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Sharm el-Sheikh Flights to UK to Resume Friday; British's Cameron and Egypt's Sisi Meet in London; Carson Recounts Acts of Violence in Childhood; Does Carson's Story of Violent Past Add up?; First Funerals Held for Metrojet Victims; Questions on Rubio's Spending Habits; How To Determine if MetroJet Directly Targeted; NASA Finds What Happened to Water on Mars; Controversial Art by Banksy. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 06, 2015 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:09] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, U.S. President Obama says it's certainly possible a bomb took down this passenger airplane. But critics ask, where's the proof?

VAUSE: The lineup for the next Republican debate has just been revealed. We'll tell you who's in and who didn't make the cut.

SESAY: And later he's one of the most popular and mysterious artists in the world today. I'll speak with one of the few people on the planet that can call Banksy a friend.

VAUSE: Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. We'd like to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world, I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

VAUSE: Well, as Russia and Egypt insist it's too soon for anything conclusions about what brought down Metrojet Flight 9268 over the Sinai Peninsula. But the U.S. and Britain say it looks like it was a bomb. The plane bound for Russia crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

SESAY: One U.S. official says specific Internet chatter around Saturday's crash suggests that ISIS or ISIS affiliates were involved. Here's what U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board. And we're taking that very seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And thousands of British tourists stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt could start coming home in the next few hours. Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman live this hour. Just

gone past 8:00 in the morning on a Friday there.

So, Ben, limited flights set to resume, but there will be increased security and no checked luggage for those passengers heading home.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, John. About 20,000 British tourists are in Sharm el-Sheikh at the moment and of course many of them have had their return to the UK delayed because of the suspension of flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Now special flights will be laid on by the airlines to bring many of those people back. But of course, they will only be able to bring hand luggage, no check-in luggage from the airport. Now that comes after a British airport security delegation came to look at the security procedures at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. They apparently did make some recommendations and they did focus on the baggage handling system there.

But clearly, those -- there's some doubts that still remain. Now regarding that, we just learned that KLM, the Dutch national carrier, has informed passengers flying from Cairo to Amsterdam today that they will not be able to check in luggage, that they will only be able to bring hand luggage on board that aircraft. So it would appear that perhaps concerns are spreading from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo's much bigger and busier international airport -- John.

VAUSE: So this now appears to be a growing issue when it comes to luggage, because that is what we're hearing at least from the U.S. side of things, that it's the luggage or the luggage handlers that could be the weak link in all of this. You mentioned KLM but there have been other countries and other airlines, too, which had expressed some level of concern about the security at airports in Egypt.

WEDEMAN: Yes, for instance, the British, they sent a delegation to Sharm el-Sheikh 10 months ago to look at procedures there and did make recommendations. And generally, they consider Britain, for instance, considers the level of security at airports across the Middle East to be below the standards of the U.S. and UK with the exception, they note, with the airports in Israel, which probably set the standard when it comes to stringent security measures. And in fact, the British aren't only concerned about the state of security at airports in Egypt but also in Bahrain and Kuwait -- John.

VAUSE: Ben, thank you. Ben Wedeman live for us this hour in Cairo with that very important and significant development that KLM now asking their passengers to leave their luggage behind in Cairo as they head to Amsterdam.

SESAY: Well, British Prime Minister David Cameron says it's, quote, "more likely than not that a bomb brought down Metrojet Flight 9268."

VAUSE: And he met on Thursday with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, that happened in London, and he defended his decision to suspend flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Of course I cannot be sure, my experts cannot be sure, that it was a terrorist bomb that brought down that Russian plane. But if the intelligence is and the judgment is that that is more likely than not outcome, then I think it is right to act in the way that I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:05:03] SESAY: Our own Diana Magnay is live outside 10 Downing Street and joins us live.

Diana, it's notable that President Sisi did not criticize the British government's recent statements and actions in his public comments on Thursday. So we're now looking at a greater level of cooperation between the two countries on this plane crash?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Isha, I think that President Sisi is treading very carefully here, a very awkward time for him to be visiting when the prime minister of Britain decides to cut flights to Egypt, citing security concerns at the airport at Sharm el-Sheikh. But of course, President Sisi needs the British government, he needs the million or so just under British tourists who fly to Egypt each year. And the UK is Egypt's largest foreign investor. So you did have a fairly careful press conference between the two where they did stress their cooperation, where, as you say, David Cameron defended his decision to suspend flights.

Flights will be resumed today. There will be empty planes flying to Sharm el-Sheikh to bring the 20,000 or so stranded British tourists back. As Ben was saying, though, without anything other than hand luggage. As the team who are looking into security on behalf of British authorities assesses and puts in measures to address what they see as security failings at Sharm el-Sheikh airport -- Isha.

SESAY: And Diana, Mr. Cameron also spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Details released after their call underscoring the fact that the UK and Russia remain on different pages when it comes to this crash.

MAGNAY: Russia and Egypt are both keen to emphasize that there's no point in jumping to conclusions before the investigation has completed its investigation. But you and I both know that those take -- those kinds of investigations can take a long time. Russia and Egypt clearly fairly defensive that this happened and fairly resistant to the idea that the UK and the U.S. are already coming out and talking of the possibility that this was a bomb.

So prime minister -- the British prime minister called the Russian president yesterday on Thursday, explained to him the measures that Britain was taking. But presumably did not share their intelligence.

There was a fairly measured response from the Kremlin or press release about that telephone call. Much more striking were the comments from the spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow who said that it was shocking that if the UK did have intelligence about any kind of chatter or any intelligence about militant activity, that they had not shared that with Moscow. So clearly Moscow fairly resistant to this idea that the UK is taking the lead here and making the comments that it is about this investigation.

SESAY: Yes, vocally resistant. Our own Diana Magnay there joining us from outside 10 Downing Street in London where it's just after 6:00 a.m. in the morning on Friday.

Diana, we appreciate it. Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, there's a big shakeup in Republican ranks ahead of next week's fourth candidate debate. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee have been dropped from the main stage, the grownup table, and they'll join Rick Santorum and Bobby Jindal at the earlier undercard debate, the kiddy's table as it's called.

SESAY: The kiddy table.

VAUSE: Yes.

SESAY: Yes, it is.

Well, as for the main debate itself, frontrunner Donald Trump will appear at center stage, flanked by Dr. Ben Carson and Florida Senator Marco Rubio. Joining them will be Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich and Rand Paul.

VAUSE: Republican candidate Ben Carson is facing scrutiny over some claims he made about a violent past. The soft-spoken doctor says he used to have a pathological temper which often led to acts of violence.

SESAY: But some of his childhood friends say that doesn't sound like the person they remember.

CNN's Maeve Reston has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & RETIRED NEUROSURGEON: I'm Dr. Ben Carson, and this is my story. Poverty.

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Dr. Ben Carson has captivated voters with a story of his rise from an impoverished youth in Detroit to a famed pediatric neurosurgeon.

CARSON: And I picked up a large rock, throwed it at his face, broke his glasses.

RESTON: Central to his appeal to the evangelical voters who have fueled his surge to the top tier of the presidential field is his account of a religious epiphany that changed him from a violent, angry young man to the composed figure who stands before voters today. CARSON: Another time, a fellow was trying to close my locker at

school, I didn't want it closed, I struck him in the forehead with my fist. I would go after people with rocks, and bricks, and baseball bats and hammers.

[01:10:10] RESTON: A version of the most serious attack is portrayed in a 2009 television movie based on his autobiography "Gifted Hands."

CARSON: Had it not been for a belt buckle under their clothing, they would have killed or seriously injured.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel I should move my chair.

STEVE CHOICE, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF BEN CARSON: That was not his demeanor around here.

RESTON: CNN set out to find the classmates who Carson says were the victims of the attacks but so far has been unable to locate any of them. The Carson campaign declined to provide names of those involved or eyewitnesses, calling CNN's examination into Carson's past a witch hunt.

CNN interviewed nine of Carson's friends, neighbors, and classmates, and all say the violent, impulsive person Carson has described himself as is unrecognizable to them. A 10th person said he might have heard a rumor about the knife attack at the time but couldn't be sure. All of those interviewed recalled Carson as quiet, bookish and nerdy, a kid who wore thick glasses and a pocket protector for his pens.

MARIE CHOICE, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF BEN CARSON: He was just smart, a bookworm.

STEVE CHOICE: With us, he was calm, easy, a lot of fun, always.

RESTON: Siblings Steve and Marie Choice grew up next door to the Carsons.

STEVE CHOICE: I was really surprised when I read he tried to stab someone, I'm like, what? You know?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You never saw like the police over here?

STEVE CHOICE: No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does it fit with the guy who you knew, I mean, that kind of activity?

STEVE CHOICE: No.

MARIE CHOICE: I was shocked. I was surprised because he was just -- you know, he quiet and calm.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You never saw any sort of violence or anger?

MARIE CHOICE: No. No, I did not. No, I did not.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes.

MARIE CHOICE: Very nice young man.

TIM MCDANIEL, FRIEND OF DR. CARSON: I did not witness those things. I don't have really any independent knowledge of those things.

RESTON: Tim McDaniel is a former classmate and lifelong friend of Carson's. He says the behavior Carson describes on the stump is totally out of character with the academically driven young man he knew growing up.

MCDANIEL: As long as I have known Ben, I associated him with a lot of things, but never stooping to the level of a common street thug. So I was a little surprised by it.

RESTON: Still, McDaniel says he believes his old friend and said Carson may have kept those incidents secret out of embarrassment.

MCDANIEL: I think he tried to hide it for as long as he could, until he realized that in order to really, really clear his conscious that he had to make a confession. He said that honestly, and I believed everything he told me.

RESTON: While all of the friends and classmates interviewed by CNN are perplexed by the stories of violence Mr. Carson describes, most of them still expressed admiration for him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Maeve Reston, CNN national political reporter, joins us now from Washington, D.C.

So, Maeve, what have you made of Ben Carson and I guess the Carson camp at large, their response to your investigation?

RESTON: Well, today Dr. Carson was asked about this look into his Detroit years. The campaign did not cooperate with us as we were looking for people. We of course approached them and asked for their help, you know, some time ago, asking to connect us with people who knew him during that part of his life, and they refused and said it was a witch hunt.

I understand tonight that Dr. Carson called it a smear campaign and suggested that CNN was calling him a liar. That is not the case. We're simply saying that we have not been able to find any of the victims of these attacks that he's talked about and that we're still looking for them. He also said today for the first time that I've heard it, that he used fictitious names in his book to describe some of the people who were involved in these incidents, and he has said that he -- it will not reveal their identities, but if they want to come forward, he would welcome them to do so. So if they do come forward, we certainly will talk to them about their recollections of the incident.

SESAY: And finally, and quickly, Maeve, obviously he's heading into another debate next week. RESTON: Yes.

SESAY: My question is, do these stories, which as they stand, are unsubstantiated, I mean, let's call it what it is, they're not wholesale debunked, but, you know, we haven't been able to stand them up.

RESTON: Right.

SESAY: Does all of this become an Achilles' heel for him in that debate next week?

RESTON: Well, I mean, I think he's certainly casting it as an attempt by the media to smear his campaign and you know that strategy has certainly worked for many candidates in the past.

[01:15:02] I think that they're pretty simple, straightforward questions that we've asked Dr. Carson and the campaign. And I'm sure if he comes forward with more details of these incidents and the circumstances in which they occurred, then, you know, we can all move on to the next thing to talk about in the campaign. But I would expect it to come up in the debate next week. Donald Trump tweeted about it tonight and some of the other candidates will be talking about it, as well. You know, everything at this point is a piece of debate among the many candidates who were running.

SESAY: Maeve Reston, great to have you on the show. Thank you so much.

RESTON: Thank you.

VAUSE: OK. From Republicans we head to the Democrats. You may recall the big cheers for Bernie Sanders back in the first Democrat debate. That's when he stood up for his rival, Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Me too. Me too.

SANDERS: You know?

CLINTON: Thank you, Bernie. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Now here's the thing. It sounded different on Wednesday, when he told "The Wall Street Journal," take a look at this, "There's an investigation going on right now. I did not say end the investigation, that's silly. Let the investigation proceed, unimpeded."

VAUSE: Now a top strategist for Sanders insists the candidate has made similar statements in the past. It sounds very different, though, but that's not how the Clinton campaign saw it, saying this. "It's disappointing, Senator Sanders and his campaign strategists have chosen to change direction and engaged in the type of personal attacks that they previously said they wouldn't do."

OK. For our viewers internationally, "POLITICAL MANN" is making a comeback to CNN hosted by our very own, Jonathan Mann. It's the show which brings you the very latest on the U.S. presidential race from the candidates' platforms to the political missteps. You can find all of that on CNNi.

SESAY: You can indeed. The show premieres Saturday on CNN International at 11:30 in the morning Hong Kong time. That's 11:30 at night for those of you in London town.

VAUSE: And those of you watching from the United States, you can still get it. Please log on to CNNgo.com at 11:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, 8:00 p.m. Saturday here in Los Angeles. Go "POLITICAL MANN."

And still to come here, Russian families in mourning. The first funerals held for the victims of the Metrojet crash.

SESAY: Plus, why police believe this 9-year-old boy was targeted in a gang shooting. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley, with your CNN "World Sport" headlines.

Liverpool have made its three straight wins and six in a row unbeaten, under Jurgen Klopp as the Reds' good form continued in the Europa League. Jordon Ibe's five goals for the (INAUDIBLE) sider was enough for Liverpool's first win the Europa League this season. This is also the Reds' first away win in Europe for three years.

Tottenham, who were 10 games unbeaten in the English Premier League, were also in Europa League action on Thursday and they also welcomed a win.

[01:20:07] First tour of Anderlecht 2-1 at White Hart Lane. The north Londoners had Harry Cane offering as a sole striker against Anderlecht. And the England International put Tottenham ahead in the first half. His fifth goal in three games. The Belgian side drew level but Mousa Dembele won the game after a stunning strike later. Spurs go top of their group.

French footballer Karim Benzema was placed under formal investigation Thursday morning in connection with a sex tape and blackmailing of another player as part of an inquiry into corruption and doping. Benzema was held in police custody in Versailles overnight in France. But a formal investigation does not necessarily mean he will be tried. Benzema's lawyers maintain the player's innocence.

And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. Chicago police believe a 9-year-old boy killed in their city was the intended target of a gang shooting. Officials say Tyshawn Lee was lured into an alley where he was shot multiple times on Monday.

VAUSE: Police say he was gunned down because his father is an alleged gang member. So far no arrests have been made and officials say the father is not cooperating with the investigation.

SESAY: Well, Louisiana State Police have conceded that the gun shots that killed a 6-year-old boy came from an officer at the scene. The child Jeremy Mardis was in the front seat of his father's truck when he was shot during a pursuit on Tuesday.

VAUSE: An investigator initially said the father was firing at officers, but now police admit the boy's father did not have a gun in the vehicle. The father was wounded and remains in hospital.

SESAY: Returning now to our top story of that crash of the Metrojet plane. A third plane carrying remains of the crash victims is on its way to St. Petersburg from Cairo. That's according to Russian state media. Meanwhile, the funerals in Russia have begun.

VAUSE: At least two people whose bodies have been identified were laid to rest on Thursday.

Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance has more now on what an emotional day this has been.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a tiny chapel near St. Petersburg, the grief of an entire nation is pouring out.

The tears are for Nina Lushchenko, the 60-year-old canteen worker at a local school. Now the first victim of Russia's worst-ever air catastrophe to be laid to rest.

"She always greeted us with a smile," says her grieving colleague. "Full of kindness and humanity. We will always remember you," she says.

Russians are no strangers to air disasters but this latest appears to have struck a chord. Perhaps because the passengers were mainly families, including at least 25 children. On a cheap Egyptian holiday to escape the Russian cold. Ordinary Russians know it could so easily have been one of them.

Outside St. Petersburg, another funeral of another victim. The bereaved mother of 31-year-old Alexey Alexeev grasps his portrait to her heart.

He was awarded the holiday with another colleague by the heating factory they worked for. A common bonus for Russian employees. Their boss was among the mourners.

"They were enjoying themselves," he says, "sending photos and messages to us. When I was called on Saturday I just couldn't believe it yet. Here I am alive. My guys are gone."

It is that sense of utter shock this entire nation now shares.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, joining me now on the phone from Moscow is Dmitry Babich. He's a political analyst for Sputnik Radio.

Dmitry, thanks for being was. Dmitry, if it does turn out that this was a bomb that brought down this plane, how will the Russian people there react? Who will they blame?

DMITRY BABICH, SPUTNIK RADIO: Well, of course, the Russian people will react with grief. But I don't think it will have any effect on their political decisions or the government because if it were hit by the terrorists, the means we're hitting them.

[01:25:06] You know, their most pervasive argument against the Russian involvement in Syria until now was that we're bombing the wrong people, that we're not bombing the terrorists, we are bombing the so- called moderates. Well, if a moderate plants a bomb on a plane, then he's not a moderate. So politically I don't think that this tragedy will change anything in the Russian attitude toward the Syrian problem.

VAUSE: Dmitry, excuse me, but I think the ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. I don't think you'd consider them to be moderate Syrians by any stretch of the imagination. And so given that, will there be any problems for the Russian president because he got the Russians involved in this conflict in Syria and some may see that this bombing as retaliation for that?

BABICH: That's exactly what I wanted to say. The American media said many times that Russia was not hitting the ISIL, so-called Islamic States, but that it was hitting the moderates.

VAUSE: OK.

BABICH: Then why would ISIL be angry if it didn't receive any bomb from us?

VAUSE: Because you're supporting President Assad, who's their enemy.

BABICH: Well, I mean, these people on the plane, they were innocent. So planting a bomb on a plane is a crime by any standard. You know, whether you are --

VAUSE: Absolutely. I agree 100 percent with you. I agree 100 percent with you, but that's how terrorism works. BABICH: And that's the claims by ISIL. I would not give too much

credence to these claims, because it just shows how evil they are. You know, they are ready to take responsibility for a horrible crime, even if they didn't commit it. The fact that they pronounce themselves ready to commit, the fact that they pride themselves on such a crime, means that we're hitting the right target by hitting them. And by --

VAUSE: Well, I mean, they're a disgusting group of people by no stretch of the imagination. But why won't the Russians come out and agree with the United States and the UK leaders in saying that this does look like a bomb? Everyone sees the same intelligence. Surely the Russians know the same information that the Americans and the British know.

BABICH: Well, again, it is quite clear that the United States and Britain were somewhat too hasty with their suspicions, because, you know, the Egyptian investigators and the Russian investigators, they have not yet completed their work. It is not yet clear what caused, you know, the disaster. So to agree with the British and with the Americans before we have any, you know, like real information from the ground would be premature. And I'm afraid the Russian government suspects the British and the Americans of trying to use the situation politically.

The American leadership have been saying that sooner or later Russia will have to pay a price, as they say, for its involvement in Syria. So, you know, the United States government might be tempted to use this situation as saying look, we said you're going to pay a price, so you're already paying a price. The civilians are paying a price.

VAUSE: Yes. Dmitry, we'd like you to come back so we can talk about this another time. But we appreciate you being with us on the line there from Moscow.

Dmitry Babich, he's a political analyst. He works for Radio Sputnik in Moscow. Thank you, sir.

SESAY: Very interesting.

VAUSE: Yes. Interesting perspective. It was difficult to --

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Follow the arguments a couple of times but I understand what he was saying.

SESAY: Next on CNN NEWSROOM, a leading Republican candidate under scrutiny for his past spending. Why a former mentor is now demanding he reveal his financial records.

VAUSE: Also former U.S. president George H.W. Bush pulls no punches on a new biography. We'll tell you the choice words he uses to describe one of his son's former presidential aides. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [01:32:30] SESAY: Hello, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: And I'm John Vause. Let's check the headlines.

U.S. President Barack Obama says he thinks it's certainly possible there was a bomb on board MetroJet flight 9268. The plane crashed Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. Egypt and Russia say there's no evidence to support the bomb theory.

SESAY: Police and protests scuffled with each other in central London on Thursday. They were supporting the activist group Anonymous who sponsored the Million Mask March. Some arrests were made and at least one police car was set on fire.

VAUSE: Two candidates have been dropped if the big stage at the next Republican debate. FOX Business Network says New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee did not get enough support in the opinion polls to qualify for the primetime debate. Instead, they're relegated to the undercard round earlier in the night.

SESAY: Well, another Republican candidate, Senator Marco Rubio, is facing questions over his spending habits while he was a local state politician.

VAUSE: A former colleague says Rubio made some questionable purchases while serving in the Florida legislature and is demanding he release his financial records.

Drew Griffin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marco Rubio insists he's just an average American trying to make ends meet.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know for a fact how difficult it is to raise children, how expensive it is for working families.

(MUSIC)

GRIFFIN: But there is intense pressure for him to come clean about the financial issues is, which have been dogging him for years.

The trouble dates back to when Rubio was in the Florida House of Representatives. He came under fire for using a state Republican American Express card for personal expenses. There were complaints he charged $4,000 to repairs on a minivan and used the card for a $134 haircut.

After it became public, Rubio said he repaid it, $16,052, covering his personal expenses charged on the card. Rubio is still answering questions about it today. RUBIO: It wasn't a credit card, it was an American express card

secured under my credit. The bills were mailed to me at home. There was a personal experience, I paid it. If it was a party expense, the party paid it.

Thank you.

GRIFFIN: The trouble is, not all the statements from that time period have been made public. There's a two-year gap. But Rubio's campaign said those records will be released. Critics believe he's hiding something.

[01:35:18] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We still don't know what's on those statements of the American Express card prior to him becoming speaker when he had complete control of all of the campaign dollars, Florida House campaign dollars. If he wanted to make it very clear that he had reimbursed the party, then show us.

GRIFFIN: A fellow Republican worked with Rubio for years. He now supports Jeb Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has no appreciation for the dollars that are being donated to the party or the campaigns.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Those are strong statements coming from a fellow Republican.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're going to run for the highest office of the land, and the voters not only in Florida but throughout the United States need to know the rest of the story. The whole story. The true story. And how you do deal with finances. And how you do spend other people's money.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): He says there's only one reason Marco Rubio has failed so far to release all the records of his American express charge card. Because the true story of how this presidential contender spent the money is yet to be told.

RUBIO: It is not the future of this country and what it will look like --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Drew Griffin reporting there. A new biography of George H.W. Bush gives a surprising glimpse on his son's presidential administration. He criticized Dick Cheney, who was his defense secretary before becoming his son's vice president. He called Cheney, quote, "iron ass," and said he built his own empire under George W. Bush.

SESAY: He also lashed out at former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calling him "an arrogant fellow" who served his son badly.

VAUSE: George W. Bush issued a statement Thursday saying he was proud to have served with Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld.

I can actually hear the senior Bush say that.

SESAY: Which part?

VAUSE: Iron ass.

There is more angst between the United States and Israel. Comments from a new aide to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reuters reports U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with the Israeli leader on Thursday and, according to the U.S. State Department, Mr. Netanyahu will now be reviewing the appointment of Ron Ballart (ph), a communications director.

SESAY: Before he was appointed, Ballart (ph) accused Barack Obama of being anti-Semitic, and said Kerry had the mental abilities of a 12- year-old. Mr. Netanyahu called the comment inappropriate.

VAUSE: Still to come here, scientists say they know what happened to the once-flowing water on Mars. NASA reveals what caused the once flourishing planet to become barren.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:41:14] SESAY: More now on the crash of MetroJet flight 9268. Authorities from Russia and Egypt say there's no evidence yet to support the theory that a bomb brought down the plane.

VAUSE: U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have said intelligence suggests there was a bomb on board.

SESAY: So just how will investigators determine if the plane was deliberately targeted?

VAUSE: Kyung Lah visited a forensic lab to see how scientists test for explosive residue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The power of a bomb aboard a plane. This demonstration shows the end results. The beginnings, tracked by Thomas Anthony.

(on camera): Is this a classic C-4 exPLOsion?

THOMAS ANTHONY, FORMER FAA CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY MANAGER: Yes. Less push and more sort of force like that. We have less residue than a low explosive.

LAH (voice-over): Starting with the C-4 bomb, a type of plastic explosive, the former FAA civil aviation security manager walks us through the impact of several types of bombs and the telltale signs they leave behind.

ANTHONY: The residue of the black powder coming from a central point. Look at the edges here. The edges are very different. They have this coral-like look to them. This is napalm. Look at all the residue of the napalm left behind. That's something that is indicative and characteristic of the napalm.

LAH (on camera): Are there countless numbers of explosives?

ANTHONY: There's dozens of types of explosives.

LAH (voice-over): Investigators begin to narrow the possibilities with field tests to quickly analyze residue. This orange color points to a C-4 bomb. He says the severity of a bomb on a plane depends on timing and placement. And there isn't always visible proof.

(on camera): Is it possible an explosive can go off on a plane and there be no residue?

ANTHONY: It's possible there could be no residue left.

LAH (voice-over): Here's why. Look at the wreckage from the MetroJet crash, much of it consumed by fire.

ANTHONY: If you have melting aircraft, parts, melting aluminum, it's mixing with the other parts that it could easily disguise any evidence of an IED.

LAH: Anthony says it's critical to have forensic proof in an aviation investigation and only a lab can sift out evidence from this, but just as important, piecing together clues beyond the wreckage, knowing when and who may have placed an explosive device aboard the plane.

ANTHONY: There are so many electronics that we can buy off the shelf that can be programmed to activate hours, days, weeks, months in the future.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: We'll change gears here now. NASA scientists believe they now know what turned Mars, once full of flowing water, into the cold, dry Mars we know today.

SESAY: Measurements show solar winds, which are charged particles from the sun, stripped away most of the Martian atmosphere.

NASA's Michael Mayer gave a simpler explanation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MAYER, LEAD SCIENTIST, MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM, NASA: So to answer the question, what happened to the Mars' atmosphere, I'll quote Bob Dylan, "The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Blowing in the wind.

Astronaut Mark Polansky joins us from Houston, Texas.

So, Mark, what are these polar winds and how can they destroy an entire atmosphere?

MARK POLANSKY, ASTRONAUT: That's a really good question. I'm basically your pilot opposed to your planetary scientist. The solar wind is made up of electronic particles and they go at the speed of 1 million miles per hour, which is 57 times faster than the space shuttle speed is as it orbits the earth. And the particles, when they hit the upper atmosphere, exhibit electrical charges which cause the particles to escape the upper atmosphere. That's what basically causes it to slowly dissipate.

[01:45:28] VAUSE: So why hasn't something like this happened to our planet, why hasn't it happened to earth?

POLANSKY: One of the hypotheses has to do with the magnetic field. So we're able to deflect a lot of the harmful radiation of the solar wind, unlike what we have at Mars, which it does not have the strong magnetic field the earth has had.

VAUSE: So we go back to a point in time where Mars had a much more substantial atmosphere than it has today. What would like have been like on the surface of Mars?

POLANSKY: Well, you know, it's something that probably some scientists think was somewhat like earths, where there was a lot more liquid. It was warmer. Had more of an earth-like potential for life. And so slowly, as the atmosphere started to erode, a lot of the particles, as well as the water, basically went blowing in the wind and disappearing from Mars.

VAUSE: I think we hit the theme of the interview, blowing in the wind.

Thank you for explaining some difficult things that I had no clue on how it all worked.

Mark, thanks for being with us.

POLANSKY: You bet.

SESAY: You still have no clue.

VAUSE: I don't, no.

(LAUGHTER)

It's bad, bad. We don't want it happening here. We're very lucky on earth.

SESAY: Thank you for that simple answer.

Next on CNN NEWSROOM, from a Banksy exhibition to refugee shelters, could this be the artist's greatest work? We talk to one of the few people in the world how know the artist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good day. I'm Derek Van Dam with a look at your "Weather Watch."

(WEATHER REPORT)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[01:50:07] VAUSE: The artist Banksy, his work is controversial, his identity mysterious, and messages rooted in social consciousness.

SESAY: His last exhibition, Dismaland, sold out in the U.K. within hours. And he did something rather extraordinary.

VAUSE: He had the wood sculpture cut up, the sculptures disassembled, and the raw material shipped to France where they were turned into makeshift shelters to help thousands of refugees.

So we wanted to know if it was a marketing ploy or if Banksy really is an artist with a heart.

SESAY: But it's hard to get that scoop from the man himself. Banksy has never revealed his identity. Few people know who he is. But he man in this film. Pop artist, Mr. Brainwash, is the main subject in the documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop."

So I spoke to Mr. Brainwash about Banksy recently.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MR. BRAINWASH, ARTIST: We're here in Times Square with Coca-Cola to be part of taking over the Times Square Coca-Cola billboard. It's history. It's something that never happened before and I feel blessed and honored.

SESAY: You are trying to bring positivity to the world. Your friend, Banksy, with his work, is also providing a kind of social commentary on our times. His recent exhibition is part of that continuation of his work, holding a mirror up and pointing out some of the ugliness in life. Do you feel that in some ways the work you're doing and the work that Banksy is doing is kind of moving street art, kind of moving it from the shadowy underground to take public stands and really shine a light on important matters?

MR. BRAINWASH: Sometimes in life we're gone, one moment in life that we should not regret that we didn't do anything. Because if we do something about helping others, we will live with a smile. We will be happy about what we did in life. That's what makes life beautiful.

SESAY: So, Mr. Brainwash, you've explained what motivates you to do the work you do. You know Banksy. Very few people do. You're one of the rare ones. In his case, why does he do the kind of work he's doing? Something like this? Why is he compelled to provide this kind of social commentary? MR. BRAINWASH: You know, every artist has a different way of

expressing him or herself. And I feel that's the way he is. There is some people with a different dream and his dream is to follow what he loves, you know? Follow what he wants to do. I feel like he's very clever artist. Not like everybody else. He's real.

SESAY: Have you ever talked to him about making himself known to the public, would he ever do that?

MR. BRAINWASH: Never say never. You never know. But it doesn't matter.

SESAY: Mr. Brainwash, there are those who consider his art to be criminal. How do you and others in this genre, how do you fight off those negative stereotypes, does it bother you?

[01:55:11] MR. BRAINWASH: Like I say, I'm not here to judge. I feel like something -- sometimes you want to tell people what you want to show them. So it's like the street is the streets. It's just art. It's not a weapon. It's not a weapon. It's not a gun. Nobody will hurt you.

SESAY: When you look at this exhibition and you look at the works you have on display, in your view how have you changed as an artist over the years?

MR. BRAINWASH: I think it's like -- it's living, it's real. It's something I feel people need. I'm very positive and I believe that life is beautiful for everyone. And I feel that everyone is a diamond. Every one of us. We just need to learn how to polish it to make it shine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Yeah.

SESAY: You are a diamond.

VAUSE: Oh, we're all diamonds.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: A diamond in the rough.

OK, well, that was interesting.

SESAY: I learned something. Very interesting.

VAUSE: You've been watching CNN newsroom in Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay.

The news continues right after this.

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