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Hala Gorani Tonight
Attempted Paris Terror Attack Detailed; Oil Price Slump Discussed; Syria Situation Examined; North Korea Raising Tensions; Truck Bomb in Libya; Previewing President's Gun Town Hall Meeting. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired January 07, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00]
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HALA GORANI, "THE WORLD RIGHT NOW" HOST: Tonight, France is on edge again, exactly one year after the Charlie Hebdo shooting, an attacker storms a
police station in Paris.
Then, Chinese markets tumble so severely the trading shuts down for the second day in one week.
Plus, Syrians here are protesting systematic starvation. We'll show you new evidence of this particularly brutal weapon of war.
And later, gun groups say nothing keeps us safer than a good guy with a gun. We test the theory that an armed bystander could take down an active
shooter. You may find the results surprising.
Hello everyone, I'm Hala Gorani, live from CNN London. Thanks for being with us. This is "The World Right Now."
We begin tonight in Paris where the city already on edge with the scene of an attempted attack. A man wielding a meat cleaver and wearing a face
explosives poach or vest tried to enter a police station in northern Paris. Prosecutors say he shouted Allahu Akbar before being shot and killed by
police.
Now of course today marks the one year anniversary of the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
CNN's Atika Shubert reported from the scene of today's shooting earlier and she joins me now live from Paris. So Atika, what happened exactly today?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, investigators are still trying to piece it together, but the latest we understand, the justice ministry
speaking to local press here saying that the man was known to police as a petty criminal but they're stopping short from identifying him tonight.
But here's a breakdown of how it happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Police say the man approached the brandishing a meat cleaver yelling Allahu Akbar, God is great. A woman who saw the attack disputed that he had a
knife. She did not want to be identified.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
SHUBERT: She said he had cables or strings coming out of his coat and he had his hands in the air. Police shouted at him to get back and when he
didn't they shot him three times.
A remote controlled device checked the body for what appeared to be a suicide vest. Police now say that device was fake. Also found a rambling
note handwritten in Arabic stamped with the black flag of ISIS.
BERNARD CAZENEUVE, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translation): The person who carried out this attack and who died in the immediate aftermath
of the police gunfire need a formal identification process in due course, to determine this person's motivations. More information will be provided
in the near future.
SHUBERT: This is the closest police will allow us to the scene, you can see still a very much a heavy police presence here, they've asked residents
to stay inside or stay away. There was this school very close to where this happened and the children inside were in lockdown for several hours.
And this is the sad reality of Paris today, the residents fear that violence like this could strike at anytime, anywhere.
This is exactly one year after gunmen targeted the Charlie Hebdo office and kosher market killing 17. And barely three months after the attackers with
explosives belts and automatic riffles brutally murdered more than a 100 people at a concert hall, cafes and a football match in Paris.
A grim reminder that Paris remains on the highest terror alert.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Thank you Atika Shubert. And as we mentioned, today's incident comes exactly one year after the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie
Hebdo. Let's get more on the mood, bringing in Regis Le Sommier, he's the deputy editor-in-chief of Paris Match Magazine, thanks for being with us.
Do we believe this was some sort of anniversary attack? I mean, it was a very amateurish, let's be honest, a fake poach that he was trying to pass
of as a suicide vest, the ISIS flag was actually hand drawn it seems like. I mean, what more do we know about this individual?
REGIS LE SOMMIER, DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, PARIS MATCH: Well, we don't know much about this individual, we know he's related to petty crime, he was
arrested once before. But, we have no real idea. However what we can say at this point is this was not of course a coordinated attack. What came
out throughout the day, the worry of, you know, that was put under the Parisian shoulder today was that there could be more, that he could have
been the first of a new wave of attacks.
[15:05:00] We have -- you have to remember that two of the main orchestrator of the November 13 attacks are still on the lose, especially
Salah Abdeslam, and this a sort of worry for the French people because these people have not been arrested, they could be plotting something else.
So when we heard today that somebody attacked a police station like last week, you had another example of a guy driving his car towards a military
people in the town of Valolsa (ph). But it seems at the end of the day that this was somebody who acted on its own, like a lone wolf or somebody
who is self -- radicalized himself, you know, through the internet or something.
At this point I believe it's that, I believe -- he was willing to celebrate in his own way, the anniversary and definitely what he did was put a darker
tone on this day of commemoration which is already very heavy for us. So.
GORANI: Yeah. And I wanted to ask about the day I'm London, I of course covered Charlie Hebdo and the November attack. What is the mood been like
today in Paris and beyond on this -- particularly on the anniversary?
SOMMIER: Well, the mood is, it's a time of reflection, not only, you know, thinking about the dead, at the Paris Match we lost one of our cartoonist,
he was also -- Georges Wolinski who was a cartoonist of Charlie Hebdo. So we've all thought about these people, we've all been with their family and
it was day of celebration -- of, you know, thinking. And also a day of reflection on where our society is going and what type of threat we are
facing right now.
Because, this, what you saw today could be exactly what the Islamic State wants, self-indoctrinated people. That's what some of their guys over
there, out there in Syria especially one terrorist (ph) of the Islamic State in the name of Abu Musab al-Suri has put out some statement asking
for people to target Europe because Europe is softer than the U.S. and Europe will be the priority of the Islamic State, and France comes first of
course, we know that.
And, he is asking all the Muslim people to select a target and use any type of weapon they can have in order to target people and cause damage. And of
course, on the first of the list of the Islamic State are the police and the army. That's what they want to do. So, we hope that this is the not
the beginning of something where, you know, people with mental, you know, background or mental issue can actually decide to radicalize and target
because this is exactly what the Islamic State wants to do.
And so, this is -- the time of reflection is, comes how our police, how our police force, how our intel are going to be able to gather because they're
not able to watch everything all the time and this is a very tricky situation because these people can act whenever they want.
GORANI: Yes, almost impossible to defend yourself against everyone of those attacks. Regis Le Sommier, thank you very much, always a pleasure
talking to you, the Deputy Editor-In-Chief of Paris Match magazine in Paris today, on this anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attack, which were bad
enough at that time but as we know now, were not the worst to come for 2015 for that country.
All right, let's switch gears to the economy. It has been another tumultuous day on the global market. Here's what the Dow is doing at the
moment, take a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the key benchmark index in New York, down to 368 points at 16,538 it's had a terrible week.
China was doing so badly on the market that it had to halt share trading the second time this week after less than half an hour after shares dropped
more than 7 percent. It prompted the Chinese authorities to suspend its so-called circuit breakers which were supposed to reduce volatility in the
market.
Now, it has not been a good day for crude oil either, the price fell to 12- year low there. Let's talk to Tim Anderson, who's a Managing Director at TGM Investment, he's on the New York Stock Exchange floor. Is it just --
what's -- I mean it just feels a bit panicky in New York, would you describe it as that? How concerned our traders about China here?
TIM ANDERSON, TGM INVESTMENT, MANAGING DIRECTOR: Well, they're a little bit concerned about China because people have memories of last summer when
there was extreme volatility in China, an extreme currency volatility, and that just created a very hectic trading environment for about four to six
week all around the globe. We're not certainly at that state yet, although I think people were very passive (ph) by the fact that their market was
only open for 30 minutes last night.
[5:10:09]It was a smart move by the Chinese authorities to lift those circuit breakers. Other than that, there's not necessarily a tremendous
amount of panic, the declines have definitely been very significant. This will be probably the worst four-day decline for the markets to start a
year. But it seems to be much more of a stock market event than a, economy event or structural event right now. There's no doubt that institutions
are better sellers than buyers right now.
GORANI: But I have to ask you, you're not worried then that this is some sort of fundamental decline that's a reflection of a real risk of a
slowdown in the economy, right? So that being said, does this mean that this is a blip, in other words, does this mean that stocks are starting to
become attractive here?
ANDERSON: Well there are certain some stocks that are giving portfolio managers the opportunity to buy them that they haven't had for, probably
close to a couple of years. And, one of the best performing sectors today are the retailers. Walmart is one of the best performing stocks today,
that's a little bit a January effect. It was the worst performing stock in the Dow Jones last year.
Macy's, (inaudible), Pitch (ph), Chassey (ph), Penny are also green on the day. But I do think that we're probably headed for a correction in the
market. And, it might actually be better off if we have that correction in a very sharp swift selloff during this month or during the first quarter,
wash everything out, exhaust the selling pressure and get to a level where we can -- where the fires become much more aggressive and then we can
stabilize and build another by base and hopefully move higher through the end of the year.
I think many people would rather see that than a slow gradual decline that goes on for six or eight months.
GORANI: OK. And what about oil here, because some analyst have predicted that Iran and Saudi Arabia in this full-blown diplomatic crisis that the
price of oil would edge upward? It did initially but now here we are back down a 12-year low level for oil. What's going on there, how does that
affect the economy?
ANDERSON: Well, oil is still really, still a supply-driven story. And I actually have the other side of that view that you just mentioned because I
think that there's that type of Saudi-Iran conflict that escalates in the Middle East. The Saudis are going to use oil as a weapon and they're going
to take the price down as low as they possibly can because that's going to hurt Iran much more than it's going to hurt them. So I think the
heightened conflict there is going to make the price go lower not higher.
Now that being said, we had a rally this morning, oil was down 3.5-4 percent, it rallied to flat, the market got back a little bit over half of
it's looses, now oil is down about 2 percent, the market had close for the day, we just got to have to take this day to day and it will be very
fascinating to see how the Chinese market act overnight with a circuit breakers off.
GORANI: OK. Well, we're going to have to wait for that. Tim Anderson, thanks very much, joining us from the New York Stock Exchange with more on
what's been happening on the market. It's not a good week, certainly some significant decline. Thanks for your analysis.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
GORANI: Still to come, a new level of brutality, find out what weapon of war is so outrageous that it has actually inspired a fresh round of Syrian
protest in Syria.
Plus, CNN is inside Pyongyang just days after North Korea told the world it has a hydrogen bomb. We'll be right back.
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[15:15:00]
Let's turn now to a town under siege near Damascus, but we want to warn you this story is very disturbing and so are the images that accompany it.
Reports say people there are starving to death under a blockade by Syrian troops, that this is intentional to starve people to death and use it as a
weapon of war. CNN has obtained some images reminiscent of a holocaust death camp.
In this one, you see what appears to be an elderly man, his ribs clearly visible, we believe it was taken in the town of Madaya. The images haven't
been confirmed by aid groups or CNN, but the United Nation said, it is getting incredible reports about the desperate situation in Madaya, and
says the Syrian government has now agreed to allow aid convoys into the area, that remains to be seen.
Arwa Damon is covering this story. She's in Istanbul and joins me now live. Tell us more about what we know about this particular area.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTL. ORRESPONDENT: Well Hala this is an area that has been under siege since July of 2015. And well before the situation got
to this point, activist and residents have been warning about it and begging for help. The last time aid even reached the area was back in
October. And even then the ICRC representative that went said that they saw hunger in the eyes of the people.
The situation is so bad that according to Doctors Without Borders that just put out a statement, at least 23 patients in one of the health clinic that
they support in the area died according to this statement because of starvation, and of those 23 Hala, six were babies, they were under a year
old. People there according to activist and residents, and we can't independently verify these statements but they've been forced to sustain
themselves on leaves, there is food but it's simply unaffordable, a kilogram of flour or rice cost around $120.
There is, among the videos that have been posted to social media, one that shows a little boy and he's speaking to the camera. He too looks like he's
in a pretty difficult health situation, and in this video he's saying that he hasn't had food for week and that he desperately just wants to be able
to taste meat again.
Another video Hala posted shows also a little baby who's mother says hasn't able to give her milk for around a month. And the thing is, is it's not
just Madaya, it's other towns in that area as well, two others we are expecting will be receiving aid too, assuming the Syrian government does in
fact allow those convoys through. And this also is the first time that we've seen these types of tactics, these types of scenarios emerging from
the war in Syria.
GORANI: Yeah. And this report or the U.N. as we were reporting there had said that the Syrian regime has agreed to allow some aid in, what do we
know about that?
DAMON: We do know at this day (ph) that those convoys are expected to be allowed to go, exactly when we don't know. But according to the World's
Food Program, they said that they have enough supply to last for 40,000 people for around a month. So, hypothetically speaking if it is unable to
get through that, will bring a little bit of respite to these populations. But, you know, again, as we've seen in past scenarios where seizures have
been temporarily broken, access has been temporarily allowed into these areas, they do then end up under siege.
Again, a relentless never ending cycle, whether it's in Madaya or in other areas. And the thing is, as we know only too well, this is a war that is
well into it's 5th year, and this starvation of populations, putting areas under siege, cutting them off from basic food supplies, from basic
necessities like water and electricity are only a portion of the atrocities unfolding on the Syrian battlefield.
[15:20:09] You also have massive portions of the population that are suffering due to the Assad regime's barrel bombs, due to bombing by Russian
jets, even in some cases due to bombing by coalition aircraft, not to mention those that are under ISIS's control.
GORANI: All right, Arwa Damon, live in Istanbul, thanks very much for more troubling news out of Syria.
International skepticism over a supposed hydrogen bomb test in North Korea has not dampened spirits in Pyongyang apparently. In fact the North
Koreans are saying they've got an explanation for why no radiation has been detected in the region. CNN correspondent Will Ripley has the latest from
Pyongyang.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An already tense situation here in North Korea could escalate in coming hours if the South Korean government makes
its promise to turn on those propaganda loud speakers and blast propaganda from the South across the demilitarized zone into North Korea. The timing
couldn't be worse for the North regime because today just happens to be the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's 33rd birthday. It's already a very tense time
after North Korea announced they've conducted its forth nuclear test in some 15 years.
This test North Korea claims was a hydrogen bomb, that claim is disputed by many international expects. I meet with some North Korean officials here
in Pyongyang who say the test was conducted using new technology that prevent radiation from spewing into the atmosphere in large quantities
which may explain why Japan, China, and South Korea are so far saying they have not detected a change in radiation levels, although some experts say
that the radiation could take weeks before it shows up in the environment.
Another interesting note from meeting here in Pyongyang with North Korean officials, they told me, they are not afraid of more international
sanctions as a result of this forth nuclear test. They said they have lived with crippling economic sanctions for so many years and they are so
devoted to aggressively pursuing their nuclear ambition that they say the country will simply tighten its belt and move forward developing these
weapons of mass distraction.
They compared the rest of the world to a pack of wolves and called themselves a hunter with a riffle, aimed, loaded and ready to fire at any
provocation.
Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, some tough rhetoric there coming out of North Korea and a rare inside look of the country with our Will Ripley.
Coming up, a surprising stab in the back. An Israeli reporter got more than he bargained for when he volunteered to test a stab-proof jacket.
Also ahead, Paris remembers the victims of the shocking Charlie Hebdo attack, a year ago today.
We'll take a look at the rising popularity of the magazine since. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Just taking a look at the numbers there for you. The Dow Jones is down more than 400 points, getting worse out there on the New York Stock
Exchange, down 2.5 percent almost, the NASDAQ and the S&P also lower and holding up slightly better for the NASDAQ.
And European markets across the region were also down if you look at the main indexes. Down 2 and 3rd percent just about significant deck (ph), and
that follows a terrible performance for Chinese markets that crashed 7 percent before trading was suspended.
It is a sign -- a very nerve-wracking times in Israel, a stab-proof vest. But one television demonstration of the latest protective clothing went
very, very wrong.
Becky Anderson has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After a stage of attack on Israeli streets targeting not only soldiers but civilians too.
[15:25:03[ One company came up with an idea to allow people to feel safe going about their everyday lives, lightweight and discreet protective
clothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): What you see is something very thin and flexible, very light and it is possible to get to a high level of
protection, and its advantage is you can also use it not only for the army and the police but also for the civilian market.
ANDERSON: They went on national television to demonstrate with a television reporter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
ANDERSON: So quick, joking goodbye to his girlfriends.
EITAM LACHOVER, ISRAELI REPORTER: (Speaking foreign language).
ANDERSON: And the demo begins.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
ANDERSON: The reporter was in fact stabbed in the back, receiving a surface wound that needed stitches. Interviewed later, the reporter was
generous towards his inadvertent assailant.
LACHOVER (through translation): I have to say that the jacket you see in the picture is not product in the shelf that's been finished properly.
It's not something that is to be sold, it's just something put together in order to do the experiment.
ANDERSON: An earlier off-camera demonstration did work and all was OK in another taping on a different channel. But the company's credibility did
take a hit. Still, a happy ending for that reporter who said he won't be volunteering to be a victim anytime soon again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Vicky Anderson reporting. This is "The World Righty Now."
Next, Paris remembers one year after the Charlie Hebdo attack. President Hollande pays tribute and reminds friends of a very real danger. And, we
have the latest from Cologne in Germany where mass assault have led to 120 criminals and claims. Angela Merkel is responding. Hear what she had to
say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Welcome back, a look at our top stories on this Thursday, in Paris today, a man was shot and killed after trying to attack a police station.
Prosecutor say he shouted Allahu Akbar. Today of course marks the one year anniversary of the attacks on the magazine Charlie Hebdo.
U.S. markets closing half an hour and it has been pretty bruising day, it's part of a global selloff that's started in China, trading with stocks less
than 30 minutes into the session there when the market dropped 7 percent. The Dow is currently down more than 400 points.
As a Saudi-led coalition continues the airstrikes in Yemen, Iran says that its embassy in the capital was hit, injuring several of its personnel.
Iran claims the building was deliberately targeted by Saudi Arabia, the Saudi military spokesman says there will be an investigation but questions
the credibility of Iran's claims.
[15:30:02] At least 50 people are dead after a truck bomb ripped through a police training center on Thursday morning in Western Libya. The truck
plowed into an assembly of about 400 people, mostly police and recruits before exploding.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut with the latest.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, Libya is not seeing this kind of devastation for years. So many dead, such a
striking symbolic target, the police recruitment center, and although ISIS haven't claimed responsibility for this attack, it comes in a time when
they're expanding the territory they control in Libya.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
This is what's left of one part of Libya's bid to restore law and order, now 4.5 tumultuous years since Colonel Gaddafi died. A truck bomb killing
dozens of recruits at the police training center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
WALSH: He came driving really fast he says, he drove through the gates in a large vehicle and then exploded.
Probably a suicide bomber in a fuel tanker say reports. Months from now western troops could have been training Libyans here in a bid to secure
Libya's coast line and make Europe safer. But for now it was just the young struck down, most likely by ISIS who haven't claimed it yet.
And now hospital themselves in an oil rich country struggling this day with money, battling to treat more and more injured with less and less, over 70
on this hospital's list by dusk. ISIS have found a home in the bloodshed helped by the chaos of a civil war between two rival governments battling
it out to role supreme.
Many now see the coastal state as ISIS' fallback position if they kept loosing in Iraq and Syria. 24 hours earlier, ISIS released this video to
show how they had taken town of Bin Jawad east of their stronghold Sirte, yet another stretch of the Mediterranean hours from Europe by boat and
their grasp, Europe increasingly nervous.
And ISIS increasingly ambitious, their sights now on these oil fields near Ras Lanuf, an important source of wealth for ISIS if the fire of their
attacks have started across Libya exacerbating its trauma eventually die out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now Hala, many had been hoping that those two rival governments, one in the east and one mostly centered around the capital Tripoli, that they would
perhaps form some sort of national unity administration, that was the hope from U.S. officials and Europeans late last year. But that is stalling,
and everyday, every month that it stalls makes it harder for the west to coalesce efforts to round a new administration who can get together and
focus to fight to kick ISIS out of Libya, so close to the European shoreline, Hala.
GORANI: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much for that report. And signs of Libya's unrest can actually be seen from space. Take a look at this
NASA satellite image, the Islamic State attack set on fire oil fields near AsSidrah on Wednesday, you see black smoke spreading across the dessert,
you see it clearly there, the first third of the picture, spreading across the center of the picture there. So significant you can actually see it
from outer space.
Now back to our top story, one year after terrorist struck at the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo, Parisians took time to remember today. The
French President Francois Hollande paid tribute in a memorial to fallen police officers. There he is. He said that France still faces a very real
treat from terrorism, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translation): Ladies and gentlemen you protect the French people. You also protect their way of
life, their liberty. That way of life, that's what the terrorist wanted to attack, because joy, sharing, culture inspire hatred in them, probably not
in decades as your mission being more necessary, more demanding, because terrorism is not done burdening our country with this formidable threat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well the Charlie Hebdo attack started a terrible year for Paris, essentially that city was book ended by Charlie Hebdo and of course the
November attack. The killing kicked off what would end up being a very violent 2015.
CNN's Jim Bittermann looks now back at how Paris and Charlie Hebdo are trying to move forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was for France a terrifying and innocence, if the shoots and shouts and bloody scenes had long been
predicted, no one, not the police or government officials nor the public could have anticipated the awful reality of homegrown terrorist sticking at
the heart of the French capital.
[15:35:04] It was an attack not just on the cartoonist, adverse (ph) and others who were killed, it was an attack on the very fundamental right of
freedom of expression, which the edgy (ph) satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo have always exercised to the fullest.
A year later, commemorative plaques have gone up, freedom of expression lives on.
The newspaper, well the newspaper lives on as well albeit from a much more secure and secret location. In fact financially Charlie Hebdo has never
been stronger, before the attack it's struggled to survive, printing just 30,000 copies a week. But since there's been a six fold increase in
circulation and an influx of millions of Euros in donations.
The editor says he would not rule out publishing more caricatures of Mohammed, the act which made Charlie Hebdo the target of (inaudible)
elements. But he sees no need to do at the moment. Still he admits the tune of the newspaper has changed.
LAURENT "RISS" SOURISSEAU, CHARLIE HEBDO PUBLISHING DIRECTOR (through translation): Here we are one year later, with a vision which might be
even a little more pessimistic today than it was one year ago.
BITTERMANN: Is it more difficult to be funny now?
SOURISSEAU (through translation): No, we always manage to find the urge to laugh because we have the will to live.
BITTERMANN: But in that respect perhaps, the newspaper is something of a reflection of the nation, which has been struggling to maintain it's rather
(inaudible) over a year that has seen more than its fair share of tragedy since the Charlie Hebdo attack. That targeted attack was one thing, but as
many here have pointed out, the kind of indiscriminate attacks that kills and injured hundreds on November 13th were entirely different.
JANE WESTON VAUCLAIR, AUTHOR "CHARLIE HEBDO AND JOYFUL RESISTANCE": I think France has changed, I think the event January last year were enormous
symbolic beyond the actual physical violence. I think it raise a lot of questions about French identity, perhaps some of the causes of this awful
attack.
BITTERMANN: Shortly after the newspaper was attacked, one observer said, it's not they were going to kill Charlie Hebdo but in fact they've made it
stronger. A year later, the words bring just as true, not only for the newspaper but perhaps even for France itself.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: In Germany more than 120 criminal complaints have now been filed after a state of mass assaults in Cologne on New Years Eve. Police say 16
suspects have now been identified. Chancellor Angela Merkel says Thursday that the situation was "intolerable."
Michelle Holmes has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Germany, angry demonstrators take to the streets to protest violence against women, as police face mounting
pressure for the handling of numerous reports of sexual assaults during Cologne's New Year's Eve celebrations.
A week after the incident, German Chancellor Angela Merkel finally speaks out.
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translation): What happened at New Year is completely unacceptable. Those are despicable criminal acts
which a state will not accept, including Germany. That's why an intensive investigation by the relevant institutions is underway. This investigation
must be supported, the feeling women had in this case of being completely defenseless and at mercy is for me personally intolerable.
HOLMES: Cologne police received more than 100 criminal complaints from women who said they had been sexually assaulted or robbed by gangs of men
of Arab or North African descent during the celebration outside the city's main train station.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): The men surrounded us and started to grab our behinds and touch our crouches, they touched us
everywhere, I wanted to take my friend and leave, I turned around and in that moment someone grabbed my bag.
HOLMES: Victims say there wasn't enough security at the event and felt they had no one to help them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): We run to the police but we saw the police were so understaffed, they couldn't take care of us and we as
women suffered the price.
HOLMES: Police continue to go through large amounts of cellphone (inaudible) that evening, saying they've identified several suspects but
have made no arrests. Germans are furious with Cologne's mayor who suggested women protect themselves from men on the street by keeping them
at arms length. German media has also been criticized for their failure to initially report the story.
And German broadcaster ZDF apologized on Facebook for not reporting the story earlier. A country already overwhelmed with the influx of more than
1 million refugees now dealing with fear and anger, as the search for the perpetrators continues.
Michelle Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And don't forget, you can head to our Facebook page for the latest analysis. We post our best stories and interviews as well.
[15:40:09] Facebook.com/halagoranicnn, you've been reacting quite a lot on the Facebook pages the last of days. So there you go. You can head there
if you'd like to know more about what we've covered. This is "The World Right Now."
U.S. President Barack Obama is taking his new push for gun control to the American people during a town hall meeting right here on CNN. We'll have a
preview and tell you what the NRA has to say about that.
Plus, our Samuel Burke tests out the latest must-have gadgets, the Oculus Rift headset, not sure what that is but we'll learn all about it after a
quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
U.S. President Barack Obama is lobbying hard for support for his new gun control measures from the American people. In about four hours he's going
to headline an inclusive town hall event and it is right here on CNN. The President's new executive action to limit gun violence have sparked a
backlash from Republicans, it's a very partisan issue in America.
Some proponents of gun ownership in the U.S. invoked the so-called "Gun Guy With a Gun Theory." They say, that's why everybody should have access to
weapon. It's the idea that an innocent bystander could take down an active shooter if only that bystander were armed.
The Presidential candidate Donald Trump explains the theory, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know it's interesting, in California, when you had the two people, these two horrible people shoot
people that gave them a wedding, these people that got killed gave them a wedding party. Anyway, they went in, they shoot. If a couple of people in
that room had guns or if a couple of people in Paris had guns, you wouldn't have had 130 people or 14 people in California laying dead with more to
follow because of so many people so badly wounded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, that was Donald Trump, I'm sure you've heard this theory before, don't limit access to guns, in fact the best way to keep
people safe is to arm everybody, arm teachers in schools for instance, we've heard that theory before. All right, so we put it to the test.
Our Miguel Marquez took part in a simulation to test the Good Guy With a Gun Theory. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's an AR-15, like the gun used in San Bernardino, the Aurora, Colorado movie theater massacre and Sandy Hook
elementary to name a few.
That's a 9mm, a popular handgun used in San Bernardino and many other shootings.
The Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training in at Texas State University trains law enforcement agencies nationwide in handling active
shooter incidents. ALERRT runs the largest training program in the country. It is the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies
nationwide in preparing for mass casualty and specialized emergencies.
[15:45:07] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's body armor. That's the standard body armor that patrol officers wear.
MARQUEZ: They run a scenario, the guns firing rounds made of soap. I was the good guy, legally carrying a concealed weapon when a shooting breaks
out.
I hear shooting down a long dimly lit hallway, I take a peak then shoot my own Producer Brian Vitagliano, hitting him once in the chest. As I moved
down the hallway, another student pops out, I don't shoot him and I'm able to stop the gunmen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hear the shoots, we know the problem is down here so we start, I kind of push you, let's go, let's go, because again, if we're
coming to try stop the active shooter we got to get to the active shooter.
MARQUEZ: From 2000 to 2013 there were 160 active shooter incidents in 40 of the 50 states both rural and urban areas. In the first seven years of
the study, there were about six incidents each year then the frequency increased sharply, more than doubling to roughly to 16 incidents every
year.
People who runs ALERRT authored that report, he says active shooters situations are so chaotic and only a tiny number of incidents did someone
with a gun stopped a shooter.
PETE BLAIR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALERRT: Out of the all the events we looked at, there are about 3 percent of the events where it was somebody
with a firearm who stopped the shooter.
MARQUEZ: In 2014 a Darby, Pennsylvania doctor shot and killed a gunmen who had killed one person. And in 2008, a man with a concealed weapon stopped
the gunmen in Winnemucca, Nevada after the gunmen had killed two people and injured two others.
BLAIR: I'm not anti-gun at all. I have a concealed handgun license myself.
MARQUEZ: But in an active shooter situation, you would not want just anyone pulling out a gun and trying to save the day?
BLAIR: Yes, what we say is, there's a lot that goes into it, and so there's -- looking at the situation and saying, what's happening right now.
MARQUEZ: Alert emphasizes a good guy with a gun could kill innocent people, they could be shot by police or other civilians mistaking them for
the attacker, or...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, pause (ph) what we have is a malfunction.
MARQUEZ: Three times the 9mm jammed while I was firing it and that was just practice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You literally have to strip the magazine out, work it like this, reinsert the magazine, and then you can shot again.
MARQUEZ: Without hundreds or thousands of hours of training, a rookie mistake a jammed weapon, just a few seconds to clear it could be the good
guys with a gun becomes another victim.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, San Marcos, Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: There you go, the theory put to the test.
The NRA is the biggest gun lobbying group, the National Riffles Association. Well, it says it will not be sending a representative to the
town hall meeting headlined by the President on CNN this evening. A spokesman says, "The NRA sees no reason to participate in a public
relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House."
We should note that CNN organized this town hall. This is not a White House event. And the audience will be split between gun rights activists
and groups that back more regulation.
Our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta joins me now live from the White House. So the NRA is saying we're not going to be sending a
representative, I mean, is the White House sort of satisfied with the representation in this town hall debate as a kind of a representative
cross-section of American opinion?
JIM ACOSTA, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely Hala, and keep in mind, I don't think the White House is too surprised that the National
Riffles Association which is the nation's top gun lobby backed out of this event. You know, the White House and the NRA have been at each other for
years now over this issue. But there will be gun rights supporters in the audience at the President's town hall this evening.
And when I talked to the White House Press Secretary earlier today and asked the question, is the President ready to take on some of these critics
from the gun rights community and Earnest said yes, that the President wants to hear from both sides, he wants to engage with both sides, and
partly because, Hala, there is this narrative out there that the president is out to get people's guns. And, it's not only something that you read
about on the internet or on social media.
Keep in mind Ted Cruz who is one of the leading Republicans running for president right now send out an e-mail to his supporters just recently
saying, Obama wants your guns and I asked Josh Ernest about that and he accused Ted Cruz of trying to stir up people's fears and play on people's
anxieties. And so the White House has an opportunity this evening at this town hall to really talk about those anxieties and reassure Americans that
the President does in fact believe in the Second Amendment. That is something that he said the other day during that event here at the White
House, and we'll hear that again from the President tonight.
GORANI: And what is the aim here? Is it to change minds?
[15:50:05] ACOSTA: I think so. And, you know what? I think when the public saw the President openly weep inside the White House, it's not a
sight you see everyday when it comes to any President really. When he wept over here at the White House about the deaths of those children in the
Sandy Hook school shooting back in 2012, you know, I think that registered with a lot Americans out there, and it generated a lot of interest in this
town hall quire frankly.
And I think there is the possibility, the White House believes there is the possibility that the numbers could move somewhat. Now, does that translate
into gun control legislation passing up on Capitol Hill? No it won't because Republicans both houses of Congress but what the White House is
saying is that, you know what? For now, if they can attract public support for these executive actions that the President is pursuing right now to
expand the background check system in this country, they'll take that, and then in the years to come where the president will be urging Americans to
do is to try to vote where their opinions are.
And as the White House points out, 90 percent of Americans, roughly 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks in United States.
They just can't get through that through Congress, so, what they want at this point at the very lease with these executive actions the President is
pursuing and potentially down the road have some elections where perhaps more Democrats get in Congress, they can get that kind of legislation
passed.
GORANI: All right Jim Acosta, our Senior White House correspondent in Washington, thank you very much Jim.
And a reminder to join CNN's Guns in America with the U.S. president Barack Obama. Our Anderson Cooper hosts the exclusive town hall event in Fairfax,
Virginia, it's at 1:00 a.m. Friday in London and it will re-air the following day for our viewers who are not up in the middle of the night,
you will be having an opportunity to see it the following day a few times.
Coming up, the future of T.V. is apparently flexible. Take a look at the latest generation of television screen. We're live in Las Vegas, we'll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Some breaking news to share with you, there are reports that ISIS' official spokesperson has been wounded in Iraq. Iraqi state television is reporting
that this man, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was hurt in an airstrike in Anbar province, he's reported been transferred to Mosul for treatment, he does
remain under ISIS' protection, we cannot at CNN independently verify this report, but if indeed he's been wounded at least on that level, ISIS has
been struck successfully in Iraq.
Here's another bit of news for you, the head of European football Michel Platini will not run for the FIFA presidency according to the Associated
Press. You'll remember Platini was banned from all football-related activities for eight years, along with FIFA President Sepp Blatter
following an ethics investigation. FIFA's presidential election takes place of February 2016. Platini will not be running.
The latest must-have high-tech gadget is not on the market and in high demand. It's a virtual reality headset. It's all the rage apparently at
the consumer show.
CNN's Samuel Burke entered the virtual world, and he joins me now with the very latest. So Samuel, when I heard about this virtual reality headset, I
thought, well this technology has been out for a while now, what's especially about this one?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's been out for a while but Oculus which is owned by Facebook is really the leader in this field, they
have the highest quality equipment and the content. Imagine here, we are waiting to see a price, and we now know that the headset is going to cost
$599, but forget that price because Hala, you need a whole kit to go along with it, including a computer. That whole can cause you $1,499, I asked
the CEO of Oculus, how he's going to compete at that price if Google has a cardboard headset for $5?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDAN IRIBE, OCULUS CEO: We really look at this as a entirely different category, this is high-quality V.R.
[15:55:07] This is V.R. for people that want a super immersive experience that really want to feel that sense of presence, where you put on a
headset, you wear for an extended period of time, you're fully immersed, you feel great inside, that's something that's unique to the Rift.
BURKE: And you heard of a facelift, but last year when I put this on, it felt a little bit like a face (inaudible) but now I feel it's so much
lighter than before, is that the biggest change here?
IRIBE: Yeah, we've really focused on the ergonomics and the weight of the headset, how comfortable it is, when you put it on physically and the
experience inside. And so there's been a lot of improvements overall to the headset, and we really feel like this is consumer quality, this is the
quality that we've been working towards for several years now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURKE: Hala, you can't watch "The World Right Now" with virtual reality right now but I really have a strong sense that one day you're going to be
watching Hala Gorani news, movie and sports, imagine the basketball flying by your eyes in one of these headsets. But for now, what they're going to
do is gaming. Those are going to be the first adaptors of virtual reality.
GORANI: All right, it will be -- well, it is possible to perhaps watch "The World Right Now" on a rollable television screen. LG has one of those
out. Can you buy those?
BURKE: You can't buy those yet unlike the virtual reality headset, but this is a real slice of the future, I've seen some startup company that
have bendable screens but they were in black and white, this was HD color from LG Display, they say it will be in the market in the next few years,
no price tag just yet. Imagine taking your tablet, rolling it up and putting it in your pocket.
GORANI: I have to say I love that idea. This is something I'd be possibly very interested in. I hope it makes it on the market, I hope it's
affordable and all the rest of it. Samuel, thank you very much, having fun in Vegas.
This has been "The World Right Now." I'm Hala Gorani, a lot more ahead on CNN, don't go anywhere. Richard Quest is next with "Quest Means Business"
with more on that terrible day on the New York Stocks Exchange and the turmoil in world markets. We'll be right back after this.
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