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Aleppo Attacked after Suspected Chlorine Bombing; Clinton and Trump Lay Out Plans for Beating ISIS; Bill Would End Commercial Surrogacy in India; Bruce Springsteen Reveals Highs & Lows in Memoir; People Have Mixed Emotion About Apple's iPhone. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 08, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:10] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour, diplomats talk peace in Syria, as chlorine bombs continue to fall on innocent civilians.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spar over foreign policy as the candidates compete their military support.

Plus, running no more. Bruce Springsteen opens up about his decades- long struggle with depression.

Hello everybody. Great to have you with us. We would like to welcome our viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause.

NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

Some tough words from the U.S. to Russia over Syria, asking if Moscow really wants a viable cease-fire in the five-year-long civil war and warning that Russia is responsible for its close ally, President Bashar al Assad. Despite that, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov are expected to meet Thursday in Geneva to try and reach a deal for their countries to work together to fight ISIS.

As the talks go on the Aleppo media says a fresh round of air strikes killed at least seven people in that city just a day after a suspected chlorine gas attack.

Details now from Hala Gorani and a warning -- some images in her report are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HALA GORANI, CN CORRESPONDENT: The relentless bombardment of Aleppo has taken an even more savage twist. On Tuesday, according to local medics more than 100 people were victims of a chemical gas attack. "Everything smells of chlorine", these people shout as they try to wash the toxic chemical from a small boy. Rights groups blame the Assad regime saying government forces dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine on a rebel-held neighborhood of Aleppo.

At least 37 of the victims were children, according to the Aleppo Free Doctors Committee, many left coughing and gasping for air. As the full brutality of the war pounds Aleppo's the streets, diplomats met in London trying once again to hammer out a plan to end the conflict.

Syria's main opposition group set out its road map for political transition, proposing a six-month ceasefire to begin immediately. After that they want President Assad to step aside in favor of a unity government.

RIYAD HIJAB, SYRIAN HIGH NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE: We cannot allow Assad and his clique and those who have killed and tortured people over the last five years to stay on.

GORANI: It is this that remains the biggest sticking point to progress because Assad and his allies in Moscow are refusing to back down.

After the talks, host Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary sounded hopeful.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Listening to everybody today, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that with common sense and flexibility and energy, this vision and this plan that Dr. Hijab and his colleagues have put forward, it can be put into effect.

GORANI: But neither Russia nor the Assad regime, of course, were present today in London so a breakthrough might have been impossible anyway. And this may all simply be a photo op.

Although President Obama has said in the past that chemical warfare in Syria would be a quote, "red line", the international community still looks far from any concrete action that could end the suffering.

Meanwhile, children, drowning in their hospital bed is becoming the new normal.

Hala Gorani -- CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Barbara Walter is a professor at the University of California- San Diego, also an international security expert. She joins me now via Skype.

Barbara -- let's talk about that plan being put forward by the opposition groups, at least there's some movement on the diplomatic front but, you know, there is no presence there by the Syrian regime, no one from Iran was there, no one from Russia was there. So why did actually they put that plan out? Who exactly is it for?

BARBARA WALTER, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT: I actually think that signaling to the international community, and in particular to the two big supporters of the Assad regime, Iran and Russia, that eventually this war is going to end in negotiated settlement. And it's going to be up to them to decide if they want to do it now or they want to wait a number of years while they're paying the costs and additional civilians suffer before the same outcome is reached.

[00:04:57] VAUSE: Under this plan though, Bashar al Assad the dictator in Syria, he's given I think between six and 18 months for this transitional government as it takes place and then he should step down. But, you know, that's been a nonstarter for the regime from the get-go. Also it seems to be a bit of a nonstarter for the Russians as well. And right now we've seen that Assad is in probably the strongest position he has been in since the war began.

WALTER: Exactly. Assad has absolutely no incentive to negotiate right now. He has the unconditional support of Russia and Iran. He's doing quite well militarily, as you said. In addition, and probably most importantly for him, the condition for negotiation that he leave office is simply a nonstarter for him.

So I think what it's going to take to get him to actually participate is either for the Russians and the Iranians to cut him off to essentially begin to back a different individual in his government or they have to give him a significant share of power in the first post- war government.

VAUSE: You know, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has some very blunt words for the Russians. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHTON CARTER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Obviously, if we could get them to a point where they stop doing the wrong thing and started doing the right thing in Syria it would be very good for that. That's a decision they're going to have to make. But meanwhile they bear the responsibility of the consequences of things that they could avoid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Given the tension right now between these two countries, what are the chances that John Kerry, the Secretary of State and Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister can finalize that deal to work together to fight ISIS in Syria?

WALTER: They're not going to finalize the deal this month or even this year. This is something that's going to be going on for a long period of time. I think one of the back stories here that hasn't been mentioned is that the Russians -- there is a deal to be made with the Russians to have them eliminate their support for Assad. They want sanctions lifted by the United States regarding Ukraine. And my guess is they are negotiating about this behind the scenes.

VAUSE: Wow. It is never what it appears to be. Barbara -- thank you for your insight. We appreciate you being with us.

WALTER: My pleasure. VAUSE: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both say they have a strategy

for defeating ISIS but only one of them is providing any detail. The presidential candidates appeared separately at an NBC News forum Wednesday in New York. Trump says he has a secret plan to defeat the terror group but he also says he would give his generals 30 days to come up with a winning strategy. Clinton ruled out sending ground troops to either Syria or into Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We have to defeat USUS. That is my highest counterterrorism goal. And we've got to do it with air power. We've got to do it with much more support for the Arabs and the Kurds who will fight on the ground against ISIS.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Look, I have a very substantial chance of winning. Make America great again. We're going to make America great again. I have a substantial chance of winning. If I win I don't want to broadcast to the enemy exactly what my plan is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: We're joined now by CNN military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling for more of where both of these nominees stand on national security.

General -- as short time ago during that town hall Donald Trump was asked about one of his more famous quotes that he knows more about ISIS than the generals. And this is what he said. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think under the leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the generals have been reduced to rubble. They have been reduced to a point where it's embarrassing for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So as far as you're aware is that a fair assessment? Have the generals -- I guess he's saying that they've been beaten down by the administration is the implication.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I don't see any indication of that at all -- John. The generals, the colonels, all the soldiers in the fight have been doing exceedingly well under some very difficult circumstances over the last 14 years. They are tired, to be sure and they are adapting to the fight as best they can.

But truthfully, for a guy like Mr. Trump who claims he is a supporter of the veterans to say that generals have been reduced to rubble is somewhat insulting to me and I know it's insulting to all my former colleagues who are still wearing the uniform and still taking the fight to the enemy.

VAUSE: Ok. He was also asked about ISIS and whether he would ask the same generals for a plan to defeat the terror group and, of course, there's that 30-day time frame. This is what Donald Trump said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, they probably would be different generals, to be honest with you. I mean I'm looking at the generals today, you probably saw. I have a piece of paper here, I could show it. 88 generals and admirals endorsed me today.

[00:10:00] MATT LAUER, MSNBC HOST: It's a numbers game.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: It's not -- yes, numbers -- people that have been losing for us for a long period of time. I mean the fact is that we have had the worst -- and you could even say the dumbest foreign policy -- our results are so bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And again, we're talking about a situation where Donald Trump is going after the military leadership in this country, producing bad results, he says with very dumb foreign policy.

HERTLING: Yes, it's somewhat insulting. This is a very challenging and complex fight that we're in, John. You know that. And to have someone who has actually somewhat amateurish in his approach suggest that people don't know what they're doing when he hasn't seen the plan and to imply that it's not going to be the same general seems to me that what he is thinking is he can just arbitrarily pick and choose the generals that he wants.

That's not the way it works. It also is an indicator that he not only doesn't know military art, science, war planning and operational concepts, he doesn't know how the promotion system works within the military and how it is separated from civilian influences as he is claiming.

VAUSE: Very quickly he did talk about his plan to take the oil. He also talked about the oil revenue basically financing ISIS. What is your opinion of that?

HERTLING: Yes. I've listened to Mr. Trump talk on multiple occasions. I have a long list at home of things he said about stealing oil, murdering terrorists' families, water boarding -- doing the kinds of things that are actually against not only the American way of war but the Geneva Convention and laws of land warfare. And again, you know, to suggest that American military can turn into a mercenary force and steal oil from a foreign country while there are 19 million Iraqis in that country just seems to be -- I'm flabbergasted by those comments. And it just shows a lack of understanding of how America and the United States execute combat operations.

VAUSE: Ok. Moving on to Hillary Clinton she was also asked about her plan for ISIS. This is some of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: We're going to work to make sure that they have the support. They have Special Forces, as you know. They have enablers, they have surveillance, intelligence, reconnaissance to help. They are not going to get ground troops. We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again and we're not putting ground troops into Syria. We're going to defeat ISIS without committing American ground troops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ok. So she was talking about assisting Iraqis on the ground, maybe rebels also in Syria. But is it realistic to defeat ISIS without committing U.S. troops in any significant number? And aren't there already a lot of U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq right now?

HERTLING: Yes, there are. There are certainly some misspeak in Mrs. Clinton's comments on that. There are ground troops there. There are Special Operations Forces and there is certainly a significant number of soldiers, not as much as we had in northern Iraq.

But I was in Iraq for over three years, John, and one of the things we learned was they have to want it more than we do. And the plan and the campaign over the last several years has been to put emplace indigenous forces in these area that know more the terrain, the enemy they're fighting, and the language that they're speaking and the culture.

That's what's going on. And I think over the last year plus, we have seen some significant advances by both Iraqi security forces but also more recently as they've gotten help with intelligence and air power, the Free Syrian Forces and some of the rebel groups in northern Syria.

So we are conducting operations. It has been increasingly successful -- still a long way to go and a lot of action to take place. But I think it is best to have the indigenous forces fight for their own territory.

VAUSE: Secretary Clinton was also asked about the scandal about her e-mails and her ability to handle classified information. Is there an issue of trust when it comes to Hillary Clinton and the military?

HERTLING: Yes, there certainly is. It is one of the areas as we judge leadership and our political candidates, at least as I judge it. It's all about character, presence, and intellect. And this is something that Mrs. Clinton has to overcome is this character issue.

There were challenges with her e-mail. She certainly did not do the right thing. I think a lot of people in the military who have handled classified information would tell you that they would have gotten in big trouble had they done some of the things that Mrs. Clinton did.

And she continues to not really fully answer the question. She will apologize but then give excuses behind it. And I think she could put a lot of this behind her by just simply saying I really screwed up. My staff messed up and we will have things in place to fix this should I become president of the United States. VAUSE: ok. General -- we'll leave it there. Thanks so much. Always

good to speak with you -- General. Thank you.

HERTLING: All right -- thank you John. Appreciate it.

For the rest of the big political news today, joining me now Mo Kelly, host of "The Mo Kelly Show" and "The Mo Kelly Experience" radio programs in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

[00:15:06] It's interesting. I want to pick up on what General Hertling was saying about the issue of trust and e-mails and Hillary Clinton because that just won't go away. She was asked about it again just a few hours ago at the NBC forum and this is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: It was a mistake to have a personal account. I would certainly not do it again. I make no excuses for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So finally now she has got to a point, it was a mistake and I have no excuses -- a very simple answer -- but is that enough? Is there still this issue of essentially a transparency and essentially being honest?

MO KELLY, RADIO HOST: Well she said she makes no excuses and then she went into a very long explanation which could be characterized as an excuse. This was a very important moment for Hillary Clinton. She was speaking to the military and veterans. And if we look at the numbers she trails by double digits along those likely voters.

So that means that despite the fact that these candidates are not comparable in terms of experience she is disliked and she is distrusted and she still has a long way to go to fight against that. If people are still willing to look at Donald Trump as the more viable option in terms of classified intelligence and being able to handle those types of pieces of information it says that Hillary Clinton is not connecting with at least military and veterans.

VAUSE: She also has a huge -- obviously huge problem with general voters when it comes to the issue of trust and transparency. And with that in mind, the Democrats released an e-mail from the former secretary of state, Colin Powell, who was George W. Bush secretary of state, a Republican. And this is to Hillary Clinton explaining he used his own private e-mail for official business.

This is part of the e-mail that he sent. "What I did do was have a personal computer that was hooked up to a private phone line" -- sounds ancient -- "so I could communicate with a wide range of friends directly without it going through the State Department servers. I even used it to do business with some foreign leaders and some of the senior folks at the department on their personal e-mail accounts. I did the same thing on the road in hotels."

Does that get Hillary Clinton off the hook? KELLY: Absolutely not. If the Republicans have done anything right

they have distanced themselves from the Bush administration. The whole responsibility for the Iraq war you would think that it had nothing to do with the GOP. But with that they also distanced themselves from Colin Powell and that goes back to your first question where you talked about Hillary Clinton whether she has accepted responsibility, or that she says I'm sorry with no excuses. The very fact that we're talking about Colin Powell is a part of that extended excuse.

VAUSE: The interesting thing too about this e-mail is that Colin Powell does go into great length warning her that personal devices, personal digital devices like e-mails and blackberries that kind of stuff if they use for official business could become subject to law and official record. It seems he was giving her some intentional advice on how to evade the law and she was like hey sounds good to me.

KELLY: Yes. And at the same time she will say well, I didn't know any better and I unintentionally made the mistakes. And we know that carelessness is not necessarily criminal in regard to these issues. It does bring into question the judgment. And that's the point that Donald Trump has been hammering home.

And Hillary Clinton is not doing herself any favors by trying to slowly meander through that issue. If you listened to her tonight she was very stilted and very slow in her delivery about what really happened. It should be very simple at this point.

VAUSE: Very quickly, the FBI director, he is defending how he is handling or handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton and also how he released these documents into the e-mail investigation, he released them on a Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend instead of maybe the following Tuesday.

This is part of the memo he wrote for the staff. "We don't play games. So we released it Friday. We are continuing to process more material and will release batches of documents as they are ready no matter the day of the week."

Republicans are accusing the FBI of being political operatives. Has the FBI played this straight?

KELLY: I believe they played it straight but at the same time they've also sent a mixed message. If we go back to listen to what Director Comey originally said, he gave the summation that no reasonable prosecutor would have brought charges but that was after a long list of questionable actions and behavior by Hillary Clinton which sent the message that well, it seems as if there would be grounds for charges which would possibly lead to an indictment.

But the Republicans are playing both sides of the issue where they really didn't want the indictment. They wanted a damaged Hillary Clinton because charges would have led to an indictment and then Hillary Clinton is removed and then you have Vice President Joe Biden most likely steps in and then walks into the White House.

VAUSE: Ok. Interesting stuff. Come back next hour because there is a lot more to get to.

KELLY: Absolutely.

VAUSE: Talk to you soon. Thanks -- Mo.

We'll take a short break.

When we come back, a summit in Southeast Asia will be wrapping up soon but not before we'll hear about the latest chapter in a diplomatic spat -- you may have heard about that.

And also a controversial topic left off the agenda. We'll tell you what it was.

[00:19:42] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: U.S. President Barack Obama is spending his final day in Laos at a meeting of ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations. The trip was aimed at cementing Mr. Obama's pivot to Asia.

But a diplomatic spat with Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte created some unusual drama. The two leaders did actually meet briefly on Wednesday ahead of a gala dinner before the summit. The White House cancelled a formal bilateral meeting after the president -- President Duterte, that is -- called Mr. Obama a profane name, it rhymes with son of a ditch.

CNN's Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens joins us now from Vientiane, Laos. So Andrew, Laos was the host nation for the summit. (inaudible) nation defines the agenda and on the agenda not a word of the recent international ruling of Beijing's claim to the South China Sea. Beijing would be pretty happy with that.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: They would be pretty happy with that. And that was a pretty deliberate move not to include the decision by that international tribunal in July which basically ruled all Chinese claims to the South China Sea as illegal. China has been putting a lot of pressure, diplomatic pressure on Laos not to include it and Laos is a very close ally of China in this particular dispute as well as a very close economic ally as well, John.

So the Laos have said in recent months that they support China's claims to the South China Sea so not really surprising to see that decision by the tribunal taken off. ASEAN is a quite unique animal in that it's non-binding membership club. So the members don't have to do what other members would like them to do and disagreements do tend to be kept pretty much away from the public spotlight.

Having said that, the South China Sea has dominated ASEAN in recent meetings as China continues its expansion plans. And the Philippines did yesterday show new pictures of Chinese barges and boats around another disputed area called the Scarborough Shoal which is about 200 kilometers west of the Philippines. So the Philippines did raise it in one way.

But it certainly hasn't resonated as any sort of warning to China to be careful, which is perhaps a little unusual when four countries are in direct conflict with China, four ASEAN countries, John -- Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and of course, the Philippines -- all have counterclaims on ownership of certain areas of the South China Sea.

So to see it not mentioned -- what they did say that they were concerned -- I'll just get the quote for you. "They remained concerned over recent and ongoing developments" and this seems to be related to the expansion of certain Chinese activities in the area. But China is not mentioned by name -- John.

[00:25:05] VAUSE: Ok, China obviously still having a great deal of influence over that region despite the U.S. president's attempts for this pivot to Asia. Obviously -- you know, we'll see where it all goes.

Andrew -- thank you. Asia-Pacific editor, Andrew -- Asian Pacific editor Andrew Stevens live this hour in Laos.

We'll go to India after the break where the government there wants to end commercial surrogacy. We'll tell you why in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

Let's check the headlines.

The top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia are scheduled to meet Thursday and on Friday in Geneva, trying to hammer out a Syrian ceasefire agreement.

Meantime, in Syria, the Syrian regime is being accused of dropping chlorine gas on a rebel-held neighborhood on Tuesday, killing seven people in air strikes as well on Wednesday.

A close encounter between a Russian fighter jet and a U.S. plane over the Black Sea -- Pentagon officials say a P8-Poseidon, similar to this one, was in international airspace on Wednesday when the Russian jet made a quote, "unsafe, close-range intercept" at one point coming within three meters of the American plane.

Hillary Clinton says her top counterterrorism goal is to defeat ISIS. She made her pitch to be commander in chief along with Donald Trump in an NBC News forum on Wednesday. Trump says he will ask his generals to come up with a plan for beating ISIS but he still might use his own secret plan.

[00:30:00] The U.S. president is wrapping up his trip to Laos at the summit of Southeast Asian Nations. Officials say Mr. Obama met briefly and exchanged pleasantries with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday. The White House cancel a full bilateral meeting after Mr. Duterte insulted Mr. Obama with a cruel slur.

Lawmakers in India are expected to consider a controversial bill that would end commercial surrogacy. In U.S., a top destination for the people around the world seeking surrogate mothers often at a cheaper price. Indian government says women are being exploited, but opponents of the legislation say fertility services need better regulations.

Alexandra Field joins us now live from New Delhi.

And, Alexandra, this is a decision which will have ramifications for people everywhere.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. All parties involved and this is a debate that really stirs passions because you are talking about women's rights, their bodies. They are also talking about the desire for children.

You are talking about questions of exploitation and also work for pay. So the reason that people come to India, bottom line, for surrogacy in many cases is the fact that it is simply cheaper than paid surrogacy in places like the U.S. But the people who want to ban the practice here will say this has become a commercial hub for surrogacy say that when you are paying to use a woman's body, it amounts to exploitation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: That's the sound they waited 22 years to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

FIELD: And it was a labor of love requiring the help of a surrogate mom, which is big business in India.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations.

FIELD: The country has been called the womb of the world. A few years ago CNN took you to the heart of it. A town filled with women dubbed by critics as having wombs for rent.

Now the government is working to put the whole business out of business.

DR. SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN, HELPED DRAFT SURROGACY BILL: We thought the government felt that it's very, very important that we move a bill to protect these women. We have received a large number of complaints. But most of the complaints are about people who are either not given the amount that they were promised, or who had some complications that were not covered medically or to do with the children who were left behind.

FIELD: Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, director general of the Indian Medical Research Council, helped draft the bill. It would clamp down on the more than 2,000 under regulated fertility clinics operating in the country.

If passed, it would put an end to paid surrogacy. An end to pay checks worth thousands of dollars for these women among the country's poorest. Women who might otherwise are in a few hundred in a year.

They didn't want to be identified because they say there is a social stigma surrounding surrogacy.

"With the money, the future of our children will be good. We will educate them. We are benefiting from it and also helping others who don't have children," she says.

(on-camera): If passed, India's plan to ban surrogacy would not only prevent a number of poor women from making a substantial amount of money as surrogates, it would also stop people from all over the world from coming to India to have babies.

And that includes Indian parents, gay couples and single women. The only people that could have surrogate babies would be married heterosexual Indian couples, who have been unable to have a baby for at least five years and who are able to find an unpaid surrogate family member.

(voice-over): Dr. Kaberi Banerjee works with surrogates as part of her fertility practice. She delivered baby Cathy and a hundred other babies from surrogate mothers. She argues the government is stripping women of the right to make choices about their bodies and to earn money they need.

DR. KABERI BANERJEE, OPPOSES SURROGACY BILL: Perhaps the intention is good of the government, but I feel they are ill-informed.

FIELD: A disservice she believes toward the women who depend on the paychecks and the ones who still hope to hear this.

(BABY CRYING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And, John, we have spoken to a number of women and couples who do hope to hear the sound of a baby crying. Couples who say that they really have no other hope except for surrogacy in order to accomplish that dream of having a child of their own.

They say that if this bill passes, it leaves them with precious little hope, but the people who support this bill say they do have an option. The people who support the bill say they would like to see more couples and more people adopting children here in India.

John?

VAUSE: Yes, arguments on both sides of this one.

Alexandra, thank you for the report. We appreciate it.

And we'll take a short break. When we come back, some moans, groans, sighs of disappointment as Apple finally unveils iPhone7. We'll look at the new features and the ones which did not make the cut.

Also, he has been rocking for five decades. Now Bruce Springsteen is sharing his most personal struggles in a new memoir.

(MUSIC PLAYING) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:37:13] VAUSE: A new memoir from legendary singer Bruce Springsteen is revealing a lot about the boss and his personal struggles including battle with depression. Here's Zain Asher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): American musician Bruce Springsteen who often keeps his private life to himself talks about his ongoing battle with depression in a rare interview with "Vanity Fair" magazine.

Springsteen also reveals he underwent invasive neck surgery three years ago, where his throat was cut open and his vocal chords tied back. A procedure which he describes as nerve-wracking and which took him three months to recover from.

This comes as he prepares to release a 500-page autobiography titled, "Born to Run," which took him seven years to write.

Springsteen reveals in the book that his depression was made worse by his rocky relationship with his late father. The father/son difficulties are expressed in his song --

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Springsteen says he had a particularly hard time with mental illness between ages 60 and 64. He tells "Vanity Fair," quote, "One of the points I'm making in the book is that whoever you've been and wherever you've been, it never leaves you."

Despite battling depression, Springsteen's music has never faltered and he shows no sign of slowing down.

At age 66, Springsteen has been writing and performing music for more than 50 years. After the deaths of two of his band members, Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici, the boss is still playing.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Sold out shows and performing marathon four-hour live performances on his latest tour, "The River."

He is the winner of many awards including 20 Grammys. He's released 18 studio albums and he's one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold 123 million albums worldwide.

Bruce Springsteen is a legend but he is also human, suffering from an illness so many people struggle with.

Zain Asher, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Another year, another new iPhone. Apple had its big reveal, Wednesday, of the iPhone 7. CEO Tim Cook kick off the event in San Francisco, California with little carpool karaoke alongside TV host James Corden and singer/songwriter Pharrell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CORDEN, TV HOST: I think we should listen to some music and we should listen to a song all about where you're from.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:40:00] VAUSE: After the rocking and karaoke session, the Apple CEO hopped out of the car on to the stage and laid out the iPhone7's new feature. Also revealed that Apple cut a traditional one as well. A lot of customers not happy about that.

Here's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The unveiling many couldn't wait for and some dreaded. Now after its trademark slick stage production at a packed theater in San Francisco, Apple is out with its new iPhone.

TIM COOK, APPLE CEO: It's the best iPhone that we have ever created. This is iPhone7.

(APPLAUSE)

COOK: It has a gorgeous new design.

TODD: The new iPhone 7 is water-resistant, has a fancier two-lens camera. It's slicker, offering two new shades of black. But the biggest change, no more headphone jack.

STEVEN OVERLY, TECH REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: This plug right here that we're all used to, plugging in to listen to music will no longer exist from the iPhone 7.

TODD (on-camera): What is the upside to that?

OVERLY: Well, the upside, for anyone who has even gone on a run and had the cord gets sort of tangled or put it on their bag and had to unknot it, you know, that will no longer be an issue.

TODD: To save space, headphones will only plug into the lightning port, the same port used for charging. Included with your purchase ear buds with a lightning port plug and an adapter to plug in 3.5 mm headphones used by everyone else. But the biggest innovation, for another $159, there will be wireless ear buds called air pods.

COOK: The air pods deliver truly an Apple magical experience. When you try it, you're just going to be blown away.

TODD: But air pods need charging. You can't use them with non-Apple phones and you wouldn't want to lose them during workouts.

COOK: It really comes down to one word, courage. The courage to move on..

TODD: But after this latest unveiling, some serious pushback on social media from those not ready to give up their traditional headphones.

(on-camera): Why have so many of us been so reluctant to get rid of this?

OVERLY: Well, there's the cliche that change is hard, but it honestly goes beyond that. You know, the cord on the headphones also serves a functional purpose whether you are reaching for them in your bag or trying to make sure the right doesn't get separated from the left.

TODD (voice-over): Analysts say Apple needs to push new products like wireless headphones, accessories and the just unveiled water-resistant next generation of the Apple watch in order to recoup after recent setbacks.

Over the past year, Apple sales of iPhones dropped for the first time since the device was introduced in 2007.

OVERLY: They are declining because of competition from smartphone makers like Samsung and also data show that people are upgrading their phones less often.

TODD (on-camera): Cynics say with Apple stock in desperate need of resurgence, the company is under more pressure than ever to produce new products, an upgrade existing ones to make money.

But Apple fans, the I faithful, say products like the air pods are a way for Apple to push us all past entrenched technologies like the company did when it got rid of floppy disks and CD drives on the Mac.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: I still miss my Blackberry.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

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