tv CNN Newsroom Live CNN December 23, 2018 1:00am-2:01am PST
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this is -- this is a nightmare. and my life will never be, you know -- it won't be the same. ♪ >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. to everyone live from atlanta, we are following the breaking news from indonesia, the death toll continuing to rise in west jaba following a tsunami. hello, i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. welcome to viewers in the united states and around the world. the latest as we know it, officials say at least 168 people are now confirmed dead. hundreds of others are hurt, this after a tsunami hit a popular tourist coastline in indonesia. >> you can see the devastated tsunami hit homes.
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some of those are only about 55 miles or 90 kilometers from the capital jakarta. a volcano may have triggered which caught people off guard. some of the video you're about to see is disturbing. this video shows the moment a concert was on going. they didn't know just behind them a wave was about to consume them as you see there. horrible. the band kept playing, unaware of what was about to happen. >> let's get the very latest details from our ivan watson following updates in the region in hong kong. ivan, what's the latest about what happened and where things stand right now. >> that's right. well, this was a christmas holiday weekend in indonesia. a lot of people in this coastal area, local indonesian tourists, so these beach areas, the hotels
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full of people that were trying to relax when this tsunami hit at 9:37 p.m. on saturday night. now, the cause of the tsunami, according to indonesian authorities appears to have been an underwater landslide caused by a volcanic eruption at anak krakatau. that is translated as child of crakatau. that island was created about 50 years after the 1883 just cataclysmic eruption of krakatau which killed at least 30,000 people and actually plunged global temperatures due the massive ash cloud as a result of that. authorities say this volcano had been active in recent months but the tsunami may have been aggravated by the fact that there was a full moon saturday night and that it had recently
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been high tide. so that sent a wall of water, perhaps heights of 1.5 meters traveling at high speed inland at distances of about 500 meters. again, according to indonesian authorities, 500 meters inland. some of the aerial footage we've seen does not show all of the buildings in coastal areas knocked down. we can actually see that some roofs ares, in fact, in tact. that might be good news, but the death toll stands at 168 dead, more than 700 wounded and hundreds of houses destroyed, boats destroyed as well. when it comes to that video you showed of the concert, that was being performed by a band called 17. it was a concert attended by dozens of people from a state power company when the wall of water broke through the stage there. the lead singer of the band
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issued a statement on instagram the following morning, quite emotional, as you can understand from the content of his message. take a listen. >> translator: i just wanted to say that our bass player and our manager passed away. i also ask for prayers for my friends who are still missing at this time. also, my dear wife is still missing. the rest of us have broken bones, minor injuries, including me. but we are fine. please pray that we can find andy, herman and ujung and my wife. >> george, natalie, the indonesian president has sent messages of condolences to the victims of this disaster. we're still getting pieces and
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learning more as the emergency rescue teams get to the scene as they move heavy equipment to the scene as well along this long coastline. in the meantime, a spokesperson for indonesian national mitigation agency was commenting about the early warning systems for tsunamis. he says that in this case it was not triggered because there was no earthquake, no seismic activity. this appears to have been caused, by he says, an underwater landslide, again caused by a volcano for which he says there was no warning system. he's now calling for a multihazard early warning system for these types of eventualties. natalie, george. >> ivan, but as these things go, it seems people didn't see this coming. now we're, of course, seeing the aftermath of what happened. ivan watson live for us in hong kong. thank you for the reporting. and for more now, we're joined on the phone by kathy mueller in indonesia with the
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canadian red cross. kathy, we know you're very busy. thank you for talking with us. ivan was just reporting this was a bizarre phenomenon it seems, a tsunami out of nowhere triggered by what looks to be a volcanic eruption. can you give us a sense of the vastness of this area that was hit. >> from what we're understanding, natalie, is that it's a wide swath of land, perhaps one kilometers long that has been impacted by this tsunami. the main access roads to this very popular beach resort area as was mentioned by for local tourists, the main access road is also damaged, so that is hampering efforts to actually get to the area that is impacted. and then it's not just going to be the highly populated areas that also need attention, but any of the remote areas where
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people may be impacted and we have to make sure that we get to those communities as well. >> i'm sure communications are impacted. we do know people are missing, 168 confirmed dead right now. any idea how many people may be missing from this. >> that's always so hard to say. especially we're still in the very early hours of the response. what the indonesian red cross has done in the past, for example, with the earthquake in tsunami which i'm here responding to, they set up this restoring family links program. they work at reuniting families who may be missing or separated during a disaster such as this. so, the days to come, things will become much clearer as to what the impact is, how many people are affected, what kind of support they're going to need in the weeks and months ahead.
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>> of course they had a devastating earthquake few months ago, more than 2,000 people died there. this is a region that sees a lot of this activity, but it must be traumatizing. what are you hearing? >> oh, it is. these people, i wouldn't say they're used to earthquakes, but they sit on the ring of fire, so the country is prone to getting them. back in late july and early august, lumbak experienced a series of devastating earthquakes and the earthquake at the end of september and this one the end of december in the western part of java. from what i'm seeing in silowasi is people are terrified. they would rather stay in a tent than move into any kind of a solid structure because any time there is an aftershock they're
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afraid that that structure is going to come down on top of them. it takes a long time to help people, especially the adults, to work through -- that they're experiencing. we find children tend to rebound a lot quicker. we know kids are very resilient, so the teams of the red cross volunteers go in and play with the children, get them to try to see kids again and laugh and play. we find that they respond really well to that. >> right. is there any danger, kathy, that you're aware that this could happen again since this volcanic eruption -- and i'm sure what's adding to people's anxiety is the fact that this seemingly came out of nowhere. >> well, yeah. and i am no expert on volcanic activity, from what i understand, this is an extremely rare event. so, you know, the chances of it happening again, who's to know. but what our priority now to
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make sure that we're going in, we're providing people with the basic necessities they need. things like clean water. it's the rainy season right now, it's bad enough that people have already lost their homes, we want to make sure that they're at least somewhat protected from the elements. and by doing that, then hopefully we can keep disease at bay which, of course, is always at risk once the infrastructure and everything collapses after a disaster. >> right. we know that homes have been destroyed. hotels have been damaged. restaurants in the area. we'll continue to follow the information as it comes in. still early on here. kathy mueller, we appreciate you talking with us. thank you. >> thank you. >> again, this tsunami likely triggered by a volcanic eruption that set off underwater landslides. >> derek van damme is here with more on that.
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kathy was saying she lives in this area and she doesn't recall something like this happening. >> right. natalie, george, we need some sort of displacement of water to take place. that's how a tsunami is formed. but it's triggered by an earthquake, that's typically what we hear the trigger mechanism to be, maybe a landslide or perhaps even the shifts of tectonic plates underneath the weather, but this particular instance appears to be volcanic activity. and we have video of that volcano actually erupting. this is the krakatau volcano. what took place was actually just as exciting aboveground as it was below the surface of the water. underwater landslide allowed for that displacement of water, allowing for a triggering mechanism, a dispersement of that water to just propagate in all directions and bringing up to a meter high wave into the coastline of western java and
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that caused destruction obviously. on our satellite loop, we actually timed this out and you can see the exact moment when the volcano erupted. the plume of smoke and ash was so high and so intense that it was picked up by satellite. there's that shading of red and orange. that is the eruption plume from the krakatau volcano. let ee's zoom into the strait. this erupted back in 1883 and that killed over 36,000 people all due to a similar instance to what we're experiencing today although we're not expecting that kind of number. however, what we do know from that volcano back in the 1800s was the fact that there was this underwater landslide that took place all thanks to the volcano that triggered that sediment to be dislodged from the side of the volcano, causing that displacement of water and causing that tsunami wave that propagated across the ocean and unfortunately today has left scenes of devastation within
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western java and portions of sumatra. now the focus going forward will be the search and rescue efforts because this is a concern for people as they try to reach their loved ones. we have a very wet forecast as the red cross director just talked about a moment ago. this is the rainy season. we have nearly 100% chance of rain today right through the early parts of this week and you can see our future radar just showing more showers and storms the search and recovery effort. george, natalie. >> derek, thank you very much. obviously this is a developing stories. more than 100 350epeople have b killed. other stories we're following for you this day, the u.s. government shutdown about a quarter of the federal government is not open for business sunday morning. both sides appear to be digging in for what could be a long wait. also ahead here, the sudden departure of this man, president
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trump's point man on isis, coming up, how will the region react to a second high profile resignation. we'll have a live report. dayquil new severe with vicks vapocool. whoa! and vaporize it with an intense rush of vicks vapors. ahhhhhhh! new dayquil severe with vicks vapocool. the daytime coughing, stuffy head, vaporize your cold, medicine. here at snowfest... for your worst sore throat pain try new vicks vapocool drops. it's not candy, it's powerful relief. ahhhhhh! vaporize sore throat pain with new vicks vapocool drops. and i'm the founder of ugmonk. before shipstation it was crazy. it's great when you see a hundred orders come in, a hundred orders come in, but then you realize
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you more updates on our breaking news story from indonesia. authorities saying saturday's tsunami killed at least 168 people when it slammed into parts of west java and indonesia about little after 9:00 p.m. at night there. more than 740 people are injured. some people are still missing. hundreds of homes are damaged and along with businesses and hotels. >> natalie, looking al these images and not to sound cliche, people didn't see this thing coming. and you see the aftermath there. a volcano may have triggered the disaster setting off underwater landslides. one official says the disaster struck without warning he says indonesia lacks the right equipment to warn of an underwater tsunami threat. of course we'll continue to follow developments there. back to our story from the united states and the government shutdown that is still under way. hundreds of thousands of federal workers are working without pay for now or staying home on
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furlough. >> not exactly what people wanted for christmas. >> right. >> mr. trump sent vice president mike pence to try to work out a resolution at capitol hill. sarah westwood reports so far there's no deal. >> reporter: president trump is still not signaling what he would consider in terms of a deal that could get 10 senate democrats on board and start the process of reopening the government. white house officials say the president is not budging from his demand for $5 billion for the border wall, they say that money has to be used for the construction of a physical barrier along the southern border. they say it can't just be used for border security in general, which is one of several potential options that had been floating around capitol hill amid the shutdown talks. but make no mistake, despite that current hard line stance the president has been all over the map when it comes to the funding fight first saying he would be proud to accept responsibility for a shutdown if
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it was over money for his border wall. then through aides signaling he might be willing to entertain a temporary spending bill passed by the senate that would have kept the government open through february 8th. finally by thursday, rallying house republicans to pass a funding mechanism that did contain $5 billion for the wall, buckling under pressure from conservative allies on capitol hill and in the media to avoid what they described as a surrender on the border wall. now, the president held a lunch here at the white house on saturday with republican lawmakers. no democrats were in attendance. and those who did attend were mostly conservative allies, like congressman mark meadows, jim jordan, senator lindsey graham. allies of the president who already agree with him when it comes to the strategy behind the shutdown. and as senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said earlier saturday the log jam will persist until the president huddles with senate democrats to talk about a potential compromise. the lack of clarity surrounding what exactly the president might
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be willing to entertain has caused headaches for some lawmakers who really have no idea what kind of deal the president might support beyond that hard line stance for $5 billion. vice president mike pence is leading negotiations for the white house side, but earlier this week pence told lawmakers that the president might be inclined to sign that temporary spending deal, something that turned out not to be true. but heading into christmas, both sides appear very entrenched. washington appears poised to enter what could be a lengthy shutdown. the president canceling his plans to travel to west palm beach, florida, over the holiday amid the legislative log jam. sarah westwood, cnn, the white house. >> and that's not the only thing the president is facing. a second senior u.s. official has quit over president trump's decision to pull u.s. troops out of syria. the person, brett mcgurk worked as a u.s. special envoy to the international coalition fighting isis. >> he was in iraq and had just
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finished briefing partners that the u.s. would stay in syria when he learned president trump had reversed course. his resignation on friday came just one day after u.s. defense secretary james mattis quit over the same thing. >> and this tweet from the u.s. president claiming not to know his own envoy. he belittled mcgurk as a obama holdover and quote grand stander who is going to leave the administration soon any way. >> joining me now is political analyst peter matthews a frequent guest of our program. peter, thanks for being with us. >> good to be with you, natalie. >> all right. it's the holidays. happy holidays to you. i don't know how much happy holidays is going around washington because this is the first time in 40 years the government will have been closed three times in one year. and now congress says, well, we'll take it up after christmas. what do you think of the impasse and who is to blame for it?
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>> well, they almost had a compromise worked out just a few days ago and then president trump said he wanted money for the wall and not backing down because what happened was someone on fox news said he was backing down, he shouldn't do that. he says, no, i'm not going for the deal and the deal was off. the whole thing ended up falling apart. i would blame him the most for it actually in the end. >> yeah. do you think the president is surprised that the hardliners will hold him to this wall? he did promise it. he did say mexico would pay for it. that's not going to happen. then he seems willing to compromise but then those who really believe in him say, wait a minute, you're not doing us right. >> he's always concerned about those really hard core right wingers who he may lose, few percent among them could cost him the election next time he thinks. at this point he's not going to be able to win because 30%
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support him. he's causing disaster for himself and the country in a sense and chaos to say the very least. it's not good what he's facing right now with the stock market crash going down and couple other things happening. lot has to do with uncertainty brought about by this kind of behavior. >> right. there's so much going on with this presidency. this is probably the last thing that people wanted to deal with, a government shutdown. but here we are. democrats indicate they have no plans to fund a wall. never did. let's listen to the republican leader, mitch mcconnell, talking about the shutdown and then after that democrat leader chuck schumer and then we'll talk about it. >> democrats have rejected that reasonable request. they've refused to meet president trump halfway and provide even one fifth, one fifth, of the resources for the border they were willing to provide just a few months ago. just a few months ago.
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there's no right line of principle that separates hundreds of miles of physical barriers in 2006 from new physical barriers in 2018. >> it will never pass the senate. not today, not next week, not next year. so, mr. president, president trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall. plain and simple. >> is it plain and simple like that, peter, do you think? >> it really is because the majority of the congress does not want the wall, that includes a large number of republicans that are concerned about that and yet he wants to be very strong headed about it and say we have to have the wall. he has to stick to his campaign promise, but bringing his own party will be brought down because of that. look what happened in the elections.
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midterm shows that people who wants to fix the immigration flob a better way won the landslide victory. i don't know why trump didn't see that and seeing that the wrong approach is what he's doing right now. >> if he does not get his wall, then what for his re-election chances? >> well, i'll tell you what, i don't think as it's going right now he'll get re-elected to begin with. if he doesn't get his wall, he'll probably lose some his hard core support. he won't gain anyone else's support because of all the other things he's done that's jeopardized the country and the policies of the country and the feel of who we really are as a people. he won't win either way in my view. if he changes his ways, it might help a little bit. i'm not sure it will be enough to get over the top in 2020. let's discuss the top story, the secretary of defense quitting in part over mr. trump's decision to pull troops out of syria and not brett mcgurk, a special envoy fighting
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isis in the middle east is quitting. president trump says his quitting is no big deal. is it? >> it's a very big deal because not only was he the envoy to the coalition fighting isis and importantly was a close ally of general and defense secretary mattis. and with mattis going and new fallings right after it, it's a one-two punch for showing the world that president trump is losing some of the best talent that he has in the government that he had in the government and it's very destabilizing for people to think what can this president do -- he's done not so well with good support, what will he do without this support. we're at very critical juncture in this presidency and what's come of it so far, natalie. >> all right. we'll wait and see what happens next with this story and, of course, the government shutdown. peter matthews, always really appreciate your insights. >> thank you. take care, natalie. still ahead this hour, we'll continue to follow the
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developments from this deadly tsunami in indonesia. we'll hear from a reporter on the ground near the disaster area. stand by. we'll be right back. ...i just got my ancestrydna results: 74% italian. and i found out that i'm from the big toe of that sexy italian boot! calabria. it even shows the migration path from south italia all the way to exotico new jersey! so this holiday season it's ancestrydna per tutti! order your kit now at ancestry.com
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♪ mom. ♪ breaking news. breaking news we continue to follow and keep you updated on out of indonesia, west java, i'm natalie allen. >> i'm george howell. crews continue to search for survivors this after a tsunami swept across parts of indonesia on saturday night. >> the disaster hit popular beach areas in sumatra and west java. officials say the death toll right now, 168, hundreds more hurt. and this is how it happened, they believe.
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a volcano may have triggered the tsunami by setting off underwater landslides. at least one official says the disaster struck without warning because of that. >> we've been following this disaster, the results of what happened there for the last several hours. we're starting to hear now from those on the ground, including our colleagues at cnn indonesia. >> here is a report from our correspondent from java. >> the first time i came or arrived here in the location, i saw dozens of houses were damaged and destroyed. and i saw the waves in the sea because the main streets and the land is very close to the beach and the waves is very high. and at 12:00 p.m., it's around two hours local time before right now we were instructed by the local police to find a
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shelter in a higher place due to the high tide that possibly will also take place in this location. and my location right now is about 5 kilometers from the beach, which is very high and not really close and very safe. a lot of people and also the people also including us with the team were panicking at a time of the police instructed us to find a place here. and we are stuck right now until we are permitted back to the beach again because we want to see the damage that impacted the most is around 30 kilometers from my location right now. and also, we want to see whether the aid from the national disaster agency has already been mobilized. also we see that a lot of heavy
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equipments already been mobilized also with the personnel to clean up the mud and also the woods. there are many covering the main street, becoming the access from the place on the beach, which is very, you know, like popular for tourist attractions here. >> so we got a sense of what it was like right after this happened. that reporter explaining that it was pretty scary. just to be in that situation and not know what was coming next. but let's show our viewers again the aerials of the aftermath at this point, keeping in mind indonesia, a nation that sits on the ring of fire. people there are accustom to these big earthquakes, but never prepared for these things when they happen like this. and you're seeing now the devastation along the coastline. >> right. a few months ago 2,000 killed there after an earthquake, but
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this again reportedly was triggered by a volcanic eruption and perhaps a water slide. that's why everyone was caught off guard because there was no warning. again, that band that was performing, the leader saying his manager, his bass player and his wife all missing. >> yeah. moving on now to developments in washington, d.c. the resignation of a second senior u.s. official in protest of president trump's decision to pull u.s. forces out of syria. brett mcgurk was america's top diplomatic person in the global fight against isis despite battlefield gains, mcgurk believed the mission was not finished and he viewed president trump's move as reckless. let's bri e first of all, tell us more about the integral role that mcgurk played in that region. >> he had probably the hardest job in the administration.
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he was the special presidential envoy to the global coalition to combat isis. that meant that he had to corral dozens of different actors and nations in the region into coming together to form the backbone of the fight against isis. that meant that he was a mainstay in the region. you can see him traveling from -- into iraq and syria. really he was the man who was seen as the architect of the u.s. policy. and here, for example, in turkey, people would watch to see what mcgurk was going to say and do and what the u.s. was going to do in syria. he brought years of experience, having been instrumental in the building of that coalition to combat isis. and over his tenure you could see that isis which held vast swaths of territory across iraq and syria has now been degraded.
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they still maintain a presence there. and there are pockets of it along the border with iraq and syria where they have been mounting attacks. again, really mcgurk was instrumental in putting together this rather successful fight against isis and his departure is definitely going to be leaving a big gap, coupled with the resignation of mattis as well. and to have the u.s. president coming out and saying that he didn't know mcgurk, well, that's just disingenuous at best. >> it was a very odd tweet, to say the least. has the turkish government addressed this? >> well, turkey came out and turkish president recep erdogan says they welcomed the u.s. decision to pull u.s. troops out of syria. there were only about 2,000 of those troops, but really they had an impact that was outsized
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for their numbers. they were instrumental in beating back isis and really this announce that time the u.s. is pulling out of syria puts the u.s.'s main ally on the ground in syria, a kurdish fighting force in jeopardy. that kurdish fighting force is seen by turkey to be an extension of a terrorist group that they have here at home. so, really with the u.s.'s departure, what's going to happen to that kurdish fighting force as they become exposed to the possibility of a turkish enkurgs into syria, not to say the least of which what's going to happen to the fight against isis? those remaining remnants of isis are there and they are a security threat not just to iraq and syria but of course to the world. >> gul, live from istanbul with the reporting. thank you. ahead here, a story regarding sports and possible
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welcome back. let's get you caught up on the breaking news we're following out of indonesia. authorities there say that saturday's tsunami killed at least 168 people when it hit parts of java and indonesia. more than 740 others injured and hundreds of homes as you see there damaged. >> also hotels damaged, a lot of people there for the holiday. and this is what they believe was behind it a volcano may have triggered this disaster by setting off underwater landslides. one official says the disaster for that reason struck without any warning. he said indonesia lacks the
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right equipment to warn of an underwater tsunami threat. a boy who travelled to the united states to have a facial tumor removed has died. the 8-year-old arrived in los angeles earlier this month after being sponsored by the foundation started by the former nba player. the foundation said that he died after suffering a rare genetic reaction to an see the sha to surgery. the boy's memory will inspire them to further improve the lives of congo leez children. an advanced team has arrived in yemen. the delegation will focus much of their attention on the port city. >> that port is the lifeline for goods and humanitarian aid coming into the country. fighting has also shut it down and led to severe shortage of food across the country.
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newly relesioned video is raising questions about how quickly emergency personnel responded to a u.s. college football player who collapsed during practice. >> 19-year-old jordan mcnair died after apparently suffering heatstroke and collapsing earlier this year. for more on the developments, here is cnn's nick valencia. >> reporter: the video that you're about to see had been requested for months by the media but those requests were repeatedly denied by the university of maryland saying that they wanted the state attorney general to finish their investigation before the clips were released. now here we are more than six months since jordan mcnair's death seeing this video for the very first time. surveillance footage and body cam footage. what is evident is the frustration on the part of the first responding officers only to be described as a lack of urgency on behalf of the paramedics responding to the scene. but we want to be very clear about something, independent report says those paramedics
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could have gotten better directions and that led to the lag time in them responding. you never see mcnair. large portions is redacted to keep from putting out medical information about mcnair. but what is clear is the frustration. >> they least bring him inside? still outside. >> the first ambulance to arrive to the scene did not have any paramedics. that's the standard operating procedure in prince george's county. took another seven to eight minutes for a second ambulance to show up. that ambulance did have paramedics. an independent investigation concluded too little was done too late. two weeks after that initial off season workout, mcnair died as a result of what his family said was heatstroke. the investigation into his death led to the firing of d.j. durken, head football coach there at the university of maryland. we saw the strength and conditioning coach step down. now witnesses said it was that
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strength and conditioning coach who continued to run mcnair even after he complained of not feeling well. we also saw ramifications for the university president who is expected to step down in june of 2019 from his post. what is still unclear is if the family of mcnair will pursue civil litigation. we reached out to the family attorney, but we have yet to hear back. nick valencia, cnn, atlanta. >> that is such a tragedy. this next story is really disturbing. it involved an incident at a high school wrestling match and it's being investigated for potential racial bias. >> officials in new jersey launched an investigation after a referee told a black wrestler to cut off his dread locks or forfeit the match. he did. he cut off his dread locks. he won the match but had to cut his hair. why? polo sandoval has the story. >> reporter: this school district has been told that the referee in question will not be officiating any matches at that
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particular high school campus until a review of his actions have been performed. we should also mention the new jersey attorney general's civil rights division now investigating this, looking into the possibility that bias was a factor in wednesday's incident. the school district offering a timeline of what happened here. the varsity wrestler stepped on to the mat to compete before the referee told him that his hair length and also headgear were not in come lines with regulations. faced with the option of forfeiting the match, the school district says the wrestler then agreed to have his haircut right there on the spot. district saying that none of its staff influenced the student in his decision. the district also pointing out that the referee in question does not actually work for them but instead is part of new jersey state interscholastic association or the njsiaa. that's basically the governing body that oversees high school athletics. the question that the school district that the njsiaa and mainly the state a.g. civil rights division are working to
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answer was this a case of bias? usually that athletic association would investigate these kinds of incidents between coaches and staff, et cetera. but in this case, it is the state attorney general's office civil rights division that will be taking the reign since the referee is technically a member of that athletic association. on saturday, the executive director of that athletic association add a personal touch in the statement he released later writing in part i quote as an african-american and parent as well as a former educator, coach, official and athlete i clearly understand the issues at play and probably better than most. the njsiaa takes this matter very seriously and i ask that everyone respect the investigatory process related to all parties involved. cnn has actively reached out to not only the parents of this varsity wrestler but also to the referee in question. we are yet to hear back. polo sandoval, cnn, new york. >> this story certainly making
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the rounds across social media. he cut off his dread locks but the question is, why? was it absolutely necessary to do that? >> right. they talk about regulations but watching that, that was very disturbing. it was disturbing. >> to say the least. we'll be right back after a break. are you a christian author with
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canadian peace keepers in mali got an early christmas surprise this weekend, a visit from their prime minister. justin trudeau met with troops on saturday to thank them for their service. he shared a turkey dinner and dropped off a foos ball table. about 250 da nad yan military personnel are stationed in the west african nation. the u.s. president had planned to visit his mar-a-lago resort but changed course and remains in washington due to the partial government shutdown. >> hard to celebrate when you're the president if the government is partially shut down. if he needed any last minute ideas to decorate the white house during his stay, our jeanne moos has some suggestions. ♪ >> reporter: president trump has been petting the christmas tree-hauling horse, lighting the national tree, even popping out
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of a mocked up chimney like santa claus, but who knew he would end up an ornament. his son don jr. posted this meme on instagram. couldn't decide between an angel or a star so i picked both. prompting someone to comment, mr. mueller is coming to town. we know what makes the president merry. >> i told you that we would be saying merry christmas again, right? we're saying merry christmas again. we are going to be celebrating merry christmas again. >> reporter: his other son eric celebrated by hawking the all-new ornaments from the trump store. the trump helicopter sells for 55 bucks. bet you can't tell what this is, it's the trump golf bag ornament and this is trump tower, tweeted a critic if you shake the trump tower globe, does it snow indictments? ♪ let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ♪ >> reporter: for trump foes, there's a mocked up ornament of
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the baby trump blimp. >> i'm saying merry christmas to whoever the hell wants to hear it. >> reporter: here is something you won't find for sale on the trump website -- meet cork strewed donald. the perfect way to open a bottle of fine trump wine. it was created by the same designer who dreamed up the hillary nutcracker, twisted gifts for under the tree or on top of it. jeanne moos, cnn, must be a democratic cork. new york. >> jeanne moos. >> what next. >> i don't know. all right. let's move on to the partial government shutdown that's affecting much of the holiday season for people. >> some of those furloughed workers might put some of those ornaments on their tree. i don't know. one holiday favorite is already feeling an impact, we're talking about the national christmas tree near the white house. the park service, get this, closed the site on friday after
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a man climbed the tree and refused to get down for an hour. >> now they can't reopen it because there aren't any funds to fix some of the problems that the man caused. >> goodness. what next, george? >> i don't know. all right, all right. let's update on this major story we're following this breaking news out of indonesia. a tsunami that has killed at least 168 people, more than 740 others have been injured. it struck saturday night without warning. it's believed to have been triggered by a volcanic eruption that set off underwater landslides. some 30 people are said to still be missing. >> the disaster hit beach areas in places like south lampung. some are only 55 miles or 90 kilometers from the capital jakarta. more than 500 homes severely damaged along with at least nine hotels and dozens of restaurants. we'll have more live coverage of this story coming up in our next hour. i'm natalie allen.
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mom. ♪ >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. 5:00 a.m. on the east coast. we continue to follow the breaking news out of indonesia. the death toll continuing to rise after a tsunami hit without warning. this breaking story has been dominating our coverage for some time now. here is the latest. indonesian authorities confirm now at least 168 people are dead after saturday's tsunami. it devastated parts of
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