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Bedouins Willing to Fight ISIS in the Sinai; Russia Mourns Plane Crash Victims; Historic Elections in Myanmar; Obama and Netanyahu Prepare for Meeting; Donald Trump Hosts "SNL"; Millions in Myanmar Vote in Historic Election; Russian Investigaors in Europe; U.S. Believes Bomb Brought Down Flight 9268; Putin Absent from Memorial Service Honoring Victims; U.N. to Take Up North Koran Prison Abuses; Lights Over Southern California ID-ed as Unarmed Missiles Fired In Routine Testing. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 9, 2015 - 00:00   ET

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


[00:00:12] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, as more Metrojet crash victims are laid to rest, there's growing concern their deaths were caused by a terrorist bomb.

Plus, supporters of the Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi say they're confident as they wait for the results of Myanmar's freest vote in 25 years.

And Donald Trump gets huge ratings for his return to "Saturday Night Live." But critics were not that impressed.

Hello, and thank you for joining us. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

We begin with the latest on Metrojet Flight 9268. Investigators in the U.S. now say they are all but certain a bomb brought down the Russian airliner nine days ago. One American official told CNN he was 99.99 percent certain of it. This one comes after analysts comb through ISIS communications intercepted by Israel.

In St. Petersburg, Russia on Sunday mourners attended a memorial service for the 224 people who tied in the crash. St. Petersburg was supposed to be the flight's destination.

Well, let's start with Ian Lee in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Ian, there appears to be some confusions surrounding what was or wasn't heard on the cockpit recording. What are we learning from investigators?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isha, what we know is in the final moments of that flight, there was a loud pop. Now U.S. officials and British officials and other officials are saying that it is likely to be that of a bomb, but when asked by Egyptian officials, they're saying that it could have been a mechanical issue that still made that pop or a battery that exploded at the time as well.

They haven't ruled out anything at this time, and that's the message that they're still telling the public, the media, that they don't know exactly what brought down this airliner, and they're asking people for a bit of patience until they finish their investigation.

SESAY: Ian, the threat posed by ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula cannot be underestimated. You've been speaking to some of those fighting to contain this deadly group. Tell us more.

LEE: Well, you look at the Sinai Peninsula. ISIS is in the northern part of it, and that's where it has been waging its deadly insurgency with the army, and this rose really after the 2011 revolution. But it wasn't until the last couple of years or so after the 2013 overthrow of Mohammed Morsi that we really saw them unleash a wave of really extreme deadly violence, but this violence hasn't been able to penetrate down into the south, and this is why. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEE (voice-over): This harsh landscape is the new front line in the battle against ISIS. And the men defending it are not soldiers or police, they are Bedouin tribes, nomads, who've ruled the Sinai for centuries.

We traveled dusty, bumpy roads to find them. We meet three sheikhs from three different tribes who tell us they directly confronted ISIS, drawing a line in the sand.

"We stopped ISIS more than 20 times. We went out with more than 50 cars and kicked them back. We didn't shoot one bullet because if one bullet was shot there would be a war."

(On camera): The Bedouin accomplished something that billions of dollars in weapons couldn't. They stopped ISIS expanding from the northern part of Sinai to here in the south without shedding any blood.

(Voice-over): ISIS' Egyptian offshoot is already one of the most dangerous. It has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers in northern Sinai. And it is trying to expand.

(On camera): Sinai is a desert to the north. It's flat, the south covered in mountains, and that's why ISIS wants to push south so that they can use this rocky, mountainous terrain for cover while fighting the guerilla war.

(Voice-over): The sheikhs tell me their cousins in the north face a dilemma. They want to fight ISIS, but if they're caught with weapons, the Egyptian army might see them as militants. If they help the army, terrible retribution.

Here, ISIS beheads alleged army collaborators, but these men are ready to take that risk, even though their communities in Sinai have long been marginalized by government in far off Cairo.

[00:05:09] The Bedouins reject ISIS' twisted version of Islam and its invasion of their lands. "The tribes could defeat ISIS, if the government came and gave us arms

and said, fight ISIS, they would fight ISIS," says this Tere bin tribal leader. "They'd finish them completely."

And they're ready for battle to save their families, their honor, and their age-old way of life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: And, Isha, not only do they have a fundamentally different view of Islam than ISIS, they also get money from the tourism industry here in the southern part of Sinai. That's another reason why they're very much against ISIS trying to push south. So when I asked them about this airplane, could something -- could a bomb be taken on board, they said -- they told me not with the help of the Bedouin. This is likely someone who is not from the Sinai Peninsula who could have that also.

The Bedouin, really, they don't -- they have jobs, they cannot have jobs inside these security apparatuses, the secure zones. So they said that they didn't know what brought down this plane, but they're very much against any form of ISIS push further down into the south.

SESAY: Extremely tense times in the Sinai Peninsula. And Ian Lee joining us there from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

Ian, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's go now to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He joins us now live from St. Petersburg.

Nic, a day of intense sorrow in St. Petersburg as the victims of this crash were remembered.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Isha, it was, indeed. Made perhaps a little more sorrowful for some of the families, remains of their loved ones arrived back in St. Petersburg, another flight of bodies and their -- their luggage arrived back into St. Petersburg on Sunday.

There were some families of victims at the memorial service and perhaps for them, a little bit of solace to be found there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Amidst the rich splendor of Russia's Christian orthodox tradition, mourners young and old came to show their respects, came together in the face of calamity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a horrible tragedy for all of Russia, family of those people.

ROBERTSON: Bells tolled for each of the victims, 224 times. For 10- month-old, Darina Gromova, for her parents Alexi and Tatiana. For Leonard and Alexander, whose friends believe became engaged in Sharm el Sheikh. For 32-year-old Darius Schiller, whose body has yet to be found. For Tim Miller, a 33-year-old businessman. And so many more. The congregation dwarfed in the cavernous cathedral still grappling

with the enormity of the growing likelihood terrorism brought the plane down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A machine in the air. And no terrorist.

ROBERTSON: This longtime St. Petersburg resident, not so sure.

"I think it will be proved at some point it was a terrorist attack," she tells us. "So of course, I am worried. We are all worried."

Whatever the truth, few here think it will impact the government's offensive in Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the government will follow the line they have chosen already.

ROBERTSON: That it was hundreds, not thousands here, surprising given that this is the countries deadliest ever air disaster, an apparent direct targeting of its citizens by overseas terrorists, a potential game-changer.

(On camera): Such a moment in this nation's history, its leaders are conspicuous by their absence. President Putin is not here. Leadership for this day at least is being left to God.

(Voice-over): A temporary glitch. A pause perhaps in the continuum of Russian politics as leaders ponder their next move.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: Well, perhaps its leaders busy at the moment, helping get all those Russians who holiday makers who are in Egypt, trapped now because there are no more flights, no more regular flights between Egypt and Russia.

[00:10:01] They're being evacuated on evacuation flights. Over 11,000 flown out over the weekend. We're told more than 30,000 tons of baggage on Sunday, 23 more tons to follow as Russia tries to get those holiday makers back here -- Isha.

SESAY: Our Nic Robertson reporting there from St. Petersburg. Appreciate it, Nic. Thank you so much.

Now millions of votes are being counted in Myanmar following the country's historic election, and people are celebrating, excited about the possibility that the military will give up more of its power after decades of tight control. Results are expected earlier this week.

Our Ivan Watson joins me now from Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, with more on the election and what is riding on it.

Ivan, although the outcome of this vote won't be known for a couple more days, we know that large crowds are being parked outside Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy headquarters. Help our viewers understand what this vote means to the people of Myanmar. IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the

first contested national parliamentary election in 25 years. The first time that the main opposition parties have participated in an election, so there is a lot riding here, and much of the nation now is in anticipation of the results. We keep hearing of delays from the main electoral commission of when official results will start to be published.

We do know that the speaker of the parliament, the former leader of the main opposition party, the USDP, which enjoys the support of the military which of course have dominated this country for more than half a century, he has conceded defeat over Facebook. It was an impressive scene to witness, however, Isha, these elections on Sunday, and the enthusiasm for many members of the electorate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice-over): They line up before dawn, hours before polling stations open, committed to casting their ballot. Critics say there are serious structural flaws in Sunday's parliamentary election. And yet it's still being promoted as the closest thing Myanmar has seen to a democratic national election in 25 years.

(On camera): The atmosphere in these polling stations is hushed and solemn. For many people, this is the first time they've ever voted in a general election.

(Voice-over): Among the new voters, Hlaing Myint and his wife Tar Yar. For them, this election has been hard work. They waited in line for five hours to cast their ballots. He says it was worth the wait.

HLAING MYINT, VOTER: This is the only way we can -- we hope that we can change the things in the future, our future, our baby, my baby, my daughter. I have one daughter, 9 years old. So for their future, we have to vote.

WATSON: Some here hope this election will help bring an end to decades of military rule. And many have pinned those hopes on this woman, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the country's largest opposition party, the National League for Democracy. The last time her party competed in a national election was in 1990. The party won, but then the military annulled the results and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and many of her colleagues.

This time, Myanmar's president, himself a former military commander, vows that the election results will be respected.

In the afternoon, a tropical downpour hits Yangon, but it does not dampen some people's enthusiasm. At 4:00 p.m., the gates close as this Buddhist monastery turned polling station. Workers begin the vote count under the close eye of election observers. Representatives from some of the dozens of political parties competing in this contest. Outside, members of the public watch and wait to learn the future of their country.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WATSON: Isha, this isn't exactly a fair contest because the military automatically gets to appoint 25 percent of the seats in the next parliament. What does that mean? Well, for Aung San Suu Kyi's party to try to win a majority, it would actually have to win at least 66 percent of the seats in the two houses of parliament. I mean, that would have to be a massive, massive electoral victory.

Meanwhile, the ruling political party, the USDP, which is allied with the military, would have to win a much smaller proportion of seats in parliament because it is assumed that the military's 25 percent would align themselves with the ruling political party. So that's just one of the examples of why this isn't exactly a fair and balanced election -- Isha.

SESAY: Not fair and balanced at all. Ivan Watson joining us there from Yangon in Myanmar. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama have had a sometimes contentious relationship. One that will be tested again later this week when the Israeli leader visits the U.S.

Oren Liebermann reports on what's at stake with the upcoming trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, another blow to the already strained relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama days before the two leaders meet in Washington. Revelations that Netanyahu's new appointment as media adviser, Ran Baratz, accused Obama of anti-Semitism on Facebook back in March in the run-up to the Iran framework agreement, and once said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had a future in stand-up comedy.

Baratz apologized and Netanyahu said he will, quote, "clarify the matter," but the damage was done. The seven-year relationship between Netanyahu and Obama has only grown worse in recent months.

Earlier this year, Netanyahu made what critics called an unprecedented intervention in U.S. foreign policy speaking before Congress without a White House invitation and criticized Obama's signature Iran nuclear deal, sparking a very public and, at times, acrid feud between the leaders.

GIL HOFFAN, POLITICAL ANALYST, JERUSALEM POST: The importance of this meeting is that it passes without further skirmishing between Netanyahu and Obama that are harmful to the U.S.-Israel relationship and to both countries.

LIEBERMANN: Both leaders have tried to downplay the frosty relationship saying the cooperation between the countries is far more important.

Hours before his scheduled departure to Washington, Netanyahu saying this meeting will be about the all-important American aid to Israel. The U.S. gives Israel some $3 billion a year in military aid and that will soon include America's latest fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Kerry highlighted this aid to Israel when he spoke to Philadelphia in December in defense of the Iran deal. But that military aid is set to expire in 2018 and Netanyahu could use this chance to push for a bigger aid package.

As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a big issue for Kerry, a top White House adviser says there probably won't be any real peace negotiations before the end of Obama's time in office.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Next on CNN NEWSROOM, customers at a U.S. restaurant swallowed hard when they saw the parking lot had swallowed their cars.

Plus, Donald Trump hosts "Saturday Night Live" and the ratings were huge, but critics were not nearly as kind. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Call me on the cell phone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: That is the one and only Donald Trump showing off some, I guess you could call them dance moves? On the American comedy show "Saturday Night Live." Some critics say his performance really didn't live up to the hype, but the episode still brought in the show's biggest ratings in nearly four years.

For more on Trump's performance we're joined by CNN's political analyst and "Bloomberg View" columnist, Josh Rogin.

Josh, good to have you with us.

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be here.

SESAY: You can analyze his dancing if you choose, but better yet, how did he do as host?

ROGIN: I think Donald Trump made a calculated decision here to not take any big risks. He didn't attack any candidates, he didn't portray himself in any real negative manner. If you think about the big iconic "Saturday Night Live" political scenes that we remember is when Tina Fey acted as Sarah Palin. That was brutal. She skewered her.

Trump played it safe here, and I think most people thought -- were disappointed by that after this big buildup and it felt that it wasn't that funny. That scene right there where he's dancing was funny, he was just being silly. but the political stuff really didn't hit the mark.

SESAY: No. It didn't. In fact, one of the biggest headlines generated from the show is not Trump himself, per se, It's Larry David, and his performance, his moment of heckling Trump. Let's play a clip of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a racist.

TRUMP: Who the hell is -- I knew this was going to happen. Who is that?

LARRY DAVID, ACTOR: Trump's a racist.

TRUMP: It's Larry David. What are you doing, Larry?

DAVID: I heard if I yelled that they'd give me $5,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: He's the brilliant, brilliant Larry David there. And even though, you know, it's clearly a funny moment, it does tap into something a little darker here, something that, you know, some parts of the electorate do believe is an issue with Trump.

ROGIN: Sure. And there were protesters outside the NBC studio and NBC wanted to respond to that and by making fun of it, they sort of acknowledged it and diffused it in a way. But it also shows the difference between Trump when he was an early candidate and he would say things that controversial and Trump now.

SESAY: Yes.

ROGIN: He's ahead in the polls but he's not ahead a lot. He wants to be safer. He doesn't want to be at the war with the media. He just wanted some good press. He didn't want to create more people who were out to get him. So they put the criticism in the mouth of Larry David who by the way is funnier than Trump any way.

SESAY: Yes. Indeed. Speaking of a more restrained Trump, he spoke to own Jake Tapper and gave him a little bit of insight into how the show was constructed. Let's play some of that conversation for our viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP Well, they're a little bit too far. And you know, it is Saturday night live, and it's a lot of fun, and people understand it gets a little risque. And we took out a couple of them that I thought maybe went a little bit too far.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SESAY: All right. So they took out the risque bits. Now everyone is kind of like, it was a little bit flat. What did he gain from it, I guess is the question now.

ROGIN: Well, what he got was a week where people could focus the negative press on someone other than Trump.

[00:25:02] What we saw in the parallel was Ben Carson being attacked in the media for things about his past, stories that didn't check out. A lot of the investigation is being done by CNN. So for a week Trump can get some positive press and the controversy can move away from him, and maybe that will help him stop slipping in the polls.

The problem is, of course, that the Trump campaign is based on controversy, it's fueled by controversy. And once he takes the sort of nicer, gentler approach, it's possible that the sort of intangible excitement that goes along with a candidate who's really being fighting against the media, goes away, and it takes away the real reason for his campaign which is to be sort of outside of the mainstream.

So he got a nice -- some nice coverage, he got a nice break from being at war with the media, but if he doesn't go back to his controversial stance, he might suffer in the end.

SESAY: There's another Republican debate next week so I'm sure he'll find a way to be back at war with the media.

ROGIN: That is his specialty.

(LAUGHTER)

SESAY: Josh, a pleasure. Thanks so much for coming in.

ROGIN: Any time.

SESAY: Thank you.

Switching gears now. African-American football players at the University of Missouri say they're boycotting all games joining a growing call for the school system president to step down. They say Tim Wolfe has been negligent in his response to racial incidents on the campus. In August, a swastika was drawn with feces on the dormitory wall leading to angry protests. In a statement on Sunday, Wolfe said he's dedicated to ongoing dialogue to address these very complex societal issues. But one student is continuing a hunger strike demanding Wolfe's removal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN BUTLER, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI GRADUATE STUDENT: So I am in this because it is that serious. We're dealing with humanity here, and at this point, we can't afford to continue to work with individuals who just don't care for their constituents. And when you see what's happening on campus now, with the racial incidents, the instance with graduate health insurance, and everything else that's going on, we just have leadership that doesn't care about its student body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Wolfe says the university will unveil its diversity and inclusion strategy next April.

In Mississippi a large sinkhole ripped open the parking lot of a new iHop Breakfast restaurant. Look at these pictures with me. No injuries were reported Sunday but a dozen or so cars were swallowed up when the ground gave away. The cause of the sink hole is still unclear. But the parking lot has been roped off to keep anyone from falling in. Wow.

Now the U.N. says North Korean prison camps are notorious with systematic abuse. A former inmate is telling his story in an exclusive interview and it's not what you might expect. A live report coming up.

[00:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay; the headlines this hour: In Myanmar, ballots are being counted in the country's historic election. Millions of people went to the polls on Sunday. Results are expected early this week, and many voters hope to see a real end to decades of military rule.

Russian investigators are now in Egypt to review airport security after last month's plane crash. The U.S. believes a bomb brought down Metrojet Flight 9268 after it took off from Sharm al-Sheikh airport October 31st. All 224 people on board were killed.

And in St. Petersburg, mourners gathered for memorial service Sunday honoring the victims of the Metrojet crash. St. Petersburg was the flights destination. Hundreds of people were at the service, but Russian President, Vladimir Putin, was not there.

Now United Nations investigators have said the abuses at North Korean prisons are comparable to Nazi era atrocities. The Security Council is expected to take up the issue next month. But one former inmate tells a different story. Will Ripley spoke with him in an unprecedented interview; Will joins us now from Tokyo.

Will, you spoke to a former inmate who paints a radically different story of life in the North Korean prison system?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Isha, because the key to the United Nations investigation, thus far, has been the testimony of dozens of defectors, telling really horrific stories about the conditions inside these prisons, being forced to eat rats and being tortured on a regular basis, and seeing other inmates publicly executed. This is the first time though that the North Korean regime has allowed us to speak to one of their former inmates inside the country, and perhaps not surprisingly, this man has a different story to tell. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: When we asked to visit a North Korean prison, officials take us to this Pyongyang apartment. We meet the family of the Jeong Kwang-il, the first former inmate North Korea has ever allowed us to interview. Joeng served two years at Yodok Prison Camp, 70 miles from the North Korean capital; seen by outsiders only in satellite images. North Korean defectors testifying to the United Nations describe a modern day concentration camp. The accused totalitarian regime denies holding political prisons and denies three generations of punishment, putting entire families in the gulag.

Did you witness any public executions? No, he says.

Were you ever starving? Did you witness people starving? He says they had plenty to eat.

Were you tortured? Did you see people being tortured? -- and calls my questions about torture nonsense.

Jeong refuses to give details of daily life at the camp, or even why he was in prison. Joeng says a fellow prisoner who fled to South Korea I stealing his identity, using his name to tell lies about prison conditions. I want to cut off his head, strangle and kill him, he says. A national trader saying he's me.

I didn't steal anyone's name, says the other one, speaking to CNN in Seoul. He admits he spent time in the same prison with the Pyongyang Joeng, but claims the names are a coincidence. He says his mother changed his surname as a child, and he changed it back after fleeing North Korea. CNN can't verify Joeng's identity; like many defector's, he doesn't have original documents.

North Korea often tries to discredit defectors, calling them human scum, criminals who will say anything to make money. "Last year North Korea called me a thief who stole state property. Now they're accusing me of identity theft," he says. "This is nonsense."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He changed portions of his life story --

[00:35:00]

RIPLEY: But there are documented cases of defectors being less than truthful. Shin Dong-Hyuk, considered the U.N.'s most powerful voice against North Korean human rights abuse recanted parts of his story this year. To fight back against what it calls "false claims", North Korea is putting its own carefully selected former inmate in front of our cameras. But until they open their doors to international inspection, they're unlikely to convince the outside world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: You may wonder why North Korea is putting a former inmate like this in front of our cameras now. Well, there is action happening at the United Nations, led by the EU and Japan, and now joined by the United States, Britain, South Korea, in fact, a total of 45 countries that are saying that the North Korea regime should go to the International Criminal Court for Human Rights Atrocities. So there are growing calls for this, which may explain why the regime is trying to fight back, in its own way, putting us in an apartment in Pyongyang and speaking to one former inmate, who, again, wouldn't answer specific questions about daily life at the prison, but would only deny specific allegations made in the U.N. report.

SESAY: Growing calls for North Korean accountability; the question is will it happen in. Will Ripley joining us there, from Tokyo. Will, thank you.

An unusual light in the sky have a lot of people in California worried. What it turned out to be, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: So, some people panicked when they saw this light in the skies over Southern California. They posted theories online about aliens or meteors, some called the police; but U.S. military officials say it was just a scheduled missile test. The unarmed missile was launched from a submarine at sea. The Pentagon says these tests are done frequently to make sure the systems are still working properly. Still, very, very freaky.

[00:40:00]

James Bond is moving once again to be a box office hit. In less than two weeks, "Spectre" has pulled in around $300 million internationally, including an estimated $73 million this weekend, here in the United States this weekend. Here's the thing, the franchise is just breaking even since "Spectre" cost close to $250 million to make, one of the most expensive films ever. And I still haven't seen it.

You're watching "CNN Newsroom," live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay; I'll be back at the top of the hour with more of the day's top stories. But first, it's "World Sports", right here, on CNN.

(WORLD SPORTS AIRED)