>> this hour cyclone pam is battling the islands in the pacific ocean. more than 200,000 people are in its path. >> in iraq, three quarters of tikrit is now back in control of the government but the battle against isis is a bloody one. >> investigators in ferguson missouri search for whomever shot two police officers. >> welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world.

>> a tropical cyclone is hammering an island chain the equivalent of a category five hurricane. >> pam is bringing heavy rain and strong winds. we're already getting reports of flooding. many people living in basic housing there are particularly at risk. >> with more on this monster storm we bring in our own meteorologist who has been tracking all of this. when we look at that on the satellite imagery it's massive. >> i think you have already touched on it as well. it's the infrastructure that is going to be a kurn. we have roughly 200,000 people living in this island chain. 50% of them living on less than a dollar a day so you can imagine what they can and can't with stand. this is a force to be reckoned

with. we have got some amazing pictures coming out of that area. people already preparing as they should. preparations should already be completed with this particular storm. just in preparation for tropical cyclone pam and i think just a moment ago we had a few live shots out of that area. we had web cams shaking back and forth. of an elevation as they are supposed to.

if we can bring up the weather graphics you will be able to see just the size of this particular storm because it really is impressive. it's very clear to see where this monster of a cyclone is located. and all preparations need to be underway. if we go closer in with our camera you can see that the eye wall is now starting to reach some of those east facing islands. the coastline is right along the south and east facing portions of this storm. in this part of the world we have clock wise rotation.

upwards of 12 meters above where it should be this time of year.

on't know 90 minutes or so the wind has gotten dramatically worse. staying safe. >> and you talk about, you know how other people are doing at this point, hoping they are safe that is a hope we all have.

ing so slowly through the country, i think a lot of people just have gotten lulled into a false sense of security that it would not be serious or it would maybe go back into the ocean. a lot of people were waiting until the last minute to get their preparations and things like that.

unker down and get through that storm. >> it was sistering to hear that people were helping others such as herself but weren't making preparations for their own homes. >> interesting. you know and you just worry, especially people who live in the communities that are not, you know as advanced primitive

homes. it will be difficult, i'm sure to get through this storm. >> but we will stay on top of this story for you. do stay with us for continuing coverage of tropical cyclone pam. moving on, isis is reportedly accepting a pledge of alilegiance from boko haram. >> and someone claiming to be an isis spokesperson says the islamic state has expended to western africa and called boko haram jihadi brothers. cnn cannot independently confirm the authenticity of this message. >> more than 40 soldiers are dead after isis blew up an army headquarters building.

aware of what they are leaving behind. rie experience. isis has been driven out of this town and probably will soon be driven out of tikrit.

what they leave behind are ghost towns. almost all of the local inhabitants have left. it's dangerous. there are hundreds of ieds left behind. >> civilians have been told to stay away. ing out but taking prisoners doesn't seem to be in the cards. >> they won't get away. we'll kill them. almost 30,000 mostly shia troops have flooded into this predominantly sunni area raising fears of sectarian tensions and revenge killings. there are sunnis who have joined

the fight against isis. last spring isis fighters attacked a home of a sunni tribal leader. they killed his wife two sons and two grandsons. he soon took up arms against the group. >> i know that people killed my family. we want to fight these terrorists drive them out of this area and never see them again. these fighters have made common cause with troops to retake tikrit. proudly showing me his new rifle, he is confident isis's days are numbered. >> with no crowds to cheer them on, the soldiers cheer

themselves. >> ian lee is following these angles for us. thank you so much for taking time. the first question look we're looking at this battle play out. it is a bloody and difficult battle for sure. but we're also seeing troops work with these groups. how important is that for face value for these groups to work together and to make success? to have successes? >> it's very important, george. and we're watching as we watch this offensive take place, it really is these militias that are spearheading this offensive into tabking tikrit.

retaking different villages different provinces but they have -- they do have a poor track record when it comes to taking areas that are predominantly sunni. we're going to be watching the battle for tikrit very closely to see if that sort of same thing happens. but for the iraqi army this is a crucial test. we saw them melt away in the face of isis last summer when the militant group was taking large parts of the country. they have been retrained. they have new weapons and now we're seeing if they can hold up in this battle. they still have not taken a leading role.

the iraqi forces are taking their time taking tikrit. they want this to be an overwhelming victory once it's done george. >> ian there in cairo in advance of the meeting with secretary of state john kerry. we will stay in touch with you to find out the details of that meeting. thank you for the reporting. >> police in ferguson missouri are searching for whomever shot and wounded two officers. and why this roof had to be broken.

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>> we need to make sure that like-minded kind spirited persons on both sides work together. >> investigators have questioned and released a number of people over the shooting. they say there are two people they want to talk to. >> wednesday nigh'st's shooting

was captured on video. were hit. hay were both rushed to the hospital in serious condition after what authorities call an ambush. >> several shots were fired. at least three. i don't have an official status. they are conscious. but they are very serious gunshot injuries to be able to sustain.

ough the front door while others try to pry a hole through the roof described as a tactical situation. three people are taken in for questioning, two men and one woman.

>> at 3:00 in the morning we hear a boom boom boom. i open the door and scoot back and i look at my chest and there's a red dot on it. i hold my hands up and said please don't shoot me. >> when the shooting happened she sped away from the scene out of fear. >> after they searched the house they asked for a search warrant to go in the attic. there was something in the attic. >> she was questioned but not charged. later on in the day, some good news. both officers are released from the hospital. >> we're lucky by god's grace we didn't lose two officers last night. >> cnn reporting there. we want to take you now live to south africa where attorneys for

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>> the country is bracing for protest on sunday. thousands are expected to call for the newly elected president to resign. >> we break down what happened in this once this rooifing nation. >> it wasn't that long ago. a booming brazil surpassed the uk as the world's sixth largest economy. foreign investors flocked to the giant. >> so why have thousands of people now vowed to take to the streets in protest while the president's approval rating sinks below 25%? here's the president's take.

>> our country is going through some very difficult problems but we are a country with a solid base. >> for critics the answer is different. economic recession and political corruption. brazil is bracing for a protracted recession and high inflation that many blame on mismanagement during her first presidential term. once the darling of investors is hammered by a massive corruption scandal. the highest court is investigating dozens of politicians, most of them from the ruling coalition as part of an alleged prescribery scheme

ne has the right to protest and criticize whomever it may be. >> impeachment is unlikely but it's in this toxic climate that she will have to droo zus us a terry measures. cnn, new york.

>> that's coming up.

>> welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. you are watching cnn newsroom. >> let's check the said lines for you. in ferguson missouri investigators say they have identified two people they want to question in the shooting of two officers outside the town's police department.

e killing. >> and into the sea of japan. l cyclone is hammering down there. you see these pictures. it's being called the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane. >> you just have to wonder what people are going through right now at this hour. let's bring in derek van dam.

you have been looking at this for the last several hours. >> i wanted to try to put it in perspective for you guys. i did a little research of what it actually feels like. she says it takes your breath away. your skin ripples like water. your heart pounds and you wonder how any structure would survive wind like. that

a day. so you can imagine the infrastructure just not able to handle wind gusts of 200 to 250 kilometers per hour. look at this video coming out of the area. trees starting to rock back and forth and the waves starting to pick up on the ocean. and this was before the real onslaught of the storms settled in. take a look at this map. we're tracking four tropical cyclones. here they are. owen nathan bobby and pam. pam being the one that we're focusing our attention on. a very well defined eye there you can see it just running parallel along this north to south facing island chain.

but then into the weekend we're talking sunday and monday we look out for the north island of new zealand. something we want to take a look at. with infrom structure being as nimble as it is they're going to see a lot of these houses and structures seeing destruction. it could be devastating. it could be catastrophic. so our hearts really go out to those people. >> and you say that port villa is next? >> they are at a very susceptible area. the eye could pass very near if not over that particular area.

>> we know you will stay on top of this for us. appreciate it. thank you. >> well we are host of the wonder list recently shot an episode of the show. earlier i asked him about the people and just how prepared they prigt be. >> you have to understand that this is by western standards primitive with a capital p. what drew me to do the story are some islands are ready for development. virtually naked in the forest and more vulnerable than you can imagine. >> in saying that i have got to ask you how, you know bha's the capacity the capital has a few big sized hotels and chains.

we're talking about islands with maybe one car. >> check out bill's latest story at cnn.com/wonder list. at the officers.

eric holder called the shooting a pure ambush. >> seeing this attack turned my stomach. this was not someone trying to bring healing to ferguson. this was a pump. >> police have been scouring the neighborhood around police headquarters in search for answers. >> let's look at this crime scene and we start with a basic map. the big wide road in front of it? there have been shots in previous protests. here's the scene. police were still in front of the police station protecting

it. about 100 protesters remain. these shots came in according to the eyewitnesss. let's go down the street level and look at this when we say up we do mean up because it is a hill. it's fully possible that shots could be fired from up that hill. they could fly in over the heads of the protesters. the shots would have originated. that's a really long shot for a miss tol. very hard though, to be controlled very well and put the shot where somebody might want to put it. that's muchmore likely to have

it. about a quarter or less than the distance we're talking ability. that doesn't mean that was fired from over here among the protesters but vettors have to look very seriously at that possible. >> another big story that people are following, resumes. thursday we heard from a man who was carjacked by the tsarnaev brothers. he took the stand. >> he was held hostage for a terrifying 19 minutes before dding to make a run for it. >> kidnapped and carjacked by the boston bombers, the man anxiously waited for a chance to run. when a car pulled into a gas station he found an opening and raced as fast as he could across the street to another gas station. watch as mang frantically tries locking the door begging the

clerk to call 911. fearing the tsarnaev brothers will follow he hides in a storeroom. the clerk gets police on the line and hands ma nrve g the phone. >> the brothers hijacked the black suv. mang testified that one pointed a gun at him and asked do you know the boston marathon explosion? i did it and i just killed a policeman in came bridge. he made small talk asking him where he was from. mang replied i'm chinese. the response? i'm muslim. muslims hate americans. just before midnight they stopped at this shell station to

fill up the gas tank intending to drive to new york. taking his time picking out chips that's when mang decided to run. hi leaves the snakes and follows his brother. mang alerted police that his suv had gps tracking a crucial break that helped police close in on the tsarnaev brothers. cnn new york. >> there is a big election just days away and many israels are hoping for change. opponents of the current administration are taking cues from u.s. president barack obama obama's campaign to try to rally supporters. that story is next. play) ♪ i ride the highway... ♪ ♪ i'm going my way... ♪ ♪i leave a story untold... ♪ he just keeps sending more pictures...

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>> now to israel where surveys suggest there could be a major upset in tuesday's election. he told local media that a union led administration would cause a dangerous and monumental shift in policy. many israelis think it is time

for a change and are calling for new leadership and it looks like many of them are more worried about the economy than any threat from iran. >> that's right. we take a look at how opponents of the current government are hoping to bring about change through grass roots efforts and protest rallies. >> a rally borne of frustration -- >> i think everyone or at loost the people i know are sick of what's going on. >> and anger coupled with a hope. >> there would be a different israel starting in the 18th of march. >> calling for new leadership. here they worry about the economy, making ends meet the threat of iran seems far more distant than the threat of an empty bank account. >> that prosperity is not

trickling down to the everyday person. >> its a war about identity and where this country is going. >> in the final days before the election this group is calling for a new government. >> we just need to say something. >> fuelled by a style of grass roots campaigning not popular in israel but popular in the item. >> this is so new to us. the feeling that israelis can make a difference. >> paulie works with the get out the vote movement. the team has registered 150,000 voters urging people to vote center or left.

>> we are not talking about candidates or parties but what kind of vision they have for israel. >> each campaign urging voters to show up and decide the direction for this country at a cross roads. cnn, tel aviv. >> we shall see what happens. turning to south africa now, attorneys for oscar pistorious are challenging a move to upgrade his sentence to murder. >> new video obtained by the daily sun newspaper shows pistorious playing football in prison. >> staying with south africa an id card program for workers

apparently instituted by a neighborhood group is being investigated by police. >> and it has angered some workers who feel it's reminiscent of the apartheid past. here is the story. >> there's a lot of attention paid to these lawns and to the people who work here. it has your name. isaac is a part time gardener who has to carry a pass called a green card when he goes to his place of work. the card is good he says because it will protect me. if there's a burgly and i'm walking by i just show them my pass and say i work here. this is my pard. in the deep rooted fear of crime is showing a card which permits

access to certain parts of town is extremely sensitive in a country still wrestling with its apartheid past. >> it was a card that you had to carry. the police could drag you all the way and put you in jail. >> does this feel like the same thing? >> yeah. >> it's not right. >> the card has the emblem of the national police stamped on it. both say they didn't know about the scheme but are investigating how it ever came into being.

>> the scheme is now suspended but there is a community spirit which gave rise to it. not intentionally racist perhaps but hardly free and fair either. >> coming up a rare look at the next king of great britain. our exclusive interview and the unguarded moments of prince charles and his wife next. but a lot of us leave our identities unprotected. nearly half a million cars were stolen in 2012, but for every car stolen 34 people had their identities stolen. identity thieves can steal your money, damage your credit and wreak havoc on your life. why risk it when you can help protect yourself from identity theft with one call to lifelock, the leader in identity-theft protection? lifelock actively patrols your sensitive, personal information every second of every day, helping to guard your social security number, your bank accounts and credit,

even the equity in your home -- your valuable personal assets. look. your bank may alert you to suspicious activity on your credit or debit card. but that still may leave you vulnerable to big losses if a thief opens new accounts in your name or decides to drain your savings, home equity, or retirement accounts. and your credit report may only tell you after your identity's been compromised. but lifelock is proactive protection and watches out for you in ways that banks and credit-card companies alone just can't giving you the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. whenever the patented lifelock identity alert system detects a threat to your identity you'll be notified by phone, text, or e-mail, helping you to stop identity thieves before they do damage. you even get a $1 million service guarantee. that's right. if your identity is ever compromised, lifelock will spend up to $1 million on experts to help restore it. you wouldn't leave your car unprotected. don't leave your money, credit

and good name unprotected. call now, and try lifelock risk-free for 60 days. act now, and get this document shredder free. that's a $29 value. ♪ or go to lifelock.com/go. try lifelock risk-free for 60 days and get this document shredder free -- a $29 value -- when you use promo code go. call now.

>> calling all star wars fan. >> i'm more of a star trek fan. >> i will talk to you, then. the force will soon be with you. it will release star wars episode 8 may 26 2017. episode 7 hits theaters this december. >> not seeing the star trek in star wars but star wars just as good. felicity jones will star in the upcoming spin off due out next september. >> children around the world have admitted we have been desperately waiting for.

" "frozen" is getting a sequel. >> there will be another song i'm sure. the walt disney company is working on the yet to be titled movie. the directors are back at it. >> froze season the best selling animated movie of all time. it raked in nearly $1.3 billion worldwide. >> break out in tune here? >> no. no. >> moving on. prince charles and his wife camilla will visit the u.s. next week ahead of their tenth wedding anniversary. >> cnn royal correspondent spoke with the prince taking an intimate look at his life and marriage. >> i must admit, quite a lot of

the presidents of the united states. >> and quite often those encounters have taken place at the white house during charles's tours of the united states. >> it's a country you have visited many times officially and privately. it must be a country you're very fond of. >> i think i have been 20 times or so now in the last 45 years. just shows how old i'm getting now. >> as prince charles and the dutchess prepare for their tour of the u.s. he granted me an exclusive interview and shared memories of past visits. >> i remember the first time we were invited to stay in 1970 the white house by president nixon for the weekend. that was quite amusing, i must say. that was a time when they were

trying to marry me off to tricia nixon. >> ten years ago, camilla joined charles, their first official oversea visit. >> 2005 your first joint overseas tour with your new wife. what are your memories of that visit? >> i remember we had a very jolly time in virginia. >> it looked like a fascinating documentary. thank you for watching. for for viewers around the world, stay tuned for v cnn newsroom. for those in the u.s., early start is next.

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. happening now, the intense search for whoever shot two police officers in ferguson missouri. the tensions there escalating after the violence. we are live with the very latest. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is friday march 13th. tensions remain high this morning in ferguson missouri. the two police officers shot as a protest was winding down ear