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Paris Terror Suspect May Have Escaped to Syria; Leaders from 150 Countries Gather at COP21; Donald Trump Holds Meeting with 100 Black Pastors; Trump Adviser Denies Mockery of Reporter; Colorado Shooting Suspect Appears in Court; Chicago Police Officer Out on Bond; Pope Francis Calls on World Leaders to Act on Climate Change; The Effects of Climate Change; Russia Deploying Military Tech to Syria; The 2016 Pirelli Calendar. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired December 1, 2015 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[00:00:12] LEMON: Always a good program.

That's it for us tonight. Thanks for watching. See you back here tomorrow night. Our live coverage continues now with Isha Sesay in Los Angeles.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, in what's being called a rejection of terror, world leaders move forward with a critical climate summit in Paris just weeks after the city was rocked by terrorist attacks.

Plus, the man accused of gunning down three people at a U.S. women's clinic makes his first appearance in court dressed in a padded vest.

And Donald Trump puts a positive spin on his meeting with African- American church leaders.

Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Isha Sesay. Newsroom L.A. starts right now.

Just over two weeks after terror attacks shocked the world, 150 world leaders have gathered in Paris for a summit to tackle climate change. Their goal is to drop the treaty to dramatically reduce greenhouse emissions around the world. As France's president put it, never have the stakes been so high since this is about the future of the planet.

But the attacks that killed 130 people were also on everyone's mind. After a moment of silence, U.S. President Barack Obama linked the battle against terrorism to the urgent need to fight climate change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We salute the people of Paris for insisting this crucial conference go on. An act of defiance that proves nothing will deter us from building the future we want for our children. What greater rejection than those who would tear down our world and marshalling our best efforts to save it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Our Frederik Pleitgen is in Paris and joins us know beginning with the terror investigation.

Fred, good to have you with us. Salah Abdeslam, the suspected eighth Paris attacker, remains on the run. But authorities now revealing new details about his alleged role on November 13th and his movements.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Absolutely, Isha. We're in Paris of course this morning as the COP21 is getting ready for day two. And it was interesting just to hear President Obama talking about the importance of combating climate change as well as the importance of combating terrorism as two of the great challenges of our time.

And of course one of the big challenges that currently faces investigators here is trying to find Salah Abdeslam, he's of course the main suspect in those November 13th Paris attacks who is still on the run. And there's two sources who tell CNN, one of them a senior counterterrorism source, that the French authorities apparently working from the theory that Salah Abdeslam might already have made it all the way back to Syria.

Now that, of course, is something that would be very difficult to do considering that shortly after the attacks took place a global manhunt on Salah Abdeslam was launched in Belgium, in -- in France. But of course in other European countries, as well. So very difficult to see how he would have made it all the way to Syria.

Now having said that, of course, the manhunt is underway in Belgium and the authorities there say they don't know where he is. However, the Belgians also saying they have no indication that at this point he could already have gone to Syria. At the same time, it's also becoming clear, or clearer, that he did apparently have a very broad role in the logistics of the Paris attacks.

Of course we'd already heard that he rented several of the vehicles that were used in the attacks and now a source tells CNN that apparently he also purchased detonators for explosives in a store north of Paris and Jim Sciutto has the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The street behind the Bataclan concert hall, site of some of the worst bloodshed and most desperate escapes of the Paris attacks, is now open again with bullet holes marking the walls. Still, one of the chief architects of the carnage, alleged eighth attacker Salah Abdeslam, remains on the loose. French investigators now looking into the possibility he escaped to Syria, sources tell CNN.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE: If he made it over land from France to Turkey, it would have been very easy for him to get into Syria. Same -- he could have also done that via Greece going by boat from a Greek island to Syria. All of that is possible. And there's very little control over those borders. SCIUTTO: Still, it would be an alarming escape by Europe's most

wanted man.

[00:05:04] His last known whereabouts were in Belgium, where security officials have carried out dozens of raids in search of him and other suspected plotters. The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says authorities are getting closer.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: I do think they're closing in on him, and that's the good news. There are many involved in this plot. It was a very sophisticated plot, an external operation that we have seen from ISIS.

SCIUTTO: Investigators are now piecing together the terrorist's movements before the November 13th attacks. French police say Abdeslam bought 10 detonators and batteries from a fireworks shop on Paris' northern outskirts. The store manager alerting authorities after police publicized his arrest warrant.

LEIGHTON: Basically, what we're dealing with is a trail that's gone cold. And they're looking for any kind of clue, people that he met, anybody who has possibly seen the suspect. That is going to be the key to finding him.

SCIUTTO: Now new information that the terrorists were planning even more bloodshed. The Paris attackers, sources tell CNN, had other targets, quote, "ready to go," including transportation networks, schools and Jewish targets. An echo of the January attack on a kosher market following the deadly shooting at the offices of "Charlie Hebdo."

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And Isha, of course, one of those targets that the Saint- Denis cell around Abdelhamid Abaaoud apparently once hit was La Defense, the commercial district here in Paris, and there are now reports on French media as well as Reuters saying that apparently that he wanted his cousin who was also with him in that Saint-Denis apartment to buy him two suits -- as well as a very fancy shoes so he could blend in along with an accomplice to the people there to then conduct those attacks after the infiltration.

So there's more facts that are coming to light about the investigation from here in Paris as this COP21 continues -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes. Very frightening indeed, these details that are coming out about these purported attacks that would have been carried out in the days after November 13th.

And, Fred, turning our attention to the climate talks and President Obama's attendance, he is there in Paris as is Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The threat of ISIS is very much on his mind and of course folks back home here in the United States as well. It is a very full plate for the U.S. president. PLEITGEN: Yes, it certainly is. And of course one of the things that

we have to understand about a meeting like COP21 is that of course the centerpiece of it is to fight climate change. And of course this COP21 in particular is one that is very ambitious, where the president says he wants a result. He wants binding agreements. He wants the world basically to commit to this goal of not allowing the environment to heat up more than two degrees Celsius over this period of time. So that is certainly something that will require a lot of diplomacy.

But at the same time, of course, the fight against ISIS is also centerpiece and very important to a lot of these world leaders including him and of course also Vladimir Putin. And there is some disagreement between the West and Russia on how best to conduct that fight, especially after the incident over the airspace between Turkey and Syria and the shooting down of that Russian plane that is calling for the president to be even more diplomatic.

Let's have a look at Jim Acosta's report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Moscow continues its airstrikes inside Syria, complicating the U.S. fight against ISIS, today, President Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin appear to be looking right past each other in this Kremlin photo snapped at this week's global climate summit in Paris.

The two leaders are still at odds over any kind of alliance to defeat ISIS. Mr. Obama expressed his regret to Putin after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane last week, but Putin is still furious, refusing to meet with Turkey's president at the climate talks.

BEN RHODES, U.S. DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: And the president again reiterated his strong belief that we need to work together.

ACOSTA: The war on ISIS is looming large over this climate summit. As soon as he landed in France, the president laid a single white rose outside the Bataclan theater to remember the victims of the Paris attacks.

And police clashed with protesters angry over a new ban on large demonstrations, part of the intense security measures in the French capital.

OBAMA: We have come to Paris to show our resolve.

ACOSTA: But in Paris the president made the case that bringing the world together to battle climate change is yet another way to take the fight to ISIS.

OBAMA: What greater rejection of those who would tear down our world than marshaling our best efforts to save it?

ACOSTA: Republicans pounced on the president's focus on global warming, insisting he should be busy destroying ISIS. GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's insulting to

the position that he holds. It's insulting even more to the responsibilities that are his, for him to be talking about this stuff right now.

ACOSTA: After the president's initial response to the Paris attacks were slammed by critics, the White House is trying to get back on offense, announcing it's tightening the visa waiver program that eases travel into the U.S., appointing a new senior adviser to the president on the counter-ISIS campaign, and planning more talks with U.S. governors about incoming Syrian refugees.

[00:10:18] And the White House contends it's Republicans who are wrong about the climate summit.

RHODES: If the entire world had planned to come to Paris, and you had leaders from over 190 countries who would plan to come here to Paris, and we had called that off, that would be demonstrating that ISIL can disrupt the activities of the entire world.

ACOSTA: In the hopes of deescalating tensions with Russia, President Obama will meet with Turkey's President Erdogan on Tuesday just as the president is urging nearly every country in the world to sign an agreement limiting carbon emissions.

The climate around the war on ISIS is getting tougher but White House officials maintain Mr. Obama is more than capable of tackling more than one challenge at a time.

Jim Acosta, CNN, traveling with the president in Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And he certainly has more than one challenge on his plate at this point in time as he tries to ease the tensions between Russia and Turkey at the same time. As we've just seen there, taking heat at home for even going to this summit here. And at the same time then of course his main focal point at this point in time as he tries to lead, as the president himself said on trying to get an agreement to curb climate change going right here in Paris at this very important conference -- Isha.

SESAY: Yes. Indeed. Fred Pleitgen, joining us there with the very latest. Always appreciate it, Fred, thank you.

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump met with more than 100 black pastors on Monday. Although there was some controversy and confusion surrounding the meeting, Trump, not surprisingly, called it a big success.

Our Sara Murray has details on the closed door meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I saw love in the room. I see love everywhere I go. SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite walking

back what his campaign had originally promoted as an endorsement event with 100 black pastors, Donald Trump emerged calling today's closed door meeting a success.

TRUMP: We actually didn't think we're going to be having a press conference, but we all thought it was such a good meeting we would do that and we have many, many endorsements that came out of the meeting.

MURRAY: In a lead-up to today's get-together, several of the pastors invited said they had no intention of backing the GOP frontrunner or even attending the meet-and-greet.

BISHOP PAUL MORTON, CHANGING A GENERATION: If you talk down to women, if you talk down to documented immigrants calling them rapists, and then Black Lives, get them out of here, no, you can't represent me. So I don't even need to hear your platform.

MURRAY: Victor Couzens said he came to talk with Trump, nothing more.

BISHOP VICTOR COUZENS, VSC MINISTRIES: It's really incumbent upon me to take advantage of the opportunity to query him about exactly the types of things we should expect from a potential Trump administration. I'm not here to endorse Mr. Trump. I am here to have a dialogue.

MURRAY: The pastors cautioned an outright criticism comes as Trump faces scrutiny for re-tweeting a racially charged message.

TRUMP: I'm going to protect them.

MURRAY: And suggesting a Black Lives Matter protester deserved to be roughed up at a Trump campaign rally.

Others attending today's meeting said they would attempt to convince their colleagues to support Trump.

PASTOR STEPHEN PARSON, RICHMOND CHRISTIAN CENTER: Anybody that knows Donald Trump personally knows that he's not a racist, he's provided more jobs for minorities, for Mexicans, for African-Americans. He's exactly what not only the African-American community needs but what America needs.

MURRAY: Today Trump seemed undeterred by the change in plans.

TRUMP: The beautiful thing about the meeting is they really didn't ask me to change the tone. I think they want to see victory because, ultimately, it is about, we want to win and we want to win together.

MURRAY: Meanwhile, Trump continues to face scrutiny for repeatedly insisting he saw large crowds of Muslim Americans celebrating in New Jersey on 9/11.

TRUMP: I had hundreds and hundreds of calls and tweets of people that saw it and plenty of people saw it. MURRAY (on camera): Now Trump may not have picked up the 100

endorsements he was hoping for but he still picked up a couple before he came down here to Georgia where he got the crowd roaring with his attacks on Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and most of his GOP rivals.

Sara Murray, CNN, Macon, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, the Trump campaign is dealing with a number of controversies at the moment. One of them has to do with a series of gestures Trump made at a recent rally which many say were a direct mockery of a disabled reporter.

CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with Trump adviser Michael Cohen about the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE LEAD": Trump cited this report from 2001 in "The Washington Post" from Serge Kovaleski. Kovaleski is a reporter. He suffers from a condition that limits movement in his arms.

Now this is Trump at a rally talking about this reporter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The thing about northern New Jersey draws the prober's eye, written by a nice reporter.

[00:15:05] Now the poor guy, you got to see this guy. Ah, I don't remember what I said. Ah, I don't remember. He's going, like, I don't remember. Maybe that's what I said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: All right. Let's put up, this is still photo of Donald Trump from that event and a picture of Mr. Kovaleski. Now Mr. Trump insists he was not making fun of Kovaleski's disability and he doesn't remember even meeting Kovaleski who covered him in the past. But at that event --

MICHAEL COHEN, SPECIAL COUNSEL TO DONALD TRUMP: Do you know -- Jake, how many people do you think have covered Donald Trump in the past? Thousands upon thousands.

TAPPER: How many people with that disability? I would guess one.

COHEN: Do you really think that Mr. Trump remembers this specific reporter?

TAPPER: He said --

COHEN: Mr. Trump himself said he does not remember.

TAPPER: You said he has a fantastic memory and --

COHEN: He most certainly does. He sees thousands and thousands of reporters a year.

TAPPER: But he said --

COHEN: He does not remember this guy. Now let me say one more thing here.

TAPPER: Michael, he said --

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Mr. Trump --

TAPPER: This was written by a nice reporter. He said it was written by a nice reporter, you got to see this guy.

COHEN: He was talking -- he was talking about the article until he ended up pulling it back which he did for whatever reason that he did. But let me say --

TAPPER: He said, you got to see this guy, and then he mimics his injury.

COHEN: Mr. Trump donates millions and millions of dollars each and every year in order to combat disabilities, in order to combat cancer, whether it's children, where he donates millions of dollar a year. Mr. Trump is not the type of individual that's going to make fun of somebody's disability. He wouldn't know this guy prior to this entire nonsense.

TAPPER: But we just saw him do it.

COHEN: He does not --

TAPPER: We just saw him made fun of his disability.

COHEN: He was not making fun. He was being gesticulate, which Donald Trump is. And he was basically showing the exasperation of a reporter that's pulling back on a story, exasperation and basically saying something like, oh, now, I don't remember, now, I don't remember. Had nothing to do with his disability.

TAPPER: And it just so happen -- first of all, he said he was a nice guy, and then he said, you got to see this guy, and then he twists his arms to mimic his disability.

COHEN: He wasn't twisting his arms to mimic anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: The controversy will continue to follow for you.

Well, the man suspected of shooting up a women's health clinic in Colorado has his first day in court. Details on the evidence investigators are looking at.

And a Chicago officer charged with murder more than a year after a fatal shooting leaves jail. The details on the delay in this case are just ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

[00:21:23] SESAY: Hello, everyone. The man accused of opening fire at a women's health clinic in Colorado is expected to face first- degree murder charges. He made his first court appearance Monday.

CNN's Dan Simon has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first right which you have, Mr. Dear, is the right to remain silent.

DAN SIMON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wearing a protective vest and handcuffs, 57-year-old Robert Dear appeared by video in a Colorado Springs courtroom today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any questions about any of these rights, sir?

ROBERT LEWIS DEAR, SUSPECT: No questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

SIMON: Dear looked like he was struggling to stay awake, slowly blinking his eyes as the judge advised him of his rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots. I'm under fire. I'm shot. I'm hit.

SIMON: Friday's mass shooting and six-hour standoff left three people dead. Forty-four-year-old Police Officer Garrett Swasey, 29-year-old Iraq war veteran Ke'Arre Stewart, and Jennifer Markovsky, a 35-year- old mother of two. Nine others were wounded. Survivors hid in offices as gunshots rang throughout the building.

KENTANYA CRAION, SHOOTING WITNESS: We actually had a gun bullet go through a wall, it came through one, and went through the other, and you could see the gunpowder and smell it. And it was just frightening at that point.

SIMON: Dear's appearance comes as investigators try to determine a motive behind the Planned Parenthood attack. A law enforcement source tells CNN Dear mentioned something about, quote, "baby parts," and expressed anti-abortion views.

The comments come just months after a series of videos produced by anti-abortion activists accused Planned Parenthood of engaging in illegal fetal tissue sales for research. The organization has vehemently denied that, saying the videos were heavily edited. The issue has become a topic of debate on the campaign trail.

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no excuse, Planned Parenthood must be defunded.

SIMON: GOP candidate Carly Fiorina who's been one of the most outspoken critics of Planned Parenthood said it's irresponsible to link anti-abortion rhetoric to Friday's attack.

FIORINA: This is so typical of the left to immediately begin demonizing a messenger because they don't agree with the message.

SIMON: And former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who's known for his social conservatism, said the attacks should not be linked to the anti-abortion movement.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What he did is absolutely abominable, especially to those of us in the pro-life movement, because there's nothing about any of us that would condone or in any way look the other way at something like this.

SIMON (on camera): A law enforcement source tells CNN that investigators are still going over the evidence, evidence that includes a multitude of weapons, handguns and rifles that the suspect allegedly brought to the scene in a duffel bag. At this point authorities are still trying to figure out why that Planned Parenthood was targeted.

Dan Simon, CNN, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Chicago's mayor is expected to announce a police accountability task force Tuesday. This follows the release of dash cam video of an officer fatally shooting a teenager. That officer had been charged with murder and just posted bail.

CNN's Kyung Lah has the details of a delay in this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The night of October 28th, 2014, Chicago Police respond to calls of an erratic man with a knife. Six seconds after exiting a police car, Officer Jason Van Dyke fires, striking Laquan McDonald 16 times.

But this is not the story officers tell that night. The police union spokesman gives the first police account. Seventeen-year-old McDonald was shot once in the chest after lunging at police.

PAT CAMDEN, CHICAGO POLICE UNION SPOKESMAN: Going at one of the officers, at that point, the officer defends himself.

[00:25:04] LAH: An autopsy the following day shows of the 16 shots, nine entered McDonald's back. Officer Van Dyke, the only cop who fired, goes on paid desk duty. Van Dyke has 20 complaints against him, 10 of them use of force complaints. But all this goes unreported as the public accepts the Chicago Police

explanation and the dash cam video is sealed. All this, as Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in the middle of the most contentious Chicago mayoral race since the 1980s.

He wins. Eight days later, he's there as the city council voters without any debate to award Laquan McDonald's family $5 million. The city pays the McDonald family, even before the investigation is complete and even though the family had not filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Chicago Alderman Howard Brookings voted for the settlement and now says the council was misled.

ALD. HOWARD B. BROOKINGS JR. CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL: I think that there was a cover-up and I think that people were looking out for their own skin.

LAH: Mayor Emanuel and the prosecutor, Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez battle for months to keep the dash cam under wraps. They lose when a judge orders the release of the video.

Just hours before the video release, the prosecutor charges Officer Van Dyke with first-degree murder, a full 13 months after the shooting. The prosecutor says she had intended to charge the cop for months but moved up her decision because of the timing of the video release.

ANITA ALVAREZ, COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: I felt compelled, in the interest of public safety, to announce these state charges today.

BROOKINGS: How ludicrous is that? Clear she was trying to jump beside, get ahead of the release. It does make me angry that people who are charged with the public trust in protecting the people and dishing out equal justice under the law are playing petty politics with an issue that is so serious.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Time for a quick break. Pope Francis has a harsh warning for world leaders gathering in Paris to talk about climate change. It's now or never.

Plus, Italian tire company Pirelli unveils their 2016 calendar and the featured women are being showcased in a new kind of light.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:00]

SESAY: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles; I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour: the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul is reporting what it calls "credible reports of an attack in the city". The Embassy didn't release many details, only it was for a possible attack in the next 48 hours.

Sources say French authorities believe a key suspect in the Paris terror attacks may have fled to Syria. Salah Abdeslam is still at large. Another source says more attacks were ready to go for Jewish areas, transport networks and schools.

Meanwhile, leaders of 150 countries are meeting in Paris for the COP21 Climate Summit. Their goal; to agree on a legally binding reduction on greenhouse gas emissions. On Monday, the Presidents of the U.S. and China met one on one; their countries are the largest greenhouse producers.

Pope Francis is also weighing in on the climate Summit. Speaking to reporters of his African tour, he bluntly called on leaders to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (via translator): It's now or never. The first meeting was in Tokyo, but little has been done; and every year the problems are becoming more serious. At a university meeting where it was discussed what world we want to leave our children, one said, well, are you sure that children will exist? We are on the brink. We are on the brink of suicide, to use a strong word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, a stern warning there from the Pope. For more on where we're heading with the environment, I am joined by Jay Famiglietti; he's a scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and an expert on water sustainability. Jay, great to have you back on the show.

JAY FAMIGLIETTI, HYDROLOGIST, NASA JET PROPULSION LAB: Thank you very much.

SESAY: So the U.S. President has said this conference in Paris could be a turning point in efforts to limit global warming. The Chinese President has said these talks are a starting point. Give me your thoughts on the deal that is taking shape in Paris right now.

FAMIGLIETTI: Well, I agree that it is a turning point. It's pretty much now or never. It's our chance to save the planet. So we have to come up with some sort of agreement to limit emissions, to keep warming, future warming, under control.

SESAY: Okay, what we keep hearing from climatologists, from scientists is that it's at the critical threshold of two degrees Celsius.

FAMIGLIETTI: Right.

SESAY: You want to keep the warming below that. So then there are those who say that is out of reach. For all those talk around Paris and this gathering, of getting to that point, we can't actually get to that. It is too late. FAMIGLIETTI: Right and I agree. I think it is too late, but that

doesn't mean we can't shoot for a target like that, be ambitious. The Climate Action Plans that were submitted by the participating countries suggest that we can limit global warming to 2.7 to 3.5 degree range. So the difference between two degrees and 2.7, in terms of impact, will probably translate to, of course, more melting, greater rates of sea level rise, more severe storms, more prolonged droughts. We have issues to deal with. It's time for us to come to an agreement and get to work on it.

SESAY: For our viewers who maybe just have questions, have questions about the dire alarm that's being sounded around this two degrees Celsius, how did climatologist arrive at that threshold?

FAMIGLIETTI: Mostly from analysis of climate models and projections of future climate scenarios in which we explore different rates of CO2 emissions in to the atmosphere. So we are talking about hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of analyses and simulations. So this is the picture that emerges. So it is not just a number that was picked out of the air. It's sort of a threshold beyond which things start to go rather haywire. So it is important; we probably can't get to two degrees but it is important to keep that temperature growth as low as we possibly can.

SESAY: The challenge now, of course, as you well know, is whatever

[00:35:00]

deal is struck in Paris, how do you monitor it? How do you report? How do you verify?

FAMIGLIETTI: Yes, right. It is extremely difficult, and that may be one of the most important things that comes out of the meeting, is agreements that we are bound to, in terms of monitoring and reporting our progress.

SESAY: Jay Famiglietti, always great to get your insight and perspective. Thank you for breaking it down.

FAMIGLIETTI: Thank you so much.

SESAY: Thank you.

FAMIGLIETTI: Thank you.

SESAY: Now, our planet is not only warming equally -- it is not warming equally, better yet, everywhere in the world. China, for example, is seeing its temperatures rise much faster than the global average. Meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri joins us with more on how this could shape the face of the country over the next decade or two. Pedram is breaking it down for us; what are we seeing?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Isha; this is a new report that came out today, ahead of the COP21 there, where about 900 Chinese scientists, -- about a 900-page report, I should say, with 500 scientists, I went over the data across the planet and we know, of course, the two-degree temperature difference you get this temperature on a planetary average, and you're talking about irreversible damage when it comes to coastlines around the world.

Our planet, since the beginning of the 1900's has warmed somewhere on the order of 1.5 degrees Celsius, that's the average. In China, that number has been as about 1.5 degrees Celsius. The forecast, unfortunately, if nothing is done, would take Earth's global average temperature there, about two degrees Celsius in the coming decades. China would go up to three degrees Celsius. So we know sea level would be the first thing we'd watch carefully. In fact, you go in, since 1992 we already know sea levels have risen about ten millimeters per year off the coast of the Philippines, certainly across portions of Guinea and down to the south, around Australia. That's where the highest levels are observed on our planet.

But what does it all mean when it comes to temperature rises getting up to three, maybe even four degrees Celsius? We know the report actually breaks it down as such. It says that, basically, if your temperatures go up, you have a one centimeter rise in sea level. If this happens, the disport ion across, say, the coastal communities, we don't have the water just in one centimeter. Now, we're talking about the water coming in ten meters for that one centimeter rise. You bring up the water even more in parts of China. Shanghai, in particular, the forecast the next 30 years for the forecast to come up, potentially, 14 centimeters higher than they are as of right now. If that happens, now we are talking about 140 meters of coastline absolutely submerged. If this occurs, of course, now you are talking about areas completely underwater. We're talking about one of the most densely populated cities on our planet, as is the case. And, of course, we have graphics to show you how this breaks down across this region of Shanghai with the four degrees Celsius temperature increase. Again, notice just the communities submerged under water over this region, even the streets now taking on a significant amount of water as this occurs over the coming couple of decades, if the forecast remains as it is right now.

Of course we know what is happening in recent days across China, we have the major pollution in places we'll tell you about. The worst smog of the year lined up in place across portions of China. Some of the scenes out there as the yellow alerts have been issued, and guess what; beyond index numbers coming in. Over 564 which is 10 to 20 times above what is considered air that is fit to breathe is what is occurring right now in Beijing. Incredible to see the rise because, typically, as you go to bed, industry shuts down, the pollutants drop into the atmosphere and then you have the numbers moderate a little bit. The conditions are so stagnant, so poor in China right now, Isha that we have the pollutants locked in the "Beyond Indexed" category, and they're not dropping very much, even when people go to bed. This is why some 2,000 companies now have been forced to shut down operations. Every single construction firm now, in Beijing and China in particular, in this area has been shut down as well for the time being because the pollutants; and it's not just blocked in across Beijing.

Look at this map right here. This shows you the maroon colors, which are indicative of the 500 to 600 air quality index. That is an area the size of the state of California and the state Tennessee in the United States combined. 530,000 square kilometers of land that are now completely socked in, in an incredible amount of smog. That is what is happening right now across that area of China, Isha.

SESAY: Yes, it is hard to take in, and obviously, we have to think of those with any kind of breathing problems who will be suffering greatly at a time like this, with such poor air quality. It really is quite terrible. Pedram Javaheri, joining us there, from CNN Center; thank you, Pedram.

JAVAHERI: Thanks, Isha.

SESAY: Now, Russia is deploying some massive military technology in Syria. See why U.S. officials are so concerned with the possible implications, next.

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SESAY: Hello, everyone. Burkina Faso has elected a new leader. Roch Marc Kabore won with more than 53-percent of the vote in what experts say was the country's freest election in decades. The country's last leader, Blaise Compaore, ruled for 27 years, winning a series of elections that were criticized as unfair. He was toppled by a popular uprising in 2014 and forced in to exile. Military officials loyal to Compaore even attempted to derail this latest election just two months ago, but a citizen uprising, again, put things back on track.

Now Russia is making a military move in Syria that has U.S. officials wondering how to react. CNN's Barbara Starr reports.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: A "major escalation", that's what one U.S. military official calls Russia's latest battlefield move. The Russians have now activated this massive air defense missile system in Western Syria, the S-400.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA, via translator: We need to have security for our air force, and that is why we have activated the S- 400 system.

STARR: Leaving the U.S. trying to figure out what to do next.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The S-400 is one of the most capable air defense systems in the world. It's got significant capabilities that will enhance Russia's ability to not only defend its air assets but also it will serve Russia's interest by protecting Syrian air space, or at least the air space that Bashar al-Assad controls.

STARR: From its location at Latakia Air Base, in western Syria, the missile has the capability to track and shoot at planes all the way to Incirlik air base in Turkey, U.S. officials say. But, for now, the U.S. is counting on the fact that Russia has no intention of attacking U.S. warplanes. The Pentagon believes from Latakia Air Base, in fact, the Russian radars would have a hard time reaching over a mountain range just to the East and locking on to U.S. aircraft. Still, U.S. warplanes could be at the risk of an accidental shoot down as they fly over Turkey.

LEIGHTON: We are going to have to alter their tactics, their approach routes and, at the very least, coordinate with the Russians to make sure that they don't get shot down by the S-400 or any other anti- aircraft system the Russians are deploying at this point.

[00:45:00]

STARR: And since the shoot-down of the Russian aircraft by Turkey, it appears the Turks are steering well clear of Russian aircraft, U.S. officials say. The State Department publicly backing up Turkey's assertion the Russians were in its air space, but still holding the door open to reconciliation with the Russians if Moscow agrees to fight ISIS.

ELIZABETH TRUDEAU, SPOKESWOMAN, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Our view has been clear on where we'd like to see Russia, in terms of this broader scope, and it is worth stepping up a step. You know, if our objectives are the same, and if Russia is committed to the counter- ISIL fight then that's a conversation we will have.

STARR: And that conversation may be happening. General Joe Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff has just concluded his first phone conversation with his Russian counterpart; the Pentagon describing that call as courteous.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

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SESAY: An annual calendar traditionally highlighting female supermodel and featuring nudity is going a different route this year. We will look at the thirteen women featured in the 2016 Pirelli Calendar.

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SESAY: A new kind of Pirelli calendar has been unveiled. The 2016 issue features 13 accomplished women, including Yoko Ono and Patty Smith, shot by famed photographer, Annie Leibowitz. The themed calendar has helped put the Italian tire company on the pop-culture map. Previous years have featured nudity. This year's subjects are fully clothed with the exception of comedic actress, Amy Schumer and tennis champion, Serena Williams.

Jennifer Siebel Newsome joins us now; Jennifer, great to have you on the show. Pirelli is turning the page, presenting a dramatic shift in their choice of women and how they are portrayed in their 2016 calendar. What do you make of the images?

JENNIFER SIEBEL NEWSOM, FILMMAKER & CEO, THE REPRESENTATION PROJECT: So this is an exciting time. Corporations and advertisers are coming to the realization that women aren't just objects for the male gaze; that we have more value than our youth, our beauty and our sexuality. This is a real statement and I congratulate them for that.

SESAY: I think you said something that echoes words from Annie Leibowitz, who actually shot the images for this calendar. She said the images weren't conceived for the male gaze. Talk to me about how that impacts the images we see in front of us. How do you think that played into how the shots were chosen and staged?

NEWSOM: You know, it's really -- it shouldn't be a surprise that there is a female photographer behind this, right, who's recognizing women in all of our -- all of our, I would, say expansive beauty, in our strengths, in our what's real, you know, what's not photoshopped or touched up or covered up. So it's really kind of demonstrating that we women are, you know, these full human beings and we aren't just limited to this sort of ideal beauty that has been perpetuated vis-a-vis main stream media for centuries.

SESAY: And this is work that you have been involved in. This is something you have been calling for many years because the images -- the constant sexualization, or portrayal, of women in this one dimensional object of desire fashion has an impact on girls, on women who are trying to find their place in the world.

NEWSOM: Exactly, so young girls are learning right out of the womb that their value lies in their youth, their beauty and their sexuality. While we know that's not the truth, unfortunately, the media and the larger culture, pop culture have been sort of reinforcing that message, that we women are limited by this youth, this beauty and this sexuality. And, you know, a lot of people talk about the pornification of main stream media. I would say what we're doing, what they've done with this new calendar, this sort of initiative, or campaign, if you want to call it even that is recognizing us for our full humanity and not just limiting us to our sexuality. That's critical to young girls' self esteem just as it's critical that young boys and men start to value women for more than what we look like.

SESAY: So do you think this calendar does, in fact, signify a cultural shift or do you think it is one clever marketing exec's play?

NEWSOM: I certainly hope it is more than a clever marketing exec's initiative. I do believe there are quite a few corporations and advertisers who have come to the realization that sex is not the only way to sell and that women are so much more than our youth, our beauty and our sexuality. We need to be recognized for that. So, I am hopeful this is more than just a play. It is good business because women have 84-percent -- or make 84-percent of purchasing decisions. In our country, in the United States, but also I believe around the world. So I think that -- I have hope. I have hope that this is part of something much bigger than just one executive's initiative or attempt to, kind of, you know, get a little attention. SESAY: Yes, as you talk about dollars and cents, you know, it's one thing for women to be acknowledged as more than the sum of their beautiful parts, if you will, and acknowledged for their contributions and their accomplishments, and it's another thing for us to be paid equitably and to be paid on par with our male peers. That is still a battle to be won.

[00:55:00]

NEWSOM: It's a huge battle to be won, just as family leave is a battle to be won. We have a lot of work to do in this country. So while this is a step in the right direction, we still have so much more work to do to ensure that women and men receive the same pay for the same work, that the work that many women choose to do, whether its in education or the care-giving profession, is valued just as the work that men do in finance is valued. We're at a critical juncture, a turning point in our country and around the world, where I think people are starting to wake up and pay attention to the fact that women matter, that women's voices matter, that women need equal feet at the table. So this is just one of those, sort of, cultural stepping points that I'm excited to witness and be a part of and look forward to seeing many, many more.

SESAY: We all do. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, thank you for your perspective tonight. Thank you for sharing.

NEWSOME: Thank you.

SESAY: And you are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay; thank you for watching. Stay with us. I'll be back with a look at the day's top stories, right after this.

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