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CNN NEWSROOM

U.S. Intelligence Suggests ISIS Bomb Brought Down Russian Plane; Britain Open to the Idea a Bomb Caused the Crash; Best Friend Grieves for Metrojet Victims; ISIS Claimed Responsibility After Crash; Investigation Reveals Suicide By Cop Originally Thought Murdered; Naval Tensions Between U.S., China; Indonesian Travel Affected by Volcanic Ash. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 5, 2015 - 00:00   ET

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


[00:00:00] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles ahead this hour.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: The crash zone in the Egyptian desert, as suspicions grow, the Russian jet liner was brought down by terrorists, killing all on board.

VAUSE: From here, the copter (ph) suspected thief, officials say, this police officer was not gunned down in the line of duty but staged an elaborate suicide before years of embezzlement was exposed.

SESAY: And the test of wills in the pacific as a Chinese fast attack submarine shadows a U.S. aircraft carrier.

VAUSE: Hello everybody, great to have you with us, we'd like to welcome our viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay, newsroom L.A. starts right now.

VAUSE: We begin this hour, the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 in Egypt, U.S. intelligence now suggest a bomb planted by ISIS or it's affiliates brought down that plane killing all 224 people on board. And this video is just in to CNN. It is from moments after the crash.

SESAY: Well, one U.S. official says, the latest assessment is based on intelligence reports from before and after Saturday's crash including, quote, "Additional activity in Sinai that caught our attention." Another source says, "The theory is that someone at Sharm El Sheikh Airport helped get a bomb onto the plane."

VAUSE: Senior International Correspondent, Ben Whelan, live this hour in Cairo. So, Ben what's the latest on the security assessment of Sharm El Sheikh Airport which was carried out by a team of experts sent there from the U.K?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we understand from reports in the Egyptian media that this team went to the Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, inspected the area, took pictures that they're going to meet later today with Egyptian officials to discuss the security situation. Of course, this comes after the U.K. suspended all flights to Sharm El Sheikh. Ireland quickly followed in their footsteps.

Now, there are -- we understand according to one estimate, there are as many as 20,000 British nationals who are in Sharm El Sheikh at the moment. And they are essentially grounded, stuck in that city until the U.K. decides one way or the other, whether to allow for the resumption or -- of flights or to provide some form of transportation out of that city, John?

VAUSE: And Ben, apparently the man in charge to the airport has been, you know, promoted?

WEDEMAN: That's according to reports in the Egyptian media. We haven't been able to confirm those. But yes, according to those reports, he has been promoted to the second position in the authority that is responsible for civilian airports in the Egypt now.

And according to those reports in the Egyptian media, it has nothing to do with the downing of this Russian airliner, John?

VAUSE: It's very incredible coincidence. Hey the Egyptians have not said a lot about the possibility that this was, in fact, terrorism knowing that it would be premature to make any kind of conclusion in all of this. But clearly if it is true, this could have very far reaching implications for Egypt.

WEDEMAN: Yes indeed, the Egyptian officials have been fairly tight lipped. They don't want to publicly entertain the possibility that it was a terrorist attack. The Egyptian civil aviation authority that is leading or spearheading the investigation came out with a very short statement yesterday saying that further information will be provided in due course. Now, if it is indeed a terrorist attack this could be a body blow to the Egyptian tourism industry which is a mainstay of the economy.

Now, tourism has been limping along at best since the revolution at the beginning of 2011. Followed of course, in the summer of 2013 by the coup de etat that brought up Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to power and of course, spates of violence and unrest since have really left the tourist business in dire straits. And this could indeed be the death now, for what has been a part of the economy that is essential for many Egyptians, John?

VAUSE: Ben Wedeman, live there in Cairo, just gone pass seven on a Thursday morning. Ben, we appreciate you being with us, thank you.

SESAY: Well, British authorities say they also believe, "A bomb", quote, may well have brought down the plane. Let's bring in London correspondent Max Foster now with Moore. And Max, to pick up on the security assessment by this team of U.K. aviation experts, are we getting anymore details as to what it means for efforts to get those stranded British tourists back to the U.K?

[00:05:07] MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, we got a -- there's a team there, a Downing Street center team to Sharm El Sheikh trying to asses the situation there, particularly around the airport. You heard Ben describing a sort of what they're been doing there. As we understand it, this latest move to suspend all flights between the U.K. and Sharm El Sheikh came from a very recent piece of information, intelligence, essentially.

It doesn't as seem though, is based around the airport, based on the fact that all the activity is around the airport there. And yesterday, the flights were suspended. We now know that today's flights are suspended as well. So, there isn't any new information to change the government's mind at this point. At the moment, no flights are going in and out of that area from the U.K. and Ireland as well.

So, we're waiting to hear any new information. That team in Sharm El Sheikh has reported back, saying that the airport is improving security there. But it's still not quite enough to bring those flights back into action. And to bring all of those stranded tourist, currently in and around the airport, back to the U.K.

SESAY: And Max, the British Prime Minister and Egyptian President set to meet on Thursday. We already know the Egyptian authorities are unhappy with the British decision to suspend these flights. What are our expectations for that meeting?

FOSTER: The travel advice as well, as all but essential travel to that area isn't advisable. So, yeah, a big meeting as they arrives here today. As Ben was suggesting that Sharm El Sheikh is the center of the tourism of Egypt which is an economic lifeline to the country. And that will be very much up front to the president's mind as he comes here today. And will be pressing that, I'm sure, with the Prime Minister.

In terms of the Prime Minister, he needs to be convinced from the Egyptian side that security is strong enough in Sharm El Sheikh fro British tourists to travel through. So, both have an agenda here that needs to find some sort of compromise. But the same time, what Downing Street has been very clear about is that, it's going to act in the best interest of the safety of British citizens. And they need to see the information that they feel safe about travel in and out of Sharm El Sheikh.

And at the moment, it just isn't there. So, I think it's going to be a very, very testing meeting here. Because it's very clear, the Egyptians aren't happy by what they see as a preemptive move by the Brits. It's too early, they think of the information isn't there to satisfy such big decision.

SESAY: And indeed, that information is what will be, you know, in the spotlight during that meeting what would imagine between the two leaders, but Egyptians saying that it's a premature move calling into question, how the British government reached that theory that a bomb may well have brought down this plane. Do we know how British officials arrived at this possibility? Do we know anymore?

FOSTER: We don't know anything, really, because it's intelligence may also don't give us the details of intelligence they received. But it was very recently received and it is clearly based around the airport and some sort of security around the airport. If you look at all the activity that's going on right now, so that's all we really know at this point. And I cannot say, but obviously, a move like this is a very big move for the British government. They don't want to leave British tourists stranded. But in this, it must've been significant enough to have convinced the authorities here in London and in Downing Street that it is enough and also, we're getting information as well along with U.S. security sources suggesting a similar sort of theories about the device onboard.

Although, this isn't confirmed in any way but clearly, they have enough information. And it seems to be around online chatter conversations online. That seems to be where all of this theory comes from. Seems be enough to make it enough for the British government to say it's just not safe to travel to and you're going to have to find some alternative way of accommodating yourselves were getting back.

SESAY: Max Foster, joining us there from Ten Downing Street. Max, we appreciate it. Thanks so much. Well, for more analysis, I want to bring in Alan Diehl. He's a former aviation accident investigator, the author of the book, "Air Safety Investigators." Allan joins us live via Skype from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Alan Diehl, I always great to speak to you. U.S. and U.K. officials both pointing to the possibility this plane may well have been brought down by a bomb. But to the best of our knowledge, these statements aren't based on physical evidence from the wreckage. Looking at the images of the crash site, Alan, just how difficult will it be to confirm this?

ALAN DIEHL, FRM AVIATION ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR: Well, it certainly shouldn't be impossible. But it may take some time. Of course, the other story we've heard, Isha, is that the Russian pathologist have found metal in the bodies of the passengers seated towards the back of the aircraft. And they interpreted that as meaning that there was bomb -- above these were bomb caused metal fragments, they thought.

[00:10:00] But that's not necessarily true. Because when an airplane breaks up, you can have a metal penetrate soft tissue. So, we may be losing some evidence there. They certainly need to preserve that and look for evidence of bomb residue on those metal parts.

SESAY: Alan Diehl, we know that -- we've been told that the tail of the plane was found some five kilometers away from the rest of the wreckage. What does that say to you in relation to this theory?

DIEHL: Well, Isha, you know, it doesn't really, definitively shift one way or the other. We see airplanes that break up, you know, in the past. And the wreckage is scattered over many miles, OK, depending on how high they broke up and wind's loft and so on. So, that in itself doesn't say bomb or mechanical. You know, the other thing I had mentioned, Isha, is that the, I see where the Egyptians have expanded the search area.

So they're -- I think they're acting in a diligent way. I'm certainly in agreement that the -- I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the Prime Minister and the President talk. If we see the British back off from this ban after tomorrow's meeting, it may be that the Egyptian President has provided some information that hasn't been announced publicly. But these investigations take days and weeks and months, as you know.

So, it is real early. Now I understand, they're acting out of an abundance of caution. And the American intelligence Analyst apparently picked up radio chatter. But here in the states, I can remember, we used to have a color coded security system. And every once in a while, we go from yellow to red and nothing would happen. And later they'd say, "Well, Al Qaeda was toying with us, they were cranking up the chatter to get us confused."

So, I don't know. I'm not willing at this point to say, it's got to be a bomb or it's, you know, it has to be mechanical. We just have to let the Egyptians do their job. And -- Egyptians, Russians, French, British, excuse me, French, Germans, and Irish are all there. It's a consortium. I don't think anybody could cover this up.

I know a lot of people speculated about, you know, will the Egyptians cover this up or the Russians. I don't think they could with the people like the French, go ahead.

SESAY: No, but to that point about the Egyptians and concerns that somehow, that they may be covering something up or may move towards covering something up. Are you concerned that we aren't hearing much from them however?

DIEHL: Well, if you look back at previous investigations, not just in Egypt but around the world. This information comes out slowly. If you're doing your job as an air safety investigator, you're being very meticulous. So, you know, you try to work fast, as fast as you can. But you certainly don't want to overlook any evidence.

So, I know, I will not answer your question, so I answered, no. Isha this is a -- I don't think this even suggest that -- to me this suggests diligence and I believe they want to get all the experts. Now, I think they're -- they've said this -- the cockpit voice recorder is damaged.

They need to get the American NTSB over there and that component is made by Honeywell in the States here. And certainly, I would the Egyptians would ask for the best experts on that particular device because that is going to be critical to establishing the bomb, missile, or mechanical scenarios.

SESAY: So, you are not involved in this investigation, to make it clear to our viewers. But if you were, what would be the focus of your efforts right now? If you were there on the ground, walk me through what you would be focusing on.

DIEHL: Well, the first thing is to get the information off the cockpit voice recorder. I understand they've downloaded the information on from the data recorder. And what you need to do to was correlate those two. So, you got to get that cockpit voice recorder information. But you also want to ensure that the wreckage is preserved. So, the other thing I would be doing if I were there and I were an Egyptian, I would be calling the U.S. armed forces institute of pathology. And ask them to look at this autopsy data because they're the real experts on unnatural death, bombs, bullets, shrapnel. And I really think we may be losing something if the Russian pathologists are not doing a thorough job.

Because we need to know what types of explosives brought this airplane down if in fact that happened. And certainly, the, like I said, the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology are the world's experts at unnatural death.

SESAY: Well Alan Diehl, your insight is always very much appreciated. Alan Diehl joining us there from Albuquerque, New Mexico, thank you so much.

DIEHL: Isha, thanks for having me.

VAUSE: And there is a lot more still to come on the crash of this Metrojet flight including a man devastated at the loss of his best friend in this airplane disaster.

[00:15:05] He recalls one of their last conversation, that's coming up here on CNN newsroom L.A.

SESAY: CNN has learned that a Chinese submarine, similar to this shadowed a U.S. aircraft carrier, the detail of the encounter just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good day, I'm CNN meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, with a quick look at your weather watch. The big story certainly across Western Europe has been the reduced visibility. A very stagnant weather pattern has been in place this week. And guess what, there's more cloud, rain, and low visibilities for some of the major airports from Ireland into the greater London region.

Look at Manchester, only expecting visibilities between zero and two kilometers. Going forward of the next 24 hours. We should start to see some improvement for places like Belgium and the Netherlands. Overall conditions will improve throughout the United Kingdom as well, as we go forward. Look at the storm system moving through that area. It will bring another chance of rainfall for the greater London region.

Let's move to the Middle East where we have thunderstorms moving across Iraq at the moment. Baghdad expecting a high of 23 with afternoon showers, perhaps a few thunderstorms as well and dry for the Oman Coast. Northern Africa, lots of sunshine expected into Morocco.

A few thunderstorms near the gulf of Guinea. But we should stay dry near Dakar Senegal warming up to above average for Capetown, South Africa, 31 degrees on Thursday. A few rain showers expected across Madagascar, including the greater Antananarivo region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. Well, we're slowly learning more about the crash of flight 9268. We're also learning more about the 224 passengers and crew who died.

SESAY: For many families and friends heartbreak is what they feel right now. CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, spoke with one man who lost his best friend.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Happier times, Leonard in the blue hat, Victor in the red. Holidays together with their girlfriends. They were close. Leonard, best man at Victor's wedding, always sharing good times together but last week was different. Leonard took his girlfriend Alexandra alone on a special trip to Egypt.

VICTOR: One day before this tragedy I was chatting with him on a social page. And I asked him how it's going, how's everything. And he told me that he's going to tell me everything when he will come here.

[00:20:02] ROBERTSON: But his best friend never came back. He died, as Metrojet flight 9268 plowed into the Egyptian desert.

VICTOR: For sure, it's worst day in my life. He was a very kind person and I'm sure that you couldn't find a person who can tell something bad about him.

ROBERTSON: The website is created for his friend has had tens of thousands of hits. It's a comfort but there's more pain to come, help Leonard's father identify his son's body. I can imagine he was going to be there. I know that there are going to be not the whole bodies, you know. It's going to be some fragments.

ROBERTSON: This happy photo on the Egyptian beach is how he'll remember his best friend.

VICTOR: A lot of days of their lives was like, very calm and at least it's good to have seen.

ROBERTSON: And what was it Leonard was going to tell him?

VICTOR: I think he did have something to tell me. So, I think it was about marriage. They wanted to tell us. Not in, you know, not in chatting, just in real life.

ROBERTSON: But it's something we'll never know. In their last picture, Leonard and Alex, engagement rings, clearly out of shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Nic Robertson joins us now from St. Petersburg. Nic, I know you've been speaking to your sources. Are you -- have you been able to gain a clearer sense as to how U.S. Intelligence and British government officials have come to this notion that a bomb more than likely brought down this plane?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: With the Middle Eastern source that I have been speaking to, who is briefed on intelligence matters in the region, does say that it appears to be an explosive device, a bomb that was placed aboard the aircraft. Some of this analysis is coming from the region and appears to be based on what has been picked up and heard following the strike.

But also, we have to look at the picture before as well. That ISIS in the region has threatened Russia for its strikes in Syria, also, in the days following the aircraft coming down. We've heard ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack as well.

So, I think it's all of these things coming together plus this intelligence that was picked up in the immediate aftermath of the plane coming down as well.

SESAY: Have we heard any kind of response from Russian government authorities? You're there in St. Petersburg. What are we hearing from that end?

ROBERTSON: You know, it's very interesting, normally in a situation like this, you would expect President Putin to be leading the nation at a time of particular crisis. He hasn't been doing that recently. From the foreign ministry, we've been told that the Egyptians are leading the investigation. That the investigation continues on the ground and that we should wait for their final analysis.

But also, since that report came out that a bomb may have been put onboard. The main aviation authority here has said, and this is quite telling if you will. They said that, essentially, that Russia can't speak out on this issue before Egypt does.

They say that the country that's responsible for the investigation where the plane came down, in this case, Egypt. Legally, Russia cannot speak before Egypt speaks first on it or gives Russia permission. So, if you like, in a way here, Russia's giving itself on this question, a little wiggle room, and is essentially pushing Egypt to make the first move and to make clear what they know so far.

SESAY: And speaking of what they know so far, are we getting any details from the examination of the body, some of which are being examined there in St. Petersburg. Anything that's coming to light that may support this notion that a bomb brought down this jet?

REBERTSON: Sure, here in St. Petersburg, you have forensic analysis going on of the bodies. This is helping to identify the bodies so that they can be repatriated to their loved ones, the families of those victims are here. They're going to a nearby mall to identify their loved ones.

But what a St. Petersburg newspaper has picked up, and I have to say here, this newspaper is the most respected one here. It's the oldest newspaper in St. Petersburg. And they're saying they were two types of injuries. One, those people at the front of the aircraft that have trauma and burns, showing that they sort of fell from the sky and then those at the back of the aircraft and this is the interesting bit that have explosive trauma that show that there are pieces, metal fragments, in their bodies.

And the newspaper isn't saying precisely where they get this information.

[00:25:01] But of course, we know, since St. Petersburg where these forensic experts are helping the analysis of the bodies and where the bodies are being examined, Isha.

SESAY: Nic Robertson joining us there from St. Petersburg with the very latest. We appreciate it, Nic, thank you.

VAUSE: Well, Isha, Nic, we're joined now by Bob Baer, CNN intelligence and security analyst also, a former CIA operative. Bob, always good to have you with us. So, if this was ISIS who planted a bomb, we have motive. But we don't really have a lot of hard evidence right now, do we?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well John, I don't think we're seeing all the evidence. You can count on that their hourly reports coming from the debris field, people from Boeing, the French, the Irish, they're very concerned. There's going to be more attacks. They need to know whether in fact this was a bomb. These reports are probably fragmentary and there are a lot of guess work.

But if you're sitting in London or Washington and you're seeing results of this and you're saying, "Man, this does look like a bomb." And the more pieces of luggage they pick up and the more bodies they examine, the more this -- the picture will start to form that it could've been an explosion.

And I -- frankly, I don't think 10 Downing Street is going to go public like this, cancel flights out of Sharm El Sheikh, take on Egyptian president, unless it has some pretty good evidence. They have to be looking at more than just motivation, you know, and opportunity. I think the picture's coming together. But we won't get a complete description of the bomb and the weight, and the rest of it, probably for months.

VAUSE: OK, so, if you're sitting in London, if you're sitting in Washington and you're seeing all these evidence and your leaning towards the fact that it was a bomb. If you're sitting in Moscow and Cairo, you're also seeing the same evidence. And the fact that they haven't come out and pretty much disputed all this, does that mean that pretty much everyone is now on the same page?

ROBERTSON: They haven't disputed absolutely, I think if they had any evidence that mechanical failure had brought it down that the Russians and Egyptian be all over that at this point. Simply because this bombing, if it was a bombing, is so catastrophic both for Putin, for Russia, it's involvement in the Middle East and the Egyptian regime. I mean, you know, we're talking about Sharm El Sheikh as one airport. How do we know Cairo doesn't face the same security problems? We just don't know. And it's going to do major, major damage to Egypt if this turns out to be a bomb.

VAUSE: And with that in mind, when you're talking about airports and security, how difficult -- and I think we've talked about this at some length in the past, you know, one of the difficulty is here or how easy is it to actually get an explosive device onto a plane? Because at the end of the day, doing officials actually have to physically search for it? They've got to find the wires, the detonator, that kind of thing.

ROBERTSON: Well, look at Lockerbie, I mean, that is still in dispute. Even officially, it's in dispute by the Scotts and MI5 and the rest, and even inside the American government. There's disputes on what that bomb was, what the detonator was. And they know what the explosives were, because they got the residue.

But the actual, whether was a barometric switch or was a timer is the FBI claims, we still don't know until this day. And there are daily fights over this. And we may never know what kind of bomb this was or we may never know how it got on, whether it was a worker at the airport. Or whether it was slipped into somebody's luggage and got through security.

VAUSE: And with that, very quickly here, when official say this is -- there is an ISIS connection, they doesn't -- that doesn't actually mean that ISIS itself, it could be someone who's just simply sympathetic to ISIS, a baggage worker with no ...

ROBERTSON: I absolute ...

VAUSE: ...certain in any ike this.

ROBERSTON: ...absolutely, it could be a freelancer, a smuggles the bomb and from any number of places, gets it on the air - in the airplane. There could've been chatter before the explosion which I had imagined there was and they're piecing that together. So, the Islamic state is based -- is a franchise organization. And who actually was responsible for it and ordered the attack, we may not ever find that out either.

VAUSE: OK Bob, good to speak with you. We appreciate the insight. Bob Baer, live for us there, giving us a very valuable analysis of what has actually been going on. OK. Still we come here on CNN newsroom L.A. with intelligence pointing to a possible bomb onboard that plane, we'll look at whether the cockpit voice recorder holds any evidence that will prove what brought down flight Metrojet.

[00:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back everybody, watching CNN NEWSROOM in live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay, the headlines this hour. Romania's Prime Minister has stepped down over last weeks nightclub fire that kills 32 people but his resignation wasn't enough to stop thousands from protesting government corruption for a second night.

In September Victor Ponta went on trial for corruption charges that precede his time in office. He denies the allegations.

VAUSE: Mexico's high court just opened the door to nationwide marijuana legalization. The Supreme Court ruling allows a small group to legally plant, transport, and smoke recreational marijuana.

Mexico recently decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of pulling (ph) cocaine, but production and distribution are still illegal.

SESAY: The latest national poll in the U.S. presidential raise shows Donald Trump with a slightly lead over Ben Carson on the republican side. The Fox News Poll also shows Marco Rubio has moved up to tie with Ted Cruz in third place with 11 percent of the sport.

VAUSE: Taiwan's President, Ma Ying-jeou says the Saturday meeting in Singapore with China's President Xi Jinping is the first step towards normalizing relations between the two sides. That's it going to (inaudible) as news agency.

President Ma also has said to dispute over the South China Sea will not be a topic for discussion.

SESAY: Well returning to our top story, new U.S. Intelligence that suggest an ISIS bomb brought on Metrojet Flight 9268 in Egypt killing all 224 on board.

VAUSE: CNN, Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr has more now including some theories on how bomb if it wasn't active bomb could have gotten on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Intelligence committee now scrutinizing the airport security at Sharm El-Sheikh Airport. The latest US Intelligence suggests that the crash of the Russian passenger jet was most likely caused by an explosive device on the plane, planted by ISIS or an ISIS affiliate, according to a U.S. official.

The official who is familiar with the latest information regarding the U.S. intelligence analysis of the crash tells CNN, there is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in the luggage or somewhere on the plane. A British aviation team is traveling to the airport to look at the security there.

PATRICK MCLOUGHLIN, UK TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We cannot categorically say why the Russian jets crashed. But we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down as a result of an explosive device. [00:35:00]

STARR: British Prime Minister David Cameron telephoned Egyptian President Al Sisi and then announced that all flights between the U.K. and Sharm El-Sheikh are suspended until security measures can be assured. Ireland, doing the same. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has told U.S. employees not to travel to the Sinai Peninsula.

LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: This could be an inside operation. Somebody that is -- or some people that are familiar with how the baggage process works. And let's not just limit it to the cargo hold. Catering could be involved with this, too.

STARR: ISIS has put out two statements claiming responsibility for bringing down the plane but they have not given any details. The U.S. official says the administration has not come to a firm conclusion but the belief it's a bomb is based in part on monitoring of internal ISIS messages separate from the group's public claims of responsibility. The US did not know if the bomb plot in advance but had seen militant activity in Sinai in recent weeks that had caused concern. The Egyptian government says the airport is safe.

NASSER KAMEL, EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED KINGDOM: The Egypt is a destination as safe as ever. And all statistics are pointing to the fact that Sharm El-Sheikh is one of the safest destination in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Barbara Starr who brought the story joins us now from the Pentagon. Barbara the Russians and the Egyptians are really saying a way from this possibility that a bomb was onboard that plane. Why does it seems that (inaudible) with the Americans and the British on this?

STARR: Well, you know, one explanation of course is that they want to do due intelligence to look at all the information and come to a final conclusion about it. And I should say that the U.S. administration is emphasizing this is not a final conclusion but they do believe at this point, this is the most likely thing that happen is that plane was brought down by a bomb.

Now, you know, to be clear -- but it is delicate both perhaps Russian authorities and Egyptian authorities have their own reason for not wanting to go their publicly yet. The Russians concerned about who might have done it and what it means if it ISIS for their involvement in Syria. The Egyptian, of course, really have been back on their heels with some hits to their tourist economy because of the security situation in Egypt very sensitive their about the security of the airport at Sharm El Sheikh.

VAUSE: In with that in mind, if this was in fact the bomb on board and -- I should say a big effort yet to be confirmed, what will that mean in terms of security ramifications for airports in the United States and all around the world? STARR: Well there are only so many countries they get to rectify from Sharm El Sheikh, and we've seen at least two of them reacting already. The British government and the government of Ireland, you know, suspending, cancelling flights -- direct flights from Sharm El Sheikh to the security situation is assured but perhaps the deeper meaning is this. If it is ISIS affiliate, it will cause authorities and intelligence services around the world to rethink their capabilities of ISIS if ISIS was able to uphold this off. That is a hugely ford (ph) for the organization and any organization that can bring down an airplane, a civilian airline or anywhere in the world due to a terrorist attack is going to cost authorities around the world to take notice and try -- and figure out what they need to do to keep their skies and their airliners safe.

VAUSE: Barbara Starr, the Pentagon, thank you so much. Great reporting Starr.

STARR: Thanks.

SESAY: Will the key piece (ph) to all evidence in this crash investigation is the cockpit voice recorder.

VAUSE: And as also as told Russian news agency in the facts that for the device capture sounds which were uncharacteristic and indicated a non-standard emergency. Details from Kyung Lah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's now about crash forensics backing U.S. intelligence. A U.S. official tells CNN chatter over heard after the crash suggests ISIS planted a bomb on the Russian plane. Investigators looking for proof, focusing their attention on this, the plane's black boxes. The flight's cockpit voice recorder says an unnamed source to Russia's Interfax news agency captured uncharacteristic, unexpected sounds, moments before the flight disappeared, a significant clue.

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: The sound is going to be very critical to this investigation. A TWA 800, we picked up a nanosecond of sound that we analyzed very carefully.

As in any disaster ...

LAH: In 1996, Peter Goelz was one of the key investigators in the TWA Flight 800 crash off Long Island. Questions swirled about whether a bomb brought down that plane.

Air traffic control audio recordings show the flight out of JFK began normally reaching just over 13,000 feet. Then, this last communication with the tower.

[00:40:06]

TWA 800 CREW: TWA'S eight hundred heavy OK stop climb at one three thousand. LAH: Approximately one minute later, the cockpit voice recorder captured a brief unusual sound. The NTSB determined that sound was a low order explosion, the sound of the plane tearing apart after a fire in the fuel tank, not a bomb.

TWA 800 fell out of the sky as other pilots called into the tower.

PILOT: We just saw an explosion out here.

LAH: All conversation recorded between the crew and the cockpit is protected by federal privacy laws. The actual audio un-releasable to the public because it so sensitive and so personal to the victims' families.

Goelz says the audio proved critical in the TWA case and other air disasters.

In MH-17 the plane shot out of the sky over Ukraine, investigators triangulate a 2.3 millisecond sound peak captured on the voice recorder's multiple microphones in the cockpit and determined the noise came from outside of the plane to the left side of the cockpit. It was a missile launched from the ground.

GOELZ: You can sometimes tell the direction in which the sound is traveling by just the tiniest fraction of a second, and you can also sometimes compare this signature of the sound to previous events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: As far as the state of the cockpit voice recorder, Russian Investigators tells CNN that it sustains serious mechanical damage. They are still preparing to copy the data. Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

SESAY: Well tension is rising in the Pacific after the latest enable encounter between the U.S. and Chin. That story just ahead.

VAUSE: Also why youth authority is saying Illinois police lieutenant once considered a hero committed the ultimate betrayal as they reveal he was not murdered.

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[00:45:07]

VAUSE: Well after three months long investigation into what they thought was a murder, U.S. authorities now said Illinois police officer killed himself.

SESAY: They also say the officer had been stealing money from a youth mental program for the past seven years. Pamela Brown has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS RUDD, LAKE COUNTY CORONER: This was a carefully staged suicide. This officer killed himself.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, the stunning truth finally comes out. Investigators in Fox Lake, Illinois, revealed Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz staged his own elaborate death because he was about to be ousted as a thief.

RUDD: Thousands of dollars were used by Gliniewicz for personal purchases, travel expenses, mortgage payments, personal gym memberships, adult web sites, facilitating personal loans.

BROWN: Officials say that money came from a youth program for aspiring police officers that Gliniewicz helped lead.

RUDD: Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal.

BROWN: Thousands of text messages from the officer's cell phone, many of which he deleted before his death were recovered by investigators. They helped reveal the scheme.

He use the explorer account for the flight, $624.79, he texted an unnamed person, "You'll have to start dumping money into that account or you will be visiting me in jail."

Two months ago, the officer was found shot to death in a remote area outside Chicago, after radioing dispatchers, he was chasing three men.

BROWN: Minutes later, the first officers arrived and found Gliniewicz dead and at confounding scene.

RUDD: Analysts determined the trail of equipment, consisting of pepper spray, a baton, and his personal glasses, was an attempt to mislead first responders.

BROWN: Police launch an intense manhunt for the suspected cop killers. Federal law enforcement agencies swarmed in to help.

RUDD: They murdered a police officer, so they're capable of doing anything.

BROWN: A vigil was held in the officer's honor, a hero's funeral. But behind the scenes, there was a red flag. Gliniewicz never gave police a specific description of the men he claimed to be chasing.

ARTHUR RODERICK, FORMER U.S. MARSHAL: Just after a couple days, you had some of the Federal law enforcement agencies pulling out of the command post, so I think the word was getting around that there are no suspects.

BROWN: Gliniewicz had been shot twice, once in his bulletproof vest and the fatal shot to his torso. The bullets came from his own weapon, which was found less than three feet from his head. Today, Fox Lake investigators admitted there were no signs of a struggle at the scene and are now left defending themselves.

RUDD: Our intention was never to mislead the public. We completely believed from day one that this was a homicide. BROWN: Pamela Brown, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: One a ton of events.

VAUSE: Yeah, and its shocking really when you think about the man of publicly that had at the time and everyone was wondering who these three suspects (inaudible) did not exist.

SESAY: Now, U.S. Defense official says that U.S. Aircraft Carrier was closely tract by Chinese Submarine in the Eastern Pacific.

VAUSE: This is the latest in a series of tense naval incidents between the two countries. Details from Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A nuclear-powered U.S. super carrier stalked by a Chinese submarine. CNN has learned a Chinese attack sub recently tracked the USS Ronald Reagan, a massive carrier with 5,000 American servicemen and 90 aircraft onboard off the southern coast of Japan.

A U.S. Defense official says the sub followed the Reagan closely for at least half a day. A former carrier group commander has seen this first hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What could happen when ships operate close together is there is a potential for misunderstanding or the potential for a strategic miscalculation. Some person cuts off the other one; ships can collide. We've had cases where people didn't understand intent, where gun mounts were trained.

TODD: The U.S. official did not say how close the Chinese sub came to the carrier but says it was submerged the entire way. There's no indication that the sub made threatening maneuvers toward the Reagan.

TODD: According to the official, the U.S. and Chinese commanders did not communicate with each other. The Chinese vessel was a kilo class, fast-attack sub.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has torpedoes and it has the ability to operate quietly.

TODD: The U.S. official says anti-submarine aircraft were used to track the Chinese sub; those would likely have been attack helicopters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They would make sure that the submarine knew that we've got eyes on you.

TODD: The U.S. and China have been engaged in a dangerous Cold War- style standoff over China's construction of manmade islands in the South China Sea. The US, which views the area as international waters fears the islands could be used as a military outpost. China says the islands and those waters are theirs.

[00:50:00]

And just a couple of days after the submarine incident, a US warship sailed just 12 miles from the construction of the islands. Later, a top Chinese admiral warned his US counterpart of the dangers of a miscalculation. Analysts say it's all part of China's new strategy of aggression in that region.

ROBERT DALY, THE WOODROW WILSON CENTER: They're expanding their submarine fleet at a very fast rate. They're building a new submarine base off of Hainan Island. They would like to be a primary strategic actor and a shaper of their own security environment in the region.

TODD: Admiral Daly says we may see more incidents like this in the near future. He says both navies may start to build up forces in the region to project strength. The Chinese have not commented on the submarine incident. Brian Todd, CNN, Annapolis, Maryland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A short break, when we come back, thousands of tourists stranded and hundred of flights had been canceled all because of the volcano. That story is up next.

SESAY: Plus, a highlight from county music's biggest night in the U.S. and it is official. We'll introduce you to a new Hollywood.

VAUSE: Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, he was a ...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Well a travel is a mess across Indonesia. Thanks for the erupting volcano.

VAUSE: Metrologist Derek Van Dam joins us now from the CNN. Hey, Derek you throw your family through the volcano? What happened?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, not in the volcano, they're being impacted by the volcanic ash. Let's clear that up.

VAUSE: I'm sorry, I misunderstood.

DAM: Yeah. They're actually stuck in an island to the Southern East of Bali, a small island called Sumba.

And like so many others their waiting for that domestic flights to flight into the Denpasar of the international airport, so they can fly internationally back home. So many other people -- over 700 people or flights rather have been stranded at the Nigeria Raleigh International Airport in Denpasar over the seven sections of Bali.

Look at the satellite imagery and you can see Mount Rinjani, the volcano responsible for this ash drifting across this region but lately the winds have been a little bit more favorable, more of a north to north east to the direction across this area but it just too close for comfort for the airline industry and that is why they have cancelled so many flights in Denpasar's airport continues to remain close.

So why it's so dangerous for airline industries? Here is a jet engine, volcanic ash, all of this is pulverize rock and glass and eventually the ash - particles melt forming a molten glass that eventually solidifies and cools on the turbine blades of an engine. That will restrict the airflow eventually causing catastrophic failure for a jetliner. So very, very dangerous.

Now John and Isha, think about these, airplanes fly typically between 45 and 50,000 feet in the air (ph). Well that's not the only thing we're going to talk about of that altitude. Take a look at this rare, red Aurora Borealis. If you can roll the video, you'll see something phenomenal not -- I mean, people get to see in their lifetime. Look at that spectacular shot coming from Idaho.

[00:55:03]

Back to you.

VAUSE: It's pretty picture.

SESAY: That's awesome.

VAN DAM: Not bad.

VAUSE: OK. Thanks Derek.

SESAY: Thank you Derek, I hope the family is OK.

VAN DAM: Thank you.

VAUSE: Hope (inaudible) home.

Now this is important, listen up this is ...

SESAY: This is news -- carry on.

VAUSE: Hope we get this right.

SESAY: OK.

VAUSE: Look that this (inaudible) into that big story out of Hollywood, Gwen Stefani and -- with Blake Shelton are not directly dating.

SESAY: You know even know who they are, do you?

VAUSE: I have no clue, but this is coming from that from that -- from E! Entertainment television which you can find on the cable channels.

SESAY: So let me give you some back story folks. In August, Stefani announced she was splitting with her husband, Gavin Rossdale, the former no doubt vocalist, has three children with him. And then in July, Shelton and fellow country music singer, Miranda Lambert, announce they were splitting. Now ...

VAUSE: Hang on Isha, who was going to out with who? Hang on.

SESAY: I draw you a picture.

VAUSE: OK. I'm looking for it.

SESAY: What you need to know is that Shelton and Stefani are mentors on the American singing competition show "The Voice" and now they are together. If you are a fund of the show this is big news.

VAUSE: OK.

SESAY: They both seems like really, really lovely people.

VAUSE: Do you mean that, right.

SESAY: And Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert that's the ex were at the country music association awards on Wednesday ...

VAUSE: Together are they dating -- back together at the music award.

SESAY: Listen to Miranda.

VAUSE: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Miranda Lambert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: See Lambert one female vocalist of the year.

VAUSE: Has split up that for ...

SESAY: If Shelton was nominated but -- yes, they've split because Shelton is know with Gwen Stefani.

VAUSE: OK, but they'll together at the music awards.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: OK.

SESAY: That's confusing.

SESAY: And Shelton was nominated as well but he went home empty handed.

VAUSE: OK. Now Justin Timberlake he performed (inaudible) with Chris Stapleton but they've never been married or dated or everything. Stapleton went on (inaudible) win male vocalist of the year. So that ended with the entertainer of the year ball that went to the flyer (ph). I know they were any of that work.

Thank you for watching I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. We'll be back with another hour of news after very short break.

Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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