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Chinese Officials Meet In United States Over Cybersecurity; A Look At Life Under ISIS; A Surprise Stowaway For Flight Instructor; Greeks Optimistic A Debt Deal Will Avoid Default; Two South Koreans Sentenced To Life of Hard Labor in North Korea. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired June 23, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:16] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now China rejects allegations that it was involved in a major hack on the U.S. As 18 million government workers may have been affected by the

breach.

A leading Samsung executive makes a rare speech to say sorry for not stopping the spread of MERS at a Samsung hospital.

And life under ISIS: residents of a city recently liberated tell us of the horrors inflicted by the militant group.

The contentious issue of cybersecurity is in the spotlight as Chinese officials visit the United States. They're holding annual talks in

Washington as new details emerge about a massive hack attack targeting U.S. federal workers.

American investigators now believe some 18 million people may have been affected by the recent breach. Now that is four times more than the

original estimate.

Now cybersecurity experts think Beijing backed hackers are building a database of U.S. government employees and it all may have started with a

simple spear phishing attack, that's when hackers send out emails that look like they're from someone in your company or a trusted business, but the

email contains a link that takes a target to a fake page, and it only takes one person to click it for the phishing attack to work.

And from there, hackers can attach malware to your browser and track your online activity, or they can exploit a security flaw on the server.

U.S. officials believe that attackers found a vulnerability and then created fake administrator accounts using the information they stole. That

would allow them to set up future insider attacks and access even more sensitive data.

Now U.S. investigators have blamed China for the attack. It's an allegation that Beijing has called irresponsible.

Now let's go straight to David McKenzie in Beijing for more on this story. And David, how is China responding to these latest cyber attack

reports?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this escalated threat that they say this hack went through was more than 18 million, they

believe, people, former, current and perspective employees of federal agencies. This, of course, a very serious allegation. Interestingly, not

made directly by the White House, but by investigators who say this could have been a Chinese attack state backed.

Now as you say, the Chinese government has repeatedly said that this is irresponsible. These accusations are unfounded and today they said that

in fact cooperation is what is needed, cooperation that they say is halted by the U.S.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU KANG, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): China and the United States had previously always had a good dialogue

mechanism on issues of internet security. Because of reasons that everyone knows about, and not because of China, this dialogue has stopped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Well, certainly they are alluding to the fact that the U.S. Justice Department indicted five People's Liberation Army officers some

time ago, which they accuse of hacking into U.S. corporations for the gain of state-owned enterprises here in China

So, the accusations have flown back and forth.

This one appears a bit more murky, because no direct evidence has been laid out for the press and the public, but that might be just because

investigations continue from the state side -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Accusations flying back and forth, but not vocally from the White House this time. Now, last year we know President Obama, he publicly

pointed the finger of blame at North Korea for attacking Sony Pictures, that was in December of last year. But President Obama has yet to publicly

blame China for this hack attack targeting millions of U.S. federal workers. Why do you think that is?

MCKENZIE: Well, look, the North Korean-U.S. relationship is a far less complex and black and white relationship than the China-U.S.

relationship, which is anchored on so many things like the economy, like foreign policy. And in the case of the hacking accusations, it might be

that the U.S. administration is finding that by pointing the finger directly at China publicly they don't really gain much traction.

Again, it could be that they're still investigating these alleged attacks. But it has been interesting that it's been far less detailed, the

reasoning given by the U.S., and some experts I've spoken to on this side say it's by no means certain that the Chinese in fact were backing this

attack.

It's a very murky world, cyber espionage, so we may never find out exactly who was behind this -- Krsitie.

[08:05:09] LU STOUT: David McKenzie reporting live form Beijing. Thank you, David.

Now, there is a new development concerning two South Koreans being held in the north. Now they've been sentenced to hard labor for life for

espionage. CNN's Will Ripley interviewed the two during his recent visit to North Korea. And Will joins us now live from Tokyo.

And Will, just walk us through the decision from North Korea's highest court that came out today and what it means for these two men who you met

last month in Pyongyang.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, just a short time ago the South Korean unification ministry put out a statement

strongly condemning what they called a unilateral trial. They say that Pyongyang has ignored their requests to get information about the charges

these two men are facing to get information about their well-being.

But the bottom line is, is that under the judicial system in North Korea, these men who are both just years away from being considered senior

citizens have now been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives working in North Korean labor camps, a hard labor sentence that would be difficult

for anybody, especially men who are 61 and 56 respectively.

Now we also do need to point out, though, Kristie, that there have been times in the past, notably with some recent American detainees where

lengthy sentences were issued and then a deal was worked out and the men were released early. South Korea, of course, is calling for that to

happen. But as of right now, as of this moment, these two men are potentially facing a very difficult road ahead, Kristie.

LU STOUT: That's right. As of right now two accused spies for South Korea now sentenced to hard labor for life in North Korea. And while you

were in Pyongyang last month, Will, you also met a Korean NYU student who was detained. What will happen to him?

RIPLEY: We still don't know what's going to happen to Kim Jung wook - - I'm sorry, Won Moon joo. There is another South Korean being held by the name of Kim Jung wook, a missionary, but Won Moon joo is a 21 year old, a

permanent resident of the United States, who traveled to China and actually confessed to crossing illegally into North Korea back in April. He said he

wanted to be detained because he wanted to bring about some sort of a great event between the North and the South.

But since we spoke with him we haven't learned anything else about his fate, Kristie. And it is still unknown right now.

LU STOUT: His fate unknown. And the wider geopolitical impact from all this after two, again, South Korean men sentenced to hard labor for

life in North Korea, accused of being spies. What will happen to the already strained relationship between the two countries?

RIPLEY: It certainly complicates things even more, because remember Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chung-gil, the two South Koreans who have now been

sentenced to hard labor, both of them claim that they were approached by the South Korean national intelligence service, paid considerable sums of

money to spy on behalf of South Korea for the North. The North has accused them of terrorism, accused them of importing large amounts of forged

currency, accused them of heinous acts.

Of course South Korea denies all of this. But, you know, this is a difficult, very tense political situation as it is. And now you have these

two men, one of whom has a wife and two daughters waiting for him at home. And these men could potentially spend their lives in a prison camp. It

certainly doesn't make things better between the two countries already very strained ties, as you know, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Will Ripley reporting live for us from Tokyo. Many thanks indeed for your insight and reporting.

Now in a rare first, the acting chairman of Samsung Group gave a televised apology over the spread of MERS in South Korea.

Now the country is experiencing the biggest outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outside of Saudi Arabia. And the Samsung medical

center maybe at fault for the spread of the virus.

Now the hospital has been criticized for its failures. And Kathy Novak joins us now live from Seoul with more. And Kathy, almost half of

all the MERS cases in South Korea have been traced back to the Samsung medical center. So, what do the Samsung heirs say about it? And what went

wrong at the hospital?

KATHY NOVAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems to all be traced back to one patient in particular, Kristie, a man in his 30s who

was originally infected by the man who brought MERS back from the Middle East. And now the secondary patient went to Samsung Medical Center and was

in the emergency room for several days. The World Health Organization says that he was mobile, that he was coughing. And in that process infected

dozens of other people.

Now Samsung is taking full responsibility. And here is a little bit of what the heir apparent had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY Y. LEE, VICE CHAIRMAN, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS (through translator): The MERS infection and its spread, and caused too much suffering and

concern to the public. I bow my head in apology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:10:01] NOVAK: And interestingly, Kristie, this man we're referring to, the man in this 30s who was the patient known as the super

spreader who was at the emergency room in Samsung Medical Center, it was announced today that he has actually recovered from MERS and has been

released from quarantine.

LU STOUT: And Kathy, the very latest on the outbreak as it stands today. We know that more cases have been confirmed. What does that reveal

about the overall handling of MERS and the spread of the virus in the country?

NOVAK: Well, in terms of the overall handling, Kristie, I think there's no question that there was an element of mishandling, certainly, in

the early stages. The health ministry has acknowledged that, the president has acknowledged that, and the World Health Organization has pointed to

that.

Since then, though, the World Health Organization has praised the efforts of the government here, of the health authorities, in what they are

doing now and in the week before this to stop the further spread of the virus. The WHO says that the health authorities now are doing a good job

in containing it, but that more cases and more deaths, unfortunately, were to be expected. Just because this was such a large and complex outbreak,

the biggest outbreak outside of Saudi Arabia.

And at the height of it, we saw more than 6,000 people in quarantine, fears that those people may have been exposed to this virus because of the

way it spread through the hospitals.

Now we're seeing those numbers start to lessen. We're seeing more than 2,000 people in quarantine. And so the hope is that the worst of it

may be over.

LU STOUT: The health ministry of South Korea recently said that the outbreak appears to have leveled off. So, if the worst is over, are we

nearing the end of the outbreak?

NOVAK: Well, experts just can't say that, Kristie. One thing that they do say through all the reporting when it comes to MERS is there is

just so much that is not known about this disease. We know there is no vaccine, there's no cure. And we know that Samsung had been committing

today to supporting research to ward that kind of vaccine and towards medications, because this disease has only been seen in humans since 2012.

And the World Health Organization was saying that basically it would be arrogant of health professionals to claim that they know everything there

is to know and that the spread has been contained and they can trace everything back to the correct places.

So, just because this was so huge and there were so many people involved and it's so hard to say who exactly infected what person, we just

can't say whether or not the outbreak is indeed over. But there is good news such as these people being said to have recovered, being cured,

including a pregnant woman who was diagnosed with MERS who recovered and has since given birth to a healthy baby boy -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Some good news there. But still so much uncertainty about the stage we're at in the outbreak there in South Korea.

Kathy Novak, thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, it's down to the wire. Greece is running out of time to sort out its

debts. What EuroZone leaders think of the new proposal.

And take it down: calls grow in South Carolina for the removal of the confederate flag.

Plus, liberated, but living with scars: we have an exclusive report from inside a Syrian town that experienced life under ISIS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:06] LU STOUT: Welcome back.

You're watching News Stream. And you're looking a visual version of all the stories we've got in the show today.

Now we've already told you about North Korea sentencing two South Koreans it says are spies.

And later, we'll tell you about the life of the late film composure James Horner.

But first, EuroZone leaders are studying the fine print on a new budget proposal from Greece with just one week to go until the deadline

that could leave Greece bankrupt. That's when Athens must pay the International Monetary Fund almost $2 billion.

There is no deal yet. But the EU welcomed the latest draft, saying that it could form the basis of a final agreement.

EuroZone finance ministers are set to reconvene talks on Wednesday. And journalist Elinda Labropoulou has been monitoring this week's 11th hour

negotiations. She joins me now live from Athens.

And Elinda, there is still no deal after EU talks, but despite the uncertainty is there a sense of optimism about a possible agreement?

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is more optimism. I mean, it seems that the two sides are getting closer to a

deal. We heard from both sides that a deal is possible before the end of the weekend.

What remains to be seen now is as they go through all this fine tuning and the details is what this possible deal would include.

Here in Athens, there is optimism in the sense that, you know, there is a deal then the uncertainty is over. Greece will get itself out of this

possible default territory before the end of the month.

But at the same time, from everything we've seen, it's yet another deal that comes with austerity. And this is something that the Greek

people have voted against. They voted a government that was the promise to bring an end to austerity. And now they're looking at possible pension

cuts, they're looking at more taxation ahead of them.

So, at the same time they are also hoping that what this deal might bring is some talk about debt relief and possibly a growth package such as

the one as the EU commission president had spoken about.

So, in Athens I think the next few days are really critical in terms of how this deal will be made, what it will include and whether really it

could provide a long-term future for Greece.

LU STOUT: And Elinda, what is the view in Athens about Greece's euro fate? How many Greeks want to stay in the EuroZone?

LABROPOULOU: Well, there's very strong support about the EuroZone. I mean, just where I'm standing at the moment yesterday there was a big rally

in support of Europe, in support of Greece in the euro. It was a rally outside parliament saying, you know, that this government does not have the

mandate to take Greece out of the EuroZone. This is a very big decision and nobody can make that decision without putting this in front of the

Greek people.

And if the polls are anything to go by, we know that at least seven in 10 Greeks want to stay in the EuroZone and about one in two have said that

they would do anything it takes to achieve just that.

LU STOUT: Elinda Labropoulou joining me live from Athens, many thanks indeed for that.

Now, in just a matter of hours, protesters in South Carolina will gather outside the state capital building chanting take it down.

Now they are demanding the confederate flag be removed from the grounds.

Now the governor of South Carolina and two leading politicians now say they agree. And they are expected to ask legislators to head the call when

the state general assembly reconvenes later today.

It comes after last week's shooting massacre at a historic black church in the city of Charleston. South Carolina is the only state in the

U.S. that still flies the confederate flag on the grounds of its state capital.

Now some local people say it is a valued symbol of history, to others it represents division and hate.

During the U.S. civil war, the confederate flag flew over southern states which fought to maintain slavery.

Now the confederate flag debate has a top lawmaker in Mississippi calling for changes to its state flag.

Now the confederate emblem is incorporated into the top left corner of the flag of Mississippi. And the states house speaker, Philip Gunn, says

the confederate flag has become offensive and needs to be removed from the state flag.

Now meanwhile, the U.S. retail giant Walmart tells CNN it will stop selling confederate flags and merchandise in its stores and on its website.

Now the flag is featured on items like t-shirts and belt buckles.

Sears holdings, the owner of K-Mart and Sears stores also says it plans to discontinue confederate flag items.

Now many people are likely pleased with the move. There are some who disagree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does show a part of our history. And I do think that we should value that part of our history.

[08:20:05] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a southern company. It's kind of a slap in your own face to pull everything out that's anything southern

pride.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And while there are differing opinions on the issue, many opponents of flying the confederate flag at South Carolina state house say

a better way to honor history is to put it in a museum.

Now after the break, we have an exclusive report from inside a Syrian town that was recently captured from ISIS. Arwa Damon gets firsthand

accounts of the terror while living under militant rule.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now the town of Tal Abyad in Syria is waking up from a nightmare after two years under ISIS occupation it was liberated by Syrian Kurdish

fighters. Now CNN was able to get into the town. And we're learning from people there how difficult life was under the militant group.

Arwa Damon visits some places where ISIS carried out its brutal form of justice. And here is her exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We travel to the town of Tal Abyad with the YPG, the Kurdish fighting force that is currently in

control of the town.

And in just the brief few hours that we were there, we were still able to get a bit of an insight into just how chilling life under ISIS really

was.

[08:25:05] (voice-over): No one is around to tell us who was held here or what horrors transpired at the Tal Abyad prison. There is a stench

of sewage. On one solitary confinement cells floor, splotches of red.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: A scrap of paper, an idea about what is considered a crime under ISIS. In this case, taking god's name in vain.

Among the many draconian directives of ISIS rule.

Another forbidden act, smoking.

This is the first time in two years that cigarettes are being sold in the streets of Tal Abyad, this man was just saying. And this is the first

shipment that he's brought in.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: He's saying that there's a cage at the roundabout down the street that they would put people in for punishment for doing things like

selling cigarettes.

We're taken to see it and told the story of a man who spent three days here for playing cards, also banned.

The streets of Tal Abyad oddly very clean. ISIS also ordered perpetrators of crimes to pick up trash. At one of the ISIS security

offices, the ominous black flag dominates every wall lest anyone forget who is in control here.

And we find a handful of blank pads, of official forms on an office shelf.

Shuttered storefront after storefront is spray painted red with the word Dowle (ph), meaning it was claimed as property of the Islamic State.

There's a group of men back there, they don't want to appear on camera because they still have relatives living in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa,

but they were talking about wretched life under their rule was, how they didn't dare stand up to them, how no one dared to speak out. But they say

they chose to continue living here, because what they have here, that was everything that they possess in life. And trying to survive as a refugee

would be just too difficult.

And all of them who we were speaking to then pointed to this roundabout. This was called the roundabout of death, because it was here

that ISIS carried out its executions.

The remnants of life under ISIS plagued this town where it seems that reality was worse than what most could ever imagine.

ISIS may have been driven out of Tal Abyad before now, but the fighting across Syria is still far from over and the future of so many

still remains uncertain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And Arwa's exclusive report from inside Tal Abyad concludes tomorrow. Arwa spoke with people there about life after ISIS and learned

out the impact of those two years is still being felt both physically and emotionally.

Now the Oscar-winning composer James Horner is feared dead in a plane crash. A small jet that belongs to him went down in central California. A

newspaper, the Hollywood Reporter quotes his assistant as saying Horner died. The 61 year old won Oscars for the music in Titanic, including the

famous hit "My Heart Will Go On."

(MUSIC)

LU STOUT: And Horner went on to compose for many more blockbusters, including Braveheart, Avatar and Field of Dream.

You're watching News Stream. We'll be back right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:03] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

EuroZone leaders say they're making slow progress toward a deal with Greece. After wrapping up an emergency summit in Brussels that they will

reconvene on Wednesday. Greece submitted a proposal on economic reform over the weekend to try to persuade its creditors to release more bailout

money.

The son of Samsung's chairman gave a rare televised apology saying the Samsung Medical Center failed to contain an outbreak of the Middle East

Respiratory Syndrome. Now South Korea has confirmed three new MERS cases bringing the total there to 175 since the outbreak began. 27 people have

died. Half of South Korea's cases were traced back to Samsung Medical Center.

Now police in upstate New York believe they have an important new clue in their search for two escaped killers. A source says investigators have

found DNA from the men at a cabin in the town of Owls Head. Richard Matt and David Sweat broke out of prison on June 6.

Police in India say poisonous alcohol has killed 102 people in Mumbai and sent 46 to hospital. The home brew was made and sold illegally. Six

people have been arrested and charged with culpable homicide, poisoning and abetting a crime.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott just unveiled the details of proposed new citizenship laws targeting terrorism. Any Australian dual

national engaging in terrorism would be stripped of their citizenship even if they're not in the country.

Mr. Abbott insists that the proposal is to stop terrorists from entering Australia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ABBOTT, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: All along, what we wanted to do was to create a situation where it was possible to stop terrorists from

returning to Australia without a prior judicial process. That was always our objective. And I believe that is exactly what we have achieved in a

way which I think is very legally strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the prime minister pointed out that there are around 120 Australians currently fighting for ISIS overseas. The new measures

will be put to parliament on Wednesday.

To Iraq now where the battles against ISIS have forced thousands of families from their homes in Anbar Province.

As Ben Wedeman reports, many are stranded in makeshift camps outside Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's Iraq's bridge of sorrow, a rickety crossing over the Euphrates River for those who have lost

their homes, their livelihoods, lost almost everything but for a glimmer of hope.

On the bridge known as Zabes (ph), soldiers check papers on the lookout for ISIS infiltrators.

But most, like Mohaimin Hossein (ph) and her family are simply seeking a semblance of peace.

"There was an airstrike," she says. "Our house was destroyed and I was hurt. We left because of the fear and terror. We couldn't sleep at

night."

Jema Ali (ph) recently suffered a stroke. He was pushed over the bridge on a cart. Clearly in pain, he's unaware of where he'll end up.

"I don't know," he says. "I have nothing."

Going the opposite way, food and other goods, there's a war on, but business never stops.

This bridge represents the only way for civilians to go in and out of the remaining 20 percent of Anbar province that's still under government

control.

And even in that remaining 20 percent of Anbar, ISIS is present. Iraqi security forces recently rounded up more than 20 men suspected of

being members of the extremist group.

Civilian cars sit idle on the far side of the river, cars from Anbar aren't allowed over the bridge for fear they may be full of explosives.

The only solace here, for boys only, however, is a dip in the river, welcome relief from the scorching summer heat.

Those without the means to go any further, or someone to vouch for them to security forces end up in tents on the side of the road. They

complain of lack of basic services, food and clean water.

"We have nothing," Saad Neji (ph) tells me. "If you get sick here either you recover or you die. A lot of the children are sick, but most of

us don't have the money to send them to a doctor."

And sot hey must sit and wait in the heat and dust with their sorrows.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Anbar Province, Iraq

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:36:02] LU STOUT: And hundreds of families in southern Pakistan are in mourning as more people succumb to a deadly heat wave there. The

provincial health ministry says in Karachi alone more than 320 people have died. Public hospitals bringing in extra supplies to deal with the surge

of patients. One hospital has tread more than 2,000 people for heat stroke. And the scorching weather comes as many Pakistanis are observing

Ramadan.

Now during the holy month, Muslims go without food and water from sunrise to sunset.

A severe geomagnetic storm is hitting Earth right now. Experts say the solar storm is so strong it caused some blackout of shortwave and low

frequency radio signals.

Now the solar storm has created beautiful aurora here on Earth. And it continues through on Thursday.

CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good day to you. Pretty incredible image to share with you. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly taking this

about 400 kilometers above the Earth's surface and posting it onto his Twitter account saying that he'd never seen the aurora this color at least

as far (inaudible) concerned, and you kind of think about this, because the most common color is being the green color. This is when you have

particles from the sun collide with oxygen giving that green hue. The less common is the color that you see is purples, blues and violets when you

have particles from the sun interact with nitrogen.

And then you get up to the high altitude oxygen, that is the rarest of the variety and this is precisely what occurred over the past 24 hours when

you had the red hues.

But, over the next couple of days good possibility if you're in the high latitudes, mid latitudes to see the aurora borealis stretching out

over portions of Europe. If you're tuned in from London to Berlin, even maybe Moscow a possibility exists if you're at the right place at the right

time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Thank you, Pedram.

Now from breathtaking solar storms to other rare and bizarre sights in the skies. Instead of snakes, these two found an unhappy cat on a plane.

I'll tell you more about this stowaway cat next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now if cats in fact have nine lives, a flight school mascot may have used up at least one of them.

Now she was an accidental stowaway on an ultralight airplane. Jeanne Moos has more on the feline's terrifying flight from terafirma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the story of an instructor and a passenger flying in an ultralight airplane when suddenly the cat's

out of the bag -- or at least out of the wing.

Not that anyone noticed at first. the two were flying over French Guiana in South America when pilot Roman Jantot did a double take. There's

a moment when your eyes go up.

[08:40:19] ROMAN JANDOT, PILOT: That whoops moment.

MOOS: As in whoops, how did I miss the cat asleep or hiding in the fabric of the wing when doing the preflight check? She was already the

flight school's mascot. Now, fur blowing in the wind, she earned her wings.

Is she meowing?

JANDOT: The most powerful meow I ever heard.

MOOS: She may have been a no name cat before, but now they're thinking of calling her "Stowaway."

Not since cats parachuted in a Swedish insurance company ad has an airborne feline been such a hit online. And those were fake, special

effects. This was the real thing.

The pilot immediately headed back to the airport. this was no Twilight Zone episode, when William Shatner saw a monster on the wing, got out his

gun, got sucked out, and shot it. The goal here was to not freak out the cat.

Commenters wondered why the lady didn't reach out to the cat and get a hold of it. Once they touched down, the answer was obvious. They didn't

want the cat to do what she did when the pilot reached for her on the ground. But up there high above Earth, stowaway must have thought she'd

crossed into...

ANNOUNCER: The Twilight Zone.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere, World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END