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Rahami's Father Says He Warned FBI; U.S.: Russia Responsible For Convoy Strike; Trump On African-American Communities; Angry Protesters After Police Shoot Armed Man; George H.W. Bush To Vote For Clinton; Clinton and Trump Prepare For First Debate Monday; President Obama Makes Final Address To United Nations; Egyptian President On Trump's Muslim Ban; Angelina Jolie Files For Divorce From Brad Pitt. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 21, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:11] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, the father of the alleged New York bomber says he warned the FBI about his son two years ago, but nothing was done.
The U.S. blames Russia after warplanes bombed an aid convoy in Syria. Moscow says terrorists carried out the attack. And later, the breakup that blindsided Hollywood. "Brangelina" is now "Brex-pitt." Everybody, great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. Another hour of NEWSROOM L.A. starts now.
Ahmad Rahami is now facing federal charges, which include using a weapon of mass destruction. But there are still questions about his motive for allegedly planting bombs in New York and New Jersey. Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
[01:01:11] DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two years before allegedly detonating a bomb in Manhattan, Ahmad Khan Rahami came to the attention of the FBI in New Jersey. In 2014, agents interviewed Rahami's father Mohammad, following a domestic dispute in which he allegedly called his son a terrorist.
Why did you call the FBI two years ago? What happened?
MOHAMMAD RAHAMI, FATHER OF AHMAD RAHAMI: Because he doing bad.
FEYERICK: He doing bad? What did he do bad?
RAHAMI: Yeah. He struck my son. He hit my wife. And I put him to jail two years ago.
FEYERICK: At the time, Rahami had just returned from a year-long trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Officials tell CNN, FBI agents did not interview Rahami after conducting internal database reviews, interagency checks and multiple interviews. The FBI ultimately concluded it was a family dispute.
WILLIAM SWEENEY, JR, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE: We had a report of a domestic incident some time ago. That was the - the allegations were recanted. And I don't have any other information. We'll keep digging.
FEYERICK: However, because of his repeated trips to areas associated with terrorists, when Rahami returned to the U.S. in 2014, customs and border patrol agents pulled him aside for extra screening. A law enforcement official telling CNN that information was sent to the FBI before the family dispute. While the FBI so far does not believe Rahami was part of a terror cell in the New York-New Jersey area, investigators are digging on Rahami's connections in the U.S. and overseas to determine if he had any help.
JAMES O'NEILL, NYPD CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT: Moving forward, we have to identify everybody involved. And see what their backgrounds are, see where they've been, see what they've been up to.
FEYERICK: Rahami allegedly built at least 10 bombs, 8 pipe bombs and 2 pressure cooker bombs. A federal law enforcement source tells CNN Rahami used a highly volatile chemical explosive easy to make at home. The material is so powerful, it could create an even bigger blast than the one caused by the Boston bombers. Tonight, investigators are learning more about what could have inspired Rahami. After a shoot- out with police, investigators discovered he had a notebook on him with a bullet hole. According to a law enforcement official, it referenced the Boston Marathon bombers and American-born Al-Qaeda cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki killed in Yemen by a U.S. drone strike.
Rahami's wife is already cooperating and she's already spoken to U.S. authorities. She could provide crucial information as to her husband's travels throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan to areas that authorities call high risk. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
VAUSE: Joining us now, Bobby Chacon a former FBI special agent. So, Bobby, we're getting word now that he essentially bought these components for all of these bombs on eBay.
[01:04:00] BOBBY CHACON, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Sure.
VAUSE: It's, what, it's as simple as that?
CHACON: It actually is as simple as that. And eBay is a third-party vendor. So, the vendors are actually isolated from eBay. EBay facilitates the transactions, so yeah, it is as easy as that.
VAUSE: OK. One of the other issues that we're looking at is video from one of the relative's phones apparently of Rahami blowing something up in his backyard. It's from a relative's phone, there's laughter on the tape. You can hear the explosion. That would indicate that obviously someone had some idea that something was going on, right? This happened two days before the attack.
CHACON: Yeah, it was only two days before the attack, too.
VAUSE: Yeah.
CHACON: So, sometimes in these family situations, people tend to dismiss things like this, or they think it's - you know, he's playing with fireworks or things like that. So, it might take some time for people to put things together like that. And sometimes family members just don't want to do that because this is not, you know, he wasn't blowing up a bomb. He was lighting off what looked like -- could look like fireworks.
VAUSE: But, you know, people blow up stuff all the time if you go to the internet.
CHACON: Sure.
VAUSE: So, that in itself wouldn't be a red flag, but if you put it with all the other stuff that's going on -
CHACON: If you put nobody was putting it all together.
VAUSE: Right. And that's the problem.
CHACON: And that's the issue.
VAUSE: OK. The situation that his wife, Rahami's wife currently being questioned by the FBI. She is in the UAE. We should stress that she's not accused of any wrongdoing at this point. She's cooperating with investigators. Typically, though, a spouse in a situation like this. How much information can investigators get from her?
CHACON: Well, they can get a ton of information if they're willing to give it, right? So, she - you know, the thing that we need to see is where he was putting these bombs together. Usually, that's a very securely location like their own home oftentimes, like we saw in San Bernardino. So, I think that the wife could be a valuable source of information.
VAUSE: Is it possible she knew nothing about this?
CHACON: It's also possible that. If he chose and if he had co- conspirators that they have another location other than - other than the home that was secure enough for them to be doing this, then he might have isolated the wife from it. It goes one way or the other.
VAUSE: OK. The timeline is interesting. Blowing up stuff in the backyard two days before the attacks. A couple of days before the attacks, the wife heads off overseas. And again, we're looking back in time here with 20/20 hindsight. But is that of a concern that the wife heads overseas a couple of days before he leaves these bombs?
CHACON: I don't - I don't think so. I think actually she was scheduled to come back this week.
VAUSE: Right.
CHACON: So there was a return ticket, and there was - it looked like there were plans to come back. So, you know, I wouldn't put too much importance on her leaving just before. I mean, it could -- it could be, investigatively, they could find and they probably know by now whether or not that's important, but, you know, I wouldn't automatically assume that. VAUSE: Also putting importance of what the father had said,
apparently two years ago, he said to investigators, "My son is a terrorist." It was all part of the family dispute. The FBI looked into it, and didn't go any further.
CHACON: They did a bunch of interviews. They had known prior to that that he had travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and then come back. So, they probably were aware and probably did more interviews than necessary, or more interviews than they would normally have done. But they ultimately determined this is a domestic dispute. He stabbed his brother. The father recanted some of what he had originally said.
VAUSE: Right.
CHACON: And they closed the case on that.
VAUSE: Last question on here. Anwar al-Awlaki, the American cleric who was in Yemen with Al-Qaeda before he was killed in a drone strike in 2011, apparently, he was referenced in this notebook that Rahami had. He was also notable for the influence he had over the Boston bombers, the San Bernardino bomber, the Orlando nightclub shooter. Why is this guy so influential even though he was killed five years ago?
CHACON: Well, it's his legacy that he left, right? He left a very powerful legacy. And the things that he said while he was alive about martyrdom and about and attacking the infidels where they live lives on. And that's the legacy of al-Awlaki.
VAUSE: All that stuff lives on in the internet?
CHACON: Sure, sure.
VAUSE: OK. Bobby, good to speak with you. Thank you.
CHACON: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Appreciate it. And there are calls for Ahmad Rahami to be tried as an enemy combatant, but as a naturalized U.S. citizen, he's entitled to due process of a criminal court trial. Randi Kaye reports on a home-grown terror threat from second generation Americans.
[01:08:10] RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: June 2016, Orlando's Pulse nightclub under attack. 49 people are killed. But the shooter isn't a foreigner connected to Al-Qaeda or ISIS, he's an American citizen.
MIGUEL LEIVA, PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I just remember, like, you can smell, like, the blood. There was so much blood. There was like - you can just smell it.
KAYE: The night club shooter's parents moved to the U.S. from Afghanistan. He was born in New York. As a child, he went to slumber parties and basketball games. He was 29, married, and living in Fort Pierce at the time of the attack.
After 9/11, U.S. intelligence mainly focused on foreign-born threats. But it turns out in the last 15 years, every deadly terrorist attack in this country was carried out by an American citizen or a legal permanent resident. The terrorist was either a lone wolf or worked in pairs, but never part of a larger cell. December 2015, San Bernardino, California. 14 shot dead, dozens more injured, during a terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspects, when they entered, fired somewhere between 65 and 75 rounds from their rifles at the scene.
KAYE: The attackers were a husband and wife. He brought her to the U.S. in 2014 on a fiancee VISA. At the time of the attack, she had a temporary green card. The husband was born in Chicago to Pakistani immigrants. He attended Cal State San Bernardino before taking a job with the county. Investigators believe the couple was self- radicalized. April 2013. Bombs explode at the Boston Marathon, killing three, injuring more than 260. The attackers in this case, two brothers, one a naturalized citizen and his older brother had a green card. The family emigrated to Boston in 2002 from a region of Russia. While the older brother grew up more troubled, his younger brother was a sophomore at UMass Dartmouth, where he spent his time skateboarding, smoking marijuana, and chasing girls, hardly the profile of a terrorist. November 2009, Fort Hood, Texas. A shooting rampage kills 13. The gunman, an army psychiatrist who was born and raised in Virginia, earning a degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech in 1995. Despite the fact he exchanged messages with an American radical cleric in Yemen, the shooter was not officially linked to any terrorist group.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was an ordinary peace-loving American citizen.
KAYE: He along with the Orlando shooter and one of the Boston bombers had all been on the FBI'S radar. But in the end, no action was taken against any of them. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
VAUSE: Well, next here on NEWSROOM L.A., violent protests erupt in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the police shooting of an armed black man.
And Donald Trump reaching out to African-American voters as only Donald Trump can.
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You get no education, you get no jobs, you get shot walking down the street. There are worse - I mean, honestly, places like Afghanistan are safer than some of our inner cities.
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[01:15:31] VAUSE: To Charlotte, North Carolina now, a protest have broken out after police shot and killed an armed black man. About a dozen officers have been injured. Police say they were trying to serve a warrant on Tuesday, when they killed Keith Lamont Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex. They say Scott had a gun, but he was not the man they were looking for. And another police shooting in the U.S. is sparking outrage, this one in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On Tuesday, crowds gathered to protest the death of Terrence Crutcher, an unarmed black man shot and killed by a white police officer on Friday night. Oklahoma authorities have released video which shows Crutcher with his hands in the air. The officer's attorney says she opened fire because she thought Crutcher was retrieving a weapon from his car.
The first U.S. Presidential Debate is just days away. And with polls showing a tight race, the stakes are high. Hillary Clinton is taking time off from campaigning to prepare, while Donald Trump is doing what Donald Trump does. He's on the attack. Jim Acosta has details.
[01:16:38] JIM ACOSTA, CNN, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Less than 50 days until Election Day in a bareknuckle, fight to the finish is on. The latest round on keeping Americans safe.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton talks tougher about my supporters than she does about Islamic terrorists.
ACOSTA: Donald Trump is once again questioning whether Hillary Clinton can go the distance, poking fun at her recent bout with pneumonia and showing off his busy campaign schedule, saying in a tweet, "Hillary Clinton is taking the day off again. She needs to rest. Sleep well, Hillary. See you at the debate." Clinton isn't exactly napping. She's prepping for their first debate and making it clear she knows what's coming.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can take that kind of stuff. I've been at this and, you know, I understand it's a contact sport. But I'm not going to take what he says about everybody else. You know, his attacks on African-Americans and immigrants and Muslims and women, and people with disabilities.
STEVE HARVEY, HOST OF THE STEVE HARVEY MORNING SHOW: Yeah, there you go. There you go.
CLINTON: It's just - it's just something we cannot tolerate.
ACOSTA: But in the aftermath of the terror in New York, Trump isn't backing off his fiery rhetoric, keeping the door open to the profiling of Arabs and Muslims if he's elected president, even as he's denying it.
REPORTER: You want to profile Arab or Muslim men. How would that work?
TRUMP: We have no choice. Look, Israel does it and Israel does it very successfully. They do it, but I'm not using the term Muslim. I'm saying you're going to have to profile.
ACOSTA: Trump and his son and Donald Trump, Jr. are continuing to sound the alarm over the flow of Syrian refugees into the U.S. Trump, Jr. said in a tweet, "If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem." The makers of skittles were not amused saying in a statement, "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don't feel it's an appropriate analogy." A former aide to President Obama responded by tweeting the image of a bloodied Syrian boy. But Trump says it's Clinton who doesn't get it.
TRUMP: Where is their condemnation of these people? Where is their condemnation of these countries?
ACOSTA: Trump is also facing serious new questions about his charitable foundation. The Washington Post is reporting that Trump Foundation spent more than a quarter million dollars to settle lawsuits, including $120,000 in fines he racked up in a dispute over the placement of a flag pole at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago - a potential violation of U.S. tax laws. One dispute he hasn't settled is with the Bush family. After years of Trump's taunts aimed at his family, the Former Republican President George H.W. Bush, reportedly will vote for Hillary Clinton, so says Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who said in a Facebook post, "The President told me he's voting for Hillary." On that skittles tweet, the Trump campaign is defending Donald Trump, Jr. saying he's a tremendous asset to the campaign and was speaking the truth about the subject of Syrian refugees. Jim Acosta, CNN, Kenansville, North Carolina.
VAUSE: Well, for more, Mitchell Schwartz joins us here in Los Angeles, he worked on Bill Clinton and Barack Obama's campaigns, currently running for Mayor of Los Angeles. And CNN Political Commentator Lanhee Chen, he worked on the Republican Mitt Romney's campaign back in 2012. Great to have you both with us. Lanhee, first to you. We're getting word that George H.W. Bush, the first president Bush, has said that he will in fact vote for Hillary Clinton. I guess it's not entirely surprising when you look at the way Donald Trump has gone after his son Jeb Bush during the campaign. Listen to this.
JEB BUSH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: This is a tough business to run for president.
TRUMP: Oh yeah. You're a tough guy, Jeb. I know.
BUSH: It is. And we need to have a leader that is -
TRUMP: Really tough.
BUSH: You're never going to be President of the United States by insulting your way to the presidency
TRUMP: You're real tough, Jeb. Yeah. Well, let's see. I'm at 42 and you're at 3. So, so far I'm doing better.
BUSH: It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. TRUMP: Am I talking or are you talking, Jeb?
BUSH: I'm talking right now. I'm talking.
TRUMP: You can go back.
BUSH: I'm talking.
TRUMP: You're not talking. You interrupted me, Jeb.
BUSH: September 30th you said -
TRUMP: Are you going to apologize, Jeb? No. Am I allowed to finish?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just one at a time. Go ahead --
TRUMP: Excuse me, am I allowed to finish?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead Mr. Trump
TRUMP: So, again -
BUSH: A little of your own medicine there.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I know you're trying to build up your energy, Jeb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) each other. Please, one at a time.
TRUMP: But it's not working very well.
VAUSE: They were the days, just a couple of months ago. But Lanhee, who does this - or how does - how does this affect Trump? Does it help him? Does it hurt him? What do you think?
[01:20:49] LANHEE CHEN, RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES AND CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, two greater contrasts in American politicians we have not seen and, you know, that ever before Donald Trump and George H.W. Bush, the former president. I think that for Donald Trump not having the support of a former Republican President is problematic, just because of the fact that right now, he's reaching out to voters -- to independent voters in particular, who look at this as a strike against him, I'm sure. You know, George H.W. Bush has deep respect in a number of different quarters, not just republican quarters. And I think that for somebody of that stature to be defecting from support of Donald Trump is significant. Now, obviously people will say it's because of the things that Donald Trump did to the President's son, the package you just showed demonstrated that. But it goes beyond that. Clearly, it's George H.W. Bush's assessment of Donald Trump's readiness to lead, and that is problematic for him.
VAUSE: So, Mitchell, does this help Hillary Clinton in any way?
[01:21:43] MITCHELL SCHWARTZ, LOS ANGELES MAYORIAL CANDIDATE: It has to help Hillary Clinton. The fact that a former president and one who's pretty respected now across the country. You know, for a guy that lost re-election and, you know, was considered a loser as it were, he's now a respected figure. And again, he's a moderate who appeals to those people in the middle. And that's what this race is going to come down to that middle 5 or 10 percent, so in and of itself, it's not going to win the election for Hillary. But yes, it's a nice thing to have in her. (INAUDIBLE)
VAUSE: We've been saying all along, this is such an unusual campaign this year. It's so different from everything we've seen. And somehow it's being borne out in the polls is a CNN Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows 6 in 10 whites without a college degree would actually consider voting for Donald Trump. You know, these are the -- these are the supporters in the past who have been democrats. In some ways by supporting Donald Trump, that if they do vote for him, it seems they're voting against their own self-interests. So, what is Donald Trump doing to win these people over?
SCHWARTZ: I completely agree that they're voting against their self- interests. But they've been let down by the Democratic Party in many ways. And that was what the appeal for Bernie Sanders was. That's why he did so well, and he did well with that demographic, whatever that demographic, the white working class is left in our party. But they've been treated badly for years. I think the republicans have treated a lot worse. But our party hasn't been the greatest when it comes to -- what we've done for them. The trade agreements while I supported them, and I supported them when I worked for President Clinton, it turns out that we didn't have enough safeguards for the working class people and they've been negatively affected. There have been a lot of good things, a lot of cheaper products and stuff.
VAUSE: Sure.
SCHWARTZ: A lot of people around the world benefitted from this trade agreements. But the working class folks did not and we didn't take care of them enough.
VAUSE: And Lanhee, just very quickly, do you see that there is enough of those sort of voters out there to support Donald Trump, so he doesn't need those traditional republican voters who, you know, would be swayed by something like an endorsement or a vote - or not a vote, rather, from George H.W. Bush.
CHEN: I think it's going to be very difficult, John, for Donald Trump to find enough voters. That the whole idea has always been to drive up the share of the white working class vote. His policy agenda, his mannerisms have all been targeted at that population. I just don't know that there's enough of those people in the States that Donald Trump needs to do well in, to get him over the top in this election.
VAUSE: OK. Donald Trump also, trying to win support from the African-American community. He was in North Carolina, tried a little outreach. Listen to what he had to say.
TRUMP: You take a look at the inner cities, you get no education, you get no jobs, you get shot walking down the street. There are worse - I mean, honestly, places like Afghanistan are safer than some of our inner cities.
VAUSE: And so, Mitchell, when you listen to, you know, these statements coming from Donald Trump, that seems to be kind of exactly what the African-American community does not want to hear.
SCHWARTZ: Yeah. I'm not sure if he's even trying to appeal to the African-American community. There's some belief that he is trying to go to the African-American communities or at least talk to them a little bit or talk at them, I guess. And the idea being that it's making it safer for other white folks to then vote for him and say, "He's not a racist, look at them, he's talking to black people." So, I'm not sure if he's really trying to get their vote. If he did, I don't think his birther announcement would have played out the way it did. I mean, I don't see how he overcomes at that, he really targeted the First African-American President. I don't think most the African- Americans can forgive him for that.
VAUSE: But it's a -- it's a long road for -- to go.
SCHWARTZ: Yeah.
VAUSE: But Lanhee, the other problem, too, for Donald trump right now, is the problem with his foundation. There's a lot of allegations that he has misused or illegally used funds there, hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay off lawsuits, to - also, to buy a very big expensive painting of himself, which is now hanging in one of his resorts. This story keeps going on and on and on, more details keep coming out. Is this the one thing which could cause problems for Donald Trump like we haven't seen in the past?
CHEN: Well, the allegations of illegality clearly put him in a different category. But what I'll say is that, what we've seen in this campaign is we've seen sort of issue after issue, a scandal -- potential scandal after potential scandal that would have brought Donald Trump down. And none of them really has affected him fundamentally. Now, one could argue he's looking at a different group of voters now. But I think people just have a different expectation when they look at Donald Trump. And I think that is what is so frustrating probably to those who oppose him is this notion that he is held to a different standard. So, while I think this has the potential to be more, I'm not really convinced that it will be.
VAUSE: OK. I want - I want us all to do something which is quite unusual. It's happened - it involves Fox News, because there is this group called -- what is it, it's Heartland For America, or something Heartland For Trump. And they put out this slick eight-minute long campaign video. It features a lot of people, among them, Sean Hannity who is a host on Fox News giving this ringing endorsement to Trump. Listen to this.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: One of the reasons I'm supporting Donald Trump this year is number one, he's going to put Originalists on the Supreme Court, people that believe in fidelity to the constitution, separation of powers, coequal branches of government. He's a guy that will vet refugees to keep Americans safe. And, of course, he's going to build that wall. He says he's going to have Mexico pay for it. That's fine. As long as we secure the country.
VAUSE: Yeah. Hannity kept talking. This whole thing went for about 40 seconds. But Lanhee, you know, even though Fox News is apparently unhappy about this, this is a guy who will be hosting Donald Trump for a town hall tomorrow. You know, when you're out working on the Mitt Romney campaign four years ago, I bet you would love to have Sean Hannity doing a commercial like that for you and then holding a town hall. But even so, do you think that there is a line here which is being crossed?
CHEN: Yeah, I mean, I do. I think that it's wholly inappropriate for people who are in the media who hold themselves out as members of the media to engage in this. But, you know, it's not entirely surprising. We've come into a situation where I think a lot of media does skew one way or the other. And so, as a result, this is the kind of thing where I think people say, well of course Sean Hannity is for Donald Trump. It's not surprising that he's for Donald Trump. It is surprising that he's gotten this far out in front, though. And I do think that that will have repercussions as we go forward.
VAUSE: Mitch, finally to you. Your opinion of all of this?
SCHWARTZ: Yeah. You know, anyone who watched Sean Hannity for this past year knows where his bias is. And since in favor of Donald Trump and it's been there throughout the Republican Primary, he was always a - a safe haven to go to a safe port. I do wonder, and I'm not being a wise guy here, is Sean Hannity auditioning for that (INAUDIBLE) Trump Breitbart Networks that seems to be - which going to might come out of this presidential, if Trump loses.
VAUSE: Well, you know, they may - they may need it. He may need it. OK. Mitchell here in Los Angeles. I appreciate you being with us.
SCHWARTZ: Thank you.
VAUSE: And Lanhee there in San Francisco --
CHEN: Thank you.
VAUSE: -- thanks for staying up late. I appreciate it.
CHEN: Thank you.
VAUSE: And we'll take a short break. When we come back, the Syrian ceasefire is in tatters after an aid convoy has been attacked. The White House is blaming Russia.
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[01:30:23] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. The headlines this hour.
Authorities said a journal found on Ahmad Rahami warns of the sounds of bombs in the streets. It praises Osama Bin Laden as well. The suspect in the New York and New Jersey bombings is now facing four federal charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction.
The U.S. is flexing its military muscle in South Korea again. A bomber jet flew over the air base near Seoul on Wednesday to show a force against North Korea and its recent nuclear and missile tests. U.S. staged a similar flyover just last week.
The White House is holding Russia responsible for the destruction of a humanitarian aid convoy in Syria. The Red Cross says at least 20 people were killed in that attack on Monday when trucks carrying food and medicine to thousands of people were destroyed.
But Russia, though, denying any responsibility. Moscow says drone footage shows a truck towing a large caliber mortar was following the convoy at the time of the attack. U.S. says reports from the ground indicate at least two waves of airstrikes, a common Russian military practice. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now from Damascus.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): An aid convoy near Aleppo completely destroyed. Eighteen trucks and a warehouse struck in a direct attack. Some 20 people killed and a seven-day ceasefire negotiated by the U.S. and Russia almost literally burned to the ground. In this social media video, a rescue worker shows the fiery aftermath.
Among the dead, Omar Barrack, a local head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and a father of two according to activists who circulated these images online.
As the sun rose, the full scale of the damage became clearer. Boxes full of life saving food and medicine intended to provide relief for nearly 78,000 people burned to ash.
(on camera): The new violence all but spells the end of the current ceasefire here in Syria, a ceasefire that was supposed to provide respite for people in heavily destroyed areas and also aid to the many places under siege.
(voice-over): Now, the United Nations has suspended all aid operations in the country and activists say bombs are raining down on rebel-held Aleppo once more.
JENS LAERKE, SPOKESMAN, UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS OFFICE: This is a very, very dark day for humanitarians in Syria and across the world because I think there has been a moment of shock and frankly disgust.
PLEITGEN: As Moscow and Washington traded allegations, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all parties to stop the fighting.
[01:35:02]BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: It is a sickening, savage, and apparently deliberate attack on a U.N.-Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy is the latest example. The humanitarians delivering lifesaving aid were heroes. Those that bombed them were cowards. PLEITGEN: More diplomatic squabbling, but still little action to douse the flames once again fanning Syria's civil war. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.
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VAUSE: Jill Dougherty joins me now from Seattle, Washington. She is a global fellow for the Woodrow Wilson International Center and former CNN Moscow bureau chief. Jill, great to have you with us.
The U.S. is saying it appears the airstrike on that aid convoy was too sophisticated to be carried out by the Syrian Air Force which leaves the Russians as pretty much the suspect, which then begs the question of why. What do the Russians have to gain by doing this?
JILL DOUGHERTY, GLOBAL FELLOW, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS: You would think in a sense nobody has anything to gain from this. After all, this was the whole idea that the cessation of hostilities that aid would get into the people who needed it in Aleppo.
But you do have the United States saying essentially two things. It appears this is number one, that it appears that the Russians did it and of course, the Russians are denying this.
But even the United States is saying if Russia did not do it, it is culpable because it was responsible for getting the Assad regime to stop, to ground its forces, its air force so that convoys like this could get in.
So on both sides, the United States is accusing Russia and then remember, just a few days ago, Russia was accusing the United States when the coalition of the United States carried out an attack that killed apparently some Syrian soldiers.
So you have right now this cessation of hostilities almost on life support. Although today at the United Nations in New York, both Russia and the United States were saying it's not dead yet. That it really does look as if there is not a lot of hope that this is going to continue in any direction.
VAUSE: A couple of points which you brought up there. First the one where we told you about the Americans holding the Russians responsible for not reigning in the Syrian Air Force. Are we in a situation now where the Americans are overstating Putin's influence over the Syrian dictator, Bashar Al-Assad?
DOUGHERTY: Well, they may be, but that was apparently part of the deal. The United States was supposed to rein in those opposition forces, get them to separate from ISIS. And then the Russian were supposed to get Assad on board to stop the attacks, ground the air force so that they could get those humanitarian cargos in.
So that was the deal. And the United States, you know, you would have to say, John, right now trust is nonexistent. You had Ben Rhodes saying that, the deputy national security adviser. President Obama has said that there is a gap of trust between the two countries.
So what began as a really intense effort to bring the two countries together, Russia and the United States, to finally be able to bring some type of aid to the people who were suffering is now falling apart with worse recriminations than ever.
VAUSE: You mentioned the fact that Secretary Kerry did say that this ceasefire is not dead yet. And it's interesting, because the Syrian government declared the ceasefire over. And Kerry's response to that is well, it's not up to them. This is a deal between the United States and Russia. But isn't that the problem is that this deal was never made with the main actors on the ground, actually signing on?
DOUGHERTY: Precisely. And that's the problem because the Russians would say the Americans can't get the opposition to separate from the terrorists and therefore we have to go after both of them.
And the Americans are saying that the Russians can't get Assad on board. So right now it would look as if Russia and the United States would like this to stop. But the people who are actually on the ground are not.
VAUSE: Jill Dougherty, as always, great to speak with you. Thank you so much for being with us.
Next here on NEWSROOM L.A., President Obama says fair well to the United Nations calling up several countries along the way for good measure.
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[01:42:52]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. U.S. President Barack Obama defended his legacy as he stood before the United Nations General Assembly for the last time. CNN's White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We can choose to press forward with a better model of cooperation and integration, or we can retreat into a world sharply divided. And ultimately in conflict along age old lines of nation and tribe and race and religion.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama addressing leaders from around the world for his final time in office, wrestling with humanity's biggest struggles -- greed, inequality, authoritarianism, intolerance, and calling out what he sees as the causes, even within America.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Religious fundamentalism, the politics of ethnicity or tribe or sect, aggressive nationalism, a crude populism. Sometimes from the far left, but more often from the far right, which seeks to restore what they believe was a better, simpler age free of outside contamination.
KOSINSKI: False populism is a phrase the president has used before to describe Donald Trump's words and he made more than one obvious reference to the big choice America is facing.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Today a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself and the world is too small for us to simply be able to build a wall.
KOSINSKI: But the president also saved rebuke for the leaders and countries that deny their citizens' freedom.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: History shows that strong men are then left with two paths. Permanent crackdown, which sparks strife at home, or scapegoating enemies abroad, which can lead to war.
KOSINSKI: He called out North Korea for its nuclear tests, Russia for taking over its neighbor.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: In a world that left the age of empire behind, we see Russia attempting to recover lost glory through force.
[01:45:00]KOSINSKI: And China for militarizing islands in the South China Sea.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: A peaceful resolution of disputes offered by law will mean far greater stability than the militarization of a few rocks and reefs.
KOSINSKI: With the world watching, President Obama made a sweeping case for liberal democracy.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Sitting in a prison cell, a young Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that human progress never rolls on the wheels of inevitability, it comes through the tireless efforts of men, willing to be coworkers with God. This is what I believe. That all of us can be coworkers with God.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSINSKI: Four times in his remarks here, President Obama criticized the idea of building walls and he also hosted this refugee summit urging countries to contribute more, although the U.S. has been criticized for taking in fewer Syrian refugees than some other countries.
But it does contribute more in humanitarian aid, but the president called what is happening in Syria unacceptable. A test of our common humanity. He said too often leaders in the world focus so much on trying to maintain power when they should be more unified in trying to end this crisis. Michelle Kosinski, CNN, New York.
VAUSE: Next here on NEWSROOM L.A., the divorce that is sending shock waves across the internet. The Hollywood couple born of adultery did not make it. Why Brad and Angelina are breaking up.
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VAUSE: Well, the two presidential candidates have been in New York meeting with leaders who are at the United Nations General Assembly. And CNN's Erin Burnett sat down with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi and asked him what it was like to meet Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and how he feels about his proposed ban on Muslims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump, what was he like in your meeting? Do you think he would make a strong leader?
ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI (through translator): No doubt.
BURNETT: So one of the things of course that is so important about meeting with Donald Trump as being the first leader in the Muslim world to meet with him is, of course, he has said he will ban Muslims from entering the United States.
This week he has talked specifically about extreme vetting and said he won't allow people to come to the United States, Muslims from countries that aren't capable of carrying out that vetting. Did you and Donald Trump talk about his Muslim plan?
EL-SISI (through translator): In general conducts very strict security measures for everyone who wishes to visit it and this has been in place for quite a few years. It's also important for us to know that during election campaigns, many statements are made and many things are said.
[01:50:05]However, afterwards, the actual governing of the country would be something different and would be subject to many factors.
BURNETT: It sounds like you think Donald Trump is saying what he needs to say to be elected, but that he might not follow through with the plan.
EL-SISI (through translator): I don't want to be unfair to anyone here, frankly. During election campaigns, there could be a perception which is based on a certain vision or point of view. Then that vision or point of view gets corrected and it develops as a result of governing experience, reports, and advice from experts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The full interview with Egyptian president this weekend on "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT." Viewers in Asia can see that Saturday 9:00 p.m. Hong Kong time and in Europe 8:00 p.m. in London.
One of Hollywood's power couples is calling it quits. Angelina Jolie is divorcing Brad Pitt after two years of marriage. They've been together for 11 years. According to court documents, Jolie is asking for sole custody of their six children, but would give Pitt visitation rights. Joining me now for more on this, entertainment host, Alexander Nez, and licensed psycho therapist, Dr. Jenn Mann. She is also author of "The Relationship Fix." Good-looking book cover.
This is one of those relationships where everyone followed it from the very beginning. They got together during "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Now it seems to have their last movie which is called "By The Sea." It's very depressing. I just want to show you a couple of scenes from it and then we can talk on the other side.
(VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Was that really a movie or that sort of reality TV behind the doors of Jen and Brad's house over the last couple of years?
DR. JENN MANN, LEAD THERAPIST, VH1'S COUPLES THERAPY: I've done a few seasons of couples' therapy that looked a lot like that. But you have to wonder given what's going on whether that was an opportunity to play out resent. S in the relationship. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Were they drawn to that because they were having problems, or did that movie take them into a very dark place?
VAUSE: Imitating life.
ALEXANDER NEZ, ENTERTAINMENT HOST: It appears not from my opinion. These guys have been together over a little ten years, married for a little over two. Who knows why they broke up? It is because of Brad's alleged substance abuse? Is it because of, you know, his anger issues or is it really because that this movie was the biggest dog doo doo in the box office?
VAUSE: It was pretty awful, wasn't it?
NEZ: Grossed about 3.3 million, which is gross for them.
VAUSE: That's pretty awful.
MANN: Look, one thing I have to say, when a divorce happens in Hollywood or any place else, it doesn't just suddenly happen there is a huge lead-up. Before people are willing to pull the trigger and file those papers, things are a mess for quite some time, usually years. Especially in Hollywood, you know once you pull that trigger, there are tabloid stories coming your way.
VAUSE: Alexander, when you first heard this morning were you surprised or I saw that coming?
NEZ: Look, I was shocked. Kanye surprises Kim with a new diamond ring. Who cares? Taylor a new doo. Who cares? Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are getting a divorce, what? They're human beings. Heartbreak is in human nature.
Over 40 to 50 percent of Americans are getting divorce and the divorce rate is even higher for couples that have already been married before so just like them. So unfortunately, I was a little shocked because of how great they were together. But it doesn't surprise me. VAUSE: You were shocked? Now George Clooney was also shocked. We broke the news to Mr. Clooney. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: What happens?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're divorcing.
CLOONEY: I didn't know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She filed.
CLOONEY: I feel very sorry, then. That's a sad story and unfortunate for a family. It's an unfortunate story about a family. I feel very sorry to hear that. That's the first I've heard of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I think the reason why we are shocked is because we thought these crazy kids were going the make it. They kind of put their lives above all the Hollywood stuff. They looked after their kids. They championed refugees. They didn't get married until the LGBT community could get married. They were different.
MANN: I think at the core of any marriage, the core of any relationship is connection. And they had a lot of -- look, it's very hard to maintain a connection when your husband is off filming a movie, when you're off helping the U.N., when you're in two different continents at the same time, the key to a marriage is connection.
[01:55:04]It's why it's the focus of my book, "The Relationship Fix," because whether you're a celebrity or not, if you do not have that connection in your marriage, it's not going to work. The studies show the number one reason why people cheat 92 percent of the time is a lack of connection.
VAUSE: That's two mentions for book. I want to get to reaction on the internet because A lot of this --
NEZ: People are going crazy.
VAUSE: I love it's focused around Jennifer Aniston. There are a lot of names out there, basically Jennifer Aniston rolling her eyes with the whole I told you so look. Celebrating that kind of thing. That's kind of fun. But Alexander, to you, is that really fair to Jennifer Aniston? Is this sort of perpetrating the stereotyping of the feud?
NEZ: It must suck for her to see all the fans posting these memes and the tweets about their breakup, but it's hilarious for the fans and for people getting a good laugh about this. For her, I don't think it's really fair to be subjected to all of these memes especially because she is in a really healthy relationship, marriage with Justin Thoreau.
MANN: She is moving on. She is not sitting there crying over this. VAUSE: It's time for us to move on as well. Guys, thank you so much. Thanks, everybody. I'm John Vause. We'll be back with another hour of news right after this.
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VAUSE: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour, uncertainty in Syria. The U.S. and Russia at odds over deadly attack in a crumbling ceasefire.
