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Trump Attacks Accusers on Campaign Trail; The Mormon Vote; Boko Haram Releases 21 Chibok Girls; Aleppo Hit with New Horrific Wave of Violence; Bob Dylan Wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 14, 2016 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:09] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour -- rage against the machine. Donald Trump lashing out at his accusers -- Hillary Clinton and the Republican Party.

Free at last -- Boko Haram releases 21 schoolgirls kidnapped more than two years ago, about 200 remain missing.

And later this hour, do you know who won the Nobel Prize for literature? The answer, "Blowing in the Wind".

Hello everybody. Thank you for being with us. I'm John Vause. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

Donald Trump is fighting for his political life in the wake of growing accusations of sexual misconduct. On Thursday, the Republican presidential nominee attacked his accusers calling them horrible, horrible liars and he did not spare his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: This election is a simple choice. It's a choice between putting our faith in failed politicians, and she is a failed politician. Look at what she's done. Everything she touches -- I'm going to be very nice -- turns bad. See? I've learned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining me now are Democratic strategist Matthew Littman and CNN political commentator and Trump supporter John Phillips.

Ok. So listening to Donald Trump today there is a global elite out there including Hillary Clinton, the media, the U.S. government, the Republican Party manipulating poll results, economic numbers, encouraging a group of women to get together and collude on these accusations of sexual misconduct. And, you know, for Donald Trump it really hurts. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: They knew they would stop at nothing to try to stop me. But I never knew -- as bad as it would be -- I never knew it would be this vile, that it would be this bad, that it would be this vicious. Nevertheless, I take all of these slings and arrows gladly for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Generous of soul and generous of spirit. But seriously this is a candidate, Donald Trump looks like he is going down and he's taking everybody with him -- John.

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I don't think there's an office in Sioux City, Iowa where everyone gets together and comes up with a scheme to sink his campaign. But he's right in that the elites in the media, the elites in the Republican Party, the elites in the Democratic Party, the elites in corporate America all want him to lose.

And if you look at how the story played itself out, it is very different than how other scandals associated with sex had played in the world of politics. When Juanita Broaddrick sat down with Lisa Myers at MSNBC News, Lisa Myers after she found out that the story was being delayed and delayed and delayed said, Juanita you have a problem. We have good news and bad news. The good news is you are credible and the bad news is you are very credible. And Dan Rather never spoke of that subject at all.

We now have accusers that have come out that have not gone to the authorities. In one case one of the women sat down with Anderson Cooper tonight on CNN. She couldn't remember the date. She couldn't remember where the plane was going to. And all of a sudden we are going wall to wall on every news network and every newspaper assuming that this actually happened.

He is denying it and he's suing the paper for libel.

MATTHEW LITTMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, first of all he's not. No, no, no, no, no. Let me correct you. He's not suing the paper for libel -- right. He made a statement to the "New York Times" that he wants a retraction but he's not going to sue. He hasn't sued them for libel and he's --

PHILLIPS: He says he is going to.

LITTMAN: He says he's going to. He probably won't because you can't win on that case. Let me also say this. When you say that the elites don't support Donald Trump, which I guess means every single newspaper in the United States, not one has endorsed Donald Trump at this point. The American people don't support Donald Trump. Donald Trump is losing.

He is only at 39 percent in the polls when it seems impossible when you consider that 42 percent of the country is either Republican or leans Republican. 39 percent is almost a record low. So it's not just the elites that don't support Donald Trump. The people don't support Donald Trump. PHILLIPS: Well, they supported him in the primary. And --

LITTMAN: The land of the blind --

PHILLIPS: And the horrific week for him where he has been kicked in every newscast and every single newspaper. Of course, he's --

LITTMAN: He was losing before this -- John.

PHILLIPS: He was after that horrific week after the first -- after the conventions. He then started to bounce back.

LITTMAN: Right. That's right.

PHILLIPS: And according to 538, according to Nate Silver, he got as high as a 45 percent chance of winning the election.

LITTMAN: But that is still losing.

PHILLIPS: And then you had the bad week after the debate and then you've had this which is the elites coming together trying to derail his campaign.

VAUSE: Ok. Trump has made clear that the allegations of sexual misconduct against him are all false. He said that over and over again. But then a rally today he goes on to add this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:05:01] TRUMP: Take a look. You take a look. Look at her. Look at her words. You tell me what you think. I don't think so. I don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ok. So, you know, he was referring to the reporter there from "People Magazine". As you say Jessica Leeds, another woman who accuses Trump of basically a sexual attack. She went on CNN to respond to what Trump had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA LEEDS, TRUMP ACCUSER: But his dismissal that somebody is unattractive is again, a serious form of discrimination. Very few people in this world are beautiful. Most of us just get by with being presentable and trying to keep clean and neat. So his dismissal of people like Carly Fiorina from the --

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Cary Fiorina?

LEEDS: -- Fiorina, you know, that was an awful, awful statement. That "look at that face".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I mean we're 26 days away -- John. It should be time that Donald Trump stops disparaging the way women look, right.

PHILLIPS: Well, politically she is clearly on the opposite side of the fence as Donald Trump. And the criticisms don't really have any kind of commonality to that.

First they were saying he only likes to surround himself with beautiful people where he only hires only beautiful people at his golf courses and at the Comedy Central roast, they said that the woman that was supposed to be on camera with him at first wasn't beautiful enough. But then we're supposed to believe that he is so lecherous that he's willing to just make passes at just any woman that's around him. They're mutually exclusive.

LITTMAN: Not really -- John. I mean I don't know why you are actually making excuses for him. It seems pretty apparent. Have you heard how he talks about his daughter, Ivanka? I mean Donald Trump is a creepy guy and this behavior has been going on for a long time.

Last week he said it was locker room talk but his locker room seems to be everything and every where. He speaks into an open microphone. I mean he talks about these things and talks about people and acts towards people in a way that you would not expect any human being to act.

The question is why? What is wrong with this guy that he behaves this way? That's what we should be thinking about. He is going to lose this election and the effects of this election are going to go on for a long time after. The question is how did this happen? How do you even get this far?

VAUSE: Ok. Let's talk about, you know, the effect of that "Access: Hollywood" tape because there is this poll that came from Wisconsin. Admittedly it's just one state but this is sort of politics in real time. On Friday when the tape came out, Trump was leading Clinton by one point. The day after the tape, Clinton was up by six, by the weekend Clinton was up by 19 points.

This is just one state. It was before the Sunday debate; when the numbers are finally all in and done, Clinton was up by seven percent. But, you know, John, this is stuff that people obviously care about at least in Wisconsin.

PHILLIPS: Yes. It was a damaging tape. And I would assume the numbers in other states are going to get worse too. This is why it's now crunch time. It's not really Election Day any more, it's election season. We have what three weeks and change until it is actually Election Day on November 8th. He's got to get it together.

He's got to start talking about immigration. He's got to start talking about trade. He's got to start talking about going after ISIS. If he talks about the issues those numbers will recover to some agree. If he talks about the scandals it's not going to happen.

LITTMAN: John -- I suspect you have been saying that since May. And also let's keep in mind that before --

PHILLIPS: It's true.

LITTMAN: -- before that last debate, Hillary was up by 12 in Pennsylvania. Now after that --

PHILLIPS: In some polls, not in the Real Clear -- not in the averages.

LITTMAN: Well now she is up by nine. She was up by 12 in Pennsylvania before that. If Trump doesn't win Pennsylvania, he doesn't win, right. So Hillary is basically up double digits in Pennsylvania. There is really no path here for Trump.

I think that we should be talking about what happens to the Republican Party after this election.

VAUSE: And (inaudible) what happens to the country after the election because the strategy is this sort of scorched earth strategy by Donald Trump right now because he's trying to motivate his base to get out there and vote. But do you see ramifications, you know, if he loses the election?

PHILLIPS: Well, if Hillary wins, I know one thing is for certain -- I'm getting audited. I mean this fight in the Republican Party is something that pre-dated Donald Trump. Go back to 2010 when you had the Tea Party revolution. You had wars in some of those primaries and the Republicans ended up being victorious in November. This is something that I assume will continue after Donald Trump. However if Hillary gets elected, it's going to be teapot dome every 20 minutes and nothing unites disparate groups better than having a common enemy.

VAUSE: Ok. Well, fair point.

Let's move on to Michelle Obama because she delivered what some people say today was a landmark moment in this campaign at a rally in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We all know that if we let Hillary's opponent win this election, then we are sending a clear message to our kids that everything they're seeing and hearing is perfectly ok.

We are validating it. We are endorsing it. We're telling our sons that it's ok to humiliate women. We're telling our daughters that this is how they deserve to be treated. We are telling all our kids that bigotry and bullying are perfectly acceptable in the leader of their country. Is that what we want for our children?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:10:05] VAUSE: It was moving. It was a very powerful speech. Now the question is why couldn't Hillary Clinton deliver a speech like that?

LITTMAN: Well, let me just answer on the Michelle -- Hillary Clinton speaks about a lot of things. She's not as good of a speaker as Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama is terrific. It's really incredible how Michelle Obama has broken through more in the last few months. She's got Bill Clinton speaking -- Hillary has Bill Clinton speaking for her, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders. Michelle Obama is outshining all of them.

VAUSE: Yes.

LITTMAN: I mean it's really pretty amazing.

When you look at the Trump surrogates -- no offense -- but when you look at the Trump surrogates you have Chris Christie and when Rudy Giuliani is the normal one of your people you are really in trouble.

VAUSE: Donald Trump doesn't have a lot of friends on the stump, right. I mean he is carrying a lot of water right now.

PHILLIPS: He is. And the reason why Michelle Obama, by the way, is out there is because she is the most popular person in the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton, whilst ahead, is thoroughly unpopular.

And I was looking at some of these polls in the Senate races and the Republicans are still doing well. They're way up in Ohio. They're up in Florida. They're now up in North Carolina. They're tied in Pennsylvania. And they're only down a hair in Wisconsin.

And the reason why they're doing so well while Trump is taking a fall in the polls is because the voters still fundamentally don't like Hillary and if they vote for Hillary they could split the ticket and say all right we're going to have to --

(CROSSTALK)

LITTMAN: Well, I actually think -- I think that's right. I really that's pretty accurate.

VAUSE: Yes.

Come back next hour because we have a lot more to get to including what President Obama had to say also and what Hillary Clinton had to say. Thanks -- guys.

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

LITTMAN: Thank you.

VAUSE: Ok. Well now, despite all the allegations of sexual misconduct, despite the lurid and vulgar comments made about being able to grope and kiss women because he is a star, there is one group of voters who appear to be holding firm for Donald Trump. It's kind of surprising -- Christian conservatives -- the champions of family values.

Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, the world's largest evangelical campus explained why he is still on the Trump train. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY FALWELL, JR., LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: I think he's been through a change in the last four or five years. I think he has been influenced strongly by his children, by his grandchildren and I don't think he is the man he used to be. Choose the person, not who would be a great pastor, not who would be a great priest if you're a Catholic, but somebody who will be the best president of the United States. It's that simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: On the flip side of that is the Church of the Latter Day Saints. In the mostly Mormon state of Utah one poll has Clinton and Trump tied with third party conservative Evan McMullin not far behind. It has been 52 years since Utah has not voted for a Republican for president.

Patrick Mason is the chair of Mormon studies at Claremont University. He joins us now.

Patrick, why do Mormons have such a different standard in choosing their president compared with other Christian conservatives?

PATRICK MASON, CLAREMONT UNIVERSITY: Well, there are a few reasons for that. One is that Mormons simply don't like what they see as meanness in the character of Donald Trump. Mormons have strong family values and so they've been absolutely revolted by the revelations that have come out especially with the video this past week.

They also break somewhat from other Christian conservatives in that they are more moderate typically on issues like immigration. They have been very pro-refugee -- the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has extensive refugee assistance programs. And so in a lot of ways other Mormons have been political allies with other Christian conservatives for decades. They don't line up exactly and Donald Trump has brought out those divisions.

VAUSE: You mentioned the release of that "Access: Hollywood" tape. Many lawmakers are also Mormons. They led the charge in pulling their endorsements for Trump like Senator Mike Lee who is from Utah. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIKE LEE (R), UTAH: Mr. Trump, himself, has acknowledged this and identified this series of events tonight as a mere distraction. Well, with all due respect sir, you sir, are the distraction. Your conduct, sir, is the distraction. It's the distraction from the very principles that will help us win in November.

You, yourself, sir, Mr. Trump, have repeated that the goal, the objective has got to be to defeat Hillary Clinton in November. I couldn't agree more. It's for precisely that reason, Mr. Trump, what I respectfully ask you with all due respect, to step aside. Step down. Allow someone else to carry the banner of these principles, these principles that have made our country great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So what was it about the comments on the tape, anything in particular which sparked the response which we've gotten?

MASON: Well, one of the preeminent values for the Mormon community is family values. They very much prize chastity which means a husband's being true and faithful to his wife.

[00:14:52] So they interpreted Donald Trump's actions as not only violating those covenants of marriage that he was in but truly abusive towards women. And that's something that the Mormons prize very highly.

And so they -- so it was both the substance of his remarks but also the spirit of it, the kind of dismissive and abusive tone towards women that Mormons just found absolutely disgusting. So they are fleeing from him in droves and they're saying if the Republican Party has been the party of family values, what they saw in that video does not represent family values.

VAUSE: Has there ever been a rebellion like this in Utah against a Republican candidate for president?

MASON: Certainly not in a half century. I have to say it has been 52 years. And Mormons have been the most staunch allies of the Republican Party for most of that time period. I mean just overwhelming percentages have voted for Republican presidents in recent years.

And so they have been just in the back pocket of the Republican Party, not all Mormons, but the vast majority of them. So this is really remarkable to see the possibility of Utah going to the Democrats is almost -- was almost unthinkable at the beginning of this election cycle.

VAUSE: Yes. And with that in mind Hillary Clinton is trying to win over Mormon voters. Her campaign put out a pretty slick web video just a few days ago. This is part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of us are grateful. Our gratitude has its roots in the view of government that dates back to the pilgrims.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to the successive waves of immigrants --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- who came to this country --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- seeking religious political freedom and better economic opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Is that outreach working because she is neck and neck with Donald Trump. There doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm right now in Utah at least for Hillary Clinton.

MASON: No. And in fact, in the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders won Utah. But at this point I mean there is such a strong anti-Trump current that she has a chance. I mean she is polling at only about 26 percent. So this is not exactly a resounding endorsement of her in the state of Utah. But still she is neck and neck for the lead and there is a possibility that she could win.

And that video is really savvy in terms of playing on some of the history and values and the heritage that Mormons have. And so they hear in that some of their own story. It's a very savvy move by the Clinton campaign.

VAUSE: Patrick -- great to speak with you. Thanks very much. Patrick Mason there, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont University. Appreciate it.

MASON: Thank you very much.

VAUSE: Well, still to come here, 21 Chibok girls are heading back to their families after being released by Boko Haram. Why Nigeria says this now raises hope for the other 200 missing girls.

Also ahead Thailand's prime minister calling for calm and urging vigilance after the death of the king.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:01] DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: After bringing strong, gusty winds and torrential rain to Bermuda, Hurricane Nicole is finally starting to exit the region and very quickly as well. In fact, this storm system will deteriorate as it continues to race in a general east-northeasterly direction. Look at that 34 kilometers per hour. It will start to weaken and basically dissipate over the Atlantic Ocean so no longer a concern for land.

Now we hop to the other side of the continental United States and talk about another active weather pattern that is impacting the Pacific Northwest. We have seen extremely heavy rainfall or we'll continue to see that through the course of the weekend for places like Seattle into Portland, further south into the extreme northern sections of California, even the potential for some high elevation mountain snowfall -- you can see that shaded with the white and pinks. Otherwise, closer to the valleys we have the potential for 10 to even 20 inches of rainfall with a series of storms that are lining up across that region.

Elsewhere throughout the United States -- Chicago, 18 degrees today. Look at New York City, that's what I'm talking about 17, blue skies overhead. You have a beautiful weekend in store. If you travel into the Big Apple, enjoy temperatures while feeling very autumn-like right through the weekend and early parts of next week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Well, Nigerians are hoping it is just the start -- 21 school girls released by Boko Haram. They're among the 276 young women militants kidnapped from their school in 2014. Some of the girls escaped right after their capture but around 200 remain missing.

The Nigerian government insists it did not swap militants and the girls' release was the product of negotiations. Nigerian officials welcomed them home on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YEMI OSINBAJO, NIGERIAN VICE PRESIDENT: The whole country has been waiting for you to come back. All these many months the whole country has been waiting that one day we'll see you again. And we're very, very, very happy to see you. We're very, very happy to see you back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: One of the freed girls had a baby boy. The President's office says he was born to one of the girls during her captivity. Doctors believe the little boy could be about 20 months old.

Obi Ezekwesili is the former vice president of World Bank Africa and Nigeria's former education minister. She joins us now from San Francisco. Obi -- thanks for being with us.

Why is the Nigerian government so optimistic that this could be the start of releasing more of the kidnapped girls? And do you share that optimism?

OBIAGELI EZEKWESILI, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF WORLD BANK AFRICA: I very much share that optimism and I believe that our government has every reason to be optimistic. This has been a long and torturous journey to even any kind of success.

And so having been able to achieve this particular milestone, there's nowhere else to go other than to improve on it. And I believe that if the government does not at all rest on its laurels and it has said it will not, we're certainly going to see the rest of our 197 schoolgirls come back to us and go through the process of recovery to be the best that they can still be in life.

VAUSE: So that's the official number who remain missing, 197. As for the ones who have actually made it home, what have they endured over the last two and a half years? We saw at least one girl who was rescued, she had a young son. There are reports that others had children as well. And they are just children themselves.

EZEKWESILI: Well, no. Others -- you remember that in the earlier days, 57 rescued themselves because they really weren't rescued by anyone. And those ones all settled into schools, brought in the United States and within our own country, Nigeria. So those ones had no children at all.

The only one that had a child before this latest one, was the girl, Alina Alingeki (ph) who was found in August, earlier in August this year. So we have situation on our hand that -- on our hands that would require a lot of extra work. They weren't unanticipated. But that should not in any way dampen our high expectation that our girls can heal.

[00:25:03] And so the whole world that stood in one accord asking for their rescue should be one family, helping them to recover and to be the persons that they originally hoped they would be through education.

VAUSE: The government is insisting there was no swap of Boko Haram militants for the release of these 21 girls. There are conflicting reports that maybe that happened. Would you be surprised if the government did exchange Boko Haram fighters for these girls and does it really matter?

EZEKWESILI: It really doesn't matter. I think that one of the realities that we now know in the world is that there have been many occasions where countries had to make those kinds of negotiations and these are often very, very high risk situations. And then countries have to take the lowest of the risky options that they are faced with.

If that happened to be the case in our own case, in our own situation, then it's not -- it's not abnormal. I mean the United States, Europe, countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, even in Asia have at one time or the other had to negotiate. And so it wouldn't be surprising.

VAUSE: Ok. Obi -- we'll leave it there -- Obi Ezekwesili. Thank you for the update and letting us know the conditions of some of the girls. We appreciate it.

EZEKWESILI: Thank you very much.

VAUSE: To Thailand now where security has been heightened amid funeral preparations for its revered leader. The king died on Thursday aged 88. He served as a unifying figure in a country which is often divided. And as the nation mourns, Thailand's prime minister is calling for calm and urging vigilance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRAYUT CHAN-O-CHA, PRIME MINISTER OF THAILAND (through translator): Everyone will need to be alert in every region and throughout the country to ensure safety. If there is a suspicious incident, please inform civilian volunteers, policemen and soldiers that I have ordered to be located around the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: While Thailand mourns its king, government flags will fly at half staff for the next months. Civil servants have been ordered to wear black for a year.

Here's CNN's Kristie Lu Stout with more on the life and the legacy of Thailand's revered monarch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: King Bhumibol Adulyadej was revered to the point of being worshipped like a living god. One of the longest reigning monarchs in the world, he served for 70 years. And to the Thai people he wasn't just a head of state, he was a stalwart defender of democracy. Many here thank him for their freedom.

King Bhumibol inherited the thrown in 1946 and was formally crowned amid much pomp and ceremony four years later. Hew traveled the world meeting foreign leaders acting as a sort of ambassador for Thailand. Here reviewing a guard of honor with President Eisenhower in 1960.

He worked for decades trying to improve the lives of ordinary Thais using his engineering background, advising on new irrigation systems. He also worked to eradicate opium production replacing it with more sustainable agriculture.

But he also frequently had to guide Thailand back from the brink of crisis intervening at critical times during succession of military coups, many saying he was a guiding hand always steering Thailand back to democracy.

In 1992, the king again exercised this discreet power during a political crisis. Two rival military leaders were summoned before the king after days of violent clashes between pro democracy campaigners and the army. Pictures of both men submissively bowed before their monarch calmed tensions and stopped the violence immediately.

The king made fewer public appearances after 2009 when he was admitted to hospital for respiratory issues -- a stay that lasted four years. Well wishers continued to support him as his health declined after that. He returned to hospital for several different health issues including a gall bladder removal, fluid on the brain, and surgery to open the arteries in his heart.

His passing will leave a cavernous void in Thai society, a country now united in profound grief and sorrow. Their monarch, the father of modern Thailand will be dearly missed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:29:45] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:33:15] JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause with the headlines this hour.

Donald Trump is going after the women who claimed he touched them inappropriately. On Thursday, he called them "Horrible, horrible liars." "New York Times" is refusing to retract a report about two of his accusers. Trump campaign denies the allegations and is now threatening to sue the paper.

Boko Haram militants handed over some nearly 30 young women they kidnapped from a school in Chibok in 2014. 21 girls are heading back to their families in Nigeria. The information minister says Thursday's release was not a swap for captured Boko Haram fighters.

Thailand is mourning its king who died Thursday aged 88. It's not clear yet when the crown prince, the king's appointed successor will ascend the throne. Meantime, Thailand's prime minister is urging calm and stability.

Aleppo is seeing some of the worst violence yet in Syria's five-year long civil war. Activists say at least 79 people have been killed in two days. Russia says it's ready to let the rebels and civilians out of the city. But that plan has failed before. Separately at least 17 people were killed when a car bomb exploded near the Syrian-Turkish border. Most killed were rebels. The U.S. and Russia will meet on Saturday in Switzerland to discuss a ceasefire.

And Britain's foreign secretary says coalition partners should consider military options in Syria. But Boris Johnson says that's not likely to happen soon. U.K. is taking part in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, but not against the Syrian regime. Johnson also talked about proposals for a no-fly zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:35:00] BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: It is vital that we do not raise false hopes. We know the difficulties and the implications of a no-fly zone or a no-bombing zone, and no matter how easy those concepts may sometimes be made to sound. But, if there is more that we can reasonably and practically do together with our allies, then of course we should consider those measures and believe me that work is now going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: James Fearon joins us now from Stanford University. He is a political science professor at Stanford.

James, thanks for being with us.

We heard this report from Reuters that the United States president and his aides will meet on Friday to consider military options in Syria. We just heard from Boris Johnson, the British foreign minister also talking about military options. And given the situation in Aleppo, would you expect increased military involvement by the U.S. and its allies?

JAMES FEARON, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: It's possible but I would continue to think it's not very likely. I think that what has happened recently with the collapse of the last ceasefire and really vicious escalation of bombing in neighborhoods of East Aleppo, they are going to revisit as, you know, both in Britain and the Obama administration military options, but they'll probably going to run into the same objections that have made it seem not like a good idea in the past.

It's possible that things will change a little bit now in terms of them deciding that even if the long run doesn't look so good before this option, something needs to be done in the short run just to kind of communicate to Putin that he can't be as aggressive as he is.

VAUSE: Yes. Some of the short-term options could be striking Syrian military bases or maybe supplying better air defenses to the moderate rebels. But I think as you said that all comes with the lure of unintended consequences.

FEARON: Yes. I think that the two main difficulties are that anything we do to -- that really effectively protect civilians or helps the moderate opposition, we really can't prevent that from also helping the extremist Jihadi opposition who were engaged in a very, you know, pretty intense war with right there as well.

And that at least the Obama administration seems to have decided it's the more vital interest. The other main problem is that anything we do necessarily involves risks of say shooting down Russian aircraft and really escalating in a way that could very well pull us in, or you know, it would be hard to back off from without it looking really terrible and thus, you know, the concern that you'd be drawn down a kind of road where you'd be getting out ahead of where publics in Britain and the U.S. at least the politicians think they would be willing to support in the long run.

VAUSE: Yes. In the past few hours, we have heard from Bashar Al Assad, the dictator in Syria. He spoke about the importance of retaking Aleppo. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT: First of all, it has political gain, on the strategic level, political gain and national gain. Then, from the strategic point of view, military point of view, no, you don't cut; it's going to be the springboard, as a big city, to move to another areas, to liberate another areas from the terrorists. This is the importance of Aleppo now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: By other areas, the assumption is he is talking about Idlib. And once Idlib falls, it would put him pretty much back in control of all major urban centers in Syria except for the stronghold, the ISIS stronghold of Raqqah. That would be a significant win for Bashar al- Assad.

FEARON: It would be, although, it would really probably mainly just move the conflict to another phase where the fighting would continue at more of a lower level insurgency with a lot of terrorist attacks and move to more rural and semi-rural areas.

So, you know, I still have trouble seeing what the Russians and Iranians see as really the long run here. It seems extremely unlikely that they could imagine their support for Assad gets Syria back to like a situation it was in 2010 before the Arab spring, for example.

VAUSE: Professor James Fearon at Stanford, thanks for being with us.

FEARON: Thank you. VAUSE: Well, still to come here, if you're asking who won the Nobel Prize for literature, we have the answer, my friend, after the break.

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[00:41:30] VAUSE: Bob Dylan's unforgettable lyrics crossed the line from music to poetry so well he has now been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. His fans say it's long overdue but as Jeanne Moos reports the decision is not without its critics.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We'd love to ask Bob Dylan --

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To win the Nobel Prize in literature, but we couldn't get a hold of him. There was shock when the Swedish Academy made the announcement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bob Dylan.

MOOS: A week earlier, the New Republic asked who will win the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature and their answer was Not Bob Dylan. Yet now he'll have another medal to hang with his medal of freedom.

The news left writer Jason Printer tweeting, "If Bob Dylan can win the Nobel Prize for Literature, then I think Stephen King should get elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Round one.

(on-camera): The fight boiled down to the question are lyrics literature? Some critics said no, rifling on Dylan's own song.

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MOOS: "The times they are ending," wrote one journalist, to what someone replied "Delete your account, Dylan, the greatest poet of the 20th century, undisputed genius."

Some worried naming a songwriter would open the flood gates so 2034 Nobel for Literature could go to, you never know, posting repetitive Rihanna lyrics.

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MOOS: The British paper "The Telegraph" imagined a Nobel Prize being awarded to Donald Trump for lyrical tweeting. In defense of Dylan, a writer for "Rolling Stone" tweeted "They'll stone you when you've won the Nobel Prize." But "The Telegraph" sniff, "This is the Nobel Prize for Literature, not Sweden's Got Talent."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think of yourself primarily as a singer or as a poet?

BOB DYLAN, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR LITERATURE WINNER: I see myself as a song and dance man, you know.

MOOS: A prize in literature goes to a man better known for words delivered on the stage than on the page.

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Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

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VAUSE: And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause. Stay with us. "World Sport" starts after a short break.

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