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Hala Gorani Tonight
Istanbul attack: Dozens Killed at Turkish Nightclub; ISIS Claims Responsibility for Istanbul Attack; U.S. Congress Prepares for Busy 2017; Trump says he has Inside Information On Hacking; Queen Elizabeth Recovering from Lingering "Heavy Cold"; French Protect Workers Right to Disconnect; Dozens Dead in Brazil Prison Riot; Urgent Manhunt for Turkey Nightclub Shooter; Chicago's Homicide Rate Sees Highest Surge; Mariah Carey's Manager Blames Producers for New Year's Eve Nightmare
Aired January 02, 2017 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:01] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: This hour a manhunt in Turkey, police continue to pursue an attacker who carried out a New Year's Eve assault on
a night club in Istanbul. The very latest we're live in Turkey.
Plus, done of a new political year, the American Congress get back to work and fledges to undo some of Barack Obama's key initiatives.
Also this hour the right to disconnect, a French law says you can ignore those after hours work e-mail.
And, yes we're going to talk about this Mariah Carey has a New Year's Eve she remember as her Time Square performance falls shall we say flock.
Hello everyone, I'm Hala Gorani, we're live from CNN London. Thanks for being with us. This is the first Monday of 2017, Happy New Year. All of
us joining you, this is "The World Right Now".
A manhunt continues in Turkey this hour. The gunman in the Istanbul terrorist attack is still at large. But we are now getting an idea what
the suspect might look like. This is an image taken from surveillance video purportedly of the suspect. It's a screen grab of CCTV footage. It
was obtained by Turkish Police.
Now, we at CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the image. But police are saying this could be the attacker. Footage shows the moment
when that gunmen started firing outside the nightclub. You see it there surveillance video as well. You see people ducking for cover as he moves
toward the door.
And ISIS now says it was behind the attack, claiming responsibility. It offered no clues nor about the attacker. Turkish authorities have detained
eight people in connection with the attack, presumably also working around the clock to try to get to him as quickly as possible.
Let's get out to Istanbul for the very latest, our Ian Lee is live from there. This is the big priority now getting to this shooter who murdered
39 people and injured so many others, are they getting any closer?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Hala, we heard from the prime minister saying that he will be captured soon and that all resources are being
deployed to make sure that happens, the deputy prime minister, following up saying that hundreds of security personnel have been committed to the
search. They have his picture. They have his fingerprints and so they believe that they will have a picture of -- of what he -- how he did it.
They want to know who is behind it, who helped him all things that they are going to be looking into.
But we need to remember 39 people lost their lives, we're hearing some of the stories from these people or from the family members saying, that
they're just in shock that something like this could happen, which took their loved ones. From survivors, we're hearing tales of how they fled
away from the gunman as he opened fire, how they hid, how some people even jumped into the Bosporus, one American who was injured was released today.
This what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to talk about what happened inside the club, but, you know, I want to say, you know, did, this is a very good
country and it's so unfortunate that this is happening to you guys and I really feel for everybody here.
For me I wake up in the United States, so I eat breakfast. You guys wake up and have to think of this it's so, so sad and I really wish everybody
here the best. I've only met very good people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Now Hala, the thing that stuck out to me and that sound by was that he said, you know, Turks have to wake up and think about this and this is
something that Turks have had to wake up and think about time after time after time in the past year and a half with countless of terrorist attacks
that have killed dozens and dozens of people.
GORANI: All right, well we've covered a few of them ourselves to Istanbul, airport attack and then of course that gunman who killed the Russian
ambassador there and now this. So how is Turkey reacting, another intensifying their airstrikes against ISIS targets inside of Syria, but I
mean what can we expect from the government of President Erdogan?
LEE: Well Hala, during his the press conference today, the deputy prime minister was a bit defensive. He said that they have thwarted 248 attacks
that have targeted Turkey. He said, these are attacks that would be carried out by either suicide bombers or car bombers, but he said that
listen at times they do slip through and you do get these sorts of incidents. But for Turks, this is becoming all too regular having these
sorts of incidents even on New Year's Eve.
There was a joke going around that this was going to be the pajama New Year's Eve because people were afraid of going out that a terrorist attack
would happen and one did.
[15:05:02] So there's a lot of questions for the Turkish government even though they're showing that they're putting out a strong force to try to
prevent these sorts of attacks happening. They still happen. So these are the questions that people here in Turkey want an answer.
GORANI: All right. And certainly people are already asking why was in there more security. Anyway we're going to be exploring, many of those
questions a bit later this hour. Thanks very much, Ian Lee.
You just heard from an American who survive the nightclub attack who was able to fly back home. There are others who are describing the scene of
terror as the attacker opened fire inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Actually I didn't see him. As soon as he enter the club he started firing and he didn't stop. He fired
non-stop for 20 minutes at least. We thought they were several of them, because it just didn't stop. And there was some kind of bombing as well.
He used some explosives.
We managed to hide ourselves and luckily he didn't go out on the terrace, he stayed inside, he didn't go out on the terrace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Suddenly I heard gun shots, it was unabated. Everybody started to run away. Everybody begin hiding. I run
with my cousin to find a place to hide. He went somewhere and I went somewhere else. We lost each other. After taking over, we exchange
messages, confided and stop. Bombs were exploding.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right, now you heard one of the witnesses talked about bombs, this isn't something that we have had reports of or that we've been able to
verify that one can imagine. A scene of confusion and chaos and yet again so much grief after a terrorist attack.
We'll have a lot more on what happened in Istanbul over the weekend a little bit later this hour.
But three are the very latest on U.S politics, because we are 17 days away from the inauguration of a new president and Congress is gearing up to
return for the first time in 2017 and this is going to be no ordinary year. And an unpredictable new president due to take office as we mentioned in a
few days. And Republican control of both Houses means an aggressive push to put new policies in place.
Vice President elect Mike Pence had some advice to Republicans on Capitol Hill, buckle up, he said across the aisle, Democrats are gearing up for a
battle over Trump's Cabinet picks. Incoming Press Secretary Sean Spicer had some strong words over their position. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN SPICER, INCOMING PRESS SECRETARY: It is sad that Senator Schumer has chosen to politicize everything, because each of these individuals is an
unbelievably agent of success in change, is going to help this country move forward. And the idea that the Democrats choice is to figure out from day
one how to oppose everyone these individuals is just as frankly sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Sean Spicer who will be the press secretary in just a few days.
Let's get more in this I'm joined by Salena Zito, a CNN contributor and reporter for "The Washington Examiner", she's in Pittsburgh. And CNN
senior political reporter Stephen Collinson joins me from Washington.
So Stephen, let me out first start with the new Congress and used in session now for 2017, vowing to repeal many or, you know, many of President
Obama's signature legislation and what he considers his major achievements. So will they succeed?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR ENTERPRISE REPORTER: I think let's say to a great extent Hala. We're seeing really the dawn of a new conservative era.
We have Republican leaders exultant that conservative reform legislation has been on ice during the eight years of the Obama administration with a
Democrat in the White House.
Now pretty much has a free path to going to going into law (ph). So I think we can now see Republicans act very quickly on issues like repealing
Obamacare. The president's signature, domestic healthcare initiative. They can now move quickly as well on the big tax cuts, which critics say
will benefit the riches in society. Tax cuts also for businesses to try and stimulate new investment.
And I think we're going to see the Senate rush very hard over the next two weeks before Donald Trump is inaugurated to get his Cabinet nominees in
place. So that when he gets into the White House he can hit the ground running. So what we're going to see I think is a very early push by
Republicans to get rid of most of President Barack Obama's domestic political legacy, Donald Trump will use his executive powers once he's in
the White House to do exactly the same thing.
GORANI: And Salena Zito, a word on the alleged Russian hacking that metal their interfered, some in the intelligence community have said in the U.S
election. Donald Trump is promising to reveal some secrets that he says only he knows tomorrow or after tomorrow. Any idea what that could be?
SALENA ZITO, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well there's been pretty sort of tightlipped about what he is going to talk about. I suspect that Mr. Trump
is whenever he speaks about it is going to make it clear-cut distinction that whatever the hacking was, that it was not the hacking of the election,
which they had been trying to communicate sometimes fruitlessly. But more the hacking of a political group.
[15:10:07] So I think we'll see him. I suspect that's what we'll see him talk about and I know he's also meeting with the intelligence agencies. I
don't think you will see as a volatile, a relationship between them that some in the media are predicting a president, you know, values their input
and understands all the issues that they face. And a while there's this conflict going on right now. I suspect that that will be resolved once he
becomes president or in the days leading up to his inauguration.
GORANI: But he's made -- Salena a lot of promises on what he's going to rollback Sean Spicer the incoming press secretary saying basically TPP,
the trade deal --
ZITO: Yes.
GORANI: -- a ban on lobbying for anyone who works in the administration for a life. All those types of things repealing and replacing Obamacare
and it's extremely ambitious set of --
ZITO: Yes.
GORANI: -- promises. So how do you expect that to sort of develop in the first weeks of his presidency? We'll he go ahead with all this things.
ZITO: Well -- it sort of reminds me of 2009. When President Obama took every, he need a big majority in the House. He had a comfortable majority
in the Senate, and has it same kind of feel right, we're going to get all these things down, we're going to, you know, and use some of the things
that Bush had done. And they did do that and they paid the consequences in a midterm less than two years later.
So it would be wiser than I think two while people really wanted change in America in this election. Americans also have this expectation of us to
move a little bit slowly. So I think they need to figure that sort of recipe out so that they don't face this sort of down ballot problems that
Obama --
GORANI: Right.
ZITO: -- and the Democrats faced after 2010 midterms.
GORANI: All right. Stephen the Democrats, they're going to have to pick some fights. They can't fight at all. They can't fight all his Cabinet
picks, they can't, you know, resist every single effort to repeal some of President Obama's signature legislation achievements. So what will they --
what fights will they picks in the hope of trying to at least win some of them?
COLLINSON: Well that's the question, you know, they just don't have the numbers in the House and the Senate to act as a complete roadblock to the
Trump agenda. And as you say that means they're going to have to pick what fights they going to engage with the president-elect.
You know, they're not going to cooperate in any way about repealing Obamacare, but at some point the Republicans have to come up with a schemes
to replace Obamacare to take care of those 20 million people who got insurance for the first time under the legislation. Then the question
arises for Democrats, do they cooperate with the Republicans to try to put something in place? To help these people who've, someone who might be
Democratic voters or delay put up blanket opposition in order to try to make Republicans pay a price, so they can go to the country in the midterm
elections in 2018 or the presidential election in 2020, to say look Republicans deprive you of your healthcare you should vote for us. So
that's the kind of longtime strategic consequences the Democrats have to consider.
In the short-term, there are some areas where they could work with President-Elect Donald Trump. For example on infrastructure, his told
about a big stimulus package on the infrastructure that would help Democrats go to people in rust belt states, in the midwest they lost to
Trump and say look, we're trying to help you get your jobs back, we try to stimulate the economy. So that's one area, perhaps where they might choose
not to oppose Donald Trump.
GORANI: And Salena this isn't the newest most recent tweet, but it's the one that got the most attention on New Year's Eve Donald Trump essentially
wished happy New Year to all, including to my many enemy and those who fought me and lost so badly, they just do not know what to do. Love. That
got a lot of attention because essentially people or critics of Donald Trump were saying, wait are you calling those who oppose you in the United
States as in Americans your enemies ?
Is that going to change that tone? Do you think once he's actually in office?
ZITO: No. I don't think anything about his tone is going to change. This man has been the same man all of his life. If you go back and read his
book, "Art of the Deal, which was written in the '80s. He is the exact same person then, than he was now. I don't expect him to change. And, you
know, it's like it was said earlier in the campaign, you know, people take him seriously but not literally. But people who either do not like him or
reporters or pundits or historians or academics they take every word he says literally and not seriously. It -- he does not have the same value
with the words that a typical politician or reporter has.
[15:14:59] And so he is going to almost always, you know, cause controversy and cause people to light because they're going to over read what he says
or misread what he says or he is just to say something that's just gonna make everybody's hair catch on fire.
GORANI: All right, we'll see on much more when he tweets once he's on office. Salena Zito, thanks very much. Really great having you on the
program --
ZITO: Thank you.
GORANI: -- and seating with us. CNN contributor and reporter for "The Washington Examiner". Stephen Collinson, thanks as well.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
GORANI: Happy New Year to you both. A lot more to come this evening.
Police in Cologne defend their use of racial profiling during New Year's celebration. We'll have details from Germany, we're live in that country.
And went out of the office really means out of the office out. France draws the line on after hours work e-mail only Hamba (ph).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: And to Germany now where Police in Cologne are defending their profiling tactics on New Year's Eve, more than 1,500 officers were deployed
to prevent a repeat of the mass assaults that took place a year ago. And Cologne's chief of police admits that his officers specifically targeted
men of North African descent, but has rejected the criticism saying, he took the action because quote "We had insights".
Let's go live to Germany -- to journalist Chris Burns in Berlin for more. So what specifically did police do in Cologne on New Year's Eve that has
some people sort of that has raised some eyebrows? Could you first of all go over that.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN FRANKFURT BUREAU CHIEF: Well Hala, we were -- yes we were there on the ground Hala, and the hour before New Year's -- that the change
of the year, we saw hundreds of young men coming out of trains. Most of them looked like they were from of immigrant origin. The police are
worried about the same thing happening as happened last year, because most of those assaults were links to immigrants. There was backlash against
immigration because of that. Police wanted to avoid that from happening again.
Here is a police chief, here is how he described the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Overall, we checked the identities of 650 people of home based on police officers assessments around 98 to 99
percent. Almost all of them were from North Africa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNS: OK then what happened was the police set out a tweet and that tweet said, we are rounding up hundreds of Nafri's and checking their documents.
More information to come.
Nafri's is seen by many as a very derogatory term for North Africans and the police chief said, yes I regret that we use that word as a tweet. They
tweeted in English and in German. Everybody a lot of backlash on the social networks because of that which is continuing now.
[15:20:01] Thousands of people are angry about it. Others are of actually accepting it and that and at the same time we also have political backlash
too, the socialists are saying, this was dehumanizing. The Greens are saying that this was unacceptable, but on the CDU side the conservative
side of Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying look these guys were just doing their job. And look don't forget what happened last year.
So there is a debate going on Hala right now and we'll see that continue. And keep that in mind also that the terrorist attack of the Christmas
market that happened the last month how much security is too much? How much security is too little, that's going to be in the election campaigns
coming up this year, Hala.
GORANI: Well I wasn't familiar with the term Nafri's, but obviously the Cologne Police might have to sort of brush up on it social media strategy
in the future. I'm sure they've learned that lesson.
But overall New Year's Eve festivities went off OK right? There was -- there were no issues this year?
BURNS: Well there were -- there are few arrests. There were also so among some of those young men who were checked. They were, they didn't have the
right, the papers they were referred to immigration authorities. There are things that happen. There were some events, but overall it was very, very
peaceful, in part because a lot fewer people showed up. We talked to one couple had say were, we're not so much worried about the security here,
we're more worried about terrorism and that's why they were careful about that.
GORANI: Yes.
BURNS: I talked to another guys, said look there are so many police here, it's more secure than the Bundestag. So people felt secure, but there were
a lot of the less people turning out than last year, Hala.
GORANI: Well it's understandable after that Berlin attack. Thanks very much. Chris Burns is live in Germany.
In Britain there is some concerned about the health of Queen Elizabeth. She's been noticeably absent from the public eye in recent weeks. She
skipped Christmas and New Year's church services as she battles a severe cold.
Correspondent Phil Black has the latest from Buckingham Palace. Phil?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, the queen is famous and widely respected for his steadfast commitment to performing her duties regardless
of the circumstances. So for the 90-year-old monarch who is also the supreme governor of the Church of England to miss church services on both
Christmas and New Year's Day. Well that something of a radical departure from her usual behavior.
And it creates a window possible speculation about the queen's well-being. It appears the palace who's trying to get out ahead of that sort of
speculation and potential exaggeration by telling everyone that this is just a cold, albeit a nasty one a heavy one, and a persistent one.
The palace has been telling journalist that the queen is open about within her residence on the Sandringham estate, she is by their own words, working
she is still receiving those red government boxes full of documents and briefing papers that she stays across as the head of state here in Britain.
And very much saying that this is just a cold and she is recovering, she's soldiering on through with the expectation is that she will make a full
recovery. Will get off a sensor that with her next plan public appearance that is due to happen next Sunday.
Again, these suppose to be another appearance of the local church near the Sandringham estate, that's the state where she will be spending the rest of
the month as she usually does over the Christmas holiday, New Year period. Hala.
GORANI: Thanks very much Phil.
Elsewhere in Europe, a new labor lies and now in effect giving workers the right to disconnect. French workers are now legally able to ignore
business e-mails that arrive after hours. Now it is straightforward as it might sound because staff will have to negotiate exactly what out of hours
means with their boss. I tell you in the news business, there is no such thing.
While the law is designed to bring a better work life balance, not everyone is convinced that it will work. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think it's a good law and a necessary one. We are constantly bombarded with information and also under
pressure to urge people to react to immediately. So I think it is essential in order to preserve the health of employees and also for a
better balance between private and professional life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's not a law that is going to be helping you to live a better life. You need to -- everybody wants to have a work life
balance. It's natural and I think it's about organization and it's about self-discipline more than legalizing this aspect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well I guess about France is always, you know, always wants to have laws that will help people to have a better life or social
life, but I don't think it's totally ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you feel you need to check e-mails and when I am with my children, I don't do this, but when I have time then I do it. It's
just, you know, just to check and that does not prevent me from enjoying my weekends or enjoying my personal life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:25:00] GORANI: I don't know. Let's get more reaction from Paris. CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now. I think in the news business, we might as
well forget about it, right? Out of hours, after hours, whatever, that doesn't exist for us. But I mean practically speaking, and this does sound
typically French, negotiate. Now you need to negotiate exactly what out of hours means. How is that going to work, practically?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. What came into effect on Sunday, essentially, Hala, is the obligation to all companies that have
more than 50 people to negotiate with their staff what happens when they're not physically at work.
So, how tied to their smartphones do they have to be? Do they have to answer e-mails all evening and all night? What are the periods in which it
can be reasonably expected that they'll turn off their phones and not be answerable to those e-mails?
What's obligatory now in France is that companies over 50 people have to sit down with their employees and work out a plan. If they fail to agree,
Hala, then a charter has to be produced by the company to say, look, outside of the working day, here's what we expect of you. Here are the
hours you can actually switch off and be with your children. Of course, there are two sides to this debate. On one hand, we all feel that we've
become completely addicted to our gadgets, we're all looking at them constantly, worse than teenagers for some of us actually, Hala, but others
will say it's given us a tremendous amount of flexibility.
You can go about answering your e-mails and dealing with your work loads, while you're going around the grocery store. While you're looking after
your children, while your picking them up from school.
What union representative's say is important about this law is that it obliges companies and employees to sit down together and work out what a
sensible work life balance is. And of course you're not likely to see this anyone other than France. France is famous for protecting its workers'
rights and it's something that's continued right through this socialist government, although it could be something that's about to change.
Polls suggested the socialist party will lose power in the spring and who knows what the right will do to these sorts of laws once it comes into
office Hala.
GORANI: Right. And if you decide you've just feel like answering e-mails until midnight, I mean is there a way to negotiate extra pay? Do you have,
you know, one part of the company work stops work at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.? Doesn't look at their phone until the next morning at 8:00 a.m. Another
part might decide they agree with working extra hours? I mean, this opens up so many more questions, doesn't it?
BELL: It opens up so many more questions, but at least to union representatives, it begins to sort of dialogue that we haven't seen far.
And already a couple of companies in France have kind of gone ahead this grasped the nettle by physically switching off access e-mail from a certain
amount of time.
So it could be that you'll see some more drastic measures, where employees will actually be prevented from being too addicted to their smartphones.
And the although the idea is about discussion and the other is, there's nothing binding about this.
So this was introduced in the labor law reform that drew so many people on to the streets over the course of the last few months here in France.
Labor firm designed to make the rigid -- famously rigid French labor laws more flexible. This was a sweetener amongst them will, we will go in the
direction of the workers on this point. But the fact is, that even if companies fail to abide by it, there is nothing to oblige them to do so.
So it will be very interesting to see how these negotiations pan out over the coming weeks, Hala.
GORANI: Right. It's certainly a question for so many of us and so many of us are connected to our phones and our work e-mail 24 hours a day. Melissa
Bell is live in Paris. Thanks very much.
Still ahead, what sparked a deadly riot at a Brazilian prison? It is a shocking story. The death toll is staggering. We'll have a live report,
coming up.
And later, ISIS claims responsibility for the horrific attack on an Istanbul nightclub. We'll have the latest on the urgent manhunt underway.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:10] GORANI: Turkish authorities say they're close to identifying the suspect in the Istanbul nightclub attack, but right now he is still on
the run. This photo is believed to show the gunman, but CNN can't confirm that. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. This man, if it is
him, in fact, killed 39 people early Sunday morning and wounded many others in a gun attack.
ISIS has also claimed responsibility for a deadly car bombing in the Iraqi capital. The bomb went off at a busy intersection in the mostly Shiite
neighborhood of Sadr City. At least 35 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded.
The French president is visiting Baghdad. Francois Hollande met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Mr. Hollande also is visiting French
troops stationed in the country, and he is saluting Iraqi forces fighting ISIS in Mosul.
A fight between rival gangs is being blamed for a massive and deadly prison riot in Brazil. Officials say at least 60 people were killed. Now, this
was the scene outside the prison because family members who heard about what was going on inside all started gathering there. They just wanted to
know if their relatives were OK. They wanted to get information on the fate of their loved ones.
Let's get more on this horrific prison melee. Rafael Romo is at the CNN center. Talk to us about what happened. Why is the death toll so, so
shocking, 60 people?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Yes, it's a lot of people, indeed, Hala. Brazilian officials say the riot lasted 17 hours so
that explains part of the situation. From New Year's Day until Monday morning, when prison guards were finally able to regain control. Hala, it
happened in a prison complex in the city of Manaus. That's located in northwestern Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon.
It was described as a very chaotic and violent situation. At one point, prison guards, along with 74 prisoners, were taken hostage. And just to
give you an idea of how violent the riot was, Hala, the bodies of some of those killed were thrown over the prison walls. Some of the bodies were
decapitated. Really horrific. Authorities have not specified a number yet, but a security official acknowledged, also, that some prisoners
escaped, and police are now looking for them in the forest and highways surrounding the prison complex, Hala.
GORANI: And some of the -- there was some overcrowding at that prison. I mean, is that part of the reason, perhaps, this started?
ROMO: Yes, that's a very good point, Hala. And as you mentioned that the riot was sparked by a battle between rival gangs. But part of the problem,
as well, seems to be that the prison was overpopulated. Brazil has, listen to this, more than 600,000 people behind bars, and this is the fourth
largest population of prisoners in the world at that particular prison. It appears to be that it was overpopulated by about 200 prisoners, Hala.
GORANI: All right. It's sad to see the relatives there, not knowing if their loved ones made it or not. Thanks very much, Rafael Romo, for
covering this story. A big prison riot, 60 people killed, in Brazil.
Let's return now to our top story, the Istanbul mass shooting, just the latest in a series of terror attacks to rock the country since the
attempted coup in July.
Here's a list. On August 18th, a string of bombings in the east of the country killed 12 people. Days later, a suicide bomber killed at least 53
people at a wedding party in Gaziantep. October 9th, a bomb exploded outside a police station in southeastern Turkey, 18 killed. On December
10th, two blasts killed 44 near a football stadium in Istanbul. PKK, the Kurdish militant group, claimed responsibility. On December 17th, in
Kayseri,13 soldiers were killed when a car detonated next to the bus in which they were traveling. On December 19th, this policeman gunned down
Russia's ambassador to Turkey at an art gallery in Ankara.
[15:35:13] Let's get some perspective now from Turkish writer and journalist, Mustafa Akyol. Let's first start with ISIS's claim of
responsibility for the Reina nightclub attack. Now, this is obviously ISIS saying, we're declaring war on the government of President Erdogan. Turkey
has retaliated in the first few days after the attack with increased air strikes against ISIS targets inside Syria. But ultimately, what will the
strategy be here, do you think?
MUSTAFA AKYOL, TURKISH WRITER AND JOURNALIST: Well, Hala, yes, as you said, today ISIS claimed this attack. It had not claimed previous attacks
in Turkey, that's interesting, but this time they did with a statement. And in the statement, it condemned the, "apostate" Turkish government and
its war on ISIS in Syria.
So in that sense, this is a retaliation of ISIS in vis-a-vis the, you know, Turkish advances against ISIS territory inside Syria. Turkey has troops in
Syria right now fighting against ISIS and also Kurdish militants. So this attack seems to be a retaliation against that. But also it was not a
mistake that a nightclub was hit because the ISIS statement also said, "We hit the Christmas pagan compound," like, the nightclub, defining it like
that, which is probably an allusion to Christmas although this was New Year's Eve. So it's the sick ideology of ISIS also targeting which it sees
western, Christian, or non-Muslim. And nightclub is a target for their world view.
GORANI: Well, of course, many people will point out that for several years, Turkey sort of turned a blind eye to a stream of foreign fighters
populating and increasing the ranks of Islamist groups and, in some cases, ISIS and that this is blowback for many years of sort of allowing some of
these fighters to go in just because they were opposed d to Bashar al Assad. Is that a fair assessment?
AKYOL: That is, and a lot of people are saying that in Turkey. Even some of the government supporters are silently acknowledging that, you know,
Turkish mistakes vis-a-vis the war in Syria brought this on to Turkey to some extent. I mean, I should say that Turkey, in my view, never supported
ISIS, but in the beginnings of the Syrian civil war and the current year's (inaudible), Turkey considered people who fight at all the opposition
armies and people that you should support it. We're also (inaudible) today maybe belatedly to the government. And yet still, Turkish government is
fighting ISIS actively for the past two years and that intensified, and ISIS is hitting back. So, today, Turkey is clearly a very important power
fighting ISIS. But yes, I think the government did not see this coming when it was only supporting the Syrian opposition in Syria.
But we should also always mention that the Syrian opposition includes legitimate rebels, which should not be confused by ISIS.
GORANI: Well now, that's of course, the case. What about public opinion in Turkey? I mean, this is a shock one after the other. And this attack,
I have to say, in particular, of course, we've shown pictures of the victims, it's always heartbreaking. What do they want, just ordinary
Turks, their government to do against this scourge?
AKYOL: Well, of course, people are worried about their safety. I mean, colossal attacks happened in Turkey, in Ankara, Istanbul and the southeast.
And, you know, tourism has gone down and people are a little worried about their security right now in major cities. Life goes on, but people are
worried.
And, well, I mean, the public opinion is divided into two. The supporters of the government think that this is all a conspiracy against Turkey.
Turkey is trying to be that powers out there trying to undermine Turkey using these groups as their puppets, you know, in a typical conspiratorial
interpretation.
Whereas, the opposition blames Turkey, the government, for having policies that brought these on to Turkey, and they are pointing to the Syrian civil
war. They are sometimes criticizing the government for failing in the peace process with the PKK, which is, of course, the other root of
terrorist threats to Turkey right now.
GORANI: And, unfortunately, this isn't going to end. I mean, the ISIS threat as they are. As Turkey continues to fight ISIS, as they're under
more pressure in Iraq and Syria, they're going to lash out, you know, obviously, against soft targets like nightclubs. It's almost impossible to
protect every one of those targets.
AKYOL: Indeed. Indeed, that is something people are thinking about. Security experts are talking about. The government strategy is to hit ISIS
in Syria. And if we destroy their, you know, roots, their base, that terrorism threat will be cleared out in the sense that U.S., you know, had
a war on terror against Afghanistan, trying to destroy al Qaeda.
GORANI: Right.
[15:40:03] AKYOL: Now, whether that will work or not is, of course, a good question. The other problem, the PKK problem, could be solved by some
political dialogue, which we saw that before, but the government is not there yet. And, again, the strategy is to hit PKK. But these things may
not be, indeed, enough to end the terrorism problem. Turkey, at this time, also needs, Hala, national unity and reconciliation, and the government is
rightly calling for that. But for that, I think the government also has to act in a way that really embraces all segments of society, including the
opposition. Turkey has been intensely polarized lately, and that partly is because the government has a very divisive rhetoric. And I think if the
government is smart in the pro-government media, they should, I think, change their tone and use a language that really will lead to national
unity, better than demonization of opposition.
GORANI: Right. And it seems like they might not be going in that direction, certainly, with their crackdown on intellectuals and some
journalists. By the way, Mustafa, I want to show our viewers a new picture of the suspect -- this is Turkish state media, you may not see this on your
T.V. screen -- obtained by police. Now, this is a much clearer frontal view of the suspect.
If, indeed, this is the gunman, we have a very, very good idea of what he looks like. We had seen some grainy surveillance footage. We also had
seen a screen grab taken from CCTV footage, as well, that showed him from certainly, farther away, wearing a sort of a winter jacket.
In this particular case, this is him literally looking into a camera, so not quite sure exactly how they would have obtained something that, to me,
looks like a selfie, to be honest. But this is what we have now.
So, Mustafa, the manhunt is still on. I mean, this guy, if it's him, is still on the loose and very dangerous.
AKYOL: He's on the loose. Apparently, according to these paper reports, he just took a taxi and ran away from the scene, and he's in somewhere in
Istanbul. The police just raided a house in Zeytinburnu, a district of Istanbul, trying to find him, but he was not there. But somebody jumped
from the balcony to save himself, so there was somebody probably in the house.
So the police is after him and that, in fact that there's a photo right now make it easier. And, you know, people who see him can call the police or
the police can sight him somewhere. So he can be caught and, of course, we hope he will be.
A wrong photo was circulated yesterday so that was corrected later. But this one is approved by the authorities right now. And, yes, maybe it's a
selfie.
GORANI: Yes.
AKYOL: Maybe they -- we don't know how the photo came out actually, exactly, but it's on the press and --
GORANI: No, I don't either. Well, Mustafa --
AKYOL: Yes.
GORANI: -- is what they're saying is Turkish police provided this to Turkish official media.
AKYOL: Yes.
GORANI: So this is being circulated by authorities, exactly what you said, and yes, it's a very close-up, clear shot. We see the guy's face quite
clearly. If he is, indeed, the perpetrator, we certainly hope he's apprehended as quickly as possible. Mustafa Akyol, always a pleasure
having you on. We really appreciate your time this evening from Istanbul.
AKYOL: Thank you. It's my pleasure.
GORANI: Thank you. All right, let's now turn our attention to the United States. Chicago police plan to beef up their numbers after the U.S. city
suffered one of its bloodiest years ever. Chicago, in 2016, endured a shocking surge in gun violence while attacks on police officers nearly
doubled compared to the year before.
The numbers really tell the story. More than 3,500 shooting incidents in Chicago alone. More than 4,300 people shot, 762 people killed by gun
violence. That's the highest number in 19 years. President-Elect Donald Trump weighed in. He tweeted, "If Chicago's mayor can't fix the problem,
he should ask for federal help." Let's take a closer look at the escalating gun violence.
CNN Correspondent Rosa Flores joins us now from Chicago. What has the city's response been, first of all, to Trump's comments?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the city of Chicago responding with a statement, sending to it CNN saying in part, "We are
heartened he is taking this issue seriously and look forward to working with the new administration on these important efforts."
But, Hala, let's dive into issue of this violence for just a second because most of this killing, most of these murders are happening in five police
districts, on the south sides of the city and on the west sides of the city. So that's where we went to listen, to learn, from the people living
in these communities what it's like for them, the impact on children, on mothers. And hear this, in a United States city called Chicago, mothers
teach their children how to dodge bullets. That's what they're learning before they even go to kindergarten because it's an important skill for
them to survive in this city.
Now, we talked to one young girl who dodged 12 bullets. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[15:45:04] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was sitting on a porch with my dad and then I, like, heard, like, a lot of noise. I knew it wasn't firecrackers,
and that's why I know it was, like, gunshots. The other people, they said get down, so I (inaudible) my daddy, like, shoved me down.
Then when he came in the house, I saw all of the blood over his shirt. I was hit but I didn't feel it, but when we came inside, I saw my arm and it
was, like, bleeding. I was going to, like, crying and stuff about my dad because I thought I wouldn't see him again. I want the violence to stop
because I want to grow up to be a doctor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES: Now, one of the big questions, of course, is why. Why Chicago? Why 762 murders in 2016? And one important detail from an interview,
actually, that "60 Minutes" did with the former superintendent, Garry McCarthy, he explains how the Chicago Police Department is in crisis. Take
a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARRY MCCARTHY, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT OF THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Officers are under attack. That's how they feel, right? That's how they
feel in this environment, and they're not going to put themselves and their families in jeopardy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Now, we, of course, asked the Chicago Police Department for a response for this former Superintendent's words, and they said, in part,
that police around the country are being more cautious because of the climate here. And, Hala, they did mention that they've arrested more bad
guys with guns in 2016 than 2015, 20 percent more actually, and seized 20 percent more illegal guns. But it's just such a complicated issue here,
Hala. And one thing is certain, there is no easy answer on how to improve things here in Chicago.
GORANI: Thank you, Rosa Flores, reporting live from Chicago. And check out our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn. We will post some of
our show's content online today.
Stay with us. A lot more ahead on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, if you're fortunate enough to be on a ski holiday in the Alps right now, A, I envy you, but you'd know by now, you're not having
much luck. Take a look at this. These are images of Switzerland today. Only patches of snow here and there because of above average temperatures
in the region. But there is hope. Forecasters say we'll get colder with up to 29 centimeters of snow on the way later this week.
Now, speaking of snow, we take you to Colorado for this week's edition of "Around the World." Outdoor fun seekers flocked to the state's Rocky
Mountains to ski and snowboard. With that, here's Ana Cabrera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[15:50:18] ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ana Cabrera with CNN and a Colorado native. Welcome to Breckenridge. This is your quintessential
mountain town complete with charming shops, epic powder, and plenty of adventure.
Whoop, whoop, whoop! Stay on course! Mountain biking isn't just a summer sport around here. Ever heard of fat biking? Big, soft tires floating on
the snow. This takes me back to my childhood!
This is the alpine coaster -- part roller coaster, part bobsled, 10,000 feet high, the ultimate adrenaline rush.
So microbrewing is super popular here in Colorado. Broken Compass is the only microbrewery in Breckenridge, brewing up eight different batches of
beer every month. Their specialty?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The coconut porter.
CABRERA: Heading down the mountain back towards Denver, it's well worth a stop at the Indian Hot Springs. It's natural mineral water, 95 to 100
degrees here in the big pool. It's like one giant hot tub. And there are geothermal caves too where the water is hotter and clothing is optional,
just in case you're feeling extra adventurous on a trip to the Colorado Rockies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, there you have it. Coming up, it hasn't been the greatest of starts to 2017 for one person, Mariah Carey. Well, see why her team and
a production company are now trading words.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: When you think of New Year's Eve in Times Square, ticker tape, a crystal ball dropping, people kissing at midnight, all of that, all of it
comes to mind. This year may be remembered for something completely difference -- different. Watch that screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: We didn't have a check for this song, so we'll just say it went to number one and that's what it is. OK. Feels like a --
we're missing some of these vocals, but it is what it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Mariah Carey and her awkward performance Saturday night. It's turning into an even bigger controversy. Her team is actually
accusing the producer of the event, of, quote, "Setting her up to fail." Not surprisingly, Dick Clark Productions is not happy about that. They're
calling the claims defamatory, outrageous, and frankly absurd.
Let's get the very latest from New York. CNN Entertainment Reporter Chloe Melas is there with the very latest. First of all, how did it go so
awfully wrong? I mean, this is an old song of hers. She knows it front ward and backward. It was just lip-syncing, right? How can you get it so
wrong? What happened?
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, they call it singing along to a track. Many stars do this. Beyonce did it at Obama's inauguration
years ago, and she had kind of a slip-up.
GORANI: Yes.
MELAS: So that's not really the most shocking thing. What's crazy is that her team said that she went to rehearsals at 3:00 p.m. I just got off the
phone with her team. They're adamant that she did have a sound check and that everything was fine, so something happened between the rehearsal and
the show several hours later.
[15:55:07] She takes the stage, everything seems to be going OK, and then all of a sudden, she just stops and she stands there for five minutes! No
singing, no dancing, just complaining. And she even takes her earpiece out at one moment, and she says that she can't hear anything.
So I've spoken to Dick Clark Productions, I've spoken to Mariah Carey's team multiple times today, and neither side wants to take the blame for
this. Mariah Carey's team claims that there was an issue with her audio pack. Well, Dick Clark Productions is saying there was no issue.
GORANI: But the dancers continued to dance so, clearly, they were hearing the song, right? I mean, I don't know if this is a stupid question, but, I
mean, could she not hear the song without her earpiece in? That's why I'm sort of puzzled as to why she just completely stopped singing.
MELAS: OK. So I'm no performer but I can tell you, I had the exact same question this morning. So it turns out that Mariah Carey's team claims
that the crowd in Times Square -- there were like a million people there it was so loud that when she took her earpiece out, she couldn't hear the
track. Now, the dancers, they know their choreography. Now, many people are wondering, well, why didn't she just say, cut the music, I can't hear
anything, and just sing, "All I Want for Christmas" acapella or something? A lot of questions going on in why she didn't maybe walk off stage. Now,
her team is angry also at Dick Clark Productions for not cutting to commercial and for also not removing this awkward blunder of a performance
from the West Coast feed that aired a few hours later. So there's a lot of pointing fingers.
GORANI: So interesting, so that stayed on. But what about -- is there -- is this going to turn into some sort of lawsuit or is this just trading
barbs for now?
MELAS: This, to me, is not going to turn into a lawsuit. I don't think Mariah Carey is going to be saying anything else. And really, it's been
her team that's been speaking on her behalf. She did take to social media and post like a funny meme about it, saying that, "Here's to making more
headlines in 2017."
But remember, Mariah Carey is no stranger to having incidents similar to this happen. In 2014, she had an incident where she was accused of lip-
syncing and she issued an apology. So I'm sure Mariah Carey will be just fine and will keep performing.
GORANI: Oh, I'm sure she will. And she has a reality show on and all of that good stuff. Chloe Melas, thanks very much.
MELAS: Thank you.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. "BEST OF QUEST" is up next, along with a quick look at the headlines. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
