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Aleppo Rocked by Fresh Air Strikes; Day Four of Protests in Charlotte; Ted Cruz Endorses Former Rival Donald Trump; Chaos in Washington After Deadly Mall Rampage; Young Couple's Uncompromising Live Remembered in Movie. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired September 24, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:12] ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: With a ceasefire in tatters, the Syrian city of Aleppo is rocked by fresh air strikes. Chaos in the U. S. State of Washington, a shooter on the loose after a deadly rampage at a shopping mall. And day four protests in Charlotte as a newly released video raises more questions about the killing of a black man by police.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares, and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

A nightmare is intensifying, unfortunately, in Aleppo in Syria. More intense air strikes are hitting the besieged city on Saturday. Activists say the bombing there is the heaviest as ever been.

Medical volunteers tell CNN approximately 200 air strikes, 200 have hit the city since Friday morning. They estimate more than 100 people are dead and hundreds more are wounded.

Rescue teams are working to save those buried beneath the rubble. The ceasefire has collapsed, as you can tell, and the Syrian government has launched new military operations.

We're about to show you a disturbing picture from Aleppo. We think it shows the cruel reality of the war. It is a story that must be told.

After a horrendous air strike, this is what rescuers found in a destroyed apartment. Looking at that graphic image there that shows dead bodies of a father and his son trying, as you can see there clearly, to protect him without success. CNN's Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman joins us now live from Baghdad within Iraq with more.

And Ben, you know, as we showed viewers that very disturbing image, it just shows the plight of what the people in Aleppo are facing as these new air strikes are continuing to pound the city there. How ferocious have they been and talk to us a bit more the impact that it's had that on the people at the heart of this very conflict.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the activists in Aleppo, eastern Aleppo, which is controlled by the opposition, we've spoken to this morning say these are the worst air strikes that they have ever seen since the outbreak of the uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in March of 2011.

And now in addition to the air strikes of course, you now have this additional crisis of there's no more water, there's no running water in the city. The pumping station that supplies the eastern opposition-controlled part was hit. And as a result, that part of the city is without water. And in revenge, the opposition turned out off another pumping station that they control that provides water to the other regime-controlled part of the city.

So according to UNICEF, 2 million people in and around Aleppo are now without water. They're worried that they're going to start drinking out of contaminated wells and this could spread disease at a time when certainly in the opposition area which has a population of around 250,000 people, they're already desperately short, excuse me, of food, water, and medicine.

So you have the danger of disease on top of the constant danger of air strikes by Russian and Syrian war planes. Isa?

SOARES: Yeah, and we'll be talking to UNICEF in about 25 minutes or so from now, Ben. Let's focus on the Syrian offensive in the meantime. What do you think the goal could be here? What's the grand strategy?

WEDEMAN: Well, according to a statement from the Syrian military, this is a comprehensive offensive which will include a ground component. Now, the question is, is this an offensive to retake Aleppo itself or merely to gain a bit of ground?

Observers believe that the Syrian army, despite the massive assistance provided to it by Russia, by Hezbollah, by Iran, that it simply doesn't have the manpower to retake parts of the city controlled by the opposition. The lines in Aleppo have remained fairly constant. But there's no question that the Syrian government would like to retake the city. And of course this could have very deadly consequences for the people who live on the wrong side of the line. Isa?

SOARES: Yeah, and I remember Lavrov speaking at the U.N., if I remember, I think it was on Friday. He basically said that the United States, as you get your voice back, Ben, the United States needs to come to an idea, the impression on Bashar al-Assad he said is the only viable partner in the fight against terrorism. Where does this leave both sides? I mean, with the assault as you explained on the ground escalating, is there any hope now for a ceasefire? Where are we on the diplomacy front?

[05:05:13] WEDEMAN: It's reached a dead end. Even though the Americans and the Russians haven't yet buried the ceasefire in a sense, they're still providing some sort of hot air that it might still be alive. What we see on the ground is that it is effectively dead.

And U.S. Secretary Sate John Kerry essentially made it clear that this was the last effort by this administration to try to resolve this situation in Syria. And that it may be left to the next administration to try to work out some sort of resolution. But what we see is the Americans don't want to see Bashar al- Assad remain in power.

Clearly, the Russians who have had Syria has a client state, or Moscow has had it as a client state for decades aren't about to abandon him. So we've reached a dead end. And as we see, the people caught in the middle, people in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, continue to die on an hourly, almost minute-by-minute basis as the diplomats simply are incapable of resolving this long-running crisis. Isa?

SOARES: And, Ben, before I let you go, I want to ask you about Iraq. Because I believe about eight people were killed at a military checkpoint in Tikrit. What more can you tell us?

WEDEMAN: Yes, this happened this morning, Saturday morning, north of Tikrit, which was a city that Iraqi forces managed to retake from ISIS in March of 2015. We understand that there was some sort of vehicle- borne bomb that went off at this checkpoint north of the city.

We're getting different versions of events. The number of casualties ranging anywhere between 8 and 12. Most of them members of the Iraqi security forces. And this incident of course, underscores that the Iraqi government may succeed at expelling ISIS from cities like Tikrit and eventually Mosul.

But the threat of some sort of urban guerrilla warfare will continue, probably, for some time to come, because the underlying political causes for the creation and growth of ISIS haven't really gone away. Isa?

SOARES: Yeah. Ben Wedeman for us. We'll have much more on Aleppo in about 25 minutes or so from now as we hear from the spokesman for UNICEF that you heard Ben there saying water stations, power stations there in Aleppo, in eastern Aleppo, was not working. They've been broken and they're damaged and leaving about 2 million people or so without water. We'll have much more in the next 25 minutes or so.

In the meantime, let's turn our attention to the United States. Police in the State of Washington are trying to find the man who killed four women and wounded one man at a mall. This is a man, authorities say, opened fire inside a department store. He's believed to still be armed with a rifle.

Now, the attack happened right here in Burlington as you're seeing there in your map, which about an hour north of Seattle. Officials there are asking people to stay inside their homes. No word yet on a motive.

Well, the streets are quiet in Charlotte, North Carolina, hours after the city's curfew went into effect. Protesters are demanding officials release videos from Tuesday's police shooting of an African- American man Keith Lamont Scott.

There was also a large demonstration Friday in Atlanta in Georgia about three hours away. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have canceled their plans to visit Charlotte next week. The city's mayor says she appreciates their concern, but resources are stretched to -- then she said to accommodate them.

The protests in Charlotte are likely to continue. Sources tell us police found Scott's fingerprints and DNA on a loaded gun at the scene is where the recorded the shooting and shared the video on Friday. Our Randi Kaye takes us through there. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The video is two minutes and 12 seconds and it's hard to watch. The tape begins with a standoff between Charlotte police officers and Keith Lamont Scott. His wife Rakeyia Scott is recording the video on her cell phone.

RAKEYIA SCOTT, KEITH LAMONT SCOTT'S WIFE: Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him. He has no weapon. He has no weapon. Don't shoot him.

KAYE: On a second later though, you hear police shout about a gun.

SCOTT: Don't shoot him.

KAYE: Listen carefully.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't shoot. Drop the gun. Drop (expletive deleted) the gun.

KAYE: The shaky video shows police surrounding Scott's white vehicle. But what you don't see from this vantage point is Scott himself. 20 seconds into it, another firm warning from Scott's wife that her husband does not have a gun, but that he does have a traumatic brain injury.

[05:10:02] SCOTT: He doesn't have a gun. He has a TBI.

KAYE: A few seconds later, she tells officers her husband just took his medicine, that he's not going to do anything to them. But the situation escalates.

Rakeyia Scott walks closer, telling her husband to get out of the vehicle.

Come on out the car, Keith. Don't let them break the windows. Come on out of the car.

KAYE: Police can be heard on the video yelling to Scott to drop a gun at least nine times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the gun. Drop the (expletive deleted) gun.

SCOTT: Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him. He didn't do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the gun. Drop the gun.

SCOTT: He doesn't have a gun. He has a TBI. He's not going to ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the gun. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the gun. Drop the gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the gun.

KAYE: Then about 50 seconds after he was told to put his hands up, police fired. But not before one final warning.

SCOTT: Keith. Keith. Keith. Don't you do it.

KAYE: Four shots can be heard on the video, though the actual shooting is off camera. It's still unclear what Mrs. Scott was trying to tell her husband when she shouted "Don't do it." Watch those final moments again.

SCOTT: Keith. Keith. Keith. Don't you do it.

KAYE: Still up for debate if Keith Scott had a weapon as police have claimed and what prompted officers to shoot. His wife clearly shocked by what she witnessed.

SCOTT: Did you shoot him? Did you shoot him? He better not be (expletive deleted) dead.

KAYE: She moves closer until the camera can see her husband on the ground. Unsure if he's alive or dead, Rakeyia Scott is stunned.

SCOTT: He better live. I swear, he better live. Yep. He better live. He better (expletive deleted) live.

KAYE: On the video, it's hard to tell if the gun police said they saw is anywhere on the ground. But look at this photo acquired by Charlotte police. The chief says it shows what appears to be a handgun on the pavement at Scott's feet. The photo was clearly taken after the video since crime scene tape not seen in the video is up.

When asked about the gun being in the photo but not clearly in the video, a spokeswoman for the city of Charlotte told CNN, "It is part of the investigation and a question for the state investigation board."

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Piece there by Randi Kaye. Well, Charlotte's mayor has seen all the recordings. Earlier, we asked her about the possible gun and how it appears in the police videos but not, as you saw there on the cell phone video. Take a listen to what she has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER ROBERTS, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA MAYOR: I have asked the FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation to gather all the information and release it as soon as possible. People are waiting to hear that. There are many pieces that need to be put together to make a complete picture because the videos clearly do not make a complete picture. And I think we can't draw any conclusions from them that leads to the uncertainty. And so I am urging our FBI to conclude that investigation and release the information as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well our Boris Sanchez spent the last few nights with the protesters in Charlotte. He filed this report just before the curfew started few hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're standing just outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department where protesters are still outside trying to make sure that their voices are heard. We've been following them all night. We've watched them more than four miles across downtown Charlotte stopping at several key points across the city. And following them, a large contingent of police officers in rank. So at least two or three vehicles going down the streets with them.

Part of that has to do with the fact that some of the protesters are now organizing and working with police in order to kind of, not necessarily plot out a map of where they're going to walk, but to make sure that they are continuously moving. This has been the exception behind me. But for the most part, this group has continued to move across downtown Charlotte in an effort to avoid a direct confrontation with police.

At one point, we got on the highway, police fortunately were anticipating that, so they cut off traffic. But there was a chance for a confrontation, it didn't happen because the protesters kept moving and avoided it.

I should mention there's also been an arrest in the shooting death of Justin Carr. He's one of the protesters that was out here Wednesday night. But there was a lot of mistrust in the community as to who shot him. Police say it was a civilian in the crowd. Some of the protesters don't believe that. I got a chance to ask Captain Mike Campagna about it. Here's what he said.

MIKE CAMPAGNA, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE CAPTAIN: I think the first thing we need to do is work on the mistrust. You know, and if we work in mistrust now we'll get ourselves to fall into place. And we may not be in a position where we can convince people about this particular case, but maybe we can do better with trust and work on the next one.

SANCHEZ: Because the protesters remain peaceful, the he captain told me that if the same holds through tonight, they will continue walking with them until sunrise.

Boris Sanchez, CNN, Charlotte, North Carolina.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOARES: And of course that is a story that we are monitoring here right here on CNN.

[05:15:04] Well U.S. President Barack Obama spoke about the Scott shooting in Charlotte and the Terence Crutcher shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was at the White House speaking at the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Mr. Obama said he hopes people visit the museum and come to see current events in greater context.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: My hope is that as people are seeing what's happened in Tulsa or Charlotte on television and perhaps are less familiar with, not only the history of the African-American experience, but also how recent some of these challenges have been upon visiting the museum may step back and say, I understand. I sympathize. I empathize. I can see why folks might feel angry and I want to be part of the solution as opposed to resisting change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well the museum which is part of the Smithsonian Institution opens in a few hours with a star-studded ceremony we're being told, thousands are expected to visit this weekend and it's fantastic too.

Up next right here on CNN NEWSROOM, Donald Trump called him "lying Ted." Ted Cruz called him -- called Trump a "pathological lying." Now it seems they're on the same side of politics, I think. We'll explain next.

Plus, a week after his death, the sister of an Oklahoma man reacts that charges brought against the officer who killed him. We'll have both those stories for you right here on CNN "NEWSROOM" after a very short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: In the race for the White House. A surprising reversal, Ted Cruz says he will vote for Donald Trump in November. The Republican candidate says he's greatly honored by the endorsement from the Texas senator who had been one of Trump's fiercest critics, if you can remember. Jeff Zeleny has the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, Ted Cruz is throwing his support behind Donald Trump, a remarkable retreat after snubbing the Republican nominee for months.

TED CRUZ, (R) TEXAS SENATOR: I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father.

[05:20:00] ZELENY: Booed for standing his conservative ground at the Republican convention.

CRUZ: You vote your conscience.

ZELENY: Cruz is now falling in line, a decision politically beneficial to both men as Trump still tries to unify Republicans.

In a statement, Cruz saying, "If you don't want to see a Hillary Clinton presidency, I encourage you to vote for him." It comes as Trump and Clinton prepare to take their long distance attacks to close range Monday night at their first debate.

Tonight, race relations and policing in the wake of the shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte are also weighing heavy.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape that they've ever been in before, ever, ever, ever.

ZELENY: Trump's words, historically inaccurate, now ridiculed by President Obama.

OBAMA: I think even most eight year olds will tell you that whole slavery thing wasn't very good for black people.

ZELENY: The Clinton campaign is going after Trump with this new ad.

TRUMP: I'd look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers. She's a slob.

ZELENY: Featuring young women over a sound track of Trump's old words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And treat women with respect.

TRUMP: I can't say that either.

ZELENY: The gamesmanship for the first debate is already well under way. Clinton is giving one of her front row seats to billionaire Mark Cuban who spent months trolling Trump.

Campaign spokesman Brian Fallon taking to Twitter, "If you have ever seen Mark Cuban courtside at a Mavs game, you know he'll be fired up." Trump is keeping his cards far closer to the vest. But CNN has learned he's watching old debate videos of Clinton and trying to lower expectations.

TRUMP: Where is Hillary today? Well they say she's been practicing for the debate. Some people think she's sleeping.

ZELENY: Hoping to reassure conservatives, Trump releasing another list of potential Supreme Court nominees today, including Senator Mike Lee of Utah. Cruz said this move made him more comfortable supporting Trump.

Three days before the biggest moment of the presidential race, aides to Clinton tells CNN she's actually preparing for two Trumps, disciplined and free wheeling. She's also been studying Trump's positions and watching some of his primary debates looking for any moments where rivals like Cruz once got under his skin.

CRUZ: Donald you can get back ...

TRUMP: We're having fun up here.

CRUZ: Relax.

TRUMP: Go ahead, I'm relaxed. You're the basket case.

ZELENY: Democrats close to Clinton say they're urging her to have more moments of levity than lecture like this from her Philadelphia convention speech.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump says and this is a quote, "I know more about ISIS than the generals do." No, Donald, you don't.

ZELENY: For his part, Trump intends to keep alive questions about Clinton's e-mail server.

TRUMP: Don't forget the 33,000 e-mails she's already deleted. It's criminality. Everybody knows it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And that was our Jeff Zeleny reporting for us. And now we're going to go live to Washington. I'm joined by Politics Reporter Eugene Scott.

And Eugene, I know I may be speculating here, but how much is this move by Ted Cruz political strategy? Does he have his eyes on 2020 here perhaps?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Ted Cruz certainly has his eyes on 2020. And there are people, critics and supporters alike, who think that this move was more about that than it was about his support for Donald Trump.

If you recall within the last week, Chairman Priebus has made it very clear that any candidate that does not get on board the Trump train right now cannot expect the support of the organization in future elections. And some people think that was a major motivator for Ted Cruz. In addition to the fact that Ted Cruz really is never Hillary and does believe that Trump probably is a better option than she is in leading this country.

SOARES: Yeah, hence why we've seen such a stunning reversal from him, isn't it?

Let's focus now on the big debate. Because after a year and a half of campaigning, both will face off on Monday. How are they preparing? Talk us through, perhaps, their different styles.

SCOTT: Well one thing we're seeing from the Trump camp is that they really have been trying to lower expectations. As you know, this is his first presidential campaign and definitely his first debate as a candidate, as a nominee for a party, going up against arguably one of the most experienced opponents that any Republican presidential candidate has gone up against. So he's doing a lot of studying of her videotapes, but also the camp is trying to lower expectations.

Clinton, on the other hand, has been very aware that Donald Trump does not respond well to being triggered or attacked and they are hoping to take advantage of those weak moments. But not in a manner that looks a bit, I think, lectury or preachy or teachy, but one that takes advantage of the fact that Trump does not have the best history of being correct on facts and she's hoping to correct those in the moment.

[05:25:05] SOARES: And, Eugene, when you say they -- that Trump's camp perhaps trying to lower expectations, what exactly do you mean by that? Because we've have seen -- we've always seen a rather feisty Donald Trump when it comes to giving interviews on the phone or on Twitter. Will his rhetoric be toned down slightly here?

SCOTT: Well the thought has just been a lot of conversation reminding people that this is his first time doing this, that he is a change agent, that he is an outsider, that he is a novice in these ways. His responses on Twitter, which have gotten him in trouble in the past, aren't likely to come up in this type of situation, the way they do on social media because the way something reads online is very different from how it reads in person. And that appearance of being combative and attacking won't probably do very well with the independents that he's hoping to get on board.

SOARES: Eugene Scott there for us. We will -- shall all be watching. Thanks very much, Eugene. Good to see you.

Now, after a year and a half of campaigning, the race for the White House meets its most important moment to date. Eugene and I was just talking about that. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will square off in their first presidential debate. And of course CNN has round-the- clock coverage with the best political team in television and as well as reaction from right around the world.

Our own Kate Bolduan will host "State of the Race" live from Hofstra University in New York just hours before the candidates step into the ring there together for the first time. It all starts right here on Monday on CNN coverage there as you can see starting from 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Don't miss that.

Now activists in Syria say the bombing in Aleppo is the heaviest it's ever been. How a water shortage is threatening to worsen the crisis there. We'll have that story for you next.

Plus, new details about the Oklahoma man killed by police that could have been a factor in his death. We'll hear from Terence Crutcher's sister. That story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:25] SOARES: A very warm welcome back. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM." I'm Isa Soares. Let me bring you up to date with the main news headlines we're following for you this hour.

More intense air strikes has hit Aleppo, Syria on Saturday. Medical volunteers says around 200 air strikes have hit the besieged city since Friday morning. UNICEF says almost 2 million people in Aleppo have no running water. Air strikes destroyed a key water pumping station on Thursday.

Authorities are looking for this man who escaped after allegedly killing four women in the U.S. State of Washington. They say he opened fire with a rifle in a shopping mall. One man, excuse me, was also wounded. This happened in Burlington about an hour north of Seattle. Law enforcement is asking people in the area to stay inside.

North Korea is blaming the U.S. for its nuclear program. The country's Foreign Minister told the U.N. General Assembly that it had no choice but to go nuclear to defend itself from American aggression.

Meanwhile, South Korea says it has elite troops on stand by to assassinate the North Korean leader if the threat of a nuclear strike is in pending.

Charlotte, North Carolina's create for more protests after police killed an African-American man. Demonstrators want the public to release the video showing Keith Lamont Scott's shooting on Friday. Scott's widow shared her cell phone video but it doesn't show if he had a gun as police claimed.

In the U.S. State of Oklahoma, the sister of a man killed by police officer sharing some new information about her brother. CNN spoke to Tiffany Crutcher after the arrest of the officer who shot her twin, Terence. Here is our Sara Sidner.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The attorney for Officer Shelby says she has been receiving death threats and that she has left jail, though he would not speak to us, nor would she on camera. However, the family for Terence Crutcher did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: An officer turned suspect in Tulsa. Officer Betty Shelby turned herself into authorities. She was booked and bonded out. The district attorney is charging her with first-degree manslaughter, a charge that means a minimum of four years in prison, a maximum of life in prison if a jury convicts.

Shelby's attorney told CNN by phone the D.A's decision to charge her was a rush to judgment. But the family of Terence Crutcher, a father of four, seen here in this police helicopter video, sees it much differently.

Is this a rush to judgment as he says?

TIFFANY CRUTCHER, TERENCE CRUTHER'S TWIN SISTER: Well, if it was turned around and if it was your eye or anybody else that would have shot a police officer, then it wouldn't have been a rush to judgment. Get them, we need to get them, throw away the key. But because it's an average blow Joe, my brother, you know, a bad dude, oh, there's a rush to judgment. Shouldn't have been shot down. It's not a rush to judgment at all.

SIDNER: The reference to "bad dude" from someone in a police helicopter on the day of the shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That looks like a bad dude.

SIDNER: Officer Shelby's attorney says his client didn't hear that comment but feared for her life.

SCOTT WOOD, BETTY SHELBY'S ATTRONEY: Based on her past experience and training, this person posed an immediate threat of harm to him or to her and everyone present. And she thought if she didn't take action right then, everyone would be in peril of serious bodily harm or death.

SIDNER: Officer Shelby's attorney says she thought Crutcher was reaching into his vehicle while refusing to comply with her orders to get on the ground. But Crutcher's attorney says he couldn't have reached into the vehicle because the window was close.

The district attorney's lead investigator says Shelby had already cleared that vehicle without finding a weapon. Court papers say she approached the vehicle and cleared the driver's side front and then proceeded towards the passenger side of the vehicle.

And Crutcher's sister now telling CNN something that has not been revealed publicly before.

CRUTCHER: We clearly saw how slowly he was moving. And people don't know this about my brother. My brother was disabled. My brother had a prosthetic eye. My brother had a hearing loss. You know, we have to ask, you know, Terence, Terence (inaudible) because he can't hear.

SIDNER: Bad eye sight, poor hearing and Crutcher says he was simply doing what he was taught to do by his father, attempting to put his hands on the car and wait for police. Instead, he was killed. He had just left school.

CRUTCHER: He wanted to make us proud. He wanted to do something bigger. He wanted to grow. He wanted to become a better person. He wanted to be better. And he didn't want this. He didn't ask for this. And so that's what I think about. Sorry. I'm going to miss him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:14] SIDNER: But they say they are happy to see that the wheels of justice are in motion.

Sara Sidner, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SOARES: 25 people were killed by a round of air strikes in rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Saturday. That is according to Reuters quoting activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Strikes have been intensifying of the city since the tenure ceasefire fully collapsed. People on the ground are calling the bombing the worst it's ever been in this five-year-long conflict.

The destruction is impacting everything in the city including the running water. UNICEF says that pumping station supplying nearly 2 million people or so are damaged and the violence is preventing repairs. Well, that's triggering yet another humanitarian crisis in the besieged city as you can imagine.

Joining me now from Damascus is Kieran Dwyer, he's the communications chief for UNICEF in Syria. And Kieran, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us.

Talk to us a bit more about what those strikes have done on the ground in terms of the water supply.

KIERAN DWYER, UNICEF COMMUNICATIONS CHIEF: The children in Aleppo are again bearing the brunt of this incredible escalation of fighting. First, the terror from the falling of the bombardments. But second, the -- one power station has been damaged heavily. And we can't get into fix it, as you said. And then in retaliation, another power station which pumps water to the western side of the city has been switched off.

So really, all sides in this conflict are using water as a weapon of war, and the children -- if we see an outbreak of water-borne diseases, it's children who are going to be getting diarrhea and very serious illnesses and this can lead to death. This could be catastrophic for the children of Aleppo.

SOARES: And, Kieran, you're saying they're using water as a weapon of war. How long has this area been without water?

DWYER: Well, you know, at the end of July and then again in August, different pumping stations and electricity services have been struck by the fighting. And we've been struggling ever since with our partners to keep emergency water trucking going, to get fuel to generators to pump water. And in fact, we just gotten these two power stations up and running, and again, the military strikes, the fighting and attacks have taken out the water supply.

And this means in the eastern side of the city that families and children are going to have to resort to highly contaminated well water. And it's a matter of days before children will be getting, you know, seriously sick in this situation.

We urgently need to get clean water to the children in the eastern side of the city and to get the clean water flowing across the whole of the western side of the city. All of the children in Aleppo need safe water.

SAORES: Yeah, and of course getting to that eastern part. I mean, when do you expect to be able to get there with, you know, with the fighting ongoing, raging on? When do you think this will be solved?

DWYER: Well, this incredible escalation of attacks and fighting is just a disaster for the children in Aleppo. But first, they needed to stop just for their safety. Children are huddled in basements. Families are terrified that they will be the next when attacks are hitting.

So we need that to stop. And if that stops, then we can send teams in with partners to assess the damage to the damaged power station and then to repair it urgently. We could also, if the fighting stops, immediately get water trucking in so that in eastern Aleppo and across the west, because they're also vulnerable to attacks while fighting escalates, all people we can get emergency water flowing everywhere if we see the fighting subside.

SOARES: And, Kieran, just to clarify, you said 2 million or so people without water, mostly children, using of course -- turning to, restoring contaminated water. Any power stations, any -- do you have any water pump systems then eastern Aleppo that has water running or none at all?

DWYER: In the eastern side of the city, no. They are resorting to a small number of wells which we know are contaminated. In the western side of the city where UNICEF and our other partners who've had more access over the months, we have built an alternative system where there are more than 70 deepwater wells and where we treat that water.

So, that is an emergency backup and we can track from those sources in the short term. But there's 1.5 million people or so in the western side, so it's a short-term solution. But in the eastern side, they don't have an alternative unless we can get emergency clean water to them.

[05:40:05] SOARES: And very briefly, Kieran, how frustrating is this whole -- the situation that you're seeing, the intensifying there of air strikes, how fed up are you with what you're seeing on the ground?

DWYER: It's far worse than frustrating. It is appalling for the children of Aleppo who -- in the eastern side of Aleppo less than a week ago, children were able to come out and sit on the swings. Now, they are huddled in their basements, they are being killed in these attacks. And every minute of every day at the moment, children across Aleppo are fearful of where the next bombs will strike.

So it is disastrous. We're frustrated but what we need for the children of Aleppo is for this fighting to stop.

SOARES: Kieran Dwyer there for us, joining us from Damascus. He's the communication chief for UNICEF. And like our correspondent said at the top of the show, the conditions there pretty much medieval. And that's exactly the picture that you painted for us there.

Thanks very much, Kieran Dwyer.

DWYER: Thank you.

SOARES: Now, U.S. President Barack Obama stands up to Congress and vetoes one of the most controversial bills of his career. We'll explain the blowback he's getting. Plus, devastating flooding in New South Wales. The rush to get hundreds of people to safety. And why the worst may still lie ahead. We'll have those stories for you next.

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SOARES: U.S. President Barack Obama's facing a possible congressional override after he vetoed the JASTAs against sponsors of terrorism act, or JASTA, on Friday. The bill would let families and survivors in 9/11 sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in funding the attacks, something Saudi Arabia denies.

[05:45:02] Obama says he sympathizes with the families, but says the bill poses a threat to national security and would expose Americans abroad to similar illegal action. Victims responded saying the following, "We are outraged and dismayed at the President's veto of JASTA and the unconvincing and unsupportable reasons that he offers as explanation. No matter how much the Saudi lobbying and propaganda machine may argue otherwise, JASTA is a narrowly drawn statute that restores long-standing legal principles that have enjoyed bipartisan support for decades. It will deter terrorism and hold accountable those nations that support and fund it," it read.

Now, North Korea is unleashing its stream-like fiery rhetoric to blame the U.S. for its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Foreign Minster Ri Yong- ho told the U.N. on Friday his country had no choice but to go nuclear due to American aggression. And he warned the U.S. of, "Tremendous consequences beyond imagination."

Meanwhile, South Korea says it has elite troops ready to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if it feels threatened by the North's nuclear weapons.

Hundreds have been evacuated in parts of New South Wales, Australia as flooding strikes the region. Our Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is at the World Weather Center with more. Derek, How bad is it?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Isa, they're actually comparing this to a flood that took place back in 1990, once in a generation flood, they're also referring to this as. It's impacting inland New South Wales, specifically away from the capital city, which is Sydney.

I want to show you some of the video coming out of the region so you can get an idea of what they are dealing with. Keep in mind, this part of New South Wales has lot of agriculture and cattle. And they often harvest their crops right around late October and into early November, but unfortunately this flooding has washed away lots of those crops. So that's going to be a big problem in terms of yield and production of the typical crops coming out of the area.

Also, cattle have been moved to higher ground to keep them from harm's way, rivers really bursting their banks, flooding areas. In fact, the Lachlan River peaked at 11.68 meters, that was at 11:00 a.m. this morning, causing major flooding. The video that you're seeing on your screen right now. And you can see just behind me, one of the cold fronts that continues to impact the region. There it is moving through central New South Wales and into Victoria. That continues to move eastward. Behind it, we have cold air, but the rain isn't over just yet. Another storm system waiting in its wings. It's really not until the middle of next week when we start to see a break.

You can see the radar, rather busy from Melbourne westward Port Adelaide. Showers and even a few rumbles of thunder, I wouldn't be surprised with this potent of a cold front. There's a secondary storm system just to the south of Adelaide. And you can see the cool weather that's starting to settle in through that part of Australia, even though it is officially spring in the southern hemisphere.

I want to take you to another part of the world that's also contending with severe flash flooding. This is in central Indonesia, specifically the outskirts of Jakarta, the capital city. And you can actually see what this flash flooding has done, just sweeping down some of the mountain sides. Landslides, mudslides that's been a concern because of significant amounts of rain. We're talking about on the order of 300 to 500 millimeters over the past several days, especially in those mountainous regions.

What's interesting to note here is that climatologically speaking, Jakarta actually sees its driest time of the year right about now. So it's not until November and December when things start to pick up. Looks as if there will be more rain on the way for the area. Isa?

SOARES: Derek, do keep us posted on the situation in Indonesia as well as the New South Wales, Australia. Thanks very much.

VAN DAM: All right.

SOARES: Now, a young couple are being remembered for their uncompromising love. A poignant story that mirrored a popular movie. They die just five days apart after sharing a short life together in a legacy of courage. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has their story.

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ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Theirs was a true love story. Katie and Dalton met on Facebook in 2009 when they were both 18 and they both had cystic fibrosis. Dalton had a contagious infection and the couple knew it could be dangerous for Katie if they met in person. But they met anyway, and it was love at first sight.

Katie did catch Dalton's infection, but she said she would have met up with him anyway even though it meant that she might live a shorter life. The couple married two years later in 2011.

COHEN: How were those years?

KATIE PRAGER, FAULT IN OUR STAR REAL-LIFE WIFE: They were great. We did stuff and we had fun. We traveled. We had game nights. We had the best conversations. It was like something out of a fairy tale. COHEN: They became known as the real "Fault in our Stars" couple because their story was so similar to the teenage cancer patients in the 2014 film.

ANSEL ELGORT, PLAYS AUGUSTUS IN FAULT IN OUR STARS MOVIE: You trying to keep your distance from me no way lessens my affection for you.

COHEN: By 2014, the infection overwhelmed their lungs. They both entered the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where they received lung transplants.

[05:50:09] But their medical struggles continued. Katie's transplant didn't work well and she went back to her family in Kentucky.

Meanwhile, Dalton was hospitalized near his family in Missouri after having developed lymphoma and later pneumonia.

PRAGER: It would just be a miracle to me if I could just hug him. Like, that's all I want. I haven't had a hug in so long.

COHEN: The couple communicated through Facetime.

PRAGER: I love you.

DALTON PRAGER, FAULT IN OUR STAR REAL-LIFE HUSBAND: I love you, too.

COHEN: Katie went into hospice care on September 7th at the couple's home in Kentucky. Dalton was never healthy enough to fly from Missouri to Kentucky to see his wife.

The last time the couple saw each other in person was July 16th, their fifth wedding anniversary. Dalton died September 17th, and Katie just five days later.

Before she died, Katie told CNN that Dalton gave her the best years of her life, and she wouldn't have changed a thing. Katie said she knew how their fairytale would end. Now, happily ever after in each other's arms for eternity.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN.

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(WORLD SPORTS)

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[05:55:12] SOARES: The iCloud account of Pippa Middleton, the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, has been hacked. The British Press Association says at least 3,000 images were stolen. That includes pictures of Middleton's sister and her children. According to Britain "Sun" and "Daily Mail" newspaper, someone called Crafty Cockney offered the photos for sale for minimum of $65,000.] While news of the hack comes as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge setoff on an eight-day tour of western Canada. But the big start of the trip could their baby daughter Princess Charlotte. You're seeing there. She'll make her international debut. The couple's first born Prince George will also be there.

This is their second visit to Canada by Prince William and Katherine since they were married. Their schedule, as you can imagine, is jam packed, 30 events in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.

Now, a 3-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after spending three frigid nights lost in the Siberian forest. He was on his own the whole time facing the threat of wolf and bears as 100 people searched for him. He was found safe and sound on Wednesday.

Emergency officials say he ate chocolate that was in his pocket and slept in near freezing temperatures under a tree. So good to hear that he is safe and well.

And that does it for us. Thank you very much for joining us. I'm Isa Soares. "AMANPOUR" starts in just a moment. Do stay right here with CNN. We are, of course, the world's news leader.

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