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Investigators Search Russian Plane Debris Field; Yazidi Men Fighting Back; GOP Candidates Revolt Against Debate Structure; Obama Talks Prison Reform; South Korea, Japan Seek Resolution on "Comfort Women"; Myanmar Prepares for National Election; American Pharaoh's Racing Days End Win. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 02, 2015 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

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JOHN VAUSE, HOST: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles ahead this hour. Symbol of tragedy, a baby girl among the 224 who died in the plane crash in Egyptian desert, her body and dozens more, now back in Russia. Terrorized by ISIS and ready to fight back, Yazidi men forced to flee their homes in Iraq, now about to go on the offensive against the brutal Islamic militants. And more toward Yemen, bracing for a monstrous cyclone, threatening floods, and chaos.

Hello everybody. Great to you with us, wherever you are all around the world. I'm John Vause, NEWROOM L.A., begins now.

Let's start with the sad homecoming in Russia, state media reporting144 bodies have now arrived back in Saint Petersburg recovered from a crash site in the Sinai Desert. Saint Petersburg was meant to be the final destination for Metrojet Flight 9268 on Saturday, had taken off from the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh with 224 people on board. There were no survivors.

In Egypt, investigators say the plane broke upon in midair and they're still trying to work out why. Well, for the very latest coverage, we have Ian Lee standing by in Cairo, also, and Nic Robertson in Saint Petersburg. We'll start with Nic, this hour. And so, Nic, many of the bodies are now back there in Saint Petersburg. What's the process in the coming hours?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it's going to be a very grim, very daunting, very tough process for the families here. They have been staying in a hotel close to the airport for the last two days. This morning, they are being taken to a crematorium which is where there's 144 bodies being taken as well, and they will begin the very, very difficult process of identifying their loved ones. This is a nation in grief. We've been standing by this memorial -- this morning, we've been standing all we can.

And I do have to say this Monday morning, we are seeing more tears and more outpouring of grief than perhaps we've seen earlier -- you get the sense that this nation is really recognizing the tragedy of the loss of people onboard this aircraft. People not only recognizing that perhaps they could have been the ones onboard this plane but so many children have been lost onboard this flight, 25 children.

A lot of what you see in the memorial behind me is not just flowers, it's toys for those children. And it's a real outpouring of grief. Of course, this is what people here have been telling us what they're experiencing and sharing their emotions here is nothing they say to what the families of the victims can be feeling. They tell us no one can understand that. And perhaps that is the most difficult point this morning, for those families. Right about now we're told the first of the families will begin to be taken in to review the bodies and reclaim their loved ones. John.

VAUSE: And what do we know about that the people who were on this flight, there were families, many of them were holiday (ph) makers, parents with kids, that kind of thing.

ROBERTSON: Darina Gromova over was 10 months old. She was with her parents. They were on vacation. We've heard stories from others who've told that their friends -- good friends have saved (ph) for five years to take this flight. Of course, it's cold in Russia this time of year and Sharm el Sheikh offers a bit of Red Sea sunshine, a bit of warm air and with the relatively low cost of air fares or relatively cheap holiday destination.

[01:05:01]

A lot of people that were onboard told that are now quite significant numbers of orphans here, there was a gathering in Saint Petersburg last night in the central square about 2,000, 500, and quarter (ph) of those people formed the words holding candles saying, mama -- mother, in respect -- and recognizing that there are now so many orphans. So, this is a deeply felt perhaps because people recognize -- so many people recognize, it could have been them on this flight. John.

VAUSE: Next here with us (ph), Ian Lee in Cairo. We know 144 bodies down back in Russia, that leaves 80 passengers and crew yet to be accounted for. What's the timeframe on when we think if it all they will the remains of all those onboard and what's the latest from this (inaudible) side?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing the Egyptian government bringing more bodies back, 187 bodies have been recovered from the site. Now, 144 have been delivered to Moscow, which means that a little over 30 are still out there. And when you do look at the pictures of the wreckage, this is an area that spread out over 20 square kilometers. There's pieces of the plane scattered all over the place and this is a plane that fell -- that descended from 30,000 feet, so you can imagine that recovering can be difficult at times.

Egyptian authorities are bringing those bodies to the morgue here. They're trying to do some identification process before they hand them over to the Russians to be flown back to Saint Petersburg but the investigation still very much underway. What the signs are pointing to now, what Egyptian officials, Russian officials are saying, is that they believe that this is somewhat of a mechanical issue, this plane breaking apart in the air, one of the -- or the copilot of the plane told family members that he believe that there was something mechanically wrong as well.

We heard that from his ex-wife. Now, that all being said, the highlight did not complain about anything wrong before the flight, a routine check was done to make sure that there was nothing wrong, and it passed (ph) that, too. So right now, they're looking at those black boxes to go through the data and the voice recorder to try to figure out what exactly happens leading up to that and then the aftermath of that crash.

VAUSE: And Ian, just how dangerous is the Sinai when it comes to the Islamic insurgency, this group which is pledge loyalty to ISIS. We know they claim to have shot this plane down but that seems to be not possible given the kind of weapons which they have.

LEE: That's right. ISIS is active or ISIS affiliate is active in the northern part of Sinai and they did come out and claim responsibility. Right now it seems more to be opportunistic than anything just because they don't have the weaponry to take down airliner traveling at over 30,000 feet. That takes very sophisticated radar and missiles, things that they just don't have. So, the government is saying that it seems to be more opportunistic in that way, but the northern part of Sinai is very dangerous in certain parts and that -- when cruise were traveling initially to the rescue site, they had to take that to consideration because it is in that volatile region, hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting since that's being on.

But now, the site is very much secure. We saw the prime minister going out there. We've seen the other Russian officials heading out there. It is a secured site. The military has a large presence out there, emergency crews still going through all the wreckage. We've seen the army out there as well. So, while there is that concern of insurgencies right now, it is a very much a secure site and Egyptian officials now just trying to figure out what brought down that plane.

VAUSE: And Nic, in Saint Petersburg, the Russians have been very quick to dismiss terrorism as a possible cause here. What do they know that they can be so confident that terrorism is not to (inaudible)?

ROBERTSON: Well, what they've been saying is not to jump to conclusions and to wait until the investigation has been completed. There's a full analysis of the data but they're also been pointing to what the Egyptians have been saying which is that there is no indication that is was brought down by a missile. It's a sensitive issue for Russia this time in particular, because obviously, it's gone on the offense against the ISIS and other groups.

Inside Syria ISIS has made threats to target Russians on the ground. In Syria, President Vladimir Putin is fully aware that he doesn't want any kind of backlash, he doesn't want the impression that this could be some kind of blowback for what Russia is doing inside.

[01:10:10]

That said, what we've been -- what we've heard from officials here is to be cautious, is to wait until all the evidence has been presented. But I think what we're seeing as well is that Russian officials have been -- have also been very quick to take care of the families here to try to give us much information as possible but they are leaving the details of the investigation to the Egyptians who are in control of it. Although they are working hand and hand with Egyptians, we understand the transport minister and the emergence (ph) minister who were both in Egypt over the last couple of days are on their way back here now, perhaps they will present more information when they get back. John.

VAUSE: OK. Nic Robertson, live in Saint Petersburg. Ian Lee, also live in Cairo. Thanks to you both.

Al Qaeda's leaders, calling on Muslim supporters to unite against the West and Russia, and Syria and Iraq. Not the first time, he's pushed for more unity between Al Qaeda and ISIS. In an audio recording released online and reported by writers (ph). Ayman Al-Zawahiri says a unified front is crucial against what he sees as an overwhelming threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, we faced an American, European, Russian rejection as Shia aggression. We must stand together in one row from East Turkestan to Morocco in the face of satanic alliance that is aggressing against Islam, its people and its land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Don't know exactly when the recorded was made, but references to Russia suggested was made after Moscow began air strikes in Syria in late September. ISIS forces have seized a key town and in Syria's northwestern Homs province, that's coming from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group says some 50 regime fighters were killed or wounded. The takeover means the militants are just 20 kilometers from the highway connecting the capital Damascus with other main cities including Homs. Syria state media though have not reported this attack.

Syrian rebels are being accused of putting captives in metal cages and using them as human shields in an attempt to stop government air strikes. A video posted online by an opposition media outlet, appears to show these people in cages being driven on the backs of pickup trucks. Reuters News obtained the video but has not been able to verify the footage. The Syrian Observatory of the Human Rights says residents told them the human shields were military officers as well as their families.

U.S. forces are stepping up air strikes on the ISIS stronghold of Sinjar in Iraq ahead of a ground offensive to retake the town. When militants took over a year ago, hundreds from the Yazidi ethnic religious minority were killed thousands of others forced to run for their lives.

Now, Yazidi men have joined the battle to drive ISIS out and they spoke exclusively to CNN's Nima Elbagir.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INETERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Yazidi Peshmerga fighters -- volunteers, former soldiers and a handful of trained officers looking out over the ISIS frontline. He's pointing out to us all along here you can see the defensive ditches that have been dug. Said they come as close as that valley just there. They mortar, they fire on us, they eventually retreat, but it's pretty neverending. This vantage point itself was in the not too distant past ISIS held.

Just there he said you can see what they did to the Yazidis. The houses are completely destroyed. They slaughtered all the families inside. It really drives home how visceral this was. Deputy commander Marco Cidu (ph) is 66. He's a retired soldier, one of the few here with fighting experience.

This is a fragment of skull that they found. This whole patch of ground is mass graves. He said they found about 150 bodies from children as young as one year old all the way up to 80. It is, they say, just a reminder to them of what it is they're fighting for. They're fighting for their very survival.

The massacre of thousands of Yazidi men, women, and children by ISIS last year resonated around the world. Here in the foothills of the Sinjar mountain, thousands of Yazidi volunteers are joining up to fight. Sinjar City and the mountain that looms over it is at the heart of the homeland of the Yazidi minority.

[01:15:01]

It falls along a crucial supply route, linking ISIS strongholds in Iraq and Syria. When ISIS took the city August last year, their intent was to drive the Yazidis to extinction. Those who managed to escape the ensuing massacre now shelter in tents on barren slopes, overlooking their former homes.

These are the families of the fighters standing guard down below. This is what they're fighting for. At the front, a poem is being recited. It speaks of lost honor, slaughtered wives and sisters, empty homes. It's meant to remind the soldiers of what's at stake. They tell us they know only too well -- this is a battle for their very existence. Nima Elbagir, CNN. Mount Sinjar (inaudible).

VAUSE: An stunning electoral come back. They Turkish president's justice and development party is claiming victory and snap parliamentary elections which were held on Sunday. The party lost its majority in June, but now the country's prime minister is urging Turkey's political parties to work together on a new constitution. The win will likely help the Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tied on his group on power saying the vote was a victory for stability. In the wake of last month's suicide bombing, of course they killed more than 100 people in Accra (ph).

(Inaudible) a record number of U.S. prison inmates have been let out of jail early had little good behavior will tell you why these sentences were cut short. Also rare and powerful tropical storm heading towards Yemen, all the details in what could be a very devastating impact.

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VAUSE: Welcome back. There is a revolt underway among the Republican candidates for president and into revolt against their own party. Representatives from all the campaigns huddled (ph) in Washington Sunday night to decide on new rules for the future presidential candidate debates, and they shut out leaders for the Republican National Committee. The contenders are especially angry over the last week's debate hosted by CNBC. They say it like substance and was filled with gutsy (ph) questions, key changes agreed to by the campaign that two-hour debates where each candidate gets 30 seconds for opening and closing statement, and equal speaking time for all candidates but they failed to agree on having all candidates on the main debating stage splitting into a random groups. They planned to send amount to the T.V. networks this week without input from the Republican National Committee.

If you know that sound, chances are, you know, Fred Thompson, he played out branch the graph no nonsense D.A. on the TV show "Law & Order", and he passed away on Sunday. He wasn't always just a famous actor. Fred Thompson was a twice elected senator from Tennessee. He was a Republican who briefly campaigned for the presidency back in 2008. He had the experience of playing the role of president in at least one TV movie. His family says he died from a recurrence of lymphoma which he'd been battling for about a decade. Fred Thompson was 73 years old.

U.S. president Barack Obama will be talking about prison reform when he visits New Jersey on Monday. Well, then 6,000 inmates have been released from American prisons over the last few days. The biggest ever one-time release is meant to ease overcrowding and provides some relief for inmates who received harsh sentences for the nonviolent drug crimes. We get details from Jean Casarez.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nationwide, Texas will receive the most inmates followed by Florida and Iowa. Cocaine convictions account for almost 50 percent of the inmates to be released, followed by methamphetamine, marijuana, and heroin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people think that crime is going to go up with all these inmates coming out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I doubt it, but don't know. If it does, it will be because the conditions on the ground in our communities are so dire. We have so much poverty. We have so much hopelessness. We have so much homelessness.

CASAREZ: New York Police Commissioner, Bill Bratton agrees.

BILL BRATTON, NYPD COMMISSIONER: The parole bureau cannot hide and work (ph) for all officers. So who's going to watch these people when they go out on parole?

CASAREZ: And it isn't the first time. In 2007, changes in sentencing guidelines from federal crack cocaine convictions resulted in reducing sentences for over 16,000 federal drug offenders. A five-year study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission compared those released early to inmates who had served their entire sentence before the new guidelines were in place. The study found that both groups re-offended at similar rates. So who benefits from a sentence reduction? The prisoner or the Bureau of Prisons?

Judge Jack Weinstein is a sitting federal judge in New York who has had to make sentence reduction decisions. A top priority, he says, is safety of the community.

JACK WEINSTEIN, JUDGE U.S. DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF N.Y.: And the first question the judge asks himself is if I release this person now or shorten the sentence, will he be a greater danger to the community? And the statistics say very clearly, no.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And unusually powerful cyclones bowing (ph) towards Yemen and Oman. Chapala is equivalent of a category 3 hurricane. It's expected to weaken a little but still this region does it of (ph) and deal with rain and wind like this. The storm could hit right in the heart of Al Qaeda territory area which has been hit hard by civil war. Let's go together and (inaudible) storm right now, meteorologist Allison Chinchar, joins us with more on that from CNN center. So, Allison, where is this one heading and how bad will it be?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's making basically a straight path straight towards Yemen.

[01:25:01]

Now, currently, it's kind of sitting over the Arabian Peninsula. The second strongest tropical cyclone recorded in the Arabian Sea. Again, comparatively speaking, to some of the other, now the strongest storm we have was going back in June of 2007, which by the way, the season for this area, they tend to get some strong storms in May and June and then some more this time of year. That in between summer period, things were kind of broken up from that monsoonal flow. So this is now kind of the second peak of this season. That first storm originally impacted Oman, UAE, and Iran.

This one -- Chapala -- will actually forecast -- impact more so in Yemen but also they're starting to see some impacts in Oman as well. But the key thing for Yemen is going to be the terrain and the dry air behind. To get a better understanding of that, take a look beneath me. We will kind of show you a little bit more of the terrain that is in this area. Now, beneath me, you can see there is the cyclone. It's just now starting to edge very, very close to the coastline of Yemen.

Now, in terms of the track, it should make landfall Monday late evening, and this week transition into Tuesday local time. Notice that pretty much targets the center of Yemen along the coastline. But the elevation in this area is going to play a drastic role, especially in terms of the rain.

A lot of heavy rain, basically, stretching all the way along this mountain range here, but once it gets off in over the mountains, all of that dry air behind it, really, begins to drain the storm of its moisture. So in addition to that, it's not just the fact that the rain is right there on the coast. It's also the strong winds with the storm. But notice as the system begins to make its way close to land, it just falls apart. And again, that dry air further up into this area is starting to suck a lot of that moisture out and will really weaken the storm very rapidly. It could become the strongest storm on record to hit the Arabian Sea. We will have to wait and see exactly what it gets to before it makes landfall.

Strongest from the record since (inaudible). So again, it hasn't been that long. That wasn't in 2007. And coastal Yemen could see up to three years worth of rain in just 24 hours. John, they normally pick up about 80 to 100 millimeters in a year. They're going to get about 200 to 250 in just that first 24 hours.

VAUSE: (Inaudible) Patricia, the strongest hurricane, now, we -- I have this cyclone heading towards Yemen. It does seem that something is going on out there. Allison, thanks for being with us, appreciate it.

Mexico's Colima volcano has erupted again known as the Fire Volcano. Colima erupted five times in less than four hours on Sunday. Residents were non-evacuated like they were in previous eruptions but were warned to cover their faces and be careful before drinking water. Colima stayed active for several months this year.

Soon to come, a careful investigation in perilous place. So ahead, we'll show you the dangers and precious question investigators (ph) are facing and deal with the air crash in Sinai Peninsula. Plus, some (inaudible) could be coming for families of the cargo ship that disappeared in a hurricane. We'll look at the next step for the investigators and why the ship's owner is taking legal action.

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[01:32:07] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

The headlines this hour, Turkey's president is calling for unity after his Justice and Development Party secured an outright majority in Sunday's snap election. The country's prime minister called it a victory for democracy. The surprise win will help the AKP tighten its grip on power after losing its majority back in June.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says ISIS forces seized a key town in southwestern Homs Province. The group says 50 regime fighters were killed or wounded. The takeover means the militants are 20 kilometers from the highway connecting Damascus with other main cities, including Homs.

A rare tropical cyclone is less than a day away from hitting Oman and Yemen. Chapala is expected to make landfall in Yemen early Tuesday and could drop more rain than the country averages all year. Flooding is a major concern.

A plane carrying bodies from the crash of a Russian passenger jet arrived in St. Petersburg a short time ago. 224 people died Saturday when their airliner went down in the Sinai. Russian state media report the co-pilot had complained about the plane's technical condition.

Earlier, I spoke with Dr. Alan Diehl, a former accident investigator for the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, about the ongoing investigation in the Sinai. Also joining him was our military analyst, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Rick, I'd like to start with you.

Let's talk more about this part of the Sinai desert. This is a dangerous part of the world. There's a lot of Islamic extremism going on there. There's also been warnings for commercial jets which pass over this part of the world. So how dangerous is it? And how dangerous is it right now for investigators on the ground?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Let's address the second part first. I don't think investigators are in danger there. When this happened, Egyptian forces moved in with such force that I don't think the militants are going to mess around with them because they would look to plan an operation if their going to do it. Attacking the Egyptian military under such force, probably not a good idea. I think the investigators are probably OK there.

Now as to this part of the world, you are right, the Sinai is a dangerous place. Been very dangerous since 2011 when there was a militancy that started there. It got worse after the overthrow of Mohamed Morsy as the president and General Sisi took over. A lot of the people, the support of the Muslim Brotherhood moved through the Sinai and they became more involved in violence. Last year, they swore allegiance to ISIS. Now we have an ISIS province in the Sinai. They have been quite active. They have a lot of weaponry, training, and obviously, an ongoing insurgency for at least three years.

VAUSE: We'll get to the capability when it comes to anti-aircraft weapons in a moment.

Let's go to Alan.

Officials are saying that fuselage of this plane disintegrated midair. What are the possible causes for that? There is some speculation maybe there was a bomb on board. We know an ISIS group claimed responsibility for shooting down the plane with a missile. What's your take?

[01:35:24] DR. ALAN DIEHL, FORMER ACCIDENT INVESTIGATOR U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: It certainly could be any kind of explosive or a missile, but there are other possibilities. Aircraft do break up in flight if they're overstressed. What we know is they were climbing through 31,000 feet. There was data streaming that has been released. Now this is not Egyptian ground radar. This is an on- board data link system that said they climbed a couple thousand feet, then descended a few thousand feet, climbed back, and then plunged five miles before they lost the data link at 5,000 feet above the ground level. Now, and from the description of the wreckage pattern, John, it sounds to me like the plane probably broke up closer to 5,000 feet than 31,000 feet. So, it sounds to me like it may well be the final destruction may have been due to aerodynamic forces or some other type of G-forces as opposed to a very large explosive device a la Malaysia flight 14.

VAUSE: And so, Colonel Francona, piece together what you know about ISIS capabilities. They made the claim of responsibility.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: But as Alan was saying, the plane at 31,000 feet. Is this even possible?

FRANCONA: Not with the group that we have in the Sinai operating there. We do know they have the MANPADS, the Man-Portable Air Defense System, the shoulder-fired rockets, the heat seekers, if you will They have got those. They've used them effectively. They've been able to down two Egyptian helicopters. But to take a commercial airliner down at that altitude isn't possible with what they have. Systems top out at 14,000 feet. The only way you would shoot it down is in that transition, takeoff to flight, and from the flight level down to landing. They don't have the kind of weaponry we saw in Ukraine that brought down the Malaysian flight. So, I don't think we are looking at a surface-to-air missile here. I know they released a video that -- showed a video. That aircraft was lower than 31,000 feet.

VAUSE: How often do the groups like ISIS, you know, ISIS-linked groups put out the spurious claims that really they -- they don't have a lot of claim, that don't make a lot of sense?

FRANCONA: Well, they're very opportunistic. We have seen in other instances where an incident will happen and they will take credit for it, whether or not they were -- they were involved or not. You know the one that everybody remembers is "Charlie Hebdo" shooting in Paris. They did claim responsibility for that. It turned out to be there was a slight affiliation with an al Qaeda group. Later on, they did attract some of the Hebdo shooters. But it's an opportunistic thing. We have to see that. They have also claimed responsibility from attacks in the states. We can expect that from ISIS.

VAUSE: Sure.

Alan, the Russians have been quick to dismiss terrorism. Will we know what happened when they get the black boxes downloaded and look at the information, or will wreckage on the ground be far more important in an instance like this?

DIEHL: Clearly the recorders should tell the story. And what's so interesting, John, Rick, is that they -- the crew apparently said they had a technical problem. If they had been hit by some kind of explosive, they would have said that, or you could have heard it on the microphones. Air traffic control tapes will be interesting. But the recorders, on board recorders should tell the story. Of course, if it does look like this is some kind of terrorism, then the wreckage will be key. And people with Rick's expertise will be called in to look at the stippling and patterns of explosives that we saw in Ukraine, in the Malaysia flight. At this point I think the recorders are likely within, hopefully, several days to reveal at least basically what appears to have happened. Of course, the investigation will go on for months and probably up to a year before they reach a final conclusion.

VAUSE: OK. Dr. Alan Diehl, Lieutenant Rick Francona, both experts in your field, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you both.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A remote-control submarine will examine wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to see if it's the missing "El Faro" cargo ship. A U.S. Navy tem found the wreckage Saturday. The "El Faro" went missing during Hurricane Joaquin last month. The 33 people on board, 28 of them Americans and five Polish nationals, are all presumed dead. Meantime, the ship's owner filed a complaint in court to block legal action by families of the ship's crew. The company claims "El Faro" was seaworthy and well equipped. But some families say the owner was reckless in knowingly sailing towards a hurricane.

[01:40:15] Still to come here, Myanmar's historic election just days away. Some voters have waited a generation for the opportunity to cast their ballots. And we'll take you there when we come back.

Also, a diplomatic break through as Japan and South Korea try to reach common ground on the controversial history of Comfort Women.

And Boeing could be in for competition. China unveils its highly anticipated passenger jet.

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VAUSE: China unveiled its first homemade large passenger jet. The C- 919 was rolled out in Shanghi and is set to rival the Airbus' A320 and Boeing's 737. The aircraft will take its maiden flight next year. Then comes another three years of tests before putting it to commercial use. The manufacturer says they have received more than 500 orders for this commercial jetliner.

The leaders of South Korea and Japan made a significant breakthrough through Monday during their first bilateral talks since both leaders took office. South Korean President Park Geun-hye and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to accelerate talks to resolve a bitter controversy over Comfort Women, mostly Korean women forced into prostitution at Japanese brothels in World War II.

Will Ripley has that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her body is weak, her memories are strong. Kim Bok-dong, nearly 90 years old, says she's still haunted, haunted by nightmares from five years as a sex slave of the Japanese army.

KIM BOK-DONG, FORMER COMFORT WOMEN SEX SLAVE (through translation): I can't put into words the scars it left me with. It still keeps me awake at night.

RIPLEY: Kim says she was only 14 when the Japanese came to her Korean village forcing her to leave her home, her family.

(on camera): You thought you would be working in a factory?

BOK-DONG (through translation): Yes. There was no option not to go.

[01:45:14] RIPLEY (voice-over): Instead of going to a sewing factory, Kim says she ended up in the Japanese military brothels in half a dozen countries. She was told her job was to revitalize the soldiers.

BOK-DONG (through translation): It went on for such a long time, by the time the sun went down, I couldn't use my lower body at all.

RIPLEY: Kim says years of physical abuse took a permanent toll.

BOK-DONG (through translation): In my old days, I couldn't have a single person who can call me mother. I couldn't ever have a child.

RIPLEY: Her story matches testimony from other so-called Comfort Women. In Washington, this former Korean sex slave made a tearful plea to Prime Minister Abe demanding an official apology.

Critics say Abe has not been vocal enough. They fear his government is trying to whitewash the past to appease conservatives who feel Comfort Women were paid prostitutes, not victims of official military policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have gone through tremendous trauma and, in a way, the Japanese government risks committing second rape by discrediting their testimony and treating them as if they were lies.

RIPLEY: Abe insists he and other prime ministers have made repeat apologies.

SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translation): I am deeply pained to think of the Comfort Women who experienced immeasurable pain and suffering.

RIPLEY: But since Abe first came to office, his government has succeeded in removing references to Comfort Women from many Japanese school textbooks.

BOK-DONG (through translation): My only wish is to set the record straight about the past before I die.

RIPLEY: Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In Myanmar, they're less than a week away from a long-awaited and what will surely be a closely watched election. Opposition leader, Aung Sung Suu Kyi, drew a massive crowd at the rally over the weekend.

And Ivan Watson is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is part of a river of red shirts and flags, supporters of the National League for Democracy, all streaming towards the last big campaign rally before elections, the last big rally, to be held here in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. The people look like they're in a really good mood right now. It's very festive. A lot of happy faces in the crowds. Because, for these people, it's the first time in a generation that they will get the chance to vote in national elections for their party.

(MUSIC)

WATSON: There literally isn't room to walk here in this crowd that's seated in the heat, patiently waiting for the lady of the lady of the hour --

(SHOUTING)

WATSON: -- Aung Sung Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

AUNG SUNG SUU KYI, MYANMAR OPPOSITION LEADER (through translation): Some people say it is not time for us to achieve real democracy yet. I think it is because they didn't want to give it to us. Everyone deserves democracy.

WATSON: Aung Sung Suu Kyi leads the biggest opposition party in Myanmar. Last time they competed in a national election was in 1990. By all accounts, they won big time. But then the military annulled the results of the vote and placed her and many of her colleagues under arrest for decades.

But the main rival will be the incumbent ruling party, which enjoys the support of the military. And the military is guaranteed to hold on to at least 25 percent of the seats in the next parliament. Meaning, the generals are not going away any time soon. Ivan Watson, CNN, Yangon.

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VAUSE: Boy, are they celebrating in Kansas City, Missouri, as the Royals took baseball's World Series. We'll have more on what was a shellacking just ahead.

Plus, American Pharaoh's racing days end with a bang. That's not the end of it. We'll tell you what the champion horse will be doing in retirement.

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[01:51:00] CHINCHAR: I'm Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. You're watching CNN "Weather Watch."

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VAUSE: The Kansas City Royals proved they're not only the best in baseball, but they are the World Series champions. The Royals defeated the Mets in New York in game five of the series. It took extra innings to get them to the victory, giving the Royals a 4-1 series championship. What a difference a year makes. Last year, the Royals lost to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Sunday night's win is only Kansas City' second World Series champion in franchise history. Their last one, 30 long years ago, in 1985. They made it look easy.

Horseracing champion, American Pharaoh, is done with world racing. He went out with a bang. Pharaoh won his last race and now he will have another job in the world of breeding.

CNN's Richard Roth reports.

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RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): American Pharaoh emphatically stamped his entry to horseracing glory by romping home in the final race of his astounding career. He is now the first horse to win the elite Triple Crown series of races and, at the end of the year, the Breeder's Cup Classic.

But he was coming off a loss. The crowd of 50,000 held their breath and Pharaoh returned to the winner's circle with a record performance.

AHMED ZAYAT, OWNER OF AMERICAN PHARAOH: So happy about horse, American Pharaoh. I want him to go out in a big way, as a winner. People to remember that. And he did, in a classy way, in a fast way, and a track record. What a thrill. What a blessing. What a horse. [01:55:00] ROTH: The Egyptian-American owner rewarded his 3-year-old

colt with a kiss.

But there was more than that to come for American Pharaoh. His backers will reluctantly let him leave the racetrack so he can start mating with star female horses, which will haul in potentially millions in stud fees.

Fans who witnessed his farewell race, including Model Kate Upton, didn't want to let go.

And his famed trainer, Bob Baffert, was almost stunned by his calm, speedy horse.

BOB BAFFERT, AMERICAN PHARAOH TRAINER: It's been a privilege to help a horse like this. And it was a lot of pressure to train a horse like this. I didn't want to let the horse down. I didn't want to let the fans down.

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ROTH (on camera): Immediately after the race, instant comparisons with America's greatest racehorses, including Secretariat. Too soon to do that, say American Pharaoh's owner and trainer, who are just glad American Pharaoh was able to go out in pulsating victorious style.

At the Breeder's Cup in Lexington, Kentucky, Richard Roth, CNN.

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VAUSE: Thanks for being with us. You have been watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

Please, stay with us. The news continues after a very short break. Rosemary Church will be all by herself. No Errol tonight. But Rosemary will handle it. She will be with us in just a moment.

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