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Voters In Alabama Are About To Make A Choice That Will Have A Major Impact On The Balance Of Power In The United States Senate, For Nearly A Week Now, Firefighters Have Been Waging What Seems Like An Endless War Against Dangerous Wildfires In Southern California, Newly Released Body Camera Footage Of This Police Shooting Shows Daniel Shaver's Last Moments. Aired: 8-9p ET

Aired December 10, 2017 - 20:00   ET

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


ANA CABRERA, HOST CNN NEWSROOM: Top of the hour, you are in the "CNN Newsroom," I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

Voters in Alabama are about to make a choice that will have a major impact on the balance of power in the United States Senate. On Tuesday, either Republican Roy Moore or Democrat Doug Jones will be elected to the Senate and will take the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Now, only people in Alabama will vote of course, but the impact nationwide is enormous. This is why. The Republican majority in the Senate right now is just two seats, so a win by the Democrat would shave that majority down making some upcoming policy votes even more uncertain.

Each man has a big hurdle to clear. For Roy Moore, several accusations of sexual harassment, even assault. One case molestation of an underage girl. Doug Jones, the Democrat is trying to get votes in a deeply, deeply red state. CNN correspondent Kaylee Hartung is in Birmingham right now, and Kaylee, President Trump is now robo-calling Alabama voters this weekend urging them to vote for Roy Moore.

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, it's the latest effort over the past week as we have seen President Trump significantly increased the weight that he is willing to throw behind Republican Roy Moore in the state of Alabama. It started with a tweet to explicitly endorse him last Monday. Then there was that cheeky rally in Florida, it was about 20 miles from the state line, and now, phones across the state of Alabama will be ringing with Donald Trump's voice on the other end of the line. Take a listen.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hi, this is President Donald Trump and I need Alabama to go vote for Roy Moore. If Alabama elects liberal Democrat Doug Jones, all of our progress will be stopped cold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: Alabama of course, a state that Donald Trump won by 28 points in the 2016 Presidential election. He is trying to help Roy Moore galvanize the strong base that he's got here - conservatives and Christians and for the ground game for the Roy Moore campaign, a much more targeted strategy, then a robo-call from the President across the state. As I saw canvassers going door to door in neighborhoods today, where they knew they would have friendly folks on the other side of the door.

One neighborhood in particular, in the northeast suburb of Birmingham, where folks in that neighborhood voted overwhelmingly for Moore in the Republican primary runoff against Luther Strange. So, these canvassers knowing who they're talking to on other side of that door, but wanting to make sure that in an off year, in December on a Tuesday, when the weather is cold in Alabama, and people aren't necessarily thinking about politics, that those people go to the polls on Tuesday.

CABRERA: So, Kaylee, now we are hearing Doug Jones, the Democrat in the race is using a similar tactic, tell us about this.

HARTUNG: Yes, robo-calls are the trend here in Alabama, down the home stretch to this leading up to election day, as we have just learned that Senator Richard Shelby's words, from our air this morning, on "State of the Union with Jake Tapper," will be used by the Doug Jones campaign in a robo-call of their own tomorrow.

You can only imagine in listening back to that interview, when we heard Richard Shelby say, "I couldn't vote for Roy Moore. I didn't vote for Roy Moore," that those will be words used in that robo-call. Now, Shelby goes on to explain that he wants a Republican in this seat and that he did write in a Republican candidate, though he wouldn't share who that write in was on his ballot, Ana.

CABRERA: Kaylee Hartung in Birmingham tonight Thank you. Now, tomorrow, Moore plans to hold an election y Drain the Swamp rally, that phrase might ring a political bell since it was a rallying cry for then candidate Donald Trump during his Presidential campaign.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When it comes to Washington DC, it is time to drain the damn swamp. We are going to drain the swamp of Washington. We are going to have fun doing it. We're all doing it together. When we win on November 8th, we are going to drain the swamp.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Also like Trump, Moore hasn't shied away from attacking his fellow Republicans along with the media. I want to bring in our panel tonight, CNN political analyst and historian and professor at Princeton University, Julian Zelizer; contributor to "Time" magazine, Jane Newton-Small and reporter and co-author for POLITICO's playbook, Daniel Lippman.

So, Daniel, I'll start with you. Here is how the "New York Times" put it, "Mr. Moore has gone about creating a real life political science experiment testing whether last year's Presidential campaign was an anomaly or whether voters remain just as willing to shrug off truth stretching, multiple charges of sexual misconduct and incendiary speech. So, Daniel, is the Trump playbook the way to win in Alabama?

[20:05:01]

DANIEL LIPPMANN, CO-AUTHOR, POLITICO PLAYBOOK: It certainly might be on Tuesday, but I think broadly speaking nationwide next year during the midterms, if you're a candidate like Roy Moore, it's going to be very tough for you to win and Democrats are to be sure to use Moore against every Republican candidate next year because they know that most Americans find you a teenage model station porn, they don't think that a Senator one of hundred honorable men and women in the US Senate should have that type of track record with credible allegations against them and so you really can't be like Roy Moore and expect to win and I think, you might see that on Tuesday/

CABRERA: Again, we all see what happens, but then, I guess if he wins on Tuesday, that would argue the exact opposite. That would be an argument. Julian, I want to get your op-ed that you wrote because you kind of touched on this, too, sort of the idea of how a win by Moore could impact the Republican Party and the message it sends really nationwide and you write, with Donald Trump in the White House and the possibility of Roy Moore in the Senate, the nation is watching closely to see whether the GOP is becoming the party and GOB, the good old boys, while some Senate elections are just about the politics of a state, Moore's victory would leave a huge imprint on the way that voters perceive the Republican Party for years to come. Why do you believe this could have a lasting impact?

JULIAN ZELIZER, POLITICAL ANALYST, CNN: Well, it comes on top of the Trump presidency and part of what we've seen is a shift to the right within the Republican Party that's pretty notable on many issues such as immigration and other questions involving social policy, same-sex marriage, where Roy Moore is very much to the right, put aside all the sexual molestation charges.

So, if he becomes one of the faces of the Republican Party along with President Trump, that is not a party that represents a lot of where much of the nation is and that could be costly in the long term for the GOP.

CABRERA: Jane, I want to ask you about the Hollywood celebrities who we've now seen this week and specifically coming out in support of Democrat Doug Jones including actors Mark Ruffalo and Paton Oswald, does that help or hurt him in Alabama?

JANE NEWTON-SMALL, CONTRIBUTOR, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, Ana, I think in Alabama, it probably hurts more than it helps especially when you're looking the kind of turnout that they're hoping to get. The people that really Doug Jones is trying to focus on are African-American voters to turn them out in Alabama, that's his big hope if he can have sort of Obama-level turnouts of African-American voters, then he can potentially win this race.

Now, it remains an incredibly close race probably closer than it should be comfortable for Moore, which is puzzling and Moore has decided to now take off the weekend and not campaign all weekend in Alabama, but it is a very, very close race and we'll see. I mean, maybe those endorsement by Hollywood celebrities might influence a few Democrats in Alabama, but I'm not sure that it really help especially amongst African-American voters and it certainly potentially could turn off some of the Republicans at that campaign are trying to convince or lure over to the Democratic side who are disgusted by Moore and the accusations against Moore.

CABRERA: I wonder what the impact will be of what Alabama's other Senator Republican Richard Shelby said on our air today because he says he could not bring himself to vote for Roy Moore and he opted to write in a candidate instead. Listen.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SHELBY, US SENATOR, ALABAMA, REPUBLICAN: As a Republican, I had to vote Republican, I wanted to voted Republican. I understand where the President is coming from. I understand, we would like to retain that seat in the US Senate, but I'll tell you what? There's a time - we call it a tipping point and I think, so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip, drip, drip, when it got to the 14-year-old story, that was enough for me. I said, "I can't vote for Roy Moore."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Daniel, if Moore does win, what is the better strategy for Republicans? Accept him or call for his expulsion?

LIPPMANN: The day that he lands in the US Senate and he takes that oath, he will be a pariah. Very few senators will want to team up with him on bills and the Republican Party would probably be best positioned going forward to commence the ethics committee investigation of him and his allegations and expel him and then get another special election where a Republican could possibly win in Alabama because if you have Senator Roy Moore then that just tars the entire Republican caucus in the Senate.

[20:09:56]

It just makes it untenable for them to associate with a guy that - he was already very controversial. He had been kicked out as a judge previously a couple of times, but now he is pretty toxic.

CABRERA: That's right, the Alabama Supreme Court.

LIPPMANN: Yes.

CABRERA: Julian, I know you've talked about expulsion being a very, very, very rare thing when you look back at past President, if it tells us anything, but I want to ask about Steve Bannon because he had a pretty big influence. He's really wanting to galvanize the same Trump voters behind Roy Moore. He's planning another event there tomorrow and I'm reminded of what he said right, when he left the White House, and I quote, "In many ways, I think I can be more effective fighting from the outside for the agenda President Trump ran on and anyone who stands in our way, we will go to war with." Is this proof of that? ZELIZER: Well, it could be. The only thing is, he does have the

support of the president, so they're still an insider, meaning the President United States who is also working with him essentially and that's the key to this relationship, but I think Breitbart and I think Steve Bannon have an amazing platform that's very powerful in this day and age and if Moore wins, they will demonstrate that they have political muscle that doesn't require elected office to exercise and I think that's a big story.

I would say, the Senate doesn't really expel people. The civil war period is one of the few times in which you could command the kind of super majority that's necessary. And let's remember, a lot of Republican Party now is living with Moore - the President, the RNC. I would not be surprised if he is elected and they back away from talk of expulsion and live with that Republican vote. Partisanship is a strong force in Washington.

CABRERA: Julian Zelizer, Jane Newton-Small, and Daniel Lippman. Thank you all.

LIPPMANN: Thank you.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

CABRERA: Still to come this hour, a great warning for Californians. Their governor now telling them that scenes like this, ones that literally look like hell on earth are their new normal. Next, we will take you to the frontlines of the battle to stop these wildfires destroying parts of Southern California. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

[20:15:00]

CABRERA: For nearly a week now, firefighters have been waging what seems like an endless war against dangerous wildfires in Southern California. They are trying to contain a half dozen active fires that have left residents leaving in "living hell." Wild fires that burn nearly 200,000 acres, that's an area almost as large as New York State and even though the Santa Ana winds are expected to die down soon. There is no rain in the forecast for the next two weeks. These fires are still spreading tonight.

CNN's senior national correspondent, Kyung Lah is on the front lines of this fire fight in Santa Barbara County. Kyung, I'm looking at the scene behind you, those hill sides are just glowing. Where are officials focusing all their firefighting efforts tonight? We know there are about half dozen burning right now.

KYUNG LAH, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It's here at the Thomas fire that they are most concerned about because this is the largest fire and this is the fire that continues to expand and grow. It is burning in those hills and it is, it is absolutely surreal. If you can imagine your house below that because this is burning now closer and closer to Santa Barbara, burning in those hills above Santa Barbara. If you live below them, you can only imagine how it feels to be watching that 173,000 acres of parks; 15,000 instructors remain threatened as this fire continues to burn through this dry brush.

(START VIDEO TAPE)

LAH: Unrelenting and growing as punishing winds and dry land fuel the largest of California's fires, the Thomas fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a house by house fight yet. We're trying to prevent that and if we can get the wind to cooperate with us, the wind is definitely picking up now.

LAH: So, you've been hitting it from the air as well as working it from the ground?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, correct. The helicopters have been a huge help.

LAH: You could see the wind as it pushes the embers this way, all of these embers fly towards the house that haven't burned yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firefighters, they are busy.

LAH: Exhausted and in the back of this truck, injured. Thousands of firefighters weary after nearly a week battling wild fires raging across Southern California.

In Northern San Diego County, homes burned in minutes. A wild fire spreading so fast terrified thoroughbred horses ran in circles trapped, others burned alive in their barns. Some horses barely made it out. Their trainers escape route - burning around them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got five heading out of San Luis (ph) rig.

LAH: This entire neighborhood disappeared in just 20 minutes. Daylight revealed all that was lost. In Los Angeles's Bel-Air neighborhood, hillsides and mansions burned. More people running from flames.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just started panicking. We didn't know what to do, so we hadn't been told to evacuate, but we were going to evacuate, so we just started thinking, my husband said, just take anything that you think you might need. Everything can be replaced. Let's just get out of here.

LAH: Nearly 200,000 people in Southern California evacuated this week, some returning to a home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, honey. It's me. Our house is still there. Yes, everything looks good.

LAH: Others digging through what's left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not much, but if there's a few things that will help them have some connection to the past, then that's what I'm trying to do. That's what it is. Material stuff, like you said, memories of a lot of years.

[20:20:05]

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LAH: Back here live in Santa Barbara County, as you are watching that very scary and eerie glow up in the hills above us where the fire is most active right now, the red flag warning, it's the high wind warning known here in California. That is still in place for another - about two and a half, almost three hours. Firefighters are hoping that after that red flag warning goes down, Ana, that things will turn in their favor. Ana?

CABRERA: We are all sending them our best tonight. Kyung Lah, thank you for that report. Up next, a vide that is difficult to watch, but one you need to see, it is body cam footage from a deadly police shooting of an unarmed father of two that now has some asking how the officer who opened fire was acquitted.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't talk, listen. Hands straight up in the air. Do not put your hands down for any reason. You think you're going to fall, you better fall on your face. Your hands go up in the small of your back or down, we are going to shoot you, do you understand me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:25:00]

CABRERA: Nearly two years ago, police in Arizona responded to a call of a man pointing a gun out the window of a Mesa hotel room, now a man and a woman were outside in the hall when officers arrived and police ordered the pair to raise their hands up and then crawl toward them. Officers said they would shoot if the pair didn't obey their commands, but the man who was sobbing and pleading for his life dropped his hands and one officer opened fire.

That video was released after a jury on Thursday acquitted police officer of murder charges. Polo Sandoval shows us more.

(START VIDEO TAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, I mean, the video was shot by a body camera nearly two years ago, but it is just coming to light now after the trial and eventual acquittal of this Mesa, Arizona police officer, while we have to warn viewers, yes, it is difficult to watch. It's also important as it did provide crucial clues for jurors who chose not to convict.

Newly released body camera footage of this police shooting shows Daniel Shaver's last moments. Police were responding to reports of a man pointing a rifle out of a hotel window.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up in the air. You do that again we are shooting you. Do you understand? DANIEL SHAVER, SUSPECT: Please, do not shoot me.

SANDOVAL: Begging for his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then listen to my instructions.

SHAVER: I'm trying to do what (inaudible) ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't talk, listen. Hands straight up in the air. Do not put your hands down for any reason. You think you're going to fall, you better fall on your face. Your hands go back on the small of your back or down, we are going to shoot you. Do you understand me?

SHAVER: Yes, sir.

SANDOVAL: An officer then orders Shaver to crawl towards him. He complies, but then moves his right hand behind him despite the warning.

Officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford fires five rounds killing Shaver. Brailsford was charged with second degree murder over this January 2016 shooting. In an interview with police, he said he thought Shaver was going for a gun saying quote, "He could have easily and quickly drawn a weapon down on us and fired without aiming and he could have hit us or the citizen that we had just detained." No gun was found on Shaver. Brailsford was acquitted last week. His defenders saying his actions were justified.

NATE GAFVERT, PRESIDENT, MESA POLICE ASSOCIATION: Pretty much every use of force, subject matter expert that reviewed this case absolutely said he acted consistently with his training.

SANDOVAL: On the tape, Shaver is repeatedly ordered to follow officer's instructions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you make a mistake, another mistake there is a very severe possibility you are going to both going to get shot. Do you understand that?

SHAVER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you move we are going to consider that a threat and we are going to deal with it and you may not survive it. Do you understand me?

SHAVER: Yes, sir.

SANDOVAL: Despite warnings he received, Shaver's family does not believe the shooting was justified. Their attorney saying in a statement to CNN quote "That is an execution, pure and simple. The justice system miserably failed Daniel and his family." Witnesses later told police, Shaver was showing them an air rifle he was used in his job exterminating pests.

(END VIDEO TAPE) SANDOVAL: There was a second person in the hallway that day that was

held at gun point. Investigators later determined, it was simply a female acquaintance of Mr. Shaver who was unharmed, questioned and eventually released. As for the officer in question here, the officer that was acquitted, he is no longer with the Mesa Police Department. Ana?

CABRERA: Our thanks to Polo Sandoval. Up next, a rare new look inside the White House paints Donald Trump as the President obsessed with cable TV and addicted to Diet Coke. Does this sound like the man one of the Trump family biographers knows. I'll ask her next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom." Don't go away.

[20:30:22]

CABRERA: A revealing article in the "New York Times" takes readers inside what it calls Donald Trump's battle for self-preservation. It paints a portrait of a President who is fueled by Diet Coke and a steady stream of cable news to deal with the demands of the job. It says, people close to him estimate that Mr. Trump spends at least four hours a day and sometimes as much as twice that in front of a television watching cable. He shares thoughts with anyone in the room, even the household staff he summons via a button for lunch or for one of the dozen Diet Cokes he consumes each day.

Joining us now is Gwenda Blaire, author of, "The Trumps: Three Generations that Built an Empire." Gwenda, you did this biography about the Trump family. Does this profile align with the Trump you chronicled in your biography?

GWENDA BLAIR, AUTHOR: Absolutely. Totally. Yes. He is a guy who is always - I think the thing that stuck out to me besides the TV watching, how competitive he is. He is - that's his comfort zone, being in conflict. He wants to get revved up. He watches cable news so he can get revved up and he speaks cable news. He wants to be fighting. He doesn't want to calm down. He doesn't want to get back to normal. He wants it to be arm combat.

CABRERA: Do you see him running the Presidency as he does reality TV?

[20:35:06]

BLAIR: Exactly. That's what he's doing. He's - on "The Apprentice," these 10 young people competing for a job, he would urge them on, "Go at each other. Backstab at each other's throats." He likes that conflict because people are uneasy, they are uncertain, they are afraid and they look to him for security. They look to him, they want to hold on to their jobs. He likes that. He doesn't want sort of horizontal alliances. He wants everybody to be looking at him.

CABRERA: How does that work for him though as a father, as a family guy?

BLAIR: He was pretty busy working, I think much of the time. He had five kids. I think five was the magic number to him. There were five kids in his own family, and he wanted five more, announced that the day he got married to Ivana, took him three marriages, but he did it, but he wasn't really that involved with the kids. He was busy working and his family, his childhood, his father was busy working. He was a seven-day a week guy, always at work. On Sundays, took the kids to buildings, went up the back steps to make sure the supers were doing their job. He was always working and Donald Trump was always working.

CABRERA: Yes, they said in this article that he maybe sleeps five and a half, six hours a night. The "New York Times" profile also goes on to say that while he is unlikely to change who he is on a fundamental level, advisers said they saw a novice who is gradually learning that the Presidency does not work that way referring to being very combative and that he is coming to realize they said the need to woo not whack leaders of his own party to get things done.

So, Gwenda, just a few hours ago, in fact, Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted about how beautiful Trump International Golf Club is and how much fun he had playing a round of golf with the President today, but in February of 2016, you'll recall Senator Graham said Donald Trump was crazy that he was unfit for the office, so what do you make of the President's ability to court people he needs on his side?

BLAIR: He's very good at love bombing people, the sort of the charm offensive. It doesn't always work. It didn't work with Comey and so, he does that sometimes to - why not? But this best friend, BFFs with Lindsey Graham, the White House is - he is in the cat bird seat, so why wouldn't Lindsey Graham smile and talk about what a great game Trump had at golf today. But, Trump is not going to - he is not going to put down his phone - his iPhone. He is not going to stop tweeting and that's when he zaps people. That's not going to go away and it's very appealing to his base as we have seen. That combative edge, that's where it comes out.

CABRERA: Yes, you talk about him love bombing other people and getting them to kind of schmooze, does it work the other way? Is he susceptible to people love bombing him?

BLAIR: He likes to be flattered. He likes to be the center of attention. We have all seen that. I think the nation has seen that over the last two or three years, he is a salesman. He wants people to pay attention to him. He wants to be always doing something unpredictable so that people can't tear their eyes away, but he like being surrounded by people that are flattering him and another interesting thing about him though is that he also - he keeps his eyes on the people that he thinks are not doing what he wants. And he doesn't hesitate to go after them. Even if he love bombed them five minutes earlier.

CABRERA: I want to ask you really quickly about a tweet that we saw from David Gergen who is a former adviser to four President. He tweeted this about the "New York Times" piece saying, "As surprising as today's report by "New York Times" on how Trump spends his time is what is left out of the story. Nowhere is there mention of him spending time with family or with exercise. George W., Obama and others relied heavily on both for strength." Gwenda, your take?

BLAIR: Exercise? He's a golfer. He golfs. He likes to do golf. He likes to win. He's a very good golfer, but he hasn't been - I don't think he's been hitting the White House gym, not at all and the family, the wife, backseat.

CABRERA: All right, Gwenda Blair ..

BLAIR: They're props. He doesn't need them. He doesn't need those props when he is in his work day.

CABRERA: All right, thank you. We appreciate your insight and sharing with us. Up next, a Hollywood actor has come out as undocumented and now, he is pledging to fight for other immigrants. His story and why he is coming out now when he joins us live next in the "CNN Newsroom."

[20:40:01]

CABRERA: Time is running out for Congress to reach a deal on deferred action on childhood arrivals and the faith of 700,000 DACA recipients hangs in the balance right now. There is bipartisan support to get this done, but it is a little more complicated than that. Democrats want to tie a DACA deal to the government funding deadline on December 22nd, now some Republicans say a DACA deal should have a standalone solution.

Just this week, 34 Republicans signed a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan urging a deal on DACA by the end of this year. Now, these are people who are chasing the American dream but they of course are not from America and they're not just from Latin America, the so-called dreamers brought to the US as children are people of all walks of life, backgrounds, nationalities, many only know the US as their home. They have studied here, served in the military and contribute to American society in a variety of ways.

[20:45:16]

My next guest is a Hollywood actor. He's had parts in some of your favorite shows, "The Sopranos," "The Good Place," "Grey's Anatomy," and he's undocumented. His parents brought him to the US from the Ivory Coast when he was just 10 years old. Bambadjan Bamba is hoping to use his star power to the immigration fight and he is joining us now from Los Angeles. Thank you so much Bambadjan for joining us. You're one of the beneficiaries of DACA, but with that in limbo right now, were you afraid to make your undocumented status public?

BAMBADJAN BAMBA, AMERICAN ACTOR: Well, first off, thank you so much for having me and shedding light on DACA. Yes, I mean, absolutely, there's a risk to come out and announce my status. But because DACA is about to be cancelled next year unless Congress passes a law, a permanent fix for us, I needed to come out. I have a family. I have a daughter and my life and the life of 800,000 other dreamers like me who are American in our heart could be destroyed.

CABRERA: What do you want people to know about your family story?

BAMBA: Well, I want people to know that I came from Africa from a war torn country and my parents were here seeking political asylum and I grew up from Middle School to High School even Elementary School, I was Homecoming King and I had a dream to become an actor, and so now, I'm living my dream and thank God, through DACA, I've been able to excel and to be celebrated in my career, but now that the administration wants to rescind DACA, I want them to know that not only will it destroy my life, but the lives of so many other young people who only know America as their home. Who just want an opportunity to give back to this great nation.

CABRERA: What kind of reaction have you received for putting yourself out there?

BAMBA: Well, obviously, from family, from friends, there's been definitely an overwhelming amount of support. Some people I have worked with have started trickling in and sending support, but the studios and the big production companies have kind of been quiet, so I am just trying to sound the alarm and say, "Hey, there are undocumented people who are working in Hollywood at all levels." And all the industries are coming together to fight for DACA, to fight for immigrants, and the entertainment industry has a duty to do the same thing.

CABRERA: Help us understand what it's like to really be in your shoes. Have you ever felt like you've had to prove just how American you are?

BAMBA: Yes. Yes. I mean, I'm an actor, so there's definitely roles that are American, and everyone wants to hire the most authentic person, so I definitely had to be American like that and coming to America, I only spoke French, so I didn't understand one word of English, so I listened to hip-hop, I listened to Maze, to Snoop Dog, just to kind of like get the American lingo.

And then, I watched TV shows like, "Freshmen of Bel-Air," to kind of become like American ...

CABRERA: Hysterical that one.

BAMBA: ... all right, but it's challenging because there's a fear, there's a shame around being undocumented, and especially in the black immigrant community, it's like a stigma. We don't really talk about it, so I want to use my voice to shed light on DACA and to help encourage people to have the conversation, to engage people. Immigration is so controversial, but at the same time, so many people don't know so much about it.

CABRERA: And they don't know people like you are undocumented immigrants.

BAMBA: Right, exactly, and go ahead ...

CABRERA: Go ahead.

BAMBA: No, I was going to say, they don't know that I am. They don't know that their teachers, their lawyers, there's all people from all walks of life and including myself. I'm an actor in your home, playing character that you love, but yet, I'm still not feeling the love back from America.

CABRERA: Do you think Democrats should compromise on legislation when it comes to immigration like agreeing to cut chain migration or family based visas to protect dreamers like yourself?

BAMBA: I am not like an expert as far as like politics are concerned, but what I do know is that both sides agree that dreamers should have a permanent fix. Both sides know that this is the right thing to do and I have spoken to many people like far right, far left who disagree, but because they know me, they know my personal story, they're like, "No, no. You qualify as an American."

[20:50:09]

BAMBA: And I try to tell them that I'm not alone. There's so many other people like me who want an opportunity to give back to this great nation, to give back what we've been given. I went to Middle School, elementary school, High School. I've given back in the Red Cross. I've given back to food services, and I'm not the only one. We just want an opportunity to show what we can do.

CABRERA: Bambadjan Bamba, thank you for sharing your story and for putting yourself out there.

BAMBA: Thank you so much for having me.

CABRERA: Coming up, Anthony Bourdain on the episode of "Parts Unknown," he called straight up, old school, 100% food porn. His return trip to Singapore next.

[20:55:00]

CABRERA: Iraq's military is claiming a massive victory in the war against ISIS. Iraq's Prime Minister says ISIS is gone. No more in that country and Iraqis are celebrating. You see them waving flags, honking horns, setting up fireworks to mark this victory over ISIS. The campaign against ISIS control has taken three years and about 25,000 air strikes. The US State Department applauded this announcement, but says, its work to help the Iraqi government is still far from over.

Tonight on "Parts Unknown" Anthony Bourdain returns to one of his favorite places in the world, Singapore. Here's a look.

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ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN: Jam packed in between the carefully feng shuied architecture, the sky scrapers and office walks are rich, deep, very old and deliciously funky remnants of the old world.

Chinese, Indian, Malay - in a culture that still cherishes the joys of the simple good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The (inaudible) traditional food is forgotten in Singapore. BOURDAIN: What's your favorite?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My favorite is - in Malay I think you know is, we call it Mi Goreng.

BOURDAIN: That's one of your favorite though. What's your favorite Chinese dish?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chinese, Ho Kien Mi (ph).

BOURDAIN: Ho Kien Mi (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho Kien Mi (ph). Sometimes chicken rice.

BOURDAIN: Chicken (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about favorite Indian dish?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely that's the biryani. You know that?

BOURDAIN: The biryani.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, biryani rice. Yes.

BOURDAIN: So many roads, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BOURDAIN: Yes, that's the best laksa. Funny, I recognize every place here by food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tony, how are you? My brother.

BOURDAIN: Good, good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, what blows you back to Singapore?

BOURDAIN: You know why I come here. I come here to eat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I live here to eat, too.

BOURDAIN: I come here mostly to eat because that's what they do here and they arguably do it better with more diverse, affordable food options per square foot than just about anywhere on earth.

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CABRERA: Tune in for "Parts Unknown Singapore" next, right here on CNN. And I know we usually end the show there, but I want to take a minute to show you a video that really broke my heart today. It was posted by a mom and it shows how the effects of bullying have had an impact on her young son.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did they do it to me, (inaudible) do it to other people because it's not okay. People are different. Don't need to be criticized about it. It's not their fault that if you are made fun of, just don't let it bother you. Stay strong, my friends. It's hard. Bye. I probably will get better one day.

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CABRERA: Yes, stay strong. That young man is named Keiton (ph) and he felt alone and if he felt unliked in that moment, I hope the exact opposite is true right now because everyone from the average person to celebrities are coming out in support of him this weekend. Actor Chris Evans writes, "Stay strong, Keiton. Don't let them make you turn cold. I promise, it gets better." He also invited him to the premier of the "Avengers."

Singer Demi Lovato also tweeted, "Keiton, you're not alone. God bless you." And the President's son, Donald Trump, Jr. also moved by the video, he has offered to take Keiton to the headquarters of the UFC, the Ultimate Fight Club, it's the Ultimate Fight Championship, so as we start a new week, I just want us all to remember, you never know what the person next to you may be going through and just be kind. That's going to do it for me. Thank you for tuning in. I'm Ana Cabrera, have a great night and a great week ahead.

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