republicans issue their wish list for impeachment testimony. we explain why they probably won't get what they want. bush fires in australia lead to a warning of catastrophic danger. >> and the royal treatment. japan's new emperor and empress parade through the streets of tokyo. we will take you live to the reception they received. welcome to the viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm natalie allen.

"newsroom" starts right now. thank you for joining us early at 4:00 a.m. here in the united states. our top story. the message to u.s. republican lawmakers is clear much their latest request regarding the impeachment inquiry is pretty much a nonstarter. cnn's jeremy diamond looks at what they want and how the democrat leading the investigation is responding. >> reporter: house republicans on saturday putting forward a list of witnesses they would like to see come forward as the house impeachment inquiry moves into its public phase. the list of witnesses seems mostly an attempt by republicans to divert attention from the allegations that president trump is facing over his handling of ukraine as well as to bolster

his case. the list includes hunter biden, former vice president's son, as well as that anonymous intelligence whistle-blower that republicans have been clamoring for. the house intelligence committee chairman adam schiff would need to approve any of the witnesses to have them come forward. he will give due consideration to the republican list. he says this inquiry is not and will not serve, however, as a vehicle to under take the same sham investigations into the bidens who courageously raised the national alarm. that seems a pretty clear message from the chairman that hunter bide skpepbt when and th whistle-blower will not be part of this investigation. the president will release the transcript of another call with the ukrainian president, the first call he had with zelensky

after he was elected in april. . >> now, they want to have a transcript of the other call, the second call. and i'm willing to provide that. we will probably give it to you on tuesday. monday being a holiday, we will probably give it to you on tuesday. but we have another transcript coming out, which is very important. they asked for it, and i gladly fifth it. >> reporter: while he is transitioning this as an act of transparency, his decision to release a second rough transcript of a call with the ukrainian president comes a week after the white house has directed numerous officials not to comply with the house impeachment inquiry. mick mulvaney, white house chief of staff, and several other officials, not appearing despite the congressional subpoenas this week. jeremy diamond, cnn, new york. let's talk about these developments with scott lucas, professor of international politics, university of pweurpl hampton and founder and editor

of ea world view. >> great morning to you, natalie. . >> house republicans submitted their list of witnesses, including the whistle-blower and joe biden's son hunter biden. really no surprise with that request, is it? >> no. but we need to define it what it is. they don't want you folks in the media talking about the evidence which comes from emails, texts, phone calls. more than a dozen current and former officials, about the extent of the alleged trump campaign with his attorney rudy giuliani to get a ukrainian investigation of joe biden and of the democrats. they don't want you talking about other witnesses who could come forward such as the former national security adviser john bolton. instead, this is a look over their attempt. let's talk about the identity of the whistle-blower rather than all the corroborating evidence that has stood up his formal complaint that launched this inquiry. they want you to talk about the unsupported allegations against

hunter biden, which are unsupported allegations behind the treasure/giuliani campaign. the former u.s. envoy to ukraine kurt volker, former high-level officials and high-level national security officials like tim morrison will come forward. david hail will probably come forward. however, it is the other names on the list, hunter bidens, whistle-blower they want you to focus on rather than considering the public hearings as they are next week. >> they said the whistle-blower will not be testifying citing his or her personal safety. that is a dramatic shift since the inquiry began. democrats say they don't need the whistle-blower at this point. >> i'm not so sure it's dramatic, natalie.

it is actually fairly practical. that is, look, if all they had was the whistle-blower's complaint in that july 25th phone call with the ukraine president zelensky, they would say, oh, gosh, maybe we have to have him testify. we haven't got anything else. when you have, and let's remember who they are, senior officials, such as the top nsc official, vindman, former official fiona hill, senior state department officials who have come forward such as george kent, when you have all of these people who give dramatic evidence, not only the trump-giuliani campaign but also alleged threats against american diplomats such as the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine, marie yovanovitch. when you have all that, you don't need the whistle-blower to bring what is in effect the indictment, the impeachment

inquiry against donald trump. >> the republicans are pushing back in a letter to chairman schiff, the top house republican nunes, he called it a bash. we are trying to be otherwise opaque to an unfair process. that is a claim they made from the start. it sounds like we are in for a rough and tumble public hearing when it starts this week, doesn't it? >> yeah. but keep your eye on the ball, natalie. keep your eye on the tactics as they occur. that is when you are are concerned about the evident, you shout witch-hunt. you don't shout that if you are concerned with the basis of the facts. you are trying to turn him from suspect to victim. we sue nunes. >> to be replaced as chair because he was secretly receiving information from the white house. problem for devin nunes and

donald trump and rudy giuliani is that the trump ukraine evidence is probably even more of a serious threat than that of trurb-russia links that occupied us for more than two years. . >> thank you for your input on that. wef next week former u.s. national security adviser was just one of the witnesses who failed to appear before depositions last week in the impeachment inquiri. bolton's attorney said he has a lot to say about the ukraine scandal, including inside information that isn't yet public. now we are learning he's writing a book. cnn's brian stelter has that. >> reporter: we have confirmed that he is working on a new book. two sources with knowledge of the matter confirming to me today that bolton has struck a deal with simon & schuster, one of the country's biggest book publishers.

this untitled book will come out next year, sometime in 2020. what he knows about the ukraine scandal at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. bolton's lawyer recently wrote to the democrats saying, hey, my client knows a lot, he has a lot to share. right now he is refusing to testify until a federal judge reaches a discussion over claims of immunity for white house officials. it seems bolton only wants to speak a certain way, in a time and place of his choosing. but this book deal adds more intrigue to all of that. there have been tell-all the positive, sean spicer had a memoir. and true tell-alls but former officials who decided to leave and speak out against president trump. we will see what kind of book he is planning on writing. my suspicion, given that trump soured on him in the latter

months of his tenure as national security adviser, it could be highly explosive. i'm told it will come out sometime before election day in 2020. all right. how about that one? let's go back to scott lucas now. democrats want bolton to testify. he is writing a book. do you sense he is going to spell trouble for his former boss, donald trump. >> my concern is not with bolton's book. it may come out before the election or afterwards. my concern is whether he appears during the impeachment hearings or during the impeachment trial in the senate. that is because john bolton, we have heard from other highly placed relatives, was furious about the trump-giuliani campaign for the investigations against ukraine. he called it a drug deal with which he didn't want to be associated. now, if bolton was to confirm that before the house or the senate, it would seriously damage truck.

look, natalie, flashback -- well, we're going back 45 years to a white house official john dean. he came forward and talked about the secret tapes of the watergate scandal, that sent him into resignation. john bolton is well placed enough he could do that to donald trump, but he wants legal protection. he wants a court ruling that there will be no retribution if he appears before the house committee. . >> all right. we appreciate your insights, scott. scott lucas in birmingham, england. thank you. and good morning. >> thank you. well, president trump spent saturday afternoon far away from washington at a college football game in alabama. he got a decidedly warmer reception than we have seen at other recent sporting events he's attended. mr. trump has a large and loyal base of supporters across the u.s. south. you can hear the roar of

approval as they were introduced to 100,000 people. republican congressman bradley byrne is running in the alabama republican primary for u.s. senate against trump's former u.s. attorney general jeff sessions. read into that what you will. alabama lost the game, by the way, to lsu. big rival there. far away from the stadium, look at this. not everyone was cheering mr. trump's visit. protesters brought in the baby trump balloon. it appeared all over the world in places where it usually does where mr. trump has visited. but mr. trump has a loyal base, as we said there, and someone apparently took offense at the floating parody and a man ran up and slashed the balloon before running off. an arrest was made. >> billion mayor businessman michael bloomberg is shaking up the 2020 race for the white

house. the former new york city mayor has filed the necessary paperwork to get on the democrating ballot in one state and planning to file in at least one more. to be clear, bloomberg has not formally declared his candidacy. cnn's ryan nobles loose at how one of the leading candidates is reacting. >> reporter: there's no doubt there are a lot of democrats paying attention to the news of former new york city mayor michael bloomberg's decision to possibly jump into this democratic race for president. and among those is bernie sanders, who has already been in this race for some time. sanders has been very critical of the role that the very wealthy have had in politics in general. and the idea that billionaires can pie their way into races. he's already been critical of tom steyer, the other billionaire in this race. this is what sanders had to say. . >> when i talk about this moving toward an oligarchy, we're

talking a handful of billionaires who exercise enormous power over the economic part of the country. if he or she decided to run nobody would give a damn. because he's capable of runbuyi the media of all of the state of california. by the way, they will skip iowa. they will skip new hampshire, south carolina, nevada. they have had five events. but you don't have to do that. take out the wallets. the billions of dollars in california, he thinks he can buy the election. i don't think that's where the american people are right now. they are sick and tired of the power of billionaires. i success his venture will not success. >> reporter: he is concerned

about bloomberg skipping the early nominating states of iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, maybe even nevada all the way to super tuesday in the big state of california. the reason being, there is a distinct advantage for someone with deep pockets to wait that long and bypass the early states where the field is often weeded out a bit. if bloomberg were to do this, it would be monumental. no presidential candidate has ever been able to bypass the early states and be successful. a lot of people asking about the field in general as we get closer and closer to the first votes being cast here in iowa. ryan nobles, cnn, des moines. well, voting is now under way in spain as the country heads to the polls for the fourth time in four years. the general election is the second one this year after the socialist party of acting prime minister sanchez failed to

secure enough support to form a government. the pro independence protesters clashed with police in barcelona after nine were jailed. the move sparked violent protests in the region. as if fire conditions in southeastern australia weren't dangerous enough, officials now warning things are about to become even more dangerous. we will have that story for you with ivan cabrera next. a historic day for japan and its new emperor. special edition smart bed. plus, 0% interest for 36 months. ends monday. aveeno® with prebiotic striple oat complex balances skin's microbiome. so skin looks like this and you feel like this. aveeno® skin relief. get skin healthy™

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the sound of gunshots ringing out in the iraqi capital saturday. activists say at least four people were killed in baghdad. they used live ammunition and tear gas and burned several tents at a sit-in. the independent high commissioner for human rights said more than 300 people have been killed since the protests

began last month. >> eastern indian battered by 120 kilometers in the indian se of bengal saturday night. authorities in bangladesh said a half million people were evacuated before the threat hit. authorities warning the worst is still to come in australia. thanks to what official call tinder-box ignition, it could rage for days. 70 fires are active and 50 more

in neighboring queensland. three people have been killed. we have learned two firefighters were injured. let's get the latest on the dangerous conditions from meteorologist ivan cabrera. i don't remember talking about that many fires ever in australia. i have been covering them many years. . >> i will put a pin on that. we will get to the forecast. absolutely right. those embers, because of the wind can go kilometers and kilometers away. the wind is the key, natalie. 74 fires, 43 of which are uncontrolled. the winds have been very gusty. they will continue to be that way through today. then we will get a bit of a break. i want to show you the visible satellite before we lose the sun in this part of the world. you can see clearly from the visible satellite, the fire, the tphraoupls of smoke that extend hundreds of miles out away from the coastline here.

and this is of course up in the upper levels. but down below where we live it is quite treacherous as far as smoke and dust as well. this is what we are leading up to by tuesday. the highest level threat they issue here. catastrophic fire danger. the rest of the region looking at significant fire threats really right through the early part of next week. the reason pore that is going to be the wind. this is what sets up the problem, right? this is the last 18 months. where is the rain in australia, especially where we have the fires burning. that is not a coincidence. well below normal average rainfall so far this year. now we talk about the fire season that has arrived. and we add the wind, these winds come and go. it is not a typical. conditions are prime to go out of control. sunday, they begin to diminish. watch this bubble on monday.

we look good there. but this front pushing in tuesday which will allow for winds to exceed i think at times 30, 40-mile-per-hour winds. firefighting efforts no good through tuesday. this increases because of population density, folks moving into and creating fires at times here. but this is where we are because of the additional warming of the planet. i'm going to leave you with this quote as natalie was talking about here. this is from one of the fire officials here. the commissioner from new south wales. that just wraps it up, right. we've simply never had this number of fires burn in new south wales at the same time.

will next year be a precedent? we're running out of that word. the new normal is what we talk about here. . >> evolving normal. >> it is here. >> all right. ivan, thank you. all right. well, people in japan got an up-close and personal look at their new emperor a few hours ago when he took a short road trip to meet them. this is the enthronement parade. this parade was delayed until now as japan recovered from a typhoon. thousands of flag-waving spectators turned out to see the imperial couple. the 59-year-old emperor ascended to the throne after his elderly

father stepped down in april. for more, let's turn to cnn's will ripley life in hong kong. he covered japan extensively for us. hello to you, will. this is a significant change for japan, is it not? >> reporter: it is. you transition into the new era, the name of the error of the emperor. the most recent sayre mary was october 22nd. it was on that day that this parade was supposed to take place. they had hundreds of dignitaries from all over the world. prints charles was one of them. however, pause of that super typhoon that you mentioned, they felt that holding the parade would not be appropriate given 80 people died and hundreds more

are still recovering, thousands displaced. so they postponed the parade to today. it went off without a hitch. 30 minutes through basically the heart of tokyo from the imperial palace, past the japanese legislative body known as the diet. this is where they have lived as a married couple since 1993. hundreds of thousands were estimated to line the parade route. this is their chance to welcome the new impeer krall couple. a lot of ceremonies were held inside the palace, behind the walls and behind the gates, viewable really only on television for most japanese. for people in tokyo who wanted to see the imperial couple up close, their first major parade since they got married back in 1993. they had 190,000 people watching them back then. they were driving in a rolls-royce. this time around it's an open top customized toyota century royale, specially equipped to

give the back seat a couple extra inches so they can be seen by those huge crowds. it says a lot about japan's safety, natalie. they feel comfortable having them in an open top vehicle like that. keep in mind, they had 26,000 police officers lining the route. that is essentially one officer for every four spectators. it is a country that does not have gun violence. a minor shooting makes national news. with all that security in place, they were able to confidently parade the new emperor and empress through the streets of one of the most crowded cities in the world and in true japanese fashion. it went off according to plan, down to the minute. it was supposed to last 30 minutes, and that's exactly what happened. >> they've got that point down, don't they? >>. >> reporter: yes. >> a new life for the imperial couple.

people in key swing districts get their opinion on donald trump. how much has the impact of the impeachment inquiry had on them? you won't want to miss their answers >> how a program to help nonviolent offenders may have led to the death of a rhode island man and what his family says needs to happen next. when we started our business we were paying an arm and a leg for postage. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slap the label onto the box,

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>> welcome back to our viewers here in the u.s. and all around the world. you're watching cnn "newsroom". i'm natalie allen. here are our top stories. u.s. house democrats say the

whistle-blower whose complaint launched the impeachment investigation will not be called as a witness. they say facts about the ukraine scandal have been corroborated by multiple witnesses and say the whistle-blower's safety could be jeopardized by a public hearing. cnn learned former national security adviser john bolton struck a deal to write a book. bolton skipped an impeachment deposition last week. his attorney says he does have a lot to say on the ukraine matter. the book is expected to come out sometime next year, election year. voting is now under way in spain's general election. this is spain's second election this year after the socialist party failed to form a coalition government back in april. on the eve of the election, pro independence protesters clashed with riot police in barcelona. polls show americans are split on whether to impeach and

remove president trump from the white house. cnn's alyson camerota recently sat down with six voters from swing districts in pennsylvania. those are areas key to winning or losing the battle ground state in 2020. she got their take on the impeachment inquiry as americans struggle with this difficult issue. >> how many of you, show of hands, support the impeachment investigation that is beginning. >> investigation? . >> investigation. >> four of you support that. galen? >> simple fact, it is never, ever going to pass through the senate. they aren't doing anything except inquiries hearings, inquiries and hearings. >> how many of you are comfortable with what president trump asked for in terms of withholding military aid for an investigation of the bidens? >> as a business owner, i

wouldn't give up that kind of money if i thought something was going on. i think he had every right to ask that. >> why are we giving ukraine so much money anyway when we have homeless veterans on the place? go to san diego, los angeles. you'll see them. it is pitiful. >> that's where congress should be working. >> yes, thank you. >> just so i'm clear on that. they are comfortable with holding military aid to ukraine because you don't like the idea that that money goes there anyway? . >> if they have keep giving money to everybody, why not help our own people first. . >> exactly. >> are you comfortable with asking a foreign entity with dirt on a political opponent. >> you are comfortable with that, crystal? >> he's president of the united states. he should be allowed to ask for military information. . >> this is political. . >> even political information. >> does that bother you.

>> didn't every other president do it? . >> i can't speak for any other president? >> they all do that. >> i don't know that to be true. . >> i don't know that to be true either. >> so why are you hanging your hat on it? >> i'm just saying. i'm just saying. . >> you are comfortable with it because that's how you think it works? >> as a business owner, yeah. >> so you just see this as a business transaction. >> his business is this country. so getting dirt to benefit him does not benefit this country. that benefits him. he's not a business leader. >> in no 345er9 what businematt you're in, that's bad practice. . >> how many of you would like the identity of the whistle-blower to be revealed and think it should be. . >> that's not how it is supposed to work. >> it is supposed to be checks and balances where you can come forward and say this is what's going on and people don't know and it's wrong. . >> it's like going to your human

resources department. >>. >> what is your response, andrea? >> i don't think it should be revealed now. for historical purposes, yes, it would be nice for the american people to know what happened, who saw this. >> you're curious. >> yeah. but that could get that person shot. . >> the point is anonymity. are you uncomfortable that president trump calls for their identity to be unmasked? >> i don't think it should be unmasked publicly. >> what if president trump knows about it? >> then it would be public. >> it would be on twitter within five minutes. >> how many people think the impeachment process will hurt president trump? >> i think it's going to hurt everyone. >> you think it will hurt president trump. the other five of you think it will hurt the democrats? . >> i think it will hurt everyone. when you splash mud, it hits everyone. >> again, they're not going to get nothing done pause they are doing all of learning about the

hearings and impeachment. >> 209 bills have been passed by the house. . >>. >> a lot of things are coming out of the house and dying in the senate pause they won't work together. there is literally no compromise. >> yeah. do you guys want compromise. . >> yes! . >> from a business perspective, you don't walk away every time. >> we are mothers. we want everyone to work together. . >> absolutely. >> you're tired of the divisiveness. >> yes. >> we are. we are. i think most of the people in the country are. . >> do you think president trump plays any role in that divisiveness? . >> no. >> do you think he's being helpful. >> i do, yes. >> how? how is he bringing the country together? >> i'm not sure how he's bringing the democrats and republicans together. however, i do think he's trying to get stuff done.

>> let's go around and one word for the past three years how you discover the trump presidency. >> divisive. >> entertaining. you never know what you're going to get every tay. . >> one of a kind. >> one of a kind, definitely. >> i believe he's for the people. . >> you believe for the people means selfless? >> no. >> just for the people. >> he's making a change. >> embarrassing. >> oh, that's a good one. >> that is a good one. >> fantabulous. >> is there anything that he could do or anything that could happen that would make you not vote for him? >> no. >> if he shot someone on 5th avenue, would you --. >> i would have to know why did he shoot him.

>> well, there you have it. the overhaul of the u.s. criminal justice system is raising concerns about public safety. just ahead here, the family of a murder victim says the program needs more oversight. >> plus, monday is singles day. a shopping holiday that brings in more money than black friday and cyber monday combined. we'll talk about it and why it is called singles day coming up here. (employee) because you never know what might be behind you. (kristen bell) does the sloth come standard? (kristen bell vo) looking to buy? enterprise makes it easy.

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in 2018, many u.s. prison inmates received a second chance. that's when president trump signed into law a measure that overhauled the federal criminal justice system. it is called the first step act. since its passage it led to the release of thousands of inmates. for one rhode island family, the program has had devastating

consequences. cnn's jason carroll as their story. . >> it doesn't feel real. it feels like a bad movie. >> jay chattelle and his family are devastated. they are mourning the loss of his uncle who was stabbed to death at this hook qaa lounge. >> my family wants answers. my brother wants answers. >> francisco was released from federal prison. he had served 14 years for selling drugs like crack cocaine. his sentence was reduced to time served and he was let out. why? he was released under the first step act, a bill signed into law by president trump last december. many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling an end to

those serving unduly harsh penalties. 4700 have been released early since late last year. it appears francisco's case is the first example of someone released under the act going on to be accused of murder. . >> it's a flawed system. it's a beautiful program to get people to come home that don't need to be dying in jail. there has to be more steps. people have to be held accountable. . >> police in providence three months prior had a run-in with francisco. he was arrested and charged with domestic violence and attempted breaking and entering. this after police say fran kiss co, armed with a knife, attempted to break into his ex-girlfriend's home. an attorney representing francisco in that case has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

francis francisco's ex-girlfriend says she has concerned about her safety and does not want to speak on camera and went on to say he should not have been released and anyone who has been incarcerated and been released should have to check in with mental health experts. fran ki >> republican senator tom cotton, outspoken critic of the first step act said this case is upsetting but not a surprise. letting violent felons out of prison early as the first step act did lead to more crime and more victims. but other lawmakers who helped pass the law skaod tood by it. . >> it doesn't set forth to address all the ills within our current system. >> i hope that this does not detract from the need in our country to really examine our

criminal justice system. . >> rhode island state senator sam bell who represents the district where pine was killed said the problem is not with the new law but a failure to reintegrate fran kiss co. . >> are was it a failure to reincident freight him into society or he never should have been out in society? >> look, i mean, once you have served your time, for a fair period of time, we should give people second chances. he said more steps should have taken to stop the man who was charged with the murder of his uncle. jason carroll, cnn, providence, rhode island. and coming next here, it is a 24-hour online shopping extravaganza full of celebrities, spectacle discounts on thousands of name brands. next, everything you need to know about singles day.

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we are nine hours away from the biggest shopping day you might not know about. it is singles day. last year it raked in $31 billion. black friday and cyber monday only brought in a combined $14 billion. and amazon's prime day made just $4 billion. it became a huge day thanks to alibaba. it kicks off with the star-studded celebration that included james bond himself, daniel craig. taylor swift will be there this year. duncan clark joins us from alibaba's headquarters in china.

thanks for joining us. we are getting a kick out of this story, duncan. last year it brought in 31 billion. what might it bring in this year? are there expectations? >> the only way is up. there are a lot of expectations from this event. every damore people come online in china and buy more stuff in china. we have a slowly economy. the online sale is the robust and attractive part. big expectations tonight. >> we can see all the celebration, the entertainment that surrounds it. that's a unique way to launch a sale. how did it slow become the biggest shopping day in the world? >> the idea of a singles day is a genius idea. there are more single people than happily married people. if you're single, retail therapy is a great way to handle that.

the last deck i.d. it has become this magsive event. we have brands that have been preparing for this all year. >> yeah. is it also to bring more international and american brands to chinese consumers? >> absolutely. customers not only where i am here but also inland, they have more disposable income, more reliable products. very much u.s. products, despite what we hear about the u.s.-china trade tensions they want to buy the best from around the world. we will see that. >> glad you brought that up. there are reports that some chinese shoppers may boycott american products because of the

trade war. >> some will boycott. some just want a good deal. i'm half scottish, so i just want a good deal. >> big name celebrities, daniel craig, david beckham, mariah carey. this year taylor swift. organizers are probably trying to outdo themselves. there is no other sale like this when you consider all the hoopla that surrounds it. is it? >> absolutely right. both the stadium and shanghai in the run-up to midnight. a lot of preorders already setting records. a lot of live streaming as well. last weekend kim kardashian west had a line that sold out. we have a lot of live stream events that can do 13 million people watching a session.

so we see a large amount of participation for the concert and shopping day tomorrow. . >> and we are seeing jack there with the celebrities. how much is his celebrity helping this? >> he retired a few months ago as chairman. so there is a new team in place. he has been to ukraine, african next week. he is in bill gates mode right now, looking into other things. it will be the first time to show there is a new team running the show. there's always surprises at alibaba. . >> that's true. all right. we appreciate it. fun story. duncan clark, thanks for talking with us. thank you for watching cnn "newsroom". i'm natalie allen. please don't go anywhere. i'll be back with another hour of news for you right after this. can you heal dry skin in a day?

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it's official. public impeachment hearings begin this week. based on what we have seen the last 24 hours, it looks like it will be a showdown. flames ripping across the bush in australia. now we are learning these are the most fires burning in this country. we will talk with ivan cabrera. a man is expected to be executed in 10 days. but