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Philippines President Apologizes for Lashing Out at Obama; U.S. Pledges $90 Million for Unexploded Bomb Removal in Laos; Zika Cases Surge in Singapore; Sources: ISIS plotting More Strikes in Europe. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 06, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:06] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour --

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

U.S. President Barack Obama will speak to the people of Laos within the hour. He is the first sitting American president to visit the country and he's going to address the legacy of the Vietnam War. The violence spread to Laos during that conflict when the U.S. dropped more than two million bombs on its soil. The explosions, left behind, killed more than 20,000 civilians in Laos since the war ended. The White House has just announced $19 million in aid to help clear those unexploded bombs.

Mr. Obama was set to meet with the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte but that fell through. He learned that Mr. Obama planned to confront him about the Philippines war on drugs and he lashed out in response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT: Who is he? I am a president of a sovereign state. And we have long faced to be a colony. I do not have any master but the Filipino people. Nobody, but nobody. You must be respectful. Don't just throw away questions and statements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, President Obama responded saying he was morally obligated to raise his concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fighting narco trafficking is tough. But we will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in that fight against drugs in a way that's consistent with basic international norms. And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that's going be brought up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, just in the last hour, we got a statement from the Philippine president saying he regrets that his comments came off as a personal attack on Mr. Obama.

Our Athena Jones joins us live now from Laos.

Athena, a canceled meeting, an expression of regret from the Philippine president. How much of a blow is all of this to the U.S./Filipino relationship?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Isha. It's unclear at this point. We don't expect it to have necessarily a long-term impact in that statement put out by the President Duterte spokesperson. They talked about a mutually agreed upon future meeting. We don't know when that meeting will take place. We know the U.N. General Assembly is meeting later this month. But this is not something you see every day, this kind of diplomatic dust off on such a high level. You heard President Duterte's aide says he regrets that his remarks came across as a personal attack on President Obama.

Just for our viewers' benefit, he went on to say, not only am I not an American puppet, later on, in Tagala (ph), in the native language of the Philippines, he called President Obama a son of a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). And this is not the kind of epithet you hear leaders directing at each other on the world stage.

So I should mention that it's -- it's pretty unusual to have the White House cancel a bilateral meeting like this. They certainly felt like that was the proper response in this case. The last time the president canceled a similar meeting was in 2013 when he had been scheduled to meet with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. That bilateral meeting was canceled over Snowden, the fact that had Edward Snowden was being harbored by Russia. So pretty usual circumstance.

But I have to say, also, you said that President Obama said he was morally obligated to bring this up, we also know from previews of the trip that the president was going to address other controversial remarks that President Duterte has made, for instance, about women. During his campaign, he made jokes about rape.

And the White House says the president doesn't shy away from talking about difficult subjects or differences. So in China, that means cyber security or human rights. And here, it was going to be about these extra judicial killings, nearly 2,000 people who have lost their lives as part of President Duterte's war on drugs -- Isha?

[02:05:23] SESAY: President Obama is the first sitting president to set foot in that country, a country heavily bombed by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. We know the U.S. is now giving $90 million in aid to help with the clearing of unexploded bombs. The president will speak to the people of Laos shortly. Do we know what he will say in that speech?

JONES: Well, we know that that speech is largely a broader review of U.S. policy in the region, U.S. policy in the Asia-Pacific. It was back in 2011 that the U.S. announced this pivot to Asia, or a rebalance, a refocus on this area of policy on this emerging region. So we expect this should be much broader than merely a focus on Laos review, talk about with what they see as some of the accomplishments. He'll likely highlight or we know he will highlight this TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, this 12-nation trade deal that the U.S. sees as essential to solidifying its economic and security in the region. That's a trade deal facing an uphill climb on Capitol Hill.

But it's likely he will also mention the need to deal with war legacy issues in Laos. As you mentioned, in that joint declaration already put out, the U.S. committed this had $90 million over three years to helping remove those unexploded bombs -- Isha?

SESAY: Thank you, Athena. Athena, very much appreciated. Thank you.

Well, the Vietnam War is long over, but millions of unexploded bombs in neighboring Laos have killed or maimed people to this day. The White House has announced a pledge of $90 million for Laos to help with the removal of unexploded bombs.

CNN's Andrew Stevens witnessed the painstaking effort to rid the country of its deadly legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR (voice-over): Ya Yang wasn't born when the Secret War in Laos ended four decades ago but he carries its horrific legacy.

In 2008, life was good. He was 22, engaged, and had a job. Until an undetected bomb tore it all apart, exploding as he was burning trash.

"I don't remember anything until I woke up in hospital two weeks later," he says. "When I saw what had happened I didn't want to live any more."

Ya is one of an estimated 20,000 victims, many of them children, who have been killed or maimed by unexploded ordinance since the end of the war. For nine years, until 1973, the U.S. carpet-bombed Laos trying to stop a Communist insurgency and smash North Vietnamese supply lines.

It was known as the Secret War. No American boots on the ground, just American bombs. More than two million tons of them rained down. More explosives were dropped here than on any other country in history.

(SHOUTING)

(EXPLOSION)

STEVENS: And they're still exploding today. This is a controlled detonation by the Mine's Advisory Group which

works in Laos to clear the bombs a few square yards at a time. Every patch of land has to be mapped and swept.

Once detected, they zero in on the object and uncover it. And this is what they usually find, clustered munitions.

Up to 80 million of these failed to detonate and 1 percent have been cleared.

(on camera): How long realistically with the resources at the country's disposal is it going to take to make this country safe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Currently with the resources, I'd say decades.

STEVENS: Decades?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

(EXPLOSION)

STEVENS: And that is one more explosive device taken out, but across these plains and valleys and mountains, there are still tens of millions of threats remaining.

(voice-over): Those threats are what worries Ya Yang man more than anything else, that his own children, born after the accident, could suffer the same fate that he did.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Laos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:10:01] SESAY: Well, another attack in Afghanistan's capitol leaves one person dead and six people wounded. A government spokesman says a car bomb exploded outside the care relief agency in Kabul. Then one or two attackers into the compound and security forces killed them after a fight. Security fears heightened after three bombings struck the city Monday. Taliban terrorists claimed responsibility for two of the blasts that killed 24 people

ISIS is claiming responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed at least seven people in Baghdad. Security officials say 14 people are wounded. The attack targeted the gathering of Shiite Muslims in the neighborhood. Another attack killed more than 300 people there in July.

Rescue workers in Tel Aviv, Israel, are searching for survivors after an underground parking garage collapsed. The four story building was under construction when it imploded. At least two people were killed and some 20 others were injured. The cause of the collapse is still unknown.

The number of confirmed Zika cases in Singapore has surged to 258 in one week. A new study shows that 2.6 billion people across Asia and Africa could be at risk of contracting the mosquito-borne virus. CNN's Sherisse Pham has the latest on Singapore's Zika prevention

efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERISSE PHAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Residents of Singapore have been warned to be extra careful and not to encourage the breeding grounds that mosquitoes thrive in, the places where they lay their eggs which later hacked. This has been the big problem here. This is a tropical climate. Water accumulates everywhere, in particular in construction sites. And that's where we've seen a number of foreign workers hit in the latest surge in the numbers. In that particular case, where these puddles would remain stagnant and the mosquito breeding was encouraged. Government authorities had to go in and clear some of those possible breeding areas. The construction site was shut down in terms of the work, but some workers were left to sweep away the water.

The point here is that Singapore's climate is a tropical one and it regularly rains. And so pools of water, they get stuck in these construction sites or indeed in residential compounds need to be cleared so mosquitoes are discouraged from breeding there.

The government has been at the forefront of this because the 80s mosquito that carries Zika also carries dengue fever. That's, for years, been a problem. Tens of thousands of people here report dengue fever here in Singapore.

For now, though, pregnant women, in particular, are very concerned about Zika and they've been encouraged by the government they can go for free screenings in case they're worried and, in some cases, they certainly are. Also, Singapore residents have heavily subsidized screenings. This is very much a concerted effort on the government's part to do something about Zika and get ahead of the problem.

The next question will be what about the surrounding countries? Because their health care systems might not be as robust as that of Singapore's. Already we've had cases reported in the Philippines and in Malaysia. Experts are asking are there lots of cases which are unreported. We will find out in the coming weeks.

Sherisse Pham, CNN, Singapore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Next on CNN NEWSROOM, a trove of documents and exclusive new details about how ISIS plots attacks against the West. Our exclusive report is just ahead.

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(SPORTS REPORT)

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[02:17:18] SESAY: Hello, everyone. Stunning new details have come to light about how ISIS plans its attacks in the West. CNN has obtained nearly 100,000 pages of internal documents and never-before- seen photos from the investigation into last year's horrific Paris attacks. They revealed a sophisticated web of operatives fanned out across Europe bent on more terror.

After months on the story, CNN's senior international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): November 13th, 10 ISIS operatives attacked Paris --

(SHOUTING)

WARD: -- targeting bars, restaurants, a concert hall and a stadium, shooting as many people as they could before blowing themselves up. By the end of the massacre, the worst terrorist attack in Europe in a decade, 130 people were dead.

Now, for the first time, CNN has gained access to thousands of pages of documents and photos from the internal European investigation which shed new light on the sophisticated network ISIS uses to coordinate terror attacks across Europe.

(SHOUTING)

WARD: The documents reveal another suspected terrorist, never before made public, who investigators link to the cell that carried out the Paris attacks. He was on the loose in Europe for more than six months. Other ISIS operatives are believed to be living among ordinary citizens in Europe, plotting other strikes directed by senior ISIS handlers in Syria, according to multiple sources.

(SHOUTING)

WARD: Within day of the shocking rampage in Paris, police learned that two of the three suicide bombers at the stadium entered Europe by posing as Syrian refugees. These surveillance photos never seen before publicly show the bombers as they approach their target. This is the moment they detonate their devices.

But according to the documents, two more men were part of the ISIS cell. They traveled the same refugee route as the suicide bombers, blending in with thousands of people from war-torn countries. Their names are Adel Hadaddi and Mohammad Usman. They were eventually arrested. Records of their capture and interrogation, obtained by CNN, show how ISIS supported the attackers throughout their mission.

This is their story, based on multiple interrogations of Haddadi. Early October, six weeks before the Paris attacks, the documents show their journey began in Raqqa, Syria, the capitol of the self-declared ISIS caliphate. The men didn't know each other's real names or what their mission would be. According to the documents, Haddadi later tells investigators he only knew they were being sent to France to do something for the good of God. Much of their journey was directed by a shadowy ISIS leader in Syria, known only as Abu Ahmad, who arranged cell phone meetings and money and transportation for them.

Jean-Charles Brisard is a French expert on terrorism analyzed the documents obtained by CNN.

[02:20:26] JEAN-CHARLES BRISARD, FRENCH TERRORISM EXPERT: Abu Ahmad is clearly an ISIS operative. He is key in sending those individuals to the Paris attacks because he's the one who recruited them, funded them, trained them, provided the devices to their telephones. He was always in contact with them.

WARD: According to the transcripts of interrogation, Haddadi and Usman, along with the two Paris attackers, traveled from Raqqa, across the Turkish border, onto the coastal city of Ismir (ph), switching vehicles, picking up cash passed from one smuggler to the next along the way. They received instructions from their handler through encrypted apps, such as Telegram and Whatsap. Throughout their journey, they are only given enough money and information to get to the next stop.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: ISIS is accelerating its international attack planning. It is increasingly sophisticated in the way it does it. It has set up an intricate, logistical support system for the terrorist cells throughout Europe.

WARD: In the middle of the night, the team makes the crossing to Greece in a boat filled with dozens of refugees. They're picked up by the Greek navy along the way. The two bombers that would eventually attack the Paris stadium make it through and start moving steadily north towards their target. But Haddadi and Usman's fake Syrian passports are discovered. They're arrested and their money is taken. They are held in Greece for about a month. Greece officials would not say why they were released. But authorities believe that delay was significant. They would not have a chance to become part of the Paris attacks.

Haddadi says they contacted their ISIS handler, Abu Ahmad, who arranges another 2000 Euros. Flush with cash, they continue along the refugee route. As they work their way across Europe, Usman, identified by investigators as bomb maker from a Pakistani terror group, passes the hours doing something strikingly un-Islamic, looking at porn. Documents show he visited almost two dozen porn sites on his phone.

November 14th, the day after the Paris attacks, Haddadi and Usman arrive in Salzburg, Austria. They apply for asylum and end up in this refugee center where they stayed for weeks.

(on camera): According to CNN sources, authorities believe that Haddadi and Usman were not only part of same terror cell as the Paris bombers but also that they were planning another attack. The documents show they were in contact with people in several European countries and were searching travel to France.

(voice-over): Investigators believe they were waiting for a third man to join them. A mysterious ISIS operative called Abid (ph) Tabaouni. Tabaouni has never been publicly named until now. Like Usman and Haddadi, he traveled from Syria along the refugee route, carrying a phone number linked to the terrorist cell of the ringleader of the Paris attacks, according to the documents, as well as a photo of Islamic State fighters standing before their flag.

December 10th, nearly a month after the terrorist attacks --

(SHOUTING)

WARD: -- Tabaouni finally arrives at the refugee center where Usman and Haddadi are. Later, the very same day, police raid the center. Usman and Haddadi are arrested.

Here is what happened next, according to the documents. In the scramble, Haddadi tries unsuccessfully to get rid of his SIM card. Tabaouni is nowhere to be seen. Haddadi denies knowing him. But investigators found his cell phone charging right beside Haddadi's bed. It has Haddadi's phone number saved in it. Also in that phone, a photo taken just 30 minutes before the raid showing Tabaouni sitting on a bed in the refugee center, right next to where Haddadi and Usman slept.

BRISARD: We can assume that Tabaouni was also part of the same plot and was instructed to carry out an attack.

WARD: From the time he slipped away last December, Tabaouni has been a wanted man, according to CNN sources, who also confirmed he was finally arrested in July.

The documents show this is the Facebook page Tabaouni had on his phone. In recent months, it appears he was publicly posting updates from Belgium.

Investigators are now analyzing 1600 pages of data from his phone. Sources tell CNN they are moving to extradite him to Austria and tie to him to Haddadi and Usman and the terrorist attackers.

(on camera): Are you concerned there may be many others who use the same route who you just didn't know about?

[02:35:15] BRISARD: Yes. We have seen that in the recent weeks. Several of them, individuals who carry out individual attacks have, inspired attacks were coming back from Syria and using the same route.

WARD: So there is a possibility there are many more that you don't know about?

BRISARD: There is a high possibility.

WARD (voice-over): The documents show that Haddadi's phone has also proven to be a treasure trove for investigators, revealing an ISIS networks that fans out through southern and northern Europe. He had dozens of contacts. Some gave advice on crossing borders and evading the law. One tells Haddadi that he was able to sneak into France by hiding in the bathroom of a train. December 15th, five days after the raid, the ISIS handler, Abu Ahmad,

reaches out to his operatives Haddadi and Usman, perhaps wondering about their silence. "How are you," he writes, "What has become of you?" There is no reply.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Clarissa Ward reporting there.

Well, according to sources, the two ISIS operatives, Haddadi and Usman were extradited to France, though no European officials will discuss their case on the record. As Clarissa mentioned, the Belgium prosecutor's office tells CNN that the third man who was on the loose for all those months is awaiting extradition to Austria.

Coming up next for our viewers in Asia it's CNN's "State of the Race" with Kate Baldwin.

Coming up for everyone else, Hillary Clinton has been accused of dodging the press. How she's now taking reporters along for the ride.

Plus, is Donald Trump changing his tune on what should happen to undocumented immigrants? Details, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:14] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines at this hour --

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Hillary Clinton is doing something she hasn't done since the first week of December. For the first time in nine months, Monday, Clinton took questions from multiple reporters. It happened on her new campaign plane, which now will carry her press corps. Reporters asked about whether her interview over her private e-mail server shows a casual attitude about handling classified material. She had said "I do not recall" 39 times in that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I went into the State Department understanding classification. I had been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for years before I was secretary of state. I take classification seriously. The fact I couldn't remember certain meetings, whether or not they had occurred, doesn't in any way affect the commitment that I had and still have to the treatment of classified material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Clinton takes her campaign to Florida and North Carolina Tuesday. Monday, she tried to woo voters in Ohio, a key battleground state.

As Suzanne Malveaux reports, she's getting help from some big-name surrogates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton is kicking off the final push to Election Day.

CLINTON: We believe we are stronger together. And that is in stark contrast to Donald Trump.

MALVEAUX: She campaigned today with running mate, Tim Kaine, at a rally in Ohio.

CLINTON: We need to make sure we have an election that validates the kind of positive future that will make life better for the people of Ohio. And empty promises and racist attacks won't do that.

MALVEAUX: Even managing to swipe at Donald Trump in the midst of a lengthy coughing fit.

CLINTON: Every time I think about Trump, I get allergic.

MALVEAUX: The Democratic nominee, also debuting her new campaign plane.

CLINTON: Hey, guys.

(CROSSTALK)

CLINTON: Welcome to our big plane. It's so exciting.

MALVEAUX: A Boeing 737 with her signature "H" logos and "Stronger Together" on the side. Clinton greeting the press corps, which will now travel with her on the campaign.

CLINTON: I was I am so happy to have all of you with me.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you missed us?

CLINTON: I was just waiting for your. No, really.

MALVEAUX: Clinton's plane, even crossing paths with Trump's on the tarmac in Cleveland today.

SEN. TIM KAINE, (R), VIRGINIA & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Shows you how important Ohio is. We're going to be here a lot.

MALVEAUX: Team Clinton is spending Labor Day blanketing key states with surrogates.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Her husband at a parade in Detroit and a picnic in Cincinnati, slamming Trump's recent trip to Mexico.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE: That damaged America in every serious country in the world.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My name is Joe Biden and I work -- I work for Hillary Clinton, and whatever the hell this guy's name is.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: And Vice President Biden, appearing alongside Kaine in Pittsburgh, livening up the labor base.

BIDEN: There's so many people like Trump who look at us like we're not their equal. I'm sick of it! I have had it up to here.

MALVEAUX: Even former rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking voters in New Hampshire on Clinton's behalf.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There should be no doubt on anybody's mind as to whether Hillary Clinton is the superior candidate because in every respect she is.

MALVEAUX: But Clinton is still taking fire from Trump and congressional Republicans over the newly released FBI report on her e- mail server, with Kaine offering this defense.

KAINE: She did make a mistake and she made it by deciding she wanted to use one device rather than multiple devices. She's apologized for that. She said it was a mistake and she's learned from it.

But these notes, which Hillary urged be made public, demonstrate clearly why the FBI saw no need for additional criminal proceedings.

[02:35:37] MALVEAUX (on camera): Hillary Clinton was asked about the unfounded conspiracy theories that have been peddled the by the Trump campaign concerning her health. This happens on a day where she was struggling with two coughing episodes, one that happened on stage in Ohio and another in that gaggle aboard her press plane. She said she does not pay any attention to them, there are so many of them, that this is simply unfounded.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, Clinton's rival, Donald Trump, now appears to be backing away from his hard-line stance on immigration. He had insisted that undocumented immigrants have no pathway to legal status as long as they remain in the U.S.

But now he's saying something different, as Jim Acosta reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHEERING)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's another twist in Donald Trump's search for a position on immigration, this time, on with whether he would rule out a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you rule out that one possibility in that determination is --

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, no, no. I'm not ruling out anything.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- A pathway to legal status.

ACOSTA: The problem is, Trump has already scratched that idea in the past to CNN.

TRUMP: There is no path to legalization.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, A.C. 360: We're talking about --

TRUMP: Unless people leave the country -- well, when they come back in, if they come back in, then they can start paying taxes.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: But there is no path to legalization unless they leave the country and come back.

ACOSTA: Trump's visit to this county fair in Ohio was a clear sign that the finish line to this carnival of a campaign is now on the horizon.

TRUMP: Can you hear me OK?

(CHEERING)

ACOSTA: But this stop wasn't the only reminder that Labor Day is the traditional kickoff to the fall election season. There was also the image of Hillary Clinton's campaign plane parked in Cleveland within view of Trump Force One.

CLINTON: I am so happy to have all of you with me.

ACOSTA: And not to be outdone by Clinton's call to bring her traveling press aboard --

TRUMP: Do you want to sit?

ACOSTA: Trump invited a small pool of reporters to join him on his plane as well, to talk about the economy.

TRUMP: We're going to bring back jobs.

ACOSTA: But as he reached out to blue collar workers in Cleveland, Trump had his eye on one other plane -- TRUMP: They're having a fight on the tarmac.

ACOSTA: Trump pointed out the diplomatic dust up in China from over the weekend when Air Force One was not greeted with a staircase, forcing President Obama to use a back exit as he arrived for a G20 summit, proof, Trump said, that Mr. Obama gets no respect on the world stage.

TRUMP: They won't even give him proper stairs to get out of the airplane. Did you see that?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: They have pictures of other leaders going there and they're coming down with a beautiful red carpet. And Obama is coming down a metal staircase. It's a sign of such disrespect.

ACOSTA: Trump them then tied the president's trip to Clinton, predicting more unfair trade deals for Ohio.

TRUMP: But it will be the equivalent of NAFTA. (INAUDIBLE).

ACOSTA: The Trump campaign is continue to go hammer Clinton over that recently released FBI report on her use of a private e-mail server, pointing to investigator's findings of scores of e-mails deleted.

Deputy campaign manager, David Bossi, said in a statement, "The cover- up is always worse than the crime and voters have a right to know if these records were illegally destroyed and what role Clinton's aides may have played."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just more evidence that Hillary Clinton is the most dishonest candidate for president since Richard Nixon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: That report from senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

The U.S. and Russia have been at odds on the Syrian war for some time now. This mutual stare sums up the latest impasse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:34] SESAY: A series of attacks in Aleppo, Syria, have killed at least 40 people. ISIS is claiming responsibility for explosions in Damascus, Tarsus and Homs and Hasakah (ph). A suicide bomber attacked bystanders and emergency workers responding to the first blast.

The U.S. and Russia are trying to come to a deal to cooperate on ending the conflict in Syria. But an informal chat between Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin didn't seem to make any progress.

Our Fred Pleitgen looks at the state of the negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After once again failing to come to an agreement for a cease-fire in Syria at the G20 summit in China, Russia President Vladimir Putin says, nonetheless, he is still optimistic that there could potentially be a deal between the U.S. and Russia on this had topic within the next coming days. Now, U.S. President Barack Obama seemed a lot more skeptical for his part. He said there are still trust issues between the two sides.

But at a press availability, after a 90-minute meeting with Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, nonetheless, said the two liters understood each other's problems, but were willing to work to some sort of solution. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): It seems premature for me to talk about any details of our agreements on Syria. But I hope very much that in case the agreements are reached, and I have grounds to believe that they will be reached in the nearest few days, we can say that our joint work with the United States in fighting terrorist organizations, including the ones in Syria, would be significantly improved and intensified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Russia's state run TAS News agency later reported that there could be a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to try and hammer out a deal. But there are several sticking points that have been hampering the issue for a long time. On the one hand, the two sides can't seem to agree on, if they do military action together, if they coordinate their military action in Syria, the kind of groups they would want to combat.

Now, the Russians, for their part, are saying that a lot of the rebel groups, especially in the northwest of Syria, are working with Islamist organizations like the one that used to be known as Jaba al Nusra (ph), which is affiliated with al Qaeda. The U.S., for its part, is saying a lot of these groups are vetted by the United States and, in the past, have been helped by the United States and, therefore, the Russians shouldn't bomb these groups at all. So there is still a big issue to try and determine which groups the two sides are going to combat.

And then the U.S. still has a large problem with what they say is the amount of civilian casualties that Russia's air campaign in Syria is causing. And then, of course, if there is a cease-fire, one of the big sticking points is humanitarian access to Aleppo. Aleppo, once again, is completely besieged. The Russians have said that they would be willing to secure humanitarian corridors in that town under certain circumstances. But this point in time for the U.S., it's difficult to say how exactly that can be done.

So the two sides have both said they want to keep negotiating on the issue, especially President Obama saying that with the suffering of the Syrian people the way it is at this point, probably worse than it's ever been in the Syrian conflict, it is imperative for both sides to continue to try and reach some sort of agreement.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:45:02] SESAY: We spoke with CNN's global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier, about the chances for a compromise on Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY DOZIER: CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: To hear the Russian president say it, it sounds like they're very close and they could come to an agreement by the end of this week. But, of course, from Vladimir Putin's point of view, he wants his public back home and also the public at large to see Russia as the one willing to compromise and the U.S. as the one obstructing some sort of humanitarian arrangement.

Meanwhile, what's happening on the ground is that Russian-backed Syrian forces, by the Bashar al Assad regime, are attacking rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other areas, gaining back territory that they had lost and creating facts on the ground that are going to be very hard to turn around at some point when, say, the U.N. brokered talks do get back up to speed, which at this point don't look like might even happen in the next month or so.

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SESAY: Kimberly also noted that the U.S. has had to reassure the Syrian Kurds that Washington will not abandon them as it seeks to cooperate with Russia.

A radical Muslim preacher is said to be sentenced in London for his conviction for inviting support for ISIS. For years, Chaudry (ph) was expected of steering supporters to terrorism, but he managed to avoid prosecution. He faces up to 10 years in jail. Well, a bit of background now. Chaudry (ph) is an Islamic preacher. In 2014, he pledged allegiance to ISIS bringing him under scrutiny and leading to his arrest. An associate was also convicted.

Time for a quick break. For centuries, pilgrims have left the Holy Land with a souvenir that lasts a lifetime. We'll visit a tattoo parlor with designs that have been passed down for generations.

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(END VIDEO CLIP) [02:52:03] SESAY: Queen frontman, Freddy Mercury, would have turned 70 years old on Monday. What better way to honor the star by naming an asteroid after him. Asteroid 17473 was discovered in 19991, the year Mercury died. An astronomical group gave him the honor for his distinctive sound and large vocal range. The singer who famously sang, "I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky," is now an asteroid, too.

A space mission team has found the robotic lander it feared was lost forever. Philae was discovered wedged in a crack between some rocks on a comet. These images were taken by a probe orbiting above. It landed on the comet in November 2014 after a 10-year journey through space. It went silent in July of last year. The discovery comes just in time. The European Space Agency plans to ends its mission at the end of this month.

Well, pilgrims travel to the Holy Land in search of many things. Some leave with a permanent souvenir to remember their journey. For centuries, the Razook (ph) family has given tattoos to visitors in Jerusalem's Old City.

CNN's Ian Lee has the story.

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IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andrew got his first tattoo when he joined the U.S. Army. But this Armenian cross means the most to him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was seven meters from a rocket that blew up and I took the full blast. I believe I was protected and blessed by God.

LEE: Like pilgrims before him, he made one last stop before leaving the Holy Land.

For 700 years, pilgrims sought out the Razook (ph) family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our ancestors started the tradition of the tattoo and it was of course -- electricity was available, it was done by hand.

WASEEM RAZOOK (ph), OWNS TATTOO PARLOR: The Christian tattooing has always been a certificate of pilgrimage. And the only way for people to prove and get a certificate or a stamp, sort of a stamp that will last forever, if they have done the pilgrimage, is by getting tattooed.

LEE: The tattooing technique originated in Egypt and evolved over the centuries but the designs last through the ages.

WASEEM RAZOOK (ph): We are not only old school we are ancient school. We have designs hundreds of years old.

LEE: Waseem Razook (ph) shows me a design carved from wood blocks.

WASEEM RAZOOK (ph): This one is about 500 years old. This block was specifically used in 1669 to tattoo a pilgrim that has documented his pilgrimage.

LEE: Pilgrims travel to the Holy Land in search of something, adventure, inner peace, or God.

[02:55:01] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was an emotional journey for me to renew my faith and this, for me, has become an external version of what I am now feeling inside. And I feel that I have a renewed and a new-found faith that I feel is more permanent.

LEE: The holy ink almost dried up. Waseem (ph) had no initial interest in the family business.

WASEEM RAZOOK (ph): This is not a tradition and a heritage that is easy to let go of. I'm not going to be the one who is going to stop it or kill it.

LEE: The mark of faith is secured for the next-generation as future pilgrims will seek out Waseem's son.

Ian Lee, CNN, in Jerusalem's Old City.

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SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

The news continues with Rosemary Church in just a moment.

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[03:00:09] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Damage control. The president of the Philippines expresses regret after a crude --