as the war against isis rages on, has the u.s. president extended hand for help toward iran? also ahead -- >> she's all right. >> you got to talk to me. from channel 7. there has been a shooting. i have the shooter with me. >> for a moment, this man felt remorse for a brutal crime he says he committed. what he did after this confession will shock you. and 25 years later, a look at what life was like from each side of the berlin wall. hello. you're watching cnn. thank you for joining us. i'm natalie allen. our top story, a u.s. defense

official says new air strikes in syria appear to have killed a key member of the al qaeda-linked khorasan group. david drugeon is described as a french jihadist and skilled bomb maker. sources say he has been developing explosives to be smuggled on to airplanes. officials believe he has also been helping move fighters to and from europe and plotting attacks in europe. air strikes targeting drugeon back in september failed. cnn terrorism analyst paul cruickshank explanation what may have changed. >> suggesting the united states has very good intelligence about the movements of khorasan operatives, particularly of drugeon suggests they either have a guy inside the group or near the fringes of the group, or they were able to pick up specific electronic transmissions indicating their movements. >> drugeon is believed to have

been in a vehicle hit in a series of five strikes in sarmada. official says the strikes destroyed several khorasan buildings, including a suspected bomb factory. most u.s. air strikes in syria have been on isis targets in the besieged city as we've been talking about for weeks now, that city of kobani. al qaeda rejected that group some time ago, in part because of its particularly brutal tactics. one of kobani's defenders, who was taken hostage, saw those tactics firsthand. he spoke with our nick paton walsh. >> you can survive isis's prisons but may emerge different. he is a kurd held for eight months. exchanged in a prisoner swap a few days ago. inside the beatings quickly stopped, but isis went to work on their minds.

they beat he when they first took me. they hung me from the court of appealing for an hour. my legs were not touching the ground. they beat us for three days with water pipes. we were leading. he said they love long beards. so he grew his out. they gave us lessons on the koran and sharia in the prison. someone came and gave us lessons at noon. i was in prison for eight months and only once went outside. then they played them propaganda videos all day and night. this one of syrian regime soldiers being herded and massacred in august. two months earlier in prison, they brought awes tv for our room. they left it on 24 hours a day so we could watch how they kill people. we said to ourselves now it's our turn. we watched how they beheaded foreigners. he was a fellow captive and didn't see the sun for three months. when he was allowed to leave, when they had enough prisoners

to swap, he said isis gave him this piece of paper, a 24-hour pass out of their territory. both former prisoners said isis let them know they would not be harmed and then pardoned them and let them go. what you hear and what you actually see aren't the same. they're not monstrous like people say. they did not kill anyone immediately. if a person deserves to be killed, they kill him. but if they have nothing on you, you won't be killed. a rare voice, perhaps distorted by its time in chains. for isis, even those traded as commodities need converting to their world too. nick paton walsh, cnn. >> the obama administration has opened communication channels with iran over the isis threat. two sources tell cnn president obama reached out to iran supreme leader ayatollah khamenei last month in the form of a secret letter. in that letter, mr. obama expressed the countries' shared

interests in defeating isis, but also stressed cooperation depends on resolving the issue of iran's nuclear program. the white house has not publicly acknowledged the letter. republicans in congress were not pleased to hear about this letter. john boehner told reporters why he thinks it is a bad idea. >> i don't trust the iranians. i don't think we need to bring them into this. and i would hope that the negotiations that are under way are serious negotiations. but i have any doubts. >> boehner will be at the white house today as mr. obama meets with congressional leaders with two years of divided government ahead, many wonder whether the two sides can compromise on thorny issues like immigration. as dana bash reports, it's not off to a good start. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner minced no words, warning the president not to use his executive power to hang the broken immigration system without congress.

>> when you play with matches, you take the risk of burning yourself. and he is going to burn himself if he continues to go down this path. >> reporter: surprisingly confrontational, quite different from the post election talk of compromise and getting things done. and what was supposed to be a let's work together op-ed from boehner and incoming republican senate majority leader mitch mcconnell included, quote, renewing our commitment to repeal obamacare. republicans know that's not going to happen while president obama is in office. how do you expect the president to trust that you really want to work together when out of the gate you say you want to repeal his signature law that you know has no chance of getting a veto proof majority. how do you expect him to trust you? >> listen, my job is to listen to the american people. the american people have made it clear they're not for obamacare. they asked all those democrats who lost their elections tuesday night. a lot of them voted for obamacare. >> reporter: but he is not right about what americans think about obamacare, according to cnn/orc

polling. 57% of americans actually either support obamacare or say it doesn't go far enough. still, republicans are infuriated by the president's plans to issue an executive order allowing some illegal immigrants to stay legally, one he delayed until after the election to help democrats on the ballot who lost anyway. >> i feel obliged to do everything i can lawfully with my executive authority to make sure that we don't keep on making the system worse. >> reporter: boehner personally wants immigration reform, but he has always been up against deep pocketed conservative groups and rank and file republicans who don't. that plus what republicans view as the president's defiance at his own post election news conference a day earlier fueled boehner's combative tone. >> that if he acts unilaterally on the zone outside of his authority, he will poison the well and there will be no chance for immigration reform moving in this congress. it's as simple as that.

>> reporter: boehner added that he doesn't see his job as just getting along with the president, though he said they do get along just fine. this may be vlad bravado, but just two days after the election, it's not a good sign that anyone got what is their message, washington needs to work. dana bash, cnn, washington. a former u.s. navy s.e.a.l. has broken an unspoken military rule by claiming he's the shooter who killed osama bin laden three years ago in pakistan. but sources tell cnn that is a tough claim to prove. here's cnn brian todd. >> reporter: a former navy s.e.a.l. comes forward, saying he is the man who killed osama bin laden. sources in the special operations community tell cnn national security analyst peter bergen robert o'neill claims to be the shooter. o'neill is a decorated former s.e.a.l. from montana who now

works as a decorated speaker. >> my name is robert o'neill. i was a navy s.e.a.l. for almost 17 years. >> reporter: o'neill told "the washington post" he fired a shot that struck bin laden in the forehead. the terrorist leader died instantly, he says, his skull split by the first bullet. but sources in s.e.a.l. team 6, the unit which conducted the bin laden raid, tell peter bergen another s.e.a.l. fired the fatal shot from the area of the stairs leading to bin laden's floor, as bin laden peered out the door of his bedroom. >> most of the people in the s.e.a.l. community i've spoken to say that the night that bin laden was killed, somebody called the point man, who is never going to identify himself publicly was the guy who took the first shot at bin laden and winged him. and then bin laden collapsed on the ground in his bedroom and he was finished off by two other s.e.a.l.s. >> reporter: those two s.e.a.l.s according to bergen's sources robert o'neill and matt bissonnette, who wrote the day book "no easy day" about the raid. simply, a u.s. military official told cnn's barbara starr there was a s.e.a.l. named robert

o'neill on the mission but they don't know if he fired the kill shot. bergen acknowledges the scene was confusing. >> it was a night with no moon there was no electricity in the house. it was a helicopter had crashed. there were two or three firefights. these guys were wearing night vision goggles. and the whole event of killing bin laden, my guess took place in ten seconds. >> reporter: the head of the s.e.a.l. command sent a letter in recent days reminding s.e.a.l.s not to break their code of silence, warning of, quote, judicial consequence if they do. former s.e.a.l. john mcguire says neither o'neill nor bissonnete should have spoken about the bin laden raid. >> everybody wants to know how special operations folks do things. our enemy wants to know more than we do. and we have to protect future missions and other americans' lives. >> reporter: we tried to reach robert o'neill directly and through his representatives. we could not get him to comment. o'neill told "the washington post" the s.e.a.l.s expected the bin laden compound to be heavily guarded and booby-trapped, and said this is the first mission where he thought he would likely be killed.

brian todd, cnn, washington. at least one former navy s.e.a.l. says o'neill has put himself in serious danger by claiming he killed bin laden. our anderson cooper spoke with that former s.e.a.l., jonathan gilliam. >> he sacrificed a lot in doing this. whether he is the real shooter or not, he has put a bulls-eye on his back that is bigger in a lot of ways than the bulls write that osama bin laden had on his. >> you're talking about an actual bulls-eye. >> from jihadists. so his family, himself, he is on the speaking lecture circuit. anybody that goes to see this guy now is a target when they're in a room with him. that's a big deal for his career and for what i believe is his motivation. >> if you were invited to go hear him speak, would you want to be in the same auditorium? >> i also served as an fbi agent. and i'm here to tell you right now i wouldn't be anywhere close to this guy. >> so you really think there is the potential threat against his life from coming forward, giving his name, identifying himself?

>> sure. and again, talking about the brotherhood, talking about secrets, this transcends many, many levels. but it's not a s.e.a.l. problem. it's an o'neill problem. it's a bissonnette problem. these two individuals have gone out and taken the knowledge that they're trusted with and exposed this. and perception is reality. and it's had an effect on the way the public looks at us. and that is wrong, because the s.e.a.l. community, as you know, you know many of us, it's a brotherhood. and it is a tight group that is very professional. and they take their job very seriously. and this is not a good light to be shown on us. >> as we mentioned, this is not the first time a former s.e.a.l. has claimed a role in the daring mission. former s.e.a.l. team 6 mix mark bissonnette wrote a best-selling book under a pseudonym about the group's experiences called "no easy day." bissonnette is under investigation for possibly disclosing classified information in his book.

a new development in the case against a legendary rocker. why prosecutors dropped a charge against the ac/dc drummer. plus violent demonstrations in brussels. ahead here, we'll tell you why workers are so angry and what union leaders are saying about any future rallies.

the drummer of the legendary

rock group ac/dc no longer is facing a charge that he tried to have two men killed. the news came barely 24 hours after phil rudd was arrested in new zealand. but the rocker's lawyer says the damage to his client's reputation has already been done. cnn correspondent manisha tank is following this for us we have don't really know what is behind these charges and this alleged plot. and now all of the sudden the charges are dropped. >> yeah, i mean, what authorities originally allege is that he hired someone to kill two others between the 25th and the 26th of september. that allegation, that charge in fact that was brought by the miss was dropped just 24 hours after phil rudd appeared in court. they said this was insufficient evidence for that charge. but there are other charges remaining. one of them is a charge of

threatening to kill, which carries a fairly serious sentence. he remains on bail until the 27th of november. he will reappear in court. and that will then move this along. and we will see what the police have had to say in the interim. there are also two and what his lawyer calls minor drug possession charges. but i think a lot of fans of ac/dc, a lot of followers of phil rudd, he has often been seen as one of the crucial elements of that special ac/dc hard rock style. it was his beat as the drummer, something really quite irreplaceable, according to some fans. they'll be very relieved that that very serious charge has been dropped. >> but he has said his reputation has already been extremely damaged. and then there is the band. any reaction from the band or anything about their relationship with him? >> yeah. we can address that. i'll address that in just a second. but as you said, his reputation has certainly been damaged.

and his lawyer had something to say about that. in the statement from paul maybi, he said mr. rudd has suffered unnecessary and extremely damaging publicity as a result of widespread and sensational reporting of a very serious allegation, which on any basis was never justified. there were some photographs of mr. rudd in the new zealand herald that were snapped. and he was making it very clear that he was not happy with the media attention or the nature of theed me media attention that he was getting. but as far as ac/dc goes, this legendary rock band, they said this is not going to affect the release of their upcoming album, which is scheduled for release on december 2. they also have a tour coming up, rock or bust. it's coming up next year, 2015. one would imagine they are probably looking for another drummer. in fact, there were photo shoots ahead of all of this that were scheduled for early october, and phil rudd did not attend those photo shoots. so obviously these are perhaps

new times for this band and people who are not familiar with their work, just go and check out the ironman soundtrack. it's peppered with ac/dc tracks. i'm sure ac/dc has a long way to go, natalie. >> certainly so. what a saga the past 24 hours. thank you, manisha tank. well, the mayor of ferguson, missouri in the united states says his town should prepare for the worst when a grand jury decides whether to indict a police officer for the shooting of unarmed teen michael brown. this week a group released 19 rules of engagement in hopes that violent protests will not happen again. the rules ask that officers not use rubber bullets or tear gas. and the group wants to know about the grand jury's decision 48 hours before it is announced. the police department did not say if it will agree to the rules. frustration boiled over in brussels on thursday on the streets. a few hundred protesters clash

with police after a much larger peaceful demonstration over austerity measures. here is cnn's isa soares with that. >> reporter: they turned out en masse, an estimated 120,000 people taking to the streets of brussels, voicing their anger over austerity reforms. but what started out as a largely peaceful protest quickly turned violent. cars were overturned and set alight. bins were torched, fireworks were set off. and stones were thrown at police. riot police responded using water cannons and pepper spray to disperse the rowdy crowds. most were workers angry at the government's austerity measures. >> translator: we are here today with more than 120,000 people who protest against the policy of the government, a policy of

spending cuts. but in practice, only the employees and socially ensured are paying with people with more capital and will not be affected by the cuts. >> reporter: the coalition which is facing public sector debt of around 100% of annual output says it has no choice but to impose strict austerity measures. an these include raising the retirement age from 65 to 67. freezing wages, cutting health and social security budgets. but having seen austerity in other parts of europe, the unions say they're not buying the government's rhetoric. >> the government tells us and all of the party tells us that there is no alternative. we don't contest that they have to find the 11 billion euros. but we have been saying for a long time it is possible to find this money elsewhere rather than in the pockets of workers. >> this protest is just the beginning. unions are promising to take to the streets every monday until december 15th when a nationwide

strike is planned. a sign of just how deep their anger really is. isa soares, cnn. the uk is kicking hundreds of libyan military recruits out of britain. coming up here, we'll tell you what some of them did that has officials stunned and outraged.

more bad news for home depot in the wake of a hack that

compromise millions of customers' credit card information. an investigation confirmed that 53 million e-mail addresses were stolen in the same breach of credit and debit card data. the company said hackers got into their systems by stealing the user name and passwords of a third party vendor. well, people in the u.s. in the east coast, you better bundle up. >> we have got very cold weather for anyone traveling to let's say new york city or chicago or even atlanta. >> it's been back and forth, back and forth. >> this time we're actually having the remnants of what was typhoon nuri going to bring us that cold weather. typhoon impacting the weather of the eastern half of the united states. >> it's traveling on. >> it is. i want to talk quickly what new york city looked like yesterday at this time. we had rain in times square. very, very soggy start to their thursday. that storm is moving away from the east coast of the united states.

but now that very same low-pressure system is going to bring some hefty snowfall to new brunswick. we're also talking about snow across st. johns and into the newfoundland region and the eastern parts of canada, upwards of 25 centimeters. this is about 10 inches of snow and heavy rainfall as well. you can see even some of that snowfall into the extreme northern sections of maine, vermont, and the extreme northeastern parts of new england. now, talking about what was remnants of typhoon nuri. this storm system is going to play interesting with our upper-level steering winds. that is the jet stream. as it continues to move across the bering strait, it's going to steepen and strengthen, and it's also going to throw in very steep ridges and troughs in the upper-level steering winds. this is basically just fancy weatherman talk that this weather pattern is going to get very, very interesting across north america. in fact, what it's going to do, it's going to pull down very cold air from the great lakes to the east coast of the u.s.

if you're going to travel to this part of the united states, bundle up. plan ahead. the western half polar opposites. summertime for places like las vegas and los angeles. temperatures well above average. so how cold will it get? chicago should be 54 degrees fahrenheit this time of year. only 42 on saturday. atlanta, washington, more of the same. running between 10 and 20 degrees below average for this time of year. and we have several shots of cold air coming in the next foreseeable future. quickly going to talk about what is happening across europe. we've had reports of even a few tornadoes in sis scily. rome also got some hefty rain. this is the chance of severe weather today, damaging wednesday and even the possibility of an isolated tornado near the baltic peninsula. that's all from the world weather center. we have plenty of news and headlines coming up in just a few minutes.

hello again. you're watching cnn. i'm natalie allen. our top stories this hour, a u.s. defense official says a key member of the al qaeda-linked khorasan group appears to have been killed in syria. that's him. french jihadist david drugeon is described as a top bomb maker. he was apparently killed in a series of air strikes that also destroyed a suspected bomb factory. in the war on isis, source says the u.s. is trying to open channels with iran. and that president obama has written to supreme leader ayatollah khamenei about it, not to pursue joint military action, but to prevent conflict between u.s. and iranian operations against isis. former u.s. navy s.e.a.l. robert o'neill told "the washington post" he was the one who killed osama bin laden.

a u.s. official confirmed to cnn only that o'neill was part of the raid in 2011. another former s.e.a.l. is under investigation for writing a book about the mission. israeli security forces are keeping a close look over the al aqsa moss income jerusalem as muslims prepare for friday prayers. police kept a group of jewish extremists from marching to the side on thursday. the mosque has been at the center of protests for the past week after a palestinian man shot and wounded a rabbi at the holy site. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu called jordan's king abdullah thursday to reassure him of the sanctity of the mosque. this latest round of conflict revolves around efforts by jewish activists to be able to pray at jerusalem's temple mount. the site is known to muslim azhar ram al shareef. erin mclaughlin reports its history is as old as the religious themselves.

>> reporter: one of jerusalem's most holy sites, early morning clashes. police use stun grenades and rubber bullets to clear an area outside one of the gates. hours later, there is an attack on a jerusalem tram station, killing a member of the israeli border police. the police shoot and kill the suspect, 38-year-old ibrahim al acari. israeli security forces say he was a low ranking hamas activist. his widow denies that. she says he saw the morning clashes at the al aqsa mosque and decided to act. >> translator: this is our land and country, and they entered it by force, she says. if i had the chance to do what he did, i would have. now violence surrounds this holy site, known to muslims as the noble sanctuary, and to jews as the temple mount. there are deep suspicions in the muslim community that something could happen to the status quo, which is that jews can visit the site, but they are not allowed to pray there.

members of israel's far right want the prime minister to change that. >> we all accept -- expect them to change the rules that jews are not allowed to pray on the mountain. and i think that it's starting now revolution going towards that direction. >> reporter: the government has released a statement saying there will be no change in the status quo on the temple mount. whoever expresses a different opinion is presenting a personal view. in an institute inside the old city, artists have spent years creating garments and vestibules in the belief that one day a new jewish temple will built on top. of the site. >> deep under the temple mount that was actually designed by king solomon himself. >> it's a belief that has many muslims worried. >> we're not talking at this point about building the temple. is that the dream of the jewish people? yes. so there is no question about that. but what we're talking about right now is to be able to fulfill our religious obligations, to be seen by god

in that place and to be able to utter a prayer. >> reporter: some muslims are wary that those jewish players prayers have political motives motivations. >> unfortunately, the mosque is a playing card with the hands of the israeli political agenda. >> reporter: and now scenes like this one right inside the al aqsa mosque are relatively common. the meaning of the word jerusalem is city of peace. these days it's anything but. erin mclaughlin, cnn, jerusalem. and turkey's president is speaking out about the conflict. he is appealing to the u.n. to stop what he calls attacks by israeli troops and jewish settlers at the mosque. erdogan plans to bring the issue before the security council. turkish media reports he discussed the matter this week with the palestinian authority president and the leader of hamas. britain is now reconsidering

its plans to train 2,000 libyan soldiers after reports libyan military recruits in the uk repeatedly got drunk, destroyed property, and were even involved in sexual attacks. in other words, they weren't taking their training very seriously. lindsey hillson has the story. >> a bunch of militia men were in control of a british army base in the uk. they did whatever they wanted. whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. and the british army, instead of being an army that is there to train them is reduced to baby-sitting them to limit the damage they cause and to try to manage their behavior. >> reporter: we're disguising john's identity. all those who worked on the base have been told to keep silent. today the libyan flag was still flying. the last 17 libyan recruits are expected to fly out this evening. but the repercussions are not over.

>> once one of the libyan soldiers was taken to the guard room to be disciplined. and he was put in a cell. many of them, about 30 libyan soldiers showed up at the guards room and demanded that he be released. when he wasn't released, they actually attacked. physically attacked the british soldier. >> reporter: the chaos on the base mirrors the chaos in libya. and here it seems nobody could control it. the people i've been speaking to who work on the base say the libyans ran riot from the beginning. the british soldiers didn't stand a chance. and nobody more senior in the ministry of defense intervened to say it's impossible. we can't turn these militiamen into soldiers. they gathered at the airport in tripoli in june, 300 rebels from the brigades that had overthrown colonel gadhafi in 2011. the british government said the

libyan authorities would vet the recruits. they didn't do a very good job. they sang the national anthem, but remained loyal to their regions and tribes, with no interest in becoming a disciplined national force. ♪ >> they would go around building by building to break fire alarms, to set things on fire. they also attacked the shop, the local shop on the base. they broke in. they went in to communal areas. they stole laptops. they destroyed the furniture. they sprayed the whole place with fire extinguishers. >> reporter: they took pictures of themselves in the gym. although more than one source told me they were more interested in drinking than military drilling. the ministry of defense said in a statement today that the majority of recruits responded positively to the training, and it was regrettable that there were some serious disciplinary issues. but those on the base said

things went out of control very quickly. >> the british soldiers would just be powerless, stand there and watch them. at first they were enthusiastic and trying to get involved and talk sense into them. and towards the end they were just basically stand there with their arms folded, silent and watch them get on with it. smash things, swear, deface buildings, take down british flags. >> reporter: they sang libyan songs as they roamed around the base. nothing wrong with that. but women who worked there were reportedly scared because the libyans didn't understand that touching or taking pictures without permission isn't acceptable. it proved impossible to keep them within the perimeter. there was a big draw because you can't buy alcohol in libya. the british soldiers may have helped them go there because it was they should go on a bender

inside the base than out. >> the british army actually had mini buss to pick them up and take them to the local tescos. they bought as much booze as they wanted and they came back on base. the day off is friday. so every friday or every thursday night we would call it riot night. when they were drunk, a few guys pinned another soldier down and attempted to rape him. i know that they were arrested. i think they were deported. the victim's cousin was also sent back because he intervened and retaliated -- actually stabbed one of the perpetrators. >> reporter: the british soldiers were concerned that the libyans were allowed to carry out live fire exercises. local officials were worried about their behavior off base. the alleged sexual assaults and rape in cambridge for which five recruits face charges were the final straw. >> i think the ministry of defense have handled the whole thing appallingly. they have lied right from the start. they always knew presumably that

they were going to let these trainees out on their own. but we were assured from the beginning that they would be never let out unsupervised. >> reporter: the training program has been a disaster. while libya itself has descended into anarchy. a country without a government, let alone an army. >> again, the reporter there reporting lindsey hillson from our uk affiliate channel 4 news. ahead here on cnn, a confessed kill were a gun and the man behind the camera becomes the target. >> don't be an idiot. don't be an idiot. >> you'll see how this all started and ended when we come back. also, these pictures speak for themselves. happy germans celebrating from atop a suddenly crumbling berlin wall. where were you during the fall of the wall? coming up, we mark the 25th anniversary of that day.

accused of violently abducting a woman off of a philadelphia street in pennsylvania has apparently admitted to the kidnapping. and that's just one of the new details in a criminal complaint against this man, 37-year-old del vin barnes. he also reportedly said he didn't know 22-year-old carlesha freeland gay before he took her to maryland.

the victim's family is speaking out and very thankful she survived. >> she said thank you all so much. without your help, we couldn't have had her back. and that was the most important thing. >> it was a relief, a relief to know that she is safe, that she is in good health. and, you know, that god was on our side. everybody was praying for us and praying words. we're excited that she is safe and that she is back home. >> short while ago, the suspect was transported from maryland to virginia. he faces charges there in another abduction case involving a teenaged girl. in germany's capital, a 15 kilometer chain of lanterns will light the way where the berlin wall once stood. the border of light is part of weekend events marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of that infamous wall at the beginning of the end of the cold war. but a strike by train drivers is threatening to disrupt the celebrations. drivers are demanding more money

and shorter hours. more than 5 million germans travel by train every day. well, for 28 years, that wall divided berlin as one of the most enduring symbols of the cold war. it had a profound impact on the lives of average people. as we hear from two of our correspondents, jim clancy. >> reporter: the berlin wall didn't just divide the city on the front lines of the cold war, it also divided its people. the church of remembrance. this area became the new center of west berlin. while the communists tried to show their superiority by building the gigantic broadcast tower on the aleksander platz. but the two sides drifted apart. west germany's economy became strong and people could afford cars like this mercedes. people, the east stagnated. people were lucky to even get their hands on the unreliable trabanz.

the border between east and west berlin was sealed overnight on august 13th, 1961. some of the most dramatic scenes happened right here. as the wall was increasingly fortified, thousands tried to flee to the west. very soon guard were given orders to shoot to kill anyone who tried to get out. west berliners could do little but look on as families were torn apart. but america took a stand. president john f. kennedy came to berlin in 1963 and delivered an unforgettable speech right here at the city hall. hundreds of thousands gathered as a u.s. president vowed america would not let berlin fall to communism. >> ich bin ein berliner. >> reporter: but the communists tightened their grip on east germany. the wall's death grip was upgraded and living conditions

got worse. most people were forced to live a dull life in communist high-rise blocs with no chance of realizing their personal dreams. meantime the west kept the pressure up. on june 12th, 1987, west berliners gathered at the victory column, while down the street president ronald reagan demanded that moscow end the divide. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> reporter: that happened on november 9th, 1989 when the bankrupt east german regime opened the border and finally gave its citizens freedom. today germany is united. its economy stronger than ever, thanks to the people of both east and west germany and the allies who never backed down in their fight against communism. cnn, berlin. >> i like the way they did that story. cnn was there, right there. there it goes when the berlin

wall fell. and we are there now to show you what has changed and where you can still see signs of that bygone era. join jim clancy, fred who you just saw and hala gorani live from berlin all weekend long, kicking off at 1700 central european time on friday. an earthquake has struck underwater just off the east coast of papua new guinea. meteorologist derek van damme joins us from the international weather center with more about it. derek? >> that's right, natalie. it occurred about 10:30 local time in papua new guinea. that was on thursday evening. this is the latest magnitude 6.6. that's down from what was originally a 6.9. the depth was 43.2 kilometers. again, this was offshore. and it was between papua new guinea and new britain. this is an area known as the ring of fire. kind of a hot spot for seismic activity really. no tsunami threat from this particular earthquake. and there have been no reports

of injuries or damages. we want to keep you informed on what is happening. this is a sight you don't normally see, at least this time of year. surfing in the mediterranean. not an area you would see waves. we have had a major storm or at least a low-pressure system really churn up the waves across parts of the italian coast. that's where that picture was actually taken. it's this low-pressure system in all of the moisture that is producing the flooding rains that we've had in france, earlier in the workweek, even into tuscany. we also had hail reports in rome, and some minor flooding in the streets of ancient rome as well. this low-pressure system continues to traverse eastward toward the balkan peninsula. that's going to bring the possibility of heavy right right through saturday morning. montenegro through albania as well adds greece. look at the rainfalls totals 300 millimeters in austria. croatia impressive rainfall totals as well. you can see some of the storms that moved through rome pretty hefty stuff.

dropping hailstones the size of around 3 centimeters. very, very impressive. you can see the low-pressure system responsible for this continues to churn in the southern adriatic sea. and we're expecting damaging wind, heavy rain, and we cannot rule out the possibility of an isolated tornado, especially where you see the darker shading of red, from sicily to greece. look out for mud slides as well-being a possibility and event waterspouts. now focusing our attention over the northwestern parts of europe. we've got cold front after cold front impacting places like scotland, as well as into england and ireland. very windy scenario up there as well. dublin to glasgow, aberdeen and london. we even have some travel delays across parts of europe. this is the latest that we have out of london's gatwick airport, 35 to 40-minute delays. a the moment more of the same for glasgow. less delays are expected this afternoon for london heathrow that is all from the world weather center. we'll have more news and headlines coming up in just a few minutes. stick around. [ man ] look how beautiful it is.

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you do your push-ups today? prepare to be amazed. [ male announcer ] don't wait. call today to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long. well, they usually cover top news stories from behind the lens. but one cameraman in australia quickly found himself part of the story. peter steer was on his way to cover a shooting when the suspect in that case flagged him down. 7 network's carly waters reports on what happened next. >> i just have to say she is all

right. >> you got to talk to me, kneel. peter steer from channel 7. there has been a shooting. i have the shooter with me. he has given himself up to me. >> reporter: brook was on a harley-davidson when he hailed down peter, who was on his way to the incident. >> i surrender myself to god. >> reporter: he told peter he was the person police were looking for after allegedly injuring a woman at a house. >> no, he looks okay. but he is pretty remorseful at this stage. i can tell you that. [ crying ] >> reporter: the cameraman kept him calm and kept up conversation for almost half an hour. he called police a second time. >> it's very important, extremely important. i have the person that you're looking for. >> i feel like a coward. you know, a coward.

i couldn't fight the devil. >> reporter: but as brook was sitting on the ground, he changed his mind about surrendering. smiling, he pointed the gun at peter. >> don't be a [ bleep ] idiot. don't be a [ bleep ] idiot. don't be an idiot. oh, jeez. don't be silly. don't be silly. >> reporter: and stole the 7 news car. brook drove straight to a nearby service station, then this. another of peter's cameras mounted inside captured the moment he crashed into a sign and slammed into a gas tank. [ siren ] >> where is he? >> get down! on the ground. >> get down, get on the ground!

>> get on the ground. get on the ground now. get on the ground. >> reporter: late today, brook was charged with a number of offenses, including attempted murder. peter steer has been a news cameraman since 1980. >> i wanted to get that shot of him with the gun, but i didn't want to get shot. >> reporter: a man who normally records the news is now making it. >> for a cameraman, i guess it was sort of the stuff that you sort of dream of, i guess, you know. so, yeah, i'm fine. i'm fine. i just need a big drink. >> reporter: carly waters, 7 news. >> boy, that is one brave cameraman. he deserves a raise. well, finally this hour, incredible new pictures that show the formation of a new planet, maybe the clearest scientists have ever seen as

well. this star is 450 light years away from earth. ptelescope in chile, and they io show rings that are usually covered up by dust and gas. >> the antenna by 10 or 15 kilometers. and it's a dream that come true. i mean, people have thought about it for 20 years. and now we see it. so it is like an epiphany. it's like something exceptional. and also exceptional and whatever lifetime of an observatory. >> we hope scientists will hope the pictures will give them a greater understanding of how planets come to be. when they discover that, we will report it to you. thanks for watching cnn. i'm natalie allen. early start coming up for viewers in the u.s. for viewers elsewhere, stay with us for cnn newsroom. thanks for joining us.

happening in just hours, president obama meets with the new leaders of congress after days of posturing and threats. can the president and republicans who will now be in charge find any middle ground? what we know about this morning's meeting is ahead. could there be new help in the war on isis from the most unlikely of places? president obama reaching out to iran to fight isis terrorists. what we are learning about the potential new partnership. history of violence inside the troubling past of the man accused of kidnapping a philadelphia nurse. new details