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CNN NEWSROOM
Bedouins Willing to Fight ISIS in the Sinai; Russia Mourns Plane Crash Victims; Historic Elections in Myanmar; Obama and Netanyahu Prepare for Meeting; Police Officers Charged with Murder of Boy's Death; Israel Seeks Additional Defense Aid from U.S.; Kenya College Massacre Suspects in Court; Former Prisoner Describes North Korean Prison Camp; U.S. Missile Test Freaks Out Californians; Donald Trump Appears on "SNL". Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 9, 2015 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:09] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
Ahead this hour, a moving memorial for the Metrojet crash victims and growing concerns their deaths were caused by a terrorist bomb.
Plus the votes are still being counted but celebrations are already underway after Myanmar's freest vote in a quarter of century.
And two U.S. police officers are facing charges in the shooting death of a 6-year-old boy.
Hello, and thanks for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
Families in Russia search for closure while investigate in Egypt try to find answers. Now nine days after the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268, there's a little progress to report. U.S. investigators say they are practically positive that a bomb brought down the airliner. But Egyptian officials are not saying for sure if that's the case. An American official told CNN he's 99.9 percent certain.
Meanwhile in St. Petersburg, Russia, the flight's intended destination, mourners held a memorial service Sunday to honor the 224 people who died in the crash.
Well, Nic Robertson will join us in just a moment from St. Petersburg, Russia but let's begin with Ian Lee in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Ian, as investigators search for answers many questions being asked about what is heard on the cockpit recorder. What's the latest we're hearing from officials?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isha, Egyptian officials are saying that it's just too soon to tell what exactly that sound is now. The U.S. officials as well as UK officials believe that is the sound of a bomb exploding right before the voice recorder ends. Now Egyptians are saying that it could be a number of things. It could be a mechanical issue. It could also be a battery exploding. They're saying -- they're asking people to be patient, to wait until
the investigation is over, but one of the key things in determining if it is a bomb is going to be finding residue on the plane wreckage at the crash site. We're hearing that they haven't recovered all the pieces of that plane and so they'll be analyzing that really confirm if a bomb was indeed in fact the reason that plane went down.
SESAY: Ian Lee with the latest from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Appreciate it, Ian.
Let's go now to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He is live in St. Petersburg.
And Nic, here was a very, very painful day for residents of St. Petersburg as they remember the victims of this crash. Tell us about the day.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Isha. It was a very sorrowful day. It was perhaps made even more sorrowful for some of the victims' families, perhaps it was what they were waiting for or what they were hoping for when a plane -- another plane came from Egypt carrying some of the victims on board, carrying some of their possessions, but every sort of step along the road to recovering their loved ones, to burying their loved ones is a painful step.
Some of those families were at the memorial service here in St. Petersburg and perhaps did find a little solace there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Amidst the rich splendor of Russia's Christian orthodox tradition, mourners young and old came to show their respect, came together in the face of calamity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a horrible tragedy for all Russians, 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. [01:05:05] 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: Politicians, perhaps, more involved or more focused at the moment on making sure all the Russians who are on holiday in Egypt, who was cut off there essentially as flights to Egypt from Russia have cancelled, that they are flown home. We understand about 11,000 were flown out over the weekend. That leaves upwards of well over 60,000 more.
Tons and tons of their baggage flown on separate cargo flights back to Russia, and of course a political imperative there for the leadership not to face criticism from stranded holiday makers in Egypt that somehow the government is bungling getting them home. That's an important political imperative here right now, Isha.
SESAY: Indeed. Nic Robertson reporting there from St. Petersburg. Appreciate it. Do stand by for us.
Ian Lee, if I could turn back to you and bring you back into the conversation. The threat posed by ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula cannot be underestimated. You've been speaking to some of those trying to contain this deadly group. Tell us about that.
LEE: That's right, Isha. In the northern part of the Sinai we've seen a real deadly insurgency, a wave of violence. ISIS rose there after the 2011 revolution, but it was really in the last couple of years after the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi that we really saw them carry out a number of attacks, but despite that, they have not been able to push down south.
Now CNN was able to get an exclusive with the tribal leaders that have been holding off ISIS.
(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. 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, talking to these Bedouins, they are very certain that if they were given that support, if the army, this government in Cairo were to come to them, come up with some sort of agreement, a deal, that the Bedouin could get rid of ISIS very quickly, because it is ultimately it's their lands and they know the territory very well.
[01:10:22] And they can differentiate between who is a member of ISIS and who is just a local Bedouin tribal member, and that's something they say that the army just cannot do.
SESAY: Egyptian government sure to say that arming the Bedouins would open up another avenue with complications. But, our Ian Lee reporting there from Sharm el-Sheikh. We appreciate it. Thank you. Our thanks also to Nic Robertson reporting from St. Petersburg. Thanks to you both.
Now millions of votes are being counted in Myanmar following the country's historic election. And people are celebrating, excited that the military may lose power of its power. After decades of tight control. Results are expected early this week. Our Ivan Watson tells us how voting played out across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The gates here are closed, and voting has officially ended at this polling station after what some have described as perhaps the most democratic election that Myanmar has seen in 25 years.
Now we're in a Buddhist monastery. So everybody here, the voters who showed up, the election workers, and yes, even the reporters, are barefoot, according to Buddhist tradition.
We did see remarkable scenes before dawn this morning of people who lined up for more than an hour at polling stations. They were so enthusiastic about casting their ballots. At one polling station, we saw remarkable scenes of people waiting up to five hours in line to vote, and they say that it was worth it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HLAING MYINT, VOTER: One of the votes can change everything. So that's why we are together to participate and voting here.
WATSON: Do you trust this election?
MYINT: Yes. Have to. We have to trust. We have no choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (on camera): Before voting even began, there were some pretty serious criticism of this election. For example, the army reserves the right to appoint 25 percent of the seats in the upcoming parliament.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar have been disenfranchised. Rohingya Muslims in the west of the country who are denied citizenship and then people living in conflict zones where the elections were cancelled by the election commission, and also perhaps the most popular politician in the country, Aung Sung Suu Kyi, the leader of the largest opposition party, she can't even run for the post of president because of a clause in the constitution that bars anybody who has children holding foreign passports. She has two British children.
That said, again, this is the first time that the main opposition has run an election since 1990, and the president of the country, a retired general, has vowed that the results of the election will be respected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: And Ivan Watson joins me now from Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. Ivan, this is a pretty complex election with scores, dozens of
candidates running for the seats in the parliament. I'd imagine that even once the results are known, there's going to be a lot of horse trading, there's going to be another period of uncertainty as deals are struck, correct?
WATSON: That's right. I mean, we're already starting to hear about complaints, though, as some of the ballots are coming in. I've been talking to candidates from some of the different states around the country. Some of whom are about to hold press conferences in the city of Lasho, for example. Two of the opposition parties are going to get up side by side, I'm told by a candidate, and protest the advanced ballots, the advanced voting that went into the election. So
there are likely going to be some disagreements that are probably going to hold up publication of official results. One race that we do know, effectively, has been concluded is the race of the speaker of parliament, the former chairman of the main opposition party which enjoys the support of the military. He has effectively conceded defeat in a message via Facebook.
But part of what's making this so complicated getting the results, I've been around this country somewhat, Isha. You get out into the countryside, there are villages that don't even have any cell phone network, that don't even have electricity. People have to travel a long way just to cast their ballot, and we're also hearing that a lot of people, there were problems with whether or not their names were appearing properly, their identification numbers, in the registrations, voter registration ahead of time.
So all of this is going to make this process much more difficult to find out what actually happened on Election Day -- Isha.
[01:15:09] SESAY: Ivan Watson, joining us there from Yangon, Myanmar. Appreciate the reporting. Thank you, Ivan.
Well, customers at a U.S. restaurant got an unwelcome surprise after their meal. And we're going to explain what it was next on NEWSROOM L.A.
Also just ahead, two police officers are facing murder charges for the death of this young boy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL EDMONSON, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: We took some of the body camera footage. Let me tell you something. I'm not going to talk about it but I'm going to tell you this. It is the most disturbing thing I've seen. And I will leave it at that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT) SESAY: Check this out. Check out the size of this sinkhole in the U.S. It tore open the parking lot of a new restaurant in Mississippi swallowing more than a dozen cars as you see there. The hole is about 180 meters long. No injuries were reported. And the area was roped off to keep people away. Wow.
[01:20:01] Well, 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 a 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.
A community in Louisiana is mourning the death of a 6-year-old boy. And now two police officers face murder charges for killing him. Investigators are trying to figure out what led up to the shooting.
CNN's Nick Valencia has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROXANNE COUVILLION, JEREMY MARDIS' FORMER TEACHER: He was just an innocent little boy.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly a week since the death of Jeremy Mardis.
COUVILLION: He always was an angel.
VALENCIA: There are still two big questions -- why would law enforcement chase the boy's father down a dead end road and why would they use lethal force?
The boy was buckled into the passenger seat of his father's car, when police opened fire. He was hit five times, in the chest, and head. His father, Chris Few, was also hit and critically wounded. EDMONSON: Jeremy Mardis, 6 years old, he didn't deserve to die like
that. And that's what's unfortunate.
VALENCIA: Days after the shooting, the head of Louisiana's State Police announced two marshals face second-degree murder and attempted murder charges. 32-year-old Derek Stafford and 23-year-old Norris Greenhouse Jr., taken into custody and placed on administrative leave. The incident was captured on police body cameras.
EDMONSON: I'm not going to talk about it but I'm going to tell you this. It is the most disturbing thing I've seen. And I will leave it at that.
VALENCIA: Two other marshals were also present during the shooting. Stafford and Greenhouse so far the only two arrested.
COUVILLION: He has his wings on earth and now he's soaring in heaven.
VALENCIA: Roxanne Couvillion was Jeremy's special needs teacher. The child was nonverbal autistic. He was one of her favorite students. She especially loved the way his eyes lit up when he smiled.
COUVILLION: He loved class. I sent all of the pictures that we have to the family members and so they have all those mementos. He loved the dress-up centers that we had, pretend play, doing the alphabet puzzles. He was an awesome boy.
VALENCIA: At a nearby convenience store, Ridhi Awadly says he heard gunshots on his way home from work. He says he knows the officers well.
RIDHI AWADLY, KNOWS OFFICERS CHARGED: I know Derek and Norris, they're like my brothers, two of them.
VALENCIA (on camera): Tell us about them because we don't know anything about them.
AWADLY: They're cool people. They ain't bad for nothing, sir. They never did nothing bad.
VALENCIA (voice-over): In fact, neither marshal has been convicted of a crime but according to local news reports in 2011, Stafford was indicted on two counts of aggravated rape, the case was eventually dismissed. Both marshals are expected to make their first court appearance on Monday.
Nick Valencia, CNN, Marksville, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Well, Darren Kavinoky joins me now to discuss this case. He's a criminal defense attorney and host of "Deadly Sins" and "Did He Do It" on Investigation Discovery.
Darren, thank you so much for joining us.
DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Of course.
SESAY: This is so, so terrible. So sad. Let's talk about the charge here of these two officers. Second-degree murder. Now it's my understanding that under Louisiana law they actually could have gone for first degree because the victim is under 12.
KAVINOKY: That's right.
SESAY: So what do you make of this?
KAVINOKY: Well, first of all, as much as we already know from that excellent report from Nick Valencia, there's so much that we don't and that will ultimately be revealed. Why, for example, was this unarmed man chased down this dead-end street? And there's been some misreporting, I think, that's gone on, or some conflicting stories about exactly what that behavior was that led to this conflict in the first place.
But the fact that there has been a charge of second-degree murder tells me that whatever it is that investigators have discovered is so far beyond what's expected or acceptable in the normal course of law enforcement affairs as to make this a crime. This isn't ordinary negligence or just bad judgment. And ultimately, I think what's going to be revealed to us from that body camera video --
SESAY: Which is going to be pretty critical here, right?
KAVINOKY: Or it's going to be huge.
SESAY: Because there -- there was no warrant out for the father Chris Few. No firearm found in the car.
KAVINOKY: Right.
SESAY: What led up to this and what did they capture on that body cam footage are key.
KAVINOKY: Right. Right. He's an unarmed man and certainly what we get from that body cam footage is going to be important.
[01:25:07] Police are going to piecing together everything from ear witnesses like we heard somebody, they heard gunshots. They're going to take that along with other forensics to try and piece together exactly what that narrative was. But it's already been -- it's already been revealed from the officer that led the press conference that what was there was so shocking, and, of course, we have the 6- year-old special needs boy who was caught in the midst of all this. This is something that can really -- I mean, it's just so horrific on so many levels.
SESAY: So horrific. One expects some kind of suit, some kind of legal suit, the family suing somebody. The question is who do you sue --
KAVINOKY: Right.
SESAY: -- if you choose to, in a situation like this?
KAVINOKY: Well, in the American justice system there's a notion of respondeat superior, which is a way of saying that employers are liable for the conduct of employees.
SESAY: OK.
KAVINOKY: So in this particular case, whether it's the city or the county or whoever it is that employs these officers, they are certainly going to be named in the lawsuit along with these officers personally. And we've got the potential of a wrongful death suit brought by the family of the boy and of course we've got dad who's now lying in critical condition in a hospital bed. Of course, if he survives, he'll have a lawsuit. God forbid he doesn't, then these officers are going to be charged with instead of one count of murder one, one count of attempted murder, the charges will be amended to be two counts of murder.
SESAY: It seems that there's been an inordinate number of police shootings.
KAVINOKY: Yes.
SESAY: I mean, that's how it seems. I don't know it's just more being captured on camera because there are cameras everywhere.
KAVINOKY: Yes.
SESAY: I mean, what's your sense of what we're looking at here?
KAVINOKY: Well, this year, according to some clearing houses that track this information, there have been over 800 killings at the hands of law enforcement officers.
SESAY: Eight hundred killings?
KAVINOKY: Over 800. And now we've seen more and more of this captured on videotape. And whether it's body cameras worn by police officers or just the ubiquitous iPhone or smartphone being carried by citizen journalists. I think for police officers who are really struggling with how they need to do their job, they need to act as if everything they do is being caught on camera because so often now, it is.
SESAY: Yes. Darren Kavinoky, always great to get your perspective.
KAVINOKY: Great to be here.
SESAY: Thank you so much for those insights.
KAVINOKY: Thank you.
SESAY: Thank you.
Next on CNN NEWSROOM, Israel's prime minister and the U.S. president often don't see eye to eye, but they'll try, they will try, to put those feelings aside this week when they meet face to face.
Plus, Donald Trump takes a break from the campaign trail to host "Saturday Night Live." We've got the good and the bad. And there was a lot of the bad, coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:14] 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 historic election. Millions went to the polls on Sunday. Many are hoping the military will lose more of its power after decades of tight control. Results are expected early this week. The U.S. is all but certain a bomb took down Russia's MetroJet flight
9268, killing 224 people. That's what a senior U.S. official tells CNN. Sources say Israel has passed along intercepts of ISIS chatter. Egypt says it's too soon to conclude a bomb was on the plane.
Mourners gathered for memorial services in St. Petersburg, Russia, honoring the MetroJet victims. Hundreds of people attended but Russian President Vladimir Putin was not there. St. Petersburg was the destination for the flight.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the United States Monday for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. The leaders are known for their contentious relationship, but that will be put on hold as they sit down to discuss U.S. defense aid to Israel.
CNN correspondent, Oren Liebermann, is live in Jerusalem with more on this.
Oren, that's the goal or at least hope that they can put past fights, if you will, on the back burner and deal with the key issues at hand.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're very much right there, Isha. The question is, how much can these two leaders who have this contentious relationship that's played out very publicly, the arguments between the two of them, how much can they put that aside to focus on the big issues of the day, which is Iran, the nuclear deal, the conflict in Syria, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and also top on Netanyahu's agenda that U.S. military aid package.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, another blow to the already strained relations between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama days before the two leaders meet in Washington. Revelations that Netanyahu's new appointment of a media adviser as Ran Baratz, who accused Obama of anti-Semitism on Facebook back in March in the run-up to the Iran framework agreement and once said John Kerry had a future in stand-up comedy. Baratz apologized and Netanyahu said he'll clarify the matter, but the damage was done. The seven-year relationship between Obama and Netanyahu has only grown worse in recent months. Earlier this year, Netanyahu made an unprecedented intervention in foreign policy speaking before Congress without a White House invitation and criticized Obama's signature Iran nuclear deal sparking a public and, at times, acrid feud between the leaders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The importance of this meeting is that it passes without further skirmishing between Obama and Netanyahu 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 two 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 in aid a year 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIEBERMANN: Although there are big issues on the analysts aren't expecting any big announcements especially since Netanyahu knows he'll work with a different president in just over a year -- Isha?
[01:35:10] SESAY: That being said, Mr. Netanyahu always takes opportunity on these trips to shore up support for Israel. What else is on his agenda in the United States?
LIEBERMANN: He has a number of meetings with pro-Israel lobbying groups, including one progressive group. So he could be a bit at odds there. He's seen as much more conservative here. But he'll shore up some of that support, put Israel's message out there as he makes his rounds for a few days in Washington.
SESAY: Oren Liebermann joining us from Jerusalem. Appreciate it. Thank you for the reporting.
Now the five suspects accused of carrying out the attack at Kenya's Garissa University College last April are set to appear in court. The terrorist group Al Shabaab took responsibility for the massacre of 148 students.
Robyn Kriel joins us with the latest from Nairobi.
What can you tell us about the suspects appearing in court? What more do we know about them?
ROBYN KRIEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There have been several delays for these suspects to be appearing in court, Isha, and their hearing will take place, so both sides the prosecution and defense will present their arguments. Isha, as I said, several delays. One of these nationals is a Tanzanian national. The other four are thought to be Kenyan or Somali nationals. That is still being disputed at the moment. Three of them were caught on a bus -- excuse me -- three of them were caught on a bus leaving Garissa. Police accusing them of 160-plus counts of terrorism. The other two were found on campus during the Garissa attack. One, the Tanzanian, was said to be caught by police hiding in the ceiling. The other was a security guard. As I say, they are charged with around 160-plus counts of terrorism and their case is due to be heard today.
SESAY: So, Robyn, here's the thing, these are the guys accused of carrying out the attack. It's my understanding that these aren't thought to be the masterminds. So where does the investigation at large stand in terms of finding out who planned this, or is the focus mainly on this trial of these five individuals?
KRIEL: Well, as we saw with the Westgate trial, a trial of this kind is more of people maybe perhaps accused of being involved in some way, perhaps ferrying someone or helping someone with a safe house, something along those lines. That's what we saw with people prosecuted in the Westgate attack. The masterminds, as you say, probably likely not in Kenya or at least not in this part, likely in Kenya's northeast or in Somalia. And Kenya is part of the African Union Coalition to fight al Shabaab aggressively in Somalia. They are also alongside Ugandan and Burundi troops, various other troops in the international coalition as well. You've seen drone strikes in Somalia trying to take out leaders and various other operations to try and essentially stamp out terror group al Shabaab in Somalia. Also, Kenya pursuing quite aggressively al Shabaab here in Kenya as well, in the Bony Forest (ph), for example, where a number of al Shabaab fighters were alleged to be hiding and carrying out attacks. They are accused of carrying out attacks in 2014. They, the KDF, have been clearing that Bony Forest (ph) and have had a number of successes in finding al Shabaab cells and to clearing those.
SESAY: This trial set to get under way of these five suspects, as you pointed out right at the beginning, has been delayed multiple times. I'm wonder, in Kenya, how much attention is being paid to it, how much faith people have in these proceedings, if you will.
KRIEL: Really, not a whole lot of attention. I was scouring online and papers, Isha, and it almost seems to have gone unnoticed that these five will be appearing in trial. It's sort of just lip service at this point. However, perhaps once the proceedings get under way, it will draw more attention definitely. It was a huge tragedy here in Kenya, one of the largest attacks since the embassy bombings in 1998. And so many students, so many youngsters losing their lives. Of course, Garissa still is suffering from this attack. They've still not opened up that university and it's still very, very unsettled there in Garissa. A lot of international agencies will not go back to the northeast as of yet -- Isha?
[01:39:41] SESAY: Robyn Kriel joining us there from Kenya with the latest. Robyn, thank you. It's an unprecedented account of time spent in a North Korean prison.
What a former inmate has to say in an exclusive interview. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Jong Guang-il served two years in one of North Korea's notorious prison camps, camps that are under U.N. investigation for human rights abuses. Jong's anger is aimed at a fellow inmate.
Will Ripley visited Pyongyang and got the exclusive interview. Will joins us from Tokyo.
And, Will, a remarkable story from this former inmate, a rather unique tale.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Isha. And it's interesting, too, that North Korea gave us this particular inmate to speak to with the intent of discrediting another man in South Korea whose testimony has been crucial for a United Nations investigation, an investigation that could lead to further action by the U.N., including calls for the regime to face criminal charges.
You're about to hear two men with the same name but very different stories of what life is like in North Korea's prison camps.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
RIPLEY (voice-over): When we asked to visit a North Korean prison, officials take us to this Pyongyang apartment.
(SINGING)
RIPLEY: We meet the family of Jong Guang-il, the first North Korean inmate they've ever allowed us to interview. He served two years at a 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 prisoners and denies three generations of punishment putting entire families in the gulags.
(on camera): Did you witness any public executions?
(voice-over): No, he says.
(on camera): Were you ever starving? Did you witness people who were starving?
(voice-over): He says they had plenty to eat.
(on camera): Were you tortured? Did you see people being tortured?
(voice-over): He calls my questions about torture nonsense.
Jong refuses to give details of daily life at the camp or even why he was in prison.
[01:45:06] Jong says a fellow prisoner who fled to South Korea is 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 traitor saying he's me."
"I didn't steal anyone's name," says the other Jong-Guang-il, speaking to CNN in Seoul. He admits he spent time in the same prison with the Pyongyang Jong but claims the names are a coincidence. He says his mother changed his sir name as a child and he changed it back after fleeing North Korea. CNN can't identify Jong's identity. Like many defectors, 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."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
RIPLEY: "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 CORRESPONDENT: -- changed portions of his story.
RIPLEY: But there are documented cases of some defectors being less than truthful. Shin don Shute (ph), considered one the U.N.'s most powerful voice against North Korean human rights abuse recanted parts of his story earlier 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.
(MUSIC)
RIPLEY: But until they open their doors to international inspection, they are unlikely to convince the outside world.
(MUSIC)
(APPLAUSE)
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RIPLEY: 45 countries have joined a U.N. resolution calling for the top leadership of North Korea to go to the international criminal court. That resolution was led by Japan and the E.U., but the United States, South Korea, Great Britain, all of them have joined together in this. But there two names, two countries noticeably absent, Russia and China. Those are two powerful friends of North Korea, and China would block any action to take the regime to international criminal court. Even though there's a lot of talk about human rights, what actual action and accountability could happen certainly remains to be seen -- Isha? SESAY: It certainly does.
Will Ripley joining us from Tokyo, Japan. Thank you.
Donald Trump took some time off from running for president and showed off his comedic skills on "Saturday Night Live." But not everyone was amused by his appearance. That's just ahead on "NEWSROOM L.A." Stay with us.
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KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley, with your CNN "World Sport" headlines.
Lorenzo has won the MotoGP title for a third time. The Spaniard started seven points behind the Italian Rossi. Rossi had to start at the back of the grid as a penalty after a previous clash. All the Italian needed was to finish second and he would have won his first title since 2009. Lorenzo led from pole. This his seventh race win of 2015.
On to football now, and as rivalries go, the North London Derby is up there. Arsenal hosting Tottenham on Sunday. Harry Kane broke clear and slotted in. However, Arsenal took control in the second half and equalized to make it 1-1. The visitors were denied an impressive victory. They remain unbeaten since the opening day of the season and are within three points of a Champions League place.
It's now 22 consecutive wins for Novak Djokovic after he defeated Andy Murray in Paris to secure a single season record sixth masters crown. The top seed winning this one in straight sets to improve a formidable 27-4 against top-10 opponents this year. It was his 58th title of his career.
That's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.
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[01:51:24] SESAY: We now know what caused the mystery light that freaked people out in southern California. They jumped on social media Saturday night when they saw this light in the sky. Some thought it was aliens or maybe a meteor. Some even called the police. But U.S. military officials say it was just a missile test from a submarine at sea. The Pentagon says these tests are done frequently to make sure the systems are still working properly.
Our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is here with more.
I don't care what they say, it looked really freaky.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It scared a lot of people. What it came down to as well was they said they released the statement saying, hey, we're going to be doing this. This is going to take place through the 12th of November. Even the LAX officials at the airport in Los Angeles were well aware this was going to take place. This is the "USS Kentucky." You look at this particular submarine, the missile launch device on top. When this takes place we're talking about those going off. You look at the perspective. This has been in commission since 1991. Not anything unusual for this to take place. The fog across coastal California, this goes up in the sky in a dense fog area and cast that vapor cloud that a lot of people were spooked by across that region. Certainly caught their attention. Maybe they should have gone to social media as opposed to telling officials at the airport and that may have passed things along better.
Let's show you across the Gulf of Aden. Incredible pattern setting up with two straight weeks of seeing tropical cyclones work their way in a very unusual location, the Gulf of Aden. Tropical Cyclone Meg in place. Meg in particular actually not coming in also at one point reaching a major hurricane equivalent status. Up to a category 4 equivalent paralleling what we saw last week. Recall as of last week, not since the 1980s have we had a storm this strong work its way into the Gulf of Aden impacting Yemen. Now another one lined up just south of that region. Of course, the concern in this is it's a war-torn region, the disruptions because of events in this area. The electric grid has been taken apart and communications down across this region. Very hard pressed to get weather-related information over this region. We're watching the storm carefully for landfall some time in the next 24 hours just west of where last week's landfall occurred. Certainly, a big story for folks across this part of the world -- Isha?
SESAY: Pedram, appreciate it. Thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(LAUGHTER)
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SESAY: That is Donald Trump showing off what some called Don's move on "Saturday Night Live."
Earlier, I spoke to CNN political analyst and "Bloomberg View" columnist, Josh Rogin.
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SESAY: You can analyze his dancing, if you choose, but better yet, how did he do as host?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think Donald Trump made a calculated decision to not talk any big risks. Didn't attack any of the other candidates. He didn't portray himself in any real negative matter. The big iconic "Saturday Night Live" political scenes that we remember, it's when Tina Fey acted as Sarah Palin. That was brutal. She skewered her. Trump played it safe here. Most people thought -- were disappointed by that after this big build-up and they thought it wasn't that funny. That scene where he's dancing there was funny. He was just being silly. But the political stuff didn't really hit the mark.
[01:55:05] SESAY: No, it didn't. In fact, one of the biggest headlines generated from the show was not Trump himself but Larry David and his performance, his moment of heckling Trump. Let's play a clip of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY DAVID, ACTOR & COMEDIAN: You're a racist!
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Who the hell is -- I knew this was going to happen. Who is that?
DAVID: Trump's a racist!
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: It's Larry David.
What are you doing, Larry?
DAVID: I heard if I yelled that, they'd give me $5,000.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: The brilliant Larry David there. And even though it's clearly a funny moment, it does tap into something darker here that some parts of the electorate do believe is an issue with Trump.
ROGIN: Sure. And there were protesters outside the NBC studio. NBC wanted to respond to that. By making fun of it, they acknowledged it and defused it in a way. But it also shows the difference between Trump when he was an early candidate, and would say things people considered racist, controversial, and Trump now. He's ahead in the polls but not ahead a lot. He wants to be safer. He doesn't want to be in war with the media. He wanted some light, good press. He didn't want to create more people who were out to get him. They put the criticism in the mouth of Larry David, who is funnier than Trump anyway.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay. The news continues right after this.
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