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Death Row Woman Executed in U.S.; Data Breach Causes U.S. to Pull Spies From China; Obama Hosts Summit to Fight ISIS and Extremism; Afghan Forces Battle Taliban for Kunduz; Fiery Hearing on Planned Parenthood Funding; U.N. to Raise Palestinian Flag; Tesla Delivers Highly Anticipated SUV; Australian Couples' Wedding Photo Helps Raise Awareness on Serious Issues. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 30, 2015 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:04] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking news. In the last few moments a Georgia mother executed despite a last-minute appeal from the Pope.

SESAY: America pulls its spies from China after a massive hack of government employees blamed on Beijing.

VAUSE: And Tesla finally takes the wrap off its crazy, fast and expensive SUV. We'll try to sort through the hype surrounding the Model X.

SESAY: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

VAUSE: Despite pleas from family, supporters, and even the Vatican, authorities in the U.S. state of Georgia executed Kelly Gissendaner. The 47-year-old was sentenced to death for convincing her lover to murder her husband. That was back in 1997. And since then, she studied theology, counseled fellow prisoners and vigorously appealed her sentence.

SESAY: Gissendaner had two previous execution dates postponed, one due to a winter storm, the other because of problems with the chemicals that were to be used in her lethal injection. She is the first woman put to death in the U.S. state of Georgia in 70 years.

VAUSE: Pope Francis continues his pleas against the death penalty in the United States, asking for clemency in two death penalty cases, including Gissendaner's.

SESAY: Well, Rosa Flores has the details on requests sent to two separate states to spare two individuals' lives. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two letters of clemency on behalf of Pope Francis sent to two different states, regarding two different death row execution cases. We start off in Georgia with the case of Kelly Gissendaner. Now the archbishop there is sending a letter to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole, asking for clemency, asking them to spare her life. Now the board denied that request, but the archbishop quoting Pope Francis, less than a week after Pope Francis made a plea before Congress, asking for the end of the death penalty. Quoting Pope Francis in part, saying, "This conviction of our responsibility to defend human life at every stage has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolish of the death penalty."

Now here's the back story. Gissendaner was convicted in 1998 for the 1997 killing of her husband. She didn't actually kill her husband. She convinced her lover to do so.

And now we go to Oklahoma, and the case of Richard Glossup. Now he was convicted in 1977 in the killing of a motel owner. Now a letter was sent to the governor of Oklahoma asking for clemency, asking her to spare his life.

Now, as of this report, both executions are set as scheduled.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Twenty-two countries carried out executions last year.

SESAY: Amnesty International says China executed thousands of people, but the numbers are kept secret and Amnesty says it is impossible to determine the true figure.

VAUSE: Iran comes in at number two, 289 executions announced officially. Saudi Arabia and Iraq next on the list, followed by the United States at number five, 35 executions last year alone.

SESAY: And now to another developing story. The U.S. is pulling its spies out of China following the recent hack on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

VAUSE: A U.S. official has told CNN they believe Chinese hackers were behind the breach which exposed the personal data of more than 21 million U.S. government workers. Now U.S. intelligence officials believe agents assigned to China could be exposed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The problem is that now the Chinese have a very good idea, they know, they have a roster of everybody who works at the State Department and because of that they can reverse engineer a list of people who aren't on their list and they can figure out who works for the CIA, the NSA, the Defense Intelligence Agency. So all of these people are going to be having to be pulled out simply because their data will now be found out by the Chinese.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Justice correspondent Evan Perez talking there. Now this comes just days after U.S. president Barack Obama met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in the United States and cyber espionage was one of the main topics of discussion.

CNN's Saima Mohsin joins us now live from Beijing with more on this.

So, Saima, the Chinese would never admit that they were behind this. They deny that they are, they've always done that in the past, but if they had been, then this hack, at least in terms of espionage, it seems like it's a pretty big win for the Chinese.

[01:05:06] SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's incredible, isn't it, John? And this information that Evan has just brought to light as well from U.S. officials just shows us how huge the impact is and how long this can go on for as well with 5.6 million fingerprints that they could potentially have access to, to find out about more agents. And that's why the U.S. is having to pull out its spies from China. A huge impact as you say.

Of course the Chinese government long denies this. President Xi in his speech in Seattle as well reiterating that there is no state- sponsored hacking going on. Of course, the U.S. security -- cyber security teams have found -- and companies have traced back hacking to Chinese military units in the past, as far back as 2013 and as recently as a few months ago.

There was a crucial deal, as you mentioned, between President Obama and President Xi on Friday. Some headway, John, toward some rules of the road as far as hacking is concerned. But that was strictly only committing to cyber hacking of intellectual property and trade secrets for commercial gains. No talk of cyber espionage for anything as far as national security and our intelligence agencies are concerned -- John.

VAUSE: So when we're talking about the deal and the happy talk that we saw between the XI Jinping and Barack Obama on his recent visit to the United States, essentially they're stove piping the various areas of cyber hacking. There was an agreement that there wouldn't be commercial espionage, but when it came to spying and trying to steal state secrets, that just wasn't addressed, that just wasn't on the agenda?

MOHSIN: I suspect the problem is that everybody is doing it. The United States, according to one professor I interviewed last week, for President Xi's visit, and when we were looking at cyber security, one professor said look, the United States is one of the best if not the best collectors of information for what the U.S. says is purely for national security purposes.

President Obama has really wanted to try and draw that line in the sand between the two, to make a distinction between cyber espionage for national security purposes, which the U.S. feels is OK, because they do it, as do at least 50 other countries around the world. And cyber espionage for commercial gains, which U.S. companies have felt really hit hard, the Chinese companies stealing intellectual property they fear. So that is the major concern. And China saying well, if the U.S. is doing it, why can't we -- John.

VAUSE: The Americans are good and the Chinese are behind this, it seems they're not too bad themselves.

Saima, thank you. Saima Mohsin live for us there in Beijing.

SESAY: And now to a troubling report on the fight against ISIS. A congressional task force says the U.S. has failed to stop the flow of foreign fighters from joining the terror group.

VAUSE: And placed more than 25,000 foreigners have gone to Syria and Iraq since 2011 to fight for Islamist terrorists. More than 7,000 in just the past nine months. While most come from the Middle East and North Africa, thousands of Westerners, including 250 Americans, are now fighting in the conflict.

SESAY: Well, that report comes as U.S. President Barack Obama led a meeting at the United Nations on fighting ISIS and extremism.

VAUSE: CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With his strategy for defeating ISIS coming under fire from Russia, President Obama conceded at the U.N. his approach will take time.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not an easy task.

ACOSTA: Leading a summit of more than 100 countries on the battle against the terror group, the president defended his plan for beating ISIS that includes the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a move that puts the U.S. at odds with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

OBAMA: Defeating ISIL requires, I believe, a new leader. We are prepared to work with all countries, include Russia and Iran.

ACOSTA: It's a heated debate that played out behind closed doors, as Mr. Obama and Putin locked horns for 90 minutes over Assad's future. The White House and Kremlin released photos of the confrontation, each side showing its leader in command. Putin was unmoved.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Through Translator): I relate to my colleagues, the American and French presidents, with great respect, but they aren't citizens of Syria and so should not be involved in choosing leadership of another country. It is Syria's business.

ACOSTA: Putin insisted Russia's buildup in Syria won't lead to ground forces battling ISIS, and White House officials said Putin agreed to work with the U.S.-led ISIS coalition to avoid any military accidents. Analysts still see huge risks.

WILL POMERANZ, THE KENNAN INSTITUTE: The Assad forces are in a retreat. So the question becomes is if indeed a retreat becomes a rout potentially, is that when Russia decides to enter the fray?

[01:10:09] ACOSTA: Putin is entering the scene just as the U.S. is halting its failed program to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. And there are more problems, namely a new congressional report finding the U.S. and its partners are struggling to control the flow of foreign fighters joining up with the terror group, 25,000 since 2011, 7,000 in the last nine months, including an estimated 250 Americans.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: I think that most importantly we lack a national strategy to deal with this problem.

ACOSTA: Critics of the U.S. policy say the president's unwillingness to take on Assad especially after he used chemical weapons tempted Putin to intervene.

NICHOLAS BURNS, FMR. U.S. UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: He's in effect has left a vacuum there, and President Putin, ever opportunistic, has filled it, at least for the time being.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And our thanks to Jim Acosta for that report.

Members of Congress are hearing the harrowing testimony of a young woman, a victim of violent persecution by ISIS. She goes by the pseudonym Bazi, she's a 20-year-old Yazidi woman who says she was bought and enslaved by an American ISIS fighter.

SESAY: Well, she spoke exclusively to our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Her face is hidden to protect her identity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bazi, what did they do to you?

BAZI, FORMER ISIS CAPTIVE (Through Translator): There was nothing left to do to me. They did everything.

AMANPOUR: Can you tell me?

BAZI (Through Translator): They separated me from my family. They got me married by force. They took my nephew by force from me and they were hitting him in front of me. And I was raped by them forcefully.

AMANPOUR: And when you say them, many people? BAZI (Through Translator): Abu Abdullah Al Amriki.

AMANPOUR: So he was an American?

BAZI (Through Translator): Yes, he was American.

AMANPOUR: Describe the American, what did he look like?

BAZI (Through Translator): He was very white. He was a little bit taller than me.

AMANPOUR: Did he tell you why he was doing this to you?

BAZI (Through Translator): The reason was because we were not Muslims. He was telling us we should go back to the prophet where we force everyone to become Muslim. Everybody should be a Muslim. Either be a Muslim or die. Get killed or die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Meantime, the U.S. has stopped recruiting new Syrian fighters to battle ISIS. A Defense official says the program to train and equip moderate rebels is paused.

VAUSE: The initial goal had been to train 5400 fighters by the end of this year. The Defense secretary admitted back in July only 60 had been trained so far.

SESAY: And now to Afghanistan and this sobering statistic. The U.S. has spent $61 billion to train and equip after Afghan forces, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the Taliban in the northern city of Kunduz. The insurgents attacked on several directions and seized their first provincial capital in nearly 14 years.

VAUSE: The U.S. is backing the Afghan effort to retake the city with air strikes. Many see that as an indication of how much the Afghan government is still relying on backup from the United States. Kunduz is a key city with strong trade ties, a main route to Tajikistan runs through that province.

SESAY: Well, for more on all of this, for more on the battle, Sune Engel Rasmussen joins us now from Kabul.

Sune, good to have you with us. U.S. military operations are supporting Afghan efforts to retake Kunduz. How much progress has been made so far?

SUNE ENGEL RASMUSSEN, REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: I'm afraid there hasn't been a lot of progress since yesterday morning. The authorities claim to have taken part of Kunduz back including the police headquarters, but that seems dubious according to witnesses in Kunduz. Quite on the contrary actually the Taliban are now pushing towards the airport in Kunduz which would be a very big strategic win for them if they managed to take it, and they're also broadening up a front in the neighboring Tajar Province where they're reportedly attacking a government facilities and military checkpoints. So, so far this battle for Kunduz seems for more prolonged than many had anticipated at first.

SESAY: Yes, it is worth highlighting for our viewers that this attack on Kunduz happened just ahead, a day before the one-year anniversary of President Ghani being in office. This is a huge blow to his credibility.

RASMUSSEN: Yes, that's how many Afghans see it, as well. They are doubting where the security forces are, they're doubting the president's ability to secure the country and create some stability. Both in the north but also in the south in the Helmand Province where the Taliban are also fighting fiercely against government troops and the east where there's increased activity from the Islamic State reportedly fighting local Taliban units. So this is a big embarrassment to the government on the -- as you said, the one-year anniversary of its time in power here.

[01:15:16] SESAY: The Taliban would mount such an attack, such a bold, audacious attack is, for many, a concern as to what could come next. What is the Afghan government saying about how they will posture themselves going forward to meet this threat?

RASMUSSEN: They're not saying a lot actually. And that's also part of the concern for Afghans. You know, they -- the government has been very silent during this whole debacle in Kunduz. And when they say something, they claimed that they have killed a big Taliban leader, which the U.S. denounce or don't confirm, or they say they've taken a police headquarters in Kunduz, which then turns out maybe not to be quite true.

So people are also frustrated with the government's lack of ability to actually explain what's going on in Kunduz. And both the President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah who's in New York yesterday told CNN that this was going to get under control. But this is not what the -- it's not instilling a lot of confidence in the people at the moment.

SESAY: Sune Engel Rasmussen, joining us there from Kabul, Afghanistan. Thank you so much.

VAUSE: Short break here. When we come back, Bill Clinton comes out swinging, defending his wife Hillary from attacks by Donald Trump. Those details after the break.

SESAY: And Planned Parenthood's president defends her group against lawmakers at a combative congressional hearing. That story is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

[01:20:36] VAUSE: The U.S. President Bill Clinton is not pulling any punches with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as he defends his wife, Hillary.

SESAY: This comes after Trump criticized Hillary Clinton's time as secretary of state, calling it a failure. Trump made the remarks in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday. Burnett brought this up during an interview with the former president on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNET, CNN HOST, "OUTFRONT": You say you can't insult your way to the White House. You say Donald Trump could be the nominee. So I have to play this for you. This is something he said in the interview yesterday about your wife and I want to play it for you and get your reaction. Here's Donald Trump in my interview yesterday.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I always respected him. I've actually liked him over the years, but when we look at what's going on in the world, when we look at the job that Hillary did as secretary of state, she goes down as perhaps the worst secretary of state in history. And when I run against her evenly in the polls, I'm doing very well against Hillary and beating her.

Erin, if you look throughout the world during her reign and the reign of Obama, the whole world is blowing up. We have lost our friendships. We have lost everything.

(LAUGHTER)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, the thing about branding is you don't have to be -- you can be fact free. And I think --

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: So even the Republicans admit that the sanctions on Iran were well done. And that it was a major achievement to get Russia and China to agree to sign off on these sanctions and to enforce them. She did that. That's what made the talks possible. So even people who don't like the Iran deal like the sanctions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A lot of Democrats now hoping that Bill Clinton can step up during this campaign because no one campaigns better than he does. The position Hillary Clinton is in right now, certainly need him out there on that campaign.

SESAY: Yes. The campaigner-in-chief they call him.

VAUSE: Absolutely.

OK. The president of the U.S. women's health care group Planned Parenthood faced a grilling from Republican lawmakers on Tuesday.

SESAY: And this congressional hearing focused on undercover videos that have increased the pressure to defund the organization.

CNN's Tom Foreman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards came to the capitol to make one clear claim about those undercover videos that show her group supposedly selling fetal tissue.

CECILE RICHARDS, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: The outrageous accusations leveled against Planned Parenthood based on heavily doctored videos are offensive and categorically untrue.

FOREMAN: She was met by a Republican buzz saw.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R), OHIO: Here's the troubling truth. A picture is worth a thousand words.

FOREMAN: GOP members ripped into her testimony, suggesting they are not satisfied with her explanation of what is on the videos and furthermore they don't think she's being entirely candid about how her group makes and uses all its money.