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hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and from all around the world. i'm rosemary church. coming up on "cnn newsroom" -- the date is set for the next phase of the impeachment hearings, and president trump is lashing out at the process despite what new polls are saying. a travel nightmare in the united states. severe weather making a mess of things around the thanksgiving holiday. and the busiest travel days of the year. plus, cnn goes inside northern syria, where u.s. allies abandoned by president trump's pullout are being forced from their homes and into camps.

good to see you. well, if you want to see the next round of public hearings in the trump impeachment inquiry, mark your calendars for december 4th. house judiciary chairman jerry nadler says his committee will call a panel of expert witnesses to discuss the constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment. he has invited the president and his legal team. a white house source says it is under consideration. meanwhile, president trump is in florida for the thanksgiving holiday. at a campaign rally tuesday night he said americans think impeachment is a hoax. >> and now the same maniacs are pushing the deranged impeachment. think of this. impeachment. a witch hunt. the same as before. and they're pushing that

impeachment, witch hunt, and a lot of bad things are happening to them because you see what's happening in the polls? everybody said that's really bull [ bleep ]. >> well, despite the president's claim, the latest cnn poll shows half of americans think mr. trump should be impeached and removed from office. 43% disagree. the president's talking points on why he withheld military aid for ukraine continue to fall as well. "the new york times" reports mr. trump had already been briefed on the whistle-blower's complaint when he released the aid in september. also, a top budget official testified he struggled to find out why the aid to ukraine was frozen but no one at the white house told him it was because other countries were not paying their fair share, as the trump administration has claimed. cnn's phil mattingly has more on the timeline.

>> reporter: the house budget committee released a two-page summary document laying out a more explicit detailed timeline of the hold the office of management and budget put on the ukraine aid, specifically the idea that the official hold letter actually was released on july 25th. what else happened on july 25th? well, the phone call between presidents trump and zelensky. also on july 25th according to the testimony, public testimony of a pentagon official, at some time in the afternoon two different e-mails were sent from ukrainian officials to the state department inquiring about the state of the aid. it was just a couple hours later that that hold was officially placed. now, going through the transcripts, we're just starting to get a look at the 181-page transcript from mark sandy the career omb official. and one thing is made clear, the concerns career officials had at omb about the potential illegality of holding this aid, this idea of going against the impoundment control act by holding aid that had been allocated and appropriated by congress for longer than they were supposed to, that was a concern that they had. but also the idea that mark

sandy, this career official, signed off on the initial letter holding the aid. but he did not sign off on future letters holding the aid. his portfolio was essentially taken over by a political appointee. that was a concern from a lot of lawmakers. one thing democrats who released the summary document today said is there was basically an egregious abuse of power by the omb to implement this hold. it's one of the open questions we've had throughout the course of this process. >> cnn's phil mattingly reporting from washington. with the next round of public hearings set for next week, democrats are renewing their calls for top administration officials to testify. cnn's jim acosta has that. >> reporter: any response to jerry nadler? >> reporter: leaving the white house to spend thanksgiving in florida, president trump ignored questions about what's waiting for him after his holiday break. house judiciary committee chairman jerry nadler's plans for new hearings in the impeachment inquiry. while acknowledging in a tweet that he stalled military aid to ukraine as part of that alleged

deal to get dirt on joe biden the president indicated he's not ready to allow top officials to testify in front of house democrats, tweeting that his former national security adviser john bolton is a patriot and may know that i held back the money from ukraine because it is considered a corrupt country. likewise i would love to have secretary of state mike pompeo, energy secretary rick perry, and acting chief of staff mick mulvaney and many others testify about the phony impeachment hoax. but the president said he doesn't want future presidents to be compromised. pompeo refused to be pinned down on whether he would testify. >> the president tweeted just a short while ago that he'd encourage you essentially to testify in the impeachment investigation. is that something you're considering? >> when the time is right, all good things happen. >> reporter: bolton, who has also been dodging the issue, tweeted "it probably goes without saying that our country's commitment to our national security priorities is under attack from within. america is distracted. our enemies are not. we need to make u.s. national

security a priority." one big reason they're all skirting the issue is that they would be asked about european union ambassador gordon sondland's testimony that the president's personal attorney rudy giuliani was ork straith a quid pro quo deal with ukrainians. >> mr. giuliani's requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a white house visit for president zelensky. mr. giuliani demanded that ukraine make a public statement announcing the investigations of the 2016 election, dnc server, and burisma. mr. giuliani was expressing the desires of the president of the united states, and we knew these investigations were important to the president. >> reporter: a new cnn poll finds public support for removing mr. trump from office remains steady at 50% and that more than half believe the president used his office to gain political advantage. add to that a key republican who initially said he believed the president's bogus conspiracy theory about ukraine meddling is

now changing course. >> i was wrong. the only evidence i have, and i think it's overwhelming, is that it was russia who tried to hack the dnc computer. >> that's what the consensus is. >> i see no -- yep. i've seen no indication that ukraine tried to do it. >> reporter: the president is trying to find some humor in his foul predicament. >> they've already received subpoenas to appear in adam schiff's basement on thursday. true. hundreds of people have. it seems the democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey. but bread and butter, i should note that unlike previous witnesses you and i have actually met. >> reporter: as for john bolton's tweet, the u.s. national security priorities are being attacked from within, a senior official here replied bolton is going to bolton but

the white house is not likely to change its posture when it comes to giving the green light to top officials testifying. all of that likely means more presidential stonewalling in the days to come. jim acosta, cnn, the white house. >> joining me now to talk more about this is larry sabato. he's the director of the university of virginia center for politics. great to have you with us. >> thank you, rosemary. >> so larry, "the new york times" is reporting that president trump already knew about the whistle-blower's complaint when he released ukraine's military aid in september. how significant is this and how does it move the needle forward on the whole impeachment thing? >> these are important details because that plus a number of other revelations tell us that this was a plan and plot that extended over months, that most of the actions that we heard about at the time were self-serving revelations by the white house or by the office of

management and budget or some other individual. and when you look at all of them in sequence, you can understand why things were done when they were done. trump was releasing that aid because he knew that people finally knew about the call to the president of ukraine and what was up. and so he wanted to have an opportunity to take action before it was even more widely known. >> so is this the smoking gun that the democrats were looking for? >> oh, i think there are a whole bunch of smoking guns. this is by no means alone. >> the republicans don't think so. >> the republicans don't believe that there's any smoking gun or that any of it matters. i think that's very wrong. but what they're doing is working. they're keeping republicans together. not just in the house and senate but in the country as a whole. and without a bipartisan coalition they'll never get 67 votes to oust trump in the senate. >> and house democrats released

two more transcripts tuesday, one revealing that a top budget official struggled to find out why the ukraine aid was frozen in the first place. why is that important in your opinion? >> again, it's important because this was an ongoing controversy for months. it wasn't just a phone call on one day between trump and another head of state. it's also important because it reveals that there were people within the office of management and budget who believed that the withholding of aid was illegal under an act that was passed during the nixon era because nixon was doing the same thing. he was impounding funds that congress had already appropriated and had directed should be spent. that's illegal. >> and larry, the president calls the impeachment inquiry a hoax. but cnn's latest poll shows there's still 50% of voters calling for his impeachment and

removal as opposed to 43% who disagree with that. those numbers haven't actually changed since last month. what do you make of them? >> what's important is that half of the american public doesn't just want him impeached, they want him ousted. that's what's significant about the question that cnn asked. some people don't ask it that way. that's important because it means the country is behind the effort that the democrats are undertaking in the house. it's also significant because as long as 43% or anywhere in those -- in that area in polls believe that trump should stay in office it will be impossible to actually oust him. so there's an in between judgment here, and we'll see what the default mode is for republicans in the senate. my guess is they're going to say that while this was terrible and it was wrong it doesn't rise to the level of ousting a president. that's really the only defense

they have left if you look at the facts. the problem is millions of people aren't looking at the facts. >> right. and the house judiciary committee chairman jerry nadler has notified the president in writing that his committee will hold public impeachment hearings starting next week and he invited president trump and his counsel to take part by asking witnesses questions. now, they apparently are considering that. how likely do you think tell accept that invitation? >> their advantages to it. obviously trump wouldn't put the questions together. that would be done by legal counsel. and they would probably be good and sharp questions that would reinforce republicans' belief in trump. i don't think it's going to change the impeachment vote. i think people have seen enough, whether they're in congress or out of congress. the schedule they have is quite good, rosemary. they're still on track to get this done by the end of the year

so that the senate can take it up early in the new year. i think that's the rye way to handle it so that congress, whatever they do in the case of president trump, can get back to what matters with the election being next november. >> we'll keep watching it with all the twists and turns. larry sabato, always a pleasure to chat with you. thank you. >> thank you, rosemary. a travel nightmare might be in store for the thanksgiving holiday in the united states. more than 20 million people are under some kind of winter weather advisory from california to michigan. oregon is getting pounded with snow in parts of the state as well as california could see strong winds and rain in the coming days. farther north in washington state 60 to 70 cars crashed on an icy highway. a state trooper said they ran out of tow trucks trying to clean up the mess. and a storm system has dumped heavy snow in colorado before moving to the midwest. lucy kafanov has the latest now

from denver. >> reporter: talk about a travel nightmare, this is not the kind of weather you want if you're trying to get out of town to see family. minneapolis could see the biggest snowfall in nearly a decade. parts of wisconsin could be affected too. here in colorado it has been one of the worst snowstorms the state has seen in recent years. we are in the downtown denver area. i just want to show you some of the snowfall that we've experienced here. nearly a foot of snow. trying to dig down to the roof of this car. that is how much snow piled down here. we've had plows. obviously the city is used to dealing way heavier snowfall. up north in the foothills of the mountains more than two feet of snow. the national weather service telling folks to stay off the roads. portions of colorado completely impassable, driving just too dangerous. major highways have been shut down. a lot of the schools have been shut down. and in terms of airport travel that's been the really difficult part in colorado. denver airport canceling nearly

500 flights, more than 1,000 people having to spend their night at the airport on monday. and that is the system that is moving towards minnesota. we know that the major airlines have issued travel waivers so folks can rebook their flights for free here in colorado. the same thing is happening in minnesota. if you're planning on traveling, if you're planning on flying out, the advice is call the airline, check with the airport and maybe come up with some backup travel plans because this is an unprecedented storm in some parts of the states. a lot of folks say they expect something like this around christmas time but around thanksgiving that's something new. >> all right. so let's turn to our meteorologist karen maginnis who's been following along with all the details on this. it is going to be a nightmare for so many people if it hasn't already started for? . >> yes. and rosemary, we talk about this time of year and thanksgiving across the united states. a time to carve out some nice

memories and have a nice dinner and people getting together. but i'm afraid this is going to be memorable for many different reasons. you could say i spent the night in the airport in denver, my flight was canceled, or the roads were so catastrophic i couldn't make my way over the river and through the woods because it had been so dangerous. this storm system for the west coast, this is going to be -- they're referencing it as a bomb cyclone. it is going to get deeper once it makes its way on shore and is impacting a broad area of the interior west. this particular system could produce significant snowfall in minneapolis. they might see a record snowfall one-day event for the month of november. and for delays for international travelers watch out. laguardia, philadelphia, washington, d.c., detroit, chicago, it san francisco, those are airports that could see significant delays. want to show you some images out of nebraska. take a look at this. roads were jammed. they were getting out the snow plows. they were trying to take care of

business. it is so treacherous, so dangerous there. and then in denver, yeah, problems there. we saw a little bit of that earlier with delays and the roads are impassable. estes park saw more than a meter of snowfall. rosemary, back to you. >> unbelievable. we'll continue to follow this. karen maginnis, many thanks to you. well, another fast-moving fire threatens homes in california. but as firefighters work to control it, the weather might finally be on their side. that is still to come. plus kurds say they are being forced from their homes and their land in syria. why they blame the united states. back in a moment. may 1 of '75... the magic moment. congress really democratized wall street... i wanted to have a firm that wanted to get everybody in. because people couldn't access wall street. we wanted to be agents of change.

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worry free...boom boom! get free next business day shipping or ...1 hour in-store pick up shopping season solved at office depot officemax or officedepot.com. isis remains a threat in northern syria and other parts of the middle east. news agencies report the top u.s. general there says america will pick up the pace against what's left of the terror group but when u.s. troops were ordered to pull back from the north washington's kurdish allies were left at the mercy of a turkish offensive and they say they feel betrayed.

cnn's clarissa ward has more from northern syria on civilians paying the price for the u.s. exit. >> reporter: class should be in session now. but here in hasaqa the school has become a temporary shelter for displaced people in one classroom we meet ibrahim hassan. the kurdish father of five tells us he was forced to flee his home in ras al ayin with his children when the turkish military operation began. this is what remains of his house. ibrahim says it is one of many in his kurdish neighborhood that was deliberately ransacked by turkish-backed forces. >> translator: they took everything. and after they took all our belongings they set it on fire, burned it all. >> reporter: just days before the offensive began ibrahim's children had posed smiling with u.s. troops patrolling the area.

he says america's presence gave him a false sense of security. then suddenly they were gone. >> translator: since america betrayed us, every time i look at these photos of my children with the americans i want to erase them. >> reporter: do you feel you that trust the americans still? [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> reporter: "definitely not." >> translator: now we see on television that they say they're only here for the oil. why did trump do this? you've betrayed all the people. >> reporter: it's a sentiment we found shared by many here. nearly 200,000 people have been displaced by turkey's offensive. hundreds of their homes have been damaged or looted. local authorities are now trying to move them out of the schools so that class can start again and into hastily built camps like this one. conditions are bleak and

resources are scarce. because of the security situation international aid agencies have had to pull out, leaving the kurds with no one to rely on themselves. she's saying it's really difficult here because it's very cold, especially at night. they don't have enough food. they don't have electricity. and the water's not good. camp organizers say there are 3,000 people living here now, with more arriving every day. almost everyone in this camp is from the town of ras al ayin. and ras al ayin used to be around 75% kurdish. now we're told there's just a handful of kurds left and the people here believe that the ultimate goal of this turkish offensive is to essentially push the kurds out of this area completely and change the ethnic makeup of it forever.

turkey has done little to alleviate their fears as the kurds have poured out of these areas arabs have been bused in. syrian refugees who turkish authorities claim are originally from these areas. after more than eight years of civil war this part of syria is full of stories of people forcibly displaced. in the christian village of tal nasr we find more families from ras al ayin sheltering in the ruins of a destroyed church. will you try to go home, i ask these women. "there's no home to go to," they reply. isis cleansed this area of christians when it was in control. they have yet to return. now the village provides refuge for another people. forced from their homes with no sense of a possible return.

clarissa ward, cnn, northern syria. >> we'll take a short break here. still to come, a storm is headed toward california. helping firefighters battle the flames in santa barbara. but the rain could lead to another dangerous situation. also, the ongoing search for survivors in albania after tuesday's powerful earthquake. i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424. super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, we switched to tide pods free & gentle. it's gentle on her skin, and dermatologist recommended. tide free & gentle. safe for skin with psoriasis and eczema. he's finally here! hey!

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an evacuation warning has been issued near a burn area in central california for possible mud or rock slides. a storm is moving through the area, and that could help firefighters battle the fire. there is concern the rain could weaken the ground causing it to give way. the fire has burned 17 square kilometers, almost 4300 acres, and it's 10% contained. thousands had to leave their homes as flames came right to the edge of the road. but many have now been able to return. daniel botticelli joins me now on the line. he's with the santa barbara county fire department. thank you so much for talking with us. >> thank you for having me. >> so what is the situation on the ground right now with this fire? what impact will the storm likely have on it, do you think? >> right now the situation with the fire's looking really good compared to how it was looking 24 hours ago. 24 hours ago we had a wind-driven fire being pushed by

50-mile-per-hour winds with very low relative humidity. the fire was being pushed from up on top of the -- what we call the camino cielo southward down into the populated areas of the city of sandt barbara and city of goleta and the unincorporated areas of santa barbara county. the fire was burning through neighborhoods that were -- that had a lot of houses. engine companies did structure defense and night-flying helicopters did a lot of drops last night, and we're happy to see we did not lose any residents in this fire. right now there's been a change in the weather. we have a pacific storm that's coming in right now and we're anticipating a couple of itches of rain tonight. the community -- >> this is all great news, isn't it? so how might this storm impact not only firefighting efforts now but of course fire risks going forward? >> well, it's going to impact our firefighting efforts right

now and it's going to be a positive impact for us. it's going to diminish fire activity. relative humidities are going to go up, rain's going to fall from the sky and mother nature's going to help us put this fire out. in fact, i just drove the fire about two hours ago, and there's very minimal fire behavior right now. so that's a very good sign. there is a concern, though, when you have a freshly burned mountainside and then it gets hit with rain, we have the risk of debris flows. we've seen that in our areas in the past and we're preparing for that. if that was to happen in the future. so we do have some resource that's are upstaffed and they're available to assist in the event of any debris flows that might occur. from tonight's upcoming storm. >> i did want to ask you just how tough has this fire season been so far on firefighters and residents? >> you know, the last month and

a half has been a pretty busy month and a half for firefighters. we had a pretty decent rain year last year and we had a late rain year. in may we had some good rain. so our fire season started kind of slow. but it really ramped up in september and october and into november. primarily october and into november. you know, fire crews in california as well as other western states are pretty taxed right now but we're fully committed to doing what we have to do to ensure that any of these wildfires that break out, that we take care of them as quickly as possible. >> right. and we salute all your efforts. daniel bertucelli, thank you so much for talking with us. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. thank you for having me. rescue teams are still searching for survivors of albania's powerful earthquake. at least 24 people died and hundreds more were injured when the quake struck early tuesday. the epicenter was 36 kilometers from the capital tirana. buildings collapsed, sending

panicked survivors onto the streets. at least 45 people have been rescued. and the prime minister's office says more than 650 have received medical treatment. well, alan ture joins us now. he is the co-founder of aron expeditions and he felt the force of this quake. aron, good to have you with us. you were actually at the tirana international airport when it hit. so you join us from prague right now, but tell us what happened when this earthquake struck at the airport. >> good morning to you. actually, we're just preparing to leave the airport. i'm just on a prearranged meeting here in prague. it was almost 4:00 in the morning when this huge force just shook the area. a lot of panic by people there. and everybody started calling

home. it was something we've never felt before. there was another earthquake on 21st september which sent a lot of people in panic, but this has been something that we have not in our lifetime experienced. >> and auron, when we look at all of the pictures of the various buildings, we see some structures were still left standing almost untouched. others were totally destroyed. what might that reveal about building standards in the area? >> well, for you to understand, the earthquake has hit an area very close to the coastline, which is rapidly built in the last 20, 30 years. so of course some of the standards of building has not been to sustain this kind of magnitude of earthquakes. and there also have been buildings in area that should not be built before. so that shows that the need for

stronger i would say regulations in building codes, because as you said some of the older buildings have survived but unfortunately the more modern one, more like hotels or sort of tourist villas have totally collapsed and has been a major thing for people to endure. so we're calling friends or relatives last night and they were scared of going back home because there was aftershocks all day long, so people have been really panicked. and people living -- they've been outside all night, scared to go home. another thing very sad is that durres, which the -- was hit most strongly, is home to ancient walls and fortresses and some of the most ancient walls that we have in albania have collapsed, which has -- maybe the last time they collapsed was

an earthquake maybe 1,000, 1,500 years ago. it has been a very powerful earthquake. >> understood. and as you've been speaking to us we've been looking at these live pictures right now of earth-moving equipment trying to get in because of course it is a race against time to get to anyone who is buried under that rubble. you mentioned that you're in touch with friends and family. have they been able to give you an idea of just how extensive this destruction is and how are people coping in the aftermath of this quake? how much help are they getting from the government, for instance? >> well, as i said, we're just about to leave in the airport. so for the moment we cannot -- we didn't know what to do, should we stay or should we go back home. but it was 4:00 in the morning. so we called home. and in tirana people seemed

okay, although extremely scared and they kind of run out of home with pajamas and everything like that on the street. but then later on we found out that the most areas hit is durres, which is a bit west of tirana and a bit northern of tirana. now, as far as help, i seen an amazing respond by italian, by kosovar, by greek, french as well rescue teams which arrived immediately in albania with dogs, rescue dogs. so albania does not have let's say a professional team of rescue service. so of course all this help is extremely needed to find survivors because still we don't know how many people are under the rubble. >> right. and of course despite that we did see first responders out there just a very short time after this took place when we

were covering this. and people were using their bare hands to try to pull away some of that rubble. just incredible. what a story for you to have to decide whether to stay or go. but happy to hear you're safe there in prague. many thanks to you, auron tare. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. coming up next, three men arrested on thanksgiving 36 years ago for a murder they did not commit. they are now free. >> this is the day that the lord has made. you know what i'm saying? he has set the captives free. i've been always dreaming of this, for this day. i've been dreaming of this day. h we just started dating ♪ ♪ i find you so captivating ♪ and i'm done with hesitating let's see where this goes? this holiday, save on a gift that says it all during jared's black friday sale.

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a stunning upset for the top-ranked u.s. men's college basketball team. the lumberjacks of stephen f. austin state university have knocked off the duke blue devils

in an overtime thriller. it's the first time duke has lost on its home court to a non-conference opponent since 2000. that's 150 games. the lumberjacks' nathan bain came up with the loose ball in the final seconds and drove down the court for a buzzer-beating layup. final score, stephen f. austin 85, duke 83. in baltimore, maryland three men are now free after spending 36 years in prison for a murder they did not commit. alfred chestnut, ransom watkins, and andrew stewart were arrested in 1983 on thanksgiving day. now all these years later they will finally get to spend the holiday with their families and loved ones. cnn's brynn gingras has more now on why their convictions were overturned. >> reporter: free at last. >> oh, man. i've been always dreaming of

this, for this day. >> reporter: baltimore police ripped these three men from their homes on thanksgiving day 36 years ago for a murder they did not commit. >> we're smiling. we're happy that we're free. but we've got a lot to fix. >> absolutely. >> this should have never happened. >> this is the first time i've been able to hug my son in about 20-some years. >> reporter: hugs weren't the only things missed. two of the men had never driven a car. they've actually spent more time behind bars than their homes. all because of what happened in 1983. back then police arrested and charged 16-year-old alfred chestnut and ransom watkins and 17-year-old andrew stewart for the killing of a teenager at a baltimore middle school. police say the murder was over a sports jacket. their smoking gun, a similar jacket found inside chestnut's home, despite no blood or gunshot evidence. his mother even had a receipt of purchase, according to court paperwork. still, they were sentenced to

life behind bars. >> i hate to put it like this. we went through hell. >> reporter: a break in the case came when chestnut filed for information and uncovered a pile of unseen evidence. young witnesses were interviewed by police without their parents and told to, quote, get their stories straight. an anonymous phone call even i.d.'d another suspect who was seen wearing the stolen jacket and confessing to the crime. but none of that was ever given to the men's defense team, attorneys say. for decades the men maintained their innocence. chestnut refused to confess, even when the parole board considered releasing him if he did. baltimore's conviction integrity unit eventually looked over the case and set them free. >> i look forward to living the rest of my life. >> too many people are losing their lives in prison that don't deserve it. and we've got to do something about it. >> reporter: the state attorney says she's going to work on cathy a compensation fund for those wrongfully convicted because it currently does not exist in the state of maryland.

brynn gingras, cnn, new york. >> justice at last. well, it is not just dangerous to text and drive. it's also dangerous to text and walk. a 49-year-old man walking along a subway platform in buenos aires was so engrossed on his cell phone that he walked off the edge of the platform and fell onto the tracks. fortunately, two men passing by came to his rescue and pulled him back up and the man was given medical attention. a cautionary tale for all of us right there. well, for some shifts it represents the peak of their career. but others are refusing the coveted michelin star. their reasons for the rejection, still to come. well you remembet happened last year. you can't bring a backup thanksgiving to my sister's house. it's not like we're going to walk in with it. we'll bring it in as we need it. ...phase it in. phase it in? yeah, phase it in. phase it in? - [narrator] forget about vacuuming for up to a month.

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>> thank you for the warm reaction. and such an important event -- hello, everyone. >> reporter: as she was introduced she was cheered but she was loudly booed. something that hasn't happened to the first lady before during a solo event, a solo speech. and she carried on unit till the end of her speech when she thanked the audience. there were cheers but a loud chorus of boos. >> thank you. >> thank you so much, first lady. we appreciate you. >> the first lady issued a statement to cnn after the event saying in part we live in a democracy and everyone is

entitled to their opinion. i remain committed to educating children on the dangers and deadly consequences of drug abuse. for any restaurant it is a career high to win a michelin star but that's not the case for one south korean chef. he is reportedly suing michelin for including his restaurant in its 2019 guide against his wishes. he takes issue with a process michelin uses to judge restaurants. in a phone interview he told cnn the michelin guide is a cruel system, calling the cruellest it test in the world. he says it forces chefs to work with around the year waiting for a test and they don't know when it's coming. he says it's humiliating to see his restaurant given a rating in what he calls that unwholesome book and says they're blinded by money and lack flaufacy.

he's not alone in challenging michelin. one french chef has been awarded nine stars but says he doesn't want any. >> reporter: in france food is give an special place. in the best restaurants an almost ceremonial revrance and for the top chefs an ultimate measure of their success is an michelin star. but it was more of a curse. one of france's most famous chefs has earned nine stars in all but in january his restaurant in the it alps lost its third star. over a souffle that a critic says tasted of cheddar. an afront he hasn't begun to digest.

>> reporter: now the 69er is taking the michelin guide to court. he says he no longer wants the stars if it turps out it's not that simple, and while he says talent is not in dispute, their first duty is to inform the consumer. >> he's about compassion, emotion. chef are real artists. so they're quite proud. and i think it's that case is saying okay i deserve three star because i am who i am. we have to avoid any kind of, let's say, emotional blackmail.

>> reporter: it's not the first time the pressure has placed kauntd ru -- controversy. the three-star chef was lijed to a -- >> some have sited psychological pressure with maintaining the rating. >> reporter: there are hopes they will force the guide to we more transparent about how it awards stars and more importantly, why it takes them away. >> and thanks for joining us. i'm rosemary church.

remember to connect with me anytime on twitter. cnn newsroom continues with max foster after a short break. - [narrator] meet the ninja foodi air fry oven.

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