ahead this hour, new details on how the president plans to curb gun violence in the u.s. while the measures looks small, it seems he's picked a major fight with republicans. no comment. hillary clinton refuses to take donald trump's bait and comment on her husband's past indiscretions. all of this while the gop front-runner doubles down in his first-ever tv ad. and pick a side. the sunni and shiite world line up behind saudi arabia and iran as these two islamic superpowers square off. hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and all

around the world. it's great to have you with us. "newsroom l.a." starts now. barack obama will start his last year in office by taking on gun control. the white house will announce a series of executive actions tuesday. expected among them, killing the so-called gun show loophole by expanding the definition of gun seller and requiring all sellers to conduct background checks. improving those background checks to enhance enforcement, and increase funding for mental health treatment. mr. obama insists he's not overstepping his authority. >> these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority, and the executive branch, but they

are also ones that the overwhelming majority of the american people, including gun owners, support and believe in. >> joining us now more on this is an author and columnist with the liberal website the daily cost. thank you for being with us. is this what you were expecting from the president? given all of the outcry from gun groups in the past few days, it all seems pretty timid. >> well, i mean, i think the obama administration and the president himself has been looking at this for a couple of years now. so it's not a complete shock. we've been seeing him come out with more executive orders recently, you know, having to do with everything from climate change, emissions rules, you know, immigration, et cetera. so i think this is not completely unsurprising. it's an effort that they started a couple of years back after sandy hook, the sandy hook elementary tragedy. and it's just come to fruition now. they tabled it for a while.

and i think, you know, some of the most recent tragedies have brought it back to the fore. so i think it's not completely unsurprising. it's also not unsurprising that the republicans have reacted in the manner that they have. >> these are all very incremental moves. as you say, they have been talked about for a very long time. it's not like he's, you know, going around rounding up all the guns in the united states, all 300 million of them. one of the big criticisms has been his use of executive action here, essentially bypassing congress. i guess my question for you is, why couldn't he get even these modest reforms through congress? >> well, as you know, that i tried after the sandy hook elementary tragedy in 2012. in 2013, they tried to get legislation through. at that point, it was a democratically controlled senate and they still couldn't get the legislation through. there are a handful of democrats that went the wrong way on that vote. i say went the wrong way because i'm a progressive.

but they voted against expanding pround che background checks, which are overwhelmingly popular, even among gun owners themselves. so once you can't get your own party to pass -- it wasn't just democrats. once you get a handful of defectors from your own party, i think you're left with, what canccan i do on my own? and they looked very carefully at what they could do. i will say that, you know, the republicans want to pretend that suddenly president barack obama has invented the executive order, like it's never been used. >> yeah. >> and that's just completely wrong. when you look at the history of executive orders being used, right now barack obama is basically on pace to end up about where george w. bush was at the end of his presidency. if you look at the last handful of presidencies, ronald reagan, you know, he had more than any of the last handful of presidents.

so it's not as if barack obama is, you know, usurping executive authority in a way that other presidents haven't. in fact, he's right on pace with some of the people who have used it less in the past. >> we'll leave it there. thank you for being with us. i think a lot of people have been waiting so many years for gun reform will be looking at that and saying, that's? but i guess we'll wait and see. please join cnn for a special look at guns in america with u.s. president barack obama. anderson cooper hosts an exclusive one-hour town hall event. see it thursday 8:00 p.m. in washington, 1:00 a.m. friday in london. 9:00 a.m. friday in hong kong. you will see it only here on cnn. the two u.s. branches whose legal battle inspired the armed occupation of a federal battle have turned themselves in.

dwight and steven hammond are convicted of arson on federal land. protesters say that the jail sentence and how the government handles land issues are both unconstitutional. here are the details. >> reporter: it's been three days and three nights, and this group says it plans to stay as long as it takes. >> we came very well prepared. we're in it for the long haul. >> reporter: today they gave themselves a name, citizens for constitutional freedom. they took us into the national park headquarters that they have taken over on federal lands, saying that the government has occupied it illegally. what do you plan to do? >> restore the lands to the people. >> reporter: for three days and three nights, they've had no resistance from law enforcement. >> you said you were here to help the citizens of the county. that help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed occupation. the hammonds have turned

themselves in. it's time for to you leave our community. go home to your families. and end this peacefully. >> reporter: they say they will be peaceful, if the police are. but they're armed, just in case. has anyone said anything to give you some idea that there is going to be bloodshed? >> reporter: we've been hearing all kinds of reports from people still in town that the sheriff is saying we're leaving either in body bags or handcuffs. so of course it just makes people nervous. >> reporter: we recognize two of the men right away. that's the man known for recently organizing anti-islam rallies in arizona. and the son of cliven bundy, a rancher who made national headlines for his stand against the government on his own ranch over land use rights. but this time, it's bundy and the rest of these men supporting a different ranching family. the hammonds. prosecutors say the hammonds were hunting deer on federal land and set fire to cover their

tracks. the hammonds claim they were just trying to clear invasive brush. despite serving time and being released, they turned themselves in again today after a federal judge ordered them back to prison for five more years. that was a call to arms for these men and women. they call themselves patriots following the constitution. but their critics have other names for them. >> there's a lot of social media discussion about what y'all are doing out here. they've used words like y'allkaida, and vanilla isis. they are basically calling you terrorists. how do you respond to these kind of accusations? >> i would just encourage that that -- and one, i think that is the minority. but i would encourage people to look into what's really happening and find out who is doing the terrorizing, who's been taking ranches. this refuge alone, over 100 ranches have been taken so they can make this park, this refuge. >> reporter: we pointed out to this group that indeed this land

used to belong to the native american tribe that's here. and shouldn't they be the ones that get the land back? their answer was, they should go ahead and put a claim in for it too. john? >> sara, thank you. for more, let's bring in steve moore, a retired special agent with the fbi and also cnn contributor. you used to be with the fbi. from your experience, the response which is underway right now, essentially to wait, is that the same response regardless of who is inside that building? guys with guns, let's say, if they were a pro isis group, if they were the same guys with the same guns inside that building, would be the response be the same? >> it would be the same based on the tactical situation. who can they hurt in there if they can hurt each other. if they start firing out the windows at law enforcement, maybe that will change things. or maybe you just get back a little ways. there is no real reason at this point to go in, and the fbi

knows that. and they learned that the hard way at the branch davidian. >> waco in texas. >> 100 people died in that. it was a suicide, however, it was provoked by the fbi intervention. >> so the bottom line here is, whoever is inside, whatever the demands are in a situation like this, the fbi will wait them out. >> they should. >> how long will they wait, and what would force that tactic to change? >> i think they will wait a long, long time. and the only thing that would force them to change that would be if these people posed a life and death threat to someone. what can they do in there right now? crank call people? >> exactly. what about the problem of underreaction? we have the bundies involved in the incident in nevada. they haven't been prosecuted for that. have they been rewarded for bad behavior? >> you will always get back what you give and what you don't give. bundy, who's at this place, is only here because he wasn't arrested the last time he pointed weapons at a federal agent.

you can be the underreact, or you're inviting it again. >> that's what's happened here, these guys have got away with it back in nevada and they are going to do it again. one thing that is out there on social media, a lot of people are saying these guys are y'allkaeda, you know, kind of funny stuff. but they are saying this is essentially terrorism. for you, if you look at this, do their actions here meet the legal definition of terrorism? >> it meets the legal definition. i can tell you right now that the fbi agents working this casework domestic terrorism. this will be listed as a domestic terrorism case. it meets the definition. it's a different tactic on their part. they are not going out and killing people. but they are engaging in the same type of behavior. >> so if it does from to fruition if they arrest these guys, what will the charges be? >> you don't always have to charge them with terrorism. they can be charged with domestic terrorism or simply with a substantive crime.

>> like what? >> they took over a building. they took over a federal building. they brandished guns at federal employees. resisting arrest. assault with a deadly weapon. something like that. >> a lot of options out there. >> yes. you just need to get them out. >> good to speak to you, steve. thank you for coming. >> good seeing you. ♪ well, with primary season less than a month away, the republican u.s. presidential candidates are invoking higher powers. ted cruz is quoting both the bible and clint eastwood, while donald trump is running an ad to show how he could keep moroccans from coming over the border. >> that's why he is calling for a temporary shutdown of muslim coming into the united states. >> reporter: donald trump's first paid television ad vintage trump. >> he'll stop illegal

immigration by building a wall on our southern border that mexico will pay for. >> reporter: and not without controversy. it turns out that footage of people flooding the border is not mexico and the u.s., but morocco and spain. after the website politofact uncovered it, the campaign said it was intentional. trump rallied a huge crowd this weekend in mississippi. >> outside we have thousands of people trying to get in. >> reporter: but it is iowa, just four weeks away, where his fiercest competitor is spending his week. >> this is now the time that the men and women of iowa step up. >> reporter: ted cruz on a 28-stop, six-day bus stop is trying to turn his lead in the polls to an actual win next month, appealing to evangelicals by quoting the bible. >> the people shall humble

themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways and seek my face. >> reporter: and throwing down his best clint eastwood imitation. >> when you hang a man, make sure to hang him heir high. >> reporter: the iowa caucuses are february 1. new hampshire is the 9th, and that's where marco rubio and chris christie started their days, making plays to be the alternative to trump and cruz. >> it's not entertainer in chief or commentator in chief or even frankly economist in chief. it is described as commander in chief. if you can't be bothered to offer specifics on how you will perform that job, then quite frankly, you don't deserve that job. >> but anger is not a strategy. and it won't make our government better, and it won't make our country better. unless that anger is used to motivate us towards electing someone who can actually do the job. >> reporter: rubio and christie aren't just going after trump and cruz. they are going after each other. a little more than five weeks

from the new hampshire primary, each thinks the other is a prime competitor to be the favorite of the republican establishment. rubio's super pac is poised to air attack ads against the new jersey governor, and chris christie is doing well in new hampshire after camping out there for months hoping for a comeback. dana bash, cnn, washington. joined now by the assistant managing editor of politics at "the los angeles times." let's start with the trump ad. i heard it this morning. i'm donald trump. i approve this message. soaring music. and then the campaign ad. >> scared out of your wits. >> normally the first tv ad for the candidate, it's the family, the biography, maybe some policy issues. but not donald trump. this is clearly where he sees his path to victory. >> the reason traditional candidates have to do that biography ad is because you don't know who they are. we are talking about someone who has millions of followers both from social media, from his television show, from his presence over the last decade as

this figure in american pop culture. so he doesn't need to introduce himself. what he has found to be a successful strategy is to scare people. he was never going to record a nice bioad like that. that's not the idea. >> the other thing that's clear looking at the start of 2016, and isn't is nice to be talking about the 2016 campaign in the year 2016? is that trump is still going to continue to go after bill clinton. and i -- this is all about his moralizing in the '90s. bill clinton does very well as explainer in chief, but not when someone is getting under his sk skin. is that a danger for the clintons? >> that's a danger for anyone going up against bill clinton. you can remember the sort of finger wagging bill clinton who was angry with barack obama the last election. and you have to remember his talents as well. he went out and talked about hillary clinton is still the same woman i fell in love with when we were in law school. those are the types of things

they'll try to channel him talking about, what kind of person she is. but he's also somebody that can say, i was president, and i have all of these things, that i know a president needs to have when they get into the oval office. so he directs that at trump, you know, he's got a pretty strong argument. >> i noticed today he was out there campaigning and didn't seem to get as much buzz as they i thought he would have. and hillary clinton was on the campaign trail and she was specifically asked if she wanted to respond to something donald trump said about her. this is what she said. >> i've adopted a new year's resolution. [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] i'm going to let him live in his alternative reality, and i'm not going to respond. [ laughter ] >> an alternative reality for donald trump. she's not going to respond. it's a funny line. but i wonder if it indicates it's better to ease off of donald trump. maybe he's getting to her a little. >> but she also has the

democratic primary to worry about. every candidate is just being forced to react to donald trump for the last many months. so every debate, you know, this is what they are presented with, donald trump says x. what is your reaction? so this is a good line to say i want to focus on my campaign for values, and she has been stepping up her criticism of bernie sanders particularly on issues of wall street reform, which is something that he has an advantage over her on. that's where she's trying to put her focus. she doesn't want to talk about the republicans just yet. >> is it a good strategy to ignore donald trump? jeb bush tried to ignore him. that didn't work out. >> it's a cliche to say he takes up the oxygen in the race, but he does. he's been this commanding figure with double digit leads for a long time. there's less than a month to go until iowa voters show up at the caucuses. >> and someone actually votes. real votes in a real election. thank you for coming in. >> thank you. short break here.

when we come back, the financial markets in the asian pacific region rebounding from monday's major slide. we'll be live in beijing for a check on the latest numbers. that's up next. also, new protests in iran over saudi arabia's execution of a shiite cleric, and the tensions that are spilling over to neighboring countries. i'm here at my house, on thanksgiving day and i have a massive heart attack right in my driveway. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen.

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financial markets in the asian pacific market are looking to rebound from monday's major slide. shanghai saw the biggest drop on monday down nearly 7%. right now, let's check out the region. the nikkei down by 1/3 of 1%. the shanghai up by a quarter of 1%. in hong kong, down by half of 1%. in australia, the sapp asx 200 down by more than 1.5%. u.s. markets started the year in negative territory as well. the dow saw its worst opening day since 2008, finishing down 276 points on monday. it was a whole lot worse earlier on, the dow falling more than 400 points at one point. for more on what's driving the markets, let's bring in matt

from beijing. it's been a wild ride there. what's behind the volatility today and what are regulators there doing to try to calm the fears of some investors? >> the big reasons according to the analysts that we've spoken to for this volatility are several. depending on when analyst you talk to, they have differing opinions. one of things we heard a lot about yesterday was worsening confidence in the manufacturing sector in china. another interesting notion would be the lifting of a ban here in china at the end of this week. it was late last -- it was last summer, rather, than chinese regulators instituted a ban on major shareholders from selling their stakes in listed companies for six months. now analysts tell us that those stakes, because these are major shareholders, could be worth hundreds of millions of chinese yen. that would be a lot of money that is being tied up by this ban. that ban is set to be lifted by january 8. what some analysts are telling

us is perhaps what spooked investors yesterday was the fear that once the shares are freed up, there would be a selloff here in china at the end of this week. that could be what prompted the drop that we saw in chinese markets yesterday. in response to those claims, the chinese regulatory commission here in charge of financial markets issued a statement early this morning in which they were relatively vague but said that they would not allow such a large selloff to happen later on this week. they weren't specific in saying how they would prevent that from happening but they did say they were aware of that being a possibility, and that they would not allow something like that to affect the markets. so some of the analysts that we've spoken to have said that statement from the chinese regulatory commission helped calm investor fears this morning. so after an initial drop right after trading started, things have really stabilized and held steady for the last several hours, john. >> matt, thank you.

live on a very sunny day there in beijing. monday's market slide in china could have been a whole lot worth. circuit breakers stopped trading in times of extreme volatility. richard quest explains how it all works. >> it was the first major test of these circuit breakers. and nobody could have really forecast exactly how they were going to be so tested to destruction. the reasons why they were activated, first of all, you had a jolt of bad manufacturing data. there was the 10th month of shrinking factory activity. that's the fundamental reason that starts the whole process off. the chinese economy is not performing well. then the authorities decided to remove one of the safeguards. they lifted the ban on share sales by large investors. so now you have fundamentals and you have technicals. what happens, the sellers move

in. the market goes down by 5%. and there's a 15-minute pause. after that 15-minute pause. trading begins again. this time, the equivalent of fire! and everybody is heading for the door. the market falls some 7%, and the market then under the regulations has to close for the day. what you have here is a perfect storm of fundamental news, speculative and technical factors, circuit breakers. did they make the situation worse? did they cause the crisis? probably not. they did what they were supposed to do. they allowed a pause for reflection and consideration, and then the market continued exactly where it was going. richard quest, cnn, new york. when we come back, a number of arab nations are following

saudi arabia's lead by cutting back ties with iran. we'll have the latest on the fallout of saudi arabia's execution of a shiite cleric. getting key nutrients from food alone. let's do more. add one a day women's gummies. complete with key nutrients we may need... ...plus it supports bone health with calcium and vitamin d. one a day vitacraves gummies.

welcome back, everybody. you're watching "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. after seeing a number of gun control initiatives stalled in congress, president obama is taking unilateral action. the white house is set to announce executive orders tuesday that are expected to require background checks from a wider range of gun sellers. a group of armed protesters in the u.s. state of oregon are

occupying a federal building, refusing to leave even after the two ranchers who inspired the protest turned themselves in on monday. law enforcement has yet to take any action. a former south carolina police officer charged in the videotaped shooting of an unarmed black man has been released from jail. michael slager was granted bail on monday. last april, slager pulled walter scott over, reportedly for a broken brake light. scott ran away from the scene and was shot in the back by slager. the teen whose lawyer used an afluenza defense over a deadly drunken driving defense will remain in mexico for now. ethan couch has been granted a temporary stay. his mother is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing regarding her extradition to texas on tuesday. and craig strickland has been found dead in oklahoma. he went missing a week ago after heading out on a duck hunting trip with a friend on a lake in

extreme weather conditions. his body was found on land monday, but the cause of death has yet to be determined. strickland's friend was found drowned two days after the disappearance. now to protests across the middle east as the tensions between saudi arabia and iran spill over to neighboring countries. bahrain, sudan, and the uae have all cut back ties with iran. nick robertson is joining us from riyadh. what appears to be the next move there from the saudis? >> reporter: well, i think it's pretty well outlined on the headline of the arab news newspaper. this is the main english language national newspaper here. and it says quite boldly, ksa, kingdom of saudi arabia, severs trade links and air links with iran. they do add a caveat that anyone coming to mecca from iran, and there were thousands, tens of thousands of pilgrims who do that on a weekly basis, will still be invited and able to come. but this is a further escalation

of the tensions between the two countries, severing those air links and trade links. now we also say on this newspaper as well, highlighting several other points about the latest spat. here you have a picture of what purports to be one of the rooms in the embassy in tehran that was overturned when people broke in. on this side of the page here, you have a picture of the national flags of the countries that have joined saudi arabia in their diplomatic standoff with tehran. bahrain now has severed diplomatic ties with tehran. that is perhaps no surprise. bahrain of all the region at countries are closest to saudi arabia. sudan has thrown out its iranian diplomats. it's severed ties with tehran as well. and the united arab emirates has downgraded its diplomatic relationship. you have the prime minister on the front page with some very

strong words with the current situation. you would have the impression here that this is still escalating rather than de-escalating right now. the tensions are getting higher, john. >> very quickly, what more do you know about these reports of spreading violence in saudi sparked by the execution of that shiite cleric? >> yeah. there was a report of shootings in the east of the country, predominantly shia area, close to the area that nimr al nimr was from. a young boy was shot and treated and we understand he's okay. that's a concern for the authorities here. >> nick robertson, international diplomatic editor in riyadh. thank you. for more, i'm joined by bob baer. thank you both for being with us. my first question for you, bob. pick a side. does it mean anything, the actions that have been taken by

bahrain, sudan, and the uae when it comes to severing ties with the iranians? >> it means a lot. the iranians now can't go on the handling. handling /* hajj. >> they are saying there will be exemptions. >> but the hajj will be cut way back. the saudis have taken this very seriously. and i think that the execution of sheikh nimr al nimr was done on purpose to provoke the iranians. the saudis are very worried about what's happening in the middle east. in syria, the russians are bombing their allies. you have iraq not going well for them. and yemen is going terrible for them too. the saudis are feeling beleaguered. and they're especially worried about the ascendency of iran. and they are going to go after them. >> on that point that bob brought up about all the domestic problems that the saudis are facing, the economy is collapsing, the oil prices are falling. even this crisis didn't push it

up. this is an economy in trouble. they actually would -- i mean, a crisis like this isn't exactly unwelcome at this point, right, to the royal family? >> it gives you a lot to look at that's not inside your own borders and takes away from the discussion about the economy and about what liberals want and what reformers want. and i think it takes you really into a discussion about saudi arabia's role in the world versus iran, which is a fruitful discussion to have if you want to really further inflame a sectarian divide that's playing out across the region already in conflicts that are now on fire and threaten only to get worse. >> you're nodding your head. >> i agree with her totally. but there's a major problem that's nobody's focusing on, and that's the second crown prince. he's 30 years old. the defense minister. he's in charge of the economy. he's in charge of this failed war in yemen. and there's something of a power struggle going on. he wants to become -- he wants to succeed his father, replace him. he's young. he doesn't know what he's doing.

there are a lot of saudis very worried about the direction he's taking this country. it's something we have to look at. we simply do not know what his next step will be, where he'll take the iranians on. will it be with arms or just diplomatically? >> there's also the iranian side of this equation. the iranians are hardliners. not entirely unhappy this is happening because they have this nuclear deal, you know, which they have struck with the west. there's also elections coming up. would you say the big losers in iran, the iranian president and the more moderates in iran? >> and people who are in favor of the nuclear deal, who were looking forward to the december address from the president. we're going to be opening up iran to the world. we're going to be bringing oil onto the market. iran will be re-entering. we'll have peace and prosperity. for those who didn't want to see a reconnection, and for those who were on the hardline side this is very much playing right into their hands. and i think you're going to see people who favor a sectarian divide only getting worse. >> the statement came out from the white house saying that the

administration warned the saudis of the consequences of executing the shiite cleric. they did it kanyway. what does that say about the american role? >> there's a huge question about america's influence. diplomats say it's another sign that the american leverage, whatever it had, is diminished. and the prospect of syrian peace talks in geneva in january, maybe, have gone from distant to remote now because they were relying upon both the saudis and the iranians being very much involved. >> what about this possibility of the russians putting themselves forward as someone who can mediate between both sides? is this a crisis that can be mediated by a third party like the russians? can they do it? or is it beyond that? >> the russians are the enemy for saudi arabia. >> yeah. >> they are lowering oil prices to go after the russians. it's not just against the american fracking. they are russia's opponents. we are better off. but i agree with you. we don't know what's going on in saudi arabia. we have no leverage.

we've had none since 2003. the invasion of iraq, which the saudis look at as a great betrayal. and it was in a sense. i mean, they do have a legitimate position on this. but i have never seen things this bad in the middle east even going back to '88 when the fighting in the gulf between iran and saudi arabia and we were protecting shipping there. this is -- you know, this very well could turn into a larger regional war. and if i had to predict, i would say it will. >> what sparks that larger regional war? >> an accident. >> someone miscalculates? >> someone miscalculates or some confrontation in the gulf with the iranian navy. there's nothing we can do about their missiles. they could take saudi oil facilities out in 20 minutes. there's nothing we can do about it. >> gail, we look around the region. we look at the wars that the two countries are essentially fighting proxies in. we have syria and yemen. what are we not seeing?

what are the other issues that could flare up because of the escalating tekz tensions? >> i think syria and yemen are plenty right now. and look at iraq. look at syria and yemen, and those are very bloody wars that are claiming lives. syria has killed the equivalent of scottsdale, arizona. i was in turkey recently interviewing syrian refugees. people's lives caught in the crossfire of a war they had little to do with. and the prospects for this fifth year being the last of the civil war in syria are slim to none. >> and more refugees are hitting europe than ever before. >> and you're sitting back and you're the leader of isis, you're a happy man right now? >> he is fighting back in ramadi. they still haven't taken it in a week. and this is exactly what he wants. and the saudis indirectly are

going to be supporting the islamic state. it's better to have the bully on your side facing iran than to be alone. and the saudis are very anxious about their future and the future of the royal family. and the muslims are pushes hard on the royal family to do something about the shia, because the execution of the sheikh, he was a nonviolent man. everybody sort of agrees. and there's been no case that has been made he was involved in terrorism. >> there were four shias executed out of the 47. and the shias were included in that for the hardliners, right? >> he was an important man. there is genuine anger across the middle east about his execution. i've been watching the demonstrations from karachi to tehran. these were not manufactured by the iranian regime. they were true anger. >> and they were foreseen. if you talked to u.s. officials, people had said, if this happens, then, right, what you're going to see. >> these are the consequences. >> and the fact that it went on

anyway tells you a lot about what's happening in the region. >> catastrophe. >> thank you for coming in. a new british sounding militant is featured in the new isis video. coming up here on cnn, the new jihady john. stay with us. and cnn visits the recently liberated iraq i city of ramadi to see what remains after six months of isis control. and includes b vitamins to help convert food to energy. mmmmm, these are good! nice work, phillips! the tasty side of fiber, from phillips'. does your mouth often feel dry? multiple medications, a dry mouth can be a side effect of many medications. but it can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath. that's why there's biotene, available as an oral rinse, toothpaste, spray or gel. biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy too. remember, while your medication is doing you good, a dry mouth isn't.

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welcome back. a chilling new video from the terrorist group isis reveals there may be a new jihady john. in the 10-minute video which hasn't been independently verified, a man with a british accent is heard threatening and insulting british prime minister david cameron, calling him an imbecile and a slave to the white house. >> this is desperate stuff from an organization that really does do the most utterly despicable and ghastly acts. and people can see that again today.

>> with iraqi troops back in control of ramadi, cnn visited the city with iraqi counterterrorism forces and shows us the toll isis has taken on the city and its residents. >> reporter: iraqi helicopters keep a watchful eye in the sky above, and all around what remains of ramadi after six months of isis rule. driving through here, you just really get hit by the desolation, the devastation, that was visited on this city. what the air strikes and the ground offensive didn't destroy, isis rigged to blow. ramadi fell in may last year, and since then, the iraqi counterterrorists have battled to reclaim it. every inch an advance through the unknown. >> here okay? >> yeah, here okay.

>> reporter: the only way we can safely walk is in his footsteps much even though they have cleared this area and held it for the last few days, there are still areas within this that are booby trapped. ramadi was home to nearly a million people. today, as troops continue their push, we're told possibly over 1,000 families remain trapped. facing death amidst the rubble. as the battle for ramadi has raged, it's been hard to get a sense of the toll on civilians. but in this video filmed for cnn, you can see soldiers race across a sniper alley to escort back a white flag waving boy and his family. those who can't walk are carried. all desperate to escape. this man describes the horror his family faced. isis tried to take us away, he says. young, old, ill.

they wanted to take us all. in this clip, soldiers gather what remains of the dead. some like this woman appear to have been shot. others blown to pieces by ieds. much of what was filmed is too graphic to show you. like the remains of a little boy carried to burial. all over ramadi, remnants of isis' rule still stands. this is what would have been an isis suicide car bomb. you can see the keys actually still inside the ignition. they climb in through the top. there's a hole cut out of the roof around here. on the back, this is where they packed the explosives here in the bed of the pickup truck. cars like these are what have been coming towards the iraqi forces every single day since liberation, packed full of explosives, ready to blow. the head of iraq's counterterror force told us the liberation of

ramadi should be celebrated around the world, that this is just the first of the victories to come. here in ramadi, night falls. more rescued families escape. this little girl can't stop crying. for her, for now, all that matters is she's safe. cnn, ramadi. a short break here on cnn "newsroom." when we come back, it's often a stand-up comic's biggest problem and one for a presidential candidate as well. hecklers. so who handles them the best? that's after the break. ? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts.

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my pleasure. goodnight, tim. for all the confidence you need. who's tim? td ameritrade. you got this. marie callender starts her tuturkey breast to perfection. so that you can spend time on what really matters. marie callender's heckling not just a rite of passage for presidential candidates. for some, it's practically an everyday event. which candidate is best at handling the hecklers? here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: they can be rude. they can be annoying. >> wait, wait, wait. >> reporter: but who the heck can resist hecklers? it was news when hillary clinton first tried to ignore -- >> i'm not going to take your question. >> reporter: or a republican state representative insistent on bringing up sex issues

concerning bill clinton, finally prompting hillary to snap. >> you are very rude. i'm not going to ever call out. thank you. >> reporter: the same weekend, bernie sanders was confronted by a sign-waving guy wearing a trump shirt. >> here's a trump supporter worried about mr. trump's money. >> reporter: a sanders supporter retaliated by giving the heckler the two-handed one-finger salute. no one gets more practice with hecklers than donald trump himself. he's always saying -- >> hello. hello. >> reporter: to a heckler. or waving goodbye. >> bye-bye. >> reporter: at one point, trump was accused of being too rough on a heckler who got shoved around. >> get him the hell out of here, will you, please? you can get him out. but don't hurt him. >> reporter: he tends to handle hecklers with squluhrugs, smili and -- one time got in trouble

for saying one heckler was overweight. depending on which candidate you heckle, you could get mr. jeckyll or mr. hyde. >> excuse me? >> reporter: to chris christie saying sit down. >> sit down and shut up. >> reporter: bernie sanders decided to stand down when black lives matter protesters showed up at his podium, refusing to shake his hand. the candidate backed off as an organizer tried to deal. >> i promise you that's not going to happen with me. >> reporter: it's hard to outheckle the heckler in chief. >> how can i describe our leaders better than the word "stupid"? >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn. >> bye-bye. >> new york. >> bye-bye. thank you for watching ""cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. i'm john vause. i'll be back with another hour of news from around the world after a short break. you're watching cnn.

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that's why i switched from u-verse to xfinity. now i can download my dvr recordings and take them anywhere. ready or not, here i come! (whispers) now hide-and-seek time can also be catch-up-on-my-shows time. here i come! can't find you anywhere! don't settle for u-verse. x1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. this is "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. ahead this hour, republicans already taking aim at u.s. president barack obama's executive action on guns. we'll break down the details of his plan. donald trump reaching into

his own pockets for the first time to get his message onto television. fact checkers, though, already crying foul. and we'll take you to the federal building that's been taken over by an armed group in oregon. they claim they're not leaving any time soon. hello, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. great to have you with us. i'm john vause. "cnn newsroom" l.a. starts right now. the white house is bypassing congress in the battle over gun violence after repeated initiatives stalled on capitol hill. president obama is set to announce executive actions that will, among other things, expand background checks. republicans say he's overreaching. mr. obama insists he's not. >> these are not only recommendations that are well

within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they're also ones that the overwhelming majority of the american people, including gun owners, support and believe in. i'm also confident that the recommendations that are being made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the second amendment and people's lawful right to bear arms. >> michelle kaczynski has more now on what the president is planning. >> you look at this and you can see the administration trying to make changes in every way possible. but because these are executive actions, and not acts of congress, immediately you see those limits that they are up against. they are presented as proposals or guidance or encouragement. by no means are these new laws. the biggest deal is the background checks. the white house now says if you are in the business of selling guns, whether that means two

guns a year or 200,000, whether you're selling them at a gun show or on the dark web, you need to register, and all of your buyers need background checks. there will be harsh penalties if you don't that. but the big question is out there, how is the federal government going to make you register and track you down if you don't? the white house also sent a letter now to every state governor encouraging them to make sure more information goes into the background check system. things like if people might be disqualified for mental illness or convictions for domestic violence. but, again, enforcement is a question. the white house wants to beef up the background check system itself with more staffing, more funding. it wants a lot more funding for mental health treatment in this country. again, though, those are asks, and congress would have to approve that funding. michelle kosinski, cnn, the white house. president obama will officially announce his new measures from the east room of the white house tuesday morning. but already there's been a

tsunami of criticism from many opposed to gun controls. the president of the anti-tax group americans for tax reform is also on the board of director for the national rifle association. thank you for being with us. over the weekend, you tweeted this. to understand what obama wants in our future, watch the "star wars" movies and imagine that only the storm troopers have guns. let's look at what the president is proposing here. all dealers selling at gun shows and in stores and on the internet, they are rider to run background checks and get licenses of anyone buying a gun. they want extra manpower to run background checks. develop a smart gun system. >> the praise for the australian approach, which was confiscation. hillary's calling for taxing guns, which dates back to 1993.

her congressional testimony to try and price guns out of the hands of lower income americans. it's the direction that they are trying to go in, which includes confiscation. they have not denounced what happened in australia. but spoke of it admiringly. >> as an australian and someone who was there during that period of time when the conservative prime minister john howard embarked on that gun buyback scheme and took, i think, it was 800,000 weapons out of circulation, that has been a very successful program. there's not been one mas shos shooting in australia since then, and the murder rate has gone down. >> the united states is not australia. we don't want guns confiscated here. what we do know is in the last 20 years, the number of guns has doubled, and has hit historic highs. and violence has dropped in half. so as more americans own guns,

and of course one of the problems that hillary clinton and obama have is that their understanding of america is rather old. 1993 when they were passing gun control, the assault weapons ban and so on. since then, today, there are 12.8 million american citizens, more than 5% of the adult population, have a concealed carry permit. can carry a gun on them any time they want to like a policeman in this country. that number has been jumping 1.5 million a year. it's probably more than 14 million now. that number will go up again before the next election. and crime has fallen fastest in those states with the most concealed carry. florida -- >> but causation is not actually an argument here, because there's a lot of other factors. the economy was improving. there's a whole host of issues that play into that. you can't say people have more guns so therefore it's more

safe. australians don't have as many guns and the murder rate has gone down. >> different country. different history. >> well, they are similar countries, similar heritage. go ahead. >> and the murder rate began falling state-by-state when they passed concealed carry. it continued with good and bad economies over the last 20 years. there is a direct correlation between more people with concealed carry permits, fewer rapes, fewer murders, fewer violent person on person crime. >> well, then why is it there is an overwhelming number of people in this country, according to the opinion poll, both democrats and republicans, who want some kind of tougher gun control laws, whether it's more background checks, whether it's keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill? even the supreme court recognized that in that ruling, and this was justice scalia, that laws imposing conditions on the sale of guns can be

consistent with the second amendment? >> well, we have polls. they are called elections. and we have a majority of the house of representatives and a strong majority in the senate, including some democrats, who consistently vote for the second amendment. in the 50 states, more than 40 now have concealed carry shall issue laws. about 90 pro gun nra supported bills passed last year. there's been a lot of talk about somehow maybe all of bloomberg's lovely money flowing in to support gun control has changed the politics. it hasn't. bloomberg tried to buy two particular state senate races in virginia. spent $3 million. and lost on the gun issue. so this is an issue that when people vote, they tend to vote pro second amendment, pro the ability of families to defend themselves and take care of themselves. >> when 30,000 americans are dying every year, and 10,000 of

that number are being killed in gun related homicides, you don't think that's a problem when the next nearest country to you has a fraction of that death toll? >> obviously, we'll like to see less crime. we'd like to see murderers and criminals put in jail for significant periods of time to take them off the streets. what the president has not been doing is enforcing those laws that do exist against criminals and making sure that violent criminals spend a great deal of time in prison and murderers get executed. that's not the position and the direction that the president is going. >> mr. norquist, thank you for being with us. i appreciate your insights. >> you got it. please join cnn for a special look at guns in america with u.s. president barack obama. anderson cooper hosts an exclusive one-hour live town hall event. see it thursday night at 8:00 in washington, and 1:00 a.m. in london for our sbroointernation

viewers and 9:00 a.m. in hong kong. only here on cnn. it's time for the music. less than a month now until primary season and the u.s. presidential race. and republican candidates are stepping up their rhetoric with bible verses and movie quotes. as dana bash reports, one candidate is resorting of artful use of footage from morocco. >> temporary shutdown of muslimses entering the united states. >> reporter: donald trump's first television ad is vintage trump, blunt and provocative. >> he'll cut the head off isis and take their oil and stop immigration by building a wall on our southern border that mexico will pay for. >> reporter: and not without controversy. it turns out that footage of people flooding the border is not mexico in the u.s., but morocco and spain. after the website politofact uncovered the discrepancy, the

trump campaign insisted it was intentional to show the severe impact of an open border. on the forum, the reality star used to become the front-runner free media, trump started 2016 as he ended 2015, going after both clintons on cnn's "new day." >> she used the word "sexist." i'm sexist. and she was using very sort of derogatory terms. i said, how in the hell can she do that when she's got one of the great women abusers of all time sitting at her house? >> reporter: trump rallied a huge crowd this weekend in mississippi. >> outside, we have thousands of people trying to get in. >> reporter: but it is iowa, just four weeks away, where trump's fiercest competitor in the caucuses is spending his week. >> this is now the time that the men and women of iowa step up. >> reporter: ted cruz on a 28-stop, six-day bus tour, is trying to turn his iowa lead in the polls into an actual win next month, appealing to evangelicals by quoting

scripture. >> pray and lift up this country. we stand on the promise of second kron cells 7:14, if my people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face then i will hear their prayers. >> reporter: and throwing down his best clint eastwood imitation. >> when you hang a man, make sure to hang him high. >> reporter: the iowa caucuses are february 1. new hampshire's primary is the 9th. that's where marco rubio and chris christie started their days, making plays to be the alternatives to trump and cruz. >> the job is not described in the constitution as entertainer in chief or commentator in chief or even frankly economist in chief. it is described as commander in chief. if you can't be bothered to offer specifics on how you will perform that job, then quite frankly, you don't deserve that job. >> anger is not a strategy. it won't make our government better and it won't make our country better, unless that anger is used to motivate us to

elect someone who can actually do the job. >> dana bash, cnn, washington. a legal writer for "the los angeles times" is now joining us. 2016. talking about the 2016 race. >> it's finally here. >> this has been the longest campaign ever, and it hasn't even really started. iowa is 28 days away. trump will begin 2016 the same way he ended 2015, attacking bill clinton. this is what he is exceptionally good at. he may be fast and loose with the facts and the truth, some people might say. may not be very good at policy. but he is very good at picking a rival's weakness. has he done that with the clintons? >> he has gone after several of his republican rivals and very successfully. you know, just needled them, pushed them into pushing back. and they have all fallen in the polls, and he keeps on rising. with democrats, i think it's a little different because there is a deep vein of support for both clinton in the democratic party that goes even beyond

democrat support of hillary clinton. there's fondness that people look back on the '90s. it's certainly a good way to amp up republican supporters. >> keeping the line, because president clinton did start the campaigning today by himself. he was out there. he refused to respond to trump's attack. and also hillary clinton was given a chance to respond, and this is what she said. >> i have adopted a new year's resolution. [ cheers and applause ] i'm going to let him live in his alternative reality, and i'm not going to respond. [ cheers and applause ] [ laughter ] >> okay. so do you think this is the strategy for hillary clinton now? there is nothing to be gained for her by going man-on-man with donald trump right now? >> if anything, if donald trump continues these attacks and people start seeing it as an attack on a woman, can work a little bit in our favor. and the other thing is, with

bill clinton, he has to be careful with how he is on the trail. he is an incredibly gifted politician. anybody on both sides of the aisle admits that, even if they don't totally agree with him. we saw in 2008 when he was getting needled or upset when then senator barack obama was on his rise, he lashed out. he needs to avoid doing that. we saw that today, where he was getting passionate. >> he was very disciplined. on a tight leash. >> exactly. >> we have the campaign that has come after donald trump. the ad, it's not the mexican border. it's somewhere in europe. a campaign manager told nbc news this. no [ bleep ] is not the mexican border, but this is what our country is going to look like. this is 1,000% on purpose. in the past, wouldn't this have been a much bigger deal for other campaigns? these guys seem to be teflon. >> if you look at what any talking heads last year when trump said something bad about

mexicans, that would be the end. when he said something bad about megyn kelly and women, that would be the end. he has tapped into something visceral that the electorate is feeling this time around. even if they don't agree with what he's saying, they agree that he's not afraid to say what he wants to say. >> if it's the ability to turn a negative into a positive, it's astountding. >> i've never seen anything like this. it's amazing to watch. >> only just getting started. cue the music. tensions between iran and saudi arabia. other middle eastern countries are choosing sides. we'll have more on the ongoing protests and the risks of escalation. and live to beijing to check on chinese stocks to see if they can rebound after a bad day on monday. whei just put in the namey, of my parents and my grandparents. and as soon as i did that, literally it was like you're getting 7, 9, 10, 15 leaves that are just popping up all over the place. yeah, it was amazing.

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now to the escalating tensions in the middle east. iranians launched new protests angry over saudi arabia's recent execution of a shiite cleric. the embassy in tehran was attacked over the weekend. neither side is showing and sides of backing down, and now

bahrain, sudan, and the uae have also severed or cut back diplomatic relations with iran. fred, i guess the question is, what's the next move here for the saudis? what happens next? >> well, for the saudis, we're going to have to wait and see whether they'll continue to up the ante. it was very interesting, since they cut their diplomatic ties on sunday to see what they did on monday. and then to see them actually continue to escalate the situation with the saudis came out and said they believed it was the iranians who were undermining the security of saudi arabia. of course, on the one hand with the storming of the embassy in tehran but also with some of the political moves that the iranians have been making in the region. the iranians then cut off economic ties, stopped flights between iran and saudi arabia and banned saudi citizens from going to iran. still allowing hajj pilgrims from iran to come to saudi arabia. we'll see whether there is more

escalation and whether other predominantly sunni countries will also join the saudis in also cutting off ties, john. >> fred, we're also expecting a news conference from the iranian government. i guess you've been to tehran a lot. how often do these guys hold news conferences? and what are we expecting from this? >> it's a fairly regular occurrence to have press conferences from the government. it is something that does happen on a regular basis. it's interesting to have seen the reaction that came out of tehran. on the one hand, you still have the demonstrations going on. you still have the very public anger at the execution of the prominent shia cleric nimr al nimr, which in many ways of course is what set off this diplomatic row in the first place. on the other hand, you have the iranian government seemingly trying to on an international level conduct damage control. what they have done over the past 24 hours is that the iranian ambassador to the u.n. has voiced regret over the fact

that the saudi embassy in tehran was stormed. he assured the snaugz united nations that they would continue to provide security for the embassies. they said they have already arrested 40 people in conjunction with storming the embassy. in monitoring other state media, there are other top politicians, not the least of which the president of the country, has o condemned the fact that the embassies were stormed. so they are also to a certain extent acknowledging that the storming of the embassy is not something that was in their interest. >> yeah. fred, thank you. pulling early duty in our london bureau. more for more, we go to bob baer here in the studio. bob, i guess that everyone wants to know, where does this end and how does this end? how do they deescalate this? >> i don't think it ends well.

you know, we're -- this is the new year. let's make some predictions. the war in syria, the saudis are losing in a sense with the russians coming in. the iranians are fighting there as well as hezbollah and a bunch of iranian officers have just been killed. hezbollah is losing a lot of people, but they are not slowing down. they intend to defeat them. we have this proxy war going on. what we're worried about, of course, is a direct conflict between saudi arabia and iran. >> is this conflict that we're seeing now playing out very, very visibly between iran and saudi arabia the result of something new or is it the result of an old conflict which is just now boiled to the surface? >> it's an old conflict. it goes back to '79. the iranian revolution. the mecca mosque takeover in '79. you know, it's a defensive saudi arabia that it's lashing out. this is an existential threat for them. and the monarchy feels it's at

risk and it's fighting back. >> bahrain, sudan have cut diplomatic ties. the uae says it's scaling back diplomatic ties. i guess in some ways that shows how difficult it will be for the saudis to try and isolate iran if the uae will still do trade with the iranians. >> the uae has a large iranian and shia population as well. they are worried about that. and there's also political problems in the uae. security officials, friends of mine, are in jail now who opposed this war in yemen. so the gulf is teetering on instability. and bahrain, of course, has 70% shia. you know, where does this go? will the iranians escalate? they could in bahrain. and then the saudis would have to send their army in there and fight it out. >> everyone is saying it won't come to -- well, you know, the wise body of opinion is that this won't end up in a shooting war directly between the iranians and the saudis.

they are too far apart. this will end up in an escalation in their proxy wars in the region. do you buy that? >> i think it will go first proxies. it will escalate there. syria and iraq as well as yemen. and i think what we're all worried about is an accident. it very easily could happen in the gulf. we've been trying to deconflict with the iranians. but the saudis, the bahrainians, anything could happen. someone could fire a rocket, and loose going to be a response. the u.s. navy is on full alert for some sort of accident. >> on full alert within the region, the seventh fleet based in bahrain? >> also in the mediterranean because there are so many munitions and troops flying around. and the deconfliction that we saw of the shooting down of the russian airplane, why not in the gulf? >> does this mean that the iranian nuclear deal is in trouble? >> i think the saudis intention

is to put it in trouble, because this for saudi arabia is a disaster. any reproachment with the united states is not in their interest. and they would like to see a distancing, this put on ice. >> appreciate it. thanks, bob. a short break. when we come back, anti-government protests in oregon have turned into an armed occupation in a remote area. we'll take a look at how things got to this point. when your type 2 diabetes numbers aren't moving in the right direction, it can be a burden. but what if you could wake up to lower blood sugar? imagine loving your numbers. discover once-daily invokana®. with over 6 million prescriptions and counting, it's the #1 prescribed sglt2 inhibitor that works to lower a1c. invokana® is used along with diet and exercise to significantly lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. it's a once-daily pill that works around the clock.

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just after 10:30 a monday night. in iran, demonstrators took to the streets of tehran again monday to protest saudi arabia's recent execution of a shia cleric. they cut diplomatic relations with iran after an attack on has embassy late saturday. becau the obama administration is taking unilateral action on gun control. the white house is set to announce executive orders tuesday expected to include background checks conducted by a wide arange of gun sellers. protesters in the state of oregon have released demands. they say they will not leave the federal building they are occupying since saturday until the ranchers who inspired the protests are released. they also demand the government give up control of the wildlife refuge where they are currently holed up. it originated when father and

son were convicted of arson on federal land. they turned themselves in on monday, but underlined that the protesters do not speak for them. >> reporter: john, it all started over the weekend with a demonstration in burns for the hammonds. and then one group splintered off and came here and took over the unoccupied refuge. and that basically surprised some of the demonstrators and many of the townspeople. >> let's go take a look at all the wasted taxpayer dollars. >> reporter: the media allowed to go where law enforcement has not, inside the refuge cluster of one-story buildings occupied by an armed group that now has a name citizens for constitutional reform. how long do you plan to be here, and have you in a sense already made a statement? >> we definitely have made a statement. but statements are not good enough. we intend on going to work and assisting the people of harney

county. >> edmond bundy was involved with his father, clive, in his own protest in nevada. the father and son were sentenced to five years for arson after a controlled burn on their property spread to government land. but bundy calls the hammond case a failed land grab by the government. >> because of that refusal to sell their ranch, these federal agencies began an attack on this family. >> reporter: you said you were here to help the citizens of harney county. that help ended when a peaceful protest became an armed occupation. the hammonds have turned themselves in. it's time for to you leave our community. >> reporter: on a tour, we saw no weapons. just a dozen or so people who took over unoccupied buildings. the group charges that the federal government has

aggressively swallowed up ranch land, harassed farmers, hurt the economy in places just like this, wide open harney county. >> we've come here to work. we've not come here to sit as children and stamp our feet and demand that certain things are met. we're going to go to work. we're going to try to help restore these ranchers that have lost their ranches. >> reporter: while many in town echo the support for the hammonds and other ranchers, some are upset that the occupation led to schools being shut down for the week. one man called the takeover just plain weird. john, the occupiers say one of the reasons they did choose this refuge is it is so remote. harney county is the largest county in oregon. it is bigger than six states, and its population less than one person per square mile. back to you, john. >> thank you. as of this hour, law enforcement has yet to take any action on

this situation. so there is some criticism about why the fbi hasn't moved in. they are saying if this was any other group, say a pro isisis group, if they were carrying isis flags instead of calling themselves patriots, it would be a different situation. if it was the same group of men in that building but for a different cause, would the tactics be any different here? >> they would be exactly the same. when you go through your should we attack checklist, race and gender and group names aren't in them. the smart thing in there, nobody here can hurt anybody. they can make crank calls maybe, but they are isolated. >> okay. so they are not a danger right now. this is something that eventually the fbi learned the hard way. if you can leave them alone, wait them out. >> absolutely. we learned the terrible way in waco that if you force people, they will do horrible things. and you lose 100 people.

100 plus people. and you start thinking, i'm not going to do that again. >> what's the time frame here? is there a limit? >> i'd build a fence around the place. i don't think you're going to have to wait long. what you've got is a group of people with disparate agendas. one person is there because he doesn't like islam. one person is there because he wants to support this -- these people are going to get tired of each other very quickly. >> do they count on that, there will be internal division within this group? >> yes, actually, they do. >> so you know that's going to happen. what would trigger a change in the wait and see approach? >> the change might be whether you had supporters coming up from behind the law enforcement and causing threats. or whether these people started shooting with long range rifles out the windows. >> what about the problem of underreaction? in this group are the bundies. they have a history in nevada where they essentially challenged federal agents and nothing happened.

there's been no prosecution. >> it's astounding. >> yeah. so if they don't get charged then, then they are back at it. so what's the message? >> you can make the point, if you underenforce, if you underreact, what you do is get ammon bundy who pointed guns at law enforcement in arizona, and now he's doing it in oregon. there has to be a line drawn. we don't want lives lost. but you can't ignore anarchy. and this is anarchy. >> people are saying this is terrorism. there's people saying that they are y'allkaeda and stuff like that. is this the definition of terrorism? >> the fbi would call it domestic terrorism. and the people who are investigating this, i guarantee you they are investigating under domestic terrorism statute and the domestic terrorism law. >> so let's say someone was arrested in this situation. you get to the point where they move in, and it all comes to an end. what sort of charges do they

face? let's say it ends peacefully. >> you go after the charges that would send the best message. just because it's investigate said as domestic terrorism, doesn't mean you can't go in on the substantive charges and say he pointed a gun at a law enforcement officer. attempt with a deadly weapon. attempt to kill a federal officer. taking over federal property. you don't have to charge womthe with terrorism, but you can charge them with the crimes they have committed. >> that's what sends the signal that this is a nation of rules. >> that's exactly the message you want. if we go in and shoot them up, then we're showing that the rules are bendable. >> yes. the wild west. steve, thank you for coming in. >> thank you. appreciate it. short break. when we come back, china's stock market is hoping to bounce back from a bad start to the new year. we'll see how the numbers look when we come back.

it's been 20 years since los angeles had an nfl team. now three different clubs are looking to relocate. the oakland raiders, san diego chargers, and the st. louis rams all applied to move. 3/4 of the league's teams would have to vote in favor. stocks in the asian pacific region are struggling to recover from monday's market selloff. let's look at the numbers right now. shanghai saw the biggest drop on monday down nearly seven points. the shanghai composite down by 1.38%. and the australian is closed and down more than 1.5%. and the nikkei closed for the day as well down at negative territory by almost half of 1%. we'll start with matt live in beijing.

matt, it's been a wild ride there for chinese stocks. what's behind the volatility? and i guess are regulators doing anything to try and calm investor fears? >> well, there's several different theories out there about what's caused the volatility over the last several days. yesterday we spoke a lot about the manufacturing index here in china and how it's had another poor month in december. that would be the seventh out of the last eight months where manufacturing numbers have gone down here in china. today in speaking to analysts, one of the things they brought up would be about this ban that is set to be lifted here in china. it was last year in -- after some summertime volatility that we saw that china actually imposed a ban on major shareholders from selling stakes in listed companies for six months. that ban is set to end on january 8. that would be friday of this week. so in talking to some analysts, they suggested that perhaps yesterday looking ahead to that january 8 date, investors were a

little bit spooked in the sense that all of a sudden there would be all of these shares flooding the market once these major shareholders are able to sell some of their stakes again on january 8. and so in response to that, earlier today, the regulatory commission here in china put out a statement this morning right before markets opened here. and they said that while being a little bit vague, they would not allow such a major selloff to occur. they didn't say how they would prevent it from happening but did say they are exploring ways to make sure that such a large selloff does not occur. it was shortly after that that we did see a stabilization today in chinese stock markets, even though the shanghai composite is down a little bit right now. it is nothing compared to the volatility we saw yesterday. so things at least for the moment appear to be a bit more stable here in china. >> at the end of the day, it's all relative i guess. matt rivers in beijing. thank you. paula, they used to say when

america snooeezes, the world catches cold. this now seems to apply to china. what's the situation there? >> well, you just shared the numbers, john. you're not seeing that bounce back that certainly some investors would have been hoping for after monday's selloff. the markets are still negative territory. and we're seeing many analysts say they believe there could be a fair bit of volatility this year. just to cast your mind back to last summer when we saw that massive selloff on chinese stocks. it took a fair while, a few weeks, until the rest of the world's markets really reacted and caught that negative sentiment. on monday, it was instantaneous. so there's an interesting note to make, the fact that this volatility has started right at the very start of this day, of this year, excuse me. but of course it's not just china that investors are watching at this point.

geo political tensions always play a great role when it comes to spooking investors. what's happening between saudi arabia and iran is dampening sentiment. and the fact that this isn't calming down either. more countries in the middle east are becoming involved in this dispute. it's a very strong oil producing region. saudi arabia and iran both big oil producing nations. so oil prices are in focus as well. and we've seen a huge amount of volatility with oil prices over the last year. with this extra tension now, that could only increase. john? >> okay. paula, thank you. paula hancox with context there from seoul. and matt rivers before you in beijing. thank you to you both. a short break. when we come back, president obama about to announce gun control measures. we'll hear from buyers at a very big gun show. details still to come.

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marie callender starts her tuturkey breast to perfection. so that you can spend time on what really matters. marie callender's chilling new video from the terrorist group isis reveals there may be a new jihady john within the organization.

in the 10-minute video, a man with a british accent is heard threatening and insulting british prime minister david cameron, calling him an imbecile and a slave to the white house. >> it's desperate stuff from an organization that really does do the most utterly despicable and ghastly acts. and people can see that again today. >> what i asked my team to do was to see what more we could do to strengthen our enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. to make sure that criminals, people who are mentally unstable, and those who could pose a danger to themselves or others, are less likely to get a gun. >> u.s. president barack obama explaining the unilateral action he's taking on gun control. he's expected to announce

executive action tuesday. that will include a definition of gun dealers to include some private sellers and in turn require background checks from their customers. and that would tighten the so-called gun show loophole. currently, private dealers can sell without conducting background checks. we went to a popular gun show in virginia to see what the impact of the new rules might be. >> reporter: organizers refer to as miles of aisles. you can buy guns here from retail booths and from private dealers. >> i'm selling a 12 gauge volt action. >> reporter: how much? >> $200. >> and this gun is what? >> 16 gauge. bolt action. >> reporter: how much? >> $150. >> reporter: and business is good. so good that the atms have run out of money. there are first-time buyers galore. what's made you decide to buy a gun? >> i think it's the possibility that our laws might change and

we're not going to have that ability to protect ourselves. >> reporter: president obama taking executive action on guns has alarmed many of the people here. annette elliott is the president and owner of the company that puts on the show and abut 85 others in the u.s. each year. what do you think the president of the united states really wants to do when it comes to guns? >> well, i think the end game with a lot of democrats is to confiscate them. i think that -- >> reporter: is that what you think? >> we're afraid of that, sure. >> reporter: is that what you think the president wants to do, though? >> maybe. yeah. i think maybe he does. >> reporter: another reason the show is jammed -- >> the isis threat has increased business. that immediately increased business. >> i used to be a zero gun, you know, guy. but nowadays, you don't even know who your opponents are. you've got to be ready. >> reporter: opinions here are not black and white. there are people here who feel there should be an increase in firearms regulation. but what is extremely prevalent

is a deep distrust and suspicion of the motivations of the federal government. >> it's a winchester 300 short line. >> reporter: how much do you want to sell it for? >> $600. >> reporter: if you buy a dpun from someone in the business of dealing in firearms, federal law requires background checks. and that's what's happening here. the information is then fed into computers before customers are allowed to buy their guns. police are present to arrest people when the computer checks indicate criminal violations. but the private dealers are not legally required to conduct background checks. >> i would ask you for a virginia driver's license. >> reporter: but if i gave you a fake driver's license, you wouldn't know? >> i would have no idea. >> reporter: would you trust me? do i have an honest face? >> i trust you. >> reporter: if you get a bad vibe, you don't sell it? >> correct. you have to go with your gut

instinct. >> this is a smith and wesson, .40 caliber. it's a lot like a glock. >> reporter: jerry cochran is one of the retailers doing a booming business. >> we sell any kind of gun, any kind of legal gun you can buy. >> reporter: he is one of the minority of people here that think things should be more stringent. >> i think there should be more expensive background checks. i've been at it 35 years. i've never sold a gun without a background check. >> reporter: many are aware that things are about to change. >> it's obama, you know. he wants to do what he thinks is in the best interest of the country. i disagree strongly with him on this issue. >> reporter: gary tuckman, cnn, chantilly, virginia. >> join cnn for a special look at guns in america with u.s. president barack obama. anderson cooper hosts an exclusive one-hour live town hall event. see it thursday night at 8:00 in

washington. that's 1:00 a.m. friday in london. 9:00 friday morning in hong kong. only here on cnn. and the president is expected to deliver those remarks on his executive action from the white house around 11:00 a.m. eastern time on tuesday. cnn will of course have live coverage before and after that announcement. please join us then. you have been watching "cnn newsroom" live from los angeles. i'm john vause. "amanpour" is up next. for everyone else, "cnn newsroom" is coming up right after this. what makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever?

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powers, iran, and saudi arabia. threatens a region that's already inflamed. saudi insider is live with us. and here the former british foreign secretary jack straw tells me the severing of ties is a serious blow to the fight against isis. >> it will make cooperation, which is essential, against isis