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CNN NEWSROOM

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; Illinois Officer Stages His Suicide; Cockpit Records Key Evidence in Russian Passenger Jet Crash; Increased ISIS "Chatter"; Trump Responds to Challengers; Trump to Appear on "SNL". Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 5, 2015 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:25] ISHA SESAY VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, did ISIS take down this commercial jet? New intelligence suggests a bomb may have been planted on board.

SESAY: He wanted the world to think he was murdered in the line of duty. Instead investigators now believe this cop staged his suicide.

VAUSE: And yet another new poll, this time putting Donald Trump back on top of the Republican field, but potential rivals are quickly gaining ground.

SESAY: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. NEWSROOM L.A. starts now.

It has just gone 8:00 a.m. in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula where the latest theory is that ISIS put a bomb on board a plane bringing down that Metrojet Flight 9268. A U.S. official says intelligence that suggests someone at the Sharm el-Sheikh Airport may have helped get an explosive on to the plane maybe in the luggage area.

New video just into CNN in the past few hours shows the moments just after the crash.

SESAY: While ISIS has claimed responsibility for bringing down the passenger jet that killed all 224 people on board, Britain has suspended flights to and from the airport while it reviews safety procedures there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MCLAUGHLIN, UK TRANSPORT SECRETARY: What we are concerned to do is to make sure that our citizens are safe and all the right safety arrangements are in place, and that's what we're checking out this evening and we've got the cooperation of the Egyptian government to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Back now to Cairo and senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is standing by. So, Ben, what's the very latest on the security assessment of Sharm el-Sheikh airport where a team of experts which has been sent there from the UK?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to reports in the Egyptian press, John, they did inspect that airport looking sort of in the behind-the-scenes areas to see just exactly how secure that airport is. Now we understand that team will be meeting later today with Egyptian officials to discuss perhaps ways to tighten up that security.

But the fact is that at this point there are as many as 20,000 British tourists who are essentially stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh at the moment. We don't have any indication from the British authorities when they will allow the resumption of flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh or if or when they will provide some alternative form of transportation for these stranded tourists -- John.

VAUSE: And, Ben, officials there in Cairo, who we are meant to be leading this investigation, they haven't said a whole lot about their findings so far. They're urging patience. Is there any indication of when they may come out with some kind of preliminary findings at least?

WEDEMAN: No timetable. They did -- the Civil Aviation Authority which is spearheading the investigation came out with a very brief statement yesterday, essentially saying that they will provide further information in due course. So there's no indication of when that will actually be. And of course, in the meantime, Egyptian officials are clearly very concerned about the impact this event is going to have on tourism.

Tourism has really been limping along in Egypt since the revolution in the beginning of 2011. In 2010, for instance, there were 14.7 million visitors to Egypt. Since then that number has never recovered. They were hoping officials here in Cairo that this year would represent an improvement. But at this point, it looks like recent events are going to prevent that -- John.

VAUSE: And Ben, has there been any blowback, if you like, from the Egyptians that the British actually sent this security team to Sharm el-Sheikh doing their own assessment of security at that airport? Because clearly the Egyptians believe their security at least at Sharm el-Sheikh, was up to international standards.

WEDEMAN: Yes. Well, for instance, when Britain declared that it would suspend flights, an Egyptian official said he was somewhat surprised by that decision. Now clearly the Egyptian authorities would like to be seen as cooperating with British authorities to try to see what can be done to improve security. But I've been to Sharm el-Sheikh airport many times in the past. I don't want to say that security is lax because you don't really see the extent of security that goes on behind the scenes.

[01:05:13] But for instance, the only person I ever know who got stopped at Sharm el-Sheikh Airport was a friend of mine who, as she was boarding the plane, wasn't smiling. A security official told her you must smile before she leave, she smiled and on she went. So it's not necessarily the case that security at that airport is up to the highest standards.

VAUSE: I know what you're talking about, Ben. I've flown out of there a few times myself and it's relaxed, I guess, is one way of putting it.

Ben Wedeman live for us this hour in Cairo. Thanks, Ben.

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 for more.

And Max, are you getting any further details on the security assessment that Ben was just speaking about? This assessment done by the UK aviation experts. And further yet, what it would mean for these British tourists stuck right now in Sharm el-Sheikh.

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: We're waiting for an update this morning. Well, the last update that we had last night suggested that whilst they recognize that the Egyptian authorities had done more to improve security and screening at Sharm el-Sheikh, more still needed to be done. So effectively you've got a team of British officials on the ground there expecting an improvement in those security procedures before they will allow any UK passengers through, whether or not it's -- allow all those holidaymakers, thousands of them, to return home or to allow new ones coming in.

So at the moment, the holidaymakers are being sent back to their hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh and they're effectively being told just to wait and see what happens because all the security advice that they're getting here at Downing Street is, it's based on pretty recent information we're told, that they're not comfortable to allow British passengers to go through that airport. Whilst the resort itself remains safe, they're saying nothing but essential travel to and from Sharm el-Sheikh airport and absolutely no UK flights going in or out.

SESAY: Well, Marx, all of this sets the stage for this meeting set for Thursday between the British prime minister and the Egyptian president. We know that Egyptian authorities are unhappy with the British decision to suspend flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh. Given all of that, what are the expectations for this meeting?

FOSTER: Well, they're always going to be talking about security because that's a key thing a British prime minister will be speaking about to an Egyptian president. That that's probably going to be right at the top of the agenda now because it's become very difficult for Egypt now. If you've got a major European country who sends lots of tourists into Egypt, saying they're not going to go anymore, that really does cut into an economic lifeline into the tourism industry which is so crucial to Egypt.

So certainly that's going to be at the forefront of the president's mind. It's going to be the first time we really heard from him on this, as well, the first response. And certainly we're getting the impression for the Egyptian government that they feel that the Brits have been premature on this. The investigation hasn't come through yet or the formal investigation into the crash, how do the Brits even know what caused it, that's the thinking. But certainly there's intelligence out there which the Brits feel is serious enough to make this significant move.

They knew it would upset the Egyptians but they also feel that it's putting British lives at risk by putting them through this airport. So David Cameron will be looking for -- you know, some sort of confidence that security is being improved there and President al-Sisi would want to know exactly why Britain made this move and whether or not they were justified in that.

SESAY: Yes. And the bigger question from all of this that will surely merge and will be considered by governments around the world is, you know, what now needs to be done in terms of further airport security. And I'd imagine that something British official will also be discussing in the hours and days ahead.

FOSTER: Yes. I think effectively you've got the Americans not really saying anything on record but behind the scenes saying that they also think it's likely that a device could have caused this. But it's not conclusive. So you've got the British and Irish governments canceling flights. You've got the American officials behind the scenes saying they think there's something in this. I think everyone is desperate to find out what's on those black boxes and why it's taken so long.

Until there is a conclusion, it's very unclear for what this means for travel and what it means for the Egyptian tourism industry. But certainly I know that the British tourists over in Egypt said don't cancel any flights back yet, which does imply that a resolution could come through if those security measures at Sharm el-Sheikh Airport are improved to the satisfaction of the British officials on the ground there.

SESAY: Max Foster joining us there from London. Max, appreciate it. Thanks so much.

VAUSE: Well, for more analysis, let's go to CNN military analyst Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. He joins us via Skype from Oregon.

[01:10:02] Colonel Francona, thanks for being with us. ISIS certainly would have motive to carry out a bombing like this. Do you think they have the capability as well?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, that remains to be seen. But if they do, this is going to increase their standing in the terrorist world. This is the gold standard for a terrorist organization, bringing down a civilian airliner. Al Qaeda has been trying to do this since 9/11. They've not been successful. They've tried several times. For this relatively new organization to do this really means that they have increased their capability tremendously and represents a threat, not just in Iraq and Syria, but now we see it in Egypt and it could be spreading all throughout the Middle East. Evidently they're required the capability to somehow get a bomb on to an airliner.

VAUSE: If we look at this ISIS affiliated group in the Sinai, in January this year, they carried out a fairly sophisticated attack. It was coordinated, it was multi-target. They left dozens dead in the Sinai, I think almost 30 dead. When you consider their capability and the sophistication of something like that, would it be harder to put a bomb on a plane than to carry out a sophisticated attack like the one they did back in January?

FRANCONA: No, not at all. Remember, you know, these affiliates or these groups that become part of ISIS, they swear allegiance to the caliphate. But they're local groups and they have -- they know the area and many of them are former Egyptian army. So they have training in these weapons systems. They know how the Egyptians work so they're not like they've come from Syria and Iraq to fight in the Sinai. These are locals so they know the situation there.

Is it possible that they could have somehow gotten a bomb at the Sharm el-Sheikh Airport? Probably because they could have recruited somebody there. There are sympathizers, I understood, from the Muslim Brotherhood which became part of ISIS, or members that became part of ISIS who are willing to do things like this. So it's not outside the realm of possibility.

VAUSE: And Colonel, you know how the intelligence world works. If Britain is saying this looks like a bomb, and if the United States is saying this looks like a bomb, and they're looking at the evidence, and they're looking at the intelligence, surely the Russians and the Egyptians have exactly the same information and they're not saying anything. Why is that?

FRANCONA: Yes. Well, I think we know why the Russians and Egyptians. The Russians don't want to have this been a terrorist incident because of their situation now with their intervention in Syria. Of course the Egyptians don't want it to be an act of terrorism because it cripples their tourism industry. But I can tell you from my background in the intelligence community, I find it inconceivable that the U.S. intelligence community and the British intelligence community would even say the word bomb unless they had something to go on.

VAUSE: If this does in fact end up being a bomb on board a Russian commercial airliner, which killed 224 mostly Russian citizens, what will that mean now in terms of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his reaction? What is his next move?

FRANCONA: I think my opinion is that he will ramp up his operations in Syria. He will now go after ISIS, instead of just paying lip service to going after ISIS. You know, when we look at the sortie counts in Syria flown by the Russian air force, 90 percent of them are going after anti-regime, non-ISIS fighters in Syria. We may see that shift now. They may actually take on ISIS directly and shift the balance from fighting these anti-regime rebels and actually going after ISIS like they said they were going to do.

VAUSE: Maybe they poked the bear with a stick. OK.

FRANCONA: They may have.

VAUSE: Colonel Francona, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

SESAY: Well, Russia's state media is reporting 58 of the victims from the Metrojet crash have been identified. That may bring some comfort to their families and friends. But this news won't bring answers to a man who lost his best friend in the crash. He tells CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson their last conversation was shrouded in mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): 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 VOYTOLOVSKY, VICTIM'S FRIEND: One day before this tragedy, I was chatting with him on a social page. And I asked him how it's going, how is everything? And he told me that he's going to tell me everything when he comes here.

ROBERTSON: But his best friend never came back. He died as Metrojet Flight 9268 plowed into the Egyptian desert.

VOYTOLOVSKY: For sure it's the worst day in my life. He was a very kind person and I am sure that you couldn't find a person who could tell something bad about him.

[01:15:11] ROBERTSON: The Web site 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.

VOYTOLOVSKY: I can't imagine who is going to be there. I know that it's not going to be whole bodies, you know, just fragments.

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

VOYTOLOVSKY: A lot of things from their life was like very common. At least the two were together.

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

VOYTOLOVSKY: I think he did have something to tell me, so I think it was about engaged. They wanted to tell us not in -- you know, like not in chatting but in real life. ROBERTSON: But it's something we'll never know. In their last

picture, Leonard and Alex, engagement rings, coyly out of shot.

Nic Robertson, CNN, St. Petersburg, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A short break. And when we come back, a U.S. college is closed after an attack on campus. Details on the stabbing at a university right here in California.

SESAY: Plus, the careful steps a U.S. police officer took to make his suicide look like a murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Investigators say Lieutenant Gliniewicz's plan included planting evidence here at the crime scene to stage a homicide. Commander Filenko saying there was a trail of evidence. First pepper spray, then a few feet away a baton, then eye glasses, then a shell casing, all leading investigators to believe signs of struggle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley, with your CNN "World Sport" headlines.

It was a thrilling day in Champions League action on Wednesday. No surprises but the spotlight has been on Jose Mourinho and Chelsea as they took on Dynamo Kyiv. Well, Chelsea jumped out in front, thanks to an own goal by the visitors to Stamford Bridge. The Ukrainian side would level in the match late but William would play savior for Mourinho and the home side after scoring his fifth goal in all competitions. The Blues win 2-1.

So to group F where Chelsea's London rival Arsenal were visiting Bayern Munich, the five-time tournament champions Bayern still wounded after losing two weeks ago to Arsenal. But the Bavarians were in complete control as they go on to the defeat the Gunners 5- 1. This was only the second time Arsenal have given up five goals in European competition. Lewandowski get the home side on board early. Thomas Muller would get a break.

[01:20:06] So track and field's world governing body, the IAAF, has confirmed that French police raided its Monaco headquarters early on Wednesday. It was part of an inquiry into corruption and doping. A statement by the IAAF did not comment on reports from the Reuters News Agency that former president Lamine Diack has been placed under formal investigation.

And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. The remains of 58 victims from Metrojet Flight 9268 have just been identified in St. Petersburg. That's according to Russian state media. This comes one day after U.S. and British intelligence suggest an ISIS bomb brought down that jetliner on Saturday in Egypt. Still these officials stress there is no formal conclusion.

VAUSE: Meantime, the UK and Ireland have canceled flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh. Concerned about security at the airport. The doomed flight was heading to St. Petersburg, Russia from the resort town when it crashed.

SESAY: Well, turning now to U.S. news. A man is dead and four people are recovering after they were attacked on a college campus here in California. Police said a male student stabbed two students, a contract worker and a staff member with a hunting knife Wednesday morning. Campus police shot and killed him. It happened on the University of California-Merced campus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOROTHY LELAND, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-MERCED CHANCELLOR: As of now, the campus remains on precautionary lockdown as this incident is investigated and will continue to be closed through tomorrow, Thursday. The campus expects to return to normal operations on Friday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The university chancellor went on to say the victims' injuries appear to be nonlife threatening. The Merced County sheriff says the attacker was a California resident living on campus. Authorities have not released a motive, at least not yet.

SESAY: In Louisiana, a 6-year-old boy is dead and his father is in critical condition after police pursuit and shooting. Authorities say the child Jeremy Mardis was in the front seat of his father's car when gunfire was exchanged during the chase on Tuesday.

VAUSE: The coroner says the boy was shot at least five times, but it's unclear exactly which officer shot and killed him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The shot that killed the child, where did that come from?

L.J. MAYEUX, CORONER OF AVOYELLES PARISH: From all indications on my investigation at the scene, came from the outside of the vehicle, coming from the driver's side, in towards the passenger's side where the victim was located.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The coroner told our affiliate WAFB that the father had warrants out for his arrest at the time of the shooting. When officials ordered him to pull over, he led them on a chase. Jeremy Mardis was in the first grade and he died at the scene.

SESAY: In Illinois, authorities say a police lieutenant they initially thought was murdered actually committed suicide.

VAUSE: Officials have now revealed what likely led Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz who was once considered a hero to kill himself.

We get the details from Rosa Flores.

FLORES: Well, John and Isha, investigators say that Lieutenant Gliniewicz planted evidence at the scene to make his suicide look like a homicide. So you're probably wondering what did he do? Investigators say they found a trail of evidence, first of all, pepper spray. Then feet away, a baton. And then further away, they found other objects. His glasses. A shell casing.

They believe he was trying to make investigators think that there was some sort of struggle. What about the motive? Investigators say that Gliniewicz was trying to cheat this community in life and death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE FILENKO, LAKE COUNTY MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE: This extensive investigation has concluded with an overwhelming amount of evidence that Gliniewicz's death was a carefully staged suicide.

FLORES (voice-over): The shocking announcement that Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz not only killed himself but staged an elaborate crime scene put to rest a two-month long investigation. The ruse started with Gliniewicz radioing in to dispatch saying he was in pursuit of two white males and a black male.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On scene taking the officer's sidearm.

FLORES: Then radio license. His lifeless body would be found moments later. That's when hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officers scoured the area, vowing to find and bring his killer to justice.

[01:25:07] (On camera): Investigators say Lieutenant Gliniewicz' plan included planting evidence here at the crime scene to stage a homicide. Commander Filenko saying there was a trail of evidence, first pepper spray, then a few feet away, a baton, then eyeglasses, then a shell casing, all leading investigators to believe signs of struggle.

(Voice-over): The community that mourned for him and worried for his family, today had a simple question. Why? It turns out investigators were zeroing in on Gliniewicz for what they now say were criminal acts, spanning seven years. Including laundering thousands from the Fox Lake Police Explorers, a mentorship program for teens, and using it for travel, adult Web sites, mortgage expenses, among other things.

FILENKO: Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal.

FLORES: The paper trail extensive, so was the cover-up. Investigators say Gliniewicz deleted thousands of messages like this one from back in June. Quote, "The 1600 undocumented, it was cash from boot camp so there is no check trail to follow."

FILENKO: Our investigation strongly indicates criminal activity on the part of at least two other individuals.

FLORES: Investigators won't reveal who those individuals are. In an interview with the program "Crime Watch Daily" last month, Gliniewicz's widow strongly denied her husband could have taken his own life.

MELODIE GLINIEWICZ, WIFE: I wholeheartedly believe he was murdered.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And to say otherwise?

GLINIEWICZ: Disrespectful, hurtful, irresponsible.

FLORES: She's not the only one in disbelief. Some in this community still hail him a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can look at his face and you know that he was an honest man, he was clean.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: After Gliniewicz died, there was an outpouring of support in this community. Not only emotionally, but financially. And one of the organizations who donated $15,000 to his widow is now asking for that money back.

Now as for the family, in a statement from their attorney, they're asking for privacy -- John, Isha.

VAUSE: And thanks to Rosa Flores for that reporting but incredible really to think what was actually happening at the time that we now have actually all learned about.

SESAY: Yes.

Up next, with intelligence pointing to a possible bomb on board, we look at whether the cockpit voice recorder holds any evidence that will prove what brought down Flight 9268. Do stay with us for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:00] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, just past 10:30 on a Wednesday night. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour, campus police at the University of California, Merced, shot and killed a man who stabbed four people Wednesday morning. The school chancellor says the victims do not appear to have life threatening wounds. The attacker was a male student who lived on campus. BERMAN: U.S. officials say an Illinois police lieutenant staged his

suicide to make it look like murder. Joe Gliniewisc died two months ago. Authorities say he had been steeling money from the youth mentor program to fund vacations and adult websites.

SESAY: New video shows the moment after the crash of MetroJet flight 9268. U.S. Intelligence now suggests a bomb planted by ISIS or its affiliate brought down the plane.

British authorities are suspending flights out of Sharm el Sheikh while they review safety procedures at the airport.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER HAMMOND, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: We are now advising against all but essential travel to Sharm el Sheikh Airport. That means that there will be no U.K. passenger flights out from Sharm el Sheikh from now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: A key piece of evidence in the crash investigation is the cockpit voice recorder.

SESAY: A source told the Russian news agency the device captured sounds uncharacteristic and indicated a nonstandard emergency.

CNN's Kyung Lah has more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's now about crash forensics backing U.S. Intelligence. A U.S. officials says chatter overheard after the crash suggests ISIS planted a bomb on the Russian plane. Investigators looking for proof, focusing attention on this, the plane's black boxes. The flight's cockpit voice recorder captured uncharacteristic, unexpected sounds moments before the flight disappeared, a significant clue.

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR & CNN SAFETY ANALYST: The sound is going to be very critical to this investigation. At 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 800 crash off of long island. Questions swirling 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.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

TWA 800: TWA's 800 heavy. Okay stop climb at one three thousand.

(END AUDIO FEED) 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 in to the tower.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

PILOTS: We just saw an explosion out here.

(END AUDIO FEED)

[01:35:03] LAH: All conversation recorded between the crew in the cockpit is protected by federal privacy laws. The actual audio unreleasable to the public because it's so sensitive and personal to the victim's 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 triangulated a two-second noise and determined that came from outside of the plane. 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 the signature of the sound to previous events.

LAH (voice-over): As far as the state of the cockpit voice recorder, Russian investigators tell CNN that it sustained serious damage. They are still preparing to copy the data.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: One reason why U.S. investigators believe ISIS may be connected to a possible bomb on board the Russian passenger jet is because of an increase in what's called chatter, messages sent and received over known terrorist networks.

Pamela Brown joins us now from the CNN Center in Atlanta.

So, Pamela, what more do you know about this chatter?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We learned that the U.S. Intelligence community has intercepted chatter from ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula. These are internal messages. And it's talking about the idea, suggesting the fact that this group was behind the plane going down. We know ISIS came out and said it did it. Now this is separate. These are private communications that were intercepted, where people talked about they knew someone who put a bomb on the plane. And because of this, this is leading U.S. Intelligence officials to believe that perhaps the group, the terrorist group may be responsible for bringing down the plane and may have planted a bomb on the plane. But it's important to note that this chatter has not been corroborated

by forensic evidence, by the fact that bomb residue was found on the wreckage. Nothing like that has been shared with the U.S. Intelligence community. But based on the intelligence that they do have at this stage in the investigation, they believe that it is a plausible theory that a bomb could have been planted on that plane by the terrorist group. But no one is jumping to any conclusions until they get more information.

BERMAN: Absolutely. But one thing they've had a chance to look at was the passenger manifest. Did U.S. officials learn anything from that?

BROWN: They did. They went through the crew list, the passenger manifest and there were no red flags. Everyone checked out. So what that tells authorities is if there was a bomb on board, the logical explanation is someone planted it on that plane, perhaps someone that worked at the airport. And there is intelligence supporting the theory that a worker at the airport may have planted a bomb on that plane and that bomb could have detonated once the plane reached a certain altitude. They think that is more plausible, because all the passengers and crew checked out, so it would be more unlikely there was a suicide bomber on that plane, although nothing has been ruled out.

BERMAN: Early days still.

Pamela Brown there with the very latest in Atlanta. Thanks, Pamela.

BROWN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Find out a lot more about this story by going to CNN.com. There you'll find at least one analyst that says this could turn out to be the most significant terrorist attack since 9/11.

SESAY: He's still the Republican front-runner, but by a thinner margin. Coming up, how Donald Trump is responding to challenges gaining support.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:13:08] BERMAN: Welcome back, everybody. U.S. defense officials says a Chinese fast-attack submarine closely tracked an U.S. aircraft carrier off the coast of Japan a week or so ago. The officials say there is no indication of threatening behavior or communication between the two vessels.

SESAY: Chinese officials are not commented on the matter. This is the late nest a series of tense naval incidents between China and the U.S.

BERMAN: Taiwan's president says this weekend's meeting with his Chinese counterpart is the firs step towards normalizing ties.

SESAY: Reuters reports the president says the talks with Xi Jinping would be transparent. He emphasized the first meeting between the two sides since 1949 was not an effort to boost his party's chances in the upcoming elections. He also said the disputed South China Sea was not a topic of discussion with Mr. Xi.

BERMAN: Myanmar's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, says if her party wins the upcoming election, her position will be, quote, "above the president." She made those comments at a new conference on Thursday.

SESAY: Under the country's constitution, Suu Kyi is currently barred from that role, but she points out the constitution says nothing about someone being above the president. Sunday's election is being touted as the freest in decades, and Suu Kyi's party is expected to do well at the polls.

BERMAN: Canada's new leader has taken the oath of office with his not nearly as good looking cabinet.

SESAY: Justin Trudeau is the country's 23rd prime minister. He and his liberal party won a solid majority in recent elections. They campaigned to cut taxes for the middle class while increasing taxes on richer Canadians.

BERMAN: Mr. Trudeau says he'll end the country's combat mission in Iraq and Syria, but will remain part of the anti-ISIS coalition. He also said Canada would accept 25,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees this year.

We go to U.S. politics now. The latest poll shows the same leading candidates on the Republican side, but some positions are shifting in the second tier among the hopefuls there. Donald Trump and Ben Carson within striking distance of each other, with Trump with a slight edge here. But Marco Rubio is moving up to a tie with Ted Cruz in third place.

[01:45:19] SESAY: Jeb Bush has dropped four points, now grouped with Mike Huckabee, John Kasich and Rand Paul, at four percent.

Dana Bash has more from the campaign in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CROSSTALK)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wherever Donald Trump goes, it is an event.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I don't know, does he register in the polls?

BASH: Especially when he comes to the New Hampshire state capital, the first major GOP candidate to file for this primary.

TRUMP: This may be a very important signature.

BASH: Whether it's voting-aged adults --

TRUMP: Are you all hard working?

(SHOUTING)

BUSH: -- or kids on a school trip excited to see a celebrity.

TRUMP: Who's the best student?

(SHOUTING)

BASH: Trump supporters here are quite enthusiastic.

Trump is still on top in New Hampshire, but other candidates are gaining traction. A fresh poll has Marco Rubio now in third place, five times the support he had just two months ago.

(on camera): There's a brand new poll showing Marco Rubio doing much better. What do you say to that?

TRUMP: All I know is I'm number one.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: That's all I know.

BASH (voice-over): Despite the bravado, Trump's stepped up attacks on Rubio reveal concern.

TRUMP: Marco Rubio has a disaster on his finances. He has a disaster on his credit cards.

BASH: Trump is seizing on new Florida newspaper reports about Rubio's use of a Republican Party credit card for personal charges when in the state house. Rubio insists he paid personal charges back.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every month I would go through the bills, and if there was something personal, I paid it directly to American Express. And if it was the parties, the party paid for it.

BASH: But Rubio is only one Trump threat.

(CHEERING)

BASH: Ben Carson is practically tied with him in a new national poll and here in New Hampshire.

DR. BEN CARSON, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & RETIRED NEUROSURGEON: It doesn't particularly surprise me, given the kind of people that the two of us are.

BASH: Yet Trump says the neurosurgeon doesn't have the aptitude to be president.

(on camera): You're questioning Ben Carson's aptitude to be president. What do you mean by that? TRUMP: Aptitude to do any of the deals you have to do. Ben doesn't

have that. It's not for him. If you think it is, you're just kidding yourself.

BASH (voice-over): Jeb Bush is in the Granite State, too, a three-day bus tour trying to reboot his campaign, as he's now slipped behind Chris Christie here. And Trump can't resist taking shots at Bush.

TRUMP: I'm not an entertainer. He goes, I'm not a good talker. I don't speak well. I don't debate well. I don't do anything well. But you should vote for me. That's Jeb Bush.

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Oh, dear.

BERMAN: Yeah.

SESAY: Well, we're a couple days away from Donald Trump's appearance as host on "Saturday Night Live" but it's already sparking controversy. Two Hispanic groups are protesting Trump's invitation to host.

BERMAN: And in a spot promoting the show, Trump doesn't miss a chance to take a shot at his closest rival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump is hosting "Saturday Night Live" this week, and because of equal time rules for television, Mr. Trump can only speak for four seconds in this promo.

TRUMP: So let me say this, Ben Carson is a complete and total loser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: OK. Ben Carson, unlike you, not laughing.

SESAY: Not laughing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARSON: I discovered when I was in grade school that those tactics really are for grade school, and I've gone far beyond that now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Ben Carson taking the high road.

BERMAN: That's why people like him, he's very calm.

(LAUGHTER) A late night host is in Sioux City for his show on Wednesday night. The battle, after a short break

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:50:51] DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good day. I'm CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam with a quick look at your "Weather Watch."

(WEATHER REPORT)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: It seems sci-fi movie fans cannot wait to give in to the force. The force awakens that is. Now posters for the new "Star Wars" film unveiled for Wednesday.

You didn't get that, did you?

BERMAN: No.

SESAY: OK.

BERMAN: They show all the characters, old ones like Harrison Ford as Hans Solo, something orange, Kerry Fisher as Princess Leia. Mark Hammel not there. Moviegoers will have to wait until December 14th to find out exact think what is happening with Luke Skywalker.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Apparently, they're retiring Princess Leia's bikini outfit from -- what was the last one? Number three, the Jedi strikes back or whatever.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: Let's just keep moving on, because it's a travesty going down.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: The job of a late-night TV host may be hazardous to one's health. Trevor Noah hosts of the satirical "The Daily Show" underwent an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday and caused him to miss the broadcast.

BERMAN: He took over the show from long-time host, Jon Stewart back in August. Noah is expected to return to work on Thursday. It can also be dangerous working on this show.

(LAUGHTER)

SESAY: You'll be fine.

Late night host, Jimmy Kimmel, is such a busy guy. He had to be in two places at once. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY KIMMEL: Are you ready for the magic of holography?

(CHEERING)

KIMMEL: All right, let's do it. Beam me up, Andy. I think I have to spin around for this to really work.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Kimmel hosted his live show from here in Los Angeles on Wednesday, while also beaming himself by hologram to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[01:55:13] KIMMEL: Part of the way we're doing this is using a green screen here in our studio. You can't see it right now, but it's happening. But I want to try some stuff that I think will be fund. First, something I've been practicing, which is juggling. I've gotten really good at juggling in slow motion.

(LAUGHTER)

So here we go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: OK. There you can see the hologram in action. He also performed live in Nashville.

I have to say, this is so old. We were doing holograms on CNN in the election coverage in 2008. Remember that?

SESAY: I do remember that.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

BERMAN: I'm not a hologram. I'm John Vause.

Please stay with us. The news continues with the lovely Rosemary Church after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)