blockbuster as hollywood will always have. it sort of lays the ground work for what we're going to see for the next 20 years. >> you want answers? >> i think i'm entitled. >> you want answers? >> i want the truth. >> you can't handle the truth. ahead this hour on "cnn newsroom" live, a crowded hanukkah celebration turns into a scene of violence and chaos in the latest attack against jews. we'll have the very latest updates on the victims, the investigation and the suspect's arre arrest. plus u.s. forces carry out air strikes in iraq and syria. why now and what's at stake. just days left in 2019. we take a look back at the year's top international stories. hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and of course from all around the world. i'm rosemary rosemary.

>> and i'm george howell from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. "newsroom" starts right now. and we begin with the attacks that have shaken two u.s. communities during the holiday season. in texas, a man opened fire killing two people during a church service before he was shot by armed parishioners. we will have the details in just a moment. also in monsey, new york, the suspect accused of stabbing five people during a hanukkah celebration inside a rabbi's home, this happened saturday, that suspect is being held on $5 million bail. grafton thomas has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and first degree burglary. his attorney says he has a long history of mental illness and no

history of anti-semitism. >> we must warn you the video you're about to see may be disturbing. these are photos from inside the rabbi's home right after the attack, and you can see blood on the floor and chairs overturned. and surveillance video from a neighbor's home appears to show the attacker running toward his car after the stabbings. >> here's the thing, though. despite the attack, the jewish community in that area, they continue with the celebrations on sunday on the eve of the final day of hanukkah. more on this story now from cnn's alison cossack. >> reporter: we're learning more about the suspect, how 38-year-old grafton thomas got inside the rabbi's home. according to police and witnesses, he walked through the front door. it was unlocked, but that wasn't unusual. the rabbi often left the door unlocked, had an open-door policy during celebrations like the one that were happening that night. it was the seventh day of hanukkah, almost 100 people were

inside the house. a guest at the celebration tells us it was during the moment that the rabbi was lighting the mennor me menorah that thomas allegedly walked in with a long machete-type knife and began his stabbing spree. five people were stabbed including the rabbi's own son. one of the guests is being hailed as a hero. joseph gluck talked with cnn, telling us that he threw a coffee table at the suspect and wrote down his license plate number before he fled. and that's a good thing because the car was electronically tagged as it drove across the george washington bridge and into harlem, and that's where police caught up with him as you can see in this nypd video. police apprehending thomas. they say he was covered in blood. prosecutors at his arraignment would later say that he also smelled of bleach, indicating that he was trying to cover up a crime. cnn talked with a pastor and longtime friend of thomas', who defended thomas, saying that he

isn't a terrorist, and he's not a violent person. in monsey, new york, i'm alison kosik, back to you. >> thank you. new york's top officials have been weighing in on what happened. the state's governor, andrew cuomo, met with some of the victims and was quick to condemn the stabbings. listen. >> i consider this an act of domestic terrorism. let's call it what it is. these people are domestic terrorists, and the law should reflect that, and they should be punished as if it was an act of terrorism. >> look, it is a nationwide problem, and i referred to it as an american cancer, and i believe that. >> new york's mayor, bill de blasio, tells cnn that the jewish community just wants to feel safe. >> more nypd presence in jewish communities, more security cameras, the physical measures, but also the community-based measures. we're going to have patrols of community folks who go out,

working with the nypd, from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. there's a fear that anti-semitism is growing in america and becoming more and more violent, and for folks that's very personal. >> joining me now on the phone is cedric alexander. he is the former chief of police for dekalb county in georgia, and he was a member of president barack obama's task force on 21st century policing. he's also author of the book "the new guardians: policing in america's communities for the 21st century." thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> so new york's governor says words are not enough, and it's time for action. he's calling this attack domestic terrorism. do you agree? >> well, certainly i think new york is probably better than anyone in terms of having to de terrorism, and certainly i think the governor's his hate crime te

was clearly evident of them taking this attack upon the jewish community last night very seriously. so i think you're going to see a lot of cooperation there between the state and local and federal law enforcement who are going to seek out as much information and intelligence information as they can as to what was the motive behind this attack. and even just as importantly to begin to look at other attacks to the jewish community around this country, and particularly around the new york community over the last week, over the last month, and a number of years because there's clearly an uptick in attacks towards our jewish communities here in this country. but we can also note that other communities of color and those in the gay and lesbian and transgender community have also

seen an increase in violence. >> right. >> and that is something that is just not going to be tolerated here in the united states. >> and i do want to read you a statement from the anti-defamation league saying, this is at least the tenth anti-semitic incident to hit the new york area in just the last week. when will enough be enough? it's time for leaders everywhere, jewish and non-jewish, to recognize that additional actions to protect the jewish community are urgent. the jewish community is under assault. all of america must hear our cry. so, cedric alexander, how should law enforcement agencies, especially on the local level, respond to this? >> well, not just local law enforcement, but how do we as a community, as a whole, both public safety at our local, state, and federal level have already begun to investigate. they're doing things to add patrols to jewish communities in

and around new york. but in addition, you have a governor and a state government there that is certainly going to do everything that they can to keep the jewish community and other communities safe. and the jewish community is absolutely right. an attack upon their community is an attack upon all of us. and as a nation, we cannot stand for it. so it is incumbent that all of us in this country speak out publicly verbally, publicly, not just at home, but speak out against this type of violence that is currently occurring in our jewish communities across this country. and it's something none of us can tolerate and puts all of us at extreme risk. >> certainly the governor of new york has made it clear he will not tolerate this. so how much cooperation is there between the hasidic jewish community particularly and police, and could a better relationship between the two perhaps help prevent more violence and attacks like this? >> well, you know, i don't know

the history between the hasidic community there and nypd, but i do know this, that i have a number of friends and colleagues within nypd, and they work diligently every day to make sure that they establish and maintain relationships throughout that entire community. so i am pretty confident that the hasidic community and nypd are working together collaboratively to make sure that that community remains safe. there's reports that are currently going out today, and we heard them from the governor, is that there are going to be increased patrols in and around certain jewish communities and in certain locations. so it is just not incumbent upon police. it's incumbent upon all of us, the citizens there in new york and across this nation to do what we can to keep those in the jewish community and those that are part of other groups that

may feel that they are being threatened and have experienced violence. it is just something that none of us can tolerate, and we must stick together, do this, and stand with those in the jewish community, who are certainly seeing this type of violence being imposed upon them for the last number of days. it is just absolutely unacceptable for any of us to stand on the sidelines. >> cedric alexander, thank you so much for talking with us. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> the brutal nature of the attack is striking a chord with jewish communities around the world. our oren liebermann has more reaction now on this attack from israel. >> reporter: news of the attack broke early sunday morning in israel just as the country was starting its workweek and getting ready for the eighth and final night of hanukkah. the chairman of the jewish agency says the attack in monsey, new york, turned the festival of lights into dark days. on the holidays when jews are

supposed to be able to feel their safest whether they're celebrating at home or in a synagogue or with a congregation, these are the days when jews are being targeted. we saw it with the attack here in monsey, new york, on the seventh night of hanukkah and we saw it in pittsburgh and san diego, two attacks that happened on the sabbath. prime minister benjamin netanyahu condemned the attack at his weekly cabinet meeting. >> translator: israel strongly condemns the latest surge of anti-semitism and the brutal attack at the rabbi's house in monsey, new york. we send our wishes of recovery to the wounded. >> reporter: beyond simply offering well wishes, netanyahu pledged israel's aid, not only to local authorities in new york but also to any country that's interested in looking for help in fighting anti-semitism. next month, israel will host a conference about anti-semitism at israel's holocaust museum. the conference will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the auschwitz concentration camp. heads of state, world leaders

and dignitaries will try to figure out and discuss anti-semitism. part of that answer is education, but it will take more than that. this conference has taken on added significance in light of the attack in monsey and all of the other anti-semitic incidents in new york and elsewhere. as the chairman of the jewish agency pointed out, anti-semitism is a symptom of a bigger problem. he said it begins with the jews, but it never ends with judgment the jews. this isn't a problem only in monsey or new york or america, and it should be treated as a much bigger phenomenon. oren liebermann, cnn, jerusalem. we turn now to the deadly church shooting in texas where police are trying to find the motive behind sunday's attack just outside the city of fort worth. >> as we've been reporting on this story, two people were killed during a sunday service. authorities say that two parishioners returned fire, killing the gunman. our paul vercammen reports.

>> reporter: streaming video of the church service shows a man sitting in the back. he stands up and begins firing with a long gun. according to authorities, two parishioners, also security guards, volunteer guards, returned fire. and within six seconds, the suspect is taken down. according to authorities, the gunman died on the way to the hospital, but so did two of the parishioners. the senior minister from the church said evil invaded our home, and he said two men have left a legacy. >> we lost two great men today. but it could have been a lot worse, and i am thankful that our government has allowed us the opportunity to protect ourselv ourselves. we have a congregation here of open-hearted people. we help people. we're here to help people. and to have something like this happen destroys my heart. >> reporter: those men being praised as heroes by the pastor and by law enforcement

officials. they say there were 240 members of the congregation or so whose lives were spared. we understand that two people were also injured during the crossfire according to the ambulance company. they had ducked during that fire and hit their heads. they were treated and released. now, as for that gunman, according to law enforcement officials, he was transient but had roots in the area. he had had contact with law enforcement before. arrests contact in multiple different jurisdictions. reporting from los angeles, i'm paul vercammen. now back to you. >> paul, thank you. the united states has carried out air strikes in iraq and syria, hitting facilities linked to an iranian-backed militia. >> a spokesman for the group says the strikes killed at least 25 people in iraq. disturbing footage shows rescue workers trying to recover victims from the scene. the u.s. says the strikes were in response to recent attacks on

iraqi bases, including one that killed an american contractor on friday. cnn's jeremy diamond reports the u.s. won't rule out more action. >> reporter: well, the president's top national security officials emerged sunday after briefing president trump at his mar-a-lago estate on those u.s. military strikes carried out against an iranian proxy group. three strikes were carried out in iraq, two strikes carried out in syria, all against this same iranian-backed militia group. now, the message that we heard from those top officials, secretary of state mike pompeo, the secretary of defense mark esper, as well as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, mark milley, was to both explain the rationale for taking these strikes and also to warn iran about future actions. >> i would add that in our discussion today with the president, we discussed with him other options that are available, and i would note also that we will take additional actions as necessary to ensure that we act in our own self-defense and we defer

further bad behavior from militia groups or from iran. >> reporter: that was the warning issued by secretary of defense mark esper where he makes very clear there that he did brief the president on additional options, making clear that president trump is keeping the door open to taking additional action against iran or against its proxies in the region should there be further attacks. it does appear that the tipping point here that prompted this u.s. action after weeks of these rocket attacks from various iranian proxies in iraq was indeed this latest attack that took place on friday that claimed the life of one u.s. defense contractor and left four u.s. service members injured. secretary of state mike pompeo making clear that this was a decisive response to that attack and also making clear that the united states will not stand for any iranian actions that threaten or that put u.s. lives in jeopardy. jeremy diamond, cnn, traveling with the president in west palm beach, florida. >> earlier we heard from cnn military analyst and retired

u.s. air force colonel cedric leighton. >> and he expects some form of retaliation for the strikes. listen. >> iran has used hezbollah has a front for many years. it goes back basically until 2003, which was the same year that the u.s. invaded iraq in operation iraqi freedom. what this group has done is basically served as a front for the iranians, and it allows iran to maintain a hold on iraqi politics. it also tends to direct the kind of movements that the iraqi armed forces do, how much they support u.s. efforts, how much they go after groups like isis when isis threatened iraq. so this kind of group does a lot of the bidding of iran, but it also serves iran's interests by not only maintaining operational pressure on iraq, but it also serves as iran's eyes and ears in iraq.

so this type of group is going to actually have a major impact on the way iranian policy is conducted in iraq, and it also will have a major impact on how iran deals with the u.s. the u.s. in essence had, you know, the way that they needed to look at this was, you know, what kind of iranian influences are active in iraq and how they could counter that influence. and once the attack happened near kirkuk, they had no choice but to go after this target. unfortunately it's going to start a vicious cycle, and that vicious cycle will probably include iranian retaliation. >> and u.s. forces also involved in another series of air strikes this weekend. on sunday, they worked with somalia's government to target al she bob militants. >> the group was blamed for a car bomb attack in mogadishu that left 79 dead and more than 100 injured. some of the victims have been airlifted to turkey for

treatment. still ahead on "newsroom" the fireworks in sydney. the question, will they go on? why some are calling for them to be canceled. we have a live report from southern australia as bush fires continue there. ♪ ♪ ♪

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officials in sydney, australia, are going ahead with plans to set off fireworks. you can see here on new year's eve despite a campaign against the iconic display. >> and so far, more than a quarter of a million people have signed an online petition calling for the show to be canceled. the state of new south wales where sydney is located is the hardest hit from dozens and dozens of bushfires. petition organizers want the money allocated for the fireworks donated instead to farmers and firefighters. >> but sydney's mayor says most of the budget has already been spent. cnn is live in new south wales. our simon cullen is in the state hardest hit by these fires. simon, give us a sense there of where things stand with these fires and how might weather play into what's happening there. >> reporter: well, george, this is a fire crisis this is affecting several states. as you say, new south wales has been hardest hit.

but today a lot of the focus has actually been in victoria, the east part of the state is where tens of thousands of people have been urged to evacuate although that advice has changed in the last hour or so because the fire threat is now so intense that several major roads have been closed, and people are instead being urged to seek shelter and wait for the firestorm to pass over. here's a little bit of what those victorian fire authorities said just a few hours ago. >> this is a high-risk day for victoria. this is a day we do not often see. our state is dry. it is going to be very hot. it is going to be very, very windy. people, get out now. if you don't, you've got to stay across the conditions and listen to those warnings through the day. >> reporter: so, george, that is the conditions in victoria. a small glimmer of hope is a color change that is moving across the state. that is not expected to until midnight local time so that is

still several hours away. with that change comes more erratic wind behavior. still here in new south wales, the fire threat will remain elevated through into tuesday because the hot weather is still here. that cooler change won't reach here until much later in the week. so here there are still dozens of fires still burning out of control. in fact, behind me is smoke from the local fires, and so there is still a crisis here in new south wales. >> indeed. you talk about the wind, simon. the wind's only making things worse there. simon cullen, we appreciate the report. thank you. well, our meteorologist ivan cabrera joins us now. as we heard, there are hot, windy conditions but we're seeing these cooler temperatures coming certainly in the future there. but talk to us about the details. >> yeah. so the cooler temperatures are coming in. you can see, rosemary, 100 fires being worked on right now and about almost half really

uncontained. we need containment of all these fires because it is summer here, and we're only going to have windows of better weather, improved weather, before the next, you know, heatwave comes in. so this is going to be a pattern. this is going to be ongoing. i'll show you the extended forecast and what i mean. cooler, then hotter once again. so there is a boundary we're talking about here. the temperatures continue to fall. there's adelaidadelaide, melbou 35. look at melbourne's high, 21. the front continues and pushes in, that's where the fires are and that's where we need to get the cool air. that boundary doesn't look like much, but that's going to bring the wind shift that brings cooler temperatures. but the wind shift is going to be just as significant as before the front. we're still going to have 40, 60, 70 kilometer per hour winds. it's just going to come from a different direction which firefighters have to react to as now they have to realign to fight the fires in the other direction. so this is a process we're going to continue to go through here until they get full containment.

>> it is just unbelievable when you see how extensive those fires are right across australia. many thanks to you, ivan cabrera. appreciate it. >> you bet. the battleships for a civil rights icon coming up. john lewis makes an announcement on his health and his plans going forward.

from where you're watching around the world, thank you for being with us. and in the united states, good early morning to you. welcome back to "newsroom." i'm george howell. >> i'm rosemary. we want to check the headlines for you this hour. the kremlin says russian president vladimir putin thanked president trump sunday for helping to prevent a terrorist

attack. russia's intelligence agency said a tip from washington led to the arrest of two russians suspected of planning attacks in st. petersburg during new year's celebrations. in the u.s. state of texas, people trying to find out the motive behind a deadly church shooting just outside the city of fort worth, texas, there. two people were killed during a sunday service. authorities say two parishioners who also were volunteer members of the church security team returned fire killing the shooter. the man suspected of stabbing five people during a hanukkah celebration in monsey, new york, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and burglary charges. police released video of the moment they stopped him as he was driving into new york city. a law enforcement source told cnn he had blood all over him when arrested. and we are hearing from some of the u.s. presidential candidates reacting to what happened, that stabbing, and other recent anti-semitic

attacks. senator bernie sanders tweeted this, quote, i'm outraged by the knife attack in monsey. we must confront this surge of anti-semitic violence, prioritize the fight against bigotry, and bring people together instead of dividing people up. >> former vice president joe biden tweeted, the horrifying rise of anti-semitism is tearing apart the fabric of our communities and the soul of this nation. we've got to stand together as a country and fight these flames of hatred. here's a tweet from senator elizabeth warren. i'm heartsick for the victims of this horrific attack. this is unfortunately just the latest of a series of anti-semitic attacks in new york and new jersey. we must fight anti-semitism and make clear that hateful bigotry has no place in our society. >> and mayor pete buttigieg responded to the attacks while campaigning in the state of iowa. listen. >> we woke up this morning to

learn that fellow americans celebrating the holiday in the jewish tradition were attacked, violently attacked last night, because they were jewish. people are coming to harm in this country because they are different. >> president trump called the stabbings horrific, saying, we must come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-semitism. a u.s. congressman who has devoted his career to advocating for civil rights right here in atlanta, he now faces a new battle. >> john lewis announced he has pancreatic cancer. in a statement, he said, i have been in some kind of fight for freedom, equality, basic human rights for nearly my entire life. i have never faced a fight quite like the one i have now. this month, in a routine medical visit and subsequent tests,

doctors discovered stage four pancreatic cancer. this diagnosis has been reconfirmed. please keep me in your prayers as i begin this journey. our chief political correspondent dana bash spoke with cnn's jessica dean about lewis' stature in politics. >> when it comes to his role in american history and obviously more recently his 30-plus years in congress, it's hard to overstate how much of an impact he's had. first of all, on that bridge in selma, alabama, i had the honor of going back with him. he does this every year. he takes -- he makes a pilgrimage, a bipartisan pilgrimage, takes some reporters with him in order to tell the story of what happened in 1965 when he was walking across that bridge with so many other civil rights activists just for the sole purpose of getting the

right to vote for african-americans. and he got his head bashed in. >> mm-hmm. >> he almost didn't survive. he said he remembers feeling like he was going to die. he was 25 years old. and that -- that moment was really a turning point in the movement for african-americans to get the right to vote, that led to the voting rights act. and that was such a critical time that he, as i said, he makes a point of bringing people back every single year. sometimes it's the president. sometimes it's, you know, first-term members of congress from across the aisle, republicans and democrats. it's a really, really special event that he does. but also in washington, you kind of alluded to this, jessica. john lewis is the heart and soul of the democratic caucus and even beyond the democratic caucus. when there's a big fight coming up, whether it's a policy fight or even a political turns to h

many, many times for thegi ve, for sort of the heart and the soul that they know that he can provide. you know, he always says, we need to get into trouble, good trouble. i've seen him say that to kids that he meets and to adults who are trying to make change. >> there's so many people certainly here in atlanta and this country and around the world that are just pulling for john lewis in this. john lewis has represented the atlanta area in congress since first elected in 1986. well, they're missing some key details. >> see how investigators are looking for clues as they try to figure out what caused a small plane to crash in the state of louisiana. stand by. ♪ ♪ ♪ well i'm standing here, looking at you, what do i see? ♪

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u.s. aviation investigators

are relying on witnesses and videos as they try to figure out what caused a small plane crash in louisiana. >> at this point they don't have much to go on. authorities say there was no distress call made from the plane and no flight data was recorded on the aircraft to learn about its final movements. >> witnesses say the plane made a steep left bank, then rolled before hitting power lines. one person onboard survived. five people were killed. natasha chen has more. >> reporter: we've watched ntsb investigators in the field behind me inspecting pieces of the plane that crashed just after takeoff saturday morning. now, ntsb vice chairman bruce lanzberg said this is a sobering situation with a debris field about a quarter mile wide. this is video from a witness when the plane crashed just before 9:30 a.m. local time saturday. landsberg said there was no flight data recorder which complicates the job

tremendously. investigators now have two videos and two witnesses helping them piece together what happened. here senior air safety investigator jennifer rowdy. >> one witness stated specifically that the landing gear was retracted. the at tut at the time of impact is estimated to be wings level. i do not have a nose-down indication level at this point, but the wreckage is massively fragmented and charred, melted and partially consumed by fire. >> reporter: we can see a car at the end of the post office parking lot that burned and was flipped upside down. the fire department here says a woman who was in that car, danielle brit, suffered severe burns when the plane skidded through there. brit somehow managed to get herself out and is now being treated at a hospital in new orleans. only one passenger from the plane survived and is critical condition. the five others onboard died. they include 30-year-old sports reporter carley mccord. she was on her way to see the peach bowl in atlanta where her father-in-law was the offensive coordinator for lsu during saturday's game.

her husband, stephen enz minger jr., told me he could not get off work to drive with mccord to atlanta, so mccord boarded this flight instead. enz minger jr. wrote in a message to me, i mean i could write a book on carley right now, but i just can't find the words. it's so hard, and it hurts too much. i just want her here with me. that's all i want. she is and will forever be my world. the weather was listed as foggy on saturday when the plane took off with the faa control tower reporting vis bit of about three quarters of a mile. ntsb will be focusing on the pilot, the plane and the environment. ntsb estimates they'll be able to remove the wreckage from the scene by the end of monday. natasha chen, cnn, lafayette, louisiana. >> thank you. still ahead on "newsroom" from political instability to massive protest movements, 2019 was a tumultuous year around the world. >> coming up, which stories made our list of the biggest international headlines.

we'll have that in just a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ alarm b ♪ ng ] what if once in a blue moon happened more than once in a blue moon?

reach for the moon.

[ chuckles ] so, what are some key takeaways from this commercial? did any of you hear the "bundle your home and auto" part? -i like that, just not when it comes out of her mouth. -yeah, as a mother, i wouldn't want my kids to see that. -good mom. -to see -- wait. i'm sorry. what? -don't kids see enough violence as it is? -i've seen violence. -maybe we turn the word "bundle" into a character, like mr. bundles. -top o' the bundle to you. [ laughter ]

bundle, bundle, bundle. -my kids would love that. -yeah. welcome back to "newsroom." from terror attacks, an

attempted coup, and massive protests. >> just some of the headlines from a busy year in international news. cnn's clarissa ward has a look back at the top global headlines of 2019. ♪ >> reporter: as the decade comes to a close, so does another tumultuous year. 2019 was marked by global protests, brutal terrorist attacks, and political instability, and cnn was there as it all happened. number nine -- >> i will shortly leave the job that has been the honor of my life to hold. >> theresa may stepped down as british prime minister after failing to secure brexit. the uk's withdrawal from the european union. she was replaced by boris johnson, who called for an early election in december, hoping to break the brexit impasse. >> a major victory for british

prime minister boris johnson. >> yes, they will have an overwhelming mandate from this election to get brexit done. >> many m.p.s who lost their seats have blamed jeremy corbyn saying people decided he just want the kind of leader they want. >> reporter: boris johnson vowing to get brexit done by the end of january. number eight, china ramps up its persecution of uighur muslims. >> china doesn't want you to know the secret behind these walls. men, women, children, sometimes entire families separated from each other, cut off from the outside world. the u.s. state department says they live in prison-like conditions, locked up not for what they did but who they are, members of muslim minority groups, from xinjiang province in china's far west. >> reporter: human rights group allege that 2 million members of the ethic minority are being

detained in sprawling secret camps. the chinese government denies this and says the uighurs are voluntarily enrolled in, quote, vocational training centers. number seven, a holy day meant forrest and worship turns deadly in sri lan ca. >> an entire country shaken after hundreds of people are killed in a wave of bombings. this is sri lanka. >> reporter: ten days before the massacre, an intelligence memo warned of a possible attack, raising questions about whether more could have been done to prevent the bloodshed. two of the suicide bombers were brothers, members of a prominent waleny muslim family. isis claimed responsibility for the attack. number six, power in numbers. citizens from almost every continent flood their city centers and demand systemic

change. >> the mass protests against income inequality have gone on for two weeks. 20 people have been killed. >> reporter: some protesters paid the highest price, but their movements forced dictators out of power. >> this morning a military transitional council announced the end of omar al bashir's 30-year reign, a dictatorship known for its brutality against its own citizens. >> reporter: confronted economic inequality, fought for democracy, and reaffirmed the underestimated power of a people united. number five, the world's most wanted terrorist cornered and killed. >> as we are getting some major news out of the middle east, isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi is believed to have been killed. >> reporter: president trump announces u.s. special forces conducted an overnight raid in syria. al baghdadi detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three

children when he was cornered in a tunnel. >> he died like a dog. he died like a coward. the world is now a much safer place. >> u.s. special forces were in the compound for about two hours and were able to gather what's described as highly sensitive material on isis before pulling out and flying back to iraq. >> reporter: days later, isis announces a new leader of the caliphate. baghdadi's death symbolizes the destruction of the islamic state but not the end of its violent ideology. number four, the deadliest terror attack in new zealand's modern history. >> police say these were the actions of a lone gunman whose rampage began with the attack on the al nur mosque and subsequent lip the lynnwood mosque. >> reporter: the massacre claims the lives of 51 people and ruineds 49. >> we ended up having to lift the bodies over top of other bodies onto our stretchers.

there was no, um -- and those people were bleeding, and there was a lot of blood. >> reporter: the gunman, a 28-year-old self-described white supremacist armed with military-style weapons and live streaming the massacre from a helmet cam. he posts an 87-page manifesto on social media just hours before the attack. new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern vows to take action on gun violence. >> today i'm announcing that new zealand will ban all military-style semiautomatic weapons. we will also ban all assault rifles. >> reporter: number three, a power struggle in venezuela ushers in an era of violence and poverty. >> the breaking news straight out of venezuela. juan guaido, the country's self-declared interim president and opposition leader urging the military to force out the president, nicolas maduro. >> reporter: after what critics described as an illegitimate

inauguration of maduro, guaido challenged maduro's claim to the presidency. president trump recognizes guaido as the legitimate president. maduro accuses the united states of backing an attempted coup and expels u.s. diplomats from the country. >> the world watched as a stark message was sent to protesters. maduro's forces would not tolerate dissent. human rights activists say they're being backed up by an unprecedented police crackdown. >> reporter: the united states sanctions venezuela's government-owned oil company. but almost a full year later, maduro remains in power, more resilient than his opponents expected. as for the venezuelans guaido once inspired, they continue to suffer from government corruption, inflation, and hunger, losing faith that much will change. number two, abandoning a commitment, creating a vacuum. >> an invasion is under way in

northern syria. turkey's president erdogan said the military offensive there has begun. >> our soldiers have been coming back over that period of time. >> reporter: days earlier, president trump makes an abrupt announcement that he is withdrawing u.s. troops from northern syria, clearing the way for turkey to launch an offensive. the move essentially abandons kurdish fighters, who have fought alongside american forces to defeat isis, ceding power to turkey, cementing bashar al assad's grip on syria, and benefiting the regional ambitions of russia and iran. at number one, a pro-democracy movement fights for autonomy. >> breaking overnight from hong kong, protesters flooding the streets, clashing with police as hong kong marks 22 years since it was formally returned to china. >> reporter: frustrations were ignited with the proposal of a controversial extradition bill that would see mainland china's

authority over the semi-autonomous region grow. at its peak, organizers estimate as many as 2 million took to the streets. the extradition bill was suspended, but as violence and property damage grew, so did the protesters' demands. they wanted an independent investigation into police act n actions, the release of all those arrested, conditions that proved unpalatable to authorities. >> and there is no end in sight to these sharp political divisions and this crisis that has plunged hong kong into economic recession, the worst crisis the city has seen in a generation. >> it has been a busy year, has it not? >> indeed. >> unbelievable. thank you so much for joining us. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm george howell. the news continues here on cnn

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we are learning more about the man accused of carrying out a knife attack at a hanukkah celebration. we will have that plus details of how he was caught. plus a deadly church shooting in the u.s. state of texas. what police there say saved many lives during that sunday service. and a new fight for a u.s. lawmaker. why u.s. civil rights icon john lewis says it's a battle unlike any other he's faced before. live from studio 7, welcome to viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm george howell. >> and i'm rosemary church. from cnn world headquarters in