the hottest temperatures on record and month after month of natural disasters, 2019 also showed us how climate change is directly impacting our health. It also makes it so these plants have less of the good stuff like zinc, iron and protein. It's turning some of the best foods we humans have into junk here food. The cannabis craze is here to stay. And as we reported in our documentary we find this year was all about CBD. While there have been some remarkable stories of success as we've shown you, no medicine works for everyone, not even CBD.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't the benefit that they were necessarily seeking.

GUPTA: All of it, though, underlining how much we still have to learn when it comes to cannabis. We also saw some major recalls including several popular heart medications including one known as losartan. Aloes pharmaceutical giant Allergan issued a worldwide recall of bio cell textured breast implants and tissue expanders. They were found to have been linked to a rare cancer. Some of the best news of 2019 came in our fight against HIV/aides. At January, state of the union, President Trump announced his commitment to ending the aids epidemic. TRUMP: My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the

needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years.

GUPTA: Scientists also discovered a new strain of HIV for the first time in nearly two decades. It doesn't pose a new threat, but it did prove that the current testing for HIV continues to be effective. Also, good news in New York City, the hit their HIV Aids target two years early. \Meaning now 90 percent of people who have HIV are on treatment. I still can't believe this one U.S. life expectancy continues to be on the decline, despite the fact that the United States spends more on health care per capita than any other country in the world, suicides, alcohol related illnesses and drug overdoses are largely to blame.

Which brings us to the opioid epidemic. The odds of dying from an opioid overdose in the United States are greater than those of dying in a vehicle crash. In October two Ohio counties received a landmark settlement of $216 million from a top drug maker and three major drug distributors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need resources from the parties that cause this problem. They need to make it right and that's the benchmark that this sets.

GUPTA: The spotlight on the importance of vaccines continue to shine as the United States saw the largest measles outbreak since it was declared eliminated back in 2000. There have been more than 1,200 individual cases that have been confirmed across 30 states and still there are people out there that are not getting vaccinated.

I've said it before and I'll say it again antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health concerns of our time because it's creating these super bugs that have the ability to outsmart even our most sophisticated medications.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can pick something up just about anywhere and it literally has the potential to affect every person on the planet.

GUPTA: And now a landmark CDC reports shows that a person dies from one of these super bugs every 15 minutes in United States. It's about 35,000 deaths every year in super bugs. In 2019 a story that started out as a cause for concern turned into a full on outbreak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The CDC has narrowed its investigation into the vaping linked lung disease.

[03:55:00]

GUPTA: Since the first report of a vaping related death in August, all 50 states have now been hit by this illness. That includes more than 2,000 that has been hospitalized and more than 50 deaths.

ANNE SCHUCHAT, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CDC: The outbreak of pulmonary injury associated with vaping or e-cigarettes is an emergency. We're seeing young people become critically ill and die. GUPTA: The CDC has zeroed in on THC containing products and a more

specific culprit. It's a common cutting agent know as vitamin e, acetate. I think the larger issue though is the staggering rise in vaping among young people.

How would you describe the vaping situation in your school?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It got kind of bad last year. Some people did it too much, like a lot too much and it escalated, I think.

GUPTA: The CDC says that more than 6 million middle and high school students used a tobacco product this year. That's up from about 4.9 million last year and e-cigarettes were found to be the most common. While many organizations are pushing for a full on banned now of flavored e-cigarettes, there's others that worry that a ban would hurt those who do use e-cigarettes successfully as a smoking cessation tool. There's been some big issues in 2019 as you can see, but a lot of possible solutions here as well. Here's to 2020.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Thank you for joining me on CNN Newsroom. I'm Natalie Allen. Early Start is next. Happy holidays.

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