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Suspicious Package Found in Elizabeth, New Jersey; Traffic Stop Connected to Bombing in Chelsea, NYC; Another Typhoon Headed to Japan; Militants Attack Army Base in Indian-Administered Kashmir; Samsung Trying to Recover from Worldwide Recall of Galaxy Note 7 Smartphones. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 19, 2016 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:18] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: Searching for a suspect, the investigation continues into the explosion in New York City, and the suspicious device that was found, and surveillance video that could help investigators learn more. A stabbing spree in Minnesota, the suspect claimed that he worked for ISIS, and now police considering it an act of terror. And a shaky ceasefire, the United States and Russia trying to mend relations over the war in Syria. But the question, will it be enough? From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN "BREAKING NEWS".

HOWELL: 1a.m. on the U.S. east coast. We continue follow the -- following the "BREAKING NEWS" from Saturday night's bombing in New York. The FBI and New York Police made a traffic stop Sunday night in this investigation. And we're learning more about another situation playing out right now in New Jersey. Let's go live to our CNN correspondent, Deborah Feyerick, following developments in New York. Deborah, it's good to have you with us. What more have you learned?

[01:01:28] DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there were a couple of incidents that are happening across of both Manhattan and also New Jersey. We're told now that the Mayor of New Jersey, Elizabeth, New Jersey, tweeted that federal state and local officials are on the scene of a suspicious package at a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Right now, they're saying there's no threat to public safety as the package is secured and also investigated. Another incident also happening near the northeast corridor and North Jersey Coastline Rail Service that has been suspended between Newark Liberty International Airport and Elizabeth Stations because the police activity in the Elizabeth, New Jersey area. So, you know, whenever you have incidents like what happened in New York City and also in New Jersey, obviously, everybody gets on a heightened state of alert. So, they take all calls seriously. The issue that happened earlier this afternoon at a bridge connecting Staten Island and New York, that the FBI put out a statement saying it was connected to what happened in Manhattan, but the others seem to be separate. There's nothing linking them to any of the incidents that happened, but it's all very early. This is all part of a larger investigation. And so, you've got a lot of authorities paying very close attention to any potential call that's made. But they're also doing a lot of investigative work, and some of this investigative work may be leading to tips that are causing them to take action and look more closely at what would ordinarily be normal, for example, vehicles.

HOWELL: Deb, just like what we saw, just 24 hours ago when we were covering, you know, the explosion and then the pressure cooker that was discovered, and then investigators thought that there was a third device. That's just because they were on that heightened alert, you know, sweeping the streets there of lower Manhattan. But it turned out to be just garbage, you know --

FEYERICK: Yeah.

HOWELL: -- but they're looking for everything as you rightly point out. What else can you tell us also, Deb, about this traffic stop that investigators have made?

FEYERICK: Well, what we can tell you is that this traffic stop, it happened about 8:45 this evening, the FBI and NYPD conducted what they call stop of a vehicle of interest to the investigation into Saturday's bombing in Manhattan. But they're not telling - they're not giving any other specifics. There's no indication, for example. And there's a reason for this, you know, the head of the FBI here in New York said they're really focused on operational security. They are making sure that nothing leaks that could potentially compromise this investigation in any serious way. There's already been some information that's been released. That is a cause of concern, obviously, because there are people who are at large. There's certainly one person who's at large, possibly more. And so, you never want to give anyone the heads-up as to what it is investigators are discovering.

But they did release a picture of that pressure cooker, and on that pressure cooker, there was a cell phone. And so, obviously, if you got a cell phone, you want to see if anybody called that cell phone possibly to detonate the device. And if so, officials can triangulate one phone to the other and get some good information, some good intelligence. So, you know, again, everything is being looked at, but they're really trying to be very careful. And you can see the device there. That's the one that did not explode. And George, let me tell you, the NYPD bomb squad, they were able to render that safe this afternoon. So, now, that is in Quantico. It's going to be analyzed very, very closely because there might be some sort of DNA on that device and may be a fingerprint. It may be a hair. It may be something that will give information as to who made that device. And if that person is in a system, some sort of a government database, well, that could be very helpful information. But they're looking at it very closely.

HOWELL: Deb, and you set me up for the next thing. I want to talk to our guest about it, but the simple fact that when, you know, people set these devices out, you know, a lot of times they're not thinking about the fact that, yes, fingerprints are left over, especially if that device doesn't detonate. Deborah Feyerick, live for us at New York. Deborah Feyerick, we'll stay in touch with you throughout the night as you continue to follow the work of these investigators. Let's now bring in our Steve Moore, contributing with us, law enforcement contributor. He is a retired supervisory special agent with the FBI live via Skype in Los Angeles. I want to talk about that, and I heard you speaking with my colleague, Natalie Allen earlier about it. But the simple fact they have this device that did not detonate. And now, investigators will be able to glean some information from it, Steve.

[01:06:10] STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it will. When you're putting a bomb or an IED together, you're not going to spend a lot of time worrying about whether you leave fingerprints on it or whether you've touched the phone that you're taping to the device, because you think it's going to be blown into itty bitty little pieces. And when it's not, that information becomes available to the FBI and the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force. The other thing is, it's got a cell phone on it. And if - and if that cell phone was on and part of a system, meaning that it was pinging cells, you can track it back for two weeks and find out where it spends its nights. So, that cell phone is a gold mine.

HOWELL: Also, I want to talk about the fact that -- and again, this is unrelated, but these officers, these investigators have found a situation in New Jersey that they're looking into. What do you make of that? We understand that they're looking for everything right now at this heightened sense of alert.

MOORE: Well, it - we won't know obviously for a little while, George, and you're right to ask the question. It could be just an abundance of caution. This looks suspicious and we should be checking these things out. But I don't know right now whether I put much credence in it. I think this group wanted to attack New York. It's certainly possible, I mean, they hit New Jersey, I believe, before the - before the Marine Corps Charity Run. So, it could be something I wouldn't put a lot of stock in it right now.

HOWELL: Fair enough. I want to talk about this traffic stop. Keeping in mind, it's important to point out to viewers, no one has been charged with anything, but this traffic stop that has been made in connection with what happened in New York. Obviously, as you pointed out, you know, investigators can determine fingerprint information from, you know, things that didn't detonate, things that were left over. So, tell us where we are with that.

MOORE: Well, the FBI doesn't patrol, you know, they - the Joint Terrorism Task Force isn't out looking for people randomly. That was a targeted traffic stop. And the fact that they did it on a bridge is interesting to me. That lowers the risk of anybody getting out and running, because there's not very far to run. So, I think it was calculated. I think the stop on the bridge was calculated, because you're not going to do that because it's -- unless you have to because it's going to jam traffic up, and that's not a good thing. The fact that the people in the car, there were five in the car, that's interesting. And now, they're all at FBI headquarters, that's interesting, too. They may not be under arrest, they may not even be under investigative detention, but they are being questioned. HOWELL: I want you to help me to square the circle, because a lot of people are asking this question. There's confusion about the simple word, "terrorism." We know that the Governor of New York has, you know, come out to say this is terrorism, but at the same time, the mayor has indicated that there's no nexus to international terrorism. At the same time, the city not looking at this as terrorism.

MOORE: That's a great question, George. And I believe the fact that the Joint Terrorism Task Force is still working on it probably indicates where this is going to go. However, you - you're correct. There are many different kinds of terrorism. You could have a domestic terrorist. You could have somebody who's a white supremacist. You could have some independence group from the -- from Puerto Rico. I mean, I'm not saying that that's likely, but there are many different types of terrorism. It doesn't have to mean Islamic terrorism, ISIS, something like that.

HOWELL: Steve Moore live for us in Los Angeles. Steve, we appreciate your insight. We'll stay in touch with you. I'm sure plenty of questions ahead as we seem to be starting a busy night with investigators on the job. Thank you.

MOORE: Uh-hmm.

HOWELL: Less than an hour before Saturday's explosion in New York, a man with a knife wounded at least nine people. This happened at a shopping mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota. A media agency affiliated with ISIS, claimed the attacker was a soldier of the Islamic State. CNN cannot independently confirm that information. The FBI is investigating that stabbing as a potential act of terror. And police say that the current evidence points to a lone wolf attack. The city's mayor praised the off-duty police officer who shot and killed that attacker. Listen.

DAVID KLEIS, MAYOR OF ST. CLOUD: He clearly prevented additional injuries and potentially, loss of life. His heroic actions are exemplary. Having witnessed what he did, as the suspect was lunging at him with a knife, not only did he fire, the suspect went down. He came back up on three different occasions.

HOWELL: Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, we are following other news around the world. People in Syria, desperately waiting food, medicine, supplies in a week-old ceasefire. Why the United States and Russia are blaming each other? Plus, how home cooking became a recipe for success in Cairo's little Damascus. Stay with us.

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[01:03:55] KATE RILEY, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley with you CNN "WORLDSPORT" headlines. The honeymoon is over for Jose Mourinho, the so-called special one. Manchester United have lost their last three games within a space of a week. The latest was a 3-1 loss to Watford in the English Premiere League on Sunday. The Red Devils gave the ball away allowing Watford to take the lead at halftime. Despite Marcus Rashford's goal, just after the hour, United walked away from the match with their heads down. South Korea's Ingee Chun led all four rounds before winning the Evian Championship, and posted a new record score in the process. The 22-year-old was 19 under after three rounds, that was a best ever 54-hole score in a women's major. And by the end of the tournament, she'd increased it to 21 under. Chun gathered the final round score of 69, making this tournament her second major title after winning the U.S. Open last year. And Argentina pinned their hopes on Leonardo Mayer to take on Dan Evans in the Davis Cup on Sunday. The 29-year-old leg replacement for Juan Martin del Potro didn't buckle under the pressure. He rose above it, and took the match. Argentina knocked Great Britain out of the race and will go into the finals for the fifth time. And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

[01:15:42] HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN. Following the "BREAKING NEWS" here this hour, first in the bombing situation in New York, the investigation there. The FBI says that agents and police made traffic stop on Sunday night in relation to that Saturday attack. We're told that five people were stopped. No one, though, has been arrested or charged with anything, as of yet. We continue to follow details on that. Also, investigators say that a man was seen in surveillance video at the site of Saturday's explosion, and near where police found this pressure cooker. That was discovered just four blocks away. They say that it was rigged with, as you see there, wires, it had duct tape on it, and what appeared to be a cell phone, but it did not explode. We're also following a separate situation. Another development in New Jersey, the mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey, says that police have detonated a device that was found at a train station. We don't know what that device was, or if it would have been connected to Saturday's bombing in New York or New Jersey. But for now, trains are shut down at that station. Other news that we're following around the world, a week after a ceasefire began in Syria, doubts are growing, that the United States and Russia can cooperate in the fight against ISIS. Our Senior International Correspondent, Matthew Chance looks at the growing divide now, between Moscow and Washington.

[01:17:04] MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Russia says the U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor, which killed so many Syrian government troops, has endangered an already shaky ceasefire. U.S. and Russian diplomats have been trading barbs over the incident with the latest salvo from Moscow, accusing the United States not only of defending ISIS, but also of engaging in a, "Bloody experiment in Syria aimed at regime change." Even before the airstrike, which Russia says, hit Syrian forces, as they were battling Islamic State Fighters, tensions in the truce were already starting to show with both sides accusing one another of failing to meet their commitments. U.S. officials criticizing Moscow for failing to ensure its ally, the Syrian government, they've withdrawn from a key road into rebel-held Eastern Aleppo. Humanitarian convoy is unable to set off from across the borders in Turkey until that road is open, safe and clear. And Russian Defense officials say dozens of rebel attacks have taken place since the truce was announced, despite a promise by Washington to rein in Anti-Syrian Government Fighters. All this, during what was meant to be a trust-building phase, instead, it illustrated just how little trust there is between the warring sides in this Syrian conflict. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

HOWELL: Matthew, thank you. As Matthew mentioned, food and medicine for Syrians trapped by the war is still stalled at the border with Turkey. The United Nations has been waiting more than a week now to get security guarantees from the Syrian government before it sends trucks into Aleppo. America's top diplomat says that Russia is dragging its feet on that, and other obligations that are part of that ceasefire agreement. Listen.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The opposition feels threatened because the bombs continue, even as there's supposed to be a Cessation of Hostility. So let me just say this clearly, Russia signed up to a Cessation of Hostilities. Assad said he would live by it. Then he needs to stop and let the Joint Implementation Center get set up so Russia and the United States can coordinate in order to avoid the kind of terrible thing that happened yesterday, which we all acknowledge and regret.

HOWELL: In the meantime, in Aleppo, airstrikes killed at least one person, Sunday. It is the first time the city has been bombed since the ceasefire began last Monday. CNN's Fred Pleitgen looks at how people there, are carrying on with their lives, amid the ruins.

[01:19:44] FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Driving through a battered city, the ceasefire is barely holding in Aleppo. Breaches becoming more frequent. Still, the residents are cleaning up, even the youngest. Ali is 12 years old. He and his siblings, among the many displaced, now finding shelter in a bombed out hospital. "We have to keep working until we totally clear this room and the room next door," he says," because this is going to be our new home." As calm prevails, at least most of the time, the Syrian government is moving an increasing number of displaced people into the bombed out ruins of former front line districts. These families forced to move several times. The baby Abdul Malik born in a tent. "We've lost three homes," his grandmother says. "Every one got destroyed. Now, we're displaced. If we had the money, we would flee."

Despite the fact that the ceasefire is very fragile, the people here aren't wasting any time. They're getting to work, picking up the pieces, hoping that against all odds, the truce may hold.

And while few are optimistic about the chances, some, like Hussan Masri, also displaced several times, say even the current tenuous ceasefire is a blessing. "The ceasefire is good so far," he says. "I've been here a few days and the situation is better. We can hear some shelling, but it's much less than before." As the warring factions and their back are struggled to keep the truce alive, Aleppo's people like 12-year-old Ali, hope the hard work they're putting in will not be wasted again. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Aleppo.

HOWELL: Fred Pleitgen reporting there for us. Almost 5 million Syrians have fled their country since that war began. Many have now fled to Egypt. Our Ian Lee looks at how a group of refugee women are building new lives for themselves in Cairo's little Damascus. [01:21:58] IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The secret to good Syrian cuisine is care and variety. That according to Lina Kassah, a bit of a top chef. Her family encouraged her to share her culinary prowess. Her chance came unexpectedly. "We left Syria because our house was destroyed, and there was no school for my children," says the mother of three. Lina landed in a kitchen in Cairo along with six other Syrian refugee women. Their catering service is called Zeit Zeitoun "olive oil" in Arabic. Now, wafting aromas of home fill this community center. On the menu, classical Syrian dishes like stuffed grape leaves, kebba, and sambosek. The women don't always see eye to eye over recipes, but consistency is key.

Pomegranate is a crucial signature ingredient in Syrian food. It gives it that perfect combination of sweet and sour. It also gives the food its darker color.

The end result, delicious. But it goes deeper than that. "When we cook, we bring the memories of the mothers and grandmothers to every boy, girl and family who tastes our food. And we continue the legacy," she says. Tamara Al-Rifai founded Zeit Zeitoun. She, too, a Syrian, but a long-time Cairo resident. She turned her love of cooking into a passion of helping others.

TAMARA AL-RIFAI, SYRIAN LIVING IN CAIRO: And I always thought that you don't truly empower people unless you give them a source of income. It gives people back some of their dignity. It makes people less insecure about saying, they're refugees.

LEE: Egypt is home to roughly 115,000 Syrian refugees. Cairo's "Little Damascus" also offers flavors of home, even specific, like Aleppo-style chicken. Typically, only men work in these restaurants, but Zeit Zeitoun is special, and that it only hires women. "We have families working with us here that don't have a male breadwinner. The women depend on themselves to support their families," she says. If Zeit Zeitoun succeeds, more women will be hired. But success won't only be measured in just food and money.

AL-RIFAI: The cuisine, the kitchen, the love of food and the centrality of food in any Syrian home is extremely important for us now when we feel that everything else is dividing us.

LEE: Ian Lee, CNN, Cairo.

HOWELL: Ian, thank you. Syria certainly will be top of mind at the U.N. General Assembly set to begin this week in New York, one of the biggest diplomatic events of the world. CNN's Senior U.N. Correspondent, Richard Roth tells us what we can expect.

[01:24:57] RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Once again, the world gathers in New York at the United Nations at a time the globe feels like it's up in the air and in a state of upheaval. From presidents to prime ministers, political heavyweights come together this week for the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

STEPHANE DUJARRIC, UNITED NATIONS SPOKESMAN: It's The World Cup of Diplomacy. It's the Oscars of Diplomacy. It's also an interesting fashion week.

ROTH: The speeches inside the general assembly hall get rolling Tuesday morning. Brazilian President Michel Temer, who took over after Dilma Rousseff's impeachment will kick off. By U.N. tradition, Brazil is always the first country to speak. The host nation, the U.S., follows. President Barack Obama will likely reflect on what was and was not achieved during his white House term. It's the eighth and final general assembly speech for the U.S. President. It's also a farewell for the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon after 10 years of service.

BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: This year's high level week at the United Nations comes at a critical of time.

ROTH: You could expect to hear a lot about several key global issues, including Europe's ongoing refugee crisis, the war in Syria, and North Korea's nuclear tests. Among the other highlights, we'll hear from President Erdogan of Turkey following the failed coup attempt in his country in July. President Rouhani of Iran is scheduled to give his address on Thursday, followed just three speakers later by Israel. This year's notable newbies include British Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With some high-profile no-shows; including Raul Castro of Cuba, Bashir Assad of Syria and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Don't expect to see U.S. Presidential Candidates Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton on U.N. grounds. Although, it's possible either could appear with a world leader for a sit-down at a nearby New York hotel. The U.N. again, reminding visitors of the need for peace. Unfortunately, some of the U.N.'s own member countries are unable to live up to that global goal. Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

HOWELL: We continue with the "BREAKING NEWS" we're following. A traffic stop made in connection with the explosion in New York just the other day. CNN continues after this.

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[01:30:36] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We continue following the breaking news out of New York. I'm George Howell.

The FBI says that its agents and police made a traffic stop Sunday night in the bombing investigation in the Chelsea neighborhood. No one has been arrested or charged as of this point.

Also investigators say they're looking for a man seen in surveillance video at the site of Saturday's explosion and near where police found this, a pressure cooker that was discovered just four blocks away.

We're also monitoring news of a suspicious package found in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

That is where Rachel Crane is live and joins us with the very latest.

Rachel, what more do you know?

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, I just spoke with the mayor of Elizabeth who described what has happened here. He said that two men found a backpack in a trash can close to the train station here. They looked inside that backpack thinking they were going to find something perhaps valuable. That's when they saw something suspicious. What he described as multiple devices. They then dropped the backpack, went around the corner to a nearby police station where they notified the authorities of what they found. That's when police went to the backpack, agreed there was something suspicious in there. And now the local authorities responded as well as the FBI. The mayor also told us they were up to five devices found in that backpack. He said that there was no timer on those devices, no cell phone on those devices. He also pointed out this is the perfect example of if you see something, say something because it is -- because of those two individuals finding this backpack going to the police that they were able to respond. He also pointed out that one of those devices in the backpack was detonated. He said that was by accident that one of the robots was trying to cut one of the wires and that's when one of those devices went off. Now all the streets in the surrounding area have been closed down. The northeast corridor closed down between Newark, liberty.

HOWELL: Is there a sense given what happened is there a sense that, you know, there could be further investigations to determine if there's anything else out there to discover?

CRANE: Well, George, of course, New York and the surrounding area and here in New Jersey, serve on heightened alert because of what's happened recently. But it's too early to speculate whether or not this incident here in Elizabeth is connected to any of the other incidents in seaside and in New York City.

HOWELL: Rachel, give us a sense also, this has been a busy night for sure. What have you hear from people? Have you had a chance to talk to people just given the new news you've discovered there? People who live in that neighborhood, the sense they're feeling?

CRANE: George, we -- we just got here moments ago. The first thing we did is speak to the mayor. It's Sunday evening. This has been a relatively quiet night. That trash can, where the backpack was located, he pointed out is close to a local pub. But he said it's not heavily trafficked this evening because it is late on a Sunday night. So as I pointed out, we've only had a chance to speak with the mayor at this point but he did say this is something no mayor wants to have to deal with. That this is obviously very trying times. And that the city of Elizabeth is on alert. They did a secondary search of the surrounding area to make sure there were no other additional devices. And he said that that sweep turned out negative and that it has been fulfilled. That there was nothing else suspicious found other than this backpack with multiple devices, up to five devices -- George?

HOWELL: We know you and your team have been moving quickly to get this information and to get it to air for us. We also want to ask you, just make it very clear to our viewers this situation he there's no connection at this point to the situation in New York, correct?

CRANE: No, there is absolutely no connection between this incident here in Elizabeth and the incident we saw yesterday in New York City. It's far too early in this investigation to begin to speculate about that. Right now, we're just dealing with the situation here in Elizabeth. Once again, far too early in this investigation to speculate of any connections -- George?

[01:35:15] HOWELL: Your reporting very precise there. If you see something, say something, that bringing new information for these investigators tonight.

Rachel Crane on the spot in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Thank you for your reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.

This is CNN breaking news coverage. We will continue with more on the investigation that we're learning from New York, a traffic stop connected to the bombing in Chelsea in lower Manhattan. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: You're watching CNN. Following the breaking news into the investigation in the bombing in New York City Saturday night. The FBI made a traffic stop with police on Sunday. The traffic stop of a vehicle of interest in that case. It happened on a bridge we understand. As of now, we're told there are no arrests, there are no charges and that the investigation is ongoing.

There may be another clue as well. Investigators telling CNN that a man was seen in surveillance video at the site of that explosion and near where police found this. A pressure cooker discovered four blocks away. It's got wires, duct tape on it, what appears to be a cell phone, but that device did not explode.

Also following another separate situation in New Jersey, Elizabeth, New Jersey. Police there detonated a suspicious package that was discovered in a waste basket. The mayor of Elizabeth says the men who found it saw wires and a type and then contacted authorities. It's that old saying, if you see something, say something. They did it. Now investigators and state police are looking into it.

Across the world, in Japan now, that nation is on alert with another powerful typhoon headed toward the region.

Our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is at the World Weather Center following that -- Pedram?

[01:40:07] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, George. Great seeing you.

This is such a series of events set up across Japan. See some of these images from recent weeks. Multiple typhoons have made landfall. When you look at what's happened since the 5th of August, now we're looking at our sixth tropical disturbance to make landfall across portions of Japan. This is an area that's accustomed to getting tropical weather this time of year, but this is among the most active we've seen it in about a decade. Climatologically speaking, this is the time across September into October you still have an active pattern in the tropical world across this region. We're watching these storms one after another come through. And this particular Typhoon Malakas is equivalent to a category 3. This would be a major hurricane if placed in the Atlantic Ocean. See the area in yellow. That's tropical storm force winds. A blustery setup even after it progresses through parts of southern and central Japan over the next couple of days. Gets to Tokyo as a weak disturbance. A lot of rainfall in store and gusty weather in store as well. Literally, almost all of the nation gets covered with heavy rainfall over the next several days. The forecast looks something like this. And the temperatures in motion there. Lower 20s Celsius. That's around 70 to 75 Fahrenheit. The theme there, rainfall after rainfall after rainfall, as we approach the first day of autumn on Thursday across the northern hemisphere.

Also watching Tropical Storm Paine. More of a nuisance than a pain when you follow what it's forecast to do. Parallels the Baja coast of California and pushes northward into the northern tip of the Baja, and southern California, parts of Arizona. It will bring in tropical moisture, potentially on the final day of this summer season. We'll take anything we can as we approach areas here where you haven't seen some rainfall in recent years.

HOWELL: And it's warm over there.

JAVAHERI: It is. This will bring it down.

HOWELL: Pedram Javaheri, thank you.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

HOWELL: 17 soldiers were killed when militants attacked an army base in Indian-administered Kashmir on Sunday. Four militants also died near the India/Pakistan border. There was one air strike there -- it was considered one of the worst strikes on security forces in that disputed region in almost three decades.

To talk more about this, let's bring in Ravi Agrawal, in our New Delhi bureau chief.

Ravi, what more do you know?

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, George. This attack took place Sunday morning. And let me tell you more about the place where it took place. It happened in a town right on the -- what is known as the line of control, which is a line that divides Kashmir into Indian Kashmir and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. This town in particular has been fairly peaceful over the last decade. But early on Sunday morning, four militants snuck up to the Army base. They attacked directly on the Army headquarters with AK-47s and grenades. The Indian army says about 17 of their soldiers were killed. The death toll may even rise because about seven others are in a critical condition right now. New Delhi has wasted no time in responding with some very tough statements so far. India's home minister. Essentially the number two person in the Indian government took to Twitter on Sunday to say Pakistan is a terrorist state and should be identified and isolated as such. Very tough words from him. His tweet came as a top Indian army official said at a press conference in New Delhi that he had found what he called Pakistani markings on the gear of some of the militants round dead. Very tough words from India already. And Pakistan has also responded to those words saying that it thinks that India's claims are completely baseless. Also called them irresponsible and said that this is not the time to be making comments like that. The reason this is all so much more serious from a global sense, of course is India and Pakistan are nuclear states. The state of Kashmir has been fought over for many decades now, and it also comes right as leaders from Pakistan and India are in New York for the United Nations.

HOWELL: Let's talk about the Sunday incident. This comes at a time of real unrest in the Indian state of Kashmir.

[01:45:02] AGRAWAL: That's right, George. Entirely unrelated to Sunday's attack, you could say, is the fact that the Indian side of Kashmir has seen unrest now for well over two months. And this unrest stemmed from the fact that in July, a commander of a militant outfit known as Hezbollah Mujahidin, a very young man of just 22, he was killed by the Indian Army in an operation described by the Indian army as one of great importance for the Indian state. Almost celebrated by the Indian side. It was met by protests in Kashmir who were very upset at the killing. They supported or sympathized with the person killed. And that led to about two months of protests in the state of Kashmir, George. Those protests have seen about 85 protesters killed. The Indian army has faced a fair bit of flack for that because to disperse the protest, it's been shooting pellets into the crowd. It's also blinded several hundred of these protesters in Kashmir. This comes amid increased tensions in Kashmir and I should contextualize this by saying it comes many, many years after relative peace in the state of Kashmir. Very worrying signs for India, Pakistan and the world.

HOWELL: Ravi Agrawal, live for us in New Delhi. Ravi, we appreciate your reporting. We'll stay in touch with you. This is certainly a tense situation.

After frightening videos began surfacing online, one of its flagship phones catching fire, Samsung is trying to turn a corner in its massive worldwide recall of Galaxy Note 7 Smartphones.

Paula Hancocks joins us live from Seoul following this story.

Paula, how is the company working with its customers?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George, certainly a big week for Samsung here in South Korea. This is the first day customers can come in to one of these shops and exchange their old device for a new one. We're in the business district of Seoul. You'd expect it to be fairly busy. It's 3:00 in the afternoon and so far they've only exchanged three phones. We're not exactly seeing a rush on at this point. There are many different places around South Korea that people can come and exchange these phones. What we have been seeing is one man came in this morning and was unable to change his phone because he had to go to the place where he bought it from. Another woman unable to change her phone because she bought it online and has to send it back to where she bought it from. We spoke to both those people and they said while they were inconvenienced by what happened with this Galaxy Note 7, it hadn't actually shaken their loyalty in Samsung. And neither one of them thought they were going to go to another brand in the future. That's an interesting point we'll probably see here in South Korea, the home of Samsung. It will be interesting what the case is, though, around the world. This week you have the United States also carrying out the exchange. Also many countries in Europe carrying out their exchange. So it will be interesting to see whether or not that loyalty extends beyond the birthplace of Samsung.

HOWELL: Is there a sense, though, just given this situation, this phone can catch fire, is there a sense Samsung is moving aggressively and proactively to make sure customers are done well. Get what they need?

HANCOCKS: Well, certainly this is what Samsung is hoping. They say they've done things very quickly as soon as they realized there's a problem. They tried to rectify it. Some analysts say they have been transparent in many ways. Then you have many customers who are simply not happy with the way things have happened. They believe it wasn't quick enough, there was the global recall with the exception of much of China announced and then afterwards they had to wait and find out when they would be able to exchange their phones. And one of the customers said he was concerned only after authorities in the United States said you should not power up or charge your Samsung phone on a flight n that was extended to buses, trains, public transport, and that's when he started to be concerned.

It's a P.R. disaster for Samsung. Is not what any big company wants. What Samsung is hoping here in South Korea is that they have sent these phones back to 400,000 so far. They say it's just the first few weeks it was available, and usually those are the diehard Samsung fans that want the phone that quickly. They're desperate to have the phone that quickly. They are hoping in that respect those that have this faulty phone will remain loyal to the brand. Of course, they don't know. You have to wait and see what future sales will look like.

[01:50:04] HOWELL: That will be telling for sure.

Paula Hancocks live in Seoul. Thank you for your reporting there.

This is CNN. We continue following the breaking news of this investigation after the explosion that happened in Chelsea in lower Manhattan. We learned more about the traffic stop that was made in New York and also a separate situation in New Jersey. Details after the break. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN. The latest on the investigation since that explosion in New York City Saturday night.

But in a separate incident tonight, we have updates on a suspicious device, several, that were found in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The city's mayor says there were up to five devices discovered in a backpack inside a waste basket near some train tracks. We're told no cell phones or electronic timing devices were found on or near the devices. The FBI and police are on the scene there. And the train service in that area has been affected as this investigation continues.

In the meantime, in New York City, the FBI and NYPD conducted a traffic stop Sunday night of a vehicle of interest that may be connected to this blast.

CNN producer, Shimon Prokupecz, has more for us.

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[01:55:14] SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN PRODUCER: There have not been any arrests in this incident. Five people were stopped. It was a traffic stop along the Verrazano Bridge, I believe, more on the Brooklyn side. We've been told that no arrests. The FBI hassle to us no arrests have been made. They've questioned some people, what their role is, what their involvement is. It's unclear. And the FBI is not telling us, which is understandable because they're still trying to figure out what happened here. Who was involved? If there was more than one person involved. Is there anything more, something bigger? Is there something else going on? So they're sort of running down leads. This could be one of those leads they intercepted, and they wanted to question some folks and they pulled them over. And so they've been questioned. But they stressed to us no arrests have been made.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: No one has been taken into custody. They've been questioned. Do we know whether they've been let go at this point, or are they still being queried by police?

PROKUPECZ: That's a good question. We don't know if they've been released or where they are. The NYPD has told us that they assisted in the traffic stop and that the individuals were taken to the FBI offices in Manhattan but the FBI is not confirming that for us. So that's all we really know at this point. We don't know why they were stopped, what their role was, if they had any role, or this was just a precaution, the FBI wanted to talk to them.

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HOWELL: That's the latest this hour. Stay with us. More news continues as our breaking news coverage returns after the break.

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