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New York Times Posts Video It Says Shows Two Missiles Striking Ukrainian Passenger Plane; Democratic Hopefuls Face Off At CNN Debate; Smoke From Australia's Bushfire Chokes Melbourne; U.S. And China Phase One Trade Deal; President Trump's Senate Impeachment Trial; Giuliani Associates Lev Parnas Wants To Testify; New York Times Reports Russians Hacked Burisma; Texts Suggest Yovanovitch Was Being Surveilled In Ukraine; Beirut Protests Take A Violent Turn; Deadly Avalanche; Plane Dumps Fuel Over Los Angeles; Factoring In Canada; Democrats Gave Their Best Shot in Des Moines; Video Said to Contain Crucial Details About Ukrainian Airline Shoot Down; Evacuees from Philippines Return to Their Homes; Melbourne Open Interrupted by Poor Weather. Aired 3:10-4a ET

Aired January 15, 2020 - 03:10   ET

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

[03:10:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. And this is CNN Newsroom.

It has been one week since Iran's military shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet. A new video shows what could be the doomed flight's final moments. The New York Times says it comes from a security camera, and it might reveal crucial details Iran has not admitted to.

For the very latest on this, CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is live in Abu Dhabi and joins us now. So, Nic, what are you learning about this?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Rosemary, seven days as you say since that airliner was shot down, four days since the Iranian authorities actually admitted they were responsible. In the initial moments when they admitted responsibility, the president of Iran talked about missiles hitting the aircraft.

Ever since then, the narrative from politicians and military officials in Iran has been that a missile hit the aircraft. This new video appears to show that two missiles in fact hit the aircraft at 20 seconds apart which cast further questions over the statements that we've heard from Iran's military that they had only 10 seconds to make a calculation whether this was an incoming missile or a civilian aircraft, that they were firing their weapons systems at.

So, a second missile fires at that aircraft. One can only imagine the horror aboard that aircraft. If one missile is hit, the plane is still in the air, and another 20 seconds later another missile hits. Horrific to contemplate that. The situation though around the downing of the aircraft is far from resolved at the moment. Ukrainian authorities have now saying publicly that they are requesting that Iranian authorities hand over the black boxes.

The indications from Iran are that they are sending somebody to Ukraine to see if the Ukrainians can cope with the black boxes, but this is far from the transparent help and investigation that has been requested by the president of Ukraine, by the Swedish president, by the British -- by the Swedish prime minister, rather, British prime minister, Canadian prime minister.

All nations involved have asked the Iranians to provide -- to provide very clear and transparent help and assistance in this. So, this is raising questions, not only about the nature of the attack, the failure to communicate some of the details about it, but now about the black boxes as well. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. We need some answers to those questions. Nic Robertson bringing us these horrendous details. Many thanks to you for bringing us up to date.

In less than three weeks voters in Iowa will get to decide who they want as the Democratic nominee for U.S. president. Kicking off the first nominating contest in the 2020 race, six of the Democratic hopefuls were on stage Tuesday night for the seventh and final televised debate before the Iowa caucuses. They tackled everything from impeachment and Iran to universal health care, and whether a woman can win the election. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anybody who knows me, knows that it's incomprehensible that I would think that a woman could not be president of the United States.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can a woman beat Donald Trump? Look at the men on this stage. Collectively they have lost 10 elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election they have been in, are the women. Amy and me.

[03:15:05]

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So true. So true.

(APPLAUSE)

TOM STEYER (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whoever is going to beat Donald Trump is going to have to beat him on the economy. And I have the experience and the expertise to show that he is a fake there and a fraud.

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm ready to take on Donald Trump, because when it gets to the tough talk, and the chest thumping, he'll have to stand next to a war veteran and explain how he pretended bone spurs made him ineligible to serve. JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been the object of his

affection now more than anybody else on this stage. I have taken all the hits he can deliver, and I'm getting better in the polls by going out. I have support across the board. And I'm not worried about taking on Donald Trump at all.

The American public is getting clobbered, the wealthier are the only ones doing well. Period. I am looking forward to the economic debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Thomas Gift is a lecturer in political science at University College in London and he joins me this hour from Stanford, California. Good to have you with us.

THOMAS GIFT, POLITICAL SCIENCE LECTURER, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Thanks so much, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, who came out on top in this final debate before the Iowa caucuses do you think?

GIFT: Well, Rosemary, I actually think that all of the candidates had relatively strong debates. And it's hard to say that there was a clear winner. I will say that with these debates, a lot of it ultimately being the winner is dependent on some of these viral moments.

And I think probably Elizabeth Warren had the most viral moment of the evening. And that's when she essentially said that out of all the candidates on the debate stage, the only two individuals who hadn't lost an election where the two women, herself and Amy Klobuchar.

And I think that that really spoke a lot about the question of her electability. And so, I think that that's a moment that's going to be played quite often, I think.

CHURCH: Yes. It was a rather powerful, wasn't it? Of course, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were sparring on stage over comments Bernie apparently made in 2018 about women running for president. He claims he didn't say that a woman couldn't win. Who won that heated exchange do you think?

GIFT: Well, it's really hard to know what the ultimate -- ultimately was kind of said there. You know, both taking a different side of this, I don't think ultimately that it's going to be a huge issue. And it's hard to say whether Warren actually won that debate versus the others.

So, I think kind of on that both supporters of both Sanders, as well as Warren are going to say that they got the best of each other, but I'm not sure that there is a clear winner there.

CHURCH: And I just want to bring up this very awkward video at the end of the debate, where Warren ignores Sanders effort to shake hands with her, and then while they are talking, presidential hopeful Tom Steyer comes by to say a goodbye, very awkward to watch. Everyone will be talking about this of course in the coming hours. What's going on here do you think?

GIFT: It's such an interesting dynamic that you are seeing going on between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Because reportedly, they are good friends. And they get along quite well.

And up until this point, quite the fact that they're kind of vying for the same voters, the progressive wing of the party. They've kind of shied away from attacking one another personally.

But, you know, ultimately, when at the heat of these campaigns gets on, and we are getting closer and closer to Iowa. I think both campaigns are kind of looking at their competitors and saying how can we get the edge? And so, there may be some growing animosity there. We'll have to see.

CHURCH: Yes. Presumably only one will survive, and they've got to figure that out. So, still, the big question remains. Who is best equipped to beat Donald Trump? Did anyone prove that beyond any doubt?

GIFT: Well, I do think that you still have to say that Joe Biden is the front runner. He's kind of been at the head of the polls since the very outset, despite some dip over the last few months. he's actually done quite well and have been relatively resilient.

So, he is going to continue to make the case that a moderate someone who can resonate with blue collar voters, particularly in swing states like Pennsylvania, Iowa -- or excuse me -- Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and so on. That's the best purpose you can beat Donald Trump.

But on the other hand, you know, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are going to say if you want to beat Donald Trump, you need someone who is going to be able to motivate the base. And they're trying to make the case that they're best equipped to do that.

CHURCH: And we shall see what happens. Thomas Gift, many thanks to you for joining us and sharing your analysis. We appreciate it.

GIFT: Thanks a lot, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, right now Australia is getting some much-needed rain as it strives to contain the bush fires that are devastating the country. Melbourne has been struggling with smoke from the fires.

[03:20:00]

And this is an aerial view of the haze enveloping the city. Air quality is being rated as moderate to hazardous, and it has disrupted the qualifying matches of the Australian Open, which were delayed for the second day in a row.

Also, some flights had to be canceled as the Melbourne runway was shrouded in smoke.

CNN's Will Ripley joins us now for Melbourne, Australia. Will, it's a terrible situation. And given the country is in the grip

of one of the worst bush fire seasons on record, causing Melbourne's air quality to reach hazardous levels. How viable was it ever to have the Australian Open here?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is one of the most important sporting events for Australia, as you know all too well, Rosemary. But certainly, the optics for the sponsors of this event to have a tennis player basically collapsing on the court after a coughing fit, you think about the physicality of tennis, as it is.

And the fact that temperatures earlier today were well above 35 degrees, combined that with pollution levels that are anywhere from unhealthy to hazardous, as we have seen them fluctuate over the last couple of days.

And then imagine playing tennis, breathing that in. It's certainly a very difficult situation, a challenging situation physically for these professional tennis players who are here.

We actually drove past Maria Sharapova earlier today. I almost jumped out of the car and went to talk to her but figured maybe she deserves to have some off time. But her match was actually canceled because of the smog, and she told reporters she thought that was a good thing. Because she said by her second round, she can really feel it as she was breathing that all in.

Now we do have rain here currently which is a temporary respite from the high temperatures. Temperatures have plunged more than 10 degrees since it started raining. But we're also getting reports because there's been a lot of lightning in the area. We've heard some large booms of thunder from our vantage point here that that lightning has actually triggered fires across the state of Victoria.

So that's a concern. Because even with heavy rain, it's certainly not enough to compensate for the unprecedented drought that Australia is dealing with right now. And so, when the rain stops, in fact, you can hear the thunder as we speak. When the rain stops, the ground is still dry, and there is still a lot of fuel.

And once the sun comes back out, of course the concern is that it could retrigger these wildfires all over again. We know that there are dozens of fires that are burning, I believe here in Victoria, more than a dozen fires are considered major, substantial events.

And we saw one of those fires as we were approaching Melbourne, it was extraordinary and quite unsettling to see this large plume of smoke above the cloud line. Some of these fires are so intense they are creating their own weather.

And that is a dangerous situation for aircrafts because if, you know, that dust gets into the aircraft engines, it can be very dangerous.

The flight that was taking off just 30 minutes before ours from Sydney to Melbourne was canceled. And we know a number of flights from Sydney, here to Melbourne, from Sydney to Canberra, the Australian capital have been canceled because of the dangerous weather conditions.

So even this rain that's in the forecast now while it's certainly is good news for firefighters in the short term, there is still a lot to be worried about on the ground here. And how it will affect the tennis open with temperatures forecasts back into the, you know, the 30s, maybe even 40 this weekend.

The pollution levels are expected to get very bad here in Melbourne yet again. It's going to be very difficult situation for the -- not only the players, but also the tens of thousands of fans that are expected to descend on Melbourne for the Australian Open, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. It is just horrible. It is heartbreaking. Will Ripley reporting there from Melbourne, many thanks.

Well, an erupting volcano in the Philippines has forced thousands of people to evacuate, but some are already going home despite dire warnings to stay away. The dilemma they're facing, that still to come.

[03:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: It has been three days since the Taal Volcano in the Philippines began spewing ash and lava. And now we are getting a clearer picture of the impact so far. This drone video shows homes, roads, and farms blanketed with heavy layers of ash and mud.

Thousands of people have been moved to evacuation centers as officials warn a violent eruption could be imminent.

And CNN's Blake Essig joins me now from Hong Kong with more on this. Blake, what's the latest you have on the volcano, the evacuations, and now these stories that some people are heading home just too prematurely?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. At this point, more than 53,000 people have entered evacuation shelters, with the government issuing a total evacuation notice to the roughly half million people that live within a 14-kilometer radius of the erupting volcano.

At this point, scientists have not changed the alert status of the volcano being four out of five. Again, they believe that a major pyroclastic event is imminent within hours or days. But since the volcano started erupting about three days ago, just within the past 24 hours, the eruptions have started to get weaker, kind of offering a sense of -- a false sense of security to those residents who did evacuate, to actually start to return back to their homes to see what's left.

In some cases, we've seen video of government officials and residents actually going back to Taal Volcano island to discover livestock that was still alive but they also discovered homes destroyed and just everything blanketed in ash. In fact, a PETA official went back to the island today and said that

there are many dead animals on Taal Volcano island accompanied by the smell of rotting flesh.

CHURCH: All right. Our Blake Essig, many thanks to you for bringing us up to date on the situation there in the Philippines.

We'll take a short break here. Still to come, after an 18-month trade war the two largest economies in the world are just hours away from signing a long-awaited deal. We are live in Beijing with details on that agreement.

Plus, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine is calling for an investigation. What texts from a Rudy Giuliani associates say about Marie Yovanovitch. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary. Church. Let's check the headlines for you this hour. The New York Times reports the Ukrainian passenger plane shot down by Iran one week ago, may have been hit with two missiles. It says, this video comes from a security camera. And you can see what looks like a missile streaking through the air, moments later there is a flash of light on impact. Seconds after that, what looks like another missile is fired followed by a burst of light. Iran hadn't indicated before that there were two missile strikes.

In less than three weeks, voters in Iowa will cast the first votes to decide who they want as the Democratic nominee for U.S. president. On Tuesday, six of the Democratic hopefuls took part in the final debate before the Iowa caucuses. Tackling issues like, impeachment, Iran, universal healthcare and whether a woman can defeat President Trump.

In Australia, Melbourne is struggling with smoke from the ongoing bush fires. Air quality is rated as moderate to hazardous, the smoke has force flight cancellations and disrupt the qualifying matches of the Australian Open, for the second day in a row.

Well, rain is in the forecast for parts of Australia. Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, joins us now with details on this. And of course the problem is that lightning has come with some of that rain.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That is a good point. I noticed -- I will noted that as well, Rosemary. You know, when you think about what's happening here. The impressive nature of these fires, the expensive coverage of it. The incredible amount of rainfall that is currently coming down, and forecast to come down, just in very little to improve conditions on the ground. So, any other fire that is typical in nature when comes to its size or magnitude, certainly the amount of rain that we have slated across this region would helped.

And notice, we have seen some of those numbers drop. So, some elements of good news happening here. The numbers of fires between the territories of say, New South Wales and Victoria put together. They were about 200 a couple of days ago. That's drop to 125 and really when you count follow the coastal areas from the north of the south. That is where the rainfall has been the heaviest here in the last couple of days.

We are beginning to see some of the energy shift on in over Victoria, where Melbourne seen some shots of wet weather. But again, on unfortunately, some lightning strikes coming in with this as well. But the air quality has gradually improved.

Melbourne in the last few minutes, dropping down from the hazardous and, unhealthy down to its sensitive groups. Remember a couple of days ago, in fact the thing was this time yesterday, we were in the hazardous category which was over 300. So, we have cut that number in half because of the rainfall in place. (Inaudible), there's the coverage of the thermal signature of the fires. Here's the coverage of the rainfall and notice quite a bit of heavy rainfall into the northern tier there on the eastern coast of New South Wales, just north of Sydney.

So, this is tremendous news and the amount of rainfall frankly is pretty good as well. About to I say, 45 to 50 millimeters which historically speaking. That would put up a pretty good dent in fire numbers, but the winds are still going to be strong at times with those storms. Thunderstorms are going to be accompanied with this as well. So, even though the temperatures are dropping, the air quality is improving, what we are concerned about, of course, is the other elements that are mixed in.

But overall it is a far better looking forecast, if you ask me, Rosemary, then say a couple of weeks ago when we had highs at the upper 30's and lower 40's. Now consistently, in the low of mid 20's, and yes a few shots of wet weather without lightning strikes there Friday into Saturday. So, better weather ahead across parts of Australia, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And we will take that good news. Many thanks to you Pedram for bringing us all the details.

[03:35:00]

Well, the U.S. is expected to sign the first phase of a long-awaited trade deal with China in the hours ahead. The agreement is considered the first major step toward de-escalating an 18 month trade conflict between the world's two largest economies. Key details of the agreement are still not known, but the U.S. says, China has pledged to buy more American farm products and other goods. CNN's David Culver, is live this hour in Beijing. He joins us now. Good to see you, David. So, what more are you learning about this first phase of the trade deal between the U.S. and China?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Rosemary. Good to see you as well. It is interesting to note most of the information that we are getting on this phase one deal is coming from the U.S. side of things. Quite frankly, the Chinese side has kept rather vague and hasn't given too much detail. They say that they've been waiting for this to really come into perfect translation and then for to be ink.

On the U.S. side, we have heard from U.S. officials over the past several weeks, really and they've come out in front of these saying that the basic breakdown will look like this. They say, China's big takeaway will be that they will get some relief when it comes to the U.S. tariffs. In fact, they have some $120 billion of Chinese goods. The U.S. promises to cut the tariffs in half. There's still though been to keep the tariffs in place on another $250 billion worth of goods. So, it's not a complete roll back in tariffs. When it comes to future tariffs U.S. says, they are going to hold on those for now and they will evaluate as they move forward.

Now, what does the U.S. get out of this? Seems to be much more significant here, they say that they are going to get in the dollar amounts some $200 billion of purchases, purchases that will go to benefit manufacturing, the service sector, energy and agriculture. We have heard that agriculture push a lot because obviously that hit Trump's base, and the farmers. And that was something even mentioned a few hours ago in the Democratic presidential debate, after hitting on the farmers as the big constituency that they are trying to win over.

It goes beyond though these big purchases, Rosemary. Because into currency manipulation that the U.S. has alleged China partakes it now. Just on Monday, they removed the designation of China as a cons manipulator. They say this deal will create some stability in that sector, it also goes into intellectual property theft and some protection there. And it goes beyond that into kind of equalizing the playing field as they say overall in this trade debate between the two.

Now, going forward, the question is going to be some of these (inaudible) structural issues, that's phase two issue. The timeline on that has been pushed back seems even further now, Rosemary, as they say, they will be after the 2020 election. That is something that has been floated according to other U.S. officials and administration officials, in particular. They say, they are going to evaluate how phase one goes. Namely they want to see if the Chinese will stick to what they apparently sign in the next few hours from now. And they say that this is fully enforceable. That's a big takeaway too, because they say, if the Chinese don't live up to it, they can take appropriate action and proportionate action to counteract anything that they do involving short of this deal.

It's going to be interesting to see, Rosemary. Because we've been in this place, at least close to it before. And it's really not until things are ink that we can say that it looks like the are moving towards some sense of a pause in this trade war if you will.

CHURCH: All right. Well, Mark is watching very closely as the rest of us David Culver, many thanks to you for bringing us the details on that.

Well, in just a few hours from now, the U.S. House will vote to send the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate for a trial. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House will also vote on impeachment managers or house prosecutors for the trial. Senator Republican leader Mitch McConnell outlined what happens next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: The House is likely to finally send that -- the articles over to us tomorrow. And we will be able to -- we believe that happens, in all likelihood go through some preliminary steps here, this week, which could well include the chief justice coming over and swearing in members of the Senate, and some other kind of Housekeeping measures, we hope to be able to achieve that consent. Which would set us up to begin the actual trial next Tuesday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And the White House is preparing for the Senate trial. President Trump's team is hoping for a proceeding without any witnesses. As Jim Acosta reports some Republicans are open to the idea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: When President Trump's impeachment trial fast approaching, aides to the president have been quietly pushing an idea opposed by even some Republicans. Killing the whole thing off together to a vote to dismiss the proceeding.

HOGAN GIDLEY, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Whether this thing goes to a full trial, whether it's modified, or whether it is just dismissed out of hand for the sham illegitimate scam it has become, we will be ready.

[03:40:02]

ACOSTA: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is projecting a quick dismissal, the move could imperil vulnerable Republicans up for reelection. Not to mentioned fly in the face of what the president has said for weeks that he wants a with trial witnesses.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would leave it to the Senate, but I would like to hear the whistleblower. I would like to hear shifty Schiff. I'd like to hear, Hunter Biden and Joe Biden.

ACOSTA: The problem is that the president and his allies are threatening to block potentially damaging witnesses, like former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Even as a small number of Republican Senators want to hear that testimony. Democrats are insisting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was right to delay sending the articles of impeachment over to the Senate.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Some of the Republicans are now beginning to say, maybe we need witnesses and documents. Had Nancy sent that stuff right over and McConnell move to dismiss, who knows what would've happened.

ACOSTA: Other witnesses want to get in on the act, including, Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. An attorney for Parnas tweeted out this video, trolling the president. Showing his client and photos with Trump family members with the hashtag letLevspeak. As for Giuliani, a central figure in the administration alleged scheme to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine, he's been pressing Mr. Trump for a spot on the impeachment legal team.

RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: I do what I do best. I tried the case. I'd love to try the case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to or are you telling (inaudible)?

GIULIANI: I don't know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case.

ACOSTA: But a source close to the White House told CNN, the president is never going to have him in the Senate trial, starting with the problem that he is a potential witness. A new potential headache has emerged for the president in Ukraine. As The New York Times is reporting, Russian military operatives hacked into Burisma, the energy giant where Biden's son Hunter once served as a company board member. Admiration critics say the hacking has proved the Russians are at it again in 2020.

JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The effort to expand and what they gained in 2016, really haven't hammered them that badly, so, why not? From their standpoint.

ACOSTA: Democrats are still hammering the president over Iran. Seizing our reports that Mr. Trump was privately talking up the idea of a military strike on the Iranians during the holidays. Presidential contender, Elizabeth Warren is one senator questioning whether (inaudible) President Trump resort may have obtained confidential market moving information and have the opportunity to trade defense industry stocks or commodities. Publicly, Mr. Trump was calling for peace.

TRUMP: Do I want to, no. I want to have peace. I like peace. And Iran should want peace more than anybody. So, I don't see that happening.

ACOSTA: One big potential hiccup posed by the Senate impeachment trial, President Trump is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union Address in three weeks, but the moment White House officials say, there are no plans to delay the speech with one official noting, former president Bill Clinton appeared at his 1999 State of the Union during his impeachment trial. Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: If Lev Parnas is allowed to speak at the impeachment trial, his testimony could be damning. House Democrats are releasing documents who's provided, and they include a letter about Giuliani's contact with Ukraine's then President-Elect. CNN's Manu Raju has details now from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: The documents show how Rudy Giuliani was pushing for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, around the same time as Rudy Giuliani himself was pushing for the Ukrainian government to open those investigation that could help President Trump politically.

And you mentioned in that letter that you referenced, he makes clear, while he says he's working in his private capacity as a private citizen, he also says he did this with the consent and knowledge of the president. And recalled right around the same time too. U.S. officials were trying to get the president advice on how to handle the new incoming Ukrainian administration. And what President Trump told his top diplomats was quote, talk to Rudy.

And we know, Rudy was thinking. Now at the same time what the documents also show is that there was talk about pushing the investigation into the Bidens by including by this indicted Giuliani associates. Lev Parnas, who is part of this effort and of course, who turned over this documents to the key committees and then a handwritten note that was obtained by the House investigators, it says that, let's get Zelensky to announce that the Biden case will be investigated.

Now there are also, now encrypted text messages suggesting that the president, the then Ukrainian ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, her movements have been track. This all part came as part of Giuliani's efforts, as well as Lev Parnas' effort to push out that Ukrainian ambassador. Someone that people believe was essentially standing in the way of this pushed to investigate the president's political rival. So, expect all of this to come out and be discuss at length, when that Senate impeachment trial begins in earnest starting next week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:45:10]

CHURCH: The text messages about tracking Yovanovitch involve Parnas and congressional candidate Robert Hyde. The former ambassador to Ukraine is calling for an investigation.

Antigovernment protest in Lebanon are heating up again, we go to the heart of the conflict in Beirut when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Dramatic video from the Eastern U.S. shows the moment a storm rip through a school gym on Monday. And you can see students in North Carolina running as debris explodes on to the basketball court. The area was under a severe thunderstorm warning when it happened. Three students were taken to the hospital, and classes were canceled Tuesday as a result.

Well, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, avalanches and landslides caused by heavy snowfall have left at least 50 people dead. Officials fear the toll could rise as many remain trapped under the snow. CNN's Tom Sater has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLIGIST: They are digging through the thick pile of snow in search for survivors. More than 24 hours of heavy snow and rain have triggered avalanches and landslides in this part of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Local officials say dozens have died, and numerous others are still missing, perhaps buried under mounds of snow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These areas are cut off from the cities in Assad, Kashmir. In the evenings, you just don't know what conditions people are in.

SATER: Military helicopters are being used to fly survivors to hospitals, in the capital of Pakistan administered Kashmir. The Prime Minister Imran Khan has sent out a tweet assuring residents of the area that his government is working to provide immediate emergency humanitarian assistance.

Heavy snowfall is also causing havoc and disrupting lives in the west of the country. Authorities say more than a dozen people have died in Baltistan, and what they say is the coldest winter in 20 years. Travelers are stranded on highways, near the provincial capital Quetta. Homes that have been destroyed, and many more roads in the region have shut down. Tom Sater, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Protests in Beirut have again turned violent, with antigovernment demonstrators calling for a week of anger. Some shattered windows, and damage store fronts, and riot police fired tear gas into crowds as they marched to the home of the Prime Minister designate demanding a new government to fix their broken economy. CNN's Ben Wedeman has more from the streets of Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are on Hamra Street, basically Beirut's equivalent of Fifth Avenue, where for the last few hours, there have been running clashes between protesters and riot police. Lebanon is now building what is being known as a week of rage. Today is day 90 of the mass protests here against the political elite.

Here, we see one man who is just been arrested. He is the second person I have seen arrested so far. Now let's step over here. Some of the protesters tried to setup makeshift barricades in the middle of the road, but there are riot police -- the riot police are now trying to clear them away.

What we saw earlier, just up the street, are protesters smashing the side, the windows of several banks. Banks, of course, being the center of much of the anger of many of the protesters. Lebanon is in the midst of a financial collapse. The Lebanese near a -- the currency, has lost 60 percent of its value in the last few months against the U.S. dollar.

[03:50:08]

And of course, this is the country where almost anything is imported, so dollars are desperately needed, and they are in desperately short supply. Now, what we can here up the street is more tear gas being fired. Somebody has lit something on fire in the middle of the road here. And these protests are expected to continue. What's different about tonight's protest is that they are the most violent we have seen since the first days of this protest movement, which began on the 17th of October last year.

Lebanon is still in a state of political paralysis. The Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on the 29th of October, and Prime Minister designate has been appointed, but he has not been able to form a government. So, nothing is being done by the political elite to resolve Lebanon's economic crisis, its financial problems, and this sort of chaos is probably going to continue for some time to come. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from downtown Beirut.

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CHURCH: Well, 60 people have been treated for exposure to jet fuel after a plane dumped a trail of it over six schools in California. The children and adults were cleaned with soap and water, and no one was sent to hospital. Some students say they had no idea what was happening until they smell the gasoline.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, what happen was that a plane was coming over, and it was throwing gasoline. And they sprayed it on my friends and on me. And then it got in my eye, and I am blurred. It smells like something I can describe, but it is yucky. It all feel like only like rain. If it was rain, because like its all water coming down like that and there was rainbow and when I looked up it was gasoline. Everybody started running.

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CHURCH: The delta flight was heading from Los Angeles to Shanghai when an engine issue forced it to return to LAX. The airline says releasing fuel is a normal procedure to reach a safe landing wait, though it is never supposed to happen over populated areas. Aviation authorities are investigating the incident.

Well, after the royal summit comes work on the details. Just ahead, how Canada factors into the many unanswered questions about Prince Harry and Meghan's future.

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CHURCH: In the aftermath of Britain's royal summit, Canada now takes on a greater role in the unfolding drama. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are dividing their time between the U.K. and Canada. The details of their future roles, and who handles the cost of their living arrangements is still being worked out. Max Foster has the details.

[03:55:15]

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: The Duchess of Sussex was expected to dial into this big royal meeting as (inaudible). According to sources, but in the end, neither she nor Prince Harry thought it was necessary. They clearly went into this meeting knowing what they wanted out of it. And ultimately, they seem to have got it. Which is why the queen says, they are now in this period of transition where Meghan and Harry will be stepping back from their senior roles in spending their time between Canada and the United Kingdom.

The queen intently doesn't appeared to get what she wanted out of the meeting. Because she said she would preferred them to stay in working royal positions. Now the real work begins though when the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to this, when he spoke to Canadian TV. He said that they are in early discussions about what levels of engagement the couple will have.

What sort of public roles they might have in Canada. And off the back of that, what the implications might be suggesting security costs, which are enormous for the Sussex's. Should the Canadian taxpayer pick up the security costs for the royal family, these are all questions that need to be worked through. And they will take a lot of time.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: There is still a lot of decisions to be taken by the royal family, by the Sussex's themselves as to what level of engagement they choose to have. And these are the things that we are obviously supportive of their reflections, but have responsibilities and that is well.

FOSTER: There's also position in Canada known as governor general, that person is a Canadian. They represent the queen in Canada. Will there be conflicts between that role and the role that Harry might have in Canada. All issues that needs to be worked through. Which is why the queen said this is a complicated process. But she's also said she wants an update in the next few days. So, we wait to see what comes out of these early stage discussions. Max Foster, CNN, Buckingham Palace, London.

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CHURCH: And thank you so much for joining us, I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me anytime on Twitter. Early Start is next. You're watching CNN. Do stay with us.

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