four witnesses scheduled today, now refuse to testify in the trump impeachment inquiry. joe biden tops three new national polls with just three months to go until the iowa caucuses. mcdonald's ceo forced out over a consensual relationship with a fellow employee. the baltimore ravens hand tom brady and the patriots their first loss of the season. wah, wah, wah. >> wow. >> i don't usually weigh in on

sports. i'm christine romans, good morning, everybody. >> i'm dave briggs. the latest on the wildfires ahead. we start at the nation's capital. house committees expecting to interview four witnesses. john eisenberg and michael ellis will not testify. robert blare and brian mccormack have said they won't answer the committee's question. eisenberg is citing executive privilege. the rest are refusing to appear because they can't have a house lawyer present. several democrats telling cnn there's more than enough evidence to move on to the next step, which is public hearings. the whistleblower who ignited the impeachment inquiry is willing to answer written

questions if republicans want to commit them. but that offer is being rejected by president trump and his allies. >> the whistleblower should be revealed. the whistleblower gave a false story. some call it fraud. i won't go that far. but if i read it closely, i probably would. but the whistleblower should be revealed. >> the whistleblower should come forward in an open hearing. and the six people he talked about that talked about other issues, as well. he needs to answer the questions. we need an openness to understand that. >> mark zaid says the fixation on the whistleblower is because the president and others are at a loss on how to address the investigations by underlying disclosure responded. a number of gop senators are

ready to acknowledge the quid pro quo with ukraine as part of a strategy. president trump, though, is not changing his defense. the exchange there was, no quit pro quo, tweeting, false stories are being reported and a few republican senators are saying that president trump they have done a quit pro quo. three new national polls putting joe biden on top, with less than 100 days until the iowa caucuses. biden leads by ten points. the former vice president tops sanders by 12 points. in the latest "washington

post"/abc news poll, sanders has five points. warren released her $24.5 trillion proposal next week. it puts big burden on the wea h wealthiest drawing criticism from her rivals. >> i have a plan that shows we can do medicare for all, without raising taxes one credit by middle class families. it's paid for by asking the top 1% and giant corporations to pay a fair share. >> she's making it up. look, nobody think it's $20 trillion. >> i'm not going to say it is free. nothing is free. health care is expensive.

>> until now, sanders and warren are careful not to attack health care. >> i think that will have a negative impact on creating those jobs. i think we have a better way. a 7.5 payroll tax that is more progressive. >> bernie and i have a different vision on how to play for it. but let's be clear. we're headed in the exact same direction. >> warren claims the costs will vanish under her plan. south carolina congressman, james clyburn, says there's no question that pete buttigieg's sexual orientation is part of the reason he's failed to gain traction. he was asked about it on "state of the union" on sunday. >> is pete buttigieg struggling with voters in south carolina

because he's guy? >> that's a generational issue. i know of a lot of people my age that feel that way. >> are you saying for older african-americans it is an issue? >> it is. there's no question about that. i'm not going to sit here and tell you otherwise. i think everybody knows that's an issue. but i'm saying, it's an issue not the way it used to be. >> mayor pete had this to say about the comments from clyburn. >> i think the most important thing is the message. when you go to the ballot, you go to the voting booth, you ask yourself, how is my life going to get better if i have this president or that one. six minutes past the hour, steve easterbrook has been fired

after violating company policy. he became ceo in 2015, and demonstrated poor judgment about a recent consensual relationship with an employee. he expressed regret. he said, this was a mistake. he said i agree with the board that it is time for me to move on. he has been replaced . investors were disappointed, down from 5.6% in the second quarter. they're concerned that they are getting competition from rivals. just one unbeaten team remains in the nfl. it is not the new england patriots. the ravens beat the pats 37-20, on sunday night, led by lamar

jackson. baltimore rushed four, more than 200 yards against new england. the biggest play may have come here on defense. a 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown by marlon mhumphrey. the only undefeated team standing is the niners. the nationals will visit the white house today. at last one player will not be there. the story, next.

officials in northern california asking for the public's health looking for escaped murder suspects. the two were being held on unrelated murder charges.

details on how the pair escaped weren't released. but authorities say they are investigating. deputies say the men should be considered stageous. some awe-inspiring aerial fire video from southern california this morning. the footage tweeted out by the ventura county fire department showed what it was like to fight a fire at night. it requires special training, skills and technology. this is the maria fire, that is covering 75,000 acres and is 75% contained. the president called it poor forest management. newsome tweeting back, you don't believe in climate change. you are excused from this conversation. the epa will announce they are relaxing the rules from how

companies burn waste from cole. the moves weaken two obama-era rules from 2015, that control the disposal of fine powder and sludge known as coal ash. coal ash can contain elements that hampl human health and the environment. hong kong is bracing for chaos after protests. one hong kong lawmakers ear, reportedly, partially bitten off in that brawl. riot police had to break up demonstrators forming human chains. china is calling for a tougher stance to end the months of unrest. now, cries of police brutality, with one injure reporter saying authorities are targeting journalists there.

will ripley is there live, where he tried to hold a press conference. what happened, will? >> there was a group of people claiming to be journalists, representing local news agencies. they had slogans on their helmet speaking out about police bru l brutali brutality. they were asked to leave the press conference. they were surrounded by officers. they refused to leave so the press conference was called off. that's one example of what is crippling this city. this is the bureau for a news agency. it's one of the main media arms to get out there. protesters smashed this. and they stormed shopping malls across hong kong over the weekend. on sunday, trying to attack businesses they consider pro-beijing. it was outside one of those shopping mashop ing malls where a diplomat

allegedly pulled out a knife and reportedly, the man partially bit off the ear of that lawmaker. he's in the hospital, presumably facing charges. we're waiting to hear from the other paem that are recovering from injuries in the knife attack. even though the crowds are smaller, you're talking about thousands of people, not tens of thousands or 1 million, like you saw in the early months of this protest. and still, those small groups were able to keep police occupied for a number of hours. there were violent confrontation and public transportation was shut off as a result, here on hong kong island and north across the harbor. >> 5:16 in hong kong. will ripley. thanks, will. the justice department is

denyi denying visas. several sued the administration, saying it is a new form of family separation. the white house is calling the temporary restraining order wrong and unfair because the white house was unable to defend the policy in court. one nationals player the is boycotting the white house today. he is supporter of the lgbt community and can't get himself to go. reremains s offended of trump mocking a reporter. jimmy carter talking about his own death after recent health scares. hear his candid comments, next.

a white supremacist group filmed a video to emmett till saturday before being driven away by a loud siren. >> what we want to know is where all of the white people -- >> moments later, an alarm goes off and the group scattered to their cars. emmet till was tortured after being accused of making advances toward a white woman. the spot where he was recovered has been shot at and vandalized. jimmy carter tells churchgoers in georgia he's at

ease with death. he started discussing his 2015 diagnose of brain cancer. he said when he got the diagnosis, it didn't matter to him whether he lived or died. >> we're ai was going to die ve quickly. i would obviously pray about it. i didn't ask god to let me live. i asked god to give me a proper attitude toward death. and i found i was absolutely and completely at ease with death. >> mr. carter celebrated his 95th birthday last month. stormy weather rocking the boat on niagara falls. the severe weather dislodged an old iron boat that's been stuck for centuries.

heavy rains caused the barge to shift significantly. the concern is that the strong current could push the boat over the fall falls. it became disconnected from a tugboat and has been on the falls ever since. pedram javaheri has our forecast. >> good morning. upwards of 20 million people and portions of northern alabama dealing with the freeze warnings in place across the region. you work your way from raleigh to charlotte, extremely cold air this morning. windchills in the lower to middle 30s. hatteras getting away with one. everyone inland feeling cooler air. and we have high pressure

pushing off of the coastline. sunshine this afternoon and clouds will begin to build in an upcoming front. a chilly air mass over the next couple of days. not cold enough yet to produce snowshowers. there's a secondary system back behind this. as we go into wednesday and thursday, we get another shot of colder air, coming here late this week, potentially giving us furries in boston. and notice the cold air arrives for the weekend. olivia newton-john's iconic bad sandy outfit from "grease" scores big at auction. >> sandy? >> tell me about it, stud. >> the black leather jacket and the skin-tight pants worn by the

actress and singer in the movie, sold for $407,000. it was famous for the final musical number, sold to separate anonymous bidders in an auction. juten john said she had to be sewn into those pants. other items from her career was sold to raise money for her cancer wealthy center . >> the message of the film is sandy changing to be who she wanted. >> you want a reboot? >> i want a reboot. ahead, four white house officials are scheduled to give depositions in the trump impeachment inquiry today. now, the house won't hear from any of them. details coming up. ing than ever. [woman] isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel.

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four witnesses scheduled for today, now refuse to testify in the trump impeachment inquiry. joe biden tops three new national polls with just three months to go until the iowa caucuses. and mcdonald's ceo forced out over a consensual relationship with an employee. the baltimore ravens hand tom brady and the new england patriots their first loss of the season. that guy, the best quarterback on the field, lamar jackson. i'm dave briggs. >> i'm christine romans. house impeachment investigators are set to interview four witnesses today. all four witnesses are refusing to testify. john eisenberg and michael ellis will not testify.

robert blair and brian mccormack have said they won't answer the committee's question. eisenberg is citing executive privilege. the rest are refusing to appear because they're not allowed to have an administration lawyer present. several democrats telling cnn there's more than enough evidence to move on to the next step, which is public hearings. the whistleblower who ignited the impeachment inquiry is willing to answer written questions if republicans want to submit them. but that offer is being rejected by president trump and his allies. they seek to discredit the whistleblower and expose his or her identity. >> the whistleblower should be revealed. the whistleblower gave a false story. some people would call it fraud. i won't go that far. but if i read it closely, i probably would. but the whistleblower should be revealed. >> the whistleblower should come

forward in an open hearing. and also bring the six people he talked about that talked about other issues, as well. he needs to answer the questions. we need an openness to understand that. >> mark zaid says the fixation on the whistleblower is because the president and others are at a loss on how to address the investigations by underlying disclosure prompted. 12. president trump responding to a "washington post" report that a number of lawmakers acknowledge a shift in strategy. president trump, though, is not changing his defense. the exchange there was, no quid pro quo, tweeting, false stories. are being reported and a few republican senators are saying that president trump they have

done a quid pro quo. three new national polls putting joe biden on top, with elizabeth warren and bernie sanders on top less than 100 days until the iowa caucuses. biden leads by ten points. the former vice president tops sanders by 12 points. biden's lead over warren in the "washington post"/abc news poll, sanders has five points. joe biden and bernie sanders are panning elizabeth warren's medicare for all plan. warren released her $24.5 trillion proposal next week. it puts big burden on the wealthiest drawing criticism from her rivals. >> i have a plan that shows we can do medicare for all, without

raising taxes one cent by middle class families. it's paid for by asking the top 1% and giant corporations to pay a fair share. >> she's making it up. look, nobody think it's $20 trillion. >> i'm not going to say it is free. nothing is free. health care is expensive. >> until now, sanders and warren are careful not to cross each other on medicare for all. although, sanders is careful not to attack her plan. >> i think that will have a negative impact on creating those jobs. i think we have a better way. a 7.5 payroll tax that is more progressive. >> bernie and i have a different vision on how to pay for it. but let's be clear. we're headed in the exact same direction.

>> warren claims the costs will vanish under her plan. south carolina congressman, james clyburn, says there's no question that pete buttigieg's sexual orientation is part of the reason he's failed to gain traction in the key early voting state. clyburn was asked about it on "state of the union" sunday. >> is pete buttigieg struggling with voters in south carolina because he's gay? >> that's a generational issue. i know of a lot of people my age that feel that way. >> are you saying for older african-americans it is an issue? >> yes, it is. there's no question about that. i'm not going to sit here and tell you otherwise. i think everybody knows that's an issue. but i'm saying, it's an issue not the way it used to be. mayor pete on a bus tour on

sunday had this to say about the comments from clyburn. >> i think the most important thing is the message. when you go to the ballot, you go to the voting booth, you ask yourself, how is my life going to get better if i have this president or that one. 37 minutes after the hour. steve easterbrook has been fired after violating company policy. he became ceo in 2015, and demonstrated poor judgment about a recent consensual relationship with an employee. in an e-mail to employees, esther brook expressed regret about the relationship, saying this was a mistake. he said i agree with the board that it is time for me to move on. he's been replaced by chris kempczinski. investors were disappointed, after sales grew 4.8% in the third quarter, down from the

second. they are feeling the heat from rivals who are aggressive on breakfast and plant-based menu items. kempczinski says he is challenged. just one unbeaten team remains in the nfl. it is not the new england patriots. the ravens beat the pats 37-20, on sunday night, led by lamar jackson. baltimore rushed 200 yards. the biggest play may have come here on defense. a 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown by marlon humphrey. the only undefeated team is the san francisco 49ers at 8-0. the world champion nationals visit the white house today. at least one player will not be there. the story, next. across cars... trucks... and suvs. four years in a row. since more than 32,000 real people... just like me. and me. and me. took the survey that decided these awards.

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officials in northern

california asking for the public's help locating a care of escaped murder suspects. the sheriff's office says they were being held on unrelated murder charges. details on how the paire escape weren't release but they're investigating. authorities say the men should be considered dangerous. some fire video from southern california this morning. the footage tweeted out by the ventura county fire department shows what it's like to fight a wildfire at night from a helicopter. night firefighting in a chopper is uncommon. it requires special training, skills and technology. this is the maria fire, that is covering 75,000 acres and is 75% contained. president trump slammed governor gavin newsom for the fires. the president called it poor forest management. newsom tweeting back, you don't

believe in climate change. you are excused from this conversation. the epa will announce they are relaxing the rules how power plants score waste from coal. the moves weaken two obama-era rules from 2015, that control the disposal of fine powder and sludge known as coal ash. coal ash can contain elements that harm human health and the environment. hong kong is bracing for chaos after another weekend of protests. one hong kong lawmakers ear, reportedly, partially bitten off in that brawl. riot police stormed shopping malls on sunday to break up demonstrators forming human chains. china is calling for a tougher stance to end the months of unrest. now, cries of police brutality, with one injured reporter saying

authorities are targeting journalists there. will ripley live from hong kong, where they tried to hold a press conference. it feels like this is a new phase of the protests? >> reporter: yes. smaller in terms of numbers but more sophisticated in terms of tactic. we haven't seen yet after just in the last hour or so, when a small group of people who claimed they were reporters, put slogans on their helmets calling for an investigation into police brutality. the press conference stopped and was called off when the reporters refused to leave. we saw groups of protesters attacking businesses they feel is pro-beijing. including this one, the news agency, one of the main outlets run by the communist party in china. shopping malls were hit all over hong kong, restaurants in some cases, severely damaged.

it could be closed for weeks. all the result of protesters accusing businesses being in support of beijing. outside of one of the malls there was a heated political argument that happened, between someone that supported the mainland and pro-democracy activists, including a lawmaker. the pro-china man is accused of pulling out a knife and stabbing four people and also biting off the ear of one of the lawmakers before a crowd beat him bloody. video showed him lying on the ground. he's in the hospital, along with everyone else affected by this attack. on saturday, even though we only saw thousands of people out on the streets, not tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, the violence that ensued went on for hours. public transportation was suspended or shut down altogether, here on hong kong island, or across the harbor,

proving it doesn't take huge numbers to create a lot of disruption. >> we know you will cover it for us. thank you, will. an oregon judge has barred the trump administration from denying immigrants from having visas when they cannot prove health insurance. several sued the administration, saying it is a new form of family separation. the white house is calling the temporary restraining order wrong and unfair because the administration was not allowed to defend the policy in court. the world champion washington nationals will visit the white house today. one nationals player the is boycotting the white house today. he is supporter of the lgbt community and can't get himself to go. he has a brother with autism and says he remains offended by president trump's mocking of the disabled reporter during the

2016 campaign. okay. coming up, under armour under investigation. cnn has the details, next. diarrhea?! new pepto diarrhea to the rescue! its three times concentrated liquid formula coats and kills bacteria to relieve diarrhea.

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all right. a white supremacist group filmed a video in front of a memorial to civil rights icon emmet till on saturday before being driven away by an alarm siren. >> what we want to know is where all of the white people -- >> moments later, an alarm goes off and the group scattered to their cars. in 1955, 14-year-old emmett till was tortured to death after being accused of making advances toward a white woman. the historic marker at the spot where he was recovered has been shot at and vandalized. jimmy carter tells churchgoers in georgia he's at ease with death. the nation's 39th president was delivering a sermon on sunday and began discussing his 2015

battle with brain cancer. carter told the congregation when he got the diagnosis, it didn't matter to him whether he lived or died. >> i was going to die very quickly. i would obviously pray about it. i didn't ask god to let me live. i asked god to give me a proper attitude toward death. and i found i was absolutely and completely at ease with death. >> mr. carter celebrated his 95th birthday last month. stormy weather rocking the boat on niagara falls. the severe weather dislodged an old iron boat that's been stuck for centuries. strong winds and heavy rains caused the barge to shift significantly from its position near the drink of horseshoe falls.

the concern is that the strong current could push the boat over the falls. it became disconnected from a tugboat and has been on the river ever since. olivia newton-john's iconic bad sandy outfit from "grease" scores big at auction. >> sandy? >> tell me about it, stud. >> the black leather jacket and the skin-tight pants worn by the actress and singer in the movie, sold for $405,700. more than double the auction estimate. the ensemble made famous for the final musical number, sold to separate anonymous bidders in an auction. newton-john said she had to be sewn into those pants. other items from her career was sold raising $2.4 million for her cancer wellness center in

australia. >> a worthy cause. but i have so many questions about this film. like, the car. flying away at the end in the car. what? >> 40 years, you've sat on that one. one of life's great unsolved mysteries. we'll work on it. let's get a check on cnn business this morning. taking a look at markets around the world. optimism really here. japanese markets closed for a holiday. the mood has turned positive on u.s./china trade talks. the president said, there's progress. i want to get the deal with china. and tech stocks rose after wilber ross told bloomberg that licenses allowing u.s. companies to sell to huawei will be coming shortly. stocks finished higher friday, after a better-than-expected jobs report. the s&p 500 and nasdaq closed at record highs. and the dow ended 12 points below its july record. the dow was up 17%. the s&p 500, up 22%. the nasdaq, up 26%.

under armor is facing investigation about its accounting practices. it is cooperating with investigations from the securities and exchange politician and the justice department. "the wall street journal" reports the probe is to whether under armour shifted sales from quarter-to-quarter to appear healthier. the company says its practices were appropriate. the s.e.c. declined to comment. we're here to spread the gospel. i'm not here for your entertainment. >> kanye west's album has landed him a new record. "jesus is king" is the rapper's ninth-consecutive number one ail intercontinental ballistic missile, tying him with eminem's record. the album breaks a personal record for west. "jesus is king" has given the rapper his biggest streaming week ever, with 1.96 million -

on-demand streams. >> there's a chick-fil-a-insp e chick-fil-a-inspired song on this one. "closed on sunday." they are closed but popeye's chicken sandwich is back. thanks to our international viewers for joining us. have a great rest of your day. for our other viewers, "early start" continues right now. four witnesses scheduled today, now refuse to testify in the trump impeachment inquiry. joe biden tops three new national polls with just three months to go until the iowa caucuses. and mcdonald's ceo forced out over a consensual relationship with an employee.

the baltimore ravens hand tom brady and the new england patriots their first loss of the season. that guy, the best quarterback on the field, lamar jackson. i'm dave briggs. >> i'm christine romans. house impeachment investigators are set to interview four witnesses today. all four witnesses are refusing to testify. sources telling cnn late sunday, that national security council lawyers eisenberg and michael ellis will not testify. robert blair and brian mccormack have said they won't answer the committee's question. eisenberg is citing executive privilege. the rest are refusing to appear because they're not allowed to have an administration lawyer present. house democrats say witnesses refusing to appear will not stop this impeachment inquiry. several democrats telling cnn there's more than enough evidence to move on to the next step, which is public hearings. the whistleblower who ignited the impeachment inquiry is willing to answer written questions if republicans want to submit them. but that offer is being rejected by president trump and his allies. they seek to discredit the

whistleblower and expose his or her identity. >> the whistleblower should be revealed. the whistleblower gave a false story. some people would call it fraud. i won't go that far. but if i read it closely, i probably would. but the whistleblower should be revealed. >> the whistleblower should come forward in an open hearing. and also bring the six people he talked about that talked about other issues, as well. he needs to answer the questions. we need an openness to understand that. >> the whistleblower's attorney mark zaid says the fixation on the whistleblower is because the president and others are at a loss on how to address the investigations by underlying disclosure prompted. president trump responding to a "washington post" report that a growing number of lawmakers acknowledge a shift in strategy.