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Cautious Calm as Syria Ceasefire Begins; Clinton Diagnosed with Pneumonia Friday; NFL's Kaepernick Continues Protest in Opening Game; North Korea Nuclear Test Puts World on Edge; Sept. 11th Terror Attacks Halted Air Travel; Passengers Created Scholarship Fund for Local Students. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 13, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:10] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A fragile ceasefire in Syria is off to a rocky start. And it remains unclear how this complicated multi-stage plan will actually work.

Hillary Clinton takes a sick day from the campaign trail but new comments from Bill Clinton have raised more questions about her health.

VAUSE: Standing up by kneeling down, the quiet protest spreading across American professional sports.

SESAY: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.

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

SESAY: A fragile ceasefire is underway in Syria. It has now been in effect for almost 13 hours ever since sundown Monday, but will it last? Already there are reports of at least five attacks by Syrian aircraft and tanks most of them in and around the decimated city of Aleppo.

VAUSE: Hours before the ceasefire began, Syrian president Bashar al Assad went to a former rebel stronghold vowing to take back every piece of land from the terrorists. Assad said every group which opposes his regime are terrorists.

SESAY: Well, joining us now Barbara Walter is an expert on international security and terrorism and a professor of Political Science at the University of California-San Diego; also with us -- CNN military analyst Lt. Col. Rick Francona. Welcome to both of you. Barbara, let me start with you. Within hours of the ceasefire being declared there were reports of violations. Is this an enforceable deal?

BARBARA WALTER, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT: No. This is not. This is not a ceasefire that's going to last a particularly long time. And there are three reasons for that.

First, it was negotiated between the United States and Russia and not any of the parties fighting the war. Second, it favors Assad so there are very few incentives for the opposition to comply with this deal. And third, there is no enforcement mechanism so Assad can continue to continue to bomb the opposition and the opposition can fight back and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

SESAY: Colonel Francona, let me bring you in, why would the U.S. agree to a deal without penalties for violation?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. That's a really good question. I don't know. And I agree with everything Barbara just said.

I think that the problem here is the long-term ramifications if this works. I agree. I don't think this is going to last very long. But even if it lasts a short period of time and we do get into this operation with the Russians, what are we actually doing? We are playing right into the Russians' and the Syrians' hands because we're going to be removing the most effective fighters on the ground.

These fighters are all allied against Bashar al Assad and we're going to be removing the most effective people that are taking the fight. So when all is said and done who's going to be left? Just the weak and Free Syrian Army who don't have the capability to remove Bashar al Assad.

SESAY: Barbara -- you heard Colonel Francona there that this deal plays into the hands of Russia. There are those who question whether the deal points to a turning point in the long and difficult relationship between the U.S. and Russia. How do you to see this moment -- this moment between the two countries?

WALTER: You know, this is an interesting moment. I think the reason the United States signed on to this deal is strictly for humanitarian reasons. I don't think Kerry believes that this is going to last. I think the best he's hoping for is a few days of peace so that the United States can get food and aid into areas where there is critical civilian need.

SESAY: A deal not meant to last but just to ease the tensions. What about Bashar al Assad in all of this. It is notable that he is not mentioned in the deal itself clearly signaling -- suggesting that he remains a sticking point between the two sides -- Colonel Francona.

FRANCONA: Well yes. He is mentioned if there is a final solution. The goal according to Mr. Kerry is to bring everybody back to the table in Geneva and they are all going to sit around and they're going to talk about how Bashar al Assad will be replaced. He wants no part of that and I doubt if he's ever going to agree to that.

But if we get that far he will be in a position where he doesn't have to leave because the Russians will back him up and we will have removed all of the opposition. So I really don't think that Bashar al Assad is worried about being removed any time soon.

SESAY: Yes, and that's the point. In this short term, he's not a key factor in these talks and in this agreement. He appears down the road which suggests, Barbara -- Professor Walter, that the expectation is that this deal will jump start serious political negotiations. Some would say that is a little optimistic.

[00:05:08] WALTER: Well, I believe this war will eventually end in a negotiated settlement. And I believe that because I don't think it's possible for either side to decisively win this war. But what I think is important about this particular ceasefire and what is different from the last ceasefires is that the United States signed on to a deal that favors Assad. So I think on some level it's signaling will we will eventually consider maintaining him in power or giving him some role in the first post-war regime.

SESAY: Colonel Francona do you see it the same way?

FRANCONA: I think that is exactly right. And I think that we have realized that our goals and the Russians' goals are so far apart that one of us was going to have to give. Someone was going to have to blink and the guy who blinked was John Kerry.

WALTER: That's true.

SESAY: Ok. And to that point, as a final question to you both -- if that is indeed the case, what are the ramifications for Americans' standing in the region, Barbara?

WALTERS: I think the ramifications are that this war is not close to being complete. It's going to continue. It's going to take a long time before Assad agrees to serious negotiations. It's going to be a long time before all the parties agree to serious negotiations. This is really just the beginning of a long negotiation process.

SESAY: And Colonel Francona last word to you, if the U.S. does do that deal and do compromise, your thoughts on the ramifications for the U.S.?

FRANCONA: Well, I think the Russians have really played this masterfully. The Iranians are also a key player here. And we have been so farm marginalized now that we're going to have to give in to the Russians just like we did today to get a place at the table, otherwise we're not going to be -- have any say in what happens in Syria in the future.

SESAY: Well, thank you both for a great conversation. Colonel Francona, Professor Walter -- thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

WALTER: My pleasure. FRANCONA: Good to be with you.

VAUSE: Hillary Clinton's recent illness is fueling a broader debate over transparency by both U.S. presidential candidates.

SESAY: The Democratic nominee told Anderson Cooper she didn't reveal her pneumonia diagnosis right away because she didn't think it was a big deal. She is at home recovering after canceling a campaign trip to California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Compare everything you know about me with my opponent. I think it's time he met the same level of disclosure that I have for years. You know, you've got a medical report on me that meets the same standard as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Donald Trump's doctor said he would be the healthiest president in history. That is just not even serious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Donald Trump said he hopes Clinton gets well soon. He also said he will soon release the results of a physical he had last week.

For more on this, we're joined by CNN senior reporter for media and politics Dylan Byers; and also by Dr. Michael Lewis, he's a board- certified family practice physician at the Willow Healing Center here in Los Angeles.

And Dr. Lewis -- first to you -- a short time ago, Bill Clinton said that Secretary Clinton, his wife Hillary is actually doing a whole lot better but then he added this. Listen to what President Clinton said.

DR. MICHAEL LEWIS, BOARD-CERTIFIED FAMILY PRACTICE PHYSICIAN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Rarely, but on more than one occasion over the last many, many years the same sort of things happened to her when she just got severely dehydrated. And she's worked like a demon, as you know, as secretary of state and as a senator and the years since.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ok. So apart from the confusion, was it dehydration, was it pneumonia, we have Bill Clinton now saying that something like this has happened before. What do you make of President Clinton's remarks?

LEWIS: Well, thank you for having me.

Obviously, these things can happen in random events. My thought about what's going on is that when I see different pieces of a puzzle, I like to think that they all belong to one puzzle. And I don't mean to speculate and I don't mean to be a conspiracy theorist for that matter. However when we see cough since the Benghazi hearings and we see chronic dehydration, we see multiple blood clots or a hyper coaguable states, as we call it. I kind of think something may be going on deeper than just the pneumonia. And I hope hopefully not but my due diligence as a physician would be to think about the worst things and then rule them out. Now, hopefully her medical team is offering that to her.

[00:10:00] SESAY: Dr. Lewis, both campaigns, the Trump and Clinton campaign have announced today that in the coming days they will be releasing more information about the health of the candidates. As you talk about puzzles and you talk about trying to build a picture of Hillary Clinton's health what will you be looking for when that information comes out?

LEWIS: I think that's a great question. I think, looking at the whole picture it's hard to do it from a distance because I haven't examined her, I haven't put a stethoscope on her, I haven't seen her laboratories and I haven't seen her up close. What we're getting is what we're getting as individuals here, as voters and bystanders are second and third party, you know, results.

So I think and I hope -- one, that she's ok. Two, I hope that her medical team is really doing their due diligence. And three, I think -- I hope we're getting the truth because it is an important time for us voters to know the truth and have transparency.

VAUSE: Ok. And with that let's go to Dylan because that gets into the politics of the issue.

Hillary Clinton tweeted this out a short time ago, "Like anyone who has ever been home sick from work I'm just anxious to get back out there. See you on the trail soon."

The problem is this isn't just having a sick day. This goes into the question of transparency. Why weren't all these issues disclosed long before this event happened on Sunday? And it feeds into the narrative -- whether it's the medical records, a private e-mail server -- that something is being hidden.

DYLAN BYERS, CNN SENIOR REPORTER FOR MEDIA AND POLITICS: Right. And I would say with all due respect to Dr. Lewis, it allows you to sort of say ok, she coughed here and she coughed there and she has pneumonia here and now her husband is saying she has had pneumonia in the past. What is the bigger picture here and what don't we know?

Look, pneumonia is something that you can cure. You can take medicine for it. Coughing is something that happens to people. The real issue here is not one of health; the issue here is one of transparency. People want to know more. She has met the standard that was set by Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

What neither candidate has done is set the standard that was set by John McCain in 2008. John McCain, then 71 invited 20 reporters to Arizona to review 1,173 pages of his medical documents. It wasn't pretty but in the end it showed that he was fit to be president of the United States. In 2016, that almost seems naively idealistic. The transparency right now is at an all-time low. And, you know, Donald Trump won't even release his tax returns. He won't even release an IRS letter audit showing that he can't release his tax returns.

And I'll just say, you know, at the end of the day we need more transparency from both of these candidates. But I ultimately think that as bad as this weekend had looked for Hillary it's going to end up being a net win for her because she's going to come out and say fine, you want to spend 72 hours talking about my health, let's spend 72 hours talking about Donald Trump's tax returns.

SESAY: Yes. And Dr. Lewis -- just briefly, you heard Dylan say there, you know, Hillary Clinton what she's released right now meets the standards for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Your thoughts on that?

LEWIS: I hope those standards hold up. I'm sure they will. I hope we're getting all the information and I hope she's ok. It's a little disconcerting for me as a physician. And you know, tax returns and health records, they're not mandatory. They're recommended and I think it's important that we have all the information that we need to get as voters in 60 days from now when we're voting.

So I just hope everyone is doing their due diligence on either side and that is the transparency side, the bureaucratic and the medical side.

VAUSE: Ok. Doctor -- thank you for giving us your expertise on the medical side of things.

SESAY: Thank you, Dr. Lewis.

VAUSE: We are going to be looking a little closer at the politics of that deplorable comment that Hillary Clinton made about Donald Trump supporters.

So Dylan, you'll stay with us.

Clearly this is something which the Trump campaign feels that they can run on. This is Donald Trump at a campaign rally today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hillary Clinton still hasn't apologized to those she slandered. In fact she hasn't backed down at all. She doubled down on her campaign conspiracy and contempt. If Hillary Clinton will not retract her comments in full, I don't see how she can credibly campaign any further.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There is something incredibly bizarre and ironic, or whatever word you want to choose, of Donald Trump demanding an apology for something that someone had said. BYERS: The same man who has had interviews in which he said I never

apologize because I'm never wrong. And yet he said so many things -- even this morning in an interview with CNBC. I mean time and time again, he engages in innuendos, speculation he and says things that are patently false. He said things that he doesn't provide evidence fore. He calls Mexicans rapists. Let's go down the list the last 13, 14 months.

[00:15:08] Now that said if you flash back to 2012, when Mitt Romney said what he said about the 47 percent of voters that were never going to vote for. What Hillary Clinton said isn't exactly the same thing, talking about the voters is always risky. You remember when Barack Obama talked about voters who cling to their guns.

VAUSE: And their bibles.

BYERS: I mean talking, you know -- this, at the end of the day, this process is about -- we spend like all this time focusing on the candidates, two years almost focusing on the candidates, it is about the voters. And the voters don't like being disrespected.

Now on the other hand I don't know if it's the best idea for Trump supporters to go out and embrace this deplorable thing and start waving around confederate flags. I don't think that's going to help Trump's brand either.

SESAY: Yes. Last thing to you, Dylan -- we hear Trump saying the comments are disqualifying, she should apologize. And yet his running mate was asked whether he would label David Duke, the KKK leader, former KKK leader, deplorable.

BYERS: Right.

SESAY: Take a listen to this.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm not really sure why the media keeps dropping David Duke's name. Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly. We don't want his support and we don't want the support of people who thinks like him.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Will you call him a deplorable? You would him that.

PENCE: No. I'm not in the name-calling business, Wolf. You know me better than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BYERS: Well, look -- Pence is in a tough position there, right. You don't want to be associated with disavowing -- you don't want David Duke to be in the headline.

SESAY: Why?

(CROSSTALK) BYERS: Because you are trying to run a campaign where you are trying to appeal to the David Duke faction along with other factions. Now look, Hillary Clinton when she apologized when she said -- her apology said I am sorry that I called half of his supporters deplorable. She didn't say I'm sorry that I called any of his supporters deplorable.

The truth about the Donald Trump campaign, and reporters like myself will get all sorts of invective from Trump supporters saying we're not being fair. The truth is there is a nativist wing of the Donald Trump --

VAUSE: And that has been pointed out.

Ok. Dylan Byers, thank you for being with us. Also we'd like to thank Dr. Michael Lewis who is also here with us in Los Angeles for the medical input.

SESAY: Thanks to you both.

VAUSE: And we will take a short break. When we come back, Colin Kaepernick continues his national anthem protest during the 49ers game but he's not alone. How other players are showing their support for the NFL quarterback in a moment.

SESAY: Plus passengers stranded 15 years ago on September 11th have found a way to repay the town that opened its doors to them. That story is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Colin Kaepernick may be the backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers but he was front and center before the team's opening game. The NFL player has refused to stand for the national anthem to protest racial injustice in the United States. And before Monday night's game he once again took a knee.

SESAY: Kaepernick's stance has spread across the NFL. Over the weekend some players kneeled while others raised their fists and some players on a few teams locked arms along the sidelines.

VAUSE: We go live now to Dan Simon. He is in Santa Clara, California where the 49ers' opening games I ongoing as we speak. So Dan, it wasn't just Kaepernick that was staging this silent protest during the national anthem.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you had a couple of players raising their fists as well, John -- obviously important symbolism there. This national anthem tonight also took on more of an emotional sort of tone, if you will, because the crowd observed a moment of silence just before the national anthem was played. So it was very somber.

You also had the anthem itself where you had a violinist playing solo. So the crowd was very emotional during all that and there you had Colin Kaepernick taking a knee alongside safety Eric Reed who for the second week in a row stood next -- or knelt next to Colin Kaepernick. In addition, of course, you have those players, two from the Los Angeles Rams and two from the 49ers raising their fists which harkens back obviously to that powerful imagery with the black power movement in the 1960s -- John.

VAUSE: Dan -- any reaction there from, I guess, from the fans or any other players even from the officials? Is anyone actually saying anything about this?

SIMON: Well, you know, I will tell you, John, we did see a lot of people wearing the number 7 jersey, Colin Kaepernick's number and I should add that he is donating all the proceeds from those jersey sales to charity. It is the number one selling jersey in the NFL shop.

But when you talk to fans, obviously, you hear things on both sides. But I think the overwhelming sentiment is while people may not necessarily agree with what Colin Kaepernick is doing they all agree that he has the right to do it -- John.

VAUSE: Ok. Dan -- thank you. Dan Simon, reporting there, live with the very latest. Appreciate it.

VAUSE: And we are joined now by former Green Beret and NFL player Nate Boyer. Nate -- good to have you with us.

NATE BOYER, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Good to be here. Appreciate it.

SESAY: Welcome. Welcome.

So Colin Kaepernick's protest continues. He took the knee tonight at the game and the protest seems to be spreading. As a former NFL player are you surprised to see this?

BOYER: No, not at all. I met with Colin and Eric, actually just I guess ten days ago now, the night before their last pre-season game where the game before that -- the two games before that, Colin had sat down on the bench sort of isolated from his team and he read that open letter that I wrote to him and he invited me down to kind of have a discussion about everything.

And he was looking for a more respectful way to demonstrate, you know, because he does have a big heart for our military and the service members and he also understands that most police officers are good people and do it the right way but there still are these social injustices that he's recognizing.

So he decided we kind of came to a middle ground where he would take a knee alongside his teammates.

SESAY: Did you help him come to that decision?

BOYER: Exactly, yes. We all -- the three of us sat in the lobby of the team hotel down in San Diego and just hashed it out in plain view there. And it was pretty cool.

[00:25:02] But it was really, really cool actually to see that image spread versus the sitting on the bench kind of alone. I just think it's more proactive, first of all. And it's also, you know, alongside your teammate I think is a key there. So it's still -- you are still part of the unit even, you know what I mean, even though you maybe think a little bit differently.

VAUSE: As a former Green Beret, former NFL player, how do you explain to people that Kaepernick is not being disrespectful to the military?

BOYER: It's hard. There are a lot of people that ho don't agree with it. And you know what just as I fought and many people fought for his right to do what he's doing we also fought for the right for people to disagree with it and have those opinions.

But at the same time, this is what America is supposed to be about. You know what I mean. That's what is supposed to set us apart from a lot of the unfree world is those freedoms, that right for him to stand for or kneel for something that he truly believes in. And what is important now I think is the action moving forward, you know what I mean.

And obviously, the donating of the money is a huge step but I would like to see him and all these guys that are taking a knee now or raising a fist to really get involved in the community, you know on the grass roots level and be a part of that change they want to see.

SESAY: You know the NFL from the inside as a player. Are we witnessing a turning point in the league in the sense that are we going to see more of this kind of stuff, NFL players speaking out on important issues, important social issues because until now they have been kind of reticent. We're seeing it more in other sporting leagues. Do you think we have reached a turning point here?

BOYER: Yes, yes. I think we are seeing it more in sporting leagues and we're seeing it kind of in the entertainment industry certainly. But I love it because at least in this country, as far as football goes, those guys are the heroes of many young people. You know what I mean.

And if it's something they are passionate about and obviously if it's something that is not drawing attention to themselves but for a cause which this is and which I met with him and kind of understood that. I wanted to really feel that out. And I feel like he genuinely cares and wants to see change. I think this is something that will grow in the sporting world and I think there is a place for it.

VAUSE: You mentioned the fact that Kaepernick is donating money to these charities, you know the sales from the jerseys. There's also a million dollars from his (inaudible) but the 49ers also donating $1 million as well.

You know, say what you will about Kaepernick, there is some positive change already happening because of this protest. That seems to be undeniable right now.

BOYER: Absolutely. You know, after I went down there I met with some of the 49ers organization and then throughout this week before the Seahawks protest they did that unified -- they were all interlocking arms. I talked with their players and then their coaches as well. And they were all -- it was really cool to be in this position where they were reaching out to me just to kind of filter it through how a veteran would see this, you know, from your eyes.

And I love that the organization is getting on board as well. And I hope the fans in the stands do to because that's what it is all about. It's about that platform making a difference for the community and then obviously the community getting involved in somehow, you know, racism will exist forever, unfortunately but we can do better. We can always do better. And that's what his message really is about, I believe. I could be wrong. But --

VAUSE: It seems like we are almost at a point where there is an acceptable protest for all sides that they can make the point and people are happy with it or not --

BOYER: For the most part. I think the far extremes to both ends will always be upset about it in some way.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Exactly. It's expanding the middle.

BOYER: Exactly.

VAUSE: Nate -- thank you so much.

BOYER: Thank you -- guys. I really appreciate it.

VAUSE: And another short break.

When we come back North Korea getting a lot of attention right now after a recent nuclear test -- we'll tell you what they may be planning next and how the world is preparing for it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:32:08] VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour.

A fragile ceasefire is in effect in Syria for the first time in months. It's meant to allow humanitarian aid into devastated cities like Aleppo. The are reports of some attacks by Syrian jets and tanks in and around that city. But for the most part, the truce appears to be holding.

VAUSE: Hillary Clinton says she could resume campaigning in a couple of days. She is at home recovering from pneumonia. She says she did not disclose the illness right away because she didn't think it would be a big deal. But she says she has been transparent about her health and is now challenging rival Donald Trump to do the same.

SESAY: A show of force intended to send a message to North Korea. The U.S. military flew two B1 bombers over South Korea just a few hours ago. The jets came from Andersen Airbase in Guam.

VAUSE: The U.S. says it's a demonstration of its steadfast commitment to South Korea's defense and a response to North Korea's aggressive behavior.

Pyongyang's latest nuclear test is sending shock waves throughout the region and around the world.

SESAY: The U.S., South Korea and Japan say they are preparing their own trilateral response beyond any steps the United Nations might take.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kim Jong-Un's largest nuclear weapons test ever soon may be followed by yet another test of a nuclear device according to U.S. and South Korean officials.

And unprecedented action by the regime, it would be the sixth test overall and the third this year. South Korea is getting ready for the worst-case scenario, says its defense minister.

The more than 28,000 U.S. troops on the peninsula remain, as always, on high alert. The Pentagon promises an umbrella of protection, including American nuclear weapons.

ABRAHAM DENMARK, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR EAST ASIA: The United States remains committed to the defense of the R.O.K. against the North Korean threat with all aspects of conventional missile defense and nuclear capability.

STARR: U.S. B-1 bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and other U.S. and South Korean aircraft are expected to fly over the Korean Peninsula as soon as Tuesday in a symbolic show of force, according to U.S. officials. But for now, a U.S. military response seems unlikely because Kim appears unwilling to back off and no one knows how he might respond.

VICTOR CHA, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The risk and the cost in this case is that they could retaliate in nuclear terms which would be disastrous, or they could retaliate in conventional terms which would be as dangerous in terms of the thousands of artillery tubes on the border.

STARR: Last week's nuclear test may have been a game changer. U.S. officials believe it's likely the regime did test a nuclear warhead.

[00:35:07] CHA: Now they seem to have made smaller and more warheads, and their statements suggest they have perfected or come near to perfecting a design that they can now mass produce.

STARR: Kim may now have several critical components. A miniaturized warhead that can be put on a missile. Hard to track submarine and road mobile launchers for those missiles. And missiles powered by solid fuel which allows for little warning time of a launch.

All of this giving Kim Jong-un exactly what he wants, to demonstrate to the world he has a nuclear weapons capability that can survive a first strike by the U.S.

(on-camera): No one really knows what Kim Jong-un is thinking, but there is speculation among U.S. officials that he might be trying to put all the nuclear pieces into place before a new president comes into office, believing he will have a strength in hand come January.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Time for a quick break.

Passengers stranded in Canada on 9/11 are still saying thank you to the town that took them in. The details are just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: This past Sunday, the United States marked the 15th anniversary of September 11th with so long ceremonies to honor the dead and to remember an event so horrific it seems impossible to forget.

Much is being said and written about the terrible consequences since then, both intended or not. But there are the lives forever changed for the better because of an incredible confluence of circumstance.

When the U.S. shut down its air space after the terror attacks, pilots were told to put down wherever they could. And 38 wide bodied planes with thousands of passengers ended up in a small Canadian town of Gander.

Shirley Brooks was on one of those planes, flight 15 from Frankfurt to Atlanta. She joins me now on the line from Columbus, Ohio to pick up the story from there.

So Shirley, 7000 passengers are there or about arriving in a very small community.

What happened next?

SHIRLEY BROOKS-JONES, PASSENGER (via telephone): What happened was we sat aboard our planes for about 28-1/2 hours. During that whole time, our captain of Delta flight 15 monitored the BBC to see, you know, what information he could give to us. So we just sat aboard the plane and, you know, tried to make contact with home, wherever our home was.

The cell phones weren't working for about 2-1/2 hours. And, finally, cell phones began working and people were, you know, people were sharing phones with those who didn't have phones. And it was just an amazing, amazing experience.

VAUSE: And you were stuck there for a couple of days, and there was no hotels, no rooms and all the locals came out to help.

BROOKS-JONES: Right. When we arrived there, we were -- we offload to buses and went into places where we had been assigned. And they took such wonderful care of us because we had no luggage. We just had the clothes on our backs.

[00:40:15] We had a flight bag or whatever. We had nothing else. Those people from all those little, tiny villages came together. They fed us. They gave us places to stay. We slept on the floors of churches and schools and service clubs. And they just were absolutely marvellous people.

They had so very little, themselves, but they shared everything with us. And it was not just the adults who were taking care of us. But it was the high school kids.

I mean, the kids of all ages, even the little tiny kids. We had people on our plane from many different countries. So we were not all Americans, who were involved. But they took care of us just like we were long-lost friends. They were just truly amazing.

VAUSE: OK. So you had this incredible outpouring of assistance and help from this town of just about 10,000 people or so. And then, the restrictions on the air space is lifted and it's time to leave, and you go to -- you and your fellow passengers offer some compensation. You try to pay these people.

What did they say?

BROOKS-JONES: Yes, it was bothering us, because we knew -- they couldn't afford to do what they had done for us. We knew that. And each of us in our own way were trying to leave something, you know, to help defray the expenses but nobody would take anything.

They would look at us, you know, and just say, no, you would do the same thing for us. And so what happened was one of my fellow passengers came up with the idea -- he said he had learned that a number of students would drop out of school. And I was amazed, I said why, and he said because there were no jobs.

Well, as I've told other people, all of a sudden I realized that, you know, we couldn't help one or two students after all those folks had done for us. So I suggested that we try to establish an endowed scholarship fund that would benefit the students for years and years and years because we wanted them to know that we would never forget what they had done for us.

VAUSE: Tell me about that. How many people have you helped with that scholarship?

BROOKS-JONES: 228 students have gone on, you know, to further their education. Now they can go to any accredited college or university anywhere in the world or they can go to a post-high school, vocational or technical training program. A few of the kids have taken advantage of that. But most of them have gone on to university. We have three or four kids who are now in these. We have some students who have gone on for other advanced degrees, masters, PhDs, and one young man who is working on his PhD in geo physics and other was shoreline ocean management. And so it's really - you know, it has done what we really was our dream for it to do.

VAUSE: Well, keep on doing what you're doing. It's fantastic.

Shirley, thank you for sharing that story. It's such a wonderful thing to hear.

BROOKS-JONES: Well, thank you so much for talking with me.

SESAY: What an incredible story.

VAUSE: You know, and all the bad things that have come out of that day, the Iraq war, Afghanistan, the rise of ISIS and al Qaeda, the fact that you have to worry about someone running you down with a car or like a pressure cooker or whatever, to think that there are 228 kids have gone to university just because of that. And think about the multiply effect. You've got thousands of people that that has impacted.

SESAY: Absolutely.

VAUSE: And it's just still --

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SESAY: Acts of human kindness.

VAUSE: It's the one good -- anyway.

SESAY: It's a beautiful thing.

VAUSE: Yes. Not a lot of good come out of that 9/11.

SESAY: But that is one moment.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. "World Sport" is up next. We'll be back with another hour of news from all around the world at the top of the hour. You're watching CNN.

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