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CNN NEWSROOM

Clinton, Sanders Claim to Be True Progressive Candidate; Republican Field Thins & Trump Says Cruz Sole Iowa Vote; CDC Has New Warnings on Zika Virus; China Premier Football Club Adds Big-Name Star; Jordan Asks for Help in Refugee Crisis; A Look at Liberated Oil Field, ISIS Prison; U.N. Temporarily Suspends Syria Peace Talks Amid Fighting; Massive Fire in India's Largest Landfill. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired February 4, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:33] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: A big welcome to our viewers watching from all around the world. We're with you for the next two hours. I'm Errol Barnett.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

And we are just five days away from the New Hampshire primary, and the U.S. presidential hopefuls are pressing for every voter they can get.

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders answered questions at a CNN town hall, each claiming to be the true progressive candidate. And they have agreed to four more debates in the weeks ahead.

BARNETT: Meanwhile, Republican Donald Trump says Ted Cruz stole his victory in the Iowa caucuses by misleading voters into thinking that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race.

And Republicans Rand Paul and Rick Santorum are ending their presidential campaigns.

Quite a bit taking place.

First we want to address the Democratic town hall. Bernie Sanders has a big lead in the New Hampshire polls. And he's trying to convince voters there of his progressive credentials.

CHURCH: But Hillary Clinton says she has worked her entire career for progressive causes, including women's rights and universal health care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was somewhat amused that Senator Sanders has set himself up to be the gatekeeper on who is a progressive because under the definition that's flying around on Twitter and statements by the campaign, Barack Obama would not be a progressive, Joe Biden would not be a progressive.

I'm not going to let that bother me. I know where I stand. I know who stands with me. I know what I've done. SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do

not know any progressive who has a super PAC and takes $15 million from Wall Street.

(APPLAUSE)

SANDERS: That's just not progressive. As I mentioned earlier, the key foreign policy vote of modern American history was the war in Iraq. The progressive community was pretty united in saying don't listen to Bush, don't go to war. Secretary Clinton voted to go to war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Sanders get a question from one voter about his plan to raise taxes. Let's listen to that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED VOTER: The first thing I hear about you is that you're going to raise taxes on the middle class. I support my family on a salary of $41,000 a year. I'm wondering, if you raise my taxes, how does that help me?

SANDERS: We raise your taxes if you're in the middle of the economy, about 500 bucks. But what we're going to do for health care is we're going to reduce your health care cost by $5,000. So, you're going to pay a little bit more in taxes but you're no longer going to have to pay private health insurance premiums. Now I've been criticized for this. But I believe that health care is a right of all people, that we should not have these deductibles and co-payments. We should not be paying the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. And our Medicare-for-all program will guarantee comprehensive care for all people and save middle class families some thousands of dollars a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Also, there at the town hall, Hillary Clinton once again embraced the policies of Barack Obama.

CHURCH: She says she wants to expand and improve on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Senator Sanders and I share the same goal. We want to get to universal health care coverage. Before it was called Obamacare, it was called Hillarycare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Our CNN political commentator, Peter Beinart, is joining us from New York. He's also a contributor for "The Atlantic."

Thank you for being with us, Peter. You watched the CNN's presidential town hall. What were the standout

moments? And who do you think did better, Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: They're performing well but in different ways. Bernie Sanders' appeal is he's promising a political revolution. And for Democrats who feel like even having a liberal Democrat in the White House for eight years hasn't fundamentally changed the power dynamic, in which the 1 percent control in politics and economics, that's very appealing. Hillary Clinton can't compete with that. What she does do well is the argument she knows her stuff. And she's fluent in policy. She knows the system and she can make tough incremental change. It's two different messages.

[02:05:10] CHURCH: Certainly. What about Bernie Sanders' attack on whether Hillary Clinton on if she is a progressive? Does that matter? Was it resonated with voters at all?

BEINART: It resonates with the kind of voters who like Bernie Sanders, white liberals. And there's a lot of them in New Hampshire. New Hampshire is an overwhelmingly white state. And a large percentage are white liberals. And there it plays well. And I don't think it plays as well when you leave New Hampshire when you have a larger minority turnout.

CHURCH: Bernie Sanders is way ahead of Hillary Clinton in all of the polls for New Hampshire. But the polls got it wrong in Iowa. How do you think it will likely play out in New Hampshire?

BEINART: I don't think on the Democratic side, the polls were particularly off. Iowa was a very close race. It would be a surprise if Bernie Sanders did not win New Hampshire. He's has a significant lead here for a while now. I think the Clinton campaign is already trying to set the stage for a loss by playing up the fact that he is from neighboring Vermont. She can afford to lose here. She hopes that the loss is not so big that it rattles the confidence of her supporters in the rest of the country.

CHURCH: All right. Peter Beinart, always a pleasure.

BEINART: Thank you.

BARNETT: If you missed the New Hampshire town hall, don't worry. What do you mean you're not worried? Anyway, you can see it in its entirety Thursday, at 12:00 p.m. in London, 1:00 p.m. central time, only here on CNN.

CHURCH: As for the Republicans, that field of candidates is thinning. And the ones who remain are getting feisty, heading into the next big race.

BARNETT: Donald Trump slamming Ted Cruz, saying he stole the Iowa caucuses. He is now demanding a new vote.

Jim Acosta has more on the accusations of dirty politics. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHANTING)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is demanding a do-over in Iowa. In a Twitter tirade, Trump says, "Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That's why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad."

The real estate mogul's accusations come just hours after discussing his gracious concession speech on Monday.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm just trying to be a little bit more understated and statesman-like. Some people like that, some people don't.

ACOSTA: But Trump was clearly already stewing over false claims disseminated by the Cruz campaign while people were causes on Monday that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race, a potential boost to the Texas Senator.

TRUMP: When they said that Ben Carson was out of the race and come vote for him, I thought that was terrible.

ACOSTA: "Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa caucus," Trump tweeted, "either a new election should take place or Cruz's results nullified."

Cruz fired back. "Bernie Sanders is contesting Iowa results." He tweeted. "Maybe Donald Trump should go back to Iowa and join the Democrats. Bet they'd love."

The Texas Senator did admit his campaign made a mistake, then, later, dismissed his archrival of having a "Trumper-tantrum."

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is no surprise that Donald is throwing yet another temper tantrum, or if you like it, another Trumper-tantrum. It seems his reaction to everything is to throw a fit, to engage in insults. And I understand that Donald finds it very hard to lose. That he finds that very difficult for him. But at the end of the day, the Iowa people spoke. Donald Trump guaranteed a victory in Iowa. And then, he lost.

You know, my girls are 5 and 7. And I got to tell you, Caroline and Katherine are better behaved than a presidential candidate.

ACOSTA: The noise coming from the latest Trump/Cruz feud threatens to drown out the rest of the GOP field.

(CHANTING)

ACOSTA: Both Rand Paul and Rick Santorum announced they are dropping out of the race, as the battle among the party's establishment contenders races on.

Marco Rubio is taking jabs from both Chris Christie --

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hear Marco Rubio is here but, heck, man, he does like one event a day.

ACOSTA: -- and Jeb Bush.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He gave a victory speech in Iowa. He came in third. You're not going to be coroneted.

ACOSTA: Just what Rubio expected, he told CNN's "News Day."

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Both Jeb and Chris have had a tough couple days. And sometimes people don't react well to adversity.

ACOSTA: Bush is struggling to gain traction not only in the polls but in front of his audiences.

BUSH: I think the next president needs to be a lot quieter, but send a signal that we're prepared to act in the national security interest of this country, to get back in the business of creating a more peaceful world.

Please clap.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: An awkward moment.

Jim Acosta reporting there.

BARNETT: Yes, indeed.

CHURCH: U.S. President Barack Obama is addressing the anti-Muslim sentiments on the campaign trail with a visit to a mosque in Washington on Wednesday.

[02:10:15] BARNETT: And Mr. Obama said Muslims are important to the United States, and should not be targeted for their faith.

He also blasted the Republican presidential candidates for targeting Muslims in their anti-terrorism proposals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, you have seen too often people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith. Of course, recently, we've heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim-Americans that has no place in our country. No surprise, then, that threats and harassment of Muslim-Americans have surged.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BARNETT: Donald Trump is politicizing the president's mosque visit by reviving the question of Mr. Obama's faith.

CHURCH: Trump spent more than a year debating whether the president was born in the U.S. and whether he was a Muslim instead of a Christian. He told FOX News why he thinks Mr. Obama went to the mosque.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think we can go lots of places. Right now, I don't know if -- maybe he feels comfortable there. We have a lot of problems in this country, Greta. There's a lot of places he can go and he chose a mosque. I saw that just a little while ago. That's his decision. That's fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: During his campaign, Trump has accused President Obama of being soft on terror by Islamists.

U.S. health officials have new guidelines for pregnant women over Zika Virus concerns. Coming up next, what their being told to do and for how long.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:53] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, President Dilma Rousseff is urging Brazilians to fight the Zika Virus. She says that Zika is a real threat. And victory depends on determination. And she says the government is committed to the battle.

BARNETT: Next Saturday, about 220,000 members of the armed forces will join a campaign against the mosquito-borne illness. They will hand out information flyers and look for areas where the insects can breed. It's suspected Zika may be linked to a dangerous birth defect.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its Zika Virus guidance for pregnant women now that there's a case of sexual transmission in the U.S.

CHURCH: It is advising women to use condoms or abstain from sex if their male partner has been to an area with active Zika transmission. The CDC says these precautions should be followed for the entire pregnancy.

BARNETT: Health officials don't know how a long virus can stay in semen. It remains in blood for about a week.

CHURCH: Let's talk about this with CNN medical analyst, Dr. Seema Yasmin.

Thanks very much for joining us.

Let's talk about the new warnings from the CDC, warning pregnant women to protect themselves by using condoms if their male sexual partner has travelled to an area where the Zika Virus is. Is this confirmation that the Zika Virus can be transmitted sexually?

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It is. This is based on the fact that we had a case here in Dallas where a person who has not traveled anywhere where there's Zika Virus and has not come into contact with any mosquitoes with the virus, has come down with the infection because they had sexual contact with someone that who had the infection. It's also based on one other report of a man in Colorado who became infected in 2008 when he was doing research in Senegal. Came back home to the U.S., had sex with his wife, and it's believed she became infected through sexual transmission. That's why we're seeing the new guidance.

But it's important to note that we think, with this epidemic, the main culprit is the mosquito. The mosquito seems to be the main culprit for spreading the Zika Virus. But it's important that we add this guidance so people know it can be sexually transmitted.

CHURCH: Absolutely. What are we learning about the case you mentioned, the sexually transmitted case of the Zika Virus in Texas? And what's the risk to that unborn child?

YASMIN: We don't think there's any harm to any pregnant woman in the Dallas cases, which is what the officials here have told us, which is reassuring. But we're in a situation where we're scrambling to learn as much as we can about this infection. We discovered it in 1947. There's been many outbreaks since then. Some of them in the South Pacific islands where Zika Virus infected about 28,000 people. Sadly, we're lacking in the amount of knowledge and scientific understanding we have about Zika. That's why now we have so many unanswered questions. We know that here in the U.S., we're fast-tracking research. The National Institutes of Health told researchers they're mobilizing funds and they're really encouraging scientists to do as much research on Zika Virus as possible.

CHURCH: We do know the risks to unborn children are immense. But what about the general population? How concerned should people be about this virus?

YASMIN: We have to say, Rosemary, that this link between Zika Virus and a birth defect still remains to be proven. Every day, there's more and more evidence. But we can't say for sure right now from a scientific perspective that Zika Virus causes Microcephaly, but we think there could be a link. And that's why the guidance is mostly focused on pregnant women. For anyone else, Zika Virus can be minor nuisance. In fact, 80 percent of people that have the virus won't know they have the virus. One in five people who have symptoms will have mild symptoms, a headache, red eyes, joint pains and a fever. They go away on their own.

That's the important thing to remember. It isn't a huge health concern for the majority of people, but we do know, for pregnant women, this could be something very concerning.

[02:20:10] CHURCH: And, Doctor, just very quickly, how far away are we from having a vaccine for Zika Virus?

YASMIN: It depends on who you ask. Tony Fauci, head of one of the institutes at NIH, says we could have something ready by the end of this year. But, Rosemary, I spoke to a scientist in Texas who said that's overly optimistic. It takes a long time to develop and then test a vaccine. They say upwards of 10 to 15 years.

CHURCH: Dr. Seema Yasmin, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.

YASMIN: Thank you.

BARNETT: Now, we want to run through other stories we're following for you.

(HEADLINES)

CHURCH: We turn, now, to China, where the country's premier football club is adding big-name star power. They have signed striker, Jackson Martinez, for $45.8 million. That's the highest transfer price ever for the Chinese Super League.

BARNETT: The 29-year-old Colombian will transfer from Madrid. China is hoping to become a football powerhouse to someday compete for a World Cup title.

Alexandra Field has more on what is described as a very big signing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Consider this a major coup for Chinese football, a record-setting investment that will bring more star power to the squad. The team is shelling out $46 million for Athletic Madrid Striker Jackson Martinez. This is part of a spending spree meant to propel the Chinese Super League to greater prominence on the world stage. The push to improve the league's reputation is being led by Chinese president and football fan, Xi Jinping.

CNN recently sat down with China's richest man who talked about the need to invest more in making Chinese sports bigger business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): There's basically no sports business in China at this point. And the Chinese government has released a policy to develop the sports business. That's close to $800 billion U.S. dollar and slightly larger than the current size of the sports business in the U.S. now.

FIELD: The Martinez deal isn't the first big investment for the league. It follows other high-profile signings. Last week, they signed Chelsea payer Ramirez for $28.5 million. And before that, Freddy Warren was signed for more than $14 million.

Martinez will join up with the rest of the team at the winter training camp in Dubai before their first match after the break.

In Guangzhou, Alexandra Field, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:25:34] CHURCH: The NHL has handed down a 20-game suspension to Calgary Flames defenseman, Dennis Wideman, for hitting a referee. Check out the video from last week's game against the Nashville predators. You see Wideman there in red kick Dan Henderson squarely in the back.

BARNETT: Wideman says it was an accident and he will appeal. Henderson wasn't seriously hurt. But Wideman was later diagnosed with a concussion. He will now forfeit more than $500,000 in salary.

CHURCH: The Syrian government is claiming a major battlefield victory in the city of Aleppo. We'll tell you about the backlash caused by the military assault.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

[02:29:46] BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. We're half an hour into our two-hour block. Let's update you on our top stories this hour.

(HEADLINES)

[02:30:46] CHURCH: And the U.N. and several countries are hosting a donor conference in London to support the needs of the Syrian people. The ongoing conflict has forced Syrians to seek refuge in other countries.

BARNETT: You see where they've sought that refuge. The majority have settled in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. More than four million Syrians live in those countries. And millions are displaced inside Syria. More than 813,000 Syrians have sought asylum in Europe in recent years.

CHURCH: Jordan is also asking for help in the refugee crisis.

Jomana Karadsheh is in Amman with more on that.

Jomana, also describe to us the situation on the ground there in Jordan. How bad is it?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, Jordan has been dealing with refugees across its border for a few years now. There's 1.2 million Syrians in Jordan. 660,000 are registered with the United Nations. But others are refugees in cities and towns across the country. And a majority of them, nine out of ten of the refugees are living below the poverty line. It's very desperate living. We visited the families. We saw the life they have. And you look at the Jordanian perspective of what's going on with this refugee crisis. It's putting pressure on the basic services, on the country's infrastructure. Jordan is really struggling to cope with this influx of refugees trying to manage with what it has. Jordan, a country, very little resources.

The Jordanians are going to London today with a wish list. They have requests. They have more help from the international community, specifically, the European Union, who knows what Jordan is going on because they are seeing the influx of refugees and migrants coming to Europe. What Jordan says it wants to see, Rosemary, they want a shift in the international approach to the crisis, they say. What has been going on for past few years does not seem to be working. They want that broadening of the help, the support that Jordan is getting, beyond the emergency relief, the funds that have been pledged over the past few years. Jordan says they haven't received all of it. But they want to shift from that, expanding it for more sustainable, long- term, economic solutions. They have a few ideas that they will be presenting to London. And the message from Jordan is, Rosemary, help us, help you, and if you don't, Europe and the rest of the world will be dealing with what Jordan is dealing with right now.

CHURCH: Jomana, what are you hearing about the situation on the Syrian side of the border and this talk of possible airlifts?

KARADSHEH: Rosemary, if we're talking about the Jordanian/Syrian border, there's been a number of Syrian refugees, more than 17,000 who were stranded on the border. And there's criticism for Jordan not allowing in the Syrian refugees who have been there for months. But according to Jordanian officials, Rosemary, they are saying that their priority is security. They are allowing about 50 to 100 refugees to cross into the country daily but after they go through screening. They're really concerned about ISIS infiltrators within the refugee population -- Rosemary?

CHURCH: That's an ongoing concern.

Jomana Karadsheh, reporting from Amman, Jordan. Many thanks to you, as always.

BARNETT: The coalition fighting ISIS has been trying to cut off one of the main sources of income for the militants, oil fields.

CHURCH: Our Clarissa Ward takes us inside a liberated oil field in northeastern Syria and shows us the underground prisons ISIS left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bubbling beneath this desolate landscape is the black gold that has funded the ISIS war machine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: This is a fighter with the Syrian Democratic forces who are battling ISIS in this part of the country. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

[02:35:07] WARD: He showed us around an oil field in a rural town that was seized from the militants two months ago.

(on camera): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(voice-over): "ISIS earned a lot of money from these fields," he tells us. "People from all over this area came here to buy their fuel."

You can still hear the hiss of gas. But the pump is no longer operational.

The U.S.-led coalition has been hammering ISIS' oil, which at one time generated $40 million a month. Air strikes have targeted refineries, pumping stations, and lines of tankers waiting for gas.

The fighter says the militants learn to adapt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: "In each field, they have one person as a cashier to sell the fuel. And one tanker can come at a time," he says. "They use this tactic because planes are looking for big groups not individuals."

But Kurdish fighters and U.S. air strikes eventually forced ISIS into retreat. All that remains now of their presence is some graffiti.

(on camera): The Kurds and their Arab allies are desperate to get the oil pumping again. They have two major problems. Firstly, the front lines are still just a few miles away from here. And, secondly, they don't have the money or the expertise they would need to start repairing the damage that's been done.

(voice-over): The trickle of oil will not become a flow for months or even longer. As ISIS fighters fled, they destroyed what they could. Electric cables were cut. Booby-traps were laid.

Only one facility was left untouched. Just behind the refinery, a row of tanks turned into an underground prison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: "Each cell held up to 15 people," he tells us, "among them, women and children."

Written on the walls of one, a harrowing message, "I'm not afraid of dying. But I fear the tears of my loved ones."

The fighter and his men are starting to clear the wreckage left behind by ISIS, but they can't erase the terror inflicted here.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BARNETT: That's just eerie to see the messages on the underground prisons.

Great report from our Clarissa Ward.

Now France is condemning the Syrian regime for what it calls the brutal offensive on the city of Aleppo. The Syrian government says its troops, with Russian air support, have made it to key villages that have been controlled by the opposition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSION)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: This video is said to show the fierce fight on the ground. The U.N. special envoy for Syria says humanitarian promises cannot be fulfilled with fighting like this.

So the U.N. has temporarily suspended the peace talks meant to end the bloody conflict until February 25th. CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video.

BARNETT: Joining me from Washington is CNN military analyst, Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel, great to have you on the program.

Syria's government forces have advanced against rebels near Aleppo. This is with the help of Russian air support. However, ISIS remains. And this seems to be the trend in recent months. Where do you see the status of the war on the ground right now?

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It's very difficult to tell right now because there's so many elements that are so fluid at this point. What we see is a back and forth, especially around the Aleppo area, where the Syrian government and its Russian allies have pounded the rebel positions in and around Aleppo. And what the resulting view on the ground is going to be -- will depend on a variety of factors. Will the Russians sustain their air campaign? And does the Syrian government of Bashar al Assad still have the military power to go that extra distance to get into Aleppo and to clear that area of the rebels?

BARNETT: On that point, Secretary Kerry has been pushing Russia to halt its air campaign against rebels. But the Russians acknowledge that their fight against, quote, "terrorists," will continue. Considering that, what kind of chance do any peace talks have with Russia in the equation in this way?

LEIGHTON: It's very minimal at best. And this is unfortunate. The Russian role has not been a constructive one in the peace talks so far. They say they are going after terrorists. But their version of terrorists includes the forces we support arrayed against the Assad regime. They've not done well against ISIS. There have been instances when they engaged ISIS or ISIS has engaged Russia forces, but they have not done very much against ISIS. And they've done more against the Free Syrian Army and other associated rebel groups, the one that the Gulf States and the U.S. tend to support.

[02:40:13] BARNETT: Now our Clarissa Ward's report showed an oil field there. There's an airstrip in northern Syria, the U.S. has been beefing up. This sounds like progress. But have we seen the limitations of the U.S.-led air campaign? Meaning, is there more of a case now for U.S. ground troops to really turn this thing?

LEIGHTON: If you want to turn anything like this from a military standpoint, it is difficult to do it from the air. Air power can do a lot of what they call shaping of the strategic and the tactical environments. Beyond the shaping part, it becomes difficult to physically move a lot of the forces entrenched on the ground. That's also true not just for standing armies, but true for groups like ISIS, as well. That's the prime difficulty. So every time we go into on environment like Syria or the fight against ISIS, we find ourselves in a situation where we really have to have several means of power at our disposal from a military perspective. And that means not only air power, but we should also be able to use ground forces when the need is necessary for them to be used.

BARNETT: CNN military analyst, Colonel Cedric Leighton, thanks for your time today.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Errol. My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, from space, it looks like a gentle wispy cloud, but it's actually a polluted mess. We'll tell you what is causing it and where it is.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:44:57] BARNETT: Now, a very bizarre story. An Italian actor is in a coma after a hanging scene in a play went horribly wrong. 27- year-old Rafael Shoemaker was in the middle of a performance when someone in the audience noticed that the noose around his neck was too tight.

CHURCH: The actor's head was actually covered. But the spectator, who was a medical graduate, saw his body twitching and realized the actor was being strangled. So she ran onto the stage with another audience member and loosened that noose.

BARNETT: Italian police are investigating to see if proper safety protocol was followed.

CHURCH: A sexual assault case against Bill Cosby will go forward in Pennsylvania. Cosby's lawyers had argued the case should be thrown out because a former district attorney promised, in 2005, he would never prosecute Cosby. But a judge dismissed that claim on Wednesday.

BARNETT: A spokesman for Cosby's legal team says they will appeal that decision. Dozens of women accuse Cosby of sexual misconduct over the years. He has repeatedly denied any allegations.

A massive landfill fire in India is so large it can be seen from space. The fire is burning in Mumbai's largest landfill. And a satellite captured these images late last month. The pollution is so bad more than 70 schools were forced to close for several days due to the smoke. It's not clear what caused the fire exactly.

CHURCH: Let's get more on this story.

Our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us now.

You look at the aerial shot, that satellite shot, it's extraordinary.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I looked at how high the satellite is, 450 miles, 700 kilometers up in space. And it's able to pick up detail, the incredible nature of this fire taking place.

And we'll break down what we think is happening over India. We'll put the maps in motion for you and the satellite imagery, as we zoom back out for you. Errol touched on 132 hectors. The largest size there from Mumbai as far as the wasteland is concerned. You take that size. That's roughly the size of 200 football fields. That's how large the waste site this particular area is. And piles of trash go nine stories or 30 meters in height. Every day, 3.6 million kilograms of weight of trash are dumped on to this particular site. That's equivalent of 2,000 cars being dumped, in weight, on this.

And we see fires at landfills, the vast majority, about 75 percent of fires unknown, but 20 percent are from materials that were smolders when they were dropped into the landfill itself, perhaps a cigarette butt or something else. But 5 percent are spontaneous combustions. Chemical reactions from the waste itself, mixed into the trash pile can spark flames. We have seen oily rags spark flames or decomposing bacteria there also begins to spark a fire. Those are some of the elements. But 75 percent remains unknown.

You think about India, in the World Health Organization's observation in the year 2014, 13 of the top 20 dirtiest cities on our planet are out of India. Delhi tops the list. Mumbai is not on the list. But what occurred this week impressive what occurred this week. The air quality index reached the hazardous category. That was higher than what was going on across portions of Delhi at the same time. And earlier this week, there was a labor strike taking place in Delhi, with waste collectors that were dumping trash on to the side of the road because they were not being paid properly. They were doing that as a strike. The strike ended on the 3rd. So conditions will be improving across that region.

You think about waste management across the globe, it spans across the globe. You go towards Rio, the Summer Olympics upon us inside the next couple of months. Gaunahara Bay (ph), one of the areas over the last several months near Rio where we know, the approach of August, we have the sailing events taking place, the rowing, the canoeing events. And the waterways look something like this. The officials vow to clear 80 percent of the water up over the next several months. We know Brazil is in the largest recession in many decades across that region. It will be very challenging for some of the water sports for athletes making their way to Rio this summer.

BARNETT: They've been worried about that for a while. And the organizers say it's clean. And you see images like that and you wonder.

JAVAHERI: Still a lot of work to be done.

BARNETT: Yeah.

All right, Pedram, thanks very much.

CHURCH: Thank you.

[02:50:36] BARNETT: It is not easy doing live television. You can ask us about that. But doing a live TV version of the musical "Grease," that is true bravery. We'll show you how they did it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

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BARNETT: Taking you behind the scenes here at CNN NEWSROOM. This is what our control room looks like. It's staffed with very talented, capable folks. But this week, there's a control room that has people talking.

CHURCH: The television musical "Grease Live" was a huge ratings win for FOX, despite some technical glitches.

But as Jeanne Moos shows us, the show behind the scenes was just as fascinating.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How could a live performance of "Grease" --

(SINGING)

MOOS: -- make even a shuttle launch --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven, six --

MOOS: -- sound lethargic?

HAVEL: Two, two, two, three. Five, one. Shakes. Three bars.

MOOS: When the associate director of "Grease" posted this 2.5-minute control room clip to Facebook -- HAVEL: Two, two, three, four, one, go.

MOOS: -- people said --

(SINGING)

MOOS: All that counting, all that intensity.

CARRIE HAVEL, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: One, two, three, four, 20. Two bars.

MOOS: One commenter wrote, "That was awesome. I'm exhausted listening to you."

Broadcast Director Alex Rudzinski says he's blown away by the response.

ALEX RUDZINSKI, BROADCAST DIRECTOR: I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled to share a little bit of the art, about the choreography behind the scenes.

MOOS: Alex is the guy who preplanned each and every shot during rehearsal, some 1,500 shots, so the associate director could call them out, when they went live.

HAVEL: One, two --

[02:55:09] MOOS: What you're hearing is a shot number, plus counting the duration of the shot in beats and bars.

Watch for the shot change when she calls for 18 and 19.

HAVEL: One, two, three. 18, one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. 19, eight bars.

MOOS: For three hours of live performance, associate director, Carrie Havel, had her head buried in a script that seemed almost like a musical score. Show? What show?

RUDZINSKI: She didn't get to see it. We come off air and she was like, what was the show like? I'm like, it was great.

MOOS: Let's count our way through shots 27, 28 and 29.

HAVEL: Three, two, three, four. 27. Three, two, three. 28. Two, three, 29. Four bars, one beat.

MOOS: Broadcast director's favorite Facebook comment?

RUDZINSKI: Like rubbing your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time.

MOOS: Take a bow, then take a nap. I bet the associated director won't be counting sheep.

HAVEL: One, two, three, and -- MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --

HAVEL: Two bars.

MOOS: -- New York.

HAVEL: Two, two, three, four. Three, two, three, four.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Just like Dina in the control room.

BARNETT: 15 seconds.

(LAUGHTER)

CHURCH: And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: 10 seconds.

(LAUGHTER)

And I'm Errol Barnett.

Next hour, we'll have live reports from Cologne, London and Amman. Please do stay with us.

CHURCH: And we're out.

(LAUGHTER)

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