and everything he touched. >> in a way it's fair. >> it's fair? >> indeed, a good movie, sure. >> coppola, he didn't [ muted ] it up? >> no. >> this is "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. ahead this hour, donald trump is back on the defensive after attacking hillary clinton using a word many consider vulgar. plus a bloody battle with isis. forces battle back with a terror group in the strategic city of rama ramadi. and it's a movie the nfl doesn't want you to see, but concerns about player safety don't seem to be slowing the growth of america's most popular sport. hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and right around the world. i'm isha sesay. "newsroom l.a." starts right now.

'. >> republican front-runner donald trump is defending his use of a word widely considered to be vul vulgar to attack his democratic rival hillary clinton. he said he used it to show that she was, badly beaten by barack obama. now clinton is firing back. >> you are looking at somebody who's had a lot of things said about me. >> a not so subtle dig at donald trump today after a young girl asked hillary clinton about bullying. >> we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. >> just when you thought politics couldn't sink any lower, trump went there, talking about clinton's 2008 defeat by barack obama. >> she got shlonged.

she lost. >> it's a yiddish word that meant, well, you guessed it. and he didn't stop there. >> where did she go? i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. >> he's talking about this moment when clinton went missing for a few moments of the democratic debate. when she returned, she had only one word to say -- >> sorry. >> how do you respond to donald trump's comments? >> reporter: while clinton refused to answer questions about trump's comment, she used it as a rallying cry for women. we're not responding to trump, but that everyone understands the humiliation that word should. but for trump it's just the latest volley in a campaign filled with vulgarities, none of which tarnished his popularity. first he went after megyn kelly. >> she started asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes.

blood coming out of her, wherever. >> reporter: then republican rival carly fiorina. in a rolling stones article, he said look at that face. would anyone vote for that? can you imagine that the face of our next president? but clinton is his favorite target. >> she's playing the woman's card. honestly, outside of the woman's card, she has nothing going. believe me. >> a sentiment his opponent jeb bush took further today. >> she's great at being the victim. this little enhancer victimology status. this is what she lues doing. >> bottom line, it's good politics for republicans to say anything negative about hillary clinton. and jeb bush is clearly trying to get into the game here. but you can bet that word victim also fires up democrats. jeb zeley, cnn, washington. >> well, joining me now to discuss the u.s. presidential election is christina belatoni. she covers politics for the "l.a. times." welcome to the show.

so as you look at the things that have been coming from donald trump, the use of this vulgar term, even to talk about the bathroom break during the democratic debate recently. is there a strategy at play here, or is this just shooting from the hip, what's going on here. make sense of it here. >> i would like to try, but this entire thing sort of feels like a strange dream. if you had asked me six months ago would we be in this place where donald trump holds a commanding lead nationally and may even hold a larger lead than that -- we had a story on the front page of the "los angeles times" today saying it's possible his lead is even bigger because when you get a phone call asking you who you support, maybe you're going to be embarrassed to say you support donald trump, but you might actually be supporting him. so this is a pretty surprising turp of events. but it speaks to the country's anger right now and frustration with what is currently in place. and that's not a party thing.

it's sort of the typical politician thing. in general, you can predict what a politician is going to say in most circumstances. particularly if you've been covering it for a long time. i can't tell you what donald trump is going to do next and i think he understands that and he understands that he will get coverage when he does things that are off script or off tradition. >> the widespread criticism into the use of that term in relation to hillary clinton, to paraphrase, he says he was not, in fact, you know, being derogatory to her, that, in fact, it's the mainstream media trying to blow this up. it's up on the screen to read itself. >> he understands this. this is a creature of television. one of the reasons everyone watching this show tonight knows who donald trump is.

he understands how to use the medium of television. his twitter audience, for example, he has millions of followers he can speak to. he doesn't need press in the way a traditional candidate does. women, what do women voter this of this? there are a lot of them that are not happy with this. and the democrats like that, because they feel like women are to their advantage. generally unmar i ared women tend to vote democratic. you know, the older, married women with children tend to vote republican. it just depends. this is an area where the democrats see this and they like it. the democrats will attempt to paint any republican who is a nominee, why didn't you condemn trump? did you agree with trump? he was the front runner of your party. >> and to that point, the hillary clinton campaign while making this directly, they made it about all women.

>> you're going to hear her say that more and more during 2008 during her first run of the presidency. she reminded people she's a grandmother. in fact, the campaign said she's like everybody's grandmother. and she got a little pushback on that today. but she likes to remind people that she is a woman, that she takes more time in the restroom than everybody else. these are things that will continue to play out over the course of the campaign between donald trump and any candidate because there's a certain language you use when you speak to women and there's a certain language that perhaps you shouldn't use when you speak about women. and i think donald trump has found that multiple times in this campaign. >> does she find herself in a bind b in the sense that these comments are offensive yet for her to directly engage them would make them seem that she was somewhat thin skinned and it plays into the jeb bush thing. oh, he said she should stop being a victim. it's that kind of bind that

women find themselves in. >> flashback to 2008. this was exactly the conversation we were having. the rhetoric was a little different, but new hampshire, she showed a bit of emotion when answering a question about what it's like to campaign. people were calling her cry baby. there were other people who said i identify with her. she's someone that's willing to show her emotion. and she would sometimes do that and then sometimes not. she played a very tough candidate. maybe thnt isn't how you speak to women. i wouldn't want you to speak about my daughter this way, for example. but you could point to many instances where she did this and other times people said toughen up. but women are put in that position all the time. >> all the time. all the time. >> staying on the political track, trufrm has focused his file on hillary clinton, his

lead has shrunk in an international survey. >> cruz might be gaining support around the country, there isn't much love for him in washington. dana bash reports. >> wow! >> ted cruz has a new prediction that's making establishment republicans shutter. >> i think it could easily end up being a two-man race between donald trump and me>> it's no secret that many mainstream republicans recoil at the thought of trump at the top of the ticket. but some republicans also cant stand the idea of cruz as their nominee, mostly because they can't stand cruz in general. >> to me, he's just a guy with a big mouth and no results. >> many of cruz's own republican congressional colleagues still haven't forgiven him for leading an unwinnable fight to defund obamacare two years ago. which led to a government shutdown.

joon boehner called him a ja jackass, but cruz didn't seem to care. >> you are a human being and you are sitting with people around you who have some respect. >> if. >> i don't work for the pert bosses in washington. >> god bless you! >> cruz may be used to it. multiple sources who worked with cruz for george w. bush's 2000 campaign say he was profoundly disliked there, too. >> bush himself said at a fundraiser this year he can't stand the guy. even now, cruz jokes about needing a food tester while lunching with colleagues. alienating people is such a big issue for cruz, it's a regular topic in our interviews over the years. >> when you're president of the united states, you have to have at least some measure or level of likability in order to reach out and get things done.

how will you overcome that? >> i'll point out there's an almost inverse relationship between being liked and appreciated in washington, d.c. and reviled back home. and being reviled in washington and appreciated back home. >> it is true that in his home state of texas at the 2013 government shutdown, cruz was greeted like a hero. republican women at a convention there were thrilled he stood up to washington like he said he would. on the presidential trail now cruz does connect with republican voters. >> do not say that name. i can't hear you! >> and he tries to endeer himself with humor. when trump called him a maniac, the senator himself responded on twitter with this -- ♪ she's a maniac maniac ♪ on the floor

>> dana bash, washington. >> for all the latest developments, just go to our website nn.com/politics. >> and this just into us here at cnn. health officials in mexico say at least 30 people are injured after a gas pipeline exploded. some of the images from the scene are difficult to watch. health officials say several people are hospitalized with severe burns. but the gas company denies the pipeline itself exploded. it says the blast happened after a stolen fuel tank. 67 kilometers and 37 miles from the capital of tabasco state. . >> the terrorists of isis have

held the provencial capital since may. it's about 70 pliels west of baghd baghdad. cnn's barbara starr reports it's a vital, strategic city for both ice cities and government forces. >>. >> reporter: gunfire and battles now reaching across ramadi. iraqi forces on the move to take back the city center from isis seven months after they ran away from the fight. back in may when iraqi forces fled, top u.s. officials thought it was a bump in the road. >> it is possible to have the kind of attack we've seen in ramadi, but i'm absolutely confident in the days ahead that will be reversed. >> but it's taken months of american-backed training and careful choking off of isis supply leans to get iraqi forces to the point where they finally made their move. a new iraqi assault began by

unfolding a bridge like this one across a branch of the euphrates river. the u.s. military provided the training for the operation. the iraqis then pushed into the center of the city. with help from u.s. air strikes to begin confronting an estimated 350 isis fighters. optimism from the u.s. military spokesman from baghdad. >> the fall of ramadi is inevitable. the end is coming. >> reporter: the fighting is brutal. the u.s. believes isis is using civilians as human shields. the iraqis tried to get many of them out, dropping these leaflets with instructions on leaving. but isis fighters are dug in. >> isis has probably laid mines in buildings and laid explosive devices throughout the streets and inside the houses that are going to cause a lot more casualties. >> just getting control of ramadi back will not be enough.

>> taking back and holding territory is a very difficult operati operation. it's one thing to clear that area initially, but the problem that you have is actually coming back and making sure nobody else goes into an area when you move into the next build organize the next objective. >> reporter: getting ramadi back and holding it, a vital win for the iraqi forces. but also a must-win for the obama administration trying to prove its anti-isis strategy is going to work. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> time for a quick break. a woman who was honored for turning her life around is now facing felony charges in a deadly hit and run crash on the las vegas strip. we will have the details for you ahead on "newsroom l.a." plus, a new film challenges the nfl over player brain injuries. a sneak peek when cnn newsroom live from los angeles continues.

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>> prosecutors say laquisha holliday could face more charges as the investigation continues. she was honored a few years ago for turning her life around. >> isha, the woman that plowed her car into pedestrians multiple times on sunday evening is now facing three felony charges. >> we have multiple people not breathing. >> laquisha holloway is being charged with one count of mud, ne flekt or endangerment. and one of leaving the scene of an accident. three people are still in critical condition with life threatening head injuries according to the police report, holloway would not explain why she drove on to the sidewalk,

but remembered a body bouncing off of her windshield, breaking it. in 2012, she was honored for her achievements and even spoke about overcoming the odds. >> today, i'm not the same scared girl i used to be. i'm a mature young woman twho has broken many generational cycle that those before me hadn't. being homeless and on my own taught me how to stand on my own two feet. >> reporter: but police believe holloway and her 3-year-old daughter were living out of her car since arriving in las vegas about a week before the hit and run. a test for alcohol came back negative, but police say she may have been on a stimulant. >> at first we were like she's probably drunk. she was just slowly on the curb, but then when she accelerated, it seemed like there was a

purpose to her actions. >> reporter: she will make her first court appearance on wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. local time. isha? >> thanks to stephanie elan for that report. espn reports the national football league has backed away from a major study of the relationship between football and brain trauma. sources tell espn the nfl left the $30 million project after learning that robert stern of boston university had been selected to lead the research. the source said the league was concerned about stern's objectivity. in response, an nfl spokesperson tweeted that the espn story is not accurate and the nfl did not pull any funding. well, by now, most casual fans of american football are aware that head injuries are a serious cause for concern in the sport. but on christmas day, the big hollywood movie "concussion" starring will smith is set to spread that message. >> i found a disease that no one has ever seen.

repettive head trauma chokes the brain. >> the nfl does not want to talk to you. you've turned on the lights and give their biggest boogie man a name. >> you're going to war with a corporation that owns a dpa of the week. >> no proof was presented today. because there simply isn't any. >> they have to listen to us. this is bigger than they are. >> in response to the movie, the envelope told cnn, quote, we welcome any conversation about player health and safety. >> joining me now from berkeley, california. steve is an espn investigative reporter. he's also the co-author of "league of denial" a bob about traumatic brain injuries in the nfl. let me start by asking you about this movie, the movie concussion. how much of a nightmare is this for the nfl? >> well, i think it's certainly not good when you have will smith playing a neuropathologist, on cure

neuropathologist who was taken on by the league and essentially marginalized and attacked for for discovering the first case of brain damage in an nfl player, a deceased nfl player. now we know there are some 87 players who have been diagnosed. and and this is a true story, the part of the the story covered in our book. one of the things that's interesting that happened. the story we had today on espn, i think there are parallels with that. i think it's something the league is going to have to contend with. >> but you say the movie doesn't get everything right about the story? >> yeah. i think it's very much a hollywood movie. one of the odd things about the movie is that it takes what is a very real story and embellishes it considerably and blames the nfl for a lot of things that it was not involved in. . >> the spine of the story is accurate.

he was marginalized and attacked by the envelope. but he was not threatened by deportation by the nfl. he wasn't followed by the nfl. his boss was not indicted or his indictment was not by the nfl. it's hard no know exactly what they're talking about. >> let me ask you this. by the time the zok tor discovered cte till now, how has the nfl's level of corporation, how has that changed when it comes to scientist research in this issue? >> i think it's a really interesting question. the league is pouring a lot of money into concussion research. they're one of the main funders of concussion research in this country now. but i think the story that we had this morning points out that there seems to be limits to where the nfl will go and where they put their money. it's a very difficult line that they're walking. on the one hand they say they're trying to make the game safer.

at the same time, the nfl style football is a huge product in this country and the nfl is selling that product. so scientific evidence that shows the very product is dangerous to your health and sends that message to parents and kids and players is a difficult one to the nl envelope. they're trying to walk both sides of the line. >> as you talk about parents, will smith says taking on this role was as much about him feeling a sense of response nlt as a parent with a son. i want to play a little bit of what he had to say and then get you to kind of respond on the other side. >> as a parent, i started to feel compelled to tell the story. while my son was playing, i didn't know. i knew if i didn't know, other parents didn't know. it became important for me to be a part of the delivery of the

information. >> you hear will smith there talking about the lack of knowledge on the parts of parent whence it comes to this game. do you think this movie will change that and have an impact in that regard when it comes to parents and their young sons and children playing this game? >> yeah. i think you can't help but raise awareness, not only about how we've arrived to where we are now where there is more information about this, but it causes people to realize how much risk they want to expose their kids to. and player, how much they want to expose themselves to. i think also someone like the doctor who has been marginalized not only by the nfl but his colleagues, for him to be recognized for the science and the awarness, i think that's an excellent thing.

>> thank you for joining us there by skype from berkeley, california. we really appreciate you making time to speak to us tonight. thank you. >> thank you. >> rescued from the rubble, workers are searching for more survivors of a landslide after one man was found alive. plus a milestone in the migrant crisis. the details are just ahead. coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad... ...you need new theraflu expressmax. theraflu expressmax combines... maximum strength medicines available without a prescription... ...to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms... ...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better.tm

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explosion in mexico. health officials say a pipeline exploded and caught fire. but the gas company says the pipeline itself wasn't the cost of a blast, but rather an accident with a stolen fuel tank. the explosion was in a residential area. they say no employees are among those injuries. >> paramilitary fighters are battling to retake ramadi from isis. the capital has been controlled by isis for several months. rescuers found a 19-year-old man alive more than two days after he was buried in a landslide. about 72 more people are still missing. matt rivers joins us live now with more on the rescue efforts. matt, bring us up to speed with how the search and rescue efforts are going.

>> isha, this morning's rescue was the best news that we've had here in 24 to 48 hours. basically since this happened. right after it happened, there were a handful of rescues made, but then we went through a stretch here in southern china where no one was rescued from this rubble. so this rescue this morning some 67 or so hours after thf landsli landslide, rescue worker, extremely happy that this 19-year-old man was able to survive as long as he did and remarkab remarkably, he is in stable condition at a local hospital at this point. but, you know, as he was rescued, there are so many other people that still remain missing. and the family members and the friends and the co-workers of those people who remain missing, many of them are right here behind me. this is a shelter that's been set up by the local government here for people to congregate for any information.

although not a lot of information has been given out. that is the chief concern amongst people here that we've spoken to, that the government is just not providing the kind of updates that you would hope when your loved one is in this kind of a situation. we spoke to one man who came here as soon as he heard the news. because his father is among those missing. a man in his 60s, and while he is hopeful after this morning's rescue that his father might be found, he told us he's not happy with his government. >> i have not received any updates. no one has call med to tell me anything. authorities have given us no information. >> reporter: but he did tell us he remains hopeful. he's not giving up. and that's almost a sentiment here at the settler. more than three days after this landslide happened, people still not giving up hope. isha?

>> yeah. people still desperate for many answers to many questions. has there been any progress made into any investigation into all of this, matt? >> there has been a little news this morning. we were reading state media reports in several different outlets here in china that said that one of the senior executives of the company that is in charge of the site where this collapse happened has been detained by police. now we don't exactly know what that means, we don't know if any charges have been levelled. we don't know if he's going to be a cooperating witness. maybe he's just going into to provide information. we're not sure. but the fact that he has been detained by police certainly, the first real concrete step that we 50e6 inside in this investigation here in southern china. we do expect the chinese government, as they have in other past industrial accidents, to move rather quickly in finding out, at least according to them, who's to blame.

>> matt rivers joining us from chi shenzhen, china. matt, appreciate it. thank you. as the battle against isis forces more people from their homes. one million desperate people and counting. our next report explains what's at stake. >> reporter: each day in thousands they flee. on tiny, overcrowded boats, on wintry seas. the young, the old, their money in the hands of smugglers, their fate tied to a piece of floating rubber. desperate for europe's shores. the international organization for migration says it's 1 million this year. the highest migration flow since world war ii. half from syria, but plenty from elsewhere, afghanistan, iraq,

nigeria, somalia. into an increasingly unwelcoming europe. if they opened their doors, then the first of 28 countries would have been more imaginable. that's for those who make it. so many have not. 4,000 lost or missing to the waters of the mediterranean this year. the longest stretch hungary has

built walls to keep migrants out. some of the balkans will let only syrian, afghans and iraqis to. countries conflicted between humanitarian values and the defense of their own interests. europe's liberal edifice showing deep cracks. and yet it is just 1 million. turkey must play host to twice that. jor than has 600,000. these countries along the syrian fault lines bare the heaviest burden. in a year where the unhcr say there will be more than 60 million displaced. >> an 08-year-old veteran has decided to visit the demilitarized zone and bring up

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wintry storms in california are creating snow pack levels no the seen in year, and that could be good news for the state's drought. california gets much of its water from the sierra nevada mountain range. still, experts say this doesn't mean the historic drought is over. it is a very different story on the u.s. east coast. different indeed. many areas like new york city are having unseasonably warm weather. and christmas eve will likely be the warmest ever in some places. washington could see a high of 75 degrees fahrenheit or 24 degrees celsius on thursday. more on this, plus an unusual sight in the night sky. what's going on? >> we'll start out with the heat here, the incredible weather pattern taking place across the

u.s. look at this, 28 states with a chance of record temperatures. you take a look at the abnormality in temperatures, 31, 32 degrees above what's considered normal this time of year. even in chicago, it should be around 36 degrees. in minneapolis, also 6 above the average. this really falls in line with what you would expect for an el nino pattern. the southern tier hanging on to warmth and then historically speaking, this is what happens in january and february, the warmth stays put in the northern tier states and then the south begins to see the bottom drop out a little bit. certainly something worth following for the next couple of months. 6 i want to show you this video coming out of areas of las vegas, nevada. this has been the talk of the town from mesquite, nevada, utah, and in las vegas, people see this object in the night sky. a meteor-like object was spot there had. it hung out for about 30 seconds

before it fizzled out. a it could either be a meteor or it could be space junk. now, keep in mind, there are 22,000 objects that are surrounding and orbiting our planet. some are the size of apples or some the size of full scale engineses. i want to give you global perspectives. meteors come in at a much faster speed. as they come in sometimes as high as 160 miles an hour. they come in at more of an oblique angle with space junk that we have, hundreds of thousands of them, small ones the size of even screws that are circling our planet. that come in at more of a flat angle and drop in and they go at a far slower rate. sometimes 15,000 to 20,000 miles an hour. that's why you can see this extend for a long period of time. that's what we think this is with all the space junk out there. we know satellites routinely being put up into space and a lot of the smaller pieces hang around.

there are millions and millions more that are the size of a fleck of paint or screws as i said. in this area as well as circling our planet. sometimes gravity takes oh and they fall down to earth. >> your weather graphics are getting fancier and fancier by the day. >> our producer is doing all these cool things. >> it's very, very cool. much appreciated, although i'm slightly annoyed with you that the weather in l.a. will be cold on christmas day. we appreciate it. thank you. now an 80-year-old u.s. military veteran has returned to the border between north and south korea. five decades after he served there during the cold war. he told our own paula hancocks about the attacks he faced and the stories he will never forget.

>> north korea was half a century ago, stationed in south korea, close to the dmz, the most heavily fortified border on earth. >> it was 1967, the height of the cold war. richmond was in his early 20s, he admits his greatest fear. >> not going home. >> that was always in the back of my mind. >> richmond was in country just one year. but during that time, north korean soldiers infiltrated the south and tried to assassinate the then president. they failed. and north korea attacked and captured a u.s. warship, the uss pueblo, which they hold to this day. but there's one thing that richmond says he'll never forget. the north's propaganda loud speakers. in particular, messages broadcast from this famous anchorwoman. she was nicknamed pyongyang patty. >> she would sing songs in

korean. the idea was to mess with your mind in terms of what you were there for. and it got real old. especially when you're on an ambush patrol at night, set up. and you're freezing to death. >> richmond and his fellow soldiers are back in south korea as tourists, invited by the regional mayor to thank them for their service. visiting the area where the a cities was signed after the korean war in 1953, seeing visitors from the other side of the border taking their own photos. and coming face to face with north korean soldiers. a seemingly farce kl even counter that belies the ever present tensions on this border. >> a sentiment shared by many of the veterans saddened that their return to korea is a return to a

country still divided. >> thanks to paula for that great report. now a winery that sits between jerusalem and the west bank says its wine is pure enough for jesus to drink. details on the ancient secret behind the holy land vintage. music: "another sunny day" by belle and sebastian ♪ ♪ ♪ such a shame it's labeled a "getaway." life should always feel like this. hampton. we go together. always get the lowest price, only when you book direct at hampton.com

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>> hello, everyone. question for you. what would jesus drink? monks are marketing wines from grape varieties that go back 2,000 years. we have more in bethlehem. >> christmas in bethlehem. a celebration of the birth of jesus christ, the beginning of the new testament. at a monetary nearby, they craft a key component of many a biblical story. wine as made in the time of jesus. >> hopefully god is happy with our wine.

the wine-making process has come a long way since biblical times with fermenting tanks and oak barrels i would consider as epic. tradition and history, part of every bottle. >> you drank from this wine. it's a huge thing. it means you have to continue on making this wine btter and better every year. >> the first winery of the region turned to making wine from only local grapes. the same used thousands of years ago. >> i admit, not the first or last tasting on this story. >> then a sniff -- >> smells good. >> smells fresh, right? swirl, sip, and enjoy.

>> how is that taste to match? >> researchers trace the genetic vine to uncover which grapes are native to the holy land. testing ancient seeds preserved in archaeological digs. >> 99% of the time, it's burned. the seeds are actually charred. this is the reason they were preserved. >> you can see it's darker. it's a little more shrivelled. and that' on the left. a modern day fresh merlot seed. >> shows his vineyards of grapes. there were heavy restrictions on wine making in the holy land for hundreds of years under the ottoman empire.

>> you can still find a few edible berries. >> the grapes that survived were table grapes. >> and so the wine from this grape could be the wine that jesus drank? >> exactly. >> turning them into wine is still a new idea. >> it has a tremendous sweetness to it. but it's overripe now. >> this is actually the sense of the wine. >> a sense of people, place and crucially of history. there's marketing rear, a wine of biblical times that jesus drank being bottled here once again. >> oran lieberman drinking for research. finally when he's not hard at work, u.s. president barack obama likes to play golf. and apparently his practice is

paying off. president obama drained a chip shot about 12 meters monday on the 18th hole at the mid pacific country club in hawaii. >> go, go, go, go. yeah! >> all right then. mr. obama is in hawaii celebrating the holidays. he is on a two week vacation. it seems to have started pretty well. you are watching cnn news room live in los angeles. i'm isha sesay. the news continues with errol barnett right after this. it takes technology,

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hope after a survivor is pulled from the rubble nearly three days after a landslide. zplnch the battle against isis. >> and donald trump tries to explain why he used an offensive word to attack hillary clinton. a big welcome to our viewers in the united states and those of you watching from all around

the world. i'm errol barnett. i appreciate you joining me for the next two hours. this is "cnn newsroom." >> rescuers in china have found the first survivors and bodies from a landslide. a 19-year-old man was pulled out alive from under a building at the industrial park early wednesday. he'd been buried for more than se 60 hours. four bodies were also pulled from the rubble. still, 73 people are missing. matt rivers joins us live with the latest on the recue efforts. how was the 19-year-old man able to be pulled out alive? that is incredible. >> reporter: it is incredible, errol. a lot of hard work from the

thousands of rescue personnel that have been here since late sunday morning when this happened nature young man buried for almost three days before he was discovered very early this morning around 3:00 a.m. it took rescuers nearly four or five hours to get him out of that rubble. he was trapped, buried underneath lots of different things. eventually they were able to pull him out and get him to a local hospital. and he is in stable condition at this point. certainly the best news that we have heard, really, in the last 24 to 36 hours. that said, with his rescue, there remains so many more people trapped in that rubble and many of their friends, co-workers and families have dpath gathered at this shelter behind me to wait for news as to the whereabouts of their loved ones. if you speak to people here,

their main complaint is they're not getting enough information from their government about their loved ones. a man flew into town late sunday after getting word from his brother that his father might be involved in this landslide. it turns out he was. his father, a nman in his 60s working here. he said he's hoping his father gets recovered, but he's upset over whoo what he called a lack of information. >> i've not received any updates. the authorities have given us no information. >> reporter: despite that, however, he is hopeful that his dad might be pulled out of that rubble. he said thing's rescue buoyed his hopes that maybe he might experience a similar joy that i'm sure that 19-year-old's family is feel right now. errol?

>> and matt, much of what state media shows is government censored. i'm wondering if you've been able to gauge public sentiment? is there widespread outrage over this? >> at least here locally, i think people are very upset about what happened. we spoke to one man who said if we can't trust our government, who can we trust to take care of us in this situation. they're not sure whether to blame, the company or lack of government inceptio government inspections. this is an incredible boom town. over the last 20 or 30 years, the dwevelopment here has been off the charts. and the debris from the construction has to go somewhere. and apparently this pile got too

large and people here not happy about how this turned out. they stopped short of protesting the government. this is china, after all. >> and you are citing a report from state media earlier saying that one of the executives at the company that controls that area is now in custody. we'll keep checking in with you in the hours ahead to see if more information is available. matt rivers live for us from china. iraqi troops are fighting to rescue ramadi from isis. now, this, what you're seeing here is new video showing iraqi troops pressing into the center of the city. the combat is going slowly. iraqi commanders say it's because isis is using human shields. barbara star has more on the fight for ramadi. >> reporter: fun difire and battles reaching across ramadi.

iraqi forces on the move to take back the city from isis seven months after they ran away from the fight. back in may when iraqi forces fled, top u.s. officials thought it was a bump in the road. >> it is possible to have the kind of attack we've seen in ramadi, but i am absolutely confident in the days ahead that will be reversed. >> reporter: but it's taken months of american-backed training and advice, and careful choking off of isis supply lines to get iraqi forces to the point where they finally made their move. a new iraqi assault began by unfolding a bridge like this. the u.s. military provided the training for the operation. the iraqis then pushed into the center of the city with help from u.s. air strikes to begin fighting an estimated 350 isis

fighters. optimism from the u.s. military spokesman in baghdad. >> the end is coming. >> reporter: the fighting is brutal. the u.s. believes isis is using civilians as human shields. the iraqis tried to get many of them out, dropping these left let's leaflets with instructions on leaving. >> they've laid explosive devices throughout the streets and inside the houses that are going to cause a lot more casualties. >> reporter: just getting control of ramadi back will not be enough. >> taking back and holding territory is a very difficult operation. it's one thing to clear that area initially. but the problem that you have is actually coming back and making sure that nobody else goes into an area when you move to the next building or the next objective. >> reporter: getting ramadi back and holding it, a vital win for

the iraqi forces, but also a must win for the obama administration, trying to prove its anti-isis strategy is going to work. barbara star, cnn, the pentagon. >> a short time ago i spoke with peter monsuer. >> it is part of isis's operation to try to take the pressure off one battle field by engaging in another, so i would suspect that you would see some isis bushback somewhere else, either in iraq or in syria to see if they can take the visibility off of what's happening in ramadi. i don't know how successful they'll be because they are under extreme pressure north as well with the fall of sin jar recently, and in the center with the fall of another one.

some significant advances by the iraqi and kurdish forces recently. >> in the next hour, we'll have a live report on the situation in ramadi, and you'll hear my full interview with the colonel about what's ahead in the ongoing fight gerchs isis. some russian air strikes in syria may amount to war crimes between settlement and novembpt. it says russia may have lied to cover up civilian casualties including bombings of a mosque and a field hospital. the strikes killed at least 2 00 civilians and only a dozen or two fighters. cnn is working to get russia's reaction to this report, but russia has said the forces are only striking terrorist targets. as soon as we hear official word from the kremlin, we'll bring it to you.

>> in mexico, at least 30 people injured after a gas pipeline exploded. the gas company denies the pipeline exploded. there's scarce information on this story right now. it says the blast happened after an accident with a stolen fuel tank. it took place in a residential area 37 miles from a bas ktabas state. no employees were wounded. the republican front runner of the u.s. presidential race is slamming his democratic rival with vulgar language. while donald trump has turned his attention to hillary clinton, his lead has shrunk in a new national poll. dana bash has more. >> hillary, that's not a president. >> reporter: there's down and

dirty campaigning and then there's this. donald trump using a yiddish word for a certain part of the male anatomy slamming her for losing to barack obama. >> i watched her the other night. it was har. there were a lot of things on better, including reading books and financial papers. >> reporter: and that's not all. that moment in this weekend's debate when clinton was later returning from the commercial break? apparently because nature was calling, that clearly grossed trump out. >> i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. no. it's too disgusting. don't say it. it's disgusting. we want to be very straight up. okay? but i thought -- wasn't that a weird deal? we're ready to start. they were looking. they gave her every benefit of the doubt, because, you know, it's abc, and she practically

owned abc. >> reporter: to add, hillary clinton's campaign responded with a response prefaced by saying they wouldn't respond, a spokeswoman saying we're not responding to trump, but everyone who understands the -- hillary clinton herself took this dig at trump when a little girl asked about being bullied. >> you are looking at someone who's had a lot of terrible things said about me. i'm aware of the fact it's easy to do that. you say it and send it around the world, and luckily i'm old enough that it doesn't bother me. >> reporter: clinton also says hel no to trump's call for an apology. >> they are going to people, showing videos of donald trump insulting islam and muslims in order to recruit more radical

jihadists. >> she's terrible. donald trump is on video, and isis is using him on the video to recruit. and it turned out to be a lie. she's a liar. it turned out to be a lie. it turned out to be a lie. and the last person that she wants to run against is me, believe me. >> reporter: sparring with hillary clinton, a common gop enemy, is a way for trump to try to solidify his front runner status among republican primary voters, even as one of his rivals is now nipping at his heels. a new national poll has cruz now just four points behind trump. a big jump for cruz to 24%. he was at just 16% in the same poll earlier this month. >> donald trump said a couple of days ago he thinks this race will come down to him and me. i think donald may well be

right. >> reporter: dana bash, cnn, washington. >> trump is defending his use of that controversial word after the uproar it's caused. is anyone surprised by that? here's a message he sebt out on twitter. he blamed the mainstream media for being dishonest and he said his choice of words was not vulgar but meant, instead that she was beaten badly. jeb bush took a jab at trump saying there has to be a level of decorum to win the blouse. he also said it's not a sign of strength to insult people with profanities, but he grabbed the moment to take his own swing at clinton. he said clinton is, quote, great at being the victim. you know, this will enhance her victimology status. >> coming up next, we'll explain how bowe bergdahl's words could

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two more men are facing terror related charges in australia. police in new south wales say they were caught in their homes. one is 20. the other is 24. it's part of an ongoing counterterrorism investigation. 12 people have been charged with terror offenses since september of last year in this operation. a u.s. army sergeant who spent years bowe bergdahl entered no plea. emily submit reports. >> bowe bergdahl appeared for an arrangement hears. in translation, his first hearing which could put him in prison for life. bergdahl said little, mostly sir, yes, sir, and response to the judge.

>> sergeant bergdahl deferred those decisions to a later hearing. >> reporter: bergdahl said more publicly he said he walked away from a combat outpost in afghanistan in 2009 to try to bring attention to what he called poor leadership in his unit. >> the lives of the eyes standing next to me were literally, from what i could see, in danger of something seriously going wrong. >> reporter: the taliban captured and held him until president obama secured his release last year. as part of a swap for five detain knees. since then, the army has debated what to do with him. ranging from no jail time to the general court marshal which was repded. military experts say bergdahl's words will be closely reviewed. >> he's saying things that are going to hurt him.

>> reporter: in short, his recent words could be used against him. instead of the 20 09 actions bergdahl said he hoped would send a message instead. >> patrick mcclain joins us from dallas, texas to discuss this. he's a military law attorney. patrick, thanks for your time. bowe bergdahl did not enter a plea on the charges of desertion, and he did not decide on whether he wants to face a judge and jury or just a judge. what does all of that tell us? >> it tells us it's an unremarkable day. this is the way most court marshals again. it's to notify the accused of what he's charged with, ensure he has counsel and set a schedule. typically one was not select the forum of judge or members at that time. not too unusual for this day to go as it did. >> but the worst case scenario

here is he could face life in prison on the misbehavior charge. many seeing that as unlikely. you have two forces at play here as well. political pressure and public opinion. what is the political pressure on this case as you see it? >> well, certainly senator mccain of arizona, symbolizes he stepped down, in my opinion, interfered with the military justice process by saying that if he wasn't satisfied from the result, he'd hold his own hearings. that is a big problem in military justice, and it's going to be, perhaps, something helpful to sergeant bergdahl should the case not go in his favor. >> now, there's also bowe bergdahl's version of defense described in his own words to the pod cast where he says this was all about getting the attention of higher ups to

highlight leadership problems that were endarrngering troops. he's turning it around from what's been said about what he did. there are more episodes to come. could that create a wave of sympathy for him? >> well, certainly, it was investigated by a major general who is not an attorney but a commander, and he came away after hearing the full story and said he should not even go to a court marshal. then it was later investigated by the convenient authority's behest, a preliminary investigation, we by a lawyer who unfortunately said it should go to a court marshal but to a special court marshal which is like a misdemeanor court. general abrams ignored those fairly thorough investigations and chose to send it to a

general court marshal. it's my opinion, based on all the information i've read yarks that he did it because there's a lot of political pressure out there. >> if the general is doing this because of political pressure and if those who know more about the case than we do don't think it should be at this level, how do you think this ends? >> well, i think it's going to be indicative of the way they will present the case. i will tell you, military members are extremely consciousness and very fair. and i think once they hear the full bergdahl story, they're apt to come to the same conclusions that others came to in their investigations as well. >> well, i appreciate you giving us your incite on all of this based on your experience. criminal defense and military law attorney joining us from dallas. thank you for your time. >> thank you. in washington, someone stole

items from a secret service agent that is so important he would never want to be without them. it is the latest in a string of embarrassments for the agency as cnn's joe johns reports. >> reporter: the u.s. secret service charged with protecting the president and first family facing another blunder. this time an agent said to work in the presidential protective decision has his service weapon, bang, and other items stolen from his car in daylight outside secret service head quarters about a mile from the white house. >> this is a total violation of basic security rules involving any law enforcement to allow a gun, a badge, to be locked up in a car and left unaended. >> reporter: the d.c. police report reveals what was taken. the handgun, his radio, handcuffs, a flash drive, a black bag, and the badge. the secret service declined to comment on the incident, but a

law enforcement official said the usb is password protected and it doesn't appear to be a threat to the agency. >> we are supposed to be guarding the president of the united states of america. >> it goes back to a really rotten management culture in the secret service which condones corner cutting, laxness. >>. >> reporter: the incident adds to embarrassments in the last few years. a man was taken into custody after jumping over a white house fence while the family was inside. also in november, a secret service officer assigned to the white house was arrested after he was caught in a sting, allegedly sending naked pictures of himself to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. last september a man jumped the white house fence with a knife in his pocket, breaching the doors and ran through much of the main floor.

we understand from talking to law enforcement that there is a way to disable the secret service radio that was stolen, so there's not a lot of fear that someone could be using it to listen to secret service communications. the d.c. police report said the agent saw someone reach into the vehicle but did not see that person take anything out. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> taliban militants are close to taking control of a key district in afghanistan. still to come, the challenge afghan forces are facing. also ahead, the sister of a woman found dead in a texas jail cell said he doesn't have faith in the u.s. justice system. hear what she had to say. now more than ever america's electricity comes from cleaner- burning natural gas. and no one produces more of it than exxonmobil.

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a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the u.s. and those of you watching all around the world. i'm errol barnett. we're half an hour in. let's update you on the top stories. rescuers in china found a 19-year-old man alive more than two days after he was buried in a landslide. state media report four bodies were also recovered. about 73 people are still missing. iraqi forces fighters are battling to recapture ramadi from isis. they've fought their way to the middle of the city. the city has been controlled by isis for about seven months. iraqi military commanders say the operation could take several days. a new report from amnesty international says russian iraqs in syria have killed at least 200 civilians and may amount to

war crimes. it describes air strikes from september and november. russia hand responded but says the forces are only hitting terrorist targets. afghan forces are trying to hold off militants. the soldiers defending the district are reportedly running out of weapons and supplies. british troops have deployed to office support. of the country's 34 provinces, at least 778 coalition members have died. that's is highest of any afghan province. ale alexander, yesterday you were telling us how intense the fighting against the taliban is there. what is the latest on that and what is the afghan government staying about what why it can't

keep forces supplied? >> there are concerns right now about the fate of the incredibly important district. you've had local officials on the ground asking the central government for them. they say if it falls, all of helmand could fall. we've heard that relief is on the way that could be used to repel the taliban forces, but the situation is considered urgent by those on the ground who says the taliban has already overrun all of the kro pro vince except for a couple of compounds. but, again, all eyes are on this district of sngin. this is an area that's been considered a taliban stronghld. it's an opium center, a place where the poppy trade has

flourished. it's important because of the links to the provincial capital. the taliban will control the supply routs of the north. the coalition forces fought there for many years, particularly the u.s. forces and the british forces. the british head operations there which involve some of the most intense fighting they saw over the course of the years in afghanistan. it's a place where more than 100 british service members lost their lives. it's a place where u.s. and british officials worked to try to establish a sense of security which has crumbled entirely in the last few days according to locals on the ground. >> and elsewhere, what about the six victims of that motorcycle deci suicide attack? >> reporter: we are learning a little bit more about them. the names of the six americans killed in the motorcycle suicide bombing and a little bit about

the families. joseph help was a retired nypd detective who was a father of two. he had deployed to the region three times. adrianna vorder brugen was against the don't ask don't tell policy. she was one of the first gay members to marry after that repeal. she leaves behind a wife and son. also lui s buncasa. and peter tallen whose life is pregnant. he leaves a family behind. these families grieving the loss of these victims. >> afghanistan remaining a very violent place. thank you. now, the woman accused of running over dozens of pedestrians on the las vegas strip is now facing three felony

charges including murder and child abuse. this was our breaking news a few days ago. you may remember one person was killed and 37 others injured in the crash. prosecutors say lakeisha holloway could face more charges as the information continvestig. she was honored for turning her life around. it's not clear why she ran down these pedestrians. the family of sandra bland says they don't have any faith in the u.s. grand jury process. she was found dead in a texas jail cell in july. he had been arrested for not using a turn signal h n her car. the family claims accessive -- excessive force by police. they are expected to reconvene next month on charges. >> the hope is dimming with regard to the aspect of any charges being brought against the officer.

i say that because it's been five months since this accident occurred. and what is crystal clear and what is the easiest thing in this case is sandra shouldn't have been arrested in the first place. the same dash cam video we all have access to is what the opposing side that others have had access to. the fact that there's a motion that there's more time prolonging tprolon prolonging the grieving process of this family, dragging it out, to say they need more time, in the 52 minutes that you see the officer encounter, it's cloer clear her rights were violated and that the officer acted in gross professional misconduct. >> the sister there. the officer involved in the arrest says she was combative. a special prosecutor has not said what charges will be considered in january. still to come this hour on cnn news room.

>> welcome, welcome. what a difficult landing you had. that is susan sarandon welcoming refugees ashore. plus, nicklaus cage gives up his skull. we'll explain, next. music: "thunder clatter" by wild cub ♪ ♪ ♪ most weekends only last a couple of days. some last a lifetime. hampton. we go together. always get the lowest price, only when you book direct at hampton.com innovative sonicare technology with up to 27% more brush movements versus oral b. get healthier gums in 2 weeks guaranteed.

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welcome back. a new zealand judge has ruled a high-tech entrepreneur and three associates can be extradited to the u.s. kim.com and the others arrested at the request of the u.s. government. they're accused of racketeering and copy right infringe. they're the founder of megaupload. the number migrants and refugees

entering europe has now topped 1 million. that includes those coming by land and sea in 2015 according to the international organization for migration which is more than four times the arrivals in 2014. the vast majority of them, more than 800,000 refugees and migrants have landed in greece. nearly 3700 people are dead or missing after trying to cross the mediterranean. susan sarandon is on the greek island ofless -- lesbos. she said why she decided to spend her holiday with refugees. >> welcome. welcome. what a difficult landin you had, huh? i came to listen and learn, to hear people's stories, so try to then pass them on firsthand.

when i talk to refugees and i find out what their situation was and is, and what their hopes are, and i'm also here just to honor my grandparents who were both immigrants and came to the united states. my grandfather at 15, fled sicily because they were rounding everybody up because there was a war going on so i understand this is a repetition of that. well, one of the questions i've been asking myself as i talk to women with babies and small children, it's -- that's the heart breaking thing, because you know that it must be an impossible situation to think that getting on a rubber boat with someone that doesn't even know how to drive it, not knowing what's going to be at the other side, you know, to make that choice that that is a good alternative, you have to be quite desperate, so i suppose it would, you know, would i get on a boat with my small children if i was that desperate in i suppose i would. there's no alternative, and i

think that's what people have to understand, that this is an expensive, dangerous venture in many, many ways, and i don't think anyone understands. it seems like such a short little trip. you know? but they don't understand the -- how the boats are and how the weather can change and how difficult the landings are, and often there are people in wheelchairs or very old people, and it's very j very dangerous. i think the moment that made me just call and try to find a way to get over here quickly was more the rhetoric that was suddenly emerging in the united states. i was keeping tabs on what was happening and i was, you know, watching, and i was very upset, but then when i started hearing this hatred being normalized because of the political climate, you know, the donald

trump, this really simplistic, racist, ignorant narrative that was being repeated over and over and over and was growing, i just said somebody has to start to tell these stories and counter that framing of this -- one of the largest crises that i think we'll have in our lifetime, so i said i'm going. i'll spend christmas in lesbos. >> now, if you feel compelled to help, you can find out how you can get involved with helping those suffering in the refugee crisis. head to cnn.com/impact. it's a great resource to find information on organizations cnn has vetted. all of them working to help those in need. they say if you can't beat them, join them. how some u.s. politicians are spoofing themselves after being the butt of jokes on tv.

>> act now and you'll get a leader who does exactly what he says he's going to do. in this case, read festive stories like frosty, the speaker of the house. >> the speaker is melting before congress. >> the whole family will enjoy reading stories like the grinch who lost her e-mails. i use what's already inside me to reach my goals. so i liked when my doctor told me i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating what's within me. with once-weekly trulicity. trulicity is not insulin. it helps activate my body to do what it's supposed to do release its own insulin. trulicity responds when my blood sugar rises. i take it once a week, and it works 24/7.

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for the first time in years the mountains of california are showing an above average snow pack as of today. our meteorologist, pedram javaheri, joins us with more on this welcome news for skiers on the woes coast. >> it's been a long time coming. this is big news for a lot of people. when it comes to winter weather activity, but also providing water 30% of the drinking water comes from the snow melt. as of this day, we were sitting at 24% in 2013. 56% in 2014. as of today, 111% of normal.

we' we're in a five year drought. certainly a lot more where that came from. the ski resorts, up to 80 inches across this region. more moisture streaming in across portions of california. remaining north in o regon and washington. the other side where there's nothing like a white christmas is the eastern side of the u.s. some 31 to 32 degrees above normal in the northeast. temperatures more than 21 degrees above what is considered normal in little rock and arkansas. this is what you expect with el niño. in january and february, you begin to see the cooling trend back in for the southern tier while the northern tier stays mild. i want to talk about something

folks have been reporting across portions of california and nevada, as far away as utah. people saying images like this. this video from las vegas. people before seeing a meteor like object in the sky. this is space debris coming out of a russian rocket that was s dislodged and crashed. i want to show you how this works. you typically see how slowly this goes over the region. take a look at this. we know some 22,000 objects that are about 4 inches in daylighter or larger are circling our planet at any moment. many other objects are also out there. it's a junk yard. when you see the piece of video and you see the streak at a slow pace, these debrises when it comes to meteors are traveling faster. they're streaking as high as 160

miles per hour as they come in. . they also come in at an angle. with any sort of space degree object, it's a flatter angle. it comes in about 15 to 20,000 miles per hour, and it glides across the sky. this was something that was seen across bakersfield, nevada and parts of utah. we know it was part of a space debris, and many of them up there that are going to fall down somewhere. 70% water usually does the trick. >> be sure to duck if it gets too close. nicklaus cage has agreed to give up his tran saur us skull. the dinosaur was removed illegal before he bought it. the star of national treasure made the purchase around the same time that he bought 15 mansions, two castles, four yachts, nine rolls royces.

apparently he has since lost some of the properties due to foreclosure. >> some u.s. politicians are poking fun at themselves frchlt from sarah palin's 30 rock party to cruz's bedtime christmas stories. they're telling the world the joke is on us. >> reporter: for political candidates, being partied is almost a right of passage. >> look at this guy. >> great. great. >> sarah palin is turning the tables. >> she's a tv writer to left a small town for the big city. yep, that's palin spoofing tina fey instead of liz lemon, she is liz melon. instead of the show 30 rock, this is palin's version, 31 rock. tackling all important subjects like the missing snow flakes on

star bucks cups. >> the only pc i need is right leer. >> clinton and palin have been fodder for years. >> i believe that diplomacy should be the corner stone of any foreign policy. >> and i can see russia from my house. >> and the two are still favorite targets of the show. >> oh, god, that was a real fun election. i was paired up with that cute middle john mccain fella, may he rest in peace, i'm guessing. >> reporter: palin isn't the only one enjoying the last laugh. >> here's what you do. >> reporter: john mccain saying i think i like sara's impression of tina fey better. cruz is also getting in on s satire. >> i do not like green eggs and ham. i do not like them, sam i am. >> imagine the greatest christmas stories told by the

senator who once red green eggs and ham from the senate floor. it was the night before the shut down and all through the house. >> reporter: looks like politicians are taking the old saying to heart, if you can't beat them, join them. >> nerds. >> reporter: cnn, new york. >> "star wars" didn't actually change cinema. >> a sense of humor, always a good thing. i'm errol barnett. keep in touch with me on social media any time. bring your jokes if you wish. one hour to go after the break. some of these experimentse're notmay not work.il. but a few might shape the future. like turning algae into biofuel... ...new technology for capturing co2 emissions... ...and cars twice as efficient as the average car today.

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hope in china. a survivor is pulled from the rubble in shenzhen nearly three days after the a landslide. >> after months of isis control, ira iraqis are trying to free ramadi. >> clinton clinton answers a child's question about bullying and takes a shot at the republican front runner.

>> welcome to those of you from all around the world. i'm errol barnett. thanks for joining my second hour. this is "cnn newsroom." a new national survey shows donald trump leading the pack of republican presidential candidates. but another contender is closing in. a poll shows trump edging cruz by just four months. cruz gained eight points from the previous survey. rubio is the closest party rival with 12% support. an analysis of donald trump's tax plan shows the proposed cuts come if w a cost. the tax policy center estimates it would increase estimates $9.5 trillion over a decade. the plan would reduce taxes for everyone, but the super rich

would see the biggest benefit. and despite trump's claim that he'd crack down on investment fund managers, they too would see a win fall under his lan. donald trump is defending his use of a word widely considered to be vulgar to attack hillary clinton. he says he used it to say clinton was, quote, beaten badly by barack obama in the runup to the 2008 election. clinton is fighting back. >> reporter: you are looking at somebody who's had a lot of terrible things said about me. luckily i'm old enough that it doesn't particularly bother me. >> reporter: a dig at donald trump. >> we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. >> reporter: just when you think politics couldn't sink any lower, trump talked about the defeat to barack obama. >> how does it get worse? she was going to beat. she was favored to win and she

got shlonged. she lost. >> a yiddish word that means, you guessed it. and he didn't stop there. >> where did she go? i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. >> reporter: he's talking about this moment when clinton went missing for a few moments of the democratic debate. when she returned, she had only one word to say. >> sorry. >> reporter: how do you respond to donald trump's comments? >> reporter: clinton refused to answer questions. but her campaign seized on the comments as a rallying try cry for women. we're not responding to trump but everyone who sunss the degrading language should. for trump, it's just the latest volley in a campaign filled with vulgarities. first, he went after megyn kelly. >> she starts asking me all

sorts of ridiculous questions. you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. blood coming out of her wherever.fiorina. he said look at that face. can you imagine that, the face of our next president. but clinton is trump's favorite target. >> she's playing the woman card up. that's all she has. outside of the woman's card, she has nothing going on, believe me. >> reporter: jeb bush took it further. >> she's great at being the victim, this will enhance that status. this is what she loves doing. >> reporter: the bottom line, it's good politics for republicans to say anything negative about hillary clinton. and jeb bush is clearly trying to get into the game here. but you can bet that word victim also fires up democrats. cnn, washington. >> we're following developments in the war on terror on fronts.

iraqi soldiers are fighting to recapture a key city from isis, and taliban forces in afghanistan are back on the attack. we have analysts around the world to bring you the latest this hour. first let's get to the situation in iraq. government forces there are fighting to recapture ramadi. the terrorist group has held the city for seven months. now iraqi troops have pressed into the center of town. isis fighters are well dug in. iraqi chaommanders say the terrorists are using human shields. robin, take us inside the fight for ramadi. how exactly are iraqi troops retaking that city and how is the u.s. helping? >> reporter: it sounds like quite a complex operation. early yesterday morning, that would be tuesday morning, the

iraqi army military troops from shiite regions built a bridge between the mainland and really the area of ramadi which is surrounded by canals. they built a temporary bridge and a number of troops were able to cross over in what sounds like a dawn rage to try to take the center of ramadi. some of the iraqi troops have been around the center, but they're trying to get to key government buildings that isis has been controlling. they took the area, we understand this began in a district that moved further north into the city. we are hearing that at least two districts, they may have taken two districts at this point. that is yet to be confirmed with various sources. that is what we're hearing at the moment. clashes were going way into the night, we also understand. >> and robin, remind us, why did

iraqi forces flee the last time around? some believe it had more to do with politics in baghdad. has that been addressed? >> reporter: well, there is a lot of unhappiness surrounding the humiliating defeat which came under tremendous criticism from the united states as well. and it was also embarrassing for the u.s. because they had pumped so much money from the iraqi army. ash carter saying it was very disappointing, and from what we understand, from what we're hearing from air striiraqi comm they didn't have support from the central government in baghdad as well as the united states. they ran out of ammunition. they tried to hold isis off, but they didn't have that support. now it seems renewed vigor and energy to take the city on the backs of things like the paris attacks and various other isis-inspired attacks across the world. there is this push and there has been this push to try and really

take towns as quickly as possible from isis and put isis on the back foot. that's why you seen this recent assault. it seems alongside with u.s. led coalition air strikes, a number of u.s. led coalition air strikes. this is why you can sort of see there is this visible progress on the ground and operations are taking place. >> that's right. this time around you can see iraqi forces appear much more prepared. robin live for us in london this morning. thanks. the former aide to general david pe trtraeus joins us. thanks for joining us today. what happens next in ramadi will be a huge test for the iraqi government and forces. isis has threatened locals with death if they try to flee. how can civilian casualties be avoided when the islamic

militants may try every deadly trick in the book here. >> war is never clean, and i don't think civilian casualties can be avoided in this instance. the good news is ramadi is a city of several hundred,000 people and most of them have fled. there are tens of thousands in the city, and some of them will be casualties of this battle that's ongoing. >> this is the provincial capital in an bar. how significant could it be sending the message that isis is on the retreat? that would be such an opposite message to what we've been hearing. >> in addition to that, it's the birthplace of the awakening, the movement of tribes that did so much to destroy al qaeda and isis. t

it would have significant impact. the it's one of many steps that has to occur before the group is rolled back and ultimately destroyed. >> and typically we've seen isis militants conduct multiple suicide bombs on other fronts when they're being challenged. what type of backlash would you expect here? >> it is part of isis's operation to attack somewhere else or to try to take the pressure off one battle field by engaging in another, so i would suspect that you would see some isis pushback somewhere else, either in iraq or in syria, and to see if they can take the visibility off of what's happening in ramadi. i don't know how successful they'll be because they are under extreme pressure up north as well with the fall of sinjar recently, and with the fall of biji, so some significant advances by the iraqi and kurdish forces recently. >> will this be enough?

you mentioned that it's just one important step in the fight against isis. do you think that the iraqi forces have what they need to hold the city of ramadi and, in fact, to completely roll back isis eventually? >> clearly this is not enough. the iraqi army is in the official stages of being reconstituted. it still needs a lot more man power, a lot more training and a lot more support from the government which is under pressure from shiite backed militias as well. >> our cnn military analyst, thanks for your time today, joining us from ohio. we're learning more about the victims of the deadliest attack on u.s. forces in afghanistan this year. a sergeant in new york was on his fifth tour of duty. chester mcbride was from georgia. mcbride served with adrianna

vord vorder brugen. afghanistan forces are struggling to fend off terrorists. the soldiers defending the area of sen gin. the taliban could take control of key supply roots. we have more. there's been so much concern from helmand. what's the latest on what's happening? >> it was just a year ago that nato turned over to the afghanistan security forces. the reports from the ground are that the taliban has nearly entirely overrun the sangin

distri district. the great fear here is that if sangin becomes completely under the control of the taliban that the helmand province could fall. this is an a dire and urgent situation. they're calling on the central government to provide them with more supplies and more ammunition and more food as they continue to try to fend off the advances of the taliban. at the same time, you do have a nato team that has been deployed to helmand province. you have british troops among them who are there in an advisory role. when the tall ban briefly overran kunduz, it took the help of u.s. military advisors as well as cover from the u.s. as far as air cover there. you've got the locals on the ground in this key part of helmand province appealing the

for more help. even while a nato team is trying to provide support that they're able to give. again, the nato service members are not there in a combat capacity. >> this is a major test for the afghan government and its forces. thank you. two more men are faces terror related charges in australia. police say they were caught in their homes wednesday morning. one is 20 years old. the other is 24. the arrests are part of an ongoing counterterrorism investigation. in all, the 12 people have been charged with terror offenses since september of last year in this operation. still to come, signs of hope in china as a survivor is pulled out from the rubble from the landslide there in shenzhen. plus, u.s. army sergeant, bowe bergdahl accused of desertion, goes before a judge. we'll hear from a law attorney about the case of the former

taliban hostage.

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want to get you the latest information out of mexico. health officials say at least 30

people are injured after a gas pipeline exploded. the gas company denies the pipeline itself exploded. you see a map here. it says the blast happened after an accident with a stolen fuel tank. it took place in a residential area about 37 miles from the capital of tabasco state. several people are hospitalized with severe burns. no employees were wounded. we turn for the search for landslide survivors in china. a 19-year-old man was pulled out alive from under a building early on wednesday. he'd been buried for more than 60 hours. a second person rescued later died. four bodies were also recovered. more than 70 people remain missing at this hour. for more on the recovery efforts, we turn to matt rivers who is in shenzhen. that rescue of a 19-year-old is

incredible, especially when you considered others rescued with him didn't make it. >> reporter: that's right, errol. the story that's emerging about how this 19-year-old survived truly remarkable. he was trapped as this landslide came down the slope. it trapped him, but he was able to secure a small air pocket for himself and the room that he was trapped in, there was some kind of snacks inside that happened to land near his body, so over the past three days or so, while he was trapped, he actually managed to survive by keeping calm, according to state media, and eating the snacks that just happened to fall near him, and then he heard rescuers, he was striking a rock that was near him, and that alerted rescuers t to signs of life. they located him around 3:00 a.m. local time.

it took them several hours to free him given the level of debris on him. he's in a local hospital right now in stable condition. that said, there are a lot of people here at this shelter behind me who are waiting to hear from friends and perhaps relatives who remain trapped in the rubble. many people here, their chief concern, they are frustrated that the government is not providing timely information, as they would call it. we spoke to one man earlier today whose father is trapped in the rubble. he came here on a moment's notice sunday night. he's been waiting here for days, and he said he's very frustrated by the fact that he just doesn't know what's going on. >> translator: i've not received any updates. no one has called me to tell me anything. authorities have given us no information. >> reporter: and he's still hopeful at this point, despite

his frustration that -- >> all right. it appears our signal with matt rivers there in shenzhen has gone down, but he also was telling us earlier that local media is reporting one official from the company responsible has been taken into custody. the mall of america in minnesota has won a court order to block three black lives matter protesters. they wanted a restraining order against the entire demonstration. it's expected to be held in the coming day. ed in midst of the big prechristmas shopping week. >> we are very pleased with the ruling. the court, yet again, said the law of minnesota protects private property owners such as the mall of america. >> there's so many of us that are stepping up and doing the work that you can take ten of us

out and we have ten more that are able to step into that place and do the same thing. >> black lives matter wants to call attention to a police-involved shooting death last month in minneapolis. this will be the second december it has held a protest at the mall of america. a real estate heir will return for murder charges. the millionaire is accused of killing his friend before investigators were set to speak with her about the disappearance of durst's first wife. durst denies any wrong doing, but some say his off camera mutters picked up on a live microphone and sent a different message. >> what the hell did i do?

killed them all, of course. >> durst's lawyer says that clip made for great television but does not represent a search for the truth. a humans rights group investigations air strikes in zer ze syria. the findings and the response, next.

it's our last half hour together today. welcome back to viewers in the

states and all around the world. this is "cnn newsroom." i'm errol barnett. >> rescuers in china found a 19-year-old man alive more than two days after he was buried in a landslide. the second person who was later rescued died. four bodies were also recovered. about 73 people are still missing. iraqi forces are fighting to ramadi. the u.s. led coalition is providing air support. iraqi officials say the operation may slow down out of the concern of isis using humans as shields. the woman accused of running people down in las vegas is facing murder and child abuse charges. one person was killed and 37 others injured in that crash. prosecutors say lakeisha holloway could face more charges as the investigation continues. an american army sergeant

who spent five years in taliban captivity went before a u.s. military court on u.s. bowe bergdahl entering no plea on charges of desertion and endangering fellow soldiers. >> reporter: in military terms, army sergeant bowe bergdahl appeared for an arrangement hearing, his first hearing for charges which could put the 29-year-old in prison for life. bergdahl said little, mostly sir, yes, sir in response to the judge. >> sergeant bergdahl deferred all of these decisions to a later hearing. >> reporter: bergdahl said more publicly in interviews with the film maker which are the basis of the serial pod cast. he said he walked away from a combat outpost in 2009 to try to bring attention to what he called poor leadership in his unit. >> the lives of the guys standing next to me were literally, from i could see, in

danger of something seriously going wrong. >> reporter: the taliban tap captured and held him until his release was secured. since then, the army has debated what to do with bergdahl ranging from no jail time to the general court marshal which was recommended december 14th. military experts say bergdahl's words will be closely reviewed. >> he's saying things that are going to hurt him. >> reporter: in short, bergdahl's recent words could be used against him. instead of the 20 09 actions bergdahl said he had hoped would send a message instead. we are joined from dallas, texas so to the discuss all of this from a military law attorney. patrick, thanks for your time. he did not enter a plea on the charges of desertion and

misbehavior, and he didn't decide if he wants to face a judge and jury or just a judge. what does that tell us? >> it's an unremarkable day. this is the way most of these days begin. he's there to assure counsel and set a schedule. typically one does not select the form of judge alone or members at that time. not too unusual for this day to go as it did. >> but the worst case scenario here is he could face life in prison on the misbehavior charge. many observers seeing that as unlikely. you have two forces at play here as well. political pressure and public opinion. what is the political pressure on this case as you see it? >> well, certainly senator mccain of arizona symbolizes the political pressure. he stepped down, and in my

opinion, interferes sby saying e would hold his own hearings if he wasn't satisfied with the result. that's a big problem in military justice, and it's going to be, perhaps, something helpful to sergeant bergdahl should the case not go in his favor. >> there's also bowe bergdahl's version of defense described in his own words to the serial pod cast where he essentially says this was all about getting the attention of higher ups to highlight leadership problems that were endangering troops. he's really turning it around from what has been said about what he did. there are more episodes to come. could that create a wave of sympathy for him in. >> well, certainly it was investigated by a major general who was not an attorney by a commander, and he came away after hearing the full bergdahl story and said he should not even go to a court marshal.

then it was later investigated by the convenient authorities' behest, a preliminary hearing by a lawyer who, unfortunately, said it should go to a court marshal, but he said it should go to a lesser level court marshal, equivalent to a misdemeanor court. both those investigations were ignored, and they chose to send it to the general court marshal. it's my opinion, based on all the information i've read that he did it because there was a lot of political pressure out there. this because of political ing - pressure and if those who know more about this case than we do don't think it should be at this level, how do you think this ends? >> i think it's going to be indicative of the way the defense represents the case. as a person who's been in

military justice, i will tell you military members are extremely consciousness, and very fair. i think once they hear the full story, they're apt to come soft same conclusion as the other investigations as well. >> i appreciate you giving us your incite in all of this based on your experience. criminal defense and military law attorney joining us from dallas, thanks for your time. >> thank you. now to amnesty international saying russian air strikes killed at least 200 syrian civil y y yans and may amount to war crimes. there were no obvious military targets nearby, they said. the report also accuses russia of covering up an attack that hit a mosque. we are joined with the possible

russian response. they typically deny any wrong doing in previous claims of misconduct in syria. any word out of kremlin yet on this claim? >> reporter: no. they've been pretty tight lipped about this amnesty report, but it's not the first time there have been claims about this. and in the past, the russians have denied it saying they have accurate intelligence from the ground in syria to help them guide in there, what they call pinpoint, and very positive strikes on terrorist targets inside syria. and i was in syria recently with the russian military. i posed this question to the senior administration defense person, and he denied it saying it's terrorist infrastructure that we're striking at. we've got a range of intelligence gathering techniques to give us targeting information from assets on the

ground to satellite technology in space. and so, yeah, in the past they've categorically denied causing any casualties at all. that's likely to be, if there is a response, the response to this report as well. >> and how is russia proving that the terrorist targets they're hitting are precisely that? what proof do they offer? >> well, of course, it's difficult in a context like syria to get proof that can be independently verified. but the russian defense minister has been showing videos of their attacks filled from aircrafts as they carry out air strikes. they've been giving briefings every week to russian journalists and making the findings of the briefings, the details available to international journalists as well. we're getting the russian side of the story, if you like, about the strikes in syria. but in terms of verifiable

proof, it's difficult. what amnesty international says is there are numbers of eyewitnesss, and they've spoken to doctors and representatives of aid organizations in syria as well. that's how they've gathered their testimonies together to try to assemble a picture of the damage that they say russia is inflicting on the civilian population in syria. but this is going to be easily swept aside by the russians. they've said that allegations like this are part of an anti-russian propaganda campaign organized by the west and by organizations like amnesty international. there hasn't been a reaction to this report, but i can pretty much anticipate what the reaction will be. >> matthew chance live in moscow for us. matthew, thanks. zblnch the release of a convicted rapist in india leads to charges -- changes, i should say in the country's laws on juvenile criminals.

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sflnch sflnchts. the migrant crisis has passed a milestone. the more than 1 million migrants and refugees entered europe by land and sea this year. that is more than four times as many as in 2014. now, some individual countries are doing even more. turkey is hosting almost 2 .5 million refugees while lebanon has taken in 1 million syrian refuge refugees. susan sarandon is welcoming refugees to lebos island. she told cnn why she got involved. >> welcome. welcome. welcome. what a difficult landing you had, huh? i came to listen and learn, to hear people's stories, to try to then pass them on firsthand. when i talk to refugees and i

find out what their situation is and what their hopes are, and i'm here to honor my grandparents who were immigrants. my grandfather fled sicily because they were rounding everybody up because there was a war going on, so i understand this is a repetition of that. well, one of the questions i've been asking myself as i talk to women with babies and small children, it's -- that's the heart breaking thing. you know that it must be an impossible situation to think that getting on a rubber boat with someone that doesn't know how to drive it, not knowing what's on the other side, you know, to make that choice that that is a good alternative, you have to be quite desperate. so i suppose it would, you know, would i get on a boat with my small children if i was that desperate? i suppose i would. there's no alternative.

people have to understand this is an expensive, dangerous venture in many ways, and i don't think anyone understands. it seems like such a short little trip. you know? but they don't understand how rickety the boats are own how the weather can change and how difficult the landings are and often there are people in wheelchairs or old people. it's very dangerous. >> i think the moment that made me just call and try to find a way to get over here quickly was more the rhetoric that was suddenly emerging in the united states. i was keeping tabs on what was happening, and i was, you know, watching, and i was very upset. but then when i started hearing this hatred being normalized because of the political climate, you know, the donald trump, this really simplistic

racist, ignorant narrative that was being repeated over and over and over and was growing, i just somebody has to start to tell these stories and counter that framing of this -- of one of the largest crises that i think we'll have in our lifetime, and so i just said i'm going. i'll spend christmas in lesbos. >> susan vasarandon there. parliament moved quickly to change the laws on juvenile crime in india. >> reporter: it took the upper house of parliament two days to act, two days after the youngest of six rapists convicted in that 2012 gang rape and murder was released from juvenile custody simply because he was a few months shy of his 18th birthday.

india lawmakers acted swiftly to prevent similar releases in the future. from now on, anyone between the ages of 16 and 18 accused of committing a serious crime like rape or murder can be tried as an adult. until today's new legislation, the maximum sentence a suspect under the age of 18 could face was three years in the reform facility, no matter what the crime. now, the new law is not retro active. it will not apply to the juvenile convicted of committing the most savage gang rape this country has seen. he remains a free man. the victim's parents were in the parliament all day listening to the lawmakers. and after the vote, the dead girl's mother walked away crying saying while her daughter did not get justice, others now will. and the new law will hopefully

protect other minors from committing such crimes in the future so no one will have to go through what her daughter went through back in 2012. cnn, new delhi. >> now, in the skies of the western u.s., hundreds of people spotted what they described as a meteor-like object streaking across the sky. pedram javaheri joins us not with the speculation but with facts and science on what everybody saw. >> yes. absolutely. we now know that it was a piece of a rocket from a russian spacecraft that came flying down over the skies of nevada and utah and into parts of california. bakers field into sacramento region, people reported seeing it. it streaked across the sky. incredible site. a lot of people thinking it was a meteor. when you look at space debris andobjects, about 22,000 of

them orbiting our planet. 22,000 that are roughly the size of an apple to as large as spent rocket engines that are floating out there. a lot of them discarded. there are millions more that are smaller and flecks of paint, even considering a size of screws. when it comes to having a meteor come by. meteors are coming at speeds of 160,000 miles per hour. they come in at an oblique angle. and you can see them briefly. they disappear. when the comes to spent objects that are manmade, in this case, a piece of a russian rocket that comes in, they come in at more of a flat angle. as they come in gravity pulls them in and you begin to see a slower rate at about 15 to 20,000 miles per hour versus 150,000 or so miles per hour. that's what happened across

parts of california. an interesting story that occurred. got a lot of people's attention when it comes to social media talking about what it could have been. speaking of california, i want to take you through the sierra nevada. excellent news when it comes to snow pack. about 24% in 2014. up to 56% this time last year. we're now above normal in the snow pack. great news when it comes to water reserves and to winter skiing season too. >> that's right. break out the skis and snow boards now. thank you very much. >> a winery that sits between jerusalem and the west bank says the the wine is pure enough for jesus to drink. details on the secret behind it.

so what would jesus drink? that's the question some wine making monks are asking. they're marketing wines from grape varieties that go back 2,000 years. >> reporter: christmas in bethlehem. a celebration of the birth of jesus christ. at a monastery, they craft a key

component of many of biblical story, wine as made in a time of jesus. >> we are concentrating on making the wine. >> reporter: the history comes with it? >> of course. and hopefully god is happy with our wine. >> reporter: the wine-making process has come a long way since biblical times with oak barrels which i would describe as epic. i've never sat on 44,000 liters of win before. >> when you say jesus drank from this wine, it's a huge thing. you have to continue on making this wine better and better every year. >> reporter: this was the first wine winery in the region to make grapes from only local grapes. >> the book is the name of the friendship that only grows in

our country. >> reporter: i admit, not the first or last tasting on this story. then a sniff. it smells good and fresh, ripe. swirl. sip. and enjoy. >> and it has that fresh, ripe taste to match. >> reporter: researchers trace the genetic vine to uncover which grapes are native to the holy land testing ancient seeds from archaeological digs. >> and an archaeological finding of seeds occur, 90% of the time the seeds are burned. this is the reason they were preserved. >> reporter: the right side is bu burned. it's darker and a little more shrivelled.

on the left is a modern-day fresh merlot seed. up the coast, a wine maker shows us his vineyards of recently harvested grapes. there were heavy restrictions on wine making in the holy hand for hundre -- land for hundreds of years. >> it's way after the season, but you can still find a few edible berries. >> reporter: the grapes that survived were table friendships. the wine from these grapes could be the wine jesus drank? >> right. >> reporter: the french have a word which describes the place the wine is from. what does that mean here? >> it actually expresses the sense of the wine. >> reporter: a sense of people, place, and crucially, of history. there is tremendous marketing potential here, a wine from biblical times, a wine that

jesus drank, being bottled once again. cnn, the holy land. >> what an assignment. one more story to you. visitors to an aquarium got a surprise. an adorable baby otter's birth. a wild sea otter delivered her pup on sunday. mom spent much of monday fluffing up her baby's fur so it can survive on the ocean when it's time to swim. the pup had many fans as well. >> the otter is, like, so cute and so all that kind of stuff, and it's just so -- it's so good. >> it's real cute. a little cuddly ball. >> i think the kid said it best. thanks for watching. i'm errol barnett. early start is next for those of you in the u.s. for those of you elsewhere, stay tuned for "cnn newsroom."

>> donald trump suspending his attacks against hillary clinton as a new poll shows his lead. the republican front runner is shrinking. the woman accused of mowing down dozens of pedestrians on the vegas strip. she is charged with murder. in just hours now from facing a judge. breaking overnight, days after a passive landslide in china, a survivor is pulled from the rubble. >> it's amazing. >> it is. >> good morning. welcome to "early start." >> it is wednesday, december 23rd