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Trump to Skip Final Debate before Iowa Caucuses; Man in charge of China's Economic Data Now Under Investigation for Possible Corruption; American Soldier Recognized for Heroically Saving Jews During World War II; Zika Travel Alert Expanded; Brazil Investigates Explosion And Prison Break; Search For "Dangerous" Fugitives Intensifies; Kerry Wraps Asia Visit In China; Young Ted Cruz Says He Wants World Domination; Safe Discovered In Pablo Escobar's Former House; Actor Abe Vigoda Of "The Godfather" Dies At 94. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 27, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:13] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour..

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Bye, bye. Donald Trump says he will skip the final debate before the Iowa caucuses after a satirical statement from the host of the debate.

VAUSE (voice-over): Fighting for survival. We'll take you to one of many Syrian towns where residents are dying from hunger.

SESAY: And buried treasure. Demolition crews unearth new hidden secrets at the former home of a drug lord. We'll tell you what they found.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (on camera): Hello, everybody. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.

SESAY (on camera): And I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

It's getting nasty. Donald Trump is leading the Republican pack in the race for the White House, but he won't be at the Fox News debate set for Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (voice-over): That's because Mr. Trump is refusing to face Fox host Megyn Kelly. She'll be asking some of the questions at the debate. The two have been at odds for months. Earlier Donald Trump said he'd probably skip the event. DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, Fox is playing

games, yes. Fox is going to make a fortune. I tell Fox you should give money to the Wounded Warriors. I'm not a fan of Megyn Kelly. I think she's a third rate reporter. I think she frankly is not good at what she does and I think they could do a lot better than Megyn Kelly.

And so I'm going to be making a decision with Fox, but I probably won't bother doing the debate. I see they picked me as number one, not only number one, number one by far, but probably I won't be doing the debate.

VAUSE (voice-over): Well, here's what Fox News had to say. "Capitulating to politicians' ultimatums about a debate moderator violates all journalistic standards, as do threats, including the one leveled by Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski...We can't give in to terrorization towards any of our employees. Trump is still welcome at Thursday night's debate and will be treated fairly just as he has been during his 132 appearances on Fox News and Fox business."

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (voice-over): Donald Trump's feud with Fox and Megyn Kelly goes back to the first Republican debate in August. He accused Kelly of being a terrible moderator who asked "gotcha" questions.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MEGYN KELLY, FOX HOST: Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women's looks. You once told a contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice" it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (on camera): Well, for more on all of this, our senior leading (ph) correspondent and host of RELIABLE SOURCES, Brian Stelter is with us now from New York. Hey so, Brian, it seems all of this kind of was triggered by unusually, sir, by Fox mocking Donald Trump, defending Megyn Kelly. That seemed to push Trump over the edge.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR LEADING CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so, seemed to be the last straw for Trump. Fox was responding to something Trump had done earlier in the day. Trump had put up an Instagram video where he criticized Megyn Kelly. He took a poll on Twitter, he said should I go to the GOP debate? An hour later Fox responded with this, a tongue in cheek statement, a very unusual statement that actually said, "We learned from a secret back channel the Ayatollah and Putin both intended to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet him if he becomes president. A nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to these meetings."

Obviously there Fox News mocking Trump in an unusual way, basically telling him to grow up and stop leaning on his Twitter followers. That was followed a few hours later by Trump saying he's not going to show up, saying he's going to skip the debate and basically make Fox suffer. He's predicting that Fox's ratings will be lower because he won't be on the stage.

Now, no matter what, Megyn Kelly will be on the stage. She is the moderator that Trump is so dissatisfied with. Megyn Kelly saying in the last few hours that, you know, Trump thinks he can control everything, but he can't control the media.

VAUSE: You know, Brian, after that first debate, it made headlines, Donald Trump went even further during an interview with CNN's Don Lemon. He made this comment about Megyn Kelly.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TRUMP: She gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions and, you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, I guess given the history here for Fox, did they really have no other choice but to back Megyn Kelly?

STELTER: This certainly had been escalating for months, and months, and months. It came to a head today, and the network was very clear that Kelly has their full support. You know, she's a rising star on Fox. In some ways she's the biggest star on Fox now, and you're right, they had no option but to back her.

This is something that is - it's unprecedented, it really is, John. You know, we're talking about the GOP front runner refusing to show up for the final debate before the Iowa caucuses. In some ways Fox built up Trump, but now you might think of him as a monster who's hurting the very creator. There's a weird and interesting dynamic that's happening here and it's unlike anything we've ever seen in presidential politics. But then again, we've never had a reality TV star and billionaire businessman run for president in the U.S. before.

[00:05:09] VAUSE: Yes, isn't that the truth. Finally, you know, we've been hearing from Donald Trump saying, oh, these ratings, it's all because of me. And he's right.

STELTER: Right.

VAUSE: There has been a record turnout, record number of people tuning into watch these networks. I guess we will finally find out now if Trump really is the reason for those numbers, right?

STELTER: Yes, that's a good point. Anywhere between 13 and 25 million people have watched these GOP debates when Trump is on the stage. In the past, maybe three to five -- or 3 to 8 million viewers would tune in. So, there's been a huge spike this season. Now mostly that's probably Donald Trump, but it could also for some of the other candidates. And without Trump on stage on Thursday we will see exactly the impact he's had. Now Trump is saying he'll have (AUDIO GAP) on his own on Thursday

night. Other networks could presumably go ahead and carry that event as counter programming to the debate, and that will be also very interesting to see. In many ways Trump is like a network programmer or a producer. He is in some ways programming this entire election cycle. He's in charge in a way we haven't seen before. On the other hand, Fox has a lot of power as well. Maybe they'll show an empty podium on Thursday night.

VAUSE: Yes, and very quickly, you know, do we know if he was sort of swayed by Twitter feedback or what his followers were saying to him, or was it just...

STELTER: Yes.

VAUSE: .... you know, Donald Trump, as we say in Australia, spat out the pacifier, spat the dummy?

STELTER: You know, actually 60 percent of his Twitter fans told him, go ahead, show up to the debate. 40 percent said not to.

He has a remarkable command of social media. He launched this announcement today on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at exactly the same time. He got a lot of feedback, including from some people who said you're being a cry baby. Show up to the debate like every other grown man and woman is going to show up, but Donald Trump continues to rewrite the book of campaign rules. A lot of these rules are unspoken, you know, they're customs and he's making up all new ones as he goes along.

VAUSE: Yes, it's fun to watch. Brian, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.

STELTER: Thank you.

SESAY: Well, Donald Trump's closest Republican rival had a bold response to the front runner's plan to skip the debate. Ted Cruz wants to take on Trump one on one.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TED CRUZ, (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This (AUDIO GAP) dead heat between Donald and me. We are effectively tied in the state of Iowa. If he's unwilling to stand on the debate stage with the other candidates, then I would like to invite Donald right now to engage in a one on one debate with me any time between now and the Iowa caucuses.

VAUSE (voice-over): And earlier on Tuesday, Senator Cruz warned supporters that if Mr. Trump wins the Iowa caucuses he will most definitely go on to win the Republican nomination.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SESAY: Well, John, big (inaudible) endorsement Tuesday from a tough talking Arizona sheriff. (BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SESAY (voice-over): Joe Arpaio became something of a living folk hero to conservatives in his (inaudible) aggressive roundups of undocumented immigrants.

VAUSE (voice-over): He says Trump is willing to get tough to protect American jobs as well as families.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SESAY (on camera): Well, the latest survey in Iowa shows Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in a tight race leading up to Monday's caucuses.

VAUSE (on camera): Trump topped Cruz by just two points in the Quinnipiac University poll, well within the margin of error. And there, a distant third place, Marco Rubio.

SESAY: Distant.

VAUSE: Yes, look at that.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: Okay.

SESAY: To other news now, in Oregon the FBI and state police have arrested several protester who have occupied a federal wild life refuge for weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SESAY (voice-over): Another protestor, LaVoy Finicum, was killed as law enforcement confronted the group during a traffic stop on Tuesday. Authorities say shots were fired during the arrest but it's not clear who fired first.

VAUSE (voice-over): The group's leader, Ammon Bundy, is among those arrested and facing felony charges for the occupation of the refuge. The group is protesting U.S. federal land policies.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (on camera): Russia says it doesn't want to take back thousands of Middle Eastern refugees who crossed into Norway. Oslo wants to send more than 5,400 migrants back to Russia, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says because the refugees misrepresented the reason for traveling to Russia in the first place they would not be welcome back.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SESAY (voice-over): After Lavrov's comments Norway says it received assurances Moscow will take back at least some of the asylum seekers. Anti-government protests are planned across Norway Wednesday.

(END VIDEOCLIP) VAUSE: Thanks (ph) to the migrant crisis which shows no signs of easing, Denmark took controversial action on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (voice-over): The parliament approved legislation allowing the seizure of migrants' assets and delaying family reunification for three years.

SESAY: The ruling of the party (ph) says the intent is to ensure asylum seekers pay into the country's well fare system.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The issue is that our government needs to take care of Denmark until we get a European solution, until we get a worldwide solution. And Denmark is more on track than the countries around us and we need to balance this so that we can accept the people who are in need of help but so that we also protect our country.

SESAY: Well, some of the laws are on the books in Switzerland and Germany.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[00:10:24] SESAY (on camera): Turkey is threatening to boycott U.N. sponsored peace talks on Syria if the Kurdish Opposition Democratic Union Party is invited. The Turkey prime minister says his country believes that group is a terrorist organization and they don't want them at the negotiation table when peace talks begin Friday in Geneva, Switzerland.

VAUSE (on camera): At this point it's not clear if the Kurdish Party was invited, but a diplomat close to the talks suggests they were.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (voice-over): ISIS is now claiming responsibility for two suicide bombings that rocked the Syrian city of Homs. At least 19 people were killed, more than 100 were injured in Tuesday's blast.

SESAY: The Syrian government controls most of Homs and the U.K.-based monitoring group says 15 regime soldiers were among those killed.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (on camera): It's a desperate situation right now for people in the city of Madaya. It's a rebel-held town in Syria. An aide convoy delivered food and medicine more than ten days ago but activists say ten people there have died from mall nutrition since then and others remain hungry.

SESAY: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more, and we warn you some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ISIS has now gripped the town of Madaya, adding to the siege and starvation gnawing away at what's left of life here. Aide came briefly along with global attention, but now it's gone and the weak here are still (inaudible) dying.

This is Dr. Mohammed. He shows us Powa Zaif Alden (ph), age 50, so malnourished he can't cope with food, only drip feeds. Held here, almost a ghost edging towards death. Like his granddaughter Lamar (ph), just nine months old, she seems dazed. We were told two people died in Madaya Monday from hunger but can't confirm it independently. "For more than seven months we've not had electricity," explains the doctor, "we've nearly run out of wood." Now plastic is often burned. The weakest, immobile activist Abdullah (ph) shows us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This child here is very ill. He eats (ph) (inaudible) and he get sick and ill, and his stomach is really, really hurting. He needs immediately go to hospital outside in Madaya.

PATON WALSH: The little food here probably won't save the acutely malnourished who need urgent medical help, but it is handed out slowly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And actually, if they don't bring food for people, the people here will die because of starvation.

PATON WALSH: Here, in a makeshift hospital struggling to keep the lights on, is where they come, hoping to find help. In the past ten days since the arrival of relief supplies, the doctor says there have been ten deaths. Scores of people have arrived at the clinic unconscious. We have around 500 sick people in the town that need hospital treatment.

Syrian rebels have said they won't talk peace until sieges like these by the government are lifted. The rebels too are besieging other towns in the north. Hunger, a weapon of war, leaving 400,000 Syrians without the food they need, neither truly arrive nor dead.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE: We're off to a break here. When we come back Chinese stocks are off to a rough start this week and now the country is investigating its chief statistician for possible corruption. Details on that surprise announcement to come.

[00:14:12] SESAY: Plus, an American soldier captured by the Nazis during World War II has received a historic recognition in Israel. We'll look at the special ceremony happening for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

VAUSE: Welcome back. Apple posted the biggest quarterly profit ever in U.S. history. The tech company reported nearly $7,600 billion in revenue, more than $18 billion in profit, both up by 2 percent. SESAY: Growth was slow with iPhone sales barely beating last year's

numbers. Apple predicts sales in the current quarter will fall for the first time in 13 years. Well, in the next hour we'll hear an analyst's take on Apple's financial report and what lies ahead for the company.

VAUSE: The man in charge of China's economic data is now under investigation for possible corruption. News of the probe of Wang Bao'an came shortly after he briefed reporters on the state of China's economy on Tuesday.

SESAY: The accuracy of Beijing's economic statistics have come under fire in recent years from analysts and economists who say they are artificially inflated.

Well, CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now live from Beijing with the details. Matt, what more are we learning about this investigation?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really came as a surprise to many people here in Beijing when the news broke late yesterday evening local time, as you mentioned. This man's name, Wang Bao'an, was giving a briefing to reporters around 3:00 p.m. local time and it was shortly before 7:00 p.m. that all of a sudden we got basically what amounted to a one-line statement from the disciplinary commission here for the Communist Party of China saying that this man is under investigation for what they termed serious violations of party discipline.

Now, in the past that has been more or less a euphemism for being investigated for corruption. It's important to note, though, that party officials did not expand into any detail on what exactly Wang Bao'an is being investigated for. They did not specifically say it had anything to do with GDP numbers. It could have a whole - it could -- there could be a lot of reasons for this particular investigation.

[00:20:13] So, there -- typically what happens is we get this kind of one-line statement and in the days, weeks, even months to come down the road we'll get more details either through state media here in China or through official statements like the one we received yesterday.

SESAY: Yes, but a question on the minds of many, what this inquiry means for the financial markets. What are we seeing?

RIVERS: Well, today the markets have not been doing particularly well. That key index, the CSI 300 down today, but I just spoke to one analyst not long ago. He says that he really doesn't think that today's sell off so far has anything specifically to do with last night's announcement, but he said what it does speak to perhaps, though, and what it could speak to more broadly down the road is investor confidence in the government overall and its ability to handle economic issues.

There's been a lot of questions about the central bank's ability to - to reign in the economy here as well as stock market regulators' ability to keep volatility down. And so, while Wang Bao'an is in charge of an entirely separate operation, it really is under that entire government economic umbrella. And so, with him being under investigation, it's his department that controls those GDP statistics, the export-import statistics, and so it just adds to this further lack of confidence in the government's ability to manage the economy here.

SESAY: A situation we shall continue to watch very closely. Matt Rivers joining us there from Beijing, appreciate it. Thank you.

VAUSE: Wednesday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and an American soldier will be recognized for heroically saving Jews during World War II.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE (voice-over): U.S. Army Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds refused to allow his Nazi captors to separate and kill the Jewish soldiers at a POW camp. (inaudible) posthumously honored Edmonds late last year for his bravery.

SESAY (voice-over): Well, Oren Liebermann is live in Jerusalem with more on the story.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SESAY (on camera): And Oren, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds performed an incredible act of bravery, yet it was a secret he took to his grave.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's right, John and Isha. It was one he never shared with his kids, and I have spoken with his son, Chris Edmonds, and I asked him, why did your father never tell you or anyone else about this story? And he says simply that his father was humble and saw it as his duty not only to his men, but also to his country to do what he did and here is the story of his true moment of heroism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN: Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds had only been in Europe a few days when he was captured by the Nazis. At a prisoner of war camp he was tested in a confrontation with Nazi doctrine. The German commander ordered Edmonds to separate out his Jewish soldiers. Edmonds, a Christian, refused and the next morning his 1,200 American soldiers stood together. 70 years later, one of those Jewish soldiers, Lester Tanner, recounts the defiance against the German commander.

LESTER TANNER, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: And he says to Edmonds, you can't all be Jewish. Someone said, we're all Jews here, and this German major, angry, takes out his Luger, points it at Edmonds' head and said you will order the Jewish American soldiers to step forward or I will shoot you right now.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Edmonds stood his ground and the camp commander stormed off. He had saved his men. Within months the war was over and Edmonds was home. He never shared the story before he passed away in 1985, not even with his son. CHRIS EDMONDS, SON OF RODDIE EDMONDS: I'd ask from time to time as I

got older as a teenager and a college-aged kid, dad, tell me about your Army experience. Son, there's just some things I'd rather not talk about.

LIEBERMANN: Chris Edmonds discovered his father's story in a 2008 "New York Times" article.

EDMONDS: You look at your dad as a hero, but I never knew he had a cape hanging in his closet and he did.

LIEBERMANN: Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds is the first American soldier honored as Righteous Among the Nations, non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Edmonds awarded the recognition he never sought. His war, which started in defeat on the battlefield ended in victory for his men.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

LIEBERMANN (on camera): And there will very much be a guest of honor at the commemoration ceremony where Roddie Edmonds - or Chris Edmonds, rather, will receive the Righteous Among the Nations award for his father, and then it will be President Obama who will be the keynote speaker in Washington, D.C. tonight as Roddie Edmonds is honored for his act.

John and Isha?

SESAY: Oren Liebermann there reporting. Appreciate it, Oren. Thank you so much for that tale of remarkable bravery. Thank you.

VAUSE: That was an incredible story.

SESAY: Yes.

VAUSE: A short break here. When we come back, another country added to a travel alert over the Zika virus. We'll tell you where pregnant women should avoid and why this virus is so serious.

[00:25:08] SESAY: And here in California, the man hung for three fugitives is intensifying, The latest on the investigation into their jail escape is just ahead. .

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

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

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SESAY (voice-over): Republican front runner Donald Trump says he won't take part in Thursday's Fox News presidential debate. Trump has been engaged in an off and on feud with the network for months. He picked up an endorsement Tuesday for a popular Arizona sheriff known for aggressively rounding up undocumented immigrants.

VAUSE (voice-over): Stocks are mixed (ph) in the (inaudible) for a rough trading day on Tuesday. This comes as oil prices climbed back above $30 a barrel. Let's take a look at the latest numbers. There (ph) the Australia AF 1500 (ph) down by almost 1.25 percent. Shanghai composite down by 3.5 percent. But the EBK (ph) up by almost 3 percent, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng almost up by 1 percent.

SESAY: As Europe's migrant crisis grows, Denmark is taking controversial action. Lawmakers passed measures allowing the seizure of migrants assets and delaying family reunification from one to three years. Switzerland and Germany have similar policies.

VAUSE: Pope Francis met with Iran's president at the Vatican where they talked about promoting peace in the Middle East. (inaudible) Rouhani also met with Italy's prime minister, Matteo Renzi, in Rome and some nude statues were covered up in museums as a sign of respect for Iran's culture.

[00:30:00] SESAY: Now, pregnant women are being warned away from the U.S. Virign Islands and the Dominican Republic because of the Zika virus. The mosquito-borne illness is active in 25 countries and linked to neurological birth disorder.

VAUSE: This is the look at the countries, the U.S. centers for disease control and prevention has already told pregnant women to avoid. Health officials in several of those countries, including Brazil, are telling women, just try not to become pregnant. Shasta Darlington has more.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're here in the state of Pernambuco, considered ground zero in Brazil's health crisis, really in a swarm of mosquitoes. This is where the Zika virus was first detected. It's also where doctors first discovered this link between the virus and a huge surge in birth defects. What we're talking about is nearly 4,000 babies who've been born with microcephaly since Sika was detected last year. Just to give you an idea, in a normal year, about 140, 150 babies are born with microcephaly, a neurological disorder which leads to serious developmental issues through the course of their life and possibly even early death. Well here in Pernambuco, this accounts for about 40 percent of those cases, to the point that we're getting doctors and health officials warning women not to get pregnant, to put off pregnancy if they can. There are no vaccines. There is no cure. The health ministry here in Brazil is really focusing on combating the mosquito that transmits the virus that's all around us right now. This is the Aedes aegypti. The health ministry says they're dedicating 200,000 troops to going door to door to looking for the stagnant pools of water where the mosquito breeds. And also to hand out repellent to pregnant women. This, of course, comes at a terrible time when you think about the Olympic games just six months away in Rio de Janeiro. Officials there say they're also going to minimize risks ahead of the games and during the games they're going to be inspecting the venues every day to make sure that they aren't building up mosquitoes. They're really betting on the weather since the games come in the month of August, the drier, cooler month of August. They're hoping that weather will help blow away some of those mosquitoes. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Recife, Pernambuco.

SESAY: Well, very frightening. Now authorities in Brazil are investigating an explosion that led to a prison break in a Northeastern state Saturday. Dozens of inmates escaped after t he blast tore through an external wall.

VAUSE: Two inmates were killed, another was injured during some gunfire. That's according to local media. They also say 36 men were later recaptured by police. One man, still on the run. Here in California, the reward has grown for information on three escaped inmates.

SESAY: Authorities say the fugitives are extremely dangerous and they've added more officers to the manhunt. CNN's Paul Vercammen has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The bounty on the heads of three extremely violent jail-breakers jumped 50,000 for each fugitive. Orange county supervisors raised the reward to $200,000 total. The prosecutor handling the terrifying torture case of escapee Hossein Nayeri wonders why this ex-con with a history of escape and his fellow fugitives with gang affiliations were not somehow isolated.

HEATHER BROWN, ORANGE COUNTY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I'm not in charge of the jail and I don't want to second guess what they do but it's disconcerting to learn that they were with all these hardened criminals who could collaborate and conspire to escape.

VERCAMMEN: But the Orange County District Attorney chastised his deputy in a statement saying her comments were quote, inappropriate, uninformed, and rash, and do not reflect the position of the OCDA.

JEFF HALLOCK, SPOKESMAN, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I will say that he was housed at the central men's jail, which is a maximum security jail. There's many other inmates with very similar charges to Nayeri. So there's a very sophisticated classification system that every inmate that comes to the jail goes through. He met the criteria to be housed in that particular location.

VERCAMMEN: Little clues keep trickling out about how the trio escaped last week. Authorities say clothing may have been intertwined with linens in their makeshift ropes. The three apparently cut through steel bars, made their way through plumbing tunnels, and rappelled off a roof and perhaps a big clue as to why Nayeri, Jonathan Tieu, and Bac Duong escaped, they all faced long sentences, potentially the rest of their lives in jail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they get out on the street there's obviously some desparation that they will lean on and as far as where they'll go or what means they will go to evade law enforcement -- and it was evident by their attempts and eventual success to escape.

VERCAMMEN: CNN has learned that Doung was almost sent out of the country, back to his native Vietnam. Immigration and custom officials say a judge ordered him removed for unspecified immigration violations. But after an appeal and a year in incarceration, officials say Duong remained in the U.S. on an order of supervision.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:34:55] SESAY: Now, U.S. sources say John Kerry is in China with a big item on his to-do list. Trying to convince Chinese leaders they should increase pressure on North Korea so Pyongyang will stop its nuclear tests.

VAUSE: He's meeting with China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, that's in Beijing. A short time ago, the secretary praised U.S. Chinese corporation, newfound common ground, so nothing new out of that meeting so far.

SESAY: We'll continue to monitor it for you. Well, demolition crews are finding more secrets hidden under the mansion that once belonged to drug lord Pablo Escobar. We will show you what they have in common.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Can you remember what it was like when you were 18? I mean, it wasn't that long ago, of course. Of course you had big dreams. We all had ambitions, but some of those ambitions and those dreams, well, if we look back they could be embarrassing.

SESAY: They could be.

VAUSE: Yes. And it could be embarrassing for Ted Cruz as well.

SESAY: Yes, because that's what happened to the Republican U.S. presidential candidate as he makes his run for the White House, which wasn't on his list. His goal was a lot higher. Jeanne Moos has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What might 45-year-old Ted Cruz say about 18-year-old Ted Cruz? Because 18-year-old Ted Cruz had some funny answers when asked about his aspirations.

TED CRUZ AT 18 YEARS OLD: Aspirations. Is that like sweat on my butt?

MOOS: Aspiration, like perspiration? I'm already sweating for Ted having to watch his old self talk about his future goals.

CRUZ: Take over the World. World domination, you know, rule everything, rich, powerful, that sort of stuff.

MOOS: But really, who hasn't been embarrassed by their younger self? I'm sure young Hillary Clinton might agree with a Cruz defender who said thank heavens there were no video cameras when I was a shallow, mouthy teen-aged girl. Now if only we could only unearth some ancient footage of a young and handsome Donald Trump articulating his aspirations. The Cruz video even includes his father. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think Ted's going to rule the world one day?

RAFAEL CRUZ: I hope not.

MOOS: Thanks, dad. The person who posted the video says it came from a classmate of Cruz's who wants to remain anonymous. It was turned into a mock ad. The 18-year-old Ted's first aspiration was a doozy.

CRUZ: Oh, I don't know, be in a teen t*t film like that guy that played Horatio. You know he was in Malibu bikini beach shop?

MOOS: A movie about two guys who inherit a bikini store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I've found my calling in life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really? And I had you figured for a brain surgeon.

MOOS: No. The brain surgeon would be young Ben Carson. When asked about the old video, a spokesman for the Cruz campaign told "Politico", good to see he's always had a great sense of humor and it could have been worse. At least Ted didn't answer like a bikini contest contestant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are your goals in life?

[00:40:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: I bet you wanted to take over the world.

VAUSE: No, too much effort. Way too much work.

SESAY: All right then. Now -- I'm going to leave that alone. While Bernie Sanders yearns to be president, right now, he's the emperor of ice cream. Sanders' ice cream making buddy in his home state of Vermont, Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's, has whipped up a new flavor especially for him.

VAUSE: Bernie's yearning is 99 percent mint ice cream topped with a giant chocolate chip that represents the top 1 percent wealthiest Americans. Cohen says you chop up the chip and you mix it all through and you're redistributing the wealth. Only 40 pints were made, all going to Sanders' supporters.

SESAY: I don't like mint ice cream.

VAUSE: I do.

SESAY: You do? Yuck.

VAUSE: Figures. SESAY: What does it figure?

VAUSE: I knew you wouldn't like it.

SESAY: Well, we're still discovering secrets hidden inside of what used to be drug lord Pablo Escobar's mansion. This time another safe hidden in the home's foundation.

VAUSE: Let's take a look at it. Here it is, the white box. There it is, in the dirt. Local media says it was underneath what used to be the mansion's front staircase. Escobar's house was seized by the U.S. government in the 1980s and sold at auction.

SESAY: The current owners are demolishing it to make way for a more modern building. Authorities don't know what's inside the safe but the owner's saying it is very, very heavy.

VAUSE: I didn't see it. It's someone's head. It's a drug lord.

SESAY: Why keep it in the safe though?

VAUSE: For old time's sake, I don't know. OK. Now this is sad. Movie lovers around the world are mourning the loss of acting legend Abe Vigoda. He died age 94.

SESAY: Vigoda got his acting start on stage before breaking onto the big screen. When he was 50, he won the role of Sal Tessio during an open casting for "The Godfather". He played right-hand man of the Corleone family who winds up betraying his bosses. He found out he'd been caught in this memorable scene with Robert Duval.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sal, Tom, your boss says he'll come in a separate car. He says for you two to go on ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't do that. It screws up all my arrangements.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well that's what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't go either, Sal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell Mike it was only business. I always liked him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He understands that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me, Sal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tom, can you get me off the hook? For old time's sake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't do it, Sal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Okay. Director Francis Ford Coppola said, Abe Vigoda was a fine man, a fine actor, went on to say I remember him with tremendous fondness. On television, Vigoda starred in the American sitcom, "Barney Miller". His daughter says he died in his sleep at her home on Tuesday. Dearly missed. You've been watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. We'll be back at the top of the hour with the latest news from all around the world. World Sporter, Kate Riley is next after this very quick break. Do stay with us.

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