have to speak metaphorically, because there is an actual wall. >> that is a wall. >> or a fence, depending on who you're talking to. >> fence or wall. no, it's a big wall. it's ugly. it's really ugly. you can see it. it's not far away from here. ahead this hour, severe weather strikes parts of the united states on a day when millions of americans are traveling for the christmas holiday. and a new cnn poll finds despite all the controversy, donald trump seems to only be gaining strength in the republican presidential race. and a muslim family's trip to disneyland is cut short and they claim their religion is the reason why. i'm isha sesay. "newsroom l.a." starts right now.

>> we start with a severe storm slamming parts of the u.s., incluing this tornado, rare for december, touching down in mississippi. four people have died in the state, including a 7-year-old boy who was traveling in a car with his family. a woman died when a stofrm sent a tree crashing through her roof. two eother people died in tennessee and at least four people are missing in three states. officials are preparing for more fatalities. how rare is a tornado outbreak at this time of year? >> we would see them across the states in the gulf of mexico, texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama. on average, december across the united states sees about 24 tornadoes, but get a load of this. we saw in just one day one tornado outbreak, 22 tornadoes

reported, over 150 wind reports as well with badge. the tornado you just saw a moment ago is called a long track tornado. typically tornadoes stay on the ground for about five minutes or so. they last about maybe a quarter to half a mile, but this particular storm saw the tornado likely stay on the ground uppardons of 135 miles. that actually needs to be verified by the national weather service, regardless of that information. this puts it at the upper echelon of long track tornadoes. only 0.1% of all documented tornadoes sing records began back in the 50s have seen tornadoes last over 100 miles like this. we've got a lot of dynamics here taking shape. service level winds are coming out of the soerl directions across central portions of the united states, really bringing in all of that impressive mois chour laiden air from the gulf

of mexico. but at the mid levels of the atmosphere, this is what's bringing in what's called a voritiesty or wind shear, change in direction with height. this is important because this sets up fornadic developments. i'm going to show you exactly what i'm talking about in this three dimensional diagram of what a tornado takes to actually develop. take a look at this .. we've got this change in wind direction with height. these are the vortices that get talk sucked into a super cell storm and starts to rotate and swin in that clockwise fashion eventually forming this tornado just in front of me here. lots of dynamics taking place here, but it's all about tilting these vortex tubes in the upper levels of the atmosphere, creating that spinning effect that you saw. just moving my point we're going to talk about some of the storm chasers act uh which willy witnessed on some of their excursions, documenting this long track tornado that i'm

talking about. if we play this you can actually some of these vortex tubes that i referred to a moment ago that you can actually see the vortex being pulled into the middle of the toronto. that's the vortex tube getting sucked into the updraft of the tornado and that further intensifies the storm. and it's likely that when the national weather service goes and asays the damage from the storm it will likely be an ef-3 to an ef-4 tornado. it does appear as if the tornadoes will actually not be as strong as we head into thursday, but we still have the possibility of severe weather from new orleans to atlanta. >> well, we will be watching the situation very, very closely. dooi dave van dam there. thank you. we're joined by a meteorologist and storm chaser from western arkansas. thank you for joining us. describe what it was like to be in the vicinity of this tornado.

>> it was quite a storm that went through all of mississippi. >> basically i saw the storm on radar. i could actually see the tornado on the horizon. and i let it approach me as close as possible. with still being safe, of course. the tornado crossed the road in front of me. tried to chase it as long as i could until i couldn't get past downed trees and that kind of ended my chase. when it approached me it kind of got skinnier and tightened up. you can see the vorteces go up and down. and it was quite a chase. >> yeah .i understand that it's quite hard to keep up with. >> yes you recollect yes. absolutely. the storm today was crazy with the dynamics of the atmosphere.

about 50 or 60 miles an hour. so it was pretty much an intercept day, not a chase day. you kind of position yourself where the storm will basically go through you. you want to be out of the way. and get some good video and good footage to share with viewers like you. >> looking at some of the video you shot, tell me, i know you i have been driving around mississippi and arkansas, tell me about some of the damage you' seen along the way. >> the damage, i actually couldn't get past some of the trees down so i really dependent get a chance to look at the damage. i saw a tractor trailer overturned. that was in the path of the damage path. but i didn't see too much damage. i mostly chased in an open area. that's where tornadoes should be, that's the best place to view tornadoes in the open field. sometimes, of course, they end up causing damage to lives and property.

>> as you know, this tornado claimed the lives of several individuals. were you at any point scared ff your own safety? >> i was not. i want to say i knew what i was doing the whole time. it was basically i saw it with my eye, saw the motion, projected it, where it could cross in front of me. and you always have to adjust for things that go wrong or off, but it had a fairy predictable path today so it was easy to track. it wasn't that large when i intercepted it. it got a lot larger later on. so it was very photogenic, though. >> very photogenic. i always feel compelled to ask this question of storm chasers. why do you do it? >> i fell in lue with weather when i was a little kid. and deep down i just really lue

these storms. i woke up at 2:00 a.m. to drive from oklahoma to the mississippi area. it took me about eight hours. i drove eight hours to see a couple of thunderstorms. some people might question my sanity, but i just really enjoy this. >> well, we are pleased that you are safe. we appreciate you coming on the line and just sharing some of what you saw. thank you again for speaking to us here at cnn. all right, now turning to saudi arabia, at least 25 people have died there and 107 others were injured in a hospital fire on thursday in the southern coastal city of jazan. this coming from the saudi general direct rat of the civil defense. the cause of the fire has not yet been officially determined. and now to the u.s. presidential election. and donald trump appears to be ever more dominant in the republican race according to a

new poll. cnn's dana bash has the details. >> we're going to win so much in so many different ways that you're going to get tired of winning. >> reporter: for a candidate who loves winning, this will be a very merry christmas. >> i'm only kidding. we never get tired of win, right? >> reporter: donald trump is so far ahead in cnn/orc's new national poll, he's more popular than the next three come beaned, ted cruz, ben carson and marco rubio. his lead is even better on voters' confidence on keyishes, the economy, fighting isis. maybe republicans are settling in on the idea of him as a formidable candidate to take the white house. 46% say they think the republican chances are bretter with trump at the top of the ticket, up eight points since august. >> i know where she went.

it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. no, it's too disgusting. >> reporter: that as trump's war of words with the democrat's front-runner is getting hotter. hillary clinton told the des moines register that trump has a, quote, penchant for sexism. >> i really deplore the tone-his campaign. anticipate the inflammatory rhetoric that he's using to divide people. >> trump responded trump style saying be careful, hillary, as you play the war on women oar women being degraded card. and on his use of a yiddish word for a certain part of the male anatomy to describe hillary clinton's loss to obama -- >> she got schlonged.

>> he said it's a common political term. tweeting when i said hillary got schlonged by obama, it means she got beaten badly. it's often used in politics. >> on the democratic side of this race, hillary clinton is maintaining her strong lead in the latest cnn/orc poll, boosted by support after her last debate on saturday. overall, the survey shows clinton leading bernie sanders by 1 points. post debate poll numbers show a shift of support back to clinton. well, cnn/orc poll also shows clinton would face a strong challenge from the three republicans at the top of the field. in in a hypothetical matchup with donald trump, clinton narrowly tops him 49% to 47%. but if she was to face ted cruz, clinton falls behind by two points. and against marco rubio, well, clinton would trail by three points.

meanwhile, republican candidate carson pushing back against reports that he's shaking up his campaign with poll numbers falling. this comes after an interview with "the washington post" where carson said this -- i'm looking at every aspect of the campaign right now. everything is on the table. every job is on the table. and we're going to analyze it very carefully. now, carson disputed some of that report in an interview with cnn's don lemon. >> so clarify what is going on here. >> well, i think "the washington post" quite frankly had their story already written before they talked to me. and they were con vensed i was going to fire everybody and we were going to just go in a completely different direction and that's absolutely not true. we are constantly looking at everything and we're going to continue to look at everything. snow no one is ever 100% guaranteed they're going to always be there. and as an organization grows and as our responsibilities grow,

some things may have to change. we may have to add some people and may have to change some people. the key word there is may. >> once a front runner the republican race is now tied with marco rubio for a distant third in a cnn/orc poll. to follow all the latest developments in the race for the white house, just go to our website, cnn.com/politics. >> we turn to iraq now, and the iraqi forces say they are gaining ground in the isis in the city of ramadi. the anwar province is west of baghdad. it's part of a wide stretch of north central iraq shown in yellow where isis is operating. pentagon correspondent barbara starr has more. >> iraqi troops float across a floating bridge towards central rama ramadi. >> heavy gunfire continues to

ring out. iraqi armored vehicles on the move, fighting street to street. it's meaned anticipate bobby trooped by isis, entire houses wired to blow up. tough work for iraqi troops, even after weeks of u.s. training to prepare for urban warfare. >> it's going to be very difficult and going to be a very slow process with iraqis slowly, methodically and carefully clear their way through the city. a. >> sectarian sensitivities arie being handled delicately. it does not include any i rein-backed shia militias in this part of the heart lapped, according to the u.s. the u.s. already helping iraq plan for a sunni-led force to hold the city if it is taken back by iraqis. firefighters have been trained by the u.s.

>> a training program to train iraqi forces to be able to take their country back. in the last several week, we've begun to see that happen. the training has started to take hold. some say for isis, ramadi already served its purpose this spring when they chased iraqi forces from the city. >> we're going to go ahead and give up this space called ramadi and continue to live to fight another day. >> reporter: but on this already devastated battlefield of the city, desperation is everywhere. some isis fighters remain dug in willing to use ramadi citizens as they see fit. >> it's going to be a significant problem for iraqi forces. so if operations go wrong, they're going to have possibly

real problems going into those areas without causing the deaths of civilians. mosul remains iraq's second largest city, still in the first grip of isis. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >> a family denied entrance into the u.s. and no one is telling them why. and all the beatles music available for streaming. that's still ahead. yes, we are twins. when i went on to ancestry, i just put in the name of my parents and my grandparents. i was getting all these leaves and i was going back generation after generation. you start to see documents and you see signatures of people that you've never met. i mean, you don't know these people,

but you feel like you do. you get connected to them. i wish that i could get into a time machine and go back 100 years, 200 years and just meet these people. being on ancestry just made me feel like i belonged somewhere. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com. full of guests on the waye and a cold with sinus pressure, you need fast relief. alka-seltzer plus severe sinus congestion and cough liquid gels rush relief to your tough symptoms. to put you back in control. [doorbell] woman: coming! alka-seltzer plus sinus. and i didn't get here alone. there were people who listened along the way. people who gave me options. kept me on track. and through it all, my retirement

never got left behind. so today, i'm prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today.

it's a housewife who's in control of the finances. actually, any wife, husband, or human person can use progressive's name your price tool to take control of their budget. and while the men do the hard work of making money, she can get all the car insurance options her little heart desires. or the women might do the hard work of making money. [ chuckling ] women don't have jobs. is this guy for real? modernizing car insurance with -- that's enough out of you! the name your price tool, only from progressive. where is your husband?

this video is from cnn in minnesota. activists on the black lives matter mooumt took them to the largest mall in the u.s. four protesters were arrested for trespassing in the mall of america near indianapolis. activists then moved to indianapolis and the international airport. this shows them at a terminal.

two security checkpoints were temporarily closed there. they're protesting alleged brutality against black people. now a muslim family living in the uk was barred from to a flight to the u.s. ahead of a family trip to disneyland, and they want to know why. >> inside london's gatwick airport, nine members of a british muslim family were denied boarding of a flight to california. they captured cell phone video of the moment. norwegian airlines tells cnn it acted on instructions from u.s. homeland security. >> even though we've done nothing wrong, you feel like you' done something wrong. >> this man traveling with his family, including seven children, were waiting to board when they were stopped. >> they wouldn't give us an explanation. the kids were asking me, what is the problem, why are we not going? we have to ask them, what should we tell our kids, what's going

on. >> the family said they had valid immigration u.s. documents and had been saving for a trip to disneyland with their children for months. the more than $13,000 say they say spent will not be refunded. british government officials are now fighting on their behalf. >> the family was simply told to go home. no further contact has been made with them. no explanation has been provided. i have to also say this is not the only case that i have had raised with me of somebody traveling to america being stopped at the last minute. >> mahmoud's wife who asked that we not show her face says she thinks their religion played a role. >> my 10-year-old daughter said to my husband, is it because we're muslim? he said why would you say that? she said well, because we're the only muslim people in that line. >> reporter: u.s. customs said the religion, faith or believes of the international travelers are not determining factors. for flights, passenger security checks happen long before travelers get to the airport.

even before the airline accepts payment, names are run against the government's no-fly list. if there's a hit, the sale is denied. for those who bought a ticket, names are continuously checked against other government databases, searching everything from past itineraries to law enforcement and intelligence information. if there's a problem, the airlines deny boarding at the airport. but it's not just terrorism. there are other reasons a passenger could be denied boarding, like incomplete documents or health-related issues. we know some members of this family had duel citizenship in the uk and pakistan and it's believed a family member's e-mail address could be associated with a suspicious facebook page that mentions al qaeda. but the family denies that. now, we don't know if any of that had anything to do with why they were not cleared to board. meantime c.a.i.r., the nation's largest muslim civil rights

organization is asking the department of homeland security to probe whether a muslim ban is being implemented informally. renee marsh, cnn, washington. joining me now is the president of the muslim public affairs council. thank you so much for joining us. you have said that this move to ban this family from traveling to the united states is reflective of the political climate here in the u.s. explain what you mean by that. >> people are scared. there's a lot of fear. and when the public is scared, then the government starts acting in an irrational manner, and unfortunately, communities have to live under a cloud of suspicion. i remember when cat stevens was denied entry into the united states, and he had to work hard to regain that privilege to come to the united states. so, you know, i feel really bad for the family that unfortunately lost the opportunity to come to america. and i see that we also live in a

polarized world today where werners and the muslim world may live under a cloud in suspicions. and muslims, even if they're born here in the united states or in the west will also live under a cloud of suspicion for quite some time. >> the council on american islamic relations, c.a.i.r., is asking the u.s. department of homeland security to investigate whether donald trump's call to ban muslims from entering the u.s. is being implemented informally. do you think that's what is happening? >> i wouldn't give donald trump any credit for this. like i said, with governments, they start becoming overcautious in this situation. we just had a horrific terrorist incident in san bernardino. paris was very recent. so we all have to understand that we're going to have to go through these extra precautions. and some of us unfortunately are going to run into these kind of problems. now, there are means to clear the names of vinls who may have last surnames that match names

of vinls on terrorist lists. >> how common is that? >> it is common when you have a last name like mahmoud. you say you have been speeging to muslims in the united states who are concerned about taking trips out of the u.s. now. so. >> right there is a lot of fear and hysteria right now. it's a time of christmas. and i think that if christmas is the spirit that we all are going to be experiencing in the next

few days, let us remember the words of jesus, to overcome hate through love and reconciliation. and let us work towards having goodwill and reconcile with one another. and so i want to wish the christian world a merry christmas and i as a muslim revere jesus as the word of god. and i think the more understanding we have on that front and the more people realize yeah, there is isis, but the majority of people fighting isis are muslim. the iraqis just had a major victory against isis in ramadi and iraq. labelling people as terrorists when it's just scapegoating and brushing people with stereotypes and unfortunate generalizations. we appreciate you coming in

at this time of the year and also to share that message of tolerance and peace and people living together peacefully. thank you. time for a very quick break. two men sentenced to death for the murder of a british couple at a tourist resort in tie wlanwlan -- thailand. ahead, why they say police botched the investigation and they are not guilty. plus, charges against more than a dozen people in connection with a muslim man's killing allegedly because he ate beef.

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 tthey bought the place fourg to mark andmonths agoderson. on what was arguably the scariest day of their lives. neither has any idea what the future holds for them. but they bought into a 30-year mortgage anyway. that was bold. they must really believe in themselves. buy in. quickenloans/home buy. refi. power.

for the new mattress models! it's time to make room

during sleep train's huge year end clearance sale... get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets at low clearance prices! save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory! plus, same-day delivery, set-up and removal of your old set. why wait for the new models? sleep train's year end clearance sale is on now! superior service, best selection, lowest price-- guaranteed! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

that saudi arabia, a deadly fire in a hospital has claimed at least 25 lives. 107 others were injured in thursday's blaze. this news coming from the saudi general direct rat of civil defense. investigators are still look into the skauz of the fire. -- cause of the fire. iraqi forces are now less than two kilometers of the isis-held government compound in the city of ramadi. video shows intense street fighting as troops and tanks push towards the city senter. bobby traps and ieds are slowing the advance, now into its third day. and a rare december tornado slamming the u.s. state of mississippi. warm winter temperatures are partially to blame. seven people have died in storms hitting three u.s. states, including a 7-year-old boy who was traveling in a car with his family. tennessee has declared a state of emergency. in thailand, two mie glant

workers from myanmar plan to appeal their death sentences for two tourists. the victims' bodies were found on a beach last year. the trial was fraught with controversy and allegations that police mishandled the investigation. the suspects say they were forced to confess. for more, let's bring in voice of america correspondent steve herman. he joins us live via skype from bangk bangkok. as we've been saying, this trial has been mired in controversy. what more can you tell us about the process? >> well, this goes back to 2014 when these two workers from myanmar who had been working on a bar on the island were arrested. there was a confession that came out. they later contracted that confession saying that they had been coerced into it, they had been tortured and threatened with death. throughout this whole process, there has been considerable skepticism with a lot of critics

saying the evidence just wasn't there and that it was not up to international standards at all. and much doubt about the verdict that came out today and these two migrant workers being sentenced to death. >> steve, have thai authorities responded to these criticisms, especially this criticism that there was a huge amount of outside pressure brought to bear that they hold someone responsible and they're scapegoating these migrant workers? >> yes. police have said that in no way were the defendants coerced into their confessions and that they believe that this was a fair trial and that it was open and everyone could open and that the judges had gone ahead and made their decision based on the evidence that was presented by the prosecutors. >> have we heard from the

victims' families since the verdict was handed down? >> one of the families, the miller family, had made some remarks outside the courtroom shortly after the verdict. i believe we're now going to hear from david miller -- or from michael miller, the brother of david miller. >> we believe the correct verdict has been reached. david always stood up for justice and justice is what has been delivered today. we respect this court and its decision completely. as the trial has progressed, we came to realize that the police investigation and the forensic work performed was not the so-called shambles it was made out to be. we believe that after a difficult start, the royal thai police conducted a methodical and thorough investigation. >> obviously others do not agree with the family there. and believe that there just

wasn't the evidence to convict them. and they're hopeful now that on the appeals process of this decision today will be overturned. >> we should be watching the situation very closely. steve herman, voice of america joan issing us there from bangkok. we appreciate it. thank you so much. >> police have charged 15 people in connection with the lynching oof a muslim man who had allegedly eaten beef. i know this was a case that caused you to uproar there in india. just remind us of what happened. >> this was a really tragic case that was a wake-up call for many indians when many indians asked has indian society become so intolerant that you would kill someone on rumors that he or she ate beef. what happened was three months ago a group of people went to a

local priest and toll him to announce on a loud speaker that a slaughtered cow had been found. and that's what the priest ended up doing. suddenly there was a huge mob in this village. this village is only about two, three hours from new delhi. huge mob gathered. then they started attacking. they stormed into the house of one of the few muslim families that lived in this village. they dragged out the father and the son and they started beating them with sticks and bricks. the father ended up eventually dying because of injuries and the sun was critically injured. this was a huge story just because this was all based on rumors that he ate beef. and, of course, hindus believe that cows are sacred and it is illegal to slaughter and consume beef in certain states including this one where this attack took place. this wasn't the only one. shortly thereafter, there was a man who was killed in the state of kashmir on rumors he was transporting beef. a week later in another state, same thing. so in a matter of six weeks,

four muslim men were killed on rumors that he ate or slaughtered or transported beef. so this was -- it was a series of events, isha. >> as you lay out these cases that happened over the course of six weeks, just the ones you cited there, it begs the question, is india becoming more sb intolerant? what are the critics, what are the social commentators saying? >> well, that's the thing. it's important to note that it's not like these incidents haven't happened in the past. but ever since the prime minister came to power, and he, of course, represents the hindu fundamentalist party here, there is this overwhelming sense that these sorts of attacks are on the rise. and the government is not doing enough to stop them and not doing enough to condemn them. in fact, the prime minister was hugely criticized right after this incident because he did not say neg for at least two weeks. and when he finally did, he

didn't really talk about that particular incident. he is someone who is very open on twitter and frequently comments on everything happening in india. so this was a huge incident and right after that, there were a lot of writers who returned their national awards in retaliation, saying that india has become intolerant, because writers have also been killed, writers, secular writers who don't believe in hindu mythology, they' been killed. at least four of them have been killed in the past year and a half and two years. so there's been a series of incidents. also another writer, he was smeared in black ink because he was hosting a book launch with a pakistani writer. and so what these writers are saying and, and there's also filmmakers and all kinds of people from civil society really reacting saying that india has become way too intolerant. and what these people are saying is india has always been a very pluralistic society. and this goes against the very essence of what india is. isha?

>> some very interesting perspective. thank you for joining us there from new delhi. appreciate it. thank you. now the suspect in a hit and run in las vegas is said to be on suicide watch. we'll tell you why her attorney says she is distraught. tso i don't waste time trying, to get the grease off. i count on the craftsman brand and their mach series tools, to help me get the job done quickly. this mach series 53 piece set keeps me moving. fast drive technology; an extendible, reversible helix shaft delivers continuous rotation at 1.5 rotations per stroke... ...so i can roll through bolt after bolt. and get it today for 50% off... now only $49.99. and then, there's the mach series 3/8 t-handle driver. an aluminum free spinning collar can adjust quickly to help me drive in any screw. you got a really stubborn one? use the strong square drive to break it loose.

good luck trying that with an ordinary screwdriver. and good luck finding a better deal on the t-handle drive; get it now for 50% off at just $24.99. and craftsman hand tools are protected by a lifetime full warranty. this holiday season put craftsman tools at the top of your wish list. vo: it happens so often, you almost get used to it. i'd like to make a dep-- we got this. vo: which is why being put first takes some getting used to. ♪ nationwide is on your side nationwide is the exclusive insurance partner of plenti.

come happy birthday. i just had a heart attack... and now i have a choice. for her. for them. and him. a choice to take brilinta. a prescription for people who've been hospitalized for a heart attack. i take brilinta with a baby aspirin ...no more than 100 mg. as it affects how well it works. it's such an important thing to do to help protect against another heart attack. brilinta worked better than plavix. and even reduced the chances of dying from another one. don't stop taking brilinta without talking to doctor. since stopping it too soon increases your risk of clots in your stent, heart attack, stroke, and even death. brilinta may cause bruising or bleeding more easily or serious, sometimes fatal bleeding. don't take brilinta if you have bleeding, like stomach ulcers. a history of bleeding in the brain, or severe liver problems.

tell your doctor about bleeding, new or unexpected shortness of breath, any planned surgery and all medicines you take. i will take brilinta today. tomorrow. and every day for as long as my doctor tells me. don't miss a day of brilinta. >> the suspect in a las vegas hit and run is in charge on a suicide watch according to her attorney. her's stephanie elam with more. >> reporter: wearing a navy blue jump suit, lakeisha holloway made her initial court appearance three days after she drove her 1996 oldsmobile on to a crowded sidewalk on the busy las vegas strip. the hit and run killed one woman and injured more than 30 people.

>> this scene goes with people all over the floor. we're going to need somebody to shut down traffic. >> holiday who changed her name to paris paradise morton in october is charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon and one count of leaving the scene of an accident. she's charged with child endangerment because her 3-year-old was in the back of the car. he have lawyers asked for a continue yu continuance due to their desire to have their own investigation. >> she's distraught. this is tragic for everybody involved. and as the days go by and the gravity of what happened sinks in to, i suspect she's going to be in a very difficult mental state. you can imagine that that would be the case. we've heard some things about her background, all good. i mean, this woman has never

been in a position like this before. we wnt to try to get the best picture we can of who this young lady is and what the circumstances are that put her in this position. >> reporter: one of her attorneys says it is possible that this was anything but an intentional act. >> we do believe that this defendant acted intentionally in her behavior. and if you intentionally try and run somebody over, that certainly qualifies as an attempted murder charge and that's what we are strongly considering. >> reporter: stephanie elam, cnn, las vegas, nevada. >> we're going to take a quick break. ms. colombia breaks her silence about the awkwardness of the miss universe pageant .you will hear what she had to say. and the beatles are joining the digital age of music. the details are ahead. ♪ while you're watching this, i'm hacking your company. grabbing your data.

stealing your customers' secrets. there's an army of us. relentlessly unpicking your patchwork of security. think you'll spot us? ♪ you haven't so far. the next wave of the internet requires the next wave of security. we're ready. are you? no matter what nasty cold symptoms you get, alka seltzer plus liquid gels rush liquid fast relief to your tough cold symptoms. and they outsell mucinex liquid gels 2 to 1. alka seltzer plus liquid gels. okay! fun's over. aw. aw. ♪

thirsty? they said it would make me cool. they don't sound cool to me. guess not. you got to stick up for yourself, like with the name your price tool. people tell us their budget, not the other way around. aren't you lactose intolerant? this isn't lactose. it's milk. ♪

>> it's been a long and winding road, but the waetbeatles are finally coming to a streaming service near you. ♪ she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, ♪ ♪ it's been a hard day's night ♪ help

i need somebody ♪ ♪ a na na na na na na >> it's just so good. it will be available thursday on nine different streams services including spot fi, apple music and google pla i. they've long been a digital holdout, but when they released their music back in 2010, they sold more than 2 million songs in the first week. joining me now to talk more about this is the managing editor of the l.a. business journal. it's always good to have you with us. you say this is a beautiful gift for beatles fans and a long time coming and it took a lot of negotiating. >> it certainly did. what a fabulous festive gift this is for beatles fans. their music is going to be here, there and everywhere on streaming services. not so much a case of let it be as let it stream. puns over. it did take a long time getting here and that's nothing new. because the beatles were very slow to get their music on to

cd. they only got them on cd in 1987, five years after everybody else. and itune, they were only on that in 2010. and streaming, they were late to the party again, but what a party it is now that the beatles are here. >> but at the same time, slow to the party, but it's still in keeping with their philosophy as a band. they embraced new technology. >> they did. when they were recording all those classics, abbey road, they were always looking for the very latest studio effects. and so new technology was something they built their career on. and now it's funny, technology has disrupted every industry, music more than any other. and now the beatles are here. now we see that cd sales, of course, have gone off the cliff. down loads are down, but streaming is where it is. 11.5 billion streams in the first six months of 2015. and so yeah, the beatles are in the right place. >> does this confer a type of legitimacy to stream, having the beatles there?

i mean, what does it mean? >> it's a momentous moment. it's clear it's no longer a fad. it's where the music industry is at. the pop charts finally embrace streaming and use those to calculate the charts. and the beatles have realized that this is where it is. and it really confers greatness on this delivery method. >> but there are those holdouts like the adeles and the taylor swifts in this the world who aren't embracing the move towards streaming. how can they holdout? i mean, just your gut check here? >> well, the two biggest acts in the music world at the moment, taylor swift and adele have both be reluctant for different reasons. taylor swift has kept her music off spotify in a protest of the low royalties given to artists and song writers. and adele has kept her latest smash hit album "25" off streaming services because she just doesn't like it. she says i'm a traditionalist. i buy cds, i down load.

it's just not as much fun. it is a different service because it's not ownership, it's access. this isn't like a vinyl you can keep. this isn't a cd you can put on the shelf. >> it's disposable. >> you're kind of renting something. so the beatles took a while to get into this. you know, they got around the table, they decided to come together and they said we can work it out. >> oh, no! make it stop, make it stop. >> thank you so much. it's been a hard day's night. >> especially with me here. >> thank you so much. all right, then. in this final story for you, miss colombia has broken her silence on that awkward crowning at the miss universe pageant. we have the details. >> reporter: miss colombia speaking out about that mistake heard around the world. >> miss universe 2015 is

colombia! >> iranya grut rez posted a message on instagram that says life continues and in the mu chur we will find out why things happen the way they happen. the 21-year-old congratulating the real winner, miss philippines while showing grace under the pageant lights and saying nothing about the humiliated host steve harvey. >> the first runner-up is colombia. miss universe 2015 is philippines. >> it's a moment that will live in tv infamy. the host of "family feud" mistakenly reading the first runner-up's name then corrected himself with the whole universe watching. >> you could see his discomfort. the moments after the gaffe, harvey appears to complain to producers that the teleprompter had the wrong name that said miss colombia was the winner.

but moments later, he took the blame. this is exactly what is on the card. i will take responsibility for this. it was my mistake. it was on the card. >> the real winner, miss philippines printed in small type on the card, showing the perils of live television. harvey tweeted an apology saying i feel terrible. and suddenly miss universe was trending like never before. and maybe that's why harvey will be back. entertainment said he signed a multiyear contract just a few days before sunday's pageant. after spokesman tells cnn the company is not ruling out his return next year saying only, we do not disclose any information on our contracts. now picture yourself in harvey's shoes. would you want a shot at redemption? >> nope. i wouldn't want any part of that. i'm isha sesay.

the news continues with errol barnett right after this. 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

innovative sonicare technology with up to 27% more brush movements versus oral b. get healthier gums in 2 weeks guaranteed. innovation and you. philips sonicare save when you buy the most loved rechargeable toothbrush brand in america. vo: it happens so often, you almost get used to it. i'd like to make a dep-- we got this. vo: which is why being put first takes some getting used to. ♪ nationwide is on your side nationwide is the exclusive insurance partner of plenti.

even tempur-pedic mattress sets getat low clearance prices!c, save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory! the year end clearance sale is on now at sleep train! ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

december ripped through mississippi. we're tracking the system that's hitting several states. a new cnn poll shows donald trump has more support in the next three republican presidential contenders combined. and a british muslim family barred from boarding a flight to the u.s. they suspect their religion was the reason. but american officials, what they have to say about that. a big welcome to our viewers in the u.s., and to those of you watching all around the world, i'm errol barnett. our two hours together start now. this is "cnn newsroom."

people in the u.s. state of mississippi are beginning to recover after a rare december tornado touched down there on wednesday. now, storm chasers caught these dramatic scenes. you see that tornado actually moving toward them. it went onto destroy homes, overturn cars and four people are now dead. a witness there describes the damage. >> when the tornado was over, i couldn't even find my house. it was just that bad. and by the time i got out of my car, i had a tree that was in my windshield. the trees were just everywhere. the trees were in my house. you couldn't even see the houses around you because the trees were everywhere. >> and the storms tearing through parts of the u.s. continued into tennessee. two people died in a state of emergency was declared there as

powerful winds whipped through memphis. another person died in arkansas. we want to connect with someone from mississippi. he's a storm chaser with tvn weather.com and can speak to us. mike, you were just north of the tornado, but watched it pass directly in front of you. just describe to us what that moment was like. >> well, you know, traffic was pretty rough on the highways because of the holiday traffic. everyone is out doing their last-minute christmas shopping and stuff like that. we had a hard time getting in position on time. and we actually weren't in the right place. we can barely see it from the north. it was wrapping rain, and it was so wide at that point, that we weren't sure it was a tornado. we thought it was rain. and then we came into the debris path on the highway, and it was a mile wide tornado. >> and in addition to being a mile wide, apparently this was

also a long track tornado. describe to us the damage that you witnessed. >> well, there are a lot of trees in this part of the country. a lot of hills and trees. but what stuck out to me the most was all the trees are usually uprooted or pushed over. this time with the soggy trees, these trees weren't pushed over. they weren't uprooted. they were just cut off about 20 feet off the ground, snapped clean and not much debris left. a lot of the debris was thrown long distances. weak tornado don't do that. that was a pretty strong tornado. >> it also underscores just how dangerous this storm was and how dangerous it is for you as a storm chaser to do what you do. why do you chase tornados like this, considering how deadly they are? >> well, this particular tornado, i'm not too fond of

tornados that are like this. i don't like storms that move 65 miles per hour. this was an incredibly dangerous storm just because of the terrain of the southeast part of the united states. a lot of hills and trees and storms were moving way too fast to really manage. but we came out here and gave it a shot anyway, and our thoughts and prayers go out of the people affected by these storms. >> as do ours. that's mike scatlin on the line. stay safe. bringing us dramatic images. pedram javaheri joins us to talk about this. you know it's an unusual storm when it even scares the storm chasers. he talked about it being wide, but it was also long and powerful. >> long and powerful, and this is the time of year that you don't think about tornadoes. the united states we see 1100 of these per year in the month of december only 24 of them. the other 10,000 are occurring

in the other 11 months. a quiet time of year. the severity of the storm catching people off guard with the holidays. the threat is still there, unfortunately, for the next couple of hours. 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. is when you see the storms flourish. we'll show you what we're talking about when it comes to the intensity of the storms and what's transpired over the past 24 hours. here's the national average across the united states, easily number one on a global scale when it comes to tornado frequently. canada second. the month of december is quiet, as you would expect with a minimal number of tornadoes across this portion of the world. the climate pattern doesn't care. if the atmosphere is supporting it -- it's spring in december. temperatures well into the upper 60s across nashville, tennessee,

atlanta, georgia, and even into new york city, a remarkable 26 degrees above their normal temperature. the moisture and the heat in place and upstairs, the strong jetstream conducive to sparking severe weather. more than 2 00 reports of active weather causing significant damage. 22 tornado reports. compare that to the entire month, 24. take a look. the really serious issue with this storm was the long-lived tornado, the long nature of it from clarks dale, mississippi, it's estimated it traveled 135 miles. the national weather service looking to distinguish if this was on the ground for that amount or multiple tornadoes down the trek. if this verified only .01% of tornadoes have over 100 miles on the ground. incredible. the next ten years, you would not have one tornado that would

reach that status, and 10,000 tornadoes would come before that. right now, aonto central and eastern portions of the state of tennessee under a wonder watch. the winds are coming in from the south. when you go up 5000 feet, they're coming from a different direction. you see this flying around the united states, you get the wind that causes your plane to rattle around. rough night for travel. the threat is still there and half a million people still underneath a threat for the storms this morning. >> such an unusual storm, a powerful one. folks will want to continue weather updates in the hours ahead. we'll keep checking with you. >> we have this just in to cnn. the american and british embassies in beijing have warned

of possible threats against westerner ins in a shopping district on or around christmas. that is from the american and british embassies in beijing. iraqi forces say they're less than 2 kilometers from the government compound in the city of ramadi. pentagon correspondent, barbara star has more. >> reporter: iraqi troops roll across a fleeting bridge opening a path toward central ramadi. heavy gunfire continues to ring out. iraqi armored vehicles on the move, fighting street to street. the entire area is mined and bobby trapped by isis. entire houses wired to blow up. tough work for iraqi troops even after weeks of u.s. training to prepare for urban war fair. >> this enemy has had time to set up their defense inside of

the city. it's going to be very difficult and it's going to be a very slow process for the iraqis to slowly, methodically and carefully clear their way through the city. >> sensitivities are being handled delicately. the fighters don't include any iranian backed shia militia in this part of the sunni heartland, according to the u.s. the u.s. already helping air strike plan for a sunni-led force to hold the city if it is taken back my iraqis. hundreds of sunni tribal fighters have been trained by the u.s. the u.s. military anxious to show success of its anti-isis strategy. >> we've begun a training program a year ago to train iraqi forces to be able to take their country back. the training has started to take hold. >> reporter: some say for isis, ramadi served its purpose this spring when they chased iraqi

forces from the city. >> they're going to give up ramadi and continue to live to fight another day. >> reporter: on this already devastated battle field of the city, desperation is everywhere. some isis fighters remain dug in and willing to use ramadi citizens as they see fit. >> human shields are going to be the favorite tactic that isis employs. there's significant civilian casualty rate is also going to be a significant problem for iraqi forces. so if the operations go wrong, they're going to be possibly some real problems going into those areas without causing deaths of civilians. >> reporter: and even if the iraqis can get ramadi back, the second largest city still in the firm grip of isis, mosul.

barbara star. >> in saudi arabia, at least 25 people have died and 123 others injured in a hospital fire in the southern coastal city of jazan. the fire broke out on the first floor where a nursery and maternity ward reside. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. a brand new national poll shows u.s. republican presidential candidate, donald trump, heading into 2016 with a sizable lead in the race. cnn's dana bash reports. >> we're going to win so much in so many different ways that you're going to get tired of winning. >> reporter: for a candidate who loves winning, this will be a very merry christmas. >> i'm only kidding. we never get tired of winning. >> translator: donald trump is so far ahead of a new national poll, he has more support than

the next three gop candidates combined. ted cruz, ben carson, and marco rubio. his leads are even bigger on the question of voter's confidence in him on key issues. but the best news for trump may be that republicans are settling into the idea of him as a formidable candidate to take the white house. 46% say they think republican's chances are better with trump on the ticket. >> i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. no y. it's too disgusting. >> reporter: the words with hillary clinton is getting hotter. hillary clinton said trump has a penchant for sexism. >> i mother tdeplore the tone o campaign and the inflammatory

rhetoric that he is using to divide people. his bigotry, his bluster, his bullying, have become his campaign. >> reporter: trump responded trump style on twitter saying be careful, hillary, as you play the war on women or women being degraded card. and on his use of a yiddish word to describe clinton's loss to barack obama. >> she got schlonged. she lost. >> he insisted it's a common political term, tweeting when hi said it, it meant got beaten badly. the media knows this. often used word in politics. dana bash, cnn, washington. >> and on the democratic side of this race, hillary clinton is maintaining her strong lead in the latest cn n orc poll after the debate on saturday.

overall the survey shows clinton leading sanders by 18 points. post debate poll numbers show a shift of support back to clinton. still to come on "cnn newsroom," a british muslim family denied entrance into the u.s. they say no one is telling them exactly why. and protesters with a black lives matter movement were arrested at the largest shopping mall in the u.s. we'll tell you where else they took their message.

automated voice: to file a claim, please state your name. carnie wilson. thank you. can you hold on? ♪ hold on for one more day really? hey, i know there's pain. why do you lock yourself up in these chains? ♪ this would be so easy if you had progressive. our mobile app would let you file a claim and help you find one of our service centers

where we manage the entire repair process. things will go your way if you hold on. [ sighs ] someday somebody's gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye. ♪ say goodbye no, you just made it weird.

in thailand to migrant workers have been sentenced to death for the murder of two tourists. the british bodies were found on a beach in september of last year. the trial was plagued by controversy and allegations the police mishandled the investigation. the suspects say they were forced to confess. the victim's families say justice has been done. >> we believe the correct verdict has been reached. david oi stood up for justice and justice has been delivered today. we respect this court and its decision completely. as the trial has progressed, we

came to realize that the police investigation and the forensic work performed was not the so-called shambled it was made up to be. we believe that after a difficult start the police conducted a methodical and thorough investigation. a rights group working with the defendants says they plan to appeal their sentences. now to minnesota where demonstrators with the black lives matter movement were arrested on wednesday. they were protesting at the largest u.s. shopping mall. this is part of a national day of action to condemn alleged police brutality against african americans. susan elizabeth littlefield from our affiliate, cco, has more. >> reporter: among the bright decorations, a sign lit up the moa in anticipation of a protest. businesses closed, businesses like build abear turning away

customers. then it started in the center of the mall. the arrests started too. protesters filed out minutes later toward the light rail. there was another arrest there. some took a train to the airport. others stayed outside of the heavily guarded doors. >> i never feel safe when there's a mass amount of them in military gear. it doesn't feel like they're protecting or serving us at all. >> the uniformed officers, some with masks and sticks asked everyone in the area to leave, everyone. >> i work in the mall. i don't know what i'm going to do now. >> i just came to shop and didn't know this was going on. it's crazy. >> shut it down. >> protesters say it was peaceful and purposeful. after about an hour, the crowd quietly left the mall. >> that's what we need to do. we need to keep shutting down economic pressure points so they hear from we're saying. they only hear us with money.

here's a reminder of how black lives matter began. it's a u.s. chapter based organization dedicated to ending violence against african americans. it became an international movement popularized by the social media hash tag black lives matter in 2012 following the shooting death of trayvon martin. and the 2013 afacilicquittal of man who shot him. they protested in 2014 following air strike dparner and michael brown's shootings. the mall of america was meant to draw the attention to a man shot last month by police. authorities have refused to release video of the incident. next hour i'll discuss the impact of the black lives matter movement with a law enforcement analyst and defense attorney. stay tuned for that. now, muslim family in

britain were told they couldn't board a flight for the u.s. they were supposed to be taking their children to american. u.s. officials say their religion did not play a part, but the family still wants answers. we have more. >> reporter: the owners of these little dresses had hoped to be roaming disneyland with their cousins who live in the u.s. but the family and their two nieces and seven small and teenage children were turned away at the gate as they were about to board the plane for los angeles. the she didn't want her children filmed. she doesn't want them to feel singled out like they did at the airport. >> my ten-year-old daughter said is it because we're muslim. she said because we were the only muslim people in the line. >> reporter: the family's papers they need to visit the u.s. were all in order. approved six weeks before by the department of homeland security. they were due to fly with

norwegian but the airline said they couldn't help. >> we don't know why you've been taken off the plane. >> reporter: the message that they could go no further. >> they should have refused us six weeks ago. we wouldn't have got the hopes up. >> reporter: the family wants answers and they feel the fact they're muslim has something to do with it. >> i definitely think donald trump's theory had a part to play in it, because otherwise why wasn't anyone else flagged up on that flight? just the one muslim family. >> donald trump is calling for a total and complete shut down. >> reporter: earlier this month trump called for a ban on all muslims entering the united states. a u.s. official tells cnn not all of his family members were prevented from travels. besides that, the u.s. won't comment on this case for privacy reasons. they say religion, faith, or

spiritual believes play no role in those matters. the family say this facebook page may have sparked a red flag. it's written by a man who says he lives in birmingham and calls him a leader at al-qaeda. >> the e-mail address connected to this account appears against their residential address in london. >> maybe it's someone who has hacked in. it has the same address as us but a different name and e-mail address. >> the family spent $15,000 on this trip, and norwegian says they're not entitled to a refund. the mother has been ill all year. she was going to stay home, but she wanted the best for her children. >> it was me to go private and have private health care or for my children to have two weeks of pure bliss, and i decided that that's what i wanted to do with

the money is to send my children away so they could have a nice holiday and come back and feel fresh and start a new year fresh. >> reporter: she's keeping the dresses until next time. she still wants her children to see disneyland. she's sure one day they will. cnn, london. it's been four days since a massive landslide in china. the hopes of finding dozens of people in the rubble is waning. coming up, a look at the latest rescue efforts from shenzhen. a response from moscow about amnesty international's report on the air strikes in syria. more on that after this. 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 now more than ever america's electricity comes from cleaner- burning natural gas. and no one produces more of it than exxonmobil. helping dramatically reduce u.s. emissions. because turning on the lights... isn't as simple as just flipping a switch. energy lives here. full of guests on the waye

and a cold with sinus pressure, you need fast relief. alka-seltzer plus severe sinus congestion and cough liquid gels rush relief to your tough symptoms. to put you back in control. [doorbell] woman: coming! alka-seltzer plus sinus. i absolutely love my new but the rent is outrageous. good thing geico offers affordable renters insurance. with great coverage it protects my personal belongings should they get damaged, stolen or destroyed. [doorbell] uh, excuse me. delivery. hey. lo mein, szechwan chicken, chopsticks, soy sauce and you got some fortune cookies. have a good one. ah, these small new york apartments... protect your belongings. let geico help you with renters insurance.

welcome back to our viewers here in the states and those of you watching all around the world. i'm errol barnett. let's update you on the top stories. getting new video of a rare december tornado hitting the u.s. state of mississippi. you can see the moment it crossed a road on wednesday, flipping over at least one vehicle. seven people have died in storms hitting three u.s. states including a seven-year-old boy who was traveling in a car with his family. the iraqi military is offering a glimpse inside ramadi, parts of which were recaptured from isis. this neighborhood was liberated on tuesday. the government says it's close to retaking the city's center with help from u.s. led coalition air strikes. >> in thailand, two planning to appeal death sentences for murders of two british tourists.

the bodies were bound on a beach last year. the defendants say they were coerced into confessing. we want to turn our attention to china where a hope of finding at least 70 people missing in a massive landslide is fading fast. the rescue effort has grown since sunday's collapse. 5,000 people are now searching the industrial park in shenzhen. at least four people are confirmed dead so far. more than a dozen remain in the hospital. matt rivers is there. >> reporter: we are now more than four days since this landslide happened, and the odds of finding survivors inside the rubble grows less and less. frankly, there's just been one miracle so far that happened yesterday morning with a 19-year-old plan being pulled out of the rubble. state media reporting he survived inside an air pocket created when the building he was in clapgsed around him and a bag of snacks, according to state media, landed right next to him. he survived off that for the

next several days until he was pulled out of the rubble after several hours of work to free him by rescue workers. for that one joyous moment, there are so many other people still trapped. their family members wondering if they are arrive and there is a grim resignation amid family members that the longer time goes by, the less of a chance they'll see their family members alive once again. and moving forward now, the questions that remain center around the investigation and potential compensation for victims here. in terms of the investigation, the latest according to state media reports in several different outlets is a senior management official in charge of the company who ran this site where the construction debris was piled up has been detained by local police. we're not sure in what way, if there will be charges or if he's a cooperating witness. that's the latest with the investigation. then there's the question of

compensation for the victims here. you can start with the factory owners. inside this industrial park, many of them have their businesses. they have been completely destroyed by this landslide. we know that these factory owners have met and expressed who is going to be responsible - for these financial damages. will these factory owners have to bear the burden of the financial cost of this landslide moving forward? that's a question that they are very concerned about right now. and then it goes to their workers. there are a lot of migrant workers that come to shenzhen, work in these factories here, and who is going to financially compensate them now that their jobs could very well be lost. if they don't have a factory to work in, their jobs could go away. these are poor people who travel across the country to work here. who takes care of them financially moving forward now that their jobs have been lost?

finally there are the families involved in the victims of this landslide. how will they be made whole financially? a lot of unanswered questions here in terms of the investigation and how the victims of all of this will be compensated. matt rivers, cnn, shenzhen, china. >> moscow is strongly denying a report that says russian air strikes have killed at least 2 00 civilians. the report said the air strikes have caused massive destruction of homes, a market, a mosque and medical facilities. russia's defense ministry spokesman called the reports lies. >> translator: we immediately rebuke such accusations and have released photo and video evidence to the international community. moreover, all the accusations have a common feechl. they all look detailed evidence and have no sources from

anonymous witnesses. >> russia has insisted it hits only terrorist targets in syria. police in australia say two men are facing terrorism charges for plotting attacks on government targets including a navy base. joel boblobby reports. >> reporter: more arrests and detectives are providing more details about the sydney terrorist cell they're slowly picking apart. there are two more suspects and another potential plot disrupted. 12 people have been charged over a host of alleged attacks since last fall. this anti-terroristing isn't over yet. police now confirming to cnn these men know each other. many paraded the same mosque in western sydney, and authorities are monitoring at least eight others. this newly arrested pair is plotting to attack a naval base that sits on the doorstep of sydney harbor. it's not clear how they planned to target the site. it was one on a long list of

disturbing, crudely laid out plans since last september. operation apple bee has uncovered an apparent plot to behead an innocent bystander meters away from a cafe. another alleged target? federal police head quarters and now the naval base. it is worth noting that the site is a prime vantage point for a world class new years eve fireworks. police are stressing that they caught wind of the alleged plots last year and that there isn't any threat at the moment. but people can expect to see more officers deployed to make sure the celebrations aren't the next terror headline. in india, police have charged 15 people in connection with a lynching of muslim man who had allegedly eaton beef. it happened in september in t. we are joined with details. it is the worst kind of

religious intolerance. it's not the only time something like this took place, and it seeps as if there was some sense of mob mentality. what happened, exactly? >> reporter: what happened was this was three months ago. a group of men approached a local priest in a village not far from deli, about three to four hours away. they announced on a loud speaker that a dead cow had been found on the village. suddenly an entire mob arrived. then they went toward one of the few muslims homes in that village, and they dragged out if father, dragged out the son. they started beating the father and son with bricks and sticks. eventually the father ended up dying because of his injuries. the son was critically injured. and, of course, beef, i should mention, cows are considered holy by hindus, and it is illegal to slaughter cows in

crtain states in india, particularly this state where this incident happened. and sabout a week or two weeks after, another muslim man was killed in another muslim state. he was set on fire and died, allegedly because he was transporting cows. another man killed in a separate state for allegedly transporting cows. about four muslim killed in a span of six weeks on rumors that they were either eating, consuming, or transporting cows. >> that's very troubling. we'll continue to watch this close cannily as the case unfolds. more than 1 million migrants and refugees made the dangerous journey in this year across the mediterranean and into europe. coming up, some of our reporters reflect on the john going crisis. plus russia issued an international arrest for a

frequent critic of vladimir putin. we'll tell you what he's accused of, next. ♪ while you're watching this, i'm hacking your company. grabbing your data. stealing your customers' secrets. there's an army of us. relentlessly unpicking your patchwork of security. think you'll spot us? ♪ you haven't so far. the next wave of the internet requires the next wave of security.

we're ready. are you? you want i fix this mess? a mess? i don't think -- what's that? snapshot from progressive. plug it in, and you can save on car insurance based on your good driving. you sell to me? no, it's free. you want to try? i try this if you try... not this. okay. da!

we have just into us at cnn, israeli police say a palestinian man stabbed two security guards near the entrance of an industrial park. this is in the west bank. a spokesman says the attacker was shot and killed. one of the security guards is in critical condition. the other in moderate condition. we will bring you more information as we get it into us here at cnn. russian authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for a man. he's a former al garg and a critic of vladimir putin. he's accused of argue newsing the murder of a local politician back in 1998 and trying to kill four other people. he denies the charges and says they are politically motivated. we have the story.

>> reporter: one of the most vocal critics of the russian government once again wanted by moscow. >> translator: it doesn't matter where the accused of serious crimes is hiding. in russia or beyond the borders, it's our duty to take every legal action to bring him to justice. >> reporter: the case begins in this remote russian oil town once the head quarters of an oil giant. the now accused of ordering the 1998 murder of the town's mayor over a tax dispute. the investigation was reopen third down summer despite five people having already been convicted to the crime including others associated with him. in a press conference earlier this month, the man said he was expecting this. he said the kremlin was fighting an order to pay $50 billion in

damages to shareholders. and he accused the russian government of cracking down on his prodemocracy organization, open russia through which he's been calling for regime change. >> translator: the activities of open russia, are a source of irritation. there have been police raids and employees have been arrested. >> reporter: and there were more raids this week. police searching open russia's moscow offices on tuesday, the day before they announced the arrest warrant. >> as the price of oil plunges, vladimir putin is left with less and less leverage with which to go after political opponents both domestically and externally. to many people, this would have been anticipated. >> reporter: he spent ten years in hard labor camps before being pardoned two years ago. now based in the uk, his lawyer says he will do everything

possible to defend himself against these charges. claire entas yan, cnn, london. >> it's becoming a bit more difficult to get through u.s. airport security. the safety administration says it now reserves the right to order passengers to pass through a body scanner even if they object. up to now the tsa allowed people to opt for a full pat down instead. the move comes at a time of heightened concerns about terrorism. the father of a syrian boy has a message for the world this christmas. the boy's body was found washed up on a beach earlier this year. the photos of him lying lifeless stunned the world. the mother and brother drowned along with him while trying to make the journey to a better life. the boy's father survived.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> he's calling on countries to open their doors to syrian families. the message will air on full on christmas day on the uk's channel four. the refugee crisis has been one of the biggest stories of this year, and some of our correspondents have seen the struggle firsthand. they sat down to talk about the unprecedented number of migrants and refugees leaving their homes in search of a better life. >> did you ever think you'd see just the masses of people marching to europe in. >> i don't think i ever would have imagined a scene like that.

>> and the boats that keep coming and coming. ♪ >> there's this logic out there of why don't they just stay in lebanon or turkey? they're safe. but the question is would you? i mean, would you? >> no. because you need a life. you need to be able to build a life. you need to be able to build a future for your children. you're not going to have a future sitting in a refugee camp or in a country where you can't get a job or pursue your education or pursue your life. and sadly the reality is they're not going to go home. the war in syria isn't going to end any time soon. even if it did, the country is -- >> it's an awful consequence for the generation to come. they're not going to want to go home and they'll be doing the job in germany. >> this isn't the poorest of the poor making this journey.

they can't afford it. >> a lot of them are middle class who are coming for safe parts of syria. >> the poorest of the poor are either in syria because they can't afford to leave and are getting bombed every single day, or they're the ones stuck in the refugee camps. it's not a cheap journey. >> it's universal. they are doing it for understandable human reasons. >> there's no way the way the refugee trail unfolded was good for any of the refugees or migrants or any of the european states. it kind of weakens european institutions. >> it also became a debate. >> it weakens borders. >> and that idea of europe or even america, it's meant to be a democracy. it's meant to uphold all these ideals and values, and to be treated like trash, that's how they felt. they felt like they were being treated like trash. >> that's the heart broking moment. >> and at the border, that's not entirely fair.

there were people who welcomed them. >> and people who made difficult political decisions. >> yes. >> then we had the conversation in the uk where the conservatives said if you stop saving them, they'll stop coming. and you have to debate what that does to your humanity. can you really watch thousands upon thousands of people washing up on shores? >> also why does it have to get that bad for people to react? why does it have to take that image of a child on the beach? our correspondents having a discussion on the refugee crisis. now the bodies of six american air force personnel are back in the united states. their flag draped coffins arrived wednesday. they were killed by a decide attacker while on duty in afghanistan. the u.s. officials say the bomber inflicted extra damage by padding the motorcycle with

explosives. "cnn newsroom" continues after this short break. liday... is the kind where everyone gets what they wished for. make this holiday extra happy when you buy one get one free on our most popular smartphones... like the samsung galaxy s6. buy one get one free. so spread some cheer. and capture every minute of it. right now at at&t, buy one get one free on our most popular smartphones. 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.

it comes in an easy-to-use pen and i may even lose a little weight. trulicity is a once-weekly injectable prescription medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. it should be used along with diet and exercise. trulicity is not recommended as the first medicine to treat diabetes and should not be used by people with severe stomach or intestinal problems, or people with type i diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. trulicity is not insulin and has not been studied with long-acting insulin. do not take trulicity if you or anyone in your family has had medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 or if you are allergic to trulicity or its ingredients. stop using trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of an allergic reaction, such as itching, rash, or difficulty breathing; if you have signs of pancreatitis such as severe stomach pain that will not go away and may move to your back, with or without vomiting; or if you have symptoms of thyroid cancer, which may include a lump or swelling in your neck, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, or shortness of breath. medicines like trulicity may cause stomach problems,

which could be severe. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and any medicines you take. taking trulicity with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase your risk for low blood sugar. common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, and indigestion. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney failure. with trulicity, i click to activate what's within me. if you want help improving your a1c and blood sugar numbers with a non-insulin option, ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity. and click to activate your within.

she'll use that educationing to get a job. she'll use that job to buy a home. this is lilly baker. her mom just refinanced their home and is putting an extra $312 a month toward lilly's tuition. lilly is about to take over the world. who's with her? buy in. quickenloans/home buy. refi. power. just in time for christmas, a digital gift from the beatles. ♪

>> the talking is over. let the streaming begin. that's right. the fab four are streaming their songs here, there, and everywhere. the band's website, beatles.com started the streaming at one minute past midnight today. that's less than three hours ago. you can get songs from nine different streaming services. a popular movie is back for the holidays. the story of a working class family trying to get through christmas in one piece. a christmas story is a holiday classic for people all around the world. but in the u.s., fans can visit the home where it all took place. and this christmas eve, one lucky bidder will get to spend the night. >> stop right there. that's wonderful. >> what is that? >> can't you see i'm busy? >> what is that? >> it's a marjor award.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ there you go. all for a good cause. a new optical illusion a stirring up chatter on social media. you may have seen this. it's in the style of the where's

waldo, but instead of finding a guy in a red striped hat, can you find the panda hidden among these snowmen? we will show you, it is right there. seven rows up and four in from the right. how about one more from the same artist. can you find the hidden cat among the owls? give you a couple more seconds. bottom right corner. the cat is three rows up and two in from the left. he has a nose, not a beak. got to end the show with something light, right? i'm errol barnett. remember to keep in touch with me on social media any time. one more hour to go with me. live reports from the u.s. and even bethlehem next hour. stay with us. [ coughing ]

[ sneezing ] a cold can make you miserable. luckily, alka seltzer plus cold and cough liquid gels. rush liquid fast relief to your tough cold symptoms. fast, powerful liquid gels from alka seltzer plus do you really think that's a good idea? if everyone jumped off a cliff, would you do it too? you'll lose interest. it's just a phase. it hurts me more than it hurts you. where are your manners - were you raised by wolves? you're going to give me a heart attack. when you have kids, you'll understand. this is the life of a rebel. sorry, mom.

innovative sonicare technology with up to 27% more brush movements versus oral b. get healthier gums in 2 weeks guaranteed. innovation and you. philips sonicare save when you buy the most loved rechargeable toothbrush brand in america. it's a housewife who's in control of the finances. actually, any wife, husband, or human person can use progressive's name your price tool to take control of their budget. and while the men do the hard work of making money, she can get all the car insurance options her little heart desires. or the women might do the hard work of making money. [ chuckling ] women don't have jobs.

is this guy for real? modernizing car insurance with -- that's enough out of you! the name your price tool, only from progressive. where is your husband?

dramatic video of a toshd

over a busy highway. we're tracking the storm crossing the south eastern u.s. two migrants sentenced to death in the killing of two british tour iists in thailand. also ahead. protesters demand police release video in the death of a young black man in minnesota. a big welcome to our viewers in the united states and those of you watching around the world. i'm oierrol barnett. thanks for joining my second hour of "cnn newsroom." people in mississippi are beginning to recover after a rare december tornado touched down there on wednesday. you see the moment here it crossed a road, flipping over at least one vehicle. listen.

>> you can really see the power of it there. storms have killed seven people in three u.s. states. a mayor in mississippi says the only church in the town of ashland was destroyed. this was just before christmas. tennessee is under a state of emergency. a witness there describes what she saw. >> we were in the house. we heard the wind picking up. we dashed out to the storm shelter. we had 45 seconds and it hit. >> what does it look like over there? >> it looks like a wasteland. there's nothing left. >> dan smith joins us now on the phone. he's actually the storm chaser who shot this video in mississippi. in it you can see some overturned trucks and uprooted trees along the highway. dan has been on the road for the

past few hours. tell us about this unusual tornado that you witnessed and almost got caught up in yourself. >> thanks. well, we actually have been on the road from joplin, missouri headed to florida. we first noted the storm when it first started down by clarksdale ch which was eight miles or west of where the video was. we started heading down 78, and we realized we were not going to be able to get ahead of it. we stopped. the tornado passed ahead of us within a mile. when we come across the overpass, there was two tractor-trailers, three overturned, several cars and trucks trapped underneath the truck and between it in the overpass. we made sure everybody was accounted for, and once we realized that everybody was at least okay for the most part on the scene there, we were able to slowly move on from there.

>> so you stopped. this tornado passes directly in front of you. how long did the tornado linger? how extensive was the damage once you were able to see it? >> well, we didn't get off the highway, but the damage there on highway 78 right there was about a half mile to three-quarters of a mile wide. for the most part, 75% of more of all the pine trees for snapped right in half. stuff all over the road. there was that semi tractor trailer completely wrapped around that overpass there which, you know, kind of gives an indication of how strong the winds were. i know that tornado was on the ground for quite a while, because you could see it on the radar for, like i said, at least 20, 30 miles before holly springs. it was a cleartu signature showg

it moving that way. >> they're difficult to predict, and this one is unusual for the fact that it was in december. why do you chase tornados, considering all this danger? >> well, we do it because, one thing is as you can tell in the video, there's no balances. there's really no emergency responders on site there. if you happen to be in a spot like that when it happens, you can help. you're the first person there to help. another reason is the more you know about it, we live in jop n joplin, missouri which is where 2011, actually, the most destructive tornado in recent history was there. when you live somewhere like that and you have friends and family there, the more you can learn and know, the more you can help them stay safe as well. especially if you're not home. >> yeah. you've grown up with these things. dan smith on the phone with us near tallahassee, florida, talking to us about what he witnessed while in mississippi. our meteorologist, pedram

javaheri, joins us to talk about this. dan confirmed something mike, another storm chaser said to me last hour. the trees didn't bend at all. they just simply were snapped in half. this tornado was extremely powerful. >> the intensity is remarkable for this time of year. we've not seen a storm this strong this late in the season for a long time. just to hear the trek of the storm, at least 25 miles on the ground, potentially 100 miles if it was the same tornado. that's one in a 10,000 tornado event. 10 years to get a strong potentially this strong that it doesn't happen typically in december but in march, april, and may. we're watching this carefully. we knew the atmosphere conditions were primed for this to occur. it's the last thing you want to see before christmas. you're out there trying to get shopping in. 100 million americans are traveling on the roads over the next 24 hours.

this is something that's dangerous with what's happened and the threat is there. we'll show you what's expected to occur over the next couple of hours. at least 200 reports of storm related damage across the damage. 22, tornado related damages. the month of december, 24 is what you expect in the month of december, accumulative over the past 50 years of data across this region. take a look at what occurred, multiple fatalities. we were on the quiet side for 2015. average yearly fatalities from tornadoes in the u.s. are 80 people per year. from the first of january to tuesday, only ten. we were on pace to set a record for that. the yellow bar is how many fatalities on wednesday. 40% of the tornado fatalities happened within one day for the year calendar year. the most ever, almost 800 in the 19 20s.

the least ever we were about to break. measuring this track, the national weather service looking into verifying the length. 135 to potentially 145 miles on the ground. that, again, is a 0.1% of all tornadoes since 1950 have stayed on the ground that long. it's december 24th. you work your way to the north, new york city, washington d.c., warm temperatures. thunderstorms prevalent, and over 75,000 in line with a tornado watch. conducive conditions for some of the storms to spark a few more tornadoes. they are lessening. typically at night the heat isn't there to support the storm. >> a tornado threat remains for much -- >> for the next six hours. >> thank you very much in

thailand two migrant workers were sentenced to death for murdering two tourists. the trial was plagued by controversy and allegations that police mishandled the investigation. the suspects say they were forced to confess. the victim's families say justice has been served. >> i listened to the evidence, and despite what their lawyers say, it is our opinion that the evidence against the men is absolutely overwhelming. they raped to satisfy their selfish desires and murdered to cover up that fact. they showed no remorse during the trial. our lives have been changed forever. nothing brings them home. no last hopes, no good-byes. but whatever our anguish, the love we have for david can never be taken away.

a rights group working with the defendant says they plan to appeal their sentences. to saudi arabia. at least 25 people died and 123 others injured in jazan. a fire broke out in a critical care unit and nursery and maternity floor reside. if fire is under investigation. iraqi sources say they're making progress to retake ramadi. the capital of anbar province is about 115 kilometers from baghdad. the military released a picture of one neighborhood liberated on tuesday. iraqi forces say they're getting closer to the isis-held government compound in the city center. robin ceil is following developments and joins us. detail the tactics being used by isis in ramadi that have slowed

the advance of iraqi forces. >> reporter: well, errol, you can imagine isis have been entrenched inside ramadi since may. they've had seven months to prepare for this. you can imagine that they've had time to plot booby traps. we're hearing they've encountered so many explosive devices. they've encountered at least four suicide car bombs. they're hearing sniper fire, and experiencing it as well. you can imagine isis has had time to dig rat holes for snipers and really entrench themselves in the last seven months. we also understand, errol, that isis prevented a number of civilians from leaving ramadi in the upcoming days to this assault. the allied forces did give the citizens of ramadi warning about 72 hours by dropping leaflets

saying civilians should leave. isis set up road blocks and are keeping them as human shields. to avoid loss of innocent lives, they're having to take the assault slowly, perhaps slower than they would under ordinary circumstances. >> and because of that, it also seems iraqi officials are avoiding specific time lines of success. we always knew recapturing ramadi would take time. why did they bother giving a time frame publicly? >> i'm not sure of that. this is so important to the psyche of the iraqi army and the government in general. when ramadi fell back in may, it was hugely humiliating for them, and it was disappointing for the united states as well who had pumped billions of dollars from the iraqi defense forces and was hoping to see results.

the perceived ease at which it fell was disappointing to everyone involved. they're trying to ingvigorate i and be proactive. we know the prime minister is returning from china soon and we're planning to see -- or at least expecting it won't take that much longer. we're not exactly sure of how long. >> all right. appreciate the update. robin live for us in london this morning. there are powerful reminders this week of the taliban's military power in afghanistan. the militants claimed responsibility for a deadly attack that killed u.s. soldiers and battles are raging right now in helmand province. barbara star as our update. >> reporter: fellow troops mourn the lives of six u.s. air force members killed by a suicide bomber in afghanistan. the devastating attack happened on a security patrol outside of

an airfield. their mission? to talk to local afghans in nearby villages looking for any signs of the taliban. a u.s. official sells cnn the suicide bomber used an old motorcycle instead of a suicide vest, packing the internal spaces full of explosives. the motorcycle detonating as the troops were on a narrow path where surrounding walls confined the blast and made it even more powerful. the taliban taking credit. as the group makes a resurgence in the southern part of the country. in helmand province where u.s. forces fought for years, afghanistan security forces are locked in an intense battle with taliban fighters. afghan reinforcements have been sent to help. >> building an army is not a the work of a few years. >> years of u.s. military

training still may not be enough. >> it's one of those areas where during the daytime, the government controls territory. during the nighttime, a lot of that same territory is actually being controlled by either the taliban or in some cases, potentially even isis. >> reporter: isis has been making radio broadcasts as a recruitment tool, and so many in afghanistan are listening. isis also has vladimir putin's attention. moscow says it will share intelligence but not weapons with the taliban to counterisis. are we looking at a new putin agenda back in afghanistan nearly 30 years after the soviet union pulled out after a devastating nine-year war there. barbara star, c thisnn, the pen. >> we are joined now with more on this, and alexandra, it seems

all week we've been talking about sangin and helmand province. what are officials saying about the fight there as it stands right now? >> reporter: we are now hearing from a spokesperson for the police chief who says that the fighting very much continues, that the police compound which has been under attack by the taliban for the last few days remains under attack. he says a number of officers remain inside without food or ammunition but he reports helicopters have been able to get into the center of sangin where they've air lifted some of the wounded. officials are saying that the afghan security forces are continuing to plan operations there as this fighting continues, and they plan to expand these operations. the defense minister is also saying that some relief has been brought in, but the people on

the ground is still for food and ammunition. there has been great concern over the last few days that if the taliban fully succeeded in taking over sangin that the rest of helmand province could fall. where there's extra pressure, the afghan security forces have been able to push them back and fend off roads being made in other areas of the province. still the center of focus, sangin where people remain inside a building which is still under attack. >> we'll continue to watch this closely. alexandra field live for us. the u.s. and british governments are warning their citizens of possible threats in beijing around the christmas holiday. chinese security officials are responding with heavily armed police around open air shopping

mall, and at diplomatic compounds. the u.s. embassy said it received threats against westerners. the british embassy said british citizens are urged to exercise heightened vigilance. there's also a separate alert just into us at cnn. beijing's public security bureau has issued a yellow security alert for all large and medium sized malls and souper markets during christmas. that alert comes because stores will be especially busy over the holiday. now, we're also following a developing story coming to us out of the west bank. israeli police say a palestinian man stabbed two skrurt guards. a spokesman says the attacker was shot and killed. one of the security guards is in critical condition. the other in moderate condition. still to come this hour, a british muslim family denied

entrance to the u.s. they say no one is telling them why.

especially, the pizza! about football is here... up your game with two large two-topping pizzas for only $7.77 each. better ingredients. better pizza. papajohns.com

a muslim family in britain was told they could not board a flight for the u.s. that was supposed to be heading off for a holiday taking their kids to disneyland. u.s. officials say their religion did not play a part, but the family wants answers. cnn met them. >> reporter: the owners of these little dresses hoped to be roaming disneyland with their cousins who live in the u.s. but this family, their two nieces and seven small and teenage children were turned away at the gate as they were about to board the plane for los angeles. the wife didn't want her children filmed. she doesn't want them to feel like they did at the airport, singled out. >> my ten-year-old daughter said to my husband, is it because we're muslim. he said why? she said because we were the only muslim people in that line. >> reporter: the family's papers they need to visit the u.s. were all in order. aprooued six weeks before by the

department of homeland security. they were due to fly with norwegian, but the airline said they couldn't help. just the message from u.s. immigration that they could go no further. >> they should have told us six weeks ago. >> reporter: the family want answers and they feel the fact they're muslim has something to do with it. >> i definitely think donald trump's theory had a part to play in it. because otherwise why wasn't anyone else flagged up on that flight? just the one muslim family. >> donald trump is calling for a total and complete shut down. >> reporter: earlier this month donald trump called for a ban on all muslims entering the united states. a u.s. official tells cnn not all of the family members were prevented from traveling. besides that, the u.s. won't comment on this particular case

for privacy reasons. they say religion, faith, or spiritual believes play no role in matters of immigration. there are other factors which might mean an individual is turned down, health issues, security, to name just a few. the family say this facebook page may have sparked a red flag. it's written by a man who says he lives in birmingham and calls himself a soup visor at taliban and leader at al qaeda. the e-mail address connected to this account appears against their residential address in london. >> maybe someone hacked in. it has the same address as us but a different name and e-mail address. >> reporter: the family spent $15,000 on this trip. and fornorwegian said they're n entitled to a refund. >> it was either me to have

private health care or for my children to have two weeks of pure bliss, and i decided that's what i wanted to do with the money is to send my children away so they could have a nice holiday and come back and feel fresh and start a new year fresh. >> reporter: she's keeping the dresses until next time. she still wants her children to see disneyland. she's sure one day that they will. cnn, london. the father of a three-year-old boy has a message. his son was found washed up on a beach earlier this year. the mother and brother drowned along with him in the mediterranean sea. the boy's father survived. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> his message will air in full on christmas day on the uk's channel four. to find out how you can help refugees and migrants, click on how you can help on cnn east page. zblnchs a massive landslide in china, and the hope of finding

dozens of people in the rubble is waning. the look at the latest rescue efforts from shenzhen, coming up.

welcome back to our viewers in the u.s. and those of you watching from around the world. this is "cnn newsroom." i'm errol barnett. it's our last half hour together this year. here are your headlines. this video shows a rare december tornado slamming the u.s. state of mississippi. warm winter temperatures are partially to blame. seven people have died in storms hitting three u.s. states including a seven-year-old boy in a car. tennessee has declared a state of emergency.

two migrant workers are appealing their death sentences. the victim's bodies were found on a beach in september of last year. the defendants say they were coerced into confessing. iraqi forces are less than two kilometers from the isis held government compound in the city of ramadi. videos show intense fighting. booby traps and ieds are slowing the advance. we want to turn your attention to china where hope of finding at least 70 people missing in a landslide is fading. the rescue effort has grown since sunday's collapse. 5,000 people are searching the industrial park in shenzhen. at least four people are confirmed dead so far. more than a dozen remain in the hospital. matt rivers is there. >> reporter: we are now more than four days since this landslide happened, and the odds of finding survivors inside the

rubble grows less and less. frankly, there's just been one miracle so far that happened yesterday morning with a 19-year-old man being pulled out of the rubble. state media reporting he actually survived inside an air pocket that was created when the building he was in collapsed around him. and a bag of snacks, according to state media, landed right next to him. he survived off that a little bit of food for the next several days until he was pulled out of the rubble after several hours of work to free him by rescue workers. but for that one joyous moment, there are so many other people still trapped. their family members wondering if they are alive and there is a grim resignation amid family members that the longer time goes by, the less of a chance they'll see their family members alive once again. and moving forward now, the questions that remain center around the investigation and potential compensation for victims here. in terms of the investigation,

the latest according to state media reports in several different outlets is a senior management official in charge of the company who ran this site where the construction debris was piled up was detained by local police. we're not sure whether there will be charges or if he's a cooperating witness. that's the latest with the investigation. and then there's the question of compensation for the victims here. you can start with the factory owners. inside this industrial park, many of them have their businesses. they have been completely destroyed by this landslide. we know the factory owners have met and expressed concerns over who is going to be responsible for these financial damages. will these factory owners have to bear the burden of the financial cost of this landslide moving forward? that's a question that they are very concerned about right now. and then it goes to their workers. there are a lot of migrant workers that come to shenzhen,

work in these factories here, and who is going to financially compensate them now that their jobs could be lost if they don't have a factory to work in. their jobs could go away. these are not wealthy people. these are poor people who travel to work here. who takes care of them financially moving forward now that their jobs have been lost, and then finally there are the families involved of the victims of this landslide? how will they be made owl financially? a lot of questions here in terms of the investigation and how the victims of all this will be compensated. matt rivers, cnn, shenzhen, china. in minnesota, several demonstrators were arrested on wednesday while protesting at the mall of america. they wanted to draw the attention to a killing of a man killed by police officers last month.

authorities have refused to release video of the incident. susan elizabeth littlefield from our affiliate has more. >> reporter: among the bright decorations, a sign lit up the moa in anticipation of a protest. businesses closed temporarily turning away eager customers. and then it started in the center of the mall. and the arrests started. protesters filed out toward the light rail. there was another arrest. some took a train to the airport. others stayed outside of the now locked and heavily guarded doors. >> you know, i never feel safe when there's a mass amount of them in military gear. it doesn't feel like they're protecting or serving us. >> reporter: the uniformed officers asked everyone in the area to leave. everyone. >> i work in the mall, i don't know what i'm going to do now. >> i just came to shop and

didn't know this was going on. it's crazy. >> reporter: protesters say it was peaceful and purposeful. after about an hour, the crowd quietly left the mall. >> that's what we need to do. we have to keep shutting down economic pressure points so they hear what we're saying. they only hear us with money. >> that was from our affiliate wcco. a judge in san francisco says seven police officers accused of sending offensive text messages cannot be punished. the judge says the department waited too long to discipline the men. the city's police chief tried to have the officers fired, but the statute of limitations for police investigations is one year. one who allegedly took part was convicted of public corruption last year. >> what happens now is that the

department kacannot take action against these officers for text messages that occurred. >> anybody capable of these kind of texts should not be a police officer. >> just to give you a sense of what kind of offensive language was used by the officers who keep in mind, are still on the force. they frequently use the n word. they discuss cross burning, the kkk and white power and constantly prefer to black people as savages and animals. two experts join me here in atlanta to discuss both the san francisco police officers and the black lives matter arrests. on the far end of the table a constitutional attorney. next to me, a cnn law enforcement analyst. welcome to you both. you have this superior court judge in san francisco saying these officers can keep their job because the police department didn't act in time.

something established under california's peace officer's bill of rights. cedric, to you. what is the legal basis for that? many of the states have this same thing? >> many of them do. i can't speak specifically to california. part of the problem is that they were outside to bring any internal charges to the officers. the problem is some of the officers will remain inside the police department. it certainly doesn't build any trust out in that community where we know that these statements were made. these racist comments were made. these officers are still members of that department. that department is going to have to do a great deal of work being that these officers are still going to be part of that organization. that leadership throughout that department is going to have to do a great deal of work to bring trust now between that department and that community. that's going to be a challenge. >> paige, the black lives matter movement essentially, wants many

of these protections lifted within the police union contracts so there can be a building of trust between the officers and the community. in your experience, do these types of things end up protecting officers most of the time or boost public support for them when this information comes out? >> i think they protect the officers. that's clearly the intention behind these bills of rights. and, in fact, it is state law in california that if you're nfrgting a police officer, if you don't do it within a year, you can't do anything to the officer, no matter how bad the misconduct is. now, i don't think the issue is over yet. they're going to appeal the decision. the city is still trying to get rid of these officers, and there are some exceptions in the bill of rights. if there's an ongoing criminal investigation, if the investigation involves more than one officer, or more than one jurisdiction, then there's some exceptions that will allow you to wait longer than one year. they're going to argue that issue on appeal. >> there may be some wiggle room

there. let's discuss the mall of america protests. the purpose of this was that the black lives matter movement wants attention brought to video of ja mar clark, a -- 24-year-old black man shot and killed by police. police haven't flushed out the story. arrests are being made because of the protests. are the organizers going about this the right way to get this video released? >> you know, whatever reason they're deciding they want to use this type of method in order to get their attention. how they come about this, i'm not clear about. here's part of the challenge for that community at large. you do not want to take people in that community inside that community who may be allied to you and push them away if from you. because there are people that want to go into that mall. they want to do their christmas sthoping. they want to go into the minneapolis st. paul airport to

get out and visit family and friends. they may be supporters of yours, but when you interrupt and have this type of social interruption and certainly against people that may be supporters of you, it makes it difficult for people to be empathetic to your fight and to your cause. so i'm not certain if there could have been some other way of demonstrating in that community, what their dislikes and distrusts are. it is a long-standing history of distrust between police and community. what you don't want to do is ostracize those who may be supporters of yours and interrupting their freedoms and their democracy in this country as well. >> what are your thoughts on releasing the video? only once the video was released. it was in chicago. do police officers get punished? would you support the release of the video, and why wouldn't more

departments want to make these things public? >> it's important. while you may question their methods, and i understand that criticism, you can't question their frustration at the lack of transparency. we did see that in chicago. a lot of the frustration in chicago is not the fact that they waited so long to charge this officer. it's the fact that no one knew. and the police had this tape. they knew what happened. they knew how mcdonald was shot. and nothing was done for such a period of time. so you understand why these protesters are so upset and why they're taking to the street. >> i appreciate you coming in and talking to me about these issues. you're welcome back any time. thanks to you both. still to come this hour, a new cnn poll shows donald trump has more support than the next three republican presidential contenders combined.

especially, the pizza! about football is here... up your game with two large two-topping pizzas for only $7.77 each. better ingredients. better pizza. papajohns.com

welcome back. u.s. democratic presidential candidate, hillary clinton is holding her strong lead in the latest cn n orc poll. take a look. overall the survey shows clinton leading sanders by 18 points. post debate poll numbers show a shift of support back to clinton. it also shows donald trump holding a commanding lead of his party's presidential race. dana bash has details on that. >> we're going to win so much in so many different way that you're going to get tired of winning. >> reporter: for a candidate who loves winning, this will be a very merry christmas. >> i'm only kidding. we never get tired of winning.

>> reporter: donald trump is so far ahead in cnn new national poll, he has more support than the next three gop candidates combined. ted cruz, ben carson, and marco rubio. his leads are even bigger on the question of voter's confidence in him to deal with key issues. but the best news for trump may be that republicans are settling into the idea of him as a formidable candidate to take the white house. 46% say they think republican's chances are better with trump at the top of the ticket. up eight points since august. >> i know where she went. it's disgusting. i don't want to talk about it. >> reporter: his words with the democrats front runner is getting hotter. hillary clinton told the des moines register that trump as a penchant for sexism. >> i really deplore the tone of

his campaign and the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people. his bigotry, his bluster, his bullying, have become his campaign. >> reporter: trump responded, trump style on twitter saying be careful, hillary, as you play the war on women or women being degraded card. and on his use of a yiddish word to describe clinton's 2008 loss to barack obama. >> she got scloned. >> reporter: he insisted the it's a common political term. when i said that, it meant got beaten badly. the media knows this. often used word in politics. dana bash, cnn, washington. the cnn poll also suggests that the pop three republican

presidential candidates would be a strong challenge for hillary clinton. in a hypothetical mashup with trump, she narrowly tops him 49% to 49 %. against rubio, clinton would trail by three points. just ahead, christmas celebrations are under way at bethlehem's church of nativity. >> a manger square near the church of the nativity starting to start up. a difficult situation surrounds this christmas. we'll have that in a moment.

millions of people are eagerly getting ready for the christmas holiday. but merry bells won't be ringing everywhere around the world. the sultan of brunei has ban all public christmas celebrations saying they're a temptation for muslims to go from their faith. people could face up to five years in jail for celebrating.

sell brcelebrations are undn bethlehem. the faith m from gau za are heading for christmas services. good morning to you. just give us a sense of the mood there. and tell us what people should expect to see today. >> reporter: good morning, errol. manger square at this point is fairly empty. how much longer will it stay empty? there are christmas carols playing and a festive environment. we spoke a short time ago with a tourism minister who says they'll try to make this as much of a celebration as possible. you can see they have a beautiful christmas tree set up, a nativity scene, but there's a large number of security forces to keep the order. at this point, normally this is full. in previous years it was full from now through midnight mass. now manger square which isn't

that big, looks at this point, still relativity empty. as i said twlash is because of the political situation here. a lot of the messages we've heard leading up to christmas eve from palestinian leaders from focussed their message on three months of violence and attacks and clashes. the messages from the latin patriarch are about the bethlehem and the palestinian territories and that hangs over all of this. spoken with the tourism minister, they hope on this day, especially here, they can put that aside and have a merry christmas here. >> all right. fingers certainly crossed. live for us this morning in bethlehem. just approaching 11 a.m. there. thank you. we want to show you this dramatic video. a helicopter carrying seven passengers crashed into a tree while trying to land in fee iji.

it was caught on camera by a tourist. watch that. one witness says there was a huge gust of wind right before the crash. thankfully here, the very best part, is that no one was seriously hurt. let's watch it again. the helicopter comes in slowly. it seems as if it's going to make a perfect landing. as i mentioned, witnesses said there was a huge gust of wind at the last moment behind the helicopter, and it flipped it like this. the best part, again, no one injured in that incident. so ending these past few hours on a positive note for you. thanks for watching. i'm errol barnett. u.s. viewers will see early start next and see me filling in on new day weekend saturday and sunday. international viewers, you have more "cnn newsroom" with richard quest, and i'll see you next year. happy holidays to everyone.

. . .

seven people killed as storms pound the south and midwest. we are tracking the damage and what you can expect on christmas eve. donald trump warning hillary clinton be careful. even more new drama in the race for president. and u.s. citizens visiting china warned about a possible threat in a popular tourist area. good morning. welcome to "early start."