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Cessation of Hostilities to take Effect Monday; World Leaders Condemn North Korea's Latest Provocation; Race for the White House; Dozens Rescued from Alps Cable Cars. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired September 10, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Weeks of negotiating finally end with a plan. How the U.S. and are Russia hope to bring some sort of truth to Syria.

Getting tough on North Korea: how the U.N. is responding to the country's latest nuclear test.

Plus: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump trade new insults on the campaign trail.

It's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. We're live in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.

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ALLEN: After five long years of war, a chance at peace may finally be in sight for Syria. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced a long-sought cease-fire deal on Friday.

Under the plan, a cessation of hostilities takes effect across Syria at sundown on Monday. Our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, has more about the deal.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: So key to the cessation of hostilities working, Secretary Kerry said, was for the United States to put pressure on the opposition to keep good on their obligations and for Russia, for their part, to keep Assad good on his obligations.

He said the United States assessment was that that's what Russia would do. This is how he put it.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Today the United States and Russia are announcing a plan which we hope will reduce violence, ease suffering and resume movement towards a negotiated peace and a political transition in Syria. The Obama administration, the United States is going the extra mile here because we believe that Russia and my colleague have the capability to press the Assad regime to stop this conflict and to come to the table and make peace.

ROBERTSON: Another key point of this peace agreement, not just the cessation but humanitarian access. Secretary Kerry laying out in specific detail how that would take effect in Aleppo to give besieged areas there, up to 300,000 people living in besieged rebel-controlled parts of the city, give them much-needed humanitarian access. Also talked about the limits being put on the use of Assad's air

force, his barrel-bombing helicopters, to prevent civilian casualties, that Russia and the United States would work together to target Al- Nusra, the former al Qaeda ally inside Syria.

From the Russian perspective, Sergey Lavrov stressing that this seven- day test period of the humanitarian and cease-fire, would allow and he said this was important, would allow and must happen after seven days, a separation of what he described, terrorist opposition elements and non-terrorist opposition elements.

This is how he put it.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): After the regime is fully functional for seven continuous days, we, as John just said, ought to create a joint implementation center, JIC, where the military men and the special representatives from Russia and the U.S. will be engaged in solving practical matters of delimitation and separation of terrorists from the moderate opposition.

ROBERTSON: And that has been a key issue for Russia in the past. A bone of contention with the United States going on for months. Wanting the United States to say who was a terrorist and who wasn't a terrorist. Who should be targeted, who shouldn't be targeted.

A lot of mistrust there. That seems to be overcome at this time now. Lavrov saying and laying out how he had told the Assad regime, Bashar al-Assad, he said, has been told of this plan and his responsibilities.

Secretary Kerry thanking him for that. But, of course, what has troubled peace talks in the past is that key point when the political transition part comes up somewhere down the road, that's when the expectation is that Russia will tell President Bashar al-Assad that he will need to step aside.

That hasn't happened in the past. And at this stage it's not clear how that will happen this time going forward. A long way to go yet -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Geneva.

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ALLEN: Meantime, Reuters News Agency says Syrian government forces have retaken a very important road in Aleppo. That road is in the southwest of the city at the lower left in this map you see here. It is the same general area that rebels captured in August to end a

month-long regime siege. But government forces have now effectively surrounded rebel-held areas again. That essentially prevents rebels from are using a key supply route.

At least 18 people are dead in Bangladesh after a boiler exploded --

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ALLEN: -- inside a factory near Dhaka. It happened around 6:00 am local time. There were employees inside this four-story building during the fire. Officers tell us that 50 workers went to various hospitals. They're investigating what caused the boiler to explode.

The U.N. Security Council is strongly condemning North Korea's latest nuclear test. They're calling it a clear threat to international peace and security.

But North Korea itself is celebrating. Officials claim it is their strongest test yet, nearly double the size of their last one in January. Our Paula Hancocks joins us now with more from Seoul and what more North Korea is saying about its tests.

Paula, hello.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Natalie.

It was Foundation Day for North Korea, so they are celebrating twice- over their second nuclear test in one year, unprecedented for North Korea. And they are claiming that they have successfully tested a nuclear warhead and that effectively they can now put it on any one of their ballistic missiles, which of course you can imagine around the world is raising concerns and has sparked widespread condemnation.

North Korea, in a state-run media, an article on Friday night, actually said that they were now going to conduct foreign relations as befits an independent power and a nuclear weapons state.

Well, U.S. President Barack Obama has made clear that will never happen as far as Washington is concerned, Obama saying that they will never accept North Korea as a nuclear state.

And similar sentiments from many other countries around the world, in particular, South Korea and Japan, obviously those directly in the region, very concerned about what they're seeing here.

Now we heard as well from United Nations Security Council -- sorry, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He said that there is more of a pressing concern now that there has been this nuclear fifth test, saying we must urgently break this accelerating spiral of escalation.

And the U.N. Security Council meeting, insisting they will do something to try and prevent a further test.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The members of the Security Council also recalled that they had previously expressed their determination to take further significant measures in the event of another nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on appropriate measures under Article 41 in a Security Council resolution.

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HANCOCKS: Intelligence officials here in Seoul that were briefing lawmakers on Friday said they believe the North Korea was trying to -- their goal was to mount a nuclear warhead on a Scud missile. They also said that they do have concerns that the improvements they're seeing are far quicker than expected -- Natalie.

ALLEN: So China is North Korea's only ally. It has supported sanctions. But sanctions clearly have not worked, even though the U.N. is now figuring out what to do next.

So what position does this likely put China in?

And what about the missile systems that the United States is coordinating with Seoul there in South Korea and that tension that's adding to the mix with China?

HANCOCKS: Yes. This is the THAAD missile defense system, the U.S. system that Washington and Seoul have agreed will be put in South Korea. They've even agreed on the location. They say they absolutely need it to try and protect the country against North Korean missiles.

Now Beijing does not want this system here. It doesn't want it because it said it could interfere or even track its own security apparatus. Russia is exactly the same. They don't want more U.S. military hardware in the region. And so that is causing tension between China and South Korea and the United States.

So potentially that could scupper plans to have significantly stronger sanctions within the United Nations. It's not clear at this point how strongly Beijing will sign onto more punishments of North Korea. And some experts say potentially North Korea knew that. They knew there was a disconnect, there was a discord between China and the others in the region.

So potentially they thought that it would be a good time to carry out another nuclear test -- Natalie.

ALLEN: All right. Paula Hancocks for us there in Seoul, South Korea, thank you, Paula.

Hillary Clinton is calling for more sanctions against North Korea and is pushing China to do more.

Donald Trump jumped on the chance to blame the nuclear test on his Democratic rival. On Friday, the presidential candidate called the test, quote, "another massive failure from the secretary of state," end quote.

Trump also characterized Clinton in a way he once described his own impunity.

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TRUMP: Because she is being so protected, she could walk into this arena now and shoot somebody with 20,000 people watching right smack in the middle of the heart, and she wouldn't be prosecuted.

That's what's happened. That is what's happened to our country. I never thought I'd see the day when this is happening to our country.

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ALLEN: Trump's running mate has done what the billionaire refuses to do: release his tax returns. Indiana governor Mike Pence and his wife reported a relatively modest gross income last year of more than $113,000.

They paid $9,000 in taxes. Critics have pressured Trump to release his returns but he says he won't until a federal audit is completed. Tax lawyers say Trump could release the returns immediately if he wished.

Clinton did not respond to any of Trump's comments we mentioned a minute ago about North Korea. But at a fund-raiser in New York Friday, she did go after some of his supporters.

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HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables.

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CLINTON: The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it.

That other basket of people are people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them.

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ALLEN: Earlier Friday, Clinton met with a bipartisan group of foreign policy experts. The news conference that followed appeared staged to draw a stark contrast with Trump. Here is our senior political reporter, Brianna Keilar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPODENT: Hillary Clinton is showcasing her commander-in-chief credentials, meeting with the bipartisan group of prominent national security experts.

CLINTON: I asked him to join me for a candid conversation about some of the most challenging issues facing our country.

KEILAR: Among those at the meeting former CIA Director and Retired General David Petraeus and Michael Chertoff, George W. Bush's homeland secretary. After the meeting in a carefully staged event designed to a vocal White House press conference, Clinton came to the microphone to once again blast Donald Trump.

CLINTON: This just becomes more and more of a reality television script -- show. It's not a serious presidential campaign. And it is beyond one's imagination to have a candidate for president praising a Russian autocrat like Vladimir Putin.

KEILAR: But with North Korea's test of yet another nuclear weapon, Clinton is also in a political bind, Trump saying earlier its evidence, her time as secretary of state was a failure. Clinton condemned the test and says the U.S. must be recalibrate its approach with North Korea.

CLINTON: We are not going to let anyone who is a treaty ally and partner of ours be threatened and we are not going to let North Korea pursue a nuclear weapon with the ballistic missile capacity to deliver it to the United States territory. That is absolutely a bottom line.

KEILAR: Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine is accusing Trump of showing a shocking level of disrespect for President Obama in praising Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

TRUMP: He's been a leader far more than our president has been a leader.

TIM KAINE, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you don know the difference between leadership and dictatorship, then where do I start with you?

KEILAR: The Clinton campaign is out with a new ad, emphasizing the importance of Democrats and Republicans working together.

CLINTON: That's how we got health care for 8 million kids. Rebuilt New York City after 9/11 and got the treaty cutting Russia's nuclear arms. We got to bring people together. That's how you solve problems and that's what I'll do as president.

KEILAR: The national archives which runs the Clinton library said it also found 59 pictures of Hillary Clinton in 1994 at a fundraiser that Donald Trump attended. But they're not going to release them. They say they are protected as personal information -- Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ALLEN: Before his White House bid, one of Donald Trump's biggest

forays into politics was birthers. Miguel Marquez has a look at Trump's birther claims and where he stands on that issue --

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ALLEN: -- today.

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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His campaign manager says it.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He believes President Obama was born here.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): So do his surrogates.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NYC: I believe it, he believes it, we all believe it.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Even his running mate says it, telling reporters this week, "I believe Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. I accept his birthplace."

So why won't Donald Trump?

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: Do you think your birther position has hurt you among African Americans?

TRUMP: I don't know. I have no idea. I don't even talk about it anymore.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): But just last year...

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Do you accept that President Obama was born in the United States?

TRUMP: No, I don't know. I really don't know.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The reality showman built a political name for himself in the run-up to the 2012 race by questioning President Obama's citizenship.

TRUMP: Why doesn't he show his birth certificate?

And you know what?

I wish he would because I think it's a terrible pall that's hanging over him.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): That was March 2011.

For weeks, Trump railed on this single issue.

TRUMP: There's no birth certificate. There's only a certificate of live birth, which is a totally different thing.

Barack Obama should give his birth certificate.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): In June 2008, Obama released a short form birth certificate to mollify critics, chief among them, Donald Trump; in April 2011, he released his long form birth certificate.

TRUMP: Today, I'm very proud of myself.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Trump claimed victory -- sort of.

TRUMP: I'd want to look at it but I hope it's true.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): A year and a half later, in October 2012, an emboldened Trump insisted on even more documents, passports and college applications, to bolster a birth certificate he still questions.

TRUMP: If he releases these records, it will end the question and, indeed, the anger of many Americans.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump is here tonight.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Trump's single-minded focus on the president's birthplace become a joke to the president himself.

OBAMA: No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald. And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, did we fake the moon landing?

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Trump, not laughing today, also not saying whether he thinks his birther obsession was a mistake or whether he now believes Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii -- Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

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ALLEN: Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, a daring rescue in the French Alps. Helicopters descend on these cable cars to pull people to safety.

The passengers' fate and their story when we come back.

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ALLEN: The French Alps offer stunning views and some of Europe's highest peaks. But what was supposed to be a fun excursion about 30 minutes --

[03:20:00] ALLEN: -- turned into quite an ordeal for 33 cable car passengers trapped overnight. They were rescued Friday morning but spent a chilly evening in the mountains -- or shall we say hovering above the mountains. Our Ben Wedeman is in Chamonix, France.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Visibly relieved to be back on the ground. It was supposed to be a beautiful day out at Western Europe's highest peak. But it turned into a nightmare.

Thirty-three people stuck in several cable cars overnight in the French Alps, suspended at over 12,000 feet. They were among 110 initially trapped after wires carrying the cars tangled in high winds. The experience left many shaken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You try to clear your mind as much as you can, but it's very difficult, very difficult. I had to close my eyes during a good amount of time to try to think about something else.

WEDEMAN: Rescuers raced against nightfall, using helicopters to evacuate as many as possible. When fog rolled in, they used rope to lower some riders to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tried to take us with a helicopter, but the fog came in. So the two rescuers stayed with us. And then we did a belay (ph) after we decided there was no other way to get down.

WEDEMAN: Those stuck overnight had to use blankets, water and cereal bars in survival kits found in each cabin.

As morning broke the final 33 people were freed after first responders managed to restart the cars. Now heading back, relieved it's over and that no one was hurt.

(on camera): French officials have already begun an investigation into this incident perhaps with an eye to make sure it never happens again. For those who were stuck all night in those freezing cable cars, however, they probably never wanted to step foot in one again -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Chamonix, France.

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ALLEN: They're very fortunate that they are back on terra firma, aren't they?

Well, millions of Muslims from around the world have traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, which is underway this weekend. The pilgrimage to Mecca is a pillar of Islam and among the largest gatherings of the faithful in the world. Here is a look at the ritual and the logistics behind it.

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ALLEN: All right here. One more before we go, the NBA is welcoming in a new class of hall of famers. Chinese megastar, Yao Ming, all 7'6" of him, played a huge roll in basketball's emergence in China. And he was one of the few players who could frustrate his fellow giant, Shaquille O'Neal.

Shaq dominated the league from the center position while becoming a pop culture mainstay.

And lastly, honored the comparatively tiny Allen Iverson at just 6' tall. Iverson's fearless style made him one of the best scorers ever.

So congratulations to all of them.

I smacked right into Shaquille O'Neal once here at CNN.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And he smacked you up.

ALLEN: He was not hurt. I don't even think he knew I smacked into him.

VAN DAM: What was that, a fly?

Oh, sorry, Natalie Allen on my shoulder.

Oh, my goodness.

ALLEN: All right. Thanks for watching us. "POLITICAL MANN" is coming next.

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