hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the u.s. and all around-world. nasty weather is causing major delays across the country. the date is set for the next phase of the impeachment hearings and president trump is lashing out despite what new polls are saying plus arrested on thanksgiving day back in 1983 for a murder they didn't commit and now they're finally free. more on the three men who will spend the holidays at home for the first time in 36 years. ♪ thanksgiving is already a travel headache and storms hitting coast tocoast.

from california to michigan. oregon is already getting pound would snow. 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 more than 1,000 people were stranded at denver airport after flights were cancelled. a record 36 million people are expected to travel. and on sunday strong winds and rain are forecast. to the northeast meteorologist mcginnis joins us now. they'll have to be brave. >> very brave. this is the time of year they look forward to being with with their family and cultivating beautiful memories of their thanksgiving for 2019. that is a big headache as far as

snowfall is concerned. icy conditions and it's wet weather for the south. we've already had a tornado reported. it's going to intensify very rapidly. even the central united states not going unscathed. we have two areas we're focussed on. and they are already plowing their homes and very dicey conditions along the roadway there. a portion of interstate 80. take a look at what happened there. cars overturned, crashes, the roads with were slick. what you're looking at isn't really snow. we have ice on the roadway making for treacherous driving conditions. and people stuck at airports in denver as well. maybe one of the memories you have is you spent the night at denver airport.

estes park over 35 inches of snowfall. we've got several storm systems going on here. great lakes. another one, this is that bomb cyclone that's going to in intensify rapidly. already from ashland, oregon along interstate 5 to the south. it is shut down, visibility is so poor. storm number two oand a subtropical low. so we've got a warm sector of this system producing the rainfall and the severe weather to the south. but this also effects our international viewer because if you're flying into la guardia, also chicago, minneapolis, west coast, san francisco, you will be impacted 20 million plus people. but this is a multi-day event.

and i dare say 20 million becomes multiples of 20 million people impacted by snow warning, advisory, blizzard conditions including minneapolis. we could see a record one-day snowfall total in minneapolis. it's been nine years since we've seen anything significant. but this year we could see as much as 12 inches of osnowfall in just one day. back to you. thank you. in northern california officials closed roads because accidents to severe weather moved in. our affiliate is near the area. >> reporter: well, up until tonight it-been a very dry november in northern california. ski resorts in lake tahoe were feverishly making snow. this is good news. the timing is not. we have a lot of people trying

to get over donner summit between the sacramento area and the lake tahoe region. that yare i awas closed down by the california highway patrol due to multiple spinouts and accidents. it is messy on the road. >> if you don't have front-wheel drive or chains, stay off the road. >> reporter: it's bumper cars out here. >> yes, it is. we're extremely busy. >> reporter: they should avoid traveling. still many finding themselves stuck, finding tire chains were not enough in some cases too, get their cars over the mountains. it there are windows of opportunity coming and it's going to be a great weekend for the ski resorts when all of this clears out. back to you. ♪ the next round of public hearings in the trump

impeachment inquiry set to begin december 4th. jerry nadler said his committee will call a panel of of expert witnesses to discuss the constitutional grounds of opresidential impeachment. he's invited the president and his legal team, which a white house source says is under consideration. meanwhile, the president is at a campaign rally tuesday, he said americans think impeachment is a hoax. >> and now the same maniacs are pushing the deranged impeachment. think of this. impeachment. 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? everybody said that's really [ bleep] >> the latest cnn poll show as

different story. 50% say the president should be impeached and removed from office. 43% disagree. that's the same as last mungtd. despite that claim, the latest poll shows half believe he should be removed from office. and the president's talking points on why he withheld military eaid to ukraine copt to fall as well. reports that he released the aid in september. and a top budget official testified he struggled to find out why the aid was frozen but no one told him it was because other countries weren't paying their fair share as the trump administration-claimed. more on the timeline. >> reporter: the house budget committee released a two-page summary document laying out a

more detailed timeline of the hold they put on the ukraine aid, specifically the idea the official hold letter was released on july 25th. what else happened? well, the phone call between presidents trump and zelensky? and what else happened? some time in the afternoon two different emails were sent from ukrainian officials to the state department inquirying about the state of the aid. now going through the transcripts we're just starting to get a look at the 180 page transcript. and one of the concerns about the official illegality of withholding the aid that-been allocated and appropriated by congress longer than they were supposed to. and the idea that this career official signed off on the oinitial letter withholding the aid.

his portfolio was essentially taken over by a political appointee. one thing democrats said is there was basically an egregious abuse of power to implement this hold. it's one of the open questions we've had throughout the course of this process. >> it's worth noting everyone on the president's team that says he did nothing wrong refuses testifying under oath. on tuesday he tweeted i would love to have mike pompeo, mick mulvaney and many others testify oabout the phoney ohoax. >> anytime there is information that indicates any country has messed with american elections we have a right a duty to chase

that down. >> it's hard for people around the world to keep up with. but what was the standout moment in the last 24 hours for you? >> i think hot we're seeing is the donald trump administration has argued the defense of this quid pro quo is falling apart and being totally eviscerated. mark sandy's claim, essentially, is that the white house didn't start asking about whether other countries with were contributing aid until months after there was a freeze on the foreign assistance. so that -- >> what's that mean though? >> i think means that donald trump is basically trying to make post hock explanations for why he's making the choices he's making and so essentially he's seeing there's a problem. he knew at the time the whistleblower complaint-occurred and he's acting in response to that. he's trying to sort of clean up this mess.

and thaw that may be why he decided to allow the assistance to ukraine to go through and make this claim that gordon sondland famously said that there was no quid pro quo. at the time he knew about the s whistleblower. >> we talked about the white house not being in chaos. >> there certainly was a lot of incoherence around dealings with ukraine but i think it's a difficult case to make. trump knew this whistleblower complaint was being made and i think he was basically scrambling to figure out how are we going to justify this? >> we've got the judiciary committee setting the dates. it shows the confidence the democrats have in this. >> i think that's right. at the same time we saw this polling data that roughly 50% of

americans support impeachment. and so for democrats it's is this the glass half full or empty? on one hand you see half of americans think the president should be removed from office. on the other hand all the testimony hasn't budged public opinion. >> it's this narrative the establishment is all out to get him. >> donald trump makes this claim about the deep state or those he alleges are trying to thwart his agenda. i think the standard narrative holds now and that is democrats are going to impeach in the house of representatives. in the senate republicans are going to block. and if they're looking to set the polling data, this base is still so strong that they're going to be very reluctant to turp on the president.

>> when he says love to have his people at pompeo and many others testify, what does he mean there? he's he's undermining his inquiry. >> i mean he loves to be very outlandish in saying i love for all this information to come out but he's basically imposed gag orders on a number of individuals within his administration. >> i don't suggest he's taken them away, his gag orders. >> basically right now federal courts are looking at this issue as to whether individuals in the white house including don mcgahn are going to be required to testify. donald trump, up until this point, has blocked that on every level. there's certainly an inconsistency between what he's

saying and what he's actually doing. >> and it's broadly into international affairs -- because if they're going to be convinced along democratic lines, they need to see something clear about him doing something wrong intentionally. >> the evidence in favor of the fact that donald trump exercised inappropriate use of power but you're right, it doesn't seem to be budging public opinion. and nothing donald trump could do could change public opinion. they've stuck with him through thick and thin. and i don't think there's anything, barring a catastrophic event that's going to change that. >> and same thing for the senate. he's not going to get through an impeachment finding.

so isn't all of this academic. >> i think they said they still have a obligation to come forward. we could see a change of course but i do think you're right. the actual impact is going to be very limited. donald trump is going to remain in office and ultimately it's going to be up to the american publics to whether the president gets four more years. >> thank you very much indeed. florida's rally was filled with bluster and featured more than a few misleading statements. >> reporter: it was president trump's first rally in florida since officially becoming a resident of the sunshine state and many of the president's supporters mentioned that as the president is trying to boost support in the battleground state. but he focussed on the impeachment crisis he is facing back in washington.

reiterating his usual defense, insisting the call was perfect. and he suggested that he believes voters are on his side, saying voters view impeachment as the "s". and it was clear that the president's supporters, at least, with were taking in his message. and had intermized it. as he went into this reiteration of ambassador sondland's testimony in which he said president trump said i want no quid pro quo. they spontaneously began chanting those very same words without any prompting. so at least the president's base is certainly internalizing his message there. >> i want no quid pro quo. i want nothing.

tell president zelensky to do the right thing, to do what he ran on. that's what he said. >> there was also another interesting moment where the president began to criticize the media for its coverage of his unscheduled, impromptu visit to walter reed medical center. er for falsely reporting he had a massive heart attack and that he had stayed overnight. none of those were with reported by cnn or any other mainstream news outlet. but he spent time on that issue. they still have not said why or what kind of testing the president did undergo during that visit to walter reed. breaking news this hour. there's been a large explosion at plant in texas. no word yet if anyone was at the

plant when the blast happened. these are the pictures we've just got in and pretty dramatic scenes from pretty close. weal a we'll get more information as we can. it took thieves just minutes to steal centuries of priceless treasure. the latest on the jewel heist coming up.

a man to be sentenced to death for their roles in the dagar cafe attack. more than 20 people were killed when gunman took hostaged in an upscale restaurant. one charged was found not guilty. the servants facing capitol punishment can appeal. now to continue tracking what could be the smash-and-grab of the century. german police are hunting for the thieves that ran sacked dresden castle including diamonds. they haven't got them yet.

so is hope waning? >> reporter: it's been more than 48 hours since this very brave attack where with authorities now describing the scene as looking like battle field by the time we got into it. you've seen images released inside, taking their acts to the showcase in order to extract the jewels and the whole thing lasting just minutes. you can imagine the scene the police found by the time they got there. the latest is we had another appeal urging people to come forward and they created a portal. they wanted people to upgrade any pictures or videos that could be relevant to the scene and investigation. they really don't can know very much about what happened after the thieves drove away from

dresden castle with what they've stolen. they seem simply to have vanished into thin air. >> presumably if they literally don't know who they're chasing, they're not going to be able to tell us whether or not they were linked with people on the inside. >> reporter: i think it's definitely one of the possibilities and one the police have not discounted. something the team of 20 or so officers involved in this investigation are looking into. when you look at how it happened, the way they were able to make it inside simply with an ax suggests this was carefully thought through. whether someone on the inside was involved is an avenue they're going to be pursuing. these are extremely well

recognizable jewels. difficult to sell on any open market. and then these are jewels, max, that share the history of the region. they were kept here, of course taken away by the red army, retrieved and put on display in dresden castle. so it's a history very closely connected with that of the region and i think that's why there's a sense of shock they were taken as easily as they were in a matter of minutes with a couple of men armed simply with an ax. >> very simple. thank you very much, indeed. if you're watching outside the u.s., thank you for watching. and if you're watching inside the united states, stay tuned.

♪ welcome to our viewers in the united states. you're watching cnn newsroom. checking the headlines for you this hour. there's been a large explosion at chemical plant in texas. an emergency official tells cnn some homes have been damaged by the plast. blast. one woman said it felt like a bomb went off. no word if anyone was in the plant when the explosion happened. but there are no reports of injuries at this time. the next phase of the

impeachment begins. chairman jerry nadler has the vited the president and his legal team, a white house source says the offer is under consideration. donald trump told a rally of supporters that americans think the impeach nment inquiry is b.. but a new poll shows 50% believe he should be removed from office. 43% disagree. and blizzard conditions have already closed highways and forced flight cancellations in denver, colorado. that storm moving east. meanwhile another storm system bringing hurricane-forced winds to the west coast. further south an evacuation center has been issued for a burn area. a storm is moving through and that could help firefighters battle the cave fire.

there was concern rain could weaken the ground, causing it to give way. it's burned almost 4300 acres and 10% contained at this point. >> reporter: 600 firefighters battling blazes in bone-dry brush. >> it's been quite the firefight. we've had winds moving up slope, down slope. >> reporter: the beach towns and homes and nearly 100,000. thousands of homes threaten thousands of people forced to flee. flames ingfling highway 154. for some the only way to safety. after day break, tanker air drops, more helicopters joining the fight. >> the really hard, difficult piece of country to fight fire

in and the weather is some of the most extreme anywhere around. >> reporter: and so far not a single home lost. there are native american cave paintings in these hills covered in advance of the flames with heat-resistant tarps. that's why they're calling this the cave fire. >> there is a rain storm that will help this fire. but as far as things here in california, it's not over. one state official said used to be fire season was pretty much over by november 1st. this year cal fire is staying fully staffed up. nick watt, cnn, santa barbara. in maryland three men are free after spending 36 years in prison for a murder they didn't commit. chest put the, watkins and security were arrested on

thanksgiving day in 1983. now all these years later they'll get to spend the holiday with their families and loved ones. here with more on why their convictions were overturned. >> reporter: free at last. >> oh, man. i mean i've been always dreaming of this. >> reporter: baltimore police ripped these three men from their homes for a murder they did not commit. >> this should have never happened. >> this is the first time i have been able to hug my son in about 20 some years. >> reporter: hugs weren't the only things missed. two of the men have never driven a car. they've spent more time behind bars than they're homes all because of what happened in 1983. they charged alfred chest put

the and watkins and 17-year-old andrew stewart for the can killing of a teenager in a baltimore middle school. the smoking gun a similar jacket found inside chestnut's home, despite no gun or blood shot evidence. his mother even had a receipt of puchs. still, they were sentenced to life behind bars. chestnut filed for information and uncoved a pile of unseen evidence. an anonymous phone call id'd another suspect seen wearing the stolen jacket and confessing to the crime but thank none of that was given to their attorneys. they refused to confess even when the parole board said they'd release him if he did.

>> look forward to living the rest of my life. >> too many people are losing their likes in prison that don't deserve it and we have to do something about it. >> reporter: cnn, new york. she wants to create a fund for those wrongfully convicted. the lumberjacks have got the devils in an overtime thriller. and that's at 150 games. they came up with the loose ball in the final seconds and drove it down the court for a buzzer-beating lay up. now an election a little over two weeks away why the chief

rabbi is saying he's not fit to be prime minister. - 10 years ago, we started legacybox.

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chief rabbi is blasting lately the german can court over his handling of anti-semitism in the party. it's bad timing with with the general election just over two weeks away now. phil black reports. >> reporter: the feeling behind them isn't new. so when jeremy corbin gets up and says anti-semitism has no place in our society, you don't believe him? >> don't believe it. the words and action has not been there for a long time. >> reporter: he probably shouldn't have been surprised this might come up on the day he wanted to talk about peace between races and religions.

far more damaging than protester's screams are the british chief rabbi's carefully chosen words. "if he argued corbyn unfit to be prime minister, the party is doing everything it reasonably can to tackle antijewish racism and that has investigated everything and it's a failure of culture. in response the lobber party quickly condemned anti-semitism. he's been accused of getting too friendly with known antisemmites. this video is a famous example. he later expressed regret for the comment. and as lobber leader he's accused of allowing a permissive

culture aimed to stamp out antijewish hatred. >> i think he's actively complicit in it. >> reporter: stephen recently can dedicated the front page to non-jewish folk. >> when you cast your vote, bear in mind that one of our minority groups in this country regards one of the party leaders, jeremy corbyn as being a races. anti-semitism in any form is vile and wrong. it is an evil within our society. >> reporter: after years of repeatedly condemning anti-semitism, he still hasn't dissuaded the people that care most bout this issue and if many jews don't believe him, few will vote for his party when they elect a new prime minister in just over two weeks.

>> and bbc's andy neil gave him a chance to respond. >> 80% of jews think you're antisymmetic. wouldn't you like to tyke take this opportunity to apologize to the jewish people? >> i am determ pd our society be safe for people of all faiths. i don't want anyone to be feeling insecure in our society and our government will protect any community gents against the abuse they receive on the streets or train or any other form of life. >> try it one more time. >> andrew, can i explain what year trueing to do. >> and you have. i wanted to -- >> and andrew, i don't. >> well, the labor party

responded saying he's a life-long campaigner against anti-semitism. the major issue is brexit and it's making for unusual alliances and stirring old divisions between unionests and nationalists. >> north belfast, a cold, crisp night. the election is nearing. of 18 northern irish seats as many as eight could change hands. this is one othem. john, a lawyer with pro remain mostly catholic irish nationals. >> thank you very much. >> the issue of brexit is really key. >> reporter: what is it you want to happen? >> to be honest i voted -- so my

key thing would be there's no hard boarders in ireland. >> reporter: most other pro remain candidates withdrew to let lord mayor belfast get his vote even though his party refused to take their seats. >> in belfast they're similar to the north in general. i think this election on december 12 gives them another opportunity to send a very partial message. >> reporter: he is up against pro lead, mostly prominent unionist party inkmp bnt. now they're under fire from all directions. unprecedented political alliances are forming and the future of northern ireland is at stake.

daud's message, change johnson's brexit deal and strengthen our place in the united dingcome. dodd's social media feed shows him campaigning but he didn't allow us an interview. a local veteran d.u.p. politician not running agreed to talk. >> it could be a few hundred votes either way. >> reporter: betrayal of the union is a live issue in these elections. and that may cost them votes to moderate unionists. >> i want to stop boris johne s johnson's withdrawal date. >> reporter: no one will stand against dodds in north belfast. such are the unprecedented

tactics of this election. this could benefit -- because his message is pro remain. all the election, it's surviving old grievances. >> will you be voting? >> yes, 100%. >> and do you know who yet? >> dodds. >> why? >> he's the only one with sound voice. >> reporter: and getting out the vote this election difficult. >> i won't be voting because there's -- >> reporter: new tactics are opening new possibilities that could see more proremain mps in westminster.

moderate nationalists could remain. >> and the issue is my constitueconstitch witnessy voted to remain. >> reporter: hannah is taking on the d.u.p. in south belfast. unlike them, she is not an abstentionest and would take her place in parliament. >> i think abstentionest is nuts. >> reporter: by maech everyone will know and few would dare predict what happens affthat. cnn, belfast, northern ireland. an american thanksgiving feast isn't complete without a turkey. makes my butt look good fancy but not too fancy no matter why you love your clothes, care for them with woolite.

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now you may be aware of how u.s. senator, bernie sanders, can get riled up on the debate stage but on the dance floor he's the bell of the ball. >> reporter: you know how bernie

sanders can get a little grouchy? >> we could keep that down a little bit. >> reporter: now you can't keep him down. this is the story of bernie's night as a -- not quite two months after his heart attack. the sound off of the temptations lured him to the dance floor. and he invited woman after woman to take a spin. even if this one shyly resisted his attempt to twirl and even when he tried to stock, one a another they kept coming in. flashes popping as he scored dancing selfies. would bernie have been tempted to get down the temptations before he-his heart attack? those who cover him say he's a more light-hearted, humorous man

after his health scare. mayor pete buttigieg's supporters have gone viral with a panic at the disco dance. >> it's all part of mayor pete's strategy to get a negative percentage of the black vote. >> reporter: nothing strategic about bernie's dancing. he was pounced on by 23 women and one guy. as the four tops put it, neither could bernie. as is tradition in the u.s. president donald trump pardoned a turkey saveing it from becoming a holiday meal. this year's was butter. bread was his wingman and was also spared from the thanksgiving table. mr. trump used the occasion to joke about the impeachment inquiry. >> thankfully bread and butter

have been especially raised by the jacksons to remain calm under any conditions which is important because they've already received subpoenas to appear in adam schiff's basement thursday. >> reporter: well, late-night comedy host got on the jokes. take a listen. >> the president and the first lady participated in the traditional pardoning of the turkey ceremony. paul manafort said blew, blew. >> i hereby grant you a full and complete pardon. >> for what? those turkeys should be pardoning him by the way, not the other way around. >> you can go online and vote for which turkey got the official pardon which is butter's lawyer got caught

trying to find dirt on bread. >> you're recognized for your opening statement. did you feel threatened? >> you've been watching cnn newsroom. "early start" is next. it was in this small little village- in connemara.

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thanks giving travelers on alert. back-to-back storms, snow, rain, and wind coast to coast. damaging new reports that he new about the whistle-blower complaint. >> new insight from an official known as anonymous. they'll reveal themselves before the 2020 election, and a surprising admission about that op-ed. and breaking overnight, a powerful explosion at a chemical plant in texa