welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world, i'm natalie allen. >> i'm michael holmes. coming up on jury trial cnn newsroom," the impeachment trial nears, democrats say he will force votes on witnesses and documents. also this hour prince harry saying he is sad but that there was no other option. his reaction to the announcement that me and meghan will no longer represent the queen. and china is reporting more cases of a new strain of

coronavirus, the outbreak spreads beyond the city where it was first identified. tlhere you have it, 36 hour and counting until the impeachment trial of donald trump is set to begin. >> both sides already making the case, the democratic leader in the u.s. senate promising a battle, chuck schumer telling reporters sunday night he will push for more evidence on the abuse of power and the obstruction of congress charges against the president. he needs 51 votes to succeed. >> we will force votes on witnesses and documents, and it will be up to four republicans to side with the constitution, to side with our democracy, to side with rule of law and not side in blind -- to president

trump and his desire to suppress the truth because in my judgment he probably thinks he's guilty. >> speaking earlier at a farm bureau conference where he boasted about trade agreements president trump got a standing ovation when he attacked the impeachment process. >> we're achieving what no administration has ever achieved before and what do i get out of it? tell me. i get impeached. that's what i get out of it. by these radical left lunatics i get impeached. but that's okay. the farmers are sticking with trump. they're sticking with trump. >> alan dershowitz is a recent addition to president trump's defense team, he's making it clear he's on board to handle one specific issue. >> i'm not involved in the day-to-day issues. i was asked by the president's defense team to become of

counsel on the specific issue of the criteria, the constitutional criteria for impeachment. that's a very important issue. i will be making that argument as an advocate, not as an expert witness. i will be advocating against impeachment of this president based on the constitutional criteria in the constitution. >> well, we're getting a preview of the legal arguments on both sides, how they will lay it out. kaitlan collins with details of the pre-trial briefs filed over the weekend. >> reporter: the white house is making this argument we were expecting them to make saying they believe this dangerous and unlawful effort to remove the president from office to nullify his election victory and in this argument that they're making about what democrats are doing, they say they're not denying the core of the democrats' case against them, about this military aid, the withhold of it, withholding that white house meeting for the ukrainians and even, of course, that demand for

the investigations into the bidens but what they're denying in this seven-page memo written by the president's top two attorneys you'll see on the senate floor this week they're saying what he did is not worthy of impeachment. they go on to lay out this argument talking about the democrats here and it's really notable. it's a very different argument than what you're seeing in the democrats' filing yesterday that was about 40 pages long with an additional 60-page list of what they say are their facts against the president where they're laying out in detail exactly what you saw in those house hearings. the white house is just generally in this six-page -- six or seven-page argument rejecting what the democrats are saying. now, this is notable also given what alan dershowitz is saying, one of the president's four attorneys he personally wanted on his team and you're saying alan dershowitz starting friday when we first reported they were going to be joining the team, along with ken starr and robert ray, saying that memo that came out yesterday, the legal briefing, saying he did not sign

off on it and didn't see it before it was filed. he is expected to be one of the attorneys presenting on the president's behalf on the senate floor this week. yesterday was a taste of what's to come. you'll see the fight play out this week but we're expected to get a lengthier, more detailed legal briefing from the white house tomorrow, the deadline for them to file it, laying out exactly how they're going to argue against the president's impeachment this week. >> now, thomas gift is a political science lecturer at university college london, joining us from stanford, california. good to see you again. i just want to set something up. we're getting a sense of the republican strategy when this gets under way. i want to talk about part of it. on the state of the union, alan dershowitz said the framers of the constitution intended for impeachable conduct to mean criminal like conduct, he was quoting a defense using 1868 by supreme court justice benjamin

curtis. let's have a listen to that. >> the senate refused to remove andrew johnson because justice curtis successfully argued that you need a crime. without a crime there can be no impeachment. >> without a crime there can be no impeachment. in 1988 dershowitz said this. >> certainly doesn't have to be a crime. if you have somebody who completely corrupts the office of president and who abuses trust and who poses great danger to our liberty you don't need a technical crime. >> needs to be a crime in 2020, not in '98. the thought of government accountability office, of course, we talked about this yesterday, they say the law was broken when it comes to the ukraine. i'm curious what you make of the dershowitz argument, how it might hold up, what you make of the strategy given his previous positions. >> well, it does seem to suggest that there's some degree of

hypocrisy among the republican argument here in favor of donald trump. and so you're right, as we've discussed before, michael, a crime isn't a prerequisite for impeachment and an executive that subverts the integrity of elections can't be held to account by that. democrats are making the case that leaving the question up to the american people isn't a satisfactory solution. >> yeah, no absolutely u i mean, dershowitz also argued that, you know, presidential abuse of power isn't impeachable, obstruction of congress. but i guess that leaves the question, what then is impeachable? if a foreign leader was asked to investigate a political rival and that's not impeachable, what is? >> i think that that is the big question. i mean, all crimes are not impeachable offenses but not all impeachable offenses are crimes but at the same time it really does beg the question that if this scenario does not constitute an impeachable offense what really does? michael, i almost feel like the

question isn't then will republicans turn on trump with the state of trial as it is but instead is there anything that could possibly change their minds? they've been so solidly behind trump since the very outset it's almost like they seem relatively indifferent to the facts, they're just supporting him because they're supporting him. >> yeah, if you take that broader view, though, and let's, you know, look down the line a bit i mean what preset is set if those actions aren't impeachable? if what we've seen unfold is deemed okay in the senate trial, if obstruction of congress isn't considered impeachable abuse of power or any of the other things then what future president's what sort of leeway will they have in how they behave? >> i think that that is exactly the point, these are such serious issues of election, issues of foreign interference, and if trump's actions don't constitute an impeachable offense it provides significant

leeway for future presidents to act in -- it's not just future precedence, it can also be donald trump himself, if he does get another four years and so if he's not held to account in this instance then by all accounts of his record he may feel he's free to do the same thing going forward. >> it's nearly about to get under way, tuesday, of course, a lot of talk still about witnesses or not. i mean, i want to get your thoughts on whether there are risks for democrats on witnesses if republicans allow former national security adviser john bolton to testify, even if he claims privilege, democrats would then be forced to allow perhaps hunter biden, even joe biden, any number of other witnesses who could hurt democrats, is that a quid pro quo worth taking, how do you think that discussion's going on? >> i think all in all democrats would prefer to have witnesses rather than not to have witnesses.

you know, republicans have essentially claimed that if democrats already have such an airtight case there's no additional need for witnesses. but i think that that's seriously disregarding the point that congress has a fundamental oversight role that's been challenged from the very outset by a president who's refused to cooperate on every single level and so i think democrats do want to hear from john bolton who's called from the reported actions a drug deal, want to hear from mick mulvaney, the chief of staff, and others close to the president because ultimately, michael, this really is a fact finding mission. it should be about figuring out what happened, how much the president knew, how he was involved and so on and so i think all in all democrats would prefer to see that witnesses are called. >> this is, of course, going to be the first impeachment in history where the impeached will have twitter. this is a president who thinks

he's a victim. he's being hounded -- or how do you see him handling the actual trail in this age of twitter? >> i think it's going to be more of a thing, he's going to double down on the strategy he's taken from the very beginning, he's going to -- the process as a witch hunt, he's going to call it presidential harassment. and to some extent this has been successful for trump, at least in galvanizing and rallying the base. he's used this as a fund raising tool. for example we saw his efforts extensively in various campaign events he's been doing across the country and so, you know, donald trump is going to do what donald trump does, he's going to pick the twitter and find other ways to demean this process. >> always good to chat, thomas gift with the university college london, thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks, michael. well, prince harry is speaking out for the first time on why he and his wife meghan are stepping back from their

royal duties. >> this comes after buckingham palace made the stunning announcement the palace would no longer represent the queen or be working members of the royal family. with great sadness the duke of sussex spoke at a charity event on sunday why he believes he had no option but to walk away. >> the uk is my home. and a place that i love. that will never change. i've grown up feeling supported from so many of you, and i watched as you welcomed meghan with open arms, as you saw me find the love and happiness that i'd hoped for all my life. finally the second son of diana got hitched. hurray. we both do everything we can to fly the flag and carry out our roles for this country with pride. once meghan and i were married we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to

serve. for those reasons it brings me great sadness that it has come to this. the decision that i have made for my wife and i to step back is not one i made lightly. it was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges, and i know i haven't always gone at it right but as far as this goes there really was no other option. our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. unfortunately that wasn't possible. i've accepted this, knowing that it doesn't change who i am, or how committed i am. but i hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that i would step my family back from all i have ever known, to take a step forward into what i hope can be a more peaceful life. >> well, the couple has talked about splitting their time between the u.s. and north america but many questions

remain regarding what their future will look like. >> cnn's royal correspondent max foster takes a look for us now at what is changing and how the queen is responding. >> this was meant to be the slim down monarchy of the future but this week it became even slimmer, with prince harry effectively abdicating his royal role. this is what taurus outside buckingham palace had to say about it. >> i think it was brave 06 them to do. i'm glad they feel comfortable with themselves and they have their blessing from grandma. >> the queen's remarkable statement on saturday was written as a grandmother. harry, meghan and archie will always be much loved members of my family, she wrote, but arguably it's also a peace treaty, reaching out to meghan who clearly hasn't enjoyed royal life. her majesty said she's particularly proud of how meghan has quickly become one of the

family but the warm tone of the statement belies the steeliness beneath it. the sussexs declared they would be carving out a progressive new role within the institution, the queen rejected that and made them choose whether they wanted to stay or go. the couple agreed to give up their royal roles all together, they'll stop using their full titles and they'll repay the millions they were given to renovate their home in windsor, there are still discussions ongoing whether they should be allowed to continue using their brand sussex royal, in return they get what they craved for most, freedom to live their lives how and where they want to and they'll be able to sign commercial deals without getting palace approval. >> harry doesn't know what it's like on the outside and one of the things that will probably disappoint him, he spent ten years in the army, he's losing his military connection and the biggest disappointment will be for prince phillip having been captain general of the marines 50 years handing it over to the very man he thought would be

perfect and ideal, prince harry, who has now walked away from it as he's walked away and had to walk away from the rest of his military commitments. >> the queen's been tested many times during her long reign, but once again she's shown determination to put her duty to protect the crown above all other considerations, even if it means saying no to her beloved grandson, max foster, cnn, buckingham palace, london. next, fresh calls for peace in the united states, the state of virginia is on edge hours ahead of a controversial gun rally. >> we will have more on who is stepping in to help keep things in check. we'll also have tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets, violence ramping up as the week of rage continues in lebanon. let's be honest, every insurance company says

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the fbi is working with local law enforcement in virginia as that state braces for a contentious gun rights rally in the coming hours, authorities tightening security after hate groups threaten

violence at the event and they have arrested several suspected neo-nazis believed to be planning violent acts. >> prominent faith leaders released this statement saying "on the very day we set aside to honor the life and enduring legacy of dr. martin luther king these dark and dangerous forces threaten to converge on our city and our commonwealth bringing hate and violence in this difficult moment and in the face of these threats we seek to muster dr. king's moral courage," a pro-gun activist had this to say. >> what worries me most about tomorrow is there's going to be a bad actor, right, not a virginia gun owner, not somebody who's lawfully owning and possessing a firearm, there's going to be a bad actor and something that happens many in here. i hope people understand

virginia gun owners are peaceful people. this didn't start today, this started back in november. we've peacefully demonstrated throughout the commonwealth. if anything bad comes out of tomorrow i hope that the world understands that it's not virginia gun owners that are causing this, it is the same kind of terrorist organizations that have caused unrest in other places. >> a state of emergency is in effect in virginia and will last into tuesday evening. well lebanon is trying to restore calm as a week of rage intensifies in its capital. >> anti-government protesters clashing with police for the second straight night on sunday, officials say hundreds of people have been injured, the military now deployed in an attempt to bring calm. cnn's ben wedeman on the ground with a look at why protesters are so angry. >> reporter: protesters charged

the riot police in beirut's martyr square. the lebanese capital witnessed the most violent clashes yet in a mass uprising that, until this week, had been largely peaceful. but peaceful no more. for months the country's politicians have diterred and bickered over the formation of a new government while the faltering economy has gone from bad to worse. the state is ours, says this young man. but in this political vacuum the state is barely functioning. the protesters and police

battled it out throughout downtown beirut. police fired hundreds of rounds of tear gas, sprayed the demonstrators with water cannons, and eventually fired rubber bullets into the crowd. the demonstrators responded, lobbing fireworks and rocks. emergency services report hundreds were wounded saturday night, including many members of the security forces, protesters surrounded and beat one policeman who managed to escape, although not without serious injury. late in the evening lebanese

president michelle owen ordered security forces, including the army, to impose order. dozens were arrested, order was restored, for now. ben wedeman, cnn, beirut. u.s. politics is sure to be a concern at this year's world economic forum, we'll have more as donald trump prepares to make a rare trip to davos as his impeachment trial is set to begin. >> also a mysterious pneumonia outbreak has spread to a second country, we'll have the latest on the coronavirus coming up. if your glasses aren't perfect, we'll fix them. so will we. no we won't. use your 2020 vision insurance on your first pair and get 50% off a second pair. visionworks. see the difference.

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welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i'm michael holmes. >> i'm natalie allen, let's update on our top news this hour. prince harry is speaking out in the wake of the buckingham palace announcement that he and his wife meghan will no longer be working members of the royal family. harry expressed great sadness over the decision at a charity event on sunday but said there really was no other option but to step back. authorities in hawaii say a man fatally shot two police officers. at some point the house caught fire as did other homes in the neighborhood. three people unaccounted for, including the suspect. police say they'll continue searching for him until they determine if he was indeed in the house that burned.

u.s. president trump has until noon to file a trial brief with the u.s. senate. it will contain detailed material from his lawyers on the abuse of power and obstruction charges against him. the reply from the house is due 24 hours later. this is all about the impeachment trial, which begins tuesday. meanwhile mr. trump will be heading to the world economic forum in davos, switzerland. >> he's expected to deliver a special address to the world's richest and most powerful people. nina dos santos takes a look at some of the issues the u.s. president may have to navigate. >> reporter: u.s. presidents are rare sightings in davos, even among the elite crowd the event draws. but when donald trump turns up as he did two years ago he's impossible to miss. >> we have a tremendous crowd and a crowd like they've never had before. >> reporter: the world economic forum with its globalist agenda is thousands of miles away from

the president's populist base. >> we are going to drain the swamp. >> reporter: both geographically and politically. but davos is first and foremost a business gathering, and donald trump is keen to attract outside investment. >> so we're going to be going to davos, i'll be meeting the biggest business leaders in the world. >> with the ink now dry on a trade truce with china a victory lap is also -- >> what better place to talk about global trade and economics than davos. >> reporter: this year's summit talking about how to create a cohesive world, among the attendees, greta thunberg, and angela merkel, berated by him for spending too little on defense and too much on russian gas. after the u.s. killed tehran's top general iran's top delegation has decided to pull out. >> if everybody else wants to

talk about climate change or iran that's where he could get into some spats, there could be cringe worthy moments but we hope the president gets all of the tweets done before the doors open on the tarmac. >> reporter: the trip will be the president's first foreign event. it coincides with his impeachment trial in the senate and it comes two weeks before the iowa caucuses, kicking off the primary season to determine his likely democratic opponent. as such it's little wonder that a survey commissioned ahead of davos rated u.s. politics as one of the global business community's biggest concerns. trump first -- to davos in 2018, only the second sitting president to attend after bill clinton. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: he may not yet have scored a standing ovation but this president's action continues to keep davos's decision makers on the edge of their seats, nina dos santos, cnn, davos. a pneumonia outbreak caused

by a new strain of coronavirus is spreading across asia and affecting more people. south korea has just confirmed its first case of the virus weeks after it was first identified in china. >> chinese officials confirming 139 new cases of pneumonia linked to the virus. a third person has died from it. now concerns about the spread of the virus come as millions of people are on the move ahead of the lunar new year. cnn's david culver joins us now with more from beijing. i mean, the timing could not be worse, a disease spreading around and millions on the move. >> reporter: yeah, no question, michael and you think about this, the lunar new year is not only a big travel season for chinese tourists but really regionwide and so that's the biggest concern is that if you have a virus that is potentially transmitted human to human they still haven't confirmed that, they're working to confirm that transmission, but even still the potential alone is creating un's

and concern. as we give you a live look here, this is the beijing railway station, we expect hundreds of millions of people to be taking the train, 440 million trips are estimated but i've noticed a lot of folks aren't wearing the masks or coverings a few people have but the vast majority we have seen have not and part of that is also the concern that's exprszed on chinese social media here the lack of guidelines, the lack of information, what should they be doing, those are answers that they're still trying to seek. here's what we do know according to officials, you do mention that number of new cases that rose over the weekend. the current number here in china is 201 cases, for the first time we've learned that it is outside of wuhan, that it's now two cases in beijing and one in shen zhen. those numbers are expected to rise to go up even further and you also mentioned the south korea case, what's happening now is that now authorities are creating screening processes. so we've got some here where they're checking temperatures at the railway stations, also at the airports, and they're also

creating a list. to keep track of any new cases. so part of the concern is detecting these as well, and they've created these testing kits that they're apparently distributing in wuhan. social media in wuhan is showing there's almost hazmat like nasa suits people are wearing, mostly authorities and health officials so as to try to keep this as contained as possible but that is evoking fears of 2002-2003 with sars outbreak so all of this is just adding to the concern, the uncertainty and the lack of clarity that's yet to come from officials here that is still being pushed for, michael. >> david culver, thanks so much, appreciate that there in beijing. officials in china think they know where the virus originated. we have a warning for you some of the images in the story you'll see are graphic. >> reporter: barricaded and guarded by police with masks

chinese authorities have traced a deadly virus back to the city of wuhan, a new strain originated here has struck dozens of people and put an entire region on edge. cnn has obtained this video filmed inside the market showing that more than seafood was on offer for sale, images of the market from early december taken by a concerned customer indicate it was apparently selling other live wild animals, including skinned birds, snakes and raccoon dogs, sparking concern that the virus might have been transmitted from animals to humans. cnn has not independently verified this footage posted on chinese social media site, which has since been deleted by government sensors according to the poster. when cnn contacted the market they would not comment. the school of public health here at hong kong university is a leading authority in the study of emerging viral diseases. leo poon is a neurologist and

was among to decode the sars coronavirus. >> this wuhan outbreak, i believe, was caused by animal virus and that an animal carried this and spread to human and what we know is causing pneumonia that doesn't respond to antibiotic treatment, not surprising. in terms of mortality sars killed 10% of the infected individuals. >> between 2002 and 2003 sars infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in a pandemic that reached 37 countries. officials say the new virus was first detukted in wuhan on december 12th, initial patients employed at the seafood market. hundreds of kilometers south of wuhan at this market in the southern city -- wild animals are crammed inside cages. mallard ducks, rodents, even porcupines to be sold for consumption. it's not a unique site in

markets across china where both animals and humans are in close contact. this footage, not independently verified by cnn, is from hong kong broadcaster i-cable filmed on the 6th and 7th of january as the new strain was discovered, no indications any disease is lurking here but according to the world health organization scenes like this point to the potential risk of a new virus spreading. >> these animals, we don't know their history, what kind of pathogens or viruss they are having in their body. they now will interface with the animal world, there will always be the danger of spillover, as long as people eat meat that is going to be some risk of infection. >> the coronavirus that causes sars was traced to the civic cat, a wild animal considered a delicacy in parts of south china. after is sars outbreak china banned the slaughter and -- both

authorities tell cnn they don't know anything about the sale of illegal animals at such markets and there are no open investigations. but 15 years after the ban, in this market in southern china, cats are seen lying inside cages and this stall keeper says he is selling them. ready for purchase. christy lou stout, cnn, hong kong. >> this is just disgusting. >> unbelievably disturbing. a cnn exclusive, the mother of an american imprisoned in iran shares the recording of a conversation with her son, hear about the harsh conditions he says he's facing, right after this. let's be honest, every insurance company says

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i want to take you now to baghdad in iraq where demonstrators are on the streets of the iraqi capital demanding

political reform as they have been now for weeks and also demanding a new prime minister. >> several activists telling "cnn today" is the deadline for baghdad to choose a new caretaker, prime minister. he resigned last year during anti-government protests over iraq's struggling economy. asking for respect for protester's wishes. canada's foreign minister is calling on iran to turn over the recorders from the flight 752 for expert analysis. >> the foreign minister met with his iranian counterpart, media reports iran was backtracking on its pledge to hand over the recorders. iran says its military accidentally shot down the ukrainian airliner two weeks ago calling all 176 people on board. in the midst of extremely strained relations between the

u.s. and iran one american family is hoping for good news. michael white serving a ten year sentence in iran. >> his mother fears president trump's hardline approach to iran could hurt efforts to free her son. nick valencia got exclusive access to white's recent call home. >> reporter: in july 2018 michael white took a trip from california to iran and never came back. his mother says he was going to visit a woman he called his girlfriend. according to his attorney on that trip, white who was a u.s. navy veteran was attained on charges. details about the trial are slim but his lawyer also says the then 46-year-old was convicted of insulting the supreme leader. according to his attorney he was sentenced to ten years in prison. his family says the last time they heard from him was a phone call just after christmas. >> everything the press really happened -- put me in isolation, subjected me to torture,

deprivation of food and water numerous times. >> this is the first time we're hearing white's voice from behind bars. the audio was recorded by his mother with consent. >> here's this place, a junk hole. here's the thing. >> according to his family white has reoccurring cancer and other undisclosed health problems. >> it's gotten so bad. >> god. >> i wanted to kill myself. i was that distraught. >> i am so sorry. that just breaks my heart, it really does. >> i went to appellate court. then they bring back -- what the hell are these guys doing?

zero evidence, they made stuff up. >> cnn reached out to iran. they did not respond. a year ago they called similar claims untrue. >> it's like you're having a nightmare at night but you never wake up. >> his mother is overcome with grief and worry. >> what michael told me is they took a whip to his raw feet and he now has problems with his feet. he also had a gun held to his head. i want my son brought home before it's too late. >> white is believed to have been the first american imprisoned by iran during the trump administration. earlier this month in an interview on nbc's meet the press, mike pompeo was asked about bringing home imprisoned americans. >> we continue to work on that process, to get them to return american hostages. we will never give up on that mission. >> that may be but white's

family worries president trump's hardline approach to iran isn't helping. the irony, white's mother says, is that her son is a trump supporter. in his last phone call home he even defended trump against impeachment saying it's making it harder to bring him home. >> put the blame in iran, not trump. >> he's supposed to be a negotiator. >> in a statement sent to cnn the state department said this, we are aware of press reports a u.s. citizen was charged and convicted in northeast iran, we condemn -- international norms, we call on the regime to conduct transparent trials before a fair and impartial judge in all criminal cases. they have no further comment because of privacy considerations. nick valencia, cnn, atlanta. the world's top tennis players are holding court at the

first grand slam event of the decade. we'll take you live to melbourne where the air quality of those bush fires is a big concern. ahead, film and television was honored at the 26th annual streen actors build awards, the movie making history coming next. motor? nope. not motor? it's pronounced "motaur." for those who were born to ride, there's progressive.

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all right. turn to australia now where the first grand slam tennis event of the decade is underway and there's just been a big upset. if you're recording, you want to watch it later like you, stop listening. it's not going to work for you. you're about to read this. >> i can give you three seconds to turn the channel. 2, 3. 15-year-old, you guessed it, coco gauff just defeated venus williams to advance as she did at wimbledon last year. there's our spoiler alert. >> that was a spoiler alert. worth recording it, too. some players at the aussie open, they've been worried about the level of air pollution, of course, as the country continues to battle its bushfire crisis, not to mention some extreme weather. >> melbourne was hit by hail storms a short time ago. cnn's will ripley joins us live

from melbourne. i don't know what you're going to start with. the heat, the pollution, tennis, hail. just take it away. it's all yours, will. >> reporter: it is just a buffet of wild weather being served up hot and cold and everything else here in australia, natalie and michael. and i take umbrage with michael's comment last hour i'm on holiday here. i am working so hard. can you believe in the last week, in the last week i land in the city, we have the worst air quality in the world, okay. then the temperatures plummet. now we're getting pelted with golf ball size hail. there was aid huge dust storm. these videos are incredible. australia is known for extreme weather. let's face it, it's the dead of summer. extreme heat, people are used to. they're certainly used to hail and heavy rain. what australia is not used to is the unprecedented bushfire season. what we're standing in the

middle of now is welcome news. every raindrop as a result of this weather, you have the fires getting smaller and smaller and smaller, and that's very good news for firefighters who say that there are still a number of fires burning out of control here. however, it continues to rain and they're welcoming the rain here, even though it has caused outdoor tennis play to be suspended, you know, for the time being. we don't know when they're going to be able to start playing again. the tennis center behind me does have a closed roof, so as michael alluded to, the tennis action is continuing. the eyes of the world are watching. i guess the thing we don't know, guys, is how long is this going to last because inevitably the temperatures will climb back up. it is australia. it's melbourne. it's known for extreme weather. if the temperatures time back up and the wind shifts, it could blow all that smoke right back here into the city and you have two weeks of tennis play. so obviously there is a lot of concern among some of the players that the conditions could be unsafe if we get back to those hazardous air quality levels that we saw here last

week. but for the time being, i mean, the fact that i'm wearing a hoodie in the dead of summer that is very good news. australians overall really happy about it. >> well, michael holmes knows that you're working now for sure, will. don't you? >> been with him the last ten minutes. he's a good man, that will ripley. will, you're loving it down there, i know. horrible story with the bushfires and the rain, the hail and everything, but i know will is really enjoying being down there. >> he's one of our tough soldiers. >> he is. he's a good man. melbourne is an interesting city. i did live there awhile. there are four seasons in one day, and so it can be sunny, then raining and then hot, then cold. >> dusty. >> if you don't like the weather, wait a minute, it will change. >> got it. all right. history was made sunday night at the 26th screen actors guild awards. the south korean film became the

first foreign movie to win the best ensemble prize and best performance in a screen picture. >> phoenix took the best actor as a super villain in the film "the joker." and once upon a time in hollywood's brad pitt and laura dern won best supporting actor and actress. >> brad pitt racking them up. >> our director zain says it's fabulous. >> thanks, zain. thank you for watching cnn newsroom. i'm natalie allen. >> i'm michael holmes. rosemary church will pick it up after the break. >> see you tomorrow. t-mobile 5g is here. and it's nationwide.

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live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the united states and, of course, all around the world. i'm rosemary church, and this is cnn newsroom. let's get started. we're just about a day away from the impeachment trial of president donald trump coming up. each side's strategy and the fight still yet to be settled. plus prince harry's great sadness. why he says the decision to not represent the queen officially was a tough one. and security concerns over an annual gun rights rally that begins in just hours from now. how law enforcement officials are