>> donald trump piles on, saying hillary clinton has a big problem. and he's will having in her house. one terror plot foiled in europe. and many americans under a flood warping as the water rises to unprecedented levels. i'm john vause, "newsroom l.a." starts right now.

>> our top story this hour, billionaire businessman donald trump has spent very little on his presidential campaign so far, an achievement unprecedented in american politic, but now that is about to change. starting monday, the republican front-runner says he plans to spend big on advertising in those early voting states. >> i feel i have an obligation even to myself and to the country to spend. and so we're going to be spending a minimum of $2 million and then we'll see what happens. if anybody goes after me, i will spend a lot of money against the people that go after me. i'm $35 million under budget. i thought i would have spend $35 million on ads. i spent nothing. i'm $35 million under budget.

>> jeb has spent $40 million. >> he hasn't spent $40 million. he's wasted $40 million. >> trump says his ads will focus onboarder security, trade, and protecting the u.s. from isis. on the campaign trail it's been all about marital infidelity. he continues to talk about bill clinton's affairs as mr. clinton starts campaigning for his wife hillary. and the three-time married mr. trump says his own past is also fair game. >> are your own indiscretions fair game in this campaign? >> yes, they would be. and frankly, hillary brought up the whole thing with sexist and all i did was reverse it on her because she's got a major problem. happens to be right in her house. if she wants to do that, we're going to go right after the president, the ex-president and we'll see how it all comes out. and i feel very confident that it will come out very well for us. and i will say this -- the last person that hillary wants to run against is mef.

>> but as jeff zeleny reports, so far, mhillary clinton has so far chosen to ignore donald trump's latest attacks. >> reporter: donald trump is opening up a new front in his war with the clintons. reviving scandals from two decades ago. >> there was certainly a lot of abuse of women. you look whether it was monica lewinsky or paula jones or many of them, and that certainly will be fair game. >> thank you all so much! >> with bill clinton ready to hit the campaign trail, trump said on nbc's "today show" everything is fair game in his outreach to women voters, even this. >> certainly if they play the woman's card with respect to me, that will be fair game. >> in new hampshire today, hillary clinton ignored trump's latest comments.

but they released a statement. the clintons, the picture of a big happy family, seen here on a sunday stroll in new york. a stark reminder of how much time has passed since this tense moment at the height of the monica lewinsky scandal, raising a question of whether these old controversies still carry any weight. >> trump, once a golfing buddy with the former president told cnn's wolf blitzer in 2008, clinton's imimpeachment was nonsense. >> look at the trouble bill clinton got into with something that was totally unimportant. and they tried to impeach him, which was nonsense. >> this morning, he tried to explain his change of heart. >> i'm dubbed as a world class businessman, which frankly, that's what i am. and i got along with everybody. i got along with the clintons, i got along with the republicans, the democrats, the liberals, the conservatives. that was my obligation as a businessman. >> but now trump is butting heads. the new feud has trump's primary fight written all over it. >> few things rally republicans

more than take on the clintons. overnight, he tweeted, remember that bill clinton was brought in to help hillary against obama in 2008. he was terrible, failed badly and was called a racist. from name calling to nose pick, the trump campaign once again took the low road, retweeting a photoshopped picture of jeb bush picking his nose. a bush campaign manager rose back. out on twitter there arose such a clatter. late night twitter zrunk donald is back at it. chris christie squeezing in a final round of hand shakes and speeches of 2015. in the new year, trump says he's going to open his checkbook in the final month before the iowa caucuses. he gloated in a tweet today that he spent less than any candidate, saying now i will spend big in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina. he's fighting to stay out front. >> i demand the election be today. >> but the i leks, of course, will not be held today.

it is held in five weeks, when those iowa caucuses ki e e es ke road to the white house. you can see the of crowd gathered behind me, all these supporters into caucusgoers on the night of february 1 when the republican voters start this presidential campaign. jeff zeleny, cnn, council bluffs, iowa. a 13 states are under flood warnings across the united states. at least 13 people have died so far in the floods. and with us now from st. louis, missouri, is linda horn, spokesperson for the transportation department. linda, thanks for being with us. right now, hundreds of roads are closed. there are close sthurs op the interstates as well. how bad is it and what's the

worst you're expecting. >> so in missouri, we have received anywhere from 10 inches to a foot of rape over the last couple of days. and we're dealing with rising rivers all across the state of missouri. we currently have over 225 roads that are closed in the state and our worst situation is that interstate 44 is closed in the middle of the state. and we're expecting a spot on interstate 44 to close in st. louis before morning. and those two closures op interstate 44 are making it not only very difficult to get around missouri, but also very difficult for traveler s trying to get through our state and travel in the midwest. the ability to get, say, from illinois to oklahoma. and so we're having a tough time dealing with truck traffic and through travelers trying to get through the state of missouri.

>> so linda, what's preparations are you making, as well as other emergency crews? what preparations are under way. can you do much, though, when it comes to this level of flooding? >> that's the problem with flooding. and in this situation, it's not going to be short term. we are done dealing with flash floods and now we're dealing with rivers, including the missouri and the mgs ms river that are rising. and will keep interstate 44 closed for several more days. so of what we're trying to do is get the word out to the nationwide trucking industry to use interstate 70 through missouri. >> what's the best advice for anybody in missouri right now. >> best advice, they need to check and see what roads are closed. we have that available at

modot.org. we don't have enough barricades to close the roads that are closed. turn around, don't drown. we've had a dozen defts in missouri due to flooding and they've all been people in cars who have drowned in the rivers. >> we know this is an emergency and we're very busy. we appreciate your time. >> let's go to meteorologist pedram javaheri. >> about 20,000 square miles of land that are underneath flood warnings and watches. notice the flood warnings across this region. we take a look at the perspective when it comes to what has transpired.

break down this river and the river basins surrounding the mississippi river. we have the missouri river, the arkansas river, the ohio river. the hateful 15 to 30 centimeter, six inches to 12 inches in a several day period. tremendous moisture coming in. all of that water moving downstream. you work your way in this direction, you know the water eventually will make its way farther downstream and beyond that into early next week. we're bringing that into parts of memory mis, even into mid january. we could have significant flooding. this is called a slow motion disaster. sunny skies are abound. and then you have flooding continue over this region. issues here are comparable to what occurred back in 1993 when it comes to flooding. we have a lot of overtop of course levees with just the sheer volume of water being tremendously high. the stress that is left in place of course causes levees to fail and then you have disaster take place across a widespread region. and john, important to note

again, we talked about tornadoes, but we know in the united states the past 30 years, flooding related fatalities are somewhere about 81 people per year. flooding certainly takes more lives. and then the perspective, talking about flooding, about 70% of those flooding fatalities were related to people losing their lives in their vehicles. >> okay, state troopers will resume their search for singer clay strickland in the comes hours. he wept mint missing during a hg trip when the storms came in. >> it happened on an icy lake in northern oklahoma. they have a sonar and helicopter, but still no sign of the rising country music star. he and his friend chase

mooreland went missing on sunday. they went out on a duck hunting trip just as the storm was bearing down in this area. mooreland's body has been recovered, found on this lake on monday morning. now, what's really haunting about this story is mooreland sent out an eerie tweet just before the pair went out on their ex-pedition, in case we don't come back, we're going right through winter storm goliath to kill ducks in oklahoma. that tweet was sent late sunday night. the weather was cold, it was windy. wind gusts up to 45 miles an hour. wind chills putting temperatures in the teens. we know there was rain then sleet then snow. and there was about a quarter inch ice accumulation that was reported in this area. we know the bad weather is still hampering and slowing some of the search efforts. authorities say they have recovered a boat and some personal possessions. and craig strictland's wife

helen tweeted out that the dog who was with them was found alive. everybody in that family holding out hope for a miracle that strictland will also be found alive. but this is a tragedy and sad situation that rocked the music world. strickland is leader of a back called back road anthem. >> we're back road anthem. we started two years ago, six guys who didn't know each other. and now we're best friends. >> the name back road anthem is kind of -- when you hear the word anthem, you think a very big and full sound. and that's definitely, you know, what we are with so many instruments on stage. and the harmonies that we have as a vocal group. >> a little more information about this band. it was formed back in 2012. it's risen to popularity, performing with some of the other well known artists in the country music world like luke bryan, tobacco by keith, dirks bentley. they, in fact, had a show

planned coming up on new year's eve in arkansas, the band's home state. right now, the band and family members are just asking for prayers. john? >> thank you. now we have this just into cnn. an update on last week's mine collapse in china. rescue workers have found eight survivors who have been trapped for five days. this is video of the rescuers communicating with those miners. they're also able to deliver food and other provisions as well. the gypsum mine collapsed on christmas day, killing one worker. nine people remain missing. the rescuers are unable to reach the miners just yet. an investigation into what caused the collapse is continuing. >> a short break here on cnn news room. when we come back, police are on high alert ahead of new year's eve. ahead we'll tell you about the terror threats. also a tanler and his mother soon to return to the u.s. to face charges. what's next for the so-called affluenza teen, ethan couch. [vet] two yearly physicals down.

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>> police around the world are looking at terror threats ahead of new year's eve.

they already uncovered at least one in belgium. jim schutto has the details. >> with new year's fast a approaching, authoritien s around the world are on alert fur terrorism. >> people should feel safe this new year's eve because we're there. you're going to have one of the most well policed, best prote protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world. >> police in belgium arrested two men tuesday with connection to a plot they say to attack historic sites in the belgium capital, on or around new year's leave. a senior belgium security official say tells cnn, the target was the grand palace. the plot inspired, though not directed, by isis. police conducted several terror raids sunday and monday, seizing military uniforms and isis propaganda. the belgium government raising the threat level to three out of a possible four, meaning an attack is sliekly. in bangladesh, the u.s. embassy warned of possible attacks on

new year's eve. new york says there's no credible threat to the new year's celebrations, but it is dispatching 6,000 officers to times square where more than one million people are expected on thursday night. the secretary of homeland security encouraging people to be vigilant. >> i encourage you to build bridges to the communities in this city that the islamic state is attempting to target through recruitment. >> investigators seized stockpiles of chemicals and bomb making materials. and this video showing n ining explosive device. >> it's clear the islamic ideology was motivator for these offenses. >> on the battlefield in syria, the coalition announced that air

strikes killed isis leader who officials say had direct links to the mastermind of terror attacks and was actively plotting more terror. jim schutto, cnn, washington. >> steve is a contributor now to cnn. new year's eve, we've got a lot of people heading out for the evening, does it matter in terms of the security challenge if they're looking at new york, paris, london, rome, sidney? anywhere in the world? >> no, no. each one is going to be a potential target for isis. they like lots of people in one area. >> so if you're a security officer, if you're planning this, if you're an fbi, looking to how to keep us safe, what are you looking at? >> you're looking at anything that could have come up in the last month. you're looking at all your current investigations. you're looking at anything that has the potential to attack these things. and you are -- your threshold for interdicting is much lower.

and so you're trying to basically round up the suspects before new year's eve. >> they'll be heavily armed. both cities are saying there's no credible threat. this is all about reassuring the public. could such a police presence have an opposite effect? >> for some people it certainly could. we're going to find out how many people believe that. in some it will cause fear. >> there's an official in russia, he's head of the upper house tourism committee. he said this, he said right now, when the issue of terrorist threat continues to be highly releva relevant, a family celebration on new year's eve at home is the safest and best format in the current situation.

a british mp said i zis agree with him. we should never allow the threat of terrorism to frighten us in our normal lives. we need to continue with our celebrations. i imagine that's a thought process people are having right now. do i go out? am i safe? >> if i was bringing my family, i would still go along with the british mp. i think what he's saying is he doesn't have much confidence in his security. the brits are saying they do, new york says they do. new york says times square is going to be one of the safest places in the world on new year's eve. i'm not sure i agree with that, but i'm sure it's not the most dangerous. >> have you ever seen this before? >> never. never. this is very elaborate and robust. this is very good. >> obviously we'll be praying for a celebration on new year's eve and nothing more than that.

appreciate it. a show of victory and jubilation in iraq. the defeat of isis in ramadi has them ready to take on terrorists in other cities. that's ahead. and the u.s. coalition targets isis leaders including one with links to the paris attacks. details on the air strikes also coming up. if you had a dollar for every dollar car insurance companies say they'll save you by switching, you'd have like a ton of dollars. but how are they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um..." or "no comment". then there's esurance - born online, raised by technology and majors in efficiency. so whatever they save, you save: hassle, time, paper work, hair tearing out and, yes, especially dollars. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance. backed by allstate. click or call. "are you okay?" "yeah, i just got charged for my credit monitoring.

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>> welcome back, everybody. you're watching "cnn newsroom." coming up to 10:27 on a tuesday night. the headlines this hour. more than 18 million americans are currently under flood warnings across the u.s.

most of the rain has stopped in missouri, one of the hardest hit states. the national weather service says flooding is likely through early next week. severe weather has killed almost 50 people so far in the u.s. in the past week. after repeatedly boasting that he spent very little on his presidential campaign, donald trump is set to shell out at least $2 million a week on tv ads starting monday. mr. trump says the ads will initially focus onboarder security, trade, and protecting the u.s. from isis. counterterrorism officials around the world are on high alert ahead of new year's eve. police in belgium foiled one plot. two members of a muslim biker gang planned to attack tourists, police and soldiers. jes tors say their plot was inspired but not directed by isis. iraq's prime minister is celebrating a major blow to isis. al-abadi raised his country's flag in ramadi. the prime minister is declaring victory and setting his sights

on mosul, the largest iraqi city currently under isis control. an isis operative was taken out linked to the paris attack ringleader. he was killed christmas eve as he planned more attack against western targets. he's one of ten senior isis leaders killed in air strikes. although his precise role remains unclear. now, despite those successful strikes against isis, a spokesperson for a u.s. coalition says they've yet to sever the head of the snake. >> reporter: as iraqi forces evacuated civilians from ramadi city center and swept for explosives left behind by the militants, pockets of resistance remain. tribal leaders charged with holding ramadi tells cnn isis still controls a quarter of the city, now mostly in ruins. still, the u.s.-led coalition said it was confident the iraqis

would hold the area. >> we don't think the remaining enemy has the oomph to push the iraqi forces from their positions. >> today, the prime minister saluted the troops, promming to take the fight to mosul and push isis out of iraq entirely by the end of the next year. today the coalition boasted ten isis leaders have been killed in recent air strikes, including al-mudan who had direct contacts with the ringleaders of the paris attacks days before the siege. and was believed to be planning more attack against the west. >> to be able to facilitate the activity, your ability to conduct activities goes down. we haven't severed the head of the snake yet. and it's still got fangs. we have to be clear about that. there's much more fighting to do.

>> in syria, the coalition has now helped secure a hydr hydroelectric dam. it chokes off a dee supply route from isis headquarters in raqqah. but despite the battlefield losses, one general says isis is growing as a worldwide threat. >> while they may not be doing ground military offenses, they're still controlling the social media. they're still attracting a significant number of recruits, and i think their new strategy for inspiring attacks worldwide is proven very effective for them. >> and new details about what kou been a close encounter between a u.s. warship and an iranian rocket. last week, a u.s. aircraft carrier, the uss harry s. truman was transitioning the strait of

hormuz when they started firing near the carrier. they called it provocative and said u.s. operating in the gulf where american ships have already had a couple of close calls with iran this year. cnn, washington. military colonel rick francona, we've got good news in the last couple of days. a few set backs for isis, terror plots foiled in belgium. our leaders being killed in air strikes. we tend to have this ebb and flow. we have the good news, the bad news, the setbacks, we think the strategy is terrible. in your opinion, where do things stand right now? >> i think we've reached a turning point in iraq. let's talk about iraq first.

retaking of ramadi was a key step. it's not the only step, though. we're now closer to baghdad and retake fallujah. fallujah has always been a real problem area. the government can then focus its effort osen going after mosul. mosul is the key, john. they've got to go back up there and retake that, kick isis out of iraq. if iraq is going to survive as a country. aech the shia militias have been kept out of the fight and attracted sunni tribesmen in there.. i think that's a good step on the military side and the political side. in syria, some minor successes. the taking of the dam is a good step. and we've got this seefrian democratic force and the ypg, the kurdish force moving towards all

alle allepo. this is a good sign. if we can isolate raqqah and mosul, we've got a chance of turning this around. but as the general said earlier, they are still active in this worldwide social media effort, just look at what's going on in brussels right now. >> yeah. we heard from the iraqi prime minister. he wants isis out of iraq by the end of next year. they say the difference between a hope and a goal is a deadline. but is that a realistic deadline? >> numbers always come back and bite you. i think it's realistic if the iraqis continue with momentum. mosul is a much, much larger city. 3 million or 4 million people. it's a lot longer away than baghdad. that will present a challenge. but the iraqis have really shown a great effort here now. and i think that if they capitalize on it, keep the momentum, they could continue. isis used to have the momentum because they were going -- they were massing force against smaller units. now they're the people in place and the iraqis are massing force against them.

it's turn-about. it seems to be working. so i'm fairly optimistic about iraq, john. >> very quickly, you mentioned syria. and i just wondered, can you have security in iraq while you still have isis controlling syria? threatening the iraqi border with isis still pretty much in control of a big lot of territory in syria? >> no, no. eventually you've got to go into syria and eliminate them there. but there's the problem. who's going to do that? we can see how iraq may play out, but syria still remains a question mark. is this syria/kurdish force going to be able to do it? i don't think they're going to have the muscle to do it. >> colonel, thank you for being with us as always. many thanks. well, still to come, top aides in north korea's leader is dead. a media outlet is saying about kim jung-un's lay yol warrior. -- loyal warrior. all: milk! milk! milk! milk! milk!

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>> around the world, prices at the pump areal faing, but in saudi arabia, where they're practically swimming in oil, the cost of filling up the tank just went up a lot. the new rulers raised petrol prices from 16 cents a liter to 24 cents. that's about 60 cents a gallon, to almost 90 cents a gallon. they're doing this to try to cope with falling oil revenues. in addition to the price jump, the government is trying to cut spending. previous saudi efforts to reform have stalled in the face of public op cig. -- opposition. saudi petrol prices are still lore than almost every other country. north korea said its sop liaison with south korea has been killed in a car accident. seen here on the far left with south korean officials tied on tuesday according to north korea's state media, which described the 73-year-old as

leader kim jong-un's closest come brad. -- comrade. what are the ramifications of kim's death for the region, in particular north korea-south korea relations? >> well look, as the head of the united front department, he did have a very visible role, leading talks with south korea. particularly he had a large role in the crisis talks that unfolded in august between the two countries. but it depends on who you asked to try to determine what the impact of his death could be. some say the fact that we don't know whether or not a successor has been named could potentially slow down or halt some of the upcoming talks between the north and the south. but others say that the head to the united front department, even if he's communicating, he's the person expressing the will of kim jong-un, so it shouldn't alter the course of relations? any way. but there's a potential it could slow down process in terms of come togt table and talking when necessary.

john? >> there's always a lot of speculation what happened and why. was he purged? did he fall out of favor? what are the theories right now? >> the only answers you get are the ones. it out there but the state-run news agency that says h he died in a car accident and isn't giving details beyond that. but those who watch north korea know a number of senior officials disappeared over the years. south korean government officials say as many as 70 of these officials have disappeared during the time that kim jong-un has come to power. and they also talked about previous car wrecks that they deemed to be suspect. listen to what one expert is saying in this case. >> most of these fatal traffic accidents affecting senior officials used to happen on the way to or from a party organized

by kim jong-il. we've seen the same pattern developing under kim jong un. i think this will be very interesting. and it will be very interesting to see if this accident indeed happened on his way to a party or to his way from an end of the year party. >> tloor some doubting whether he ocould have been killed in a car accident, but there's no way of offering or finding any proof to determine what exactly did happen to him. again, this comes down to the state news reports which have said that he died in a car accident. they've also gone on to heap a lot of praise, calling him a most trued confidant of kim jong un and also a loyal warrior to both of his predecessors.

we understand that kim jong un himself could very well be there. >> okay, we appreciate the update. thank you. well, you'll have to be quick if you want must-have item for 2016. fans of vladimir putin, well, they're snatching up a limited edition calendar. it features the russian president in a carefully crafted pose along with some putin words of wisdom. in march, he's holding a flower and saying russian women are the most talented and beautiful. we also see the russian leader exercising, fishing in a suit. and, of course, without a shirt. the calendar is push lished by a russian tabloid newspaper. get yours today. still to come here, the so-called affluenza teen is headed become to the united states. we'll tell you about the new charging ethan couch and his mother are facing after their capture in mexico. and axel rose and slash could be headed to paradise city. the latest on a possible guns n roses reunion. we live in a pick and choose world.

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. >> the "glee" star known as puck was was arrested on child porn charges. ethan couch known as the affluenza teen is expected to be back in the u.s. on wednesday. along with his mother, he was found in puerta vallarta in mexico on monday. he allegedly violated his parole in a drunken driving case that killed four people. >> reporter: when ethan couch was captured on the streets with dark hair and a dark goatee, texas authorities say the 18-year-old had the look of someone on the run trying to change his appearance. earlier this month, the teen was seen with blond hair in a video that appeared to show him at a

party with alcohol, a violation of his probation. authorities say ethan hen a's mother tonya couch had what was essentially a going away party the night before, driving from ft. worth to the mexican resort town on the pacific ocean. a mexican immigration official said the pair crossed into mexico through tijuana. sheriff dee anderson says tonya couch will be charged with hindering the apprehension of a fuj tuf and faces up to ten years in prison. >> our entire focus has been on making sure he didn't see any justice done making sure he was not accountable. so for her to assist him i felt like it was a natural next occurrence. i'm not surprised she helped him. >> not surprising to those who have seen the koufrp family up close since the teen was only sentenced to probation for a drunk driving crash that killed four people in 2013. his attorneys argued he suffered from affluenza, saying he lived a privilege and wealthy lifestyle where there were no

consequences for bad behavior. the victims' families filed civil lawsuit against the couch family. abc news obtained these deposition case from that case. in those tapes, ethan couch openly talked about his drug use. >> taking valium, hydrocodone, marijuana, cocaine, xanax, i tried ecstacy once. >> reporter: and his mother talked about how she let her son drive illegally. >> you understood if he was at anytime he was under 16 he was never to be driving by himself. >> yes. >> nevertheless, you allowed that behavior to happen, correct? >> yes. >> when was the last time you recall disciplining ethan for anything? >> i don't remember. >> reporter: mexican officials say ethan couch and his mother are being voluntarily deported back to the united states. prosecutors are fighting to get couch's case moved out of the

juvenile system and into adult courts. prosecutors say couch isn't likely to face significant jail time for violating the terms of his probation. >> if he stays in the juvenile court, the maximum sentence he could receive is incarceration in a juvenile facility until he turns 19, which is april the 11th of 2016. that is not enough. >> when tonya couch returns to the united states, she will face that felony charge of interfering with the apprehension of a fugitive. she faces up to ten years in prison. and meanwhile, prosecutors are still trying to figure out just exactly what to do with ethan couch. the hearing to determine whether or not his case and his custody will be transferred from a juvenile system to the adult system isn't scheduled to be heard until january of next year. ed lavendera, cnn, ft. worth, texas.

'. >> to look more at the legal issues in this case, what we're hearing is that the prosecutors here, they want to traps fer ethan couch from his juvenile status to his adult status. >> i don't think any judge would go along with it. media pressure will affect them. >> they say he's got affluenza. but he should suffer the consequenc consequences. >> the affluenza defense is that his parents didn't teach him that the laws apply to him.

the theory is if he's a juvenile, he's really handic handicapped by the upbringing he had. the mother is basically encouraging her son to evade justice, to avoid the arm of the law. >> right now, the book is 120 days in jail. so what about the argument that this kid is now old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. he got off when he was 16. now it's two years on, it's 18 years of age. why is he not entitled to be responsible for his own actions in violating probation? >> well, maybe he has the consciousness and the maturity to be responsible and maybe he doesn't. you have to set limits. and a dividing line between youth and adulthood. my understanding is that in texas, in this particular situation, the dividing line is 19.

not 18. so why do we make arbitrary distinctions for cases that are high profile? i don't think we should do that. if he's really a juvenile under the law, he should be treated as such in my opinion. >> now the situation with the mother, tonya who as we say, we don't have all the facts here. she allegedly threw a party before they left. she allegedly drove with her son across the border to tijuana to puerta vallaerta. an now she's facing more jail time than her son. >> if she assisted her son in evading the law, being a fugitive, getting across the border to evade the jurisdiction when he was on probation, she can be heavily prosecuted. she can be prosecuted for various felonies. aiding a fugitive in flight, obstructing justice, that kind of thing. she could be in big trouble. >> talking to you, i believe you believe the vast majority of the responsibility in this case rests with the mother, not the son.

>> based on everything i've heard, i think it's very unfair that these patient parents brought a son up to think that he was above the law. and actually encouraged him to evade it and break it. i think that's a handicap that should be taken into account. i'm not saying don't punish him. when i was in law school, we were taught that the purposes of criminal law were threefold. one, to punish. two to set an example to others. and three to rehabilitate. and i think you have to take all three and balance them depending on the facts of the case. this kid needs some rehabilitation for sure. should he be punished and used as an zmafrm perhaps. i don't know the facts well enough. >> tom, thank you for coming in. you have a unique perspective. and of course, the key to all of this is taking the emotion and the publicity out of this case and just looking at the facts. >> that's correct. that's correct. thank you for having me. >>. ♪ take me down

to the paradise city ♪ ♪ take me on ♪ >> there are reports the original band will reunite at the coachella festival festival in april. it will be the first time since 1993 that axel rose and slash will perform together. they're also negotiating concerts at football stadiums across the u.s. going to be big. you're watching cnn news room, live from los angeles. i'm john vause. the news continues with rosenary church after a short break. tucson.

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>> battle for control. the iraqi government says ramadi is dib lated. local leaders say isis still controls parts of the city. millions of people are under flood warnings in the u.s. and in parts of missouri, the water could reach historic levels. and a top north crane official said to be one of kim uh young's closest comrades has died. hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm rose merry church.

this is cnn news room. a big win for iraq, a major blow to isis. iraqi prime minister raised his nation's plag in a maddy tuesday. the city is about 25% under isis control, but as our reporter says, they're calling it a victory and setting its sights on other areas isis holds. >> as they swept for sploirvegs pockets of resistance remain. tribal leaders tell cnn isis still controls a quarter of the stiff. now mostly in ruins. still, the u.s.-led coalition said it was confident that the iraqis would hold the area. >> we don't think that the remaining enemy has the umph to

push the iraqi security forces off their positions. >> reporter: iraq's prime minister arrived under heavy guard, the day after the army declared the city liberated. today he saluted the troops, promising to take the fight to mosul and push isis out of iraq entirely by the end of next year. today the coalition boasted ten isis leaders have been killed in recent air strikes, including the man who had direct contacts with the suspected ringleaders of the paris attacks days before the siege and was believed to be planning more attacks against the west. >> without leaders to be able to facilitate the activities, your ability to conduct the activities goes down. >> we haven't severed the head of the snake yet. it's still got fangs. we have to be clear about that. there's much more fighting to do. >> reporter: in syria, the

coalition has helped secure a hide row electric dam located near the eastern city of mambije, it cuts off a key isis route. despite the battlefield losses, one retired general warns isis is growing as a worldwide threat. >> they may not be doing ground military offenses, they're still controlling the social media, they're still attracting a significant number of recruits, and i think they're -- their new strategy for inspiring attacks worldwide is proven very effective for them. >> new year's eve is just hours away in some parts of the world. police are looking out for any possible end of the year terrorist threats. jim sciutto shows us why authorities are on alert. >> reporter: with new year's fast approaching, authorities across the world on alert for terror, from belgium to bangladesh to new york city.

>> people should feel safe this new year's eve, because we're there. you're going to have one of the most well policed, best protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world. >> reporter: belgian police arrested two men today. a senior beljan security officials tells cnn the target was the grand palace, the grand square. the plot inspired, though not directed by isis. police conducted several terror raids sunday and monday, seizing isis propaganda. the belgian government raised the threat level to three out of four, meaning a attack is likely. u.s. citizens were warned of possible attacks on new year's eve. new york says there is no credible threat to the new year's celebrations but it is dispatching 6,000 officers to times square where more than one

million people are expected. the department of homeland security encouraging new york city police academy graduates to be village lechblt. >> i encourage you to build cities in this city that the islamic state is attempting to target for recruitment. >> v. >> reporter: a british couple were both convicted today for preparing for acts of terrorism after investigators received stockpiles of chemicals and bomb making tools at their home and this video showing them testing an explosive device. >> it is clear the ideology was a motivator for these offenses. >> reporter: on the battlefield in syria, isis leader charaffe

al mouadan was killed. jim sciutto, cnn, washington. >> the storm has passed, but the governor of missouri says the threat is far from over. parts of the state will likely see historic river flooding through early next week. it's one of 13 states currently under flood warnings across the u.s. missouri's governor has fif ated -- activated the national guard to help first responders in evacuated areas. >> reporter: high water is already covering several roads in and around west alton, missouri, and just 70 miles from here, the situation is much worse. there are several homes and businesses already under water in union, missouri. authorities there are telling cnn they've had to rescue at least two people who were caught up in rising floodwaters. missouri governor jay nixon is asking people to avoid driving through roads covered with water.

listen to this. >> just this morning we were informed that an additional three flood-related deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in this storm to 13, 12 of which were caused by flooded vehicles being swept away. >> reporter: the mayor of west alton, missouri, has asked residents to leave. he has issued a voluntary evacuation order and so far, most people have left their homes. cnn, west alton, missouri. >> and earlier cnn spoke with linda horn about how the floodwaters affecting the roads in missouri. she's a spokeswoman with the missouri department of transportation. >> we're dealing with rising rivers all across the state of missouri. we currently have over 225 roads that are closed in the state and our worst situation is that

interstate 44 is closed in the middle of the state kind of near rala, missouri, and we are expecting a spot on interstate 44 to close in st. louis before morning. and those two closures on interstate 44 are making it not only very di to get around missouri but also very difficult for travel rs trying to get through -- travellers trying to get through our state and travel in the midwest, the ability to get from, say, illinois to oklahoma. so we're having a tough time dealing with truck traffic and through travellers trying to get through the state of missouri. >> and in some areas, these floods could be unprecedented. let's turn to our meteorologist to learn more about this and to get an idea of just how extensive this flooding is. >> it is incredible. this is something that you typically don't see take place to this extent when it comes to the time of year it is. stipulatecally, the first week of winter, nobody is talking

about flooding. that happens in connection with spring melts. you take a look, about 18 million people are dealing tw flood watches and warnings over this area. we talk about river flooding. you have the water traverse downstream over a several week period. the moisture limited over this region, so everything that has come down pretty much all transpired. what has occurred in the past several days, when you bring back the mississippi river basin and tributaries that funnel in a lot of water and you go in, in the past three to seven day, we've seen somewhere between six to 12 inches of rainfall. severe weather, about 70 toernds across this region. the moisture associated with the storms was incredible, all coming down in the form of rain.

the runoff typically in the winter season of snow is limited. the water levels want to drop. this time it hasn't felt like winter. the leaves -- levees in place. we think it will continue flooding downstream. southern portion of the mississippi river, we're talking january 2, january 3 before all of the water is funneled downstream. of course, with a lot of tremendous stress placed on the levees, we know a lot of them are starting to overtop. and that's the issue. once that happens, you're releasing some stress associated with the flooding. of course, if there's too much stress on this, levees collapse. this happened back in 1993 where significant flooding occurred over this region. we know of $15 billion losses that happened. very serious situation beginning to take place across this region.

take a look. over 400 river gauges reporting flooding across portions of the american, the central, the southern united states, and this 359 earn continues over -- pattern continues over the next several weeks. floodings is the number one cause of weather-related events. tornadoes come in second. the want to point out something here, too. when it talks about flooding, in 2014 alone -- and you go back several years, rosemary, the vast majority of flooding fat fatalities occur when people are drivi driving. you can see the what happens when you're displacing people because of the water coming down, you're telling people they need to evacuate and if people are not cautious or go down roadways that are closed, people are placed in danger as well. it's something to take seriously

as early as possible with the waters beginning to rise. >> that is a wake-up call just looking at that breakdown. we've heard from the authorities saying do not go out in your cars particularly at night because of all the water. it doesn't take much water, does it, to cause problems for people in vehicles? >> just about ankle-high water will move your vehicle. you bring that up to knee height and you're talking about the vehicle having no chance at all. >> absolutely right. many thanks to you pedram. we'll talk soon. >> thank you. >> in china, the news agency is reporting rescuers have found eight workers in a collaped mine. the miners have been trapped for five days. rescue crews can now talk to them using an intercom system and they're delivering 2350d and other -- food and other provisions to them as well. the mine in sjeng dong province killed one worker.

the rescuers are not able to reach the miners as of yet. rescuers are working to find out what caused that collapse. donald trump calls bill clinton's marital indiscretions fair game and now the billionaire is inviting the media and his rivals to investigate his own personal life. plus, the new charges, the so-called aflew end zona teen and his mother will face as they're brought back to the united states. we'll have that for you next. do stay with us. "why are you checking your credit score?"

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>> welcome back. well, the pull of u.s. republican candidates just not smaller. former new york governor george pataki announced tuesday he's bowing out of the race. >> well, tonight is the end of my journey for the white house as i suspend my campaign for president. i'm confident we can elect the right person, someone who will bring us together and who understands that politicians, including the president, must be

the people's servant and not their master. >> pataki joins rick perry, scott walker, bobby jindal and lindsay graham in dropping out of the race. 11 candidates remain. well, u.s. republican presidential candidate donald trump has been boasting for months that he's spent very little on his self-funded campaign. that's a feat nearly unprecedented in u.s. application but things are -- politics but things are about to change. he plans to start spending nearly $2 million a week on advertisements. >> i'm going to be doing big ads in ohio, new hampshire, south carolina. they're going to be very substantial. i think they're very well done. i've seen the first two or three of them. we're going to talk about a lot of things, including the border can including trade, isis and security for the country.

>> meantime, donald trump says if his opponents and the media want to investigate his personal life, they can go right ahead. his remarks come as he's called bill clinton's marital indiscretions a fair topic on the campaign trail. here's cnn's dana bash. >> i was able to get along with clinton and virtually every politician you can imagine. >> reporter: donald trump getting along with the clinton? that seems like ancient history. >> she says, oh, we'd love to run against trump. it's her worst nightmare. >> reporter: hillary clinton's husband's philandering he talks about. >> that will be fair game. >> reporter: a total 180 from trump's defense of bill clinton in 2008. he told wolf blitzer that the former president's athe fairs

should be a nonissue. >> look at the trouble bill clinton got into trouble over something that was absolutely not relevant. i've respected him. i've liked him over the years. >> the two men golfed together and trump even invited the clintons to their last wedding. >> it was perfectly nice. i'm glad we did. he also told me on more than one occasion what a good job she did. >> reporter: the way trump is saying it now is they were both playing the you scratch my back-i'll jach yours campaign. >> with hillary clinton, i said be at my wedding and she came to my wedding. she had no choice. i came to a foundation that frankly, that foundation is supposed to do good. >> reporter: regardless of the relationship between them, their

daughters are genuinely close. chelsea saying this aboutee vonka to vogue this year. she's always aware of everyone around her and ensuring everyone is enjoying themselves. for ivanka, chelsea is the same. >> she's been a great friend to me. i've been a great friend to her. so the politics of our parents is not relevant to our friendship. >> dana bash, cnn, washington. >> the music streaming service spotify is facing a $150 million lawsuit. the singer of alternative rock band cracker alleges this the company reproduces copyrighted music without per anything. the company could face find up to 150,000 for each infwringment.

copyright data is often missing or wrong. ethan couch, known as the ainfluenza team is expected to be backs in the united states wednesday. he and his mother were found in puerta vie arta, mexico. 4es wanted for driving drunk in an accident that killed four people. >> reporter: when ethan couch was captured on the streets of mexico with dark hair and a dark goatee, texas authorities say the 18-year-old had the look of someone on the run trying to change his appearance. earlier this month, the teen was seen with blonde hair in a video that appeared to show him at a party with alcohol, a violation of his probation. authorities say ethan and his mother tonya couch had essentially what was a going away party the night before, driving from fort worth to the mexican resort town.

the pair crossed into mexico through tijuana. sheriff d. anderson says tonya couch will be charged with aiding in the e skach of a fu-- of a fugitive. >> for her to assist him, i felt like was just a natural next occurrence. i'm not surprised that she helped him. >> reporter: not surprising to those who have seen the couch family up close since the teen was only sentenced to probation for a drunk driving crash that killed four people in 2013. his attorneys argued he suffered from affluenza. the victim's families filed civil lawsuits against the couch family. abc news obtained these deposition tapes from that case. ethan couch openly talked about his drug use. >> taken valium, hide row co

done, cocaine, sedan ex -- xanax. i tried ecstasy once. >> you understood if he was at any time he was under 16, he was never to be driving by himself? >> yes. >> nevertheless, you allowed that behavior to happen, correct? >> yes. >> when's the last time you recall disciplining ethan for anything? >> i don't remember. >> reporter: mexican officials say he and his mother are being voluntarily deported back to the u.s. the family is -- the government is trying to get his case moved into adult court. >> if he stays in the juvenile court, the maximum sentence he

could receive is incarceration in a juvenile facility until he turns 19, which is april the 11th of 2016. that is not enough. >> reporter: when tonya couch returns to the united states, she will face the felony charge of sbrfrgs with the an hence of a fugitive. she faces up to 10 years in prison. prosecutors are trying to figure out exactly what to do with ethan couch. the hearing to determine whether or not his case and custody will be transferred from a juvenile system to an adult system isn't expected to be heard until january of next year.

and a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the us and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. want to get you caught up on the stories we've been watching this hour. iraqi prime minister high ed albaddy has raised his flag in a mahdi. isis still occupies about 25% of the capital. the prime minister is declaring victory and preparing to fight isis in other cities. iron will rely on local sunni tribes to handle security in a maddy. an isis operative linked to the ringleader of the paris attacks is dead. a responsible says charaffe al mouadan was one of ten isis

leaders killed in air strikes in iraq and syria recently. the responsible says charaffe al mouadan was planning more attacks in the west. americans are under flood warnings across the u.s. most of the rain has stopped in missouri, one of the hardest hit states. the national weather service says historic flooding is likely through early next week. severe weather has killed almost 50 people in the past week. north korea says its top liaison with the south has been killed in a car accident. state media described kim yandprvegs on as kim jung il's closest com rat. alexandra, there has been speck a las vegas about the death. what's being said about the cause of this crash? what is north korea saying

officially? >> reporter: right. officially, the report comes from the state news agency and they are saying that he died in a car accident. there are no details that are being provided beyond that other than to say that a state funeral is being arranged. we expect that kim young un could be present at that funeral. the man has been called one of his closest comrades, also, warrior for kim jong un's predecessors. it's raising questions for people who closely watch this region. they point to a history of previous car wrecks that have killed other top officials. will be to -- listen to this. >> most of these fatal traffic accidents affecting senior officials used to happen on the way to or from a party organized by kim jung il. we're seeing the same pattern

developing under kim jong un. i think this will be very interesting and it will be very interesting to see if this accident indeed happened on kim jong un's way to the party, to his way from the end of a party. >> interesting to see, perhaps, but really there's no expectation that we'll get more details on the accident itself, the details of the wreck itself. simply, the news from the state news agency that he was killed in this wreck. what we know about the man is that he was the head of the united front department. he had a very visible role. he was far of n envoy that traveled to russia on behalf of the north crane government a couple of years ago. more recently he was involved in an integral way in some of the crisis talks that went on in august between north korea and south korea. the north has not yet named a success issor for him, which

have some wondering what impact his death will have. some say it could have impact and others say it wouldn't have any impact at all. >> i was going to ask you about the impact of his death not only in the north and the south but beyond perhaps. but why, of course, the speculation is that he was trargted by the regime itself. if that were the case, why? >> reporter: we can speculate any number of reasons why he may have been targeted. there will be people who believe he was, in fact, targeted when you four-point that kind of history of car crashes. others will say he wasn't because of the fact that kim jong un will attend his funeral. some people say that's a cover

and they point to a record of deaths of other ssh officials in the north crane government. we know that the south korean government officials have comeout yer8 this year saying as many as 70 top north crane officials have been executed under kim jong un. they say in this case -- all we have to go on is what state news is saying and they are calling it a car accident. >> yeah. and as you have pointed out, we're unlikely to get more details than that. thanks to you, joining us from seoul in south korea. let's turn to chicago now. a police officer appeared in court to enter his plea in the death of an african-american teenager. on tuesday, faemp jason van dyke pleaded not guilty in the death of 17-year-old laquan mcdodged. van dyke faces 10 counts of

first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct. he was met by protesters as he approached the courthouse to his hearing. >> people, who cares about him? like the holes he made in that boy? what are you talk you can about? >> like the holes -- >> like the 68 holes he put into that boy? >> in october, 2014, police dash cam footage captured mcdonald walking down the street away from police when he was shot 16 times. police say he was holding a four inch knife. at least eight other officers were at the scene. van dyke is the only officer to have fired his weapon. in another shooting case, a father whose son was killed by chicago police over the weekend says he feels like he was robbed of everything. an officer shot 19-year-old quinn tone owe legreea on

saturday. a neighbor was accidentally killed. the father has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. he described his son's final moments to cnn's brooke baldwin, saying he called for help and no one came. >> i saw my son lay there and i saw his legs and he was plt three feet inside ms. joan's doorway, and -- ms. jones' doorway. i wanted to reach out and grab him. but i wasn't trained in cpr, so i didn't know what to do except call out to him to let him know i was there, because my son, please forgive me, ms. brooks, my son was laying there and he was still alive and moving and no one, no one at all assisted him at any time while he was

there. and at which point i looked back and saw ms. jones laying there and once again yelled, screamed as loud as i can "someone get a ambulance. someone goat help for my son." that's all i could think to say. at that time an officer asked me was anybody else up stairs and i said no. he went into the unit and i proceeded to stand there and request police or ambulance assistance to assist my son, because i know he's still alive. i see him moving, but no one would reply to help my son or ms. jones. no one expected the chicago police department to just start shooting into a doorway where a young man may or may not have had a weapon when the door

opened. maybe it was an inexperienced officer who wasn't trained on how to respond to these situations. i'm not sure what it is. all i know is right now two innocent people are dead because a officer made a decision that was not the right one. i'm doing this interviewer and the lawsuit so that know one can walk away and sweep it under the rug. because my son life would not be in vein. >> police say legrier had a baseball bat and was combative. the officer in the shooting has been placed on administrative duty. the city's mayor has also ordered changes in the way its officers are trained. a pentagon official tells cnn an iran rocket -- iranian rocket came to within a mile of the aircraft carrier, the uss harry s. truman. it happened in the strait of hormuz last week.

the navy was conducting a live fire exercise nearby. other ships were in the area as well. a u.s. official says the ships were not being targtseted. russia says it has formally indicted five men in the killing of boris nensal. they all five are from a politically restive region. he was gunned down on a moscow bridge as he left dinner. a former mexican senator is taking on human traffickers. her story is the subject of our freedom project report just ahead on "cnn newsroom."

plus a scout leader in the u.s. is attacked by a bear. how his group of boy scouts may have very well, saved his life. we'll have details when we return. bring your family and friends together

to discover the best shows and movies with xfinity's winter watchlist. later on, we'll conspire ♪ ♪ as we dream by the fire ♪ a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land, ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land! ♪ xfinity's winter watchlist. watch now with xfinity on demand- your home for the best entertainment this holiday season.

welcome brack, everyone. an actor in the hit tv show "glee" has been arrested for alleged possession of child pornography. mark saling best known for his role as puck was taken into tuesday.in california on he was a main character on the first seasons of "glooe." he's not responded to cnn's request for comment. now to cnn's freedom project and

the fight to end modernday slavery. rosy across co is a former mexican senator. she's advocating for the human trafficking victims. our reporter reports some are trying to undermine her hard work. >> reporter: inside the university of mexico's main lecture hall it's stanning room only -- standing room as people gather to battle human trafficking. >> translator: the trafficking of humans is large. >> reporter: a top official from the vatican pleaded for people to offer care to the victims, one of the main organizers of the event, rosy across co was fielding calls from the stage. her contacts in the national government claimed several senators were operating in jet,

urgently making efforts to the reveal e repeal testimony country's human trafficking law. >> there are people who are backing up, who are protecting the interests of the millionaires who wraz money for -- raise money for trafficking. >> reporter: in 2012 she helped pass a tough b anti-trafficking law. >> we have more than 1,000 people in jail. if the locals back a lot of those traffickers will go out of jail. roimt this work is deeply personal for her. she says she was fired moved to act after hearing the story of a young girl who, unable to deal with the trauma of being forced into prostitution, took her own life. >> i remember i cried for a week. and i couldn't stop.

i promised myself that i was going to do everything for that -- every victim that i was going to meet. >> reporter: eight years later, she has now worked with hundreds of victims. >> we started the first shelter in mexico. there was none. there was no ngo who helped victims of mexico. to meet and to talk to everything change your life forever. >> reporter: some of whom have become like family. >> translator: the first time somebody touched me was horrendous, especially because it was an older man. >> she's one of the most wonderful person i have ever met. >> reporter: carla was 12 years old when she was kidnapped and forced to sell her body up to 40 men a day.

she has been raped 43,000 times. >> translator: he said he would kill my mother and then my brother if i didn't do what he was asking me. >> i teach them, you are free to decide. >> reporter: but she knows for every child like carla, there are hundreds more across mexico in desperate need of help. >> our goal is that we can open a shelter in each state and that for me, the most important thing to save each life and to make them feel that they are very valuable and they have a purpose of life. >> reporter: when fighting modern-day slavery, there are never enough hours in the day, never enough hands to help. but for orosco, conferences like this are normal, with more people coming into the fold. >> politicians know they have to do something. i think it's a good combination, ng o's, media, politicians that

wants to do something. each day i just see that when i go to bed, i have advance a little bit. in mexico, we will end slavery and we will flight to freedom. and just this programming note. cnn's richard quest moderates a discussion, what's being done to the put an end to this trade in human life? wanld what about dismantling the national networks? that's thursday at 9:00 p.m. in london. 10:00 p.m. central european time only on cnn. tense moments for some boy scouts in new jersey as a bear attacks their scout leader. we will have the dramatic 911 call next. i am about to embark on a long and dangerous journey. i'm in search for the elusive...affordable 2 bedroom apartment. you know what you should do before you start? what's that? check your credit score.

why would i need to do that? somebody else is going to check it, don't you want to know what they might find? sign up on credit karma. credit karma? yeah. huh, that was easy! kinda regret buying all this stuff now. looks good though, right? looks great. ladies love a man in a uniform. laughs... first step, credit karma.

ok. a word of advice here. you'll have to act pretty fast if you want to get the must-have item for 2016. fans of vladimir putin are snatching up a limited edition

calendar. each not features the russian leader from a carefully drafted -- crafted poez. in march he holds a flower saying russian women are the most powerful and beautiful. we learned that mr. putin dogs have warm feelings for each other. the calendar is public lishld by a -- published by a tabloid. three boy scouts, their troop leader and a bear is in the head looinsz. the 911 calls came after the leader ventured into a cave last week. little did they know, the cave was a bear's den. >> reporter: talk about real-life boy scout wilderness training, christopher petronino was in the woods with three boy

scouts, one of them hits son. he stumbled on to a bear likely hibernating. the bear was not happy and attacked the 50-year-old new jersey man biting him on the leg, shoulders and head. while using a cell phone, the boys, all about 12 years old called 9/11. >> -- 911. >> where is your emergency? >> we're hiking. my scout master is in the kaye and a bear is in the cave with him. >> the bear is on top of him? >> yes. one of the scouts is putting food in the cave. they're making a signal fire right now. we'll keep it contained and make a lot of smoke. >> ok. >> if we don't get out of this alive, i love you guys. >> i love you guys. we8, it was pretty fright nieng but those boys, very brave, stayed and helped. this could have been more serious. but the quick-thinking scout master immediately hit the bear

with a rock hammer. he then took his shirt, covered his head and curled into the feelal position. the bear left, thinking he was dead. all of this took about 80 harrowing anybodies. the scout movieser was treated and released. listen one more time. >> guys, if we don't get out of this alive, i love you. >> a happy ending to a scary story. wow. ok. well, a rare two meter tall flower blooming right now in australia may look stunning but don't get too close. it's called the corpse flower and its smell has been compared to rotting flesh or a dead rat. still, thousands have been lining up near adelaide to get a glimpse and a sniff. >> disgusting.

>> really bad. it is too bad to describe. >> the plant is onening dangd species, by the way, native to indonesia. it blooms every 1,000 days for just about 36 hours. i'm rosemary church. remember to stay in touch on social media anytime. i'll be back in a moment with more news from all around the world. don't go anywhere.

>> very clear that missouri is in the midst of a very historic and dangerous flooding event. missouri calls in the national guard amid widespread flooding and a risings death toll. high alert. cities from brussels to new york on guard for possible terror attacks after an alleged new year's plot is foiled. and then there were 11. republican george pataki ends his bid for the white house and takes a shot at donald trump on the way out. hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church.

thanks for joining us. as we kick off this second hour of "cnn newsroom." there's an urgent push for people to evacuate in parts of missouri right now as rivers rise to dangerous levels. the governor says when the mississippi river crests it will be at its highest level ever. missouri is one of 13 states currently under flood warnings across the u.s. the governor has called in the national guard to help first responders in evacuating areas. at least 13 people have died in the flood so far. >> the vast majority of deaths we've had -- i can't stress this enough -- is people driving into water, and especially driving into water at night. so all of you when you're out there talking to folks, especially with the water still rising here, continues to express to your friends and neighbors and everybody else, just please don't do that.

>> and earlier cnn talked with the missouri department of transportation about how the floodwaters are affecting the roads there. >> we're dealing with rising rivers all across the state of missouri. we currently have over 225 roads that are closed in the state and our worst situation is the interstate 44 is closed in the middle of the state, near rala, missouri, and we are expecting a spot on 44 to close in the st. louis before morning, and those two closures on interstate 44 are making it not only difficult to get around missouri but also very difficult for travellers to try to get through our state and travel in the midwest. the ability to get, say, from illinois to oklahoma, and so we're having a tough time dealing with truck traffic and through travellers trying to get through the state of missouri.

for more on what could be an unprecedented flooding situation for many locationings, let's turn to our meteorologist joining us from the international weather center. we heard the authorities pleading with people stay out of their cars, off the road, particularly at night. >> it's a dangerous scenario. 350i78 do not take flooding as seriously as a hurricane or even when it comes to tornadoes in recent days. but flooding is among the top killers in the united states in the world of weather. over 400 gauges, every single one of those circles is indicative of h flood gauges. what's unusual about what's happening is, of course, it's the cold season. you should have a lot of precipitation in this season come down in the form of snow. when that happens it actually alleviates the flooding problem. this time it's the rainfall coming in in an incredible

amount. want to show you this. here we go with the mississippi river basin. we had about 70 tornadoes across this region of the united states in the past week alone. a lot of rainfall was left over. we're talking about 115 sent meters, six inches to 12 inches of rainfall in a couple of days. when it comes to the river gauges and the crest that is expected downstream as you work your way into 2016, even the second, third day of the year, still going to see flooding continue downstream. we've often seen it be called a slow-motion disaster. this sort of pattern, could be sunny skies but still seeing river stages flooding. we have overtopping taking place with an incredible amount of water coming downstream. of course, they all have to feed into the mississippi river at some point. a large amount of water is being forced up and over these levees.

you're talking about levees failing. that becomes a dangerous situation over this region of the united states in the coming couple of weeks. we've touched on this before. look at the flooding fa till tis in the united states. 81 per year. tornadoes come in at 72 per year, on average. flood fatalities and what people are doing when losing their lives in flooding, almost 70% of them occurred with people driving, 44%, people falling in. this is something that's very, very important with so many people being displaced as we speak. rosemary? >> yeah. we can't emphasize how important it is for people to stay off the roads in situations like this. >> true. >> many thanks, appreciate it. parts of northern england are dealing with their own flooding and they're bracing for even more rain. severe flood warnings are in effect. some areas have seen up to a

month's worth of rain in recent weeks. hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to try help evacuate people. police are looking out for potential terror threats ahead of new year's eve. officers in belgium have raised their terror alert and they've arrested two people accused of plotting attacks around brussels. the new year's eve jitters are not limited to belgium. jim sciutto has more on the global terror watch. >> reporter: with new year's fast approaching, authorities across the world on alert for terror, from belgium to bangladesh to new york city. >> people should feel safe this new year's eve, because we're there. you're going to have one of the most well policed, best protected events in one of the safest venues in the entire world. >> reporter: two men were arrested in connection with a plot to attack sites in the belgian capital on or around new

year's eve. the target was brussels central square, the grand palace. the plot inspired, though not directed, by isis. police conductsed several terror raids sunday and monday, seizing military uniforms and isis propaganda. the belgian government raising the threat level to three out of a possible four, neeng an attack is likely? bangladesh, the u.s. embassy warned u.s. citizens of possible attacks on new year's eve. new york says there's no credible threat to the new year's event but is dispatching 6,000 officers to times square where more than one million people are expected. academy graduates are being urged to be vigilant on their new beats. >> i encourage you to build bridges to the communities in this city that the islamic state is attempting to target for

recruitment. >> reporter: underscoring the homegrown dangers, a british couple were both convicted today after investigators received stockpiles of chemicals and bomb making materials at their home and this video showing them testing an explosive device. >> it is clear that a radical and extremist islamic ideology was the motivator. >> reporter: air strikes killed isis leaders charaffe al mouadan, who officials say had direct links to the master mind of the paris attacks and was actively plotting more terror. jim sciutto, cnn, washington. it was a dry umpant moment for iraq's prime minister as he walked through the streets of ramadi tuesday and raised his country's flag. isis still controls about 25% of that city. but the prime minister says his

forces will focus on mosul. our reporter has details. >> reporter: iraqi prime minister rising the flag once more in a maddy. his government doubling down on their claim of victory. if ramadi is indeed retaken, it will have robbed isis of a strong hold almost three times the size of the country's capital and crucially handed the iraqi government a win after the humiliation after their retreat in may of this year. a spokesman has said it's just the beginning. >> if 2015 is the year of liberation, then 2016 will be, if not willing, the year of the bigaged final victory and the termination of isis presence in iraqi. >> reporter: in a maddy's central district and elsewhere,

people are beginning to arrive, risking their lives to free areas under isis control and seek refuge, a crime isis deemgs punishable by death. this the clearest sign yet that their rule of fear is weakening here. cnn, baghdad. a pentagon official tells cnn an iranian rocket recently came within 1,300 pleerts, less than a mile, of the aircraft carrier, the uss harry truman in the strait of hormuz last week. the navy conducted a live fire exercise nearby. other ships were in the area as well. the yierns were not -- irans were knots targeting the ship but it was provocative and unsafe. an update on last week's mine collapse in china's shan dong

province. rescue workers have found eight survivors trapped for five days now. this is video of the rescuers talking to the miners. they've delivered food and provisions to them. one worker was killed. nine are missing. the rescuers are unable to reach the miners as yet. the investigation into what caused that collapse is ongoing. a wanted teenager and his mother will soon be returned to the 1u6r789d to face new charges. we will look at what's next for the so-called ainfluenza teen, ethan couch. the call of u.s. presidential candidates got smaller. a look at the latest person to drop out. a view of the world through vladimir putin's eyes. ahead, the new book making its way through the kremlin. we're back in a moment.

chicago police officer jason van dyke was heckled on his way into court tuesday to enter his plea in the death of 17-year-old laquan mcdonald. >> shoot an unarmed black man.

make a hole, people. >> who cares about him? like the holes he made in that boy. what are you talk you can ability? >> like the holes. >> like the 16 holes he put in that boy? van dyke pleaded not guilty in the death of the teen. in october of 2014, police dash cam footage captured mcdonald walking down the street away from police when he was shot 16 times. at least eight officers were also at the scene. van dyke is the only officer who fired his weapon. in another shooting case, a father whose son was killed by chicago police says he feels like he was robbed of everything. an officer shot 19-year-old quinn tone owe legrier on saturday. police say 55-year-old betty jones, a neighbor, was accidentally killed. legrier's father has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, siting excessive and unreasonable force.

he told cnn's brooke baldwin he called for help and no one came. >> my son was laying there and he was still alive and moving, and no one, no one at all assisted him at any time while he was there. at which point i looked back and saw ms. jones there and once again yelled, screamed as loud as i can, someone get an ambulance, someone get some help for my son. i called the feliz department because i -- police department, because i wanted someone to try to help him. i was not tranld. i never once thought that once he entered into staircase that his life would be ended by someone who didn't know what to do. police say legrier had a baseball bat and was combative.

the officer in the shooting has been placed on administrative duty. the city's mayor has also ordered changes inning the way officers are trained. an actor from the hit tv show "glee" has been arrested for alleged possession of child pornography. mark salling was taken into custody in california on tuesday. the 33-year-old was a main character for the first four seasons of "glee." he's not responded to cnn's request for comment. ethan couch, known as the affluenza teen is expected to be back in the u.s. as soon as wednesday. he and his mother were found in mexico on monday. couch is wanted for alleged little violating his probation in a drunk driving crash which killed four people. our reporter is in texas. >> reporter: when ethan couch was captured on the streets of

porto vie arta, mexico, with dark hair, the 18-year-old had the look of someone on the run, trying to change his appearance, police say. earlier he was seen with blonde hair in a video that appeared to show him at a party with alcohol, a violation of his probation. he and his mother had essentially a going away party the night before driving to the port town on the pacific ocean. a immigration official says they crossed into mexico near tijuana. tonya couch will be arrested and faces up to 10 years in prison. >> our focus has been on making sure he didn't see injustice was done, making sure he was not accountable. for him assisting him, i felt was a national occurrence. >> not surprising to those who have seen the couch family up

close since the teen was sentenced for a drunk driving cash that killed four people in 2013. his attorneys argued that he suffered in ainfluenza, saying he lived a lifestyle where no consequences were given for bad behavior. abc news obtained deposition tapes. in the tapes he talked about his drug use. >> taken valium, hide row co done, marijuana, cocaine, xanax i've tried ecstasy once. >> his mother talked about how she let her son drive illegally. >> you understood if he was at any time he was under 16, he was never to be driving by himself? >> yes. >> nevertheless, you allowed that behavior to happen, correct? >> yes. >> when's the last time you recall disciplining ethan for

anything? >> i don't remember. >> mexican officials say ethan couch and his mother are being voluntarily deported back to the united states. prosecutors are fighting to get couch's case moved out of the juvenile system and into adults courts. for now, prosecutors say couch isn't likely to face significant jail time for violating terms of his probation. >> if he stays in the jew nile court, the maximum sentence he could receive is incarceration in a juvenile facility until he turns 19, which is from april of 2016. that is not enough. >> tonya couch will face a felony charge with up to ten years in prison as a sentence. prosecutors are trying to figure out what to do with ethan couch. the hearing to determine whether or not his case and custody will be transferred from a juvenile

system to the adult system isn't scheduled to be heard until january of next year. cnn, fort worth, text. cnn legal analyst, phillip holloway joins me to talk about this. thanks for being with us. ethan couch and his mother have been both an henlded in mexico. what is the next step for both of them? clearly, they're going in different directions here. >> well, they are. they're going in the same direction as r as far as probably houston, texas. he's going to go to a youth detention facility. she will go to an adult jail because she now faces state charges in texas. in fact, it's la felony. it's called hinlderring the apprehension of a felon. she would face up to ten years if convicted. >> the irony looks like she'll be in more trouble than he. >> in the short term.

>> in the meantime they're trying to transfer his case to a adult court system. >> he's still in the juvenile system. he was convicted and sentenced in the juvenile system. a juvenile luj will have to decide if it's in the best interest of texas to move him into an adult system. the ie robby mere -- irony is if that happens, all he can get is 120 days in jail. his mother faces ten years in prison. given his track record, i think that there's a very high likelihood that he could violate probation again, in which case an adult court judge has the option of giving him up to 40 years in prison the next time around. he's a young man who has killed four people. >> that's correct. >> showed no remorse, fled from

prey base, missed his probation. so you're saying if he behaves himself for the rest of time, he will be fine. he might confront 120 days. >> if he has no further violations of his probation, he would seven out the remainder of his sentence somewhere along the lines of eight years probation and he'll be done. his mother could still be serving time in a texas prison. how likely is it that she would get bail? >> bail for someone like her who has shown a propensity already to be a flight risk. let's look at the dramatic measures she apparently has taken to evade capture for so many weeks, all the assets by the united states and the mexican authorities to track her down, i don't see a rational judge giving her bail. if so it would be so staggeringly high that even she couldn't make that. >> you're confident that ethan

couch's case will be transferred to the adult system? >> i think it's almost a certainly that a judge in the juvenile court system would say i've seen what's happened so far with this case and the people of the state of texas needs to be protected as best as possible. if they keep him in the juvenile court system, hooez off pro bagsz in april and out of the system altogether. >> thank you so much. >> my pleasure. thank for having me. >> appreciate it. to a different story. the kremlin is handing out new year's gives to a select group. it's a book of quotes by vladimir putin. a group published the book in another signed r sign of the consult personality that's grown around mr. putin. among the selectionings, mr. putin's 1999 promise to terrorists. we will waste them in the out

house. they beat us and we get stronger. the diet air note, i drink caffeine. donald trump calls bill clinton's affairs fair game. north crane media describe him as a loyal warrior. coming up, details on a top aide to kim jong un. back in a moment.

and a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and of course all around the world. i'm rosemary church. let's update you on the main stories we've been following. the governor of missouri is

urging people to evacuate as rivers rise to dangerous levels. missouri is one of 13 states currently under flood warnings across the u.s. the national weather service says major to historic river flooding is expected in missouri through early next week. china's state-run news agency is reporting rescuers have found eight workers in a collapsed mine. the miners have been trapped for five days. rescue crews can now talk to them using an intercom system. one worker was killed in that collapse. nine people are still missing. counterterrorism officials around the world are on high alert ahead of new year's eve. police in belgium foiled one blot. two members of a muslim biker gang had planned to attack tourists, police, and soldiers. investigators say their blot was inspired but not directed by isis. north korea says its top liaison

with the south has been killed in a car accident. state media describes kim yang gon as the closest comrade to leader kim jong un. we talked last hour about the speculation swirling around the circumstances surrounding kim yang gon's death. what are people saying happened? >> well, very little is being said officially, which is probably what's fueling a lot of the speculation you're referring to here. officially the state news agency says he was killed in a car accident. they're saying nothing beyond that rather than heap some praise 307b him as a defeated loyal warrior for kim jong un's predecessors. they have planned this is state funeral for an apparently

prominent person. they're examining how another top official in north korea have suddenly died. some are pointing to a pattern of leaders being killed in car crashes. >> traffic accidents affecting senior officials used to happen on the way to or from a party organized by kim jung il. are we seeing the payne same pattern developing under kim jong un? i think this will be very interesting and it will be very interesting to see if this accident indeed happened on kim young un's way to the end of a party. >> there really is no way to garner any more details about the circumstances surrounding his death, the circumstances surrounding this car wreck other than to take the state news

report which is simply to say he died in a radar crash. we know he is someone who served in a prominent, visible role. he was part of the russian envoy in 2013. more recently he had a more significant role speaking to south korea. in august he was part of the team that helped to deescalate tensions between the two countries at this point. what impact is his deathlikely to have on north korea and of course south korea particularly with the liaison work he did and beyond, perhaps? >> reporter: it is a question being bandied about. certainly here in south korea we know that one government department sent a letter of con dolens. there are some experts who watch the region closely who say it's possible given the fact we haven't heard whether or not

north korea has nachld a successor, that this may slow down or stall talks. others are adamant that he was a representative of kim jong un. anyone can be used to fill that spot. and that is a person who transmits the north crane leader's message so this wasn't somebody directing policy so much as communicating on behalf of kim jong un. rosemary? >> not a roth of story coming out on the back story of this. we know you'll be watching this closely. our alexandra field joining us live from seoul, south korea. thanks to you. billionaire businessman donald trump has spent very little on his presidential campaign so far, an achievement nearly unpress denlted in american politics. but that is about to change. starting monday, the republican

front runner says he plans to spend big on advertising in early voting states. >> i feel i have an obligation even to myself and to the country to spend, and so wire going to be spending a minimum of two million dollars at first. we'll see what happens. if anybody goes after me, i will spend a lot of money against the people that go against me. >> any -- >> if somebody attacks me, i will attack them very much and very hard. but i'm $35 million under budget. i thought as of january 1, i would have spent $35 million. i spent nothing. i'm 35 million under budget. >> he's -- jeb has spent 40 million. >> he hasn't spent 40 million. he's wasted 40 million. >> he says his ads will focus on border security, trade, and protecting the u.s. from isil.

meantime, donald trump is inviting his rivals and the media to investigate his personal life if they want. his rarks come as he has called bill clinton's marital indiscretions in recent days a fair topic on the campaign trail. jeff zeleny has more. >> reporter: donald trump is opening a new front in his war with the clintons. surviving political scandles from two decades ago. >> there was a lieutenant f abuse of women. where it's monica la wen ski or donna jones for any of them. that's fair game. >> reporter: with bill clinton getting ready to hit the campaign trail, trurch said today everything is fair. even this. >> if they play the woman's card with respect to me, that will be fair game. >> reporter: inspect new hampshire, hillary clinton

ignored him. >> great to see you. >> reporter: her campaign issued a statement saying hillary clinton won't be concerned with the attacks. a stark remiechblder of how much time has passed since this tense moment at the hyatt of the mon -- hyatt of if monica la wen ski scandal. trump, once a golfing buddy with the president once told wolf blitzer, the impeachment was nonsense. >> look at the trouble bill clinton got into with something that was totally unimportant. it was nonsense. >> reporter: this morning he tried to explain his change of hard. >> i'm a businessman. i get along with everybody. i have got along with the clintons, the democrats, the liberals, the conservatives. that was my obligation as a

businessman. >> reporter: now trurchl is butting heads. the new feud has trump's primary fight written all over it. few things rally republicans more than taking on the clintons. overnight he tweeted "remember that bill clinton was brought in toe help hillary against obama in 2008. he was terrible, failed badly and was called a racist. from name-calling to nose picking, the trump campaign took the low road once again. retweeting a shot of jeb bush picking his nose. a spokeswoman fired back. on twitter there arose such a klatter. donald trump is back at it. all candidates feeling the pressure. marco rubio squeezing in a final round of hand shakes. in the new year trump says he's going to open his check book in the final month before the iowa caulk oss. he gloated today that he spent less than any candidate.

saying "now i will spend big. "he's fighting to stay out front. >> i demand the election be today. >> reporter: but the election, of course, will not be held today. it's held nevada five weeks when the iowa caucuses kick off. the challenge for donald trump is trying to turn all these suppo supporters into caucus goers on the night of february 1st when the republican voters start this presidential campaign. jeff zeleny, cnn, council bluffs, iowa. >> george pataki took a veiled shot at donald trump. the former new york governor had been trailing far behind trump in this republican polls. >> well, tonight is the end of my journey for the white house as i suspend my campaign for president. i'm confident we can elect the right person, someone who will bring us together and who understands that politicians, including the president, must be

the people's servant and not their master. >> pataki joins rick perry, skots walker, bobby jindal and lindsay graham in dropping out the race. 11 doids remain. some u.s. college students are sounding off about how they view the fwikt u.s. presidential election. some of the words they're using to describe how they people include embarrassing, divided, and confident. here's a look. >> reporter: -- what worries me is it's going to be an election of bashing. >> there's a lot of candidates with lots to offer. i think we all need to be educated voters.

le. >> our election season represents us poorly. it's frustrating. sometimes i'm embarrassed to be a part of it. >> this year i feel like you have the extremes of trump and carson on the way far right and you have people like bernie who are way far leftaged he scares people because he said he's a socialist. >> i feel it can go one way or the other way. it can go a really great direction or a worse direction. le. >> in south carolina, i feel like the candidate who wins the support will -- if you can connect with us, that will make you a successful candidate. very mixed response. we want to know how the election makes you feel in a single word. you can shair your thoughts on facebook, instagram or twitter using the hashtag 2016 in one

word. we're back in just one moment. stay with us. announcer: it's time to make room

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>> the world health organization has declared guinea to be completely free of ebola. beginy is where ebola began back in 2015 and quickly spread to liberia. >> for the first time in two years, we can say that all three countries have stopped the original chains of transmission which had led to such international and national alarm last year. since the epidemic began, the world health organization counts more than 28,000 confirmed or suspected cases of ebola worldwide. more than 11,000 have been fatal. west africa saw the vast

majority of cases and deaths, with guinea, liberia and sierra leone the countries hardest hit by the virus. let's go the united kingdom now where another deadly disease is surging, tb was a leading cause of death in the victorian era. max foster sploes why people are getting sick nowaged what scientists are doing to stop it. >> i haven't got much time. >> it may conjure up yichblg images of a charles dickens tale. >> it was, yeah, a complete shock. >> 24-year-old josey is nearing the ends of intensive treatment for tb. a year ago she was isolated in hospital.

>> i contracted tb tb from my boyfriend. he caught tb from his friend. his friend contracted his dad was diagnosed after d - traveling to india. it emerged again as a drug resistant form of the disease. i wasn't able to work or socialize. i wasn't able to kind of live a normal life. >> tb is one disease often synonymous with poverty, affecting the most vulnerable. health officials warn that strains of the disease lie undetected in all parts of modern society and could break out in the future. >> the bacteria can affect you and stay in your body for a long time. it becomes reawakened again and manifests when something happens to your level. >> reporter: it killed one in

four people at one point. thousands of victims are buried here at this cemetery. the situation isn't as bad as today but there are parts of london where tb rates are heyer than they are in a wanlda or iraq. other diseases common in the 19th sevenry are making comeback. >> there's been a huge rice in scarlet fever, 14,000 cases in the last year. the highest since the 1960s. we have seen a rise in the cases of tuberculosis and whooping cough. we've seen more measles in the last ten years than we've seen in the ten years before that. >> reporter: in fact, in the last five years in england, cases of scarlett fever have risen by 136%, skur very by high percentages.

why the resurgence? >> reduced population immunity, for example, with whooping cough, increased poverty as well as an influx in migration and malnutrition. >> reporter: 200 years later an age-old afflictions, poverty, malt nutrition, lack of health care contributing to the rise of victorian-era diseases today. max foster, cnn, london. still to come here, we go to the restaurant in beijing where customers are required to use their smart phones to order. and it's a quick knockout when former boxing champ mike tyson takes on a hover board. the treatments discovered at st. jude help save kids with cancer in hospitals everywhere. like where? like here and here. in those spots. donate now at st. jude dot org or shop wherever you see the st. jude logo.

some people complain that smart phones are running -- ruining, i should say, conversations another restaurants, but one eatery in beijing actually requires them to get a table. there are no hosts, no waiters, no cashiers. people use their phones to place

their orders. cnn's andruw stevens tried it out. >> reporter: it's lunchtime in beijing and here, and across the country, friends and colleagues are gathering for a bite to eat. we found a restaurant offering something slightly different. it's linking mobile technology with the city's deep love of food. welcome to ren-ren chian. waiters have been replaced with an app. it's not just any app. i'm now on weave chat -- wii chat. we're talking hundreds of millions of people on this. i've got the menu up. there are seven choices. i'm going for the spicy beef rice noodles. i'm getting a bit of a discount. so altogether that's about $5. it's giving me a number which will be called out in a few

minutes, and that will be my dish. one place there are phones, the kitchen, a team of chefs turning digital orders into your lunch. ok. here we are. in about five minutes. there's the beef with spicy noodles. all through the power of the smart phone and a helping hand from the kitchen. but the restaurant owner is looking at cutting his overheads even more. >> translator: there will be no waitress, no cashier, no merchandiser and no chef. i did this because i'm following the technology development trend in china. >> reporter: why not take it one step further and take out the need to speak a waiter, too? andrew stevens, cnn, beijing. looks delicious there.

all right. it's time to dust off those guns and roses t-shirts. ♪ billboard reports the original band will reyuntd in california this april. it would be the first time since 1993 that founding members ax el rose and slash will perform together. the report says they're negotiatesing concerts at football staumtds across the u.s. well, despite all the warnings about exploding batteries, hover boards were a hot gift for the holidays. but even an athletes like mike tyson koonltd keep his balance on one. you can see the former boxing champ taking some slow turns before falling flat on his back. there he goes. he wasn't down for the count, though. he posted the video with the hashtag mike tyson breaks back and i'm tool old for this. all right. and thanks for your company.

i'm rosemary church. remember, you can find me anytime on social media. would love to hear from you. stay tuned for "cnn newsroom." have a great day.

♪ >> a deadly rare winter storm flooding the mid-west t. death toll rising this morning. it's only going to get worse. the race for president shrinking this morning. george pataki calling it quits. not without a few parting words. the affluenza teen expected back in the u.s. in hours, what we are learning about his time in