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Hurricane Matthew Edges Closer to Haiti; U.S. Suspends Talks with Russia Over Syria Crisis; Live in Aleppo Through 7 Year Old's Eyes; New Polls Show Clinton Ahead of Trump; Trump's Shifting Statements on Tax Burden; Afghan Forces Battle Taliban for Kunduz; Colombian Government Tries to Revive FARC Peace Deal; Gunmen Steal Millions in Jewelry from Kim Kardashian. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 04, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:0015] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour --

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. Thanks for staying with us. And this is the third hour of NEWSROOM L.A.

The Caribbean is bracing for one of the strongest storms to hit the region in years. Hurricane Matthew is a category four. Could get up to 170 millimeters of rain in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm could be especially devastating for Haiti. The infrastructure there is reeling from an earthquake in 2010.

VAUSE: Haitian officials say some towns are now partially flooded and thousands have fled to shelters.

Look at this shot from the international space station showing how big the storm is.

VAUSE: Journalist Ito Gallen (ph) joins on the line from the capital of Port-au-Prince.

Ito, how strong are the winds? And what about the rain?

ITO GALLEN (ph), JOURNALIST: (voice-over): There's been rain off and on the last three to four hours but picking up since. It's windy and raining.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: So in terms -- absolutely. In terms of preparations, how well prepared is Haiti to weather a storm like this? GALLEN (ph): The government has done a decent job of alerting people

and to let them know the dangers of what is coming our way. It is unprecedented and then, you know, everybody is trying to do the best they can to weather through this in the next day or so. It hasn't hit yet. That's the thing. We are bracing yourselves here.

SESAY: There was a call by the president of Haiti for residents not to try to ride out the storm but rather head to government shelters which have been open. There are about 1,000 of them. For the most part have people been following that advice?

GALLEN (ph): I think -- I'd say around 8:00, most people realized this was serious and if they haven't sought shelters they would be in trouble. I think it will be touch and go the next few hours. It's already late. The only way people have to communicate is to listen to the radio really. So -- it's too early to tell. Put it that way.

VAUSE: Sure. There are obviously high winds, a lot of rain. With the rain comes flooding. What's the biggest concern here, the winds or flooding that will follow?

GALLEN (ph): The flooding, flooding. Absolutely, the flooding.

VAUSE: Why's that?

GALLEN (ph): And the mudslides, as well.

VAUSE: Why's that?

GALLEN (ph): Mudslides and flooding are the biggest concerns beside the wind and rain and heavy swells.

VAUSE: There's a concern once the storm has passed there could be an outbreak of cholera.

GALLEN (ph): Sure. That's always a concern. Since we're still dealing with important cases. Not as many as a few years ago, when it broke out but, yes, definitely a concern.

VAUSE: OK. Ito Gallen, thank you for being on the line. Thank you.

SESAY: Let's go to Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri at the International Weather Center with the latest on the storm's track.

Pedram, how's the storm looking now? How fast is it moving?

[02:04:30]PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's moving at a decent clip the last several hours, Isha and John. This particular storm system, category four as we mentioned is setting up a worse-case scenario for an area that is hard hit. When it makes landfall just before sunrise will be the first hurricane to make landfall since the 2010 earthquake in this region of Haiti. Let me show you what with are dealing. We go to Haiti and look at the elevated terrain. 75 percent of the island sits at 200 meters in elevation. We know some areas go up to 3,000 meters in elevation. These coastal communities would be in the brunt of where the on-shore flow would be, two to three meters once you get to higher elevations we are talking about the heaviest rainfall leading to potential for a major landslide and mudslide potential in place. The Dominican Republic, the border divided by a river that cuts downstream and look at the foliage or lack thereof across Haiti. 98 percent of their area, where they have had foliage in place, have been deforested in the past two decades. That's an incredible number and easy to pick out the disparity where there is nothing in this way of trees in the region and work to the Dominican Republic and it is plentiful. That alone sets the stage for a runoff to be instant, for flashing instantaneous. And the water element takes 90 percent of lives involved. Look at the water potential. That's off the top of the charts. 1,000 meters of rainfall a possible as you work in the next two to three days. The population estimate, I have drawn a tool that gives you population of a region. 1.5 to two million people would live here on the Western area of the peninsula. If it makes landfall before sunrise, by Tuesday afternoon, eastern areas of Cuba, near Guantanamo would see a second landfall. Category four to category three for Cuba. The last time we had a storm that was this potent in this part of the world was in 1954 when a category three made landfall almost in an identical spot. That storm took 2,000 lives. That's why it is a serious situation. A potential for a major humanitarian crisis if the storm keeps its intensity because we know what the infrastructure is like in this part of the world -- guys?

VAUSE: Haiti seems to get the worst, and struggles at the best of times.

Pedram, thank you.

SESAY: Thank you, Pedram.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

VAUSE: U.S.-Russia relations seem to be at a post-Cold War low. Their suspending talks with Russia over the crisis in Syria. Officials say Russia failed to uphold the agreed upon ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think everybody's patience with Russia has run out. They have also spent a great deal of credibility in making a series of commitments without any clear indication that they were committed to following them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, at the same time, Russia is suspending an arms reduction deal with the U.S. The foreign minister said, "The decision we made is a signal to Washington attempts to talking to Russia in a language of sanctions and ultimatums will not succeed."

All this, as activists say Syrian government warplanes are targeting civilian areas in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Another hospital was destroyed by suspected bunker-buster bombs on Monday.

VAUSE: Seven people were killed and more are trapped under the rubble. It was the third time in a week that hospital was hit by an air strike.

CNN International diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is following the situation from Turkey. He's live from Istanbul.

Nic, good to have you with us.

When you look at this decision to suspend bilateral talks with Russia over Syria, is this a move made from a position of strength or weakness?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's a position out of desperation. The United States, John Kerry kept believing, kept trying that he could cut a deal with Moscow over Syria, even though everything pointed against it. The United States even used a reverse logic that because they didn't see that Russia was pursuing a military solution, they believed Russia was pursuing a political solution in Syria. But now they are saying, categorically the opposite, Russia is failing to live up to its obligation under international and humanitarian law. And they say Russia is unwilling or unable to keep Assad to the commitments that Russia signed up to, i.e., the cessation of hostilities and delivery of humanitarian aid.

And the key reason the U.S. is now saying it has decided to believe that Russia is not keeping to its word is because they say they are, as the rebels are saying, so this is coming from the United States now, that Russia is targeting civilian areas and civilian infrastructure. And, look, everyone's been able to see what's happening in Aleppo and everyone has seen clearly the Syrian government, backed with the support of Russia, has been behind these attacks. So I think this is the final exposure of what has been a weak hand for the Secretary of State John Kerry has tried to play. When you add what we heard on the plutonium deal from Putin, that he has decided to break this years' old plutonium deal to reduce levels of enriched plutonium, it says he sees a new strategic threat emerging from Russia. That's about as bold talk as you can get in geopolitics and Cold War-era rhetoric. He said one thing to redeem the situation is for NATO to scale down forces in Eastern Europe. That's not going to happen.

This is a significant and deep split and it's part of geopolitics. But in the Syria part of it, the United States doesn't have another card to play. It was trading on Russia's good will, and what they are saying now is the good will was never there.

[02:10:51] SESAY: Major moment in geopolitics. As we know, the war in Syria has become a proxy battlefield, if you will, for other countries in the region, Iran and Saudi Arabia amongst them. With this breakdown in bilateral talks between the U.S. and Russia, what about those other players? What becomes their calculation?

ROBERTSON: You know, we were always told there was no plan B. The only plan A was to work for a political solution. That's was the mantra that came from the peace talks this year, and from two years ago. So that is thrown up in the air. The United States saying that Russia is pursuing a military agenda on the ground, targeting civilian areas. Where does that leave the United States allies, like Saudi Arabia, who

have been pushing for a regional Sunni-led force to support the rebel elements on the ground? This leaves them perhaps wondering why they backed the United States so strongly and held to that position.

But the situation as it really is left on the ground is that those supporting President Bashar al-Assad, Iran, Russia, Assad's other allies, they will have the upper hand right now. There's nothing in place substantial to stop them.

SESAY: Nic Robertson with some fascinating insight.

Nic Robertson joining us from Istanbul. Very much appreciate it. Thank you.

VAUSE: A young girl in Aleppo is showing the world what daily life is like in her war-torn country. She's doing it through social media.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is following the story from Amman, Jordan. She is joining us live.

This is an incredible look at not just the Syrian conflict but how terrifying life is in Aleppo.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And, John, with no access to so many parts of Syria, like eastern Aleppo, we have relied on activists to try to give us a bit, just show us a picture of what's going on in Syria, but this one family, with the help of social media, is getting their story out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): 7-year-old Banna (ph) lives in Aleppo. She and her mother, Fatma (ph), became an Internet sensation after they set up a Twitter account, tweeting about the horrors of their life.

This video was posted moments before we talked to the family via Skype.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KARADSHEH: But because this being Syria, it was a sporadic Internet connection.

ANNOUNCER: The person you are trying to reach is currently available.

KARADSHEH: We managed to connect again. Just by audio this time.

(on camera): You are a mother?

(CROSSTALK)

Fatma explains this was a barrel bomb, very close by.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't have any safety place because all the bombing is so big.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Throughout the call we could hear blasts in the background.

(EXPLOSION)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's every night we always in this situation day and night.

KARADSHEH: Fatma (ph) says her three children have known nothing but war.

The situation in Aleppo, this giant kill box, deteriorated to unprecedented levels after the collapse of the short ceasefire last month. More than 100 children were killed in just a few days. And with the siege, eastern Aleppo is running low on just about everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their bodies are weak because there is not enough food for them. Here no vegetation, no fruit, no milk, no eggs, not any meat. We just eat pasta and rice.

KARADSHEH: Banna (ph), what is life like for you, as a child, in Aleppo?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It's like monster. There is always bombing.

KARADSHEH: Banna (ph) spends her days reading, playing with her younger brothers who are 5 and 3, and learning English from her mother who's a teacher.

As bad as things are now, Fatma (ph) fears the worst is yet to come with the reports that regime troops are preparing for a ground offensive into eastern Aleppo.

[02:15:18] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am afraid about that day in coming, but I hope it's not coming. Because will kill us all.

KARADSHEH: For now, Fatma (ph) tweets, desperate for the world to see her children --

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Morning from Aleppo, we are still alive.

KARADSHEH: -- and hear their voices.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: We will live forever together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH: John, when you asked if she had one wish, what would it be? As you can imagine, without reluctance, her answer is she wants the bombing to stop.

VAUSE: Jomana, thank you.

If you would like to follow Banna (ph) on Twitter, this is her address. She has about 23,000 followers.

SESAY: So difficult to watch.

VAUSE: Yeah.

SESAY: Quick break. There are growing questions about Donald Trump's income taxes after a new report about his 1995 return. His response, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS REPORT)

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[02:20:17] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. A boost for Hillary Clinton in the first opinion polls since last week's presidential debate. A new CBS poll shows the Democratic nominee leading Donald Trump by four points. Before the debate, the two were tied in the four-person race.

SESAY: The results are similar in a CNN/ORC poll.

Tom Foreman has a break down in those numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The numbers say this was a very good week for Hillary Clinton. Look at this. She is at 47 percent, five points ahead of Donald Trump. She was two points behind him a month ago. Johnson 7 percent, Stein 2 percent. She is winning with key demographics. Look at her support among men. It's now 40 percent and Trump is 45 percent but she was way behind him and she's moving up fast. Among women, still, 53 to 40 percent. Big lead there.

Trump is being hurt by his refusal to release his taxes. Almost three-quarters of the people we surveyed said he needs to do it. Half of the people said if he is not doing it, it he has something to hide.

And for Trump's talk about reaching out to minority communities, look at what happened to his visits for African-American communities, 95 percent for Clinton and 5 percent for Trump.

What really matters is the electoral vote. If you look at the map, as we project it right now we see a lot of red. In the population centers out here and over here is where off lot of electoral votes. They're going solidly blue. Some light-blue ones also tilting that way. If Hillary Clinton wins nothing but the blue states on this map, she has won the election. Donald Trump has to win all the red states, all of the light-red or pink states here, plus the yellow battleground states. And he has to tip one of the light-blue states in his direction if he's going to have a chance to win on the Electoral College. It can be done but it's a reach, and the enthusiasm gap is closing. For a long time, we saw tremendous enthusiasm on his side, very little on her side. It's still in his favor but she's getting considerably closer.

One last thing that is worth bearing in mind and ought to worry both parties. When you ask voters out there their general opinion of both of these candidates, they are still seen in a negative light, which suggests that no matter which one wins the public may have a hard time watching that inauguration come January.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Turbulent times ahead.

Thank you to Tom Foreman there.

Trump said he used the American tax code brilliantly. He is saying he claimed a loss of $1 billion on his 1995 tax return. That could have allowed him to avoid federal income taxes for the next 18 years.

VAUSE: But there's a still lot we do not know about Trump's taxes and his charitable donations.

More on that from Susanne Craig, the reporter who broke the story for "The New York Times."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSANNE CRAIG, REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: We don't have the full returns. We had three pages, and there were some boxes that were checked "no," that here's a "Do I want to give $5 to the presidential fund or wildlife fund." There was nothing checked yes on those boxes. But we don't have the full picture. And there are other pages where we would have had a better idea of what he gave to charity and we didn't see them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Trump said he has a responsibility to the investors in his company to minimize his tax burden, but he's been quick to criticize people over the years saying they didn't pay their fair share.

Randi Kaye has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm under a routine audit.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump likes to talk about taxes. No so much his own but others. Here's what he had to say in 2011 when he talks about President Obama's plan to raise taxes on the wealthy.

TRUMP (voice-over): I don't mind sacrificing for the country, to be honest with you, but you do have a problem because half of the people don't pay any tax. When he is talking about that, he is talking about people that are not working, not contributing to the society, and it's a problem but we have 50 percent. It just hit the 50 percent mark. 50 percent of people are paying no tax. KAYE: That's not all. Trump weighed in on taxes many times on

Twitter, as well. Like in this 2012 tweet where he criticizes the president's tax returns. "Barack Obama, who wants to raise all of our taxes, only pays 20.5 percent on $790,000 salary. Do as I say, not as I do."

Along the same theme, Trump tweeting, "Half of Americans don't pay income tax, despite crippling government debt."

Later that same year, tweeting, "Facebook billionaire gives up his U.S. citizenship in order to save taxes. I guess $3.8 billion isn't enough."

And it doesn't stop there.

[02:25:06] TRUMP (on camera): The problem we have right now, we have a society that sits back and says we don't have to do anything. Eventually, the 50 percent cannot carry -- and it's unfair to them -- but cannot carry --

KAYE: And again.

TRUMP: Most of these people are paying nothing now. They have nothing. And what are you going to do? I believe in proper management, proper administration. I'd love everybody to pay because psychologically that is good.

KAYE: And again.

TRUMP: I know people making tremendous amount of money and paying virtually no tax, and I think it is fair.

KAYE: But while criticizing others for shirking their duty, he has boasted about how he works the system himself.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR (voice-over): What's your tax rate?

TRUMP (voice-over): It's none of your business. But you will see it when I release, but I fight hard to pay as little as possible.

KAYE: When accused by Hillary Clinton in last week's debate of not paying federal income taxes, Trump had this to say.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They showed he didn't pay federal income tax, so --

TRUMP: That makes me smart.

KAYE: Now Twitter users weighing in with the #lasttimeTrumppaidtaxes, including, "I got fined for not rewinding my VCR tapes from Blockbuster, we still had dial-up Internet."

"Dems were doing this as they are likely tonight. Man, how I love an October surprise." Perhaps the best thing, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw

stones. And with 35 days to go, everyone is waiting to see what stones have yet to be tossed.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And CNN will air the only debate between the vice presidential candidates. You can see it Wednesday, at 2:00 a.m. in London, 9:00 a.m. in Hong Kong. If you miss it, you need a note from your mom.

SESAY: Coming up next for our viewers in Asia, "State of the Race" with Kate Bolduan.

VAUSE: For everyone else, we'll take a short break. When we come back, Colombians say no to a peace deal between FARC rebels and the government. Where they could go from here, next on NEWSROOM L.A.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:16] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

SESAY: I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour --

(HEADLINES)

VAUSE: We're getting word that Afghan forces have taken control of the center of Kunduz from the Taliban. A politic spokesman says battles continue in other parts of the city.

SESAY: Let's bring in Ivan Watson who is joining us now.

Ivan, what are you hearing about the situation on the ground right now?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Competing claims coming from the Taliban and from government forces and the U.S. military about who controls the city, Isha. In the hours after the Taliban announced the pre-dawn offensive on Monday in to this strategic city in Afghanistan, Taliban social media accounts started to distribute video -- we can show some of it -- in which there is a flag raised in a roundabout in the center of the city. Other images of Taliban militants walking through very deserted streets in Kunduz illustrating the gains they made.

On Tuesday, we have statements coming from various Afghan government officials, as well as the U.S. military claiming to have gained control of that city, regained control of it. The U.S. military, under the Operation Resolute Support tweeting, quote, that, "Afghan security forces control Kunduz, reinforcements arrived overnight. The U.S. continues to maintain robust enablers in the area and will support as needed." Also the U.S. indicating that there was at least one U.S. air-to-ground engagement that took place where a helicopter fired on targets on the outskirts of Kunduz to defend allied forces. The U.S. also saying there are U.S. troops in the area but they are not detailing how many because they are in operations right now.

But definitely, a fierce battle taking place, one that is being seen as a bit of an embarrassment to the Afghan government at a time it is meeting with European donors -- Isha?

SESAY: Indeed. To that point, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the Afghani President Ashraf Ghani scheduled to meet at the E.U. shortly. And they are meeting to discuss aid to the country. This attack, the second time in as many months, in recent months, really undercuts any statements of peace and progress that Afghanistan has been able to make.

WATSON: That's right. This is the longest-running American foreign war, 15 years. Billions of dollars spent, American lives, as well as lives of other NATO servicemen. Meanwhile, the Afghan security forces are suffering record high casualties this year in this 15th war. You have the new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani meeting with representatives of some 70 different countries, 30 different international organizations in Brussels -- that meeting is supposed to start any minute now -- asking for more money and pledging more reforms. But there are real questions about reforms and corruption. The U.S. military has a special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction. Put out a statement a couple of weeks ago, saying there was a, quote, "persistence of high levels of corruption in Afghanistan," pointing at the former administration of Hamid Karzai. Neither he nor two of his vice presidents nor many of his top officials ever submitted a constitutionally mandated asset declaration form, and as of March of this year, that Ashraf Ghani, of 27 top officials in his administration, only one submitted asset declaration form had been made.

This new government is pledging to make reforms, to root out high- level corruption in the government. But the setbacks on the battlefield and the consistent reports of corruption will raise serious questions whether the Western world can continue to fund this government -- Isha.

[02:35:12] SESAY: Indeed. Critical questions.

Ivan Watson joining us from Hong Kong. Ivan, appreciate it. Thank you. VAUSE: Colombia's government is trying to revive a peace deal with

FARC rebels after voters surprisingly rejected it at the polls. President Juan Manuel Santos met with political leaders on Monday and said negotiations will continue in Cuba.

SESAY: The FARC leader says the group will maintain a ceasefire in place since last June. The accord would have ended decades of war in Colombia. The president said both must focus on a common goal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN MANUEL SANTOS, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): I have heard those who said no. I have heard those who said yes. Everybody, everybody, without exception, wants peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In the last hour, I spoke to Miguel Tinker Salas, professor of Latin-American Studies at Pomona College. He believes Colombia's presidential politics played a big role in the outcome of the referendum.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL TINKER SALAS, PROFESSOR OF LATIN-AMERICAN STUDIES, POMONA COLLEGE: The fundamental issue is that Colombia is divided. This is a nation, as David Bush has pointed out, in spite of itself. A highly divide, polarized nation in which abstention is won in this election. That highlights how little people feel invested in the political apparatus. 63 percent abstention is an election decided by 54 percent, less than 54,000 votes.

We have a quandary in terms of the political process. What really happened is if you look at the areas where the FARC had been active and suffered some of the brunt of the attacks, most of those were areas voted yes for the peace agreement. It was in urban areas, and particularly where Uribe and his party of the Young Democratica, had pushed to make this on Santos and to begin jockeying for position for the presidential election in 2018 that turned this vote.

I think there's an opportunity. I think there's an option now to engage in a national dialogue, to push the debate further. I think they reached the point of no return on this process. I don't see us going back to conflict situation.

VAUSE: Well, on that point, of the former President Uribe, one of his selling points in this campaign was essentially he insisted a tougher deal was possible with the FARC. Is the right?

TINKER SALAS: If you want to get in to national reconciliation we have to talk about the FARC and paramilitaries that grew and expanded under him where you had his cousin, members of his family, cabinet, all of them indicted for their relationship with narcotics trafficker and paramilitaries. So how far will the process of reconciliation go and how deep will it go? The military was engaged with human rights violations with false positives. So you have human rights violations by the FARC, by the military, also by the paramilitaries and those associated with those in governance. So really a question is, how deep will this go and not divided the country further. That's why I go back to what I said at the beginning, this is a country that is highly divided, urban, rural, north, south, and in which the issues in terms of the have become part of an election campaign and a campaign strategy for 2018, which is unfortunate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: OK.

SESAY: Moving on, women in Poland took to the streets to protest a proposed ban on all abortions in the country. Thousands dressed in black and took part in the pro choice march in the capitol.

VAUSE: Poland is a predominantly a Catholic country and has some of the toughest abortions laws in Europe. It would make it illegal even in cases of rape and insist and punish women who get abortions and their doctors with jail time.

SESAY: Well, if history is an indication, we could see an October surprise from North Korea.

VAUSE: Experts say the country likes to flex its muscle just as the U.S. chooses a new president.

Brian Todd explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over) (voice-over): A new warning that Kim Jong-un may try to provoke the U.S. and send a message of intimidation some time around the next month, around the time of the November election.

The warning comes from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, and is published on its website, "Beyond Parallel." The group says for some 60 years, Kim, his father and grandfather have demonstrated a pattern of trying to incite tensions around the time America votes.

Just this year alone, Kim Jong-Un has unfired off 15 missile tests, two nuclear bomb tests, making five overall. What could be next?

[02:40:00] VICTOR CHA, SENIOR ADVISOR, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: I think it would be a sixth nuclear test, it could be a launching of a rocket to put their satellite in orbit, which demonstrates ballistic missile capability. Doing a major test would be a way to try to intimidate the incoming president.

TODD: Whoever is president will face an increasingly dangerous North Korean dictator.

CIA Director John Brennan, in a CNN interview, said North Korea is the biggest security risk for the next president. Brennan called Kim a megalomaniac, calculated and delusional.

JOHN BRENNAN, CIA DIRECTOR: He has invested so much of this effort in building a military and nuclear capability and he thinks this is his ticket to greatness. I think it is his ticket to oblivion.

TODD: Analyst say one reason Kim is being provocative is to cover his flank inside of North Korea, and there could be good reason for that. CNN learned some North Koreans have spoken out against their regime.

CSIS commissioned a non-governmental organization to secretly go into North Korea and talk to ordinary citizens. They showed us the handwritten results of their survey of 36 people in nine provinces. Asked what makes them most angry about their government, most said it's when the regime takes away things they have earned. CHA: If you are a farmer and you make a little bit more than besides

what the government asks you to make and the government takes that away, that makes you upset. Or when you have collected some savings through some sort of personal enterprise and the government issues an unordinary tax to try to take that money away from you.

TODD (on camera): Victor Cha says the people conducting the questioning had to move fast, had to move in secret, could only spend a few minutes with each person who they spoke to. Not only did they risk their lives doing this but the participants took risks. They didn't know if the stranger asking them questions wasn't spying for the regime.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Time for a quick break. One of the world's biggest celebrities robbed at gun point. How Kim Kardashian West became the victim of a multimillion-dollar jewel heist, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:26] VAUSE: Kim Kardashian is back in New York after a traumatic night in Paris. Officials say five men disguised as police robbed her at gun point, making off with millions in jewelry.

SESAY: Sources say Kardashian was forced to beg for her life and was bound and gagged and forced into a bathtub.

Our Melissa Bell reports from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: For now, investigators are remaining tight lipped about where the investigation is here in France. There is a sense of embarrassment this should have been allowed to happen at all that five men would have been able to overpower a single security guard and find themselves in the room of Kim Kardashian and able to rob her of $10 million worth of her jewelry.

French authorities are trying to lure celebrities back to Paris after a huge drop in the numbers of people who are making their way to the French capitol. This is a terrible news story, and one they will be keen to see the back of us as quickly as they can.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: One of the main items stolen was a ring worth more than $4 million. That may well be this ring, which Kardashian has been showing off on social media for weeks.

SESAY: Husband Kanye West gave her a 20-carat ring about a month ago. Pictures on-line showed her wearing the ring hours before the robbery in Paris. Police have not said if that's the one which was taken.

SESAY: Earlier, we spoke to entertainment journalist, Segun Oduolowu; and jewel heist expert, Scott Selby, about the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT SELBY, JEWEL HEIST EXPERT & AUTHOR: She definitely did the thieves a favor helping them with research by following her social media feed they would know everything she was up to.

SESAY: Segun, you believe it is inevitable that celebrities will be preyed upon by thieve and scoundrels?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: I think this is the show-me era before celebrities tried to commandeer their privacy. Now part of it is being in the open. For someone like Kim Kardashian, where part of her celebrity is being on Instagram, Twitter, every social media outlet, she has a huge bull's eye on her back. Nobody deserves to be robbed at gun point but as you said you make it easy for the thief to see what they want to steal.

VAUSE: Scott, can he kiss the jewelry good-bye? Can they sell that stuff any where?

SELBY: That jewelry is long gone.

SESAY: Really?

SELBY: As I wrote in my book, "Flawless, it's easy to a fence. They'll take about 10 cents on the dollar and they'll break it down. The precious metals will be melted and cast to new rings, and the small and medium stones will be pried out and sold to a corrupt dealer in Belgium who will sell it to somebody new the next day, and by the tenth buyer, nobody knows. It will be in America within months. The hard thing is these big stones, the big colored special stones, the stones we are talking about, you can't sell those because people will know what it is. There's no point in buying a stolen stone because somebody will go to court and take it back from you. You are out the money you spent. The only thing you can do is work with a corrupt polisher, corrupt cleaver and change the nature of the stone so it's no longer identifiable.

VAUSE: You smash it?

ODUOLOWU: Basically, cut it.

SELBY: That's it exactly. Turn it in to something new.

SESAY: But you lose some value.

SELBY: You lose a lot of the value.

(CROSSTALK)

ODUOLOWU: Better value than going to jail if you are the thief.

(LAUGHTER)

SELBY: 100 percent correct.

ODUOLOWU: I wasn't trying to make a joke, but seriously.

SELBY: Oh, yeah.

VAUSE: We should say, we wish them well.

SESAY: We do. Nobody deserves that.

VAUSE: At least it is a ring and not her life.

ODUOLOWU: Absolutely.

SELBY: Presumably, it is all insured.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: OK. Segun Oduolowu and Scott Selby speaking to us a short time ago.

A short break. But next here on CNN NEWSROOM --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think of places in the U.K. you wouldn't normally be able to stay, you probably have Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and Abbey Road Studios.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Your chance to hang out and sleep in the inner sanctum of one the holy shrines of music, but you need to enter a special contest in time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

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[02:53:25] SESAY: Welcome back. It's an iconic address, the place where the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Adele, Amy Winehouse, to name a few, have recorded the greatest tracks ever, Abbey Road.

VAUSE: Now, for one lucky competition winner and their three closest friends comes the chance to spend the night at where music history has been made over and over again.

Here's CNN's Nina dos Santos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SINGING) NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Beatles famously sung "We all live in a Yellow Submarine," but for one night only, four people will be able to live in Abbey Road Studios where that Beatles track was recorded, courtesy of a competition hosted by AirBNB and deejay, Mark Ronson.

MARK RONSON, DEEJAY: I've been in Abbey Road quite a bit for recording, most of my life is spent in rooms like this. And I don't know why but I love it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think of places in the U.K. that you wouldn't be otherwise able to stay, you have, Buckingham Palace, 10 downing street, and Abbey Road Studios.

DOS SANTOS: On the 15th of October, Studio C will have a bed installed since the first time since Yoko Ono and John Lennon slept over in 1969. And even the house rules, an AirBNB fixture, are musically inspired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All inspired from the people who recorded here. Be as noisy as you like. If anyone calls you on the phone you can go with an Adele, hello, it's me.

DOS SANTOS: The event highlights AirBNB's foray into a fast-growing end of the travel market, offering experiences, not just accommodation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: AirBNB is about providing unique experiences to people. Places like the catacombs in Paris, sports stadiums, even a glass bubble above the barrier reef.

(MUSIC)

[02:55:12] DOS SANTOS: Experiences like these also detract from the negative experiences the site has had in some cities where AirBNB faces restrictions.

UNIDENTIFIED: It's become so professionalized, AirBNB, that you go to a room that is rather empty and boring. No one else is there. It's worse than staying in a cheap hotel. Now, I think AirBNB are realizing what do we do to go back to the initial instinct and flavor, and these experiences help them do that.

DOS SANTOS: To win a night's stay, entrants must write to AirBNB and tell them about their favorite Abbey Road track. That's a tough question to answer.

RONSON: My favorite is we were rehearsing and hearing '80s musicians playing in harmony, and the way it sound swims in that studio, with these enormous ceilings, it was one of the most moving emotional experiences I ever had.

DOS SANTOS: Entries close October 6th. But for those that don't get a place, the Beatles would say "Let It Be."

Nina dos Santos, CNN Money, London. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Oh, she got a lyric in there.

VAUSE: She did. "Hey, Jude," how about that? Best I could come up. I would definitely enter.

SESAY: It's been a long day.

(LAUGHTER)

You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: I'm John Vause. "Give Peace a Chance."

The news continues with Rosemary Church. That's next.