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Cease-fire Reached in Syria; DPRK Tests another Nuke; Paralympians Win Gold in Rio. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired September 10, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:04] HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN ANCHOR: They've reached a deal. Diplomats unveil a cease-fire plan that could ease the suffering in Syria.

Condemnation for North Korea and its leader after their latest nuclear test. The U.N. Security Council weigh in.

And reaction in the U.S. Sanctions, threats, and accusations of blame from the presidential candidate.

Hello and welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones here in London. And this is CNN NEWSROOM.

After five long years of war, a chance at peace may finally be in sight for Syria. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, announced a cease- fire deal in Geneva on Friday.

Under the plan, a cessation of hostilities takes effect across Syria at sundown on Monday. Secretary Kerry says it should "put an end to the barrel bombs and end to the indiscriminate bombing of civilian neighborhoods that has left scores of people dead."

Well, the agreement comes after months of fruitless efforts to reach a cease-fire between the Syrian regime and moderate Syrian rebels. Our Nic Robertson has all the details now from Geneva.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: So key to the cessation of hostilities working, Secretary Kerry said, was for the United States to put pressure on the opposition to keep good on their obligations and for Russia, for their part, to keep Assad good on his obligations.

He said the United States's assessment was that that's what Russia would do. This is how he put it.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Today the United States and Russia are announcing a plan which we hope will reduce violence, ease suffering, and resume movement towards a negotiated peace and a political transition in Syria.

The Obama administration, the United States is going the extra mile here because we believe that Russia and my colleague have the capability to press the Assad regime to stop this conflict and to come to the table and make peace.

ROBERTSON: Another key point of this peace agreement, not just the cessation but humanitarian access. Secretary Kerry laying out in specific detail how that would take effect in Aleppo to give besieged areas there, up to 300,000 people living in besieged rebel-controlled parts of the city, give them much-needed humanitarian access.

Also talked about the limits being put on the use of Assad's air force, his barrel-bombing helicopters, to prevent civilian casualties, that Russia and the United States would work together to target al- Nusra, the former al Qaeda ally inside Syria.

From the Russian perspective, Sergey Lavrov stressing that this seven- day test period of the humanitarian and cease-fire, would allow, and he said this was important, would allow and must happen after seven days, a separation of what he described, terrorist opposition elements and non-terrorist opposition elements.

This is how he put it.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): After the regime is fully functional for seven continuous days, we, as John just said, ought to create a joint implementation center, JIC, where the military men and the special forces (ph) representatives (ph), Russia and the U.S., will be engaged in solving practical matters of delimitation and separation of terrorists from the moderate opposition.

ROBERTSON: And that has been a key issue for Russia in the past. A bone of contention with the United States going on for months. Wanting the United States to say who was a terrorist and who wasn't a terrorist. Who should be targeted, who shouldn't be targeted.

A lot of mistrust there. That seems to be overcome at this time now. Lavrov saying and laying out how he had told the Assad regime, Bashar al-Assad, he said, has been told of this plan and his responsibilities.

Secretary Kerry thanking him for that. But, of course, what has troubled peace talks in the past is that key point when the political transition part comes up somewhere down the road, that's when the expectation is that Russia will tell President Bashar al-Assad that he will need to step aside.

That hasn't happened in the past. And at this stage it's not clear how that will happen this time going forward. A long way to go yet.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Geneva.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: Well, since Syria's civil war began, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed. And nearly 5 million have fled their homeland. The violence first fled in 2011 when some teens and children were arrested for writing political graffiti. Dozens of people were killed in a subsequent crackdown on anti-government protests.

And of course from there, the fighting widened across the country, pulling in Syrian rebels, Kurdish forces, militant fighters, and ISIS.

The Reuters news agency says Syrian government forces have retaken a very important road in the northern city of Aleppo. Well, that road is in the southwest of the city at the lower left of this map. It's the same general area that rebels captured in August. In a month-long regime siege now the government forces have effectively surrounded rebel-held areas once more, and that essentially prevents rebels from using a key supply route.

Now South Korea's foreign minister is calling the nuclear capabilities of its northern neighbor dangerous. Yonhap News Agency quotes him saying the world needs to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea. Pyongyang claims Friday's nuclear test is their most powerful yet. Nearly twice the size of their last one back in January.

World leaders and citizens alike are speaking out against the latest provocation. Hundreds of protesters staged a demonstration in Seoul on Saturday.

Our Paula Hancocks looks at the fallout from that test.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hannah, North Korea is celebrating even if the rest of the world isn't, that is far more concerned by this latest development. Pyongyang claiming that they have successfully tested a nuclear warhead and claiming that now they can mount it on a ballistic missile.

Now it's impossible for the rest of the world to verify that claim. But we have consistently heard from officials that it would be very dangerous not to take North Korea at its word.

Now we have heard from state-run media as well, North Korea, saying that from now on they will be conducting their relations, their foreign relations as befits an independent state and a nuclear weapons state.

Now U.S. President Barack Obama has said that will simply not happen. Washington will never accept Pyongyang as a nuclear state. In a statement on Friday, he said that to be clear, the U.S. does not and never will accept North Korea as a nuclear state.

That is a sentiment that is also held by politicians in Tokyo, in South Korea, and certainly in many other countries.

Now the U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, says that he strongly condemns this, saying that it -- we must urgently break this accelerating spiral of escalation. And that is the overwhelming feeling at this point, that this is an accelerating problem, the United Nations saying that they will do something about it.

GERARD VAN BOHEMEN, U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: The members of the Security Council also recalled that they had previously expressed their determination to take further significant measures in the event of another nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In line with this commitment and the gravity of this violation, the members of the Security Council will begin to work immediately on appropriate measures and Article 41 in a Security Council resolution.

HANCOCKS: Intelligence officials briefing lawmakers here in Seoul said that they have concerns that North Korea appears to be progressing far quicker than previously estimated. And that is certainly a sentiment that is being felt around the region, around the world, and why we are seeing such strong condemnation from many of the world leaders and also why we are hearing more experts now start to question, what more can the rest of the world do beyond just sanctions? Hannah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: Paula Hancocks, thank you very much indeed. Paula Hancocks was reporting there from Seoul.

Now it didn't take long for North Korea's nuclear test to become a weapon in the U.S. presidential race. Hillary Clinton is calling for more sanctions against North Korea and is pushing China to do much more. Donald Trump, meanwhile, jumped at the chance to blame the nuclear test on his Democratic rival.

Well, national security seemed to be the theme the election this week. From Putin praise to slamming U.S. media on Russian TV, trump has raised more eyebrows than usual this week. Here's Sunlen Serfaty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is trying to blame Hillary Clinton for the rise of North Korea's nuclear capabilities.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was announced that North Korea performed its fifth nuclear test. Its fourth since Hillary Clinton became secretary of state. It's just one more massive failure from a failed secretary of state.

SERFATY: But trump did not say what he would do to respond to the provocations if he were president. And his campaign refused to provide details. Trump said Tuesday he believes China should take the lead in dealing with North Korea.

TRUMP: China, this is your baby, this is your problem, you solve the problem. China it solve that problem.

SERFATY: In March the GOP nominee suggested that Japan should acquire nuclear weapons to guard against threats from North Korea, breaking with decades' old U.S. policy.

TRUMP: Now wouldn't you rather in a certain sense have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons? And they do have them. They absolutely have them. They have no carrier system yet, but they will very soon.

SERFATY: And Trump is basing more fallout on another foreign policy front...

TRUMP: He is really very much of a leader.

SERFATY: ... after his praise Wednesday of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What about invading other countries is leadership? What about running your economy into the ground is leadership? What about persecuting LGBT Russians is leadership?

SERFATY: And now a controversial interview is adding fuel to the fire with Trump appearing on Russia Today, a Russia state-funded TV propaganda channel. The Trump campaign is trying to downplay the appearance, calling it a favor to the interviewer, Larry King.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Former CNN superstar Larry King has a podcast. And Mr. Trump went on his podcast. Nobody said it was going to be on Russian TV.

SERFATY: But the substance of the interview is what is also raising eyebrows with Trump blasting the U.S. media on Russian TV, an odd context given not only the lack of press freedom in Russia but the epidemic of assassinations of journalists in Russia who challenge the Kremlin.

TRUMP: The media has been unbelievably dishonest. I mean, they'll take a statement that you make which is perfect, and they'll cut it up and chop it up.

SERFATY: And he downplayed concerns about Russia meddling in U.S. politics, dismissing reports that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee despite officials saying there is little doubt the country was behind the hack.

TRUMP: I think it's probably unlikely. I think maybe -- maybe the Democrats are putting that out, who knows. But I think that it's pretty unlikely.

SERFATY: Meantime, the Trump campaign trying to clean up another controversy, Trump's refusal to disavow his birther past, questioning if President Obama was born in the U.S.

CONWAY: He believes President Obama born here. I was born in Camden, by the way, New Jersey. He was born in Hawaii.

SERFATY: Trump's surrogates are now out in full force saying Trump now accepts that President Obama was born in the U.S.

RUDY GIULIANI, TRUMP ADVISER: Donald Trump believes now that he was born in the United States. I believe it. He believes it. We all believe it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: Sunlen Serfaty reporting there.

Well, on Friday, Hillary Clinton met a group of foreign policy experts in New York. The news conference that followed appeared staged to draw a stark contrast with Mr. Trump. Our senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With national security taking center stage in the race for the White House, Hillary Clinton is showcasing her commander-in-chief credentials. Meeting with a bipartisan group of prominent national security experts.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I asked them to join me for a candid conversation about some of the most challenging issues facing our country.

KEILAR: Among those at the meeting, former CIA Director and retired General David Petraeus, and Michael Chertoff, George W. Bush's homeland security secretary. After the meeting in a carefully staged event designed to evoke a White House press conference, Clinton came to the microphone to once again blast Donald Trump.

CLINTON: This just becomes more and more of a reality television show. It's not -- it's not a serious presidential campaign. And it is beyond one's imagination to have a candidate for president praising a Russian autocrat like Vladimir Putin.

KEILAR: But with North Korea's test of yet another nuclear weapon, Clinton is also in a political bind. Trump saying earlier it's evidence her time as secretary of state was a failure. Clinton condemned the test and said the U.S. must recalibrate its approach with North Korea.

CLINTON: The increasing threat posed by North Korea requires not only a rethinking of the strategy but an urgent effort to convince the neighbors, most particularly China, that this is not just a U.S. issue.

We are not going to let anyone who is a treaty ally and partner of ours be threatened, and we are not going to let North Korea pursue a nuclear weapon with the ballistic missile capacity to deliver it to the United States territory. That is absolutely a bottom line.

KEILAR: Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, is accusing Trump of showing a shocking level of disrespect for President Obama in praising Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.

TRUMP: He has been a leader far more than our president has been a leader.

KAINE: If you don't know the difference between leadership and dictatorship, then where do I start with you? A ticket that is praising a dictator who is hurting his country, hurting his people, as some example of leadership, is horrible.

KEILAR: The Clinton campaign is out with a new ad emphasizing the importance of Democrats and Republicans working together.

CLINTON: Guess how we got health care for 8 million kids, rebuilt New York City after 9/11, and got the treaty cutting Russia's nuclear arms. We've got to bring people together. That's how you solve problems, and that's what I'll do as president.

KEILAR: Clinton-land is trying to push out a more positive message in what has become a more divisive and even nasty race for the White House. A far cry from 2000 when Donald and Melania Trump palled around with then-President Bill Clinton in New York. These old photos, newly public, among about two dozen released by the Clinton Presidential Library, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Politico.

(on camera): The National Archives, which runs the Clinton Library said it also found 59 pictures of Hillary Clinton in 1994 at a fundraiser that Donald Trump attended, but they're not going to release them. They say they are protected as personal information.

Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUGHAN JONES: Coming up, a daring rescue in the French Alps. Helicopters descend on these cable cars to pull people to safety. The passengers' fate when we come back.

Plus, tornados strike the U.S. Midwest, the details coming up after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUGHAN JONES: Hello and welcome back to the program. The French Alps offer stunning views and some of Europe's highest peaks. But what was supposed to be a fun excursion turned into quite an ordeal for 33 cable-car passenger trapped overnight. They were rescued on Friday morning but spent a very chilly evening in the mountains.

Now Ben Wedeman has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Visibly relieved to be back on the ground. It was supposed to be a beautiful day out at Western Europe's highest peak. But it turned into a nightmare.

Thirty-three people stuck in several cable cars overnight in the French Alps, suspended at over 12,000 feet. They were among 110 initially trapped after wires carrying the cars tangled in high winds. The experience left many shaken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You try to clear your mind as much as you can, but it's very difficult, very difficult. I had to close my eyes during a good amount of time to try to think about something else.

WEDEMAN: Rescuers raced against nightfall, using helicopters to evacuate as many as possible. When fog rolled in, they used rope to lower some riders to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tried to take us with a helicopter, but the fog came in. So the two rescuers stayed with us. And then we did a belay (ph) after we decided there was no other way to get down.

WEDEMAN: Those stuck overnight had to use blankets, water, and cereal bars in survival kits found in each cabin.

As morning broke the final 33 people were freed after first responders managed to restart the cars. Now heading back, relieved it's over and that no one was hurt.

(on camera): French officials have already begun an investigation into this incident perhaps with an eye to make sure it never happens again. For those who were stuck all night in those freezing cable cars, however, they probably never wanted to step foot in one again.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Chamonix, France.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: A boiler explosion inside a factory near Dhaka in Bangladesh has killed at least 21 people. Police say they expect that death toll to rise as emergency crews continue the rescue efforts. A fire broke out after the explosion while employees were still inside the four-story factory. Officers tell us they sent around 50 workers to various hospitals, and they are still investigating what caused the explosion.

Scary moments for residents of Illinois on Friday as multiple tornadoes touched down in the region. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now with more from the International Weather Center.

Derek, over to you.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, hi, Hannah.

Take a look at this image. Quite astounding to see this moment that a twister tore through a small farming community, striking a house here. You can see some of the debris being scattered about at the base of this tornado. We'll expand the view. You can see just how long this tornado actually is from the base of the cloud to the ground.

Wow. Impressive stuff, but scary moments for these people. Take a look at some of the images coming out of this area. You can see just how ominous the skies were. The National Weather Service out of Lincoln will actually be going over to the Champaign and Vermilion counties on Saturday morning, this morning.

They are going to conduct storm damage surveys. Tornado intensity values will be assigned after these surveys are complete. Remember we have a scale ranging from EF-0 to EF-5 being the strongest of tornados. That can be winds in excess of 200 miles per hour for instance.

But they have to go to, let's say, the scene where the tornado took place to assess just how strong those tornados were indeed. But certainly don't want to see that type of skies headed your way, you want to seek shelter as quickly as possible.

In total across the U.S. on Friday, there were five tornados, four of which occurred across south central Illinois. Now it's not even the peak season for tornados which you can see, climatologically speaking, it's basically from April into May.

But we do get a recurrence of tornados as we get into that autumn time frame in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the United States we get the collision of cold and warm air, of course, leading to tornados just like we saw there in Illinois.

I want to bring you to the western Pacific because this is something you want to monitor very closely if you're located in Taiwan, Japan, the southern Japanese islands. This tropical depression that doesn't look very organized as we speak has the potential to increase in intensity and strength going forward over the next several days, potentially becoming a super-typhoon.

It's just west of Guam. And take a look at this, from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, they have this thing strengthening 72 hours from now. Near 200 kilometer-per-hour sustained winds. It doesn't need to strengthen much from there to become a super-typhoon. And look what's in its potential path, Taipei and the southern Ryukyu Islands. So monitoring this situation very closely to say the least -- Hannah.

VAUGHAN JONES: Derek, thanks very much indeed, Derek Van Dam live for us there at the CNN Weather Center. Thank you.

And millions of Muslims from around the globe have traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, which is under way this weekend. The pilgrimage to Mecca is a pillar of Islam and among the largest public gatherings in the world. It's also major business for the Saudi tourism industry. Here's a look at the centuries' old ritual and the logistics behind it.

(VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: A look at the Hajj pilgrimage taking place this weekend.

Now Russia's show of force in Crimea, a provocation or planned maneuvers as the military says? All the details are next.

Plus, the U.S. marks the 15th anniversary of a national tragedy, the 9/11 terror attacks. Next, some children of parents killed that day tell us how the terrorists changed their lives forever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUGHAN JONES: Well, welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Hannah Vaughan Jones. The headlines this hour. A cessation of hostilities is due to take effect across Syria on Monday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced the deal following talks in Geneva on Friday.

Mr. Kerry says the pact calls on the Syrian government and the opposition rebels to respect the cease-fire.

The U.N. Security Council is strongly condemning North Korea's latest nuclear test. It may have been the nation's most powerful test yet. North Korean officials say the explosion was nearly twice as large as the last one back in January.

Sunday marks 15 years since the September 11th terror attacks in the United States, 2,977 people were killed in 2001 when al Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners. Two of them crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth went down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence has returned tax returns from the past 10 years. Mr. Trump still refuses to do the same despite pressure from numerous critics. He says he will release his returns when an audit is done. But the tax lawyers say he doesn't need to wait.

Now Russia is reminding the world of its military power in Crimea, staging a series of war games near the border with Ukraine. You will remember, of course, that Russia annexed Crimea two years ago, a violation of international law.

CNN's Frederick Pleitgen was there for the military exercises.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Moscow putting on a huge show of force...

(GUNFIRE)

PLEITGEN: ... war games from land, air, and sea, in Crimea, the territory Russia annexed from Ukraine a little over two years ago.

(on camera): The Russians are sending a very clear message with these large-scale and top-flight military drills. Their forces are entrenched here in Crimea and they are ready to fight any time.

(voice-over): The maneuvers are called Kavkaz 2016, and take place not only in Crimea but in Russia's entire southern military district right on the border with Ukraine. The drills involve more than 12,000 soldiers, dozens of fighter jets flying mock dog-fight missions, strike aircraft hitting ground and sea targets, and land forces in an amphibious assault.

Still, the defense ministry spokesman insists it is not a provocation.

"This is not at all a provocation," he says. "I want to stress that this is a planned event. We announced these drills last November. The troops have been preparing for a long time."

But they come at a time of heightened tensions with the U.S. and NATO over the annexation of Crimea and other issues. The Russian air force intercepted a U.S. P-8 Naval aircraft in the region just as the drills were getting under way. And only three weeks ago, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to smuggle operatives into Crimea for sabotage operations, a claim Kiev denies.

The Kavkaz military drills will likely cause more unease in Ukraine and eastern European NATO member states.

Russia's military chief of staff says the initial assessment is that they went smoothly.

"We need to fully analyze everything," he says. "But these drills were very beneficial to the southern military district and for the troops from other districts involved as well."

(GUNFIRE)

PLEITGEN: With Russia and the West at odds over Syria and Ukraine, Moscow is continuing to advance and refine its armed forces for all the world to see.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, at the Opuk military base in Crimea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: Well, let's give you some more information about Crimea and five things that you need to know. The autonomous region was part of Russia until 1954 when it was incorporated into Ukraine as part of the of the Soviet Union. Most people in Crimea are ethnically Russian, the others are Ukrainians and Tatars.

The port town of Sevastopol has been home to Russia's Black Sea naval fleet for some 200 years. And Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote his classic poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" about the Crimean War of the 1850s. Britain, France, and Ottoman Turkey fought Russia at that time.

Also allied leaders met in the Crimean resort of Yalta at the end of World War II where they divided up post-war Europe.

Now U.S. officials are concerned that apparent Russian cyber attacks could affect public confidence in the American election process. Sources tell CNN the Obama administration is debating how to respond to the hacks. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has called the attacks on the Democratic Party a public service, but he denies being involved.

Well, meanwhile, our sources also say there is growing evidence that Russian hackers are behind the attacks on election registration websites. Officials aren't afraid the hacks will actually impact the vote count on Election Day, but they are concerned about the possible tampering of voter registrations.

Sunday marks a somber anniversary in the United States. Fifteen years since the 9/11 attacks. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be in New York on Sunday to pay her respects at the 9/11 Memorial. She is not expected to speak. Clinton was a U.S. senator from New York when the Twin Towers fell.

Well, many of the children who lost parents that day were too young to understand what had happened. Now as young adults, they reflect on what the past 15 years have meant for them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW WISNIEWSKI, LOST FATHER ON 9/11: I was only 4 years old when I lost my father. So in a way, I never really knew my father. And I guess that was the worst thing about it for me initially. Being told that I'm like him and that I used to talk like him, sound like him, even have some of the same hobbies was weird. It made me feel kind of sometimes like a ghost almost. Like I was -- like someone I never knew.

NICK ZANGRILLI, LOST FATHER ON 9/11: Not having my dad around on a day-to-day basis was really tough for me. Not having that male figure to go to, or not having one of my parents around for big milestones in my life. And I do really try to make him proud whenever I can. Whenever I either like get a good grade or do good in lacrosse, I always think of him and think of how he feels or how he would have thought of it if he was like with us, with me today.

JULIETTE SCAUSO, LOST FATHER ON 9/11: I definitely felt his absence very strongly on the milestone of graduating high school. It was very difficult to move into college when you see all the other kids pulling up with carfuls of stuff and they have both parents, and I only had my mom there. It was very hard because it was more in your face of physically seeing everybody else with their families. I definitely felt an absence there.

KEVIN PARKS, LOST FATHER ON 9/11: An event like that can bring out the best or the worst in people. And that was one of the lessons that I learned early on is it brought out the best in my family and people around me because it brought together such a big -- an amazing support group. You know, as close as my relatives, but then from strangers from across the country who would write letters and send their thoughts along.

The way people behaved in the days that followed, the weeks that followed really stuck with me and kind of framed how I think about hopefully helping other people and, you know, I think it's what my father would have wanted. And he kind of would have been proud to how everyone rallied around my family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: In total, 2,977 people were killed in the 9/11 terror attacks. Most of them died at the World Trade Center in New York. At least 77 countries lost citizens in the attacks. Nineteen hijackers were involved. Fifteen of them were from Saudi Arabia.

Fifteen years after 9/11, we're getting a look inside the Twin Towers that came down, of course, during the attack. It's part of "9/11," the award-winning documentary which CNN recently acquired. And we want to warn you, you may find the following images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) lights under the awning of One World Trade Center. The chief (INAUDIBLE) puts his gear on. And I remember asking him, Chief, can I come in with you? I want to come in with you. And he says, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come in with me, and never leave my side.

And I hear screams. And right to my right, there were two people on fire, burning. I just didn't want to film it. It was like no one -- no one should see this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: Be sure to watch CNN Films presents "9/11: Fifteen Years Later." You can see that on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, at 8:00 p.m. here in London, and also in New York.

Some American football players are defending a controversial protest meant to highlight racial injustices. What an entire team could be planning to do during a game on Sunday that's September the 11th.

Plus, what killed tens of thousands of people in London in just a single year. We may finally know the answer to that mystery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUGHAN JONES: The U.S. government has decided to voluntarily stop work on a controversial pipeline project in the state of North Dakota. The temporary suspension happened minutes after a judge on Friday rejected a motion by a Native American tribe.

The Standing Rock Sioux say the pipeline will destroy significant ancestral sites. It's unclear if the pipeline company will comply with the government's request. Protests have been breaking out over the pipeline which would carry 470,000 barrels of crude oil every day. The government say the tribe raises important issues that need to be addressed.

The U.S. National Football League season kicks off this weekend. And some players are defending their controversial protest of refusing to stand during the U.S. national anthem before games.

Our Andy Scholes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the NFL returns to the spotlight, Colin Kaepernick's peaceful protest has sparked conversation about his aim to shed light on the oppression of minorities in this country.

COLIN KAEPERNICK, QUARTERBACK, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: The players aren't comfortable speaking what's really on their mind and what's right because they are afraid of consequences that come along with it. And that's not an ideal environment for anybody.

And I think that also speaks to the oppression and culture that we have here where if you don't fall in line, then we're going to get you out.

SCHOLES: Other NFL players are joining in on the protest: Kaepernick's teammate Eric Reid, the Broncos's Brandon Marshall, and the Seahawks's Jeremy Lane have all refrained from standing during the anthem.

And this Sunday on 9/11, before their game with the Miami Dolphins, the entire Seahawks team is planning a powerful display of national unity, honoring the flag but also to express solidarity with Kaepernick.

DOUG BALDWIN JR., WIDE RECEIVER, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Even if it wasn't September 11th, the point is -- the protest is to get people to think. I think it is very ironic to me that 15 years ago on September 11th is one of the most devastating times in U.S. history.

And after that day we were probably the most unified that we have ever been. And today you struggle to see the unity. And it is very ironic to me that this date is coming up. So it's going to be a special day, a very significant day.

SCHOLES: Not everyone agrees with Kaepernick's movement. He was booed during the 49ers's final preseason game. But President Obama defended the quarterback's constitutional rights.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think he cares about some real legitimate issues that have to be talked about.

SCHOLES: Agree or disagree with Kaepernick's method, good is coming out of his protest. He has pledged to donate the first million dollars of his salary this season to groups that deal with social inequality. The 49ers will all donate a million dollars to community foundations.

The Green Bay Packers and coach Mike McCarthy, meanwhile, will each donate $100,000 to the Green Bay Police Foundation to improve partnerships between the police and the community. And Kaepernick is giving his portion of sales of his number 7 jersey, which has climbed to the top of the bestseller list.

KAEPERNICK: The jersey sales jumped because people's belief that there can be change. And we can make this country better. And that they believed that I was someone that could help that change.

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VAUGHAN JONES: That was Andy Scholes reporting.

Scientists say they finally know for certain what caused the Great Plague of London in 1665. It killed more than 75,000 people in the space of just one year. Scientists have been examining skeletons in a mass burial site discovered last year in London.

And they say DNA from some remains confirms the victims died of the bubonic plague. The DNA matches bacteria responsible for the plague. The same bacteria caused the Black Death which killed millions of people during the 14th Century.

Coming up, a U.S. military veteran blinded in Afghanistan is going for Paralympic gold in Rio. How swimming helped him face his new reality.

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Germany's Angelique Kerber is taking over as the number one-ranked women's tennis player in the world. Many thought she would be playing Serena Williams for that ranking and a U.S. Open title later on Saturday. But rising star Karolina Pliskova upset Williams in the semifinals, and that knocked Williams from the top of the standings and left the young upstart to take her place in the final.

In the men's draw, it will be world number one Novak Djokovic looking to take down number three Stan Wawrinka on Sunday. They both got out of the semis with four-set wins.

Now one swimmer has a pretty big challenge ahead in the pool in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He's blind. The victim of an IED blast. But that is not stopping the U.S. military veteran from chasing his dreams.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta has Brad Snyder's story.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brad had actually been a competitive swimmer all of his life. At the Naval Academy he had been captain of the swim team. The water was familiar territory for him. But how different would it be without his vision?

BRAD SNYDER, PARALYMPIAN: When I dove in I found this really cool sense of this freedom, this liberation from the burden of this new reality, right?

GUPTA (on camera): Was there a point you realized, look, I'm really pretty good at this and maybe this is something where I can go to the Paralympics?

SNYDER: People were talking about, you know, the world record is in reach, and this and that and the other thing. And I said, guys, no, no, no, like, you guys don't understand. This is not -- you can't just happen into this. It takes years and years and years of dedication and hard work and mastering these different techniques that I am only just now learning, right? It would be impossible for this to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, this man here, Bradley Snyder, dominated the morning heat.

GUPTA (voice-over): Against the odds, Brad did qualify for the London Paralympic Games in summer of 2012. He was scheduled to swim the finals of the 400-meter freestyle on September 7th, 2012, just a year after his injury.

Brad touched the wall far ahead of his competition. He had done it, won gold, exactly one year to the day after losing his eyesight in Afghanistan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... had the race of his life.

SNYDER: I don't even believe it sometimes. It seems very surreal. And even the memories are very -- they seem like something that was put into a movie or something like that.

GUPTA: Brad left London with two gold medals and a silver. Since that time, his life has been a whirlwind. He's focusing full time on training for this year's games in Rio. And the athletic brand, Under Armour, based in Baltimore where Brad now lives, signed him to a sponsorship deal last year.

Watching Brad do this, you would never know he's blind. Typically blind swimmers are tapped with a pole by their coaches, indicating its time to make the turn at the wall. In practice, Brad doesn't use a tapper. Under Gizzy's (ph) watchful eye, he navigates using the lane ropes and by counting his strokes.

It's not a perfect method. He has crashed into the wall at least a few times. But the way Brad approaches it, swimming is a lot like life. It is what you do after you crash into the wall that matters.

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VAUGHAN JONES: That was our Sanjay Gupta there with that incredible report.

We want to share with you now another inspiring story from the Paralympic Games. American swimmer Rebecca Meyers is deaf and is losing her sight. But she's not letting that or indeed anything else stop her.

Our Shasta Darlington has her story.

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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team got its first gold medal on Thursday night in the S-13 100-meter butterfly. Rebecca Meyers also smashing the world record. This is her second Paralympic Games, her third medal, but her first gold. I asked her how she felt about it.

REBECCA MEYERS, PARALYMPIAN, GOLD MEDALIST: I have so many emotions running through my head right now. And I can't put it into words. It just feels incredible.

DARLINGTON: Meyers told me she eats a plate of pasta and drinks a cup of coffee right before each competition, but the key is in the music.

MEYERS: For each race, I have a certain song. And if I don't play that song in my head, I can't do the race. So last night I was listening to Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger." Singing in my head throughout the entire race.

DARLINGTON: Meyers was born with Usher syndrome which left her deaf at birth. She uses implants to hear, but now she's also losing her sight. So after Thursday's victory she sent this message to her seeing eye dog, who she had to leave behind in the United States.

"Birdie, mama won you a stuffed animal, a world record, and a gold medal. Thank you so much to everyone for your support."

In return, she received this picture, which will no doubt be inspiration as she gets ready for four more competitions through the weekend and into next week.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUGHAN JONES: Wonderful stuff. Congratulations to all of the paralympians currently in Rio.

Thank you very much for joining us. I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones. For viewers in the U.S., "NEW DAY" is just ahead. And for everyone else, "AMANPOUR" starts in just a moment.

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