a new round of air strikes against i.s.i.s. in syria and iraq. this comes as britain says the fight against the terror group could last for years. now that u.k. has joined the military battle against i.s.i.s., what will it bring to the fight? also ahead, north korea's leader has been out of the public eye for weeks. the country's official news agency has something to say

about it. apparently he has gout. i'm john vause. like to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. >> i'm zain asher. >> we begin with new air strikes on i.s.i.s. >> british warplanes are ready to join the fight in iraq, while belgium and denmark say they will sending jets, as well. and russia is ready to help battle. >> the warplanes are on patrol. searching out targets of opportunity. >> i.s.i.s. militants are advancing on the kurdish town in northern syria. and local fighters are trying to stop them. >> fighting broke out between the two sides on friday. >> reporter: an extraordinary scene. as desk is falling here on the syrian border. i.s.i.s. fighters in action. we saw tracer fire move across the skyline there.

something of an ooh and a awe from the crowd here. this crowd of turkish kurds, they've seen a lot of incoming fire going into that i.s.i.s. position. they've been cheering the kurdish brothers on the other side. we see from the tracer fire they are receiving incoming fire. it is at that position that photo journalists have seen i.s.i.s. fighters take casualties. take hits. i.s.i.s. has been making progress. a few more miles each day. just take a look right now. what you're seeing is tracer fire moving into the ridge line that is occupied by i.s.i.s. forces. and around me, the kurdish crowd is cheering. take a listen. >> incredible reporting by phil

black. and we go to the turkish side of that border. the forces seem to have stopped that advance by i.s.i.s. >> to a certain degree they may have, john. this is the same area where phil was reporting from yesterday. the fighting force on that vitale hill top. we see some artillery in the valley below. i.s.i.s. forces did pull back. perhaps to village just around the corner that you can't really see. this is where the battle was centered yesterday. today, however, according to a kurdish official, the fighting much more intense along the southern front. he was saying that i.s.i.s. fighters and the kurdish fighting force, were exchanging small arms and artillery republican earlier in t i.s.i.s. came barreling through this area of northwestern syria. taking over dozens of villages

last friday. since then, sending around 200,000 syrian kurdish refugees. that town is the last one standing in this area. if i.s.i.s. is able to advance on it, the concerns are one of a heightened refugee crisis. we have been hearing from numerous people we're talking to, to include people inside. people around us here on this hill top, while on the one hand, yes. we have been seeing turkish kurds going across the border to reinforce the fighting forces inside. they want to see air strikes. they see this kind of terrain, conducive to that. the open battlefield at this stage. they say they're a town under siege. this coalition has a burden of responsibility to try to prevent that town from being overrun by i.s.i.s. >> so, our -- i guess if the

situation holds that they can hold the jihadis back, that will be proof in some ways of the limitations of i.s.i.s. >> perhaps. this front line may not hold for all that much longer. they are getting reinforcements. the artillery that the kurds have, is nowhere near the sophistication that i.s.i.s. has at its disposal. given everything they were able to get from the iraqi battlefield when they swept through northern iraq earlier. the concern, we keep hearing it, we're being attacked by tanks and the weaponry we cannot fight against. on this front line, they have managed to push i.s.i.s. back. in other areas, i.s.i.s. are making gaines. they're calling for international support. they're calling for coalition

aircraft to have strikes here. >> live for us there on the turkish/syria border. >> a lot of the refugees have no idea when, if ever, they'll be able to go home. they left their animal, they're livelihood. >> a city of 400,000 people. as many as 200,000 people have left. around that area. i'll mention the air strikes and the british royal air force is expected to begin bombing missions. but not over syria. it will be over iraq. >> iraq for the time being. on friday, parliament voted to take part in coalition air strikes against i.s.i.s. david cameron says britain is not ready for military action in syria. >> what syria needs is what iraq needs, which is an inclusive democratic government that represents all of its people. we have had our strategy in terms of that, backing the

moderate syrian opposition. and working with others. i do believe there's a strong case for us to do more in syria. i did not want to bring a motion to the house today, which there wasn't consensus for. it is better if our country can proceed on the basis of consensus. >> that was david cameron there in the house of commons earlier. what does the u.k. bring to the fight? let's head to london. esa suarez is at 10 downing street. there seems to be reluctance in the room. >> reporter: a lot of reluctance. you said the air strikes would happen soon. that britain had the capacity to begin those air strikes, six hours after the vote. when it does happen, they will be transparent. telling us when that will happen. interesting enough, i had a chance to speak to the foreign secretary, the early hours of

the morning prior to that vote, the yes vote on the air strikes in iraq. and i said to him, if this goes ahead, if this vote goes, yes, in favor to what you want, how soon will this happen? and he said, look. our forces are always at highest alert. they're ready. we're going to carry out surveillance. identify the targets. it won't be blanket bombing, which is interesting. we know there's six fighters stationed in inside. they've been there since august. and doing reconnaissance flights. providing intelligence on the militants and movements. obviously, when it does happen, the first time what we've seen that britain has been involved in this combat role, in iraq, since five years ago or so when they exited.

>> you mentioned that these air strikes will be in iraq for the time being. but david cameron smartly left the door open for possible future air strikes in syria. he did that covertly. how was that received? >> he did it covertly. i think there was no way he could have dodged those questions, to be honest with you. listening to some of the int interventions that took yesterday. people are so war weary after being involved in iraq and afghanistan. people were concerned about the mission creep. he did mention very clearly, very carefully worded statement. he said if britain -- i'm quoting here. if britain needed to act immediately to prevent humanitarian catastrophe, his words, i could take action and seek approval later. he went on to say this, is a mission that won't last months. it might last years.

it requires patience, he said, and persistence. he wasn't trying to avoid the question. he was trying to be clear. there is a strategy in place. it's not a plan that will last one or two months. we're in it for the long haul. >> so many of those m.p.s are weary about being dragged into another war. we appreciate it. thank you. more on the u.k.'s military participation in the fight against i.s.i.s. let's bring in our military analyst and retired u.s. air force lieutenant colonel, rick francona. six tornados from the r.a.f. would make a lot of difference, will it? >> it makes a little bit of difference. it's also symbolic that the u.k. is involved. i know the vote was to limit the participation of the british to iraq. which is fine because six british tornadoes. and the r.a.f. is excellent air

operation. that will bring more firepower to bear in iraq. that frees of americans and the arab air forces to focus on syria. everybody is glad to have the participation of the british. >> we're looking at what's happening right now as far as the tactics i.s.i.s. is using. in iraq, where they've been hit hard over the last four weeks. are they changing how they conduct this war? >> they sure are. they're dispersing things more. we saw them moving things out of concentrated areas. dispersing them more. moving people from where they were concentrated in areas. that complicates the targeting effort. we're wary of causing civilian casualties. we see this in syria, as well. a lot of things moving around. it limits their freedom of movement. they had free run of the roads because there was no air power opposing them. now, they have to be concerned

that one, they could be detected. and they can be interdicted. >> we've been reporting the renewed fighting in syria. quite close to the turkish border. do you see, essentially, they're moving the fight to syria because they're very limited, in what they can do in iraq? >> that's a fair assessment. the purpose of the air power in iraq was to blunt that momentum. we saw them going quickly down the two river valleys. and it looked like they were almost unstoppable. the air power is able to fix them in place. now, we need the iraqi army and the peshmerga to get back on the offensive and start retaking these cities. that's proven frustrating. we haven't seen them get the command structure in place they need to do that. on the syria side, we're seeing a push up towards the kurdish area. and some of the coverage that the cnn crew was doing up there was fascinating. i did hear some calls for why

can't we put air power in their to help the kurds? i can tell you that we're not going to put air power where we don't have people on the ground to do the spotting because you run the risk of causing friendly casualties and civilian casualties. once we get people on the ground, we can provide the close air support. >> rick francona. we appreciate your analysis. thank you, sir. >> sure. >> it's not about britain's able to provide air power, but the coalition providing a united front. >> that's how it was in the first gulf war. that's what george w. bush wanted in 2003. and it's coalition of the willing, who are -- that's seen as being essential. it's that political. >> not so much. how much damage have the air strikes done to i.s.i.s. in iraq? has i.s.i.s. adapted its

tactics? we heard about that already. >> we're going to get a live report from ben wedeman in iraq. >> more arrests. some have complained that timing of the operation is suspicious. let me get this straight... [ female voice ] yes? lactaid® is 100% real milk? right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? [ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort. all around the worldme on, would i lie about this? the dedicated people of united airlines ♪ are there to support you. ♪ that's got your back friendly. ♪ ♪ here's a good one seattle...

what did geico say to the mariner? we could save you a boatload! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ what's seattle's favorite noise? the puget sound! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ all right, never mind doesn't matter. this is a classic. what does an alien seamstress sew with? a space needle! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly continuously ♪ oh come off it captain! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

welcome back. catalonia's president has signed a decree, setting up a referendum on independence from spain. the referendum is set for

november 9th. the catalonia parliament backed the move last week. for more on what is next for catalonia, we'll have a live report from madrid in about 15 minutes from now. also, iraq's new president took advantage of his platform at the united nations general assembly to denounce extremists in his country and in syria. >> he delivered a message of thanks to those countries helping iraq fight i.s.i.s. militants. >> translator: the huge humanitarian and military support we receive from u.n. organizations, the united states, the european union, and other friendly states, play a vital role in assisting us and facing up to this group. this report confirms to our people that we're not fighting terror alone. more on the multinational fight against i.s.i.s. joining me now, from the northern iraqi city of irbil, is condition condition's correspondent, ben wedeman. ben, iraq's president spoke at the u.n.

he was trying to rally support to fight against i.s.i.s. he's only had the job about two months. he must be under so much pressure. >> reporter: him, as well, as iraq itself. iraqi president is largely a figure head for the state. it's really the prime minister. asked to do the heavy lifting in baghdad. but certainly, all eyes are on iraq's ability to really get its house in order. what we've seen, as your guest mentioned earlier, that military analysts, the i.s.i.s. push has been blunted in iraq. and basically, what the coalition is trying to do, is now to strengthen the ability of the iraqi army and the kurdish forces, the so-called peshmerga, to turn the tide. in northern iraq, we've seen a successful effort by the kurdish forces to retake certain strategic villages.

and they do appear to be preparing to go on the offensive, when the time is right. of course, they say they lack equipment. they lack heavy armaments. they complain in some instances that i.s.i.s. units are better armed than they are. as far as the central government in baghdad goes, and the iraqi army, the situation is much less positive, so to speak, in that many of the generals, the commanders in the iraqi army, have been accused of corruption and incokoincompetence. two have been removed by the prime minister, who wants an investigation into why in some instances, it appears that iraqi senior officers ran away from their post. what the united states and its coalition partners would like to do is bring the iraqi army up to speed. but of course, the united states spent billions and billions of dollars, between 2003 and 2011 to do exactly that.

to create a professional, modern iraqi army. they clearly didn't succeed in that. how they're going to do it this time around, under these conditions, is anybody's guess. >> it's a mystery. you mention just how much corruption there is in the iraqi army. how likely is it, these guys are going to be able to defeat i.s.i.s., when there's reports that they're so incompetent? >> reporter: that's the million dinar question here. the problem is, in the engagement so far, the iraqi army has fought with i.s.i.s. and sort of held them steady or pushed them back. it wasn't necessarily the iraqi army that was taking the lead. it was the shia militias. some of them supported by iran, that were able to retake the village to the southeast of here.

these shia militias have a murky past. they were really key players in the bloody iraqi civil war of 2006, 2007. they were very harsh in their treatment of sunni arabs. they were, in fact, one of the reasons why so many sunni arabs are opposed to the government in baghdad, which they see as dominated by the shia. it's a complicated situation. the way out is anybody's guess. zain? >> we'll see if the iraqi military can get trained in time. ben wedeman, we appreciate it. thank you. >> sure. eight years later. we'll see. a volcano has erupted west of tokyo. our reports, three people have been hurt. >> look at these images. they were shot as there was a plume of smoke and ash into the sky, up to 50 centimeters of ash

are covering the ground. 150 hikers were in the area at the time of the eruption. and rescue crews are trying to move them out safely. the volcano last erupted in 2007. we'll have more later in the hour with meteorologist derek van damme. when we come back, a gruesome murder in the united states has drawn the attention of the fbi. >> could the killer have been inspired by i.s.i.s.? that's next on cnn. let me get tyes?straight... lactaid® is 100% real milk?

right. real milk. but it won't cause me discomfort. exactly, no discomfort, because it's milk without the lactose. and it tastes? it's real milk! come on, would i lie about this? lactaid®. 100% real milk. no discomfort. and try lactaid® supplements with your first bite to dig in to all your dairy favorites.

a brutal attack in the u.s. state of oklahoma. police say a man beheaded a co-worker and stabs another after he was fired from his job. >> the attack has prompted an investigation by the fbi. and there's speculation the attack might have been inspired by i.s.i.s. here's martin savage. >> sounds like he's running around out here. >> okay. >> and that's a gunshot. >> reporter: horror in oklahoma. police say a knife-wielding man stormed the offices in moore, killing the first person he saw, 54-year-old colleen huffard. >> he encountered the first victim and began assaulting her with a knife. he did kill colleen and severed her head. >> reporter: according to police, the suspect attacked a second woman, when he was shot and stopped by an armed company

executive. the company's founder is also a reserve sheriff's deputy. officials credited his action with preventing more deaths. >> this guy was not going to stop. he didn't stop until he was shot. >> initially the attack was described as a workplace dispute. the 30-year-old seen here in a mug shot from a previous arrest, had just been fired by the company that day. but the police investigation has turned up red flag, causing some to wonder if there may be more to the attack. authorities believe he converted to islam. and tried to convince others at work to join him. >> after conducting interviews with co-workers, information was obtained that he recently tried to -- started trying to convert some of his co-workers to the muslim religion. >> recent calls asking sympathizers to strike back, part of the coalition out to destroy the coalition, have law enforcement agencies across the country on alert.

looking for so-called lone wolf threats. the fbi is now investigating the oklahoma suspect social media footprint, trying to determine if this vicious, deadly rage was inspired by islamic extremism. in moore, residents would rather focus on the company exec who put his life on the line for his employees. he's been given a promotion. from coo to h-e-r-o, hero. martin savage, cnn. some flights have resumed in chicago, after a bizarre incident. an employee started a fire and tried to commit suicide in the basement. the facility was shut down. 2,000 flyings were canceled at o'hare and midway airports. it caused disruptions across the u.s. also coming up on cnn, more arrests in a british terror sweep. >> coming up, we'll tell you why

a london candy store is part of the investigation. plus, north korea leader, kim jong-un, hasn't been seen in public for weeks. find out what north korea media are saying about his absence.

welcome back, everyone. you're watching cnn. i'm john vause. >> i'm zain asher. here's an update on our top stories. >> the u.s. military has confirmed it's launched new air strikes on i.s.i.s. militants in syria. we're told that fighters and bombers are on the hunt of so-called targets of opportunity. more details as they come in. cnn was there as a battle erupted on the border between

turkey and syria on friday. i.s.i.s. militants on one side. and kurdish fighters frying to stop them on the other. local residents watched the exchange and cheered when i.s.i.s. fighters were hit. british fighter jets on standby at a military base, prepared to launch air strikes in iraq. u.k. parliament voted on friday to join the air war. but the jets will not take part in any strikes inside syria. could catalonia be the next sovereign nation? the leadership is heading in that direction, after its president signed a decree today, setting a date for an independent referendum. al goodman joins us on the line from madrid with more on this. this announcement was widely expected. but significant, nonetheless. >> very significant. culmination of various years of mass demonstrations in

barcelona. the catalonia president said that catalonia wants to speak. it wants to be heard. it wants to vote. he signed that november 9th would be the date of this independent referendum. something that the spanish government in madrid says it's going to block. the prime minister says that vote is not going to be held. >> how far is the spanish government prepared to go to stop it? >> they have what they say is the constitutional court. they believe that will be on their side. the spanish prime minister, he's flying back to spain. told reporters with him on friday, he would convene an urgent cabinet member to appeal to the constitutional court. once the constitutional court accepts the case for study, that would suspend the vote. then, it's up to catalonia to decide if they're going to try

to go ahead on this or not. but the massive demonstrations, like one earlier this month, and similar dates in previous years, these people are out there saying, we should be like scotland. we should get the chance to vote. let us decide. and catalonia represents about 20% of spain's economy. they have a long list grievances with madrid, over the language. it's been a intense situation. it seems like it's heading for a more tense situation. a standoff. >> al goodman there with the latest. spanish and police conducted a crackdown on potential i.s.i.s. affiliates. they arrested nine men accused of sending fighters to join the militant group. >> spain's military says one man was picked up.

a national headed the small group. and some believe his brother is currently fighting for i.s.i.s. and british police have arrested 11 men this week on suspicion of supporting an extremist group. >> most have been released, including a radical cleric. >> reporter: a candy store in london's east end. now, yummy yummy is embroiled in an investigation into an alleged terror plot. officers combed through the store and rooms above. meanwhile, police announced more arrests said to be muslim men. some of the follows were among the detainees. he was released friday on bail. british police say the men were arrested on suspicion of belonging to a banned organization and inciting terrorism. authorities haven't put a number

on the followers. down here is a basement apartment that some of the followers used to use. the back of the building, there's a meeting room. >> these promises are under police control. >> this might leave me to -- three weeks earlier, i met him in the basement to talk about i.s.i.s. and the beheading of western hostages. >> we don't have the details of james foley. i never heard his name before. he was beheaded. if he was beheaded, there was question in the video. >> reporter: the arrests came after the day the fbi identified the executioner. the fbi did not state he may be contacted with any of the u.k. detainees. the operation began the day before britain's parliament, known as the commons, voted overwhelmingly in favor of

military action against i.s.i.s. in iraq. >> not just months, but years. >> reporter: a muslim-lead group, believes the arrests may be politically timed. >> why is it being done the day before the commons are due to vote? some say this is fear-mongering and an opportunity for the government to put pressure and sway public opinion for the commons to vote. >> reporter: back in east london, many neighbors disagree with the interpretation of islam. >> just one or two people, it gives other muslims a bad name. >> reporter: police announced friday, they charged only one of the detainees. eight others were freed on bail but could still face charges. the latest wave of terror-related arrests in london, is once again raising fears of an enemy within. >> thanks to karl for that report. just how alarming is the

terror threat in the u.k.? let's bring in sir john gohel, who joins us from london. the u.k. has approved air strikes in iraq. just because you kills f terror risks, doesn't mean you kill the ideas. >> for every terrorist that is killed or captured, there's five coming along the assembly line. the ideology is the key component to radicalizing young people. there's never been a countern r counternarrative that exposes groups like i.s.i.s., that is able to deliver a graphic message to induce fighters to fight in iraq and syria. why there's been 500-plus brittons traveling there. >> you mentioned how much of a

key component the ideology is. just how do you deradicalize or deprom a jihadist? >> we've been having this debate for a long time, when osama bin laden's al qaeda was carrying out attacks between 2004 and 2008. the most notable attack was the london bombings when four british suicide bombers exploded their devices, killing 52 people. the problem, of course, is that al qaeda may not be the main group anymore. but the ideology is active. and what's important is that i.s.i.s. gets exposed for not just being against the west. they're against muslims, too. there's been a lot of grisly videos where they executed ordinary iraqi and syrian civilians. muslims that did not agree with them. that doesn't gain as much traction as a behid beheading or

american or british on television. >> certainly, a complex problem, especially in the u.k. thanks so much for joining us. we appreciate it. the first american jets to hit i.s.i.s. targets came from "the uss george h.w. bush." the aircraft carrier moved into the persian gulf more than a month ago. u.s. jets are playing missions around the clock. take a listen. >> this year, seven months into what is a nine-month deployment for the fleet. it was redeployed from operating in afghanistan and ordered here to the persian gulf. as i.s.i.s. or isil, over the country. and it was in striker jets from

the "uss george h.w. bush" who dropped the first bomb on august 8th. it's around 3:00 in the afternoon here. on the "uss george h.w. bush." what you hear are the f/a-18 hornet or superhornet returning from either raining or armed mission. they are coming in every 15 seconds or so. it's incredibly noisy. it's incredibly hot from the exhaust. the exhaust really pushes you back. it's quite something. you can just imagine what is an arrested landing or hits the track. it takes about two seconds for that jet to come to a halt.

there's 18 striker jets and helicopters here. 5,000 personnel working 24/7. it's a sign of the empire state, powered by nuclear reactors. add to that, several thousand ton of ordnance and jet fuel. you can see the enormity of what is this asset in the gulf for the u.s.-led coalition. >> thanks to becky anderson onboard the "uss george h.w. bush." an egyptian court has postponed the verdict in the retrial of hosni mubarak until the 29th. mubarak was charged with killing protesters during the 2011 upraising. clashes between security and protesters have left 864 people dead. mubarak was originally convicted in 2012.

he was sentenced to life in prison. that conviction, overturned last year. mubarak was egypt's president for a long time. from 1981 until 2011. also, next on cnn, north korea's leader hasn't been seen in public for weeks. a mystery. there is speculation about why he has been laying low. and sorry, ladies. hollywood's most eligible bachelor is getting ready to tie the knot this weekend. we're going to head to italy. so why treat your half mouth any differently? complete the job with listerine®. kill up to 99 percent of germs. and prevent plaque, early gum disease and bad breath. sfx: ahhh listerine®. power to your mouth™!

could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed. if we can't offer faster speeds or save you money we'll give you $150. comcast business built for business.

it's been two weeks since the murder of a pennsylvania state trooper. the suspect has managed to evade capture. >> some say he's taunting the police right now. but they have information about what frein was doing before the ambush, that left one state trooper dead. >> reporter: up to 1,000 law enforcement officers are involved with the manhunt for eric matthew frein. they're confident he is in this area. there's new evidence to suggest he had been planning for a confrontation with police for years. police searched a hard drive and found that frien had been doing research on police manhunts. they found some of his belongings out in the woods. some structures empty or abandoned have been tampered

with. there's been frein sightings. law enforcement officers believe that the suspect is trying to play a game with them. >> i suspect he wants to have a fight with the state police. but that involves hiding and running since that's the way he operates. he is probably not going to have a face-to-face confrontation. i expect he will take a shot from some distance, from a place of concealment. >> frein has experimented with building explosives in the past. that's why every officer involved with the search is being warned to look out for possible booby-traps. frein wiz tracked to this area, after he used a cell phone to call his parents. the phone was used once before frein hung up. >> thanks for that report. hikers in central japan are being warned to stay away from mt. ontake, after the volcano erupted for the first time in seven years. >> dozens of climbers may have been on the mountain at the time

of the eruption. how are the climbers doing? are they okay? >> there isn't official word on how the climbers are doing. we know they were stranded on the mountain because there's some pretty compelling video we'll get to in just one second. let's talk about the actual location of mt. ontake. this is a volcano in central japan. it's about 3,067 meters above sea level. you see the crater with this google earth image. and this is an interesting area. it borders the nagano prefecture. and this area is the site of the volcanic eruption. this is a popular hiking destination. and people enjoying the scenery, caught this on camera. take a look at these visuals coming from mt. ontake. the visuals speak for themselves. really, a million words to go along with this.

erupted at 11:53 local time. again, unfortunately, local police in nagano fire department has received reports of injuries. the japan meteorological agency is forecasting further eruptions that would affect residents. tin creased volcanic alert level, three out of five, means no one should approach the crater. and eruptions are possible. listen closely at the ash cloud actually reaching the hikers. you can hear. quite amazing. obviously, very dangerous, to say the least. this particular situation, causing all kinds of toxic gases. a lot of the hikers, according to social media reports, were able to take cover inside of a hut on the mountain. that's all from the cnn world weather center. back to zain and john.

>> no words for those images. hope those hikers are okay. >> van dam. >> taught him everything he knows. >> see you tomorrow. big question right now. where is -- kim jong-un. the north korean leader has been out of sight for a couple weeks. >> he didn't show up for a meeting on thursday. fueling speculation about his health. >> phenfinally, an official acknowledgment on korean state tv. kim jong-un is having discomfort. the announcement came on

thursday. the dae kim skipped a session of north korea's legislature, the supreme people's assembly. his absence fueled widespread speculation. from health problems to a power struggle. north korean observers speculate kim's weight and family history of gout could be to blame. others think it could be a sports injury. he's northern to love horseback riding. and is keen on watching basketball. he celebrated his 31st birthday in january, watching basketball star dennis rodman play a game in pyongyang. ♪ happy birthday to you >> reporter: rodman's birthday serenade came after kim shocked the world with the execution of his once-powerful uncle. convicted by military tribunal, for plotting to overthrow the state. some north korea watchers took

it as a sign of a military power struggle. and kim's absence could be due to ongoing tensions, poor health or he could just be on vacation. so little is known about north korea, it's hard to know what's going on. >> it's so rare for state media to comment on a leader's health. >> something going on. "daily mail," with no sourcing, saying the brilliant comrade is ill from eating too much imported cheese. >> in a country where so many people are starving. >> two-thirds of the 24 million people who live there don't know where their next meal is coming from. it's believed that kim jong-il has gout, caused by too much booze and rich food. george clooney reportedly made a $100,000 bet he would never get married again. >> now, it looks like he has to pay up.

the view from venice as the city gets ready for an a-list wedding.

it is often said that love conquers all, including the heart of hollywood's most eligible leading man. he is the most eligible, by the way. >> good to know. he is george clooney. he's been a famous bachelor. >> you don't like him. >> i do. i think he's a great actor. even he has said he doesn't understand the coverage of the

wedding. it's just a wedding. >> he said he would never get married again. and here he is. >> here's erin mclaughlin, in venice with the details. >> reporter: the stage is set here for a truly spectacular wedding. the place is abuzz with excitement. paparazzi swirling around, in speedboats, hoping to catch a glimpse of the happy couple. they arrived here on friday, in hollywood trial is. screen writers couldn't have scripted a better entrance aboard a boat named "amore." they were whisked to one of george clooney's favorite hotels where the celebrations began in earnest. they continue with last night's his and hers bachelor and bachelorette parties. they celebrated separately. amal alamuddin at a hotel. and george clooney alt one of his favorite restaurants, with celebrity guests, including anna wintour, the "vogue" editor in chief, who is rumored to have

purchased the rights to the wedding photos. details are scarce. the city of venice has issued a notice forbidding boat traffic along the grand canal between the hours of 12:00 and 2:00 on monday. some speculate they could be having a civil service at the town hall. people here very excited for george clooney. he is a well-known actor. well-known here. travels here many times on holiday and for the venice film festival. people here in venice, very happy for him. >> what i love about his new wife, she is successful in her own right. a lawyer. studied at oxford. >> incredibly smart. and very accomplished. he is a great actor. probably going to be $100,000 poorer because the bet was with michelle pfeiffer. we'll have the headlines in a moment. after that, it is "cold war" on cnn.

♪ a horrific crime in the heartland. an oklahoma man accused of beheading his ex-co-worker. now the fbi wants to who is he? why was he allegedly trying to convert to muslim. is he an isis copycat? and still stranded at airports from coast to coast. today, we're learning new information for you about the man behind all of this. and there's a new clinton in the world this morning. bill and hillary now officially grandparents.