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Sources: More Than A Dozen Saudi Servicemen To Be Expelled From U.S. After December Shooting At Pensacola Naval Air Station; CNN Reporting Exclusively From Air Base Targeted BY Iran; New "Megafire" Engulfs 1.5 Million Acres In Australia. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired January 11, 2020 - 20:00   ET

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

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: We will unveil the results of our latest CNN Des Moines Register Iowa Poll. And this comes just 23 days out from that all-important first-in-the-nation caucus. And just three days before the Democratic candidates for president face off at the CNN presidential debate.

Joining us now is CNN Political Director David Chalian. He is live in Des Moines, the site of next week's debate. David, break the news. How do voters in the heartland view impeachment right now?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It's a critical question, as we're now turning the corner into that Senate trial. We asked registered voters here in Iowa, in this brand-new exclusive CNN Des Moines Register Poll, if, indeed, they think President Trump should be removed from office. 40 percent say he should. But 48 percent, Ana, say he should not be removed from office.

And take a look at how this splits by party. Unsurprisingly, right, all the Democrats, basically, think he should be removed, and all the Republicans think he should not be removed from office. Look at that middle line. Look at independents. A slim majority, 51 percent, of independents here in Iowa, a critical battleground state, say he should not be removed from office. Only a third, 34 percent, say he should.

Watch that number over the course of the trial. If that 34 percent goes up, not just here in Iowa, but nationally as well, and that 51 percent comes down, that will have ramifications for the politics around the trial, such as calling witnesses or other matters that come up.

CABRERA: So, at the same time, though, David, the polling also shows majorities across the party lines think that Trump, what he did in Ukraine, was not OK.

CHALIAN: And this is key. While some people, obviously, feel, 48 percent, that he shouldn't be removed from office, you are right. Majorities across all parties say no candidate should be asking a foreign country to dig up dirt on a rival, to have interference in the election. Take a look at that. Even 59 percent of Republicans believe what the president is accused of doing here is not OK.

CABRERA: And Trump won Iowa, we should recall, by more than nine points last time around. How does his re-election effort look right now?

CHALIAN: Well, it looks like he has work to do here in Iowa. Obviously, November is still a ways off. We don't have a Democratic nominee yet. This contest still has to take shape, in terms of the general election.

But look at these numbers. 44 percent of registered Iowans say they're definitely voting for someone else. That is a mighty big number, as the president heads into re-election.

And look at this split by gender, Ana. 50 percent of female registered voters here in Iowa refusing to even consider Donald Trump. They are definitely voting for someone else. He is clearly going to have to do some work with female voters, but he has a lot of work to do in Iowa to do more broadly as well.

CABRERA: Yes. And let's talk, specifically, about suburban women because that was the group that provided a bit of a stumbling block for Republicans in 2018. How is it looking for the president with that voting block?

CHALIAN: Without a doubt, you are right about 2018. This is a critical voting group and it's even a steeper problem for him than women overall. Suburban women, take a look at this number here in Iowa. 56 percent of suburban female registered voters, in this critical Midwestern battleground state, they will not be considering Donald Trump. They are definitely voting for someone other than the president. That is a pretty tough statistic for the president. He's go -- it's, sort of, his to-do list. He's going to have to try and shore some of those suburban women up who were with him, some of them, in 20 -- in 2016.

CABRERA: He still has to be pretty happy about those initial numbers that -- when it comes to impeachment and removal from office.

David Chalian, thank you for bringing us the latest from this new Iowa poll.

CHALIAN: Sure.

CABRERA: Joining us now is CNN Senior Political Analyst, and former adviser to four presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, David Gergen. And, David, the idea that a majority of Iowa voters may think what Trump did was wrong, but not necessarily that he should be removed from office. Should that give Democrats pause at all?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It certainly should, I think. And that is the Democrats would be wise to avoid a lot of radical language. They really need to make the case he not only did something that was wrong, but you can't trust him in this situation. He's not really fit for the office. We came very close to the brink of war in just the last few days.

But I think they have to recognize that Iowa has, you know, internal strength, just as we see in much of the country, that a lot of people don't like Trump but they like what he's done. They like what he's done on jobs and the economy. You see that split all across the country. I really think that what it suggests, in terms of the upcoming caucuses, is that while Iowa at the moment does not like Trump, but they're not radically out there.

[20:05:04]

The far left, you know, I'm not sure that that's good territory for Sanders and Warren to be -- to push, push, pushing to get him out of office. It does seem to me that Iowans say, we want to give him a spanking. We want to say, and say, it's not unacceptable. We want to have a censure, but we don't want him removed from office.

CABRERA: Now, the that last poll we showed there with David Chalian of the suburban female voters, 56 percent --

GERGEN: Yes.

CABRERA: -- saying they would definitely vote for someone else. If the president starts losing this voting block, I mean, how big of a deal is that?

GERGEN: That's a huge deal. And I do think David Chalian was right on the mark that Trump has got a lot of work to do, if he wants to get re-elected and re-win Iowa. I mean, it -- we saw it in the off-year elections just last year that when suburban women turn against you, against the Republican Party, that gives an opening to the Democrats to win seats in the House, which is just what they did. And now, we -- now, if see the same kind of bleeding and suburban women stepping away from Trump, that makes it a lot harder for him to win re-election.

So, they don't want him necessarily removed from office now, but they're not up to voting for him again, in many cases.

CABRERA: Last night, we unveiled the first part of our CNN poll. It showed a very --

GERGEN: Yes.

CABRERA: -- tight four-way race there in Iowa.

GERGEN: Yes.

CABRERA: Here's the thing, though. Half of the top contenders are in the Senate, meaning they'll be forced from the campaign trail as soon as next week --

GERGEN: Right.

CABRERA: -- to serve as jurors in the impeachment trial. Who do you think that hurts the most?

GERGEN: Yes. Oh, the people who can't go to Iowa. Iowa is a state that, traditionally, it makes a big difference if people see you there. If they shake hands with you. It's not enough just to see your ads. They want -- they want personal presence. And what that means is the two moderate leading Democrats, Biden and Buttigieg, neither one of them -- one of them has to stick around in Washington. They can go to Iowa --

CABRERA: Right.

GERGEN: -- and just park there and have the field to themselves. Warren and Sanders are the two that are going to be under pressure. Staying in Washington could conceivably hurt them. We'll have to wait and see.

CABRERA: We have one more debate next week before Iowa votes. And in the lead-up, --

GERGEN: Sure do.

CABRERA: -- the president has gone on the attack against many of the big names leading the pack. Just listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's like watching death. Those debates are boring. They're boring. If you got to sit through those things for two or three hours, you've got to really be committed to the country to do that. Did you see that Pocahontas is slipping badly? Bernie is -- crazy Bernie, he's surging.

Buttigieg. Buttigieg. Nobody can pronounce it. Nobody has any idea how the hell to say his name. Biden doesn't know the difference between Iran and Iraq. He's gotten it wrong four times. You have to have where's Hunter as a witness. They say, what do you mean, where's Hunter? I said, that's his first name. I have now made his first name where's. Where's Hunter?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: David, the gloves are off. Who do you think we'll see punch the hardest Tuesday night?

GERGEN: Well, I think they all -- there are four top candidates very closely bunched. It's a very fluid field. I think they are going to probably go after Sanders more than they have in the past. They've laid off him for a good deal of the campaign, especially around his heart attack. But now that he's taken this very slight lead for the first time in the Des Moines Register CNN Poll, you know, he's not -- he's five points ahead of Biden. He's -- Bernie is number one. Biden is number four. And that's dangerous territory for Biden.

But I do think that's a reason that Biden may be a little -- a little harder hitting. What I also think, though, is that President Trump can fire up his base with the kind of rhetoric that we just heard. It does not help him with suburban women. They just -- they just get turned off by that kind of hyperbole. And the personal insults and all the rest. You know, that's what's been a -- that's one of the reasons he doesn't -- he's never broken 50 percent in the -- in the approval.

CABRERA: David Gergen, you are wise. Thank you very much for being here.

GERGEN: Thanks, Ana. Good to talk to you again.

CABRERA: You too. And a reminder, the last debate before the first vote is right here on CNN. Tune in this Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, for the CNN presidential debate in partnership with the Des Moines register.

Something astounding is happening right now as we speak in Iran. Crowds are people filling the streets fighting with police. They are protesting against the government. It's the same day Iran admitted shooting down that civilian airliner taking so many lives. It's got President Trump's attention. He's sending them messages in their own language. We'll have full details next.

[20:09:33]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: It's the extraordinary difference one week makes. Just a few days ago, President Trump threatened to destroy targets all over Iran, even cultural sites. Tonight, he's sending messages of support to the Iranian people in their language, calling them brave. It's because of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: (INAUDIBLE.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: This is Tehran a short time ago. Crowds in the streets shouting Iran's supreme leader's name, telling him to get out. They're furious that the governments day's late admission that Iranian forces accidentally shot down a civilian airliner this week, killing 176 people. Until today, the Iranian government flatly denied it. Now, the admission and an apology and the blame. Iranian officials say they would not have made that tragic mistake had the United States not put their entire country on edge.

Now, President Trump, a short time ago, tweeting this message to the protesters in both English and Farsi. To the brave, long-suffering people in Iran, I've stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely and are inspired by your courage.

All of this developing news, missile attacks on U.S. troops, the shootdown of a commercial flight, all followed the killing of Iran's top general, ordered by the united states.

[20:15:00]

Eight days since the drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the Trump administration still has yet to agree on the details to justify it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If you're looking for evidence, you need to look no further than days that led up to the strike.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy.

He was looking very seriously at our embassies and not just the embassy in Baghdad.

POMPEO: We don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where, but it was real.

We had specific information on an imminent threat, and those threats included attacks on U.S. embassies.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us now, the former Homeland Security secretary under President Obama, Jeh Johnson. He is also a former general counsel to the Department of Defense and is currently a director with defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being here with us with us.

JEH JOHNSON, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Thank you. Despite all those titles, I'm here as a private citizen, speaking in my personal capacity.

CABRERA: With lots of experience. And I know this all touches close to home, based on everything you've been through working in the Obama administration. At this point, do you believe America is safer today after everything that's transpired since the killing of Soleimani?

JOHNSON: Well, the answer is not two or three words. I have to say, based on the statements put out by my old department, the Department of Homeland Security, the national threat advisory put out last weekend, that in the immediate my foot aftermath of that strike, we were in a heightened level of tension.

That statement was pretty straightforward, talking about Hezbollah's demonstrated capability and intent to attack the U.S. and how an attack could come at any moment. I certainly had not written a statement like that when I was secretary. So, one has to conclude that in the immediate aftermath, we were less safe.

The Iranians have, of course, responded. We saw the messaging behind that. And if the messaging is to be believed, one hopes that this escalated period of tension is now behind us.

CABRERA: What are you most concerned about, though? The cyber threat that may be out there? I mean, we've already heard from cities flagging possible attacks by Iran already in that capacity. And, yet, we also have this ongoing military threat, right?

JOHNSON: We have to regard, in this era, cyber warfare as part and parcel of traditional warfare.

CABRERA: What is Iran capable of?

JOHNSON: Iran is -- in terms of its level of sophistication and capability, it's up there. It's probably among the top 10 or 15 nations, in terms of their level of sophistication. I would not say they are as sophisticated as the United States, Russia, or China. But they have -- they have demonstrated a capability in this space that has to be respected and defended against.

CABRERA: So, I have to ask you, because of your experience on the Obama administration, after the president went after Obama's foreign policy this week, not just on Iran, it's not happening in a vacuum, he attacked many different aspects of his foreign policy. Let's take a quick listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via telephone): I think that the Obama administration was just letting them get away with murder, in the true sense, murder.

(on camera): President Obama wanted to meet and chairman Kim would not meet him.

Al Baghdadi created a caliphate bigger than the state of Ohio. And with Obama, you did nothing. You did nothing but get your ass kicked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Do you think there's an Obama obsession there?

JOHNSON: Well, first, in the current environment, where the American public is concerned about whether we're going to war, in matters of national security, one would hope that this president or any president would put aside the partisan attacks. That's number one.

Number two, President Trump and his administration keeps saying we gave him all this money as part of the JCPOA. No, we didn't. It was their money that had been frozen for years. And, as part of the JCPOA, that money was unfrozen. It didn't go to pay for missiles. A lot of it was owed by the government of Iran to others.

And the basic question that we should ask is, which is what was asked at the time, are we better off with the JCPOA or without it? And the JCPOA was not perfect. No negotiated agreement is perfect for everybody. But, for a time, the level of hostilities, their efforts to build a nuclear weapon had slowed, if not ceased entirely.

[20:20:00] Now, we have nothing and we see what nothing looks like. We've seen, ever since the Trump administration withdrew, an escalating level of tension and now violence. And so, I think the question that was asked originally has answered itself. Are we better off with or without this agreement? And without it, we are where we are right now. We came to the brink of full-scale war with Iran over the last week.

CABRERA: As you know, the Department of Homeland Security has not had a confirmed secretary since Kirstjen Nielsen Left last April. When asked, in the past, about all the acting people who were serving him, this is what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I sort of like acting. It gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that? I like acting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I know you believe that is the wrong attitude to have.

JOHNSON: I could not disagree more because an acting has no job security. When you're appointed, confirmed by the Senate, you serve at the pleasure of the president. But, still, there's a level of job security that you're there for the duration of the president's term. And I think the president has virtually said this. When you're an acting, you're perpetually trying out for the job on a permanent basis, which means that the president is not getting the best advice.

So often a cabinet officer, in addition to running his or her agency, has to tell the president what he needs to hear but doesn't necessarily want to hear. And when you're in an acting role, hoping to get the real job, that's not a good environment in which to provide that very, very important advice.

CABRERA: All the developments with Iran this week really put war and peace at the center of the 2020 race. Is there one who you would trust most to be the commander in chief?

JOHNSON: Well, I'm, for now, I'm staying neutral in the Democratic primary. I'm sure I will support whoever the nominee is. Obviously, the one I know best is the one I worked alongside, and that's Vice President Biden. And he's in a position, from his years in the Senate and his eight years as vice president, to understand national security, to understand the world situation.

There are other very fine candidates in the race right now. but I believe that national security should loom large in the current discussion because of where we are in the world scene.

CABRERA: I know you're staying neutral in the 2020 race. But you and I have talked about possible future ambitions for you. I know you're happy where you are right now. But if somebody asked you to be the number two person on their ticket after the primary is all done, would you accept? JOHNSON: Well, it's not part of the life plan. I am retired from

public office. But if someone were to come to me, I'd have to, obviously, seriously consider it.

CABRERA: Is there any candidate out there that you -- even if you can' who they are right now, that you've been in discussions with?

JOHNSON: No.

CABRERA: Not yet.

JOHNSON: No, I have not. That's no. I can't say, no, I have not.

CABRERA: OK. Secretary Johnson, great to have you with us.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CABRERA: I look forward to continuing our conversation as the days and weeks and developments continue to happen.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CABRERA: Coming up, from tornadoes to flooding and heavy snow, a severe weather outbreak claiming eight lives and putting 80 million at risk.

[20:23:26]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Tonight, at least eight people are dead and another 80 million are at risk from extreme weather ripping across the eastern half of the U.S. The storm spawning tornadoes and widespread damaging winds in the south. Look at the damage there.

Also bringing heavy snow and ice to parts of the Midwest, including Chicago where hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed today at O'Hare International Airport, as that city faced wintry weather. In Louisiana, strong winds. So strong, in fact, cars were flipped over, homes were destroyed, power lines even littered some roadways, leaving many people wondering if it was actually a tornado that swept through.

CNN Meteorologist Karen Maginnis has been tracking all of this for us today. Karen, who's in the danger zone right now?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Still across the Southeast, also the Appalachian Mountain Region, the Mid-Atlantic over the next several hours, as this funnel system sweeps through, still have a number of thunderstorm watches and warnings out all the way from West Virginia, into South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and down into the panhandle of Florida, where we see damaging wind there. Just about everywhere you look, over the last two days, as this storm system raked across the central United States.

Then, plowed across the Midwest, Great Lakes, the Central Mississippi Valley, the Deep South, this is where we see city after city, lots of storm damage and reports of high winds on the backside of this. Tonight, there will be strong winds. But we do currently have a tornado warning in effect. This is in Upstate South Carolina, Anderson County. So, there is the threat or the potential for tornadic activity.

All right, over the last two days, 12 tornadoes reported. They have been deadly tornadoes. All the way from portions of Mississippi and into Arkansas and across the Central Mississippi Valley. But look at the severe wind. You don't have to have a tornado for these systems to become deadly. In fact, they're looking at something in Louisiana, a storm system that turned deadly there. They will assess whether or not that was a tornado, as they do surveys over the next day or so.

All right. In Pittsburgh today, Pittsburgh, this time of year, the average temperature should be 36 degrees.

[20:30:00]

It was 71. That was a record high temperature for the day. It is not going to be that. Lambeau Field there. This is a big ballgame there, coming up for tomorrow. They asked for hundreds of volunteers to shovel snow.

Now, there's not going to be a lot of snow, but because of the ballgame, then they're looking at people to take care of that. But this is the one ferocious system, Ana, and it's not over yet.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: And quickly, Karen, I mean, tornadoes at this time of year, is it just me or is that unusual?

MAGINNIS: Sometimes, we have a secondary season. We usually see the tornadic activity typically during the springtime months. But we do see this secondary tornadic season. Maybe a lot of people don't associate wintertime with tornadoes, but typically, it happens a little bit earlier than January. So this is rather unusual, but not completely unheard of.

CABRERA: OK. Everybody, stay close to your screens and make sure you are paying attention to those warnings.

Karen Maginnis, thank you very much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:35:17]

CABRERA: This just in to CNN. More than a dozen Saudi service members will be expelled from the United States in the wake of last month's deadly shooting rampage in a naval air station in Pensacola, Florida.

Let me bring in crime and justice producer, David Shortell, joining us by phone with this breaking news.

David, what can you tell us about why this is happening?

DAVID SHORTELL, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE PRODUCER (through telephone): Yes, that's right, Ana. After this investigation began last month into the deadly shooting where you'll remember three U.S. sailors were killed by a Saudi national that was training at this Florida air base, the FBI and the Pentagon began a review into a number of Saudi trainees that were studying at U.S. military installations across the country.

Well, now, Ana, tonight, we can report that more than a dozen Saudi servicemen that were training at these bases across the country will be expelled. We've learned that a number of them are accused of having some connection to an extremist movement, and some of them as well for possessing child pornography.

Ana, we should note that none of these Saudi service members who are expected to be expelled are accused of being coconspirators or aiding this 21-year-old shooter in any way. And the Saudis have pledged their full support. The Justice Department and the FBI did not comment to us tonight, Ana.

CABRERA: Now, tell us more about a letter the FBI apparently sent to Apple this week to get more information from the shooter's phone.

SHORTELL: Yes, Ana, that's another really interesting wrinkle in this investigation that we've learned about in the past few days. On Monday, the top lawyer for the FBI sent a letter to Apple requesting the tech company's help in bypassing the pass code on one of the shooter's -- two of the shooters' iPhones, I should say.

We learned that this shooter, a 21-year-old Saudi trainee had two iPhones with him as he attacked the base last month. One of them he left in a car and a second he took in with him and actually is believed to have shot, which has led some investigators to believe that there may be some information on that phone.

You'll remember we reported at the time that this Saudi service member who was accused of killing the three Americans was believed to have some type of extremism radicalization. His Twitter account led investigators to believe that he had been radicalized in some sense. Well, and that scares now want to learn more about what his connections potentially could have been to these radical movements and that's why they have requested a help from Apple, Ana.

It's a real hearkening back to a 2015 case. If you remember, this big standoff between the FBI and Apple at the time after Apple refused to unlock the iPhone that belonged to a terrorist who killed over a dozen people at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California.

Well, the FBI actually took Apple to court in that situation and it was resolved only at the last minute when the FBI was able to get a third-party company to unlock that iPhone.

Well, Ana, it appears that we may be in the first opening steps of a similar situation playing out here regarding two iPhones belonging to the Saudi military member who attacked the Pensacola base last month.

CABRERA: OK. Well, what's in there that you wrapped in. Thank you very much, David Shortell for that reporting. And just to recap, the headline there was that there are now more than a dozen Saudi service members who will be expelled from the United States in the wake of that have deadly shooting last month in Pensacola at the air base there.

Now, something you will only see here on CNN. An up close look at the air base in Iraq where U.S. troops rode out two hours of missile strikes and explosions this past week.

It was Iran's retaliation for the U.S.-order killing of their top general.

And CNN's Arwa Damon is the only journalist from anywhere allowed access to the wreckage left by those missile strikes. She's at al-Asad air base right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): These were living quarters, sleeping quarters. The troops that lived here lost everything. There was very little, if anything, that was salvageable because there was also a fire that ended up raging here for a few hours after the missile impacted in this particular area.

The reason why no one was killed, not here, not in any of the other locations of impact, is because there was advanced warning. We don't know what, we don't know how, that is very sensitive information. But we are told that hours before the attack even began, they knew something was happening. They just did not know specifically what it was going to be. So precautions were taken.

By 11:00 p.m., troops who could hunker down were hunkered down in bunkers, some of them in Saddam-era bunkers, others who had to man their posts because of the security situation. They were still out there.

[20:40:04]

And then the strikes began at about 1:34 in the morning. This is the crater left behind by one of them. There are so many stories that we're hearing of heroics, so many stories we're hearing of really extraordinary close calls. Those who lived through this say that it's clear that Iran wasn't that concerned with trying to save U.S. lives.

A lot of these impacts happened in places where they could potentially have caused significant U.S. casualties.

And this is Lieutenant Colonel Staci Coleman. We've been speaking all day. And I mean, you were telling us, what was that night? Like, how do you even begin to describe it?

LT. COL. STACI COLEMAN, U.S. AIR FORCE: It's very hard to describe it. I will tell you, it was extremely scary. Some of my team and myself were hunkered down in one of those bunkers. And when the first waves started hitting, you could feel the shockwave. And even inside the bunker, the pressure was so strong that we watched our bunker door sink in towards the inside of the bunker and then escape back out.

About seven of the impacts were in very close proximity to where we were hunkered down. And like I said, you could feel every last one of the shockwaves. It was extremely scary.

DAMON: And very lucky or was it the training, the precautions that were taken that there were no U.S. casualties?

COLEMAN: I'd say it was all -- I'd say it was a combination of God- looking out for us. It was a combination of, you know, the little bit of intel and advanced warning that we got. And then it was the smart commanders on the ground making on-spot decisions to get people out of harm's way.

DAMON: And how do you begin to describe, well, I mean, what this was like? And then, of course, what kind of security precautions you're having to take now given the situation?

COLEMAN: This was -- like I said, we knew something was happening, but we didn't know exactly what. As the time grew closer, we kind of felt we had an indication of what it right -- might be, but we still weren't certain. So we had advanced warning that there may be some rockets followed by a base incursion.

And so we had to keep our security forces out to make sure that we were safe from that. So there were a good number of folks out along the perimeter and within the airfield keeping it secure.

DAMON: Out there on the perimeter, keeping it secure while these missiles are coming in?

COLEMAN: Yes. They were outside during every last one of the missile strikes.

DAMON: Well, it would seem that it was very fortunate. And also, as we've been saying, because of this advanced warning that exists, because of these precautions that were taken, there is the sense that while this phase of what is unfolding has concluded, everyone here is still very much on high alert.

Arwa Damon, CNN, al-Asad air base, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: All right. Thanks to Arwa and he entire team. And I have to say our deepest gratitude goes out to those men and women who are serving this country all around the world including there in Iraq.

Coming up for us here in the NEWSROOM, dramatic new images that the panic in Australia as deadly bushfires turn the sky blood red.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (BLEEP). That behind me is (BLEEP) Mallacoota.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CABRERA: We'll get a live report from Australia, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:45:06]

CABRERA: I want to take you to Australia where we are getting a dramatic new look at the devastation caused by bushfires by one man stunned by the extent of the devastation in his hometown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty (BLEEP) life and death situation effort. This is by far (BLEEP) most hectic day I've ever (BLEEP) witnessed.

Here in Mallacoota, everyone that I knew of, all -- if they didn't have a boat, they were all evacuated down to the main wharf where the fire engines and everyone was there to take care of them. I suppose the last resort was to jump into the water. And then people with bicycles, everyone that I knew that had bicycle (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have decided to (BLEEP) off from the (BLEEP) house. (BLEEP) now the fire fronts come through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then it started to go black. It was like -- and then it went really black, and then it went red, and then it was quite scary, actually.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got the gals, the dogs out the front. I've got supplies, but I hope everyone's (BLEEP) just (BLEEP) houses man. Get into the water, it's (BLEEP) chaos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: It really is breathtaking.

And CNN's Will Ripley is there for us. He joins us from Nowra, that's in Australia's South Coast region of New South Wales.

Will, you have been talking to U.S. firefighters who are there in Australia. What are they saying about how big this fire is compared to anything they may have seen before?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is so overwhelming, even for seasoned firefighting veterans, Ana. I was talking with a firefighter from Portland, Oregon who is here and he had a chance to fly over the fire zone yesterday, which is 1,200 miles of area that has already been burnt here in the Australian state of New South Wales.

To put that in perspective, 1,200 square miles this year, a typical year, anywhere from 38 to under 200 square miles. It's a massive area. Its terrain is very difficult to reach in some cases.

[20:50:08] And right now, the weather conditions are not allowing helicopters to even take off because of the fact that you have smoke. We can smell the smoke in the air. There's some light rain coming down, which sounds like good news because obviously the temperatures have cooled down quite a bit.

Last week, around this time, it was over 110 degrees. Today, it's in the mid-60s. OK. That's fine. But the amount of rain that's falling, it's enough to kind of make the ground slick and slippery, maybe some trees might fall.

But the minute that the temperatures that's fine. But the amount of rain it is enough to make it slick and slippery but the minute the temperatures climb back up again and the heatwave is back, guess what, those fires can spark up. And if there any trees that are falling, and the firefighters haven't been able to get to, that could actually allow the fire to restart, skip over the fire containment lines that have already been set and then you're right back in the same dangerous situations. So you have all of these people who are evacuated, maybe they're now back at their homes, but they're living with the fact that any day now, once the weather changes, they could be evacuated, they could lose their homes, they could be in this kind of danger all over again.

And another interesting thing that I learned now, these American firefighters, they've never been to Australia, a lot of them, but they've met Australian firefighters in the past because there's this reciprocal relationship, firefighters from places like here, in Australia, Canada, they'll travel to other countries to assist.

So a lot of these Australian firefighters that are getting help from the Americans now, they've been to places like Montana and Washington and Oregon assisting the united states with fires that I'm being told, every single year, are getting hotter and more intense both in the U.S. and also here in Australia. Ana?

CABRERA: And it's all hands on deck. Will Ripley, thank you for that reporting. We'll be right back.

RIPLEY: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:55:19]

CABRERA: Who will win the greatest of all time title on "Jeopardy!" and $1 million in prize money? What is -- time will tell. It's the ultimate tournament of champions, three of the show's best players are fighting for that title. The first to win three matches will take it all and greatest of all time bragging rights.

"Jeopardy's" Alex Trebek laid out how it's gone down so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX TREBEK, AMERICAN-CANADIAN PERSONALITY: Ken Jennings got us off to a great start on Tuesday evening, winning a close one by 200 points. Yesterday, James came on strong and won handily.

Perhaps that augers well for Brad. Today might be the day he gets to make the big move to put himself into prime contention for that $1 million first place prize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us now is Brad Rutter, one of those three contestants.

Brad, you hold the title for the most money won on "Jeopardy!" and there's no winner yet. But so far, as far as we know, you're not on the scoreboard. Were you surprised to get to game three and have no victories?

BRAD RUTTER, JEOPARDY!'S HIGHEST PAID WINNER: Yes and no. I mean, Ken and James are obviously awesome, so it was going to be tough sledding no matter what.

But, yes, I was probably a little surprised to get shut out through the first three.

CABRERA: I want you to listen to what you told me back in May during Holzhauer's epic run.

I bet you would love a shot to go up against him.

RUTTER: Sure, yes. I like my chances against anybody.

CABRERA: Do you think you could beat him?

RUTTER: Yes. Like I said, I like my chances against anybody. You're not going to get me to talk trash, Ana.

CABRERA: I know. No trash-talking then. Will you today? Are you feeling as confident as you did then?

RUTTER: I wouldn't say quite as confident, but I think it was Ken I had to be worried about.

CABRERA: The ratings, by the way, have been bonkers. They're still rising, more than 15 million tuned in for that last match on Thursday. That's more people than watched the first five games of last year's NBA finals or even the World Series. Are you surprised by the interest out there?

RUTTER: I'm a little surprised at the ratings. I'm not surprised there was a ton of interests. Because Jeopardy! is an institution and, especially, in this social media age, you'll see viral clips all the time, like I remember the first one, I remember really noticing was when the contestant had no idea about the football category and then Alex was getting snarky with them. There's sort of this stereotype that Jeopardy! is for your grandparents but it's not true anymore.

CABRERA: I have to ask you because you mentioned Alex Trebek and we've been following for a while now his battle with pancreatic cancer. How is he doing?

RUTTER: I just saw him on Wednesday and he was feeling great. He says he has good and bad days. I think this helped him out a lot, you know. I think the job does because you often hear athletes say that if they're going through tough things in their life, that the field or the court is kind of a sanctuary for them. And I think it's kind of the same way with him.

CABRERA: So much love out there, for sure.

Brad Rutter, good luck to you as the tournament continues. Thank you for being here.

Finally, I want to leave you with a story of one special comeback kid. Just look at that face. That is John Oliver Zippay or J.O. for short. He had to overcome a challenge that super tough for grownups, let alone a 6-year-old, and that's chemotherapy.

In December, he had his last treatment, a great sign. He is beating his leukemia. So this week, J.O. returned to St. Helen's Catholic School ready for his new and he says normal life, and classmates were so pumped for him. They had to get off their feet and give him this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I just want to give you a huge, huge hug, J.O. and I wish you and your entire family all the very best.