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Putin: Russia, U.S. on Brink of Reaching Syria Deal; Parents Find Out What Happened to Son 3 Decades Later; Navy Pulls Cadet from Stands to Play Q.B. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 05, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


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[14:34:18] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news out of the G20 meaning in China from Russian media. Vladimir Putin is claiming the U.S. and Russia may be on the brink of reaching a deal to quote/unquote ease tensions in Syria. Putin didn't give details but said that agreement could come within a couple days. Putin made the comments in China after meeting with President Obama. President Obama telling our Michelle Kosinski, our White House correspondent, any agreement with Russia is hampered by "gaps of trust."

Let's go to Fred Pleitgen there live in Moscow.

Fred, what do you know of this possible agreement? How is it being reported where you are?

[13:35:01] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Russian media says they believe an agreement is possible within the next couple days but it does seem as though the American side is more skeptical. We have to keep in mind, Brooke, the negotiations about a possible cease-fire in Syria have been ongoing for weeks and they were supposed to take place, the actual cease-fire was supposed to happen during the G20 summit and it didn't because there were still trust issues between the U.S. and Russia that the president was talking about. The main issues that the two sides still have the Russians are saying look we want the U.S. and Russia to bomb Islamist and rebel groups together where as the U.S. says what Russia is doing is bombing groups jetted and backed by the U.S. And the big issue the U.S. has is they too many civilian casualties for the U.S. to work together and to coordinate their actions in Russia. So that's not something that has gone away. It appears as though there are difficult negotiations in a lie ahead. The Russians for their part seem to think it's an agreement that could be possible very soon. The Obama administration for its part said they are still a little more skeptical but they've also said that they do want to keep negotiating, they do want a deal to happen because right now, Brooke, the civilian suffering in Syria is worse than it's ever been and so one of the things the president said there at the G20 summit, he said that alone makes it imperative to try and find some sort of solution -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: We will wait to get perhaps more clarification from the U.S. side.

Fred Pleitgen in Moscow for us. Coming up next here, this family, they have been searching for answers

on their little boy for nearly three decades. Jacob Wetterling's mother and father never knew what happened to their child. Now a big break all these years later just led them to their son.

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[14:41:14] BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Just an absolutely tragic end and, hopefully, some peace for this family here. This is a three-decade old mystery. Minnesota authorities confirming to CNN they have found the remains of an 11- year-old boy abducted 27 years ago by a masked man with a gun back in October of 1989. The boy and his brother and a friend were just out riding their bikes near their rural Minnesota home and sources have told CNN affiliate, WCCO, that this child pornography suspect, Wetterling case, led authorities to this boy's remains. While no charges have yet to be filed, the sheriff's office says they're evaluating the evidence. Over the years, Jacob's parents clung to the hope that their son would someday be found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY WETTERLING, MOTHER OF JACOB WETTERLING: There's no explanation. I don't feel the anger yet, I just want him home.

JERRY WETTERLING, FATHER OF JACOB WETTERLING: I'm very optimistic. My son is pretty intelligent and if there's any way that he can help pull himself through this, he's going to do so.

PATTY WETTERLING: When you live in a small town, everybody would like it to be somebody from -- some really bad guy from the coast, who came in, did this terrible thing and left. And the reality is that, you know, maybe it's not that. Maybe it is somebody from the area.

It's not been my goal to get even or string somebody up. I don't care about the person who did this. I need my son. I'll let the rest of the world take care of who did this.

I never want to have to look Jacob in the eye and say, you know, I wanted to keep going but I got tired or it was so long, you know? Like we never quit, ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was so many years ago. Now CNN has gotten a text message from the mother over the weekend upon learning they found Jacob's remains. She texted to CNN, "Our hearts are broken, there are no words."

Bob Lowery, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, is with me, and he is the senior national director of the Missing Children Division.

According to John Walsh, Bob, your involvement was so crucial in pushing investigators to pursue leads in this case which led to the big break over the weekend. So welcome and thank you so much for joining me. Can you tell me, where were you when you got the call? When you knew Jacob was found?

ROBERT LOWERY, SENIOR NATIONAL DIRECTOR, MISSING CHILDREN DIVISION, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Thank you for having me on, Brooke.

Yes, this has been devastating news, obviously news none of us hoped to get, I know we personally know Patty Wetterling and her husband, Jerry, and the entire family, our hearts are with them today. It's an extremely difficult time.

I spoke to Patty Friday night and she shared with me the news of the discovery of her son and we spoke for quite a while about how she and her family were coping which has obviously been very difficult because like so many other families of long-term missing children you hold out the hope that your child is alive and will be reunited with you and that was what we were trying to do for the Wetterlings.

BALDWIN: How long have you been involved in this case?

LOWERY: Well I've been with the national center for seven years and prior to that. I had a 25 year law enforcement career. I've known the Wetterlings for many, many years. Patty herself has been a tireless advocate for children, spoke to many of us in law enforcement over the years, especially those that worked violent crime about the pain. And that's very remarkable about patty is that her incredible strength led her beyond her own pain to help other families and other children.

[14:45:06] BALDWIN: Can you explain, though, Bob, connect the dots for me. 27 years is a long, long time. A man who finally gave up or assisted in telling authorities where the remains were, why did this take so long?

LOWERY: These are the hardest cases law enforcement faces, and I'm speaking from personal experience. These are proverbial needle in a haystack cases. Jacob's brother, Trevor, and his friend, Aaron, were with him and able to provide details to law enforcement but they were sketchy. We knew we had a man in a ski mask armed with a revolver but there was no car description, there was very little to go on, very little crime scene to go on, so there was not the evidence we would always expect. So there was a lot of painstaking work done over these past 27 years. We obviously applaud the FBI, VCA and Sterns County sheriff for persevering in that investigation because as you can imagine there have been hundreds of suspects that have been developed, considered, and who could potentially have done this when it really boiled down to Danny Heinrich (ph).

BALDWIN: False leads, false hope for these parents. Please just know we're keeping the Wetterlings in our thoughts and, hopefully, this will bring them some peace, although I cannot even begin to imagine what this is like for them 27 years later.

Bob Lowery, thank you so much. Extraordinary work, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Thank you.

LOWERY: Thank you, Brooke. BALDWIN: Next, back to politics here. You have Hillary Clinton and

Donald Trump facing reporters on their planes. Look at this shot. Same tarmac, Cleveland, Ohio, you have the Trump plane, the Hillary Clinton plane. The battleground blitz begins. Hear what they just said.

Plus, an amazing story at a major college football game over the weekend. Someone taps a guy on the shoulder who is standing in the stands and says, "Grab your helmet, you're going in." I was there. I saw it. We take you to Annapolis, next.

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[14:50:58] BALDWIN: This past weekend, not only did I have the privilege of attending the big u. s. Navy game against Fordham University in Annapolis, Maryland, I happened to be there firsthand to see one player's super sonic sit. Started in the stands so I got a photo. That's me and a bunch of plebes. The entire brigade sits in Navy Memorial Stadium. But this guy, a freshman, ends up shining on the field.

Let me back up and explain. Navy's starting quarterback gets hurt. His knee. I think it was the second half of the second quarter. His backup needs a backup. Turns out third string guy isn't around so these nervous coaches are looking around thinking, "What do I do?" Turns out, first year Navy midshipman, Malcolm Perry, ends up plucked from the stands, rushed to the locker room and told to throw his uniform on.

From there, let me turn it over to Gene Wang, sports reporter for the "Washington Post."

Because, Gene, this is what everyone was talking about in the game on Saturday and this kid -- I shouldn't call him a kid -- Malcolm Perry, a first year, wasn't even dress in his uniform because he'd been sick.

GENE WANG, SPORTS REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: It was crazy, Brooke. I've been at the "Washington Post" for almost 30 years in sports and this was a first for me to see a player march on with a brigade of midshipman in his dress whites, watch the first quarter from the stands and then in the second quarter he tears the ACL. He's out, they need another quarterback, Malcolm Perry had been ill, hadn't practiced, played with the J.V. team Friday night, they found his uniform in Ricketts Hall away from the stadium, brought him back. He goes into the locker room, changes and closes out the game in the fourth quarter. It's a crazy story.

BALDWIN: Never played a varsity game ever, first year into this plebe summer, and what I never realized is that all the plebes, all the first years, every single time Navy scores there, they are in the end zone doing pushups. This kid had already done 100-plus pushups during the game before he toss on the uniform in his Q.B.?

WANG: He acquitted himself quite well on the field. They simplified the play book for him, he ran seven times for 30 yards, but he looked good considering he had missed three days of practice and was playing cold. But that's how they do it at the naval academy. They have no scholarship so they have no roster limit, so they can get two huddles at one time during practice so all these quarterbacks get a lot of reps so they know how to run the triple offense.

BALDWIN: Just showing how they didn't anticipate this, we noticed there were two number fives on the field. That was hysterical. Perry to come on I understand a first year has a lot to do on his Labor Day but he was quoted saying, "I saw somebody running up the stairs really fast, I was looking at him because it was odd, and he's like where's Malcolm? Where's Malcolm? Then I went down to the field and got dressed." Do we know how Malcolm is feeling today?

WANG: We talked to Malcolm. We spoke with him after the game in his dress whites and he was very calm and composed. He said it was unexpected but he took in the stride and you would not think this guy was a plebe considering how he was able to speak and eloquently about his unexpected performance.

BALDWIN: U.S. Navy. That was quite a game.

Gene Wang, "Washington Post," thank you for sharing a fun little moment I had over the weekend. Appreciate it.

WANG: Good to be with you, Brooke. Thank you.

[14:55:44] BALDWIN: Thank you.

A heads up for you. Any moment, Hillary Clinton will be speaking live in Cleveland, Ohio, as both candidates are swarming the battleground state on this Labor Day. Hear what they have said today to the press on their planes, in just a moment.

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BALDWIN: And we continue on, on this Labor Day Monday. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN. Thanks for being with me.

You may not have heard the starting gun here, but the final sprint is on now. The race to the white house, the general election, folk, it's nine weeks away. Keep in mind, early voting begin this is month in certain states. Look at the full day of events here. Right now, all eyes are on the battleground state of Ohio. Take a look at this picture. We're about to talk to this guy who took it. Both Hillary Clinton's plane and Donald Trump's in the very similar picture on the same tarmac, just underscoring how important Ohio is today. Both candidates opted today also to speak to reporters on board said planes, and that was a first for Hillary Clinton, who is now traveling with a press pool on her 737 starting today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am so happy to have all of you with me.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you missed us?

CLINTON: I've been just waiting for this moment.

(LAUGHTER)

No, really. I'll come back and talk to you more formally, but I wanted to welcome you onto the plane.